Disclaimers: I do not own Power Rangers. However the characters that exist as their children are my creation.
Their Children
Chapter 15: A Turn for the Worst
"Augh! What gives?"
"Sammie, is that you?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah, what… where are we?" Sammie asked as she stood up and looked around into the darkness.
"I don't know. Last thing I remember is falling down into an opening in the ground." A new voice stated. "And I'm demorphed. How about you guys?"
"Same here Alex." Tommy answered.
"Yeah, same goes for me." Marcus groaned. His voice close to Sammie.
"Who else is here?" Tommy asked.
"Are we doing a head count now?" Olivia asked. Her voice was a little distant off to Tommy's right.
"That would be the most logical thing to do." Answered Connor, whose voice was nearest Olivia's. They both made their way to the sound of the others' voices.
"Okay," Sammie began. "That's everyone but Tiffany."
"Tiffany!" They all started calling out. They heard nothing. "Tiffany!" They continued.
Olivia quickly shushed everyone. "Shh… guys listen." Everyone stopped to listen. "You hear that?" She whispered.
"Yeah, it sounds like Tiff." Alex whispered back.
The voice came closer. "Guys!… Hello!… Where are you?!…" It was still faint, but coming closer. It was Tiffany.
"Over here T!" Olivia yelled. "Can't you see us! Use your sight!"
--
Over here T!
Tiffany paused. 'That sounded an awful lot like Livvy.'
Use your sight!
Tiffany resisted the urged to smack herself. 'Why didn't I think of that? Probably cuz I've never had to turn it on.' "Okay, here goes nothing." Tiffany closed her eyes and concentrated. When she reopened them, they glowed pink. 'There they are.' She ran over to them. "Guys! Hey guys! Here I come!"
--
"Her voice is getting louder. She's coming towards us." Tommy stated happily.
"She sees us." Olivia was smiling.
Tiffany reached the group. "Sorry I took so long you guys."
"No problem, just glad you made it." Marcus reassured.
"Okay Tiffany, you're the one with the sight. What do you see? Where are we?" Tommy asked.
They all could see Tiffany's eyes glow in the dark. She looked around them. "Well?" Sammie asked. "What do you see?"
Tiffany's eyes stopped glowing. "I don't exactly know. It's like we are inside of an ancient ruin. It's hard to explain. Just wide open space." Tiffany sighed. "Maybe you could give us a little light Alex."
Taking that as his cue, Alex immediately lit his hands. This gave them a little light, but enough to notice their surroundings. "Hey Tommy, see those sticks against the wall. I think they are used for torches."
"Yeah I see them." Tommy made a quick dash to the wall on the far side and grabbed the only three sticks he saw. There was some sort of fabric wrapped around one end of each of them. Tommy handed one to Connor, Marcus, and kept one himself after Sammie and Livvy refused. "Okay Alex, enlighten us."
"Very cute Tommy." Alex replied and lit each torch.
They all looked around. The area was more visible due to the extra light. They noticed they were in a large clearing, surrounded by nothing but rock. Upon closer inspection they noticed foreign engravings on the rocky surface of the walls. There was but one way out; a forebodingly looking passageway right in front of them.
"Alright Tommy, we're right behind you." Alex told his friend.
Tommy glanced back at Alex. "Gee, thanks." Then he walked forward with his torch in his hand.
Alex followed, holding a ball of fire in his hand. Beside him, Tiffany walked with her eyes glowing pink. After them were Marcus and Livvy with Sammie and Connor bringing up the rear.
As they walked along the passage, they viewed the various markings. "This is all very intriguing." Connor remarked.
Sammie looked at him. "It is remarkable. I wonder what it all means. What civilization could have possibly done all of this?"
"Hmmm…" Connor pondered. "I do not think that this is the work of any human civilization."
Sammie paused in her step. "What?" She quickly got over her shock and sped up to stay with the group. "What do you mean by that Connor?"
"I may be wrong, but…" He hesitated.
"But what?" She urged.
"It's just that," Connor sighed. "These markings… they're familiar…. I know I've seen these symbols before."
"You've been traipsing through any caves lately?" Sammie asked with a grin. Her grin slowly subsided as she noticed how captivated Connor was by the symbols. She noticed that they were getting a little behind. "Hey guys!" She called out. "Wait up!" She then looked back at Connor. "Connor, we have to catch up."
"These are foreign. And by foreign, I don't just mean overseas. These are extraterrestrial." Connor stated looking at Sammie. He noticed the others waiting up ahead for them.
Sammie raised a brow. "Extraterrestrial? Connor, how… how would you know that?"
Connor motioned for Sammie to start back towards the others. He followed closely behind her. "I saw those exact same symbols on one of the monitors on the C-Deck. I'm sure of it."
"Took you guys long enough. What was the hold up?" Marcus asked curiously.
Sammie looked at Connor. When he made no move to speak, she decided to answer. "Connor was studying the markings on the walls."
Alex brushed his enflamed hands across the cave wall, illuminating all of the inscriptions. "These symbols? Well, what did you decipher, Con-man?" Alex asked.
Everyone looked to Connor for an answer. "I believe that they are extraterrestrial. I've seen them before on one of the monitors on C-Deck. I know that their origin is not of Earth, because I specifically remember that the files I was sifting through on C-Deck were interplanetary." Everyone was silent at this.
"Oh my… are we even on Earth anymore?" Olivia asked.
Tommy frowned. "I don't know. It's possible that we aren't considering everything we've been through up to this point." He brushed a hand through his long locks. "Tiffany, see if you can use your senses."
Tiffany frowned. "And sense what?"
Tommy sighed. "I don't know… just… try something… please."
Tiffany's frown turned into an uncertain stare. "Okay. Umm…" She placed both of her hands onto the symbols engraved into the rock. She closed her eyes and concentrated on stretching her mind. 'Just reach outside of our vicinity.' After a few minutes, Tiffany sighed. "I don't think this is gonna work you gu-" Her entire frame became rigid.
Olivia was concerned. "T?" Tiffany was silent. "Tiffany?" Still silence. Olivia reached out her hand to touch her best friend. "Tif-"
"Livvy." Olivia turned to the voice of Connor. "Don't."
Frowning, Olivia turned back to Tiffany and gasped. Her hands were glowing pink.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Man, what a workout!" Jason exclaimed as he hopped out of the shower in the locker room. "I haven't felt this great in years."
Tommy laughed. "Yeah, it's a real stress reliever." He was busy tying his laces.
"Man, I wonder how far along Billy is." Zack asked leaning against his locker already dressed.
Rocky slammed his locker shut. Immediately he received everyone's attention. He noticed. "Sorry guys, I just… man I'm just so ready to find the kids." He finished buttoning his shirt and enclosed all of his dirty laundry in his sports bag.
"We know how you feel Rocko. We just have to believe that everything will work out." Tommy stated with a sigh.
"Yeah, plus, it's not easy for me to say this, but… our kids aren't kids anymore. Once we find them, then what? We can't relieve them of their mantle. They're chosen. We can't keep them from fighting. We can't fight in their place." Zack said quietly. "Hell, we can't even fight along-side them"
Jason finished putting his shoes on and closed his locker. "I wish we could. They shouldn't have to sacrifice their youth like we did. I don't want my son having to make life or death decisions as we did."
After everyone was quiet after that. They stood up and grabbed their bags, ready to go. But before they headed out of the door, Tommy spoke up. "We'll just have to support them. Support from our parents is something we never had the privilege to receive. At least that's something. We're the veterans, guys. Maybe we can prevent them from repeating our past mistakes." With that said, he led them through the door.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"You ready to go?"
"In a bit. Hey Aisha?"
"Uh oh, you used my full name. This must be serious."
"Sha'." Kim said in a no nonsense tone.
"Okay, sorry honey bunny, what's up?" Aisha sat down on the bleacher beside Kim. They had showered and dressed and were ready to go. They were now just waiting on the guys.
Kim sighed and turned big sad brown eyes to look at her friend. "I'm scared."
"Kim-" Aisha began but was cut off.
"I'm really scared Sha'. Not scared like when I first became a ranger and met Rita Repulsa, or scared like when Zedd showed up, always trying to make me his, or even scared like when Jase and I were dropped into the lava pit on Murianthis. But scared like when… like when Tommy was trapped in the dark dimension times a hundred." Kim put her face into her hands.
"Oh Kim, honey." Aisha grabbed Kim's shoulders and held her.
Kim just mumbled through her hands. "I don't know what to do. I'm just so afraid. I'm afraid that Billy won't be able to open a portal. I'm afraid that if he does, we won't find the kids. I'm afraid that if we find them, we won't be able to save them." She looked into Aisha's eyes once more. "Sha', so many fellow rangers have already died by his hand. I can't lose them Sha', I can't lose them." And right after that confession, the dam broke as tears gently cascaded down her face.
Aisha pulled Kim into a fierce hug, fighting back her own tears. "It's okay to be afraid, Kim. I'm afraid, and I know so are the others. But we have the courage to get through this. Having courage is not equivalent to being fearless. Having courage means having the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by that fear. We'll get through this, together." Kim pulled back with a tiny smile. "Now wipe your face, the boys will be here soon."
"Thanks Aisha. Sorry for that mini-breakdown." Kim got up and ran to the ladies locker room to wash her face, before the boys return.
Aisha watched her friend disappear into the locker room. She glanced up towards the ceiling, not really seeing it. "We'll get through this. Together." She repeated to herself in an attempt to calm her own fears.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
They stood there waiting for about ten minutes. "What should we do?" One whispered.
"I don't know. What do you suggest?" Another whispered back.
"Maybe we should just tap her on the shoulder." The first one answered.
"Well, by all means, try your luck." The second one concurred.
A hand reached out to do just that, but was quickly slapped away. "Alex, don't touch her. And Marcus, quit egging him on." Tommy reprimanded his comrades. He then looked to Connor. "What do you suggest?"
Connor looked at Tiffany. She was still unmoved. Her hands had discontinued in their glow, but the engravings on the wall started to light up in pink. He reached out to touch the rock. He quickly pulled his hand back. "Whatever she's doing, it's heating up the rock. But not alarmingly so." Connor sighed. "Usually I'd suggest that we wait until whatever is happening is completed, but I'm afraid that we probably don't have the time."
"I see." Tommy acknowledged.
Olivia spoke up, "Well, maybe we should try and call her out. Then we'll…," She quickly glanced at Alex, "… tap her." She turned to look at her best friend. "Tiffany." She called softly. "Tiffany." She repeated a little louder. Getting frustrated, Olivia walked closer to Tiffany and reached out to tap her shoulder, "Tiffa-aahhh!" Olivia was startled by the hand that enclosed around her wrist.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ten minutes ago…
"I don't think this is gonna work you guys." Tiffany sighed as she glanced towards Alex. Or at least where Alex used to be. "Guys?" She did a quick survey around the area. "Guys! Where are you?!" Tiffany looked down both directions of the passageway and saw no one in sight. She frowned. 'They were here a second ago, until I touched this stupid rock.' She looked back towards the wall, with her eyes glowing, since she didn't have a torch. She sighed. "They just disappeared?" She questioned aloud.
Tiffany stared at the symbols on the wall. Trying to study them. She received a headache in five minutes. "Ugh! Where's Connor when you need him?" She asked aloud, not expecting an answer. She reached out towards the wall to touch it. "Hmm… on second thought." She pulled her hand back and peered out in the direction she and her teammates where headed in. 'No point in standing here Tiff, get a move on it.' She mentally reprimanded herself. She nodded her head, gathered up all of her courage, and headed down the dark passage with only the cryptic symbols to keep her company.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Aaaahhh!" Olivia screamed as she jumped in surprised. She turned to face the culprit. "Dammit Marcus!" She shouted as she ripped her wrist out of his grasp.
Marcus grinned, "Sorry. Did I scare you?"
Olivia glared. "You startled me. Know the difference."
"You shouldn't touch her Livvy. We don't know what will happen if you do." Sammie told her friend.
Olivia made to reply, but Alex beat her to the punch. "Look you guys. Tiff's moving. Tiff, you okay?"
Connor looked over his pink clad friend. "I don't think she can hear you. She doesn't seem to be aware of our presence at all."
"Her eyes are still aglow." Tommy noted. "It' kinda like she's, sleepwalking."
Marcus noticed too. "Tommy's right. Her movements are really stiff. What should we do?"
"Follow her." Everyone looked at Sammie as she spoke. "Whatever answers she was looking for when she went all psychic on us, she may be trying to lead us to them now."
"It's a just assessment. I concur, we should follow." Connor backed Sammie up.
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Olivia began walking. "Let's go guys, before we lose sight of her." They all began walking, keeping a very close watch over their unaware friend.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"What is it?" A young voice asked.
"Something is not right." The woman replied.
"What do you mean?" The youth questioned.
"Something doesn't feel right. Something is happening that isn't supposed to." She answered vaguely.
The youth walked away from her over to the mainframe. He called another to help him search the database. "Check for any anomalies that have occurred within the past hour." He instructed this other.
The woman walked up beside him. "What do you plan to do?" She asked.
However, before he could answer her, another woman walked into the area. "Zordon!"
The youth turned to the new comer. "Yes Phaedra, what is it?"
"The Rangers should have been on the third test by now." Phaedra stated as she stood beside her sister.
A frown found its way onto Zordon's boyish face. He turned to the lovely blonde and spoke to her telepathically. "Reidyn, I need you to go meditate. See if you can reach them." He paused. "Better yet, see if you can reach Tiffany. You should be able to find her quicker." He began to turn away from her, but halted at the sound of her mind.
"That is why I am so concerned. I lost my connection to her forty minutes ago." She finished with a worried expression.
Zordon's eyes widened, "That's approximately when their second tests ended." He walked back over to the computers. "Omega! Have you found any irregularities?"
"Ay, yi, yi! Zordon! I've found many!" Omega exclaimed whilst doing a remarkably similar panic dance of his predecessor.
Zordon rushed over to see the results of the inconsistencies himself. He frowned. "This isn't good."
Phaedra looked over to the legendary mentor. "What can we do?"
He looked into her eyes helplessly. "We must work to find out what has caused this to happen. If they remain there too long, they may not get out in time to face Xian. Plus, the outcome of this journey is unknown. We must hope for the best."
Phaedra took in his solemn expression. She glanced over at her sister, and then to Omega. She turned and made her way back out of the room. Mentally, she prayed, 'May the power protect you, Rangers.'