Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. Saban and Nickelodeon own them. I also don't own any song lyrics used.
AN: Here's chapter 36! Enjoy and let me know what you think! I'm so sorry for the delay on this chapter. Real life has been very busy lately. Thanks to all the great reviews too and here's notes to those individuals:
Alex B. Goode: Thanks! So glad you're enjoying it.
RHatch89: Yeah, he always seemed over the top to me in the show and I decided to keep that and amplify it a little for kicks. It adds humor to an otherwise very serious story. Glad you like. :)
MMPRFansince93: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. Hopefully, I won't have many more long delays like that one. :)
XoxMountainGirlxoX: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. As for any pregnancies? Hm...only time will tell. ;)
TommyOliverMMPRFan: Yep, things are more complicated and about to heat up again. Enjoy. :)
Pinkrangerfan: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it. :)
Harry2: Yep, time for another zeo quest. :)
fallingstar22: So glad you enjoyed the couple scenes. And 5 new(or maybe not so new) rangers in the future? It's a very good possibility. :)
garnetred: Yep, Tori is going to be shocked to say the least. Glad you're enjoying it. :)
Lmv16: Thanks, so glad you're enjoying it. :)
TOKU-WRITER: From what I understand as well, yes the crystal grows in power over time. It may be the edge they need. ;)
WideOpenSpacesGirl045: Yep, Tori has a baby sister. Glad you like the idea of Trent and Kelly, I thought it was cute too, especially since I don't think I've ever seen it. Glad you're enjoying the story so much. :)
Crimson Rising
Chapter 37: Our Whole Lives Tonight
Heart, don't fail me now
I'm counting on all that exists in me
Heart, don't fail me now
I'm counting on all that exists in me
This is our whole lives tonight
It may be our only chance to get it right
This is our whole lives tonight
It might be our only shot to get it right
I know that we can do this
Come on, we made our choices
Let's go, we must be heard
Stand up and raise your voices
I know that we can do this
Come on, we made our choices
Let's go, we must be heard
We don't give a damn if we lose our voices
Song: Our Whole Lives Tonight
Artist: Eyeshine
The Beach, just outside the Legacy Compound
"Well, I see that you're adjusting well, Uncle," Carly said, as she approached him. Alan was sitting on the beach, watching with great joy, as Trina swam nearby.
"I can't get enough of her. I wasn't sure there for a while if I'd ever get to meet her…or if I'd ever see you again," Alan said, as Carly hugged him.
"Everything will be okay now," Carly assured him, as he noticed a young man with her.
"Oh Uncle…this is Blake Bradley," Carly introduced.
"Bradley…then you're…" Alan started to say.
"Hunter is my brother and yes, we're adopted," Blake replied, used to the questions that usually were asked when people discovered he and Hunter were brothers.
"Blake is also my boyfriend," Carly said, causing him to smile shyly.
"I see," Alan replied, smiling slyly, as Trina toddled up to them.
"Grandpa…will you help me build a sandcastle?" Trina asked. He smiled.
"I sure will. We'll build one fit for a mermaid princess like you," he told her.
"We'll help," Carly said, as she looked at Blake. He smiled and took her hand.
"Can't think of anything I'd rather do," he added, as they joined them.
The Dining Hall
Gorbin's Military Base, just outside Turtle Cove, CA
Peter Hanson reluctantly entered the dining hall. His co-workers were there, along with Will, Dax, top GAMA guardian operatives, and of course Gorbin and the President himself.
"Mr. Hanson, please join us," Gorbin called, motioning for him to take a seat. He did so and was served by the wait staff.
"The General tells me that you are responsible for our fleet of cyborg rangers and zord vehicles," the President stated.
"Yes Sir, though I have to give credit to my entire team," Peter responded.
"Excellent…though I noticed that you did not maximize the potential of their weapons. Care to explain why?" the President asked. Peter steeled his nerves under the icy gaze of the President.
"Too much power could overload the weaponry and backfire on us. I assure that there is enough power to do serious damage to the invaders," Peter stated.
"And to the rangers?" the President asked. Peter felt a spark of fear ripple through him. His daughter and her friends were far wiser than he had given them credit for. They had warned him and he had failed to get out with Zoe when he had the chance. He swallowed the lump in his throat.
"I was unaware that we would be turning the weapons on the rangers. They are humans like us, after all, and none of them have even reached thirty yet. In the grand scheme of things, they are still kids. I thought the goal was to simply arrest them," Peter replied. The President smirked evilly.
"Perhaps that is your goal, Mr. Hanson, but mine is to crush their bones to powder…each and every one of them," he sneered. Peter saw the looks on the faces of Will and Dax from across the table. It was finally hitting them as well.
"Sir…" Peter started to speak, but he was silenced, as he felt a paralyzing pain in his head. He managed to open his eyes to slits and stared at the human across from him…or at least what appeared to be a human on the outside. But there was no mistaking the eyes, for they bled black with rage and malice. This…creature was doing this to him with some magic and attacking him from the inside.
"You let your daughter escape…didn't you, Mr. Hanson?" he accused.
"No…she stole one of those dimwit's keycards when they decided to try and put their hands on her," he retorted furiously.
"If that's true, then you shouldn't object to taking a polygraph test," the President stated. Peter frowned and saw the guards slowly move to block the exits.
"Fine…you got me. Yes, I made sure my daughter could escape so you would never lay a hand on her…what is it they call you? Master Vile?" he asked. The President chuckled in amusement.
"Too bad you weren't able to get your other daughter out," Vile sneered, as two guards came dragging a small, crying child.
"Zoe…" he cried, as he tried to go to her, but was stopped by two more guards.
"Her nanny was caught trying to leave with her and she was promptly executed for her treachery…just as you will be," Vile said, as he rose from his seat.
"I don't take betrayal lightly and since your elder daughter isn't here to pay for that betrayal…the little one will," Vile said, as he slowly stalked toward the crying child.
"No…NOOO!" Peter cried, as he tried to get to his little girl, only to be held back by the same two heathens that had harassed Tori. One held him, while the other punched him several times in the face and stomach, before dropping him to the ground, as he coughed violently.
"Daddy…" Zoe cried.
"Will…she's just a kid…what the hell are we doing?" Dax asked. Will was frozen, as he stared at the little girl and memories assaulted him.
Flashback
"Who are you?" Will asked, as the female blue ranger deflected a blast meant for him with her sonic fin. Her morph cancelled and the beautiful blonde offered her hand to him, helping him up.
"I'm Tori. We came to help," she said simply.
The wind rangers' visors opened, while Cam and Hunter's helmets folded back. Will stared up at them with contempt in his eyes.
"Guess you'll get your revenge on me now," Will spat bitterly.
"I'm not going to kill you. Good friends taught me a long time ago that revenge never gets you anything except blood on your hands…and I'm not like that anymore," Hunter stated, as turned to the blue Overdrive ranger.
"Get your friend some medical attention. If you wait much longer, it will be too late to heal his internal injuries," Hunter said to Dax, as he stalked off with his teammates following him.
Listen to me Will, the President is being controlled by Master Vile…" Ronny warned, but he cut her off.
"Save it Ronny, I don't care," Will snapped.
"You're lying…you may fool the others with that attitude, but I know you care," Ronny replied.
"Get out of here Ronny, before I'm forced to arrest you," he warned. She shrugged.
"If you were going to arrest me, you would have done it by now. You can't even look at me, because I know you care, but I'll leave," she relented. He gritted his teeth in anger. She was infuriating at times and he suddenly wanted her to hurt as much as he was inside.
"You're wrong…I don't care. The others are nothing to me…and that includes you," he lied, as he stared her straight in the eyes. He watched them glaze over with pain and betrayal.
"You were just the flavor of the week," he said stoically, using every bit of effort he had to keep his voice from cracking. This time, the pain in her eyes flashed to anger and he should have expected her to slap his face when it came.
Adam smiled at them, as he stood with the other retro rangers.
"Remember…once a ranger, always a ranger," he told them.
Will was snapped back to reality by another one of Zoe's terrified screams, while Dax was struggling himself.
Flashback
"First of all, call me sweet cheeks again, and I'll knee your balls into your throat. And as for a "real" man, neither of you qualify," she spat. But they only laughed. They were about to keep taunting her, but saw Dax approaching.
"Back to your posts, Gentlemen," Dax ordered. Though they didn't like it, Gorbin had made it clear that Will and Dax were their superiors.
"You know, I'm tempted to let you have at them. I'd love to see you make sopranos out of those jerks," Dax chuckled.
"Yet you work with them and since when do you care if I'm harassed?" Tori asked.
"Come on Tori, I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I don't even agree with you being locked up in here," Dax replied. Tori put her hands on the bars.
"Then let me go…come with me back to the ranger base. You can still make this right," she pleaded. He shook his head.
"Believe me, there's a lot of things going on here that I'd change if I could, but you know I can't. Gorbin's in charge for now and until the status quo changes, then I have to do what's best for me," Dax reasoned.
"That's selfish," she told him. He shrugged.
"But it's reality. I'm making money, I have the career I've always dreamed of and I'm still fighting the bad guys," Dax reasoned.
"But it won't last! And you're fighting the same bad guys as we are right now, but what happens when Gorbin blurs those lines by telling you that it's certain humans that the bad guys, like anyone that doesn't follow his agenda or isn't rich enough to fund his operations? Will money and a career be worth shedding the blood of innocents?" she asked. He shook his head in vehement.
"It won't come to that," he insisted.
"You're fooling yourself if you think that," Tori retorted.
"Nothing is worth this, Will," he hissed, as he willed his morpher into sight.
"Overdrive Accelerate!" he called, as he leapt into the air, morphing, as he flipped over the guards and began fighting them off.
"Stop them!" Vile ordered.
"Traitors…" Gorbin hissed, as he drew his gun.
"Overdrive Accelerate!" Will called, as his armor absorbed the bullet just in time. More GAMA guardians swarmed him, as Gorbin strode toward Peter, who stood captive. Time seemed to slow, as the General fired his pistol and struck the engineer in the chest.
"NOOOO!" Will cried, as he fought off the soldiers and knelt beside Tori's father. Peter struggled to speak, as he reached a shaking hand into his jacket pocked. He stuffed a disc into the black ranger's hand.
"For…Tori…" he choked out.
"Easy Mr. Hanson, I'm going to get you out of here," Will replied. But Peter knew he only had seconds left.
"No…just take Zoe…to Tori…please…" he pleaded. Will nodded his head and watched sadly, as the man slipped away quietly. With new purpose, Will stood up and charged through the soldiers, joining Dax in the fight. The blue ranger ripped the frightened little girl away from the brute that had a grip on her and swept her up, as he and Will made a break for it.
"Stop them!" Gorbin screamed. They made it to the garage bay and hijacked a military jeep, speeding away from the base with a fleet of soldiers hot on their trail.
Ranger Ops
The four of them arrived back in Ranger Ops with Ninjor in tow. Only Billy, Hayley, and Cam were present at the time and the blue ranger smiled, as he spotted their ally, as Cam made a call to summon the others.
"Ninjor…it's good to see you," Billy greeted.
"And you Billy…I am sorry about Aquitar," Ninjor said, vaguely remembering that Billy had gone to live there and married one of their scientists.
"Thanks," Billy replied, as he turned to introduce a few others.
"Ninjor, this is Hayley and Cam," Billy introduced, as the blue warrior shook Hayley's hand first.
"Hmm…not a warrior in the traditional sense, but vital behind the scenes as the spirit of the beaver usually is," Ninjor stated. Hayley looked confused.
"The beaver?" she asked.
"Beavers are builders," Ninjor replied, as he moved on to Cam.
"He can just…look at one of us and sense our animal spirit?" Hayley whispered to Billy. The genius nodded affirmatively.
"Hmm…a Samurai and a Snow Leopard…the backbone of the team," Ninjor said. Cam smirked.
"You have no idea, especially after you meet the rest of the team I put up with," Cam said with his usual snark. Hunter rolled his eyes. Ninjor shook his head.
"A snarky Samurai, a sassy Dolphin, and a stubborn, hotheaded Phoenix. I'm getting too old for this," Ninjor complained.
"Well, you certainly are old," Zedd chimed, as he and Rita followed the others into Ranger Ops. Ninjor growled.
"Zedd and Rita…you didn't tell me you're actually foolish enough to consort with the likes of them!" Ninjor spat.
"Sixteen year old girls aren't as melodramatic as you," Zedd retorted.
"How dare you…" Ninjor spat, as he started toward the former villain. Hunter stepped between them and held his arms out.
"Whoa…he's on our side now. He's changed," he said, trying to convince the Ninja Master.
"He's the reason your father is dead…that your mother was cursed…" Ninjor spat.
"Not completely and they've both forgiven him. Can you at least be civil?" Hunter asked them both.
"I can try, but no guarantees," Zedd replied.
"Civil with mass murderer? You have to be joking!" Ninjor spat.
"At least I'm trying to right my wrongs. You just sit on your fat blue butt and collect dust with your other relics," Zedd retorted.
"Why you…" Ninjor started, as Tommy and Adam held him back, while Zedd chuckled. Hunter gave him a look.
"Uncle please…" he pleaded. Zedd rolled his eyes.
"Fine, I won't make fun of blue boy," he relented. Hunter knew that was the closest he was going to get.
"Just stay out of my way, Zedd," Ninjor retorted.
"Well, we're both going to be training my nephew," Zedd replied.
"Oh, so you're going to teach him everything you know? That should take five minutes!" Ninjor said snidely.
"Ninjor…" Tommy sighed, embarrassed by the Ninja Master's behavior.
"Wow…did you spend the last two thousand years coming up with that zinger?" Zedd snapped back.
"Zeddy…" Rita warned.
"This is getting ugly fast," Hunter said, as he hurried to the comm system.
"What are you doing?" Cam asked. Hayley smirked, as she watched the crimson ranger put his call through the comm system.
"Doing what most boys do when they have a problem," Hayley said knowingly.
"Huh?" Cam asked in confusion. She rolled her eyes.
"He's calling his mommy," she clarified, as Dulcea's hologram appeared before them.
"Hey mom…" Hunter greeted.
"Sweetheart…what's all that yelling?" she asked.
"Uh…it's Uncle and Ninjor," he replied. She sighed, as she watched them bicker like children.
"That will be quite enough from the both of you," she commanded. They stopped and snapped to attention.
"Honestly, I'm entrusting my son's training to you two idiots and this is what you're doing?" she asked, glaring at them.
"Now Dulcea…" Zedd attempted to reason with her.
"Save the smooth talk, Zedd and stop being an ass. Ninjor is difficult, but he's needed for Hunter's training. Set an example for your nephew and the others," Dulcea snapped, silencing the former dictator. Ninjor chuckled, but quickly stopped when her icy gaze turned to him.
"Oh shut up you old windbag and stop being such a baby. Act like the Ninja Master you supposedly are. You'll be here in the morning for training, I assume?" she asked. Ninjor cleared his throat.
"Um…yes ma'am," he replied. She nodded and turned back to Hunter.
"I'll see you in the morning, sweetie," Dulcea said, as she blew a kiss and her hologram disappeared. This action, of course, caused Shane and Dustin to dissolve into obnoxious laughs.
"Bye sweetie," Dustin teased in his best girly voice.
"Mommy loves you," Shane teased in a girly voice as well. Hunter glared at them.
"Shut up dude," he said, as he gave him a playful shove.
"Really, you had to tell your mom on me?" Zedd asked his nephew. Hunter shrugged.
"Seemed like the thing to do," Hunter replied, as he joined hands with Tori, who found the whole thing hilarious.
"So…did he tell you how to break the curse?" Billy asked. Adam smirked.
"With a little persuasion from a certain gold ranger that is no longer with us," Adam replied. Jason's eyes widened.
"You saw Trey?" he asked. Tanya nodded.
"In spirit form and his message to you is to stop blaming yourself for not being able to save him. He's at peace," Tanya replied, causing Jason to become thoughtful.
"So…don't keep us in suspense…" Kimberly urged.
"We need to collect the shards of the zeo crystal…again," Adam announced.
"Which I still maintain is a bad idea," Ninjor piped in.
"The zeo crystal can break Dulcea's curse?" Tommy asked, ignoring Ninjor's protests.
"When combined with Hunter's powers," Tori replied.
"Well, I hid the green one here on Earth, but I don't know where the others ended up," Adam said.
"One was on Aquitar…" Billy said, receiving horrified looks.
"I sent the blue one to Billy after the Turbo switch to separate it from the others," Rocky remembered.
"Then…it's useless if one's been destroyed," Hunter said dejectedly.
"I didn't say that," Billy countered.
"The zeo crystal is indestructible. The blue shard was hidden in an underwater cavern on Aquitar for safekeeping. When the planet was destroyed, it would have sent the shard spiraling into space. Hopefully, I'll be able to pinpoint its energy signature, but there's no telling where it ended up," Billy explained.
"Okay, so that's green and blue. Where are the others?" Rocky asked.
"Yellow is somewhere on Triforia. I sent mine to Trey. But now Triforia under Ooze's control," Tanya said.
"Red is on KO-35, also under Ooze's control," Andros added.
"Bro, I thought you still had red?" Jason asked. Tommy shook his head.
"I gave it to Andros after the mission to the moon. It was just after I barely escaped the island explosion that I thought Anton was lost in. I thought with a possible new danger that it would be too dangerous to keep the zeo crystal with me. Can you imagine if Mesagog had gotten a hold of it?" Tommy asked. Conner shuddered.
"I'd rather not," the red Tyranno ranger replied.
"Well, this just keeps getting better," Cam said sarcastically.
That's two planets under Ooze's control and one that could be floating in space somewhere," Cam added.
"Do we even want to know where pink is?" Kim asked, looking around, but no one had an answer and all eyes turned to Kat.
"Kat…where did you send your crystal?" Rocky asked.
"I didn't send it anywhere…oh, I'm so stupid," she cursed herself. Billy felt compelled to comfort her and found himself at her side, before he even knew what he was doing.
"Kat, don't say that. I'm sure wherever it is can't be worse than the others," he told her.
"I kept my crystal," she announced.
"Well, that's great then. That makes things a lot easier," Billy replied. She shook her head.
"No, you don't understand. I left it behind. It's still in Malcolm's mansion. I locked it away, but there's no telling whether he found it or what he did with it if he did," Kat said, starting to panic.
"Kat…calm down, I doubt he found it, let alone touched it," Billy assured her.
"How can you be so sure?" she asked.
"Because I once touched the crystal and my body was nearly incinerated. Granted, only one shard would do less damage, but from what you've told us about your ex-husband, he doesn't have a shred of decency," Zedd told her.
"Which means it would have messed him up bad if he did touch it, right?" Conner asked. Tommy nodded.
"Okay then, it's just a matter of sneaking into the rich jerk's fancy place and finding the crystal," Aisha stated. Kat nodded.
"And I want to go. I know exactly where it is if it hasn't been moved," she said bravely.
"Kat…I know that house has a lot of terrible memories and we'd understand if you'd never want to go near it again. If you wanted to tell us exactly where it is, one of us will go for you," Tanya told her best friend. Kat smiled gently.
"Thanks T…but I need to do this," Kat replied.
"Then I'm going with you. We'll go tomorrow," he said. She nodded, suddenly very grateful that he would be the one accompanying her.
"Where'd you stash the green one, frog boy?" Rocky asked his best friend. Adam shot an annoyed look at his best friend.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Adam teased.
"It's at your parent's house, isn't it?" Rocky asked knowingly. Adam sighed.
"More like the family vault. I thought surely it would be safe there, which it has been," Adam replied.
"So what's the problem?" Trent asked.
"The problem is that my dad has the key and that he'll try to arrest me on sight," Adam replied.
"That's harsh," Dustin said uncomfortably.
"Okay, but your dad is still a reasonable man. Rocky and I have known him a long time, next to you so we can go and convince him to let us retrieve the crystal," Aisha reasoned. Adam scoffed.
"On what planet is my father a reasonable man? The man sees no color. Everything is black and white to him. You either follow the law to the letter or you're no good, simple as that," Adam stated.
"Power Rangers have always operated outside the law and to him will always be vigilantes," he added.
"We have to try, Adam. Dulcea deserves to finally have that curse broken," Rocky stressed.
"I know…I just know my dad. He's probably already written me out of the family, which means we might end up having to steal the combination to the vault in the family temple," Adam said, very uncomfortable with the idea.
"Temple?" Cam asked.
"Adam's family owns a Korean temple of sorts that's a shrine to their family's history located in South Korea," Rocky explained.
"Teleporting there isn't a problem really and I know how much we need the crystal. It's…still hard to go against my family though, even if they have disowned me," Adam said sadly, as Tanya was by his side comforting him.
"Well, I know this isn't something you want to do, but we have the equipment to do a little safecracking if we have to," Billy told him. Adam nodded.
"I need to face my father first and give him a chance to do the right thing. But if he refuses, then we'll go there and get the crystal anyway," Adam decided.
"Okay, that's two down. Now comes the other three, which just so happen to be on other planets," Andros reminded.
"I'll start scanning the universe for the blue crystal's signature," Billy offered, as he sat down at his computer terminal.
"The minute Ooze spots one of us on Triforia or KO-35, he's going to know that we're up to something," Zhane warned.
"Not if inactive rangers go. He'll hardly notice," Carter chimed in.
"Is your leg even well enough for the journey?" Tommy asked.
"No…it's not," Dana protested.
"If the zeo crystal is as powerful as you say, then it will have the power we need to restore the Lightspeed morphers, am I right?" Carter asked. All eyes turned to Billy and the genius rolled his eyes.
"What are you guys going to do if someday I don't have the answer?" he questioned, causing most of them to smile sheepishly.
"Well, that day hasn't come yet, smarty pants so lay it on us," Jason quipped.
"Fine…yes, the zeo crystal has infinite power. Its power grows over time, especially when it's in active. A good eight years of inactivity should give us the power to restore the Lightspeed morphers, the Mystic morphers, knock out the shield cutting us off from the Animarium, and power a new zeo team," Billy answered.
"What about the barrier cutting us off from Time Force and S.P.D.?" Wes asked.
"Hopefully that too, though Hayley and Cam are still working on another way," Billy replied.
"This crystal can really do all that?" Conner asked.
"It is the most powerful mystical object in the galaxy, even more powerful than the Corona Aurora, but only when it's together," Udonna chimed in, well versed in the magical properties of the coveted crystal.
"And when Vile finds out what we're doing, he'll pull out all the stops to get it. It's going to get ugly and the world will see our esteemed President's true colors come out in a frightening way," Rita stated.
"That old buzzard tempted me all those years ago to try and get it for him. It cost me everything and he will use anyone he can to get a chance at it again. It is important that once we have it, bearers for the powers are chosen quickly," Zedd stated. Once again, Tommy, Adam, Rocky, Tanya, and Katherine would have to wisely choose worthy candidates to become rangers. Their thoughts were interrupted by the alert. Cam groaned.
"I was wondering when that was going to happen," he said. However, he wasn't expecting what appeared on the screen. Will and Dax were speeding through Turtle Cove in a military jeep, with several armored vehicles on their trail.
"Well, well, looks like they finally realized they were working for a scumbag," Eric mused.
"Serves them right," Ronny spat.
"Come on guys, they're in trouble and we have to help. It's what rangers do," Trini reminded.
"Who's the little girl in Dax's arms?" Tori wondered, as she saw the crying child clinging to the blue Overdrive ranger.
"I'm not sure, but even if it's one innocent child in danger, we have to help," Blake said.
"You're still on inactive duty," Cam reminded the navy ranger.
"Most of us should go, just in case Ooze decides to capitalize on the situation," Tommy suggested.
"Yeah, something big must be going down. That's some heavy artillery," Jason noted, as the active teams gathered and were teleported to Turtle Cove...