Hey guys. So, I know it's been a long time. And I'm sorry. Hopefully my explanation here will help you guys forgive me a little bit. So about two and a half years ago, I started feeling this pain in my wrist. I couldn't even bend it or put pressure on it without it hurting. I went to a chiropractor, who, like all chiropractors, figured there was something wrong with my spine and the pain was just manifesting in my wrist. It wasn't. Around this time last year, I went to a hand doctor. He had me do both an X-Ray and an MRI scan, but he told me that neither had anything on them, and he didn't know how to help me, so he sent me on my way. Now, a year later, I went to another hand doctor. He looked at the same MRI scan from last year, and he was able to show me that there actually was something there. The beginnings of a ganglion cyst, which is now so big that you can see it under the skin if I bend my wrist forward. Luckily it is noncancerous, and I am getting it removed mid-November.
So, what does this have to do with my writing? Simple. It hurts. Where the cyst is, it's pressing on a nerve in my hand, which is why it's been causing me so much pain. If I'm on my laptop for a really long time, it starts to ache. As a web designer, you can imagine the amount of time I spend on my computer each day. So, by the time I have time to actually write for these stories, my hand is aching so bad that I don't even want to touch my laptop. So. That's why I haven't updated in so long. And why some of the stuff I HAVE put out in that absence is a little shorter than I would like, but there isn't much I've been able to do about it.
Hopefully by getting the cyst removed, I'll be able to go back to writing like how I used to. For now, I hope this update can last you guys until my hand heals, as I have no idea how typing is going to work once I have stitches in.
Thank you to Jimmyle311, brankel1, Keli0596, thunderyoshi, LoveFiction2018, and Guest for your lovely comments!
The planet suddenly started shaking, making all of them let go in surprise.
"What's happening?!" Jamie was jostled to the ground, landing on her butt.
"Guys, I think we're in serious trouble!" Kimberly exclaimed.
"We've got to get this sword!" Tommy exclaimed, "Come on, everybody!" Each taking a moment to steady themselves- or stand back up in Jamie's case- the Rangers all grabbed onto the sword again. "Everybody, PULL!"
With shouts, the Rangers pulled, unaware that the planet was being destroyed around them. If they couldn't get this sword, then the whole universe was doomed, and they would be dead.
No matter how hard they pulled, and budged at the sword, it just wouldn't move.
"We need to hurry!" Kimberly exclaimed, letting go of the sword and backing off.
"Yeah, but it won't budge!" Jamie responded. The Silver Ranger blinked, trying to keep the sweat out of her eyes, suddenly wishing the helmet wasn't there so she could wipe it away.
"We've gotta try to get it out," Billy encouraged, "Come on, keep pulling!"
Taking a deep breath, Jamie stepped up and grabbed hold of the sword again, along with the others, and pulled.
"Harder!"
"This isn't working!" Tommy snarled, "There's gotta be another way!" The White Ranger looked over at the Blue, "Where's the map, Billy?"
"I've got it right here," Billy held it up, and went to take the ring that held it closed off, but then paused. "Hey, look. The ring! It looks like it fits on the statue's finger!" As Billy moved the ring closer to the statue, it began to glow gold. "I bet that'll release the sword." Slipping the ring onto the statue's finger, he was quick to back away when it glowed brighter.
"Hurry, Billy!" Jason shouted, the shaking of the planet forcing him to back away.
"Hey, the sword came loose!" Tommy exclaimed, grabbing onto the sword as it came away from the statue. "Billy, you're a genius!"
"Alright, we've got the sword, let's get out of here!" Jamie said, glancing over her shoulder at the city around them. The shaking of the planet was causing the buildings to collapse, and she really didn't want one to collapse onto them.
"Jamie's right," Kimberly agreed.
Suddenly, the planet started to shake even more, and it wasn't hard to see why. Serpentara had shot some kind of beam onto the planet, destroying everything, and the beam was heading their way.
"Zordon, teleport us NOW!" Jason exclaimed into the communicator. They all held onto each other in an attempt to stay up, and Tommy held fast to the sword. They had gone to all of this trouble to get the damn thing, they weren't going to lose it now!
With a loud yell, Jamie felt herself being launched into the air, a particularly large shake knocking everyone off their feet. Landing a few yards away, the Silver Ranger laid there for a moment, the wind knocked out of her, and her body aching. A piece of the statue lay next to her leg, flames covering it. She could feel the heat, and it wouldn't take much for the flame to jump onto her. Her suit was beginning to singe, when, suddenly, she was enveloped into a silver stream of light; a teleport.
The other six Rangers had already arrived back at the Command Center, and while Billy was working on recalibrating some electronic or another, Kimberly was pacing. This method had worked to bring Tommy back, but where was the Silver Ranger?
"Where's Jamie?" she asked, "She should have been back by now." If she didn't have gloves covering her hands, she likely would have been chewing on her nails.
"Ohhh, there's interference, I'm having trouble reaching her signal, ay-yi-yi," Alpha moaned. A sudden silver streak entered the Command Center. When it faded away, it revealed their lost Silver Ranger, sitting on the ground.
"Jamie!" Kimberly exclaimed, rushing forward, "Are you okay?" she knelt down next to her best friend, and placed a hand on her back.
"I'm alright," Jamie said, "Just sore in a million different places." Jamie allowed the Pink Ranger to pull her up, and took off her helmet.
"Welcome back, Power Rangers," Zordon said, "I am glad you have returned safely."
Tommy stepped forward, the rusted sword in his hands. "We brought the sword."
"That is good," Zordon said, "Be prepared, Lord Zedd is preparing the invade the earth with Serpentara."
"Zordon, Serpentara was a formidable challenge. It destroyed the Deserted City," Billy reported. He looked worried, as all of them did.
"Zordon, we can't go to the peace conference, not now," Trini said. She sounded determined to not let Zedd destroy their home, but also downtrodden; she'd seen that monster, knew what it could do, and she honestly wasn't sure they would be able to defeat it. "There has to be another way."
"Trini, Zack, and Jason," Zordon started, "In your hearts, you will always carry the spirit of the Power Rangers. But your destinies lead you elsewhere; you have been chosen to help the world in different ways, now. Retrieving the Sword of Light was your last quest. It was important that you be successful, and because you were, the Power Rangers will endure. The Sword of Light will allow your powers to be transferred to three new Rangers."
"But who?" Billy asked.
"And how do we know if we can trust them?" Jamie added.
If he could have grinned, Zordon would have. "Behold, I present to you the new Power Rangers."
Three new people were teleported into the Command Center, and when the light faded away and the three stepped into the light, it was revealed that the new Power Rangers were Adam, Rocky, and Aisha.
"Rocky, Adam!" Tommy exclaimed, surprised.
"Isn't this incredible?" Aisha asked with a grin.
"Tommy, hold the Sword of Light above your head," Zordon instructed. With a nod, Tommy replaced his helmet-as did everyone else. "We will now start the ceremony to transfer the powers to Rocky, Adam, and Aisha from Jason, Zack, and Trini. Raise the sword."
Tommy did so, and a beam of light hit the sword from Zordon's tube. After a moment, the rusted sword became golden and beautiful.
Tommy grinned, "Yeah!" and turned around, raising the sword once again. This time, the beams came from the two tesla coil like objects next to Zordon's tube. The beams hit the sword, and then split to hit the three former Rangers, and the three new Rangers. When it was finished, Adam, Rocky, and Aisha had all morphed, and were looking down at themselves in amazement.
"Departing Rangers," Zordon said, "You have served with courage; thank you." Jason, Zack, and Trini all bowed their heads for a moment before looking back up at their mentor. "I know that in your new lives, you will serve with humility, dignity, and strength. Go now, and make the world a better place. The Power will always be with you, and will always protect you."
"Hey, Jason, Zack and Trini," Tommy said, gaining his friends' attention. "One last time, Power up."
"Power Up!" the three exclaimed, and then they disappeared from the Command Center.
"Good luck, guys," Billy said, glancing over at Jamie and Kimberly. "I hope we see them again, soon."
"We will," Jamie said, "I know it."
"This is like a whole new beginning," Kimberly said, placing a hand onto Tommy's shoulder.
"New members of the Power Rangers: always remember, you are part of a team. Watch out for the others, as you would watch out for yourselves," Zordon said. "Rocky, with your strength and knowledge, you will command the Red Dragon Thunderzord. Aisha, you are spirited and clever, you will command the power of the Griffon Thunderzord. And Adam, you are watchful and intelligent; you will command the power of the Lion Thunderzord."
"Thank you, Zordon," Adam said, bowing as a sign of respect, "We won't let you down."
With all that said, the seven rangers, old and new, took their helmets off, revealing four tired, and three excited faces.
"Alright," Tommy grinned, before leading them through a quick arm exercise, "One, two, three!" at the end, all seven colors met into one for a moment, and everyone grinned.
Jamie met Adam's eyes, whiskey brown into chocolate brown, and her grin widened a little. The suit, well, suited him. The spandex-like material outlined defined but lean muscles, and although it seemed thin, the material the suits were made of were anything but. They were protective. Yes, the Rangers were almost always covered in bruises, but it beat needing stiches for a wound that normal spandex wouldn't ever protect against. They were almost likened to chain mail. The stuff could protect against sharks, and swords. So of course their suits were made of it. It was a light armor that allowed them to move and fight as they needed to, but left no place for something to strike and possibly seriously injure them. Although the odd broken bone- mostly ribs- wasn't rare. It was like you weren't officially a Ranger until you broke a rib; the first time.
Jamie had learned that lesson only a week in. Luckily it seemed that the Power also gave them accelerated healing. It only took about a week for her ribs to finally stop hurting every time she moved.
"Rangers, you possess powers so you may protect Earth," Zordon said, breaking up whatever moment had been happening between the Silver and Black Rangers. "Use them to defend, never to attack. To ensure justice, never for vengeance. To preserve righteousness, never for selfish glory. Remember this, and they will protect you forever."
"I don't think we couldn't have made a better choice," Kim grinned, clapping her hands together excitedly.
"I'm so excited!" Alpha exclaimed, "brand new Rangers! Welcome aboard, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha!"
With a grin pulling her lips up, Jamie and Kim turned to Aisha.
"We need to have a girl's night," Jamie said.
"Oh, that's a great idea," Kim agreed, "It's always been the two of us with Trini, but it'll be fun with someone new!"
"I'm in," Aisha said. The new Yellow Ranger hadn't stopped smiling yet.
Jamie's grin turned mischievous then, "We need someone new to prank Aiden; he got way too good at figuring out what we were doing, he'll never suspect you, Aisha."
"Ohh, pranking Aidan is fun," Kim said. "Kid's like a little brother to me, but he's kind of clueless sometimes."
"Too bad he got wise to you, me, and Trini," Jamie replied.
"Who's Aiden?" Aisha asked, tipping her head to the side.
"My little brother," Jamie supplied, "He's in the grade below us. 'Bout as tall as Rocky, blonde hair, blue eyes."
"Trust me, Aisha, when he stands next to Jamie, you'll know they're related. They look like they could be twins." That was Billy, who had caught the end of the conversation. "He's smart, too. But, if you ladies like, I might have created something that could help with the pranking thing."
Jamie grinned again. It wasn't often that Billy offered to help with pranking her little brother, but when he did, the younger boy never saw it coming.
Before Jamie could say anything, however, the alarms started going off.
"Power Rangers!" Zordon exclaimed. "We have an emergency situation!"
"What's happening?" Rocky asked, surprised.
"Lord Zedd has created a horrible giant tick called Silver Horns!" Alpha explained, "And he's rampaging in the park!"
"You guys ready?" Tommy asked, looking more towards the three new Rangers than the three seasoned ones.
"We're on call 24 hours a day," Kimberly said.
"I suggest you take naps when you can," Jamie added.
Rocky nodded for his friends. "We're ready."
"Alright," Tommy said, "Let's morph back into action!"
They did so, and soon enough the Rangers were in the park, quickly spotting Silver Horns.
"It's time you were exterminated!" Tommy exclaimed.
"Right!" the others agreed.
"Let's do it!"
"What's bugging you, Power Puffs?" Silver Horn taunted, before shooting lightening at the gathered Rangers.
"Why do they always have to shoot lightening?!" Jamie demanded, quickly jumping away. She landed on her back, Kimberly not far behind her.
"Could it be my bug bomb? I'm gonna infest you with these!" He shot more lightening, shooting down each Ranger as they stood back up.
Silver Horn laughed manically. "Looks like y'all in trouble!"
Suddenly, it wasn't lightening that he was shooting. "Hey Rangers, get ready to say howdy to my Putty Pals!" Putties appeared, quickly outnumbering the Rangers.
"We better put a lid on this guy, fast!" Tommy said, before jumping straight into the center of the Putties.
Following his lead, the other six Rangers jumped in as well. Jamie personally hated fighting Putties mid-battle. At the beginning of a fight they were a nice warm-up, but if they appeared after already fighting the monster, then they just wasted energy, and Jamie wasn't willing to lose all of her energy before the big fight even began. So, she went through them as quickly as she could, eventually landing back-to-back with Adam.
"Enjoying your time as a Ranger, yet?" she asked breathlessly, turning away to kick a Putty in the chest before returning,
"You never get fights like this in competition," Adam replied. With a loud "hi-YA!" Adam twisted away and round-house kicked a putty in the head, causing it to go down, where he punched it in the Z and watched it shatter.
"Hey, can you teach me how to do that?" Jamie asked when he returned to her side, quickly side-kicking a Putty away from her.
"Sure," Adam agreed, before kicking away the final Putty from away the two of them.
With the Putties defeated, the Rangers were ready to go after Silver Horn again, only to see him a catch something in his claws.
"The ball's in my court, now!" he slammed the object to the ground, and when the smoke and sparks finally cleared away, it revealed Silver Horn, now as giant as a skyscraper.
"Well," Jamie said, "That's not good."
"Yee-haw! I'm as happy as a wolf in a garden full of hens!" Silver Horn roared.
"Tommy quickly brought his wrist up to his lips, "Zordon, we may need help!"
"Call the carrier Zord, Tor!" Zordon ordered.
"Yes, that's right!" Tommy remembered, "Tor will protect us! Thanks!"
"Hurry! Serpentara is descending to Earth!"
"I'll take care of our over-grown friend," Rocky volunteered, "You go take care of Serpentara!"
"Alright, you can do it, Rocky," Kimberly agreed.
"Just be careful," Jamie added.
"Thanks," Rocky replied. "I won't let ya down!"
"Alright, let's do this!" Tommy exclaimed.
Rocky was quick to call the Red Dragon Thunderzord and change it to its' Battle Mode. With that done, the new Red Ranger jumped into battle against Silver Horn.
Meanwhile, the other six Rangers ran towards where Serpentara was meant to land.
"Wow! Get a look at that!" Tommy exclaimed.
"Looks like it's about to land!" Billy added.
"Maybe we should call on the Zords, now?" Jamie asked. She very rarely felt fear anymore, but Serpentara sent shivers down her spine, and Adam easily picked up on the shakiness of her voice.
"No, I have to go help Rocky!" Tommy replied, conflicted.
"You go help Rocky," Adam said, taking charge, "We'll stay here and clobber Serpentara!"
"That sound good to everyone?" Tommy asked. When the others agreed, he nodded. "Tigerzord power now!"
Tommy was quickly in his Zord, changing it to Warrior Mode, and going to Rocky's aid. However, it wasn't enough.
"Rangers, let's bring it all together and show him what real Thunder Power is all about!" the White Ranger ordered.
With Serpentara still just sitting there, the others agreed quickly, and called upon their own Zords.
"Mastodon Lion Thunderzord Power!" Adam called.
"Pterodactyl Firebird Thunderzord Power!" Kimberly called.
"Megaladon Orca Thunderzord Power!" Jamie called.
"Triceratops Unicorn Thunderzord Power!" Billy called.
"Saber Tooth Tiger Griffon Thunderzord Power!" Aisha called last.
With all the Zords combined, Silver Horn didn't stand a chance. With him destroyed, the Rangers turned their attention to Serpentara, only to see it start back up and fly away, back towards the moon. Why was it flying away? Didn't Zedd want to use it to destroy them? Jamie was very confused, but still, she was happy that they didn't have to fight that thing. At least, not yet.
Back at the Command Center, the Rangers stood in front of the viewing globe. On it, they could see the taxi that was taking Jason, Zack, and Trini to the airport.
"Ay-ay-ay, it's so sad that they're leaving," Alpha said.
"Bye, you guys," Kimberly waved towards the Viewing Globe, knowing her friends couldn't see her, but meaning the sentiment all the same.
"We'll miss you," Jamie added. She and Kimberly were standing close together, side-hugging each other. They truly would miss their friends.
"It is sad to see them go," Billy agreed, "But on the other hand, it's really exciting to have three new Power Rangers joining us."
"Hope they don't forget to write," Kimberly said, turning to grin at her friends.
"Billy and I have a bet on which one will forget first," Jamie grinned. "My money's on Jason."
"It's gonna be Zack," Billy disagreed.
"But we can both agree that it won't be Trini," Jamie finished.
The others laughed, and then turned towards Aisha.
"We saved the world from Zedd," she said, "Wow."
"Yeah, but we couldn't have done it without you guys," Billy complimented.
"You three are going to be amazing Power Rangers," Jamie said.
"Yeah, you guys were awesome, all of you," Kimberly added.
"Thanks," Rocky said with a grin.
"Congratulations Power Rangers, on your first victory together," Zordon said. It was easy to hear how proud he was. "You've lived up to my expectations." And more was unsaid but clearly meant.
"You made excellent choices, Zordon!" Alpha complimented.
"It is true you defeated Lord Zedd today, but it is not the end. Only the beginning. He and Serpentara will be back and more powerful than ever." Zordon's warning was powerful and humbling.
"We can handle it," Adam said, confidence high in his voice.
"I know you can," Zordon replied. "But remember, Power Rangers, your strength lies in your ability to judge each situation and avoid the use of force whenever you can."
Tommy smiled. "Welcome to the team, guys."
"Let's do it!" Jamie exclaimed.
Each Ranger put their hand into the middle of their circle, pilling them on top of each other, and then shouted "Power Rangers!" as they jumped into the air.
All laughing as they came back down, Jamie looked at Billy and Kimberly, a twinkle in her eye. "Time to prank Aiden?" she asked.
Identical grins appeared on the Blue and Pink Rangers' faces as they glanced at each other and then back to Jamie. "Time to prank Aiden," they echoed back. And prank Aiden, they did.