Author's notes – the conversation between Kimberly and Trini in the first scene refers back to the events of Brendan's point-of-view story, "The Little Guy". This chapter takes place soon after the events of that story. One other big MMPR reference in this chapter, but I'm sure I won't need to talk anyone through that one. Enjoy!

Part Four

Chapter One

8 months ago

By the middle of October, summer had returned to the Sunshine Coast. The days were longer, the nights were warmer, and evening thunder storms were regularly rolling down from the hills. While the rest of the coast was already preparing for what would hopefully be another busy Christmas, at university, the students were on the steady road towards the end-of-semester exams only a few weeks away. The entire campus buzzed with activity as the student body studied, revised and generally panicked.

With a mountain of work in front of her, Trini spent an hour that morning scouring the shelves of the campus library for the books she needed. Just as she was heading to the front counter, she passed a couple of students from one of her science classes having what looked like an animated conversation. She couldn't help but overhear the words, "the Rangers". But listening in, she frowned at the actual conversation. Shaking her head, she checked the books out and quickly left the campus. It was a bright Saturday morning, and Trini drove into town and headed for the park. She found Kimberly in the gang's usual corner by the woods, sitting on a picnic blanket with a pile of reading of her own. Nearby, Ian and Sarah were doing some light sparring on the grass. Waving hello to the Grey and Purple Rangers, Trini sat down on the blanket and greeted the Pink Ranger with a warm hug, before sliding her homework out of her overstuffed backpack.

Trini gazed around at the workbooks and smiled. "Just think," she said brightly. "We're only first-years."

"Don't remind me," Kim said. "My brother warned me about this."

"I regret every time I complained about too much homework back in high school," Trini said.

"You're the one who's aiming for a doctorate in a dozen fields by the time you're twenty-five," Kim joked, then threw her current book aside to stretch out her arm.

"You okay?"

"Still sore from that Polynesian volcano demon last week," Kim replied. "I am glad the juniors were able to nab Sidious Scarborough the same day," and she nodded over to Ian and Sarah, "but it's like, when did our lives get so Stephen King? Remember when the scariest thing we had to face was a swarm of homicidal flower blossoms?"

"Hard to forget," Trini said, then lowered her voice. "Pineoctopus," she added. "He was the scariest thing for me, right at the start. I still remember how scared I felt when my cousin went missing. I have nightmares about that."

"I don't blame you. That thing was freaky as hell. Still, we kicked its butt. That's the part I remember."

"You and everyone else," Trini added.

Hearing the tone in her best friend's voice, Kim frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing," Trini replied. "Never mind."

Kim scooted closer. "That works with the boys but it doesn't work on me," she said. "C'mon. What's going on?"

"I was in the library this morning," Trini began, "and I overheard two of my friends arguing about the Power Rangers' greatest victory. Our best fight, I guess. And it bothers me to think that's what our legacy will be. Death and violence. I know it's in the service of a greater good. But what are the history books going to say about us? That we were good at killing things?"

"I didn't know you felt that way," Kim said.

Trini tapped the cover of one of her medical textbooks. "Every day, I read more stories about famous doctors and scientists," Trini continued. "People who changed the world by inventing treatments or making some kind of medical breakthrough. They saved the lives of so many. But what are we remembered for? It makes me think more and more about legacy, you know? The kind of a world we're leaving behind us."

The Pink Ranger was about to reply when a shadow fell over them. The girls turned to see Zac step onto the blanket. "Hey," the Black Ranger said.

Kim smiled, grateful for the distraction. "Glad you could make it," she said.

"You missed a lecture in critical reasoning yesterday," Trini said.

"Yeah, I had some stuff," Zac replied, waving his hand. "I'm gonna say hey to Ian and Sarah," and he walked away.

"You know, he's taking the impending break-up a lot better than I thought he would," Kim whispered.

"It is affecting him though," Trini said. "I can see it on his face."

Just then, their communicators beeped.

Figures," Kim said. "Guys!" she shouted, and Zac, Ian and Sarah turned to see her holding up her wrist. "Bat signal!"

The three Rangers jogged over as Trini and Kim collected their belongings and stood up to join them. Trini raised her communicator. It was still early, and there was nobody around.

"We're here Zordon," she began. "What's the emergency?"

"Rangers," Zordon's voice crackled through. "We have an urgent situation. I need you in the Command Centre immediately. We can't wait for the others," and the communicator fell silent.

The Rangers glanced to each other. "He sounded more anxious than usual," Ian said. "I wonder what it is?"

"Maybe we did something wrong?" Zac said. "I bet it was me again."

"C'mon," Trini said, and they tapped the top button on their communicators. Forests, mountains and deserts flashed beneath them. A second later, the five teens materialised in the central chamber of the Command Centre in flashes of silver, purple, black, pink and yellow. Taking a second to catch their breath, the Rangers looked up to Zordon.

"We're here," Sarah began. "What's going on?"

"Rangers," breathed Zordon. In a single word, they could hear the fear in his voice. Trini felt her heart beating faster. Something awful had happened. "Viewing screen. We don't have much time."

They were all business in a second, spinning around to face the viewing screen. The picture greeting them was an aerial view of what was obviously an amusement park, with rides and attractions visible through the trees, and tiled plazas between shops and restaurants. A sprawling hedge maze sat in the centre of the park, with a covered pavilion nearby. But as they watched, more and more vehicles with flashing lights and sirens were pulling into the carpark. The park's avenues and attractions were deserted, while a growing crowd of people was gathering by the front gates.

"You're looking at an amusement park in the western suburbs of Sydney named Toyland," Zordon began. "The park is run by a figure called the Toymaker. At least, that is according to the billboards attached to the park's front gate. Alpha and I haven't been able to find any information about the place. Five minutes ago, we detected a powerful surge of old magic, with a similar energy signature to the ones we saw in the English countryside in August and Normandy last month."

The colour drained from Ian's face. "We are about to have a bad day at the office," he murmured.

Trini glanced to him, unnerved by the tone in the Grey Ranger's voice. "Is it another monster?" she asked.

"We believe so," Zordon replied. "Because we immediately started scanning the local police bands. At the same time as we detected that surge, four children were reported missing inside the park. Their parents and guardians have no idea what happened. They looked away for a second and the children had vanished."

Everyone spun back to Zordon. "We need to be there," Sarah said. "Now."

"It's Pineoctopus all over again," Trini breathed, then caught herself. This wasn't the time to panic. "Zordon, what else do we know?" she asked.

"Once the fourth child was reported missing," Zordon continued, "everyone in the park found themselves standing in the carpark, with no memory of how they got there. We don't think it was a mass teleport, because we would've detected that much power. But the park-goers found the front gates locked and sealed shut. Any attempt to cut through the fence with power tools failed, and anyone who tried to scale the fence found it growing twenty feet to stop them."

"Can we see in there?" asked Kim.

"Negative," Alpha replied. "Something's blocking our sensors."

"Something very sinister is going on inside that park," Zordon said. "The children were all reported missing in close proximity to the central pavilion. We can teleport you as far as the carpark, but from there, you're on your own. You need to get into the park and find the missing children. You might be the only ones who can. I'll send the others as soon as we can reach them."

"We're on our way," Trini said, and everybody reached for their back pockets. "It's morphin' time!"

"Iguanodon!"

"Rhamphorynchus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Sabre-toothed Tiger!"

To be continued.