Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter fifteen of "Just Away." This chapter features Ranger action. Master Vile makes his first appearance. This leads into part one of 'Master Vile and the Metallic Armor.' It features dialogue from that episode as well. It is likely I will bring in Dex, Count Dregon, and his minions. I am eager to do a team-up with the Masked Rider. The team never saw Dex again after 'A Friend in Need.' There are not enough Power Rangers fics featuring them working together for a second time. Stay tuned for chapter sixteen.
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Chapter 15: Still Fighting/A Scary Presence
Motha formed an energy ball in her hand and threw it at Rocky. He was hit in the chest and thrown to the ground. He swung his Power Sword, only for her to knock it out of his hands. He gave her a punch to the face, but it had little effect on her. She grabbed his throat and threw him to the ground. He rolled on his side. She kicked him in the stomach twice.
Motha grabbed Rocky's arm and forced him to his feet. She backhanded him, sending him stumbling off to the side. She went to him to slap him across the face twice. She took hold of his throat and lowered him. She emitted a loud grow as she threw him into the air. He landed on his back with a loud groan. Aisha gasped in terror.
"Rocky!" Aisha cried and looked toward Motha with an angry expression. "You'll pay for that, you overgrown moth!"
"Come and get me! I dare you!" Motha taunted.
Aisha gripped her Power Daggers tightly. "I will!"
Aisha jumped into the air. She headed for Motha and brought her weapons downward. She hit her while landing, but the hit did not faze her. She tried another swing, but Motha caught her wrists in her hands. Motha grabbed her enemy's weapons and pulled them away from her. She tossed them aside. Aisha punched her three times in the face.
Motha laughed while wrapping her hand around Aisha's throat. She opened and closed her mandibles. She threw her to the ground. She punched her in the head three times, followed by slapping her across the cheek twice. She was about to step on her when she felt something hit her in the side. She turned to see Adam holding his Power Axe in gun mode.
"Leave her the hell alone!" Adam snarled.
"Lucky shot, Black Ranger!" Motha yelled while pointing her finger at him. She growled in much ferocity. "That toy won't beat me!"
Adam held up his weapon. "Try me!"
Motha waved her hand toward herself. "Come and get me!"
Adam charged and swung his Power Axe at Motha, who deflected it with her hand. He delivered a series of kicks and punches to her chest. That didn't have much effect on her. She kicked his weapon out of his hand. She charged hers full of lightning and sent it into him. He cried out painfully while dropping to one knee. She ceased her assault on him and forced him to stand. She punched him in the stomach four times.
Motha formed a fireball in her hand and tossed it at her enemy. Adam was hit hard and thrown backward. He collided with the ground in which he emitted a loud grunt. He struggled to stand. She revved up her hands with lightning and sent it toward him. She directed it at the ground around him. It hit at various points, causing multiple explosions. He ended up on his knees. He panted hard while squeezing his eyes shut.
Motha was about to go toward the Black Ranger when an arrow hit the ground beside her and exploded. She stumbled forward, but she remained on her feet. She snarled while looking toward Kat, who stood a short distance away from her. She formed a fighting stance as Kat turned her Power Bow sideways. Kat clenched her teeth somewhat tightly.
"Lucky shot, Pink Ranger!" Motha shouted. "That toy won't beat me either!"
"We'll see about that!" Kat retorted. "Yes, we will."
Kat and Motha charged at each other with loud yells. The former swung her weapon at the latter. Motha held up her arm, blocking it. Kat attempted another swing, only for her opponent to block it with her other arm. Motha delivered a punch to the area between her eyes. She grabbed the Power Bow away from her. She swung it upward, nailing her in the chin. Kat stumbled, barely regaining her footing.
Motha tossed the weapon aside and began flapping her wings. The wind picked up quite a bit. Kat was blown backward. She collided with a picnic table and ended up on her side. Motha walked up to her to kick her in the stomach twice and in the head three times. Billy flipped through the air and dropkicked her away from Kat. He landed and stood in front of the Pink Ranger defensively.
"Stay away from Kat!" Billy yelled, pointing his Power Lance at the moth. "I mean it!"
"Make me!" Motha roared. "I dare you!"
Billy jumped into the air. He raised his weapon as he headed for Motha. He brought downward, hitting her in the head as he landed. She was barely fazed and grabbed his throat. She lowered him, throwing him upward. He yelled while flying through the air. He landed on his back with a loud thud. He rolled over on his stomach.
Motha went to the Blue Ranger and shoved him on his side with her foot when he got to his knees. She gave him two hard kicks to the stomach. She punched him somewhat harder in the head. She revved her hand with lightning and sent it into him. He cried out in much pain. She ceased her assault on him before slapping him across the face.
Motha spotted Tommy coming up behind her with Saba held high in the corner of her eye. She formed an energy ball in her hand and spun around. She tossed at him, hitting him in the shoulder in which it threw him down. He struggled to stand. She walked up to him as he got to one knee. She backhanded him across the face, causing him to fall on his side.
"Aw. The White Ranger has fallen and can't get up," Motha taunted.
"You will regret that taunt!" Tommy said, standing up.
She laughed. "Sure, I will!"
Tommy held up Saba and fired his eye beams. Motha deflected them with two fireballs. She charged her hand with lightning and tossed it at him. He was hit in the shoulder and thrown into a tree. He fell on his stomach. He struggled to stand as the other Power Rangers gathered around him. The Tengas did the same with her.
"Ah. The team is finally together," Motha said. "You won't stay standing for long!"
Motha blew fire from her mouth at the team. They cried as they were hit and fell on their sides. She filled her hands with lightning and directed it toward them. It entered their bodies and surged through them. Tommy, Kat, Billy, Rocky, Aisha, and Adam emitted agonized groans. She stopped her assault with an evil laugh.
"I do not think you've had enough," Motha hissed. "Tengas, do what you want with the team, but bring me Kat right now!"
The Tengas were about to go to the Rangers when the ground started shaking violently. They and Motha wobbled on their feet. Tommy, Billy, Kat, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha struggled to stand, but they managed to get there. The entire sky grew dark as lightning flashed through it. The Tengas cawed in great fear. Motha hissed in uncertainty.
"What the fuck is going on?" a Tenga asked.
"It must be an earthquake!" another Tenga cried.
"This is no ordinary earthquake or darkness," Motha commented with shake of her head. "We better go right now!"
Motha and the Tengas disappeared from sight. The shaking got more intense as the Rangers stumbled a bit. People were running for their lives. They screamed in great fear.
"Motha and the Tengas retreated. Whatever is happening must have scared them," Billy said.
"I don't give a damn about that. We better contact Zordon," Rocky suggested.
"Right," Tommy said and brought his communicator up to his face. "Zordon, come in. This is an emergency." A loud beep sounded, making him groan in frustration. "Shit. He is not answering at all."
"We should teleport to the Command Center and see what is going on," Kat commented.
"That is a good idea," Adam agreed.
"Yeah," Tommy said with a nod. "Let's go."
The Rangers teleported away. The shaking started to weaken as more people ran while crying and screaming.
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The Command Center and the surrounding area were shrouded in darkness as the shaking came to a complete stop. The Rangers landed in the main room. They took off their helmets and put them under their arms. They could see the entire place was very dark. Billy looked at Alpha, who was leaned forward and not moving. He gasped fearfully and went to him. He shuddered in a soft manner. Their hearts began to beat rather fast.
"Oh, shit. Alpha is offline," Billy said.
"All the computers are down," Kat added.
"What could have caused all this mayhem?" Aisha wondered while steadying her helmet.
"I don't know, but I have a really bad feeling about it," Billy answered honestly.
"Where have we heard that before?" Adam commented with a raised eyebrow.
Tommy looked toward the plasma tube and found Zordon was not there. He gasped in shock, causing the others to turn in his direction. Their hearts beat even faster.
"Zordon is gone!" Tommy shouted, his breathing turning into shudders.
"This is getting creepier by the second," Rocky muttered nervously.
Aisha cringed in a bad way. "You're not kidding, Rocky. Whatever or whoever caused the ground to start shaking and everything going dark has to be incredibly powerful."
"Could that being be even more powerful than Lord Zedd and Rita are?" Kat asked in a bit of uncertainty.
"I do not know, Kat," Billy admitted. "What I can tell you is you did pretty well for your first fight."
"Thank you, Billy," Kat responded and smiled warmly. Her face turned serious again as she swallowed hard. "Still, we need to find out what caused that earthquake and the darkness."
"Until the Command Center comes back online, we will not know for sure," Adam whispered in much seriousness.
"Who knows when that will be?" Rocky commented.
Billy shook his head. "I might be a genius, but I do not know everything."
Tommy went to him. "Nobody expects that of you, Billy."
Billy ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth. He remembered when he found cables and wires were completely burned and had to be replaced after Tommy wrecked the consoles. He was not sure when he would complete repairs. He was relieved it took only three days because the day Tommy fought the team for the first time fell on a Friday.
"I believe Lord Zedd and Rita are not happy Motha and the Tengas retreated to the Lunar Palace during the chaos," Adam suggested in a soft way. "I mean, they had us down."
"I say you are right, Adam," Tommy agreed and emitted a loud snort. He scratched the back of his neck. "That moth was more powerful than many of their previous monsters were."
"I am sure Zedd and Rita will send her back down to Earth once the chaos is resolved," Kat said and exhaled sharply.
"Let's hope the Command Center comes back online quickly," Rocky whispered, shuddering badly. "I hate it being so dark in here."
The others voiced their agreement. They looked around, their hearts slowing down a bit.
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Rita paced back and forth in front of the Lunar Palace's balcony stairs. Motha and the Tengas stood before Zedd's chair. Goldar, Scorpina, Zedd, Rito, Squatt, Baboo, and Finster were nearby. Rito had the jar containing Ninjor under his arm. Motha was shaking somewhat. Rita stopped and stared at everyone. She emitted a rageful scream that echoed throughout the throne room.
"I can't believe you and the Tengas retreated when you had the Power Rangers right there!" Rita shouted, curling her hands into fists.
"The earth started shaking. Everything grew dark! We thought we were going to be attacked!" Motha explained frantically.
"That's right!" a Tenga agreed.
"It looked dangerous!" another Tenga added and cawed loudly.
"I do not give a shit if it looks dangerous! You were supposed to go after the Power Rangers and capture Kat!" Rita screeched and flared her nostrils. "You are nothing but a bunch of cowards!"
Zedd chuckled as he came to her side. "You are so right about that, Rita. We might as well turn the entire group into chickens!"
"The Tengas are already chickens!" Goldar blurted out with a laugh.
"I've seen them peck at the ground for seeds," Scorpina joked and formed a big smirk on her face.
Rito gave a thumbs-up. "You got that right, scorpion-lady."
"Just because we agreed on something does not mean we are friends," Scorpina hissed while glaring at him.
"Of course not," Rito commented, glancing at her. "What do you think I am, stupid?"
Squatt laughed loudly. "You sure are."
Baboo snickered. "Yep!"
Rito was about to say something else when a lightning bolt came out of nowhere. The entire palace began shaking violently. The room became very dark. Everyone stumbled a bit. Zedd and Rita nearly lost their balance. Squatt and Baboo fell down, but they got right back up.
"What in the hell is going on?" Rita shouted in fear. "Finster, did you forget to pay the electric bill again?"
"No, I did not!" Finster yelled. "Oh, my."
Just then, a menacing creature wearing black robes appeared in the darkness. His eyes glowed yellow, and a growl left his mouth. Zedd stepped forward, a hiss coming from him. The shaking stopped completely.
"Who dares to intrude?" Zedd demanded.
"Who dares ask a question of me, Master Vile?" the creature responded as he stepped forward.
Rita felt her jaw drop to the floor. Her heart started to beat fast, as did Rito's. She swallowed hard while walking away from Zedd. The light returned to the throne room.
"Master who?" Zedd asked.
"Zeddy," Rita said, her breathing turning into shudders.
"This is so weird," Squatt said, cowering somewhat.
"This is Master Vile, my father," Rita introduced as she held out her hand.
Zedd, Squatt, Baboo, Goldar, Scorpina, and Motha gasped in much fear. The Tengas covered their faces with their hands. They emitted fearful squawks. Rito stepped forward with a chuckle.
"Howdy, Dad!" Rito greeted happily.
Master Vile emitted a very evil chuckle. He took three steps forward and lowered his wand. Rito came closer to him.
"It is really good to see you," Rito said and patted his father's shoulder.
"It is good to see you too, Rito," Vile responded warmly. "After all, you are my favorite child."
"Yeah!" Rito said excitedly.
Rita huffed. "What a suck-up."
"I heard that, Rita!" Vile snapped angrily and glanced at her. "You always were an ungrateful brat!"
"You never understood me!" Rita screeched.
"You won't believe this, Dad, but we have found Kara! She happens to be Kimberly Hart the Pink Ranger!" Rito blurted out with a laugh.
"Rito!" Rita shouted.
Rito covered his mouth with his hand. "Oops."
Vile tilted his head. "What do you mean Kara is Kimberly Hart?"
"Daddy, we've got a lot of talking to do," Rita commented honestly. Vile moved to her as she proceeded to tell him what she and the other villains learned.