MMPR Revisited

Green with Evil Missing Part 2

Rita's palace had an unusual air about it, a stark departure from its typical gloom. While it remained dark, cold, and damp, there was an unmistakable ambiance that set the scene apart. For the first time in over a millennium, Rita felt like the triumphant one. With Zordon vanquished, the command center in shambles, and the Power Rangers soundly defeated by her Green Ranger, what wasn't there to revel in?

Rita danced around her throne with Baboo and Squat trailing closely behind her. Goldar, on the other hand, stood motionless in a corner of the throne room, his crimson eyes intently fixed. Goldar had his concerns about Rita's unwavering devotion to the Green Ranger. He believed she was investing too much in him. From the palace's grand staircase, Finster entered, bearing an ancient book with dusty covers adorned with inscrutable symbols.

"I've found it, My Queen," Finster announced, bowing his head respectfully. Rita's exuberant dancing came to a sudden halt, causing Baboo to freeze in place, with Squat subsequently colliding into him and both tumbling to the ground with a resounding thud. Rita turned around, glaring at her inept minions.

"Will you two blockheads cut it out?" Rita scolded before snatching the book from Finster's hands. "Excellent! This is one of my most cherished spell books. Hello, my pet," she cooed lovingly while wiping away a layer of dust from the cover. Opening the tome, she carefully turned its tattered pages until she reached a specific one bearing cryptic hieroglyphics and the outline of a sinister weapon.

"What is it for?" Baboo asked, pushing Squat off of him.

"I want to reward my Green Ranger for his service by giving him a weapon of absolute darkness: the Sword of Darkness," she began. Goldar perked up, his crimson eyes wide.

"Are you serious?" Goldar interjected, but Rita opted to disregard him. "The Sword of Darkness is not to be trifled with." Rita abruptly turned her head towards Goldar, her eyes flashing menacingly. Baboo and Squat giggled behind her.

"Do I appear to be in a trifling mood, Goldar?" Rita challenged her second-in-command.

"I meant no offense, my Queen, but the Sword of Darkness corrupts the soul. It turns its wielder into something so dark that it cannot be controlled," Goldar attempted to convey his message with controlled respect but was determined to make his point. "Just look at what the Dark Armor did to that last human you placed your faith in. He perished so quickly that it was practically a waste of time. Why should we repeat history?" Rita raised her hand to silence Goldar, who promptly bowed his head.

"I believe I can control my Green Ranger, Goldar. He's utterly devoted to me and would never betray me. The Sword of Darkness will merely solidify his loyalty," Rita declared. Baboo and Squat exchanged puzzled glances.

"Are you worried he might change?" Finster inquired.

"No, but there's always the possibility. When that human, Daniel, wore the Dark Armor, he wasn't fully consumed by darkness—some remnants of humanity remained, preventing the dark ritual from entirely corrupting the Dragon Coin into pure evil. There's still a sliver of humanity left. However, if Tommy wields the Sword of Darkness, there will be no light left in him to change," Rita elaborated.

"And he'll be unstoppable!" Squat chimed in, earning a nod of approval from Rita.

"But if I recall correctly, the Sword of Darkness doesn't choose a wielder on its own. There's a price, isn't there?" Squat inquired.

"Indeed. It demands the blood of someone pure of heart," Finster recited from the book, glancing up at Rita. "Locating such an individual may prove to be quite challenging."

"Haha!" Rita cackled. "It's already taken care of. Tommy used his powers to banish the Red Ranger to the Dark Dimension Chamber. He's completely isolated from Zordon's other brats. My Green Ranger will make short work of the Red Ranger, and once bonded with the sword, nothing will stand in his way."

"We shall see," Goldar muttered. Rita waved her hand, and a crystal ball floated over to her. This crystal served as the direct telepathic link between herself and Tommy. Her fingers delicately danced over the crystal ball, and suddenly, Tommy appeared within it.

"Hello, my Green Ranger. I have a task for you," she declared, a wicked grin spreading across her face.

The command center still bore the scars of recent attacks, but Billy had devoted all his spare time and energy to making it as functional as possible. With Alpha 5 finally restored to full operation, they were more determined than ever to rescue Zordon.

"I'm transmitting new calibrations now. Make sure the circuitry can withstand the voltage," Billy instructed from the main console, while Alpha stood behind a newer computer. "Spreading through the system now." Billy entered code and pressed a large red button. Suddenly, all the alarms blared, and the circuits Alpha was holding sparked and sputtered.

"Ayi-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Alpha exclaimed, dropping the wires before any damage occurred. Billy entered more code and pressed the red button again, shutting down the main console.

"Perplexing," Billy mused, adjusting his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. "Are you okay, Alpha?"

"Affirmative. I just don't understand why it didn't work this time," Alpha replied.

"We'll figure it out. Don't worry," Billy reassured the robot, although his own conviction wavered. Pink, yellow, and black lights filled the room as Kimberly, Trini, and Zack teleported in. Billy smiled and turned to Alpha. "That's progress!"

"Indeed," Alpha agreed. Kimberly, Trini, and Zack approached Billy to inspect the progress he'd made.

"So, the teleportation system is operational," Trini observed.

"Affirmative. I made sure that was a priority when I arrived," Billy confirmed. Trini, Zack, and Kimberly moved closer to Billy, closely examining the advancements he'd implemented.

"It's looking better," Zack remarked. "Any luck with Zordon?"

"Negative. We're unable to fix our dimensional locator," Alpha reported.

"We will," Billy said confidently.

"I'm glad you're okay. When you weren't in the parking lot after school, we thought something might have happened," Kimberly expressed her concern. Trini patted Kimberly's back sympathetically; the Green Ranger's energy ball attack had left Kimberly severely injured. Fortunately, she had received help just in time.

"Oh, I apologize for that. We were making so much progress that I didn't want to stop," Billy explained.

"Yeah, the communicators didn't work, so…" Kimberly began, and Billy nodded.

"Right, right. They should be fixed… now," Billy pressed a button, and all four of their communicators simultaneously emitted their usual tones.

"That's a relief," Kimberly said. "Also, Billy, could you help me in the medical lab? My muscles are still so sore. I tried to stretch this morning, and it was excruciating," Trini shared her discomfort with a pat on Kimberly's back. Following the Green Ranger's energy ball attack, Kimberly's injuries had been extremely severe.

"Absolutely," Billy agreed. "But guys, where's Jason?"

"Oh, he went to talk to the new kid, Tommy, about something," Zack explained, prompting Kimberly to emit a loud, exasperated sigh and roll her eyes. Zack raised his communicator to his face and pressed the button. "Jason, come in." To their surprise, only static crackled through the communicators.

"That's strange," Billy noted, a hint of concern coloring his voice.

"Is he out of range?" Trini wondered.

"That's not possible. His communicator might be damaged," Kimberly said. "We need to figure this out."

"Split up?" Billy proposed.

"Yeah, it makes the most sense. Kimberly, get set up in the medical lab. Billy, you stay here and try to locate Jason," Zack instructed. He then turned to Trini. "Will you help me search for him?" Trini, despite her lingering reservations about Jason, nodded.

"Of course," she replied, earning a smile from Zack. "We'll be back soon. Let us know if you find anything," Zack said before both he and Trini activated their teleportation devices, disappearing in beams of black and yellow light, leaving the command center with an air of uncertainty.

Upon arriving at school, they were troubled to find no trace of Jason or anyone else, for that matter. The janitors and a few teachers were the only ones present, and none of them had seen Jason. They proceeded to the Youth Center and made inquiries, but their efforts yielded no results. Next, they scoured the basketball court, the park, the gym, and their options slowly dwindled. Their last resort was Jason's house.

As they approached, Trini's unease grew, and she crossed her arms. Zack noticed her change in demeanor and halted.

"Are you okay?" he inquired.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Trini said. "I don't think he's here..."

"He might not be, but we have to check," Zack insisted. He led Trini to Jason's front door and spotted a note affixed to it. A white letter with bold, red letters spelling "THIRD NOTICE." Zack glanced at Trini, who appeared just as puzzled. As he knocked on the door, it creaked open slightly, seemingly left ajar.

"What should we do?" Trini asked awkwardly.

"Hello?" Zack called out, receiving no response. Zack gently pushed the door open, revealing an empty-looking living room. "Maybe he was here; he wouldn't have just left the door open." Zack stepped inside, and Trini followed. They moved cautiously through the house, aware of the possibility of encountering an unfriendly presence.

As they delved deeper into the house, they couldn't ignore its grim state. A peculiar haze lingered in the air, and empty bottles were strewn about, some leaving stains on the carpet. Upon reaching the kitchen, they discovered an assortment of scattered letters on the kitchen bar. One of them bore the same font and wording as the note on the front door, marked as "SECOND NOTICE." Zack reached for the letter, his eyes catching the word "eviction" in bold print.

"Oh my god," Trini gasped, taken aback.

"Who are you?!" slurred a voice from behind them. Both Trini and Zack spun around, alarmed, and found Jason's mother on a couch, propped up on a pillow, clutching a bottle. Her eyes fluttered open and shut rapidly.

"Hi, Mrs. Scott," Zack stammered, his voice trembling as he tried to comprehend the scene before him. "Have you seen Jason?"

"Jason?" she repeated, her voice inflecting upward. Then her eyes closed once more, snapping open suddenly. "His father left us. Maybe he's with him. Who is Jason?" Her eyelids drooped again, and the bottle slipped from her hand, crashing to the floor. Trini and Zack stood motionless for a moment before exchanging glances. They continued their search throughout the house but found no signs of him. Closing the door securely behind them, they stopped in the driveway, attempting to process what they had just witnessed.

"Oh my god," Trini repeated, her voice caught in a loop. "Did you know Jason's father left?"

"No, Jason mentioned that his dad had been away on trips a lot, but... oh man," Zack realized, a revelation dawning on him.

"What is it?" Trini asked.

"It's all starting to make sense now. Jason's been teaching so many karate classes and saving up money like crazy. You saw his mom; I think he's trying to take care of her all on his own," Zack deduced. Trini's eyes widened, and then she turned away, attempting to process the information.

"It would explain why he's been so tired and stressed lately. But it can't be that bad, can it? We've known Mrs. Scott for years—why would she let Jason go through all this?" Trini wondered.

"She didn't seem to be all there," Zack pointed out.

"Why wouldn't he tell us, though? It just doesn't add up," Trini said.

"Doesn't it, though? Jason's our leader now. He always looks out for everyone; that's his thing," Zack replied.

"But who's looking out for him now?" Trini pondered.

"I don't know," Zack admitted. "Now he's missing, and I have a really bad feeling about it. Something's not right."

"I feel the same way," Trini agreed.

"I just feel so stupid. The last time I talked to Jason, we were arguing. I know I was upset, but... if something happens to him, I'll never forgive myself for how I've been acting around him," Trini confessed, her voice choked with emotion.

"Hey, it's okay. Jason understands where you're coming from. He cares about you a lot. Don't blame yourself. Let's focus on finding him," Zack urged, opening his arms and offering Trini a comforting hug. "Besides, he really likes Kimberly, doesn't he?" Trini asked, already knowing the answer. Zack nodded anyway.

"Yep, he does," Zack confirmed. "Okay, let's keep this between us, alright?"

"Are you sure?" Trini inquired.

"Yeah, he wouldn't want us knowing about this. If he did, he would've told us," Zack said.

"But we can't just pretend we didn't see any of that. Jason needs help," Trini argued.

"We should give him a chance to explain. But I think it should stay between us. Billy is already stressed out with the command center, and trust me, Jason wouldn't want Kimberly to know. He wouldn't want her to see him any differently," Zack explained.

"He's missing, and Rita's bound to attack us soon with Jason gone. I just have a bad feeling about it," Trini admitted, her fears confirmed.

"Me too," Zack agreed.

"I really hope Billy has some lead when we get back to the command center," Trini said. They activated their teleportation devices, vanishing in black and yellow lights.

In a dark, foggy, and frigid realm unlike anything he'd ever known, Jason stopped walking. It felt like he'd been wandering for hours, but nothing seemed to change. He couldn't tell if he was on an endless road or trapped in a perpetual loop.

"Hello?" he called out, the word escaping his lips for what felt like the hundredth time since arriving. "How did I get here..." he muttered to himself. Jason set his backpack down and raised his communicator, pressing buttons. "Command center, come in." But all he received in response was white noise. "Zack, Billy—anybody..." Still, only static filled his ears. He lowered his arm, feeling helpless and confused. None of this made any sense.

He turned around, searching for any signs of something different, something that might offer a clue to his location, but there was nothing. He picked up his bag, ready to continue walking when he heard something—a sound like footsteps.

"Hello?" he called out again, but there was no reply. "I don't like this... I need to find a way out of here." Jason remained where he stood, surveying his surroundings. Suddenly, a figure materialized behind him—the unmistakable silhouette of the Green Ranger. The Green Ranger raised his arm, revealing a sword in hand.

"More like a nightmare," the Green Ranger replied, startling Jason and causing him to whirl around just in time to see the sword descending upon him. Jason let out a pained cry, and a small trickle of blood dripped to the ground.