Disclaimer: The author of this document would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by Saban Brands and not the author.
-o-
Undisclosed Sanctuary
Two Years Ago
She sat in the dimly lit prayer room in silence. Her eyes shut. Her breathing controlled. Her form still.
No candles were lit in this room. There were no creases of light from the outside world. There were no lightbulbs or any electrical equipment that could illuminate the chamber. The only hint of light to be found was from a coin dangling on her necklace.
When they asked her about it, she simply said it glowed in the dark and they just accepted it. But lately, it has done more than glow in the dark. It had glowed during the day. Not a whole lot, but just enough for her to notice.
But then she started feeling different… she would know things that she probably shouldn’t know… or couldn’t know… she felt things she normally wouldn’t feel…
She couldn’t explain it.
Sanctuary didn’t help.
It offer her peace of mind.
But she needed answers.
And she had no clue where to look.
-o-
Angel Grove Desert
Present Day
It was one of the cardinal rules that Zordon had established to all his troops and later on, his Ranger teams. Never escalate a battle, which includes raiding the enemy camp. It was a lesson that he himself had learned the hard way when he first confronted Rita on that fateful day before both their imprisonments. It was a lesson that Rita had not been ignorant of and for good reason, as it cost her 10,000 years of her eternal life.
Of course, someone neglected to inform Lord Zedd of that ruling.
The monster army, lead by the Titan warrior known as Goldar, was slowly marching towards the Power Rangers’s Command Center, which stood atop several mountains in the distance. Their mission was to claim the coin and in the process, finish off the accursed Rangers once and for all. The path onward was blocked when several monsters appeared before Goldar’s troops. The group consisted of several silver-armored soldiers with curved double-handed honor swords. Leading the group was a slightly-bigger warrior made up of green-grid lines over a completely black body, armed with match curved sword.
“You?!” Goldar called out in recognition, “What are you doing here, Ecliptor?!”
The green-grid warrior known as Ecliptor took a brief step forward. “My princess had informed me of a great power source on this plains. My orders were to retrieve it.”
The Titan nodded. “You’re correct in assuming there is a great power here. But I will claim it for my Lord Zedd.”
Ecliptor shook his head. “I doubt it, titan. Your pathetic army is no match for my team of Quantrons.”
Goldar smiled as he gripped on his broadsword. “We’ll just have to see about that.”
On that note, the two generals of their respective leaders ran at each other. As soon as their swords clashed against each other, the rest of their respective monsters tackled each other. What had become a mission to finish off Earth’s defenders had become a bloodbath with rivals…
-o-
Meanwhile, far from the battlefield. Tommy was nearing the end of his grip. For the past fifteen minutes, White Ranger took every single blow that the small but powerful monster group threw at him. Their offence was really irritating; not even allowing Tommy the luxury of counterattacking. He managed to roll away but found himself back to the side of a rockface, surrounded by the monster group. He immediately went to a defensive stance, letting out tired grunts. He knew this would be his last battle and he would go down fighting.
Fate wasn’t having any of that.
He heard explosions in the distance… explosions that grew louder and louder… whatever instinct he had left made him roll out of the way to avoid the barrage of laser beams that had shot from above. It took him a moment to get a clear view of the source of the beams and when he spotted it, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
There you are.
He took a step back and saw Saba float around, laying down cover fire. Enough to scare off the ward of monsters, it was the opening Tommy needed to get a second wind and get back in the fight. He immediately engaged the closest monster, a regenerated Trumpet-Top. Suddenly, White Ranger was charged with newfound energy that enabled him match Trumpet-Top move for move. A missed Trumpet-Top move gave White Ranger the opening he need, delivering a snapping kick to the chest that knocked the monster down and caused him to blink out of existence. With no time for rest, Tommy jumped towards two other familiar adversaries, effortlessly incapacitating them as he made his way towards Saba, who did his fair share of keeping distance.
Tommy’s approach was cut off with a blast from one of the nearby monsters, which knocked him down. He recovered quickly to see the source, a soldier he wasn’t familiar with; wearing onyx armor with silver plating and armed with two-handed sword weapons. Tommy rushed towards the soldier, but soon tumbled over; exhaustion once again consuming him. The soldier slowly approached the falling Ranger and raised its blade for the killing blow… that never came… because the soldier was blasted away with a fireball from the distance.
Tommy was too tired to look up, but somehow he knew who was there. He was able to catch her landing on her feet, easily disposing of the Putty Patrollers, but struggling with the reincarnated Polluticorn and Gnarly Gnome. Raising a hand upwards compelled Saba to come to her and she proceeded to fend off the monsters easily. Her attention turned to several monsters dashing at her and with a swing of Saba, an energy burst shot out and knocked the monsters down. Tommy noticed a pair of soldiers sneaking up on her. Mustering whatever second wind he had, he propelled himself into the air and landed a fierce drop kick into one of the soldier’s head, causing it to collide with the other.
The girl turned back to face Tommy, both holding firm and keeping their distance from each other. Tommy held back whatever emotion he felt could overwhelm him. Part of him felt anger for what happened to Kim, for letting things spiral out of control as they did. Another part of him felt a pang of fear at what he’d consider a wild card. Someone who clearly came, but didn’t play for the other team. She fought the Rangers as fiercely as she fought the monsters. He took a slight step back as she moved, assuming the worse.
Much to his surprise, she slowly walked over and extended Saba forward with the saber’s head pointed towards him. Tommy got a good look at Saba’s head, who seemed at ease for the most part. He then glanced back at the girl, who motioned the blade once, as if telling him to take it back. He hesitated for a moment until she finally spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
Her voice was soft and sorrowful. Tommy could tell that she was struggling to get a feel for how he would react, which is a normal reaction for anyone confronting someone with a face-concealing mask. His eyes never drifted from the girl, who once more nudged Saba towards him. Never veered away as he absent-mindedly took the saber back. Time stood still in that brief moment where the two hardened teens exchanged glares at each other, unsure as to what would happen next.
Finally, Tommy spoke, his voice uneven, but still firm with authority. “We’ll worry about that later. Right now, we need to clear these thugs out.”
The girl merely nodded and with a flick of a wrist, a short sword shot out of her jacket sleeve, her hand quickly gripped on the weapon before it escaped her clutch. Almost immediately, she broke into a dash towards the nearest monster, haphazardly flailing away with the blade to throw it off balance before landing a vicious blow that sent the creature soaring into the air, crashing onto the ground, and erupting in the flames of demise. She soon shot a glare at an approaching Putty hoard and tossed her blade in the direction, managing to dig the weapon into one of the Putty’s foreheads. Almost immediately, she leapt up towards the crew and managed to land both feet into another Putty’s Z-Plate while grabbing her sword from the other Putty’s skull to slash away at its chest, eliminating two of the clay minions from the fray.
The remaining two chose to flee.
Meanwhile, Tommy held up his end with a combination of ferocious sword slashes and roundhouse kicks that kept some of the monster hoards at bay while also thinning the herd somewhat. On one occasion, he’d toss Saba into the air and let the saber hail the party with beams of light that broke apart the crew, allowing Tommy to enter any new openings and deliver fierce blows to anything that wasn’t human, with an aggressiveness that he hadn’t felt since he was the Green Ranger. He didn’t think about his well-being, he didn’t think about stopping the bad guys, nor he did think about getting to the Command Center and hook up with the other Rangers.
The only thing on his mind at the moment was Kimberly.
His closest friend fatally injured at the hands of this new girl who showed up out of nowhere carrying a coin much like their own. A girl who had warned them to keep away. A warning they did not heed. Tommy had plenty of reason to feel hurt and angry. Part of that was at the girl who was responsible for putting Kim in that situation, but another part of that was at himself, for not being there to protect her when he should have been. That anger was the only thing driving him to fight off these monsters. They gave him something to work out that aggression, to get over that anger and use it for something productive.
For once, he thought, I’m glad Zedd made a move today.
Minutes of intense fighting soon saw the group of thirty or so monsters whither down to barely a dozen. Eventually, one of the monsters made the call to retreat and almost immediately, the remaining survivors of Zedd’s ambush group disappeared in a flash of colored lights.
The battle had ended, with only the White Ranger and the girl left in the field.
Beneath his helmet, Tommy took quick breaths, his body pacing somewhat before eventually calming down. He kept his eyes on the ground until his breathing slowed down to something close to normal. After a moment, he slowly turned his attention towards this strange girl, who stood there staring back at him, unsure as to how to react. When Tommy did finally face her, it was with a look of relief. Her eyes were cold, her expression soft. Neither knew what happened next.
Finally, Tommy broke the silence, his voice calming. “Thanks.”
The girl scoffed and turned away. “Don’t thank me,” she replied harshly, though Tommy got the feeling she didn’t mean to react that way. “It’s my fault you’re in this mess in the first place. If it weren’t for this stupid coin…” Her voice drifted in silence, her eyes affixed on the bandaged hand that held the coin firmly in place. “Or maybe it’s just my nature.”
Tommy stood silent as the girl walked over to the sword that laid on the floor and gingerly slipped it back into her jacket sleeve. After a moment, she began to walk away when Tommy called out to her.
“Gillian, wait.”
The girl turned around, a look of amazement on her face. Her hard gaze softened slightly the armor of the White Ranger disappeared to reveal the true form of Tommy Oliver; a youthful teenaged boy with long flowing locks of hair. His eyes were bloodshot red, his cheeks streaked by the few tears that flowed down. It was the first time she saw the face behind the mask and the pain behind the eyes. Pain she caused by hurting her friend. She didn’t give much thought about how he knew her name; she figured however she knew his worked both ways.
Not that it matters. I hurt him. I hurt his friends. This is my fault.
Tommy took a moment before speaking. “Look, I’m not going to tell you that I know how you feel because I don’t,” he said, “I could tell that you’re dealing with stuff that could color your view of the world in a way that I never did.”
He paused for a moment, waiting for a response. When none came, he continued.
“But there was a time when I went down a wrong path. Been influenced by the wrong people that made me do terrible things and hurt the people that would become my friends. I wish I could take those terrible things back, but I can’t. The best I could do is try to do what I can to make up for the damage I’ve done.”
The girl stood there. Tommy wasn’t sure if anything he said was registering with her, but the fact that she looked as though she was staring into his soul and not coming at him gave him hope that she was at least thinking about. After what seemed like an eternity, she turned away from Tommy and faced the horizon. The sunset had turned the normally blue sky into a golden orange. She closed her eyes fiercely, fighting to hold back whatever tears dared escape.
“If you’ve seen some of the things I’ve seen…” Her words stuttered, “If you knew some of the things I’ve had to do to keep going…”
“None of that matters now,” said Tommy, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “What matters is how you move forward. We both messed up. And it cost us. Big time. We could beat each other senseless until one of us falls or we can help each other out.”
No response.
“I know life’s been rough,” he continued, “And I know you see the world in a way that I can’t see it. I don’t blame you for what happened to Kim. You reacted the only way you knew how. But I also know that you’re not a bad person, that you’ve got good intentions at heart even if you go about it in a way that rubs people the wrong way.”
He heard her scoff, but softened his tone. “Sometimes, we can’t do these things alone. Sometimes, we need a little help to get to where we need to be. We may never be friends, but at least once, we can be allies towards a common cause.”
For a minute, the only sounds to be heard were that of the wind blowing along the loose grains of dirt across the earth. The girl stood there, pondered the words, processing them… not quite sure why to make of this boy, who was barely younger than she was, but whose words made him wiser than she gave him credit for. When she hears him speak, the words don’t come across as empty, but from a place of experience. She can sense that he believes what he’s saying because he’s been in a similar place. Regardless of circumstance… he knows more than he lets on.
After what seemed like an eternity, Tommy saw a small smile form on Gillian’s face, a weight seemingly lifted if only for a moment.
“You’re a good kid, Oliver,” she managed, “I wish I grew up meeting more people like you.”
For the first time in a long while, Tommy smiled in return. After what seemed like a period of endless misery, there was a bit of hope.
“We need to get to the Command Center,” he said, raising his left arm to tap into his communicator before he felt a hand grab him.
“I can’t,” protested Gillian, somewhat meekly.
“It’s okay,” assured Tommy, “I can vouch for you.”
Gillian shook her head, her voice more forceful. “It’s not that. I actually know why I came here.”
Tommy raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t explain it, but…” her words fell silent. She looked up for a moment before breaking into a brisk walk.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“Spaceport,” she said simply. “Something there I need.”
Tommy looked on as the distance between the two widened before he decided to follow her. “Then I’m coming with you.”
Gillian turned to face him. “You don’t have to. I’ve caused you enough grief. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt on account of me.”
“And nobody else is going to get hurt, I promise,” he said firmly. He then spoke softly, “Let me help. I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I know that NASADA isn’t just going to let you waltz in their spaceport with free reign.”
Gillian sighed. He had a point.
“But I do know a way around,” he said, “All I’m asking is that you trust me on this.”
The girl squirmed inside. Trust. The one thing that didn’t come easy for her.
But there was something about this Oliver kid that she found somewhat alien to her, that allowed her to lower her shield and take this person at his word. A sincerity to his voice that she hadn’t heard in a long time. This coming from someone who could envelop himself in light and armor, commanding powers beyond most human’s comprehension.
Compassion. Understanding. Forgiveness. A maturity far beyond his years. Whatever he’s been through, he’s obviously grown from it as a result. And nothing he has said gave her the impression that he wasn’t genuine in his offer to help.
Finally, her lips formed the faintest hint of a smile. “Alright, then. What did you have in mind?”
Tommy let out a sigh of relief before speaking.
“First things first,” he said, “I have to know why you need to raid a NASADA spaceport.”
-o-
Despite outnumbering the small group of Quantrons, the monsters under Goldar’s command were getting massacred by the skill fighters. From the distance, Goldar and Ecliptor continued to fight, neither one able to land a successful blow to the other. When Goldar missed with a sword slash, Ecliptor struck the titan’s face with the tip of his elbow. The blow was enough to open a wound below Goldar’s left eye, blood slowly trickling from the open wound. Goldar growled ferociously and shot deadly beams from his eyes that impacted Ecliptor in the chest, causing small explosions and knocking down the green-grid warrior.
The Quantrons battled Zedd’s monsters and delivered swift defeat to all that crossed their paths with quick efficiency. Only two Quantrons were defeated and torn apart by the various monsters and putties, but the remaining fifteen were more than enough to eliminate the remaining monsters. When the last Putty was defeated, the Quantrons cheered in victory, only to bombarded by an army of Silver Horns and Repellitors. Repellitors did most of the melee fighting while Silver Horns kept their distance and fired electron beams at the various Quantrons. The beams had no effect, but provided the needed distraction.
Goldar and Ecliptor stared each other down with making a single move for a full minute. Quickly, Ecliptor summoned a translucent projection of himself towards the Titan, who was able to destroy the projection with his sword. By doing so, Goldar left himself open and Ecliptor capitalized with a quick dash followed up with a brutal uppercut that sent the Titan hurling in the air and crashing down with a thud. Ecliptor threw himself to the air and extended his sword downward as he dove at the downed Titan. Goldar, knowing Ecliptor’s intent, extended his sword upward and from the blade flew a small number of fireballs that completely enveloped Ecliptor. The Titan soon rolled out of the way, seeing his opponent crash onto the ground on the spot where Goldar was.
Other than a slight cut under his eye, Goldar was tiring but wasn’t in great pain. Ecliptor’s body was smoking all over, but the warrior slowly stood up without fatigue to disrupt him. Nonetheless, both had to admit this to be their toughest battle out of all they have had.
-o-
“How’s Kimberly, Alpha?” Billy asked as he observed Alpha doing a scan over Kimberly’s prone body.
“She’s in a deep sleep, Billy,” Alpha replied regretfully, “The enhanced blow of the hunter’s Power Blaster along with the ill effects of her high fever did its damage. She will recover, but not for anytime soon.”
Rocky clenched his fists together. “And meanwhile, we have warring monsters just outside our doorstep.”
“Where’s Tommy?” Aisha asked, “It’s already been half an hour.”
“I do not know, Aisha,” Zordon answered bitterly before his tone softened. “But I do not believe him to be in any danger at the moment.”
Billy looked up, surprised. “You sound certain of this, Zordon. Considering that we haven’t heard from him all this time.”
“I have a feeling that Tommy is attending to other matters that relate to our current situation,” said Zordon, “I believe you humans refer to it as a hunch.”
Rocky shrugged. “Hell of a hunch.”
“What about that girl, Zordon?” Adam asked, “Do we have any idea where she might be at?”
Alpha turned away from the console to address the Rangers. “I’m afraid our scanners are unable to pinpoint her location.” He turned back to the console keying in a few commands. “Actually, we haven’t been able to get much out of these scanners in quite a…” He paused for a moment as the computer printed out a sheet of information, upon which the automaton quickly grabbed and studied.
“Ayaiyaiyaiyai, Rangers!” Alpha shrieked. “Ecliptor has been detected on Earth.”
“Ecliptor?”
Zordon sighed. “Ecliptor is the bodyguard to the young upstart princess Astronema,
Aisha rolled her eyes. “You mean there’s someone worse than Rita and Zedd?”
“There’s always someone higher up on the food chain, Aisha,” Adam quipped.
Alpha shook his head. “Astronema never had any interest in Earth, but the sudden presence of the Eighth Coin on this planet must be a contributing factor to her sending Ecliptor here.”
Billy groaned and hung his head in agony, which caught the attention of everyone in the Command Center chamber.
“This day just goes from bad to worse, doesn’t it?”
To be continued…
