From Zeo to Turbo

From Zeo to Turbo By Mindy Part I On a distant planet lives a great wizard named Lerigot (the “T” is silent). He is the keeper of a Golden Key which unlocks the dimensional gateways of the universe.

Lerigot is hunted by Divatox, a wicked Galactic Pirate, who needs the wizard’s power to release a terrible demon-like creature.

Her plan is to join with him in a sinister marriage and bring forth a reign of terror on the galaxy.

Lerigot’s only chance is to seek the help of powerful friends. But first, he must escape his planet and make his way to Earth...

~*~

These powerful friends are seven extraordinary teenagers instructed by Zordon and assisted by Zordon’s assistant, Alpha 5. They are currently know as the Zeo Rangers. Their names are Tommy (the leader), Rocky, Adam, Danny, Erika, Tanya, and Katherine (also called Kat).

Tommy has been in the Rangers team the longest, almost ever since the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers began. At first, he was under an evil spell, but his closest friend, Jason, broke the spell and Tommy turned to the side of good. He was known first as the “Green Ranger”, then as the “White Ranger”, the “White Ninja Ranger”, and is now known as “Zeo Ranger VII, Red."

Rocky is second in command next to Tommy. He was known first as the second “Red Ranger” after Jason went to Switzerland’s Peace Conference with Zack and Trini, who found Aisha to replace her. Then, Rocky became known as the “Red Ninja Ranger” and is now known as “Zeo Ranger VI, Blue”.

Adam has been on the team for as long as Rocky has. He was known first as the second “Black Ranger” after Zack joined Jason and Trini to Switzerland. After that, Adam was known as the “Black Ninja Ranger” and is now known as “Zeo Ranger V, Green”

Danny is one of the newest members of the team and a good friend of Rocky’s. One day, more than a month ago, Danny saw a battle between the Rangers and Cogs. He helped the Rangers defeat them and discovered Rocky’s identity. It motivated him to help defeat the opposing team even more. Zordon chose him to be known as “Zeo Ranger IV, Purple” because of his quick-thinking mind. Danny’s real name is Daniel, but he refuses anyone to call him by that name, since it was a key to his terrible past.

Erika was on the team even briefer than Danny was, only a few weeks. She and her closest friends, Kat and Tanya, were walking in the park. When Cogs appeared to attack, Kat and Tanya both told Erika to run to safety, but she refused, not wanting anything or anyone to hurt them. During the battle, Kat and Tanya were both injured, and Erika, angered at that concept, attacked and almost defeated the Cogs by herself until the male Rangers arrived. She was even able to control Pyramidas, once, when the others were unable to. Because of her strong and caring heart, Zordon chose her to be known as “Zeo Ranger III, White."

Tanya became a member of the team after arriving from the savannas of Africa, being a replacement for Aisha. She would have been known as the “Yellow Ranger” and the “Yellow Ninja Ranger,” if Goldar and Rito didn’t destroy the Command Center. After the Zeo Crystal was back in the possession of good, Tanya became known as “Zeo Ranger II, Yellow.”

Kat was a member of the team since Kimberly left for Florida. At first, she was in the hands of evil, just like Tommy once was. After a selfless act that saved Kimberly, however, Kat broke the spell she was under. Because of that, Kimberly decided to leave Angel Grove and allow Kat to be responsible of being the “Pink Ranger” and the “Pink Ninja Ranger.” Now, Kat is known as “Zeo Ranger I, Pink.”

But even the power of the Zeo Rangers was not enough to help Lerigot.

~*~

On the beautiful and green planet of Liaria, a Piranhatron of Divatox’ was getting ready to fire a crossbow’s arrow into a bush behind a fallen tree. The Piranhatron laughed sinisterly and said, “I’ve got you now, wizard.” He fired the arrow, and a minor explosion occurred nearby the bush. At that moment, a male Liarian, the wizard Lerigot, ran from behind the bush and hid elsewhere.

Two Piranhatrons on horse-like animals, one of them was the one who fired the arrow, were attempting to catch up with him. More Piranhatrons appeared and searched for Lerigot. One of them said, “Search every bush and tree; Lerigot must be caught!”

They found him in a small meadow. The second Piranhatron on a steed spotted him. “There,” he shouted, attracting more Piranhatrons towards the meadow. “There’s no escape Lerigot!” He fired an arrow from his crossbow, missing Lerigot by one or two feet. “It’s all over, wizard. Surrender to Divatox!” A few Piranhatrons circled around Lerigot.

Casually, Lerigot picked up a staff from a pocket on the inside of his garment. The staff was not the length of an ordinary staff; it was not even longer than 6 inches. It was his Golden Key.

He instantly used to key to transform into a golden light, blinding the Piranhatrons around him. The light rocketed upward and headed towards Earth.

“Fools,” the first Piranhatron shouted. “You let him escape!”

Meanwhile, on Earth, an “ordinary” day was beginning.

Tommy, Rocky, Adam, and Danny were sparring in a wrestling ring inside a gymnasium. Their coach was with them. They were practicing for a Martial Arts Competition. The winning team of this competition will receive a fund, and Angel Grove’s fund would immediately go to the Little Angels Shelter, which is in desperate need of money.

One could almost say that Rocky and Danny were twin brothers, since they almost look alike. They were not even brothers. The only things that tell the difference between them are Danny’s light brown hair and the fact that Danny smiles more often.

Tommy was sparring with Rocky, and Adam with Danny. The coach kept telling Rocky to focus, but for some reason, Rocky couldn’t. He kept trying to pull off offenses, but Danny either always blocked them or always escaped them. After a few minutes, the coach told Tommy and Danny to switch partners. Rocky was improving a little, but that was only because Danny was not as quick as Tommy. After a few more minutes, the coach called Rocky.

“Rocky,” he said, “spinning heel kick my hand.” He was wearing a large pad that covered his hand, and Rocky tried for it. But his aim was inaccurate and his foot wasn’t close enough. Even if it was, he wouldn’t have hit is because his foot went too high. He landed on his back hard, and yet felt an extremely minor pain. “Awe, c’mon Rocky,” the coach said. “You’re trying too hard.”

Meanwhile, a bus from the Little Angels Haven was on its way to the gymnasium. Kat, Tanya, and Erika were on the bus. Tanya and Kat were sitting down, but Erika was standing in the aisle. She enjoyed it better than sitting down while traveling on a bus. Her bronze hair glittered in the sunlight. Most of the children, along with the teenage girls, were singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” An 11-year-old boy wasn’t singing, however. Instead, he was showing signs that he was sad.

Erika noticed the boy, stopped singing, tapped on his shoulder, and said sweetly, “C’mon, Justin; I know you know the words.” Justin looked up to see Erika’s beautiful smile. He also tried to smile, but didn’t. He shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t feel like singing,” Justin replied, futily trying to hide his sadness. Kat and Tanya, both sitting behind Justin, heard what he said, and stopped singing. They became concerned.

Erika knelt down, also concerned. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, quietly and kindly.

Justin just shrugged his shoulders again. “There’s nothing to talk about. I just don’t feel like singing."

Erika looked at Kat and Tanya. Kat smiled assuringly, and Tanya moved her lips, but she didn’t make a sound; she didn’t want Justin to hear. Erika could read lips, however, and she knew that Tanya was saying that he’ll be okay. Erika looked at Justin again and smiled. “Okay,” she said softly and stood back up. She played with his nose and he giggled. The nose play was a sign that she loved him as much as she would love any other child. But after the laughter, Justin continued with his sad thoughts.

Back at the gymnasium, Tommy, Adam, and Danny were relaxing. Rocky stood in front of the coach. Adam said, “Hey, Rocky, maybe we are trying too hard.” Tommy and Danny agreed, trying to allow Rocky to relax.

But Rocky was too stubborn to stop. He said fiercely, “Maybe I’m not trying hard enough.” He tried another spinning heel kick, but not only did he miss the target, he also fell out of the ring. He landed on his back again, but this time in great pain. The coach and Rocky’s friend crawled out of the ring. “Oh, my back,” Rocky complained.

“Can we get some help?” Tommy shouted.

“It’s going to be all right,” said the coach.

“Just relax,” Adam advised.

“Man, I’m so stupid,” Rocky insulted himself.

“It’s okay, man,” Danny said. “Help is on its way.” At that moment, the bus arrived at the gymnasium. By the time the children arrived at the wrestling ring, Rocky was placed on a cot, getting ready to leave by the emergency exit. Justin saw Rocky first, and shouted his name in concern and shock.

“Rocky!” The other children stopped and stared. Justin, however, ran closer to the ring.

He stopped running when he heard Erika calling, “Justin, wait!” She ran past the children and arrived at Rocky’s cot first. “Danny,” she called. “What happened?”

“He tried too hard,” were the only words that Danny could manage to say.

Kat and Tanya went through the crowd of children. Kat arrived before Tanya did, because Tanya told the children and Justin to wait right they were and that Rocky will be okay. A few moments after Tanya arrived, Rocky was headed out through the emergency exit for the hospital.

If Justin wasn’t already sad enough ... now he was even more distressed. Danny noticed this. "Hey, Justin. Why don't we go to the amusement park? It'll take your mind off of Rocky for a while."

Justin reluctantly agreed. He, Danny, and the others went to the amusement park. They were mainly focused on making Justin happier, even though they were having fun. Justin and Erika were on the swings. Danny noticed that Erika was having a fun time, spreading her arms out like an airplane and screaming. But Justin wasn't perking up.

After a while, Justin and Danny sat down at a park bench. "Hey, Danny, do you mind if I go for a walk?"

"No, of course not. Just don't go too far."

Justin walked off, just when Erika was arriving. "Where's he going?"

"He's going for a walk."

"By himself?"

"Don't worry, Erika. He's a big kid, he can take care of himself."

"I hope you're right."

~*~

On the planet Liaria, in the deep of the sea, was a spaceship that could also travel underwater. The ship itself was in the shape of a fish; there were even two windows that symbolized eyes.

A woman-like alien entered the bridge, smiling and proud. She had long purple hair, blood-red lips, and a gold mask over her right eye. She was dressed in red and gold, along with tight, black leather boots. The two Piranhatrons that rode on steeds saluted to her when they saw her.

But she shouted, “Idiots!” She walked to the Piranhatrons and began to hit them. “You are worthless,” she shouted to them. She spun around and pointed to a pink-peach colored creature. She shouted to him, “And you!"

“Me?” the creature asked in a silly voice, confused.

“You lost Lerigot,” the woman said, approaching the creature with anger. “You let him get away.”

The creature tried to blame it on the Piranhatrons. “I told you those bug-brains didn’t have a clue!”

“Oh, shut up, Elgar,” the woman scolded, calling the creature by name. “Those are your bug-brains, which makes this all your fault!"

“C’mon, Divatox,” Elgar begged. “Don’t punish me; I’m your favorite nephew.” The woman, Divatox, turned away from Elgar. “Whew,” he responded. “Hey, you two losers,” Elgar called the Pirranhatrons. “I nearly got fried for your screw up. You’re just lucky Aunt Divatox sliced me! Huh?” He just realized what he said.

Divatox had a sharp extendible claw on her arm. She spun around with a scream, using the claw to cut through Elgar’s right wrist with great ease. It was apparently a robotic hand, because electric wires were cut as the hand was broken. The hand was caught by a mutant. He had blazing red eyes and a bluish-black and bulky outfit. His clothes were metallic and so bulky that it extended about a foot higher the his own height.

“Not again,” Elgar complained.

“Never send a moron to do a mutant’s job,” the mutant said in a deep voice.

“If you are so brave, why don’t you do the job, Rygog,” Elgar asked, addressing the mutant by name. “That little runt Lerigot still has the key to the lost island of Muranthias."

“No thanks,” Rygog said. “But I’ll be happy to lend a hand.” So saying, he offered the Elgar’s hand back to him. The two Piranhatrons laughed with Rygog. But Elgar didn’t laugh.

“Oh, yeah,” Elgar said sarcastically. “Very funny.”

“Quiet, both of you,” Divatox shouted.

“Sorry,” Rygog said, meekly.

“You’re giving me such a migraine. I have a plan. Once we take the one thing he values most in the world, Lerigot will come to us willingly. Where’s my eel? Where is he? Come to Mommy; come here.” Divatox lifted up the lid of a small container and carefully picked up a horrible-looking eel. The eel gave happy squeaks when Divatox lifted up the lid.

Elgar tried to reattach his hand, but failed.

“I have a date with destiny,” Divatox said. “I want Lerigot’s family captured and brought here.” The eel lifted up it head and gently touched Divatox’s cheek with the tip of its closed mouth, as if to kiss her. “Yes, give Mommy a kiss,” Divatox told her eel sweetly.

~*~

The golden light finally reached Earth. It landed in Africa, and had the appearance of a meteor striking the surface. Several kinds of animals ran away. The light transformed back into Lerigot and he found himself in a bird’s nest. He looked around and knew that he was nowhere near the Power Chamber. He looked inside the nest and smiled.

There were two chicks, probably only a couple weeks old. They chirped sweetly, then began to peck at Lerigot’s feet. Startled, Lerigot tried to get away from the chicks. They continued to tap at his feet, until he fell out of the nest with a scream. The chicks looked down the nest and sadly watched Lerigot get up.

He heard a lion’s roar, turned around, and screamed at the sight of the carnivore. The lion roared again, but this time in hunger. Even though the lion was tempted to eat Lerigot, all it did was stare at him and lick his chops. Lerigot grew more confident in the creature and mistaken the lion for Alpha.

“Alpha?” Lerigot asked, using the only word he could speak in English. He kept on repeating the name, and he thought that the lion understood, because the lion crept closer towards him in curiosity. When the lion got close enough, Lerigot cast a very minor spell, in attempts to understand the lion. But the sparkles that left Lerigot’s fingers was enough to frighten the lion. In fear, it ran away, and Lerigot was unhappy.

He walked around, repeating Alpha’s name and trying to find him, Zordon, or anyone that might help him. He found no one.

~*~

“Ay-yi-yi, Zordon,” Alpha said in extreme concern. “Lerigot, the wizard of Liaria, is here on Earth! Uh, Zordon?” The head that was normally in the ion tube was not there; Alpha began to look around. “Uh, Zordon, where are you?”

The head appeared in the tube and said, “I’m here, Alpha.”

Alpha turned around again, startled. “Zordon! Yikes! You scared the dials out of me!”

“I’m sorry, Alpha, but I, too, sensed the arrival of Lerigot and was tracking his whereabouts.”

“But why would he come here? He knows he can’t survive on Earth for very long.”

“Something must be terribly wrong. You must pinpoint his location and contact the Rangers. If Lerigot is in trouble, we must help him.”

“Right, Zordon. Beginning a world-wide search now.”

~*~

At the hospital, Rocky was sleeping. Justin quietly snuck into the room, unnoticed by anyone, and closed the door. He didn't intend on going for a walk; he intended to see Rocky. This was the first time he had ever lied and disobeyed Danny.

He tried to wake Rocky up by softly calling his name. But, suddenly, Justin heard minor laughter behind the door, and his underneath the bed, being the only place to hide.

Rocky’s “Ranger friends” entered the room, and Danny gently shook Rocky to wake up. Rocky smiled when he saw his friends, but no one knew about Justin being under the bed.

“Hey there, Boy Blue,” Erika said. She always used that nickname on Rocky whenever he felt down, sick, or unhappy, because it always cheered him up at least a little.

“We brought you a surprise,” Tanya said.

“Flowers,” Kat said. Each of the girls brought a set of flowers; one yellow set from Tanya, one pink set from Kat, and one white set from Erika. Tommy came closer to the bed.

“Got you a card,” he said. He held up a card that was about half his height that said, “Get Well Soon.”

Adam released six helium balloons that were on the same string to the ceiling; one of each Ranger color, saying, “And some decoration.” Everyone softly giggled, even Rocky. But Justin remained silent.

“The doctor said that you’re going to make a full recovery,” Tanya said.

“Yeah,” Rocky said, “but not in enough time for the competition. It looks like you guys have to go one without me.”

“It looks like we don’t have a choice,” Adam said. “Especially with the fact that if we don’t get the grand prize, the shelter is going to close down for good.”

“And Justin is taking this pretty hard,” Danny said.

“Yeah; it’s bad enough he lost his mother,” Erika pointed out. "Now, he has to face losing the shelter." Rocky sighed.

“But we’re not going to let that happen,” Tommy added. Justin was tempted to crawl out of the bed to let them know that he was hiding under there. But he remained motionless when he heard a beeping noise. It was the Rangers’ communicators. Tommy answered, “This is Tommy, go ahead.”

“Rangers,” Zordon said. “Report to the Power Chamber. A powerful wizard has arrived on Earth and may be in danger.” Justin couldn’t believe what he had heard, especially the first word.

“We’re on our way. Tommy out.”

Everyone looked at Rocky, who said, “You guys heard Zordon; what are you waiting for?”

“We’ll let you know what’s up,” Adam promised.

“Take care,” Tanya said.

“Be careful,” Rocky warned. He raised two fingers, forming a V.

“Thanks,” Kat said.

“Let’s go,” Tommy commanded.

“Okay,” Danny agreed.

“See ya, Boy Blue,” Erika finished.

In a moment, a rainbow flash of lights filled the room. Both Rocky and Justin had to shield their eyes. When the lights disappeared, Justin looked to where he normally saw the feet. He saw nothing, and gasped quietly in awe. He started to crawl out from underneath the bed.

Even though his hair was short, it got caught in something under the bed. “Ouch,” he said louder than he intended to.

“Who’s there,” Rocky asked in surprise. Instead of answering, Justin crawled from underneath the bed and had his back towards Rocky. “Justin? Did you just hear all that?”

Justin turned around in shock. “You guys are the Power Rangers?”

~*~

Inside the Power Chamber, Zordon was filling the Rangers in on the recent news. “Lerigot has taken great pains to hide his exact location. Someone must be after him.”

“You must find him quickly,” Alpha said.

“Tanya and I better stay here, just in case,” Adam suggested.

“Good idea, Adam,” Tommy said. “This could be trouble; keep an eye out.”

“He is somewhere in central Africa,” Zordon announced. “Equip yourselves with the Power Boxes and teleport there immediately.”

“Right, Zordon,” Tommy said, walking to a wall with Danny, Kat and Erika close behind him.

“He cannot survive under the sun’s rays,” Zordon warned.

Tommy and the others picked up a backpack that was in the shape and form of a box, while Adam and Tanya remained at the controls. Tommy’s Power Box was a red color with some metallic gray spots. The others were the exact same except for colors; where Tommy’s was red, Kat’s was pink, Erika’s was white, and Danny’s was purple.

“Ay-yi-yi, Rangers,” Alpha said. “The short-range locators in your Power Boxes should lead you straight to Lerigot. Good luck.”

“Ready?” Tommy asked.

“Ready,” Danny answered.

“Yeah,” Kat stated.

“Let’s go,” Erika said.

At that, they teleported to Africa, where Lerigot was still wandering around. They began their search, even though they were not close.

Lerigot first noticed the sun’s heat and began to feel a little weak. A monkey saw Lerigot and playfully threw a rock at his head. Mostly startled, Lerigot turned to find the one who threw the rock.

“Alpha?” he asked, wondering if Alpha was nearby. Instead, he saw many monkeys coming from the bushes around him. The monkeys decided to guide Lerigot to where is would be safe, and Lerigot willingly went with them, thinking that they would lead him to Zordon.

~*~

By now, Divatox was able to capture Lerigot’s family; his wife and his only child. Rygog suddenly shouted, “I found Lerigot; he’s on Earth!”

Divatox approached Rygog. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “He must be looking for Zordon. Excellent; you may kiss my hand.” Rygog was about to when Divatox pulled her hand away. “Got you?”

“That little runt,” Elgar asked. “Forget it. Let’s get back to plundering and pillaging; that’s what I like.”

“Never!” Divatox shouted. “Lerigot holds the only key to freeing Maligore, the great flame of destruction and my husband-to-be. Once we are wed, I will use his power to raid all the riches of the universe. Just thinking about it gives me ‘goose bumps’.”

“Kinda gives me gas,” Elgar stated.

“Elgar, once on Earth, you will bring two humans of purity and strength. They will be my gift to Maligore. Activate the barrier shields and set a course for Earth. We’re going after Lerigot.”

In a few moments, the ship transformed into a greenish-clear light, rose out of the waters of Liaria, and started to approach Earth.

~*~

The next morning in Angel Grove, a baseball game was being played. Lt. Stone, Bulk, and Skull were once again in their police uniforms. Bulk and Skull found a hot dog boy.

“Hold it,” Bulk said. The boy raised his hands in surrender. “What do you got?” He began to feel the boys sides the same way the police would check for guns.

“I’ll have to check these hot dogs for safety,” Skull said, using the excuse to eat a hot dog.

“Bulkmier! Skullovich!” Bulk looked up and saw Lt. Stone coming towards them.

“Beat it, kid,” he said. Skull managed to get a hot dog and the mustard bottle before the boy left. Skull tried to get mustard on the hot dog.

“Men,” Lt. Stone said. “Listen up, because you know how I hate to repeat myself. I hate to repeat myself!”

“You just did, sir,” Bulk pointed out formally.

“I needn’t remind you of our luck in getting rehired. Men, I have an important assignment for you. It’s an easy one, but...” He noticed that Skull was stomping on the mustard bottle. “Skullovich, are you listening to me?”

Skull picked up the bottle and stood up straight. “I’m with you, sir,” he answered.

“Well, listen to this, at precisely 1900 hours, you will relieve me from my duty at the International Dance-A-Thon. Do I make myself clear?”

“Got you, sir,” Bulk saluted.

“Yes, sir,” Skull shouted. He raised his hand in a salute, still holding the mustard bottle. The mustard finally came out and splattered all over Lt. Stone’s face. “Excuse me, Sir,” he said, rubbing some mustard off of his face with the hot dog and began to eat it. “Thank you.”

“Napkin,” Lt. Stone said, asking if he had a napkin.

Thinking that Lt. Stone was asking if he was offering a napkin, Bulk said, “I got one, sir. Thanks.” He walked away, and Lt. Stone had to wipe off the mustard using his hands.

~*~

Vultures were crowing. Kat looked around at the trees and the bushes. “Wow,” she said in an Australian accent. “It reminds me of parts of Australia.”

"Reminds me of parts of the Everglades," Danny added.

Erika turned to Danny in shock. "You've been to the Everglades?"

Danny smiled back to Erika. "Been there? I used to live there!"

"There's so much I don't know about you, Danny. Oh, I've always wanted to go to the Everglades!"

"Well, I'll take on vacation there someday."

"I would love that, Danny."

Tommy wasn’t paying much attention. He was using his short-ranger locator. It began to beep. “Got him,” he said, responding to the beeps.

“Where?” Erika asked. She and Kat looked over his shoulders.

“The signal is coming from ... that direction,” he answered, indicating a path in front of them.

“Let’s go find him,” Danny said.

~*~

A screen indicated that an object was approaching Earth. “Wow,” Tanya said. “This thing is moving fast. Adam, come check it out.” Adam came and looked behind her shoulder. “You know that object we were tracking; it just entered the Earth’s atmosphere. But it has some sort of shield around it, blocking its identity.”

“It is likely to be the reason that Lerigot has come to Earth,” Zordon said. “An evil energy surrounds it.”

“Man, I’ve got a bad feeling about this," Adam said. "I just hope the others can make it back soon.”

~*~

A few minutes later, Bulk and Skull were arguing at an intersection.

“Lt. Stone is already going to kill us for being late, so turn right,” Bulk said.

“Left,” Skull argued. “Left is north. North Star. Look at the stars, there, man!”

“That star?”

“That star.”

“That star is moving!” The “star” that they saw was actually Divatox’s Subcraft.

“Can we make a wish?” Skull asked stupidly. Before Bulk could answer, the stop sign next to them began to shake in a manner that it would in a tornado. Three flashes of light shone on Bulk and Skull. In fear, they turned right. “What in the world was that?” Skull asked.

“I don’t know, but keep going.”

“The accelerator is stuck!”

“Skull, slow down!”

“I’m trying!”

“Still, there’s a building up ahead.”

The motorcycle crashed into a bait shop. They were covered with stinky and disgusting bait. At first, they thought they were safe inside a building. They changed their minds when they heard a sound. They screamed, but a few seconds later, there wasn’t a trace of either of them.

~*~

Part II Nearby a waterfall, Tommy, Kat, Danny, and Erika were still looking for Lerigot. Kat placed her hands on her knees.

“The signal is getting stronger,” Tommy stated.

“Tommy, do you mind if I stop for a minute?” Kat asked.

Erika looked at Kat, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Erika, it’s just hot out here.”

“I know,” Danny agreed.

Tommy turned his back to Kat and said, “You want some water?” In answer, she placed her thumb against a circle in the upper right corner of Tommy’s Power Box. She removed a small cylinder canteen that contained an unlimited ration of water. She took a drink. “We’ve still got a lot of jungle to cover,” he continued.

Kat passed the canteen back to Tommy, saying, “Thanks.” Then, she sat down on a log.

“Danny,” Erika said. “Will you please hand me my canteen?”

“Sure,” he answered. He did the same as Kat did on Erika’s Power Box, and passed the canteen to her. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” She took a drink, then offered the canteen to Danny. He politely refused. Erika continued to drink then began to stretch her arms. She continued to do so while she got a pretty good view of the waterfall and the river below the cliff.

Kat sighed, saying, “Oh, man, this heat’s intense.” She didn’t notice, but a snake was lowering its body behind Kat from a tree nearby. Tommy turned towards Kat, and was about to take another sip from his canteen when he saw the snake.

Keeping his eyes on the snake, Tommy lowered his canteen and said, “Don’t move.”

Erika and Danny quietly turned to Kat, and they saw the snake, too. Erika became frightened and gasped, but Danny quickly covered her mouth before she could scream.

Kat felt the snake’s body against her shoulder, and was extremely tempted to urge away from the snake. Yet, she followed Tommy’s instructions of not moving.

“On the count of three, jump away,” Tommy ordered. “One...”

“Uh, Tommy...?” Danny said in a question tone. He removed his hand from Erika’s mouth.

“Two...”

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Erika asked.

“THREE!” Kat immediately got up and ran away. Tommy grabbed the snake just below its neck and began to tussle with it.

Kat accidentally bumped into Erika, causing both of them to fall over the cliff. Both of them grabbed onto a tree root that was sticking out of the cliff. Erika looked down, saw the rapids below them, and shouted, “Danny!”

Danny, at the moment the girls went over the cliff, poked his head over the cliff and saw them. He extended his hand in attempt to reach them, but he is out of reach by merely a few inches.

Tommy was wrestling with the snake. The snake’s body was wrapping around parts of Tommy’s.

Kat summoned the two parts of her Zeonizer, first her right wrist, then her left. Erika was too afraid of loosing her grip to summon her Zeonizer. Kat’s Crystal part of her Zeonizer got caught in a piece of the root. It was at that moment the Kat lost her grip, and she attempted to morph.

“Zeo Ranger I, Pink!” The morphing process began as she got closer and closer to the water. At the last part of the morphing process started, Kat crashed into the water. The morphing process was incomplete, and Kat scratched her shin against a sharp rock under the water.

“Kat!” Erika yelled. She not only noticed that Kat didn’t morph, but she also noticed that she was floating instead of swimming. Erika turned to Danny. “Sorry, Danny. I gotta go after her!” Then, she let go.

“Erika, no!” Danny shouted. He saw that she turned as she fell and did a graceful swan dive into the water, and began to swim after Kat. He vaguely heard Erika calling Kat’s name. “Show off,” Danny fussed to himself about the dive. He knew he couldn’t do it better than that.

Tommy had lost the grip of the snake. He grabbed Danny’s shirt and leaped off. They dove right into the water. For a while, Danny and Tommy saw nothing but water. Then, Tommy noticed Kat floating away, followed by Erika, who was doing her best in keeping up.

“Kat! Erika!” he shouted. He started to swim.

Danny saw Tommy swimming towards them, and followed him. He stopped for a while, hearing a grunt from behind him. He saw a crocodile. Knowing that it could keep up with the others and tear them apart before Tommy could protect them, Danny said, “Oh, no, you don’t!” He decided to wrestle with it. He swam to a flat rock that was above the river surface, climbed onto it, and waited for the crocodile.

When it got close enough, Danny jumped onto the crocodile’s back and wrestled with it, distracting it from the others. Eventually, the crocodile was able to shake Danny off. Danny tried to swim away from it. Tommy removed a life preserver and wrapped it around Kat. Erika helped Tommy guide Kat to a river bank. Once on the shore, Tommy morphed.

“Zeo Ranger VII, Red!” After morphing, Tommy removed his Zeo Laser Pistol and fired a few feet in front of the crocodile. It swam away, and Danny was able to reach the shore before it returned. “Zeo Ranger VII, power down!” Tommy looked at Danny and Erika. “You two okay?” They only nodded, trying to relax from what had just happened.

Erika looked at a very fatigued Danny. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “I just got a small cut.” He rolled up one of his bleeded sleeves, showing a cut between 2 and 3 inches long!

“Oh, gosh, Danny! You call that a small cut?”

“It’s not very deep.”

Erika insisted. She tore off a big piece of one of her long sleeves, soaked it in water, then wrapped it around Danny’s wound. “That should do it for a while, Danny.”

Tommy looked at the cut on Kat’s leg. “You okay, Kat?”

“Yeah, are you?” Tommy nodded. “My leg...” Tommy looked at it again, trying to decided what to do. Erika looked around, looking for something that might help. She saw a few small yet thick pieces of wood nearby. Knowing that she always carries some string and a little bit of cloth with her, Erika had an idea...

~*~

A beautiful sunset was only beginning all over Angel Grove. Divatox’s Subcraft made its temporary home in the Pacific Ocean.

“What do you mean you can’t find Lerigot?! And are these my two humans of purity and strength?” Divatox looked at Bulk and Skull.

“Yeah,” Elgar answered. “Check ‘em out. I even scrambled their brains so they’d be easier to deal with. Ta da! What do you think?”

Divatox noticed the awful smell of bait that was still on them. “Are you out of your mind?” she asked Elgar, plugging her nose from the smell. Rygog laughed.

“The idea was to woo Maligore, not make him lose his lunch,” Divatox scolded. “I’m giving you one more chance; don’t blow it!” To finish her threat, she blew a raspberry at Elgar.

~*~

Danny was supporting Kat’s right side; Erika was supporting her left. Tommy went a little ahead, trying to pick up Lerigot’s signal. A bandage made of wood, cloth and string was covering Kat’s injury, but it only slowed down the blood flow.

“Aw, man,” Tommy said.

“What is it, Tommy?” Erika asked.

“We’re headed in the right direction, but the signal is getting fainter.”

“He must be weakening from the sun’s heat,” Danny said, knowing that it would happen sooner or later.

“Tommy, we’ve got to hurry,” Kat said. Tommy led the way, but was going at a slow pace in order for the others to see him well enough to follow him.

Not far from where they were, Lerigot was still being led by the monkeys. At a corner, Tommy’s navigator motioned to Tommy’s right. When the others caught up with him, Danny was the first to notice Lerigot.

“Look,” he said. The others looked and saw him. Somehow, they knew that it was him.

“Lerigot,” Erika instinctively said to the others. They all approached him.

“Lerigot!” Tommy called. Lerigot looked up and saw them. He said Alpha’s name again in question, and Tommy smiled. “Yes, Alpha. My name is Tommy; this is Katherine.”

Erika and Danny also introduced themselves.

Lerigot understood every word that Tommy said. He noticed Kat and Danny, particularly at their wounds. Kat sat on the grass and they saw Lerigot looking at Kat’s leg. Danny sat beside her.

Golden sparkles flew from Lerigot’s fingers and surrounded Kat’s wound. When the spell was cast, everyone noticed that the bandage over the leg looked as if it was never stained with blood. Kat was surprised. “My leg.” She and Erika removed the homemade bandage. The leg looked as if it was never injured. “He healed my leg! Thank you, Lerigot.”

Danny smiled, feeling glad for Kat. Then, he looked down to see no wound on his arm. “Wow, he healed my arm without me knowing it!”

“Let’s get him out of here,” Tommy suggested. At that moment, Lerigot grew even weaker from the sun’s heat. He would have fallen backwards if Erika didn’t catch him. She and Kat guided him into a the shade of a tree.

Danny opened communication. “Alpha, we’re standing by with Lerigot for teleportation.”

The monkeys began to chatter. Tommy looked at them and said, “Thank you.” The monkeys waved as the five teleported back to Angel Grove.

~*~

Several minutes before sunset was completed, two scubadivers went into the water. Divatox was watching them through her periscope. “Woo! Well, what have we got here? Two humans, ripe for the picking, and they’re heading our way!”

The two scubadivers were exploring the fish that they found. Suddenly, a Piranhatron grabbed one of them. The other was also captured. They were brought back to Divatox’s Subcraft, but not before they lost consciousness. They were placed on the floor in front of Divatox.

“Two perfect specimens, worthy of feeding my fiancé. Throw them into the bilge where they will stay fresh,” she declared.

“It’ll be my pleasure,” Elgar said, pulling a switch that activated the trap door to the bilge.

“Now, let’s reel in that little runt, Lerigot. He’s probably with Zordon by now. Remove the mind block! We’ll use his wife, Yara, to contact them both.”

~*~

Lerigot was resting on the medical bed of the Power Chamber. Kat was the most concerned about him, since he healed her leg. “Is he going to be all right?”

“The sun has taken its toll on him,” Alpha said. “But this should be able to restore his life force, for now.”

“I wonder who’s after him,” Adam questioned.

“Yeah, me too,” Tanya wondered.

Suddenly, Lerigot began to shake himself violently. The others ran to him in concern.

“What’s happening to him?” Danny asked. He was about the comfort Lerigot by touching him. Kat was already doing that.

“Danny, wait,” Alpha cautioned. “He is receiving a telepathic transmission which is, obviously, upsetting him greatly. Zordon, what should we do?”

“Perhaps if we can find out what he is receiving, we can help him. Alpha, attach the Cradio Transmission Scanner and connect it to the Viewing Globe.”

At the moment it was done, a visual of Divatox appeared on the screen.

“Ay-yi-yi!” Alpha screamed.

Divatox began to speak. “Zordon, I know you can hear me, so listen well. Lerigot must surrender. Say hello to Lerigot’s family: Yara, loving wife and caring mother to little baby Bethel. Don’t you just want to pinch those adorable cheeks?”

“You’d better not!” Danny shouted.

“Ay-yi-yi!” Alpha screamed again.

“Make it stop; look what it's doing to him,” Kat shouted to the screen. She didn’t know that Divatox wouldn’t respond because it was a one-way message.

“Bring him to me,” Divatox demanded. “Oh, and by the way, as a token of my appreciation, I’ll spare a couple of your favorite humans.” Danny and Erika looked at each other in confusion. “They’re really not much to look at, but my sensors tell me that they were once one of your... Oh, what do you call them? Oh, yes, Power Rangers.”

At that moment, both divers removed their scubagear from their heads. Tommy looked at their faces and was shocked. “Kimberly ... and Jason.”

“Who and who?” Erika asked.

“Former Power Rangers,” Danny explained. “Remember when you helped us by taking control of Pyramidas?” Erika nodded. “Before that happened, Jason was the Gold Ranger.”

“Wow,” Erika said.

“Do what I say,” Divatox commanded, “or it’s lights out for all of them.” The mind block was replaced on Yara’s head and the transmission was terminated.

~*~

Kimberly and Jason looked around. They were silent for a few minutes, shocked at where they are. Jason was the first to break the silence.

“Kim?”

“Yeah?”

“I think we’re in major trouble.”

“I’d say. I wish we could morph.”

“Doesn’t look like there is a way out.”

Two faces appeared at a window between their cells. Kim and Jason noticed them immediately. One of them said in a Hawaiian accent, “My name is Antonio Badana.” But Kim and Jason knew better.

“Bulk?” Kim asked in recognition.

“Skull?” Jason asked.

Yes, they were Bulk and Skull, but their minds were still mixed up. The second face (Bulk) said in a German accent, “You are speaking to us?”

The first face (Skull) asked, “Who is this Bulk and Skull?”

Jason said, “Something is weird with those two.”

Kim turned to him. “Oh, you just figured that one out?” They giggled, but Bulk and Skull turned away from the window in order to ignore the insult.

~*~

Alpha and Lerigot were talking in the Liarian language.

“They understand each other,” said an astonished Erika.

“As good friends should,” Zordon added.

“I don’t understand it. Why does Divatox want Lerigot?” Tanya asked.

“I believe that Divatox is planning to use Lerigot and his Golden Key to cross through the treacherous Nemesis Triangle into another dimension. Once there, she will likely travel to the lost island of Muiranthias, and attempt to join forces with an evil creature named Maligore.”

“Great,” Tommy said sarcastically. “Then what?”

“Then nothing would be safe. Even the Zords would not be enough to stop them.”

Suddenly, Alpha began speaking in English again. “What? No!”

The others looked in his direction. “What did he say?” Danny asked.

“Ay-yi-yi. He is performing the Liarian Prayer of Guidance.” The others looked at him, confused. “Lerigot is preparing to surrender.”

“What?” Erika asked in a shout.

“But why?” Kat asked in surprise and fear. “We can’t let him do that.”

“It’s his family, Kat,” Adam said. “We’d all do the same for each other.”

“I just hope they’re okay,” Danny said.

“Here’s the game plan,” Tommy suggested. “First, we’ll get Kim and Jason out of there; then we’ll go after Lerigot’s family.”

“Look, Kim and Jason were Power Rangers once,” Adam pointed out. “If anyone can get through it, they can.” The others nodded.

______________________________________________________________________ That very night, the Rangers guided Lerigot to the top of a cliff that overlooked the beach and the ocean. Divatox’s Subcraft came into view, and several motorboats carried Piranhatrons, Elgar, and two unconscious figures. They arrived at the beach shore, but they came no closer.

Elgar stood up and shouted, “Send Lerigot down!”

Tommy shouted back, “No; bring our friends closer first!”

“You have no choice, humans! This is as close as you get! Now, send the wizard down!”

“I don’t like it,” Adam said to the others. “We should try to think of some way to stall them until we figure something out.”

“Good idea,” Danny said.

But before they started, Erika noticed a breeze going through her hand. She was holding Lerigot, but now she was holding nothing. Her long hair, which was in a ponytail, accidentally struck Tanya’s back as Erika turned her head in shock. Tanya turned to her in confusion at the moment Erika said, “Lerigot’s gone!”

The others reacted the same way she did. Then, they heard a sound coming from the beach. They turned to see Lerigot walking towards Elgar. “Lerigot; no!” Kat shouted.

“Come back!” Tommy shouted. But Lerigot turned to his friends and waved good-bye. He walked towards Elgar.

“Come on, furball,” Elgar said. “Come to Elgar.”

“All right!” Tommy shouted. “You have what you came for; let our friends go!”

“Swim for them! So long, turkeys!”

“Turkeys?" Erika asked in disbelief. She shouted to Elgar, “Look, cone-head, no one ever calls my friends ‘turkeys’ and then gets away with it!” With that, she jumped off the cliff and ran with admirable speed to Elgar with immense anger.

“Man, she’s one who takes punishment,” Danny said. He leaped off the cliff, followed by Adam and Tommy, then by Kat and Tanya.

Elgar and the Piranhatrons went between the deep and the shallow of the ocean, dumped the unconscious figures, and went back to the ship. Erika swam after Elgar and Lerigot, calling to Elgar, “Come back here, cowards!”

Tommy, Adam, and Danny, however, swam to the two people. Tommy checked the first one, and found out that it was a fake. He had to check the other one; he found that it was also a fake. Tommy tried to swim for the ship, but Adam pulled Tommy back to the shore. Danny pulled Erika with him.

~*~

Later that night, Divatox tried to make the Golden Key work. She shouted, “Double-double rocks and rubble!” At the failure, she tried something simpler, “Abra cadabra cadabra cadabra cadabra, whoo!” She sighed in frustration.

She walked to Lerigot, saying, “If only its magic would glow in my hands, I would have no need for you. You will oversee to our safe passage through the Nemesis Triangle, won’t you, twerp?” Before waiting for an answer, Divatox turned to Rygog. “Set a course for the Nemesis Triangle, full speed ahead!”

Lerigot was once again separated from his family. He had a cell to his own; his wife and child were in another.

“Once we get to the island of Muiranthias on the other side...” she started. She was interrupted by a buzzing bug that passed by. “As I was saying, once we get to the island of...” She was interrupted again.

The bug landed on her leg. She stuck her tongue out like a frog. She caught the bug and ate it. “My Maligore’s appetite will ignite once he sees those Power-licious offerings I brought him. Those two ex-Power Pukes will be the perfect wedding meal for my Maligore.”

She didn’t know it, but Divatox was overheard by Kim. Her feet were on Jason’s shoulders; her ear was against the wall. When Divatox laughed, she knew that she finished explaining her plan. “Okay,” she said to Jason. He let her down.

“This is so lame,” Kim sighed in frustration. “You know, we come here back to surprise everybody and help out with the shelter. Next thing you know, we’re snack food for some monster with the munchies.”

“Munchies?" asked Bulk, still being brainwashed. (Not like there was any brain to wash, anyway.) He smiled stupidly and Kim and Jason.

~*~

The Rangers slept that night, even though none of them slept very well. The next morning, they set to work trying to figure out a new way to stop Divatox.

Tommy walked from Tanya and approached the others. He said, “Let the stabilizers off 8.40 Full Throttle.”

A moment later, Kat said, “Okay. All systems go here.” The screen in front of her presented a display of the Power Rangers’ colors.

Zordon said, “The Zords you are now creating will have the power to see you safely on your quest through the Nemesis Triangle; to rescue Lerigot, his family, and our friends. Behold, your new Turbo Zords.” Two doors opened behind the Rangers and they went through to see their new Zords. They were surprised to see them.

“They’re just ordinary cars,” Erika said. All at once, the lights turned on, and the Zords slowly and quietly approached them.

“No, Erika; they’re extraordinary cars. Vehicles equipped with the power and velocity of Turbo Technology. Individually, they are formidable fighting machines, but when merged together, they form the Turbo MegaZord, the most powerful Zord ever created.” Zordon began to present the Zords to their owners.

“Adam, Desert Thunder will be yours to command.

“Danny, you have the Fire Stingray.

“Erika, Sky Striker is now yours.

“Katherine, yours is called Wind Chaser.

“Tanya, Dune Star is your Turbo Zord.

“And Tommy, Red Lightning will serve you well.”

“Cool,” Erika said.

“Thanks, Zordon,” Tommy said.

But Danny saw the blue Zord, and it had stopped approaching them. “But what about Rocky’s?”

“The Mountain Blaster will stay behind, for now,” Zordon answered.

“Remember, Rangers,” Alpha warned. “Once inside the Nemesis Triangle, communication with the Power Chamber will be impossible.”

They turned to a lighted table. It was lighted with all 7 different colors.

“Before you are your new Turbo morphers,” Zordon continued. Matching their colors, the Rangers stood in front of their new morphers. “Seven keys similar to Lerigot’s Golden Key. Individually, they will power up your vehicles and give you access to your morphing powers, but together, and only together, will they became powerful enough to see you safely through your mission.

“Now reach out, Rangers, and accept your destiny.”

Erika smiled and almost whispered, “Destiny: the one thing I’ve always searched for.”

“Ready?” Tommy asked.

“Ready,” Kat answered. They placed their left hands over their keys, and their right hands in the middle, forming a sphere.

“Go!” Tommy shouted. All at once, a brilliant display of lights flooded the entire Power Chamber, as each Ranger gained access to their Turbo powers. In a few moments, the process was completed. “Woah,” Tommy said, “I’ve never felt anything like this.”

“Wow, this is great,” Kat said amazingly.

“All right!” Tanya shouted.

“This is awesome,” Adam announced.

“This is cool,” Danny agreed.

“This is incredible,” Erika finished off.

“Okay, guys; let’s get to work,” Tommy said. One by one, the others followed.

“Right behind you,” Adam informed.

“Here I come,” Kat said.

“Let’s do it,” Tanya suggested.

“Let’s go,” Danny followed.

“Wait for me!” Erika shouted. They stepped through the doors, now in brilliant uniforms.

“All systems check out,” Alpha informed. “Your Zords are programmed and ready to go.”

“Take your Zords across the Great Desert to the sea,” Zordon commanded. "There, you will find the Ghost Galleon, a phantom ship which will take you and your Zords safely through the Nemesis Triangle.”

“You must merge the power of your keys the moment you pass into the triangle,” Alpha informed them.

“The combined power of your keys and the Galleon will see you through safely,” Zordon assured. “Neither the ship nor your Zords will be detectable by Divatox.”

“Ay-yi-yi, good luck, Rangers.”

“Thanks, Alpha.” Tommy gave a thumbs-up.

“Good luck,” Zordon said, “and may the power protect you.”

“All right, guys, power up!” Tommy shouted.

“Right,” the others responded.

~*~

That afternoon, six extraordinary vehicles were seen passing through the Great Desert. In the dark room of the Power Chamber, it was hard to tell the difference between Kat’s Zord and Erika’s. They found that Kat’s is a little smaller, and Erika’s has no stripes of pink. Other than that, they looked alike.

“Aw, man. This is really awesome,” Tommy said.

“Yeah, Tommy,” Erika responded. “My dad taught me how to fly an airplane, but this is different; better and a lot more exciting.” The others took turns checking in.

“Desert Thunder, ready to rumble.”

“Fire Stingray, ready to burn.”

“Sky Striker, striking up!”

“Wind Chaser, ready to howl.”

“Dune Star’s gonna shine!”

“Red Lightning, ready to bolt!”

“All systems go, Tommy,” Adam informed.

“All right. Let’s rip some velocity. Shift into Turbo!” At that moment, each of them pulled their stick. They felt an increase in speed, exciting Adam.

“WHOO!”

Erika noticed two buttons near her stick. One was labeled, “Vehicle Mode,” the other was labeled, “Aircraft Mode.” The Vehicle Mode button was lighted because it was already pressed in. She had an idea.

“Let me try something,” she told the others. She pressed the Aircraft Mode, and her Zord began to shake gently. Slowly, the Zord was lifting up off the ground by rockets below and behind it!

Once several feet off the ground, the wheels were tucked in and a wing emerged from each side, giving the Zord its name, Sky Striker. “Woah, a Zord of land and air!”

After a few minutes of her discovery, she began to spin her Zord around in joy, and the others were amazed at her control of speed and direction. In excitement, she screamed, “Yahoo! Yippee! Yeehaw!”

“Show off,” Danny fussed.

“I heard that,” Erika warned. Danny giggled.

They all continued heading towards the sea.

~*~

“By accepting this honor, you are also accepting a great responsibility,” Zordon said. There was someone already morphed in blue.

“As the newest Ranger,” Zordon continued, “you must take your lead from the others and learn to use your new powers wisely. You will command the Mountain Blaster and henceforth be known as the ‘Blue Turbo Ranger’. Good luck, and may the power protect you.”

~*~

Divatox’s periscope saw nothing and was happy. "Ah, no Power Rangers in sight! I knew that Zordon would get it through his thick skull not to mess with me.”

“Uh, I’m not veterinarian, but I think it’s dying,” Elgar said, motion towards Lerigot.

“Ooh, we can’t let that precious wretched little Liarian thingy die before he opens the gateway to Muiranthias and frees my betrothed.”

~*~

Part III About 40 minutes after the completion of sunset, the six Turbo Zords arrived at the sea. The Sky Striker was already back to Vehicle Mode. Everyone left their Zord and looked around.

"Looks like we all made it,” Tommy said.

"It’s so creepy out here,” Erika complained.

“Hey, guys,” Kat said. “I hear the ocean, but I don’t see the ship.”

Danny said, “I’ll look up ahead.” He pointed his light at the ocean. “Jackpot,” he said. At that moment, heard Erika scream. The others looked to see Erika. Danny pointed his flashlight in front of her and found a skeleton. “Erika, don’t you scare me like that,” Danny said.

Realizing that it was only a skeleton, Erika scoffed. “Oh, I hate Halloween!” She and the others turned to see the ship Danny found.

"The Ghost Galleon,” Kat said in awe. “It’s amazing.”

“It’s even creepier than this port,” Erika said, troubled. She turned to behold their Zords in the dark again. She smiled, but she saw something that threw her into confusion. There was another set of headlights coming towards them. Because they left their lights on, the others didn’t notice.

“Hey, guys, check it out,” she said. “We’re not alone.” The others looked over their shoulders in time to see what’s coming up behind their Zords. “Mountain Blaster?” Erika asked.

Yes, it was the blue Turbo Zord, the Mountain Blaster. When the car stopped, the door opened and they saw a pair of feet coming out from the car.

“Rocky?” Adam asked, wondering if he is addressing the person by name. The door closed, and they saw a familiar face, but not Rocky’s. A young boy said, “Wow, this is cool.”

Danny was the first to become worried. “Justin, what are you doing here?!”

“Rocky couldn’t make it, so he sent me.”

“What are you talking about?" Kat asked.

“Guys, I’m the new Blue Ranger! Is that cool or what?” Justin shouted.

“What?” Adam asked in shock.

“Aw, man, I thought I wasn’t going to make it. Alpha had to give me a crash course in driving. Good thing you don’t need a license to drive a Zord.”

"Oh, good grief,” Erika said. Only she heard what she said.

"So, what are we doing here?”

A rattling noise startled all of them, and they turned to the ship. “We’ll talk about this later,” Tommy promised. “Right now, we have to get aboard that ship.” After a few minutes, everyone and every Zord was on the ship. “Everybody onboard?”

“Yeah,” Tanya said.

"All right, let’s check out the ship.” They began exploring.

Cobwebs were everywhere. The ship looked as if it wasn’t used in years. That is because it wasn’t. A door suddenly slammed behind them. Although everyone turned around in shock, Erika was the only one that actually screamed. They continued exploring the ship.

Justin found a box that was in the form of a small treasure chest. “Hey, guys, look what I found.” Tommy opened the box cautiously. Instead of being hollow filled with gold and jewels, it was a lid that covered seven slots. The slots looked similar to the slots inside the Zords.

"Looks like the keys also control the ship,” Erika quietly suggested.

“Let’s do it,” Tommy said. They placed their keys into the slots and turned them. A light shone from the keys. For a while, nothing happened. Then, Adam noticed something starting to move. He realized what is was.

“Hey, the compass is moving!” It was true.

Kat and Tanya heard something above them. Tanya was the first to speak out of the two.

“And the sails; they’re raising!”

“Raising by themselves.”

Erika grew more confident in the ship. She turned around and saw a moving circle. She smiled and shouted, “And the helm!”

The ship had set sail and headed out to the open sea. Now, everyone was enjoying this trip. The next morning, Danny was surprised the see Erika at the front, holding onto a piece of rope, and looking out to the open sea.

~*~

At Divatox’s Subcraft, she was looking in her mirror.

“Do I look fat?” she asked herself. “Nah.” She continued admiring her beauty until she heard a warning bell. “Oh, hells bells, what is going on?”

“Sensors detect the presence of seven human beings, but no vessel,” Elgar shouted in complaint.

"What are they, swimming? We’re in the middle of the blasted ocean.”

“Whatever they’re traveling upon, it’s totally undetectable!”

“Oh, it must Zordon and his Power Pukes, no doubt. Why didn’t the radar alert us?”

At that moment, sparks flew from the radar controls. “Uh, I guess it needs fixing.”

Divatox shoved Elgar away. “Nevermind. I’ll give a little something for those Power Parasites to remember me by.” She pressed a button labeled “Pods.” Several egg-shaped object the size of small watermelons floated to the surface and attached themselves to the Ghost Galleon.

~*~

By the next night, most of the pods were on the deck of the ship. Justin was looking over the port bow (left side) of the ship. Erika came up.

“Justin, where are you? Justin?”

“I’m over here!” Erika approached him and passed by a pod without noticing it.

“There you are. Why don’t you come down below with us? It’s getting awfully cold up here.”

“I’m way too excited to sleep. I was just thinking, if my Dad only knew, man, he’d be so proud of me. And all the other kids at the shelter...”

“Justin...”

“I know, I know. It’s for me the know and them to find out: Rangers Code of Honor. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good boy.”

One of the pods increased in size, as did the others...

"I guess my Dad is still up North,” Justin said. “He had to close down the Martial Arts Studio after my Mom passed away,” Justin said.

“Why did he close it down?”

“He just couldn’t focus anymore. It was like something was missing inside of him.”

"He’ll find it again. He just needs a little time; that’s all.”

One of the pods opened, followed by the others...

“Yeah,” Justin added. “And when he does, we can be a family again. That’s important.”

“I know, but you have to remember the we’re your family now, too. Come here.” They hugged. “Okay, Boy Blue, don’t stay here too long. Even Power Rangers need their sleep.”

“Okay.” She played with his nose the same way she did on the bus. They giggled. She went below deck. Justin felt better, now that he talked about it.

“He’s okay,” she announced.

“Good,” Danny said, relieved.

“Danny?” Erika asked. “Why are you so relieved about Justin? ‘This afternoon: Danny lets Justin go for a walk, and Erika becomes worried. This evening: Erika lets Justin stand by deck, and Danny becomes worried.’ What’s wrong with this picture?”

Danny chuckled. “I don’t know,” he said innocently. Erika smiled at Danny. He was always hard to extract secrets from.

Meanwhile, a pod stood up. It had the neck and head of a snake, the scales and spikes of a Stegosaurus, and walked on two legs. The others began to approach Justin, all having the same look. Since they recently transformed to their monster form, they were also covered with slime.

At first, Justin didn’t notice them. Then he saw them and became so frightened that he could hardly speak. Danny heard a small whisper saying, “Hey, guys.” He tapped on Erika’s shoulder and motioned her to come with him. They got on deck to look for Justin.

“Justin?” he asked. Then, they heard a cry. It was not a cry of distress, but a cry of attack. Justin did a spin roundhouse kick and knocked most of pods onto the floor. He looked behind Danny and saw another pod approaching him from behind.

“Danny, watch out!”

Danny saw the monster and avoided his offenses. The pod’s head struck the bell, getting the attention of the other Rangers.

Erika shouted, “All hands on deck! We have an emergency!”

Everyone came and attacked the monsters, using whatever they could find besides their martial arts talent. Justin used a chain to swing down from one deck to kick a pod towards Danny. Tanya and Kat used a net to capture a pod before pushing it off the ship. Tommy kick another off. Two down, four to go.

Danny and Erika were finishing off the pod Justin passed to them. Erika placed the pod’s head into a long barrel and she joined with Danny to kicking the monster. Justin did a finish kick the placed it off balance and tripped off the ship. Three down, three to go.

Erika ran to help Adam, who was having trouble with the pod since they both were in a tight space. She punched the pod in the side, causing the monster to look at her. “Adam, give this guy a poor-pounding headache!”

Adam pounded his tight fists against the pod’s head and they both pushed it off the ship. Later, he discovered that he had slime all over his hands. “Eww,” he said in disgust. Four down, two to go.

One was surrounded by his enemies except for Erika, who was getting another pod off the ship. Tommy jumped in front of the pod. He did several kicks and chops and intentionally missed the target. That sent the pod into dizziness. Tommy merely said, “Boo,” and the frightened pod walked to the ship’s edge and jumped off. Five down, one left.

That one was still with Erika. Her friends came just as she made to pod back off and said, “If you know what good for you, you’d get out of here, you slimy, sneaky, silly sea serpent!” At the insult, the pod charged. Erika easily avoided the charge, and pod ran the plank. They were all gone.

Tanya looked down the ship, gazed at the others and said, “This sure aint the Love Boat.”

Most of the others giggled at the joke, but Justin asked, “What’s the Love Boat?”

“It’s okay, Justin,” Erika answered. “You’re too young to worry about that kind of stuff.”

~*~

Jason removed a long pipe from the wall and tried it. Even though the pipe couldn’t break at Jason’s strength, it was not useful enough against Divatox. He looked at a circular panel that Kim was leaning against. “That’s it. Kim, move away from the wall for a minute.”

“Um, okay.”

“Instead of making weapons, I think we’d better concentrate on getting this panel off.”

“Um, wouldn’t that mean that all the water would come in?”

“Yeah. According to my diving computer, we’re at 435 feet. The closer we get to Muiranthias, the Sub is going to start climbing. Once we hit 100 feet, we pop this thing open, and then boom.”

“And make it up in one breath?”

He sensed her doubt. “It’s our only chance.” They began to knock off the bolts, allowing only three to remain as they are. After a trickle of water came in, Kim and Jason knew that they were getting close to success.

Divatox noticed some flashes of light coming from the front. She knew where they were. “At last, we are finally approaching the Nemesis Triangle!” She looked through the periscope.

Some water came into the bilge. Jason and Kim did their best the keep the water from going in, although this act was futile. “We’re going to have to wait until we get through the triangle,” Jason shouted over the rushing water.

The depth of the water was already, slowly, increasing inch by inch. “We’d better pass through very quickly,” Kim responded.

The next morning, just minutes after Kim made that remark, the Rangers looked out in front of the ship. “There it is,” Tommy said. “The Nemesis Triangle.”

It looked like a large tidal wave that extended from one part of the horizon to the other. A lightning storm was over the wave. “It’s incredible,” Kat said.

“Yeah,” Justin agreed. “Whatever is steering the ship sure knows where to go.”

Adam realized what he meant. They were heading into the heart of it.

Divatox held the Golden Key in her hand, and announced, “It’s time.” The ship was knocked a little off balance, startling everyone, and frightening Divatox' eel. “We’re just minutes away from the Dimensional Gateway!”

Lerigot and Yara became extremely concerned.

“Jason! The room’s lighting up! What’s happening?”

“I don’t know!” He pushed harder against the panel. Even though it would have fallen off if Jason and Kim didn’t hold it back, it was still pushing from both the force of the Nemesis Triangle and the water pressure. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold it!”

A flash of lightning frightened the girls. “Look!” Erika pointed to some debris. It was what was left of a ship that tried to pass through the triangle sometime in the past. They all knew that if they didn’t merge the keys at the precise moment, they would end up like the debris.

A strong gust of wind blew a broken board off of the ocean surface. It flew towards them. They ducked in order to avoid it. Erika’s head would have been injured if she didn’t protect it with her arm. “Smart move,” Adam admired.

“Don’t tell me I’m not seeing things,” Kat said in fear.

“No,” Adam responded. “It’s the triangle. It looks pretty nasty.”

“Hit the deck,” Danny said, just before a bolt of lightning came. If it wasn’t for Danny’s senses, they would have been electrocuted. Danny looked at the frightened faces of the others before he guided Justin with him to get up.

“Good timing, Danny,” Kat complimented.

“We had a lot of storms in the Everglades,” Danny said.

“Danny, don’t scare me like that,” Erika said.

Divatox ordered Lerigot to use the key and open the gateway. “Do it, wizard. Open the gateway. C’mon, c’mon.”

She handed Lerigot the Golden Key through the bars of his cell. Lerigot merely shook his head and passed the key back through the bars. That was a symbol to Divatox, knowing that she couldn’t be able to work the key.

“You little runt,” Divatox insulted to him. “Open the door,” she yelled at Elgar, who opened the door to Yara’s cell.

“Don’t move, you little hairball,” Elgar said. Yara scolded at Elgar in response. Of course, anyone that was not a Liarian who heard her thought that she was growling instead.

Divatox turned to Lerigot and said, “You may be willing to sacrifice yourself, runt; but how much do you love your little family? Elgar, grab the baby!”

“Right! Come here, you little brat.” He took Bethel from Yara before she could be able to react to Divatox’s command.

Lerigot couldn’t allow his own child to die, so he agreed to open the gateway. Divatox opened Lerigot’s cell and pulled him to the middle, where he started to cast the spell that allowed Divatox’s Subcraft to pass through safely.

But the added pressure forced more water into the bilge.

“We need something to pry to panel with,” Jason said.

“Get the pipe,” Kim suggested.

"Good idea.” He dove into the water and quickly found the pipe. He emerged, and started to pry the panel off. “This should do it.” But it didn’t look like it could come off.

“Okay, anytime, Jason.”

“I’m trying.”

Bulk and Skull watched them stupidly. “We go swimming,” Bulk asked foolishly.

In frustration, Jason turned to them fiercely. "Would you guys be quiet?! I’m trying to get us out of here!”

Bulk shook his head to Skull.

Divatox noticed that they were sinking. “We’re sinking; we’re sinking. Okay, okay, don’t panic. Don’t panic. WE’RE SINKING!” Divatox panicked.

Elgar was holding a telephone that could communicate through galaxies and dimensions. “Uh oh, we’re sinking. Gotta go,” he said to whoever it was on the other line. He hung up. “Uh, for some reason, we’re pulling in water.”

“Water? Water! Water,” she sobbed and complained.

Several more bolts of lightning struck the top of the poles. They appeared undamaged. "We’re getting close to the gateway,” Danny said. “We need the keys.”

“You guys go below; I’ll get the keys,” Erika volunteered.

“Be careful,” Tommy said.

Erika carefully made her way to the keys, but she had to stop several times due to sudden jolts the ship made because of the waves and the wind. She removed each key one by one, being careful that she placed the keys to the girls in her right hand and the keys to the boys in her left. After grabbing the last key, she turned towards the door below deck.

A large wave that crashed against the ship sent water flying into the ship. Justin and Tommy became minorly wet. The wave, however, struck mainly on Erika, who lost her balance, slid across the ship, and got her ankle caught in a hole! For a while, nothing more happened.

“Hey, guys; I’m stuck!” Danny immediately went to Erika. She made sure that she had all 7 keys while Danny was loosening her ankle. Another wave splashed across their faces, but that didn’t slow Danny down. He removed her ankle and guided her below.

She passed the appropriate key to the appropriate person. They formed a circle, and were ready to merge the keys, when a barrel struck against Justin’s leg, causing him to drop his key. It landed in between some boxes through a narrow opening.

“My key, I dropped my key!” Justin shouted. He ran to the boxes and reached for the key. It took him a while before he could get a grab on it. They merged the keys at the last possible second.

A blast of light caused them all to fall backwards. They each felt a weird feeling as the gateway passed through their bodies. A wall of water that symbolized the gateway passed through all of them. They made it through safely.

The room was almost completely full of water. Jason and Kim took another breath and went down. They haven’t been able to open the panel yet, but they knew that they were close. Finally, they got it open, went upward, and gasped for air.

“We have to get Bulk and Skull first,” Kim said.

“Okay,” Jason agreed. They went underwater and opened a door that they would not have been able to reach if the water wasn’t there. When Bulk and Skull got into the other cell, all four of them went up for air. Jason looked at Bulk and Skull and instructed, “You guys, you have to exhale slowly on the way to the surface, okay?”

“Swim now,” Skull said. “Like a little gubby.”

They all took a breath and went through the panel. Bulk went through first, Skull slowly followed him. Kim began to go, but her shirt got caught by one of the screws. Jason had to help her. He was able to release her shirt, and she went on.

Divatox realized the source of the water. “What! It’s coming from the bilge. Activate the emergency hatch!”

“Right,” Elgar said.

“Now! Quicker, quicker!” Before Jason could be able to escape, the emergency hatch closed his path. Jason also lost his diving computer. “I hope the drain is not clogged,” Divatox said, pressing a button. The water in the bilge greatly reduced to about 4 inches in just a few seconds. The ship stopped sinking and continued on its course.

Jason, floating in the water, soon had no water to float in. He fell on the ground but stood up quickly. “Now open the hatch to the bilge,” he heard Divatox say. Divatox looked at Jason and noticed that Kim wasn’t there. Jason smiled in triumph. “Well, I suppose Maligore will have to do with just one sacrifice.”

~*~

Justin was high on a platform, not far from the crow’s nest. He was using his binoculars. He saw an island, suddenly. He wanted another look. “Man. Wow. Land ahoy,” he said to himself.

He placed his fingers in his mouth and made a whistle. The others looked up to him as he shouted, “‘There she blows! Land ahoy! Shiver me timbers!’ I always wanted to say that.” The others giggled.

“Got your chance,” Danny whispered.

A few moments later, the others were at the front of the ship, getting a good look at the island Justin saw. Justin caught up with them in just a few seconds. “There it is,” Danny said, as if he was a tour guide. “The lost island of Muiranthias.”

Erika said, “Yeah. It looks pretty lost to me.”

“Zordon said that Maligore’s volcano is in the Serpent’s Temple,” Adam recalled. “That’s got to be where they’re going.”

“Then, that’s where we’re going, too,” Tommy said. Erika smiled. She loved having a leader like Tommy. She took another look at Muiranthias, knowing that the excitement has only just begun.

~*~

Elgar looked at Lerigot. “You’re overgrown hamster ain't looking so hot,” he informed Divatox.

“No! He has to live long enough to open Maligore’s sacred temple door!” The alarms rang off again. “Now what?!”

“This is impossible,” Rygog said. “Our radar is detecting seven human life forms approaching the island.”

“I knew they wouldn’t let me down, Divatox,” Jason said boldly. He would have confronted her if the two Piranhatrons didn’t restrain him.

“Oh,” Divatox complained. “I have to get rid of those Power Rangers!”

“Yeah,” Elgar agreed stupidly. “They’re getting on my nerves!”

Divatox picked up the telephoned and called an old friend of hers. The telephone rang and was picked up immediately. “Hi, Rita, D here. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up; I forgot about the time change. Now, I know you’ve had a lot of experience in this matter. I need your advice. How do I get rid of the Power Rangers?”

“What? The Power Rangers? Ha ha ha ha! If I knew that, do you think I would be lying here, listening to this?” She held the telephone near Lord Zedd’s mouth, which has begun a terribly loud snore. “My advice to you, Divatox: Run!” Rita hung up the phone while laughing.

“Thanks for nothing,” Divatox said, hanging up.

~*~

Kim was just waking up. She was lying on a beach for several minutes. She almost lost consciousness. She thought that if her shirt didn’t get caught then she and Jason would both be free. She looked up to see people. They were natives wearing masks over their faces. They picked up Kim, and she struggled to get free. Yet, there were too many of them, and Kim was carried off.

She was watched by Bulk and Skull. Both looked shocked when they saw her, captured.

“She should have better camouflage,” Bulk said senselessly.

“What should we do?” Skull asked.

“We could rescue her, or we could enjoy the beach.” They both agreed to enjoy the beach. Yes, even though they were brainwashed, they still were the same stupid, lazy souls. But not for long. More natives surrounded them, and they ran in their fear.

They found even more natives in front of them and behind them. They happened upon the same idea at the same time. They pointed up, and the natives looked up to see what was up there. Bulk and Skull made their escape.

~*~

The Ghost Galleon stopped its cruise for the first time. This was as far as the ship would go. The Rangers equipped themselves with their Power Boxes. Tommy was trying to locate Lerigot using the short-range navigator. “Hey, guys. Something’s wrong. I can’t get a lock on Lerigot.”

“Sky Striker is up first,” Erika said. “I could drive up to the top of that cliff and see if I could get a look at the temple.”

“I’ll go with you,” Adam volunteered.

“Good idea, Adam. Keep in contact, both of you,” Tommy suggested. Soon, both Desert Thunder and Sky Striker were floating across the sea towards the shore, like it was a little boat.

“Cool,” Erika said. “I wonder if this Zord is the first ever to be of land, air, and water at the same time.”

“I don’t know, Erika,” Adam pointed out. “You might need to ask Zordon about that.”

They got onto the shore and went up the cliff.

~*~

“They’ve got to be riding something,” Divatox reasoned. “Maybe a couple of torpedoes could tell us what.”

“Two torpedoes armed and ready,” Elgar announced. “Fire 1 and 2.” Both torpedoes were launched and racing towards the Ghost Galleon.

It was at that moment that Adam and Erika arrived as far as their Zords could take them. From there, they had to travel on foot. First, Adam and Erika just had to find out how beautiful a view would the cliff give on the ship.

“Cool view,” Adam said.

“Not even I could be able to paint that,” Erika said.

Adam turned to her. “You’re an artist?”

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you that before?” Adam shook his head. “One of my favorite hobbies is painting.” She glanced to one side of the ship and saw something. She took her binoculars and saw something. “Adam, look! What are those?”

Adam also looked through his binoculars. “Torpedoes, two of them! They’re heading for the ship!”

On the ship, Tommy and the others also discovered the torpedoes.

“Our cover is blown, something is coming towards us,” Tanya said.

“And it’s coming fast,” Tommy added.

“We can’t be detected inside the Turbo vehicles,” Kat recalled.

“C’mon,” Justin started. “We’ve got to get our butts in those cars!”

They raced to their Zords.

Adam tried using the communicators, but there was no answer. When Erika raised her binoculars again, she saw the Ghost Galleon, or at least what was left of it. The torpedoes struck the ship and it exploded. Divatox and Elgar thought that they had won, at last. Adam and Erika, however, were grief-stricken.

Then, they heard something. Erika noticed it first. “Adam, do you hear something, like engines?” They looked at the fire that was on the water. The first Turbo Zord that Erika saw was the Fire Stingray. “Danny!”

“Looks like we all made it through,” Danny said.

“So, what do you think, Justin,” Tanya asked.

“Wow, can we do that again?” Justin questioned excitedly.

“All right, everyone, head for shore,” Tommy ordered.

Adam and Erika cheered and cheered like they would never stop. Then they set out to look for the Serpent’s Temple.

First, they had to cross a river. Both were hesitant; the current looked strong. But Erika stepped on the stepping stones, shouting, “C’mon, Adam! Last one across is a rotten egg!”

“Erika!” He carefully went after her. They found that they reached the other side at the same time.

Up at the cliff top, Erika and Adam looked around for the temple. Erika spotted Divatox, her minions, and her prisoners. “Adam, look!” He turned to see that Lerigot was dying. They turned back and started to look for the others.

~*~

“How far is it; my feet hurt,” Rygog asked. “Oh, stop complaining. We’re almost there, wimp,” Divatox said. They heard the sound of drumming in front of a temple door.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Elgar said. The natives surrounded Divatox’s parade. “Come to think if it, I don’t like the looks of it, either.”

Divatox noticed that some of the natives tied Kim’s wrists and ankles to a cot. “Hey, the little Power Geek is back.”

“So you want a fight, huh?” Elgar threatened.

“No, no!" Divatox shouted. “Those are the Malachians, guardians of Maligore. Get the wizard, bring him here. Hurry!”

“Release the wizard!”

“Do it, wizard. Spin your magic.”

Yara tried to warn him against it. Of course, Lerigot had no choice. He opened the door. The sparkles that left the key sent the Malachians into fear, and they bowed down to Divatox.

“That’s right, bow to me, you little peons. I love being queen. All right, everybody, we have a wedding to get through. Here comes the bride!”

“Warriors, bring the other prisoners,” Rygog commanded.

“Move it, furball,” Elgar snapped. Lerigot turned around. “What are you looking at? Get in there!”

~*~

Part IV Adam raced to his friends, followed quickly by Erika. “Hey, guys!” he shouted.

“Adam,” Tanya said. “Are you okay?”

“Lerigot’s dying,” Erika informed. “We may already be too late.”

“All right,” Tommy told. “We left the vehicles here to go for the silent approach. Take out your morphers. It’s time to kick into action. Shift into Turbo!” Everyone had swung their left wrists in front of their chests, except for Justin. He accidentally swung his right wrist, then corrected his mistake.

Erika looked at him and whispered, “When will you ever learn?” Then, they all began the morphing process.

“Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!” Also, the power increased Justin’s height slightly.

“Desert Thunder Turbo Power!”

“Fire Stingray Turbo Power!”

“Sky Striker Turbo Power!”

“Dune Star Turbo Power!”

“Wind Chaser Turbo Power!”

“Red Lightning Turbo Power!” They looked at each other’s new uniforms. “Let’s do it!”

“Right!” Erika shouted.

“Woah,” Justin said. This was actually the first time Justin paid attention to his new uniform. He liked it. “All right! Hey; wait for me!”

“Justin,” Erika said sarcastically.

~*~

Fire had burst from the underground volcano. “I like it,” Divatox complimented. “I love it. I love it; all these steaming skulls are perfect. No, I think the lava will have to go, but we will do all our entertainment here.”

She grabbed Lerigot’s ear. “Of course, you won’t be around to see it,” she added. She dropped him. “Now, its time to feed my future husband. Prepare the humans first; he can have the Liarians for dessert!” Both Yara and Bethel were shocked to hear that.

The Malachians were doing their chant to call on Maligore. Some of them were just plain talking. Divatox said, “If anyone knows a reason why we two should not be joined in holy matrimony, SHUT UP!”

~*~

The Rangers ran to find the temple door. They were running at a fast pace, thanks to their new Turbo powers. “It sure beats walking,” Danny said.

“You can say that again,” Tommy said.

“It sure beats walking.”

“He did,” Erika giggled. “You told him he could!”

As they ran, they came toward a large log. Justin merely jumped over. Unanimously, Kat and Tanya flipped over it. Danny quickly placed his hands on it and pushed himself over. Erika quickly rolled underneath it and continued running. Adam and Tommy both jumped onto it, flipped from there, and caught up with the others.

They stopped running when they heard the Malachians’ chant at a distance. “All right. We’re close. Keep your eyes open,” Tommy instructed.

They all passed by a bush, but Justin took a second look behind it. He pushed back a large leaf and listened carefully. He noticed that there was more sound from behind the bush than in front. “Tommy, over here!”

“What’s wrong, Justin?”

“Are you okay?” Kat asked.

“The sound is coming from that way,” Justin pointed through the bush.

“Good job, Justin,” Tommy said.

“All right! This is fun! C’mon, guys; follow me. I’ll lead the way!” He went down a path that he found without waiting for anyone.

“Justin, wait; it’s too dangerous!” Danny shouted, a little overprotective.

“I found the entrance!” Justin would have gone through the entrance if Erika didn’t get past the others and grab Justin’s wrist. He was surprised that she grabbed him; especially since she had never done that to anyone before, must less him.

“Justin,” Erika said sternly. The others caught up. “If you’re not going to wait for us, then at least slow down a little bit. Being a Power Ranger is not as fun as you might think it is.”

~*~

“Maligore, great flame of destruction. It is I, Divatox, you’re one and only true soulmate. This moment has been long and coming, and now, I bring you two perfect specimens to seal our matrimonial pact. Awake, and feed upon their purity. Come forth, and let evil twist their souls. Victory is ours and join forces with me!”

The Rangers found where they were performing the ceremony. They cautiously waited at a corner near the entrance to the main room. “All right, this is it. Ready?” Tommy asked. The others nodded and leaned against the walls, doing the best the could to hide until they would run out. “Move out on my command.”

The Malachians were still doing their chant, but they stopped suddenly when they heard Tommy cry out, “GO!” The Rangers ran out, and Divatox, holding her pet eel, turned to see her enemies for the first time.

“Hey, did we miss the party?” Tommy asked.

“Who invited you?” Divatox asked, annoyed.

“We did,” Kim answered. She and Jason were tied up above the fire pit. She turned to her old and new friends and began the introductions. “Rangers, this is Divatox. Divatox, this is your worst nightmare.”

“Ha,” Divatox laughed. Then, she turned to a Piranhatron that was at a wheel. “Lower them into the volcano.” Jason and Kim struggled in attempt to break free. They were unsuccessful.

“I’ll get the wheel,” Justin volunteered. All at once, everyone started attacking. Justin was blocking the most offenses, since he went for the wheel. He knocked out every Pirranhatron that he encountered, including the one at the wheel. “Hey, Divatox, give up?”

“Elgar, go give Power Boy my answer,” Divatox commanded.

Elgar ran to Justin, carrying a whip with him. Justin ran out of the way and Rygog took control of the wheel. Elgar ran after Justin, saying, “Come back, you little twerp.” He cracked his whip and began to attack Justin.

Justin grabbed the other end of the whip, which was a fatal mistake. Elgar twirled around Justin, forcing the w hip to wrap around his neck. “What’s the matter? All choked up?”

Danny saw what happened and pushed Elgar away from Justin. Danny continued to attack Elgar until he was sure that Elgar began to leave Justin alone. “Justin, you okay?” Erika saw them and smiled, although no one saw it through her helmet.

“Yeah, cuz. Thanks.”

Erika was shocked. “Cuz?” she asked herself. “That’s short for ‘cousin.’ Danny is his cousin? I’ll ask Justin later; Danny is hard to extract secrets from.” She began attacking again.

~*~

Adam was helping Lerigot up. “C’mon, Lerigot. Over here.” He guided Lerigot to Yara. “Wait here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Adam left to attack. Lerigot felt much better with his wife. This has been the first time in several days that they have really been together.

“Into the fire!” Rygog shouted, regaining control of the wheel. Tommy heard that, and tried his best fight his way through the crowd of Piranhatrons. Adam was also trying to attack through.

“Get out of my way!” he yelled. With every word he spoke in that sentence, he made a hard blow against his opponent.

Elgar saw Adam and threw one end of his whip around his neck. When Erika saw that happen, she ran with immense anger and did a jumping side kick against Elgar’s shoulder, forcing Elgar to let go. “That was only for abusing him,” Erika said. “This is for calling my friends ‘turkeys’.”

She began to severely kick and punch Elgar, and finished off with her most powerful roundhouse kick, sending Elgar crashing into Divatox. “I told you, Cone-head, that no one ever calls my friends ‘turkeys,’ and then gets away with it.”

~*~

When she got up, Divatox saw Kim and Jason about to go into the volcano. The Rangers tried to break through the Piranhatrons in order to save them, but there were too many of them holding each of them.

“Too late, Rangers,” Divatox informed. “Even now, they’re becoming the slaves of evil.”

An explosion erupted from the volcano mouth. Kim and Jason appeared at the volcano mouth’s edge with their backs turned to the Rangers. “Oh, that’s a nice trick,” Elgar stupidly said.

Kim and Jason turned to the Rangers. They all noticed that their normally brown eyes were now a fierce red. Powered by force of evil, Kim and Jason broke the chains that held their wrists together with great ease. “Maligore’s children,” Divatox shouted. “Destroy those who threaten the bonds of unity!”

“Uh-oh,” Danny said. “I think we’re in trouble.”

“I’d say,” Erika agreed. “The only thing I regret about being a Ranger is the fact that sometimes you have to attack your own friends.”

Kim and Jason began to attack them. Kim shoved Tommy off and began to kick Adam. Jason punched Justin in the gut. Danny, trying to protect him again, was only chopped, kicked, and pushed away by Jason.

~*~

Kim choked Tanya and approached Kat. “Kim,” Kat said. “You’ve got to fight the evil!”

“Evil is like evil does,” Kim said in a witch-like voice.

“Don’t do this!” Kim grabbed Kat’s wrist, forced her to kneel, and pressed against Kat’s elbow. Tommy and Danny ran to them and Tommy turned Kim around. Before Kim could attack them, they removed their helmets.

“No, look at us, Kim. Look at us. It’s us, Tommy and Danny.”

“Yes,” Kat said. “We’re you’re friends.”

“Friends?” Kim asked and laughed. “I don’t have any friends.”

At that moment, Jason grabbed both Tommy’s and Danny’s shoulders and began to attack them. They dropped their helmets, and without them, they were just as fragile as any ordinary human.

“Oh yeah, and sweetie, pink is out,” Kim continued, and kicked Kat in the gut.

~*~

Jason faced his opponents, but Tommy and Danny didn’t even defend themselves.

“Come on, Rangers,” Jason said in his own fierce voice.

“No, I don’t want to hurt you,” Tommy said. In response, Jason began to punch them. Tommy and Danny only blocked a few of them, and Jason forced them to lean on the edge of the volcano mouth. Jason jumped on top of them and began to choke them. They slowly began to lose consciousness.

Kim was fighting against Erika. Since Erika didn’t know Kim as well as the others, it was easier for her to attack Kim, even though she also hesitated. Erika tried to leg-sweep Kim, but she jumped over the leg and kicked Erika away from her. Two Piranhatrons grabbed Erika, so she had to deal with Kim later.

Kim looked at Tommy, Danny, Jason. In an ordinary situation, Kim would run to the rescue. Instead, she just kept whispering, “Into the fire. Into the fire.”

Divatox was also encouraging Jason to throw him in the volcano. “Do it. Do it! Maligore’s power will exceed! Throw them in the fire!”

But Maligore’s evil instincts were running better through Jason than through Kim, especially since Jason was masculine. He looked at Divatox and shouted, “No! This one is mine!” He continued to choke Tommy.

“Throw them in the fire! Throw them in the fire!" Divatox shouted.

“Yes, into the fire,” Kim whispered. Lerigot and Yara decided to bring Kim back to normal. It only a few seconds, and Kim saw the situation through a different point of view.

“Now I’m the one with the muscles and the power!” Jason shouted.

Almost losing consciousness, Danny responded, “Yeah, that’s right, Jase. But you’re not using your brain power.” Quickly, Danny did a chop that released his neck from Jason’s grip. Jason, losing his grip on Tommy’s neck, lost his balance and fell into the pit. Tommy grabbed one wrist, Danny grabbed the other, but Jason kept trying to resist them.

Tommy and Danny weren’t even paying attention to the familiar voice of Kim, shouting, “Tommy, Danny, hang on!”

“Don’t try to fight me, Jase. You got to remember. Remember all the good,” Tommy encouraged. He and Danny would have lost Jason if Kim didn’t try to help them.

“You all right, Kim?” Danny asked.

“I’m with you,” she answered.

The anger of Maligore had burst into an explosion large enough to knock Tommy, Danny, Kim and Jason out of the pit. Kat picked up Tommy’s helmet, saying, “I think you’re going to need this.” At the exact same time, and using the exact same words, Erika did the same for Danny’s helmet.

“Thanks,” the two boys said unanimously. Lifting the helmets high, they shouted, “Back to action!” They replaced the helmets on their heads, restoring the power of the Red and Purple Rangers.

“I’ll get the Liarians,” Kim volunteered.

“All right, guys. Let’s finish up!” Tommy shouted. They began to attack the Piranhatrons again.

~*~

Divatox pushed Rygog aside. “Watch it, you big Christmas Tree Ornament!”

“Sorry about that.”

“Maligore, arise and meet your bride. Together, we will take revenge on Lerigot, descendant of those who imprisoned you. Come to me! Please! Oh, come on.”

“The humans are turning pure again,” Rygog said. He didn’t know that Jason was still under Maligore’s spell.

“No!” Elgar yelled. “Now we don’t have a sacrifice.”

“Oh, but we do, my dear nephew,” Divatox said.

Elgar turned to her in confusion. “We do?”

Erika turned to Divatox just in time to see her throw her pet eel at Elgar, causing him to run over the edge and down of the volcano. Erika smiled in triumph underneath her helmet. Not noticing Erika, Divatox turned to Rygog and said, “Remind me to get another pet.”

~*~

Jason was relieved from the spell, thanks to Lerigot and Yara. He saw two Piranhatrons chasing Kim. She punched and knocked down one of them as she said, “Out of my face.” The other grabbed Kim’s arms from behind. Although she struggled, she didn’t get free.

Jason tapped on the Piranhatron’s shoulder. “Excuse me,” he said. He punched the Piranhatron in the face and kicked him away. Kim noticed that he was back to normal, judging by his voice.

“Why, thank you,” she said.

“Anytime,” he responded.

~*~

The Rangers got together again except for Erika and Danny; they were held off by several Piranhatrons. Erika kicked one away from her, then turned to Danny. “Hey, Danny,” she shouted, getting his attention. “Do you think these guys know how to play baseball?”

She punched the face of a coming Pirranhatron. “Strike one!” She punched the Piranhatron again, this time in the gut. “Strike two!” Then, she kicked her opponent away. “You’re out of there! I love that game.”

“Erika!” Danny shouted. While Danny was watching, more Piranhatrons had captured him. “Do you think they know how to play bowling? I could use some help here!”

Erika nodded. She curled herself into a ball and rolled towards them. Her back struck against the legs of some Piranhatrons, making all of them lose their balance. They fell to the floor, just like pins. Together, they made a diamond symbol with their fingers and did their typical bowling victory. “Feel the bang!” They jumped and landed in a wonderful stance.

Danny saw Erika throwing the last one into the volcano pit. “You’ve got a pretty good recipe for fried fish, Erika.” She laughed, and looked down the pit to see the Pirranhatron strike the lava. She saw a horrible figure in the pit and screamed. Her friends saw her jump back several feet, place her hands over her mouth, and remain motionless. Danny approached her quietly.

“Erika, you okay?”

“I ... I saw him,” were the only words she could express. It was obvious that she was covered with fear. Danny guided her back to the others.

“What happened?” Tanya asked.

“She saw him,” Danny answered.

“I think our greatest opponent is about to make his entrance,” Justin guessed.

A flash of light flooded the room before anyone could say anything more. Divatox turned to the volcano and said, “Come to me, Maligore. Unite our powers as one!”

“I don’t think I like this, one bit,” Tommy said.

It was at that moment that a three-clawed hand was placed on the edge. Divatox began to frown. The other hand came, and the creature pulled himself up. The side of his face had scales that looked like bat wings. His teeth were like a bear's, and he roars like a lion. His skin color was black with orange stripes, like a lava river.

“She wants to marry him?” Kat asked in confusion.

“That was part of what placed me in shock,” Erika said.

Divatox turned to Rygog. For the first time, she was wondering if she was making the right choice. “He’s back,” Rygog said.

“I think it's time to call out the hardware,” Justin suggested.

“Good call, Justin,” Tommy praised. “Let’s do it!” They all turned 360 degrees around, and by the time they returned to their original position, they had their weapons at hand.

“Turbo Lightning Sword!”

“Turbo Hand Blasters!”

“Turbo Fire Axe!”

“Turbo Star Chargers!”

Maligore extended his hand to Divatox. “Talk to him,” Rygog suggested.

“Turbo Thunder Cannon!”

“Turbo Wind Fire!”

“Turbo Sky Scepter!”

“You look great,” said an unsure Divatox. “Haven’t changed a bit.” The moment she took his hand, and electric current went through her. She screamed and released her hand from his grip.

“Fire!” Tommy shouted. They all fired their weapons. Although Maligore noticed the blasts of their weapons, he didn’t feel affected.

“It’s not working,” Kat noticed. They stopped firing.

“Woah,” Tommy said. “What a hot-head.”

“What’s the plan, Tommy?” Danny asked. “That barely phased him.”

“We’ve got to lure Brimstone Breath outside and call on our Zords.”

“All right,” Justin said, stepping forward. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Let’s do it!” They all tried to injure Maligore another way, but one by one, they failed.

Adam even fell down, grabbing Maligore’s attention. Erika was the first to notice this. “Adam, get up!”

Maligore extended his hand, using telekinesis to force Adam down. “Aw, man. I can’t move,” Adam weakly said.

“C’mon, Adam,” Erika encouraged. “You can do it!”

“Hey,” Adam said. “Your bride is leaving.”

Maligore turned to Divatox. She wasn’t leaving at first, but decided to run away. But not without Rygog, though, who said, “I think I hear my mother calling.” Divatox grabbed Rygog and pulled him the other way.

“You’ve got the worst sense of direction, and you’re ugly,” she insulted to him.

Adam got up, saying, “Made you look.”

With her Sky Scepter tucked under one arm, Erika supported Adam. “Adam, can you make it?”

“Yeah.”

“Everyone!” Tommy shouted. “Out the way we came!”

Jason and Kim guided Lerigot and Yara out of the temple. The volcano began to erupt. The ground began to shake. Maligore broke through the door.

“Must go faster. Must go faster. Must go faster,” Erika repeated over and over again, until they arrived at their Zords and began to drive.

“Head for the clearing,” Tommy commanded.

“Got it,” Tanya responded.

“Right behind you,” Kat answered.

“Copy that,” Adam said.

“Understood,” spoke Danny.

“Wait for me,” giggled Erika.

“Yahoo!” yelled Justin.

Divatox pulled Rygog through the broken door. “You’re going on a diet, buddy, the minute we get back. Now, come on, we’re going to miss the fight.”

~*~

Maligore increased his size dramatically. The Rangers began preparing their Zords for fight. “Let’s get ready to bring them together,” Tommy declared.

“Ready,” the others responded.

“Turbo Zords morphing sequence, on-line!”

“Sky Striker, ready for Aircraft Mode,” Erika said, announcing that she was beginning to do her part of the Turbo MegaZord.

“Aircraft Mode?" Justin asked. He was the only one that didn’t see it happen. Then he looked up to see the Sky Striker in the air. “Wow, cool!”

Their Zords enlarged to the typical Zord size. Wind Chaser and Fire Stingray stopped in front of each other. Both Zords split in half.

“Wind Chaser initiating docking sequence,” Kat announced.

“Fire Stingray bracing for impact,” Danny stated. There was a minor impact when the two halves joined together. They served as the MegaZord’s arms. Both joined halves drove in Justin’s direction. The Mountain Blaster, serving as the chest and torso, linked with Kat and Danny.

At the same time that the Desert Thunder and the Dune Star combined with them as the legs, Red Lightning linked at the other side of the Mountain Blaster. The almost completed MegaZord blasted rockets from behind it and stood on the feet. The head of the MegaZord emerged.

“Sky Striker coming in for final docking sequence.” The Sky Striker carefully turned completely vertical. The rockets were now used to keep the plane in balance. The wheels emerged and were placed in the back of the MegaZord, now completed.

“MegaZord, Turbo charged!” everyone shouted. Then, they went into battle against Maligore.

“Let’s take care of business!” Tommy exclaimed.

“Maligore!” Divatox shouted. “Win this one for me!”

At first, Maligore had the advantage. He swiped across the MegaZord’s chest several times, causing damage. Then, the MegaZord gave a hard punch, sending Maligore back, a little. “All right,” Kat cheered. “We got him.”

Maligore stood up and roared. He breathed a large flame, engulfing the MegaZord. Some of the Rangers coughed. “Oy,” Erika hacked. “When’s the last time you brushed your teeth?”

The Rangers called out the MegaZord’s shield and sword.

“Ready to fly?” Tommy asked.

“Ready,” the others answered.

“All right. Turbo MegaZord rockets, full thrust. GO!” All at once, the MegaZord glided forward towards Maligore. “Later, Flame-face!” Tommy shouted, as the MegaZord’s sword sliced through Maligore, who fell off a cliff edge and exploded in the sea. Maligore was destroyed and Divatox failed. The Rangers cheered.

“The volcano; it’s erupting,” Rygog warned. “We’d better get out of here!”

Divatox began to complain. “Oh, my plans, the money, the jewels, the plastic surgery. I didn’t even get a honeymoon! You mark my words, Rygog, the Power Rangers will pay for this someday. I never accept defeat!”

“Right; no defeat. So what do we do now?”

“RUN!”

Lerigot, Yara, Kim, Jason, Bulk and Skull walked through the leaves and looked up at the MegaZord.

“Hey, guys,” Tommy called through a microphone. “How about a lift?” The MegaZord’s left hand lowered to the group and they got on. They were on their way home.

“The competition is fierce as the Angel Grove, Stone Canyon Martial Arts Contest was tied nothing to nothing, and the $25 thousand prize going to the winner’s charity,” an announcer on Angel Grove said. Four men in white were fighting against four men in black.

In the audience was Kim, Kat, Justin, Erika, Tanya, and Ernie (who ran the juice bar), watching and cheering for their friends.

“Hey, look,” Erika said suddenly. “There’s Boy Blue!”

“Where?" Kat asked, recognizing the former user of that nickname.

Pointing to two people outside the ring, Erika said, “There, over by the coach.”

Indeed, Rocky had almost completely recovered and wanted to be at the competition for his friends. Tommy, Adam, and Danny were doing very well. Rocky also noticed that Jason was in there where he would have been.

Rocky was glad that they chose someone skilled to replace him in the competition. He was wondering who his replacement as a Ranger was. Jason? No, he thought. Jason never looked good in blue.

Tommy and Adam each scored a point. “Angel Grove leads the way 2 to nothing. One more point and they clinch the Championship Prize. Uh oh, looks like Stone Canyon gains their first point.” Everyone noticed that Danny didn’t get up fast enough. Once down, his opponent was too quick.

“I knew that Danny was too overconfident. That was always his disadvantage,” Justin recalled.

“How do you know so much about Danny? Any relations besides friends?” Erika quietly asked him. She hadn’t yet confronted him with that question as she planned.

“Uh, well,” Justin started. Besides his family and Danny’s, no one ever knew that they were really cousins. He was not sure whether or not to tell Erika.

“Cousins?” she asked in a whisper.

“Yeah,” he whispered back. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Listen, keep the Power Ranger thing a secret, and I’ll keep the cousin thing a secret.”

“Deal.” They shook hands. The crowd began to scream. Justin and Erika looked at the ring to see Jason almost defeating his opponent. He gave a very special kick, which sent the challenger slamming his back against the floor. The referee stopped the game.

The announcer said, “After 7 minutes and 38 seconds into the competition, the National Grand Prize goes to the Angel Grove Division!” When they heard that, Tommy, Adam, and Danny cheered and jumped.

Jason just kept screaming, “Yeah! Yeah!” Their friends stood up and cheered with them.

“I knew they could do it!” Justin shouted. “I knew it!”

“Come on, Justin,” Kat said. They went to the ring to congratulate their friends, followed by Kim, Ernie, Erika, and Tanya. They hugged their friends. One by one, the boys shook hands with the announcer, who presented them with the certificate of $25 thousand.

“Well,” Tommy said to Kat. “Looks like the shelter is not closing anytime soon.”

Erika looked at Justin. She came up with an idea: since everyone in Angel Grove knew that Justin represented the Little Angels Haven, why not have him on Tommy’s shoulders?

She lifted Justin onto the ring, and he was lifted onto Tommy’s shoulders. The crowd cheered even louder. Adam passed the trophy to Justin, who held up the trophy high and proud.