The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
"A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight"
Part III
by: Quintin J. Scott
A few hours later, at the Command Center,
Sean paced about slowly, waiting for the arrival of Aisha and Tommy. Just as he
completed his thought, two beams of yellow and white marked the arrival of the
Yellow and White Rangers, respectively. Aisha moved immediately over to Sean
while Tommy stood close to Kimberly.
"So, what did you want to talk about, Sean?" Rocky asked.
"Yeah, you like, gave us the 'look,'" Kimberly said.
Sean laid out the story to Tommy and Aisha to bring them up to speed. Then his
eyes began to burn with an intensity that could've drilled a hole through steel.
"It was about three years ago. I was still traveling the world - learning new
languages, studying different cultures, adding different fighting styles to my
repertoire. I traveled to Japan and began to study more styles there. After
being named 'Heavenly Dragon of the Most High Order in Universal Wisdom and
Truth' by the master warrior of the Twelve Disciplines of the Dragon, I
overheard conversation by one of the other warriors about a forbidden martial
art: kiba no hooku. I knew that I had to learn this to become a better
warrior.
"I traveled to this mountain that was rumored to have a secret entrance to a
splendid valley where the only master of this art lived. After several months of
searching, I finally found it, but the cost was very high. I had to fend off an
attack from three different warriors of the highest caliber. I didn't come out
unscathed, either: broken arm, twisted ankle, and broken collarbone plus various
scrapes and cuts. I willed myself to stay conscious and make my way towards the
valley. I tell you it was one of the most glorious sights I had ever seen.
"Sunlight streamed through this opening in the side. Various exotic bird flew
about, their calls echoing off the walls. Where trees shouldn't've been able to
grow, they did. It was truly glorious.
"I was trying to remain conscious, but I was failing. Finally, I just collapsed.
No way to know where or who would find me. My last thought was that I'd never
see my parents anymore. The next thing I knew, I was laying on a
straw-filled cot in a small room with stone walls. I got to my feet, slowly, and
noticed that my arm was in a sling and my leg was completely healed. I stretched
and found that my back was healed as well. The cuts and bruises were gone. I
felt no pain. I felt no sort of discomfort except that my arm was itching like
crazy. I was simply amazed - astonished - that I was whole once more.
"Instantly, my curiosity arose. I headed towards this door and out into this
hallway. From all the sides, there were carvings of dragons and lions. I walked
down the smooth, wooden polished floor to a large open room. In the center of
the room there was a giant cobra. Its eyes were these big emeralds while its
body was pure gold. The fangs were made of silver and had two diamonds, about
the size of basketballs, embedded in them. I was mesmerized by it and moved
towards it."
He stopped and fell silent.
Tommy probed. "And?"
"And, that's when I met her."
High above the Earth in his lunar castle,
Lord Zedd typed in commands on Mistress MonsterMaker, pulling information from
various sources and scanners. He tapped into the United States' National Weather
Service. Special attention was paid to the Southern California area as a heat
wave swept through the state. Highs reached an all-time record across the state
while there was no cooling in sight.
Zedd pressed another series of buttons, using MonsterMaker's greater skills to
call up a weather prediction pattern. Green gridlines flew across the screen as
he scanned, check, and cross-referenced the information.
He was successful in predicting the weather patterns for the next few months.
MonsterMaker informed him of the find. "At the current state, the heat
wave will continue for another three weeks, Master," she said in her smooth
voice. The electric blue eyes of her visual interface watched Zedd as he
continued to press buttons. "At this current rate, the area could suffer
drought-like conditions in as soon as one week."
"Excellent!" Zedd said. He backed away from the control panels but not before
pressing a silver button. "Contact the others and get them in here. I shall
return shortly."
Zedd disappeared in a flurry of red light.
The room was dank, dark and smelled of
mildew. Water dripped in the background while unknown creatures scurried about
as Zedd made his way through. After a few moments, a single solitary light
came on, illuminating a silver globe atop a table of black marble. Zedd placed
his silver tipped claws upon the globe, with crimson bolts of energy flying from
his fingers into it. A surge of power started to pulse in the center of it like
some unearthly heartbeat.
After what seemed like an eternity, the globe spat out an apparition that
solidified in a span of a second. When it stood up, Zedd got a better view of
its long flowing gown of silver strands. The face, with its eyes closed, glowed
in the subdued light of the chamber with a crown of silver/blue crystals on its
head. The slanting of its eyes combined with what little dark hair did peek out
from under the crown could almost mistake this creature for an Asian of Earth.
However, this creature was not of Earth. In fact, it was a great threat to
Earth. This was Lokar.
Lokar looked up at Zedd, his eyes glowing with vibrant yellow lightning. When he
saw Zedd before him, he smiled. "Well...Well...Well...if it isn't Zedd. How
delightful."
"Spare me the small talk, Lokar," Zedd said with a wave of his hand. "I require
something that you have."
"What?"
"The Solar Gem of Redis Major."
Lokar laughed. "Why should I give it to you?"
"Because I command it!" Zedd retorted, clenching his fist to emphasize his
point.
"Why should I help you?" Lokar seethed through gritted teeth. "You, who locked
me into that sphere! You, who stripped me of my rank and power! You, who I would
rather see dead than allow to have the gem!"
Zedd's hand shot out, energy enveloping the silver draped form of Lokar. Lokar
lurched forward, caught within the power of Zedd. He felt his stomach cramping
and his blood starting to boil. It was hard to breathe, due to the fact that the
power was also crushing his lungs and collapsing his chest. Pain filled his mind
as the power etched its way along his spine and to his head.
He reached out a hand. "P-p-please...S-stop..."
"Who is your master, Lokar?" Zedd asked, continuing to pump power into him.
"Who?" Lokar did not answer, immediately until Zedd turned up the juice a
few more levels. "WHO?!"
The sorcerer finally conceded after a few more agonizing seconds. "You are..."
"SAY IT!"
Lokar looked at Zedd with hatred. The pain was beginning to become unbearable,
but he finally managed to choke out, "...master."
The energy turned off as Zedd lowered his hand. He walked over to Lokar and
stared at him through his visor.
"Give me the Solar Gem of Redis Major!"
Lokar reached into the folds of his cloak until he felt the box within. As he
pulled it out, the light gleamed off the polished wood top that was scarred with
various engravings. He presented it to Zedd who snatched it and opened it
up. In it, a perfect sphere sat, glittering by the light - a deep rich amber in
color.
Zedd closed the box and turned his attention back to Lokar who was recovering.
Before Lokar even had a chance to say anything, red lightning lanced out and hit
him. When realization hit him, his screams echoed loudly in the chamber.
"No! Don't send me back! I want to stay! No! Master, no! No! Nooooooooooooo!!!"
Electricity crackled around the globe as Lokar was sucked into the silver
sphere. Taking the gem and turning around, Zedd walked out of the room, the
light about the sphere clicking off as soon as he left.
"Keiko and I were a lot alike," Sean
continued. "She was dedicated to making herself the perfect human weapon. She
had already mastered seven "major" martial arts AND kiba no hooku.
Personally, I thought she was the ultimate woman."
Aisha's eyebrows shot up as she looked at him telling his tale. Something in her
gut told her that he wasn't telling the whole truth.
"Sean," Aisha began, "What happened between you two?"
His eyebrows knitted together as he squinted, concentrating back to that time.
"I was only seventeen at the time and I had spent so much time in training that
I never really had time to be sociable with anyone. She would come up to my room
and we would talk all night long, learning from one another. She'd want to hear
about the world and I wanted to hear about her world. There was naiveté from
her, but there was a frigid intelligence and flawless logic.
"We began a relationship which I felt was something that we both wanted.
However, she had more things in mind because she began to influence me to do
things that I didn't want to do but was powerless to stop."
"With kiba no hooku?" Adam asked.
"Yeah," Sean said, crossing his massive arms. "You see, she had learned to use
kiba no hooku into manipulating any man into doing her bidding. Whenever
she comes into contact with someone and can get personal - you know, finding
things out about them and getting to know their personality - she'll use that
person. Since I had little experience with kiba no hooku, I was easy
pickings for her.
"I noticed that whenever I got around her, I became so protective of her.
Whenever we'd go out into the marketplace, I was right there beside her. No one
came near her and I wasn't about to let anyone near her. I...I almost killed a
man because of it."
Kimberly placed her hand over her mouth as Sean felt Aisha's hand on his
shoulder. He continued. "I found out that the man that I almost killed was
actually a suitor for her attentions. If he killed me, she would use him to lure
another suitor into a fight. The same thing with me. Somehow, she got this
strange kick out of the whole manipulation/killing thing."
"Sick," Rocky commented in disgust.
"It was. I stopped myself from killing him and then I went into seclusion,
barricading myself in my room. She tried to get to me, but couldn't even though
I knew she could easily break down the door. Finally, Yoru-sensei came to
my aid and found out about his daughter's treacherous way. He banished her from
the place, but not before she vowed that she would one day find me and take away
everything I held dear."
"I don't buy it," Tommy said. "She's a nice lady and I haven't had any problems
with her."
Sean looked up quickly, searching Tommy's chi. "Mmm...she's got to you
already. She must know that you all are my friends and will turn you against me
or eliminate you, one by one. I have a feeling she provoked the attack at
Ernie's in an effort to remove you, Kimberly. There is no doubt in my mind that
you wouldn't have come back from that pool party if you had accepted their
offer."
Tommy kept shaking his head in stubborn denial. "No, Sean, I think you're wrong.
I think you're making a terrible mistake trying to blame this woman on something
that you did."
The other Rangers just looked at Tommy in dumbfounded silence at what he just
said. The Gold Ranger smiled, shaking his head and turning his back to Tommy.
"Yeah...she's got you, too."
The White Ranger walked over to Sean and spun him, grabbing hold of Sean's black
shirt. "Look, I think you should stop saying bad things about someone and mind
your own business."
Kimberly walked up. "Tommy, Sean's just trying to protect us from getting hurt."
"Are you taking his side?" Tommy asked, incredulous and looking down at
her.
"Tommy, I just think we should listen to him."
"So you are take...take..." Tommy stammered, his eyelids fluttering slightly.
"...take...taking...his...si-" Staggering slightly, Tommy grabbed at his head
and shook it. Kimberly grabbed his arm to steady him. She looked up at Sean who
was just staring at them.
"What happened?" she asked, knowing that Sean would have the answer.
"I used my chi to purge her influence from him," Sean explained. "He
should be all right now."
"Whoa!" Tommy said, shaking his head. "What happened?"
"I'll explain later, but right now I must confront her."
"You can't, Sean," Aisha spoke. "What if she takes control of you again like
this afternoon?"
Sean shook his head. "This afternoon she did not control me. She merely
manipulated a portion of my chi. It took me by surprise, but it won't
happen again. I've had three years to build defenses and enhance my own
abilities. I am confident that I can stop her."
"I'm not," Aisha said. "I'm coming with you."
"No! If she sees you, she'll use you against me. Besides, you couldn't withstand
her chi attacks. She'd turn you against me as soon as she saw you."
"We'll all go," Adam said. "You think she can overcome us all?"
Rito Revolto, Goldar, and Lord Zedd's wife,
Rita Repulssa, all watched as Lord Zedd stood in front of the view of Earth. He
put the box down on the railing and opened it up. An amber colored marble rested
in a velvet lining, gleaming brightly from the lighting in the room. Rita walked
up and ran her hands across it, smiling wickedly.
"The Solar Gem of Redis Major!" she screeched in her voice. "You managed to
convince Lokar to give it up?"
"Of course, Rita, my dear," Zedd responded, picking up the orb. "I am, after
all, his master."
Zedd examined the orb in his hand, turning it around to let the light dance off
of it.
"What are you plannin' to do with those, Edd?" Rito asked.
"It's Zedd, you nincompoop! Zedd! Lord Zedd!" He screamed, turning around, his
crimson skin glowing brightly. "Get it right next time!"
"Okay, okay. Sheesh! You mess up on a guy's name and he just goes all psycho!"
A bolt of white lightning crackled and slammed into Rito. He flew through the
air, colliding with the wall and sliding down in a heap of bones. Goldar raised
his eyebrows and looked back at the smoking hand of his master.
"I should've done that a long time ago!" Zedd said, turning back to a visibly
uninterested Rita who was more interested with the Solar Gem than the apparent
demise of her brother.
"He did have a point, Zeddy-poo," Rita said. "What are you going to do with
them?"
"I'm going to take advantage of this heat wave that is going on to put an end to
the Power Rangers, once and for all. And I have the perfect agent for this new
plan!" He turned slightly. "Goldar!"
The auric-plated winged monkey stepped up behind Zedd. "Yes, my master?"
Zedd put the Solar Gem in the hand of Goldar and pointed to the planet below.
"Go! The orb will point you to the one I have chosen."
Rito slowly started to recover from his blast into the wall. Staggering back
over to the group, he got caught in the teleport beam with Goldar.