Hogday Afternoon
The Zeo Crystal stood on a rotating platform in the center of the Command Center, Billy and Alpha continuing their work. "How are you progressing on the reassembly of the Zeo Crystal?" Zordon asked the two. "Do you think it will be functional?"
"Well, it should work." the Blue Ranger answered. "But I won't know for sure until Aisha gets back."
"At last." the intergalactic being sighed. "I will be relived when you are all back in the same dimension. It's been much too calm lately."
"Correct me if I'm wrong Zordon, but isn't that a good thing?" Billy asked.
"Except Lord Zedd knows were are seeking out the power of the Zeo Crystal." Zordon reminded. "He will stop at nothing to get in our way."
"Ai-yi-yi." Alpha shrieked. "I hope Aisha gets back soon." The robot lowered his head, missing the young Yellow Ranger.
Across the ocean, a vortex opened up over an African desert, stretching miles in every direction, and out fell Aisha. "Whoa, it feels like my head was sucked through a vacuum cleaner." she shook off the disorientation from the travel, catching a large lion in the distance making his way towards her. "Something tells me I'm not in Angel Grove anymore. I'd better find my Zeo Crystal and get outta here."
The four child Rangers were teleported to the Command Center, where they were amazed that Billy had nearly reconstructed the Zeo Crystal.
"Wow, can't believe you finished it so fast." Tommy noted.
Billy cracked a small grin, "Well I did have a lot of help." The Blue Ranger patted Alpha's shoulder.
"Thanks Billy." the robot replied with a little laugh. "Now if we only had Aisha back safe and sound." He reached up and held his head in worry.
"Take it easy Alpha." Rocky said, patting the robot's arm. "You'll get your sensory banks on overload."
"Aisha can take care of herself." Adam reminded the others.
Emma nodded in agreement, "Now we just have to concentrate on keeping the Zeo Crystal together until she gets back." She twisted one of her low pulled pig-tails around her finger.
Alpha checked the control panel monitors and located a disturbance. "Oh, ai-yi-yi. Zedd's up to his old tricks again." he informed. "He's sent another transmission bound for Aquitar."
"We must do what we did the last time Alpha, and intercept it." Zordon advised. Alpha began punching various buttons on the console, successfully blocking the transmission.
Unbeknownst to the Rangers, beneath the Command Center, Rito and Goldar were carrying an implosion generator and were slowly making their way through a labyrinth of tunnels to the center of the underground chambers.
The five Aquitian Rangers teleported to the Command Center, which confused the likes of Alpha-5. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked. "I thought you were all re-hydrating down at the lake?"
"We were." Delphine confirmed. "Our sensory perceptions detected danger approaching Earth."
"Your senses were correct." Zordon noted. "Observe the Viewing Globe." Both the Alien Rangers and the child Rangers turned to the object, "The Alien Rangers narrowly missed an encounter with Lord Zedd's latest monster." The Viewing Globe showed some sort of alien creature crashing into the lake.
"What was that?" Adam asked.
"Something tells me we're about to find out." Rocky muttered.
"It is bad." Aurico informed the young Rangers. "Very bad."
The image became clearer and the alien creature resembled a mutated frog. "What is it?" Emma asked, noting the shocked looks on the faces of the five Alien Rangers.
"It's Hydro Hog." Tideus exclaimed.
"Zedd and Rita have succeeded in bringing it to Earth." Cestro's eyes widened in shock and horror.
"That means he'll start in on the Earth's water supply." Billy deduced.
"We must hurry and stop this reprehensible creature before it is too late." Delphine urged.
"Are you certain you and your Battle Borgs can defeate the Hydro Hog here on Earth?" Zordon questioned the Alien Rangers.
"Our Battle Borgs have never been able to defeat the Hydro Hog." Tideus informed.
Delphine stepped forward, "Then we will call on the Shogunzords if necessary." she stated. "I have seen planets reduced to wastelands before this terrible creature. We must act quickly." The rest of the Aquitian Rangers nodded in agreement with their leader. All five morphed and teleported to the lake, ready to face their toughest foe.
"Stop right there, Hydro Hog!" the White Aquitian Ranger ordered.
"Alien Rangers, what took ya?" the large alien frog mocked.
"You will not destroy this planet!" the White Ranger exclaimed.
"Who's gonna stop me? You?" Hydro Hog taunted. "I don't think so." He turned his back on the five Alien Rangers and started towards the lake.
"Quickly, we must stop him before he reaches the water." the Red Alien Ranger stated. Everyone nodded and flipped over the monster, pushing him back from the water's edge with series' of punches and kicks.
The Yellow and Blue Aquitian Rangers tried to push Hydro Hog away from the lake, but the frog-like creature took their swords and used them against the two Rangers. Holding one in each hand, he stood against the Red Aquitian Ranger. "Well if you want to play that way." he said, drawing his own weapon.
"The we will too." The White and Black Aquitians drew their weapons and stood with the Red Aquitian, keeping their distance from Hydro Hog. "We must keep him from reaching the lake." the Black Ranger stated.
"That's easier said than done." reminded the White Ranger.
After more coordinated strikes from the three Alien Rangers, Hydro Hog fell to the ground and remained motionless. After a minute of stillness, the Alien Rangers, as well as the spectators in Angel Grove Lake, cheered at the monster's apparent defeat. Using their distraction, Hydro Hog jumped to his feet and knocked the Black Aquitian Ranger onto his back. The White Aquitian moved to aid her teammate, but was caught by Hydro Hog who then began to drain the water from her body, leaving her in a state of weakness.
Back in the Command Center, Billy and the four child Rangers could only watch via the Viewing Globe as Hydro Hog continued to best the Alien Rangers. "Zordon, they're weakening." Tommy noted in worry.
"There's got to be something we can do." Emma muttered, clasping her hands together, her blue eyes full of worry.
However, the weakening Alien Rangers weren't they're only worry. Beneath the Command Center, Goldar and Rito had finally reached the prime location to set their bomb, which was already armed and ready to blow. "It's the beginning of the end for those puney Power Rangers."
At Angel Grove Lake, Hydro Hog had finished draining the energy of the Black and Blue Aquitian Rangers and moved on to the Yellow Ranger, who was the last one standing. "Trashing you Alien Rangers and a new planet all in one day has been fun." Hydro Hog laughed. He caught the White Ranger struggling to reach the water's edge, and moved to stand in her way. "You don't get it do ya? You've lost. It's over." he taunted, kicking the weakened female ranger away, laughing evilly. The monster created a strong twister in the center of the lake, the strong winds blowing the Rangers further from the water, which they were too weak to weather. "Now all the water on this planet belongs to me!" declared Hydro Hog.
The twister dried up the lake, leaving the spectators, which included Bulk and Skull, in nothing but a large crater filled with sand. Due to their extensive battle with Hydro Hog, the Aquitian Rangers collapsed, nearly completely dehydrated.
"Zordon you have to help them!" Tommy warned the Ranger's intergalactic mentor.
"Alpha, teleport the Alien Rangers to the Angel Grove Public Pool immediately." Zordon ordered the robot, who instantly complied. Upon reaching the pool, the Alien Ragers de-morphed from lack of energy.
"And the last piece goes right here." Rito set the finale piece of the implosion bomb, and was ready to activate the timer. "No going back now."
"Hurry up and activate it already." Goldar urged.
Rito pressed the top button and the timer began counting down from ten minutes. Just as he activated it, Rita appeared before them. "What are you doing here, Rita?" Goldar asked.
"I came to stop you from activating the implosion device." the space sorceress replied in her usual cackly voice. "You haven't have you?"
Rito subtly hid the bomb behind his back as Goldar stuttered to answer the question. The skeletal being hit the armor-clad gorilla with his sword to silence him. "Not to worry sis, you came just in time to stop us." he lied.
"Good." Rita nodded. "Zedd wants you to hold off on destroying the Command Center until the Zeo Crystal is fully formed. Then, grab it and bring it back to the palce."
"Uh, when will that be?" Rito asked.
"I'll let you know." his older sister answered. "And if you mess up this time, don't bother coming back." she added before teleporting herself back to the Moon Palace.
Rito and Goldar exchanged a worried glance with one another as they looked down at the timer that was slowly counting down.
"Alpha, you have to find a source of water for the Alien Rangers to re-hydrate." Billy told the robot.
"I'm trying." Alpha defended. "That Hydro Hog is quicker than lightning. Water is evaporating everywhere."
"You must keep trying Alpha." urged Zordon. "The Alien Rangers will soon run out of time."
The four child Rangers stood around the Zeo Crystal, silently praying that Aisha would hurry back so they can all regain their powers and aid their alien allies.
"There's got to be something we can do." Rocky muttered, lowering his head.
"You heard Alpha, water's drying up everywhere." reminded Adam.
"But we still have to try." Emma added.
"Em's right. There's got to be some water still around." Tommy agreed. "Even a little bit of water is better than nothing."
As Hydro Hog sucked up more water, a large cloud bank had begun to form in the sky. Places all over the world were losing water at a quick rate. "If we're gonna do something, we'd better do it fast." Tommy said to the other Rangers. "The Aquitians can't last much longer."
"Billy is there a way we can release the water from that cloud bank?" Emma asked, looking up at her cousin.
"Alpha, you and Billy focus on building a device that can release the water." Zordon instructed.
"Is there anything that we can do?" Rocky asked.
"Just hope for rain." Billy muttered.
"There should be some large jugs of water stored in the Earthquake kit that's for emergencies." Alpha noted.
"Alright, Adam and I will check that out." Tommy volunteered. "Emma and Rocky, see if you guys can find more bottled water for the Aquitians and meet us at the pool."
"You got it Tommy." Emma nodded in agreement and Alpha teleported the young Pink and Red rangers to the center of the town.
Adam and Tommy found two large jugs of water, which were right were Alpha thought they would be. "Excellent work Rangers." Alpha priased the young Black and White Ranger.
"You should get that to Delphine and the others right away." Billy urged.
"I'll inform Emma and Rocky and tell them to join you." Alpha added, teleporting the two child Rangers to the public pool.
"Do you think this Hyper-Ionization Beam will do the trick, Alpha?" the Blue Ranger asked.
"I'm relatively sure it will, Billy." Alpha replied. "But just how effective it will be, I'm afraid I cannot say."
"Well, it just needs to relieve enough water from the cloud to get the Alien Rangers back on their feet." Billy stated, him and Alpha continuing their work.
Adam and Tommy landed in the pool and rushed to the Alien Rangers, tilting the water jugs to the mouths of Tideus and Delphine, urging them to drink. "We're gonna figure this whole thing out Delphine, I promise." Tommy assured the Aquitian leader.
Rocky and Emma joined them, pulling a wagon full of water jugs. "We managed to find more bottles of water."
"It was no easy feat, believe me." Rocky added.
"Great job guys." Adam grinned, climbing out of the pool to grab a bottle.
Emma joined Tommy in the empty pool, helping Aurico drink. "They're not doing so well, are they?" she asked, casting a worried glance at Tommy.
"Let's hope Billy and Alpha finish their device soon." Tommy replied, meeting the young Pink Ranger's eyes.
A few minutes later, rain began to pour down from the sky. "Yes!" the four child Rangers cheered. "Billy and Alpha to the rescue!"
The rain shower was short, but it was enough to get the Alien Rangers back to battle ready. They morphed and confronted the Hydro Hog for another showdown, while the child Rangers were teleported back to the Command though the two forces seemed evenly matched, Zedd and Rita combined their powers and made Hydro Hog triple in size.
"ShogunMegazord Power!" the Alien Rangers called out, summoning the Earth Ranger's zords to use in battle. After going toe-to-toe with the overgrown Hydro Hog, the ShogunMegazord prepared it's Fire Saber attack. Just as the strike was about to hit, Hydro Hog blocked it and landed a series of blows, knocking the Megazord to the ground.
"The ShogunMegazord's down." Emma gasped, her and the other Rangers turning to face Zordon.
"There's got to be something we can do." Tommy stated, looking to the intergalactic being for answeres.
"Hydro Hog is too powerful for the ShogunMegazord to handle alone." Zordon noted. "It's needs more power if it is to emerge victorious."
"The Falconzord." Billy suggested. "I can use the remote to initiate the ShogunMegaFalconzord." With the okay from Zordon, the Blue Ranger summoned the Falconzord to the battlefield.
With a high-pitched screech, the Falconzord flew towards Hydro Hog, firing missiles from it's wings, which was enough to knock the monster off balance. The Falconzord combined with the ShogunMegazord, and the combination stood tall against Hydro Hog. Firing everything it had, the ShogunMegaFalconzord defeated Hydro Hog once and for all.
"Yes!" cheered the Earth Rangers, who slapped a high five in victory. The Viewing Globe showed that water was returning everywhere on Earth and the Alien Rangers de-morphed.
"Zordon, we are heading back to lake to re-hydrate." Delphine informed.
"Thank you for your help, Aquitian Rangers." Zordon thanked.
"Now all we need to do is wait for Aisha to get back." Adam noted. "We really need that last part of the Zeo Crystal."
Alpha patted the young Black Ranger's shoulder. "Alpha, we must locate Aisha." Zordon stated. "Begin searching all temporal rifts to locate her biorhythms."
"Right away, Zordon." Alpha obliged, punching varioud buttons on the control panel. A static image came through on the Viewing Globe, showing Aisha with a girl around her age.
"It's Aisha!" Emma exclaimed, happy to see her friend was okay.
"And she's got the Crystal." Adam noted.
"But who's that other girl with her?" Rocky questioned.
"Alpha, prepare for transmission and teleportation." Zordon ordered. "It's time to bring Aisha home."
In Africa, Aisha and her new friend Tanya stood in the same place where the young Yellow Ranger first came through the time portal.
"What if I don't fit in?" Tanya asked, still unsure about everything. "What if the others don't want me? Or even like me?"
"They'll love you as much as I do." Aisha assured her friend, giving her a hug.
"Aisha, do you have the crystal in your possession?" Zordon's voice echoed, his image revealing itself in the clear sky.
"Is that Zordon?" Tanya asked, looking between Aisha and the image in the sky.
The young Yellow Ranger nodded. "Zordon, this is Tanya." she introduced. "I'm sending her back with my crystal. I have to stay here. With my knowledge of animals and my experience as a Power Ranger, I know I can help find a cure for this plague."
"My instincts told me that this would happen with one of you." Zordon admitted. "We will miss you Aisha, and I am proud of all of your accomplishments."
"I'm not gonna say goodbye you guys." Aisha smiled. "I love you and being a part of you has meant everything to me."
"We all feel the same about you." Zordon replied. "Aisha, your decision to stay has altered the course of your family's history. You will find that they have joined you when the world is returned to the future."
"Yes. I knew I was making the right choice." the young Yellow Ranger beamed. "Somehow, I feel like this is where I belong. This is the answer to my quest." She turned to Tanya and held out her piece of the Zeo Crystal. "You ready?"
"I'm a little nervous." Tanya admitted, taking the crystal from Aisha. It glowed yellow upon contact and Tanya held it close.
"You need not be afraid, Tanya." Zordon assured. "The Power will protect you."
The young girl nodded and turned to her friend, "Bye." she smiled. "I'll make you proud."
The time vortex opened the Tanya was pulled through. "You already have." Aisha muttered, making her way back to the African village.
"I'm gonna miss her." Emma muttered, her eyes watering. Billy and Tommy placed their hand's on the young blonde's shoulders, giving her some comfort.
"We must welcome Tanya with open hearts and arms." Zordon instructed the Rangers. "For this is a brave thing that she has done."
A small portal opened a few feet from them and Tanya landed in the Command Center, Zeo Sub-Crystal in hand.
Billy stepped forward, "Tanya. Welcome." he gave her a warm smile.
"You must be, Billy." Tanya guessed. The older Blue Ranger nodded, and Tanya handed over her piece of the Zeo Crystal.
"Billy, now it is time to put the Zeo Crystal in order." Zordon instructed.
The Blue Ranger and Alpha went to work, placing the last piece in position, completing the Zeo Crystal. The crystal glowed and started spinning rapidly, it's power shooting into the atmosphere and began turning the Earth to it's original time. The shaking side-effect caused the Rangers to lose their footing and fall to the ground.
In flashes of multicolored lights, the five children were turned back into teenagers. "Hey, we're back." Tommy informed, a smile spreading across his face.
"Yes! It worked!" Rocky cheered, sitting up only to bump his head on the underside of one of the control panels.
Emma looked over herself, her white shorts looking shorter than she remembered and her pink open shoulder shirt feeling a bit tighter. "Way to go Billy." she praised. Tommy helped her to her feet and they hugged in excitement over being turned back to normal.
"It's great to have you guys back again." Billy noted, grinning.
"It's great to be back man." Adam and Rocky slapped a high five.
Emma shook off her slight disorientation, "Tanya, are you alright?" she asked, everyone turning in the direction of Aisha's chosen replacement.
In place of the young African girl stood a teenager with short, dark hair and matching eyes. She was still wearing the tribal-style dress, and smiled at the others. "After everything that's happened today, I know it's gonna take a while to get used to things." Tanya replied.
"Don't worry." Adam smiled at her, helping up Alpha-5. "We'll be there to help you every step of the way." The rest of the Rangers nodded.
"Alpha, please locate Aisha again." Zordon told the robot. "We must make sure she made it through the transition safely."
The Rangers stood around the Viewing Globe, seeing Aisha back to normal as well and embracing an elderly woman who was dressed in tribal clothes similar to Tanya's. "Looks like she made it through the transition just fine." Billy noted.
Emma smiled weakly, waving goodbye to her friend, "Bye Aisha." Tommy placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly, the two sharing a glance. Emma laid her hand on top of his and rested her head on Billy's shoulder, glad to be roughly the same height as him again.
"We must bid farewell to our other friends as well." Zordon reminded.
"We'll do that in person, Zordon." Tommy informed, the other Rangers nodding in agreement, turning back to face their mentor.
"Tanya, we would like you to remain here so that we can fill you in on some details." Alpha suggested.
"Don't worry Tanya, you're in good hands." Emma assured, giving the new girl a wink.
"Time to say goodbye to the Alien Rangers." Rocky noted. "At least we can teleport now."
"Yeah, and not have to walk all that way." Adam chuckled.
The five Rangers teleported away and landed by the lake where the Aquitian Rangers were waiting for them. The two teams stood opposite eachother and shook hands. "We've come to personally say thank you on behalf of Earth." Tommy stated, standing opposite of Delphine.
"Now you must go back to your planet and get well." Rocky advised, standing opposite Corcus.
"We don't know how to thank you for all you've done." Billy admitted, standing opposite Aurico.
"You would have done the same for us." Aurico said.
"In a heartbeat." Emma confirmed, standing opposite Tideus.
"We'll miss you." Adam nodded.
"And we, you." Cestro agreed. "But our own environment awaits."
"Until we meet again, Power Rangers of Earth." Delphine and the other Aquitians bowed.
"Until we meet again, Rangers of Aquitar." Tommy and the other Earth Rangers bowed as well, watching as their new allies teleported back to their home planet.
Back in the sub-level of the Command Center, the implosion device that Goldar and Rito had set off was counting down the seconds, and the two aliens had no idea how to disable it before it hit zero. Rita reached them telepathically and ordered them to get the Zeo Crystal.
"Finally, we're outta here." Rito sighed.
"Hurry up, the device is gonna blow any second." Goldar urged.
The two creatures appeared in the Command Center, scaring both Alpha and Tanya. "Intruder Alert!" Alpha cried.
Goldar grabbed the Zeo Crystal and him and Rito teleported away. Seconds later the Rangers returned.
"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi." Alpha whined.
The Rangers exchanged a confused glance. "Alpha, what's wrong?" Tommy asked.
"Rito and Goldar have stolen the Zeo Crystal." Alpha answered.
The Rangers stood stunned, and in the midst of the silence, entire Command Center shook, signaling the detonation of the bomb planted by Goldar and Rito. The shockwave knocked the Rangers off balance and they grabbed onto the control panels to steady themselves.
"Rangers!" Zordon called. "You must evacuate the Command Center immediately."
"We can't leave you!" Adam yelled.
Another explosion went off, causing the Rangers to tighten their grips on the control panels and eachother. "Hurry Rangers!" Alpha shrieked.
"Come with us Alpha!" Rocky urged.
Another explosion rocked the Command Center. "Alpha, teleport the Rangers to safety." Zordon ordered.
Alpha wobbled his way over to the main console and started to initiate the teleportation sequence. Billy raced to stop him, and ended up saving the robot from an exploding console but was injured by the sparks. Alpha finished the sequence, succeeding in teleporting the Rangers out.
The Rangers landed outside the Command Center, just in time to see it destroyed in a massive fireball, throwing them all off their feet. Once the dust settled, the six teens struggled to get upright, lightly moaning a groaning.
"Everyone alright?" Tommy called out.
"Yeah." Adam and Tanya groaned in response.
"I think so." muttered Rocky, who brushed off his red sweater.
Emma shook off her daze, dirt covering a part of her nose, as well as her shirt and shorts, and a few strands of hair fell loose in front of her face. She looked around at all of her friends, her eyes landing on her cousin who was a few feet away and didn't appear to be moving, "Billy!" she yelled, rushing over and kneeling by her cousin. "Billy, you alright?"
The blue clad teen shook off his haze and nodded, Relieved, Emma wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her cheek on top of his head. All the Rangers looked up at the top of the mountain, where their base of operations once stood, and now there was nothing.
"The Command Center." Billy bit back the tears.
"There's nothin." Rocky gasped.
"It's gone." Adam swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Zordon and Alpha." Emma whimpered, biting her lip.
"Do you think they could've survived?" Tanya asked, glancing at Emma.
"I don't know." Tommy panted.
Emma's shoulders sank as she looked to their team leader, "Tommy what are we gonna do?" her voice cracked and moisture welled in her eyes.
Tommy glanced at each Ranger, before lowering his head, "This might just be the end of the Power Rangers."
A/N: And that Ladies and Gentlemen, is the end of No Ordinary Ranger! Thanks to everyone who Favorited, Followed, and Reviewed. I honestly didn't know how well this story would be received, since Power Rangers is such a classic. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this first installment. Be sure to stay tuned for the sequel, Zeo Mermaid Ranger! Much love to all my readers! Stay awesome!
XOXO
~Cyber