Chapter 7 - Rights and Wrongs

Rei watched over Sora as he slept. He'd been out for the last two days. Whatever Zita had done to him last time had erased Sora almost completely from the Skeleton Ranger. She could remember Zita now. She could remember everything now. She knew she owed Autumn and Winter big time explanations but she had to watch over Sora.

She wasn't sure how to explain things to him. They were still so strange to her.

Sora opened his eyes and bolted up right in his bed. "Easy," she said soothingly.

He looked at her and began scrambling away. "Stay away from me," he told her. Things were still a blur but at the moment he was positive of one thing. He was the Skeleton Ranger.

"I'm not Zita, I promise," she said. "I'm her sister. I've been helping you. I think I can even remove the curse she put on you. That last spell she used on you worked far better than I would liked. You've been out for two days," she explained.

Sora ran a hand through his hair. He believed her. "How?" he asked.

"You need to go to the Youth Center. Order something to drink. You need to meet with the Power Rangers before Zita has another chance at you. Embrace your true destiny," she said. She disappeared in a puff of white smoke before he ask her any more questions.

Extremely confused, he got of bed and made preparations to do as she said. Anything to get this curse off his back.

-x-

Taran paced around and eyed the people in the posh hotel suite. The Sol Reavers were made up of humans from around Earth. He and Tori were both Americans. He had been the Red Reaver of the Sun. Tori had been the White Sol Reaver of Earth. Fey had been the Yellow Reaver of Venus and she was African. Ros had been the Gray Reaver of Pluto and from England. Hayden Bly had been the Orange Sol Reaver of Jupiter and he was Australian.

Among the new arrivals, the tall black haired twins, Lance McCall had been the Blue Reaver of Mercury and Dane McCall had been the Green Reaver of Mars were both South African. Ted McFarland was the Violet Reaver of Saturn and from New Zealand. Shen An Dung, the Black Reaver of Saturn was from Vietnam. Yelena Boleiro, the Pink Reaver of Neptune was from Brazil.

He understood that they were concerned and wanted answers but he'd really rather wished they hadn't all converged one place. He'd explained to them what they'd gathered about what happened to their powers and the Command Ship.

"We ain't going nowhere, mate. Get used to us," Ros told him.

"That's right. We're here for the duration. We know you and that new team of yours will figure something out," Fey added and eyed him sternly. As the oldest among them, she usually took a stern motherly role, unless she was meddling in their love lives.

"That's a lot of faith," Taran muttered.

"Absolutely. You've gotten us out of tight spots before. You will do it again," Yelena said. There was a muttering of consent.

Taran sighed. He was humbled by the confidence they had in him. He didn't have a choice. He had to figure out how to fix this.

-x-

The Youth Center in the middle of the day now that school has started was a nearly deserted ghost town. Most of the activity now consisted of college kids filtering in to get in practice or a quick bite between classes.

Autumn watched her brother chatting with a blond woman. She was doing some hardcore flirting. Win was half heartedly flirting back. She rolled her eyes. She wondered what part of being wary of pretty girls hadn't clicked in her brother's thick skull. She took an order and went into the kitchen to fill it.

Rei was manning the stove. She gave a wan smile. "Trying to make up for shifts I missed," she said.

Autumn nodded. "Do we need to talk about this?" she asked. She trusted Rei, her aura marked her as a good person, in a way almost shiny as Sora's and Taran's, but not quite.

"We will, but you have to do something first," Rei said and pointed through the door. Autumn saw Sora and Taran walk in.

Autumn walked out of the kitchen. "Hello, boys what can I get you? Espresso and tea?" she asked.

"Make it a triple," Taran answered and scrubbed a hand through his hair.

"Tea is fine," Sora stated.

"Coming right up," Autumn said and went over to her brother and hit his arm. "Get Sora a tea," she told him. She smiled benignly when the blond across the counter gave her a cold stare.

"Coming right up," Winter said, "Excuse me, Jacie," he said and was actually grateful for the opportunity to extract himself from the conversation. He made Sora's tea while Autumn made Taran's espresso.

He handed over the cool beverage. "Haven't seen you lately," he said conversationally.

"I was a bit peaky," Sora answered trying not to snap. He nursed his tea broodingly.

Win took the hint that he wasn't in the mood to talk. He noticed Jacie smiling at him. He tried again with Sora. "Nothing serious I hope," he said.

"Wish I could say it wasn't," Sora answered. Again he gave every indication that he wasn't interested in talking.

Jacie gave no indication of leaving. Win nearly deflated with relief when someone else walked into the Youth Center. Autumn was thankfully engrossed with talking to Taran so he readily went to the customer. "Hi there, what can I get you?" he asked, thinking there was something familiar about the dark haired Latino in a strange uniform. Then it clicked when he saw the badge and G.P.D. logo. Manny had said her uncle was a Galactic Policeman and was in town. She'd also pointed out that he was a former Power Ranger.

Carlos Valluertes smiled. "I called in an order for a coffee and a lunch under the name Carlos," he answered.

"That should be ready now," Win said. He moved into the kitchen to pick it up. When he brought the Styrofoam container and tall coffee to the man, he noticed that Sora had finished his tea and was gone. "Autumn! Handle this," he called to his sister and grabbed the cup.

Autumn quickly came to take over the confused Carlos' order with a smile. Win ran into the back and found an empty place to teleport to the Command Center. They finally had a sample of Sora's DNA. Now they could find out why he wanted to talk to the Power Rangers.

Taran watched the Bakers dash around. It made him smile. He noticed the blonde girl Win had been chatting up leave in a huff. Something about her made him frown. When Autumn finished with the other customer, she wandered back toward him. "Do you read everyone or just sometimes?" he asked her.

"I've finally gotten better at controlling it. I don't read people automatically anymore. Why?" she asked.

Taran shook his head. "My spidey senses were tingling," he answered.

Autumn frowned. "Why did you say it like that?" she asked.

Taran shifted slightly. "The Reavers started saying that. Guess I kinda picked it up as well," he said and picked up his espresso and forced himself not to chug.

She sighed. "Ok, be honest. I may have heard that you, um, aren't human," she said, not sure how to phrase the question.

"You heard correctly," Taran said and heaved another sigh. The not-human thing was probably quite a deal breaker.

Autumn smiled at him and blinked her eyes. When someone was that shiny, human or no, he had to be amazing. She blinked her eyes again. "So, tell me more," she prompted.

Taran seemed surprised she wanted to know. "All right. You already know Widow is my sister might as well tell it all. Our parents are Goldarr and Scorpina, they used to work for Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. When Andros shattered Zordon's inter-dimensional chamber, I was training on a nearby planet with an old friend of my father's. I was caught in the wave of pure Good that altered the polarities of many of the galaxy's worst villains. My parents and Widow were on Onyx and not affected.

"My polarity was altered along with everyone else's. When my parents found out, they sent me to Earth to live among humans. I was very small and to be honest I don't even remember being evil," he assured her.

"Are you sure you were evil? Are people born evil or do they choose to be evil?" she asked. "You were a child. Are children evil?" she asked.

He smiled. "No," he agreed. "But I didn't have it in me anymore to grow into an evil force," he said.

"Instead you grew into a force for good," she smiled again. She couldn't help it. He just made her smile. He smiled back and ducked his head to his espresso.

"Yeah well, you ain't seen my alien bits yet," he murmured.

"Can't wait," she said and went to help another customer, leaving him staring after her.

-x-

Tai was in the middle of his third class when his wrists began to vibrate. He frowned and rubbed them. Rex in the desk across from him raised a brow. Tai shook his head. He raised his hand and asked to be excused.

His science teacher, Dr.. Thomas Oliver raised a brow at him. "Is this an emergency?" he asked in a pointed way.

"Yes, sir," he answered.

Tommy nodded and held up a hall pass. Tai stood and snatched it. He left the classroom.

"Dry. O, I have an emergency, too," Rex piped up.

Tommy sighed and held up another hall pass. Grinning Rex stood and took it. He ran out the door and caught up with Tai. They ducked into the boys room and made sure no one was there. Rex gave him a thumbs up.

Tai twisted his wrists and his cuffs appeared. He opened communications. "I was buzzed," he said.

"Tai, Dr. Bill has Sora's DNA programmed into the Command Center. Whenever you're ready we can bring him here to talk to him," Win told him.

"Rex and I will be there after our last class," he said. Since they were seniors, they only had a few credits left so they only had four classes each. "Tell Beez to keep an eye on him," he instructed.

"Right. You guys can handle it? Do you want me to stick around?" Win asked.

"We're not trying to scare him. Go on back to the Youth Center," Tai assured him.

"Will do. Good luck," Win said and cut communication.

Tai made his cuffs disappear. He looked at Rex. "Why do you think he's after the Power Rangers anyway?" he asked.

Rex shrugged. "We'd better get back. Dr. O looked annoyed for a guy who's been here," he said. Tai snorted. They left the bathroom just as the bell rang for fourth period. Kids began spilling out of classrooms. Tai and Rex waded through them. Tai was nearly crushed by a linebacker after Lani passed him with a smile and a wave that left him stupefied and rooted to the spot. Rex pulled him away just in the nick of time, muttering under his breath.

-x-

Tai and Rex arrived at the Command Center a while later. Tai was mildly surprised to see Billie wander through with coffee. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Danny and I are making good time. Don't bother us unless there's an emergency," she told them and hurried off. She disappeared into the bowels of the building.

"Do I even want to know?" Tai asked out loud. Rex shook his head emphatically.

"They are building me a new body," Beez said and sounded about as excited as a robot with rudimentary emotions could.

"Uh, great. What about Sora?" Tai asked.

"He's alone in his apartment," Beez announced.

"Good," Tai said. "When we've morphed, teleport him," he said and he and Rex walked to the room where they'd meet with Sora. They twisted their wrists. "It's Morphin' Time! Tyrannosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

-x-

Sora was pacing his apartment. He couldn't even concentrate on the work he had to make-up after being catatonic for two days. It'd been nearly two hours since he'd gone to the Youth Center and had a drink as he'd been instructed.

He was midstep when a flash of energy blinded him. He blinked and saw that he was no longer in his apartment. He was in a gray room and two Power Rangers stood before him. He sagged in relief. "I was beginnin' t'think y'werena goin' ta talk wi' me," he said thickly.

"Whoa, step back and repeat that. I missed almost all of that," the male Black Ranger said.

"He said he was beginning to think we weren't going to talk with him," the male Red Ranger said.

"Excuse me for not having an Irish grandfather," his friend shot back.

Sora cleared his throat, reminding him that he was there. He was a bit surprised he'd slipped up with such a thick accent. "If I can interrupt," he said.

"Right, you wanted to talk to us. Why?" Red asked.

"I came to join you," Sora said. He pulled a chain from around his neck. Two things hung off of it, a miniature sword and a silver coin. "I've been on KO-35 since my mum passed living with a cousin. I already knew some kung fu, but when I got there I learned the Kovarian style of martial arts under my sensei, Zhane. He sent me back all of sudden and said for me use this and join you," he said and held up the coin. A dinosaur was embossed on it.

Red was surprised. "Then why haven't you used it before?" he asked.

"I haven't been able to. I--"

An alarm went off. "Aye yi yi! There are Putties near the Youth Center!" Beez announced.

"Use it now and let's go," Red said. "Beez deactivate the containment field." Autumn saw something in Sora that none of the rest of them could. His own instincts were backing her up. Black nodded his agreement. "And don't contact anyone in school," he instructed. "Not unless a monster shows up," he added.

Sora was mildly surprised that they'd had him an containment field. Though, it made sense. They were also giving him a chance. Rei had said to embrace his destiny. He took the coin off the chain and it dissolved into his arms and silver energy formed silver cuffs around his wrist. He could do this.

"It's Morphin' Time! Ceratosaurus!" Silvery energy formed a silver powersuit in the same style as the rest of the team and helmet with red eyes. He had a power blaster on his hip.

"Welcome to the team," Black said.

"Let's go!" Red said the three of them teleported.

-x-

A scream pierced the air. Putties appeared on the streets outside of the Youth Center, circling and tormenting a very helpless Jacie. "Someone help!" she shouted. The Putties began to harass other people but they kept circling and teasing Jacie.

The Green Rangers appeared. From around the back of the Youth Center but hopefully no one noticed that. "Hey, you Putties leave those people alone!" female Green commanded. "Power Staff!" She summoned her weapon and dove into the swarm.

"Stygian Dagger!" her partner summoned his own weapon. He jumped into it with both feet. Literally. He hit a Putty right in the Z and landed in a roll as it disintegrated. He slashed a few in the legs. When they'd fall he'd hit their Z's. He stood and took out a few more.

"I almost hate to get in the way of that. I'll have to insist though. StegoMace!" Gold Ranger summoned his Mace and powered his way through the Putties.

"I'm not complaining," female Green assured him. "He's showing off," she said, nodding toward her brother who'd almost made his way to the girl.

"Get away!" Gold suddenly shouted. "Trap!"

Several things happened at once. The male Green Ranger paused. The Silver Ranger, male Black Ranger, male Red Ranger and the Blue Rangers appeared. Zita arrived. Jacie gave several screams for good measure.

"What?!" Zita seethed when she saw the Silver Ranger. "Not while I'm around, pal," she said and made the shadow coin appear.

The male Green Ranger's indecision put him in danger from an ambushing Putty. "CeratoSword!" A rather large double-edged sword appeared in the Silver Ranger's hand and cut down the Putty.

"Thanks," Green Ranger said. He made a split second decision next. Until he had definitive proof that Jacie was part of some plot, he had to save her. It was only right.

Zita strode toward them. The Putties were thinning out, so the Rangers noticed her.

"You saved me!" Jacie declared and threw herself around the male Green Ranger's neck. He tried to extricate himself.

"Sora! Don't think you can get away from me so easily!" she said and held up her coin. Dark energy began to throb around it.

Silver clutched his head and staggered. His Morphed form began to fluctuate between Silver Ranger and Skeleton Ranger.

"I think we know why he never got the chance to use his coin," Black declared as he and Red closed in on him. They didn't know if it was to protect or defend but they were ready for anything.

There was a blur of white as another figure ran into the fray. She launched herself as Zita and tackled her. The coin went flying.

Gold Ranger rushed forward and jumped, catching it.

Silver Ranger stopped fluctuating but he was dizzy. "Rei?" he said when he recognized the figure grappling with Zita.

"You! You've interfered for the last time!" Zita shrieked and the two women lost all finesse and began to scratch and pull hair.

"Call me a pig but that's kinda hot," the male Blue Ranger remarked.

"Pig," the female Blue Ranger said and nailed his helmet with a rock. He rubbed it as if it actually hurt.

Gold Ranger was looking at the coin curiously. It seemed to be a Power Coin but it wasn't a dinosaur embossed on it.

"A little help!" the male Green Ranger said since Jacie had latched onto him and wasn't letting go.

"Forget her for now! The coin!" Gold called to Rei.

She broke away from Zita and ran toward him. "Toss it!" she called. Gold tossed it up.

Rei launched a white energy ball at it. "Nooo!" Zita screamed when the energy hit the coin. The force of the hit knocked everyone off their feet.

The coin dropped to the ground, a harmless mass of melted metal.

Zita growled as she got to her feet. "Don't think you've won anything! I may have lost Sora, but now I have him," she said and pointed.

Jacie still had her arms around the male Green Ranger.

"Next time, listen when you're given a warning," she said and began laughing. "Minxinia. Bring him!" she called. She disappeared in a wisp of dark smoke.

"Win!" the female Green Ranger tried to go to him, but he and Jacie were already being enveloped in multi-colored energy. They disappeared.

"Oh, Autumn, I'm so sorry," Rei gasped.

Gold moved up behind Green and put his hands on her shoulders. She sagged against him. She shook her head, not even sure how to react.

Rei suddenly found herself under the scrutiny of the Red, Black and Blue Rangers. She gave a wan smile and a tiny finger wave.

"Ok right, to the Youth Center. Looks it's a day for explanations," Red said and crooked a finger at Rei. Rei obediently followed them into the alley behind the Youth Center where they they dropped their Morphs and went up to the apartment area above the Center where the Bakers lived.

-x-

Palace on the Moon

The male Green Ranger finally passed out due to oxygen deprivation and his morph had failed. Widow frowned as he hung limply at Minxinia's side. "Why did you bring him here?" she asked her sister-in-law.

Zita made a face. "I was peeved. I made a rash decision," she admitted, as if disgusted with herself.

Widow grabbed his face and turned his head this way and that. "He's one of the strongest. Perhaps he'd be useful for some experiments I wanted to do. Bring him to the lab," she ordered the monster.

As Widow lead the monster and unconscious Ranger away, Roki came up behind his sister. "What is going on?" he asked in an undertone.

Zita pursed her lips. "Perhaps the only way to know for sure is to ask Mother. Is that something you're willing to do?" she asked him and raised her brows.

He pulled a face. "She looks like you. I'll leave it to you," he said smartly, "Please do keep us informed, however," he added and trailed off to find his wife, curious as to what kind of experiments she was going to do on the Green Ranger.

Zita huffed and stamped her foot. "Finster!" she shrieked. "I have a headache! Bring me my tonic!" she screeched and flounced off to her room.

-x-

After school, Tai called a meeting in the Command Center to fill everyone in on the events of the day. It seemed as though much happened in a short period of time. Autumn was certainly upset and had to make up a story for her family to explain Winter's absence. She just didn't know what it would be.

Sora found himself surprisingly welcomed by the team, especially Taran. However, Rei's presence in the Command Center had been something of a surprise. "She's here to help," was Tai's only remark on he subject. That was enough for them.

"I'll do everything I can to help you get Winter back," she promised them.

Eventually the Command Center emptied out save for the Blues who were working on their Beez project. Tai had lingered after telling Lani about Rei. She had to leave for family obligations.

He was reading through some history in the data banks when a large hand clapped him on his back. He jumped slightly and looked down at Jason. "How did you get that close to me?" he asked. People just didn't sneak up on him. Period.

Jason grinned. "Heard you kids had an interesting day," he said.

"That's a mild way of putting it," Tai said flatly.

The older man nodded. "These things happen. They're hard and they suck. You'll get through it," he said.

"You sound so sure. Why is that?" Tai said. He wasn't so sure, personally.

"Because you have a great team and you're you," Jason answered.

Tai stared at him. Before he could ask what exactly that was supposed to mean, Jason's phone rang and he was called away to an emergency at the dojo. Or what Randi deemed an emergency.

Tai checked the time. He sighed. He went to where the Blues were working and made them go home and forbid them from skipping school again. Billie grumbled and muttered. Danny held up his hands and assured their fearless leader that he'd keep her in check. After making certain they left, Tai himself went home as well.

-x-

After school the next day, Nathan, Wood, Danny and Billie walked toward the Youth Center together. "Luckily nothing monumental happened today while we were in prison," Nathan remarked to his friends.

"Except we lost a whole day of work," Billie seethed. "Where does he get off--"

"Ah, zip it," Danny said and covered her mouth with his hand. "You gonna tell me you don't feel better after resting? That Tai, he's an onion," Danny remarked. She glared at him over his hand.

"An onion?" Nathan asked.

"He's got layers," Wood explained with a smile. He was surprised by the smile. He'd been moping most of the day. Well, he'd been moping since he learned Winter had been taken by a monster. Man, if only he could get his hands on that-that--

"Anyways, we're gonna go get to work now anyways. Onna yous bring her some caffeine?" Danny asked, interrupting Wood from his thoughts.

"Sure thing. Some food, too. She didn't eat lunch," Nathan said and gave Billie a disapproving look. She ignored it and the two Blues found a private place to teleport.

"Maybe we should go to the Command Center, too. Try and see if we can figure out a plan--"

Nathan shook his head. "We just gotta wait and see. You heard what Rei was saying about the Moon. The Palace is heavily warded. There's no getting in for any of us," he said.

Wood stuffed his hands in his pockets and deflated. He hoped Tori was at the Youh Center. Seeing her always made him feel better. Just thinking about her reinflated him a little.

"You've got to be kidding me. Do you see what I see?" Nathan asked suddenly. Wood looked up. Walking down the street toward them was a tall blond girl with gaudy red glasses. Contrary to what Superman would have one believe, glasses were not an apt disguise to hide one's identity.

Jacie had been dismissed from Widow's presence on the moon and had been collecting pretty boys ever since. She kept them in a cave, frozen to preserve their prettiness. She spotted two likely candidates. She'd made a pair of glasses appear. One of them liked glasses. She put on her best smile and moved toward them.

Wood made his cuffs appear. "Hey, we've spotted the monster. In fact she's walking right up to us," he said into his communicator.

"We're on our way," Tai said.

Jacie gave them a winning smile. She had no idea who they were. Not really. Just vaguely did she pay any attention to the instructions she'd been given before, but now no one was paying attention to her so she could do whatever she wanted. She wanted a pretty boy army. "Hi, there," she greeted.

Nathan raised a brow. "Yeah, um..."

"Where's Winter, you big ugly hag?" Wood burst out.

"Ugly? Hag?" Jacie shrieked. "Who do you think you're talking to? Just for that I'll crush you instead of keeping you," she said and began to change forms.

"Good luck with that," Nathan said and made his cuffs appear. "It's Morphin' time! Pterodactyl!"

"Saber-toothed Tiger!"

Minxinia recoiled as her two pretty boys morphed. "Putties!" she summoned. A contingent of Putty Patrollers appeared around her and began attacking Yellow and Pink.

"Don't think this is going to stop us getting you back!" Yellow told her. "Power Daggers!" he summoned his weapons and jumped over the line of Putties to the monster. He slashed her but she knocked him back. He stumbled and tried to get to his feet. The Orbs in her forehead began to glow and through a whirling vortex of energy at him.

Another streak of Yellow pushed him out of the way. He and the female Yellow glanced at the crater left where he'd been standing. "That was a close one," she said.

"I owe you. Nice speed," he said.

She nodded. "I think I can get used to it," she declared, a grin in her voice.

The other Rangers had arrived to help. They dove into the Putties. In the center of the fray, the monster threw arcs of dark energy, mindless of what they hit; Ranger or Putty.

"She's cracked!" the male Pink Ranger declared as he dove aside when one of blasts hit the Putties he was battling.

"We need to take her out before she destroys half the city in a snit," the male Red declared when he came upon the scene.

"Not before she tells us where Winter is!" the female Green declared.

"Hey, you two," the male Red pointed at Gold and Silver, "grab her," he said, taking a calculated risk. The Silver Ranger was using a sword that was every bit as huge as the one he'd had as he Skeleton Ranger. That said he was no weakling.

Filling the need to prove himself to these guys, Silver nodded. He glanced at Gold. He made a hand signal Silver was surprised he knew. It was Kovarian. It meant 'go'. The two of them took off running at speeds nearly matching the female Yellow's enhanced speed and each other's.

They took down the monster, pinning each shoulder but she was a tough one and fought back hard. "Dang, she's strong," Gold muttered under his breath.

"That she is," Silver agreed thickly.

The male Red pointed his Sword in her face, he planted a foot in her chest to help hold her down.. "What did you do with Winter?" he asked.

She laughed mockingly at him. "Widow has him now. You might as well kiss him good-bye!" she declared. Her orbs began to glow.

"Move!" Gold shouted, spidey senses suddenly in overdrive. The three of them tried to scatter back but they got caught in the shockwave she created, sending them flying. Silver crashed through a shop window and didn't stop until he hit a metal shelf bracketed to a concrete wall. Gold arced through the air and crashed through an open-manhole. Red took out several Putties as he bumped and rolled and skidded back.

Minxinia laughed again as she got to her bird feet.

The female Red Ranger and male Black Ranger went to check on the male Red Ranger. "Did you survive that?" Black asked him.

Red got to his feet and shook himself. "She's ticking me off," he declared.

"Same here," Gold said, climbing out of the man-hole. He summoned his StegoMace.

Silver dusted himself off as he exited the shop he demolished. "I have the uneasy feeling that's not the first time I've done that," he said, looking over his shoulder.

"It's not," the male Blue stated, a grin in his voice. "We won't hold this one against ya, though," he assured. Silver nodded. He drew his huge honking CeratoSword.

"I am suddenly very sympathetic to this monster. I think she ticked off the wrong three guys," the female Yellow said in a low voice to her partner.

He nodded as he watched the three of them converge once again. He didn't feel any sympathy but he had to agree she ticked off the wrong trio.

"First us, then you two. Got it?" the male Red asked the shiny Rangers. They nodded. "Mega Power Cannon!" Six Rangers came in close. They combined their weapons, all of them, to form a rather large, multi-barreled cannon.

The male Red Ranger aimed the Cannon. "Fire!" the male Red pulled the trigger. Six points of energy swirled and swept through her. Gold Ranger's StegoMace glowed with golden light as he sped forward and cracked it across her head. Silver Ranger's CeratoSword glowed brightly as sped forward and slashed his sword through her.

They stood with their backs to her as she exploded in a howl of disgust. She regrouped and grew enormously huge. She tittered. "Poo poo, you lose. Losers!" she mocked. "Now I really add to my collection," she said in a sing-song way.

"There's only one thing to do now. TyrannoZord!" the male Red summoned.

"TriceraZord!"

"MastoZord!"

"PteraZord!"

"SaberZord!"

"StygiZord!"

The Zords began appearing from various hidden placed around the city. They were bulky yet eerily realistic. The Zords teleported their chosen pilots into their cockpits. The male Red, male Blue, female Black, male Pink, male Yellow and female Green.

"Do you have a Zord?" Gold asked Silver.

"'Fraid not," Silver said.

"Patience," Beta Z admonished them over their helmet-comms. They shrugged and helped the grounded Rangers clear out the remaining Putty Patrollers.

"Activating Megazord configuration," the male Red hit a rather large button in his cockpit. The Zords began assembling together. The SaberZord and the MastoZord formed legs and feet. The TyrannoZord formed a torso while the PteroZord and TriceraZord formed arms. A helmeted head turned out of the TyrannoZord. The StygiZord came apart and formed a larger helmet, a body shield and a long sword. The Rangers appeared in a large cockpit.

Minxinia threw arcs of energy that rocked them.

"Can we please just end ger now?" female Green asked. She'd had about as much of this monster as she could take. Red nodded.

"Alpha Megazord! Horned Spin Sword Strike!" The Sword formed from the StygiZord began spinning and glowing. The Megazord sped forward rammed the Sword into the monster's forehead.

An explosion rocked between them but she was still lingering. "I thought we had her for sure," Yellow declared.

"Hang on," Blue said an was doing something computery at his console. "A'ight, I think I got something, but we can only do it once and it's gonna fry every circuit we have," he warned them.

"It's a chance we have to take," Red said as he defended them from an energy blast. "Say when."

Blue nodded. He took off the cover of his console and ripped out a big plug of wires. He quickly began rerouting them. He cursed when a lucky hit short sparks and nearly scorched his hands even through his power suit. "A'ight, now!" he said as he wrapped the last two wires around each other.

"Horned Spin Sword Strike!" The StygiSword began spinning and glowing again. Power surged through the cockpit and every console sparked with power as it was all rerouted to the Sword. The Megazord plunged the Sword into the monster's forehead again.

She and the orbs exploded and so did the inside of the cockpit. "Second use and we've destroyed our Zords. This must be some kind of record," the male Pink said dryly.

"Nah, they're just shorted out. Whoever designed them needs to address a serious power problem though," Blue commented.

"Looks like the Putties have been sorted out, too. Time to go," Black said, pointing to where the others were cheering up at them.

-x-

Palace on the Moon

Roki grunted in frustration as he saw his monster fail again. "Why does Finster make stupid monsters?" he muttered. He kicked the telescope and went to the lab where his wife was working diligently. Vivexia was lounging on a bed nearby. The twins were in a corner playing with tiny Red Ranger voo-doo dolls. He realized he hadn't seen his sister since she brought them the male Green Ranger. For a moment he was concerned. It quickly dissipated.

Widow glanced up at him. "Do you need tonic, husband?" she asked as she loaded a rather large syringe with bright green fluid.

"I'll be fine," he said. He turned a glare on Vivexia. She raised a brow. "You will no fail as your sisters have done, will you?" he asked.

"Fear not, my lord. My plan is far more insidious than either of them could have thought of. When the time is right, I will strike," she said with a smile.

"You know what happens if you fail," he said. He didn't bother to threaten. She failed, the Power Rangers blew her up. End of story.

"Yes, my lord," she agreed demurely.

"Then why don't you go work on that plan?" Widow said, shooing her away. She approached a bed where Winter was strapped in and unconscious.

"As you wish, my lady," Vivexia with a pout. She hopped off the bed and disappeared.

"Whatever are you doing, my dear?" Roki asked, wincing slightly as she injected the man with the green fluid. He moaned in pain.

"While my parents are here, I'm not allowed to engage Tarantules directly. I'm making Mr. Nice Guy here a little meaner," she said with a smirk."I'm injecting him with Rachnaemane DNA with a bridging agent. I have to even the playing field a bit. Tarantules won't know what hit him," she said with an evil grin.

Roki shared her smile.

-x-

Tai caught Taran and Sora not far from the Youth Center. He called out to them. They paused while he approached. He nodded to Taran and looked at Sora. "I just want you to know that no one's holding the Skeleton Ranger thing against you. They might rag on you a bit, but we all understand. You proved yourself ten times over today," he said.

Sora nodded, trying not to smile. Sheesh, this tall skinny kid was making him feel like a pupil again. "I appreciate that. I can take some ragging," he said with a faint smile.

Tai nodded. "Just thought I'd let you know. I gotta jet. I gotta grouchy old Japanese man waiting for me at home," he said with a sigh and gave them a brief salute as he disappeared down an ally.

Sora glanced at Taran who was having trouble holding in a grin. "Why do feel like I was just given a gold star on a test?" he asked.

"Because you were," Taran said with a chuckle.

"Sora!" Rei came dashing toward them. He couldn't stop a smile. She smiled back. "Excuse us, Taran. We have some things to discuss," she said and grabbed Sora's arm and pulled him away.

"I'll bet ya'll do," Taran chuckled as the two of them walked the way Sora had come. He sighed and walked into the Youth Center. It was so strange not to see Winter there. Autumn wasn't behind the counter. She was sitting in a far booth nursing a hot chocolate. He made his way over to her and sat down across from her.

She glanced up at him. "Hi," she greeted.

"Hi," he returned. He was quiet a moment. "We'll get Winter back even if I have to figure out a way to storm the palace," he said finally.

She couldn't hold in the smile those serious words brought forth. She reached out and took his hand. He squeezed hers. He meant it.

-x-

Danny and Billie were working on various parts of Beta Z's anatomy in their lab at the Command Center. They were so engrossed in their work and used to tuning out Nathan or Wood coming along to try and coax them into taking a break, they weren't aware they weren't alone until someone spoke.

"Which one of you blew up my Zords?" Wearing a billed cap with the Nodroz Corp logo on it, grayish blue cover all, hair in a pony tail and cheeks streaked with grease, Holly Fairweather demanded of the only two people capable of doing what had been done to her Zords. She fisted her hands on her hips waiting for an answer as they gaped at her.

-xEnd Chapter 07x-           

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