Chapter 18 - Business as Usual

Tai was in the Command Center. Things had not been quiet and peaceful since they destroyed the Sword of Darkness and turned everyone back to normal. Though Lammy had gotten word that Widow and Roki had left the moon in search of some unknown power, Zita remained and she was not making life easy for the newly reconstituted Rangers. Over the past couple of weeks, seemingly at random, Putties would appear and attack one or several of them. They were easily defeated without Morphing. There seemed to be no real rhyme or reason to it.

That wasn't why Tai was in the Command Center. He and Lani were meeting with Beez, Tommy and Jason. Anubis Cruger was once again requesting information. This time he wanted a face to face meeting to assure the Rangers that the information they'd be giving him would be in good hands. "I know I wasn't quite myself the last time this issue was addressed, but I kind of stand by my decision. However, I do like that he's willing to work with us. So which one of you want to go talk to him?" he asked and looked at the two older men.

Tommy and Jason looked at each other then back at Tai. "Why one of us?" Jason asked. He wasn't saying no. He just wanted to hear Tai's reason.

"Haven't you heard, we're retired," Tommy added.

Tai crossed his arms over his chest and gave them this look that was a both patient and impatient at the same time. "Right. How about both of you? That'd be a pretty good idea," he said, talking over them.

Lani bit back a laugh. "Tai," she admonished. He was slightly different these days, but in a good way. He still got a little tongue tied and dopey around her when he was nervous, but he was much less awkward. He even stopped trying to make himself look shorter by hunching slightly when he was around a lot of other people.

Tommy had a confused look on his face but Jason was biting back a smile. "What I'm asking is why us? You're the actives," he said.

"That's one of the many reasons why I want you two to meet with him. We're not a public team and we're kids. Yes, we're battling evil on a weekly basis but there's more credence to a successful business man with a franchise of well known martial arts establishments that produces top performing students and a man with a PhD in Paleontology with several successful and well known discoveries under his belt. Who would you rather talk to? A gawky kid in high school or two successful adults?" he asked.

"We also trust your judgment," Lani added. "If the two of you decide this Anubis Cruger is on the up and up then maybe we'll get in touch with him," she explained.

"What do think, Beez?" Jason asked.

"All the information I've gathered tells me that Anubis Cruger is an upstanding man with an exemplary record. I believe meeting with him would not be amiss," she answered. She typed a few things on a console. She didn't have to actually type, but sometimes she enjoyed appearing normal. "I've sent informational dossiers to each of your personal computers. When is the best time to schedule the meeting?" she asked.

"Where would we be meeting? Isn't he an alien from Sirius?" Tommy asked.

"Yes, but he plans to come to Earth with a retinue in order to scout a location for a base here. He will be here at the end of the month," Beez answered.

"Then schedule a meeting as soon as possible," Jason said.

Tommy nodded to agree. That sounded fine to him. "I should go. I have about a thousand tests to grade," he declared. He teleported out of the Command Center.

"Let us know. I have a class starting soon," Jason said and teleported out as well.

"We should get going, too," Lani said and grinned up at Tai.

Tai fidgeted. "I'm not sure this is such a good idea. Dinner with your family? Grandpa is still in the mountains and I'm pretty sure two of your brothers hate me," he said. He still can't believe what he did to her brother Pua.

"Bring your sword. It'll be fine," she assured him. She crooked her finger and he obediently bent down so she could kiss him on the cheek. "Go get ready," she ordered playfully.

Tai finally gave in. He teleported to his house. He appeared in his room. He scratched a hand through his hair wondering what a person wore to meet his girlfriend's parents. He was contemplating calling Rex when he realized he was no longer alone in the house.

"Grandpa?" he called as he left his room. He basically leapt the stairs and appeared in the foyer. Grandpa was there bringing his over stuffed duffel bag through the door.

"Don't just stand there gawking, Grandson, help an old man with his things," the old man grunted.

Tai grinned. He obediently grabbed the duffel. "Where'd you end up?" he asked. He didn't bother to ask Grandpa how he knew Tai had been 'off'. The old man had been a samurai three times as long as Tai had been alive. He took the bag up to Grandpa's room.

Grandpa shrugged as he began to unpack. "I stayed with Haruda-san for a few days. Then I went to visit my nephews,," he answered. "Too many blasted ninja," he grumbled.

Tai bit back a chuckle. Akira Watanabe and his twin brother Kenji had been born and raised in Kyoto. They were taught Bushido. At some point, however, Kenji split from family tradition and began to study ninjutsu. It never seemed to be a bone of contention between the brothers as far as Tai knew. They came to America together and even though they settled in different places, kept in touch until the day Kenji died. Tai had rarely met any of his other family because Grandpa didn't travel often and neither did Kenji's oldest son, Kanoi.

"I'm glad you're back. Put something decent on. You're coming to Lani's house for dinner with me," Tai stated as he left the room, giving the old man no time to argue. He heard an undignified harrumph. If bringing an Akira Watanabe sword was going to win brownie points with Lani's dad, then bringing Akira Watanabe should earn him a medal.

-x-

Billie slowly walked down the steps to Nathan's basement. She didn't hear any music, which was unusual. If he wasn't playing an instrument, he was listening to something while he worked out or just sat around pretending to do his homework. She slowed as she rounded the corner. He was stretched out in his bed.

She sighed, whether in relief or annoyance she was unsure, and began to creep back up the stairs. "Get back over here. I'm not asleep," he called out and sat up in the bed.

He scraped a hand through his short hair while she slowly edged closer to him. While he was being all evil and crap, he'd not only cut his hair off to a style that looked a little too much like Rex's for his liking but he also systemically threw out more than half his wardrobe and bought new things. All his old baggy indie-band tees were gone never to be found again. All his clothes fit him now. Showed him off. Ugh. Evil him was a narcissist. He'd liked showing off his sense of style and, yes, the frame it draped.

Evil him wasn't afraid to be himself.

"I'm not going to bite. Or pounce," he assured her. He paused the dvd he was watching. He scooted over on the bed and patted it. Looking vaguely uneasy, she did sit beside him. Before they'd been the It Couple of Evil, she wouldn't have thought twice about flopping down beside him on the bed. She wouldn't have thought once about it.

Billie stretched her feet out and stared at the comfy sneakers she'd managed to salvage. Nathan wasn't the only one who'd tossed out almost everything he owned. Taking fashion advice from him, 'Mina' had stocked Billie's closet full of stuff and she had no idea how to make any of it look worth a crap. And the shoes! How the heck did she ever wear them without killing herself?

"You look like you got dressed in the dark," Nathan quipped and gave her a crooked grin.

Billie sniffed. "I didn't come to discuss my wardrobe," she said.

"And why did you come?" he asked. She'd done an admirable job of avoiding him for days. He was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to see her again.

"Everyone else has forgiven me. For, you know, turning them evil or blocking their ability to morph and trying to take over the world and turn the rest of them evil," she said. Rationally she knew she wasn't responsible for her actions. Irrationally, that didn't stop the guilt. Frankly it frightened her a little what her mind had been capable of thinking of.

"Why wouldn't they?" Nathan asked.

Billie shook her head. "You haven't. The worst was the things I did to you," she quietly and glanced over at him briefly before looking away.

Nathan sighed. "Look, what happened, it happened. I don't want to stop being your friend over it," he said. He slung a arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"It happened a lot," she murmured but didn't resist the hug. "I don't want to you to stop being my friend," she said.

"That's never going to happen," he assured her. He squeezed her tight for a moment.

She pushed him away wrinkling her nose. "Okay, enough touchy-feely stuff. What the snicker doodles are you watching anyway?" she demanded.

"The first My Little Pony movie," he answered with a grin. "Want me to start over?"

"Sure. That one's my favorite," she said. She kicked off her shoes and stretched out on her stomach on the bed, facing his TV.

Nathan grinned. "I'll go pop us some popcorn," he said and hopped up. He smiled to himself as he went up the stairs. It actually wasn't going to be easy to go back to being just her friend, but if that was how she needed it to be then that's how it was going to be.

-x-

Fox walked out of his room at the Youth Center. He'd had his fun making Autumn and Win sweat a bit, but he finally consented to come back to the Youth Center. You could only kick a pair of puppies for so long before it stopped being fun. That's what it felt like whenever he saw them. They were both so hang-dog and pouty. Finally, he told them to get over it all ready and grabbed his bag from Rex's basement and brought it over. That seemed to cheer them up.

He turned to find the twins blocking the hallway. Each of them had her arms crossed over her chest. "Er...problems?" he asked nervously. A united front from Spring and Summer was never a good sign.

"And just where have you been?" Spring demanded.

"You totally abandoned us to Snippy and Snappy," Summer added.

"You owe us," they said together.

"What do I owe you?" he asked warily.

"Where were you really? You weren't at Rex's the whole time."

"We know. Rena told us."

Fox fidgeted from foot to foot.

"You two, leave Fox alone," Autumn said as she came up behind them. "Where he was is no concern of yours. Come on. Your shifts are about to start," she said.

Spring and Summer gave him narrow eyed looks that promised this wasn't nearly through. They walked off past Autumn who was finally just being her normal bossy self. That they could handle.

"I'll be back for my shift soon," he said.

"Where are you off to?" she asked. She had slightly less guilt than her brother. She had just been snippy and irritable. They'd been left in charge of Fox and though they may have slacked off during the being evil incident, he was back where he belonged and she got to be as nosy as ever.

Fox sighed. "To the dojo. Seifu demands my presence," he said.

"Alone?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm not a Power Ranger. I have nothing to worry about," Fox said. He said it a little snappier than he intended. It was true, he wasn't a Ranger. After that brief stint as a Power Ranger...he missed it. And almost everyone he knew was a Power Ranger. They still let him in the Command Center but he felt useless there now that the crisis was over. It kind of sucked.

Autumn gave him a soft smile. "Ok, but you still have your communicator. Be careful," she admonished him.

"Right," he said and left the Youth Center the back way. He made it to the Dojo without mishap as he expected. Why would anyone bother him?

Rex was waiting for him after he changed into his work-out gear. "You're late, grasshopper," he said.

"Sorry, seifu," Fox said.

Rex shrugged. He was trying not to be grumpy but for some reason, he felt edgy. "I have something for you," he said. He went to a long bag and brought out two wooden swords. "These have been tailor made for your lopsided and unsightly frame," he said and pointed the handles toward him.

Fox ignored the good-natured insults and took the swords. They were well-made. He didn't know a lot about such things, but he suspected they'd been crafted to be balanced just like a pair of real swords. "Uh, thank you?" he said.

"You're welcome. I suppose you're wondering why," he said.

"Something like that," Fox answered.

Rex pulled a second set out of the bag. He gave them experimental swings. They appeared longer and more well used than Fox's shiny new ones.

"Traditionally, Tai and I use shinai when we practice kendo. Grandpa, the wise old samurai he is, had us each make a set of boken that suited our frames. We've often had to make new one as we got bigger or they broke. He said a samurai should know how to use a sword with either hand. To that end, we developed a dual sword technique that uses some of the principles of kendo mixed with karate and our own flare.

"After reviewing footage from your fight with Wood, I decided you'd be well suited to it," he said. "Any objections?" he asked.

"Not really," Fox answered warily.

"Good, then if all goes according to plan, you'll be using those boken like they're a part of you. Let's get to it," Rex said and for the next hour showed his pupil the basics of the technique.

He finally let Fox go but hung around himself, practicing. He never competed in kendo, and he rarely ever actually used a sword; he had one that Grandpa made for him; so few really knew that he could or that he was good at it. Only people who have witnessed him sparring with Tai, and understood just how good Tai was.

In the middle of his practicing, he spun around, realizing he wasn't alone. "You shouldn't sneak up on someone with a pair of weapons," he said to his observer.

"I wasn't sneaking up on you. I was standing at a safe distance in the doorway," Melody answered.

Rex raised a brow, slightly surprised by the tart answer. Since they'd been there, she'd been the quieter of the two space girls. Zara could be quite snarky.

"What's with that look?" she asked.

Rex shook his head. He grabbed a towel and wiped his face. "You shouldn't be wandering around alone," he said.

"I'm not. I came with Zara, Tori and Chloe. I was just the first one to Room 3," she said. "You shouldn't wander around alone either," she admonished him.

"I planned on teleporting, thanks," he said with a slight smile. "You're feistier than you usually let on, aren't you?" he asked.

She blushed a little and bit her lip. He chuckled. "I think it's cute," he said as he packed up his boken. She blushed even more. "I'll leave you ladies to it," he said and said and prepared to teleport.

"Wait. Is everything okay?" she asked.

He frowned at her slightly. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I don't know. You seem kind of distracted lately," she said. She glanced back when she heard the other girls approaching. By the time she looked back at him, he was gone. She sighed. It was none of her business after all.

-x-

Palace on the Moon

Moriko watched Zita prowl around a table where a map of Angel Grove and it's outlying areas was displayed. "What are we doing?" she asked.

"I'm studying the Rangers," Zita answered. She drew her finger in a wobbly circle outside of the city. "What is this area?" she asked, frowning.

Moriko approached. The area was generally flat, but it did include a section of forest and little of the foothills near the city. "I don't know. What's so special about it?" she asked.

"That's where the Red Ranger guy lives," Griff stated. He was never far away from Moriko's side unless she was secretly visiting Rei in which case he was secretly visiting Lammy and occasionally Taran.

Zita frowned. "How do you know?" she asked.

"Followed him home one day," Griff answered with a shrug. It hadn't been random. Lammy had asked him to keep an eye on Tai while he was evil.

"Where exactly?" Zita asked and gestured to the map.

Griff studied the map. "Here. There's a pond here, the house is here, the forge is back over here--"

"Forge?" Zita asked as magical markers began appearing where he indicated, forming a miniature Google Maps style view of the property.

"That's the training ground. The cherry trees aren't there either, they're about here on the back end of the property. The waterfall and the caves are here--"

Zita grabbed his arm to stop him from continuing. "Cherry trees? Caves? Training ground? What kind of place is this?" she demanded.

Griff shrugged again. How her sister could stand him, Zita had no idea. He was infuriating. She turned back to the table. "Why didn't I know about any of that? The telescope wouldn't show me anything," she hissed.

Moriko tried not to laugh. "It's magically safeguarded, isn't it, Griff?" she asked. That was the only explanation.

"Lammy seems to think so," he answered.

Zita narrowed her eyes slightly. Once again she was struck with the realization that Widow had often concentrated her efforts on the wrong Ranger. "I must see this place for myself," she said finally. She glanced at the table. The figure she had linked to the male Red Ranger had him away from the property at the Youth Center as well as several other figures she had associated with the Rangers.

"Have Finster create a monster. Send it to downtown Angel Grove. I don't care what it is as long as it's powerful enough to keep them distracted for awhile. Especially the male Red Ranger. Have some Putties attack some of the Rangers as well," she said. She walked off toward her room.

Moriko sighed. "I'd hoped with Widow and Roki gone, she'd be more open to the idea of embracing her true destiny. If anything, she's digging her heels in more," she grumbled. "Come on, let's go get a monster started," she said.

"Right behind you," Griff grunted. If it were up to him, he'd leave Zita here to rot but she was important to Moriko and Moriko was important to him.

-x-

Danny, Billie, Wood and Nathan were heading toward a movie. It was actually the first time the four of them had been able to hang out together since even before the whole Sword of Darkness incident.

"We need to do this more often," Wood declared.

"Yeah, we do," Nathan agreed.

"Part of me is resisting the urge to make some droll comment about how the three of you had plenty of quality time, but I'm feeling benevolent today," Danny said.

Far from being put off, Wood actually snickered. "You'd think that," he said, a wide grin pulling at his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny asked.

"Don't listen to him. Fox addled something in his head. He hasn't been right since," Billie stated sharply.

Wood snickered again. "Fox got me in the belly. Nothing wrong with my head or my memory," he said

"I seem to remember you spending most of the time pouting because Tori wouldn't talk to you or return your calls and texts," Nathan said.

Wood pouted. "Thanks for reminding me," he grumbled.

Danny snickered that time. He clapped a hand on Wood's back. "I get the feeling you were asking for that," he said.

"He was," Billie and Nathan answered at the same time. Even Wood had to laugh at that. Soon they were all laughing for no definable reason.

Putties appeared in front of them.

"This is just great," Danny grumbled.

"Unfortunately for them, things have changed lately," Billie said.

"Let's see what youse can do," Danny invited as the Putties attacked.

-x-

Rei walked backwards down the street. She was facing Sora, Taran and Lammy. "Just why isn't it a good idea for me to enroll at AGU, too?" she demanded.

"No one's saying it's a bad idea," Taran started.

"I am," Lammy said. That earned her an exasperated look from her brother. "It's the truth. Rei, you stink at subterfuge, you can't lie worth a penny and you've only been a single entity for a few months," she stated.

Sora reached out and stopped Rei from going down. She'd stumbled on a break in the sidewalk. "Though it could have been phrased a little better, Lammy has a point," he said, though he hated to disappoint her. Her face fell in a pout.

Lammy rolled her eyes. "All I mean is that for now working at the Youth Center is a better way for you to get a handle on being you. So far since emerging on your own you've had to chase down and fix him," she jerked her thumb at Sora, "Then Winter, then run off to do your mother's bidding, putting yourself in danger--"

"Something I'm still a bit peeved about," Sora interjected.

"--and then helping Rex in his insanely hopeful plan, that somehow miraculously worked, to fix Nathan and ultimately destroy the Sword of Darkness. You haven't had time to just be Rei. You need to figure out who that is before you try and integrate yourself into a complex social hierarchy like college," Lammy stated.

"Maybe next term you can enroll. Just concentrate on yourself for now," Taran said. "And Rex's plan was sound. You don't give enough credence to the power of love," he told his sister. She just rolled her eyes again.

"Why do you want to go to college anyway?" Sora asked.

"I don't know. You guys go. It's a normal thing to do, right?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah but mainly Sora and I go because we have to. To get jobs when we graduate," Taran explained. Sora nodded.

"I go because it's part of my cover," Lammy said with a shrug.

Rei looked at the three of them and almost laughed. Taran was still under the delusion that he was going to have a normal-as-possible human existence. She wasn't going to burst his bubble yet. At least Lammy was honest about her motives. She sighed. "I'm definitely enrolling next fall," she declared stoutly and turned around just as a collection of Putties appeared.

"This is why I can't ever get any 'me' time," Rei complained.

The Putties attacked.

-x-

Chloe and Tori were having some shop therapy. "I missed this. Shopping with someone with some taste I mean. I love Autumn to bits but all she ever seems to like is cammo this and cammo that and don't get me started on Billie," she said. "I guess being evil doesn't make you fashion forward," she added.

Tori snickered. "Well, I'm glad you had such an awful time being evil. It wasn't fun for me either," Tori said with a pout.

"Who said it was awful?" Chloe said and widened her eyes.

Tori bumped her arm. "You better be joking," she warned.

"Joking badly," Chloe said with a sigh. "Come on, let's go find something hot. And maybe a couple coffees, too," she said and squared her shoulders.

Tori giggled. "You got a particular something hot in mind?" she asked pointedly.

Chloe let out another exaggerated sigh. "No. My dream guy -- er, my realistic dream guy -- hasn't appeared before me," she said. "Are you thinking about trying to match-make?" she demanded.

"Me? Nope. For half a minute I thought maybe you and Rex, but--"

Chloe snorted with laughter. "That's so funny. Rex is super hot, yes, but it's nowhere even close to being like that for us," she said.

"I know, I know. I just thought it before I knew that you guys were partners. Then you went and got all squishy over Hayden," Tori grinned.

Chloe blushed. "What's not to get squishy about? The eyes, the body, the accent?" she added. "He set a high standard so you just forget about match-making," she said, wagging her finger at her friend.

Tori would have held her hands up in defeat if they hadn't been full of shopping bags. Then she dropped them. "Girl, we got company," she said. Chloe whipped around and dropped her bags as Putties appeared around them.

"These definitely aren't dream guys," she said. Tori shook her head. The two girls stood back to back and prepared to defend themselves as the Putties attacked.

-x-

"So how did the big dinner go?" Rex asked Tai as they got drinks from the Juice Bar.

Tai took a bracing drink of his tea. "How do I explain it? Lani's dad almost fainted when he met Grandpa and the rest of the night, he fawned. Lani's mom was unfailingly polite which I don't think was actually a good sign. Her older brothers glared at me all night but I don't think they mentioned the 'incident' to their parents. Noa was, well, the same as usual," he explained. Noa had been a life saver to be honest.

"Yeah, I'm sure the 'incident' didn't win you any favors at all," Rex remarked.

"I'd apologize but what do I say? Sorry I almost broke your arm, I was under the influence of an evil sword at the time?" Tai sighed.

"This is Angel Grove. Is that so far fetched?" Rex asked with a chuckle.

Tai snorted. "They grew up in Hawaii. I don't think it'd come off quite the same as it would to an Angel Grove native," he said ruefully.

"Take it from me, they aren't going to like you no matter what you do," Winter interjected. "It's a big brother's prerogative. Especially if they were inclined to dislike you from the beginning," he added. "From here on, you're just screwed," he even managed to grin at Tai.

"You're in a disgustingly good mood today," Tai grumbled. Rex and Winter chuckled at that remark.

"I'm trying to stay positive. We finally managed to convince Fox to come back, the business didn't suffer unduly to my lack of giving a care, and AJ isn't just ignoring my calls but Randi and Jason can't get a hold of him either. I'm also going to dinner at Lammy's later," he said. "Things are definitely okay," he said.

Tai couldn't help but smile. "I'll let that go just this once then," he said ruefully. He watched as Lani, Manny and Holly came in. They waved at the three guys when they spotted them.

"Well, you stay and enjoy your good mood, we're going to go sit with some pretty girls," Rex said.

Winter chuckled. Their communicators beeped. Tai glanced around. Rex stood in front of him slightly and Winter leaned closer as if they were still in conversation. "Tai here," he said.

"Putties have appeared in several locations. They are being taken care of, but a monster has appeared near the Youth Center," Beez reported.

"All right, send anyone who isn't busy with Putties to the Youth Center," he said. He twisted his wrists. The three girls filed back out of the Youth Center. Winter shouted for one of the twins to cover him and he, Tai and Rex headed toward an empty area in the Youth Center.

"It's Morphin' Time! Tyrannosaurus-Rex!"

"Mastodon!"

"Stygimoloch!

-x-

Zita appeared on the edge of what Grifforzer said to be the Red Ranger's property. She stretched out her arm. She gasped in shock when her hand hit the barrier that would keep her out. So, there was a magical ward on the property. How strange. She lightly placed her hand against the barrier ignoring the discomfort radiating up her arm and began walking along the perimeter.

Hopefully she'd find the source before her arm fell off.

-x-

Wood bounced, jumping over a file of Putties. He landed in a crouch and swept around in a kick that locked several of them off their feet. He hit them in the Zs while they were down and spun out of the way.

Danny head-butted a Putty and kicked out, connected with the Z and pushing himself back. "Note to us: the ability to summon weapons unmorphed," he said to Billie as he ducked a Putty and used a force-field to push them away from him.

"Duly noted," Billie said. Even though she'd trained hard and improved drastically under Tai's instructions as Mina, she still wasn't at the same caliber as Danny but she was doing pretty good, she thought. She'd managed to take out a few Putties and hadn't fallen down once.

"That'd be nice. Levitating is best if I have my bow in hand," Nathan said and back flipped out of the way of a Putty triple team. He landed in the air then dropped, crumpling one of them and kicking the other two in the Z's.

"Watch out!" A flying garbage can lid smacked a Putty in the chest just as it tried to sneak up behind a distracted Danny. It bounced off of him and hit several more in a quite illogical pattern. Zara came running out of an alley and jumped. She wrapped her legs around a Putty's neck and used her momentum to throw him to the ground. She punched him in the Z and got to her feet.

"I owe ya one. Nice moves," Danny said appreciatively.

"Nice toss," Billie said and the four of them regrouped since all the Putties were gone

"I do what I can," Zara declared. "There's a monster. You better get going," she said with a sigh.

Danny nodded. He twisted his cuffs. "It's Morphin' Time! Triceratops!"

"Triceratops!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Smilodon!"

-x-

Rei made her staff appear. She whirled and swung into a Putty and hit him in the Z. She a took a moment to appreciate the fact that Zita was smart enough to send a good number of Putties to face the group of inhumans. It also sent off alarm bells. "Zita's up to something," she said as she jabbed another Putty in the Z.

"Whatever it is will have to wait," Taran said as his fingers grew into elongated claws. Lammy followed suit. The two of them made quite the duo. They stood back to back and waited for the Putties to come to them. When the Putties converged, they sprang into action. They kicked and slashed their way through the creatures.

"And here I don't have a staff I can summon or built in claws," Sora griped as he jumped, ducked and rolled out of sudden deluge of Putties trying to pin him down.

"Yeah, but there's three of you," Rei reminded him as she swung her staff around to give him some breathing room.

"Ah, right y'are," he purred, his usually faint accent thickening momentarily. He split into three. Simultaneously, the three of him cracked his knuckles and grinned. The three Soras sprang into action, wading into Putty attack. As a synchronized team he fought the Putties.

"Why does it feel like for every one we put down two more take its place?" Lammy asked as they regrouped.

"Because Zita is up to something," Rei growled. She hated that she didn't know what her sister was thinking. Mori seemed to be just as frustrated with the other triplet as she was. She slammed the end of her staff against the sidewalk and summoned her armor.

"Well, if this is the way it has to be," Sora as he regrouped into a single entity. He twisted his wrists. Lammy and Taran did the same.

"It's Morphin' Time! Stegosaurus!"

"Velociraptor!"

"Ceratosaurus!"
-x-

Superficially, Tori and Chloe looked like easy pickings. Two girls, alone, one was short and compact, the other thin and willowy but there was nothing easy about either of them. Tori had trained to become part of the Sol Reavers for longer than she could remember while Chloe had dedicated most of her life to martial arts.

So even they were just two girls, they could handle a few Putties. A lot of Putties was a little trickier, however, even for them. Chloe tensed and densified as a Putty came barreling at her. He crashed into her and went flying, disintegrating as he did because he'd hit his Z dead on. She sprang into immediate action. A flying tiger kick took out another one. She used the moment from hitting him to bounce herself backwards and jabbing another one in the base of the skull. He went down hard and disintegrated with her on top of him. Making a face she jumped to her feet.

"They picked the wrong chicks to mess with today," Chloe declared and blew her bangs out of her face. "Ugh, it took me ages to get my hair right," she complained and took her aggravation out of on a tougher than usual Putty.

"Tell me about it," Tori grumbled. "I just went to salon yesterday," she said and tossed her head. She attacked, going in low, using her small size and agility to her advantage. She was actually not to use her sonic shriek too much. It gave her a sore throat when overused. "Did they get taller?" she demanded suddenly, peeved at how difficult they were being about putting their Z's in the path of her attacks.

"Maybe you shrank from Wood withdrawal," Chloe quipped as they came back to back again. She rubbed her shoulder from a lucky kick.

"That's not it," Tori said as they turned in a circle watching the Putties as they began advancing on them again. "I've had a lot of Wood since he's been uneviled," she said.

"TMI," Chloe declared. "We might have to elevate things," she said.

Tori was about to agree but suddenly a commotion came from beyond the Putties. They were going down. A boy wielding two wooden swords and girl with none had come onto the scene.

"Did Fox Oliver just save our hides?" Chloe asked.

"And Mel," Tori agreed.

"Yeah, well Mel was awesome to begin with," Chloe said with a grin.

"You guys looked like you needed some help," Melody said. She ducked a swing from a Putty and spun backwards into a high kick, her heel crashing into his Z.

Fox was getting used to the weight of the boken Rex had given him, but their length was still a little unwieldy to him. Still, his lessons with first Trini and Mel and now Rex were coming in handy. "Don't worry, I won't go bandying it about," he assured the two girls.

"In other words you can't wait to tell everyone you saved me and Tori from Putties," Chloe said dryly as she jumped and crashed into a Putty trying to sneak up behind Mel. "Just remember I get to tell Rex how well you use those toothpicks here," she added.

Fox grimaced. "My lips are sealed," he said. Truthfully, he was taking to the technique very well for a novice but Chloe would die before admitting that to him. He slashed two Putties, using his boken in unison.

"Don't listen to her, sweetie. I'll give Rex a glowing report," Tori assured him. Frustrated, she screamed at several Putties coming toward her. They clutched their heads and stumbled back.

Melody used it to her advantage and took them out. "Me, too," she said and winked at Fox. The Putties were finally defeated.

Chloe slung an arm around Mel's shoulders. "You just want an excuse to talk to him," she said.

Mel colored. "Don't you have a monster you need to help with?" she asked.

Tori giggled. "We do," she agreed more seriously. She twisted her wrists and made her cuffs appear. "It's Morphin' Time! Pterodactyl!"

"Mastodon!"

After the other two girls Morphed and teleported, Fox gave Mel a sly look. "So that's what it's like," he said.

"Can it or you'll be eating those boken," Mel told him. He held his hands up in surrender but he still had that Fox face that she didn't trust. "Let's just go," she said and teleported to the Command Center. A snickering Fox followed.

-x-

A large monster that resembled a lobster in a lab coat with short tentacles on its face was leaving a wake of barnacle encrusted wreckage. This included people, animals, cars, street signs, telephone poles, mailboxes and whatever else his horrific loogies landed on. Even unfortunate Putties that got in the way.

His tentacles wiggled as he began to make disgusting noises, gathering up another wad of spit. Red, black, yellow, and green energy hit him in the chest. He choked and gagged, rubbing his chest. "Who dares interrupt Dr. Loogvig?" he demanded, looking around angrily. His voice sounded both like he was underwater and had a stopped up nose.

"We did," the male Red Ranger said as he holstered his blaster. The female Red Ranger, the male Black Ranger, the female Yellow Ranger and both Green Rangers faced him.

"You'll regret that," he said and began gathering phlegm once again. He spit and sent the Rangers scattering. Everywhere his spit touched crusted over with barnacles.

"He's even more disgusting than the bug monster," Yellow said, trying not to gag.

"Let's just try not to get loogied," male Red suggested and came from his hiding spot. The others did the same. He drew his TyrannoSword. He ran in close, slashing at Loogvig, but the monster's dense pincers blocked and slashed at the Ranger. He sparked and stumbled back, gripping his chest.

Loogvig hocked a loogie. Hit caught Red's sword arm and encrusted him against a wall.

Loogvig didn't have time to celebrate his victory as he was surrounded by Rangers. Female Green came in with her Power Staff. He was quick to block and had her jumping back as he attempted to snap the Staff with his claws. "You aren't getting my Staff," she said crossly.

"Have some of mine," male Black said and slid between them and extended the end of his Power Scythe right between the monster's beady eyes. It hit him with enough to force to jolt him backwards. Loogvig let out a gurgling roar and spit a them. Black tackled her just in time to avoid the wad of sea snot.

Yellow sped in close but found that even though she was faster than he was, her Power Grips were nearly useless against his armored body. She skid to a halt with a huff. "Win, go," she said, an idea forming. A last ditch effort to get the upper hand.

Male Green had already summoned his Stygian Armor and ran forward with the Stygian Blade. With the Power Sword, female Red joined him, teaming up, forcing the monster to defend against two of them. He so far has been doing an admirable job.

"If you have a plan," Red prompted her friend.

"It's like double dutch. Just waiting for the perfect time to jump in," Yellow said. She suddenly zoomed forward and jumped, landing on male Green's shoulders. He hastily steadied her even as she used her Grips to go for the monster's eyes, the only unprotected part of him that she could see.

Enraged, Loogvig lashed out wildly. All three of the Rangers went flying. Eyes smarting, he began to rapidly spit.

"Get out of the way!" male Red tried to warn them others even as he pulled on his arm, trying to free himself. It was no use. It was as if it were raining monster spit and the five of them ended up pinned to various places in various ways.

Gritting his teeth, male Red jerked his arm. The barnacle crust gave way. It still coated his arm, making it stiff. Fortunately, he was a switch-hitter.

Squinting at him, Loogvig was flabbergasted. "Harsher measures are needed here I see," he burbled. As illogical as it seemed he pulled very large laser rifle from his lab coat. He leveled it at Red and fired.

-x-

Zita wasn't sure how long she'd been walking the perimeter of Tai Stapleton's property. Her arm definitely felt like it was going to fall off. She paused as a sweet smell filled her nostrils and the sound of bells reached her ears.

She sped up. She gasped when the wind suddenly picked up, fluttering her ruffly skirts. Cherry blossoms whipped around her almost playfully. Gritting her teeth she looked around. That hadn't felt entirely natural but she could no intelligence behind such an act. Yet the further she went now, the more she felt the well of magick energy.

She quickened her pace, almost running. She slid to a halt when the trees came into view. Pale pink blossoms covered the branches even as the playful wind tugged at them, sending petals scurrying away. Some teased the old man in the painfully colorful clothes. Short and stocky with a shock of iron colored hair, he was still a powerful man even at his age.

Grandpa was hanging a string of bells on each tree. "Don't just stand gawking. You're taller than I am. Show some respect to your elders and help," he said gruffly in Japanese.

Zita stiffened her spine. No one had ever spoken to her in such a way without serious repercussions. Yet she found herself going over to the old man. "You think age earns you my respect, old man?" she asked even as she took the string of bells from him and hung them from one of the lower branches of one of the trees.

Grandpa stacked his hands behind his back and looked at the girl in the black and purple doll's dress. He considered her question. "It is true even fools age but age is the only time fools will be respected. Yes. I believe age earns me your respect," he answered.

Zita narrowed her eyes at the old man. He had a way of looking at her that was unsettling. She sniffed and gazed at the now tinkling trees. The well of power was strong. She could see the wards both tied around and carved into the trees themselves. "What is an old man and a scrawny boy hiding beyond these trees?" she murmured.

"Come and see for yourself," Grandpa invited.

Zita looked at him, startled. Then she laughed. "Yes. It's true even fools age. You wouldn't invite me in so readily if you knew who I was," she said. Grandpa surprised her by grabbing her hand and pulling her through the thickest part of the barrier; the space between the two trees. It was shockingly easy. She glared down at him and jerked her hand free. "Touch me again and you will never live to regret it. Should I tell you who I am?" she asked icily.

Grandpa once again gave her an unsettling look. "Feel free to look around, but I suggest you leave before my grandson returns. He's still upset with being controlled by the Sword of Darkness and therefore, you, Zita-hime," he said and walked away from her.

Unease crawled down Zita's spine. She had no idea how to react to this old man, who was even more unnerving than his wretched grandson.

Grandpa paused and turned back. "Would you care for some tea before you begin your tour?" he asked.

Zita had never felt so caught off guard. She found herself agreeing and she could not even begin to fathom why. She mutely followed as Grandpa led her to the main house.

What was she getting herself into?

-x-

Dr. Loogvig let the nose of his laser drop. He could hear the other Rangers calling out to their leader but there was no way he could have survived...that...attack...

Male Red managed to summon his Power Armor and throw his shield up. There was a furrow in the pavement nearly six feet long and up above his ankles but he'd survived. The best part was, the energy had managed to free his arm of the remaining barnacle crust. Interesting.

"But--but--How!" he demanded.

"You can thank Mina for that," female Blue declared. "Seems she came in handy for something," she added ruefully.

Loogvig spun around and saw that he was surrounded by even more Rangers. The last to arrive being the Gold, Silver and Electrum Rangers.

"Are we late?" Electrum asked and cocked her head at male Green and female Yellow. They were encrusted together, chest to to chest.

"It's not what it looks like. Please don't kill me," Yellow said.

Electrum just shook her head and used her VelociRapier to break them apart.

"Brace yourself," Gold told male Black who'd been propelled against a wall and hung dangling from it by his shoulder. He gave Gold a thumbs up. He was surprisingly okay up there. Gold smashed the StegoMace into the barnacle crust and went to help female Green get leg unstuck from a manhole cover. Black dropped to the ground and rolled his shoulder.

Male Red used his Power Armor's gauntlet to free his partner while three Silver Rangers, female Black, male Blue and a hovering male Pink Ranger kept Dr. Loogvig busy. "Thanks," she murmured.

"Anytime," he assured her. "Billie! Does he have a weak point?" he demanded.

Female Blue was already analyzing the monster. "Manny had it right. His eyes," she said finally.

"That's what I thought. Taran? Who do you think is stronger, you or me?" he asked. Gold shook his head, having no idea.

It was female Blue who answered him. "You are especially in the Armor. It was specifically designed to draw on and enhance your ability but you've already drawn on too much energy withstanding that attack," she warned him.

"Tai, whatever it is you're thinking--" female Red started.

"He'll do it anyway. We just got to watch his back," male Black said.

"Just have the Cannon ready," male Red said. He gave his partner's arm a comforting squeeze. "Everyone else, blitz him now!" he ordered.

Loogvig heard the order but didn't entirely have time to realize what that meant because the Rangers did exactly that. Three Silver Rangers rand toward him and jumped, all three swords raised. He intended to defend against all three but the Ranger recombined mid-air and crashed into him with the CeratoSword at full strength. He groaned but grabbed the blade in one pincer and threw the Ranger.

He didn't have time to gloat as the Black Rangers came at him. The blades of both Axe and Scythe threw up sparks but knock the boy aside and spit at the girl. He didn't see that he'd managed to practically cover her entire helmet. The Green Rangers came in next. The Blade sparked across his chest and the Staff went for his middle. He grabbed their arms in his pincers and turned in a sharp circle and tossed them.

While slightly dizzy, the Blue Rangers attacked. The girl went in and slashed her Sai across his middle a few timed and disappeared when he tried to knock her aside. The boy came in and jabbed his Lance in his face. "Augh!" he spit but the loogie only harmlessly hit a force-field. When the force-field dropped, male Yellow jumped him, slashing at his face with the Daggers. Loogvig grabbed him around the middle and threw him at the Yellow girl but she speedily dodged. She grabbed at his lab coat with her Grips. He wrestled it back, which upset her momentum and she went skidding and tumbling off.

It was a short lived victory as Loogvig found himself having to protect himself from arrows as the Pink boy rushed at him shooting arrows with each step. The he jumped. Just behind him the little Pink girl whirled around him, slashing him with her Fans throwing up sparks.

Loogvig gurgled with rage. These Rangers were seriously getting on his nerves. He turned his attention to Electrum as she artfully fenced with him using her VelociRapier. He easily parried each of her jabs and slashes. She began to speed up and switching hands, confusing him, and forcing him to keep up suddenly she was gone and he looked around. She'd rolled out of the way as Gold smashed his StegoMace into face. Fine lines began to form, radiating from his eye socket. He roared and hocked his biggest loogie yet at the shiny Ranger. Gold was almost a barnacle encrusted statue as he struggled to free himself.

Loogvig thought victory was nearing so he began reaching for his laser gun once more. Loogvig was wrong.

"Magnum Power Cannon!" female Red summoned.

Loogvig fumbled with the laser. He was too late. Male Red ran forward and jumped. He summoned every once of strength he possessed and wrapped his hands around the hilt of the TyrannoSword. He crashed it in the space between the monster's eyes. The shell, already weakened shattered revealing a pinkish shrimp looking head.

Male Red barely had strength to regain his balance. He shouldn't have bothered. Male Black ran into his side and pushed him out of the way.

"Magnum Blast!" The blast from the Cannon exploded into the opening male Red created. He exploded. And stayed exploded.

Female Red left the Cannon and ran over to where male Black was tapping the now un-Morphed Tai's cheeks. "He's alive," he assured her. She sighed in relief but cradled his head. Tension filled the air as they continued to wait. "Billie? What's with the monster?" he asked.

Female Blue was analyzing on her computer again. "He seems to be lacking the growth serum that's been infused in other monsters," she answered finally.

"So it's over? That's it?" female Black demanded.

Blue nodded hesitantly. "I believe so," she said.

"Well...that's..." Gold, who was freed from the barnacle crust when the monster exploded, said.

"Odd," Electrum said.

"Well, we'd better go then. People are starting to stir again," female Red said. She teleported herself and Tai to the Command Center. He'd need a mdi-bed for a bit. The other Rangers left the battle scene wondering if that was truly the end of it and why.

-x-

Palace on the Moon

"Oh, la! Looks like Finster used the wrong batch of clay to make that monster. Wonder how that happened," Moriko said musingly as she spun the telescope idly away from her.

"It does make one wonder," Griff said and raised a brow at her.

She widened her eyes and tried to look innocent. It wasn't a look she pulled off very well at all. "What could you be suggesting?" she asked. She sashayed away from the throne room. He followed her mutely a slight grin teasing the corners of his mouth. They were enjoying a leisurely meal when Zita reappeared. "Why sister, dear, you look positively perplexed. What did you find?" she asked.

Zita scowled and passed them on the way to her map. She began filling in details of the Watanabe land. Moriko watched, raising her brows. "You found out quite a bit. How?" she asked.

Zita huffed. "That doddering old fool invited me in! He even gave me tea and let me have the run of the place! I could have done anything!" she exploded suddenly.

Moriko was intrigued. "So, why didn't you?" she ventured to ask.

All the wind rushed out of Zita. "I don't know," she said, scowling. "Leave me alone," she hissed and left the room, her nosy sister and that lumbering thug that followed her around. She had no idea why she didn't level the place just to prove she could. She should have. Why didn't she? She didn't know.

She didn't know.

-x-

Sometime later, Lani left Tai's side. According to the read outs on the medi-bed he was just sleeping, so she decided to let him sleep and recover his strength. She stopped short when she found Billie alone in the Power Chamber. "What's up?" she asked and wandered over to the other girl.

Billie glanced at her. "I'm making improvements to your Power Armor. Holly was smart to modify my diagram to an overlay of your form. It's been working well enough, but as I said before, it was created specifically for Tai and his genetic power," she explained. She gave an apologetic smile.

Lani nodded. "I was always aware that mine wasn't really up to snuff because of the rush job to outfit it. What are you doing to it?" she asked.

"Adjusting the fit and strength enhancement. I can give you a boost of strength drawing from the Power Sword rather than a genetic ability. Not quite up to Tai's level but you might beat Win arm wrestling," Billie explained and gave a ghost of a smile. "The Power Sword is still one of the most powerful weapons ever created," she said.

Lani grinned. "At least there's that," she said with a grin. She squeezed Billie's shoulder. "Thanks," she said.

"I was going to do it anyway eventually, in case you were feeling left out," Billie remarked.

"I wasn't," Lani said with a laugh. "See ya later," she said and teleported out, leaving Billie to do as she would.

Billie went back to work on the console, happily having the Command Center all to herself. This was how it was meant to be. She was firmly putting Mina behind her.

x-End Chapter 18-x           

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