Prelude

[BeTheSwallow]

Ok someone (I don't remember who, sorry!) said they liked the little backstory of Tommy's death in "Legacy" and would like to read the story itself. So here it is. It's called "Prelude" and it will include a 6th ranger team up, and lead up to Tommy's death seen in the first chapter of "Legacy." Also, it will be quite a bit longer than "Legacy." So here goes nothing, hope you guys like it.

PRELUDE: CHAPTER I - AND IN EVERYTHING I'M GOING TO DO
---------
By Wes Avery


A cloaked figure stood patiently as he waited for his partner’s signal. Hopefully he would not be needed, but this man had long since learned it was better to have an unused backup plan than a nonexistent one when you needed it. So he waited. Waited and watched, as his partner snuck down into the complex below.
...


The second man crouched near the shadows, waiting for his opening. Surveillance wasn't really his thing, he usually left that for his partner, but he had helped create this mess, and he was going to help clean it up. He could do this all day if he had to, he had nothing better to do. Class was over for the day and the new recruits were out saving the city.

That left Tommy Oliver to save the universe.

At last came his opportunity. A shipment of fresh supplies from the outside. Driven in on the bed of a freighter, the large size of the cargo meant they would have to open the main gate. Tommy waited until the freighter had cleared the checkpoint and the door began to close. He sprinted in just as the door shut behind him, and rolled back into the shadows.

He worked his way slowly around the perimeter of the inner complex. No need to rush, he thought. I have all the time in the world. He stuck to the shadows and moved slowly so as to avoid having any Tyrannodrones catch him in their peripheral vision. He edged closer to the door labeled Control Room and slid in, ready with Ethan's newest gizmo to download all of Mesogog's plans.

At once an alarm went off, and a robotic voice declared "Warning! Dino Gem detected! Sector 7-F! Warning!" So much for the element of surprise, he thought. Well, I've come this far...

He inserted his device into the main slot of the computer. It did its job and did it well, and began downloading the entire contents of Mesogog's database. Only problem was, there was a small army outside that door and a much larger army on its way.

The Tyrannodrones burst into the room as Tommy made the call:

"DinoThunder! Power Up! Ha!"

The Black Ranger cleared out the first wave of the Tyrannodrones with one slice of his Brachio Staff. A spinning roundhouse took out two more. He just had to hold them off long enough for him to get that data. And with a tiny doorway clogging up both his exit and majority of the Tyrannodrone's entrance, he wasn't going anywhere anyway.
…

Something’s wrong, thought the cloaked man. He should be out by now. He debated going in after Tommy, but decided to stick to the original plan.

…
80%

Just keep them away from the computer, Tommy, thought the Black Ranger. The last thing I need is for this room to go up in flames.

85%

Almost there, he thought, as he kicked a drone in the small of its back.

90%

He clicked the staff over to Wind Blast while simultaneously backhanding a Tyrannodrone.

95%

With one sweeping motion of his Brachio Staff, all the Tyrannodrones in the immediate vicinity were knocked off their feet.

100%

Go, Tommy, go! He grabbed the little grey box and made a break for the main gate.

He was too late. The gate was closed, locked, and sealed. Ok, not going out the way we came, I guess. Just gotta make a new way out. He ran through the inner complex, Tyrannodrones in hot pursuit. Man, what I wouldn't give for a black Raptor Rider right now

He pressed a button on his communicator, activating the signal.
...

Tommy's not gonna make it, the man thought. I gotta help him! Then cooler heads prevailed. No, he he thought, wait for the signal.

All too soon the signal activated. Tommy was in trouble. Time for Plan B. He made the call:

"Let's Rocket!"

The man made a break for the complex as he called in a faster means of transportation.

"Galaxy Glider Hang Ten!"

Here we go, he thought. Let's just hope I'm in time...
...

I just hope he's on time, thought Tommy. The Tyrannodrones were closing in, and he was very quickly running out of room to maneuver in. Then, from out of nowhere, came his partner swooping in, ready for the Evac. He made the pickup right as the Tyrannodrones swarmed in en massse.

"Gotcha!" yelled Andros.

"Cutting it a little close aren't we?" quipped Tommy, as they streaked away from the complex, Data in tow.

"Just be glad I got you at all" retorted Andros.

"Too true. I swear one of these days this job's gonna kill me..."

[Origanal Red Ranger]

Your other fic was better.

[Mythical Master]

Your other fic was better.


I Completely disagree. This story is great so far. You've got to remember this is a prequel. It is going to look bad at first but just wait until the other chapters are up.

[Origanal Red Ranger]

Not the story his writing, it was much more dedicated in the first fic.

[Mythical Master]

Not the story his writing, it was much more dedicated in the first fic.

I see. but I don't really see much of a difference. Anyone who takes the time not only to write stories but also type and post them has as much dedication as someone who publishes a newspaper for example. I just don't see why you are saying no dedication in his writing.

[y3k]

I love it. Awsome as always.

[Zord_Crazy]

I love it. Awsome as always.

Ditto.

[BeTheSwallow]

PRELUDE : CHAPTER II – OUT ON A LINE
---------
By Wes Avery


Back at Dino Ops, Tommy went over the data as Andros inspected the building.

"Nice place you got here." quipped Andros.

"Aw, man. This is NOT good..." said Tommy.

"What?"

"Take a look at this. Mesogog's got something BIG cooking. Problem is, the details aren't really here. Just scraps of info here and there. Nothing solid. And here's the worst part. Look at this security system. No one's getting in there for long."

"You did."

"Yeah but I was spotted within the minute, and here's why. This thing's looking for everything: Dino Gems. Quasar Sabers. Zeo Subcrystals. Hell, Power Coins. Like I said, no one's getting in there for long. No Ranger, anyway."

"No powered-up Ranger. What if we go in there powerless? It'd be risky, but we'd have the element of surprise. Assemble a small strike force."

"No good. Look here." He indicated a large room on the display. "That's gotta be the main citadel. But it's well over 300 degrees in there. An unmorphed human wouldn't last too long."

"So we assemble a non-human strike force."

"Still no good. The Aquitarians would be out of the fight even sooner than us, and a Triforian'd be spilt up instantly..." He paused.

"Triforian... Wait a minute..."

"What?"

"Give me a second here, I think I may have something."

Tommy pored over the schematics for Mesogog's complex. There it was. He had found the small opening he was looking for. The one chink in this impenetrable armor of a security system. Mesogog had been thorough, that was for sure. But he missed one thing, one very important thing.

Ranger teams tend to come in sixes.

After a bit of experimenting, he produced a list to Andros.

"What is this? Who are these people? Zhane I know. Mike I've met. But this Trey of Triforia? Merrick Baliton? Are these all Rangers?"

"They are. And we're going to need all of them. You're on recruitment duty. Get those people here, Andros. Tell them to bring their morphers."

"But the security system--"

"Not your problem. Just get 'em here." Tommy got up from the computer and made his way to the main entrance of Dino Ops.

"And where are you going?"

Tommy stopped near the door and faced an access panel. In place of the DinoThunder Logo that was on all the other panels, Andros noted this one was different. It had a lightning bolt.

Tommy entered the passcode.

"5-4-6?" questioned Andros.

"Look at the letters, not the numbers" replied Tommy.

Andros thought for a moment. "Ah," he said finally, "Don't you think it's time to let that go?"

"Maybe. It *was* high school."

The panel opened and out slid Tommy's collection of morphers. A set of Zeonizers were on the left, and a Turbo Morpher and Key lay on the right. Dead center was a golden Power Morpher, the White Tiger Power Coin, what remained of the Falcon Coin, and or course, the Dragon Coin. Tommy took the Power Morpher and inserted the Dragon Coin.

"Why do you still have these? And I thought the Dragon Power Coin was out of energy. And for that matter what good will a Power Coin do you at all?"

"It is out of energy, but I'm about to fix that, and trust me, it won't be detected. As for your first question, you never know when you may need to fall back on some old powers. Remember Serpenterra?"

"True enough. But the Turbo Morpher?"

"TJ left it with me when they went into space. I'm surprised he never told you. He said it should stay with its original owner."

"But the moon--"

"I simply gave it back to him."

"I see. Well I'm changing your passcode."

"Fine." Tommy handed Andros his Dino Gem. Andros inserted it into the receptacle and typed in the new passcode.

"3-3-5? How very original." quipped Tommy, "Oh well. Good luck, Ranger."

"You too, boss."

He sat at the computer, and began to call it in. This was going to be a team up of epic proportions.

[Kali_WolfChilde]

way cool. i was thinking about Merrick awhile ago, trying to picture him shirtless*grins* :D

[BeTheSwallow]

PRELUDE : CHAPTER III – THOUGH I’VE TRIED TO FORGET
------------
By Wes Avery

Tommy pulled up to the quiet, unassuming house. Middle of suburbia. He shut off the Jeep and walked toward the door. Here goes nothing, he thought. He knocked on the door and a very familiar face answered.

"Hello, Rita." said Tommy.

"Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time," she said. "It's Carla now, Tommy."

"I see."

"What brings you here? Come for retribution at last?"

"Not at all. In fact, we need your help."

"We?"

"The Power Rangers."

"I'm past all that now, Tommy. Robert and I are finally happy."

"Robert?"

"You knew him as Lord Zedd."

"Oh."

"The Power Rangers, Rita Repulsa, those are all things of the past, Tommy. I'm sorry, but whatever you're up against, you're on your own."

"But you still have the Power."

"I can still cast spells, yes. But I haven't in years, and I won't now."

"All I'm asking for is five minutes of your time, Carla."
...

Zhane had come right away. The Samurai Ranger hadn't been that hard to track down. And Lunar Wolf was easy enough. But Andros was having trouble getting Michael Corbett or this "Phantom Ranger" to Earth. He gave up for the moment and moved down the list to Ryan Mitchell, listed as the Titanium Ranger.

Accessing Ryan's Titanium morpher via the Dino Ops computer, Andros gave him a warble. There was a bit of a pause, as Andros guessed Mr. Mitchell hadn't planned on using his morpher again, and had to find it.

Finally, a cautious "Hello?"

"Ryan Mitchell, Titanium Ranger?"

"Yeah, that's me, who are you?"

"I am Andros, Red Space Ranger. We need your help."

"Who's we? And what kind of help?"

"'We' are Rangers from across the universe and back. 'We' are the are the Rangers who derive our powers from a different source than our teammates. For lack of a better term, 'we' are the 6th Rangers."

"But you just said you were the Red Space Ranger."

"This is your mission, Ryan, I'm just mission control."

"What mission? You still haven't answered that part."

"We need the 6th Rangers to infiltrate a heavily guarded complex on the southern tip of Titan and put a stop to whatever Mesogog has planned."

"Mesogog?"

"A very powerful being. He wants to bring Earth back to its roots, and make it a land of Dinosaurs once again. He is massing forces on Titan, and we believe he is attempting a resurrection of some kind."

"Ressurection of who?"

"We don't know yet. That's why we need you. Operation Lightspeed can't help us here, Ryan. We need Titanium power."

A pause. "All right, I'm in. Where do I sign up?"

"Reefside, California. 1992 Valencia Road. Some of your compatriots are already here, and more are on the way."
...

"One last time." said Carla.

"That's all I ask," said Tommy.

Carla took the Dragon Power Coin and closed her eyes. The coin began to glow green and suspend itself in midair. Carla continued to concentrate and soon the coin itself became green. Tommy felt the old familiar Power come over him. Each of the Powers he used had been different. But he had always had a preference for the Green Ranger Powers.

"It's done. Your coin is more powerful than ever. I wish you well."

"Come with us."

"I can't. I told you, those days are long gone. I've moved on."

"You can't just give up, Carla. As Rita, you tried to destroy the Earth countless times. Now's your chance to save it. Come with us. Fight by our side. Don't let Zordon's sacrifice be in vain."

She thought about this for a moment. At last she relented

"Ok, Mr. Oliver. I'll go. But know that this is for Zordon, not for you. He gave his life to purge the Evil from me. I owe it to him to help you. But do not use his sacrifice against me again."

"I won't. And thank you, Carla."

"Let's go."

[Zord_Crazy]

Keep on trucking, dude. I like this one. :cool: :cool: :eek:

[y3k]

HOLY SHIT!

I am defenetly nominating this one Fic of the Month

[CroweXV]

Thank you for not writing the uber team up full of conveniences and what not, this is really good, keep it up.

[Lord ZEDD]

Wow I love this fic I was hopeing you would do the 6th team up that killed Tommy. Great job so far I'm sure the rest will be great as well.

[Mythical Master]

Great Story

[BeTheSwallow]

It continues... Oh yes.. it does... :)

PRELUDE: CHAPTER IV - FIRST IMPRESSION'S GOT TO BE YOUR VERY BEST
------
By Wes Avery


"Do you ever get the feeling we were supposed to have met already?" said Cam.

"Great distances can delay many a meeting of destiny." noted Merrick.

By now Ryan Mitchell had arrived, and Eric Myers was on his way. Trey of Triforia and Michael Corbett had yet to respond, and Andros had no clue how to reach the Phantom Ranger.

"Mike'll be here," Zhane reaffirmed him, "He wouldn't let us down."

"How do you know? You never met him."

"True, but from what you told me, he seems like a true Ranger through and through."

"Technically, he's not a Ranger" stated Ryan.

"Neither was I, at first." added Cam.

"Yeah but he's the Magna Defender," Ryan continued, "nowhere in there does it say 'Ranger'"

"You're kicking me out of the club because of a formality?" asked a voice.

The Rangers spun around, there was Michael Corbett. Standing by his side was Trey of Triforia, alias Gold Ranger.

"How did you know where to go? Or even to come at all?" inquired Zhane.

"This guy here." said Mike, as he indicated Trey.

"My people know when and where we are needed. I sensed trouble in your star system, and that only I and Mr. Corbett here could help. I visited Miranoi and told him my story. Time was of the essence, and even now it is against us."

"Did anyone else know people came in threes?" asked Mike.

"The Triforians are a race of unity, Mike." corrected Andros, "Upset it, and they are split into their separate components."

"Indeed," confirmed Trey, "and you are of Kavora, correct?"

"KO-35, born and raised, the both of us," answered Zhane.

"Who's left on our list?" asked Cam

"The Quantum Ranger should be here shortly, said Andros, "leaving just the Phantom Ranger, and of course our leader for this mission."

"That being?" asked Zhane

"That being me" answered Tommy, as he walked into Dino Ops, flanked by Carla and The Phantom Ranger.

"The Phantom Ranger?" asked Andros, "How did you contact him?"

"I keep tabs on everyone." said Tommy simply.

The Phantom Ranger said nothing.

"And who is this?" asked Merrick, indicating Carla.

"Guys this is Carla," said Tommy, "Some of you knew her as Rita Repulsa. She's since reformed and she's coming with us."

"I find it hard to believe someone like that just gives up and reforms" said Mike

"She did; I was there" answered Trey.

"Don't you mean 'we' were there?" quipped Ryan.

"Watch yourself there, Tighty" shot back Mike

"Titanium," corrected Ryan

"'We' were not there, Mr. Mitchell. 'I' was there. You were not yet a Ranger, and my selves are as one."

"Until the going gets tough and you pass the buck to a human." noted Zhane

"The Gold Ranger powers would have been lost forever." insisted Trey

"This is an incredible setup, Remote Zord operation, satellite scanning," said Cam, trying to change the subject.

"Guys, we need to work together if we're ever going to pull this off." said Tommy, "Try to get along, if only for one mission."

"Says our fearless leader" noted Mike, "Come to think of it, why are you our leader? Who made you team captain?"

"He's the best" said Andros plainly.

"He couldn't even take down one witch and her skinless husband," said Ryan, who then quickly added "Uh, no offence, Carla."

"None taken," Carla replied flatly, and remained silent.

"Guys, listen to me," said Tommy, "You're Rangers, all of you. You've each saved the world a dozen times over. No one said this was going to be easy, but you've got to trust me when I say we need each and every one of you. One Ranger can't do this alone; it's going to take teamwork, and more importantly, a team that trusts its members. I know we're not the most traditional of Ranger teams, but we're the only chance the universe may have. Mesogog has been scanning for every source of Power on your respective teams. He's looking for Power Coins, Zeo Subcrystals, Turbo Keys, Astro Engines, Quasar Sabers, Rescue Technology, Chrono DNA-Bonds, Growl Phones, Wind Disks, and Dino Gems."

He paused

"What he's not looking for, is a Golden Power Staff,"

Trey nodded.

"A Power Ruby,"

The Phantom Ranger stood at attention

"A Digi-morpher,"

Zhane looked up.

"The Magna powers,"

Mike uncrossed his arms and stood up straight.

"Titanium Technology,"

Ryan saluted.

"The Lunar Caller,"

Merrick put on his "Howling Wolf" Jacket

"A Samurai Amulet,"

Cam spun the chair around and faced Tommy.

"Or the Quantum Controller Box"

The Rangers looked puzzled.

Tommy said nothing. Instead, he looked at the main monitor of Dino Ops, prompting the others to do the same. On it was the upper portion of Dino Ops, Tommy's house. More specifically, his driveway. And pulling up to the house was a very distinctive SUV.

The Quantum Ranger had arrived.

Eric got out of the car and walked up to the house.

"Hello? Anybody home? Silver Guardian on patrol," said Eric to no one in particular.

Finally Tommy answered the door.

"Wait, Tommy Oliver? Zeo Ranger V?" exclaimed Eric, "But Andros called it in." He thought for a moment. "Wait a minute, don't tell me, there's a group of robots about to pilot a much bigger robot and destroy Earth, and only the Red Rangers can stop them? Again?"

"Not quite," answered Tommy, "Come in Eric, and welcome to Dino Ops. You're late."

[Lord ZEDD]

LOL!
I loved the Cam and Merrick conversation at the start. Oh and I hope you have someone smack the shit out of Ryan that guy needs to learn some respect.

[Zord_Crazy]

Nice back and forth banter. And the weak spot in Messagog's security, the Sixth Ranger powers, that was inspired! Keep the good work up, my man. :D :cool:

[Mythical Master]

Great Story

[y3k]

awsome as always.

[bjlovel]

Awesome. I want more.

[Stoney]

dude!i was the one who asked for the back story! OMG! this is sooo badass! thanks man.

[BeTheSwallow]

But wait! There's more! :D


PRELUDE: CHAPTER V – AND STILL WE STAND TALL
----------
By Wes Avery

Tommy went over the plan of attack as Eric walked in and joined the others, leaning against the wall.

"We'll have five main objectives," he said, "First, we'll need to storm the main command station and disable communications throughout the complex. Once that's done, we patch in a link back to Andros and he gets a closer look at what Mesogog's really up to. Next, we're gonna have to knock out the power to the whole complex. That can be done by disabling the main generator here." He indicated a room on the display. "Now once the power goes offline, we'll have thirty seconds to disable the shield generators, here, and here, before the auxiliary power comes on and we're locked out of the main citadel again. That just leaves us to stop the resurrection before Mesogog can finish the ceremony."

"Seems simple enough" said Eric sarcastically.

"We'll pair off into teams. Each one will accomplish their objective and report back here," he indicated another room on the display, "We'll regroup here and launch our assault. We've got no room for error here, guys. If one team fails, we all fail. And we have no idea who'll be inside that citadel with Mesogog. Be ready for anything and anyone."

"This is all well and good," said Cam, "but how are we going to get to Titan? That's halfway across the solar system. Got a Megaship handy?"

"Not quite."

"It was damaged in the escape last time we were there," explained Andros.

"How then?" asked Mike.

"In this," replied Zhane, as he hit a button on a small device. On the monitors in Dino Ops was The Mega Winger, orbiting Earth at a steady pace.

"Yeah that'd do it" remarked Ryan.

"We'll use the Jump Tubes to get onto Titan itself." said Zhane, "The Mega Winger parking in his back yard is not something Mesogog's likely to miss. The Jump Tubes'll send us toward Titan silently, but we'll be completely vulnerable until touchdown. Try not to sneeze."

"Guys, I don't need to tell you that this is going to be a very dangerous mission." said Tommy, "But I can't force you to go--"

"Oh great, this speech again" muttered Eric

"What speech?" whispered back Mike

"Nevermind," replied Eric, "Just say 'yes'."

"--This is a decision you'll each have to make for yourselves." finished up Tommy.

"I go where I must" said Trey.

"I'm here, aren't I?" said Zhane.

"Yes. I, I mean-- I'm in." said Mike, as he shot a glance at Eric, who simply smiled.

"Sounds like fun" quipped Ryan.

"My answer from NASADA stands" said Eric

"I am prepared" said Merrick

"Let's get him" said Cam

All eyes fell on the Phantom Ranger.

He simply nodded.

"All right then, lets go." said Tommy as he felt himself being teleported out of Dino Ops.
---

They rematerialized onboard the Mega Winger. It was somewhat confining, but no more that Dino Ops had been. There would be some time until Titan was within range of the Jump Tubes. Tommy took the opportunity to reflect. He stared out the window as Earth became just another blue dot in the distance.

"Kinda puts everything in perspective, doesn't it?" asked Carla.

"Yeah, it's so small, so insignificant." said Tommy

"And yet so important."

"Exactly. Everyone I've ever known is down there right now. And only me and 8 other guys stand between him and them."

"Lot of pressure for one man. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Tommy looked over, and saw Merrick and Cam looking out the opposite window.

"So why did you come with us, Samurai?" asked Merrick

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world!" exclaimed Cam.

That may be the price, too, thought Tommy.

"We're in range" announced Andros. "Establishing an orbit around Titan. If you're gonna go, now's the time."

"Well, guys, you ready?" said Tommy

"Let's do it." said Merrick.

Tommy made the call:

"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"

"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!" Cam knelt down as the Power of the Samurai Ranger encompassed him.

"Wild Access!" Merrick felt the Spirit of the Lunar Wolf fill his body as his helmet formed around his head.

"Quantum Power!" Eric's body briefly glowed a white light as he took the form of the Quantum Ranger.

"Titanium Power!" Arms outstretched, Ryan felt the Titanium Power run down his body. He smiled as his visor slid into place.

"Magna Power!" Mike held up his sword as the Spirit of the Magna Defender took hold.

"Let's Rocket!" Zhane entered the passcode and the Power of the Silver Ranger was released.

"Phantom Ranger!" The Power Ruby glowed bright red as The Phantom Ranger powered up.

"Gold Ranger Power!" Trey uncrossed his arms as the Golden Power Staff bestowed the familiar Power.

"Dragonzord!" Tommy held out his morpher as the Power of the Dragon was once again his to command.

This is it, thought Tommy. Moment of truth.

The 6th Rangers loaded up the Jump Tubes and shot towards Titan.

[y3k]

one question, how did Mike and Cam get their powers back? Besides that, still good.

[Zord_Crazy]

*drools all over* Need....more....quickly!!

[BeTheSwallow]

one question, how did Mike and Cam get their powers back? Besides that, still good.

LOL magic. A Wizard did it. :) Seriously, though, I dunno. Treat it like the myterious power return of the episode which shall not be named. And poor Rocky, they just stright up ignored him! :( Not even a mention! Anyway, I digress. I realize it's ben forever (no pun intended) since I addded anything to the story, so therefore you guys get two chapters today! Once again, sorry for the rediculously long wait.


PRELUDE: CHAPTER VI – FIND THE TRUTH IN YOUR SOUL
By Wes Avery
------------------------

Tommy floated in space, drifting silently towards Titan.

"Come in, guys. Are we all still here?"

"Loud and clear, boss," said Zhane.

"Ok, we've got about a minute until touchdown, so here's the plan. Cam, you and Merrick are up first. Get into the main control station and patch Andros in. Mike and Eric will monitor Shield Generator A, while Ryan and Trey look after B. Do not engage, repeat do NOT engage until Zhane and the Phantom Ranger have cut the power. Zhane, you and the Phantom Ranger have to get in there and disable the main power grid; that gives us a thirty second window to take out the shield generators, so everyone's gotta be in place when you cut power.

"What about you?" asked Zhane

"I'm going in solo."

"Objective?"

"Observation."

---
ALPHA TEAM
SAMURAI/LUNAR WOLF
OBJECTIVE - Take Main Control Room and Establish Link to Mega Winger
---

Cam touched down on the surface. Merrick landed near him and they stood by as the other teams made contact with each other.

"Everyone Ok?" he asked over the COM system.

"We're fine on this end" came Mike's voice.

"Ready and waiting" said Zhane's voice.

"Standing by" replied Ryan's voice.

"Ok, we're going in. Running silent until we've breached the control room."

"Good luck" said Tommy.

They crept up to the main gates, and stopped. There was a LOT of security here. Clearly Mesogog would not be fooled with the same trick twice. They would have to think of another way in. Merrick tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for a vault. Cam nodded. They inched their way back into the shadows and Cam backed up a little. With a good running start, he leapt off Merrick's shoulders and flipped up onto the main wall. He knelt down and held out his hand. Merrick hoisted himself up onto the wall and prepared to jump down, but Cam stopped him. He motioned down and Merrick noted a security camera. All the stealth in the world wouldn't help them if they just showed up on camera. Instead, Cam motioned Merrick to follow him into one of the main sentry stations. Merrick almost voiced a protest, but caught himself and merely motioned for Cam to lead on.

Cam entered the back door and sliced the Tyrannodrone's neck with one swift swipe of his Samurai Saber. Again Merrick signaled his protest, but Cam pointed to the wound on the Tyrannodrone's neck. Inside were wires and servos. This creature was part Dino DNA, true, but it was also part machine.

And to Merrick, that meant Org.

As Merrick tossed aside the body of the drone, Cam was busy undoing the main hatch of the station. A trapdoor opened near them, and Cam motioned for him to go inside. Merrick lowered himself down as Cam propped the drone's body back up against the gunner's seat. With luck, Mesogog wouldn't even know there wasn't anyone manning this station for quite a while.

As he dropped down, Merrick realized that they were in the inner complex. At last he understood that the Samurai Ranger must have memorized the blueprints to the complex inside and out back at Dino Ops; he had mapped out their path long in advance.

Merrick allowed himself a small degree of admiration for this Cam.

They slid along the edge of the inner complex, and worked their way towards the Main Control Room. This is where Dr. Oliver had been detected during the scouting mission, noted Cam. This would be the test of Dr. Oliver's theory. He slid open the door and crept inside.

No alarms. Good so far.

Merrick drew his Lunar Cue and took out the first of 6 Tyrannodrones guarding the room. Cam followed suit and took on two more drones. They stood back to back and held their ground. Merrick noted one drone who had enought sense to make a break for the alarm. He quickly threw his Lunar Cue across the room and hit it square in the head with the base of the Cue. It ricocheted off and Merrick flipped over the wave of drones. Midair he twisted himself over and caught the Cue, landing near the fallen drone. A quick jab to the ribs and it was out of action. He stood up and saw the last drone sneaking up on a preoccupied Samurai Ranger. Thinking quickly, he broke off the knob to a nearby lever, and lined up his shot.

Cam took out the two drones, but noted that there was still one unaccounted for. His question was answered almost immediately in the sound out a thwack, followed quickly be a thud. He spun around and saw Merrick near the other end of the room. On the floor near him was one drone, and near Cam was another that had been knocked unconscious, apparently by way of bank shot. Merrick must have hit that from across the room like a pool ball, he noted.

Cam was filled with a newfound respect for the Lunar Wolf Ranger.

He walked over to the main console and sat down. Nothing too difficult here, a basic firewall. Now this was something he could get into. He quickly found a backdoor and sidestepped attempts to authorize identity. A quick ping, and he piggybacked onto the return function and into the main database. A barrage of inquiries flew his way, but Cam simply rerouted them back through his access route and out of the system. He took out his disc and emptied its contents into the main database. Within seconds it had found a connection back to the Mega Winger and a safe place to hide it. Cam noted the beauty of it when his program linked itself back through the sentry station they had entered through in the first place.

Mission accomplished. Cam allowed himself a sigh of relief.

"You did good, Samurai." said Merrick.

"Thanks, you too. I just hope the other teams can get their objectives done."
---

Back in the Mega Winger, Andros smiled as the connection found its way into the system. He contacted Tommy as Carla looked on.

"Green, this is Red. We're in."

[BeTheSwallow]

Double your pleasure, double your fun! :)

PRELUDE: CHAPTER VII – NAVIGATE AND I WILL STEER
By Wes Avery
----------------------


"Ok, guys, we're in," said Tommy "Next three teams, you're up."

---
BETA TEAM
SILVER/PHANTOM
OBJECTIVE - Locate Main Power Generator and Prepare to Cut Power
---

The Phantom Ranger started for the main gates, but Zhane stopped him.

"What, are you just going to waltz right in and expect them not to notice?"

The Phantom Ranger nodded.

"...Oh."

The Phantom Ranger opened a panel in his left arm and handed a small device to Zhane. He then disappeared. Zhane was startled to see his parter suddenly vanish, but he felt the Phantom Ranger's arm strap the device onto his arm and active it. At once the world went dark, and if Zhane had to describe it, fairly purple. He realized that he too was now cloaked.

"Hey, guys!" he whispered, "Check it out! I'm invisible!"

He felt his arm being tugged and faint shove towards the gates. He turned around and the Phantom Ranger was now fully visible to him, undistorted like the rest of the world.

"Alright alright, I'm going." he muttered.

They walked towards the gate and waited for an opening. Sure enough, there was a break in the ranks that they could slide through. Zhane watched as the Phantom Ranger skillfully dodged making contact with any of the Tyrannodrones. No doubt about it, there was an art to this. Zhane tiptoed towards the guards and began to weave his way around the first few. He didn't get very far. Almost at once he came dangerously close to colliding into the first drone. This was much more difficult than the Phantom Ranger made it look. Years of experience in being cloaked probably had something to do with that, though.

Zhane jumped back as the guard came near him, only to lose his balance. He fell onto the ground near the feet of yet another drone, and quickly rolled out of the way as the drone stepped on what would have been his chest. He silently backed up away from the gates.

Screw it, he thought. I'm doing this my way.

He took a few steps and flipped up and over all the guards. On his way down he was hit with the sudden realization that his impact would not only make noise, it would leave noticeable footprints in the dirt. Perhaps that’s why he weaved through them, Zhane thought, the bootprints are covered instantly by drone tracks. It was almost to little too late, but Zhane has enough sense to twist around and look for a handhold mid-flip. He grabbed ahold of a ladder rung and felt his body be violently forced to change direction.

He hit the wall with a faint groan and a slightly louder thunk.

At once a couple of drones started towards him. He quickly pulled himself up the ladder and hung on a few feet above the heads of the drones. The guard on sentry duty must be asleep on his feet, thought Zhane. There's no way he shoulda missed that. He looked up and saw that indeed the sentry drone was motionless, either asleep or unconscious. Suddenly he realized that this was the tower Alpha Team had stormed. That drone wasn't unconscious, he was dead.

Thank goodness for small favors, he thought.

The gate guards had left him now and were now back at their posts. Zhane vaulted off the ladder and over to where the Phantom Ranger was now standing. In the grass, of course, thought Zhane, no tracks to follow. He landed silently and stood up. The Phantom Ranger gave him a long stare. Zhane simply shrugged. The Phantom Ranger led him into an alcove and opened up an access panel into the lower portion of the complex. He motioned for Zhane to go, and Zhane dropped down the hole, and looked around.

They were in a sewer system of some sort. Suddelny the world snapped back to normal as the Phantom Ranger quickly snatched off the cloaking device from Zhane's arm.

"What?" said Zhane, "We're alive aren't we?"

The Phantom Ranger simply stared at him.

"Ok ok, I'm sorry. Now lets find this power generator and get this over with, eh?"

The Phantom Ranger nodded.
---

Mike had no idea what was taking Beta Team so long. At last he heard Zhane's voice over the COM.

"We're in, despite my best efforts" came Zhane's voice.

"Was that what that thud was a little while ago?" asked Mike.

"Never mind that" said Zhane's voice. "Patch us through to Andros, then you guys need to get into place."

A brief pause.

"And I think you'll find it was more of a thunk."

"Roger that" said Mike, and he patched his COM link back to the Mega Winger, still floating quite a ways off from Titan.

"I got him," came Andros's voice, "You guys get going, I'll guide them from here."

"On our way," said Mike, "Magna Defender out."

---

"You guys there?" Andros's voice asked over the COM.

"Loud and clear Red," said Zhane, "Where to from here?"

Andros pulled up the blueprints of the catacombs that were now serving as a sewer system.

"You're going to want to go straight for a bit, then take the second left." he said.

"Second left, roger that." replied Zhane.

Andros continued to guide them through the labyrinth. Occasionally Zhane would try to engage the Phantom Ranger in conversation, but he quickly abandoned such attempts, and began to wonder if he had even called anything for his morph, or if he even had to morph for that matter.

"Two more hallways, then a right" said Andros.

"Got it," replied Zhane.

"How's Cassie?" asked a voice.

Zhane looked around and realized that it was indeed the Phantom Ranger who had said that. The question caught him off guard.

"Huh? Oh.. she's good." he said,

"Good." said the Phantom Ranger, and that, apparently, was that.

At last they reached the end. There was an access panel above them, and Zhane popped it off. He hoisted himself up and into the main power grid. The Phantom Ranger followed and set to work at the generator. Zhane watched as he removed some wires, rearranged others, and pulled out components seemingly at will.

Finally he stood up and motioned at Zhane's Digi-Morpher.

"There is no way you're using this thing in there," he said.

The Phantom Ranger sighed and waved him off. Instead he flipped open a panel on his wrist, revealing his communicator.

"Beta Team. Objective Complete." he said simply.

"Roger that," came Andros's voice.

[y3k]

w00t! two chapters!

[Mythical Master]

Great Job!

[ranger fan 9000]

i always though the blue sentarian was the 6th ranger in turbo. he always fought with them not the phantom ranger

[y3k]

i always though the blue sentarian was the 6th ranger in turbo. he always fought with them not the phantom ranger

um.....no.

Notice: Phantom RANGER. as in, POWER ranger.

someone ri-ides the sho-rt bu-us!

[BeTheSwallow]

The action starts to pick up. Wackiness ensues.

PRELUDE: CHAPTER VIII – IF YOU EVER GET TO KNOW ME
By Wes Avery
-------

"Ok, guys, Beta Team's all set to cut the power on my signal," said Tommy, "Status?"

---
GAMMA TEAM
MAGNA/QUANTUM
OBJECTIVE: Prepare To Disable Shield Generator A
---

"Almost set, Green," said Eric, as he and Mike worked their way through the ventilation shafts, "We're about 20 yards from the target. Can't say much for the view, though."

"You were the one who wanted me to go in first." remarked Mike.

"Alright standby until the others are in position" said Tommy's voice over the COM.

"Roger that. Quantum Ranger out."


---
DELTA TEAM
GOLD/TITANIUM
OBJECTIVE: Prepare To Disable Shield Generator B
---

"How close are we?" asked Ryan.

"We shall know soon," Trey answered.

"Which means you don't know either."

"I'm afraid I must question Dr. Oliver's selections. Perhaps you can continue on your own, Mr. Mitchell."

"Oh, no, Mr. Threesome. By all means, lead on."

"Status?" Asked Tommy's voice.

"We're almost there." answered Ryan.

"Distance to target?"

"'We shall know soon'"

"What's that mean?"

"I dunno, ask Triforce here."

"It means," remarked Trey, "That we are directly above the target as we speak."

"How do you know?" asked Ryan, "There's not even a vent to look through."

"Because I can sense it."

"Ah. Sensing. Got it. How silly of me."

"Standby until I'm in position." said Tommy's voice.

"Can do. Titanium Ranger out."

---
EPSILON TEAM
GREEN
OBJECTIVE - Infiltrate Main Citadel and Conduct Reconnaissance
---

Tommy leapt up onto the wall of the complex, landing near the Sentry station Alpha Team has stormed. He entered the station, and slid out the side door. As he crept along the perimeter, he thought about his students, the DinoThunder Rangers. I should have brought them along, he thought, if only to observe onboard the Mega Winger. It's not everyday you go into space. As he reached the next sentry station, his thoughts turned to his past. TJ woulda loved this, he thought. He wondered what his successor was up to these days. He entered the side door and quickly knocked out the drone on duty. Following Cam's lead, he propped up the body back onto the gunner's seat and crept out the door to the next station. Another drone down, another year back. I am a doctor of Paleontology; I am moving to Reefside. Sentry Station 4 disabled. I am the Red Turbo Ranger; Kimberly is posessed by some sort of lava creature. Sentry station 5's gone. I am Zeo Ranger V; a creature has turned the Super Zeo Zords to gold, Adam better get here soon. Sentry station 6 down and out. I am the White Ranger; a garbage monster has come for Kathrine, we must protect her. Station 7 neutralized. I am the Evil Green Ranger; I must prove myself to my Empress against an army of puttys. Station 8 clear. I am a boy of 15; We are moving to Angel Grove. Station 9 disabled. I am 6, and I am officially part of a family. I am an Oliver. Station 10 gone. The last of the sentry stations was disabled, and Tommy slid down the ladder into the inner complex.

He stayed to the shadows, and worked his way slowly around the perimeter, slowly advancing on the main gates to the citadel. At last he reached the gates. This was it. Everyone in position. All according to plan. He opened a COM channel to all teams.

"Here we go guys. Final checks. It's gonna get messy after this."

"Alpha Team here," said Cam's voice, "Ready to disable communication on your mark."

"Beta Team's a go," came Zhane's voice, "We're one wire snip from a New York blackout."

"Gamma Team standing by to disable shield generator," said Eric's voice.

"Let's do this," said Ryan's voice.

"Ok, guys. Mark."

"...Communication's shot. We're on our way to the Inner Gates," said Cam.

"Good, Beta Team, mark."

The lights around the inner gated shut off in an instant.

"...Power's down and out," said Zhane, "Beginning countdown. T-minus 30, guys. See ya topside, boss."

"Gamma, Delta, mark."

---
Mike and Eric dropped down into the darkness from the safety of the air ducts. Shield Generator A was exposed. Only 4 Tyrannodrones stood between them and success. 2 on 4, 27 seconds, thought Mike, That hardly seems fair to the poor guys. He drew his Magna Blaster and took out the first two with ease. He look to his right and the Quantum Defender held a similar fate for the remaining two guards. One look at Eric, and they both took aim at the generator.
---

"Generator A's history," came Eric's voice, "We'll be there shortly."

"Delta Team, report." said Tommy. "T-minus 19 seconds, guys."

---
"A little busy here!" said Ryan into his communicator, before taking another blow to the head. There were about 30 of these guys, and though the Titanium Ranger fought valiantly, even he couldn't hold off that many drones. No one could, he thought.

"T-minus 12 seconds, Ryan!" came Tommy's voice over the COM.

Still more droned poured though the doorway. Ryan took a few out with a swing of his Titanium Laser, but for every one he put down, 3 more appeared to take his place.

"7 Seconds!"

"It's time for a Gold Rush!"

Suddenly Ryan saw a blur of gold and black. It was everywhere at once, and it was making quick work of this small army of guards. At last it stopped, as the last of the guards fell. Trey of Triforia stood victorious, and all Ryan could do was make an audible "Whoah..."

"Get down!" screamed the Gold Ranger.

Ryan dropped to his stomach as the Golden Power staff flew at him. He rolled onto his back in time to see it bury itself into the generator. The Golden Power consumed it, and soon the generator was no more.

Almost immediatly, the lights came back on as auxiliary power was restored.

"Generator B's done for" said Ryan, "No thanks to me."

"Had to cut it close, didn't you?" asked Tommy's voice.

"Felt like racking your nerves, good doctor. Be seeing you. Titanium Ranger out."

Ryan stood up and walked over to Trey.

"I'm not so good at this, so.... thanks."

"Your heart says more than your words ever could, Mr. Mitchell," said Trey, "You are indeed worthy of the Power. I am pleased to call you partner, and honored to call you friend."

"We get back to Earth, drinks are on me," said Ryan, "Now lets go save the world."

[Mythical Master]

Great Story!

[Zord_Crazy]

Nice bickering between Titanium and Gold. And your pacing of the actionis kick ass! Keep it up and going, buddy!

[BeTheSwallow]

Thanks for all your great comments, guys. It's finals week this week, hence the lack of a new chapter until now. Sorry about that.

PRELUDE: CHAPTER IX – TAKEN FAR FROM MY SAFETY
By Wes Avery
------------------


"Tell me again why we're here?" asked Elsa, as she stood in the security station of the complex.

"We are to monitor the complex in the event of an attack by Dr. Oliver." replied Zeltrax.

"Not that, you tin can. I meant why are we *here.* On a moon of this God-forsaken planet."

"Earth's magnetic ley lines do not form the proper crossrip in spacetime. Titan in the nearest celestial body that is correctly aligned. The next closest is Miranoi, and the obvious risks that entails led us here."

"I still don't know why we're doing this at all."

"It is not for us to question Lord Mesogog's plans."

He stopped and looked down at the monitor.

"What's wrong?" asked Elsa, and almost immediately the lights went out.

"Power's down," said Zeltrax, as "Estimate 30 seconds until auxiliary power is restored."

"Could it be an attack?" asked Elsa

"Unlikely, the security system would have alerted us much sooner to Dr. Oliver or his team's presence when it detected their Dino Gems. Also, no alarms have been triggered, and the sentry stations report all clear."

"Maybe they found a way around your precious security system," Elsa speculated, "The little Blue one's quite resourceful."

"Perhaps, but I think--wait."

"What?"

"Shield Generator A is down.... as is B."

"It *is* an attack. Well played Dr. Oliver. But now that you have announced yourself, it's only a matter of time until we find you and your three little students."

---
Tommy slid into the inner citadel as the other members of his team made their way back to the rendezvous point. Working his way through the ducts and walkways of the upper levels, he at last found a vantage point from which to observe. He activated his helmet cam and patched it back though to Andros.

"You getting this Andros?" he asked over the COM

"Crystal clear, Tommy, and keep watching. We still don't know who's going to be in there with him."
---

Ryan and Trey had met up with the others, and the 6th Rangers were now ready to storm the inner citadel. As Eric crept up on one of the drones, Merrick slid along the wall, ready to take out his partner. Suddenly a third drone appeared, one they hadn't seen or counted on. The drone ran for the alarm system, but Eric made sure he never got there. Unfortunately, the drone Eric had been stalking had seen the attack and had managed to reach a secondary alarm system,.

The jig was up. The 6th Rangers had been spotted.

---
"There! Look!" yelled Elsa, as she looked on the monitor, "It's an attack, all right, but who are these Rangers?” as she indicated Lunar Wolf and Quantum.

"Unknown," said Zeltrax, "But our orders are clear. Lord Mesogog is not to be interrupted in the inner citadel. One verbal misstep in the ceremony, and the process could be rendered useless, or worse, reversed."

"Point made. I'm sending out the Tyrannodones to stop these mystery Rangers, as well as the Triptiods."

"How many?"

"All of them."
---

"Cat's out of the bag!" announced Mike as he saw the innumerable mass of guards heading towards them.

"No kidding, what was your first clue?" quipped Ryan as he braced himself for battle.

"Here they come!" yelled Cam.

The 6th Rangers fanned out. Each held their ground, buying Tommy more time to find a way to stop Mesogog; He was the only one actually inside the citadel. It was up to them to keep this swarm away from him. The Rangers fought valiantly, viciously even. But even together, there was only so much the eight of them could do against an army of what Cam estimated was about 5,000. The formed ranks, and were soon backed into gates themselves as they continued beat back the mob. All too soon they were surrounded, with nothing but a closed and locked door to brace themselves against.

"C'mon guys!" yelled Ryan, "Don't quit on me now! Let's do this!"

With renewed vigor, the 6th Rangers jumped into the fray. Ryan cut loose, dispatching drones with extreme prejudice. Mike was blasting into the mass with shots from his Magna Blaster. Cam and his Samurai Saber were cutting a swath through the crowd alongside Zhane and his Super Silverizer. Merrick and Trey were back-to-back and were doing their best not to be overwhelmed. Eric had found a sniper's perch and was picking off henchmen one at a time. And The Phantom Ranger had cloaked and was simply assaulting guards that had lost track him in the midst of all the action.

Still won't be enough, thought Eric. We're losing ground fast. Tommy better come through with a miracle here.
---

Tommy continued to observe Mesogog and his resurrection ceremony from his perch in the upper rafters of the inner citadel. In the center was a large pit of some sort, and Mesogog periodically threw things into it, though Tommy couldn't quite make out what. And all the while was the chanting. Mesogog had continually chanted some obscure form of Aramaic this whole time, in rhythm no less. I could set my watch by this guy, thought Tommy. Suddenly the pit began emit a light. Soon the light had formed itself into a circular pattern, and seemed it fill itself in. Mesogog continued chanting, and the pit seemed to extend into nothingness, forming a sort of abyss of light. All too soon a shadow appeared within the abyss. A very large shadow. Soon it too began to take shape, as the light from the abyss filled in the shadow with form. Tommy had to make a conscious effort to silence himself as he at last made out the figure in the abyss. It all makes sense now, thought Tommy. That's why Mesogog couldn't perform the ceremony on Earth. There's no way its ley lines would line up right. A little mystical mumbo-jumbo, and he's opened a portal into Hell itself.

---
Andros herd himself make a gasp of shock as he too recognized the figure in the abyss. It was one he had hoped he would never have to face again. Apparently he *would* have to face him again, that or die trying. Andros looked over at Carla, and saw her too make the connection.

"It's Dark Specter..." the two of them said simultaneously.

"And our guys are getting pounded out there in the inner complex." said Andros. He thought for a moment.

At last, "Strap yourself in, Carla," he said, "We're going in."

The Mega Winger broke orbit and began its decent towards the moon's surface.

[Mythical Master]

Great Chapter

[y3k]

w00t!

[BeTheSwallow]

Again, an apology for the delay. But you are now looking at, um, well reading the works of, a high school graduate! Everybody conga! <Conga line beat> I-have-grad-u-a-TED! I-have-my-di-plo-MA! No-lon-ger-in-high-SCHOOL! On-my-way-to-coll-EGE! </Conga beat> Only one way to celebrate this:


PRELUDE: CHAPTER X – YOU BLEED JUST TO KNOW YOU’RE ALIVE
By Wes Avery
-----------------

The 6th Rangers were on the verge of being overwhelmed by the sheer number of Tyrannodrones and Triptoids. Still they fought on, hoping to give Tommy more time to stop Mesogog. At last, over the COM came Andros's voice.

"Guys, get down, we're coming in!"

The rangers immediately dropped to the ground as the Mega Winger swept in low overhead, guns firing. After a quick strafing run, it cleared a path to the gates and shot back into the sky as Andros prepared to make a second run.

The 6th Rangers quickly made a break for the main gates, now blown open, and entered the inner citadel to give Tommy a fighting chance.
---

Inside the citadel, Mesogog had nearly finished the ceremony. Tommy opened a COM channel to the other Rangers as they prepared to storm the citadel.

"Guys wait. You're never gonna be able to stop Dark Specter by yourselves."

"Dark Specter!?" exclaimed Zhane.

"Yeah, he's inside here with me. Probably shoulda mentioned that. Don't storm the gates just yet. Dark Specter's still weak from the resurrection, but even now he's way too powerful for a Ranger."

"So what's the plan now, boss?" asked Ryan.

"Andros still outside?"

"Yeah, onboard the Winger."

"Ok, here's what we do."

---
Mesogog had completed the ceremony, and Dark Specter lived again. Weakened and quite a bit smaller than he had grown accustomed to, Mesogog had assured him he would be at full strength soon enough.

"Now I believe restitution is in order," hissed Mesogog, "In accordance to our deal."

"Agreed," growled Dark Specter, "But not now, not until I'm at full strength. Then you will receive your 'planet of dinosaurs.'"

Suddenly, an explosion in the main gates.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" yelled Mike.

"Was that explosion really necessary, young man?" hissed Mesogog.

"You know, I was about to ask the same thing," said Zhane.

"I will dispose of these nuisances like insects!" roared Dark Specter as he started towards the Rangers.

"Be my guest" said Mesogog, as he angrily invisi-portaled out of the citadel.

"Here we go!" said Eric

"Good luck, guys," said Tommy over the COM, still perched above the rafters of the citadel.
---

The 6th Rangers made a break for the main gates, with Dark Specter right behind them.

"With you out of the way," he growled "No one will be left to know of my return until it is too late!"

"Don't count us out yet!" yelled back Cam, as they ran back through the outer complex.

"You are a mere annoyance! Already you run from my --UGH!"

Andros pulled back the fist of the Mega Winger and prepared to throw another punch.

"Catch you at a bad time, Specter?"

---
Tommy made one final sweep of the area, and made sure he was indeed alone in the citadel. At last he jumped down from the rafters and landed near the still-open abyss. Ok, he thought, there’s got to be a way to reverse this. He looked around. No instrument panels of any kind. He ran an optical scan of the abyss through his helmet display. There, he thought. He's continuing to draw power from the abyss. That's how he'll reach full strength. If I can cut it off somehow, he may not be destroyed, but he'll be much less powerful than he was when he was alive... um, the first time.
---

The Mega Winger was taking a beating. Hull integrity was at 76%, and the main coolant line had ruptured. Whose bright idea was it to fight this guy with our ride home? thought Andros. Still, he fought on, with the odds increasingly against him as Dark Specter continued to gain power.

WHAM! the Winger was knocked to the ground. Andros readied hydraulics.

"Wait," said Carla, "I can feel something."

"What?" asked Andros.

"His power, he's drawing power from somewhere in that complex. I think I can stop it."

"Tommy's in there right now trying to do just that."

"Yes, but he can't cast spells." Carla opened a hatch and entered the escape pod.

"Good luck," said Andros, and steadied himself at the controls.

"Ha!" yelled Dark Specter as he saw the escape pod shoot out. "Giving up already, little human? Not even your precious Zords can save you from the wrath of --UGH!"

Andros pulled his hands off the emergency button, and the Mega Winger's knee moved back into place.

He deserved that, thought Andros
---

Carla's escape pod landed near the main gates of the outer complex. She got out and made a dash for the now-unprotected entryway. As she neared the entryway to the inner citadel, two figures stepped out of the shadows to stop her.

"I cannot allow you to enter here, human," said Zeltrax.

"Out of my way!" screamed Carla.

"Sorry, girl," said Elsa, "You're going to have to do better than that."

"Fine," said Carla, full of determination, "Out. Of. My. Way."

She threw out her arms and shot them both with sparks of electricity. As Elsa and Zeltrax fell to the floor unconscious, Carla continued on her way. At last she reached the inner citadel. Tommy was still there, trying to shut off the power flow.

"Need some help?" she said.

Tommy whirled around and was relieved to see her.

"Yeah. I don't know how to shut it off, and Andros can only hold him off for so long."

"You can't shut it off," said Carla, "It's a channel."

"So what do we do?"

"We reverse it."

"And we do that how?"

"Mesogog had to throw a number of things in here, didn't he?"

"Yeah, I couldn't tell what, though."

"They were conduits, we can counter them with one of our own."

"What do we use?"

"We need something that is a force for Good. Something that's been used in defense of the earth."

Her eyes trailed off his, and she looked down at the Dragon Dagger.

"We need something that has been chosen to work on our side."

Tommy looked up at her.

"Zordon knew that, when he asked Andros to destroy him, didn't he?"

"I'm sure. Only his energy could have contained that degree of evil. We don't require quite so much. Not yet. Dark Specter is still relatively weak."

"What'll happen to the Dagger?"

"The same thing that happened to Zordon."

Tommy considered this for a moment. At last:

"Let's do it."

Carla stepped back, and closed her eyes. She began chanting, and the Dagger lifted itself out of its holster and began to glow first green, then white. It hung in the air, a weapon of Goodness, full of justice, and ready to strike.

"Take it, Green Ranger," said Carla, "End this madness."

Tommy took hold of the floating dagger, and prepared to hurl it into the abyss. He paused for a moment, and lifted the dagger to his lips. One last time, he played the familiar tune. The DragonZord was long out of power and well out of range, but the Green Ranger felt the need to play the summoning melody one more time, for old time's sake. At last, he gripped the handle of the Dagger, and flung it into the abyss that lay before him.

Goodbye, old friend.

Almost at once, a white light shot out of the abyss and enveloped Dark Specter. Slowly but surely, he began to shrink back down to size, and was being steadily reeled back into the abyss.

"No!" he yelled, "Who dares!?"

He was pulled quickly back into the inner citadel, but had enough time to look around. He saw Tommy and Carla standing near the abyss, triumphant.

"You! It was you, witch! You and your Green Ranger!"

Dark Specter began to disappear back into the abyss.

"Once we were allies! You will pay for this! I will have your life for this!"

He grabbed hold of the Dragon Dagger on his way in, and pulled it in with him the abyss as it closed. As the light dissipated from the room, the 6th Rangers came running back into the citadel.

"Did we do it?" asked Ryan, "Did we win?"

"Yeah," said Tommy, "It's over. We won."

Suddenly the abyss glowed a bright white for the briefest of moments. Tommy had just enough time to register what was happening as he saw the Dragon Dagger fly out of the abyss and head straight toward Carla.

"No!" he screamed, as he dove in the way. Not her, he thought, not now. She's earned the right to a happy life a hundred times over, and I'm not about to let that end now.

A dumbfounded thought hit him mid-leap.

Aw man, this is gonna hurt.

THUNK! The other rangers watched in horror as their leader, The Green Ranger, took the hit for what was clearly a shot at Carla. He fell to the floor, and they ran over to him.

"Tommy!" yelled Carla as she held him up. The dagger had buried itself deep in his chest. The shot was fatal; he didn't have much time.

"Did we win!?" said Andros as he came running into the citadel. Halfway in, he stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Tommy.

"No!" he yelled, and ran over to his partner and friend.

"Tommy, aw man. You... you're gonna be fine, partner. You're gonna be ok."

He looked down and saw that this was to be untrue within the minute.

"The Green Ranger Powers are all that's keeping him alive," said Carla, "And even they will give out soon. The attack was just too powerful; too full of rage and of hate."

Andros heard a private COM channel open in his helmet. It was a weak signal, as Tommy struggled to maintain the Power long enough to say what he needed to say. Andros cursed himself for only being able to make out part of Tommy's final words.

"Tell K-- I -oved --r. - l--ed h-r so mu..."

The Power Gave out, and Tommy Oliver was dead.

[Zord_Crazy]

I knew it was coming and it still sucked. That fic was very well done , my friend. Judos!*claps appreciately* :023: :023: :023:

[Chaos Son of SoS]

I knew it was coming and it still sucked. That fic was very well done , my friend. Judos!*claps appreciately* :023: :023: :023:

Ditto

[Lord ZEDD]

Great fic I felt sad when you had Tommy die but it was still a great fic just as good as Legacy. I presume the k was for Kat since we all knew who Kim was with in Legacy.

[KyrieEleison]

Wow...::sound of jaw hitting floor:: Liked how you didn't say which K Tommy loved, Kim or Kat. Fanfic for the month of May right here people!

[Zord_Crazy]

Wow...::sound of jaw hitting floor:: Liked how you didn't say which K Tommy loved, Kim or Kat. Fanfic for the month of May right here people!

Damn skippy :023: :D :007: !! I second it; anyone wanna go for third?

[y3k]

Damn skippy :023: :D :007: !! I second it; anyone wanna go for third?

That would be me.

God damn, he's a beginner that writes as well as the guy who did "Forever Red"

[Ag Phoenix]

Just got done reading your story. I can't say anything that hasn't been said before. Hopefully you keep writing so we can get more awesome Stories like this from you.

[BeTheSwallow]

Well thanks, but I did have one last little bit to add. :D Also, I'm surprised no one's picked up on the chapter titles yet.

PRELUDE : EPILOGUE – AND WE KEEP DREAMIN’ OF A TIME
By Wes Avery
------------------

The Journey back was a slow one. The Winger had lost one of its main engines and the Rangers were forced to sputter their way back to Earth. Once they had finally arrived, each slowly went their separate ways. Eric went back to the Guardians and broke the news to Wes. Merrick made it a point to notify Cole of the events of the last few days. Mike hung around for a bit, unwilling to accept it or return to Miranoi until he had paid his final respects. The Phantom Ranger simply vanished. Ryan made good on his promise to buy Trey a drink, but now the mood was vastly different. Cam returned to the academy and informed his fellow teachers what had happened. Zhane stood silently by Andros's side and made no attempt to fix the Winger, not yet. Andros himself had tracked down Tommy's last Will and Testament, buried behind a layer of passcodes and vaults in Dino Ops, and was as surprised as anyone to find it in letter format; addressed to him. Andros doubted it was legally binding, but he would do his best to see that Tommy's final wishes were fulfilled. Most of it was to be expected; the house was to go to the new Rangers, the money was to go to a youth center in Angel Grove. The last few sentences, however, caught Andros off guard.


In the matter of morphers, keep them all safe, Andros. All of them. Don't you dare let anyone bury me with my morphers, even one. It's like I keep telling you, you never know when you're going to need to fall back on some old powers. I know I'd be thrilled to be the Green Ranger again, should the opportunity present itself.

In the matter of a eulogy, it is my wish that, should he be willing and able, that Jason Lee Scott, the greatest Ranger of all, read the eulogy. Track him down, Andros. He shouldn't be that hard to find, and if I knew Jase, he'd be honored and humbled by this request. Don't let him back out. He knows I'd do the same for him. Good luck, and may the Power protect you.


Andros had arranged a private but rather larger funeral. Tommy had no family, and his friends were all fellow Rangers. And so, every known Ranger who could make it on such short notice had come to pay their last respects to the man that all but the man himself considered the greatest of their ranks. Rangers past and present were gathered around the simple wooden box; and Andros noticed even civilians Farkus Bulkmeier and Eugene Skullovitch had attended. Andros himself stood alongside his sister and Zhane; the rest of his former team was standing a ways off, forming a bitter Turbo Ranger reunion. Andros continued scanning the crowd, and at last saw Tommy's students, the newest Rangers. He felt a wave of compassion for them, as they had just lost the man who had shown them what it was to be a hero.

He looked over the new recruits, and as his eyes met the Red one's, Andros realized that he too must trying to identify people in the crowd...


THE END

[y3k]

WOW. I leaves off just where "Legacy" starts. *applauds*

[Zord_Crazy]

*bows down before the writer* :023:

[Ag Phoenix]

I have no words for this story. It was, for lack of a better word, awesome. I love how you cut it off exactly where legacy begins. I see some great things for you as far as writing goes. Keep it up.

[KyrieEleison]

I'm not worthy...I'm not worthy! ::bows before the fanfic warrior that is Wes Avery::

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

A smilie standing ovation!

[BeTheSwallow]

Thanks for all your great comments/reviews/smilie ovations. I'm glad you like my story. But now you guys get one last job to do. I am honestly surprised no one identified any of the chapter titles or where I pulled them from yet. Break out the karaoke machine, boys and girls, it's time for an easter egg hunt!

[KyrieEleison]

OK, here's what I got...

Ch 1 "And in everything I'm going to do" = Hoobastank - Right Before Your Eyes
Ch 2 - "Out on a line" = Saliva - Bleed for Me/Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack - Spin Around/American Head Charge - All Wrapped Up
Ch 3 - "Though I've tried to forget" = Evanescence - October
Ch 4 - "First Impression's Got to be Your Best= Trapt - Headstrong
Ch 5 - "And Still We Stand Tall"= Europe - The Final Countdown
Ch 6 - "Find the Truth in Your Soul" = Eiffel 65 - Now is Forever
Ch 7 - "Navigate and I Will Steer" = Fefe Dobson - Take Me Away
Ch 8 - "If You Ever Get to Know Me" = Liz Phair - Extraordinary
Ch 9 - "Taken Far From My Safety" = Linkin Park - Forgotten
Ch 10 - "You Bleed Just to Know You're Alive" = The Goo-Goo Dolls - Iris
Epilogue - "And We Keep Dreamin' of a Time" = The Mighty RAW - We Need a Hero (nice touch ;) )

And I now maintain that Tommy's "Tell K-- I -oved --r. - l--ed h-r so mu..." was Kim, because Tommy's passcode earlier in the story is 5-4-6, which spells out K-I-M. If it was Kat, it would be 5-2-8.

[BeTheSwallow]

Congrats. Those be them. Also, I have no comment on the "K--." A possible counter to the above argument could be Tommy, being Tommy, simply forgot to change the passcode. Again, only a possible argument (*I* know what he said :D ) Sucks for Andros, though. He didn't hear it either. What do you do in that situation? Who to you tell, Kim or Kat?

Also, I'm working on a new fic, completely unrelated to the Legacy/Prelude storyline. I guess it'll take place in the same universe, though. Nothing I've written so far contradicts it. Yet.

[y3k]

awsome. Can't wait :023:

I say Legacy and Prelude should be placed in the archive along with Forever Red: the Novel

[Mythical Master]

awsome. Can't wait :023:

I say Legacy and Prelude should be placed in the archive along with Forever Red: the Novel


I second this and also I want a e-mailed copy of both stories please.

[BeTheSwallow]

Post number schfifty-five! :D

That'd be so cool to be in the archives! Thanks guys!

Oh, and here we go again:
http://members.fortunecity.com/guardiandevil/refs2.txt
for all your pointless trivia needs!

Oh and Mythical Master, your profile says something like "This member doesn't want email." or some such similar phrase. I'll email both stories (All fancy font-ed, too!) if you want, though. PM me.

[Stoney]

dude, i find it only fitting as one of the guys who asked for the prelude to legacy story that this story needs to be in the archives with legacy.

[slider97]

:023: I loved this story it is one of the best "Prelude" stories I have read on Rangerboard. I especially loved how you brought the story to life especially with all of the emotional aspects of the storyline at the very end and making way for a sequel. I hope you write some more Power Ranger fan-fiction soon you're exceptional at it. Keep up the great writing. :eusa_clap

[BeTheSwallow]

1) You realize "Legacy" was written first, right? This was the "sequel," so you were supposed to know some things going into it, namely Tommy not making it out in one piece.

2) You realize this is over a *year* old, right? :confused:

That said, um, thanks.

[y3k]

1) You realize "Legacy" was written first, right? This was the "sequel," so you were supposed to know some things going into it, namely Tommy not making it out in one piece.

2) You realize this is over a *year* old, right? :confused:

That said, um, thanks.

I'm going to laugh now.

...


...

:005:

[Faqa]

Bravo! And we have a new addition to the fanfic elite on this forum.....

Great stories. Short, and great. Don't stop!

[y3k]

Bravo! And we have a new addition to the fanfic elite on this forum.....

Great stories. Short, and great. Don't stop!

Dude....this thread is a year old. Swallow's been writing for awhile now.

[Faqa]

Ummm.... Errr.....

*looks embarrassed and runs to hide in a corner*

Oops....

[thunderblade]

Yeah but still, if whoever hadn't revived this thread I wouldn't have read it. So thanks, whoever, for reawakening this fic.