The Terran Ranger/The Spectrum Force - The Preliminaries Volume 2 by Heather Ray (most difficult books to read txt) 📖

are we going?" she panted.

"Into the sunlight!"

Before she could ask what Matt was taking about, she felt the warmth of the morning sun on her exposed face. But the sun did much more than warm her, it also revitalized her. She looked back, and saw Celea cross the line between the sunlight and the shadow of the cliff. The evil smirk on Celea's face immediately fell, and she lost her footing and fell on her face. She mumbled to herself and slowly stood up.

"Of course!" said Jocelyn, smacking her forehead. "We were fighting in the shadows, and so our Spectrum Stones depended on the reserve energy store! I guess it was running out, and without direct sunlight, we would have been totally powerless! Now Celea, on the other hand, it powered by darkness, so much so that sunlight is lethal! No wonder she made us fight in the shadows! Now you're through, Celea!"

"I'm not through yet!" said Celea, waving her arms. She suddenly was enveloped in a black cloud, and when the blackness disappeared, Matthew and Jocelyn saw Celea, dressed in full, shimmering black armor.

"The Darkheart Armor will protect me from the sun's rays!" she said, picking up the sword from the ground. "Now, where were we?"

Celea chased the Spectrum Enforcers into the light. Even though the armor protected her from the sun, it also limited her mobility. She could no longer dodge the Spectrum Enforcers newly-energized attacks. Now the tables were more even, much to Celea's dislike. Celea soon noticed the battle ensuing not too far away.

"Curses!" she mumbled. "The entire Spectrum Force is here! My protection spell was only to keep technological weapons from hurting Dracola, but the Spectrum Stones are impervious to my dark magic. I'd better help him."

Celea turned and ran towards the battle. The Orange and Green Spectrum Enforcers immediately followed her.

Just a quarter of a mile away, and twenty stories above the ground, the other members of the Spectrum Force kept tryng to get an advantage over Dracola. However, because Dracola was so huge, their attacks didn't amount to very much.

"What should we do now?" asked Craig, flying over to Rachel.

"I'm thinking..." she muttered, continuing to dodge Dracola's swinging arms. Tamara was busy flying around Dracola's head, occasionally hitting it with a light beam, and Keith stood on the ground, holding Dracola's feet planted with his red energy field.

"He's just not feeling it!" said Tamara, slowing down her flight. Dracola seized this opportunity, since his moving target was now a little easier to hit. He lifted his arm to swing it.

"Whoa!" said Tamara, dodging the fist. She moved a little closer to Dracola's mouth. Dracola proceeded to take a deep breath, and blew the Yellow Spectrum Enforcer out of the sky. She flew clear across the horizon, unable to gain control of her descent.

"Tammy!" yelled Keith, momentarily weakening his hold on Dracola's feet. Dracola (who apparently was more intelligent than he appeared to be)

lifted his right leg and brought it down on the Red Spectrum Enforcer. Keith immediately created a shield around himself, but the weight of the enormous creature was crushing the field.

"I... I can't keep his foot off me!" he yelled falling to his knees in concentration. His head pounded from the immense effort he put into the field, as well as the mental pressure of holding it up against a weight of several hundred tons.

"Hold on!" cried Craig, adding his blue shield to Keith's red one. Rachel also descended, and helped her teammates hold up the clawed foot of the beast. Soon, Tamara returned to the scene.

"That scaly creep!" she yelled, adding her yellow energy to the beam protecting Keith.

"He's putting his whole weight into it!" cried Rachel. "We can't get him off!"

Suddenly, Rachel is hit by a black energy arrow. She immediately reverted out of costume and plummets to the ground. Craig caught sight of his leader's dilemma, and rushed to catch her, leaving Keith and Tamara to hold up Dracola.

"Uh, guys?" he asked, feeling the field around him weakening. "Help?"

"Keith!" cried Tamara, slowly descending to the ground, "I can't keep this up much longer!"

In answer, a huge gust of wind knocks Dracola off balance. Dracola fell to the ground, causing the entire area to shake. Then, the seven Power Rangers teleported onto the scene.

"Wow," said Craig, landing beside the Power Rangers with Rachel. "The cavalry has arrived!"

"No kidding!" said Jocelyn, and she and Matt flew over to where the others were standing. Soon, Keith and Tamara joined them.

"What happened to you?" asked Kimberly, referring to Rachel.

"Celea's arrow momentarily disrupted my connection to the spectrum," explained Rachel, raising her right arm. "The effect should have died out by now. Spectrum Sync...PURPLE!!"

Rachel once again became the Purple Spectrum Enforcer, and she turned to Matt and Jocelyn, smiling.

"Boy, did we miss you guys!" she said, giving them both a warm hug. The whole Spectrum Force joined in the group hug. Celea frowned at them, while Dracola continued to try to get to his feet.

"You are so USELESS

!!" she cried to the monster. She then turned her attention to the two superhero teams, who were still not paying attention to the fight. Dracola finally stood up.

"Get to Angel Grove as quickly as you can," she ordered, making her way to the teams, "Destroy everything in your path!"

Zack looked over and saw the monster's retreating form.

"Guys!" he cried, "Dracola's making a break for it!"

"We'll handle Dracola," said Rachel, rising to the air, "Tommy, you and the other Rangers try to stop Celea."

"Just bring Dracola back to the quarry," said Tommy, "Billy figured out a way to stop Dracola for good."

As the Spectrum Force flew away, the Power Rangers summoned their Power Weapons-- the Power Lance, Power Bow, Power Daggers, Power Axe, and Power Sword. The White Ranger held his trusted friend and partner Saba, and the Purple Ranger wielded the Laser Whip. They stood in line, holding their weapons high, and facing their enemy--Celea.

"Okay guys," said Tommy, "Let's do it!"

"Do you think you Power Rangers scare me?" laughed Celea. "You may be more agile than the Spectrum Force, and maybe even more physically strong, but you only have technological weapons to aid you. You can't stop me!"

"We'll see how cocky you are when you're unconscious!" yelled Alexis, snapping her Laser Whip. The length of the whip crackled with purple energy.

"We'll see," said Celea, diving at Tommy, who stood in the foreground. She moved so quickly that Tommy was unable to dodge her, and the other Power Rangers could do nothing to help. In seconds, the White Ranger and the Denebian Princess were engaged in a ferocious duel of swords. Even though Tommy is an expert swordsman, he fought fair, whereas Celea isn't barred by a moral code. When Tommy blocked her thrust with his sword, she kicked him in the gut, making him sprawl to the ground. The other Rangers leapt into action as Celea picked up the fallen White Ranger by the collar of his shield.

"Get away from him!" cried Kimberly in rage, poised to fire an arrow right through Celea's forehead, "I never miss a shot."

"Somehow, I doubt you'll risk running your leader through, Kimberly," said Celea, with an evil smile. She leaned closer to Tommy and kissed the mouthpiece of his helmet. She let him go and leapt into the air. Tommy fell back to the ground, covered in a thin coat of ice.

"Tommy!" cried Kim, touching his chest with her gloved hand. She pulled her hand back in pain.

"Yaah! He's freezing!" she sobbed.

"He's been turned into solid ice!" said Jason, activating his communicator, "Zordon, teleport Tommy to the Command Center."

"I cannot,"

answered Zordon. "A magical spell is blocking his communicator signal. I cannot get a fix on him to teleport."

"We have to get him off the battleground," said Zack, trying to lift him, "I'd hate to think what would happen if he were to break."

Zack heaved with all his might, but the ice statue wouldn't move. Suddenly, a barrage of black arrows began falling from the sky, and Celea once again touched down on the ground.

"Did you miss me?" she asked, pointing her bow at the Power Rangers.

"You guys, attack Celea," ordered Jason softly, "I'll hang back and deflect any arrows that approach Tommy with my sword, okay?"

"You got it, Bro," said Zack, stepping forward. "Let's show Tree-Top that no one messes with the Power Rangers!"

Meanwhile, not too far away, the Spectrum Force forced Dracola away from Angel Grove. They all created a barrier blocking Dracola from the city.

"Now all we need to do is move him back to the quarry," said Keith, "and we'd better do it quick! How long can we hold up this shield?"

"I'll get his attention," said Rachel, breaking away from the group. "You guys follow behind us, to make sure Dracola doesn't turn back!"

Rachel flew up until she was eye level with Dracola. He paid no attention to her, still trying to break the rainbow wall barring his advance.

"I summon the Elemental Armory!" she cried, raising her hand to the sky. "Lightning Sabre, heed my call!"

A bright bolt of lightning struck Rachel's hand. She caught it, and it reformed into the shape of a shimmering silver sword with a purple hilt. She pointed the sword at Dracola, and a stream of electricity rushed from the point of the sword into Dracola's eye. He roared in pain, covering his injured eye with his claw. His other eye glowed in rage, and he spat a stream of fireballs at Rachel.

"Whoa!" she said, dodging the fire, "That was a little too close for comfort!"

Rachel slipped between Dracola's massive legs and flew back towards the quarry. Dracola followed her in rage, but she moved fast enough to stay out of harm's way, while at the same time not going too fast for Dracola to lose sight of her. She sailed through the air, weaving her way around the cliffs spotting the quarry. She eyes caught the Power Rangers battling Celea.

*Keith,*

she called telepathically, *where are you guys?*

*Right behind Dracola,*

he responded.

*Quick, jump to light speed and get the Power Rangers out of the way,*

she thought, *I'll lead Dracola around in circles a few times to buy you time. Put them on a cliff somewhere. Off the ground!*

*You got it, Boss!*

he responded, and Rachel soon saw five beams of light streak past her. Instantly, the five beams of light came to a halt above the Power Rangers and Celea.

"C'mon, guys," ordered Keith. "Let's get the Power Rangers out of the way!"

The Spectrum Force swooped down, each member grabbing a Power Ranger on the descent. The Purple Ranger activated her golden wings and followed.

"What about Tommy!" she cried, looking back.

"Oh, crap!" yelled Keith, putting Jason on the cliff. "That block of ice was the White Ranger?"

Keith focused and called to Rachel, who was just appearing from behind another cliff.

*Ray, we have a problem!*

called Keith. *The White Ranger has been turned into an ice statue, and he's on the ground right in front of you!*

*I'm on it!*

she answered, diving towards the ground. The flew a few feet above the ground, and she saw Celea preparing to fire a