The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 5 by Heather Ray (novel24 .txt) 📖

this!"

"Sister?" Alexis said in surprise, turning to the rangers.

"He's Rita's brother," Zack explained.

"Well," he said with a dramatic sigh, "I guess now's as good a time as any to face the music. Ciao!"

With that, Rito separated at all the joints, all his bones vanishing from the maze. His head was the last part to go. Alexis stood there for a moment in surprise, and then leaned down to pick up her whip.

"If he could teleport, why didn't he just teleport out of the whip?" she pondered.

"He's not much of a thinker," Kimberly answered. "Why did you fight him? I told you we'd be right there!"

"I know," Alexis sighed, "but I guess he heard me or something. He was coming right at me. I had to act before he actually saw me, so I could utilize at least a little of the element of surprise."

"Well, so much for Rita and Zedd's plan to wreck the world's weather," said Aisha.

"Yeah," said Tommy, "let's get to the CAC, and make sure the damage has been fixed."

The others nodded, and all seven rangers vanished in a rainbow of colored light. While they left, the small fragments of what used to be the Weather Warp began to glow faintly in an entire spectrum of colors, and slowly, the particles burned through the concrete floor, burying themselves in the soil beneath the construction.
Chapter Twenty

In the Central Access Complex, Alexis, Kim, Aisha, Rocky, Adam, Zack, Katherine, and Jason stood in a circle, watching the sphere of the Earth as rendered on the Viewing Globe. Everyone smiled as they saw the threatening cloud covering Angel Grove slowly recede.

"We did it!" announced Kimberly, high-fiving Aisha, who was standing beside her. "Affirmative," said Billy, turning towards them from the med-unit. "The snow's already begun melting, the clouds have mostly dissipated, and the sun's shining. The temperature is estimated to each about sixty-eight. The snow should be completely melted before nightfall."

"Terrific," said Zack, rubbing his hands. "Now we can get back to the party!"

"Not me," said Kimberly, stretching her arms, "I'm wiped."

"Yeah," said Alexis, "Me too. I don't have the energy for skating."

"Well, how 'bout we all go get a late lunch?" suggested Rocky.

"Great idea, Rocko," said Aisha. "To the Youth Center!"

"So," said Tommy, sitting up from the med-unit, "what's my diagnosis."

Billy turned to Tommy, his eyebrow arched. "Try to avoid anymore sharp objects to the abdomen, and you should be fine."

Tommy grinned, and joined his friends by the Viewing Globe. As the teens prepared to teleport, Billy walked over and touched Alexis on the shoulder.

"I think I should make those adjustments to your communicator now," he told her. "It's not safe for you to be out of communications."

"But I won't be able to teleport."

"Don't worry. I'll have the communicator repaired by tomorrow. I can teleport you to the Youth Center from here."

Alexis agreed, and unsnapped her communicator. Billy took it, and placed it on his desk. He then activated the teleporter, sending Alexis, Rocky, Jason, Kat, Zack, Aisha, Tommy, and Kimberly all to the Youth Center. He then opened the face of the communicator, and began examining the gears.

Chapter Twenty-One

On the balcony of the Moon Palace, Lord Zedd averted his gaze from Earth. In the process, the red energy of his telescopic vision faded, allowing him normal vision. He glanced at his wife, who was still gazing at Earth through her Repulsascope. He sighed, and walked towards her.

"You can stop watching now," he said. "The fight's over. Once again, the Power Rangers won. Where did Rito and Goldar go?"

"Goldar went to Finster to get some ointment for his burns, and Rito went with him." Rita said, still not looking up at her husband.

"I can't believe you asked Rito to guard that Weather Warp thing!" Zedd barked, "I'll admit, this actually was a halfway decent idea of yours, but your brainless brother destroyed it!"

"No he didn't," she said, stepping back from the Repulsascope. To Zedd's surprise, instead of wearing an expression of frustration or anger, Rita was grinning.

"What do you mean 'no he didn't'

? The Power Rangers destroyed the crystal!"

"Well, that's almost true," she said, grabbing Zedd's arm and pulling him towards the Repulsascope. "Here, take a look at this."

Zedd grudgingly obeyed, and saw the center of the mirror maze, where there were now tiny holes in the floor. He looked up and shrugged.

"So?"

Rita frowned. "What do you mean 'so'

? Don't you know anything about Weather Warps? Or Kenshin magic, for that matter?"

"Well, its not my field of expertise --"

Rita sighed, interrupting her husband's excuses. "The Weather Warp is a focus of magical power. Inside the crystal is a field of magic, capable of completely ruining climate. When the Power Rangers turned the Terra Tempest on the crystal, the glass shattered, releasing the magical energy encased within. However, the glass itself absorbed the elemental energies of the Tempest. Don't you get it yet?"

Zedd just looked at her. For the first time he could remember, he was thoroughly confused. Rita grumbled something under her breath, and glared at Zedd.

"Let me explain in a way even YOU would understand. The - energy - the - Power - Rangers - used - against - the - crystal - was - absorbed - by - the - crystal - and - now - the - crystal - fragments - are - transforming - that - energy - and - using - it! Don't you get it?! You can make a monster out of those fragments, and in essence, make a monster out of the elements!"

"Yes," said Zedd, tapping his metallic chin. "An excellent idea..."

"It'll take about twenty-four hours before the crystals are ready to be transformed. Then, Elementor will wreak havoc!!"

"Elementor?" Zedd chuckled. Rita frowned.

"Hey, it's my idea, so I get to name the monster!" she sneered.

Chapter Twenty-Two

That evening, Alexis sat in her bedroom in her mother's Angel Grove colonial. She really missed this bedroom while she lived in Philadelphia. It was by far larger, and more cheerfully decorated. Perhaps it was because the atmosphere in Angel Grove was so much more relaxed than in Philadelphia. That's one of the big differences between living in a city and living in a small town.

Alexis was lying on her stomach atop her lavender bedspread, wearing her sleeveless purple silk nightshirt and shorts. Her growing red hair was pulled out of her face in a short ponytail, and she was chewing on the cap of a purple pen. She decided to make some time this evening to write in her diary, since she tried to chronicle all the important events in her life. And coming home again was an event she'd been looking forward to for over a year.

It's funny,

she wrote. For the past few months, all I could do was romanticize my homecoming scene, when I walk off the plane, and Jason greets me with an passionate kiss. You know, just like in the movies. Of course, I wasn't expecting that kind of welcome, but I dreamed about it constantly. But, that's not what I got. And the funny thing is, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Alexis sighed deeply, and pondered the sea of conflicting emotions she had been feeling since she moved back. The moment my eyes fell on Jason, over a year ago, I felt something-- like a tingle going up my spine. And every time afterwards, when our eyes met, it was just...oh I don't know...magic

! But it's not there anymore. I could sense it the other night, when he basically ran away from me. I have no idea what he's feeling, and that doesn't make my position any easier. I'm not sure what I feel for Jason. Its like...he's not the same person I fell for last year. Should I even try to forge a relationship with Jason, or should we just remain friends? And that's what we always were really -- good friends

. We never went on a date, we never really

kissed, or declared love, or anything like that. It would be so much easier if I knew how he really, honestly felt about me. But I'm too much of a coward to talk to him about it. I just don't know what

I'd say to him. Matters of the heart are so delicate!

Alexis closed the diary, and put it back on her dresser, after locking it with the small key. She hid the key in its usual place, and turned off the light. She was about to tuck herself in bed, but she decided not to. She walked over to the window of her room, and looked out on the quiet streets of Angel Grove. She laughed to herself, leaning her elbows on the windowsill.

"It's pretty different from all the hustle and bustle of Philly at night," she pondered aloud. "On nights like this, I'd go out on patrol in Philly. But there really isn't a reason to in Angel Grove. Here, the Power Rangers only fight space aliens, and only appear when summoned. I don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad thing."

Alexis shrugged, and walked back to her bed. She made sure her alarm clock