Disclaimer: The Power Rangers, Ninjor, Zedd, Rita, Master Vile, Rito, Goldar, Scorpina, and Katherine Hillard, they all belong to Saban Entertainment. The characters Ricky Summers & Shogunar are my creations.
Note: I've changed the timeline a bit. In which Gunter Schmidt never came to Angel Grove, and Kim never left for the Pan Global Games. However, I've decided to keep Kat in, since she was a major key player when she was a villain, and when she turned good. I've made it that Kat helped get Kim's coin back, helped get Ninjor & the Falcon-Zord back, but never became the Pink Ranger, just a good friend & a trusted ally to the Rangers. Kind of like what Rocky, Aisha, and Adam were before becoming Power Rangers. Parts 1-6 were written by me alone. Parts 7 & up were co-authored by Sandy 'The Sandman' Riedinger.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Sibling Rivalry Part 9
by Robert L. Torres & Sandy 'The Sandman' Riedinger
Our story continues in the Command Center. The Rangers just received a live transmission from both Ricky & Scorpina, deep within the Dark Dimension. Our heroes received a shock when they saw their teammate, Kimberly, beaten & abused. Tommy was given an ultimatum by his brother, either he agrees to fight him in the Dark Dimension, or the Pink Ranger dies. The clock is ticking, Tommy must make his decision in five minutes, either face his brother & risk walking into a trap, or lose the woman he loves forever.
"Guys. I've made my decision." The others turned to face their friend & leader. "I'm going to fight Ricky in the Dark Dimension." Immediately they started to protest, saying it was crazy, it was suicide, that it could be a trap, etc. "Guys, I understand your concern, but I have to do this. He's my brother, and I gotta convince him that what he's doing is wrong. And I gotta save Kim, I can't lose her."
"Tommy, you tried to talk some sense into Ricky once before, and it didn't work. The spell that they have over him is just too strong. All the talking in the world ain't gonna do shit!" said Rocky to his leader.
"Okay Rocko, if you're so sure of yourself, why don't YOU come up with a better solution?" Aisha gave him a cold stare as she said this.
"Look, we don't have time for this, okay? I've made up my mind. I'm going to fight Ricky to save Kim, and that's final!" Tommy said with authority in his voice to the rest of the team.
"Tommy, be careful. Ricky may be your brother, but he's under the influence of evil. Until we figure out how to break the spell, he's still a threat to us, and to the world." Billy explained.
"I know, but I gotta try something in the meantime. Billy, you & the others stay here & figure out a way to break the spell. And be on the alert, just in case." The others agreed & wished their leader luck, afterwards he teleported from the Command Center to Angel Grove Park.
Tommy materialized in a forested area near the park, to make sure he wasn't seen by any innocent civilians. He walked into the open area, looking for any signs of his brother, or a dimensional portal of some kind. He hoped that he wasn't walking into a trap, but even if he was, he really didn't have much of a choice. All he could think of was seeing his one true love, Kimberly, badly beaten, and just feeling a sense of helplessness that he couldn't protect her. It was at that moment, that a multi-colored, swirling, dimensional opening appeared near a bushel of trees to Tommy's right.
This must be it. I'm coming Kimmie, just hang on. Tommy took in a large breath of air, to relax himself, and slowly stepped into the portal. A few seconds ticked by as the young leader left Angel Grove & Earth behind him, and emerged into the Dark Dimension. The first thing that caught the White Ranger's eye was the battered and bruised form of his beloved girlfriend, the Pink Ranger.
"Kimmie!!" Tommy ran over to her as she hung there limply by her shackles, barely able to stand.
Kimberly barely managed to lift her head up to look up at her boyfriend. "Tommy." she whispered weakly through cracked lips.
"Don't say anything, please. I'm gonna get you outta this, I promise." Tommy carefully kissed the top of Kim's head as he promised her this.
"Awww, isn't this just touching? This is definitely a Kodak moment, and me without my camera."
Tommy knew instantly that it was his brother Ricky. He kissed Kim's forehead gently, before standing up to face his twin. "Okay Ricky, you wanted me, well here I am."
"Yes, here you are indeed. I'm going to enjoy beating you up dear brother." Ricky said pounding his left fist into his right palm.
"Ricky, please don't make me fight you. We're brothers, we should be fighting on the same side, not against each other." Tommy once again pleaded with his brother, hoping that there was still some goodness inside of him. "I know there is still some part of you that is still good. They haven't taken it away from you completely. If there is some goodness left within you, use it, fight the spell Ricky, please!"
Ricky just looked at his brother, and then looked away for a moment. Tommy could see the flicker of confusion that was in Ricky's eyes as he turned away. After a few seconds, the Green Ranger snapped his head back to look at his twin, with an evil smile on his face. "You know, it's funny, you always wanna try & convince me to join you guys, always preaching about how much you wanna save me, that you wanna help me, etc., etc. Well, to tell you the truth brother, it's getting pretty fucking old. The one thing on my mind is killing you. The last thing that I'd ever want to do, is join your precious band of do-gooders. Now you either fight me here & now, and when I decide the time is right I'll let you & Kim go," he then pointed sharply at the abused Pink Ranger, "Or your precious girlfriend dies."
Although Tommy did a moment of hesitation in his brother's eyes, it didn't last very long. The spell probably reinforced itself & suppressed any goodness that began to resurface from Ricky's true persona. With that being the case, Tommy knew that Ricky was serious about fighting him. "Alright Ricky, let's get this over with." Tommy said this somewhat reluctantly. He had already faced off against his brother once before, and nearly lost his life. But this was different, the woman he loved more than anyone else in the world needed him. He had to do this, for Kimberly, to ensure that they would both be allowed to leave the Dark Dimension freely, without any sort of double-crossing on Ricky's part.
"The rules are rather simple: You & I fight each other, without any morphing powers, just our karate skills. And when I'm satisfied, I'll command for the fight to stop, then a portal shall open, thus allowing you & your girlfriend to leave the Dark Dimension freely. At least, until the next time we meet in battle." Ricky said to his brother eyeing him up & down.
"Where is Kim's morpher? She'll need it when we leave." The twins began circling each other, getting ready to fight.
"It's right over there." Ricky pointed to the table where the rose quartz case was located. "Inside it are also her communicator & the key to her shackles, you'll get them at the end of the fight."
Tommy started to get himself pumped up & ready to fight & often turned his gaze towards the one thing that he was fighting for, the freedom of his girlfriend & comrade, Kimberly. He nearly lost her once before when her life-force was being drained away due to her being separated from her Power Coin. He was willing to do whatever was necessary not to lose her, even sacrifice his own life.
Ricky also began pumping himself up, only his focus was slightly different. His intent on fighting Tommy was strictly fueled by the burning hatred he had for the one that shared not only his blood, but his face. Although he did wish nothing more than to kill the White Ranger right here & now, he thought that it would be a lot more fun to torture him, along with the other Power Rangers.
The twins sized each other up, and then finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they both charged each other and began exchanging a series of impressive punches & kicks. Tommy trapped his brother in an armlock, and flipped him over his body. Ricky landed on his feet, gave Tommy a sidekick to the stomach, and an inside crescent kick to the face. Tommy quickly recovered, and did a spinning leg sweep, knocking his brother down. Ricky managed to roll himself back into a standing position, and faced his brother again with an evil smile on his face.
"Impressive brother, very impressive." He then leaped into the air & performed a spinning tornado kick and knocked his brother to the floor. "But not quite as impressive as my moves."
The fight raged on between the two brothers, each demonstrating some very impressive & devastating maneuvers to one another. Each one blocking or countering each others moves with even more impressive kicks, punches, or various high-flying combinations. The two brothers then stopped temporarily to rest for a little bit, and began circling each other.
The White Ranger remembered what his old sensei taught him about the use of his martial arts skills. He always applied the basic principles of the martial arts in all of his fights against the forces of evil, and even more so now that he's fighting his own brother. He knew he had to use his skills to protect himself & the people around him, both those he cared for & innocent civilians. It pained Tommy to have to fight his own flesh & blood, to exchange blows with the brother he never knew he had, it didn't seem right at all. But as much as it hurt him, Tommy had to remind himself the reason why he was doing this. He was doing it because he wanted to save Kimberly & to figure out a way to break the spell.
The Green Ranger, however, was a different matter altogether. All he felt in his heart was hatred for his twin. He had an unending desire to kill the White Ranger, and all those that he cared for. He didn't care about control, discipline, or any of that bullshit. All he wanted was to feel his brother's blood on his hands, and to see the life draining from Tommy's face. But Ricky didn't just want to kill Tommy, he wanted to make him suffer, to make his brother beg for mercy. However, as much as he wanted to kill Tommy right now, he had to remain focused on the matter at hand. He focused on the fact that he would torture each of the Power Rangers, one-by-one, and when the time was right, he would strike, with all of forces of darkness by his side, and kill his brother, and the rest of the Power Rangers.
The twins eventually stopped circling each other, and stood across from one another. They stood there in their respective fighting stances, their eyes locked in each other's gaze. The scene looked similar to an old western showdown, each waiting to see who is the fastest on the draw. Only they weren't using guns, they were using their martial arts skills. The twins then charged towards each other and the fight continued.
Meanwhile, in the city of Angel Grove, the innocent citizens walked casually on the sidewalks, cars filling up the city streets, people just going about their day. They knew that they were constantly under siege by a seemingly endless army of monsters. But the citizens also knew that the Power Rangers were always watching over them, and would always protect them. However, the innocent citizens were unaware of an even more powerful evil that threatened their city & their very lives.
Standing atop one of high buildings in the city, looking down on the innocent civilians, is the most respected evil being in the universe, next to Master Vile of course. He is the Master of the Dark Ninjetti powers, and the brother of Ninjor, the Master of the Light Ninjetti powers. He is the one & only, Shogunar.
Look at this pathetic city, and all of it's pathetic inhabitants. They have no idea of the death & destruction that lies in store for them all. It's a shame really, I would rather much enjoy having my victims writhe in agony, knowing that they were gonna die. But a surprise attack is just as fun as having your victims know they were doomed beforehand. Ah well, time to cause a little death & despair, to lure my brother & the remaining Rangers into battle. .
Shogunar let loose his fury on the city. Fireballs flew everywhere, along with multi-colored streams of magical energy that emanated from Shogunar's hands, causing chaos & destruction in the city. Fiery explosions erupted in the streets, buildings slowly began to crumble & fall apart, and this was only what happened to the city itself. Horrifying screams of terror, pain, and death emerged from the innocent civilians as they ran for their lives, attempting to escape the devastation. Some were lucky enough to reach the underground shelters, built to protect themselves against monster attacks. However, there were others that weren't so fortunate. Shogunar just laughed as he saw the destruction, the suffering, the pain, and the death below, hoping that this would get the Rangers' attention.
Meanwhile, in the Command Center, the remaining Power Rangers attempted to keep themselves busy, so they wouldn't worry about Tommy or Kimberly. They worked alongside Billy & Alpha on the computer terminals, attempting to gather any kind of information that may be able to help them break the spell over Ricky.
At that moment, the Command Center's monster alarms went off. The Rangers' heads jerked up, as they looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. "RANGERS, OBSERVE THE VIEWING GLOBE!"
The remaining Rangers looked deep into the Viewing Globe and they saw images of the terrible destruction occurring within the city of Angel Grove. Each of them released gasps of shock & disbelief at what was happening to their city, their home. Then, the Viewing Globe did a close-up image on the being causing this destruction, Shogunar.
"Guys, we better contact Ninjor, it looks like his brother is having a temper tantrum, and is taking it out on the city." Aisha said to the others.
"It's obvious that he's taking advantage of Tommy & Kim's absence. He believes that with two Rangers missing from our roster, that he'll be able to overwhelm us in battle all by himself." Billy stated to the others, using his amazing intellect & deductive reasoning like a modern day Sherlock Holmes.
"Well, I've got just a few words to say about that... I don't think so." Rocky said proudly.
"BILLY, YOU MUST LEAD THE RANGERS INTO BATTLE IN TOMMY'S ABSENCE! NINJOR IS STANDING BY & READY TO ASSIST YOU! BE CAREFUL POWER RANGERS, AND MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU!"
"Okay guys, let's go save the city. It's Morphin Time!!" Billy shouted as the remaining Power Rangers reached for their Power Morphers, thrust them forth, and activated them.
"BLACK RANGER POWER!!"
"BLUE RANGER POWER!!"
"YELLOW RANGER POWER!!"
"RED RANGER POWER!!"
Once the metamorphosis was complete, the four of them were teleported from the Command Center, to deep within the city of Angel Grove. Upon their arrival in the city, our heroes met up with Ninjor as they moved swiftly to avoid the crumbling debris of the many buildings in the city.
"This is terrible, my friends. I've seen this kind of destruction, many times before." Ninjor said to the Rangers, referring to the devastation around them.
"You mean Shogunar isn't just having a really bad temper tantrum?" Aisha asked.
"Although my brother enjoys the pleasures of the dark side, he is very well focused with his thoughts, and he isn't prone to having... temper tantrums. Destroying cities is nothing new to him, he's done it many times before on many beautiful planets. We must stop him, before the entire city is wiped out." Ninjor said the last line with extreme urgency.
"Guys, let's split up & look for Shogunar. If any one of us finds him, we contact each other immediately. With the exception of Ninjor, none of us are to engage Shogunar in battle alone. Understood?" Billy explained to everyone.
They all agreed on the Blue Ranger's strategy, and went their separate ways to find Ninjor's evil brother. They moved quickly, leaping over debris & fires, knowing that they couldn't afford to waste time, not with the city on the verge of destruction.
A few minutes passed by, and Aisha made the call, she had located Shogunar on top of the ICM computer building. Immediately, our heroes rendezvoused with Aisha, and they all saw Shogunar blasting away at random areas of the city.
"Give it up Shogunar!" Ninjor shouted up to his brother.
Shogunar suddenly stopped upon hearing his brother's voice. "Ah, brother dear, how nice of you to come to my little party. Oh, I see you've brought some friends along. You're quite fortunate Power Rangers, you have front row seats to the destruction of your own city. But, being the typical heroes that you are, you've come to try & stop me, am I right?"
"You're fight is with me Shogunar, leave this people out of it!" Ninjor demanded.
"Oh, that's where you're wrong dear brother. My fight is not only with you, but with all those who fight on the side of goodness. You see, you heroes are all so damn predictable. Bad guy shows up & has a little fun by causing a little chaos & suffering. Then of course you guys appear, say something ridiculously heroic, a fight ensues, and usually the good guys win. Not this time! I've slaughtered dozens of Power Rangers long before any of you Rangers even existed. You may have had it easy over the years, but with me around, I'm gonna make your lives a living hell! So, without further ado, let's fight!" At that moment, Shogunar leaped from the top of the building, and landing gracefully on the streets in front of our heroes. "Now, which one of you will I have the pleasure of destroying first?" The evil Ninjetti Master said, his voice dripping with cruelty as he looked at each Ranger.
Billy looked at the Rangers, as they got into their respected fighting stances, and nodded to them as the four Power Rangers charged toward Shogunar, attacking him with some impressive martial arts moves, along with the training they learned from Ninjor, hoping that they would overwhelm him. But Ninjor's dark brother proved to be more than a match for our heroes. He blocked their attacks & countered with some of his own.
While they fought, Ninjor took this opportunity to use his powers to try & attempt to repair at least some of the severe damage his brother had done to the city. Waves of multi-colored, sparkling light emerged from Ninjor's hands as he tried to use his Ninjetti powers to heal the city. One by one, some of the crumbling buildings were going back to what they looked like before Shogunar's attack. After a couple of minutes of this, Ninjor began to tire, and the energy waves faded away. Ninjor may be extremely powerful, but he also has limits to what he can do. He was able to repair half of the damage Shogunar had caused, but was unable to bring back those lives that were lost. As Ninjor rested to regain his strength, he felt a touch of guilt & sadness. But he quickly resolved it, knowing that now wasn't the time to start feeling sorry for himself. He had to turn his attention to helping the Rangers fight Shogunar. Ninjor managed to regain his strength, as he slowly pulled out his sword, and joined the battle against Shogunar.
The Rangers, with Ninjor's help, were just barely able to hold their own against the dark Ninjetti master. Even when they first met Shogunar the previous day in battle, it was Ninjor, not the Rangers themselves, that fought him that day. This was their first actual fight against Shogunar, and they were getting more than they bargained for. Shogunar was a very impressive fighter, and being that he was a master of the Dark Ninjetti made him even more dangerous. Our heroes circled around Shogunar, each wielding their respective Power Weapons, hoping to attack him on all sides. The Rangers & Ninjor just slowly, carefully walked around, always keeping their focus on Shogunar at all times. Then, without warning, our heroes charged Shogunar from all sides, but only ended up crashing into each other. They shook off the feeling of confusion as to what happened, and looked around, but couldn't find Shogunar anywhere.
"Guys, where's Shogunar?" Adam asked.
"I don't know. He was here one minute, and the next minute he just vanished." Rocky replied.
"Hey dumb asses! Up here!" Our heroes all looked up and saw Shogunar was standing atop another building looking down at them. "You guys are fucking pathetic! This is way too easy. How about we make this more interesting, huh? EXPANSION MODE!!" Shogunar yelled as he jumped off the building, and immediately began to grow to Godzilla sized proportions.
"Looks like it's time to bring out the big guns. You ready guys?" Billy asked the others. They each nodded in agreement.
"WE NEED SHOGUN-ZORD POWER NOW!!" The four Power Rangers yelled out, as four large, humanoid, robotic creatures emerged, each with a head resembling the respective animal spirits of those four Rangers: The Ape, The Wolf, The Frog, The Bear. Rocky, Billy, Adam, and Aisha leaped into the air, entered the cockpit of their respective Shogun-Zord, activated the controls, and got ready for action.
Ninjor also took the liberty of going into Expansion Mode and increasing his size to match those of his brother, and the Shogun-Zords. After reaching the same size as the others, smoke surrounded him as he made yet another transformation, this time into Samurai Mode. His robotic armor shifted into place, and his helmet took on a more human like visage, and the transformation was complete.
"Impressive Ninjor, very impressive, but all your fancy tricks & transformations don't scare me one bit. Prepare to meet your death!" Shogunar unleashed his double ended sword-staff, and charged towards our heroes.
The battle ensued, the Rangers used their Zords to defend themselves against Shogunar's attacks, and landed a few attacks of their own on the Dark Ninjetti Master. Shogunar attacked each Shogun-Zord quickly, and went straight for his brother Ninjor. The two brothers once again engaged in battle, exchanging impressive martial arts moves & clashing swords as well, but once again, they were at a stalemate with each other. Although the number advantage was in favor of our heroes, Shogunar still managed to hold his own in battle against all five of them. What our heroes needed to defeat this menace was a miracle.
Meanwhile, in the Dark Dimension, the two twins had stopped fighting, and just stared at each other as Ricky kneeled on the floor, while Tommy sat on the table that had the box containing Kim's Morpher & communicator. It was rather obvious that both of them were showing signs of fatigue. They were breathing heavily, were both drenched with sweat, both had blood dripping from their noses, and blood leaking from the sides of their mouths.
"You surprise me Tommy, your martial arts skills are impressive. Very impressive. You have your work cut out for yourself. I respect your dedication to your martial arts." Ricky said as he slowly stood up.
"You surprise me too bro'. Your skills do need a little work though, but overall, you're pretty impressive with your moves as well."
"I believe I have had enough for today. Go, take your girlfriend and leave the Dark Dimension. But know this, it isn't over between us Tommy. There will be another time, and when that time comes, you & your friends shall all be destroyed."
Tommy just looked at his brother and then grabbed the keys to Kim's shackles, opened the box to take out Kim's morpher & communicator, and placed them in his pocket. He went over to the barely conscious Pink Ranger, and carefully unshackled her wrists & ankles. Afterwards her carefully cradled her abused body in his arms and looked back at his brother. Ricky just stared back, and gave him an evil smile as he pointed to his left, and suddenly a portal of swirling light appeared. Tommy slowly headed for the entrance to the portal and was about to enter it, when he looked over his shoulder to his brother. "You know it's not too late Ricky. Come with me, and Zordon will be able to help you."
"Once again, I must decline dear brother. I said that I respect you, I never said that I liked you. I still intend on killing you & your friends. Oh, speaking of your friends, there's a little something you should know. While you & I were in here fighting, my mentor Shogunar was out there destroying the city. And knowing how heroes do their thing, he should be destroying your friends right about now. Have a nice day!" Ricky said to his brother, laughing maniacally as he vanished in a burst of hellish fire.
Tommy had no time to feel shocked at this news, he had to work fast. He ran through the portal, and re-emerged in Angel Grove Park. He gently placed Kim's body on the ground, and put her communicator on her wrist, and placed her morpher in her pocket. Tommy looked down at his beloved, and gently ran his fingers through her beautiful brown hair. Don't worry Kim, you're safe now. Everything's gonna be alright, I promise. Tommy kissed her smooth forehead, and then activated his own communicator. "Zordon, this is Tommy, come in."
"TOMMY, THANK THE POWER YOU'RE SAFE, AND THAT YOU HAVE MANAGED TO RESCUE KIMBERLY! I REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED A SERIOUS DILEMMA IN YOUR ABSENCE!"
"Let me guess, Shogunar is attacking the city."
"CORRECT! THE REMAINING RANGERS, ALONG WITH NINJOR ARE ENGAGING HIM IN BATTLE! YOU MUST JOIN THEM IMMEDIATELY! DON'T WORRY ABOUT KIMBERLY, ALPHA & I SHALL TELEPORT HER HERE & TAKE CARE OF HER!"
"Thanks Zordon." Tommy looked over as he saw Kimberly's body vanish in a flash of electrical pink energy.
"GO QUICKLY TOMMY, AND MAY THE POWER THE PROTECT YOU!"
"It's Morphin Time!" Tommy shouted as he pulled out his Power Morpher, and activated it.
"WHITE RANGER POWER!" Upon saying this, Tommy was morphed into his White Ranger uniform, and immediately teleported to his White Shogun-Zord, which proceeded on course to the city, to join the remaining Rangers in battle.
"Nice to have ya' back Tommy. You're just in time too, this guy is really getting on my nerves." Aisha said to her leader.
"Guys, I think it's time to introduce Shogunar to the Shogun Mega-Zord. Let's bring it together guys." Tommy ordered the others.
Within seconds each Shogun-Zord shifted robotic body parts, and linked together to form the Shogun Mega-Zord, a mighty robotic machine, infused with the power of the Ninjetti, but much more powerful than their Ninja-Zords. They stood beside Ninjor, and just looked on at Shogunar.
"You think that bringing your Zords to become some mighty machine is gonna scare me? Well let me tell you something, I don't scare that easily." The Dark Ninjetti Master twirled his double sword staff as he looked at the Shogun Mega-Zord, unimpressed.
The Shogun Mega-Zord pulled out the handle to its flaming sword, which resembled a metallic fish with its mouth open, and got ready to unleash the power of the flaming sword on Shogunar. At that moment, a long stream of fire & flame emerged from the sword handle. The Shogun Mega-Zord held the flaming sword with both hands, ready to use its power on Ninjor's brother. Shogunar on the other hand just looked at the flaming sword, and still wasn't impressed. So he charged toward the Shogun Mega-Zord with his double sword-staff powered up & ready. The Rangers were ready for him, and when Shogunar got close enough to their Zord, they used their Shogun Flaming Sword & slashed Shogunar across the chest with its power.
A couple of seconds passed, and Shogunar staggered away from both the Shogun Mega-Zord & Ninjor, clutching his chest & still holding onto his sword staff. He looked at the hand clutching his chest, and saw a dark liquid which he realized was his own blood. It was then that he realized that the Rangers managed to penetrate his robotic armor, and cut a wound into his flesh. Upon realizing this, he let out an evil, maniacal laugh that was very unexpected for someone that was just heavily wounded in battle. He turned towards our heroes, and showed them the damage they had done to his armor, along with the black blood leaking out of the wound. "You surprise me Rangers. Very few have been able to damage my armor, let alone cut all the way to my flesh. You should feel honored, you are the first to inflict such a deep wound to the Master of the Dark Ninjetti," He then fell to one knee, and looked straight at Ninjor. "Ninjor, my brother, I underestimated you. I underestimated your abilities as a trainer of the Light Ninjetti powers. But that is something that I shall never do again, I promise you!"
"Give it up Shogunar, it's over." Ninjor said to his injured brother.
Shogunar looked up at his brother, and gave a short laugh at him. "Looks like you're the one who's underestimating me, dear brother. One thing you should all know, is that I don't give up that easily. In fact, I don't give up at all. You see, with a little help, and a lot of patience, my wound will heal, and my armor will be repaired. And soon, very, VERY soon indeed, you shall be in for the fight of your lives. A fight where the lives of everyone on this miserable planet shall hang in the balance. And when all is said & done, and the dust settles, the dark forces shall be victors. And all you heroes shall become nothing more than memories. See you in your nightmares!" With that, Shogunar raised his sword staff above his head, and red lighting bolts struck his weapon, surrounded his body, and vanished in a flash.
Our heroes just stood there, and absorbed what Shogunar just said. Now, they knew that a battle was coming very soon, a battle possibly much larger than anything they've ever dealt with before.
"Let's get back to the Command Center. We gotta regroup." Tommy said to everyone. With that, they all teleported back to the Command Center, and sent their Zords back to their secret hiding places.
Upon arriving at the Command Center, they were all greeted by a somewhat weak but also perky voice. They saw in the center of the Command Center, lying in a bed, was Kimberly, and she looked better than the last time the Rangers had seen her. Her eye was no longer swollen, her lips were healed, and although the rest of her body was covered in a blanket, they had a feeling that the rest of her wounds were fixed as well.
"Hey beautiful, you're looking great." Tommy said to his girlfriend.
"Yeah, Alpha was able to fix all my cuts & bruises. But there were some bruises that he just couldn't heal." Kimberly looked up into the eyes of her beloved boyfriend, and he immediately knew what she meant. Tommy kissed her lips and whispered to her, saying that they would talk about it later, in private.
"Don't worry about girl, soon you'll be back on your feet, kicking major league booty in no time." Aisha told her best friend with a smile. It made her feel good to see that Kim was recovering, and she hoped that she'd be back on her feet soon.
"RANGERS, WE HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM ON OUR HANDS!!" Zordon said to them.
"Zordon's right. This is something that we cannot afford to take lightly. My brother Shogunar is very powerful, and very aggressive."
"There's no doubt that your brother is very powerful, even with me leading the team, he was able to fight us all off at once. I thought for sure that the four of us with Ninjor added to the equation would be enough to handle Shogunar. But it looks like I miscalculated." Billy said with a look of shame in his eyes.
"Billy, you can't blame yourself. You had no clue as to Shogunar's power level. You did a great job leading the team in my absence." Tommy reassured the Blue Ranger.
"Tommy's right Billy, you used that super brain of yours extremely well in the heat of battle. You don't give yourself enough credit when it comes to leadership skills, but you should." Rocky said to him with a reassuring hand on Billy's shoulder.
Billy smiled at his friends, and felt better. "Well, one thing we do know is this; we caught him off guard today when we used the Flaming Sword on him. You saw how much damage it had done to him. You heard what he said, we were the first ones to inflict such a deep wound to him. Which means that he may be extremely powerful, but he is not indestructible." The Blue Ranger said to the others.
"Yeah, but guys, we were lucky to inflict any kind of injury on Shogunar at all. He also said that he underestimated us, and that was something he wasn't going to do again. Which means that the next time we face him, the Flaming Sword may not be as effective as it was today. No doubt he's gonna devise some brand new tactics & strategies to use against us." Adam said to everyone.
"Then we're gonna have to come up with some new strategies of our own guys. According to Ninjor's brother, we're gonna be involved in a major league battle very soon. And if we lose, it's gonna be the end of everything. We gotta prepare ourselves guys, because we are in for the fight of our lives here. And, we gotta keep working on finding a way to break the spell over my brother." Tommy said to everyone.
"Tommy, we've been meaning to talk to you about that." Adam said to his leader and friend. He took a deep breath, and looked into Tommy's eyes. "Tommy, we know that you love your brother, and that you want to save him. And we have supported your decision to do whatever it takes to break the spell over him. But you saw what he did to Kimberly. No doubt he has the same in store for the rest of us. The bottom line Tommy, is that your quest to free your brother may end up killing us all. Eventually you'll have to come to the realization that there may be only one way to save your brother. I'm not saying that I or any of us agree with what I'm about to say, but maybe, the only real way to save Ricky, is to kill him." Adam explained to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Tommy looked at Adam, and then looked away for a moment. He had thought it over, again & again in his head. The thought that he'd have to kill his own brother in order to set him free was to kill him. But he just couldn't kill his own flesh & blood, he knew deep down that it was wrong, and that there had to be another way. "Guys, I appreciate your concern, really I do. But we can't just give up on Ricky, not yet. Before I fought against him in the Dark Dimension earlier today, I tried to reason with him, tried talking to him, to get him to join our side. And I saw the confusion in his eyes, he was actually considering my offer, but the spell reinforced and any chance of the spell breaking at that moment, just vanished. But I saw it in his eyes, I know there's still a chance to break the spell. We can't give up just yet guys. Please, I'm asking you, not as your leader, but as your friend, to please not give up on my brother yet."
The other Rangers just looked at each other, and then at Ninjor, then at Alpha, then at Zordon. They valued their lives, and the lives of the people they had sworn to protect. But they cared about Tommy alot, and they knew how much this meant to Tommy.
"Okay Tommy, we may not agree with your decision, but we're with ya all the way." Billy said to him as the two friends shook hands.
"WE HAVE ANALYZED RICKY AND FOUND THAT HE IS UNDER A VERY POWERFUL SPELL! THE LIKES OF WHICH I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE! ALPHA & I WILL NEED MORE TIME TO ANALYZE THE NATURE OF THIS SPELL YOUR BROTHER IS UNDER!"
"Thanks Zordon. In the meantime guys, I say we all go home, and get some rest. Today has been a long day, and we're gonna need our strength. There's no telling what our resident bad guys will have in store for us tomorrow." With that, Billy, Rocky, Aisha, and Adam teleported back to their homes in Angel Grove. Ninjor then teleported back to his temple, leaving both Tommy & Kimberly alone with Alpha & Zordon. Tommy helped Kimberly out of the bed, and steadied her on her feet. "You think you can walk Kim?"
"Yeah, but could I stay at your place tonight Tommy? I don't feel like being alone tonight, ya know, after all that's happened & stuff." Kim asked shyly.
"Sure, no problem sweety." Tommy kissed Kimberly softly on the lips as the two of them teleported out of the Command Center & to Tommy's home.
"Oh ay-yi-yi-yi, it's so beautiful to see two people in love." Alpha said as he worked on some controls.
Zordon could only agree in silence. He began praying to the spirits of the ancient Morphin Masters. He asked them to watch over & protect his Power Rangers, and hoped that they would be able to survive whatever battle lied ahead. He especially asked them to watch over Tommy & Kimberly, the two of them were so much in love, and deserved a lifetime of happiness. After a few minutes of this, he began analyzing the data both he and Alpha gathered about the spell Ricky was under.
Well... are ya excited yet? Are you gripping the edges of your seat in anger at the fact that I've left you with yet another cliffhanger? Good, then I've done my job right. I know you're probably wondering about a few things: What exactly do our resident villains have planned for the ultimate battle with our heroes? Who will be next to suffer the wrath of the Green Ranger? Will Zordon & Alpha find a way to break the spell over Ricky? Well, I can't answer that yet. You guys are just gonna have to keep on reading, and stay tuned for part 10 of the Sibling Rivalry Saga.
