The Child Within
by Josh

Adam Park sat at the Youth Centre with Jason Lee Scott discussing their homework. It had been a rough day at school. He had to help out at a baby-sitting centre he volunteered for a few days ago.

"Well, I gotta go now," he said to Jason. Sadly, he walked out of the door and out of the building. This was going to be hectic. Why did he have to sign up for a babysitting job anyway? When he finally got there, he heard kids screaming everywhere.

"Ahh!" screamed a kid about thirteen years old. Adam looked confused and walked up to him. He wore denim shorts and a black T-shirt. His sneakers were worn out and he looked very exhausted, as if he just got out of a fight.

"Is this the babysitting centre?" he asked. The kid looked up at him.

"Unfortunately so," he replied sadly. " Are you the volunteer that was supposed to be coming today?" Adam nodded his head.

"Oh, I'm Adam Park," he said.

"I'm David Nubella," the boy replied. "I just came today and will be helping out for a week. It looks like we are going to have to be working together."

This was great. Working in a nursery with a boy and a ton of screaming children certainly was not his idea of having fun. They immediately started checking diapers, warming up milk and reading stories to the youngsters. When it came to around five o'clock, Mrs. Appleby came in the room.

"A good job, Adam, David," she commented. "I'm very pleased with today. I suppose after all this screaming, you would both like to go home." They both nodded their heads. On their way home, Adam was talking to David.

"So, why did you volunteer today?" David asked. "It seemed you hated working today."

"Well," Adam explained, "I was finding something that I could earn money with. I did not realize that this was a volunteer job until my teacher told me that I wasn't going to be paid." It was nice talking to Adam. He seemed to understand the problems that David was facing. David is actually an orphan. He was stolen from a hospital when he was about one week old. A family of poor people took him and raised as their own. When he was five, David started doing community service and would work from dusk till dawn and that was how he was able to pay for his education. Recently, his family got a house and they are now living like normal people.

"People used to make fun of me too," Adam said. "I was short and was never respected because of my small size. But martial arts strengthened my confidence and now I am just like anybody else." David nodded his head looking sad. "Don't worry. Things will get better for you. You're just starting to live like normal people. It's gonna take a little getting used to."

* * *
Meanwhile, up in the trailer of Rita and Zedd, Rito Revolto looked upon the earth and saw Adam talking to some kid.

"Hey sis!" he called to Rita, "Adam found a new friend and it seems they have a lot in common. Do you think if we took him from the Rangers, and make them think we are about to kill him, they'll just go wild? I mean, the Rangers never lost a person to the dark side and if they do this time, they'll feel it's their fault. Their stupid sense of justice will be the end of them."

"Rito," Rita replied, "this is the very first smart thing you have thought about since you came. Oh Zeddy!" Zedd came out of the trailer and screamed at her.

"What do you want?" he cried. "This had better be good. You interrupted me in my beauty rest."

"Shut it!" she snapped. "Rito has come up with the perfect plan. Adam has met a new friend and he says we should get the kid and the Rangers will be so intent on getting him back that they'll totally flip out. Then, we torture the brat slowly so it will make them think we're about to kill him. This will lead to the loss of their clean reputation of never losing a person to the dark side and then they'll lose their confidence and eventually, all of the Zeo Rangers will be gone!"

"That is the dumbest plan I have ever heard of!" Zedd exclaimed. "Have you ever thought of the plan getting the Rangers so mad that they will be even more determined to get the brat back? Even if we do manage to destroy the Power Rangers, what will we do with the kid after that? And let's say we get rid of the kid somehow. So then after that, the Machine Empire will strike earth before we even get into this trailer and speed off!"

"Yes, Zeddy," Rita said, "but we just need to take the first step and see how things turn out. We have to capture the boy."

"I don't know if you know this. The kid spent years on the streets. He is extremely tough to deal with. I'm sure he could defeat an entire fleet of Tengas! I'll tell you something. He's not helpless!"

* * *
In the Machine Empire's palace, Mondo and Machina heard of Rita's plan. So, the witch is planning a big comeback, he thought silently. Machina was busy with thoughts of her own.

"Dear," she called to Mondo. "Do you think we should use Rita's plan before she and Zedd can execute it? The child is very talented and has wonderfully straight hair." Mondo sat thinking for a second and then agreed.

"Clank!" he ordered. "Assemble an army of Cogs. Send them to earth and grab that little brat and bring him here." Clank bowed, obeyed, rolled over and fetched. Machina was wondering what all that was about. Gasket and Archerina showed up in the palace.

"Father," Gasket called out. "I am going to capture the boy with Archerina. We know Adam is with him but what can he do against us both?"

He can hurt you very badly and so can the boy. Zedd says the boy is very tough to deal with. Just to be safe, I want you to get down there with some Cogs," Mondo said.

"Very well," Mondo agreed. "Make me proud, son." Gasket and Archerina marched out of the room and headed for earth. So Clank, an army of Cogs, Gasket and Archerina went to earth to catch David.

* * *
"So," Adam asked, "What do you like to eat?" David thought for a minute and then said "I'd like some pizza." They headed across the street to the nearest pizza store. The air conditioned room brought much relief to them both from the hot air outside. So, there they sat gorging themselves full with pizza when all of a sudden, a blast was heard.

"Oh Gasket," Archerina said, "how does this boy look like?"

"Well, he looks like a street kid. He's got ruffled hair with worn out sneaker and sloppy clothes. How hard can he be to pick out?"

Sitting at his table, Adam thought about where he had heard the voices from. Then, two forms appeared out of the smoke and Archerina walked out of the cloud, Gasket following not far behind.

"David!" Adam warned. "Get out of here now!" David looked at Adam for a second but Adam looked serious so he ran out of the restaurant. Adam, looking around, realised everyone had ran out of the place. "Zeo Ranger four Green!" he called out and morphed.

David ran until he could not breathe. He was just about to turn back to see what happened when the Cogs ambushed him. Shouting out loud, he attacked the nearest Cog. He punched it in the gut, grabbed it's head and smashed it on his knee. He jumped in the air, did the splits and spun around, kicking some Cogs in the heads, knocking them off. He yanked out their robotic arms of their sockets and used them as weapons. But there was too many of them and they eventually over powered him.

Back at the pizza restaurant, the Green Zeo Ranger was busy fighting Archerina and Gasket. He spoke into his communicator.

"Guys! I need your help. I'm at Luigi's Pizza. Get over here now!"

Immediately, they arrived out of the smoke and fought Gasket. The Pink Zeo Ranger and the Red Zeo Ranger were having a hard time with Archerina cause she was real good.

David was shouting and kicking but nothing seemed to loosen the Cog's grip. He rolled then twisted and was free. After kicking, punching and slamming a few more of them into the ground, he started running. He heard the Cogs pursuing. _I'm dead. How come nobody's here?_ he thought. David ran as fast as he could but his attackers were not far behind slowly catching up. He spun around and did a double turning kick smashing two of them in the chest sending them to the ground. He fought as hard as ever, snapping another's arm. He turned around and started running again.

* * *
"AHHH," Rita cried in her trailer. "I got such a headache! The dumb Machine Empire is after the boy!" Zedd looked surprised.

"They what?!" he cried. "Let's get down to earth and stop them! The boy is ours." Finster, Babboo, Squatt, Goldar, Rito and Scorpina followed Rita and Zedd down to earth to pursue the Machine Empire.

* * *
The force of the teleportation blast knocked the Rangers out of battle.

"We're back!" Rita cried. Just then, Mondo teleported down and waved his staff at Zedd.

"The boy is ours Zedd!" he said sternly.

"Ooh," Zedd teased. "It was our idea and he belongs to us!"

"All right then. This will prove whether he belongs to us or you." Machina jumped from the sky and landed beside Mondo. "Let this be the greatest showdown ever recorded in evil history."

Rita jumped forward and attacked Machina. Mondo looked at her and was going to tear Rita of his screaming wife when Zedd jumped forward and gave him a tight slap with his staff. Mondo and Zedd went at it and Rita and Machina were in the background tearing at each other's hair (although Rita had a hard time cause Machina's hair was metallic).

Goldar and Gasket's sword clashed as they expertly put up a sword fight. Finally, when Goldar had Gasket pinned, he somehow escaped and almost killed Goldar. He stood up and fired fireballs out of his eyes until Gasket's temperature was really high. Gasket lunged forward and struck him in the chest. Goldar flew back and tripped his opponent.

Scorpina and Archerina threw weapons at each other until they were beat. Scorpina lashed forward and punched her opponent in the face causing a scratch. Archerina threw a dozen arrows at one time which blasted Scorpina and hurt her badly. Her scorpion stings were barely hurting Archerina. Finally, she did her most powerful move. She spun around rapidly and laser beam shot out endlessly at Archerina. One fourth of a second after finishing the move Scorpina sent out a huge laser blast and a tenth of a second after that, her regular Scorpion sting. The lasers tore at Archerina badly to the extent that she could not stand.

Rito tried hurting Sprocket but he was too short and quick. Sprocket stepped on his toes and dodged the dangerous sword above his head. Rito was getting really frustrated and threw his sword down. This struck Sprocket and he started crying. Rito was afraid he'd get into trouble and sped off. But, thanks to his good acting talent, Sprocket was actually not crying.

Babboo ran up to Clank and thumped him on the head. Putting up a girly fight, Clank rose and kicked Babboo in the shins. Hopping about in pain, Babboo threw his head forward striking Clank in the chest. After doing so, realised his head was throbbing. Slowly but surely, he crawled out of the battle and had defeated Clank.

Squatt and Orbus went at it. Behind a half warthog and half blueberry, he used his warthog behaviour and charged. Orbus was small so he was a difficult target. he flew around and zapped Squatt till his rear end was burnt to a crisp. But by the end of their fight, Orbus was short circuiting.

After running for a while, he realised the Cogs weren't following. David heard the Cogs and they seemed to be busy on the other side of the park. When he spun around, he saw the Tengas and Putties tearing at the Cogs. There were circuits, feathers and tons of clay flying everywhere. Of course, since the Putties and Tengas were on the same side, they eventually demolished all of the Cogs. But, there were more Cogs than there were Tengas and Putties put together.

There was a battle going on at downtown Angel Grove. The Rangers were back in the Power Chamber.

"The Cogs must have David by now!" Katherine exclaimed. "We've got to get him back. If we don't, who knows what they're gonna do to him?"

"Have patience," Zordon said calmly. "David is very capable of taking care of himself Katherine. I have been monitoring his progress while you were fighting and I'd have to say, he defeated as many Cogs himself as all of you would have put together. We will come up with a plan. Right now, Mondo and Zedd are going at it and are destroying downtown Angel Grove at the same time as we speak!"

Tommy came forward. "Why don't we split up?" he suggested. "Adam and Rocky could go get David and see how he is doing, see if they really took him. At the same time, Kat, Tanya and me could go to the Skybase and destroy it. It's gotta be left unguarded now." After saying so, they left.

Adam and Rocky walked through the battle and they seemed to be ignored by the bad guys. David was nowhere to be seen among the smoke and flames. They called and called out his name but there was no response. the only sound they heard was that of the bad guys fighting. Then, they saw him. He was up in a tree hiding from Rita and the others and catching his breath. Not far away, were the Putties, Tengas and Cogs fighting.

Can you get out from there?" Adam asked.

"Yup." David jumped down.

Knowing that they would have to bring David to the Power Chamber, they had to knock him out cold and perhaps it would last long enough so that they could teleport him safely out after Zordon was finished with him. Gathering his strength, Adam concentrated his energy into his fist while Rocky was talking to David so he wouldn't notice Adam. Adam knew he was going to regret what he was about to do but they needed to bring him to the Power Chamber because of his wounds without letting him know they were Zeo Rangers. And then he threw his hardest punch. It got David at the back of the head. His eyes opened wide at first, then closed and he dropped to the ground. He really was knocked out cold. They picked him up and teleported to the Power Chamber.

Tanya, Kat and Tommy walked through the deserted palace courtyard. They found the main controls to the palace and busted their way in.

"All right," Tommy ordered. "Zeo laser pistols everyone." They aimed their pistols and the control panel and shot it. The lights shut off immediately There was a soft humming sound and slowly, all of the Sky Base shut down. Even the flying vehicles crashed to the ground and the ones that were not in use simply lost power. The control panel exploded just as the Rangers teleported out of the room. This caused the emergency power to shut off as well leaving the base in darkness.

Back at the Power Chamber, Alpha prepared a rocket launcher that would destroy the Sky Base. Adam and Rocky were wrapping bandages around his wounds. The launcher was aimed exactly at the point where Mondo's balcony was. But when they fired the missile, solar wind cause it to be knocked off course and destroyed another part of the base. Well, at least they destroyed something. David was still unconscious. What will happen if he wakes up and finds himself here? Adam thought.

Just then he opened his eyes and looked around. Alpha went into his sleeping spot and Zordon's face disappeared from the gigantic tube it was in. Adam confronted him with a smile.

"Where am I?" he asked. The others looked around for a second and then stood there.

"You're in a futuristic building in Angel Grove," Adam fibbed. "Do you want to get out?" he asked.

David was just about to say yes and then said, "No, I'd like to stay here and find out what it's all about."

"It's got the latest technology and scientists."

"Oh? Where are the scientists?"

Adam thought for a minute. "It's Saturday. They're on break."

David nodded his head as if to say yeah, whatever. "But anyway, just now, I was at the park after you told me to run out of Luigi's Pizza. A whole bunch of these robot things attacked me. I wailed them all but was really tired after that. It was the best fight I ever had in my life!"

"You are incredibly energetic. Don't you know when enough is enough?" Rocky said.

"No. I can never get enough of fighting. It's a hobby. I took martial arts when I was younger. Then I invented a fighting pattern I can use against attackers and this was the first time I tried it and it worked!"

"Well," Adam said yawning, "that's great."

"It's kinda late so I think I'll go now," he said.

"All right," Adam instructed. "Shut your eyes and count to three."

While David was counting, he was teleported out of there.

"Smooth," commented Rocky. "That was great, how you got the kid out of here without knowing we were Zeo Rangers." Or so he thought.

* * *
Rita had defeated Machina, Zedd defeated Mondo, Archerina towered over Scorpina's limp body, Gasket won to Goldar, Orbus fried Squatt, Rito carried Sprocket's body on his shoulder, and Clank had knocked out Babboo. When Zedd had brought his party to their trailer, they continued on their way to the Machine Empire palace.

"Look what the pre-Madonna did to Scorpina," Rita cried. "She was my best warrior!"

"Oh, shut it, Rita," Zedd cried. Squatt and Babboo where behind rubbing Finster's ointment on their would and crying out loud.

"This was quite some battle," Finster declared. "I had lot's of fun watching."

Rito gave him a nutty look. "Yeah wuss, you didn't participate. Scorpina, Squatt, Goldar and Babboo are hurt!" Well, it was true. Finster was a wuss and rather annoying.

"AHHHHHH!" Rita's scream interrupted the argument. The east part of the Machine Sky base was demolished. It had burned to a crisp! Rita jumped up and whooped. Zedd was squealing with delight. It was from this part when Rita could use her new staff and continue from this point. She and Zedd took aim and got ready to fire.

* * *
Mondo and his group had gotten to the throne room and were tired. He, Machina and Sprocket had to rest. Orbus, Gasket, Clank and Archerina were bragging about their success.

"Oh shut up!" Mondo ordered. "You have all been bragging since you got home!"

"Dear," Machina interrupted. "I think you better take a look at this." The entire eastern part of the Skybase was demolished. Mondo was just about to throw a fit when he saw a huge beam headed for his palace. The beam struck with such force that the entire structure shook and the courtyard outside had exploded. He sent the Cogs and the Quadri fighters out to destroy whoever did this.

* * *
"Zeddy, something is coming!" Rita declared. "We gotta get out of here!" Zedd agreed and they were soon on their way out of the crater.

* * *
David found himself standing in downtown Angel Grove and wondered how Adam had done that. He had been all over Angel Grove and into every building there was. And never had he seen the inside of such a building. Plus, he didn't walk through the door or anything. He just stood there and closed his eyes and found himself in downtown Angel Grove. He walked home feeling very confused and greeted his foster parents.

"Where have you been honey?" his mother asked. "You were to set the table for lunch and failed to attend. What happened?" He ignored his mother's question cause he was thinking way too much.

"Mom, is there a futuristic building in Angel Grove?" His mother looked at him as if to say, what in the world are you talking about?

"What are you talking about? There is no futuristic building in Angel Grove. I'd know that cause I've been living here all my life."

David walked up to his room and thought about it. He saw a giant glass tube, flashing lights, a bunch of super hero costumes in glass cases, and computers everywhere. The costumes in the cases looked familiar. He had heard of them. They were called the Power Rangers but then, the Zeo Rangers had taken their places. He did not know how he was the only one that remembered all this and everyone else had forgotten about it. There was only one explanation. Adam and his group of friends had to be the Zeo Rangers! Katherine always wore pink, Adam always wore green, Tanya yellow, Tommy red, Jason black and Rocky blue. This was it! David decided to ask Adam first thing tomorrow when they were to meet at the babysitting place.

* * *
School was out but worse, he still had to go for babysitting. It had been a long day yesterday and Adam was not looking forward to be spending another day at the babysitting place. All those crying babies would teach him a lesson that could prove crucial in the future. The only thing that cheered him up there was David. He had a strange smile on his face when he saw him.

"Why do you have that look on your face?" he asked curiously.

"Well, I think you are something and you may laugh but I'm dead serious." Adam smiled for a while but when David didn't follow, he realised this must have been something serious. "I think...," David shuddered for a second but could not say it. The words were just stuck in his throat. "I think that you're a Zeo Ranger."

Adam was shocked. How did this kid know? "Get real David!" Adam said. "There is no way I can be a Zeo Ranger. At Luigi's Pizza, they were the ones who came to fight the bad guys. The green one teleported me away."

"You brought me to that futuristic building and when I had gotten home, my mother told me that there was no futuristic building in Angel Grove. So I figured that there must have been something special about that place and nobody knew a thing about it. Plus, I remember seeing the Power Rangers in the glass cases and then it hit me. There was only one way you and your friends could have gotten hold of those costumes."

"How... did you figure it all out? Didn't you forget about the Power Rangers?" he asked.

David just kept on smiling and finally replied, "I have my ways."

The rest of the day, Adam spent talking to David about his experience being both a Power Ranger and a Zeo Ranger. At the end of the day, Adam took David to see Zordon. And this was when all of the fun began.

"You must never let anyone know about this." Zordon instructed. "It is important that nobody finds out." David didn't dare question Zordon. He wasn't afraid of him. After all, Zordon was just a giant floating head. But still his instincts told him that he should not question his words. This was the most fun anyone has ever had, he thought. David was a loyal person and really promised not to tell anyone about this although it was going to be hard.

* * *
"AAAH!!!" Rita cried as they sped out of the crater. "Hurry Zeddy! Whatever Mondo sent is gaining on us."

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Zedd complained to her. "This wretched trailer is to slow!" He made an incredibly sharp turn which lost the enemy. But all of a sudden, Quadri fighters rose from the rocks they were hiding behind and shot at the trailer. Rita used her new wand on the attacking vehicle and it exploded with a tremendous force. Just then the Cogs appeared out of a corner and attacked them. They sent the putties and Tengas after them and there another huge battle going on between Zedd's party and Mondo and his group. This time, the Tengas and putties were able to defeat the Cogs.

"I'm gonna use this wand to create the most powerful monster that I've ever made!" she declared.

"Oh please," Zedd whined. "The best monster you ever made was the Impursanator and she was destroyed."

"Well duh," Rita replied like a child. "That's why this one is gonna be even better." She picked a Cog at random and shot at it. It became a huge monster called Cog Exterminator.

"How may I serve you my empress?" it asked. Rita was already giggling at the sight of her new monster.

"I want you to first go to the Machine Skybase and act as a regular monster that Mondo has. Then, get to earth and ambush the Power Chamber and destroy the Zeo Crystal. This will leave the Zeo Rangers defenceless and then, we are free to take over the earth!"

* * *
The monster went over to the machine Skybase and acted like a regular monster. It wasn't a very good first impression cause the entire place was pitch black since the Rangers had attacked it. Clank was busy trying to get the emergency power on while Mondo and Machina sat trying to decide what other monster to manufacture. The Cog Terminator went up to Klank and dismantled him in five seconds. Orbus was about to run off but then, he grabbed him too and destroyed him. The Cog Terminator tied Sprocket up to a post and left him there to rust. He went to the main power controls and discovered that it already had been ambushed. He decided to add to this problem. He sprayed out a toxic gas that froze everything it happened to come across. It was indeed spreading and quickly.

Rita observed her new monster and smiled with glee. This was indeed the best monster she had ever made. Just then, he came to Rita and informed her of his progress.

"With the gas spreading of the gas, the Machine Skybase would soon be destroyed," it said.

"See Zeddy?" Rita boasted. "The Cog Terminator is better than any of the monsters you ever made from that staff of yours. Zedd mumbled something under his breath and walked into the trailer. Rito then walked out.

"Look out sis," he said to Rita. "There's some kind of weird monster behind you."

"You dummy!" Rita scolded. "This is the Cog Terminator. I made him from this new staff Finster gave me. Besides, I had better plans in the past, even without this thing. Rito rolled his eyes (or those little black dots you see in his skull). Rita then turned back to her monster and gave it more instructions.

"Now, teleport to the Power Chamber and destroy it. The Rangers are not aware of any of this and they won't even be there." It bowed and went.

* * *
"Dear," Machina said called to Mondo. "I just discovered that the main power controls are out and frozen. A strange gas is freezing everything!"

"What?" Mondo screamed. "Send the Cogs to check it out."

"But dear, I also discovered Clank and Orbus' parts everywhere. And our dear little Sprocket was found tied up to a post! Luckily, Gasket discovered him in time. It was not the Rangers or else we would have detected colours flying across the sky. It could be Rita and Zedd." Mondo was furious.

"Where are the Cogs, Quadri fighter and Gasket? I want them to seek out Rita and Zedd and have them destroyed!

* * *
It was a quiet day in the Power Chamber. David offered to help there for the day while Billy was at home. _This was way too cool!_ he thought. _I'm working for the Zeo Rangers!_ He had been talking to Alpha and thought about what a truly remarkable robot he was. It was surprising that he wasn't part of the Machine Empire. Suddenly, a huge flash of light filled the room. At first, David thought it was something Alpha did. But when he cried "Aye yai yai" he figured something must've gone wrong. The Cog Terminator shot beams everywhere and destroyed some of the computers. Alpha was down and David fought the monster. He ran everywhere and dodged numerous shots. He jumped onto the monster's back and stabbed it in the back of the head with a shard of glass. It whirled around in pain.

"Don't take a step closer," David said, holding up another piece of glass. The monster didn't care and knocked it out of his hand. David kicked it in the head as hard as he could. It didn't work. Then, it grabbed him and teleported away. There was a crack in the glass column Zordon was in so he could not communicate with the outside world from his dimension.

"Rangers!" Alpha called out to the speaker. "A monster has attacked the Power Chamber and David has been taken by it." He sent the distress signal and his circuits were shut down. Billy heard it as well and decided to see what happened. He arrived there the same time everyone else did. Jason looked around and saw it. Alpha was on the ground and opened him up. There were severe burns in his insides consisting of all sorts of funny mechanisms. That was when he realised David was gone.

"What does Rita want with David?" he asked Adam.

"I dunno," he replied.

"We should try to get him back," Tommy suggested. "Adam, you go with Rocky. Me, Tanya and Katherine will stay here and try to get Zordon and Alpha back."

Rocky and Adam morphed and went to the moon. The teleportation system still worked. On the moon, they saw Rita congratulating the Cog Terminator on a job well done while they were hiding behind a rock. They then saw David chained to a large boulder. He struggled and threatened Zedd. But they knew he wasn't capable of doing anything.

_This kid is really full of it. He thinks he can get out of this all. He's really unaware of what forces he's against,_ Zeo Ranger 4 thought.

The monster then left Rita to do whatever he wanted and to frolic around the moon. Zeo Ranger 3 and 4 descended the slope and attacked her. Just then, Goldar, Rito and Scorpina appeared out of the corner of the trailer and there was a little battle. Just then, the putties and Tengas ambushed them. Rocky and Adam were seriously out numbered. Auric was sent to check on their progress and he discovered two of his friends were under attack. He went in to help. This evened up the score. Scorpina, Goldar, Rito, the putties and the Tengas were sent crawling back to Rita and Zedd. But the Cog Terminator came and took care of Auric. The three of them were teleported back to the Power Chamber.

"We could have gotten him but Rita's monster hurt Auric," Adam said angrily. "This has never happened to us before."

"I think this is just what Rita wants you to feel," Jason explained. "I think you shouldn't show it or Rita will know her plan is working." There was a moment of silence while they sat and wondered what to do.

* * *
"Those dummies tried rescuing David!" Rita exclaimed happily. "This brat thinks he can beat my best warriors. What a stupid dork."

"I'll get you, you ugly old witch! And you ugly freak with no skin!" David said.

Scorpina then spoke up. "What if they're so edgy that he could very easily take us all on?"

"Then we sent my monster after him!" Rita screamed. "Besides, the brat says he can take us on already. He can beat more Cogs than the Power Rangers. And since we have captured him, if we use the correct method, we can also capture the power Rangers and maybe even a member of the Machine Empire."

The little group were both destroying the Machine Empire and the Zeo Rangers at the same time. This was one of the great ideas Rita had ever thought of. It was even better than the time she made Tommy the evil green Power Ranger.

Her thoughts were interrupted with a large crash. Mondo and Machina were standing beside a large boulder and behind it, emerged a large Quadri fighter powered by a Cog.

"I know what you have done to our palace!" Mondo said. "That is why we have a new robot out here. Scorpaface, show yourself!"

A large scorpion-like monster walked out from behind the Quadri fighter.

"Yeah?" Rita challenged. "We have a scorpion on our side too!" Scorpina marched up and stared at her foe in the eye. Goldar backed her up. But this was not enough. Archerina and Gasket stood behind Scorpaface and pointed their swords forward. The Cog Terminator then showed up helping Scorpina and Goldar. Archerina struck Scorpina in the chest. She flew back and shot her sting at her. It hit Archerina and she fell back. There was a little fist fight and then a laser show. The two of them threw whatever energy blasts they had at each other. Once again, Goldar and Gasket started fighting and there was an incredibly long sword fight. The two monsters proved to be equal in strength.

Mondo and Machina stood in the background observing the fight cheering for their monster. Rita and Zedd did the same thing except they were cheering for their monster.

A Cog snuck up behind David and tried snatching him from the boulder. After it unchained him, David fought back with all his might. He did some kind of strange super punch and knocked down a fleet of Cogs. More came and they proved to be no match against him. Then, Cogs with weapons came and that was when they got him. He defeated a whole group of Cogs but then he grew tired and was out numbered. They took him. They went to Mondo and showed David to him. He nodded and ordered the Cogs to bring him to the palace. Mondo called the rest of his group back and they left.

Rita and Zedd were confused and wondering why they left all of a sudden. Then Rito pointed out why.

"Those dummies took the kid! Get them before they make it back to the Machine Skybase!" Rita ordered. Zedd looked at her for a second.

"Why do you want that brat in the first place?" he asked. "He will only cause us to get into more fights with the Machine Empire!"

"Cause it'll cause the Rangers to loose concentration, stupid," she replied rudely.

"Well what difference will it make if us or the Machine Empire has him?"

"It's different cause I can get him to do what we want not what Mondo wants."

The arguing went on for a while. Rito, Goldar, Scorpina, Squatt and Babboo closed their eyes trying to get the shouting out of their heads. Finster was in the trailer as usual studying how to make better monsters. This was going to be a long day.

* * *
Mondo was back at his castle celebrating his new accomplishment. Machina was busy helping Sprocket, Gasket and Archerina put Clank and Orbus back together. There was a celebration at palace including dancing, and different activities. Meanwhile down on the dungeon of the palace, David was chained up inside a cage. A Cog was injecting him with an ingredient that would cause him to become evil and serve nobody but Mondo. He would make a great fighting partner for Scorpaface. At last, David opened his eyes.

"Where am I?" he whispered softly. He was still seeing double vision and then everything came into focus.

"You are in my dungeon," he heard a voice say. "I am King Mondo and I want you to serve nobody but me."

"Forget it!" David shouted. "Why should I serve somebody that would eventually destroy me anyway?"

"Cause you have no choice!"

"Forget it you old bag. I will never fight for evil. Do whatever you want but there is no way in hell that I'm serving you.'

"I don't think so, you immature sprite. You're here now and you're mine!"

David began to change shape immediately. The injection was taking effect. He became a tall figure with wings on his back, a metal piece on his forehead, body armour made of gold and golden boots. And his voice had changed dramatically.

"I serve only Mondo and no other being," he said.

"Excellent," Mondo said, satisfied. "You shall now be called Goldwing. Your fighting partner will be Scorpaface." Scorpaface stepped out from behind Mondo and showed himself.

An evil smile spread across Goldwing's face. "Let's go."

* * *
"I don't know what Rita has done to David by now." Katherine said worriedly. "What if she is about to kill him this very minute?"

"Relax," Tanya coaxed. "David will be all right. I don't think Rita will dare hurt him. After all, she knows if she does, we won't be too happy."

"Isn't that what she wants?"

"Don't blame me for trying."

Billy had fixed up Zordon's glass column and managed to get him back online. The computers were functioning normally again. Things were going wrong when Mondo's goons showed up in The e Power Chamber. But the one on the left looked like... David! The Rangers were shocked.

"David! You're back! But what are you doing with Mondo's monster?" He looked at him and didn't reply. He raised his hand and shot a beam at Tommy and the rest of the rangers morphed.

"Try not to hurt David much!" Tommy ordered the rest of the group.

They all nodded and ran to Scorpaface. A battle raged on in the Power Chamber. The new monster was David. The injection had increased his energy four times. And if he was extremely determined and was able to defeat hundreds of Cogs at a time, imagine what he was capable of when his strength is increased four time!

Fortunately, Billy and Alpha were able to keep them from destroying the computers. He immediately teleported them out of the Power Chamber and everything was fine.

Outside, the battle raged on. Finally, Mondo sent down Gasket and Archerina down to help. The score was four to six but still, the machines managed to overpower the Rangers.

This was when Rita and Zedd sent down the Cog Terminator to capture Goldwing. Accompanied with some Tengas, he knocked the Rangers away and tried to get Goldwing. He shot hundreds of energy beams. He fought back as hard as ever. Using his sword, he sliced all the Tengas into tiny little pieces. He gathered a huge energy ball in his hand and shot it at the Cog Terminator. It hit it but it quickly recovered. But just like his other fights, he got tricked and was taken by the Cog Terminator.

Archerina tried desperately to get to the Cog Terminator but the Tengas simply grabbed her and took her with them. Then, they threw a net on Rocky and captured him too. Then, the Cog Terminator vanished without a trace.

When the Cog Terminator got back to Rita and Zedd who had found their old palace and settled in, they congratulated him and sat down for a drink. Archerina was placed in a cage stripped of her weapons. Goldwing was chained (as usual) to the wall, also stripped of his weapons. Rocky, still morphed, was put in a glass compartment trying to find a way out. The three of them were all in Rita's balcony place. The Cog Terminator had gone to another part of the palace to regenerate. And the Zeo Rangers and the Machine Empire saw no way of getting their comrades back besides teaming up....

* * *
"What?!" Adam cried out loud. "There is no way that I will agree to teaming up with Mondo and Machina. It's just impossible and what if they take David and Rocky along with them?"

"Look," Jason said. "We have no other option right now. It appears that right now, he is Goldwing, not David. Because of this, we have to take the chance whether he will pick Mondo, us or Rita."

"I think we should try a sneak attack," Tanya interrupted.

"We tried that one before when Kat was kidnapped by Rita and Tommy went after her,"Adam explained. "Tommy almost got caught by her and we can't afford to take that risk again."

Just then, Billy entered and informed them of his progress. He had already went to discuss with Gasket and they had signed a treaty for this mission.

"Gasket agreed," he said. "He signed the treaty and Mondo will be sending his army here tomorrow afternoon. We better make a shield around here incase they decide to attack."

* * *
"I can't believe they want us to team up with them and I completely forbid it!" Mondo cried. "This is insane!"

"But father," Gasket whined, "Archerina is with Rita and Zedd and I want her back. They pose a threat to her. And remember, they have one of your best warriors, Goldwing!"

"Let's get them! Sign the treaty immediately!"

"This is insane. I can't believe you are actually teaming up with the Zeo Rangers," Machina complained.

"Yeah daddy," Sprocket agreed. "What if they decide to turn on us once they have Goldwing and the Blue Zeo Ranger?"

"Those rangers are too caught up with their truth and justice. There will barely be a chance that they would go away with them."

* * *
So the treaty was signed and Mondo prepared an army. This consisted of around two thousand Cogs, Scorpaface, Gasket and Orbus and Clank. Some new monsters were also sent. They were Drill Master, Sylo, Squidoctron, Nightmare Stallion and Goonblaster. Gasket led the group to the outside of the Power Chamber where the Rangers waiting outside. Quadrifighers and air attack vehicles accompanied them. The Rangers had called on the help of the Aquitar Rangers for their help. Their Zords were all armed and ready for battle. They were all transported from the Power Chamber to the crater of the moon where Rita and Zedd's castle was at. The monsters, Cogs, Gasket, Zords, Rangers, Clank and Orbus took aim and got ready to fire.

* * *
"Ooh look Zeddy," Rita called to Zedd. "The Rangers and Mondo have teamed up to get their comrades back! Send out the monsters!"

Rita had recreated her monsters from the past like Primator, Saliguana, Pirantishead, Madam Woe, the Invenusable Flytrap, the King Sphinx, Pudgy Pig, the Hatemaster, the Dark Warrior, the Scarlet Sentinel, the Pumpkin Rapper and the Mirror of Regret.

"Attack!" she commanded. The monsters obeyed and ran out of the castle to fight off the intruders led by Goldar, Rito and Scorpina.

This fight lasted the entire day. Rita threw her wand at any monster she chose and the Zords took care of them. The Aquitar Rangers used their Aquitar blast and the Zeo Rangers used their weapons, super punches and Zeo Cannon to fight off the attacking army. Rita kept on making new monsters and sent them out to battle immediately. She sent out the Super Putties, the Normal Putties, Putties with huge boulders on one hand and Rock Putties. The Tengas followed and they were a big help to the battle. The Cog Terminator led that team into battle. The number of Rita and Zedd's forces kept the same while Mondo's shrunk. The two Rangers remained the same. Master Vile then showed up and sent more monsters after the opposing team. Rita was glad to see her dad again. Mondo manufactured more Cogs and sent them out to battle.

"I have planted a bomb in the battle field and called all of my remaining monsters back here. Once they are all here, this castle will blast off. In five minutes, it will go off and boom! The Rangers and Mondo will be blown sky high!"

"A terrific idea," Master Vile commented. "The monsters are heading this way right now."

The monsters were coming and Mondo's army and the Rangers were following them to the castle. Rita teleported them into the castle and it shot off the ground. Mondo's army was left in the dust when suddenly the Rangers were teleported out of there as well. Mondo transported his group away and seconds later, the explosion occurred sending shockwaves everywhere.

* * *
Scorpaface was able to hitch a ride on one of Rita's monsters and was now lurking in the dungeon looking for Archerina. She had been moved to the dungeon along with Goldwing and Zeo Ranger number three. The three of them were all placed in separate cells. He found Archerina but Scorpina came and ambushed him from the back and he too was placed in a cell with Rito guarding the front entrance to the dungeon. Scorpina returned up to Rita and told her of the intruder. They were having a lot of success. Rita was planning to hold Archerina and Scorpaface for ransom. They had to give up their palace and they were only allowed to take one ship out of the moon leaving behind all of their stuff for Zedd and his group to take. This was when they would release Scorpaface and Archerina.

"So, how about it?" Rita said to Mondo through a window of time and space. "You leave all of your stuff for us except one ship and never come back. Then we will release Archerina and your monster."

"I'll get you for this!" Mondo threatened Rita. "You will be sorry."

"Ooh, I'm so scared," she said sarcastically.

Mondo packed his entire kingdom into a group of ships (with acception from Rita) and flew off. Archerina and Scorpaface were returned to Mondo and Machina and Zedd and Rita now have the entire Machine Skybase to themselves!

* * *
"Why did you take us out of there?" Tanya demanded from Billy. "We had a chance to get Rocky and David back!"

"Rita planted a bomb and our sensors picked it up," Billy explained. "She returned Archerina and Scorpaface to Mondo and they are gone. We are in a lot of trouble. Zedd and her now have the entire Machine Skybase to themselves and they have high tech weapons. There is no telling if Mondo will return or not." Adam looked worried and said nothing after.

_David is still Goldwing and he was still in Rita's palace. Rocky is also being held hostage and there is nothing we can do about it,_ Katherine thought to herself.

Just then, Rita opened a window through to the Rangers. "Hey Rangers!" They looked at her.

"What do you want?" Tommy demanded.

"Well, do you want Goldwing back?" she asked.

"No. Not Goldwing. We want David back. What have you done with him?"

"Oh fine. He is doing really fine but if you don't want him dead, you will hand over your Zeonizers to me tomorrow afternoon."

"Why would you care for our powers?" Tommy demanded. "You would have no use for them."

"True but it would stop you from ruining my plans once I start to take over." Tommy realised they had no other choice and had to do what she said. He hoped Goldwing would escape and blast his way out of the palace because of his anger.

* * *
The next afternoon, the Rangers gathered with the Aquitar Rangers at their side and both different Rangers handed their powers over to Zedd while Goldar threw Goldwing onto the ground. Rocky was also given back in exchange for the Zeonizers. Rita laughed as she held their power sources in her hand. Watching the Machine Empire leave without him made Goldwing think that they cared only for themselves and nobody else. Slowly, he turned back to the original kid that he was.

"Well, gotta go!" Rita called out. "Let's go Zeddy!"

They teleported out of there and immediately the sky turned gray and rain started to pour down. Winds slowly picked up and sent the leaves of trees blowing hard in every direction. The Aquitar Rangers and the Zeo Rangers were almost swept away. The nearby mountains erupted with lava flowing out of the cones as if they were volcanoes. Earthquakes shook the land and strong winds slowly became hurricanes which spread the fire easily. Rain poured down but the fire was still burning bright. The citizens of Angel Grove ran out into the streets in panic. Rita and Zedd had taken over and there was no hope for the world.

* * *
King Mondo had felt insulted that Zedd had kicked him out of his own palace. Machina was also upset that her favourite part of the galaxy was taken over by her worst enemy.

"Dear," she said to Mondo, "we are finished gathering the warriors from our previous conquered planets. Shall we Attack Rita and Zedd now?"

"Yes dear. We will show them who they are dealing with" So they got back to earth and fired energy beams at the moon while Zedd and his company ran for cover once again. They fired back and there was a fire fight going on. Both sides sent out their monsters so there was an aerial battle and a ground battle.

Gigantic ships landed near the Skybase and Zedd retreated back to his own palace. Scorpina was sent to earth where some Cogs were sent to take over while the battle on the moon raged on.

The Cog Terminator was leading the army out of Rita's palace and when he was about to follow, Scorpaface ambushed him and destroyed him. Rito had heard the explosion and went down to investigate when he found Scorpaface.

Mondo's group of monsters appeared beside him and the machines were invading the palace. Goldar, followed by some putties, ran into the room and fought them. Machina, Sprocket and Mondo entered the main balcony and attacked Zedd and Rita. This time, the machines won the fight. Machina grabbed Rita and threw her out of the balcony. Mondo stunned Zedd with his staff and threw him out of the balcony too. Cogs found Finsters hiding place and threw him out along with Squatt and Babboo. The attack planes once again fired at Zedd and Rita and they had to run off to their trailer and start moving.

"Help us, Rangers," Rita cried. "Here are your morphers!" She teleported them back to the Rangers with her staff and it got to them.

* * *
"All right!" Tanya shouted excitedly. "We got our morphers back! Let's show them what we are made of!" The six Zeo Rangers morphed leaving David back at the Power Chamber with Billy and Alpha. They were teleported to the moon but it was too late for Zedd and his team. Their little trailer was on their way out of there with attack planes on their tail.

"Let's do it Rangers!" Tommy ordered. They loaded up the Zeo Cannon and fired seven rounds and destroyed some of the attacking Quadri fighters. Zeo Ranger One called on her power shield. Zeo Two, her nunchucks. Zeo Three, his triangular weapons. Zeo Four, his axe. Zeo Five, his sword. They all did their super moves and called on their Zords and totally demolished the attacking Machine Army, including Scorpaface. This spelled the end of the great battle that would be remembered for a long time.

* * *
Mondo and Machina, Sprocket, Gasket, Archerina, Clank and Orbus went back to the Machine Skybase and never came out. Scorpina, who had previously been sent to earth, returned to Rita and they drove off. Soon, the only thing that was left of the battle was the old palace of Rita and Zedd that was now abandoned. They had come so close to making a big return but failed miserably like they always had in the past.

* * *
"Well father," Gasket said. "We got Archerina back and Goldwing has returned back to his normal self. Now, everything is the same but I think Rita almost gained control of the earth."

"Never do anything like that again!" ordered Mondo. "Because of you, we got kicked out of this palace and almost never got it back and Zedd and Rita almost destroyed the Zeo Rangers, not us!"

Gasket left the room with Sprocket making fun of him. Everything had returned to normal and Clank had to come up with more ideas for taking over the world. This was really going to be fun thinking of more ideas and rebuilding the Cogs.

* * *
Back on earth, Tommy, Adam, Rocky, Tanya, Katherine, Jason and David sat at the Youth Centre drinking juice.

"That was a really close call," Jason commented on the mission. "Rita almost made a comeback and we almost lost the world and our powers." Billy then came into the room.

"So," Adam asked, "did the Aquitar Rangers make it safely back to Aquitar?" Billy nodded.

"It's been a long adventure and I think we all need a break." The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"Don't forget, we have some babysitting to do tomorrow," David reminded Adam.

He thumped his head in the table in frustration. "That's great. Another day with children screaming in my ears."

* * *
It had been a long adventure. They asked David and Rocky what it was like to be held hostage for awhile. Neither of them wanted to even think about it.

Being with David and working at the baby sitting centre taught the Rangers (especially Adam) that just because they were teenagers, it doesn't mean that they were completely grown up. Because somewhere inside was their youth. For Adam, David was a lot like his younger counter part just like the Rangers are like Zordon's younger counter part. We call that counter part the child within.

End