Earth

"I'm okay." Lottie replied, feeling her feet hit solid ground again. She looked up at the ranger who'd plucked her from the rafter, trying to guess which boy it was. Pink was obviously the football player, those muscles were hardly even hidden. This was one of the other two, but which one escaped her. She blinked when he told her that he'd make sure she got to a hiding place, and looked to the altar. She remembered why she knew her way here so well, her brothers had told her of one of the evidently many secrets hidden in the old church.
"I don't think I have far to go." She replied, scurrying behind the altar, and gently pushing a section in it back to reveal a tiny hole, just big enough for a thin, but tall, human. This had been used back in the slavery days, as a hiding place for people on the underground railroad on their way north. She slipped in easily, with plent headroom to spare. She reached up and hooked her fingertips into a handhold, using it to push the section back to it's original place. She left it open a crack to let in some light, and hear what was going on.

Nine aliens remained. One, which had been harrassing Lottie before the Rangers had arrived, hastily swung an axe at Rick, screaming in an unearthly tone. The rest circled the other two Rangers, and two of those, unarmed, rushed up to Jonah and attempted to grab him.

One second they were underground or wherever they were taken and the next they were back in the church. This time it seemed that they had some company. Rick was taking care of the girl that was on the tree. The others surrounded him and Deacon. This doesn't look good. When he saw that two of the alien looking monkeys were after him he ran managing to get through them. Though they didn't let him out of his site. He ran straight up the wall doing a back flip catching one of the aliens by surprise. "Looking for me?" he said as he punched one of them in the face following with a knee to the gut.

As he went down he felt something grab his shoulder. When he turned around it was the other alien that was after him. The alien punched him in the stomach sending him back a couple of feet back and knocking him down. "Crap I didn't expect them to be this strong" he said as he got up with his arm in the stomach. He caught his breath before running up to it. Right when he was a foot infront of him he did a back flip hitting the alien in the chin with his feet. The alien gave off a scream, which alarmed the others.

"D-Train, a little help over here" he said in a worried tone as the rest of the aliens headed his way.

Upon finding himself back in the church, and hastily surrounded by the strange attackers, Deacon wasted no time. It was clear that their opponents were more interested in attacking Jonah, as two quickly attempted to pin him. The rest circled the muscle bound pink ranger apprehensively, rightfully so, the suit had increased his already powerful form to unheard of limits. Stout legs catapulted Deacon forward, delivering a bone crunching flying knee to the solar plexus of the nearest ape; sending the hapless fool tumbling end over end across the pews as the faded into ash.

As another rushed forward an arching right hook landed flush, incapacitating the monkey-man instantly. "D-Train, a little help over here" Jonah's tone was rife with uncertainty. Was he really scared of these things? Deacon wondered. Throwing his weight into the unsuspecting backs of a pair of the fiends, his momentum carrying him and his two unfortunate victims straight into the heavy wooden wall. As the aliens crumbled to heaps of dust Deacon had already spun to face the remaining three. "C'mon, Jonah, don't let me win that easily." he said, reminding the other ranger of his challenge.

Already used to dipping and dodging on the field, D-Train had little trouble eluding the brainless minions attacks. Like a swarm of angry ants the final trio rushed him, only to be repelled by nimble limbs as Deacon danced backwards, his trademark grin spread across his features.

Deacon wasted no time upon hearing his call. He moved fast, knocking the aliens out of the way. "Well its not my fault that they like me the best " he said as he raised both of his hands up. "I just wasn't expecting them to come at me at once okay?" .

"C'mon, Jonah, don't let me win that easily."said Deacon as if he was taunting him

"Trust me I'm not" he said as he looked at himself. There had to be a way to get rid of the weights that had fused together with the suit. On his belt there was a small button. When he pressed it the belt and the ankle weights seemed to disappear making him look much more slimmer. One thing for sure was that he was now faster.
He quickly ran to one of the aliens and jumped to kick him in the chest, making the alien turn into a pile of ash. Upon contact with the alien he did a back flip landing behind one of them "Yo monkey face!" he said as he grabbed his shoulder punching him int he face followed by two kick , one to the side and another to the face. The alien fell to the ground and shook as if having a seizure then turned into ash. That was three that he had destroyed. But by the looks of it it seemed that Deacon was going to be the one to win.

When he was done with the aliens his weights seemed to appear back on his suit."I guess I have a time limit till they come back" he said as he hurried on to destroy the rest.

Lottie listened to the fight raging above her head, leaning back slightly so she was truly pinned against the wall in the darkness. She heard one boy call for help, and heard the accompanying crash of assistance. None of the apes had evidently thought any more of her, as none had looked as far as she knew, and none had come behind the altar. She kept listening for who was winning the battle, the power rangers or the monkeys, only a little scared. She wondered briefly if this was adrenaline, or if she was in shock, or if she was that sure of her hiding place. She listened as silence took hold above her, for whatever reason.

It all began on a saturday morning for Ryan. He was still a kid, just 18 years old, when he met Professor Hart for the first time and was selected to be a member of the Trooper Project. At that time, he had been so impressionable, especially since the Professor offered hope of finding his long-missing father. He could never expect what Grimlord had in store for him and the other VR Troopers; the fight itself surged between the real world and Grimlord's artificial plane of existence, which always seemed to leave him confused as to which was which. It was built identically to the real world, which was intended to keep anyone who dared to challenge Grimlord confused; Ryan had definitely fallen victim to the trick, even those years later provided a challenge.

He couldn't ever really put his finger on what he remembered for sure and what was true, besides a few minor details that had affected him ever since. The reality barrier itself was sketchy; even as it collapsed into itself, Ryan was struck lightheaded and could not point out exactly what he had done or how long the fight lasted. It came down to what was in front of his eyes at any given moment, Grimlord's minions always gave him some defensive point to break through. As a cruel joke, Grimlord had settled his defensive line around Tao's Dojo, the one place Ryan always considered sacred ground. He did his job, however, and did it well, until the reality barrier's instability tampered with his armor's code, and Grimlord himself caused his left side to blow apart. Although the plane of existence wasn't real, everything inside Ryan's mind was, and as far as he could tell, the burns and shrapnel were as real as the day he was born. He called up the VR Saber Command and delivered the coup de grace with a shattered helmet.

He drank away the memories of the other Troopers dying, Kaitlin taking an irreparable blow from Tankotron during the armor coding surge and JB having been left behind when the reality barrier finally collapsed into itself. Ryan was scarred badly, and still bore the marks of the battle on the left side of his body. Although he was in no condition to fight, Ryan insisted on continuing the Trooper program, even after his father died and Ryan's drinking became more destructive. He had been approached by a young man from California, who revealed himself as the Green Power Ranger at the time, and asked Ryan to replace him as the White Ranger, admitting that the Green Dragon powers waned and he did not wish to go on with the Rangers. Ryan, still shellshocked from his greatest triumph, refused, and allowed life to go on.

Ryan had spent the last 15 years trying to leave things behind. The risks alone made him tremble; he could barely instruct his karate classes anymore. There were nights that he wished he could have the courage to put his old 1911 to his head and give himself the coup de grace that he delivered so many times to so many evildoers. He watched heroes come and go, reports on the news of Power Rangers that were always changing their suits, new insect-inspired heroes called Kamen Riders, which always reminded Ryan of Dex, the Masked Rider, and the tweens that called themselves Beetleborgs. He had known anyone who was anyone in the superhero team community right before Grimlord was destroyed, and his only comfort when he was hurt by the past was knowing that someone carried on.

Then, like some horrible joke, he found a package on the doorstep to his apartment. It wasn't marked with addresses or stamps, it was a plain envelope that had a very heavy object inside. He believed he had been hallucinating when it began to glow red from the inside when he picked it up, but thought nothing of it until he had opened the package and saw that it was literally glowing red. It was a crystal of some kind, it was glowing too bright for Ryan to see clearly; he admired its high quality and immediately considered getting it appraised. He then noticed a note sticking out of the envelope and set the rock down. As soon as he let go to reach for the paper, it went back to its regular, opaque hue, and Ryan realized the note may have had something written on it that he didn't want anything to do with. His hand stopped halfway there, and he thought carefully about what he was doing.

He bit his lip, considering what he really wanted out of life, and as began reflecting on the Trooper program, his virtualizer, the means by which he transformed into a VR Trooper, began glowing also. It hung around his neck on the laniard it was issued with those years ago, and began glowing in unison with the crystal, as though it knew he was hesitant about whatever the note said. It emanated the same white and blue light it always had, and as he began reaching closer for the note, the virtualizer got hot on his chest, and shared the same red light as the crystal, both humming with untapped power. Ryan snatched up the note and read it:

I KNOW WHO YOU WERE AND I NEED YOUR HELP
MEET ME IN THE CAVES NEAR MORDANT PARK
BRING THE CRYSTAL

Ryan wouldn't have thought anything of it if it hadn't have said "I KNOW WHO YOU WERE". It chilled him to the bone, and as long as someone knew who he had been, he would not be safe. It was the exact reason that any superhero kept their alter egos apart: safety. No one was going to use him or Tao as bait, he promised himself. So there he was, inside a damp, dark cave with a glowing crystal in his pocket, which he regretted when he fell into a large hole in the ground. His hip slammed right into it when he landed in the middle of what immediately reminded him of Professor Hart's laboratory, which doubled as Trooper Headquarters. The crystal was glowing a very bright red, showing itself through the stitches of his jeans, and Ryan retrieved it, rubbing the spot on his leg where it had caused him discomfort. He waved it around, trying to get his bearings in the dark room, but found himself surrounded by water on all sides. He had landed on a small island in the dark cave, illuminating his world through the red light that filtered everything around him. Ryan called out into the damp cavern with a voice that quivered in the cold. He felt blood run down his forehead and suddenly realized he had hit his head on a rock. If he had any luck at all, he was dead.

"Hello?! Is anyone there?!"

A bright red light, separate from the one coming from the crystal, enveloped Ryan. A massive sound, like being caught in a wind tunnel, boomed in his ears. Then suddently, he was in an entirely different cave.

Across from him, Yolzor sat at his desk, facing him. "Ryan Steele, I am glad to see you again." Slowly and with a groan, the wizard stood up. "You do remember me?"

Ryan fumbled with both his words and his posture. He was felt immediately woozy after the change of scenery, and had to prop his leg behind him for support. He looked at the old man with his thousand-yard stare, trying to cross reference his memory and the man's face. The long beard and the shiny bald head were indistinguishable from Tao, who had fallen into a similar state of old age, and Ryan simply shook his head, suddenly becoming angry.

"Look, I don't know who you are," he gestured with the red crystal. "and I don't know what this rock is, but you're playing a very sick game with me, old man. If this is a joke, or if someone else sent you to toy with me, you can just forget it. I'm not messing around with this otherworldly crap anymore. So you think carefully before you decide what you brought me here for; I'm not someone you can freely fuck around with."

Ryan could see his own breath, the cave was so cold. He was used to warm climates, having spent so much time in California during his time in the Trooper Program. He tightened his jacket around his shoulders and went back to standing normally, trying to make a statement of strength with his body posture, as though he were an animal trying to puff its chest so he wouldn't be eaten.

After defeating the aliens Jonah hurried back to the church. In there the church already knew he was there so it transported him back to the cave where Yolzor was. Upon arrival Jonah was surprised to find another human there.

"Hey Yolzor, we defeated the..." he said as he saw the man with his chest puffed up. "and who is he?" he asked walking up to Yolzor. "Power Down" he said as his suit turned into shadow and went away. His morpher turned into a cell phone. "Sweet" he said turning his attention back to Yolzor. "So his he another one of us?" he asked.

Yolzor looked calmly over at Jonah. The boy asked if Ryan was another Power Ranger.

"I had hope that he would be," answered Yolzor. He gave Ryan a pitiable look. "Ryan Steele, this is Jonah Rivers, the Black Power Ranger.

Unless you are completely isolated from the rest of the world now," he smiled at the irony of that qualifier. You could not get much more isolated than Yolzor. "You must know that this planet has just come under attack." His face resumed its usual grim gaze as he stepped closer to Ryan, and held out a morpher in one hand. "The Power Rangers could use one of your skill and experience. They need a Red Ranger."

Ryan shook his head; not out of refusal of the offer, but out of a strange sense of betrayal and offense he took from the whole situation. He was lost in his own world. They should have known he didn't want the job anymore, they should have left him alone and found someone else.

"I have done my part for the planet. I fought evil in two realities. I got my best friends killed because I was selfish and on the offensive." He looked over the kid that was standing in a black Ranger suit a few seconds ago, who struck him as eerily similar to himself when he was first offered his powers. "Why me? Why did it have to be me, old man? If you know me like you say you do, then you would know that I've got a bad rep when it comes to the 'saving Earth' game. Why not more kids like him, or even former Rangers? I know that Rocky DeSantos doesn't have a whole lot going on besides a mortgage and bisexual tendencies. Adam Park is still alive, too; if I remember correctly, he put the helmet back on in '08 for a little while."

Ryan began approaching Yolzor, clutching the red crystal tight in his hand. His knuckles were going white, and he was getting angry. His anger arose mostly from his own predicament; he was angry at himself and his father for getting into the business into the firstplace, but he was even angrier that his actions didn't really help, considering there was a new threat looming under Earth's nose, and that a new team had to be assembled to ward it off.

"There's Jason Scott, Justin Stewart, Carlos Vallerte, Joel Rawlings, shit, even Tommy Oliver himself might take this job, but you offer it to a VR Trooper. Why did you come to me?"

"Adam Park no longer has his power coin." said Jonah not knowing how he knew that. Probably because he was a black ranger as well.

"And all this crap about why Yolzor choose you, well he didn't. The dragons did. They were the ones that choose us as their master. Matter of fact if you take a good look at your gem there you'll see a dragon inside." he said as he looked at his morpher. Though it was a cell the gem was still in it, his dragon sleeping inside.

"Also don't underestimate me. I might be the youngest out of all of us for now, but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing. Most kids my age aren't mature enough to handle the situation. And if I were you I would've been honored to be given a second chance to protect my home." he said as he walked up to him getting close to be face to face. "So if you're just gonna stand here and ask questions about why they choose you then you can go ahead and leave. So you better make a choice now. After all Ryan, there must've been a reason why the Red Dragon picked you as its master."

"The Dragons speak to me," Yolzor told Ryan. "and they are close to the Morphing Grid. I do not pretend to understand their will at all times, but they are full of wisdom, and I trust that wisdom.

The Red Dragon has chosen you. The best explanation I can give you is that it is simply destiny. If that is not enough for you, then we can find another."

----

Meanwhile, aboard Trechera's command bridge, the Communications Officer (a tall, one-eyed, violet-skinned humanoid) turned around in his chair and spoke to the Empress.

"Your majesty, you may want to look at this video feed some of the ghouls relayed to us," he said, his voice wavering with fear.

Trechera stalked up to him, peering over his shoulder to look at his computer monitor. She knew it would be worth it to have tiny cameras installed in the eyes of all her foot-soldiers.

The crystal-clear video feed was from the perspective of a ghoul rushing around through the city. It and a few others burst into what looked like the ruins of a temple. "This video is from just before he died," explained the Comm Officer.

"Died?" asked Trechera in disbelief, "By what?"

She was quickly answered. The ghouls burst into the temple and attacked a native girl. Then, in a sudden flash of light, three figures appeared.

Trechera had never seen such beings in person, but she knew them from her studies of galactic military history. They were humans wearing what could be called uniforms, were it not for the fact that each outfit was a different color. Their costumes were one-piece, skin-tight affairs with face-concealing helmets. On their waists, they wore large gray belt-buckles.

In an impressive display of martial skill, the humans quickly slew the ghoul soldiers with just their bare hands.

"Power Rangers," Trechera whispered. She had not been sure this would happen, but she had come prepared nevertheless. "Put me on with Forte, he should be in his quarters right now," she declared with a wicked grin.

Silence and Tranquility. These were the only true companions a warrior needed. With each of these in mind and body, one could be virtually invincible. Sitting alone in his quarters, Forte sat in meditation, the shadows of the dark room appearing to whisp around him as if he were sitting under a waterfall. This was the essence of a true warrior, or so the Lin Kuei were raised to believe. His body was still and unmoving, but he was training in his mind. Forte's yellow eyes were completely blacked out under his ashigaru hat, indicating that they were shut tight. If one could meditate properly, then all the training they needed would be in their thougts. As such, Forte was clearly imagining himself in a place high in the mountain ranges, using his Duskfang to cut down doppelgangers of himself. There was no better way to minimize one's weaknesses than to exploit them for oneself. Once a warrior understands his own weaknesses, he has no more need to fear them.

In the distance, Forte heard a sound, a beeping noise of some kind. In an instant, his eyes shot open as he found himself back in his dark quarters. He had never left, the sound of the communication window had awakend him from his meditative training. That could only be his mistress calling for him. Without delay, Forte opened the communications to his quarters, obediently responding to Trechera's call.

"Yes, Mistress?"

Lottie still stood under the altar, now wondering why she had heard nothing for at least ten minutes. She supposed the most reasonable explanation would be that the fight had gone out of earshot, or somebody had won and left. At the thought of the latter, Lottie started to scrabble for the fingerholds in the section of the altar, to get out and see. Whilst scrabbling, she started to realise just how claustrophobic the tiny place was, and how high. She worried if she would be able to get out on her own, as she had to stretch to get to the fingerholds, and she worried she might not be able to pull herself out. She pulled back the section of the altar. She magaed to get out by a combination of her arms, and flatenning her feet against the walls of the hiding place. She stood and turned to look over the altar to see what had happened, as soon as she was on solid ground.
"Guys?" She called into the empty church. They must have won, evidenced by the destroyed monkey dust that was scattered on the ground. She realised that they must have left to fight more of them, and dropped down to close the hiding place, before rushing towards the door to get her scooter.

Ryan's urge to beat the crap out of the kid in the black uniform was quelled by Yolzor's response. He looked at the both of them, clutching the crystal in his hand. It was beginning to burn; he looked down at it and considered the future. There was so much he wanted to do, so many issues on a personal level that he had to figure out, a journey on his own that he had not yet undertaken. Just holding the crystal and knowing the offer was scary to him; he looked down at it, studying the colors and the contours of its shape. He knew the risks quite well, and there were a great many reasons to deny them a red Ranger. However, he analyzed the alternative choice, joining them and leading the new team against whatever threatened their way of life, doing his part in the next great conflict. Maybe it had always been his destiny to be a Ranger.

He thought about Tommy Oliver and the expression of desperation on his face when he offered Ryan the chance to be the white Ranger. Yolzor did not share this expression, although Ryan could feel it in the whole situation. If they didn't need him, Yolzor would not have brought him there in the firstplace, and surely his reluctance had his head spinning with worry. If the dragons wanted Ryan and he refused, what would Yolzor do? Hope they chose another? Ryan wasn't sure how the whole process worked, but he was confident that he was in control, and while willing to entertain the notion of taking up the color red, it wasn't exactly a decision he could rush into.

"I'm gonna need some time. This is something I need to think about....is that understandable?"

Yolzor nodded solemnly. "'That is understandable." He reached out a gnarled hand to take the crystal back.
----
In Forte's quarters, a screen lit up with the image of Empress Trechera.

The empress made sure to look down at the camera, puffing out her chest and holding her hands on her hips. She knew that to a powerful warrior like Forte, she was not much to look at. Even in her best "evil warrior queen" garb--with all its black leather and metal spikes--and with her hair arranged in a mane of blood-red war-braids, she was still a thirteen-year-old humanoid girl.

She pushed such thoughts out of her head. "Forte!" she called, "The Ghouls have seized the city near where the crystals are being kept, but the crystals are in the hands of Power Rangers. They were last seen in a ruined temple at the city's edge. Go there and destroy them. Take a Lowglider," she had no idea what sort of transportation the Rangers had, so the fast, hovering vehicle would be Forte's best bet of intercepting them. "and use any means necessary."