Streaks of Purple Saga/Spectrum Force - Heather Ray (best beach reads txt) 📗

for battle, for instead of protective armor she wore her training clothing. Her hair was completely drenched, and from head to toe mud speckled her. "What were you doing on Earth?"

"Mother, you're overreacting," Celea assured the empress, "I was merely experimenting with some magic we uncovered on Fesp. I wasn't advancing the invasion, or anything of the sort."

"What I saw was quite different. You were fighting Spectra and her human pets! You defied my explicit instructions not

to interfere!"

"That's because Spectra and the humans attacked me," the princess explained. "I specifically chose the extreme north because there are so few humans there. I intended to go unseen."

"And what exactly where you trying to accomplish?" Phaedra demanded, "What kind of 'magic' did you find on Fesp?"

Celea tensed, but managed to meet the empress' burning gaze evenly. There was no shame in her words as she confessed, "I was trying to open an inter-dimensional portal."

The dead silence of shock claimed Phaedra's next question. Celea held her head high, patiently waiting for her mother to explode.

"Do you have the smallest clue how dangerous that kind of magic is? How fragile dimensional walls are? Such magic is not

for children!"

The princess bristled. "I am not a child!"

Phaedra glared. "If you weren't yet a child, I wouldn't have been able to Rein you in."

The princess grimaced, but did not argue the point further.

"Which dimension were you reaching for?"

"Chaos."

Phaedra blinked. "You're trying to summon Chaotics?"

"Yes!" A wicked smile pulled the princess' lip. "Can you imagine? Beasts the size of mountains emerging through my portals, creating havoc and demolishing everything they touch? Even the most formidable of planets would fall to such an assault!"

"Chaotics are uncontrollable

, Celea," Phaedra growled. "They do not heed the order of anyone from the physical plane!"

"That's why I tried the spell on Earth," Celea retorted. "If I had succeeded, and if the creature I had summoned refused to obey me, the very worst that could've happened would be some destruction on Earth. Eventually I would've figured out a way to close the portal, and send it back to its home."

She folded her arms, frowning. "Not that it matters. I somehow miscast the spell. A portal appeared, but it refused to open."

Phaedra released a slow breath, visibly relieved by her daughter's failure. Though she was always eager to explore new techniques of wanton destruction, even she stayed away from piercing holes in the dimensional walls. Accessing small pocket dimensions was one thing, but toying with gateways into other realities almost guaranteed disaster.

Chapter Sixteen

The North Pole

After a brief tunnel, the Force stepped into the main chamber, where a flat panel of vibrant energy floated in the air.

"Talk about a flat screen," Craig murmured, circling the phenomenon. "It's only two-dimensional!"

"What is it?" Jocelyn queried.

Spectra's insightful gaze surveyed the entire room: the dead animal against the wall, the crushed table, the impression of a body against the wall, and the scorch marks scarring everything in sight. She then knelt beside the portal, studying the strange design etched into the ground, filled with blood.

"It almost looks like a communication window, to speak to someone… but the evidence around us suggests that it is something far more significant."

"Hey look! I think I see something!"

Jocelyn leaned closer, staring into the darkness depicted before her. "There's something pink in there."

Chapter Seventeen

The Other North Pole

"Freaky," Kim awed, approaching the glowing rectangle hovering in the air. "It's like a movie screen. And there're people inside. Get a load of those outfits!"

Tommy stared at the energy flashing along the edges of the "screen," the intensity growing with each step the Pink Ranger took. "Careful, Kim," he warned, looking back to his scanner. "Whatever it is, it's reacting to you. The energy levels are jumping the closer you get."

"I think this thing transmits two-ways," Kim continued, waving. "Hey! Can you see us in there?"

The figure in Orange waved back, though all Kim could hear was the crackling of energy.

"I guess we don't get audio," the Pink Ranger concluded. "I wonder what planet we're seeing? They look like they could be humanoid. Two arms, two legs, one head."

Then, Orange stepped closer still, propping her hands at the sides of her mouth as if she were shouting.

"They're trying to talk to us," Kim realized, inching closer. "Can you hear me? Hellooo!!"

Tommy's eyes widened as a sudden spike in energy was registered. "Kim, we-"

He never had a chance to finish his thought. One moment, the Pink Ranger was standing in front of the anomaly, shouting to those on the other end. Then, without warning, a brilliant flash swallowed everything, blinding Tommy instantly.

"Whoa!" Tommy gasped, jumping back and shielding his eyes. When the light faded, he still saw spots… but he didn't see the Pink Ranger.

"Kim?" he murmured, thunderstruck. "Kim!"

He ran to the screen. Instead of the people he saw earlier, swirls of energy filled his view.

"Kim!" he screamed, "Hang on, I'm coming!"

He jumped through the rectangle, fully expecting to be sucked into some alien planet or Dark Dimension. Instead, he landed on the ground in the same shallow cave from which he came.

Startled, he turned around.

The portal then flashed once, and vanished, shrouding the White Ranger in almost complete darkness.

A young woman lay on the frozen ground, perfectly still.

"Kim!"

Tommy knelt beside her, tearing off his helmet. The frigid arctic air stung his cheeks, raising his concern.

He brushed her hair out of her face, and held his cheek to her nose. Her shallow breaths helped ease the tension that all but choked the White Ranger.

"Zordon!" he called into his wrist. "Zordon, this is Tommy!"

All he received was static.

"Nothing," he hissed, snapping on his helmet and turning to the girl. She was still unconscious, though she trembled with cold. Her summery clothing did nothing to combat the arctic temperature.

"She's freezing," he realized with dismay. He turned around again, looking for some clue to what had happened, but he could discern nothing other than snow, rock, and earth.

"The window is completely gone," he realized, snapping his scanner in place. "C'mon Kim, we've gotta go."

Tommy gently lifted her into his arms, and carried her into the storm. He cradled her head to his chest, running as quickly as he could through the blizzard, praying he remembered exactly

where the Firebird was parked. If he delayed, she could die from the extreme cold, and he had nothing to protect her with.

For once, his faulty memory came through. He sighed in relief as the red vehicle came into view, contrasting sharply to the frigid whiteness of the barren tundra.

He raced up the ramp and into the cockpit, laying her down with the greatest care. Now that both light and warmth surrounded them, he was able to notice some inexplicable differences... that made his heart quicken with growing concern.

Her hair was notably lighter than it had been. What should have been a rich copper-streaked brown was now highlighted with honey locks, bordering on blonde. Her pink sundress and denim vest had been replaced with a white college-logo tank top and worn jeans.

"What's 'Dreiser University'?" he mumbled, perplexed.

He then lifted her wrist, and noticed that her communicator was gone.

"What's going on here?"

Frustrated, he pulled the top off of a small box marked with a red cross, that was standard in all Zord cockpits for emergency. He unfolded the silver emergency blanket, and drew it over her bare shoulders carefully. Then, he turned around, a new sense of dread rising as he sat in the pilot's chair.

He had no idea how to pilot a flying Zord. And he couldn't reach Zordon to ask for instructions.

Tense fingers pulled Saba from its sheath. The sentient saber's eyes opened, and stared into the White Ranger's visor.

"Tell me you know how to fly this thing."

"This thing?" Saba repeated, confused.

"The Firebird Zord."

The saber blinked its jeweled eyes. "How unusual… but this is your lucky day. I am familiar with the basic controls of all the Thunder Zords. It's a requirement of initiating the joint configurations."

"Lucky day?" Tommy repeated incredulously. He gazed at the unconscious girl on the floor, and released a heavy sigh. "Somehow, I doubt it."

Part Two

Chapter Eighteen