Power Rangers Zeo - Venusian Encounters - Heather Ray (good books for 8th graders .TXT) 📗

wonderous devices, but undoubtably my greatest achievement was the creation of the sword and staff. When Eltar forged an alliance with Aquitar and Triforia, I gave the sword and staff as gifts of friendship to the ruling families. But, my sword was useless on Aquitar, since the people are so peaceful by nature. So, the first minister contacted me and asked me what he should do about the sword. I knew that this weapon is indeed dangerous, especially if it ever fell into the wrong hands, so I told him I'd hide it myself. The only way to ever find the hiding place is my Eye, which acts as a compass. May I have it back, by the way?"

Billy arched his eyebrow, and handed the eye back to the old man. Tympanus smiled, and the fist-sized pearl shrunk back to the size of an eye in his hand. He then placed it in his empty socket. Billy felt his stomach wretch when he saw the pearl look back at him from the head of the famed wizard.

"Ah, that's much better," Tympanus said, blinking, "You don't know how annoying it is to get used to having only one eye! Now where was I? Oh yes... I hid the sword here, but I knew it had to be protected. I could have created a magical being to guard it, but such beings get weak quickly. After a few years, the spell dissipates, and all that's left is a vestige of a once powerful warrior. I then thought about sending an actual person to guard the sword, but firstly, not many were willing to devote their lives to guarding a sword. Not much fun, I'll tell you. Also, there is always the problem of trust. I can't send anyone I don't trust implicitly, because the sword is very powerful, and very tempting. So, I decided there was only one person for the job-- me. I lived here for over ten-thousand years, waiting for this moment. Now, the time of destiny is upon us."

"But, why now?" asked Billy, "And why me?"

"Billy, you were literally born to be the first Silver Ranger, guardian of the Sword of Tympanus. The sword was created to protect the galaxy from evil, and especially to protect Aquitar. Aquitar has never before been under siege as it is now. Divatox has the potential to destroy the planet easily. Only the power you possess can stop her. The reason why it is you, is because you have the wisdom, the courage, the knowledge, and the honesty to use such vast power only for the good of the galaxy, and not for personal gain. You were born with the capacity to think and learn that no human being before you ever had. Your years as one of Zordon's Power Rangers taught you responsibility, your time as a mere assistant taught you humility, and your time as an old man taught you mortality. You have been forged to be a great hero, William, and it is now time to claim what you have earned. The negative protons you absorbed made it possible for a human being to fully unite with the power of Silver, in a way that was impossible with your friend and the Gold Ranger powers. Your trials have made you strong, and I proudly grant you this new power."

Tympanus lead Billy through a narrow tunnel, which lead outside the mountain. Billy looked in awe at the planet as seen from the only point above sea level. He noticed with alarm how low the water level was-- so low that a good amount of the mountain range now peaked over the water's surface. Billy then turned to see Tympanus at the very peak of the mountain. Billy smiled when he saw a silver hilt, encrusted with pearls, sticking out of the rock.

"No better place to hide something than in plain sight," Billy said to Tympanus.

"I couldn't agree more. Now, pull the sword, and point it to the suns."

Billy looked up, and noticed that the two suns Aquitar circled were directly overhead in a single patch of cloudless sky. He grabbed the hilt with both hands, and pulled the sword out with ease. The long two-edged weapon gleamed in the bright sunlight, and a beam of light fell from the suns to the point of the blade. Billy watched in surprise as the light was absorbed by the sword, and converted into silver light. The silver light surrounded Billy, and when the light faded, the Silver Ranger appeared. His uniform was exactly like the Gold Ranger's, but instead of black armor with gold shield, it was a white uniform with silver shield and accents. Billy staggered after the rush of power, but the wave of dizziness soon faded.

"Your body will get accustomed to the Power soon," said Tympanus.

"Its great to be a ranger again," said Billy, examining the sword, "After all this time..."

"Just like the Gold Ranger, your powers are compatible with those of the Zeo Rangers. Your zord is the Silvertip Shark, an ancient and deadly Aquitian animal very similar to the Great White Shark of Earth. When not in water, your Shark Zord can transform into Battle Mode, when it takes an android form. Your zord also has the ability to transform into any zord you desire it to, but only for a short period of time. You can use this ability to assume the place of a teammate whose zord was damaged, so the team can still create the Megazord. However, you cannot form any combination zords, like the Megazord. You can only form single zords."

"Incredible," said Billy.

"As you know, the Power teaches you how to use the weapons given you--"

Suddenly, a large object plummeted from the skies. It crashed into the remaining ocean, and the impact shook the mountain violently.

"My God," said Billy, "that was Super Zeozord I! Katherine could be hurt!"

"Your friends appear to be in battle at this moment," Tympanus said solemnly, "They need your assistance, William."

"Right," said Billy, holding his sword over the water, "Silvertip Sharkzord, power up!!"

Once again, the large mountain Tympanus and the Silver Ranger stood upon shook violently, and a loud grinding sound was heard. Billy ran to the side of the mountain, and saw a sleek, silver and white machine swim out of the rock. It was as large as a whale, and a huge gleaming silver dorsal fin sliced through the water's surface. The sight of the gargantuan machine sent chills up Billy's spine. Since childhood, he had feared fish. And the shark was the most dangerous, powerful fish in the ocean.

"The Sharkzord can swim as quickly as any zord can fly," Tympanus explained, "and it can swim through the air as it does the sea. However, if you need to fight on land, it must be transformed into Battle Mode. And whenever it is transformed into another zord, it drains energy very quickly. Like the Dragonzord that I'm sure you've encountered on Earth, the Sharkzord must be kept beneath the seas. Since this machine was designed for Aquitian use, it can be controlled completely by the mind, with a special helmet that you would wear instead of your Silver Ranger helmet. The zord will respond quicker, but since you haven't practiced the telepathic control of a zord, I suggest you not use this feature yet. Now, you'd best hurry. Your pink friend hasn't broken out of the seas, and the zord must've taken serious damage to lose control as it did."

"I'd better help her," said Billy, "How do I get into the zord?"

"You need to teleport," Tympanus explained, "but since you've never been inside the cockpit, you don't know how to visualize it for teleportation. So, I shall help you this first time."

Tympanus waved his hand before Billy's helmet. When Billy opened his eyes, he found himself inside a spacious, well-lit chamber, with a large screen panning the entire wall in front of him. He had three consoles within his reach-- one directly in front of him, with a steering wheel among other devices, one to his left, with a small screen, joystick and other buttons, and one on his right, with a small screen and more buttons. Behind the main pilot's seat, which was a comfortable leather chair with a seatbelt and its own controls on the armrest, was a row of six seats against the back wall, three on either side of a large door. Hovering above the pilot's seat was a large silver helmet, with a soft blue visor to cover the eyes. After taking a quick look around, Billy buckled his seatbelt and nodded once.

"From the look of things, the ships navigational systems and steering in front of me, the communications and teleportational systems are to my right, and finally weapons and tracking systems are to my left. The ship even has room for passengers. Incredible. Now, to find Kat."

Billy reached out his left hand, and activated the tracking system. A bullseye appeared, and the radar turned on. A pink dot flashed on the screen, and the exact coordinates registered in the corner of the screen.

"Kat's about seven miles from my present position. She landed... dangerously close to Triton. I hope the impact didn't further damage the city."

Billy frowned under his helmet, and took the steering wheel with both hands. He pressed the red button on the side, and pushed the wheel forward, just like an airplane's steering. The Silvertip Sharkzord pushed itself through the salt water, and Billy expertly steered the strange vessel towards Katherine's location. Although the ocean was dark, the main viewer showed the environment clearly. Super Zeozord I had crashed into the barren seafloor not far from Triton. Billy could see from a distance that the zord sustained serious damage, with sparks flying even underneath the waters. Billy held his breath, and activated his communicator.

"Katherine," he said into the microphone, "Its Billy! Are you okay? Do you read me?"

The words "Please Wait" appeared on the blank screen. Billy couldn't help but smile. "Somehow, the zord has modified itself for a human host fluent in English. It must be from when I first called upon it, yelling its name in English. Extraordinary."

As Billy watched, the screen read "Communique Accepted", and Katherine appeared on the screen, holding onto her chair and trying desperately to stay conscious. Billy gasped when he noticed the cockpit steadily beginning to flood.

^Billy?^

she said, peering at the screen, ^Is that you? What happened to you?^

"I'll explain later," Billy said, relieved to see his friend was okay, "Suffice it to say that I'm the Silver Ranger now. Are you injured?"

^Just a few scratches,^

Katherine said, ^but my zord's hull has been compromised. Divatox's acid torpedo ate right through the top of the head, straight into the cockpit! I'm lucky the water washed away the acid, but its still gushing in, and all the systems are offline.^

"We need to get the ship into the Aquitian hangar. Hopefully, Cestro can patch it together again fast. Hang on, Kat, I'm teleporting you in."

^In where?^

she asked. Billy smiled.

"Turn on your rear viewer."

Katherine did as she was told, and gasped when she saw the gargantuan sharkzord on her screen. She turned back to the communications screen.

^Nice zord, Billy,^ Katherine said, ^You've moved up in the world.^

"Thanks," said Billy, locking the teleporter onto Katherine's coordinates. In a streak of bright pink light, Zeo Ranger I appeared beside Billy. She looked around in awe at the high-tech surroundings that comprised the zord's cockpit.

"This place is even more