Power Rangers Zeo: Venusian Encounter - Heather Ray (best free e book reader .txt) 📗

blood."

Syren's eyes widened at this revelation. "Are you certain?" she whispered, standing from her throne, "All of the other descendents of Naya and Avagone have been captured. They now reside in the dungeon, awaiting the ceremony at dawn tomorrow, where their lives will end, along with the rebellion. The only Venusian left...Leila."

Syren briskly marched down the red carpet towards her private chambers, leaving Dalal in the throne room. She stopped at a magical full length mirror with silver frame, adorned with rubies and onyxes. She waved her hand in front of the glass, and her reflection melted away, transforming to an image of Lord Zedd himself. Syren bowed at the appearance of Zedd, who was shown sitting on his throne and clutching his staff.

"What have you to report?" he asked excitedly, "Have you destroyed the Power Rangers?"

"I have rendered the three male rangers useless," she said, holding her head up proudly, "Tommy, Rocky, and Adam are under my spell. Unfortunately, they were teleported from the battle scene before I could either capture or kill them. Dulcea showed up rather unexpectedly, and no doubt she shall try to save the rangers. However, Dulcea is a priestess, not an enchantress. She shall not be able to break my spell."

Zedd sat quietly for a moment, absorbing the information that Syren has given him. He tapped his steel chin with a steel tipped finger. "You have done well. I hadn't expected Dulcea to come to the aid of the rangers, but if what you say is true, she shall be inconsequential to my master plan. Three of the Zeo Rangers are out of commission, and the Zeo powers cannot be taken from them while they are under a spell such as yours. Are you certain Dulcea cannot break the spell you placed?"

"No, I specifically bound them with my most powerful enchantment," said Syren with an evil smile, "There are two types of Venusians--enchantresses and priestesses. The priestesses use the force of the Ninjetti in combat, and the enchantresses use magic. Only an enchantress can break an enchantment spell, and Dulcea is a priestess."

"Did Scorpina finish her mission?" asked Zedd, "Did she find Leila?"

"Leila has been killed," said Syren, "She sacrificed herself rather than come to Venus Island in shame. However, Scorpina discovered that Leila has a child. She didn't learn anything from Leila, other than that the girl may be in Florida now. She went to locate her. Dalal was sent to capture Kimberly Hart, but she failed. You didn't tell me that Kimberly was a Ninjetti."

Lord Zedd just shrugged, "She is no longer Ninjetti," he said matter-of-factly, "She gave her coin to Katherine months ago. The fact that she used to be Ninjetti isn't important."

"But it is, Zedd," said Syren, rather frustratedly, "Kimberly is of the bloodline of Naya, and Naya was a priestess. Any Venusian priestess who is exposed to the Great Power, even for a short while, will always be a mighty warrior. Kimberly will always be Ninjetti. She managed to defeat Dalal, and she was accompanied by another of Venusian descent. I believe it is the same child of Leila that Scorpina learned of."

"So," muttered Zedd, "the plot thickens. Did you send Scorpina after Kimberly and her friend? Dalal is only an enchantress, but Scorpina is a mighty warrior of the priesthood, and the greatest warrior of Venus Island at that. Scorpina has battled Kimberly many times before, and could do it again easily."

"Scorpina is in Florida now, but she reports that she cannot find Kimberly or her friend. They may have been found by Dulcea and Zordon by now."

"Fine. Don't bother looking for Kimberly anymore. No doubt she sook the aid of her former mentor the moment danger struck. Have you captured the other Venusian descendents, including Kimberly's mother and family?"

"Indeed. They all live--for now."

"Excellent. If you have Kimberly's loved ones on Venus Island, she shall no doubt come to their aid. She always prided herself in being a heroine. You've done pretty well, Syren. Don't mess it up now."

With that, Zedd's image vanished from the mirror's face. Syren sighed inwardly as she lay on her bed. Perhaps I should have told him that Leila was an enchantress,

she thought to herself, Most likely her daughter is one as well. If Dulcea manages to teach the girl how to use her magical powers, the male rangers may not be out of commission long. However, they shall not be able to take my island from me! They may be able to find Venus Island, and they may be able to morph here, but only Venusians can enter Ambrosia, with the exception of Zedd himself. The rangers will not be able to interfere with my plans. Once I have destroyed Dulcea, Kimberly, and the child of Leila, as well as the other cross-breeds, no one will be able to take my throne from me.

Chapter Nine

All is quiet in the Power Chamber. Tommy, Adam, and Rocky lay half-morphed and still upon three cots against the wall, while Jason and Alpha were busy monitoring scanners. Katherine sat on a chair beside Tommy's cot, holding his hand gently and silently praying that he'd be okay. Tanya stood silent vigil between the cots of Rocky and Adam, every once in a while glancing down at Adam's serene face. Each time she did, she shuddered. Its all my fault that he's like this! she lamented silently, her stoic face only hinting at the fear and pain she feels inside, If he hadn't jumped in to save my hide, Syren wouldn't have gotten to him. Oh Adam, why do you have to be so darn heroic?

"Zordon," said Tanya frustratedly, "Isn't there anything we can do? Shouldn't we be searching for a cure for the guys or something?"

"THERE IS NO CURE WE COULD ADMINISTER,"

said Zordon solemnly, "MY PAST EXPERIENCE WITH VENUSIAN ENCHANTRESSES HAS LED ME TO CONCLUDE THAT THE SPELL CANNOT BE BROKEN BY ANYONE OTHER THAN ANOTHER VENUSIAN WITH SIMILAR MAGICAL SKILLS."

"We can't give up," whispered Kat, her blue eyes shining with tears of frustration, "They need us! We can't stop Lord Zedd and Syren without them! What do we do?"

As if in answer, a brilliant light flashed in the center of the Power Chamber, and three women appeared. Katherine, Tanya, and Jason all turned in surprise, and they gazed upon Dulcea, Kimberly, and an unfamiliar young woman with dark skin and eyes, and long dark hair. Kim immediately jumped and gave Jason a big hug. She was indeed excited to be in the company of her friends again, even under the present circumstances.

"Kim!" said Jason, putting her down, "Are you okay? We saw you go up against a Venusian enchantress on the Viewing Globe. The transmission was disrupted when Dulcea teleported to help you."

"I'm fine," she breathed, still beaming with excitement, "I don't know exactly what happened back there, but somehow the stress of the situation forced me to use my Ninjetti powers, even though I didn't realize I had any. Cool, huh?"

Jason turned towards the wall, where the guys lay spellbound, and the Pink and Yellow Zeo Rangers stood by their sides. Kimberly gasped when she saw her friends lie deathly still. She also noted that Katherine was holding Tommy's hand. Kim slowly approached the beds, and looked down at Tommy's face. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully, except for the fact that his eyes were wide open, and they were glowing gold. Kim lightly touched his cheek with her delicate fingertips, and fought against the stream of tears that threatened to fall.

"What happened?" she asked Katherine in an unsteady voice. Katherine looked down sadly.

"We fought Syren a few hours ago, and she managed to entrance Tommy, Rocky, and Adam. Dulcea showed up and gave us the chance to retreat, but we can't find a way to break the spell."

"IT IS TRUE,"

said Zordon grimly, "I KNOW I CANNOT BREAK THE ENCHANTMENTS OF SYREN."

"Then, we have to go to Venus Island and force Syren to free them," said Kimberly angrily, "We have to save them."

"There is an easier way to save them," said Dulcea, placing her hand on Renee's shoulder, "This is Renee Ryan, daughter of Leila, the Venusian Enchantress."

"What do you mean?" asked Renee, looking up at Dulcea in confusion.

"Your mother is Leila, one of the five Venusians to escape Venus Island over a century ago. When Syren found and killed Naya, Leila was the only one to escape the massacre. She lived in hiding for a century, and eventually married and had a child. Your are half Venusian and half human, so your potential is great indeed. Since your mother is an enchantress, you are as well. You should be able to break the enchantment trapping the Blue, Green, and Red Rangers."

Renee nodded and approached the beds. She grinned when she passed Jason, and stuck out her hand.

"Hi," she greeted, "We haven't been introduced. I'm Renee, Kim's roommate."

"I'm Jason," he answered politely, shaking her hand, "Too bad we couldn't meet under better circumstances. I was looking forward to watching you and Kim compete at the games."

"Yeah, it looks like our weekend plans have changed," said Renee wistfully. She also introduced herself to Katherine and Tanya, as well as Alpha 5 and Zordon. She then stood at Tommy's bedside, examining his features curiously. She then nudged Kimberly, who was anxiously standing behind her.

"He's cute," she whispered to Kim, "So this is the famous Tommy, eh?"

Kim blushed furiously and elbowed Renee playfully. "Don't you start," she scolded quietly, "We have work to do."

Renee grinned and then once again turned her attention to Tommy. He stared at his golden eyes for a minute, wondering how she was supposed to help. She shrugged and turned to Dulcea. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Concentrate," Dulcea instructed, "Concentrate and reach into his mind. You must free his mind from Syren's grip."

Renee nodded, and touched her hand to Tommy's forehead. She closed her eyes, and she saw an image of Tommy dangling from Syren's deadly grip. Suddenly, the perspective changed--instead of her witnessing Tommy's dilemma, she was experiencing it from within Tommy's mind. From inside Tommy's mind, she could feel his terror of the powerful witch he was facing, as well as his helplessness. That was the key.

*Tommy* she called mentally, *Tommy, can you hear me?*

Then the scene once again changed. Now, Tommy was in his street clothes, chained to a wall. His head was bowed down in defeat. He looked up when he heard the gentle voice.

"Who's there?" he called into the darkness. Renee stepped out of the shadows, her body glowing orange.

*Tommy, I'm Renee, a friend,* she answered, kneeling in front of him to look into his eyes. He stared at her