The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 6 - Heather Ray (read novels website TXT) 📗

were you in when you registered that pain?"

"The fourth."

After one more command, the majority of the red rings vanished. Only two remained, creating a boundary around the designated area.

"Then we start searching this territory," Billy decided. "On foot."

"On foot?" Aisha objected. "That could take forever!"

"Obviously our computer scans aren't picking up anything," Billy pointed out, "or else we would have found them already. Only the empathic scan seems to be able to penetrate whatever field is surrounding the captives, and it's quite dangerous for Rebecca to keep trying to pinpoint them. She has to endure whatever torture Goldar is subjecting Micah to."

Everyone was silent in reaction to Billy's words. But there was no other way to describe it. Clearly, the sharp pain Micah had experienced was no accident. He was already Goldar's prisoner. It was a horrifying thought, but it made the most sense.

"That's so despicable," Katherine muttered, scowling in disgust. "Torturing a kid?"

She couldn't help it, but something deep inside her reacted to that revelation quite strongly. Even more strongly than if the victim had been any other child. She considered it some form of maternal instinct.

It discomforted her tremendously.

"Okay," Tanya stated, quickly counting the assembled Rangers. "We have four Terran Rangers, two X-Rangers, one Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, and four Starlight Rangers. That makes eleven." She frowned slightly. "That number's uneven, and I don't think it's a good idea to have someone go alone..."

"I think you guys can break up into five teams of two to comb the area," Rocky contributed, "One Ranger can remain here, just in case Goldar has something planned for us. And if one group runs into trouble, that Ranger can be quick to back them up."

"I'll stay," offered Alexis quietly. In truth, she felt very awkward, given the situation. The Starlight Rangers seemed pretty impressive, quite possibly on par with the Terran Rangers. She saw them in battle, with their intelligent weapons and very impressive attacks.

Just one more reason to feel inadequate.

"Then we'll break up in this manner," said Billy, looking at the Rangers, "Kim, you're with Anthony. Tommy, you go with Rebecca. Adam, you're with Brittany. Zack, you go with Regina. Katherine, you're with Jason."

"Right," all ten teens said. Jason, Tommy, Zack, and the Starlight Rangers quickly strapped on their discarded helmets, while the three other Rangers grouped together to the side.

"It's Morphin Time!" Kimberly ordered, holding her arms in an X formation, "X-Ranger Two!"

"TERRA WATER POWER!"

shouted Katherine.

"TERRA WIND POWER!"

yelled Adam.

All three Rangers were swallowed into a pulsing display of raw energy, sweeping through the relatively dim Central Access Complex and forcing the onlookers to avert their eyes. Once the light dimmed, the Blue, Green, and Gold Rangers were standing in the center of the energy display, prepared for action.

While the sight of the Green and Blue Rangers wasn't anything spectacular to the Starlight Rangers, they were awestruck to see such a foreign costume on who was supposed to be the Yellow Terran Ranger.

"Mom did mention something about you being a Gold Ranger," Anthony said quietly, stepping beside Kimberly and examining her uniform with interest. "What are your powers again?"

"Telepathy, basically," she answered, "Zack and I are X-Rangers in this dimension."

"What on Earth could've caused that change?" Regina asked curiously.

"A story for another time," Tommy stated, migrating to Rebecca's side. "Let's break into our units."

The ten Rangers separated into the five designated teams, and stood slightly separate from the others. Billy took another glance at the map screen, and pressed another button. Five lights appeared within the search area, each equidistant from the other points.

"Tanya," Billy said, "can you teleport each team to one of these spots? I'm sending the coordinates into the teleporter relay."

"You got it," Tanya answered, moving to the relay. She registered the date transferred, and typed in the command. In ten stripes of powerful energy, the heroes vanished.

Once the Rangers were gone, the remaining teens waited in silence for a moment.

Slightly downhearted, Alexis hopped onto a console, and swung her legs in the air. "So, what do the rest of us do?"

"Well, there are five of us," Billy pointed out, "So each of us will monitor one of the teams, and keep in touch with the handheld communicators. I'll use my desktop, while Rocky uses the Viewing Globe and Alexis uses the main viewscreen. Tanya, do you know how to use the monitor on the teleporter relay?"

"Piece of cake," she responded.

"Keep your eyes peeled for any irregular magical activity," Billy warned, taking a seat at his desk. "Who knows what the Moon forces have in store."

Chapter Twenty-Six

"It failed," Umbriel stated, his voice deep and low like a rumbling earthquake.

"What failed?" Rito asked, his hand falling upon his large ax immediately. "Can I fix it?"

"No," Umbriel said, leaning back in his throne. He rested his elbows on the armrest, and tapped his fingers together. "You cannot."

Instantly, strings of glowing data poured across the plane of space in front of Umbriel, as if there were some sort of screen present. His empty eyes were focused on the information, reading it at an incredible speed. He then nodded his chin, and the data vanished, only to be replaced by it's source: a small black pearl, hovering in the air.

"None of these data spheres had collected enough energy from the Starlight Rangers to determine whether they are of importance," Umbriel revealed, turning his glance away from the pearl. It fell to the heavy stone floor, shattering into glittery dust.

"That's impossible!" Rito stated in shock. "The Viper Putties put up a decent fight against these new Rangers."

"True," Umbriel conceded, "but it is not just that. The energy signature of these Starlight Rangers is very complex. I do detect M'Kraan energies, but not quite in a degree that would indicate that they too were powered by the Zeo Crystal."

Rito's calcium brow wrinkled. "Could two Power Ranger teams possibly gain power from the Zeo Crystal?"

"I have been gone a long time," Umbriel stated, folding his narrow fingers. "It is impossible for me to determine what Zordon has been able to do with the M'Kraan energies. I do not see why it is not possible for him to have divided the Zeo Crystal into eleven shards, tuning the Terran Rangers into elemental powers while selecting the raw energy of the stars for these new Rangers."

Umbriel's narrow lips pursed even more closely together, and he rose from his elevated throne. "Go to Finster's laboratory, and inform him I shall need more Viper Putties, equipped with data spheres. I am not planning on counting on Goldar to provide me with the needed information."

Rito bowed deeply before he marched out of the transformed throne room. Umbriel then walked down the steps to his platform, his heavy black robe trailing behind him as he made his way to the balcony.

"Now, it is only a matter of time," he said, a cold smirk pulling one side of his mouth as he gazed down at the blue jewel. His empty eyes flashed with a shimmer of gray energy. "And time is something of which I have an unlimited supply."

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Red Starlight Ranger paused in his trek along the rough terrain. He crossed his arms pensively, as his wide blue eyes passed over the dust and rocks. The late afternoon sun hung from the rich azure sky, casting a slightly orange hue upon the landscape. In the distance, he could hear the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean, slamming against the rock surface.

In all honesty, it was a beautiful sight. A brilliant contrast of the red earth, the vibrant blue sky, and the white cotton clouds that trailed along the dome of the heavens as if they were strokes of a paintbrush.

Usually, Anthony Monroe was one to appreciate the beauty of nature. Mostly, it was due to the influence of his girlfriend's passion for the experience of nature, whether it be camping, rock-climbing, scuba-diving, or whatnot. But this was different. His eyes were blind to any simple beauty.

Never before had such a weight pressed upon the young man's shoulders. His life had always been one of little worry, and even less responsibility. True, his mother was a Power Ranger, and both his parents had careers demanding leadership abilities. But in all honesty, he never expected to be thrown into a position of leadership.

Will thought he was perfect for the role. So did everyone else, apparently. Everyone put their hopes in him, as if he had somehow deserved their faith. Four dear friends put their very lives in his hands...

..and he had already failed one.

A cold that he simply couldn't shake off rushed through his body like a river. He had never experienced failure to such a degree. His life was filled with sporting championships, academic scholarship, and the respect of his peers. Surely, that wasn't enough to prepare him for the trials of leadership. He realized quickly that all his achievements paled in relation to his failure.

He was only a Power Ranger for a matter of hours, but he had already let down Micah Oliver.

The youngest of the Power Rangers, and therefore probably the brashest, was at the mercy of one of the most powerful and deadly creatures the Earth had ever seen. And with him was the unwitting costar in the current drama: a young man who probably had never even heard of the Power Rangers before. He was the one fortune deemed the keeper of the powerful magic of one half of a mystical arrowhead, which forced him into a supernatural world against which he had no defense.

One young boy, and one innocent bystander. And if he didn't find them soon, they'd pay for his mistakes with their lives.

"Are you sure

you're my son?" said a gentle voice, tearing through the bitter silence of his thoughts, "I mean Jeez...I'm never one to brood!