**
Somewhere, lost within the infinate darkness and spiral of dimensions, a beautiful woman sat in a pillar of light, waiting to be set free. She was dressed simply, in a plain white dress that seemed to glow in the brilliant light of her pillar. Her long cinnamon hair cascaded down her back in great waves, and fell into her crystal blue eyes.
She knelt upon the barren floor of her pillar, slumped over as if in despair, or death. Her eyes stared into the darkness beyond, unblinking.
Then, she stirred...
Goldar faced the new Green Ranger with something resembling fear. This was no ordinary teenager. This was no ordinary Power Ranger. This was no ordinary anything!
The Green Ranger powers were supposed to be gone! Siphoned out not only by the green candle, but by Tommy's subsequent misuse of what little had clung to his being.
What Goldar didn't realize was that power is power; power is energy, and energy in it's purest form cannot be destroyed. It can be contained, dispersed, manipulated, and all other such forms of alteration, but it is never gone. It is never gone for good.
As was true for the energy manifested before him. The Power Rangers are exactly what their title suggests; containers and manipulaters of power. When the Green Ranger powers were stolen from Tommy, they were not gone, just waiting.
Waiting for another Ranger.
Christine.
And what of the Sword of Darkness? It had been destroyed by the Red Ranger long ago, when Tommy had been the evil Green Ranger. How had it come to reappear? Had it ever really left? The Green Ranger powers were Rita's. The Sword of Darkness was a part of them. New Ranger, the Sword returns.
It was too much for Goldar to think about.
" So, " emitted Christine's voice from the menacing helmet, " are you going to answer? "
Answer? What had he to answer again? Goldar had trouble remembering,
and his hedging gave that away well enough.
Christine gave a sound of exasperation. " Idiot. Take me to Rita Repulsa.
" She pointed the Sword at him. " Now. "
Goldar had no choice but to comply.
Lord Zedd was just returning from a jaunty little excursion on the moon's surface when Goldar suddenly appeared with... the Green Ranger?
Confusion soon gave way to anger and Zedd demanded, " Goldar! What is the meaning of this?! "
Goldar looked at him guiltily.
Baboo and Squat began offering their own explanations, as is the following;
Baboo: Well, you see sir, Rita was
Squat: complaining!
Baboo: No, she was watching Earth when she noticed that Tommy's little sister had come
Squat: I thought Tommy was the little brother?
Baboo: Hmm, that's a good point. Well, the girl's shorter so--
Squat: Oh! That little!
Baboo: Be Quiet Squat! Anyway, Rita decided to capture her. We sent down a monster--
Squat: That lost!
Baboo: and, uh, then Goldar showed up.
Squat: Yeah!
Silence reigned for a moment.
Lord Zedd's fists were clenched at his side. A faint red glow was touching the air around him and the room felt uncannily warmer. Quietly, though with some measure of crescendo, Lord Zedd finally spoke.
" That still doesn't explain why the Green Power Ranger is standing in my Throne Room With Goldar!! "
" Oh, " Baboo pondered this, " Well we don't know that. "
" Goldar? " Zedd's voice was terse and the glow was increasing.
" Tommy's sister lit the green candle, " was the closest thing to an explanation Goldar could offer.
Were Lord Zedd a patient man, his nerves would be wearing thin about now. As he had no nerves to speak of, he just got angry. Glaring at the Green Ranger through his red visor, he demanded, " And what have you to say for yourself? "
Reaching up, Christine removed her helmet and regarded Lord Zedd quizzically. " I can see your brains, " she said.
Fully knowing that he had no skin to speak of, Lord Zedd took a breath that hissed through teeth clenched beneath his mask and shouted, " I Want An Explanation For You And I Want It NOW!! "
" Zeddy? " came Rita's voice inquisitively. " Why are you yelling? " She entered the room, stopped, and stared. " You! "
Christine offered a dangerous smile. " Hello. "
" I couldn't stop her! " said Goldar hopelessly.
Were this not a children's show, Lord Zedd would have begun swearing at this point. Instead he stomped over to his throne, picked up his staff with the silver 'Z' at the top and blasted Christine. Much to his surprise, she caught the blast with the Sword of Darkness and threw it back at him. Lord Zedd sat down very hard.
" Am I to understand that we have just aquired our own Power Ranger? "
" Wak! " Rita squaked, " That's the Sword of Darkness! "
Christine turned to face Zedd, her helmet held under one arm, and the Sword held in the other. " That depends, " she stated, " what's in it for me? "
Lord Zedd sat forward and answered, " Anything you want. "
Christine smiled, and the power roiling within her flickered in her eyes.
Now, as I reach this point in the story, I realize that I have neglected
to point out one important aspect of our new Green Ranger. True, she has
the spandex, she has the helmet, the boots, the gloves. She has the Sword
of Darkness. But what Christine doesn't have, is the shield, or the flute.
Now where do you suppose those might be?
Suddenly, in the midst of, and despite, the worrying and the mourning, the alarms went off. The overhead lights dimmed and the red lights began flashing, and Alpha ay-yi-yied his way to an explanation.
" What is it, Alpha? " Zach asked before the ay-yi-yis had subsided.
" Intruder! Intruder Alert! " Alpha warned, but it was too late, as the intruder had arrived.
A white gloved hand came to rest on the viewing globe, and it was from that gloved hand over to it's owner that the Power Rangers all got their first look at the new Green Ranger.
Her steps clacking on the polished floor, she took two steps into the room and held out her hand, palm up. " Give me the Dragonflute. "
Immediately, the Power Rangers gathered to in front of Zordon and the main controls. Alpha continued to freak out to the side.
Far, far away in that interdimensional pillar of light, the woman not only stirred, she raised her head and looked straight up. A flicker of power crossed her eyes and they became seeing once more.
Parting her lips, she moved them as if to say something, but no sound came out. She was trapped in silence and light, and could only hope that someone of the right mentality heard her.
If Christine was surprised to see Tommy dressed neck down in the suit of the White Ranger, she gave nothing of it away. Nothing that could be read with her helmet on anyway. She took another step and enforced, " Give me the Dragonflute. Now! "
" Why should we do that? " Tommy demanded.
" I assure you, you don't want to do otherwise, " Christine intoned.
Brazenly, Zach declared, " If you want it, you'll have to take it from us. "
Empowered by Zach's bravery, Kimberly added, " Yeah! "
Christine looked at the two. " A contest? " There was no answer, so Christine answered for herself. Withdrawing the Sword of Darkness from nowhere, she pointed at Jason and stated, " You. Your weapon is a sword, is it not? "
Trini gave a start. " That's the-- "
" Sword of Darkness, " Tommy concluded for her.
**
[I've decided to keep these chapters short. Next! Will Jason take on Christine in a one-on-one sword fight? Who will win, the forces of good or the forces of evil? (cuz you know that is what this is about) How long will it take Tommy to realize that that's his sister's voice coming out of the helmet? See you next time!]
[Written by Inseiko, who is suffering from writers' block in everything but this, 2000]