Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Power Rangers. My life could not be that easy.
A/N: I'm back. Just thought I'd warn you. This takes place about six months after the ending of Ultimate Ninjetti.
The night was quiet and still in Angel Grove. Except for the people moving in the shadows. They were on the hunt, looking for their prey with menacing, watchful eyes.
The group of four teenagers, who were out past curfew, were walking along the same street. They were unaware of the danger that lurked in the shadows. The teens walked along, laughing at a joke one of them made. As they passed the shadows, hands reached out, wrapping around their chests and covering their mouths.
One minute, the teens were there, the next, they vanished from sight without a sound. The people in the shadows covered their mouths with chloroform soaked rags, knocking the teens out before they could struggle. They carted the teens off without a sound, disappearing into the night.
The people carried the teens to a subway tunnel that was supposed to be closed. They went carefully down the steps, not making any sounds. They came to a blocked up entrance. After knocking three times, the entrance swung open, revealing a hidden tunnel. The people carried the teens into the tunnel and the entrance swung shut behind them.
A tall, cloaked figure stood at the end of the tunnel, watching as the teens were brought into a large chamber. The figure silently pointed to some tables in the chamber and the teens were carried over to the tables. The figure watched as the teens were strapped to the tables. The figure waved the other people out of the room, and went over to a small table at the side of the chamber. Picking up a needle and syringe he walked over to one of the teens. He inserted the needle into the teen's arm, injecting the girl with a drug. He repeated this process with the other three teens. Once this was done, the figure exited the chamber, leaving the teens in a drugged, unconscious state.
At the same time, Tommy and Billy were in the command center, working on the computer. They were looking up ancient symbols, trying to find a match for the medallion that lay on the counter next to them. They were not having any success.
Tommy turned to Zordon. "We can't find anything to match it, Zordon," he said.
Zordon frowned as he looked down at Tommy. "I know that I've seen that symbol before," he said. "I'm just not sure where." He was thoughtful for a moment, then looked at Billy. "Contact Jason," Zordon said. "I've seen that symbol on Phaedos. He might know more about it."
Billy nodded and turned to the communications panel.
Tommy looked back at Zordon as Billy talked to Ninjor over the communicator. "Will he be able to come here, Zordon," he asked. "Isn't he still finishing his training?"
Zordon shook his head. "He's finished learning all about his powers," he said. "He was going to come here in a couple of days, this will just be earlier than expected."
Tommy smiled. "It'll be good to see him," he said. "And I know that Kim will be happy about him coming home early."
Billy turned around and looked up to Zordon. "Ninjor said he would pass the message on to Jason," he said. "He's not at the temple at the moment. He should be back within an hour."
Zordon nodded. "You two should go home and get some rest," he said. "I'll have Jason teleport here in the morning. You and the others can come here then and see what he knows."
Tommy and Billy nodded and teleported out of the command center.
On Phaedos, Ninjor looked at Jason as he came out of the trees around the temple.
Jason had finished learning how to control his powers, and he was now, truly, the ultimate ninjetti warrior. Jason smiled at Ninjor as he walked up to the temple. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "Queen Tulia insisted that I stay and eat with them." He saw the serious look on Ninjor's face and his smile faded. "What's wrong," he asked.
Ninjor put his hand on Jason's shoulder. "Billy contacted us," he said. "Zordon needs you to contact him as soon as possible. They need your help with some matter."
Jason nodded. "I'll go contact him right now," he said. He headed towards the temple and entered it, heading to his room. Once inside, he lifted his communicator and contacted the command center. "Zordon, it's Jason," he said. "Ninjor said you need my help with something?"
Zordon's voice came over his communicator. "Jason, I know that you weren't planning on coming for a couple more days," he said. "But, we have a problem and I think you could help us. Can you come here tomorrow morning, first thing?"
"I'll be there, Zordon," he said. "That will give me time to say goodbye to mother and Ninjor."
"We'll see you in the morning, son," Zordon said. "Give my apologies to Dulcea."
Jason sighed. "Don't worry, father," he said. "She'll understand. I'll see you in the morning." He lowered his communicator and went to find his mother.
Dulcea smiled at Jason as he approached her. "Ninjor told me that the rangers need your help," she said.
Jason nodded. "Zordon asked me to go there in the morning," he said. "He told me to apologize to you for him."
Dulcea shook her head. "He doesn't have to apologize," she said. "I knew when you became the ultimate ninjetti, that you would not always be here." She stepped up to him and put her hand on his arm. "I also know that you wish to go back to earth to live," she said. "And that's okay, too. I know that earth is your home. I will miss you, but, I hope that I will see you from time to time."
Jason smiled at her. "I'll miss you too," he said. "But, I'll come see you as much as I can."
Dulcea pulled him into a hug. "I'm so proud of you," she said. "I could not ask for a better man for a son."
Jason hugged his mother tightly. "I love you, mother," he said softly.
Dulcea fought to keep from crying. "I love you too, son," she whispered. "Just promise me that you will take care of yourself."
Jason stood back and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I will," he said. "I promise."
Dulcea smiled at him. "You'd better get some rest," she said. "I'll see you before you go in the morning."
Jason nodded and turned to go back to his room.
Dulcea brushed the tears away as she watched him go. She turned to go to her own room, all ready missing her son.
The next morning, Jason stood outside the temple. He turned to Ninjor. "Keep on eye on mother for me," he said. "And look out for yourself as well."
Ninjor pulled Jason into a hug. "I'll make sure that Dulcea is safe," he said. "You just take care of yourself. Come see us as soon as you can."
Jason hugged Ninjor and nodded as he pulled back. "I'll come as soon as I can," he said. He turned to Dulcea, gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you soon," he said. He stepped back from them and pushed a button on his communicator, teleporting to earth.
Dulcea stood next to Ninjor, tears on her face. Ninjor put his arm around her shoulders. "He'll be okay," he said. "He's got his full powers and knows how to control them."
Dulcea nodded and turned to face Ninjor. "I know," she said. "But, I'm still his mother. I'll always worry. Even though I know that he can take care of himself. It's what mothers always do with their children."
Ninjor smiled at her. "I know," he said. "And you do it better than most."
Dulcea hit him on the arm. They both headed for the temple, not looking back.
Jason arrived in the command center and looked up at Zordon. He smiled. "Good to see you, father," he said.
Zordon smiled down at Jason. "Good to see you to, son," he said. "The rangers should be here soon. You can go get settled in your room, if you wish. Alpha will let you know when they get here."
Jason nodded and headed for a back room in the command center. Zordon had had Alpha fix up the room, so that Jason had a place to stay until other arrangements could be made.
Alpha looked to Zordon. "Should I contact the rangers, Zordon," he asked. "They should all be ready to come here."
Zordon nodded. "Contact Tommy and have him let the others know to come here," he said. "Once they are all here, we'll let them tell Jason what is going on and why we needed him here."
Alpha nodded and contacted Tommy.
A few minutes later, the rangers teleported into the command center. Tommy looked up at Zordon. "Is he here," he asked.
Zordon nodded. "He's in the back room," he said. "He'll be out in a few minutes."
Kim, Aisha, Rocky and Adam looked at Tommy. "Who's here," Rocky asked.
Before Tommy could answer, Jason came out of the back room.
Kim turned, saw Jason and a smile split her face. She ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck.
Jason wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, twirling her around. He set her back on her feet and leaned down to give her a kiss.
Kim happily kissed him back, then stepped back, smiling up at him. "I thought you weren't coming for a few more days," she said.
Jason smiled at her. "I wasn't," he said. "But, Zordon contacted me last night and asked that I come back early." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Disappointed," he asked.
Kim shook her head. "No," she said. "Surprised. Pleasantly surprised."
Jason put his arm around her shoulders and they walked over to the others.
The rangers greeted Jason with hugs or handshakes. Then they all turned to Zordon.
"What's up, Zordon," Rocky asked. "Why are we all here?"
Zordon looked at Tommy. "I'll let you explain things to Jason and the others," he said.
Tommy nodded and turned to face the others. "Billy and I recently found a strange medallion," he said. "We brought it here. Zordon said that he had seen the symbols on it before, but he wasn't sure where." Tommy looked at Jason. "Then he remembered that he had seen them on Phaedos," he said. "He thought you might know something about them." He handed the medallion to Jason.
Jason took the medallion without a word. He saw the symbols on it and his head snapped up to look at Tommy. "Where did you find this," he asked, concern in his voice.
"Near the park," he said. "It was near the spot where some kids disappeared," he said. He studied Jason's face. "What's wrong, Jase," he asked. "You know those symbols, don't you?"
Jason nodded. "They belong to an ancient warrior people who lived on Phaedos centuries ago," he said. "They were merciless killers, slaughtering everyone they could. And people they took alive were tortured or sacrificed to their gods." He shook his head. "I don't know how this came to be here on earth," he said. "They were supposed to have died out centuries ago."
Billy shook his head. "We've had people disappearing all over Angel Grove," he said. "And the police can find no clues as to what happened to them."
Jason frowned. "When did this start," he asked.
"About two months ago," Rocky said. "The first to go missing were two older couples out to dinner. They never came home from their dinners."
"Then a group of children seemed to just vanish from their daycare center," Adam said. "No one saw what happened."
"Most of the disappearances have happened at night," Kim said. "A group of teenagers just disappeared last night. Taken right off the street."
Jason leaned against one of the counters, deep in thought. After a few minutes, he looked at Tommy. "The people who have disappeared," he said. "Are they all around the same age, or different age groups?"
"They are all different," Tommy said. "They seemed to be picked at random. And, they don't disappear from the same place. It's happened all over town."
Zordon looked down at Jason. "Do you have any ideas, son," he asked.
Jason frowned and shook his head. "No," he said. "not yet. But, give me some time. I'd like to see where all the disappearances took place. That might give a clue in some way."
Zordon nodded. "I'll have Alpha draw up a map," he said. "He should have it ready for you this afternoon."
The cloaked figure stood in another underground chamber, watching Jason on a viewing globe. He turned away from the globe and looked to a young girl who was kneeling on the floor before him. "You lost your medallion," he growled at her. "How could you be so stupid?"
The girl shook with fright. "I'm sorry master," she whined. "I didn't mean to lose it. The chain broke when we took those kids. I tried to find it."
The figure glared down at her. "Get out of my sight," he snarled. "Before I decide to punish you."
The girl got to her feet and ran from the chamber.
The figure turned back to the viewing globe. "You will not interfere with my plans, son of Zordon," he said to Jason's image. "You can not locate me yet. Not until I am ready for you." He turned on his heel and stormed out of the chamber.
A/N: See you next time.