THE OTHER RANGER

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.

Hey everyone, here is the next chapter. Been busy living life, and all that jazz, along with adding new chapters to my other stories.

I'm going to get some things off my chest about things involving Power Rangers, mainly MMPR and Zeo. While some of it is me letting off some steam, the rest could also be nothing then a theory. Mainly from stories I read about what went on behind the scenes that can make just about anybody cringe.

One thing that bothered me was how Saban never tried to take full advantage by having Jason becoming the Armored Red Ranger after they used up most of the Zyuranger footage. Yet instead, we get a bunch of blended episodes, while waiting for Saban to fulfill the demand of the fans to bring Tommy back. Once Tommy was given back a powerless Dragon Coin, which required Zordon to recharge periodically, along with the Zyu2 footage, felt like Saban shot itself in the foot by cutting a lot of corners to make this happen. Probably why they needed Zedd to make sure Tommy lose his powers for good during Season 2 to make room for the White Ranger. Pretty sure by now, people heard of the story behind the MM White Ranger, and how, in a way, connects to VR Troopers.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Tommy wasn't originally meant to be the MM White Ranger. Instead, it was supposed to be a new guy played by Brad Hawkins, who played Ryan Steele on VR Troopers. He was also the voice behind the Gold Zeo Ranger, was even set to play him, but like before, not everything goes according to plan. While Jason David Frank was about to get his own show called Cybertron, which has nothing to do with Transformers. Frank was going to wear Ryan's suit, but the fans once again demanded that Tommy returns, so things got switched around in a way. There is even a promo video of Cybertron on YouTube.

The other thing that bothers me is the stuff I read happened behind the scenes. How Saban gave the actors a pretty raw deal to where they had to do so much on so little pay, along with probably getting stiffed on the royalties. To where when it became time for a ranger to be replaced, they always get sent to some place so far away, guaranteeing that they will not be returning anytime soon. Jason, Zack and Trini going to, what was it, Switzerland, for a World Peace Conference. Kimberly going to Florida to focus on her gymnastics, Aisha staying behind in Africa, and Billy going to Aquitar. Didn't think about it at the time, but those might have been the biggest clues that something happened behind the scenes, to where they about to leave for good.

Don't get me wrong, I was glad to see Jason return to become the Gold Zeo Ranger, even though I felt bad for him on the episode he had to give the powers back. Yet lately it made me think that Jason was more of a replacement for Billy, considering that not too long afterwards, we get to see Billy's farewell. The reason having to do with Billy's actor, David Yost, and how he was treated by the crew during his time there. Those who don't know the backstory, basically, Yost came out as being gay, and the set crew made his life a living nightmare during his whole time there. In some ways, Zeo was probably when Yost probably reached some kind of breaking point.

Which would probably be one of the main reasons why Billy never got to become the Gold Zeo Ranger, since even though the fans would approve, there would be those behind the scene who would rather see Yost gone from the show. Which I think would be one of the main reasons why Austin St. John was welcomed back to Power Rangers with such open arms.

Well, that's it from me. Sorry for ranting, just needed to say something about Power Rangers that has been bugging me lately.

Anyway, on with the story, and this chapter is going to be a bit on the brief side, since I have no plans to add any kind of battles for this little go around.

{MMPR}

It has been about six days since the battle of the rangers, and things became peaceful during that time. (AN: Sorry for the timing sounding a bit off on some parts.)

One day was spent getting the tournament finished up, since they had to put things on hold the previous day before to make sure the building would still be standing after the battle. That day turned out to be a big victory for Adam, Aisha, Rocky and Will, who came out on top in both divisions. The day ended with a nice buffet set out for those who participated, along with the handing out of the trophies.

The following day was when the rangers had to leave for home, a long plane trip home. After being given a farewell by the Dairangers, with Will getting embarrassed because Rin decided to give him a peck on the cheek, they had to deal with crossing time zones once again. Yet this time it was different, considering that by traveling to Japan, with it being about 16 hours ahead of Angel Grove, it felt like the day was taking too long to end. That each time zone crossed was like time was standing still until they landed.

But going home made it feel like they skipped a day, since each time zone crossed seemed to be adding up faster. Like going through Daylight Savings on a whole different level. This is why everybody's biological clocks feel out of whack.

Which is why the school was okay to let them have a free day before returning to class. So that way they can rest away a good chunk of the jet lag they would have accumulated on the plane ride. Since the plane in Tokyo didn't leave until about dusk in Japan, and the flight was nonstop, so a real test of patience for a bunch of teenagers who wish they could just teleport home, responsibility be darned.

The day before was spent at home, with the family. Where the Rangers can get used to being in Angel Grove again, since while it is nice to go away for a bit, it is always nicer to return home. Back to familiar territory, and enjoy the taste of the food they missed so much. While yes, they did enjoy the cuisine over in Tokyo, yet there is some food they won't miss, where some of the ingredients happen to be looking back.

So now, it's the first day back to school, and they were just stepping out of the school office, after checking in. While the secretary caught them on everything, the Principal himself barely gave them a hearty welcome home and congratulations before stepping into his office to give Bulk and Skull quite an earful for their stunt. At first, the man was in paradise because of how quiet the school was, hoping the two called in sick.

But once he gets a fax from the American Embassy in Tokyo, about how two of his students have illegally entered the country, along with some of the mayhem they had caused. That was when the rest of the week was a nightmare, because while he had students representing the best that Angel Grove has to offer, he has to deal with the backlash caused by the two chuckleheads. While the two were being sent back to the states, to their reprieve, the principal had to explain to the parents how their boys have been causing an 'international' incident. So basically, the two's first day back is going to be a really big nightmare.

As for the group, they were getting ready to separate to head to their lockers, preparing for their first back class. Only to be stopped by their leader, who wanted to welcome them back in person. "Hey guys, welcome back." Tommy said, while giving almost everybody a shake, while Kimberly gave him a hug and kiss as a greeting, "How was your trip?"

Will spoke up, since he was the temporary leader during the trip, "It was something, to say the least, but you would have to wait until after school to hear our stories." He said, which Tommy gave a nod to because of the double meaning. "And I get the feeling that the way you are smiling you have your own little surprise."

Seeing that smile grow even more, "You could say that." Tommy said, before stepping aside to reveal three individuals that only five other individuals recognized.

"Jason!"

"Zack!"

"Trini!"

That's right, Jason Lee Scott, Zack Taylor and Trini Kwan, the original Red, Black and Yellow Rangers, have returned from their trip to Switzerland. And like everybody else, they have that glad to be back look on their faces.

After giving each other a welcome back, or at least almost everybody, with hugs and shakes the trio turned to Will, who was just standing aside with a small smile on his face. The three stepped up to him, with Jason forever the leader by nature, offering a handshake as a greeting. "Hello Will, Tommy has told us some things about you." He said, while Will accepted it, "Pretty sure we have a lot to talk about."

While shaking Zack's and Trini's hands, "Agreed, although right now, we need to start preparing for class." Will said. Once his hand was free, "Wouldn't want to be late on our first day back to school."

Everybody gave a slight laugh, before separating to head to their own lockers.

{MMPR}

On his throne, Zedd was keeping to himself, not even feeling in the mood to take his anger out on the Power Rangers like he usually does when something out of his control happens. The main reason behind those is that he is too stubborn to admit defeat and leave, especially to a bunch of teens from a world that hasn't actually traveled beyond their own moon.

This time around, he just wasn't in the mood to cause some mayhem due to the fact that his secret weapon has become somebody else's. Even though he told Goldar that it was Dark Specter that took the disks, inside of his mind, he suspected otherwise. He remembers hearing a rumor that one of his lieutenants had a child that he was grooming to take his place.

While yes, a lot of villains similar to Zedd in status can be pretty territorial when it comes to spreading their evil, yet they still share gossip from time to time. And this gossip has Zedd worrying since it would mean that he is being watched the same way Rita was before he 'dumped' her back out into space. Even though the villains were never allies, they all knew there was a power that just could not be topped by any of them. Somehow, he just knew that even if he accomplished conquering Earth, chances are, he would have to actually defend his claim from those who would want to take it from him.

Checking the time, since Moon time is completely different from Earth time, and seeing that he has been deep in thought for so long, he decided to give it a rest. Since these are things that might have nothing to do with him at the moment, might as well focus on planning his next attack on Angel Grove. But first, he needs to get some rest, since even a mastermind such as himself can't think well without one.

{MMPR}

After school, the whole ranger gang, past and present, are at Ernie's, catching up on everything. Once they sat down, Ernie walked up to give the recently returned teens a hearty welcome back, before telling everybody that their drinks are on him. Something he enjoys doing on occasion, especially joyous ones like these.

The first thing that they started to talk about was the adventure that Jason, Zack and Trini had in Switzerland. Meeting all sorts of people from around the world, getting to share ideas, experiencing things, even learn a few things that they probably wouldn't have learned at Angel Grove High.

Of course, they also included their experience checking out the area they were staying in. Getting to enjoy some snowboarding and skiing, visiting some of Europe, things along those lines. The seven also learned what each individual has been doing on their own time.

"And to be honest, when we first seen the Dragonzord on the news over there, we never really thought of the possibility of a new Green Ranger, sorry Will." Jason started to explain, while Will brushed it off as it being no big deal.

"Yeah, we thought Rocky was able to access the Green Ranger portion of his powers, until one day we seen you fighting alongside everybody else." Zack continued, "And it made us anxious to return home to find out what has happened after we left."

After everybody went silent while Ernie dropped off their drink's, and gave him a hearty thank you in return. Once it was just them, Trini decided to finish things off. "So after we came back, and said hi to Tommy, he filled us in on everything that has happened that has happened while we were gone." She then looked at the six, "So since we told you about our little trip how about you telling us about what Japan were like."

So they told them, from exploring Tokyo, and the area surrounding it, to their encounter with the Dairangers. After telling them about their experience with the Psycho Rangers, and the last moments of rest before returning home, the table became deadly silent. Especially since six of them had dealt with more than their fair share of evil rangers, clones or misguided children. Yet hearing that Zedd was able to successfully make his own evil rangers, they can't help but feel slightly fearful at the concept.

"But I don't think we have to worry about Zedd bringing out the Psycho Rangers for a long while now." Will explained, "Since one issue he would have to deal with is making sure me and Tommy are too busy to provide some kind of backup. The other being a power source, if he plans to use them more than once. Because even if he gives them a small amount of his power, I'm pretty sure even Zedd wouldn't be foolish enough to use himself as a power source."

Realizing that he had a point, everybody relaxed. While yes, Lord Zedd is evil, persistent, cunning, egotistical, conniving, determined, just about every word in a human dictionary, yet the one thing he is not is foolish. He would never do anything that could prove fatal to himself in the near future, especially if it's to give somebody like Rita an opportunity to finish him off, and take full control of his operation.

Deciding to relax more, everybody just sat around, enjoying their day without some monster popping out of nowhere.

Well, here is the latest chapter, sorry for it not being much. Didn't have a clue if I wanted to include a battle on here, or just give the rangers some down time. Next one well take place sometime after Rita's return, but entirely sure when. Read and Review, and have a safe Halloween.