The Quest
By Georgia Peach
By Georgia Peach
Chapter I
"It's Morphin Time!" Tommy yelled, as he and the other rangers morphed into action. It was a Friday afternoon and the rangers were having a nice walk in the forest, when King Mondo decided to ruin it for them. The cogs ran towards the rangers and the rangers began to do what they live for. Within not even two minutes the ten cogs were down on the ground and destroyed."That's what you get for messing with the Power Rangers!"Tommy yelled to the few remaining cogs as they were brought back up to the Machine Empire.
"That's the truth!" Rocky said taking a few steps back. Only the thing he did not realize was that it was a small cliff.
"Rocky! Look out!" Katherine yelled after him. But it was to late. He took another step and fell.
"Whoa!" he screamed, but there was nothing to worry about. Rocky, along with the other rangers was used to jumping from high heights. He landed on both feet."That was fun," he whispered to himself, sarcastically.
The others ran down to him, "Rocky, you okay?"Adam asked. Rocky nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't jumped that high in a while, that's all!"
Everyone laughed. Then some bright light flashed."What was that?!"Tommy yelled looking around.
"I don't know," Katherine's voice sounded a bit confused.
Everyone began to look around. Tanya turned and a bright light flashed by, she spun around. "Guys!" she alerted to the others, "Look over there!"
The other rangers ran over to her, "What it is Tanya?"Adam asked wondering what she had seen. She pointed to the shining lights by a tree stump.
Everyone looked at the tree and then back at each other. "What is it?" Rocky asked after a long pause.
Tommy walked towards the bright lights. "I have no idea," Tommy responded. He was hesitant, but he walked closer. The closer he got the more he came to realize that these were not just lights, they looked almost like rocks, or crystals. Then it came to him. These could be more Zeo crystals, the crystals the rangers used. "Guys come here." He signaled to the others that it was safe to come closer.
"What is it, Tommy?" Katherine asked taking a step closer to him. Tommy pointed to the light, but now they looked more like crystals stuck in a tree then lights. "What are they?" Katherine was stunned.
Adam came closer to the crystals, "They look just like our Zeo crystals," he said in total amazement.
Tommy reached down and went to pick it up. "Be careful, Tommy. We don't know what these things are," Rocky warned him.
Tommy nodded. "Right." He took a deep breath and picked it up. There were two pieces and they looked broken. They shined brilliantly. "It looks like there's a piece missing on both of them." They glowed, one color was peach and the other looked like a silverish gray.
Adam looked at them curiously, "We better get them back to Zordon. Maybe he can tell us what these things are."
They all nodded in agreement. "Good idea Adam. Let's go," Tommy ordered. They all pressed a few buttons on their communicators and then teleported to the Power Chamber.
"Zordon, do you have any idea of what these things are?" Rocky asked.
Zordon looked down at them from his pound glass tube. "I have an idea of what they are, but because they are broken I can not be positive of their true power."
At that moment, Alpha 5, Zordon's trusted assistant, was putting the crystals in some small device to find out exactly what they were. Alpha looked up. "All set," he said to Billy who was at the controls. Billy glanced over to Leeza who was at the other side of the Power Chamber. She nodded, and went over to her set of controls. Then the two of them pressed a few buttons at the same time and the device began to glow.
"Wow," Leeza whispered under her breath. Ever since she had found out who the Power Rangers were and started working with them, her life had not been the same. Even though she spent a lot of time in the Power Chamber with Billy and Alpha, it was still pretty cool. I mean who would not want to help save the world, right? She glanced over to Billy, her curiosity growing. "Do we have any readings yet?"
Billy nodded. "We're getting a reading, but I'm not sure what it means," he said, shrugging.
Alpha came over to him. He looked at the keyboard and pressed a few buttons. "I'm sending the readings to you now, Zordon," Alpha told him.
"It is just what I suspected, rangers," Zordon's loud voice rang throughout the Power Chamber a few moments later.
"And what's that?"Tanya asked.
"These crystals are the front part of the Peach and Silver Crystals. They are very much like the Zeo Crystals," Zordon began.
All the rangers looked at each other. "But Zordon, I thought their were only five Zeo Crystals?" Tommy asked sure of what he knew.
Zordon looked down at Tommy. "You are correct Tommy, their are only five Zeo Crystals, but as I said these are similar to your Zeo Crystals, but are not actually Zeo Crystals themselves."
"Zordon, if their even similar to Zeo Crystals doesn't that mean that we can have a new ranger?"Rocky asked excitement in his voice.
All the rangers looked at each other then back to Zordon. "I am afraid not rangers," he said, all the rangers put their heads down looking a bit disappointed. Then Zordon spoke again, "These two halves of the crystals will be enough for two more rangers. Once we find the other pieces."
"That's great!"Katherine exclaimed happily. "But Zordon, how can we find the other two pieces?"
"The Silver and Peach Crystals are very powerful and I did not want anyone to come across them unless they had goodness in their hearts, like all of you do. I broke the pieces up and sent them to different dimensions. The first part I let stay in Angel Grove. The other I put into the third dimension of Earth,"Zordon explained.
They all understood, but Leeza's face was filled with confusion. "Um, Zordon, I don't want to be rude or anything, but would you mind explaining what third dimension of Earth means?"
Zordon nodded. "But of course, Leeza. The third dimension of Earth means the third Earth."
"Oh." Leeza looked more confused now then she did a minute ago. Billy broke out laughing, Leeza turned and stared at him. "Well I'm glad you find this amusing."
"No, Leeza... it's... it's not that," he said trying to stop laughing. "Your facial expression was just really funny, that's all." Leeza rolled her eyes. "Look, let me explain this to you.... Have you ever watched the show Sliders?" Leeza nodded. "Well, it's just like that, the third dimension of earth is the third earth in a parallel universe. Get it?"
Leeza shrugged. "I guess so."
"Well, we should go get them,"Tommy suggested.
Alpha shook his mechanical head. "That's impossible, Tommy." Everyone looked puzzled.
"But why?"Adam finally had the courage to ask.
"Because, rangers," Zordon began,"You all currently have the Zeo power. Only someone without the power can have these crystals." Zordon glanced over to the two people at the control panels. "Billy and Leeza, please step forward." They looked at each other hesitantly, but they did as they were told. "The two of you shall go and collect the other parts of these crystals, if you accept this challenge."
The two of them exchanged glances that held both excitement and confusion. "B-but how?"Leeza finally asked. Billy nodded in agreement with her.
"I shall open the dimension's doorway, then you will walk threw it and be on your journey."
"Zordon will Leeza and I be together?"Billy asked.
Zordon nodded. "Yes, Billy, the two of you must stay and work together in order to find them. Are the two of you willing to except this challenge?"
Billy shook his head. "Yeah."
"Un huh,"Leeza said with a bit of hesitation.
"Very well then," Zordon began, "Let the Peach and Silver quest begin!"
Chapter II
Billy and Leeza met two hours later outside of the Power Chamber. The two had received much instruction in different areas, to prepare themselves for their journey. The dimensional doorway was opened and became a swiveling circle.
"This is incredible!!!" Leeza whispered in disbelief.
"Ayi-yi-ai!!" Alpha screeched. "Are the two of you ready?"
Billy nodded. "Yeah, we're ready." With that said, Billy picked up his backpack and swung it over his shoulder. He turned to Leeza. "You all set?"
She threw hands, "Let's do it."
"Good luck, you guys," Adam said, trying to encourage them.
"Thanks, we're gonna need it," Billy stated, then turned to face the doorway. He then stepped through it. Leeza looked from side to side, took a deep breath, and followed him. Once Leeza was completely through the doorway shut tightly.
"Good luck guys…. As Zordon would say, 'may the power protect you,' " Tommy whispered, hoping they would return.
When the two appeared on the other side, the sight was indescribable.
"Great! So where are we?" Leeza exclaimed.
From his backpack, Billy flipped out the navigator that Alpha had given him. He pressed several buttons before he came up with an answer. "According to this thing, we're somewhere in the rain forest," he answered, staring at the screen making sure he had read it right.
"Oh... May I be allowed to ask which rain forest we're in?!" Leeza's voice was filled with sweetness, but you could tell she was extremely aggravated.
"I think the Amazon," he said, handing the navigator to her. "Take a look for yourself if you don't believe me."
Leeza let out a heavy sigh. "Why the Amazon?" she almost wined.
"That's a question you're gonna have to ask Zordon... So which way should we go?" Billy asked, gesturing to the four pathways.
"How about this way?" Leeza suggested, pointing to a narrow pathway with pure green bushes.
Billy shrugged. "We could, there is a 1/3 ratio that is the right direction. You just taking a wild guess?"
Leeza had a small smirk creep onto her face. "Well...that's one reason, but...but the real reason is because the navigator says that the substances were looking for are in that direction." She pointed to the pathway again.
"That's a good reason," Billy said, blushing a little from embarrassment.
"Come on, let's go!!" Leeza said, taking Billy's arm and stepping into the deep jungle.
After what seemed like hours of walking, Leeza stopped. "You okay, Leeza?" Billy was wondering what if there was something wrong.
She sat down and touched her forehead lightly. "Yeah... I'm okay, just a bit dizzy... How long have we been walking?" she asked, squinting her eyes.
Billy sat down next to her. He opened up his backpack and pulled out a container of water. He poured two cups, then quickly glanced down at his watch and handed Leeza her cup. "About an hour... Are you sure you're okay?" he questioned again.
"1 hour! We've been walking around for only 1 hour!" Leeza yelled in shock. "It seems so much longer than that." She sighed rolling her head from side to side.
Billy nodded. "I know, believe me. I've been on tons of adventures and quests. Every time they seem like hours and sometimes it's just minutes! I have to admit, it's usually a lot easier with the others here," he said, lowering his eyes, carefully studying the dirt.
"H-how long do you think it's going to take us to find these things?" she asked almost afraid of the answer.
"I don't know Leeza...with the two of us, it could take a day or so." He sighed. "And really, I don't how to find out."
Leeza bit her lip trying to stop herself from laughing her head off. "Well, what does the navigator say?.... Exactly how far away are we from the crystals." And this guy's a genius! she thought.
Billy lightly slapped his forehead and sighed. Then he picked up the navigator, "About four miles... If we start again shortly, we should be there in three hours."
Leeza almost choked on her water. "Three-three hours! Three hours to walk four miles in the Amazon?! We have to deal with poisonous snakes, spiders and who knows what else! And you're telling me it's only going to take three hours? Billy Cranston, are you insane?!"
Billy rolled his eyes. "Leeza, how many times do I have to tell you that we're not on the same place which basically means where that things are different here."
"Translation please?" Leeza asked. How come no one could talk normal?
Billy bit his lip trying to find a better way to explain this. "Leeza, there are no snakes or spiders here... Mainly plants." He paused. "There is one major life form,.... but we don't have to worry about that now."
Leeza glared at him for a few moments with a puzzled look. "How do you know that? What life forms are you talking about? And may I ask when you planning on telling me this?" she demanded hands firmly on hips.
Billy looked at her impatiently. Leeza could be so stubborn at times. She could never take no for an answer, and never leave a topic untouched. "Zordon and Alpha told me everything I need to know about this place. We really have nothing to worry about." He stopped. Leeza had that look on her face that meant 'tell me what I want to know now, or you're in trouble!' "Oh, all right! The life forms are Tengas. Which are the strongest warriors in the universe. They're going to try and steal the other parts of the crystals. But, as I said, we don't have to worry about that now," he said, giving up.
Leeza nodded her head slowly. "Billy, can I ask one more question?"
A smile crept onto his face. "Will I be able to stop you?" he questioned.
Leeza rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha, very funny. Seriously though, why are these Tenga things trying to get the crystals?"
"Well Leeza, it's quite simple. They're a pain in the neck." Leeza crossed her arms and stared at him. He rolled his eyes. "Com'on, Leeza, where's your sense of humor? I'm just kidding you should know that.... The reason why their looking for the crystals is so we don't claim the power. That's why we have to be there in 3 hours. Are you ready to start again?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Leeza said, standing up. "Are you sure will be able to make it there within 3 hours?" she asked again.
Now Billy was really starting to get aggravated. "If you'd stop asking all these me questions we might!"
Leeza stared at him as she threw her backpack over her shoulder. "Well, maybe if you had taken time to me about this in the first place, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now!"
Billy sighed in frustration. "Okay I give up!" He threw his hands in the air and turned his back towards her. "I should have told you about this before, but I got to excited at the fact that I'm going to be a ranger again... I haven't been able to fit in with the others for a long time.... I've really missed it...being part of the team...and I let it get over my head...I'm really sorry."
Leeza walked over to him with a caring smile and touched his arm. "It's okay Billy...To tell you the truth... I'm also very excited...But I'm also kinda nervous. What if I make a mistake or something and totally embarrass myself....? It doesn't matter who you are, the rangers like you for you. Not whether you're a ranger or not." She hung her head down.
Billy shook his head with a half smile. He looked at Leeza and pulled her into a big hug. "It's all right to make mistakes, Leeza. Whether you're a ranger or not you make them." Billy finished, letting her out of the hug. "We've all made mistakes, but we learn from them.... Believe me, I should know with my inventions," he chuckled.
"Thanks." She smiled, feeling relieved. "Now let's go get those crystals!"
"Finally!" Billy exclaimed, throwing his backpack over his shoulder as they went deeper into the rain forest.
Not even a half hour later, they came to a bushy area. But they could not get through. "This is great! Now how are we supposed to get to the other side?!" Leeza complained.
.Billy frowned. "Look, just calm down Leeza, there's got to be a way out.... Let's walk down some more. Maybe there's an opening or some kind of pathway," he suggested.
"Okay," Leeza sighed. She was tired, hot, thirsty, and really scared. What if they could not get passed these tenga things? What if they died of thirst? What if... Her mind paused as several words went through her head. 1: Fretting gets you no where. 2: She had a flash of the Israelites when they kept grumbling and complaining. They were walking around in the wilderness for forty years because of that!
It suddenly dawned on her not to worry about what's going to happen if God wanted these crystals to be found for a reason and he wanted her to have the power. If they were to have these crystals they would have these crystals. "Thanks," she whispered staring up at the heavens.
"Well, Leeza, you coming or not?!" Billy shouted to her a few yards away.
"Yeah, I'm coming." She walked toward him. "Did you find anything yet?"
He shook his head. "Nope, noth'n yet....the bushes seem to be getting thinner the farther you go down."
"The bushes almost seem to be hiding something...I wonder what's behind them?"Leeza asked trying to jump over the tall bushes.
"I have no idea, something big that's for sure...maybe the crystals," he suggested.
Leeza started to walk a little ahead of Billy and tried to pull the branches apart. Suddenly one of the branches snapped. "Billy! Come down here!" Leeza shouted, signaling over to him.
"Leeza what did you find?" he asked, walking speedily over to her.
"I think I found a way we can get through," she said excitedly.
"Let's see," Billy said. He positioned himself to pull the branches apart. He tried to pull them apart with all his might, but could not. They were obviously loose and movable, but he could not do it by himself."Ah, Leeza...do you think you could...umm..."
"Help?.... No problem," Leeza said with a small chuckle. He always tried to act strong around her, but always ended up needing her help. Leeza positioned herself on the opposite side of the bush.
"Ready?" he asked. She nodded. "Pull!" At the exact time, the two of them began to pull the branches apart in the opposite directions. They were using all their strength, then suddenly the branches snapped. The two of them flew backward.
"Well, we broke the branches," Leeza stated, getting up.
"Yeah, and along with that my neck," Billy moaned, sitting up, rubbing the back of his neck.
Leeza smiled and squatted down next to him. "You all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll live," he said, rolling his head. "Can we get through the bushes now?" he asked, getting up with Leeza's help.
"Yeah, I think so," Leeza said not so sure.
Billy walked over to the small opening. "We can get through," he told her. "Come on." Leeza hesitated. He looked over to her. "Come on, it's okay, I promise... I'll be right next to you." He gestured extending his hand to her.
She still hesitated but grabbed his hand anyway. "Okay." Billy walked through first, then Leeza. There was a large tree branch in front of them, but Billy pushed it out of the way. What the two of them saw was indescribable. They were just in the green, shady rain forest, and now they were looking at what seemed like the red rock in Arizona. Huge cliffs were everywhere, but the strange thing was some of the rocks were red, and some looked like a tanish yellow.
Leeza was shocked. "There's no red rock in the Amazon!" she yelled.
Billy opened his mouth about to explain everything to her all over again, but instead he looked at her with a small grin. "There are here." And with that he walked out from under the shady tree.
Leeza only smiled and slightly shook her head. Billy could really bug her at times, and yet... yet he had something really special about him. She was not sure what it was, though. He was very sweet and kind, always willing to help everybody out, no matter what. Katherine had indicated to Leeza several times that Billy had a crush on her, but Leeza did not believe it because he really didn't show it. Then it dawned on Leeza she did not really show it that much either. Secretly she had a huge crush on him!
But she was not about to tell anybody that, they would make fun of her. She shook the entire thought from her mind, and jogged to catch up with Billy.
Twenty minutes later, the two of them came to a huge piece of red rock. "Well, which way to go?" Billy asked her, looking around to see if there was another pathway.
Leeza was squatting down, pressing several buttons on the navigator to see where they should go. She sighed. "It looks like we're going to have to go over it...That is if we want to make it there in 2 hours and 10 minutes," she said, glancing at her watch.
Billy lowered his eyes and stared at the ground, then glanced up at the gigantic red rock. "Then I guess we have no choice. Let's go."
Leeza stood up. "Okay." He put his hand on her shoulder, and the two of them started walking up it.
There were tons of small plants, broken rocks, and pebbles. The higher they climbed, the more narrow it became. "It's really getting narrow," Leeza said in a shaky tone.
"Just stay on the inside and you'll be safe," Billy told her.
"Yeah, but the insides disappearing!"Leeza screeched.
There were more and more pebbles that Leeza had to keep jumping over. Billy started walking farther ahead of her. Suddenly Leeza tripped on a enormous pebble and began to fall over the edge. "Billy!" she screamed.
Billy turned and saw her hanging. "Leeza!" he yelled back to her and jumped to grab her hand, but it was to late. She fell and went flying down to the small cliff below her.
Chapter III
"Leeza!"Billy screamed again.
Even though it was a matter of six seconds, so many thoughts went through her mind. She remembered when she jumped off the wall at the Power Chamber when she thought the rangers were after her. This was almost the same thing....
_If I could just tuck my legs in and turn forward._ Before she knew it, she did two rotations of a forward flip and landed on two feet. Then she lost her balance and fell to the side, her hand protecting her head. She lay there for a few minutes trying to collect what had just happened.
"Leeza!" Billy shouted frantically, looking for a way down to her. His face was as white as the snow. "Leeza! Are you okay?!" he asked, trying to get some kind of response. _Oh please, God, do not let her be dead, please!_ He pleaded in his mind.
Leeza began to get herself in a sitting position, and moaned in some pain. She quickly examined herself to see if she had any serious injuries. She clenched and unclenched her fists and wiggled her toes inside of her dark brown hiking boots. Then she moved her legs and arms, nothing was broken and everything was working just fine. On the side of her leg was a big bruise, but she had gotten worse skating. "Yeah, I'm all right.... just a few bruises," she finally called up to Billy who at the moment was a nervous wreck.
Billy let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks God..." he said, looking up to the sky. "Leeza, can I get you anything?"
Leeza looked up at him. For someone so intelligent, he could really ask stupid questions at times. "A rope would be nice," she hinted.
Billy rolled his eyes. "Why didn't I think of that," he whispered under his breath. "A rope, okay.... do you need anything else?" he asked.
Leeza got a small smirk on her face,"Yeah, I'll take large orange soda,with a hamburger, extra pickles, no onions, and some fries," she said sarcastically.
Billy chuckled. "Oh, you're okay." He went over to his backpack and pulled the climbing rope out. He was grateful he had listened to Tommy and brought it. He untangled it and hooked it on to a huge rock,"Okay, here it comes." With that, he threw the rope over the cliff and down to Leeza."You got it?"
The rope dangled in front of Leeza, she stared at it. "Oh I was never good at climbing..." she muttered under her breath. She closed her eyes and dried her palms on her blue denim shorts. "God, please help me with this," she pleaded. She opened hers eyes and placed her hands on the rope firmly. Slowly but surely, she began to hoist herself up, applying some pressure on the rocks to help her climb up.
At the other end of the line, Billy was helping her to get up. "Come on, Leeza, you're almost there," he encouraged. "Just a bit further." She climbed up higher until she was close enough for Billy to reach for her hand. He grabbed her hand tightly and with all his strength pulled her up. As soon as she was up, he pulled her into a huge hug. "Are you okay?" he whispered to her.
She slightly nodded, hugging him a little tighter. "I'm all right...just a bit shaky," she said softly.
He let her go. "Don't you ever do that to me again!" he yelled, his eyes becoming a little watery. "I..I thought I lost you," he said his voice beginning to crack.
"I'm sorry, Billy. I didn't mean to scare you. But really, I'm okay." She glanced down at her watch. "Now come on, if we want to get those crystals we better get going. We only have 2 hours," she told him.
"Okay...let's get going...there seems to be a ocean a mile away, the crystals shouldn't be that far from there," he said pointing to the southeast. With that, he put his hand on her shoulder and the two of them continued up the mountain.
Around fifteen minutes later, the two of them reached the end of the hill. In front of them was an ocean. The harsh waves came up, hitting the rocky coastline. The waves were so strong that from where they were standing they could feel the light mist blow onto their faces. In the far distance, you could here birds, the noise they made sounded identical to crows except much louder and bigger. The birds sounded as if they were ten feet tall.
"So...which way this time?" Leeza asked with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.
"The navigator says just to continue in the direction were in," Billy said, leaning against one of the big rocks.
But Leeza did not hear him. She was too focused on trying to find were those annoying birds were. She looked up at the sky and suddenly a huge flock of what seemed to be crows appeared, and landed on the beach. But when they landed, Leeza realized that these were not crows, they were huge. Taller than her, in fact, and maybe even taller then Billy. They all flapped their wings and looked directly at Leeza and the person working on the small navigator. Just then, Leeza realized that these must be those tengas that Billy was talking about. He had told her that they looked like birds.
They began to move toward them. "Ah...B.. Billy," Leeza stuttered.
"Yeah," he said, unaware of what was happening.
"Are you...um...kinda good in. .m...martial arts?" she barely blurted out.
"I'm okay, why do you ask?" he said, still unaware of what was going on.
"Uh, because I think those tenga things are here." she finally said.
Billy jumped up like a canon ball. "Ah, man. Come'on, Leeza. Let's get out of here," he said, grabbing his bag, the navigator and Leeza's arm. "Come'on!" he shouted again.
The two of them ran along the coastline with the tengas close behind. They ran faster and faster, turning a corner. And there was a dead end. "Great!" Billy yelled, very much out of breath as he and Leeza came to a halting stop. "Now...wh..where...do we go?"
Leeza looked around quickly her hands on her knees. She looked along the coastline then a small cave caught her attention. They could hide in there until these birds went away. "Billy! Look over there!" she motioned quickly to him, pointing to the dark and hollow cave."We could hide in there!"
Billy stared into the cave. He did not like the idea. There was something wrong with it, but what?... Timing, that was it. It was not the right time to be there. He turned. The tengas were right behind them. They did not have a choice. If they did not go in, the tengas would probably tear them apart. "Okay, let's go in," he agreed with hesitation.
Both of them headed toward the cave the tengas for some odd reason backed away. They both stopped in front of the entrance into the spooky cave. They were just about to walk in when four tengas appeared before them.
"Ah, man! What are we going to do?" Leeza screamed looking at the four bizarre looking birds.
Billy began breathing heavy, as he tried to think of some other solution than fighting them, but nothing came to mind. "We'll have to fight them.... We can do it Leeza... there's just four of them!" He crossed his fingers, hoping and praying that they would get through and that the other eleven tengas would not attack.
"Right, let's show them what the future Peach and Silver Rangers think about this!" she shouted, getting into a fighting stance.
Billy nodded. "Right!" He also got into a fighting stance.
Leeza went after the farthest tenga. She opened with a flying step and stool kick, making the tenga lose balance a little. Just before it got it's balance back, she kicked its stomach, turned and kicked it's side, then she grabbed its feathery arm and flipped it over. The tenga hit the ground with a loud thud and disappeared.
Billy went for one of the middle tengas. He opened with a flying side kick, knocking the tenga to the ground. It jumped up where he gave a sharp side kick, knocking the wind out of it. He turned and kicked the back of it where it fell out cold. But unknown to Billy, there was a tenga right behind, which grabbed his arm, trapping him. Billy squirmed, trying to get realized.
Meanwhile, another one was after Leeza. She gave it a side kick, aiming for its stomach. The tenga grabbed her foot and flung her in air. Leeza landed hard on her chest.
"Leeza!" Billy yelled after her as the other tenga held him tighter, refusing to let go. "Leeza!" he yelled again, desperately trying to break free of the tenga's grip.
"I'm okay! Just take care of yourself!" she shouted, still on the ground. She backed up on her elbows knees, crunched. "Back off!" she shouted at the monstrous looking bird. It refused. Leeza looked at it and kicked it right in the chin. Within half a second she was up on her feet. She kicked the tenga in its side and it fell on to the ground and disappeared like the other tenga's had. She ran over to Billy. She kicked the tenga in the back, which made it lose it's balance.
Billy ducked out from under it's arm, and ran over to Leeza. "Thanks...your a life saver!" he said out of breath. The tenga turned and looked at the two of them, ready to attack. "Com'on...let's show this overgrown crow who he's dealing with," Billy said.
"Yeah!" Leeza respond with excitement.
The two of them aimed for a side kick. They looked at each other to make sure they were lined up. The two of them took off and kicked the tenga in perfect unison, knocking it to the ground with a bang and the it disappeared.
Billy looked at Leeza a bit out of breath. "Nice side kick..." he paused. "Guess Rocky wasn't lying."
"Thanks." She smiled. "Your's isn't that bad either."
"Well, thanks again." He stopped and went to get both of their backpacks. "Let's get out of here before the others decide to attack."
Leeza let out a sigh of relief. "I couldn't agree with you more." She grabbed her backpack and the two headed into the cave.
The inside of the cave was dark, hollow, and damp. Water dripped from the long stalactites hanging on the ceiling. A cold chill ran up and down both of their spines as they walked deeper into the cave, and light seemed to disappear. Something was wrong with it, but the two of them really did not know what. A small stream of water flew next to them, coming from an unknown source. "I wonder where the water's coming from?" Leeza said, kneeling down, looking at the stream.
Billy shrugged. "Maybe there's some sort of waterfall," he said, uneasily shifting from one foot to another.
For some odd reason the water began to vibrate, swaying back and forth. "Billy..." Leeza began.
"Yeah, Leeza?" he asked, kneeling down next to her.
"The water's swaying," she blurted out.
"What?" Billy said, a confused expression appearing.
"It's swaying or vibrating." She pointed it out again.
Billy began, "Well, maybe it's...." But before he could finish, the ground began to shake and all light disappeared. The two of them fell backwards from loss of balance. They rolled on their stomachs and put their hands over there heads to protect them from the falling debris. A minute passed and the shaking finally stopped. Leeza and Billy both moaned as they began to shake the dust off of them. "You.... okay?" Billy said with a cough, beginning to sit up and rolling his head around.
"Yeah," Leeza said, faintly rolling over on her back. "What happened?"
Billy shrugged. "We had an earthquake.... " He paused, beginning to look around furiously.
Leeza immediately jumped to her feet. "What is it Billy?.... What's wrong?" she asked, trying to follow his stare.
"The light's gone!...the light from outside is gone!" he said, pointing to the tunnel that was entirely dark.
"But why?" Leeza asked confused.
"It's to far to go back.... maybe the navigator can tell us." He sighed and shook the dust off his backpack, pulling the small navigator out. Leeza leaned over his shoulder, trying to see what it said. Billy pressed several buttons and finally stopped. "Oh my God," he said so slowly and quietly. Leeza had to strain to hear him.
Leeza almost hesitated on asking, but she knew she had no choice. "Billy," she started, "what's wrong?.... What does the navigator say?"
Billy looked up looking near tears. "In..." he struggled, "In the earthquake...there was an avalanche in the opening to the cave.... There's no way out."
Leeza knelt down next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Billy.... don't worry about it..." She paused. Leeza just was not sure on what to say to him. Millions of thoughts went through her mind then she remembered something she herself had thought earlier. She took a deep breath. "Billy, if God wants us to find these crystals, we'll find these crystals. Just have to have faith in God, that's all." It came to Leeza's mind that what if, just what if, God did not want them to find the crystals. She shook the horrid idea from her mind.
Billy nodded. "You're right. Let's see if there's another way out," he stated, getting up.
"All right!" Leeza shouted. Billy grabbed her hand and helped boost her up.
Leeza glanced over to the small stream, but there was one small problem.... The stream was gone! "B-Billy," Leeza stuttered.
Uneasy from the tone of her voice, Billy immediately turned. "What's wrong, Leeza?"
"The stream's gone!.... It just disappeared!" she said, pointing to the damp ground in front of them.
Billy squatted down and touched it. "Where did it go?" he asked.
"I don't.... " Her voice faded as she turned and looked deeper into the cave.
"Leeza?" He jumped up and stood next to her. "Are you okay?"
Leeza brought her fingers up as a sign to be quiet. "Yeah, I'm fine...Do you hear that weird noise?.... It sounds like a rustling.... Down that way." She pointed deeper into the cave.
"Let's go," Billy said. The two of them walked deeper into the cave. They stopped in front of what must have been the waterfall. In front of the waterfall was a boulder, blocking the water from coming out. "That boulder's huge...there's no way we'll be able to move it."
Leeza looked at Billy surprised. "Why would we have to move it?"
"Because if enough water pressure builds up it will blow.... Basically, it will flood this whole area.... We have to find another way out of here, before it blows," he said frantically.
Leeza nodded her head. "All right... then let's go." The two of them walked way down, hoping they would find another way out. Five minutes later, they arrived in front of a huge wall at the end of the cave. "What are we going to do now!?" Leeza yelled on the verge of tears.
Billy silently stood in one of the corners, his head down and scuffing the dirt underneath him. "I don't know.... maybe we could.... " His voice faded. He suddenly jerked up and started feeling the walls.
Leeza looked at Billy as if he had five heads. "Billy...have you lost your mind...or do you always fell walls in your spare time?" Leeza said with the utmost sarcasm.
Billy sighed and turned to face her. "No, Leeza...I'm looking for a vortex.... something we could pass through that we can't see.... Could you please help me look?"
Leeza bit her lip. "Oh,...no problem." Why did she do that? If Billy liked her, she was sure killing any feelings that he had. Not that she would blame him. She was being sarcastic, rude, and totally annoying. She tried to forget about it as she began feeling for a vortex.
"Can you feel anything?" Billy asked turning to Leeza.
"Nothing." She sighed. The two of them stopped. Leeza hesitated. "Billy, what are we going to do now? There's no way out."
He shrugged. "I wish I knew Leeza.... I wish I could tell you what we should do." Suddenly, the ground began to shake slightly, knocking Leeza off balance. She fell forward on top of Billy. "You okay?" he asked, the two of them getting up.
"I'm fine.... was that a small earthquake?" she asked.
Billy shook his head. "I think it's the waterfall.... it might be ready to blow.... "
"Why don't you check the navigator,...maybe it could tell us how long we have," Leeza suggested.
"All right,"Billy agreed. He was hesitant though, not that Leeza might be right, but what the navigator would say. He leaned down and picked it up, quickly he pressed buttons. When he finally found the answer he froze, as he read what the navigator had found.
"Billy?" Leeza asked, softly crunching down next to him. He was too quiet and the expression he wore on his face concerned her deeply. When there was no response, she followed his gaze at the small screen. What she read made her want to faint. It said that there was not even five minutes until the wall would blow, and that their was no way they could escape. Leeza thought of everything that had happened in the past 4 hours. They found the top part of the crystals, they had dealt with tengas, climbing a cliff, two earthquakes, and much more.
But Leeza had one question. Why would God have let them come this far for them to die? Even letting her live after she fell off that cliff, letting the two of them live after being attacked by the tengas, letting them outrun almost eleven of them. They were a matter of a mile and a half away from the crystals. Why would God let them come so close to the crystals and then desert them?
Leeza then remembered another thing that had happened to the Israelites. When Pharaoh had deiced he wanted them back as slaves and gone after them, they were trapped by the sea and had no were to go. Moses prayed, and God opened up the Red Sea right down the middle and all the Israelites got to the other side safely. If God could open up the Red Sea he could make a small earthquake so they could get out safely.
Leeza got up, making Billy jar out of his deep thought. "You okay?" he asked, forcing himself up.
Leeza looked a bit shocked. "I'm fine, what about you?... You were in a complete daze."
"I was thinking of what to do... but nothing comes to mind," he answered lamely.
Leeza looked down at the ground, wondering whether she should say something. Then she realized they were running out of luck. "What about prayer?"
Billy glared at her,"Leeza.. I.... I.... don't know how to pray."
"Okay,... How about I pray, and you just listen?" she asked.
Billy bit his lip. "As long as I don't have to say anything," he agreed.
Leeza got on her knees and began to pray. "Dear Lord, I come before you right now in this time of need.... We are trapped in a cave as you know.... Lord, in not even four minutes the waterfall will blow and flood this whole area.... Lord I'm going to ask that you will make a way for us to leave here safely.... For us to be able to continue our journey and get home safely.... In your precious name, Lord... Amen," she finished. Leeza stopped and a strong and heavy silence fell over the cave.
Billy did not say anything. He was in shock from the prayer he had just heard. Secretly in his mind, he prayed to whoever or whatever was out there. He did not believe in God, but if there was one they could really use his help. The two continue to pray in their own way, hoping God was hearing and possibly answering them. One minute later, there was a small quake. Several rocks fell, then a mini-boulder crashed through. Light came rushing in from the outside. The two of them stood up and brushed off the dirt and dust. Right up in front of them was an opening. The entire back of the cave had crashed down. Only with a glance, the two looked at each other and ran out of the cave to safety. They ran up to several trees and stopped there to catch their breath. "Leeza.... " Billy began.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"I got to start praying," he said with a smirk, but in a very serious tone.
At that exact moment the wall in the cave blew. There was only a vague vibration from the blow so the two did not hear a thing. Then a river of water came flowing out from the cave. Once it hit the ground outside it slowed down. The two were startled and turned.
"Man, we got out of there just in time," Billy said in amazement. Then the ground shook furiously, making the two of them lose balance, and fall down the hill. The two yelled for each other, but there was no answer. The two fell to different areas of the hill, hitting the ground harshly and falling into a deep, unconscious sleep.
Chapter IV
Fifteen minutes later, Leeza rolled over and moaned. "Oww.... that hurt," she whispered, trying to open her eyes. Trees filled her blurred vision. The blue sky and white clouds hid behind the luscious green branches. She forced herself to sit up. As she did, everything spun. Several thoughts went through her mind, but the biggest was what had happened.... She looked around. Nothing but plants.... Then it hit her! The cave, the water blowing and the earthquake... Then waking up here. But one question remained. Where was Billy? She could not see him or hear her name being called.
"Billy!" she suddenly shouted, scrambling to her feet. "Billy! Where are you?!.... Can you hear me?!" No answer. Dead silence. A bolt of fear went through her. She did not know what to do. What if he was seriously hurt? What part of the hill was he at? What if....
She shook her head, trying to erase the horrible thought that just went through her mind. Tears formed in her eyes as she began to realize that it could have been the truth."Billy!" she screamed again and began to choke on the tears streaming down her cheeks. How could God let something like this happen? How could he possible let her lose someone that she was becoming so close too? "Leeza stop this," she talked to herself choking in tears. "You don't even know what's happen,.... he could just be unconscious like you were." She tried calming herself, but it was impossible. The thoughts just kept going through her head.... Then she felt led to go just to the side of the hill by some trees. Not knowing why, she stood up and went in that direction. She did not know where she was going, because she had not been in this direction before. There was only one thing she did know. That God was with her at that moment. She knew where she was supposed to go and God would take her there safely.
It was really dark at this part of the hill. The tree tops sheltered the sun from shining down on the moldy leaves. Leeza looked from side to side. Nothing. "Okay, no one's in site... I'm basically on another planet by myself..." She paused.
A thought shot into her mind. What if the tenga's came after her?! "Don't worry about that now, just focus on finding Billy and getting back home in Angel Grove." She pushed on through, knowing that God was leading her in this direction for a specific reason.
Then she just stopped and stared into the deep and empty forest."This is ridiculous!" She argued with her conscious. "He couldn't of fallen this far. It's at least two miles from the top!" She turned around and started into another direction. As she walked, she just listened. There really was not much sound, since only plants lived there. But the wind blowing over the plants made a beautiful relaxing sound. Then she heard a different sound, the sound of someone wincing in pain.
She turned quickly toward the direction of the noise. There lay Billy chest first. "Billy!" she screamed, running toward him. He coughed and moved his arm slightly. "Billy!" she yelled again. "Billy.... are you okay?" she asked entirely out of breath.
Leeza lightly began shaking his shoulder. He winced and squinted his eyes in pain. He coughed and picked his head up slightly. He coughed even more, then he slowly rolled onto his side and back, to stop breathing in the dirt. He moaned a little and opened his eyes. He opened them to a blur of someone leaning over him. Then Leeza's concerned face snapped into focus.
"You okay?" she asked, her voice quivered as she did afraid of the answer.
Billy blinked his eyes several times to see if he was. "Yeah, I'm fine.... my head just hurts a little.... How long was I out?" he asked, gazing at the surroundings.
Leeza shrugged, hands in the air. "I don't know! I just found you not even a minute ago.... But my guess is a while. It took me fifteen minutes to find you, plus I was out for who knows how long myself.... You fell pretty far down, that's for sure."
Billy slightly nodded his head agreeing with her. He could see how far the top was from where he was laying. Then he turned to face Leeza again. A semi-scared look appeared. "Are you all right?" he asked, trying to get up using his elbows.
Leeza looked confused. "Of course I'm okay.... Lay back down. If you get up to quick, you might get dizzy," she stated, changing the subject.
But he pressed on. "Leeza, you've got a really big cut on your forehead... that's why I wanted to make sure you were okay...." He paused and lay back down. "And, man, you were right about getting dizzy," he finished, bringing his hand to his forehead.
Leeza could not help but chuckle. "You never listen to me until you hurt yourself. You probably have a concussion, so for my sake, take it easy.... And don't worry about me, as long as I'm worrying about somebody else that means I'm okay," she told him, touching the cut on her head.
"Yeah, that's true... And as for not listening to you, I'm getting a little better. Help me up." With that, Leeza gave him her arm and helped him sit up."Ah, man my head.... Maybe I should've stayed down," he moaned.
Leeza just shook her head at how stupid he could be sometimes. "Serves you right. When you feel a little better, we'll teleport back to the Power Chamber," she stated.
Billy's eyes almost popped out of his head. "What! We aren't going back.... we haven't found the crystals yet!" he almost shouted.
"Billy, the two of us almost lost our lives.... I'm not going to take the chance again, I'm going home," she said in a determined voice. Her mind was already made up.
Billy shook his head. "Fine, go home.... I'm staying here... And when I find the crystals I'll come back."
"Billy I can't leave you here by yourself.... what if something were to happen to you? Who would get help?" she said. Her voice seemed to plead with him to go with her and not take a chance with his life.
"Well, I'm just going to have to take that chance.... As soon as I feel better, I'm going to go and look for them, whether you like it or not. If you could just give me the navigator so I can look for the crystals myself," he stated.
Leeza just shook her head and did not say anything. There was no point in trying to change his mind, it was totally made up. The thing that seemed to really bug her was at that moment was that he was being just as stubborn as her. Leeza picked herself up from the ground and searched for Billy's backpack. She searched around until she found it over by a tree. She walked up to it and picked it up. She searched in it for the navigator. Then, when she had found it, she almost wished she had not. It was completely ruined, wires hanging from it and parts missing.
She walked over to Billy and handed it to him. "Well, here's your navigator. But, if I were you I would change the name," she said in a semi-sarcastic voice. Billy just sat there, mouth wide open in shock. "Billy, please close your mouth. Your going to catch a fly.... I guess your going to have no choice but to come with me now, huh?" she finished.
Billy swallowed hard. He hated to give up, but it looked like he would have no choice. He was injured, the navigator was broken, he had really no idea where the crystals were, and honestly he did not want to be alone in this strange place."I guess, I have no choice.... I was really counting on being a ranger again, too...." he said, his voice fading.
Leeza let out a breath. "Look.... Maybe we can come back with a new navigator. I'm sure Zordon would let us off here again and then we can go and finish searching," she encouraged.
Billy shook his head with frustration. "You don't understand, Leeza.... If we go back, the power of the crystals will be lost .... Either we stay and claim the power," he paused, hesitant to continue, "or we go back and lose the power forever," he explained.
"Billy we have to trust God.... If we're meant to have the power, the crystals will still be here," Leeza started. "But.... I don't think God would want us to endanger our lives.What happened last time could have just been a warning.... Who knows what will happen next?"
Billy lowered his eyes, pretending to exam the old moldy leaves that was mixed in with the dirt. "I guess you're right.... You sure were last time," he finished, vaguely gazing up at her.
"Good!" she said with enthusiasm. Her voice stated both a tone of relief and she knew that he would give in.
"All right, give me an arm up," he said, putting his arm up ready to finally go home.
"Okay," she said. Then she placed her arm under his and busted him up. "You sure you're all right?... Are you dizzy or anything?" she asked once he was standing almost by himself.
"Yeah.... after everything that's happened, I guess I'm as good as I can be," he stated in an almost sad voice.
"Well, that's good," she said, brushing the dirt off his clothes. Just then, some colored light flashed by and startled them. "What in the world!?" Leeza said, a little shook up.
The flashes of light went by again. But this time the colors were evident. Peach and Silver. Leeza looked around trying to find the area which it was coming from. As she did this, she remembered something. When they were in the Power Chamber, the other parts of the crystals did the exact same thing! "Billy....," she began," do those colors remind you of anything?"
He looked at the lights as they flashed, and tried to think of were he had seen them before... Then he remembered. "The crystals!?" he questioned.
Leeza shook her head slightly, almost afraid to admit what it was. "I think so."
"Well, then what are we waiting for! Let's go see if we can find them!" he said excitedly, walking towards the shimmering lights.
Leeza just shrugged. "Some people will never learn!" She threw her hands up and followed behind him.
The colors flashed again. They continued to flash, each time stronger and brighter. They were definitely close. Just when they thought they were about to find them, another dead end.
Billy just sighed and hung his head. Every time he was about to be a ranger again, he lost his chance... Maybe it was fate telling him this or maybe... maybe Leeza was right.... maybe God's will would let them find the crystals, but what if God did not want them to find the crystals? Maybe God had another plan for him.... Maybe he was just meant to be a ranger for the time he was one and that was that. _I guess it's true,_ he thought to himself. _Things in this life aren't as important as the things in the next._
Then something dawned on him. He never thought like this. It was not like he was raised to believe in God. In fact, he himself never believed in God. All of his scientific theories had discouraged that. Science was his God... _What if.... neah, impossible._ He thought. _What if this was the reason why I'm here? What if God had just wanted me to realize how wrong I was and admit it .... Well, I'm sorry.... That probably isn't what I should say. I should probably say a lot of other things. It's just the best I could do, God. I'm also sorry it's not a better apology.... As soon as I learn what I should say, I'll say it. Oh, and thanks for saving our lives earlier... Amen,_ he finished in his mind.
Leeza had been searching for another way out. Nothing came up. Ever since she found the rangers, she was not very fond of walls. She turned only to see Billy sitting on the ground, looking as if he were in some other time zone. "You okay?" she asked.
He jerked. He felt like he had fainted and suddenly was snapped back to consciousness. "Y-Yeah,... I'm f-fine." He stuttered a little. The feeling he had at that moment could not be expressed in any language or in any amount of words. He felt a combination of scared, happy, sad, excited, and almost a form of freedom. It was just so hard to explain, so hard to express.
He had never been on a quest like this before. It was almost like the quest that would save his life. He might not find the crystals and he might not be a ranger, but he felt as if he had found something much stronger and deeper than that. He had found his quest, he had found his meaning in life.
Leeza stared at him, something was wrong. He was too quiet... Way too quiet. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked again, it wouldn't hurt to double check.
He glanced up at her with the strangest feeling that she was also going to be a very important part of his quest. Maybe even part of it. They had grown a little closer since they began this together. As if it would be a bit more than a very close friendship. He had to trust God on that one. "I'm okay.... Com'on, let's go home."
Leeza almost fainted from shock. "Home!?" He had gotten into a fight with her, trailed off toward some bizarre lights and now he wanted to go home? Either Billy was insane or she was! She checked his forehead to make sure he did not have a temperature.
He could not help but laugh a little. "Leeza I'm fine really!... I just realized that these crystals weren't as important as I had thought they were.... It's not worth risking our lives over.... I'm just sorry I didn't see that originally," he finished.
Leeza did not know what too say or how to express herself. She was shocked and probably would remain that way for a while."Okay," she said in a strange voice. So they got into position to teleport home. They were just about to press the tiny buttons on their communicator's when the light appeared again. But this time it wasn't far away. All you had to do was look straight in front of you and there they were, right beside a bush, shimmering and shining. The weirdest thing was that a second before the crystals had not been there, where did they come from? How did they get there?
These would be questions that all the rangers would ask. Leeza and Billy would know the answer, but the rangers probably would not believe them. That really did not matter though, because the two of them knew the truth, whether they believed them or not. They remained frozen, as if time had stopped and they would remain frozen like statures forever.
A few minutes later, Billy finally stepped over to them. The silver one seemed to connect with him. Not like a physical connection, more like a spiritual connection.
He picked it up and it shined. He could feel the power from it. But extremely different than he remembered. A stronger power, almost like a power inside of him was finally being emerged. Leeza went over to his side and did the exact same as him. The same thing happened, but peach was the shining color.
The two of them stood up. "I think ... we can head home now,"Billy said with a wink.
Leeza had to restrain a giggle. "Yeah.... that's for sure." They put the crystals in their pockets, and teleported home.
Chapter V
When they arrived, the Power Chamber was filled with a light glow of peach and silver. When they re-materialized, the other rangers put down the few devices that they were working on.
"Billy! Leeza! You're back!" Katherine exclaimed.
"And you've got the crystals!" Rocky said, a bit surprised.
"Well, what did you think, Rocky? I was gonna come back with out them?" Billy asked, removing the shiny silver crystal from his side pocket.
Rocky was speechless. Tommy took over from there. "Hey, it doesn't matter, man. I'm just glad the two of you got back safely... But it's great you got them. We can always use more help. And instead of six, we're gonna have seven rangers... I'm almost shocked."
"Yeah...and it will be great to have you back on the team." Adam jumped into the conversation.
Tanya stared at the small bump on Billy's forehead. "Billy, what happened to your head?" she asked, stepping forward to get a closer look.
Leeza took it from there. "Oh, its a little souvenir he and I picked up on our way to finding the crystals." They all laughed.
Zordon stared at the two of them."It is wonderful that the two of you returned home safely ....," he began. "While the two of you were searching for the crystals, Alpha, the other rangers, and I made a device that will allow the power of the crystals to be infused into you."
Alpha explained more. "It's in one of the zord rooms.... we will put the