The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 6, Heather Ray [top 10 motivational books .txt] 📗

and reclined into the comfortable cushion, hefting his legs onto his desk and folding his arms beneath his head.

Considering the odds against it, this victory felt pretty good to the mentor of the Terran Rangers.

While he celebrated in silence, Tanya, Aisha, Rocky, Kat and David couldn't contain their excitement.

"It's over!" Kat shouted, hopping off her cot. Her gait was still marred with a slight limp, yet it didn't hinder her excitement in the least. Despite herself, Tanya laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"I take it that ankle's feeling better?" she asked, holding up the tissue-restoring tool she had used to alleviate Katherine's fractured ankle.

"It's practically good as new," Kat responded with a smile.

The Blue Ranger waited anxiously as a rainbow of light brought the nine other Power Rangers into the chamber. Kat rushed to greet the Black Ranger with a warm hug, while the others also broke up into smaller groups, exchanging hugs, shouts for joy, and congratulations.

"Mission accomplished!" Anthony announced, with one arm draped over Regina's shoulders. "Now we should contact Will, and let him know we're ready to come home."

"That's amazing," Kimberly marveled, watching as Anthony pressed a button on his wrist unit, "How long does it take for the signal to pass through the Multiverse?"

"He said it should take around twenty minutes for him to receive it," Regina answered.

"So," said Tommy, "should we unite the arrowhead?"

"Not quite yet," Brittany answered, pulling off her canary helmet, "Mr. Mitchell said that the point of the arrowhead's maximum healing capability is at the point of unification, and we'll need all the healing power it can muster to save our parents."

After she welcomed the team, Tanya slowly returned to her station by the med-unit. One quick glance at Alexis showed that the Purple Ranger was still unconscious, although other than that she was fine. However, her dark eyes widened when she turned the med-unit itself.

Lying on the cot, rubbing his eyes and yawning, was a fully wakened Micah Oliver.

"Jeez," he muttered, "it's awfully loud

in here..."

Tanya's hand flew to her mouth, and she turned to the others. "Guys!" she called excitedly. "He's awake!"

The group rushed over to the med-unit, and watched in hushed silence as Micah sat up. He blinked tightly, his young face wrinkled with confusion.

It took a few moments of mental blankness... until Rebecca sensed a wave of cold rush through Micah with the speed of a heartbeat.

He remembered what had happened.

Suddenly, his body trembled as if he were cold. The boy blinked several times, rubbing his arms. He then looked down, and slowly stroked his bare chest.

Although there was no visible scar, everyone watching saw the distracted child trace a line down his chest, repeating the motion with tortured slowness.

"How do you feel, Micah?" David ventured.

Micah turned to his uncle, a weak smile on his face. "You're okay."

"Thanks to you," he respond.

"Not really," Micah whispered, his gaze falling to his lap, "I...I told Goldar everything. Everything...

"

"That's nothing to be ashamed of," Katherine assured him, taking his hand and stroking it with an almost maternal affection. Micah lifted his eyes, and met the gentle gaze that reminded him so much of his mother.

His eyes grew moist, and his lips began to tremble.

"I let them down," he said, his voice raw with self-contempt, "I let everyone down! I cracked!"

"You faced a situation far worse than anything an other Ranger has ever experienced!" Tommy stated, standing beside Katherine and leaning closer to Micah, "We're all very proud that you managed to hold on long enough for us to find you."

Micah was silent as he considered Tommy's words. "Really?" he asked finally, his eyes wide with uncertainty, "I mean, you're not just saying that?"

"I'm one-hundred percent honest," Tommy insisted.

A weak smile returned to the boy's face, and he pursed his lips as the crowd congregated tightly around him, with warm hugs and cheers. Still, while Micah's face was stretched in a passive smile, Rebecca felt a strange coldness in his heart.

She bit her lip worriedly, uncertain what to make of the hollow sensation.

After a few moments, Kimberly stepped away from the assembly. While she was certainly relieved that Micah had regained consciousness, another concern began to plague her...especially

when her eyes fell upon the cot not far from the med-unit.

"Uh, Rocky," she said quietly, tugging on the ex-Ranger's sleeve to grasp his attention, "what happened to Alexis?"

The question was loud enough to seize the attention of Tommy, Zack, Jason, and Adam, who hadn't seen nor heard from the Purple Ranger since the Eaglezord faced the dark monster one on one.

Rocky sighed deeply, guiding the team towards her. "She'll be fine soon," he answered, finally, "She's asleep now. The battle really banged up the Eaglezord, though."

"How badly?" Tommy asked, folding his arms in concern.

"I don't even know yet. We haven't gotten the chance to take a look at it. Now that the fight's over and Micah has recovered, I can work on locating the wreckage and teleporting it back to the hangar. Maybe there's something left to salvage."

"Wreckage?" Zack repeated, his eyes wide. "Jeez...what happened?"

"The Zord crashed into the ocean," Rocky reported frankly. "The ship was too damaged to function right, and it was unavoidable."

Tommy's lips flattened tightly, and he cast another quick glance at Alexis. "I shouldn't have told her to keep that monster busy..."

"Hey, this isn't the time," Jason interrupted, nudging the Red Ranger. He then turned back to Rocky. "But, you guys are absolutely sure Alexis will recover?"

Rocky nodded. "She basically got the wind knocked out of her. There might be a little muscle damage, but we can't tell until she tries to move. Still, that's not a major concern."

"And what about the Alligator?" Katherine inquired. "Did you get a chance to run some checks on the damage?"

"It's not as bad as it looks, although I haven't started any thorough examinations yet. But, the Alligator will definitely be on its back for several days...maybe even a solid week."

Tommy's frown only deepened. "We're down two zords," he realized darkly. "Will that be enough?"

"Not against...whatever it was we're fighting," Zack decided.

"I can tell you one thing," Micah called from the med-unit, "the Boss Man is definitely not Zedd or Rita."

All eyes returned to the Green Starlight Ranger, who weakly dragged his body off the med-unit. Leaning upon the apparatus to keep himself standing, he shook his head to quell a resurgence of dizziness before he lifted his gaze to meet the startled looks he felt on his skin.

"How do you know?" Regina inquired. "What did you see when you were captured?"

"I didn't see his face," Micah admitted. "But I know it wasn't Zedd. He had this...really low, hissing voice. And he was totally calm and controlled."

"That's certainly a big jump from Zedd," Aisha noted. "Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"When he appeared, Goldar was shaking in his boots," Micah recalled, "I could actually hear a tremble in his voice. He was completely terrified of his guy. He called him Lord."

"We'd better search through all Zordon's records to see if there are some major villains known that would fit this description," Billy said, tapping his chin.

"Thanks for the info," Tommy said genuinely, walking over to the Green Ranger. He planted his arms on the boy's shoulders, and smiled warmly at him. "You should probably take it easy. At least until we hear word from your universe."

Chapter Fifty-One

"Hey Will!" a voice called, cutting through the hum of machinery that filled the Central Access Complex.

The speaker was instantly answered by a sharp "SHH!"

"Sorry," she whispered, cringing slightly, "I didn't realize he had fallen asleep, Trini."

Trini Mitchell sighed quietly, cocking her head to glance at her husband. Will's head was nestled in his arms, which were leaning on the large desk that had been his workstation for decades. Trini slipped closer to him, and gently pulled his thin glasses off his face. Not surprisingly, her soft touch didn't stir him.

"Poor thing," Trini whispered, lying his glasses near his forehead and softly tousling his graying hair. "He's utterly exhausted, Aisha."

The petite woman shrugged. "He's been waiting vigilantly since the Terras went up against that meteor last night. He's putting in long shifts."

"Still, no catastrophe we've ever faced has been worse than this one," Trini added, folding her arms. "Six lives hanging in the balance, and all we can do is wait. And, what if the Starlights --"

"Stop right there," Aisha interrupted, fixing Trini with a stern gaze. "No pessimists around here. The kids are fine." She then paused, gazing pensively at the chronometer, which had been activated on the Viewing Globe since the departure of the Starlight Rangers.

Silence reigned between the two former Yellow Power Rangers, until a soft beeping sound grasped their attention. Trini's eyes widened, as her gaze fell upon the Viewing Globe.

"What's that?" Aisha inquired.

"It's the Rangers' signal!" she answered excitedly. "Where's David?"

"He's watching over the Terras."

"Quick, bring him out here," Trini instructed, before hurrying towards her husband. She grabbed his shoulder, and began violently shaking him.

"Just...resting my eyes," he groaned, squinting at his wife.

"It's the kids," she said, handing him his glasses. "They're trying to reach us."

Will blinked in disbelief, reaching for his glasses. A wide smile crossed his lips, which reminded Trini of the excitement he always displayed when one of his experiments showed promise. "Finally!" he declared, jumping to his feet with the refreshed energy of a teenager.

Trini couldn't help but giggle as she followed him.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Suddenly, a screen of static appeared on the Viewing Globe. Everyone assembled turned to the globe in surprise, and saw an image slowly take shape. It was a middle-aged man, with graying