Ranger Moon #10 - "A Brush with a Day of Destiny"

	"Here, let me help you with those," Kimberly said, turning
the Whitelight Knight around.  She inspected his chains.  Just as
she was trying to think of something sharp she could use to break
the chains, the Whitelight Knight produced a white tiger lily and
handed it to her.  The flower was unnaturally solid.
	The Whitelight Knight sat on the rock floor and held out
his hands to Kimberly.  She stabbed the chains with the flower,
shattering one of the iron links.  He stood up and stretched out his
arms, which had been restrained behind him for a while.  As she
was about to hand him the flower back, she realized it had
vanished from her grasp.	
	"Okay, now what?" he asked.
	As if in response, an opening formed in the wall, revealing
a hidden staircase.  "Come on!" said Kimberly, running up the
spiral steps.  The Whitelight Knight took a quick glance down both
directions of the tunnel to make sure no one was following them,
and then rushed up the staircase after Kimberly.
	After at least fifty loops upward, the spiral staircase finally
opened up into some sort of enormous chamber.  After Kimberly
and the Whitelight Knight had emerged into the chamber, the hole
leading down to the stairs sealed itself, leaving no trace of its
existence.
	Kim and the Whitelight Knight found themselves beside
the four captured Ranger Scouts, facing the ornately dressed
demon queen known as Rita.
	"Guys!" Kimberly said, catching sight of her friends.  She
noticed that they were wearing their normal clothes rather than
their Ranger Scout uniforms.
	"Please forgive us, Kimberly," groaned Jason.
	Before she could ask what Jason was talking about,
Kimberly saw Barite appear infront of Rita's throne.  He bowed to
the queen and presented to her the Zeo Shards of Rangers
Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter.
	"No!!" Kimberly shouted, stepping forward.  The
Whitelight Knight held her back by her arm to prevent her from
doing anything rash.
	"Yes," said Barite, fastening around Rita's neck the
necklace upon which the shards were strung, "the Netherverse now
owns all of the Zeo Shards but yours."  He walked toward her and
said, "But that will soon change."
	"You'll have to go through me first," said the Whitelight
Knight, stepping forward.
	"Shadows!" bellowed Queen Rita, her cry echoing through
the chamber.  "Destroy the Whitelight Knight!"
	The Whitelight Knight watched as the hundreds of dark
beings lining the chamber began to converge on him.  "Uh oh," he
said.  Not wanting the Shadows to get near Kimberly, he leapt into
the air and soared to the opposite end of the chamber, where he
was swallowed up by the horde of Shadows upon landing.  He
might not survive, but at least he had bought Kimberly some time.

	"Ranger Moon," said Barite, "I challenge you."
	"No way," said Kimberly.  "You don't have any honor. 
You'll probably use some dirty trick."
	Barite, deeply stunned by her words, replied, "I will prove
my honor to you, and I will beat you fair and square."  He removed
a golden ring from his finger and dropped it to the floor.  "No
illusions," he said.  He then pulled out his dagger and dropped it as
well.  "And no weapons."
	"Then I accept your challenge," said Kimberly.
	"Kim, what are you doing?" asked Trini.
	"Good question," Kim whispered back.
	As Barite approached her, she stepped back, trying to buy
some time to think of a plan.  But Barite rushed in to attack - she
would not have the chance to think.  Before she could react, Barite
kicked the side of her knee, sending her crashing to the ground. 
She exhaled in annoyance and stood back up.
	As she tried to throw a kick a Barite, he sidestepped her
attack and kicked her in the ribs, followed by a blow to the nose. 
Starting to get angry, Kimberly swung outward with her fist,
catching Barite in the side of the head with the back of her fist.
	While Barite was shocked for an instant that she had
actually hit him, she followed up with a knee to his stomach,
causing him to fall to the ground.
	Suspecting Kimberly would not expect him to strike at that
moment, Barite quickly swept her legs out from underneath her. 
She fell but recovered by doing a backward somersault into a
standing position.
	By now, Barite had stood up, and he came at her with a
high punch.  She blocked the attack and threw her own punch. 
Barite caught her oncoming fist, turned around, and slung
Kimberly over his shoulder.  She flew through the air and slammed
into the ground on her back.
	"Kim!" Aisha cried out.

	The Whitelight Knight could see nothing but darkness and
could feel nothing but pain.  All around him the shadows were
scratching, clawing, and biting him.  He could do nothing but flail
about in hopes of hurting the Shadows in the process, for his
attackers were too close for him to be able to throw his flowers.
	Just as the Whitelight Knight was thankful that he had
armor to protect him, he could feel a Shadow's fingers edging their
way beneath his helmet.

	Kimberly stood, but before she could regain her bearings,
Barite punched her twice in the mouth and followed with a knee to
her solar plexus and an elbow to her face.  She tried to protect
herself, but the blows kept coming.  Another punch, another kick -
she couldn't stop the barrage of attacks.
	Finally, Barite planted his foot in her stomach and shoved
her backward with a kick.  She toppled over and did not get up.
	"Why are you doing this?" Billy yelled at Barite.
	"I simply wanted the glory of beating Ranger Moon before
I take her Zeo Shard," replied Barite as he picked up his dagger.
	"You're not getting my Zeo Shard," Kim said weakly as she
sat up and held the back of her hand to her upper lip.
	"Well, then I guess I'll have to kill your friends one by one,"
said Barite, going through the motion of throwing his dagger at the
Ranger Scouts.  "After all, we have their Zeo Shards now.  There's
no reason to keep them alive."
	Kimberly stood up.
	"You have ten seconds to hand over the Moon Zeo Shard,"
he said, "before one of your friends dies.  Nine..."
	Kimberly tried to think.  If she gave up her Zeo Shard...
	"Eight."
	...then the Netherverse would be able to form the Imperium
Zeo Crystal, and there would be no stopping them.
	"Seven."
	But she couldn't let her friends die!  She had to do
something, quick!
	"Six."
	Kimberly held out her hands and called out, "Crescent ...
Moon ... Purification!"  The pink harp formed in her hands.
	Barite stopped his countdown.  What was Ranger Moon
doing?  Whatever her trick, he would beat her to the draw.  He
hurled the dagger at Trini.
	The dagger spun through the air, streaking toward Trini's
chest.  Instantly the ground warped, and a large mass of rock rose
up infront of Trini, just in time to deflect the dagger and send it
bouncing across the floor to Barite's feet.
	Barite was momentarily stunned.  'What a distraction!'
Kimberly thought as she stroked her fingers across the harp's
strings.  As the beautiful notes echoed through the chamber,
streaks of light erupted from the harp and plunged into Barite.
	His green cloak was torn away, and beneath was a human
in a white shirt and jeans.  His long brown hair was pulled into a
ponytail.
	"Tommy?" Kimberly gasped as the revealed Barite
collapsed to the ground.  The harp vanished from her hands.
	"It can't be," Trini said.
	"I'm sorry, Kimberly," whispered Tommy as he grew still.
	"It appears," said Rita, standing up from her throne, "that I
must handle things personally."
	"Kim, watch out!" Jason warned.
	A black crystal orb hovered infront of Rita.  In the blink of
an eye, the orb transformed into a staff with a crescent moon at
one end, a large ruby sphere inside the moon.  Rita grasped the
floating staff and said, "This whole palace belonged to your
mother - before I seized it and took away everything she held
dear."
	"Wrong," said Kimberly defiantly.  "I'm still here."
	"That can be easily remedied," said the queen.
	Kimberly held out her hands and said, "Crescent ... Moon
..."
	Before Kim could finish summoning her weapon, Rita
aimed the staff at her, and a gush of energy erupted from the ruby
sphere.  Kimberly tried to stand her ground against the oncoming
blast but was lifted off her feet and slammed into one of the
chamber's side walls.  As Kimberly slumped to the floor, Rita
approached her.
	"Oh, man, Rita's winning," Jason said.
	"I have an idea," Trini told the others.  "If only we could
get out of these chains."
	In response to Trini's suggestion, eight pairs of sharp rocky
protrusions emerged from the ground.  Each pair surrounded the
chains restraining the Scouts' arms and then pinched together,
successfully cutting the chains like a pair of scissors.  Similar
protrusions cut the Scouts' ankle restraints and then vanished along
with the first set.
	"Remarkable," Billy remarked.  "It's as if the palace itself is
helping us."

	Rita unleashed another stream of energy at Kimberly,
grinding her into the rock wall.  "Only after I break every bone in
your body," sneered Rita, "will I let you surrender the Moon Zeo
Shard to me."

	"Whatever you're planning, Trini," said Aisha, "you'd better
do it fast!  I don't know how much longer Kim can hold out!"
	Trini stepped forward silently.  She extended one hand and
spoke softly, "Jupiter ... Thunder ... Bolt."
	"Trini, what are you doing?" asked Jason.
	"Yeah," said Aisha.  "We're not Ranger Scouts anymore."
	Trini's hand began to crackle with electricity.  The other
three teens gasped as the electricity built up and began to coalesce
into the shape of a stylized lightning bolt.
	"Amazing," Billy commented.  "She's tapping her element
without her Zeo Shard!"
	The lightning bolt was now fully charged, and Trini pulled
back her arm to throw it.  With all her might, she heaved the
javelin of energy.  As the bolt tore through the air, thunder boomed
through the chamber.  The bolt struck Rita directly in the back and
dissipated harmlessly.
	"She must be protected by your shard!" Billy presumed.
	Rita stopped blasting Kimberly and slowly turned around. 
"There was a time," said Rita to the Scouts, "when I considered
sparing your lives so that I might mold you into fine warriors for
the Netherverse.  Then I could give you back your precious Zeo
Shards, and you would be my very own team of Ranger Scouts to
do my bidding as I saw fit."  She raised her staff at the Scouts. 
"But that time has passed.  You will die now."
	Kimberly, floating on the edge of consciousness, focused
her mind and called forth, "Crescent ... Moon ... Purification!"  As
the harp formed in Kim's hands, Rita twirled around.
	Just as Kimberly plucked the strings, Rita used her staff to
erect a shield of energy which protected her from the barrage of
white energy.  "Clever girl," Rita sneered.  "You almost won."
	At that moment, Tommy made it to his feet, the dagger of
Barite in his hand.  "Don't count her out yet, Rita!" he shouted, and
then threw the blade.
	The gleaming Dragon Dagger whirled over Rita's shoulder
and shattered the ruby sphere within her staff.  Suddenly, her
shield collapsed, and the deluge of white energy enveloped her
body.
	The white mass of energy expanded to about three times its
original size, at which point it exploded, washing the entire
chamber with a wave of white energy.  The mob of Shadows in the
back of the chamber evaporated instantly, and the chamber began
to quake violently.
	"Diana," said Dulcea's voice.
	Kimberly weakly stood and looked up to listen to the voice.
	"You have destroyed Rita and freed my spirit from this
place," Dulcea said.  "You have fulfilled your destiny."
	Kimberly giggled, overwhelmed with joy.  She could feel
tears of happiness welling up.
	"Now you must return to Earth," said Dulcea, "before the
palace collapses."  A portal of light opened in the wall behind
Kimberly.
	Kim nodded.  "Thank you," she said, her lip trembling.
	The other Scouts rushed over to Kimberly, dodging the
rocks which had begun to fall from the ceiling.
	"What's going on?" Jason yelled over the rumbling sound of
the palace falling apart.
	"Rita's gone, and this dimension is dying!" Kimberly yelled
back.  "You guys get outta here!  I'll be right behind you!"
	Aisha and Jason jumped through the portal.  Trini put her
hand to Kimberly's arm.  "Are you all right?" she asked.
	"I'm fine!" Kimberly told her.  "Go ahead!"
	Trini jumped through, and Billy paused to smile at
Kimberly.  "I knew you could do it," he told her.  She smiled back,
and he jumped into the portal and vanished.

	On Earth, Aisha, Jason, Trini, and Billy appeared in the
desert.  "Welcome home," said Kat, standing infront of them, "and
congratulations."  Kat looked around.  "Where's Kimberly?"
	"I don't know," said Aisha, "she said she was right behind
us."

	Kimberly scanned the area through the downpour of rocks. 
"Whitelight Knight!" she called out.  "Where are you?"
	In the distance, she could make out a white figure.  As he
got closer, she could see that it was the Whitelight Knight.  But it
looked like his helmet was off.  He pushed on through the
bombardment, holding his arms over his head.  Soon Kimberly
could make out the face.
	"Skull!!" she exclaimed.
	The Whitelight Knight smiled through the storm of rock
and gave Kimberly two thumbs up.  He then quickly put his arms
back over his head to block the falling debris as he joined her at
her side.  With a tremendous crash, the entire ceiling of the back
end of the chamber fell.
	Skull grabbed Kimberly's arm and tried to pull her toward
the portal.  "Come on!" he yelled, but his voice was lost in the
roaring of the falling rock.
	Kimberly stopped and looked back.  "Tommy!" she cried
out.  He was nowhere to be seen.  Enormous chunks of ceiling now
began to crash to the ground.  Skull picked her up into his arms
and leapt through the portal, and the scene of the collapsing
chamber faded into white light.

	The setting sun cast an orange glow on Angel Grove Beach
as Kimberly and Skull walked along the moist sand where the
water met the land.  On the horizon, the orange sun glittered in the
water as if it were sinking into the sea.
	"So, what now?" Kimberly asked softly.  "Are you Skull or
the Whitelight Knight?"
	"Both," he said.  "I know who I am now.  Skull and the
Whitelight Knight aren't separated anymore."  He told her, "One
night, something drove me to protect you, and the feeling never
went away.  The alternate personality was created to help keep me
from being too overwhelmed by it all, I guess."  He looked at the
sunset.  "Of course, I still have no clue how or why I became the
Whitelight Knight in the first place."
	"I'm sure it'll be revealed in time," Kimberly told him.
	He nodded.  They continued walking down the beach. 
After a while, Skull stopped and faced her.  She stopped,
wondering what was on his mind.
	"Um, look," he said, "I want you to know I'm sorry about
picking on you so much at school."
	"It's okay.  Don't worry about it," she told him.
	"No," he said, "I was really a jerk sometimes.  And..." he
paused to think.  "...the only reason I did it was ... was because that
was the only way I knew how to get your attention."  He looked
down shyly.
	She smiled.  "Aww, Skull..."  She wrapped her arms around
him and gave him a warm hug.  He blinked and hesitated for a
moment before smiling and returning the embrace.

	On the boardwalk overlooking the beach, Billy, Aisha,
Jason, Trini, and Kat watched Kimberly and Skull and smiled.  In
the shadows below the boardwalk, a small black cat watched as
well.  A golden crescent moon glimmered on its forehead.

THE END?