Gemini: Brothers in Arms

Brothers in Arms is the first episode of the Gemini arc and the seventh of Power Rangers: Neo Zeo.

Synopsis
An old friend comes back into town, and Taurus makes one final attempt to cling to control.

Plot
"Emperor Taurus—"

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

Ophiuchus ducked just in time; a metal chair hit the doorframe where his head had been a moment before. Taurus was shaking, apparently with anger, and looked ready to keep throwing things.

"See? I'm still strong! I don't have to be in perfect alignment to fight."

"I see that, sir, but it's not about strength, it's the balance of power—"

"Don't condescend to me, you child! We can worry about the balance of power after we actually have some power! Right now we need everything we can gather, and I'm the only one who's actually contributing something. What's Gemini done since he woke up? Plot in that pitiful laboratory he's sharing with Cancer. I'm the one who's actually gotten us a small army thanks to my Labyrinth. If Gemini has a problem he can take it up with me, now GET OUT!" He bellowed.

Ophiuchus saw that argument was useless. He slipped out of the room. Once the door was shut, he shook his head.

"Stubborn," he muttered. "He'll get us all killed before he gives up his place willingly."

"What are you talking about, son of Sagittarius?" The voice was androgynous and soft. Ophiuchus turned, and saw a grayish, slim figure standing behind him. It had two masklike faces, one smiling and the other weeping. Right now the smiling one was looking at Ophiuchus.

"It's Taurus, Water Emperor Gemini. He's . . . unwilling to relinquish control just yet."

"Oh, don't bother with him," Gemini said carelessly.

"Sir?"

"No, let him do whatever he feels like. I have a project, but I need more time, and whatever he does will keep the Rangers busy so I can work. Thanks for telling me, though. Ta-ta." He waved at Ophiuchus, not moving himself.

"Uh, goodbye, then," Ophiuchus said, starting to back away.

"Oh, before I forget, would you be so good as to send out a monster or two and collect some DNA samples from the Rangers? It'll make my work much easier."

"Of course, I'll get right on that."

"Thank you, Ophiuchus." Gemini watched silently until the elevator doors closed, blocking him from Ophiuchus's view.

oZo

A lone car headed away from Angel Grove down a winding road, towards the reservation. Its headlights flashed on cracks and potholes in the road, and the occasional small rodent out for an evening walk. A small house rose up in the distance, with what was either a large shed or a small stable a short distance away.

That was when a pair of Jewel Golems stepped out from behind rising rocks and into the street. The car swerved, but still more of the sapphire giants lumbered towards it from the other direction. Its engine vroomed with a sound not unlike a racecar, and the vehicle swung around and did a u-turn in the stubbly grass. Before it could shoot back the way it had come, a Jewel Golem seized one of the rearview mirrors. It broke off in the monster's grasp as the car leaped away.

One of the Jewel Golems slammed its horned head into the side of the car, denting the door inwards. Its horns tore into the metal. The impact made the vehicle tip, and the monster pushed, sending it over sideways with a crash. Tearing free, the monster ripped the door off and reached inside, only for the driver to seize it by the arm and pull himself out. He hit the ground and rolled, coming up on his feet as the foot soldiers lumbered towards him. Instead of running, he lunged towards the nearest with a loud hi-ya and a kick. His foot thunked against the Jewel Golem's stone body to no visible effect. Just in time he ducked to avoid a two-armed grab by the monster.

However, the fight was over. The foot soldiers closed in, and try as he might, the driver couldn't seem to hurt them no matter what he tried. When one of the Jewel Golems got a hit in, it knocked him down, and all four of the creatures were on him in a moment.

By now the ruckus had drawn the attention of whoever lived in the house; someone came out onto the deck. With a shout, they started running towards the fight scene, but too late. The Jewel Golems disappeared into the desert, dragging their prisoner.

Reaching the fallen car, the runner—David—stopped, breathing fast, and looked around at the battle scene. His expression grew grim as he recognized the battered vehicle.

"Tommy." Backing up, he raised his communicator watch. "Alpha? Call the Rangers, we've got an emergency."

oZo

"Lidian lives in the Addams family house?" Casey asked incredulously, even though there was no one around to hear her.

She stood in front of a metal gate, looking in. Bushes and other plants lined the walk, with a few drooping willows nearby. The house itself was at least three stories high, with a balcony and what looked like a bell tower rising up from the middle. All of the windows were arched, and it had a mansard roof. Although it was a little small for the label, it had the figure of a mansion.

After she got over her staring, Casey tried the gate. It opened easily, and she slipped inside, pulling it closed behind her. She hurried up the walk, hopped up the doorstep, and looked for a doorbell. There wasn't one,so she knocked on the door and waited. No one answered.

Casey waited a full thirty seconds before she started looking around. Peeks in the window didn't reveal anything, and then she got distracted by the weirder plants scattered around. As she crouched to sniff some blue-black lilies, she heard footsteps and looked up.

"Lidian?"

He was just coming around the corner of the house. Seeing her he stopped up short, looking almost scared. Snapping out of it, he ran up to her.

"What are you doing here?"

"You were going to help me study for the biology exam, remember?"

"At the Surf Spot or the library, not here!"

Casey gave him an odd look. "Why not?"

"Ezra doesn't like strangers. You need to go," Lidian insisted, still looking nervous. "We'll both get in trouble if he finds you here."

"Who's Ezra?"

"He's my brother. Look, you go ahead to the Surf Spot, I'll meet you there with my books, okay?"

"Okay," Casey said at last. "Sorry, I didn't know."

"No, no, it's my fault; I should have been more specific. See you there?"

"Yeah." Casey started walking, and Lidian headed inside. The door boomed shut after him, leaving Casey standing in the middle of the path, looking confused and a little hurt.

There was a rustle in the bushes behind her, and she turned around to look. The plants were still moving, but no animals or people were visible. Another soft noise carried from the trees further along the metal fence. Frowning a little, Casey began to follow the noise, moving as quietly as she could. Soon she had to squeeze through the fence—fortunately she was skinny enough to manage it without too much trouble.

The noise got louder as Casey drew further and further away from Lidian's house. Whoever she was following—and it was definitely a someone, from the way the head-height branches were smacked aside or the plants crushed under invisible feet—was no longer afraid of discovery. Excited, but too worried about being heard to call for backup or even morph, Casey moved from tree to tree, following her invisible monster.

Finally, they reached a clearing, and what looked like a large mossy boulder. The monster materialized, revealing itself to be covered in little gleaming mirrors, like a disco ball. Grabbing part of the boulder, it yanked, and off came a camouflage tarp. Beneath it sat a blocky, rounded Windjammer ship, which it climbed inside.

"This is Mirorrage, reporting in."

Casey crept closer to hear what the creep had to say. There might be some trap it had laid for Lidian that she should know about before she kicked his butt.

"Do you have the sample?"

"Yeah, I think so, but this guy is careful. I think he nearly saw me a couple of times."

Casey's communicator watch chimed, making her and Mirrorage jump. The monster stood up in his cockpit, looking around for the source of the noise. Deciding that was as good a cue as any, Casey raised her morphers.

"It's Morphin' Time! Zeo Ranger II, Yellow!"

"Yellow Ranger?!" Mirrorage squawked as Casey sprang out of hiding and gave him a friendly wave.

"Hi! What'cha doing?"

"Nothing I'm going to tell you about!"

"That's okay. Wanna fight?"

"Not particularly." Sitting down again, the monster began to close the cockpit hatch.

"You're doing it wrong. The answer is always 'yes,'" Casey called. "Zeo Power Clubs!"

Charging across the clearing, she kicked off a tree and brought both Power Clubs down on the descending hatch. The glass cracked at the blow. Hearing a panel open behind her, Casey turned and found herself looking down the barrel of a long gun. She threw herself aside just in time to avoid a gout of red fire.

Landing in the grass, Casey rolled and spun around as the gun swiveled after her, igniting the loam and smaller plants on the forest floor. Casey bolted, staying just ahead of the scarlet flames. Her communicator watch chimed again. She threw herself behind a boulder and held it up to her mouth.

"Yeah?"

"Casey, we need you," Violet said.

"Kinda busy right now."

"David's brother's been kidnapped. We need you and the Zords."

"The Zords?" Casey sat bolt upright, forgetting all about shelter.

"Actually the Super Zeozords; we all need to be able to fly."

Casey couldn't talk for a minute. When she did, her voice had jumped an octave from excitement. "I'll be there in five minutes—don't you dare leave me out this time!"

oZo

A ship whose prow was shaped like a charging horse headed towards the Moon. The Jewel Golems had deposited their prisoner in the care of Valkyrie, one of the rare female—and even rarer, humanoid—Windjammers. She'd made it into space already without any trouble, but she was still on the alert for any sudden changes.

Behind her, her prisoner struggled to no avail. She glanced around. Braids of her long blonde hair trailed onto the floor and wound around his arms and legs, holding him to his seat.

"It's no good—I can feel everything you're trying," she said, glancing him up and down.

He didn't seem afraid, or even terribly worried. The look he returned to her was more exasperated than anything else. "What's this all about?"

"Emperor Taurus sent us after you. He thought you could be useful." Valkyrie turned her attention back to the controls.

"Figures." He actually laughed a little. "Just like old times."

Valkyrie was prevented from asking what he was talking about when a sudden flash of red caught her eye. Turning back to the controls, she checked her scanners, and swore under her breath. The Red Ranger was on her tail. Gunning the engine, Valkyrie headed for the Moon.

"Emperor, can you read me?" She said into her comms system. "This is Valkyrie, I've got your prisoner, send me some backup!"

"We're on our way," one of the other monsters replied. "Try to stay out of range while you can."

"Understood." As Valkyrie began firing up her ship's weapons, a massive hand clamped down on one of her wings, making the entire craft rock. Super Zeozord V's grip tightened, making the hull groan. With the push of a button, Valkyrie fired grape shot—scrap metal crammed into explosive missiles—at her attacker. The first burst tore through part of its star-shaped torso, and it had to let go to fly out of range of the next.

"He could have crushed us. Looks like the Rangers don't want to hurt you," she said, glancing back at her prisoner.

"Does that really surprise you?"

"No, I suppose not." Valkyrie had to throw the ship into a sharp banking turn to avoid a blow from the now giant-sized Zeo Power Sword. She nearly knocked her head on the side of the hatch, and in her distraction, didn't notice Tommy free one of his hands.

oZo

In the cockpit of Super Zeozord V, David moved to cut off the Windjammer ship. It shot up over the head of his Zord, between his hands as he grabbed for it. He couldn't let it get to the Moon—even with the other Rangers on their way, they'd be outnumbered if they got into the Zodiac Emperors' territory.

With a whoosh, Super Zeozord IV flew up behind the Windjammer vehicle, Super Zeozord III close behind.

"What's the plan?" Lidian asked through the comms.

"Force it back to Earth. We'll deal with the monster on the ground."

"Right." Super Zeozord III dropped down sharply, moving below the Windjammer ship until they were neck-and-neck. "Green, you go from the top."

"No, take her left," the Red Ranger replied. "She favors left turns."

"Yes sir." Lidian obeyed David's order.

With Super Zeozord V rising up directly in its path, the Windjammer ship took the most logical option, and flew up and right. Naturally David had guessed this was coming; he fired his jet propulsion and shot into the ship's path. Unfortunately Valkyrie had guessed what he would do. More grape shot scored the Zord's hull, drawing sparks and bursts of fire. It slowed and fell off-course as David scrambled to regain control, and on sailed the Windjammer ship.

"I've got this!" Violet shot straight upwards, but the Windjammer was expecting that. It shot up as well. As Super Zeozord IV moved in to help, a blinding white beam slammed into its back. Four more Windjammer ships had arrived. Explosions tore through the Zord's hull as the beam held it in place.

"Lidian!" Violet yelled.

"I'm okay, but I could use some help—and someone hurry and stop her." The Green Ranger sounded out of breath.

By now the Windjammer ship had sailed right past Super Zeozord IV. The other ships moved in to shield it, engaging Super Zeozord V as it recovered. But as it sailed past its allies, Valkyrie's ship bucked and half-turned. At a distance it was hard to tell, but it looked like there was a struggle going on inside the cockpit.

The communicators turned on, and Tommy's voice came through. "Rangers—I'm free but I don't know these controls and Valkyrie's still—" a crash made the rest of his sentence inaudible.

"Hang on, I've got a crazy idea," Violet said, rocketing towards the ship.

"Blue Ranger—" David started. He deflected a volley of electrically charged harpoons with his super-sized Zeo Power Sword.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful. You in the ship, hit the deck." Super Zeozord III drew one of its Zeo Power Axes and twirled it.

"I don't think I like this plan," Lidian said, as his Zord drifted towards the impending fight.

Hauling back, Super Zeozord III threw the axe. It slammed into the hatch of the Windjammer ship with a loud crunch, and cracks spread out across the glass. Zooming up to the smaller ship, the Zord seized the axe and yanked it out, spinning around as it did so. A small hatch opened in its back as it struck the cockpit, metal grinding against metal. One of the smaller ship's engines blew out, sending smoke and debris in every direction.

"He's in!" The Blue Ranger shouted, and pushed off, sending Valkyrie's ship into a tailspin.

"You guys are nuts," Tommy managed, sounding winded.

"Please. You haven't even met the Yellow Ranger yet," Violet said.

"HIIIII-YAAAAH!"

The Blue Ranger's tone was perfectly nonchalant. "And there she is now."

A yellow-and-white blur slammed into the Windjammer ship holding Lidian's Zord in place, tearing through the hull. It slowed down enough to reveal itself as Super Zeozord II, which swiveled back towards the monsters. The beam flickered and died, releasing the battered Super Zeozord IV.

"Thanks," Lidian said.

"I LOVE THIS THING! HEY VI, WATCH ME!" Firing its boot repulsors, Super Zeozord II spun its Power Clubs until they were a yellow blur, slamming it into the hatch of one of the remaining ships. It shattered, sending its occupant flying. The Zord backhanded the flailing monster away.

"Blue Ranger, back to Earth," David ordered, moving in after Casey as she chased the remaining Windjammer ships around like a child pursuing fireflies.

"On my way."

"David?" The voice was Tommy's, and David paused hearing him. "You guys are doing a great job."

"Thanks."

oZo

Emperor Taurus had been sitting in the command deck of the prison ship for nearly an hour now. The fight was long over; the Jewel Golems had returned and the last of the monsters been reeled in. Two had survived, but they were both wounded. The other two were dead. Mirrorage hadn't even left the planet.

The door hissed open, and Gemini slipped into the room. Emperor Taurus turned a baleful eye on him. "Here to gloat?"

"Why would I do that? It was an unfortunate blow for all of us." The androgynous creature's voice was soothing. It took a seat beside him. "Though I wonder what was so special about that young man that led you to attack him specifically."

Taurus sighed. "I looked into this planet's history, and he was a former Ranger. Rita had him under her control for a little while, as did the Machine Empire, and he was powerful. I thought he could give us an edge if we brought him under our control—give Pisces something to do—and he's actually related to one of our current enemies, so there was that too."

"But he escaped."

"He did." With a groan, Taurus stood, using the console to push himself up. His weight made the metal creak.

"Are you going to try again?"

"No. They'll be expecting it now. How about your plan? How did that go?"

"Oh, quite well, thank you. Without Mirrorage I lost the Green Ranger's DNA sample, but I have the rest. If it's just one I can make a fine visual match."

Taurus grunted, and headed towards the door. Gemini's head turned to follow his movements. "May I ask where you're going?"

"Sleep. I've been up long enough." Taurus ducked to get through the door. It closed behind him.

"Yes. You have," Gemini said quietly.

Allies

 * Alpha 5
 * Tommy Oliver

Villains

 * Ophiuchus
 * Earth Emperor Taurus
 * Air Emperor Gemini
 * Jewel Golems
 * Mirrorage
 * Valkyrie