Chapter 8

Peaceful and happy mere moments earlier, the scene in front of the Angel Grove Youth Center was now full of terrified people. They all screamed and raced in every direction to get away from the creatures that had appeared in the parking lot.

Goldar stood at the center of the panic, swinging his sword high above his head. A pack of Skeleton Warriors were at his back, hunched over and ready to strike.

His golden armor shimmered in the sunlight as the pug-faced fighter used his free hand to beat his chest like a mountain gorilla.

“Run, you silly humans, run!” he howled.

He swung the flat of his blade into a nearby trash can. With a horrible crash, it sent the heavy can skyward. It landed and rolled toward the fleeing crowd.

“You’re not fleeing fast enough!” Goldar said, laughing at them.

The clacking Skeleton Warriors rushed toward the crowd.

Soon the monsters would be on them!

But they were far from unprotected. At about the same time, the Red, Yellow, Black, and Blue Power Rangers arrived. The Pink Ranger hurried in from the other side of the lot with the false Green Ranger beside her.

Seeing the endangered civilians, the Red Ranger knew exactly how to respond. Still running, he called, “Yellow and Black, get those people out of harm’s way. The rest of us will hit Goldar and those Halloween rejects from both sides. If we’re fast enough, we’ll catch them right between us!”

“On it!” Yellow said. A series of cartwheels brought her near the struggling pedestrians well ahead of the skeletons. She took an older man’s arm to help him up while the Black Ranger lifted a fallen child and brought her to her mother’s arms.

Seeing the tears in the little girl’s eyes, the Black Ranger said, “You’re safe now!”

The girl sniffled, put on a brave smile, and said, “Thank you!”

Meanwhile, the Red, Blue, and Pink Rangers hit the Skeleton Warriors, hard.

Red let loose a series of kicks and punches that sent two staggering. The Blue Ranger more than kept up, blocking a swinging sword with his forearm, then palm-fist striking the warrior’s skull with the move the Green Ranger had taught him earlier.

The Pink Ranger grabbed a Skeleton Warrior by the shoulders, then twirled it into the air so it flew into two others. When another made the mistake of coming straight at her, Pink’s high kick slammed it in the chin.

But where was the Green Ranger?

Whenever a Power Ranger took a breath and glanced around to see how the others were faring, the Green Ranger didn’t seem to be doing much of anything. They all figured that he just happened to be catching his breath at the same time they were. Besides, between Goldar and all the Skeleton Warriors, there was too much going on to pay much attention to anything else.

It didn’t seem to change things. The Red Ranger’s strategy was working. Attacking from two sides had left the warriors disorganized and easy to pick off.

Watching from above, Rita chuckled. “That uppity lunkhead Goldar is following my plan for a change, giving them a false sense of confidence before crushing them.”

But when she realized the civilians were all safe and the Skeleton Warriors were scattering, the dastardly sorceress grew angry. As Goldar polished his sword, Rita cried out to him in that magic way only her minions could hear. “Hey, monkey muzzle! How can such a shiny helmet hold such a dim wit? I said a false sense of confidence, not the real thing! Look! They’ve practically won!”

Goldar glanced up and said, “Right. I’m so used to really fighting, it’s tough to hold back!”

“So go! Fight! Just remember the Green Ranger is on our side!” she said. “I don’t have to tell you which color uniform he’s wearing, do I?”

With a nod, Goldar rushed into the fight.

“Leave Bones’s . . . I mean, my Skeleton Warriors alone, you putrid Power Rangers!” he said.

Plowing into the middle of the battle, Goldar swung his blade in a long, wide arc that pushed the Rangers back.

The Red Ranger realized he had to adjust his strategy. “Green!” he said. “The others can handle the skeletons. You and I can take Goldar!”

Before the Red Ranger could reach him, Goldar vanished. At first he thought Goldar had fled, but then he saw that he’d only teleported to the far side of the huge parking lot.

“Come on, then!” Goldar called, beating his chest again. “I want you all to myself!”

Expecting the Green Ranger to be at his side, the Red Ranger raced toward his foe.

“Ha!” Goldar said. “Why did the Red Ranger cross the parking lot?”

Leaping into the air, the Red Ranger answered, “To get to the other side and defeat you?”

“Wrong! To meet your doom!” Goldar said, swinging his sword. “Hmm. I have to remember that one. I could use it again sometime!”

As Goldar finished his sentence, the Red Ranger dodged the slashing sword and forced both fists into the monster’s chest plate.

The blow landed with a loud metallic ringing. It staggered Goldar, but he was far from finished.

When Goldar came at him again, the Red Ranger realized he was still alone.

“Green!” Red called. He jumped to avoid Goldar’s sword, barely making it, then looked for his friend and ally. The false Green Ranger was still all the way on the other side of the parking lot.

The Red Ranger shouted at him, “Some help?”

Bones waved and said, “Be right there!”

Hmm. Rita wants me to mess up the Rangers without revealing the mind swap, the villain thought. This should be fun.

He did head toward the Red Ranger but very, very slowly. Seeing a chance to cause more trouble, Bones stuck out his leg and tripped the Blue Ranger when he passed.

“What the . . . ?” Blue said as he fell, barely missing being struck by a skeletal sword.

Dazed, Blue didn’t know what had tripped him, or notice Bones giving the warrior a little wink. Bones put a hand out, as if to help the Blue Ranger to his feet, then pulled it away at the last second.

“Oops!” Bones said. “It seems I’m all bones! I mean, thumbs. I’m all thumbs.”

But the Blue Ranger simply rolled backward and flipped to standing. “Don’t worry about it,” Blue said. “I just used a move you taught me this morning.”

“Uh . . . yes . . . you did. Good job!” Bones answered.

Meanwhile, the Black Ranger used a rapid series of punches to drive a Skeleton Warrior backward. The warrior dropped its sword, which clattered at Bones’s feet.

“Green!” the Black Ranger said. “I set him up; you knock him down! Just like in practice!”

“Certainly,” Bones said. But he thought, That’s not going to happen!

Pretending to trip on the dropped sword, Bones kicked it right back into the Skeleton Warrior’s hands. It was all Bones could do to keep from smiling as the Black Ranger had to duck the warrior’s swing.

“What was that?” Black called to him. “I’ve never seen you stumble that badly before!”

Bones tapped his helmet, pretending he hadn’t heard, and continued his slow walk toward Goldar and the Red Ranger. Along the way, he put himself between the Yellow Ranger and a skeleton she was about to strike, ruining her aim.

“Hey!” she said, but Bones ignored her.

Meanwhile, Goldar slashed and jabbed. But even without the Green Ranger’s help, the Red Ranger was landing blow after blow. Rather than take Goldar down, though, the attacks only seemed to make the gorilla-monster even angrier.

“I will not let a human defeat me!” Goldar howled.

Swinging harder and harder, Goldar put Red on the defensive.

But when the Green Ranger finally arrived, the Red Ranger rallied.

“You mean again, don’t you?” he said to Goldar. “We won last time, and we’ll do it again, same as always, together!” Eyes on his foe, the Red Ranger spoke to Green, “I’ll go high, you go low! Now!”

The Red Ranger went into a dazzling standing leap, kicking hard enough to knock Goldar’s helmet half off.

Bones did go low, but not the way the Red Ranger expected. He went down on his hands and knees behind the Red Ranger.

When Goldar slammed him with the flat of his blade, normally Red would have kept his balance. This time he fell over the kneeling Bones and crashed into the asphalt.

“Ha!” a thrilled Goldar said. “If you’re a martial artist, I’m a pastry chef!”

“What’s up with you?” Red asked, thinking the Green Ranger had made a mistake.

“Maybe I’m coming down with something,” Bones said. “I’m just not feeling like myself today. In fact, I feel chilled to the bone.”

From somewhere above, Bones heard Rita laughing.