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Trini was asleep when something wet hit her face. She groaned, feeling exhausted. She opened her eyes and gasped. She came face to face with Rita, remembering her from the vision. Trini’s breath got caught in her throat, as she stared up at Rita. The woman, floating above her. She reached down, and Trini tried to press herself back against her bed, away from her.
“Do you know who I am?” Rita asked, a smirk on her face. She started to run her nail against Trini’s cheek. The teenager could feel the sharpness of her nail.
Trini turned her face away from the woman, but Rita forced her to maintain eye contact. Trini gritted her teeth as she responded. “Y-yes.”
“I was once just like you. So pretty. Innocent. Are all the rangers on Zordon’s new team as young as you?” Rita asked, looking into Trini’s eyes.
The yellow ranger could feel her own heart start to beat against her chest. She pressed the bottom of her feet into her bed, and pushed Rita back. But the other woman was stronger, and turned them, slamming Trini against the ceiling.
“Delightful!” Trini could hear the excitement in Rita’s face, and it scared her. The fact that hurting Trini caused her joy. Rita let them drop on the bed, and Trini yelped in surprise. “Have you morphed yet?” Trini could barely react, when Rita slammed Trini against the wall. Rita smiled down at Trini, running her hand through her hair. “Trick question. If you could morph, we’d be having a very different conversation.” Rita kept smiling at Trini, like a cat trapping a mouth. She inhaling deeply, and Trini struggled to escape her grip. “The Yellow Ranger. Should I kill you?” Rita smiled at Trini. “I’ve killed the Yellow Ranger before. And I loved it! Oh, you want your armor,” Rita teased, a grin on her face. “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours.”
Rita moved away from Trini. The teenager could only watch as armour started the grow out of Rita’s skin. As the woman became stronger, more dangerous.
Trini knew it was her time to strike, while Rita was distracted. She pushed herself off the bricks and slammed Rita against the wardrobe. Trini wrapped her hands around Rita’s neck, and the other woman looked at her with wide eyes.
“No, please! You’re hurting me! You’re so strong,” she pleaded, and Trini frowned a bit, surprised by her own strength. But when she realized it was trick, it was already too late.Rita laughed. “I’m just kidding.” She grabbed Trini by the throat and slammed her against the wall a third time. Trini let out a groan, her feet hanging off the ground. “You’ve got spunk, Little Yellow.“ Rita slightly dropped Trini, letting her feet touch the ground. “I see myself in you. I was an outsider on Zordon’s team, just like you. All I need to know is, where is the Zeo Crystal?”
Trini struggled against Rita’s hands. “I don’t know,” Trini tried to get out, through her tightening throat.
Rita let out a sigh in disappointment. “Sadly, I believe you.” She tightened her grip and Trini struggled more. “Tomorrow, I am going to destroy Angel Grove. But, in exchange for your life,” she started, but then noticed a picture on Trini’s desk. She dropped the yellow ranger. She picked up the picture, and stared at it, a smile appearing on her face. She looked at Trini, “We can have a little deal. You find out where that crystal is. And tomorrow, I will come back, and you will tell me or I will kill one of these people. And I may start with the small ones.” She tossed the picture to Trini and the teenager grabbed it, her body trembling. Rita crouched down in front of Trini and reached out, touching her cheek. “I believe we will make a good team.”
Trini looked down at the picture of her family. She looked up and Rita was gone. The yellow ranger let out a breath, her body trembling.
What was she going to do?
The next morning, the rangers met up at the Pit, ready to train. Four of the five rangers were their normal angsty selves, but one was extra angsty. They noticed the new cuts and bruises on Trini that weren’t there before, but Yellow Ranger just ignored the question.
Kimberly wasn’t going to lie. She was worried. She could see how cagey Trini was being. She could see how evasive she was, her eyes shifting around. She was hiding something, but Trini wasn’t the type to open up.
Kimberly barely knew her, but she knew enough.
Kimberly was training with Zack, when she saw Trini sit next to Billy. The small girl’s leg was bouncing. She was wringing her fingers together.
“H-have you figured out where the crystal is?” Trini asked, looking at the ground.
Kimberly frowned. She heard the tremble in Trini’s voice. She could hear the fear, and it worried her.
Billy nodded, a beaming smile appearing on his face. “Yeah. It took a while but I was able to pinpoint the correct spot.”
“Really? Wh-where is it?” Trini asked, her leg bouncing faster.
Zack was able to flip Kimberly on her back. The Pink Ranger let out a groan. Jason called for a break. Kimberly pushed herself up and looked at Trini and Billy.
“Krispy Kreme,” Billy answered, and Kimberly’s eyebrows raised. There was only one Krispy Kreme at Angel Grove. She was surprised that was where it was. But it made sense. It’s why the rangers liked hanging out there so much.
“Oh, cool,” Trini muttered, closing her eyes. She licked her lips.
“Trini, Billy, are you guys going to join us?” Jason asked, looking at the two rangers.
Billy nodded, excited, but Trini looked like a deer in headlights. Kimberly watched as the entrance of the pit.
“I-I have to go,” Trini said, taking a step away from them. She grabbed her things and ran out. The remaining rangers looked at each other.
“I’m not the only one worried, right?” Jason asked, looking at the team.
Kimberly shook her head. “She’s hiding something.”
“She’ll tell us when she’s ready,” Zack suggested, “mystery is her thing.”
Jason and Billy seemed to accept the answer, but Kimberly couldn’t keep the bad feeling from leaving. She felt like something was wrong, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
She just hoped she was wrong.
Trini runs into her room, and she finds Rita sitting on her bed. She felt her heart drop. The woman smirked, looking at Trini. She stood up and walked towards Trini, and closes the door with her staff.
“So did you find out where the Zeo Crystal is?”
Trini nodded, her voice caught in her throat.
Rita lets out a laugh. She looked excited, like a child being told a surprise
“Where is it?”
Trini opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She shook her head.
Rita frowned, looking angry. “You’re not going to tell me? We had a deal, Little Yellow. We had a deal, the Zeo Crystal for your family. Are you really going to back out on that/”
“I can’t,” Trini whispered, hoping that her family stayed safe.
Rita relaxed and took a step back. She looked at Trini. Just then, her door opened.
“Trini,” her mother started, walking into the room. The woman stopped, looking from Trini to Rita.
“No,” Trini whispered, feeling her heart drop. She turned to Rita, but the woman just smirked. She raised her staff. Trini rushed to Rita, but the woman grabbed Trini by her throat, holding her there.
“I warned you Little Yellow. Now say goodbye to your mother,” Rita whispered, sneering at Trini.
“No!”
Trini could just watch as a beam shot from the staff and hit her mother. The woman flew backwards. Trini could just watch as her mother fell in a heap.
Rita released Trini, and the Yellow Ranger dropped, her legs unable to hold her up. She could just stare at her mother’s lifeless body.
“Now Yellow, where is the Zeo Crystal?”
Trini couldn’t answer. Her tears streamed down her face, as she stared at her mother.
“Where is the Crystal?!” Rita snapped, grabbing Trini’s hair and pulling it back. “The crystal, or I kill someone else.”
“Krispy Kreme,” Trini muttered, her eyes not leaving her mother.
“Where is that?” Rita asked, a frown on her face.
“In town.”
Rita nodded and released the Yellow Ranger. Trini heard her leave, but she couldn’t look away from her mother. Once she was sure Rita was gone, Trini crawled to her mother.
“Mami?” Trini whispered, reaching over to touch her mother’s shoulder. “Mami?”
“Trini?”
Trini didn’t look away. She stared at her mother. She felt someone kneel next to her. “Trini, what happened?”
“Rita killed her,” Trini whispered, her voice sounding empty to her own ears.
“Trini-”
“She’s going after the crystal. We have to stop her.”
“Trini, wait-”
Trini shook her head. She gritted her teeth. “She killed my mother. And if we don’t stop her, she’s going to kill everyone we care about.”
“Trini, slow down.”
“No Kim, I can’t. If I stop now, I won’t be able to fight with you guys. I can’t stop.”
Kimberly stared at Trini for a scone. She nodded. “Okay. Let’s get the others, and we will stop Rita.”
The rangers used Trini’s mother’s death to fuel their need to protect the planet. They used Trini’s pain, the want to protect each other as the source of their power. And they morphed for the first time.
And they defeated Rita. Trini slapping her into space.
But it was when Trini let the anger leave that the real fight started.
Trini fell to her knees. She let out a breath, the tears filling her eyes. She stared at nothing, knowing that she would no longer have a mother. That her family would never be complete again. She let out another breath, but this time caused a knot to appear in her throat.
“Trini?” Kimberly whispered, reaching over to touch the Yellow Ranger’s shoulder.
Trini looked up at Kimberly, tears streaming down her face. “She’s gone Kim. My mom is gone.” She released a sob, “She’s gone! I couldn’t save her.”
Kimberly dropped to her knees in front of Trini. She pulled Trini into her arms. “I couldn’t save her.” Trini gripped Kimberly’s shirt. “I couldn’t save her.” The other rangers joined in on the hug. They all held Trini while she mourned. “I couldn’t save her.”