Power Rangers 1. School Blues

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: POST-PRDT. AU. A new year has begun in Reefside, and a lot has happened since the Rangers' last battle. But when they hope to enjoy the year with no worries, a new threat has come to Earth to seek destruction on the Rangers. They're gonna need to play their cards right if they want to defeat their newest enemy. And no one said it would be easy to do._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine, sad to say. But I hope you enjoy you're stay here. Please place all trays and tables in the upright position and hold on tight for a new adventure with the Power Rangers, my style. Please come again. I hope next time you'll bring some friends along for the ride, too. And before I forget, the main title to this part of the series does in fact tie into "'Til I Collapse" by Eminem feat. Nate Dogg, if anyone can tie that in. Now, I know it doesn't quite fit the Power Rangers genre, but I think the chorus works really well with this story. So, to a true mastermind of songwriting, thank you, Eminem, for your inspiration. Just please, don't sue me, nobody. I cannot afford to go out that way._

_A/N: Unfortunately, for the obvious reason, I am truly sorry for posting so late in the year. Please don't hate me too bad. I've been real busy. Either way, I don't know how far along this one will go. I got so many ideas to tie into it. But, for now, enjoy what you can. You'd better have read "The Reason" and "Ordinary World" or you might be feeling a bit lost. And before I forget, if you forgot, much of the school events will be semi-related to my own adventure through my final year in high school. Some names were subject for change to avoid confrontations. Either way, Read and Review._

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_"As a new year begins, it's hard to imagine, we got only a semester left of high school. Has time gone by that fast? Yet, we can only learn to trrust our instincts more and be prepared for what could be coming our way." -Eclyptyk Neo  
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**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART ONE: SCHOOL BLUES_**

_SUMMARY: It's the first day back from Winter Break, and how are the teens feeling about returning? Not real good_.

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_"Why is it the hardest days to get up for are those days you just don't want to deal with?" -Eclyptyk Neo  
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Tuesday. January 4th. It was the first day back from winter break. It was time to go back to their normal lives as teachers, students, etc. And none of them were really up for doing it.

"First day back from winter break," Trent groaned as he tossed in bed, throwing the pillow on his face. He wasn't ready to go back. He knew others felt the same way, especially his friends. "You have gotta be kidding me. I don't want to go back."

A soft knock came to the door, and Trent knew it was his father. He sunk lower into the bed, hoping his dad would not come in. But when the door had creaked open, he knew he couldn't get out of it.

"Trent, time to get up," Anton said as soon as he came through the door.

"Dad, it's still early. Give me a few minutes," he groaned as he tossled in the bed.

"It's 6:00. Do you want an education or not?" Anton patted his son's leg as he sat beside him. "C'mon. I know it is the first day back from a long break, but you won't get anywhere if you're laying here in bed."

Trent knew his father could be demanding, yet understanding when he needed to be. But he took things very seriously, especially during his son's senior year. But, even as he held high standards for himself, it was hard to avoid having senioritis. He knew he had it since he started slacking during the holiday season, but he made sure to keep his grades up.

"It's been so hard," Trent sighed as he finally peeked his head out of the blanket.

His father nodded slowly. "I know it's been hard, Trent. I never meant for some of these things to happen..."

"Dad, stop," Trent shook his head as he sat up. "You can't dwell on what has happened in the past as much as me. You gotta move on."

"Yeah, well, the scars will always remain," Anton admitted as he slowly got to his feet. "But you need to get yourself to school, son. We can talk later."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, dad," Trent nodded as he watched his dad leave the room.

Trent knew his father was still feeling that sinking feeling of regret and guilt for his past mistakes. And he didn't want to worry too much about him, but it was too hard to tell. He really wanted to help his father out, but he wouldn't allow it. He was still locking a few skeletons in his closet.

Trent reluctantly got off the bed and got ready for school.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Ethan groaned quietly as he tossed and turned in bed. He heard his alarm blaring out tunes from the local radio station, and he knew that was his cue to get up and ready for the day. He didn't want to. And he knew that. It meant dealing with another boring day at school, just as he didn't want to.

He hated school just for it being senior year and it was really hard for him to concentrate in class. He had senioritis. He knew he did when he could not do his homework, or barely got it done in time. He was a smart kid, he just had so many other things preoccupying his time.

But he knew that he just could not let the day go by and hope it'll get better in the end. It would only open up the doors to laziness, if not the possible thought of dropping school all together. And that would look bad on his part. So, he reluctantly got up and got ready for school.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Kira was also feeling the need to sleep in. She just wasn't in the mood to go back to school. She would prefer hanging out with her friends rather than worrying about school work.

She laid there in bed looking at the ceiling, recalling all the memories of the passed few weeks. A smile passed her face when she had thought about the times she had spent with Trent, and only him, without anyone else bothering them. It was nice having someone like him to talk to, because he seemed to understand her better than anyone else could.

She knew as much as he did though, that they didn't want to rush their relationship and have it shatter in their face. She couldn't afford to lose him even as a friend. And for those times they did hang out, she wouldn't consider it a date, just hanging out.

But that's where she felt that sinking feeling. That was what Ethan had said about his little dating days with Cassidy, and that ended before it ever got started.

"But with Trent, things just seem different. I don't know," she said to herself quietly as she sat up. Anytime he held her, laid a kiss on her cheek, or pecked her lips, she felt warm and fuzzy inside. She never felt this way at all, but it felt nice.

She didn't want to question it anymore or it would dwell in her mind for the rest of the day, and she had to focus on getting through this day or the rest of the semester would just be hell.

She got out of bed and got ready for the day.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Conner was already up even before his alarm had sounded at the ring of 5:45am. He didn't know how, but he was really psyched to start up school for the new year. And he knew his friends would freak out if he told them that, but he barely got sleep the night before either.

It was more for the fact he could see his girlfriend, Krista. It was confirmed on Christmas day, to the others surprise. And though, it was clearly odd for such a couple to be made, they somehow, didn't seem to mind the stares. They didn't care. What matter was them and how they would go about making their relationship grow and last.

Given the chance to change, and show Krista that he wasn't like most dumb jocks, she had begun to see he wasn't a bad guy. They talked, and hung out, as much to the others dismay, until it finally reached the level to confirm they were an actually couple.

Many would doubt it would last long, but they would find a way around it, and he knew that. He loved Krista for keeping him on his toes. To make sure he was maintaining good grades, getting enough sleep, etc. The small things that would count toward the big things later.

He had dribbled his signature red soccer ball in his room to pass the time as he waited for the time to head to school.

XXXXXXXXXX-

At the Oliver homestead, it was nothing new. Tommy was just not a morning person at all, and he would stay in bed until the last moment possible before he had to get ready for the day.

Kim was already up and ready, cooking breakfast for the two of them. He had been tucked away, not wanting to get up, but knew he would need to soon. She had came into the room, with the breakfast, knowing it would get him up. She sat beside him as he threw the blanket over his head, sinking into the comfort of the bed.

It had been hard to get up the previous day, it being a staff workday. Much of the day had been meeting over meeting of setting up agendas, checking on the status of clubs and events, etc. Enough to drive a person crazy and drive them up a wall. Many could care less since a majority of the meetings were lectures over things they already knew. And that's what many of the staff days were like, but they were all mandatory. So, while the students get to relax, the teachers had to work. To them, that was hell written all over it.

"C'mon, Handsome. It's time to get up. I know it was just as hard to get up yesterday, but now you actually have to get up and teach a class," she said, patting the silhouette hidden in the covers.

"I would prefer teaching from the comfort of the bed," he groaned. "Sometimes, I wonder why I ever became a teacher."

"Because you love to teach," she said simply as she peeled the blankets away to lay a kiss on her husband's lips.

Tommy sighed as he finally opened his eyes and slowly sat up. "Tell me again how you will manage to live with me for the rest of our lives? I'm not much for being a morning guy. I can forget even the simplest things like getting something at the store. Or..."

Kim put a finger to his lips. "Because you are the only person I could really picture true happiness with. And not just for your good looks, but for who you are as a person."

She moved over to him and sunk into the comfort of his arms as he fell silent. He could only hold her close without speaking another word. He knew the words she spoke of were true, and he knew he was right about asking her hand in marriage.

"So, you hungry? You can eat now, and get ready later. You still got an hour," she said as she grabbed a fork and fed him a bit of the eggs on the plate.

Tommy smiled before laying a kiss on her cheek. "I love you."

She blushed as she reached around his neck and laid a kiss on his lips. "Love you too, Handsome."

And they sat there in bed, eating breakfast and speaking sweet nothings to the other before it was time to get ready for school.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Ethan didn't know how he found himself sitting in math class that morning. With it being the first hour of his day, he just wasn't up to think on a mathematical scale, but he was there. And class wouldn't be starting in another good ten to fifteen minutes.

His Pre-Calculus teacher, Mr. Jones, handed him his schedule for the semester and he didn't even want to look at it. He let out a breath, sinking in his seat.

His schedule read as followed: _'1st - Pre-Calculus - Jones. 2nd - Computer Science - Twain. 3rd - Website/Graphic Design - Twain. 4th - American History - Williams. 5th - Spanish II - Lopez. 6th - P.E. - Hart-Oliver. 7th - Geology - Oliver.'_

"Why am I here again?" he groaned as he dropped his head on the desk closing his eyes.

"For the same reason we're all here. An education," Trent said as he collapse beside him. they greeted each other in a handshake each of them yawning in turn. "How's it going, Ethan?"

"Exhausting. I don't think I've gotten much sleep since that New Year's Celebration at the cyber cafe," the teen in blue admitted. "And this weather has been crazy."

The state of California had been getting numerous amounts of precipitation for the past few days. And no one could really say much about it. Since the reports of the devastating tsunami in Asia, the weather around the world had been acting up. There had been numerous amounts of volcanic and earthquake activity in the Ring of Fire. Some areas were experiencing good weather while others were getting bad weather.

"Yeah, no kidding. Have you heard some of the numbers in the mountains. Reports are hitting at about 4 feet of snow now. They say by the time it ends, they could be seeing almost 15 feet of snow," Trent shook his head.

"Yeah, if it does end. Man, what I wouldn't give to be them right now. LA's been getting slammed, and that's only a few hours away," Ethan sighed. "You don't think it's anything strange, do you?"

Trent could only shrug. "I only hope it isn't. But, after that tsunami disaster, it's kinda hard to tell."

"No kidding," Ethan sighed. "Man, all the damage and lives lost, that's gotta suck."

BRING!

The warning bell had rung, and that was Trent's cue to head out and get to his own class.

"You gonna talk to Dr. O about this?" Ethan asked as he did their signature handshake.

"I probably will. I did manage to get him for student assistant, so it'll give us time to look att some options," Trent slippe his backpack on. "Guess we can't hang up the suit quite yet. I'll talk to you later, Ethan."

"Later, man," Ethan flashed a peace sign as Trent left the room.

Trent continued down the hall into the English hall where he knew Kira and Conner had class. Conner was in the hall talking to Krista. Trent had greeted him briefly as he administered a handshake with the soccer star, but Trent didn't stick around. He had to get to class.

"What? You're just gonna say 'hi' and leave?" Conner called out.

Trent turned around. "Don't wanna be late for class. You know how Dr. O can be if we're late. Just tell Kira I said 'hi'." He requested as he turned and raced down the hall.

Conner said he would as he looked back at Krista. She, too, had to get to class. And he didn't want her to go.

"I have to go, Conner. I don't want to be late," she protested just as he pulled her back into his arms.

Conner nodded and let her go. "All right. I'll see you after first hour." He kissed her briefly and turned to head in class.

She waved a good-bye and headed off to class.

Conner took a seat beside Kira in the back of the room. She seemed slightly dazed, but it was clear she was just tired.

He snapped his finger bringing back to reality. "Hey, Kira, wake up."

Kira sighed as she shook her head. She dropped her head on the desk. "It's so early, Conner. I wanna go back to bed."

"Yeah, well you won't be getting much of an education with your head down," he said.

Kira raised her head and looked at him, confused. "Okay, what's with you? Most of the time, I'm usually the one who would say that about you."

Conner shrugged as he took the schedule from the teacher. "I don't know. I really think that this will be a good semester."

Kira raced an eyebrow as she grabbed her schedule from the teacher. "Did I hear that come out of your mouth?"

He shrugged again. He leaned over to her, keeping his voice low. "Okay, maybe not quite. But, I just don't want to jinx it. And by the way, Trent stopped by and told me to tell you 'hi', but he had to get to class 'cuz you know how Dr. O can be at times."

Kira smiled to herself. She had wanted to avoid any confrontation with her friend dressed in white, for the sake of not getting too distracted, but he still managed to think about her. She knew most of the time she had thought about him, it would distract her from her school work, and that's not what she wanted.

"So, what is the deal with you and Trent?" Conner asked tapping her when he realized she had zoned out again.

"There's nothing going on between us, Conner. We're just hanging out," she said simply, but it was clear she was in denial.

Conner could only shrug as he asked to check out her schedule. He handed his over for her own observations as class began.

Kira's schedule read as followed: _'1st - Creative Writing - Rodriguez. 2nd - Algebra III/Trig - Simpson. 3rd - AP American __History - Roosevelt. 4th -Advanced Writing - Mendoza. 5th - French III - Courier. 6th - P.E. -Hart-Oliver. 7th - Geology - __Oliver.'_

Conner's schedule for second semester read as followed: _'1st - Creative Writing - Rodriguez. 2nd -Algebra III/Trig - Simpson. __3rd - Student Assistant - Hart-Oliver. 4th - American History - Williams. 5th - Spanish II - Lopez. 6th - P.E. - Hart-Oliver. 7th - Geology - Oliver.'_

XXXXXXXXXX-

Trent caught his breath as he collapsed in his chair. He was never known for being late, but so many people had stopped him in the hall just as a greeting or a brief chat. And as many times as he could get out of class for college things, he knew about being punctual. It really counted for senior year. One screw up and he could lose his chances at being valedictorian or salutatorian, but there was no guarantee. Much of the students in the senior class at the top were cheaters, and docking those who were smart, like him, at a place like 7th. He knew that Ethan was somewhere at the top, too, but he was ranked at around 15th.

The bell rang only seconds after he had fell into his chair.

Dr. Oliver walked over to him, handing over his schedule for the second semester. "Just got in, Trent."

Trent sighed and nodded as he looked at the paper. "Yeah, thanks, Dr. O."

His schedule read as followed: _'1st - AP Biology - Oliver. 2nd - Student Assistant - Oliver. 3rd - AP American History - __Roosevelt. 4th - Elementary Assistant - Hall. 5th – Advanced Art - Woods. 6th - Speech - Jinn. 7th - Yearbook - Obie/Oliver.'_

He didn't say he regretted changing his schedule so many times to get what he wanted, but he knew one thing was clear. He was glad he didn't have to worry about AP Calculus. That class was hell and now it was no longer a problem.

After Channel One news and some school news it was time to start class, and it was clear none of them were really awake. Heads were down and others looked dazed.

Dr. Oliver clapped his hands together to get the attention of the class. Not that it was that hard to, considering the small class size. There was only ten people in that class, unlike his sixth hour AP Bio class which had 25+ students.

"Well, first off, welcome back, you guys. Happy New Year, and I hope you had a good two weeks off," Dr. Oliver greeted the class, but it was also evident he wasn't fully awake. "But..."

"Now, you can't make us work on the first day back, Dr. Oliver," Jennifer stated.

"And we got to know about you and Coach Hart..." Jon, her boyfriend, said.

Dr. Oliver looked over at Trent before raising his hand to reveal the single band on his ring finger. "That would now be Coach Hart-Oliver, to be more proper. But you guys can still call her Coach Hart."

"How was the wedding?" Anika grew curious.

"Is this gonna be the only thing we talk about during class?" the teacher grew serious.

"It's us, Dr. Oliver," Jennifer said with a smile. "You know we're gonna ask. And you'll be getting bombarded all day."

Dr. Oliver sighed as he dropped his head, tossing his glasses on the desk. "Okay, how about I make you guys a deal? I'll talk about whatever you want to know, if you give me my time to teach class?"

"Or we could just skip all that and just get down to knowing how the wedding was and how you spent your winter break?" Jon said with a pleading smile.

"What about the rest of you guys?" Dr. Oliver asked. "What did you guys do?"

"It probably wouldn't compare to what you did," Joe said.

Dr. Oliver looked over at the only student in class that knew him best, Trent. Trent could only shrug, but it was evident in his eyes that, speaking for the rest of the class, they wanted to know what the teacher did during his break.

Dr. Oliver knew he wouldn't be getting out of it, and reluctantly took the set behind his desk and foiled out his adventures during the winter break, or what he felt was appropriate.

Minutes passed and a soft knock came to the door. The door opened and a student messenger from the main office came in with a brown slip. And anyone who had a brown slip usually got in trouble. The student handed it over to the teacher and left the room.

His students asked who it was for. Dr. Oliver looked at the slip again and over at Trent, sighing. "Trent, it's for you. On the first day back already? What'd you do?"

Trent slowly got to his feet and shrugged as he took the slip from his teacher's hand. He looked over the slip again, indicating they wanted him down there ASAP, as he left the room.

Trent tried to keep his cool as he got closer to the main office. Many times he had been in there for the little things like supposedly being tardy or not showing up for class, and he had come up with the same excuse.

"Where were you on this day, during this hour?" an administrator would ask him.

"I was at the Counseling Center. I signed in and everything," he countered. "I was doing things for my colleges and scholarships."

They would let it go and accept his answer. But that was his problem, he hated some of the administrators for being far too strict. Dealing with Principal Randall was one thingbut now that it was Principal Santos it was no big deal. He could talk with her on a personal basis, if not for the sake of his father. He was still trying to adjust to that change. He could deal with Mr. Gorman, one of the assistant principals. He was more down to earth than the other and willing to help out whenever he needed to. He could not stand Mr. Titus, the other assistant principal for being too authorative and catch a person for a small thing as hanging your pants too low or even a simple gesture as holding hands in the hall. Then there was Mr. Clarkson, the dean of the students, who had a constant battle for saying he skipped class. Then there was Mrs. Tills, the dean and athletic director of the students. She wasn't too bad, but if you wanted to do some things, like a raffle she may not allow it. Now that the team was lead by another things were okay, just not the best when only two out of the five were okay in his book, and that's how most people were.

He set the brown slip on the main desk and collapsed on a chair, waiting to be called in to speak to one of the administrators. He had no idea what it was for, and he hoped it was for nothing serious.

Then the door to the principal's office opened and Principal Santos peeked out. Trent could never really look at her without looking at who she once was, Principal Randall and an evil henchmen to Mesogog, Elsa. But she was different now, not as harsh and not as intimidating. And it still too some time to get used to.

She smiled lightly as she crossed to retrieve the brown slip for Trent and requested he follow her into her office. He slowly walked into the room, but stopped at the threshold when he saw someone else in the room. His back was turned, but Trent knew who it was.

"Dad!" Trent breathed as he raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

Anton turned around to see his son standing there. He nodded slowly as he directed his son to a seat. "Take a seat, son. We have some things to discuss."

Trent looked from his father to the principal slightly confused, and freaked. He had tried to stay away from them when they were hanging out, even if he was concerned with how it would turn out. He didn't want to say that he didn't trust his father's judgment, but it was really hard to trust either of them just for their mistakes in the past. He just hoped that this wasn't anything that could spell doom for all of them. He slowly moved toward the seat in front of the principal's desk and sat down.

"Okay, I'm sitting. So, what's up?" Trent asked cautiously.

"Well, there have been some concerns, Trent, that we need to discuss," his father began. "One of them is your grades."

Trent breathed. He didn't want to go through this again with his father. "Does this have anything to do with my grade in AP Calculus? Dad, I told you that that class was far too hard for me to understand. That's why I dropped it. That's why I took Advanced Art instead. And you told me I had to put my strengths above my weaknesses, if I wanted to be successful."

Anton nodded slowly. "That is true, son. And you know exactly how I feel about you getting good grades."

"Dad, it was only one D," Trent said.

"You know as well as I do how I feel about you getting something even below a C, even if that is an AP class. I also know you hold high standards for yourself and getting a grade like that is unacceptable," Anton shook his head. "Do you want to go tocollege?"

"I worked my ass off in that class and it still didn't do me any good. Okay, so I admit I wasn't exactly going in for help, but she had no idea what she was talking about half the time. But, Dad, I still got an A in all my other classes," Trent defended. "Do you expect me to go to someone who doesn't quite know what they are talking about?"

Anton nodded slowly. "I understand that Trent, but there are other resources you could have gone to for help. But you got a B in AP American History," he said as he handed over the grade report.

"What!" Trent breathed as he looked at the report. He looked back at his father, shaking his head. "But, dad, you said that if I tried my hardest it would make you happy. And if you knew, more than half of the people at the top of my class have cheated their way to the top..."

"My concern is not with them, Trent, it's with you," Anton said clearly.

Trent dropped his head. He knew his father asked a lot from him, and he couldn't stand dealing with an upset father. But he was telling the truth. Much of the students at the top of the class had cheated their way up there. He wasn't one of them, but a few people had accused him of being up there with them. "How can you say that when you know how hard it has been for me in the past few years?"

Anton took a step back and forced out a breath. He took a moment to look at the other occupant in the room realizing that too much had come out of that issue of grades than need be. He looked back at his son, who seemed slightly pre-occupied at the results of the conversation. "Look, son. I don't want all of this hard work to not pay off in the end. And I know it hasn't been an easy set of years for either of us, I just don't want you to feel that you haven't done enough. But with such high expectations that you hold for yourself, as much as I have, should not have pushed you down this hard."

"Well, maintaining a 4.0+ average isn't exactly easy when you got to worry about a planet to protect," Trent countered. He didn't want to discuss this anymore, let alone with another occupant in the room.

Anton nodded slowly. "And I understand that, son. I'm only looking out for you."

"I know, dad. But there wouldn't be more to this regarding why you decided to bring Elsa in on this, is there?" Trent had come out to say it. He didn't understand why his father was there in the first place, or even bring up such a subject with others around. He knew something else had to be up.

Anton looked from his son to the principal. She had not said anything during the entire feud, but had made her own observations mentally on the situation. For awhile, his tongue was held and he didn't know what to say.

"Trent," the principal began as the teen looked over at her. "I have noticed that you haven't been very open about my relationship with your father. And I was wondering if there were any concerns with it. Are you okay with what's been going on with us?"

Trent looked at his father for a moment, then dropped his head unsure what to make of the question. What he couldn't understand in the back of his mind was why did it take so long for them to confront him about it, but than again he wasn't very open about the situation himself. He didn't want to admit he still felt uncomfortable with the situation, it was just hard to get used to with all that's already happened. "I don't want to say that I'm not, but in some cases, I am," he began before looking up to meet the concerned look on the other occupants of the room. Then his eyes centered on his father. "It just happened so fast, dad. You didn't even really give it a week since that final battle. I don't know. I guess I never expected it go that far so quickly. And it's not like you've asked for her hand in marriageI mean you haven't, right?"

Anton and Elsa shook their head, sorta surprised at the accusation that their relationship had gotten that far.

"No, of course not, son. I wouldn't have rushed it without your consent," Anton admitted in a serious tone. "And I guess you are right about me rushing just a little too fast with this relationship, but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable with this at all. I don't want it to effect your school work, or even your status as a ranger."

Trent nodded slowly. "It hasn't. It's just something that's a little hard to get used to. I mean, it doesn't happen every day to see someone who once used to be your enemy make amends that ends up become a relationship. And as long as you're happy, I can work around it."

"You know you can talk to me about anything, son," Anton said with a nod as his son nodded in turn. "If this is truly bothering you..."

"And I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me either, Trent. I know I've done a whole lot of things I've regretted. We both have," Elsa acknowledged, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. "But if you at all feel uncomfortable about anything that goes on between us, you let us know."

Trent nodded again, but didn't have much to say. It was a lot for him to take in and he just needed some time to think this through. He slowly got to his feet. "Um...yeah. I'll do that. But I need to get back to class. Ya know, get me that education."

"Yeah, you do," Anton nodded as he watched the principal sign off on the pass to send him back to class. "But you're okay with this. About me and Elsa, right?"

Trent absently took the pass, but didn't even look at the adults in the room. He nodded slowly, managing a smile. "I just need a little more time to adjust. But, I'm cool with it. I guess it would be kinda nice to finally see more occupants in the household, ya know."

Anton smiled lightly, knowing hhe may have a chance to chang things with his son and the emptiness in the household.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay with it, Trent," Elsa said with a nod. "I know we all need some time to adjust."

Trent nodded again, said his good-byes and headed out the door.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Trent had returned to class, and it was evident that something had happened when he went back to his seat. Dr. Oliver looked at him for sometime, but could say nothing to the teen. He figured he could discuss it more with him later.

"Okay, guys, now that Trent is back, we can actually get back to learning something," Dr. Oliver addressed as he clapped his hands together. "Guys, take out a piece of paper. It's time for a little pop quiz."

The class groaned, pleading not to do it, but it was clear that their teacher was in serious mode. And they didn't want to mess with him when he was in that mode. They all reluctantly took out a piece of paper as Dr. Oliver filed out a series of questions regarding what they had learned during the last semester.

Time had passed quickly and it was off to period two of the long day. It was evident in the students' eyes that this would be one of the longest days of the semester, if not year as a whole, especially for the seniors.

Trent had left the room to catch some air, trying to piece together what had happened in the principal's office only minutes ago. He was cool with it, he really was. It was just hard to adjust to, knowing the painful background of his father and his principal still hung in the balance. He wished that passing period could be longer, it was only 5 minutes, just to talk to Kira about the situation. He knew he could tell her anything without worrying so much that she'll judge him for saying something wrong. But that would have to wait another hour, and he figured he would be talking to Dr. O about it in the coming hour.

Trent slowly returned to the science wing and back into Dr. Oliver's classroom. Dr. Oliver was sitting at his desk grading the quizzes he had just distributed to his first hour class. Trent collapsed in his seat just as the bell for period two rang.

The room fell silent. And as much as Trent had no real problem talking to Kira about things, it was the same with Dr. O. He was probably the only real guy who knew exactly what the teen was going through, and his teacher/mentor/teammate had always been a help to him since he joined the team months ago.

"You do realize, I won't have much for you to do, if you plan on being my student assistant," Dr. O spoke to break the silence in the room. "Especially with it being 2nd hour."

Trent nodded slowly. "Yeah, well it beats having study hall. And besides, I tend to concentrate in a room where I know I won't get too easily distracted by others."

Dr. O looked up as he finished the last of the quizzes, looking at the teen. "Something happened when you went down to the main office, didn't it?"

Trent sighed and nodded slowly. "Yeah, turns out it was more of a parent-principal conference, if you get my drift."

"Is everything okay?" Dr. O raised an eyebrow with curiosity.

Trent nodded. "For the most part. They assumed that I don't support them much in their little relationship that's going on, and I do. It's just... I haven't quite adjusted to it. Not with all that's happened. And I know it's been like two months, now. But some things just take longer to get used to than others."

"Yeah, it can," his teacher nodded. He got to his feet and moved around to the other side of the desk pulling up a stool in front of the teen. "Personally, I never would have thought that something like that would have happened. Now, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. But, like you've told me before, you said you've never seen your dad this happy in a long time."

Trent sighed. "Now, that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen him this happy. He always works."

"Yeah, he can be a workaholic. And lemme guess, they were asking for your consent to make sure that they can move just a little bit further in their relationship?" Dr. O asked as the teen nodded. "And they also said to let them know if you're at all feeling uncomfortable with their relationship?"

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Trent nodded.

"Typical among newly developing relationships. Now, I can't predict the future, but keep your options open about this, Trent. It might turn out bad or good, either way, your dad is gonna need you there to support him."

Trent nodded again. He managed a smile, knowing some of the burden was lifted off his shoulder. "Thanks, Dr. O."

The science teacher smiled. "I'm always here, Trent." He looked at the teen seeing an uneasiness in him. "But something else seems to be bothering you."

"It's about these strange weather patterns. I mean, you've heard of the 'calm before the storm', right?" he asked.

Dr. Oliver nodded slowly. "Yeah, I have."

"Well, what if all those nice relaxing days are about to come to an end and we could be forced back into suit? I mean, this strange weather began the day we were gonna head back from the snowboarding trip."

Dr. Oliver nodded, acknowledging what the teen in white was telling him. He had seen it too, felt a strange aura in the air that told him things weren't gonna be completely okay. "But then again, there was the devastating tsunami in Asia."

Trent nodded. "And that was the day after Christmas. I mean, to us, we'd be getting that news on Christmas day, but I didn't really realize it until a few days ago."

Dr. Oliver nodded again. "Yeah, well, this weather has definitely been a mystery. But, I don't want to assume that things have been extremely bad. I mean, we haven't been getting huge amounts of rain in the area, like LA, and we've had our days where the sun peeked out. I mean, the only thing I can really say is to just stay sharp. Keep an eye out for strange things."

"So, the suit isn't being hung up quite yet?" Trent said.

"Not quite," Dr. Oliver sighed.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Ethan had sat there in each of his classes just trying to stay awake. He had taken it rather easy this semester, but it was still hard on him. He couldn't seem to stay awake in any of his classes, and had been yelled at several times by his teachers just because he couldn't keep his eyes open.

As much as Conner had become more studious and did his school work, he had been pre-occupied by daydreaming most of the day. He couldn't stop thinking about his girlfriend, and actually feeling like he was important to something more than soccer or saving the world. And that's what managed to keep him more sane. It was clear he was starting to change just a little too much and had his friends a little worried. They felt like one day he would ditch them completely, and that's not what they needed from their leader.

Kira had watched Trent from a distance, but didn't want to intrude. She knew something was wrong with him, but she didn't know what. And she knew never to drive him into saying something he didn't want to. As much as he could tell her a few things, he was still reserved about others. Yet, even she wasn't up to paying attention in class. She had been dozing the entire time much like Ethan, but she wasn't too obvious. She didn't snore like Ethan.

The rest of the day felt like it had just slowed down. It made it feel like they were at school for days on end with no break, until finally the last bell rang.

And the teens had rushed over to the cyber cafe just to catch their breath from the long day.

"That must have been the longest and most hardest day ever, this year," Ethan groaned after they had gotten settled down.

"No kidding. Do you realize how much homework I have, on the first day back from break?" Kira sighed. "Man, as great as it is being senior year, it's hell."

Conner sighed as he dropped his head on the table. "Being a senior is great except for the workload we go through."

"Oh man, and now, we got to do scholarships," Ethan grabbed his head in frustration.

The other teens groaned, obviously not wanting to hear that come from his mouth. It was hard to tell if they would ever get a real day off to themselves.

"So, what's up with you, Trent? You haven't said much since we got here," Conner turned to the teen in white.

Trent sighed and dropped his head. "Yeah, it was just a hard day. I'm still trying to catch my breath."

"Yeah, I think we all are. And this weather isn't making it any easier," Ethan said as he looked out the window. "Did you talk to Dr. O about it?"

The rain had been falling all day, mostly in showers. But it just made the day that much harder. It was a gloomy, dark day. It was just something that changed the mode of many people.

Trent nodded. "He just said to stay sharp and keep our eyes open. I think he's agreeing with me."

"On what?" Conner asked.

"That this is 'the calm before the storm' sorta thing," he replied.

"Well, let's just hope we don't get too tied down or surprised by whatever will be coming our way," Kira said to try and lighten the mood. Kira looked over at Trent, tapping his leg. "You ready to go?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Where are you two going?"

"We need to head over to the library to start on this huge project we got for AP History," Trent said.

"Yeah, might as well get that homework done now so I don't have to worry about it later," Conner nodded as he tossed his backpack on the table.

The teens in white and yellow bid their friends a good-bye and headed out the door, only to have the other two really question if they were telling the truth.

"I don't get those two," Ethan shook his head as he pulled out his math homework.

"Yeah, no kidding. Are they going out or are they not?" Conner sighed.

"You almost say that as if you're jealous," Ethan looked at his friend in red with a raised eyebrow.

Conner looked at him and shook his head. "No, just concerned. I mean, I gotta keep tabs on you guys and make sure nothing goes wrong."

Ethan sighed. "Well, if I knew better, they probably know where to go with it and how far."

"I guess we just got to trust them with it," Conner agreed.

And the teens went to work to finish off their homework for the first day of second semester.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Well, it is rather lengthy, but it had to be done. I hope you like it as it paves the way for the second semester of the teens' final year in high school. Now, like I said, I don't know if I will go any farther with this series, but we will see. And I won't say much, but be prepared for a lot more twists and turns. This has only begun, and you'd be surprised at what will happen in the very end. See you next chapter. Isang diwa and isang mahal! (One spirit and one love!) May the Powers Always Protect You._


	2. Space Invaders

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART TWO: SPACE INVADERS_** (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: A day at Reefside High is about to take a turn for the worse when invaders from space have found their next target to eliminateEarth. What will the Rangers sacrifice to ensure the protection of Earth will stay under their wing?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine, and it never will. But I would like to welcome you to Flypsyde Pryde Productions and my own little twist to a series that has come to leave a legacy in the eyes of those who love to watch it. No, actually, I really don't have my own production company, but if I did, I would call it that, or something along those lines._

_A/N: Won't say much, 'cuz I don't want to give it away. So, I hope you like the twist I have added to our DT team and our rangers from the past. But I hope you enjoy it either way. You know what to do. Read, review. You're all greatly appreciated for even dealing with the stories I write._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"After all that's happened in the battles we have faced, I never would have thought that things would become this hard. This won't be easy." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

T.G.I.F. The week had gone by rather slow, and everyone was happy to find it was now the end of the week.

Trent was sitting at a picnic table in the early morning hours before school sketching a few things in his sketchbook. He would find inspiration in multiple places. But it was evident, many of them were related to his time as a Ranger and of Kira. At the beginning of last year, he was only good at drawing superheroes. Through the past two years, he had improved and gotten into more realistic drawings. Now, he could expand his horizons of drawing to many different fields of art and media.

He looked into the distance, sketching out some of the varsity football players hanging out near the soccer goal post.

"Hey," a voice said from behind him as he jumped, startled.

Trent turned around to see Kira standing there with a gentle smile. She apologized for intruding and sat beside him to see what he was doing.

"Did you just do that?" she asked looking into the distance where his subjects were standing.

Trent nodded. "Yeah, except it's sorta hard when they keep moving."

"You're getting better. I remember when you could only draw superheroes," she said.

"Yeah, and I remember how you weren't much for a huge performance in front of people. Now, you've been more open about presenting your work to the student body. You do realize we opened up a contest to the senior class to create an original song for graduation," he said as he closed the sketchbook and put it into his backpack.

Kira nodded. "Yeah, I heard. Unfortunately, I haven't actually gotten much inspiration for creating a really good piece I think could relate to the whole class."

"Yeah, it's sorta hard to create something that most of the class can relate to. But not that many entries have been submitted anyway. Actually, I don't think any the last time I heard," he admitted.

"Well, I got a week, right?" she asked as he nodded. "I guess we'll see where we go with it."

Trent was apart of many clubs at Reefside High, just because he never really had much of a passion for playing sports on a competitive basis against other schools. He was good, just not something he could really stick with. He was apart of Senior Council, Science Club, National Honor Society, Link Crew, the Yearbook Staff, and a Renaissance (Academic Excellence) recipient. And of course, on top of that, he had to balance it out with his art, job at the cyber cafe, and maintaining good grades.

Kira wasn't much for being involved, though, she still got recognition for her songwriting and performances at lunch. She was also a Renaissance recipient, but that was it. She just was never into school activities or functions, but she still was willing to catch a few sports events, like the rivalry games. And she had to balance out school work on top of her job/internship at the local TV station.

"It's almost hard to imagine that in less than a year, we could all be going our separate ways," Kira stated, slightly saddened at the thought of moving on to bigger things.

"Yeah, I know," Trent nodded. "It's been one crazy ride. And for once, the sun is actually shining down on us."

"No kidding. This rainy weather hasn't done much for us," she said with a nod.

Then the warning bell rang.

"Man, do we really gotta go to class?" Kira groaned.

"Just think of it this way, we make it through the day and we could celebrate by welcoming in the weekend," Trent said with a smile as he got off the picnic table.

Kira followed and looked around the school grounds. Many of the people she could say she never really knew on a personal basis, but that didn't seem to bother her much. In many cases, she was glad it was her final year in high school, she had been waiting for that moment to be dismissed from secondary school for a long time, but there were other reasons she just didn't want to leave for. "I'm almost gonna miss this place, ya know."

Trent looked over at her as they walked into the building. "Yeah, so am I. But, don't celebrate too early. Senioritis may have already taken over, we just don't need it to effect our work completely."

Kira nodded and smiled. "We'll get by. Just as long as nothing out of the blue surprises us."

Kira and Trent walked quietly through the halls, casually. People around them rushed by hoping not to become tardy yet again. Trent walked her over to her classroom, where Conner and Krista were hanging out before the first bell rang.

"So, when are you two actually gonna hook up?" Conner asked with a laugh.

"Leave them alone, Conner," Krista smacked his arm. "They're just hanging out. How are you guys?"

"Fine. It's all good," Trent nodded with a gentle smile.

"Good. It's Friday," Kira said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, no doubt. This has been a long week," Conner groaned.

"No kidding. But I'll catch you guys later. I don't want to be late for class," Trent said as he tapped Kira's shoulder. "See you in 3rd hour."

Kira said good-bye to him and walked into her classroom.

Conner looked at them, shaking his head. In the back of his mind he didn't understand why it was taking the two so long to hook-up when it was evident they liked each other. Krista shared a quick kiss with him to bring him back into reality and said her own good-bye. She said she'd see him later, and he knew he had to get to class, too.

When Conner had walked into the room, he could see the spark of something in Kira's eye. He knew he would try to embarrass them, but only to get out what they were keeping in. They would look at each other and blush, sometimes. They hadn't said much about whether or not their relationship had gotten to the point of actually dating, and they knew a lot of people questioned it. They could only conclude that they were hanging out, that was it.

"Should I be concerned?" Conner whispered to the teen in yellow.

Kira looked at him slightly appalled. "There's nothing going on between us."

"It's okay to admit you're still in denial, but I just gotta know. Should I be concerned with the two of you?"

"No. Because there is nothing going on," she said firmly.

Conner backed away knowing he wouldn't get any farther with her. But he knew in her tone, that she was denying anything that could be going on with her and Trent.

XXXXXXXXXX-

First hour had gone by rather slow, but that didn't seem to bother Trent all too much. All they were doing was watching a movie, "Awakenings." It was a good movie that could very well relate to the science field for finding cures to diseases and cancers.

But that had come to pass, and it was onto second period. Dr. Oliver had been setting up lab stations throughout the room for his 9th Grade Biology class regarding genetics. Trent was sitting at one of the tables looking out toward the school yard, sketching. A small stream of music played in the background to pass the time better.

"So, how has this whole thing been with your dad and Elsa been going, Trent?" Dr. Oliver asked as he took out a few microscopes in the back.

Trent shrugged. "Not a whole lot actually. My dad has been busy looking into some research toward his new project."

"Oh, you mean that project on growing crops in different conditions?" Dr. O looked over at his student.

Trent nodded. "Yeah, with all this rain, he thinks it may need to go into effect, if you get my drift."

"Yeah, no kidding. But the reports just say it's all those streams passing in the Pacific," Dr. O sighed. "I've had Hayley on the case, but she has found nothing wrong."

"I thought you told her to take a break," Trent protested.

"Yeah, I did. She's the one who seems more concerned with it," the science teacher replied with a shrug. "But she has found nothing."

Trent could only shrug as he went back to sketching out the skyline. Dr. O finished setting up the stations and walked back over to his desk, sighing.

"What's up, Dr. O?" Trent asked.

"I don't know, Trent. It's been too quiet around here. Far too quiet for my taste," the teacher admitted as he took a seat. "I guess I'm just not used to living a 'normal' life."

Trent didn't have to disagree. He didn't like the 'quietness' as much as any of the other rangers, and he knew they all had their theory on the new year.

Dr. O went back to setting up the agenda for the following week as Trent went back to drawing.

Time had passed, but it passed slow.

Trent took a color pencil and began to color the picture, looking back up to see the exact color of it. His eyes darted back and forth to get most of the details correct, until a strange cloud coverage began to destroy his scenery. He raised an eyebrow with confusion. "Um...Dr. Oliver..."

Dr. O looked up from his schedule book at the teen. He raised an eyebrow as he averted it to the skies outside.

The area was swamped by a darkness and the ground appeared to shake. The lights in the room dimmed and blacked out for a second before coming back on. The cloud coverage seemed to encase the school in a force field of mystery.

The black and white DT rangers looked at each other and raced out of the room. They knew something must be hidden in those clouds as they headed out of the building.

Crowds of students and staff member gathered in the front of the school. Others were stationed at the windows wondering what was going on. Everyone looked into the clouds questioning what was going on. They had no idea what to make of it.

Then laser fire showered down on the innocent as people raced for safety. Others gathered around as a light opened from the clouds onto the ground and a line of figures appeared on ground level.

More people freaked out racing for cover, as others looked at the new visitors with awe and confusion.

One of the figures, the one in front, was covered in a black hooded robe. As it removed the cloak, a masked face became evident. There was a line of horns located on the top of the head. It had a glowing set of red eyes and had an armor-plated body similar to a samurai and Darth Vader. He pulled away the cloak to reveal a line of spikes on his arms similar to Trent in Super Dino Mode. When he brought his hands out in front of him, a new line of spikes emerged from his back like a porcupine.

Another figure stood to his right. He was in an armored suit that took the shape of his body. His arms were built strong with a weapon system ready to be called on at the push of a button. The shape of hhis helmet resembled that of short-snouted animal with pointed ears similar to a bat. He only had three-digit hands and a whipping tail that could mistaken him for a dinosaur or an animal with a big strong tail. He had a line of spikes running down his back that could do sheer damage. And he didn't at all look too friendly.

An army of cyborg-like soldiers stood behind them. Each of them were armor plated with bulletproof-like vests. They had a set of spikes emerging from their elbows and knees. Their helmets were all the same, a neutral face that could mistaken them for a bad version of the stormtroopers and clonetroopers in "Star Wars." Each of them were holding a pistol set to do real damage if anyone got near. They only had three digits on their hands. Their eyes glowed in a red hint, similar to the lead guy.

The lead figure stepped forward and began to speak in an alien dialect. But when he pushed a button on his suit, it began to translate what he was saying into English. "I am Mindshatter from the outskirts of space. I have studied the planet Earth, and have found it a perfect place to begin creating my army to rule this entire universe. Those who fail to comply however, will be destroyed..."

Trent and Dr. Oliver had been hidden in the back of the crowd, watching intently. They had seen the leader speak with confidence, feeling their knees weaken at the power of his voice. But it had to be more than that, as the legendary ranger felt a dizziness in his head.

Dr. Oliver forced out a breath as he hit the ground, his knees giving in.

"Dr. O," Trent reached over in a panic and helped him to his feet.

"Something is wrong," the teacher breathed as he shook his head, dazed.

"...you have been warned, people of Earth. I will not take kindly to those who will go up against me," the dark figure replied.

He turned away and disappeared along with his henchman and army back into the cloudy coverage. The clouds moved away, but not without sprinkling the land with a new line of lasers.

People looked at each other questioning where the Rangers could have been, and if that was just a joke. But with the scorched marks on the ground of the laser fire, everyone knew that it was no joke.

"...students, please return to class," the P.A. systemcame on.

Students were unsure what to make of it as they filed back into the building and the cloud coverage was gone, disappearing out of sight in the distance.

Trent had pulled his teacher back on his feet as he forced out a breath. "So, I guess this isn't done?"

"Guess not," the legendary ranger replied as he finally felt the strength come back to his legs. "We got some things to discuss."

"Dr. O! Trent!" a voice called out.

The two turned around as they saw Ethan running their way.

"Did you guys see that? Oh man, did you... Hey, you okay, Dr. O?" Ethan grew concerned as the teacher slowly stood up straighter.

Dr. O nodded slowly. "I'm fine, Ethan. But that guy means business, no doubt about it. But we can't just jump into this and make it obvious. Wait until after school. We'll meet in the lab and discuss this."

"Hey, you don't have to tell me twice," Ethan nodded. "I'll let Conner and Kira know what's up." He flashed a peace and raced back into the building.

Trent and Dr. O looked at each other again sighing.

"C'mon, Trent. We'll figure this out," his teacher nodded as he directed him toward the building.

"Yeah, so much for a nice relaxing year," Trent sighed.

"No doubt," Dr. Oliver nodded.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Yeah, I know that it doesn't give much now, but just read on. I kinda like building up this tension. It kinda makes a person wonder what will happen next. And I know that is how you're feeling right now. And if you want to actually see what I would interpret at our new bad guy, hit me up with an email and I'll email you my illustration of our newest foe. Either way, I hope you return for more. But, just read on and see what's about to happen to the Power Rangers. See you next chapter. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	3. New Plans

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART THREE: NEW PLANS_** (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: There is a new threat in town, and the DT Rangers are forced back into suit to make sure nothing wrong will happen. But what will they be able to do if they are limited to the firepower they now have?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine and it will never be mine, but that's where the power of imagination comes in and stories like these are developed. So, enjoy while you can. I may not be able to keep up in the future._

_A/N: Just read on. I don't want to give anything away. Just remember to leave behind a review or two. And, if possible, bring a friend along for the trip to see what I can do._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"Okay. Just when we thought that things were gonna be easy, they aren't. We gotta set up a new set of plans before things get worse. Beware, it won't be easy." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

After school.

The team didn't hesitate to meet in the underground lab they knew as the DT Command Center. It grew silent as all eyes fell on Tommy. He had been feeling lightheaded the entire day, and he could only say that it was just a headache, but it was more than that. He just refused to say anything about it. Kim had watched him the moment they had gotten home, hoping to get some answer to his condition. And she was not sure what to make of his reaction to their newest threat, but it was clear he really didn't like it.

Trent had gone to find his father, seeing if he could have some insight on their newest problem. His father hadn't answered his phone and it had him worried about where he could be.

The team had waited for the rocket scientist in hopes that she may have some information on it, too.

"So, what do we know about this situation?" Tommy asked as he let out a breath. He had been pacing the room as he finally found a place in a chair. He rubbed his forehead to rid his head of the ache.

"Well, we know this guy must like horns and spikes," Ethan nodded as he shuddered at the thought of being on the other end of an attack. "Did you see those things? They were massive!"

"And those guys with the guns? Oh man," Conner shook his head.

"What do you think, Dr. O?" Kira asked with a shudder.

Tommy sighed quietly. He shook his head. "I don't know, you guys. This guy seems like he means business. And he won't be easy to defeat. We just haven't figured out what type of strategies he may have, or what he knows of Earth, or even us."

"You don't think he could know anything about us, do you?" Conner asked. "I mean, he acted like he didn't."

Tommy shrugged as another wave of dizziness fell over him, making him fall forward. Kim had raced forward to catch him as they hit the floor. The teens rushed over in a panic, offering their assistance to the dazed science teacher.

"Tommy, what's up? What are you not telling us?" Kim asked as she and Conner helped him back on the chair. She put a hand to his face to see if he was sick, but he wasn't hot. Just dazed. "Something happened to you, Handsome. What happened?"

"Yeah, Trent mentioned how you were a little dazed when that horn-headed freak showed up," Kira said.

Tommy forced out a breath as he closed his eyes to calm down his senses. He knew that something was wrong, he just wasn't exactly sure what. He felt his mind being probed, being collected of information out of his will and was left mentally unstable. But it impaired him physically, too. He hadn't been able to walk a few steps without feeling a rush of dizziness swipe him.

"I don't know," the legendary ranger admitted. "This Mindshatter guy could be one of the hardest opponents a team of Rangers has ever faced. I could almost feel my mind being probed for information."

"Ya know, come to think of it," Ethan thought for a moment. "I felt a little weird when that horn-headed freak was speaking. And by the sound of his dialect, it does sound like something from another planet."

"What if we got a hold of Andros? Maybe he has some information on this," Kim suggested, recalling the red ranger from the Space Ranger team.

Tommy sighed and shook his head. "Until we get more information on this guy, I would prefer to keep things between this team."

"It could be risky if we were to tell the other Rangers. I mean, a name like Mindshatter sorta has a person wonder why he's named that," Kira said with a nod. "Besides, I don't think we want to put their lives in jeopardy."

"Nah, they miss the thrill of being in battle," Ethan shook his head. "The only question is if they're willing to risk their lives for this cause."

Conner nodded, agreeing with his teammates as he turned toward their mentor. "So, it's obvious we don't hang up the suit quite yet?" he asked.

"No," Tommy shook his head again. "Let's just hope this guy doesn't try to pull anything crazy."

Then the forest entrance creaked open as the team turned to see who had decided to enter. As much as the lab was hidden, a new security system had been put in to avoid unwanted visitors. It had been monitoring the activity in the room and around the corridors leading into it.

Hayley walked into the room greeting the team quietly as another figure emerged behind her. It was the original technical advisor, Billy.

Tommy and Kim exchanged a quick look before rushing over to greet their old friend.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were on your way back to Aquitar," Tommy protested.

"Actually, I was," Billy nodded. "If I could get out of the atmosphere. There have been several accounts of strange activity going on in the atmosphere."

"Meaning?" Kim asked.

The two geniuses moved toward the main computer as the rest of the team joined them. Billy had commented briefly on the work done to the current Command Center of the ranger team. Then he jumped into the hotseat as Hayley pulled a seat up beside him. He pulled out a disk marked with the DT symbol and stuck it into the main drive.

A series of pictures of Earth from outer space came onto the screen. One had pinpointed the location of all the satellites in the atmosphere. Another was running a diagnostic on the weather around the planet. Another ran with the ocean currents. Another ran with a grid over the state of California where much of the epic battles had been faced by rangers of the past and present.

"I've been running a few tests and it appears that for some time, our satellite systems had been acting as a communication unit for an outside source," Hayley said.

Billy pushed a few keys on the board to pull up another screen. It showed a set of wavelength records. "This is a record for one of the satellites circling the planet. If you look at it, it's all normal. But apparently, if you speed up the signals, you'll begin to hear something there and notice the erraticated length of the wavelengths."

He pushed another button and a moderate humming came on. He pushed several other buttons and the humming increased to a series of static.

"It's nothing but static," Conner protested, scratching his head.

"That's where you're wrong," Billy shook his head as he pushed another set of buttons. The static began to become garbled, and a line of small distorted dialect could be heard. And it sounded similar to the dialect used by Mindshatter. "It seems the electromagnetic impulses within the satellites have been tapped. But no one is able to pinpoint it because it's working at a much faster wavelength, that technology on Earth can't compare to."

"And since satellites are used to power and send information around the world, it could also send it to outer space. And it seems these guys from space were capable of snagging our information. Would it be connected to the SETI system used to try and communicate to other sources in space?" Ethan seemed fascinated by the discovery.

"That's where I've been able to pinpoint the primary source to this interference," Billy said.

"So, does this give a new definition to the internet, too?" Ethan asked slightly worried.

Hayley turned to the teen and nodded. "It seems the internet has hit a bigger audience outside of our atmosphere."

"But that still doesn't give an answer for why you're still here, Billy," Tommy shook his head.

Billy turned to his former leader. "This Mindshatter guy must have turned the satellite system against us because there seems to be a protective shield covering the planet. Nothing can come in and nothing can come out."

"Does that include communications, too?" Kira asked.

"As far as I could tell, yes," Billy turned to look at the teen. "And now that the shield is up there can't seem to be any way to contact an outside source. For all we know, we could appear to have no strange activity to the people of Aquitar."

"So, you're stuck here?" Conner asked.

Billy shrugged and nodded. "I guess so."

"What about those strange weather patterns?" Kim asked. "Any connection?"

"We still haven't gotten anywhere with that," Hayley admitted shaking her head. "It seems those are just mother nature at work."

Tommy turned away thinking for a moment, trying to re-collect all the information with any previous information he had stored in his head. The team turned to look at him, wondering what he was thinking, and what he had to say about this situation. He took a breath and looked up to meet the eyes of the team. "It's clear that we got another threat to deal with. But, if he soon discovers who we are and he decides to take it to scaling-high proportions, we could have some major problems. ayley, I know I told you you gotta take a break, but I'm asking or a big favor..."

"I'm on it, Tommy. Now, that Billy's here, he could spread his expertise," Hayley nodded. "New zords?"

Tommy smiled lightly and nodded back. "You got it. Or something that could help us in that field."

"That's what you get for trashing your dino zords," Billy sighed in a mock smile.

"Don't start with me, Billy," Tommy huffed. "I had every right to do that. Just get to work."

"Yes, oh fearless leader," Billy laughed as his former leader glared at him with disgust.

The two rocket scientists exchanged a look and got down to business running a few designs across the other. The rest of the team moved over to the other side of the room.

"So, what do you think, Dr. O?" Conner asked. "Think we can beat this guy?"

"It'll be hard," Tommy admitted. "But I have never met a team of rangers who failed to bring down an evil being. Whatever it was. Stick with it, guys. I know it's your final semester of high school, but we're gonna need to focus on this matter as much as possible."

The teens nodded slowly, knowing he was right. They may be seniors, and just wanting to get out of high school, but they were still rangers who needed to protect the planet from evil and destruction.

"So, I guess this is kinda like deja vu all over again?" Ethan asked.

"I really thought we would go this year without any serious problems like this," Kim sighed as she pulled her husband's hand over to her lap and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Expect the unexpected," Tommy let out a deep breath as he saw the sadden look on his students' faces. "Hang in there, guys. I know it's hard, but you're strong. You can handle it. And until this guy strikes we can't make any real judgment about what he really wants with Earth."

"Or where to find himin this case," Conner shook his head. "I just can't get those guys out of my head."

Ethan nodded as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "No kidding. Those spikes looked crazy. It gives a new name to being elbowed in the face."

"But they looked like robots. And if all robots are the same, they are at a disadvantage. They are weighed down by their armor and they don't move as quick or as agile as a human would," Kira said.

"How'd you know that?" Ethan looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"It's called watching TV and movies," she said with a shrug.

"That may be true, but we can't underestimate them either," Tommy instructed.

Then the forest entrance opened up and a tired and exhausted Trent rushed into the room.

Everyone got to their feet in a flash and raced over to him to see what was up.

"What's up, Trent?" Conner patted his friend on the back.

Trent huffed catching his breath as he raised his head to look at the occupants of the room. "He's gone! My dad is gone!"

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: I know what you're thinking. 'What the hell...?' First off, as much as a little relationship is escalating between Elsa and Anton, that will be put on hold for some time. For certain reasons. I hope you understand why in the upcoming chapters. I will be compensating for a lot of characters throughout this story and it will be quite difficult to keep up with all of them. So, for now, just read what I got down. And what has happened to Anton Mercer? Read on to find out. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	4. Don't Worry About Me

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART FOUR: DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME_** (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Anton Mercer has gone missing. The team raids the city to find him, but run into a spot of trouble. Can they find him before it's too late?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine, but these adventures are. Thank you for your stay. Please come again soon._

_A/N: So, these new threats aren't gonna go away anytime soon, and they won't. I can't really say much except, read on and hope you like the tension and suspense._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"I know I have not been one of most trustworthy people, but I hope you understand that I know the risks I am about to face. __But I am only doing it for the betterment of mankind and for the sake of the team. Please, do not worry about me, I know what I am doing." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The team looked at each other briefly as Trent slumped over to catch his breath. It was clear that he had ran the whole way there and was exhausted. They had just found out that Anton had gone missing. But was it really true?

"Trent, are you sure?" Tommy asked as he helped the teen over to a chair.

Trent collapsed on the chair as he shook his head. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have found my dad's phone sitting on the front step at my house."

"Maybe he just was in a rush and must have dropped it," Conner shrugged.

"Or he could have went out for a walk," Ethan made another suggestion.

"He never leaves home without it," Trent protested.

Kim had returned with a bottle of water for the teen as she rested a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find him, Trent." She turned to her former leader and husband waiting for his command.

Tommy let out a breath and nodded. "All right. The best thing I got is to retrace his steps. Figure out where Anton might have gone to and ask around. Conner and Ethan, check out the warehouse district. Kira and Trent, check out the house and the workplace. Kim and I'll check out the parks. He might just be hanging out for once."

"We'll keep a look out from here, Tommy," Hayley nodded. "Maybe we can pinpoint his location on the computer."

"And I could get a little more familiar with this computer work," Billy said with a light smile.

"Thanks, Hayley. Billy." Tommy nodded as the team filed out the forest entrance. "Keep us informed if you guys find anything."

The two rocket scientists confirmed they would and wished the team good luck on their search.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Conner and Ethan were the first ones out of there as they raced toward the warehouse district. If there was strange activity, it was usually located in that area. Conner had floored the pedal hoping there could be answers there that could provide what they were looking for.

They came to a halt as Ethan jumped out of the car and raced into the abandoned district.

"I never really liked this place," Ethan shuddered as he recalled their many battles there. "It always gave me the creeps."

"Yeah, no kidding. All I gotta say is I hope we find something," Conner nodded as his eyes averted to the sky and rooftops.

They raced through the alleyway, keeping their eyes peeled on anything suspicious.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Tommy had put the jeep in park and jumped out of it at the school. He figured the first and best place would be at school. Kim raced to his side as they stopped for a moment to catch their breath.

"Do you think Elsa would know anything?" Kim asked.

"I don't know," Tommy shrugged. "But anything is worth a try."

They headed into the building and toward the main office. Tommy didn't hesitate to knock on the door of Principal Santos' office. The door swung open moments later as the principal stood there.

"Tommy? Kim?" Elsa looked at them with confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"Have you seen Anton at all today?" Tommy asked with no hesitation.

Elsa shook her head as her face grew with concern. "No. What happened? Did something happen to him?"

Tommy and Kim exchanged a look before looking back at the authorative figure of Reefside High.

Tommy sighed and dropped his head for a moment. "We think he might have been abducted."

"What!" Elsa breathed. "You don't think it was those spiked- freaks that bombarded us earlier today?"

"It could have been. We're looking into it," Kim nodded knowing that was what Elsa wanted to know.

"Well, it's clear we got a neww threat on our hands. And w were hoping maybe you knew something about it," Tommy had replied.

Elsa shook her head in sadness. "I'm sorry, Tommy. I got nothing. What do you think they would want with him if they really did kidnap him?"

"Well, he was in fact, the most current evil being we had to deal with. It could be for the purpose of smuggling informationfrom him in hopes to be successful. But I know that Anton wouldn't do that," Tommy said hoping it would lighten the worried look on Anton's girlfriend's face.

"We'll find him. We got a lot of good people out there searching for him," Kim reassured her.

"I'm sorry I'm not much help to you guys at all," Elsa apologized with some sadness. Since her drain of power as an evil henchman, she had been left weak. She was no real good for the team considering she had been monitored by the school board. If she screwed up or hinted anything toward a threat she could kiss her position good-bye. It was clear they didn't want to risk losing another principal. She was merely getting used to life as a normal person, moving on from a painful past.

"No. Of course not," Tommy shook his head. "You have been more than enough help to us. We'll let you know if we find anything."

"Thank you, Tommy," she said quietly. "May the Power Protect You All."

Kim smiled lightly and reassured the young principal they would find Anton. Tommy had done the same as they said their goodbyes and headed out the door.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Trent and Kira raced over to the Mercer homestead hoping to find any sign of Anton's disappearance. The first place they went to was his office, where most of his work had been done.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Kira asked as she began to scan the glass display of the scientist's achievements.

Trent was pulling desk drawers open hoping to find something hidden there. "Anything out of the ordinary."

Trent had tossed Kira a set of keys that would open the glass display as she carefully moved things aside hoping to find anything that could give them answers to where the scientist could have gone. Trent continued to dig through the drawers, finding piles of paper centered around the business and museum Anton was running. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"There's gotta be something here," Trent protested, getting more frustrated.

Kira tapped him on the shoulder bringing him back into reality. She looked into his eyes, seeing the worry, fear and anger running through them. "We've already torn this place apart. Maybe there could be something at the museum."

Trent sighed and nodded. "Yeah. C'mon, let's go."

Trent raced out the door with Kira following close behind. They had gotten into a white Mazada-6, a gift Anton had given to Trent, and drove off toward the museum.

Time passed. And they knew the longer they were without answers, the more time would be slipping away to find Anton.

Each of the teams had checked in with one another and found nothing that could help them in their search. They had to keep trying, but they were all almost out of options. They didn't knew where else to go.

Trent and Kira had arrived at the museum, racing over to the main desk. Jerome, one of the security guards, sat at the desk. He greeted the two with a gentle smile.

"Hey, Trent. What's up? What are you doing here?" Jerome asked.

"Did my dad ever stop by here at all today?" Trent asked as he caught his breath from the run.

"Um...lemme see," Jerome turned to the computer. He pushed a few keys, his face in deep thought. "Well, it appears he stopped in for a good 30 minutes to an hour."

"Did he say where he was going after that?" Trent asked.

"No. Sorry, Trent. Why? What's up?" Jerome asked with some concern.

"Well, I've been trying to reach him, and I have no means of it. He left his cell phone and pager at home, and I've already stopped by home," the teen in white replied.

"Well, that doesn't sound like him. Maybe for once he took my advise about turning everything off to just have a day to himself," the security guard shrugged.

"Do you think we could check out his office?" Kira asked cautiously.

"Sure. Why not?" Jerome shrugged as he handed over a key card.

The two teens thanked the security guard and raced for the elevator that would take them to Anton's office.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Conner and Ethan were getting far too discouraged to even continue on with the search. But they knew they couldn't give up now.

"Maybe we should try on foot downtown," Ethan suggested. "I mean, Dr. O and Coach are checking out the business. Trent and Kira are over at the museum."

Conner sighed. "Let's just hope we find something there."

The car zoomed forward toward downtown Reefside. They got out of the car and began their search on foot. Time had passed slow, but when they heard screaming and people running in a nervous panic they knew something was up. They raced around the corner to find those cyborg-like soldiers terrorizing innocent civilians with their pistols.

"You know, about you saying you were hoping to find something, did it really have to be this?" Ethan sighed as they pushed themselves against the wall.

"Well, it's something, right?" Conner shrugged. "Ready?" He pulled up his wrist to watch his DT communicator change to his DT morpher.

"Ready!" Ethan followed suit.

But then a rain of debris fell over them as they dodged it. Two cyborgs had caught them, firing their laser pistols their way. Ethan went right, Conner went left.

And knowing they could not morph at that second, they had to defend themselves with just the luck of the draw. And it wouldn't be easy.

Ethan sprung into the air, flipping as he jumped over two cyborgs, side swiping one and pulling back to avoid the swing of the sharp spike of the other. He went into a backflip using the wall as a spring board to push the other down. Then another cyborg fired his pistol as Ethan pulled away seconds before it hit him. He felt the heat of the blasts trailing as he caught his breath for a second.

Conner had his own hands full as he blocked the shots from two of his aggressors. He had to pull back several times to avoid a blow from the sharp spikes protruding from his aggressors' elbows and knees. He pushed off the ground to send him flying over them as he sent a series of kicks and punches toward them. But it was not easy. These guys had armor-plated bodies that had much of his punching and kicks do little damage.

Then a new line of lasers rained down on the area as cyborgs hit the ground in pain. The two teens turned to see the black ATV racing their way, with a certain pink ninja and Black DT ranger aboard.

Tommy had used his brachio staff to clear the way while Kim manned the controls of the vehicle and lasers. They came to a halt beside the two exhausted teens as Tommy jumped off to join them.

"Looks like you guys could use a little help," Tommy said with a nod.

"Yeah, we could," Ethan said.

"These guys are tough," Conner nodded.

"Well, suit up. I'll see you on the other side," the black ranger instructed as he raced toward the army of cyborgs.

Kim nodded as she revved up the ATV and followed the black ranger into battle.

Conner pulled up his morpher as Ethan did the same.

"Dino thunder! Power up! Ha!" they said in unison.

And their respective color covered them and when it cleared they stood there in their ranger suits, weapons draw and ready for battle.

"Tyranno Power," Conner breathed as he felt the surge of energy and protection cover his body.

"Tricera Power," Ethan stated as he felt a new line of energy run through him.

They turned and joined their comrades in battle, hoping the fight would go over much easier.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Trent and Kira didn't hesitate once they got into the office. They knew they had to work quickly. Trent began to pull down pictures, knocking on the wall hoping to find a secret vault there. Kira raced over to the desk, pulling drawers open. All she could find was more paper work that couldn't possibly give them what they were looking for.

Trent found nothing on the walls as he jumped into the executive chair and fired up the computer. "Maybe there is something on the computer."

"You can get access?" Kira leaned over to look at the screen.

"I have as much right to get into these files as he does. I am after all, the guy who will be running all this when he decides to retire," Trent breathed as he pushed a few keys.

"Access granted. Welcome back, Trent," the computer chimed.

Trent began to push a few more keys as it began to bring up sales made by Anton Mercer Industries. He knew his father had sold multiple items that were well beyond technology most people knew about. They could be used for multiple reasons, and he hoped maybe a big sale could indicate something.

Then the familiar chime of their DT communicators came on. They looked at each other as Kira pulled hers up.

"Yeah, go ahead," she replied.

"There's an attack downtown, guys. The others need your help," Hayley instructed.

"We're on it, Hayley," Trent confirmed.

"Ready!" Kira pulled her morpher into position. "Dino Thunder! Power Up! Ha!"

"White Ranger! Dino Power!" Trent announced as he followed suit.

Then their own respective color covered them and when it cleared they stood there in their ranger suits, prepared and ready to go.

"It's been awhile," Trent sighed as he flexed his arms. He knew as much as the other DT Rangers that being in suit hadn't come to them for nearly two months now, and it was hard to imagine they were in it again.

"Yeah, but we should have known it would come up soon," Kira said.

They turned and raced out of there to help their friends.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Tommy had released an energy orb from his brachio staff as the team fell behind him to catch their breaths. He knew they were growing tired, and especially Kim. She was limited not only by the powers she had, but she was two months pregnant. And even that could do wonders.

A few of the cyborgs hit the ground as others fell back slowly. But they weren't ready to retreat as much as they appeared.

"Don't these guys ever know when to quit?" Conner growled as he grabbed his arm. He had received an aching attack from one of the spikes.

"Hang in there, guys," Tommy instructed. "They may be tough, but they're still at a disadvantage."

"Which is?" Ethan said.

"Like Kira said. They move slower. They aren't as agile as us. Those armored suits slow them down," Kim said as she leaned onto the handlebars of the ATV.

It fell silent as each side waited for the other to make a move. But no one could tell where it would lead to and which would advance against the other. It was evident no facial expressions could be seen by anyone.

Then they heard two more engines roar to life as a white ATV and a yellow raptor cycle came into view, laser fire sprinkled out on their enemies as they fell back. The two vehicles came to a halt beside their comrades as they jumped off to meet the DT rangers lined up for action.

"I was wondering when the two of you would get here," Conner said.

"Better late then never," Trent replied.

"Did you guys find anything?" Tommy turned to look at his young teammates.

"Sorry, Dr. O," Kira shook her head. "We didn't."

"So, why don't we send these guys back to where they belong?" Ethan asked as he fell into a defensive stance.

"I'm down for it. Just like old times," Kira nodded.

They raced forward getting ready for another battle.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Hours ago.

Anton Mercer had just finished some work at the museum and at the corporate building before turning it in and calling it a day. As early as it was in the afternoon, 2:00 p.m., he needed a break. He had been working hours upon hours on his research and maintaining good numbers for his business.

He got out of the car and headed for the door, fiddling with his keys as he searched for the one he needed to get into the house. He stuck the key into the holder, when he had felt a cool breeze run down his back. He shuddered as he peered over his shoulder.

A line of cyborg soldiers stood there, pistols drawn and pointed toward him from several directions. If he thought about bailing, he wouldn't be getting anywhere. And it wouldn't do much good to race into the house when they'd just go after him. He caught his breath as he turned to face them.

One of the soldiers barked out orders in a dialect of a robot, but not understood. Two soldiers moved toward the scientist as he raced to pull out his phone, in hopes to contact someone. But he didn't get far as they jumped him, pushing him against the wall.

Anton tried to push them back, but their armor had given them the added push they needed to keep him against the wall. He was pinned in place as he tried to fight his way out of it.

"What do you want with me?" Anton growled.

The lead soldier barked out a new set of commands as another soldier stepped toward the scientist. He pulled up his gun and fired a stun blast toward the unarmed civilian.

Anton felt his world shut around him. His grip on the phone loosened as his eyes grew heavy and dark. His body fell limp and he closed his eyes, falling into a deep slumber and he hit the ground.

When he had awoken, he found himself strapped to a chair in a dimmed room. He could smell the musky metal in the air making his head spin.

"Where am I? What's going on?" he asked himself quietly.

Then a screen in front of him appeared, revealing the recent battle with the DT rangers and the same cyborgs that had captured him. He heard footsteps from beyond the shadows of the room. He let out a breath as he watched the rangers, his friends and son, do battle with the cyborgs. They were growing tired and it was showing in the way they were fighting. They wouldn't last any longer.

Then another cold chill ran down his back as the footsteps grew louder and a figure with a short-snout approached him. He couldn't really make out the figure, but it could just as easily pass as a dinosaur in a robotic suit.

Anton knew he had to be strong as he fidgeted through the chair trying to break free. But he wasn't going anywhere.

"He is the one, my master," the dino-cyborg announced.

Another figure emerged from the shadows. The Vader-like figure approached the man strapped to the chair, bowing slowly.

"So good for you to join us, Anton," the spiked-Vader-like figure announced.

"You know who I am," Anton breathed slightly shaken.

"But of course. I am Mindshatter, and there are many allies we can rely on. And many we would like to question for their place in this battle," the figure replied as he circled around the scientist strapped to the chair. "You were once Mesogog, a dino-faced menace who wanted to bring Earth back into the era of the dinosaurs?"

Anton let out a frightened breath. He could not believe this guy knew about his painful past and they had only met in a matter of minutes. But, he felt like a needle was driven into his brain, prying him of information. He shook his head trying to think of something to say. "What do you want from me?"

Mindshatter turned to the screen as he watched the colored warriors battle his army of cyborg soldiers. "They will be a bother to me. There is a weakness in them, and you have it in that mind of yours. But I can't seem to find it."

Anton shook his head. "You won't win against them. They'll destroy you just as they did to Mesogog."

"You are still Mesogog, are you not? Somewhere in that mind of yours he still remains. And if I can pry it out, I will find their weakness," Mindshatter growled as he glared at the scientist.

"I'd rather die before you ever get what information you need to destroy the rangers," Anton said firmly.

"A contender. I credit you, Anton," Mindshatter bowed. "But you have no idea what you're about to face."

"And neither are you. The Power Rangers have never lost the war against evil," Anton said simply.

Mindshatter chuckled, if it was a chuckle, and turned away. He turned to his trustee evil henchman and signaled him to go into battle. "Dinoshade, see to it the Rangers will know exactly what they are going up against. I will deal with him." He looked back at the scientist.

Anton fought to loosen the straps, but they didn't budge.

The dinosaur-like cyborg bowed low. "Yes, Master." He turned and left the room.

XXXXXXXXXX-

The DT Rangers were continuing to do battle with the army of cyborgs. They were growing tired, and with the limited power they had felt run through them, they wouldn't last any longer.

Tommy had forced Kim to take cover, not wanting to risk her life as much as the others. But, she was the only one whose powers couldn't do much if she were to take up any huge damage. She had stayed hidden beyond the corner of one of the buildings, watching helpless as her friends and husband did battle with the army.

Trent came crashing to the ground as his ATV zoomed out of control. He groaned as he slowly got to his feet. But Ethan wasn't too far behind as he came crashing down on him.

"Don't these guys ever know when to quit?" Ethan breathed as he ran his gloved hand over the damage on his suit.

"Hang in there, Ethan," Trent helped him to his feet. "We may have not been in battle for a few months, but we gotta send them on their way."

Kira had found a weakness in sending them to malfunction with her ptera scream. But even she was running out of energy to keep it up. It made her moves much slower and less effective, and if she had used up anymore, it would force her to de-morph.

Conner had raced into the army, using his super speed to do as much damage as possible with his tyranno staff. He swung with might sending many to the ground, but two more opened fire on him and fired. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground.

"Conner!" Tommy called out as he pushed a cyborg to the ground. He raced forward, staff drawn and ready for battle, but then another figure appeared in front of him like a shadow. He halted for a moment to meet the glaring red eyes of the dino-like being he had seen earlier in the day.

The team assembled behind the black ranger, weapons drawn and waiting.

"I am Dinoshade," the huge cyborg announced. "And Power Rangers of Earth, you have met your match."

"I don't think so," Tommy growled as he called on an energy orb and launched it toward the cyborg.

Dinoshade let out a growl as he caught the blow, absorbed the energy and used it almost like a fuel to turn on a set of hidden laser guns in his arms. He aimed and fired at the rangers. They took a step back slightly confused. And then each of them took the blast dead on as they groaned in pain and hit the ground hard.

The power of the blow had them drained, and they could no longer control their ranger powers. They demorphed, glued to the ground in pain.

The cyborgs assembled behind Dinoshade as he looked down on the weakened humans. He sneered with delight.

"You have been warned, Rangers," Dinoshade announced. "Step down or you'll be destroyed. For good!"

He turned and melted into the shadow below him. The army of cyborgs pulled their pistols into the upright position and extended their hands to the sky as a bright blue light shined over them and they were gone.

The rangers groaned quietly as they slowly peeled themselves off the ground. Kim raced from her hiding spot to pull her husband close as he let out a painful breath as their lips locked. She questioned if he was okay, and he reassured her he was fine with a kiss to her forehead.

"I'm okay, Kim. I swear. I'm a tough guy," Tommy breathed quietly.

"Deja vu all over again, Dr. O," Ethan sighed.

"Man, those guys are tough," Conner growled, not liking that fact their first battle in so long had been a loss.

"You guys okay?" Kim looked at the teens.

Their heads were hung low, evident that they didn't like their first battle being handed to them on a silver plate. They nodded slowly.

"This could be our biggest battle yet," Tommy nodded toward the teens. "Be strong."

"I don't know, Dr. Oliver," Kira shook her head. "If they took Dr. Mercer, who knows what they could do."

The team had looked over at Trent, who seemed the most hurt, both physically and mentally by the battle. He took a step back, trying to push back his anger and tears for the failure. The science teacher walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find him, Trent," Tommy said quietly. "Whatever it takes, we'll find him." Then their dino communicators chimed as Tommy pulled it up. "What's up, Hayley?"

"You guys better get back here. We got something to show you," Hayley said.

The team looked at each other and raced back toward the lab.

XXXXXXXXXX-

The team had raced through the caves back to the underground lab out of breath and curious as they came to a halt in the center of the lab.

Tommy raced over to the main computer where the two rocket scientists were analyzing something. "What did you find?"

"A message from Anton," Hayley said simply.

Trent pushed his way toward the computer out of breath eager to see what it was. "What'd he say?"

Billy pushed a button to play back a message. The rest of the team assembled behind the others waiting to see what the message was.

It was a dark room. Anton had stood there, sweat running down his face, his suit was torn. Something was wrapped around his head like a headband, a set of metal bracelets were wrapped on his wrists. "Rangers, if you get this message, please, don't look for me," he said slowly between the pain running through his body. "Mindshatter is searching for a weakness in you. I will do whatever I can to stop him, but don't come after me.

I am taking a huge risk, and I know what I'm about to face.

Please, don't worry about me, especially you, Trent..."

Then the message took on static and the screen went blank. Trent felt the pain and rage run through his body as the room fell silent.

"That's all we got. The signal was lost and we can't seem to find where it came from," Billy said simply.

"Thanks, Billy," Tommy patted the original blue ranger's shoulder. He looked back at the teen in white, seeing the hurt in his eyes.

Kira had nudged Trent bringing him back into reality. "We'll get him back."

Trent dropped his head for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, I hope you're right. But I need to be alone for awhile."

The teen in white turned and headed for the exit. The team watched him leave as they looked toward their mentor for advise.

"Is he gonna be okay, Dr. O?" Kira asked.

"Trent is tough," Tommy said quietly. "He just needs to keep his head high. You all need to. I know this battle took a lot out of you guys, but hang in there. A ranger never gives up, remember that."

"Man, that Mindshatter guy has really pushed my buttons," Conner sighed. "And we haven't even gone through a whole day since we met him."

"No kidding," Ethan shook his head. "Especially those guys with the huge pistols."

"Well, I think we should all call it in. Sleep is the best thing any of us could be rewarded after all that's happened," Tommy instructed as Kim walked over to him.

The teens knew he was right. They were exhausted and they had to get home to avoid being confronted about being late for dinner. They said good-bye and headed for the exit.

"What about the two of you?" Tommy asked as moved toward the stairs.

"Tommy, let them work," Kim pulled him up the stairs. "You know they're too determined to find a solution to this to call it a day."

"Yeah, what she said," Billy said simply, not looking up from his work.

"Just give us a few more hours, Tommy. I'm sure we'll find something," Hayley nodded.

Tommy sighed and nodded slowly. "All right. But just a few hours. I don't want you guys to run yourself down. We need you guys to be just as rested up as the rest of us. We'll be upstairs if you find anything."

"Thanks, Tom," Billy saluted.

The couple moved up the stairs to leave the two rocket scientists alone to their work. Despite, the recent loss of the team, a lighter side had Tommy and Kim ponder what kind of relationship Hayley and Billy would be forming. As long as Billy was stuck on Earth, he would be a great asset to the team.

**_to be continued..._**

_A/N: Whoo. That was long. I know, I'm sorry. But a lot has happened. Fair warning, the teens will be referring to Kim as 'Coach' more and more. The romance between Anton and Elsa will be put on hold. I am hoping to aim this story more toward the teens. Anyways, Anton is now captured by Mindshatter and you'll be surprise to see how that turns out. Trent is feeling the loss of his father and the team as a whole lost their first battle after two months of not being in suit. Have they met their match? And what does everyone think about a little romance going on with Billy and Hayley? It could be a little outdated, but may not happen. Only the future will tell. And how does everyone feel about an epic battle with rangers from the past joining the DT Rangers in the future? Hit me up with suggestions and I'll see you next chapter. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	5. Day After Tomorrow?

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART FIVE: DAY AFTER TOMORROW?_** (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The strange weather forecasts continues to fall all over the world, especially in California. The team thinks it's more than mother nature at work. But is it really?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine, and it won't be mine. I really doubt I'll ever get ahold of it, but it would be fun to be apart of its production in a few years, if it decides to continue. But that is no guarantee either._

_A/N: I know that some of these titles just don't have the hype as they should, but I've lost some of my creative juices, especially for being in Advanced Art. That class is not what I thought it would be, but I guess it's 'cuz I really don't like the teacher. But, I've been asked to do so much this year. I guess my friends weren't lying about saying senior year may be great, but it is also hard. Oh well, before I ramble on more, just read on and do what you gotta do. Later days._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X _"You cannot tell me that all this crazy weather is just the work of mother nature. What if it'll get worse? What will happen? -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The team had called it a day, but it wasn't easy when they had lost the very first battle against their newest enemy.

The teens had already headed home in hopes the weekend could be left for them to relax and chill. Hayley and Billy remained down in the lab in hopes to find anything that could be beneficial to the team.

Tommy and Kim had retired to the living room, in hopes to rely the heaviness in their hearts for the loss.

Kim cuddled close to Tommy as he began to flip through the channels hoping to find something to watch. She ran a hand down his arm as he pulled her closer to her, letting out a breath. "You okay?"

Tommy closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. I guess, it's hard for me to imagine that something like this would happen. But in the back of my mind I wasn't convinced that we'd go this year without any huge interruptions like this."

She sat up, running a hand down the side of his face. She leaned in to lay a gentle kiss on his lips before. "Be strong, Tommy. Be strong for them."

"I know. It's just so hard right now," he sighed deeply.

"Hang in there, Handsome," she whispered. "We'll make it through this."

Tommy nodded again, glad to have someone reassure him that things were gonna be okay. In the beginning of his DT reign, he had no one there to really comfort him, and now he did. And he was so happy it was his first love. The one who had helped him through his rough time as the original green ranger. "Thanks, Beautiful."

"You're welcome," she whispered. "Love you."

"Love you, too," he said and kissed her on the head.

They cuddled close and fell asleep on the couch.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Days later.

The team had been rather quiet and gloomy about what had happened days ago. It was clear that Billy was now making Reefside his residence until he could find a way back to Aquitar. The teens didn't want to question Trent about his reaction to the kidnapping of his father. And he had clearly left it at his father had left town for research and could be gone from a few weeks to a few months.

Word had gone around that the Power Rangers were protecting Earth and they had nothing to worry about. But that was just it. The Rangers were among the confident crowd of civilians and they just weren't feeling the same faith as those they were protecting.

The rain had continued to fall in much of California. The snow fell in the high country. And after all the precipitation, it finally did damage to the state of California. A series of mudslides and swarmed the southern California coast. The mudslides closed down roads, many in LA. In the high country, roads and highways were packed with ice making it impossible to get anywhere in the mountains.

It was second hour. Tuesday, January 11th, 2005.

Tommy sat in his classroom, Trent at his side chatting to Jason about the progress of the last few days.

"Yeah, bro. All that rain finally paid off and we've closed down several roads to avoid possible mudslides in the area," Jason had instructed in the comfort of his home in LA. "Including schools."

Unfortunately for the people of Reefside, somehow the weather had not effected them as much as the rest of the state. So, they were stuck going on with their normal lives, or as normal as it possible could, without keeping an eye for those cyborg-soldiers the team could now classify as _cybots_.

Tommy had informed the original red ranger the story of their newest threat and warned him that they could be asked into battle. And as much as he had not wanted to say anything about their new threat, he warned him that this Mindshatter guy was a tricky character that had to be dealt with accordingly.

"So, the story in the high country is now nearly 12 feet of snow. They should be expecting nearly 3 more feet of snow by the day is done," Jason stated.

"No kidding, Jase. We haven't gotten anywhere with this at all. This Mindshatter guy is obviously setting up a strategy or something if he hasn't made a move in the passed few days," Tommy said.

"Yeah. That's the problem with those evil guys. Just waiting to strike. So, how about you, Trent? How are you holding out?" Jason asked more cautiously.

Trent sighed and dropped his head. Since his dad's kidnapping, he had been more shut down than ever. He would briefly talk to Kira and Dr. Oliver, but that was it. There wasn't much anyone could do, letting Trent fight through it on his own. "I'm better, Jason. It's just hard right now."

"We'll get him back, Trent," Tommy patted his shoulder. "We're all hurting from it, but don't dwell on it. Your father is a strong guy. He'll make it."

"So, what do we know about this guy anyway?" Jason asked.

"For the most part, he has a thing for probing minds and has a thing for huge spikes and cybernetic technology, much to what Anton does know. I don't know, he could be using it to his advantage," Tommy replied.

"Well, just give us the head's up, right? We'll be there in a flash," Jason nodded. "Have you connected the strange weather patterns to him?"

Tommy and Trent looked at each other, shrugged and looked back at the computer screen shaking their heads.

"Nothing. There is no connection whatsoever. Or as far as we've looked into it. We have not gotten anywhere with it," Tommy said.

"Billy and Hayley have been working on it for some time, but have nothing," Trent said.

"I still can't believe you now got Billy slaving away in that lab of yours looking for answers. Don't you ever give them a break, T?" Jason shook his head in dismay.

"Hey, it's them, Jase. I tell them time and time again to take a break, but they haven't. They've been working around the clock to come up with something that could work towards being our new zords," Tommy said.

"And that's what you get for destroying them."

"Don't start with me, Jase. If I didn't, Mesogog would still be around."

"Hey, bro. You've been making some pretty foolish mistakes. More than you would need to now. You got someone like Kim to keep you sane."

Tommy glared at him, even though he knew he was just trying to lighten the mood. "I've been married for almost a month now, I think we're fine."

"Just don't let your work get in the way of spending time with her, especially when she's pregnant."

Someone cleared their throat in the background as the two DT Rangers had greeted the Zeo 1 Pink Ranger. Jason sunk in his chair as Kat slowly made her way over to the computer, her round belly making it an obstacle. If anyone could really forget,  
which no one could when it was evident even more at Tommy and Kim's wedding, Kat was indeed pregnant with Jason second child. She would be expecting it soon enough. It was just a matter of when.

"So, when are you due, anyway?" Trent asked with a light smile.

"End of the month," she said simply. "And congratulations to you, Tommy."

Tommy sighed and nodded, thanking his friend on his own news of a kid on the way. "Thanks, Kat. Still kinda surprised to hear about having one, though."

"Fair warning, bro. Hormones will be raging and you do not want to make her mad," Jason whispered as Kat smacked him on the arm.

"I didn't crawl on myself and get myself pregnant. You said you wanted another kid," she protested.

"When I said that I didn't expect you were close to that time of the month," Jason defended. He looked back at the screen and smiled. "So, how did it happen again with you and Kim?"

"Jason!" Kat hit him again.

"Not your biz, bro," Tommy said simply. "Just consider yourself an uncle in a few months."

"All right, fine," Jason shrugged. "But I should let you guys go. Get that education and teach that class."

Trent groaned as he dropped his head. "This year has only gotten harder."

"Hang in there, Trent. Senior year will pay off in the end," Kat reassured the teen. "And I know you guys will bring out another victory for the rangers."

"Yeah. let's us hope that's true, Kat," Tommy breathed. "This guy is tough."

"Not if we got you running the show, Mr. Legendary," Jason winked. "Keep us informed."

The two DT Rangers said they would, said goodbye and closed the signal. Trent got off the stool and moved toward the window. He looked out into the gloomy sky.

No rain had fell that day. It was just cloudy.

The teen in white sighed quietly as he dropped his head again. He felt like a failure and it showed in how he stood. The science teacher walked over to him and patted his shoulder for reassurance.

"How do you cope with feeling like you've failed?" Trent said quietly.

"Because you have other people who will help you out. There are those who care and are willing to be a guiding hand. We all go through a stage in our lives where we feel like the world can no longer turn, but it eventually will. Don't think that it's the end of world, Trent. It's not. We got more chances to right our wrongs. Look at you and how far you've come since your evil days."

Trent dropped his head and thought for a moment. He remembered it took some time to get used to being on the right team, even if it had been against his father. He had been dissed by Ethan and Conner after he was freed from the evil encoding, but he had so many other people to welcome him into the legacy of his heritage as a ranger. He had Kira, Dr. O and Kim. He had the three original rangers, Adam, Rocky and Aisha. And then there was the time when he had almost hung up his morpher for good, but Tommy had made his own self-sacrifice to join him. And those hours without their morphers, it had them thinking about where they would be going with the entire situation. And as a whole, the DT team, had pulled through and beat Mesogog and Zeltrax before things could get any worse. He even made more friends in Reefside as a whole. He had come a long way for being the new kid in town.

"Sometimes, it takes some people their entire lift to search for who they really are. But I think you know exactly where you fall in that circle of discovery, Trent," the science teacher said as he moved back toward his desk.

Then the bell rang and it was off to the next class.

Trent thought about his teacher's inspiring words for a moment as he grabbed his backpack and headed out the door. He stopped for a moment and looked back at his teacher, who had been looking at him the entire time. "Thanks, Dr. O."

"No problem, Trent," Dr. Oliver smiled. "I'll see you later. Keep your head up and your spirit high. You'll make it."

Trent nodded again, said goodbye and left the room.

XXXXXXXXXX-

After school. The teens had been walking through the parking lot, minus Conner who had been spending his time with Krista.

"Man, why couldn't we have been LA? We wouldn't have to come to school," Ethan sighed.

"I know what you mean," Kira nodded. "All we've been getting for the past few days was just clouds. No rain. No snow. Nothing."

"And they continue to say it's just mother nature at its worse," Trent shook his head.

"Yeah right. I mean, you look at all the records, and tie it back, we're talking nearly 15 days of precipitation for the state of California," Ethan protested. "You cannot tell me that has to be mother nature. Something has got to be up."

"Well, it's no Day After Tomorrow, right? That's a good thing," Kira said.

"Now, that would be bad. Way bad. Not good whatsoever," Ethan nodded.

"But we haven't found anything," Trent stated.

"Look, whatever this Mindshatter guy is plotting, it better be soon. I kinda don't like just sitting here and waiting for him to attack," Kira said.

Each of them had their own set of wheels now, with it being senior year, they would need it. Kira had a yellow Ford Mustang, Ethan had a blue two-door Honda Civic, and Trent had his white Mazada-6. And of course, Conner had his red GTO. They all had other things to do to help compensate for the year and to just get around if walking wasn't an option.

"So, where's everyone off to?" Ethan asked as he tossed his backpack in the back of his car.

"Work. Hayley gots me running a double shift for the whole week because everyone's sick," Trent replied.

"Same here. I gotta work behind the scenes in the production room," Kira replied. "How about you, Ethan?"

"Nothing really. They cancelled practice for the day," Ethan shrugged. Ethan had in fact too the advice of the team, to audition for a spot on the dance team and got in. So, beyond his computers, he had dancing on his list of things to do. And he was still in search for a job to pay off for college. "Still job searching. And busting tables isn't my thing."

"I've given them your resume, but there are just no opens right now, Ethan," Kira admitted.

Ethan said. "Don't worry, I'll find something to pass my time. Catch you guys later." He jumped into the car, started it up, flashing a peace as he left the lot.

It fell silent as the white and yellow DT rangers stood there without saying much of anything. As quiet and as slow as their relationship was moving, more and more people had grown suspicious about the two. But they had not taken that step to actually make their relationship as a couple known to others. They did have something going, it just didn't go anywhere since Trent had shut out much of the world since Friday.

"You must be doing better. This time Ethan and I weren't the only ones talking," Kira said simply.

Trent nodded slowly. "Yeah, I am. Talked to Dr. O about it. Like everyone else, he reassured me that things would be okay. It kinda lifts all that burden on my shoulders."

"Well, that's good," Kira smiled lightly. "And they are, Trent. Things will get better. Just hang in there."

"Thanks, Kira," Trent looked up and pushed open a smile. "I'll see you later?"

"Sure. I'll stop by the cyber cafe later on," she nodded.

At that moment they hadn't realized how close they were until some spectators had honked their horns and whistled. They were less than arm lengths away from another. Kira turned bright red as she took a step back. Trent shook his head and stepped back. They each said their goodbyes and got into their cars,  
drove off and said nothing more.

**_to be continued..._**

_A/N: I know. I got all these little romancing going around in this story. Maybe I am one f those helpless romantic people or whatever. I don't know, I mean I don't want to be. I shouldn't, but I'll just stop right there. And yeah, ya'll could not forget that Jason and Kat got another kid on the way, but due to that concept, we might see a limited access into their lives. Remember, this will be centered more around the DT Rangers. But either way, see you when I do in the next chapter. The battle for the survival of earth has just begun. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	6. A Fear of Evil

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - _**PART SIX: A FEAR OF EVIL**_ (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The Rangers aren't feeling all to good, especially Tommy and Trent who feel the evil rage of their past grow inside of them. What can they do to stop it?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I only own the adventures they are going through in this series. Without the help of those that made Power Rangers what they are now, this may never would have been this good._

_A/N: I figured I would bring back some twists from the past. But how far will I go? You'll just have to read on and figure it out. I hope you like this suspense and tension I like to build. To the newbies, be prepared for a page turner—I hope. I really think my writer days could be over if I just don't get enough reviews. I try. Really I do. If it wasn't for some people, stories like these would never see another's eyes. So, thank you to the readers. I really do appreciate all your comments. But let's get rolling. Sorry about falling way too behind. Forgive me. Senioritis has bitten my butt and I can't seem to get out of it. My grades are showing it just a little bit, too. I can't seem to focus in my classes no more._

_X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"_I feel it inside of me and I don't know what to do with it. What if I won't be able to control it? No one will be safe, and no one may not be able to help me. But I gotta keep fighting until the end. For the sake of all of us, please forgive me if things go wrong." -Eclyptyk Neo  
__X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

Friday. January 14th, 2005.

Into the darkness of a line of halls, a line of three figures walked through a mess of destruction. Scorched marks from the fire ran across the walls of the halls. And the smell of mixed chemicals filled the air combined with the smoky mist that still remained. It was clear that a huge battle had went on there as they continued down the halls.

Mindshatter walked through the debris and mess of what used to be Mesogog's island fortress, with Anton Mercer at his side. Thanks to prying Anton's mind, he had managed to re-establish a connection to the invisi-portal system that would take him there using the technology equipped on his ship.

The metal bands still remained around Anton's head and wrists, but he had been dressed in the outfit similar to the fit he had worn when he was Mesogog. He breathed in shock, not believing that the island fortress had still been intacted after the huge battle months ago. He could believe the island would still be around, but not the fortress. He was stuck. He knew he could escape without being killed in the end. He would simply follow the orders of Mindshatter to avoid meeting a taste of a mind-numbing headache or possibly death. Now, he knew how it was like to be on the receiving end of one of Mesogog's mind tricks. But lucky for him, being Mesogog, he had some hidden mind tricks of his own. He just needed to tap into it to survive the long run.

Dinoshade walked behind the two, keeping a close eye on the scientist. He had not trusted in believing Anton had given into the word of his master that easily and despised him for getting all the attention in the battle to destroy the rangers.

"This is a worthy place to hide, Anton," Mindshatter breathed.

"You do realize that the Rangers are very much aware of this hideout, and it won't do much good for you if you decide to crash here," Anton said simply.

"But I will not be making the same mistakes as you did."

"I am no longer Mesogog, Mindshatter," Anton stated.

"Beware about how you say that, Anton. Once I find out all I need about your dark past and those Power Rangers, no one will be able to stop me," Mindshatter announced.

They walked through the darken hallway into the main lab. Much of the lab had been destroyed by the battle that went on there. The experiments were scattered on the floor and there would be lots of repair throughout the entire fortress, if Mindshatter was hoping to improve what mistakes Mesogog had failed to do to make Earth his own.

Mindshatter extended his hand out into the room, moving objects throughout the room with his mind to clear a path to the one machine that could be his greatest ally in the destruction of the Power Rangers, the Geno-Randomizer.

"You can't expect to get these things working after all the damage the rangers did to this place," Anton protested as Dinoshade shoved him into the room.

Mindshatter turned to face the scientist. "That's where you come in. I'm surprised, Anton. You were worthy enough to make a fortress that sustained such huge damage, and it's still standing. I'm surprised Mesogog didn't seem to survive against those pathetic excuse for protectors to Earth."

Anton could say no one as he sealed his mouth. He didn't know what to say or could find no way to beat that last statement without receiving a painful mind-twisting headache from Mindshatter.

Mindshatter barked out an order to Dinoshade in his alien dialect. Dinoshade bowed and left the room to attend to another matter. Mindshatter used a communicator on his wrist to assemble the cybots to start repairs on the island fortress.

Mindshatter shoved all other debris away as he made it over to the chair that Mesogog used to call his own. He took a seat as he nudged Anton his way by the pull of his hand. Anton had come to discover their newest enemy was a master of telepathy and telekinesis, which could be a problem for the team altogether. He knew Mindshatter was capable of manipulating a mind if he really wanted to, but didn't know if he had already done it to him.

"Don't test my patience, Anton," Mindshatter growled. "I hate getting upset at my own army."

"I'm not part of your army," Anton protested.

"We shall see," Mindshatter breathed. He shoved Anton toward the main computer system. "Now, get to work and get this place running!"

Anton glared at him for a moment and turned away as he cleared away the wires from the main computer to see what repairs he could do to it. And for a moment, he felt a shortness of breath escape his lips, and a new line of rage filled his body. A rage he had felt when he had been Mesogog.

"No," Anton breathed as he shook his head.

"Anger is a worthy adversary. It will fuel that power toward the resurrection of Mesogog," Mindshatter hissed with satisfaction.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

In the early evening hours, the team was hanging out at the cyber cafe. And they were glad that another Friday had arrived. It was evident that the entire week wasn't their best, for any of them. The teens couldn't concentrate in class or falling asleep easily. The teachers were just as dazed and weak at the teens. They sat around on the couches, heads hung low.

"Why have I felt so tired this entire week?" Ethan groaned as he sunk his head.

"You're not the only one, Ethan," Kira nodded as she leaned forward to catch her breath. "Something must be up."

"Yeah, but what?" Conner shook his head as he looked in the direction toward their teachers. "Any ideas, Dr. O?"

Tommy shook his head as Kim sunk closer into him, letting out a breath. "It's clear we all haven't been feeling good this entire week. And Mindshatter hasn't done anything since the attack a week ago. I don't know. It could be anything."

"Well, whatever it is has really took a lot out of us," Kim said as she sat up straighter.

"You got that right," Trent said. "I haven't been able to pay attention in class at all."

"I've seen you fall asleep in Bio," Tommy stated.

"Yeah, I've fallen asleep during 2nd hour, too," Trent sighed.

"I don't know. I feel so weak. Mentally, mostly."

"It's hard to get my homework done because I keep falling asleep when I get home," Ethan shook his head.

"I don't know, Dr. O. Ever since that battle with Dinoshade, I've felt different. You don't think he has some sorta mind manipulating sorta power do you?" Conner asked.

Tommy could only shrug. "I wouldn't know. Until they strike again we won't be able to find any answers."

"How is the new project going?" Kira asked.

"Still in the works," Tommy admitted. "Hayley and Billy haven't told me anything. I don't know. They're rather hush-hush about it and I think they're not saying anything so we wouldn't be freaking out about it."

One by one, each of the rangers had began to yawn. And as clear as it seemed, they were all tired. Their eyes grew heavy and their heads were swaying with tiredness.

"Oh, man," Conner groaned as he yawned. "I hate this. I had so much energy before those guys ever showed up, now it's just hell."

"Well, I guess that's our cue to call it in before we decide to fall asleep here or even behind the wheel," Trent sighed as he got to his feet.

"Yeah, I agree. We should get home and get a good night's rest," Tommy nodded as he slowly got to his feet, helping Kim up.

"Right behind you. I can barely keep my eyes open," Kira nodded.

One by one each of them got to their feet, said their goodbyes and headed out the door. Trent was the last to leave as he made sure everything was locked and turned off for the night.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Hours later.

Kim was already snug in bed reading a book. It was a romance novel.

Downstairs in the gym, Tommy was working out. He had been lifting weights and using the punching bag as a target to rid himself of the stress. Each time he struck the bag, the impact grew louder and harder. Sweat ran down his entire body, but for some reason he couldn't get rid of that burden that still sat on his shoulders. He stopped for a moment, catching his breath as he collapsed against punching bag.

"What's wrong with me?" he whispered as he pulled one hand out of its glove. He clenched and unclenched his fist as he felt some rage run through him. He forced out a breath as he stepped back and fired a crescent kick into the punching bag.

He grabbed his towel had left the room hoping the rage would leave him as he made it upstairs. He stopped for a moment, by a mirror hanging on the wall as he looked into it, closely. He saw a hint of green and red spark up in his eyes as he took a step back, forcing out another breath. He made it into the bedroom, the rage subsiding. It left him rather exhausted as he wrapped the towel around his neck, collapsing on the side of the bed beside his wife.

"Have a good workout?" Kim asked simply, not looking up from her book.

Tommy turned to look at her and sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

Kim looked up from her book at her husband, raising an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He leaned over and laid a warm, passionate kiss on her lips. After the kiss, she framed his face, laying a gentle kiss on his lips.

"What was that for, Handsome?" she asked quietly with some concern as she saw a small line of fear escape his eyes.

He dropped his head for a moment, letting out a breath. He could feel the rage, the anger he had when he had been under Mesogog's control, in the back of his mind. He thought it was nothing, but it had gotten worse as the week went. He just never mentioned it because he thought he could handle it. Now, he wasn't so sure. "I'm scared, Kimberly."

Kim furrowed her eyebrows as she brought his face up to look at her again. The fear was more evident now in his chocolate dark eyes. "Talk to me, Tommy. What is it?"

He shook his head as he laid a kiss on her palm. He knew he couldn't lie to her. Not about this matter. "I'm under the impression I might be under my evil reign again, or could be on my way to it again."

Kim shook her head, as she pulled him close to her. "No. Don't say that. You can't be."

"I feel the rage inside me," he whispered as he shuddered. "I don't know how much longer I can fight it. I may not last."

Kim laid a kiss on her husband's head as she pulled the blanket around him. "If you are, we'll figure out how to stop it. Okay? I'm not gonna let you go through that again."

"I'm scared, Beautiful," he admitted.

"Shhh," she said gently. "I know. But I'm here. I'll help you get through this."

He pulled her closer to him as he sunk into the comfort of the bed. She snuggled into him, caressing his face, waiting for him to go to bed before she could turn it in.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Trent had walked through the huge empty house up to his room. It was hard getting used to the fact he was the only occupant in the house for a week now. Things were different. And even Elsa stated she could keep the teen company if need be. He didn't oppose, but nor did he say he approved. He just needed some time to cope with it.

He walked into his room and closed the door. His room had been full of drawing and sketching he had been working on in the last few years. It was a size one could be jealous about, but that was no surprise for a kid with a multi-millionaire dad. He had gotten used to it. His art desk was off in one corner of the room, raised up from the main level. He had a door leading out to a balcony, a simple twin bed on the other side of the room. He had a separate desk with a computer on it for any computer work he did. He had a flat screen TV plastered to one of the walls and a surround system around the room. He never liked to brag about it, but those who had been to his house were obviously jealous of it.

He collapsed at the computer desk catching his breath. It was hard for him, not that it would ever get any easier. He just wished that he could wake up from this nightmare and find his dad there. For the past few years of his life, he had gotten used to taking responsibility for himself since his dad always worked. He never had time for him. And in the last two months, they were finally bonding more as a father and son, and that's what he liked. Now, it was at a stand still.

He dropped his head, closing his eyes. At that moment, he recalled all the setbacks in his days as a Ranger. When he first got the powers of the white dino gem and felt the power of evil run through him, the day he discovered who Mesogog was, the day the evil encoding was broken, the day he nearly hung up his morpher for good, the day Mesogog was defeated. And many others. He could not imagine he had gotten that far, but he did.

"We'll find you, dad," he called out. "Just hang in there."

Then as he got off the chair and headed over to his bed, he felt a line of dizziness run through his body. The head rush sent him to the ground as he groaned in pain. And as his eyes fell shut, he watched his evil days run through his mind. He sat up on his knees catching his breath, and for a second he felt the rage run through his body. He felt the need to have all the power and destroy everything around him, his friends were now a threat to his cause and had to be destroyed.

"No," he groaned as he fought to push the rage away. "Not now."

He had felt it during the week when he saw his friends. But when he saw Kira, the rage had left him and it was almost like he couldn't recall what he was doing. He didn't know what to make of it as the pain stopped. The rage left him and he sat there in the room, sweat running down his face.

It was over for now, but he knew he couldn't control it. And he didn't want to risk telling anyone when he felt it was a battle he had to fight on his own.

He crawled over to his bed and pulled himself into it, hoping a good night sleep could rid himself of the fear of returning to his evil reign.

**_to be continued..._**

_A/N: Okay, I hope you're not entirely confused. But, I will tie this entire thing together as it gets closer to the end. How does everyone feel about the resurrection of Mesogog? And there could very well be another problem with the evil ranger thing with Trent and Tommy. But what will happen? You're just gonna have to stay tuned in. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	7. Drago Fears

'**TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART SEVEN: DRAGO FEARS_** (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Trent is suffering night terrors regarding a certain dino-faced menace. But are they really dreams or a reality that could spell doom in the future?_

_DISCLAIMER: It is the obvious. Power Rangers does not belong to me, and they never will. Only in my dreams, but I can always dream because without it there would be no imagination._

_A/N: Like I said, I like to add a few twists that has the reader guessing. I hope that's not a bad thing, and I don't completely throw you off and confuse you. Just read on and tell me what you think._

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"_I don't know what to believe anymore. Ever since our final battle was done, I've been having my second thoughts about what really happened out there on the battlefield. I'm not saying I want to leave, but there is just so many questions that have been left unanswered. I want an explanation." -Eclyptyk Neo  
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A few days later.

Kira had went over to Trent's house to keep him company during the late afternoon. He had requested it, but didn't want to make it seem like he was asking too much of his yellow DT companion.

"It isn't, Trent," she had said once she arrived. She walked into the house as he directed her in. "How are you doing?"

Trent let out a breath as they made their way into the kitchen. He had offered her to join him in a dinner to just talk, and she couldn't refuse. It would be Chinese food, since he didn't have the time to whip up something right away. "I've been doing better. It's just been hard getting used to waking up knowing where my dad is, you know."

Kira nodded slowly as she helped him with the plates, setting them on the counter in front of the stove. He handed over a few napkins and silverware to make it more complete as he moved over to the fridge to get some drinks.

Trent hadn't implied it was a date of any kind, and neither did Kira really want to think of it that way. She had known though, that Trent did manage to tell her certain things that only she seemed to understand or got a chance to know about the reserved white DT ranger. She had liked the times they could just sit and talk. He could admit he did, too.

They hadn't shared much of any affection toward the other since the New Year's Celebration at the cyber cafe. But then again, they were still slow about moving on in their relationship. And they had a certain new threat to thank for slowing it down even more.

Time passed slow as the food finally arrived. The two had filled their plate, knowing they would be there awhile to talk. Trent took a seat beside Kira as he turned his chair to look at her, taking a bit of his sesame chicken before looking over at her.

"Yeah, Elsa made the offer about keeping me company, if I really needed it," Trent began as he cleared his throat.

"What'd you say?" Kira asked, somewhat surprised by their principal's offer to keep the teen company while his father was 'away'.

"Well, I didn't say I didn't approve. Nor did I say no. I just said I needed some time to myself for awhile. I mean, it would be nice, especially in a house of this size, but I don't know if I actually like the idea right now," he admitted.

"Well, just like the rest of us, we just don't want you to feel like any of this is your fault," Kira said with a gentle voice, "because it's not. This was definitely something that caught us by surprise. But we'll get him back."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "At least I keep telling myself that. It's just hard to really admit that it could be true when you can think of all the bad things that could be happening."

"Well, your dad is a tough guy. He hung in there when Mesogog was destroying his mind. He has all that research and success to be proud of. And he finally approved of your artistic endeavors."

Trent managed a smile, knowing that she was right. And that's what he needed. For someone else to say that to him. It didn't have the same effect if he told himself those things, but when another said it, it had a better effect on him. "Thanks, Kira. That means a lot."

"We'll find him. We'll put an end to this Mindshatter guy, even though he hasn't struck in awhile, but I know we'll pull through," Kira said as she took a drink of her soda.

"It won't be easy," Trent sighed as he hung his head.

"No one said it would," she had countered. "C'mon, as Rangers, I think we can say that. And we got a certain legendary ranger here to tell us all of his own hardships during his high school years."

"Yeah, I guess so," Trent chuckled, feeling some of the burden leave him.

It fell silent for awhile as the teens took a moment to savor their food, and take in each other's company.

In the back of Trent's mind, he had wanted to move on in their relationship. He felt that maybe in the end it would be worth it knowing he had something more to be fighting for. He had to admit he had thought about Kira in more ways than he really needed to, but he had some raging hormones that was hard to control. He had talked to his science teacher time and time again about his own romance in high school, and he had made it sound much like the situation he was in now. He didn't want to approach the situation as it had to be done, but he didn't like the slow bumps in the road because they couldn't seem to move on. Sometimes, he had wished he could read Kira's mind, but didn't want to feel like a perv or a nosy guy for asking. He pushed it away, hoping he could approach it another day. But not now. He was still coping with the kidnapping of his father.

"So, how has the music been going? Have you come up with anything new lately?" Trent asked, hoping to clear the way for new conversation.

"Since the contributions I've made toward that original song contest for graduation? No," she shook her head. She had managed to create a song for the contest opened out to the entire senior class about creating a song for the class/graduation. But she said it was still a work in progress for some of the parts. "Have you guys listened to it yet?"

"Actually no," Trent admitted as he shook his head. "Kinda locked up in a secret vault until sometime this week. We should be listening to the entries as a whole council on Thursday."

"Well, I hope everyone likes it," she breathed with a tinge of nervousness.

"A lot of people now know you're a songwriter. If not everyone is feeling it, than I know Dr. O, Cassidy, Devin and I will," Trent nodded with a smile.

They were, in fact, other members of the council. Cassidy was apart of the committee that assigned members of council to certain duties. Devin had been somewhat of a follower toward Cassidy for some time, even if they were going out. But he had a lot of ideas that wouldn't be shared in any other way. Dr. O was more there as a second advisor if their primary advisor, Mrs. Jackson, could not show up at their meetings. He had laid out a few ideas he had done during his own time as a member of council back in high school, and made sure to put his contributions in to help out the class of 2005 in whatever they decided. He even laid out a few pranks they might want to pull, saying he had plenty of connections throughout the school to help them in that field. Mrs. Jackson wasn't much for the pranks or the senior skip days, but Dr. O had made sure if they wanted to pull either of them off to let him know. He'd hook them up with no problems.

"Have you guys decided on a class gift to the school?" Kira asked.

"Well, I wasn't in on it, but a lot of people seem to like the idea. We're getting a podium with the school seal on it as a gift," Trent shrugged. "Personally, I would have liked the rock climbing wall in the gym, but everyone thought that was a crazy idea."

"Why? I think a rock climbing wall would be nice. It would get more people involved in P.E.," Kira said.

"Yeah, but they were saying now that they got a star coach from the Olympics on staff, that shouldn't be a problem," he shook his head. He didn't say that knowing the 'star' coach from the Olympics personally was a bad thing, but using Coach as a trophy to parade in hopes to get more students into P.E. class wasn't his way of saying it was worth it.

"I bet she must be pissed about that one," Kira couldn't help but laugh, but hadn't liked the idea either. Ever since Kim had joined the staff at Reefside High, more people had gotten involved in P.E. Now, she wasn't sure if it was more for keeping fit or if it was checking out a former gymnist in more ways than need be. "Let alone, I bet Dr. O would be even more mad if he saw how some of the guys would be looking at her."

"I think Coach already knows, but she doesn't seem to mind," Trent shrugged.

"Oh man, you should see some of the guys in my P.E. class. Okay, so Conner and Ethan are in there, too, but they don't look at her like mad hungry wolves like the others," she shook her head. "I don't think some of them even know she's taken."

"Yeah, well a lot of people are stupid anyway," Trent agreed.

"She would tell us stories, too, regarding a certain 5th degree black belt in the science wing, but I don't think many of them pay attention," she said.

"People can be so naive. But maybe because they're blind," he said.

"You know, I think Dr. O already knows that some people look at Coach in that way," she said thinking through the situation. "Some of those people are in Geology with me and the guys, and when Dr. O goes to Yearbook to help you guys out, they try to get out of doing their work by sucking up to her."

"He probably doesn't do anything about it 'cuz he knows that he'll be getting her at the end of the day rather than them," Trent managed to laugh.

Kira laughed as she couldn't agree anymore. She would laugh as she watched some of the guys in her class flirt with Coach. She didn't want to say that knowing her on a personal basis gave her a better understanding of the situation, but Coach had told her time and time again she was on the receiving end of flirts and flattery by other guys, even if Dr. was around her arm. Coach had said he would get mad easily, but now it doesn't seem to matter, because he had one thing their students didn't have. And that was knowing he had married her in the end.

"So, what about those senior pranks? I know you guys have been discussing it since Dr. O is there," Kira grew curious.

"We got a good line of them. It's just a matter of remembering where to set them and when. Dr. O says he still needs to talk to 'his connections' before it could go down. And he made the suggestion we should wait until April to do them in a week long hell week, as he put it," Trent shrugged.

"How does Mrs. Jackson feel about this?" she asked.

"She doesn't even know, and we'd like to keep it that way until we do them," he said with a nod. "You know she wouldn't be feeling it one bit if we told her some of the ideas."

"Which are?" Kira wanted to know what some of those pranks were gonna be on.

"One of them is the fishing line around the school. Get the fishing line one won't see right away, tie it to some poles and watch people trip. Another is gluing coins to the ground. So, when some idiots sees a quarter on the ground, and attempts to pick it up it won't work. We were thinking about either duct taping or sealing some of the doors shut, so when someone would trip up the fire alarm, no one could get out. We had the saran wrap over the toilets idea, too. The list goes on," Trent chuckled.

"Okay, some of those are just wrong," Kira groaned in disgust. "Now, did you guys come up with these or did Dr. O spill some out?"

"He had a few ideas. Most of them were us. But we're just trying to leave our mark on the school," he said.

"Yeah, I can tell," she nodded. 'But I guess after this last class failed to leave a mark, we might as well bring up the slack."

"Exactly."

The two had continued to converse for another good long hour. It wasn't much, but it beat worrying about all the rough points in their lives at the moment. It gave them the time to just relax and that's what they were hoping for.

But as the late hour approached, Kira figured she would call it in. She had to get home and finish some of her homework. Trent was the same way, as much as he didn't want to.

Trent had been a gentleman and walked her out to her car and said good night. She had said her own good night. And for awhile, they stood there less than arm length's away. It fell silent as they seemed to get lost in each other's eyes.

And Kira had made the first move as she leaned into Trent. He had followed moments later as they shared a kiss under the calm night sky. It held passion, but wasn't centered around a tongue war between the two. It was a nice way to end the evening off.

Trent broke the kiss unsure what to make of the gesture. He could only blush as he managed a sheepish chuckle. Kira had done the same as she took a step back and got into the car. She said she would see him later, he had said the same, being more speechless than her at what just happened.

Then she had left as he watched her go, a gentle smile had passed his face once she was out of sight. He had remembered the moment when he had shared a kiss at Dr. O's and Coach's wedding. And felt the sparks fly then. He remembered the kiss he shared with her on New Year's and the sparks there. And now this, but this time, he hadn't made the first move. She did and the sparks were even more powerful. And that only made it more clear that she was in need to push their relationship to the next level, too.

Trent turned and headed into the house.

Hours later.

Trent was snug in bed, dreaming away. But that's where the peacefulness seemed to stop. He had been sweating greatly as he tossed in turn in fright.

In his dreams, he had watched his past replay back to him. His days of evil, the discovery of his father as Mesogog, the day he almost died being drained of his powers, and when he was saved by his father. Of their final battle, watching as Mesogog had mutated into something more horrid and took it to scaling high proportions that forced his mentor to make an ultimate sacrifice to their zords.

He cried out in shock as he sat up, opening his eyes. The images left him the moment he woke up. He caught his breath as he ran a hand through his hair and down his face. The room was dark, but many shadows remained as possible hiding places for surprises.

"It was just a dream," he breathed. He looked down at his dino gem, watching it glow to life. Then his eyes fell shut for a moment as he felt the rage inside him grow. He groaned as he tried to push it down again. "No. Let it pass."

"Traitor," he heard a voice hiss.

Trent opened his eyes as he locked around the room in fright.

He was sure he had heard it in his mind, or was it a reality?

He looked around the room more closely as the moon lit the way.

"Traitor," the voice hissed again.

He knew this time it wasn't in his head. And it only came from one source as he looked around the room again. Then Trent turned to the corner of the room by his art desk and saw a figure looming over there. Or was it? He looked at his gem again as it glowed and back up, to see a set of yellow eyes glare at him. He turned his glowing gem in the direction of the eyes as the figure took better form. The dino-shaped head became evident over the entire darkness of the room.

Trent breathed in fright as he shook his head. And at that second, things seemed to slow down around him as the dino-faced menace of Mesogog charged toward him.

Then it stopped as Trent cried out. The room fell silent as Trent realized he had awoke from another nightmare. He ran a hand through his hair as he caught his breath. He looked around the room, but found nothing.

He turned on his light, looked in the direction he swore he saw Mesogog, but no one was there. He turned to the window realizing the rain falling, but nothing more. It was a little after three in the morning.

"Just a dream," he breathed as he fell into the comfort of his bed. "Just a dream, Trent."

He shut off the light, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep in. But he wasn't completely convinced as he felt like he was being watched by something.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: I thought I would begin this chapter on a lighter note before hitting the bad stuff. So, Kira and Trent feel some tension in pushing their relationship to the nxt level. But is't it sweet? Ahh! But that's not the real purpose of this chapter. The end is. So, it seems that reality and fantasy are playing a game with our friend in white. But what will happen now? Stay tuned. Thanks for all your support and keep doing what you're doing. See you in the limelight. Isang diwa. Isang mahal. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	8. Dark Black Night

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - _**PART EIGHT: DARK BLACK NIGHT**_ (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Much like Trent, Tommy is suffering his own set of night terrors regarding a certain cyborg from the past. And what could they mean, if it feels so real?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine, just the property of creating this series out of the characters in the show._

_A/N: I don't know, but looking back at all the episodes of DT, I've seen so many connections between Trent and Tommy. Now, it could just be me, but I've kept that in mind for some time. I won't say anymore than that, so you'll just have to see how far I will go with this as the series continues on. Thank you for your time and effort to read all this. Once I get going, sometimes, it's so hard to stop. It really is for me. But enjoy what you can. See you when I do. Later daze._

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_"I don't know what to believe anymore. I really thought that after all that has happened, I wouldn't have to live with such huge scars for the mistakes I've done in my past. What if that last battle really could have ended another way? Where would we be now?" -Eclyptyk Neo  
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It's the evening of Sunday, January 16th, 2005. And it's been a little more than a week since the battle that proved to be a great loss to the DT team. They had lost against their newest enemy, and it was hard to cope with the loss. None of them liked that, especially the teens. They failed to find out where Anton was, and it was clear their newest enemy did, in fact, kidnap him. But that was all they knew. They had no idea what plans Mindshatter had for Anton, but they didn't like it one bit.

Tommy, the veteran of many battles, hadn't liked it much either. Since that day, he hadn't gotten much sleep even if he tried. He just couldn't get those images out of his head. Of battling the cybots, hoping they would flee, but they just kept coming back. The damage hadn't done enough to send them on their way. And one attack was all it took against Dinoshade to reverse the attack on them, forcing them to de-morph.

He sat there in the underground lab, trying to pinpoint weaknesses against their newest problem. He ran diagonistics, tried to figure out if he could pinpoint the location of his friend, Anton Mercer, but nothing was found. He figured that Mindshatter truly had a line of defenses that the rangers couldn't penetrate, which was making the situation much harder than he would have liked.

He forced out a breath covering his face trying to push the feelings of being a failure back into the depths of his soul. He never liked feeling like a failure, and he definitely didn't want to show it in front of his team. Not the teens. They had seen so much, but still knew so little. They were still learning and asking more about his past, many of which he longed to forget. But as the days went by, and more answers were shut behind closed doors, the series of failures he had lived with began to haunt him all over again.

Another figure entered the room through the stairs, and Tommy knew who it was the moment she had taken that first step into the room. He sunk lower into the chair as she approached him laying a kiss on his head and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey, Handsome," Kim whispered.

"Hey, Beautiful," he sighed as he pushed a few keys to turn off the research he had been doing.

"It's late," she said simply. "You should get some sleep."

"In case you haven't noticed much, baby, I haven't been getting much sleep in the last few days," he admitted.

"I have. And I'm worried about you," she said with deep concern. "Every now and then, you'd wake up in the middle of the night with sweat running down your face. Have you been having nightmares?"

Tommy dropped his head for a moment. He caught his breath as images of the last battle with Mesogog played in his mind. He had questioned what had really happened to Zeltrax. He wasn't completely sure what had happened with Mesogog either. He figured it was over, and they no longer had to deal with either of them. But for the past few nights, he had dreams—even nightmares—about Zeltrax, mostly. He felt like he was being watched by something beyond the shadows, and he couldn't do anything about it because he could never find out if it was there. The longer he stayed asleep to see the outcome of the dream, the more it felt like it was real. "I'm not so sure anymore, Kim. Do you remember a few months ago when Mesogog had the idea of attacking us in our dreams?"

"Yeah," she nodded slowly as she moved around to take a seat in his lap.

"And how it felt so real, we weren't sure if we really were dreaming or not?" he asked.

"Yeah, I remember," she said running a hand down his face as he looked away to catch his breath.

"Well, for the last few nights I've been having some dreams about Zeltrax. About him literally coming back to life and haunting us while we slept. He would make our lives miserable because he was always around every corner wanting to put an end to me. I've tried to sleep through some of them to find out what would happen in the end, but never could. But when I awoke, I could feel the pain running through me in places where he had struck me," he shook his head in dismay. "I don't know, Kim. It's so hard to sleep now because I almost feel like I'll never wake up from it."

"You don't think that Zeltrax is still alive, do you?" she asked.

Tommy could only shrug as he shuddered with the fear of seeing the cyborg come back to haunt them. "I really hope not. It's bad enough dealing with a guy who looks like a porcupine, his evil henchman that resembles a dinosaur in a robotic suit, and searching out where they have Anton hidden."

Kim brought his face up to meet hers and laid a kiss on his lips. He felt some of the burden fall off his shoulders as the kiss was deepened. When she had broke it, he could only hold her closer as they spoke no words. He ran a caring hand across her lower abdomen, laying a gentle kiss on it.

"I'm also scare for you, Kim," Tommy spoke quietly as he looked up into his wife's eyes, but his hands remained on her lower abs.

Kim found her hands on top of her husband's, knowing what he meant by it. "I can't just sit here and let you take such punishment from this guy."

"It was one battle, and one battle I didn't want to put you into. You shouldn't have been out there with us. What if it gotten worse?" he asked with a shudder.

The thought was clear in both of their mind's if not evident in their body language. Tommy remembered he had forced Kim into a hiding place during their battle with the cybots and Dinoshade. She didn't want to, as much as the limited power she really had as a Ranger. She protested. He made it clear in his voice and the way he stood, even in suit, that he didn't want to put her life into jeopardy. He didn't want to risk knowing it could trigger a miscarriage both of them may not be able to handle. But since there had been no attack in the past week, the tension left him.

Tommy looked down at his dino gem, recalling the day he had been forced to break the bond of the pink dino gem to ensure Kim would ever wake up again. Now, the gem, broken into five, resided in the other DT Rangers. But, its power could never be harnessed completely since it had been broken. "That gem could have been yours. It should have been yours. But I just want you to be cautious, Kim. I don't think I could live with the fact we lost our child to a miscarriage."

Kim sat there silent gripping her husband's hands tighter as they kept them glued to her stomach. She knew he was right, and as stubborn as she could be for wanting to help where ever she could, she had to respect his request. "I'm not crippled, Tommy. I can still kick some butt."

Tommy shook his head. "And you probably could. But it is a risk I think we should really look into before another battle goes down."

Time passed slowly as Kim got to her feet. She pulled Tommy along with her as their bodies melted into one as they moved toward the stairs.

"Why don't I cheer you up, Handsome? It looks like you can really use a pick me up," Kim said as he shut the trap door in the study.

Tommy looked at her with a raised eyebrow as she pulled him into a mind-numbing kiss. He felt his muscle tighten and loosen under her control. He broke the kiss gently catching his breath. "Is that really a good idea?"

"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean we have to avoid making love to each other," she protested.

Tommy managed a sly smile as he kissed her, sweeping her off her feet and out of the room up to their bedroom.

Hours passed.

After a nice love-making session, Tommy had retired to bed quickly. Kim had watched him sleep, still holding concern for the fears he held in the back of his mind.

Tommy found himself tossing and turning in bed again as another nightmare played in his mind. Sweat ran down his face as he groaned quietly trying to force it away.

Kim sat up and looked over at him, running a hand down his face.

"Tommy, wake up."

But he didn't hear her as he continued to toss and turn trying to push the images of his dream away.

In Tommy's mind. It had been a long hard day at school yet again, and he was just glad to be home. After bringing down another monster, it gave the team another boost of happiness in getting a victory. Kim had been there to greet him as he walked into their bedroom in a little pink outfit she had teased him with during their high school years.

He didn't have to oppose her offer as he jumped in bed beside her and pulled her into a mind-numbing kiss. They had fiddled and flirted around under the covers for some time. It was a perfect evening for the two to get lost in each other's bodies.

But that's where the calm relaxation evening seemed to end. Kim was laying kisses on her husband's chest as his breath came out in short gasps. But as he opened his eyes, the glowing yellow eyes of a certain cyborg loomed over them. He forced out a frightened breath as he grabbed his wife and rolled off the bed to avoid a deadly swing from their intruder.

The bed was cut in two. Kim pulled the blanket around her, letting out a scream as the cyborg charged at Tommy. He rolled away, morphed and came charging back at Zeltrax.

Time passed slowly as the battle raged. The two had fought in the room, sending bolts of energy to singe the room in a deadly mass. Kim stayed hidden in the corner watching helplessly. She didn't know what to do.

"Revenge is mine," Zeltrax growled as he shoved the Black DT Ranger into the wall. "I will destroy you once and for all, Tommy."

"Smitty, stop," Tommy groaned as he tried to push his staff forward. Zeltrax's sword had locked with his staff, but he couldn't seem to push it away.

Zeltrax pulled back and swung his sword forward. Tommy dove to the ground and sent a wind strike attack toward the cyborg, sending him into the far wall. He let out a tired breath as he got to his feet and dove toward the cyborg.

But due to the severe damage in the room, the floor was becoming more unstable to fight on. Zeltrax turned to see the Black DT Ranger come his way. He launched an electrical attack that sent Tommy to his knees in pain.

"Tommy!" Kim cried as she watched him hit the ground.

Tommy hit the ground hard, forcing him to demorph. Zeltrax sneered with happiness as he stepped over him to the other occupant in the room. Kim slowly moved toward the door in a nervous panic.

"Smitty, stop. You don't want to do this," Kim pleaded.

"You're next," Zeltrax growled.

"Not so fast, Zeltrax," a voice spoke from behind him.

Zeltrax turned around to see the Black DT Ranger was back on his feet. His eyes in a fury of green and red like no one could describe. He was mad. Extremely mad that set the room into a darkness that seemed to shield the legendary ranger and cyborg inside. Tommy pulled up his morpher and morphed back into his black ranger suit. But this time, the shield that had once been with the pink dino gem, covered his chest.

"This ends right now, Smitty," Tommy said in a low voice that could scare the toughest of guys.

Zeltrax huffed as he charged toward the Black DT Ranger. The Black DT Ranger moved away from the attack, using the power of his own staff to send the cyborg to his knees. The impact on the ground shook it and creaked. And for a moment, Tommy had looked up to meet the frighten look of his wife on the other side of the room.

"No," Kim breathed as she took a step forward.

Zeltrax growled as he launched another electrical attack toward the Black DT Ranger. He took it in like energy to fuel him up as he turned to face him. Each step he took toward the cyborg, the floor began to give in and sink. Until it snapped, sending the two to the level below. The energy surge had traveled down to the main level of the house causing the floor to give in as they hit it and the two had dropped down to the underground lab.

Debris and smoke filled the room as Kim raced to the edge to see where they had gone. She shook her head in fear as the smoke cleared slowly.

The two figures laid on the floor of the underground lab, motionless.

"Nooo," Kim cried out.

And back in reality, Tommy heard the echoing cry run through his mind as his eyes flashed open and he sat up catching his breath. He cried out in a panic as he shook his head.

Kim looked at him in a worry as he sunk into her lap. It was clear she had been watching him the entire time as he slept through that nightmare. "You okay, baby?" she asked gently.

He let out a breath as he looked around the room. "I saw him again, Kim. And this time it felt more real than ever."

"Shhh. It's okay, Tommy. It was only a dream," Kim said quietly as she laid a kiss on his head.

Tommy looked down at the bracelet around his wrist. He watched the gem glow in its usual gold-black way. And he watched the other colors inside merge into an array of colors—green, white, red, pink and purple—mixing with the original color of the gem. He closed his eyes and pushed all the mixed emotions into the depths of his soul. He didn't need to deal with them right now, or at all if he could, but it was so hard to push them away. The images of seeing Zeltrax ran through his mind like a broken record. He couldn't get rid of them. He sunk into Kim's embrace as he shuddered in fear. "I'm scared, Beautiful."

"I'm here, Tommy," Kim said quietly as she ran her hands caringly through his hair. "It'll be okay."

He wanted to believe her. He needed to believe her, but it was so hard to when he could feel the rage surge up inside of him. He let out a breath as he tried to push it away. He wasn't sure how long he could last if he didn't find any answers soon.

He had to find answers and soon, for the sake of keeping the rest of the team safe. He didn't want to live with making a mistake he would regret in the end, and he felt like he was going to if he didn't find the answers he needed to about these nightmares regarding Zeltrax.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Now, as of now, it seems that Trent and Tommy are suffering from a line of dreams that feel more real than they need to be. But will this mean anything in the end? It could. It might. You're just gonna have see where this would end, right? See you when I do in the next chapter. I'm trying to work overtime to get this thing caught up, and it's easier said than done. So, I am sorry if I haven't posted in awhile, but I really am trying. Give me a break. I will get better, hopefully. Later dayz. May the Powers Always Protect You!_


	9. Feeling Blue

'**TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART NINE: FEELING BLUE_** (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Ethan reflects on what has happened in his life, and the real sadness and guilt for really being alone among his fellow ranger teammates._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine, just this story and those that I've posted on this site under this category. I need some reviews, so if you can bring out a friend or two, it would really help. I also do know that I own Mindshatter, Dinoshade and they cybots._

_A/N: I figured it wouldn't hurt to get into the minds of our ranger pals. But, then again, that's just me. I hope you like it. Read on, it'll get better, I hope. Please tell me if you're getting bored. Or if you have any suggestion I could add into my story, all right? Hit me up whenever you can. I need the reviews._

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_"No one knows me better than myself, but even I am still trying to find my place in this world. I would not want to give it all back, no, but it's crazy that so much has happened and I could understand what life is really about after all that I have been through." -Eclyptyk Neo  
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Days later.

Another day of school had ended.

Thank God. Only one more day for this week and it is off to another weekend of relaxation. I hope. Ethan thought to himself as he got out of the car.

He walked into the cyber cafe, glad to call it a day. It was the only real place he could find peace. To be around other computer geeks that knew the difference between a megabyte and a computer pixel. He didn't want to say that none of his other friends were cool, they just still had some thing to understand and learn about him.

The cyber cafe was one place where he didn't have to worry about saving the world or making sure to get a set of dance moves down for a choreographed routine with the dance team.

But that was one thing that still surprised him. He never would have thought that they would put him on the dance team. Many of them had known him for nothing more than being a computer genius with no preference to dancing at all. But that's where it stopped. None of them knew about his crime-fighting days and that he was in fact a hip-hop dancer when he was younger.

"Hey, Ethan," Hayley had greeted him as he came in. "The usual?"

"Yeah, that would be great, Hayley," he smiled lightly as he moved toward one of the computer stations located in the corner.

He pulled out his own laptop, using the terminal to get the wireless internet access he needed to get his work done. Not that he really had much homework. He was glad that he had fairly easy classes that gave him the opportunity to finish most of his homework during class. He just could not believe that he was a senior.

He had been waiting for nearly eighteen years of his life to hear those great words, "Class of 2005, you are dismissed!"

He just could not wait to hear those words, turn that tassel and throw his graduation hat into the air in celebration with his friends.

His friends. A word he had taken to a new level in the last two years of his high school career. He found friends in the most unique places. He was after all a smart guy with a nagging in computer. And he had met such faces as an artist, a soccer player and an independent singer he would never dream about hanging around at all. But now, they were almost an inseparable bunch.

"Well, at least we were in the past," he said quietly realizing they had better things to do now. He didn't say he didn't either. He just felt slightly abandoned by them, though he would see Trent at the cafe during his working hours.

His science teacher, who he remembered was the new guy at Reefside High a year ago, had become one of his close friends, too. He could never picture being friends with a teacher, not that it was a bad thing. But for some people, it wasn't normal. He never would have thought though that he, out of all people, a guy with a degree in paleontology, was apart of a legacy that captured the hearts of millions of people around the world. He was a legend, though so many people didn't know how or why. He was a Power Ranger.

Ethan looked down at the bracelet around his wrist, a symbol of his own part in the legacy that was still being created. After all of his years of living in Reefside, he never would have thought that he would be apart of something so much bigger than him. He couldn't believe it the day he found that dino gem along with Kira and Conner, and he still couldn't believe it now. He was a Power Ranger. It was like a life long dream of his, and he never would have thought he would be capable of being apart of it. It was a feeling beyond words.

In the past two years, things had changed. They had changed big time. He had been apart of a team that protected the city of Reefside, if not the entire world, from destruction. He got to mess with a line of technology only so few got to see and got a chance to use weaponry well beyond his imagination. He had grown close to the line of rangers who began the legacy, and grew even closer to his own teammates. It was a journey of discovery and sacrifice.

He had to balance out saving the world with his school work. He had to learn the hard way that sometimes he had to keep his head on reality rather than on a new computer game. He couldn't tell the world who he really was, though there were some exceptions.

Hayley had dropped by with his usual order of a burger with a chocolate malt. "So, what's on the agenda for you today, Ethan? Any new games you outta be checking out?"

Ethan sighed as he pulled out a disk in his backpack. It had the mark of the DT symbol on it as he shook his head. "Actually, no. Dr. O gots me doing an assignment setting up a timeline of our adventures as a team just in case things go wrong in the lab."

Hayley raised an eyebrow with some confusion. "You'd actually risk doing it here? With all these people around?"

"Hey, it's me, Hayley. I know how to keep a low profile. Besides, I could clearly say I'm creating a new game for others to try out," he shrugged.

Hayley sighed reluctantly wishing the teen luck. She had figured he had it under control, but it was always hard to say when she was just as paranoid about the exposure as any of the other people/rangers were. She returned to the counter to serve a new line of customers.

Ethan didn't want to say that he felt rather mad about having so many people know who he really was, but there were some that he could make the exceptions about.

"Like starting the legacy, and holding onto this secret for nearly twelve years of your life from your family," Ethan sighed. He had remembered a week or so before Christmas, Dr. O and Coach had told him and the others they were gonna spill their huge secret to the family. They had offered to be in the video to give their own insight on the legacy of the rangers. "I credit you, Dr. O. I don't know if I ever really could do it, even with as tempting as it is."

He had gotten used to being dissed by his older brother and sister for being a dork in keeping track of some of the Power Rangers that have come to pass. They just never could give him much respect once his heart had fell into computer gaming. They would have thought he would have stuck with dancing, or get involve with a sport, but not computers as a hobby. He just didn't want say it to their face that he did have more going on his life.

"You tell me that saving the world while maintaining good grades isn't hard," he sighed as he looked through the files he had complied on the DT team.

Time passed slow. He would peer over his shoulder a few times to see the new occupants in the room, or watch people leave. He was glad that a place like this still remained. Sometimes, it would beat going to the library to get some research done. The environment here felt more like a teen's domain rather than looking through age-old dusty books for answers.

And this was it. Only a semester had remained in his entire high school career. And if he had to compare his underclassmen years to the two years he had encountered regarding 30 story high monsters and discovering his high school principal was really an evil henchman and his science teacher was a living legend, he would have to say his junior and senior year would win over in a flash. So many times he wished he could have told his other friends, beyond the ranger circle, about his adventures, but didn't want to risk anything.

And that was it. Ever since he began his junior year at Reefside, his life had changed. It never would be the same again. And he never really could imagine living a normal life after that. After all he had been through.

Now, with hopes that he could hang up his suit, live 'the normal life' and get back to just focusing on grades, he couldn't. He huffed in anger as the memories of their first battle with their newest enemy played in his mind.

He remembered seeing Conner hit the ground after another grueling attack. Dr. O had went after him, but was stopped short by a dinosaur-like robot. Luckily, Conner had picked himself off the ground and joined the team to face their new challenger.

"I am Dinoshade," the robotic dinosaur had introduced himself. "And Power Rangers of Earth, you have met your match."

"I don't think so," the legendary ranger growled as he called upon his staff to create an energy orb. He fired it toward the robotic giant, but Dinoshade seemed to take it in like an energy boost for his own weapon system.

Ethan remembered that it fell silent as the cyborg took in the attack like it was nothing. Then Dinoshade raised his arms and a line of guns emerged from hidden compartments in his arms. He didn't hesitate to fire on him and the other rangers. And all Ethan could remember was that after that blow he could no longer hold his ranger powers together and demorphed. And he wasn't the only one. They all did as they felt the capital punishment of the blow. Dinoshade had barked out another insult, that had Ethan's blood racing.

But he couldn't do anything. He was weak, barely able to stand on his own two feet without feeling like he would fall to the ground again.

That's where he felt the loneliness. The loneliness for not having someone to comfort him like his ranger companions. When Coach had raced over to her husband's side, pulling him into a caring embrace he was glad that someone was there to hold him. He knew in the back of his mind that Conner would find comfort in Krista after the defeat. And as much as Trent and Kira had denied their relationship would get any farther, he knew they were getting more acquainted on a dating level. And he wasn't too sure what was going on with Hayley and the original blue ranger, his predecessor.

But with him, there was nothing. For those few days he had gotten to know Cassidy, he found they were nothing alike and that Devin really was a better fit for her. His attempts at the New Year's Eve Party was a failure, and as much as he said he wanted to stay a bachelor, it was hard to cope with when he saw love all around him.

He would talk to Adam, give him the head's up on the status of the team, and the original black ninja ranger had told him a few things, too, regarding love.

"Love could be a great thing," Adam had said on one of their chatting conversations on the net. "It is, once you find it, anyway. But there will always be one of you on the team that needs to keep his or her eyes peeled for anything that goes wrong. Don't underestimate that just because someone is in love, they still won't come to an aid of a friend. A real friend wouldn't leave you hanging."

Ethan knew he was right. He had been one of the only rangers who had worked alongside the Black DT Ranger for a good long time to see many bumps in the road. Ethan didn't want to say he wanted to have a girlfriend, it would be nice, but his social skills, especially with the ladies, was in need of a lot of work.

He looked back at the computer screen, pinpointing the main battles the DT team had faced in their years as rangers.

"This is it," he told himself as he created a profile for their newest enemy. "This could very well be one of the toughest battles we've ever come across as rangers. There is no turning back. There never was."

And that was it. He didn't know what to expect from this new threat. He only knew that he had a thing for cybernetic technology, spikes and horns, and deciding to kidnap the one guy that knew almost every weakness of the current ranger team. He didn't say that he was still completely trustworthy of Anton, him once being Mesogog, but he had looked at Trent and knew he was telling the truth about his father.

He could only hope that their future as rangers, and continuing the legacy, would not come to an end after the war with Mindshatter.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Not much. Sorta a trip down memory lane. And I had original thought about putting this into 1st POV, but decided not to. I am hoping to keep this entire story that way, but we'll just have to see. I hope I didn't bore you completely with this chapter. There is more to come in the following chapters. So, read on. Leave a review or two and come back for more. See you on the flip side. Isang diwa. Isang mahal. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	10. White and Yellow Dreams

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART TEN: WHITE AND YELLOW DREAMS _**(PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Trent and Kira spend some time alone in the park._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. No matter how hard I try, it won't be in my grasp. Only this story and what I am able to do with it. So, I hope you like it now._

_A/N: I know it seems rather quiet on the homefront with how Trent and Kira's relationship is. I'm just trying to follow what the show has_ _done for the two. It has kept them rather reserved about their thoughts and what they do around each other. I won't say it's a bad thing, just trying to keep some doors open. I hope you like it. It's hard to think on a short run basis. But I guess it's harder to come up with things knowing now that I have control of how it really is gonna end, the series of DT now just one for the memory book. Okay, before I ramble on some more..._ _pulls out a stun gun and fires at self_

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_"I know what other say about us, and let them talk. What matters is we know the truth to what we have done. And when I am around you, nothing really seems to bother me. But when business has to get done, it will." -Eclyptyk Neo  
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After school. January 20th, 2005.

Kira was sitting in the park against a tree strumming her guitar as she began to hum quietly. She had been trying to create something new, but couldn't find anything that would really inspire her.

She sat there for sometime looking around the park. She saw kids of all ages running around having a good time. Some were playing catch, others were flying a kite or running around with their dogs. None of them looked like they weren't having any fun. They were enjoying the nice warm day.

Kira let out a breath as she smiled lightly. "At least they can have a normal life."

"But would you really want to go back to a normal life after all that's happened to you?" a voice asked from behind her.

Kira nearly jumped out of her clothes as she turned to see the white DT ranger leaning up against the tree beside her. She caught her breath as she shook her head, slightly upset at the interruption.

"Geez, Trent, any other day would have been nice, but not today. I feel like I have to watch my back constantly just to make sure those cybots don't come around," Kira placed her guitar into her lap. She moved over to make room for her friend against the tree.

"Sorry, Kira, didn't mean to scare you," Trent apologized as he took up her offer to join her. He looked out at the civilians in the park laughing, running and having a good time. He let out a saddened breath.

"It would be kinda nice to live a normal life, but I don't think we could," Kira sighed noting the sadness on her friend's face.

"I wouldn't want to change this life for anything else," Trent admitted. "Being a ranger has changed us all."

Kira nodded. She couldn't deny that. In the beginning, she was surprised to ever think she would give it all back. That she wasn't convinced it was a big deal. But when the threats grew, and the feeling of doing something right for others, it was worth the sacrifice. Now, even if she tried, she could never could go back to having a normal life. It would be nice, but something any of the rangers could pull off. "It has. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"No. I don't think we could. Even with some of the setbacks we had," Trent sighed. "So, I noticed you were strumming a few tunes. Anything new?"

Kira dropped her head, shaking it. "Nope. I've been having some major writer's block lately."

"Yeah, no kidding," Trent sighed. "I swear Mindshatter really lives up to his name about shattering one's mind, or that last battle really jacked us mentally."

"Have you heard anything on the new project Hayley and Billy have been working on?"

Trent shook his head. "I don't think any of us have. I've asked Dr. O, but he knows nothing about it."

The teens fell silent for a moment. They didn't know what to make of the situation. As much and as attentive as they were about an attack from Mindshatter, there was nothing. They could find nothing that could give them the answers they needed to stop their newest threat. And they didn't like just waiting for something to happen. They were all growing restless. And what made things worse was that Hayley or Billy had not told them what progress they had made about creating new zords. It was frustrating to sit there and do nothing about it.

"I guess we can just hope we won't have to worry about that too much," Trent said, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, I guess so," Kira nodded.

It fell silent again, as they melted into their own worlds.

Kira looked away for a moment, strumming her guitar quietly. Trent turned away, pulling out a small notepad to sketch something.

Ever since their little date on Sunday, neither of them could really concentrate. It had been the first time they really spent time alone without any real interruptions.

Kira continued to strum her guitar quietly as she began to sing quietly to herself. It was nothing out of the ordinary for the independent singer, but something that was hard to understand since it was so quiet. For awhile, she would sit in class, daydream. Try to imagine the world without evil, to just spend time with friends. But it was always so hard. But when Trent was around, it pushed all of that away. He had been there as a comfort. She knew in his time as the newest member of the team, it wasn't easy fitting in. She had wanted to make his welcome nice because as much as she could have doubted it, she knew eventually the evil encoding would have been broken. It was nice to have his company because he wasn't as cocky as Conner could be at times. Or so wired up in a computer game like Ethan. Even at times, Dr. O would be so tied up with Coach, it would be hard to notice some of the things around him. And it wasn't like she could talk to any of them and have them listen, but Trent somehow made the time to listen. He had been one of the only people who gave her moral support when she performed at the cafe. And that's what she liked about him as a friend.

Now, she wasn't so sure. She could admit that maybe it was time to move on in their relationship. Make the push to say they were dating. She knew people at school would stare at them and question what really went on with them. Nothing did. They just hung out and talked.

Was it not normal to just talk to a guy without implying you were a couple? Kira thought to herself as she peered over at the young artist in white.

He was far too into his sketching to really notice her stare. She looked at him for awhile before averting her eyes to the ground. That night when he had asked her to come by to accompany him for a few hours, she couldn't refuse. She wasn't sure why. But wouldn't understand if she would have said no. During much of the time, they just talked about random things, many not related to their ranger duties at all. And that's what she liked. For once, not worry about saving the world and talk to someone about something like the latest movie or gossip running around the school on the popular people.

And when Trent had been a gentleman and walked her out to her car, she had not realized at that moment how captivating his eyes were. She could recall the very first day they had met, when he had just moved into town and got a job at the cyber cafe. She could admit there was a crush then. But in the months of getting to know him better, the crush turned into something more. Or at least that's what she felt inside. She had been bombarded by Conner and Ethan to make a move. She even went to Coach and Dr. O about it, and they urged her to move on, too.

She remembered that night like it happened only yesterday.

Trent had insisted on walking her out to her car, even if it wasn't that far of a walk. He wasn't implying that some crazy lunatic would come by and jump her, he was only wanting to be a good host.

They came to a halt beside her car as Trent averted his eyes to the skies.

"Living on the outskirts of town, it was nice to see the stars in their natural beauty away from the city life," He had commented about how nice they were, and she didn't have to disagree.

Kira had briefly said a good night as she unlocked her car door.

Trent had done the same, as he opened up the door for her. And it was at that moment, they were locked and lost in their own world. In a place only the two of them could see. And Kira had made the first move, pulling on his shirt as she leaned into him. His eyes fell from her eyes to her lips and slowly he had inched closer. And soon enough, their lips had merged and sparks flew. There was some heated passion in the kiss.

It was nothing compared to the small kiss they shared at Dr. O's and Coach's wedding. And it didn't even compare to the simple peck on the cheek on New Year's. It was in fact something more.

Kira blinked as she slowly looked over to see Trent look over at her. She looked away blushing, not saying anything.

Trent had done the same as he looked back into the distance, sketching one of the girls flying her kite. He didn't want to say anything because he wasn't sure what to say. He had to admit it was hard to pay attention in class. For the past few days, he had walked Kira to her classes. They would talk briefly about what had happened during the hour and retreat. He would return and walk her out to her car, and wait until she had left the parking lot before he did. He didn't want to say that since their date, he had thought it was an indicator to move on in their relationship, but he wanted to give it a try.

"Hey, Kira," he spoke. It barely came above a whisper.

Kira looked over at him with eyebrows raised. She wasn't sure what he was gonna say, but it sounds unsure. "What's up, Trent?"

Trent looked over at her as their eyes met again. It was at that moment, the world around them seemed to close. It was only them. Trent reached over and pulled a hand over to him. He wasn't sure what to say. Didn't know how to approach it. "You know, a lot of people talk about getting together. Some people just do it to make themselves look good, and others just do it hoping to find love. They may find, they may not. And I don't know, when I'm around you I feel like I can do anything. I like that I can go to someone, talk to them, and they'll actually listen. In those days I was the evil white ranger, I never wanted to hurt anyone. I never wanted to be a threat. But, it was something I just could not control. I tried to fight it, but it only got worse. But knowing that someone like you was there to help me, it made me believe that there could be some hope to save me. When the guys doubted me, you were there to help me back on my feet. I guess, what I'm trying to say is..."

At that moment, he had lost track of his words. He had rambled on more than he should have as he seemed to pour his heart out on a platter. He didn't intend on saying all of that, but it came out that way. He forced out a breath and looked over at her again.

"What I'm trying to say is..." Trent breathed. He couldn't get it out. Out of all the times he was capable of talking to her, this was one time he couldn't.

Kira looked away for a moment, getting to her feet. At that moment, Trent was in a panic. She couldn't seem to look at him the same at that moment. Had he said too much? Was he rushing into it? He quickly got to his feet and walked over to her.

"Did I say too much?" he asked feeling like she would reject him if he did ask her out.

Kira closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them as she let out a breath. Inside she knew she had wanted to move on in their relationship and try going into couple mode. On the outside, her body language was showing otherwise, and that's not what she wanted to do. When Kira turned to look at him, he took a step back unsure what she would say.

For awhile, they could only look at each other. No words could be spoken, or they didn't know how to say what they needed to say. When Trent was sure she may not say anything more, he turned around and walked off.

Kira watched him go with some fear she had broken his heart, and he never got a real chance to ask her out. That's not what she wanted. She ran over to him, calling out his name. "Trent, wait."

Trent slowly turned around to see the yellow DT Ranger running his way. But she had tripped, falling into his arms as they hit the ground. And when he felt his back hit the ground, their lips had locked for a moment.

Kira sat up slowly slightly embarrassed at the gesture. That wasn't her intention at all, but when she looked around, it was clear she hadn't seen where she was going and tumbled over a root of the tree.

Trent sat up, a flush of red fell over his face. He looked over her body to see if she had sprained anything. "Um..you okay?"

Kira looked at herself and nodded. There was nothing broken or bruised up. He had caught her and took the impact of the fall. "I'm fine. What about you?"

Trent shrugged his shoulders to feel a little pain escape them.

But it wasn't anything that would go away in a matter of minutes.

He nodded slowly. "I'm fine."

"Um...listen, Trent," Kira began as the white DT ranger looked at her with open ears. "I...what just happened back there... well, I guess..."

And it was at that moment she didn't know what to say. She was stuck on her own set of words. Trent grabbed her hands, looked at the hands of a musician, before looking at her face. Kira looked up to see him stare and their eyes locked. They could watch and see into the other's soul. It was almost hard to explain.

Kira forced out a breath. Now, it was her turn to bear out her soul on a platter. She looked away for a moment. "After all these months, and we've gotten the chance to know each other, it has been probably one of the best things to happen to me. I never thought I could find anyone who really appreciated my songs as much as you. You were the reason I managed to write some of those songs. And after all that's happened in the last few weeks, with us, it has definitely broken the standard of being on a friendship basis. I'm willing to give us a try, if you're willing to."

Trent was surprised that she had come out to say they could move up on their relationship. He knew that if she was determined to get something, she somehow managed to get her way. And with an offer as clear as that, she had beat him to the punch, getting out what he failed to get out. "I thought I was supposed to be the one to say it?"

Kira couldn't help but smile. "Well, I figured you were trying to say it, but couldn't figure out how."

Trent smiled back as her little sense of humor about the situation. "Well, I guess I can say it now, knowing we're on the same page. Kira, would you go out with me?"

Kira smiled brightened. She had waited so long to hear those words escape his mouth, and when he had said it, she felt her entire world open up to something new. A world that she could explore with him at her side. "Yes, Trent, I will go out with you."

Trent smile grew with the true acceptance of her words. He had been waiting to hear it true, and now it was. For so long, he had wanted to ask her out, but somehow, she still beat him to it about saying what needed to be said. He got to his feet, held out a hand for her and pulled her to her feet. They embraced in a warm and caring hug.

And to make sure they were on secure grounds about their relationship, as now dating, Trent laid a kiss on her lips. She didn't oppose as she wrapped her arms around his neck, to let the kiss stand for a few moments longer.

And when it was broken, they found their place sitting against the tree. Kira placed her guitar into his lap.

"What's this for?" Trent raised an eyebrow.

"Just sorta living up to the standards of Coach and Dr. O," she smiled with a giggle. "Thought I could try teaching you how to play the guitar."

Trent looked down at the guitar in his lap, and managed a smile. He had to admit he did want to learn, and he knew the best person to go to about it would be her. "You're willing to teach me?"

"We can make a deal. I teach you to play the guitar if you're willing to help me improve some martial arts moves."

Trent chuckled and nodded. "Deal."

Kira slowly placed Trent's hands on the guitar properly telling him to strum slowly. A few notes came out, but many were a bit sour, which made Kira laugh. But it was clear he was determined to learn, and she was willing to make the time to do it. They sat there under the tree, trying to figure out the best way to play/teach the guitar.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: After all these chapters without a battle, I assume you guys are wondering why. But don't worry, I'll get to that in a few more chapters. And, I guess I can make it now official, Trent and Kira are finally going out after so long. Now, I don't know if that fits your standards, but I hope you liked in anyway. See you next chapter. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	11. The Date of the Tyranno

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - _**PART ELEVEN: DATE OF THE TYRANNO**_ (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Conner and Krista spend some time alone with each other._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. The only things I actually own are Mindshatter, Dinoshade and the cybots. Yes! So, I do own some of the disclaimer. Ha. Ha. But, I also own the rights of how this series will end and how it won't. I just like to take the characters and make my own adventure out of them._

_A/N: Thanks for all the support and the help to make this series that much of a success. I just wish it could be seen by more people. But, I guess that's my fault for not having something that doesn't catch that many eyes. Since I had a little thing going on with Trent and Kira, I might as well pull in Conner and Krista, too. I hope you guys like it. See you in the limelight. Read and review until you get tired of me, aiight?_

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_"There are some things I wish I could tell you about me, but I do not know how to say it without giving too much away. If I said too much, it could destroy everything we have already built. And I really don't want to lose that."-Eclyptyk Neo_  
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After school. January 20th, 2005.

Conner knew that Ethan would be hanging out at the cyber cafe on a usual note since practice for the dance team had been re-scheduled. He didn't have a clue what Kira and Trent were up to except that he knew that they were gonna hang out for the afternoon.

In the back of his mind, as he drove through the city of Reefside, he had almost thought he had a thing going with Kira. But somehow, it never could get off to a good start for a relationship to happen. He didn't say he was jealous that Trent had won her over in the end, even if he knew they weren't onto the dating factor quite yet. He just knew that he would have to keep them in check when it came to saving the world while balancing out the rest of the things going on in their life.

But that was the problem, it was hard to keep them in check when he had to keep himself in check, too. At times, he knew he would push a little too far with Krista, but that was never his intention. He was finally with a girl who managed to crack him open like an egg. He never would have thought she could look beyond his jock image, but she did. And on many occasions, they were inseparable. Everyone at school knew they were a couple.

When he felt a hand wrap around his on the clutch of his car, it shot him back into reality. He looked over at the person sitting in the passenger seat, and smiled. Krista smiled back as he took a street leading into the outskirts of town.

They had planned the afternoon to spend some time together in reserve of no disturbance. A nice place in the cove where they could take in each other's company without having others nag on them.

Conner had to admit, he never expected to be showing off some PDA (Public Display of Affection) at school, but somehow it would be. Between passing periods, he would race to her class and offer to carry her books and escort her to her next class. She never said she didn't appreciate it, but somehow when she was around him, it was only the two of them. At lunch, they would sit close, his arms wrapped around her in a way that made it clear no one would get near her without going through him. But that was the thing, the only time he ever really got to see her in his day was at the beginning of school, between classes, at lunch and after school. He had no classes with her, and it was slightly discouraging. They would hold hands as they walked through the halls, and had a few make-out sessions in the parking lot after school, when time permitted.

She had volunteered at the local animal shelter, time and time again. A few times he would join her, but never really had the charm with the animals as she did. But, he was only doing it spend time with her.

Conner had to admit to himself that he never really felt this way about someone. There was a feeling there that felt more than just a little puppy love or a crush. It felt stronger than what he had felt when he was hoping to hook up with Kira. At first, he had wanted to go out with Krista more for her looks, but when they got to know each other better, see how deep she really was, it made him admire her even more.

They had arrived at the cove as Conner raced out of the car and over to the passenger side to open the door and escort her out. Krista would blush every time he would try to impress her with gentleman-like gestures. Many times, he was clumsy about it, but she was glad he could laugh off his mistakes and move on.

They walked onto the dirt path that would take them down into the cove. Conner pulled her close to him as a breeze came in.

"Are you cold?" Conner asked as she clung to him as a gust took them by surprise.

Krista shook her head as the area became calm again. "No. I'm fine. I like the cool breeze."

Conner managed a smile as a laid a kiss on her forehead and they continued on down the path. He could hear the waves come crashing into the shore, but that was it. There were no sounds of other cars, people, or the disruptions of the city. He knew he had picked the right spot, getting advice from Dr. Oliver about where nice places would be to hang out with a girl, alone in private.

They took a seat on a rock where the sand met the grass of the cove looking out into the ocean. The waves crashed against the shore quietly. The seem of salt from the sea filled their noses as Conner wrapped his arms around her. Krista melted into his embrace as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"It's so beautiful out here," Krista commented.

"Yeah, well, I kinda got some help from Dr. Oliver about finding a perfect spot to hang out," Conner admitted slightly embarrassed about it. He was never known for getting advice from others about a girl's needs, but he had so many things to worry about that he forgot how simple a date can be.

"I've noticed you've been getting a lot of advice from him lately," she said as she turned her head to look at him. "I thought for a jock of your status wouldn't need it."

Conner sighed as he shrugged. "Yeah, well. It's been a rather rough year."

"It's barely started and you're saying it's been hard. Is it because of me?" Krista hoped it wasn't, knowing they were become more and more attached as the weeks went by.

Conner shook his head as he laid a kiss on her forehead. "No, it's not you. Of course not. Without you, I don't think I would be thinking straight at all."

"Oh, that's sweet," she sat up and laid a kiss on his lips.

Conner had remembered the first time they had shared a kiss.

It was actually on Christmas Eve when he had asked her out. They were hanging out on her front pouch because she didn't want to leave her family. She had spared some time to talk, and that's when her asked her out. And to their dismay, they were sitting under a mistletoe when the whole thing went down. It was a simple kiss, but when he had found his hands around her back and neck, the kiss had went just a little deeper. And that's when the sparks flew. And it was the only indicator he needed to tell him, they were going out.

Krista pulled away for a second, but he stopped her and leaned in to lay a kiss on her lips. They sat there, smiling as they seem to melt just by looking into the eyes of the other.

"I never got a chance to ask you how you managed to say 'yes' to me about me wanting to be your boyfriend," he wanted to know. Out of all the times they did hang out, they would talk about the latest movies coming out, or some rumor going on in Hollywood. Yet, Krista couldn't stand to hear the rumors going around school.

"Well, you said that people can change if you give them a chance to," Krista said as she smiled again. "I gave you that chance, and you really aren't what people say about you."

"Being a typical jock," he concluded. "At least you can look beyond me being a jerk sometimes. I don't do it on purpose."

Krista laughed as she laid another kiss on his lips. "Just being a jock."

"Not all the time," he protested slightly hurt by her comment.

"I know, Conner. But you can be sometimes. Like with Kira and Trent," she stated.

Many times when he had seen Kira and Trent hanging out in the halls, he would badger them for not acting like a real couple in love. Krista would tell him to stop, always taking their side because he would manage to make it public.

"Well, if they would stop stalling and just go on with it, I wouldn't," he said. "I've noticed those two look at each other in a way that was well beyond a friendship and they haven't done anything about it."

"Because maybe they don't want to destroy the friendship they've already created. Maybe because they want to take things slow and wait for the perfect time to do it," she said.

Conner knew he couldn't win that battle against her. She always saw it their way. He would try to convince her otherwise, but it never worked. He sighed and dropped his head, trying to find something else to talk about. "Tomorrow's Friday. Want to do anything?"

Krista shrugged. "What did you have in mind?" 

"Well, I don't know. I know there's this nice Italian restaurant downtown that just opened up. Maybe we can go check it out. Or perhaps a movie."

"Dinner would be nice," she thought for a moment. But groaned when she remember something. "Oh man, I forgot, I volunteered at the animal shelter tomorrow."

"Not a problem. I could come and pick you," he offered with a smile.

"I'm gonna smell like a dog kennel," she said.

"Then we'll drop by your house and you can clean up. Then, I'll treat you to some dinner," he concluded.

Krista had to agree to that, knowing most of the offers he made, she could manage to deal with. And that's what she liked about him. He managed to work around another's schedule and make plans that would work out between the two of them. They were about to share another kiss when Conner yawned.

"Have you not been getting any sleep again?" Krista asked slightly upset and concerned. "I told you we shouldn't be talking into the late hours on a school night."

But that was the thing. Conner wasn't sure if it was those nights when they would just talk on the phone, or something else. The sleepless nights started way back when that Mindshatter guy showed up. For a moment, he could feel the anger for losing that first battle against their newest threat. And that was the problem, too, Mindshatter hadn't struck lately. It had him worried when he would and the time he spent with Krista would be cut short.

He never told her what he would do beyond soccer, hanging out with friends, spending time with her and doing school work. And now, with this new threat in town, he felt it was jeopardizing their relationship. He felt like it may not go anywhere if he had to come up with multiple excuses to why he can't see her because he had a city to save. He really wanted to tell her, but knew the restrictions around telling others who he was and who he wasn't.

He even remembered way back in the beginning of Senior Year, when Zeltrax had returned and he was trying to start a relationship with Krista, it was hard. Then Zeltrax had kidnapped her and Conner had went after them, and that was when she had seen him in suit, but never knew who he was. And when he had tapped into a whole new power he knew as the Battlizer. And he understood the passion needed to really be a ranger. It was then that his feelings for Krista were growing and he wanted to know more about her. But in the back of his mind, he could not tell her who really saved her that day. She only knew that the Red Ranger was there to rescue her, and he had left it like that.

Now, with this new threat, and they were really a couple, it would be hard to adapt to a new lifestyle. He was dating someone out of the Ranger circle, and it was slightly forsaken because most relationships outside of it never lasted that long.

Krista looked over at him, running her hand down his face as he turned to look at her. She looked at him with great concern. "Is everything okay?"

Conner sighed as he dropped his eyes. He wanted to tell her so bad. Some of their conversations was centered around the Power Rangers. And so many times, he would feel his stomach churn because he wasn't sure if he was gonna burst and blurt out what he knew about them. It was centered around who they were, and what encounters they had with the multi-colored crime-fighters.

"I guess I'm a little stressed out about having some crazy lunatic wanting to rule the world again. I really thought we were out of it," he said.

"Yeah, well, we got the Power Rangers here to protect us," she said reassuring him with a kiss. "I bet they're coming up with a plan to bring him down right now."

They are. If they had more information. Conner thought to himself. He was glad he could just call her up to relay all thoughts about being a failure, but sometimes, it just didn't cut it. He didn't like to lose. He hated to lose. "Yeah, they probably are."

"I just can't help but wonder who they really are. Hasn't that thought ever crossed your mind?" Krista asked looking off into the ocean, recalling the day she had encountered the Red DT Ranger.

Conner felt his stomach churn with uneasiness. "Oh, no. Not at all. I mean, they probably don't want people to know who they are to avoid the publicity."

"Well, the least we could do, even as a city, is hold some sort of celebration for all of their hard work," she stated, feeling she could owe them so much. "They've done so much to make sure this city doesn't turn into a ghost town."

"I'm sure they appreciate that. But maybe we should wait until after this guy packs his bags before giving them a celebration," he said as he felt the sinking feeling in his stomach increase.

Krista looked at him, seeing his pain and sweaty face. It almost looked like he had seen a ghost. She turned to look at him better as she laid a kiss on his lips, caressing his face. "Are you sure you're okay, baby?"

Conner nodded his head as he forced air back into his lungs. He could not crack like this. It would be the worse thing to ever happen to him. He was apart of a long line of red rangers, of leaders. So many times, he had doubted his place on the team, especially as the leader. But, he saw that the color had fit his teammates well. It was him. He wasn't sure if he felt like he was a real leader if he had so much doubt. But Dr. Oliver had reassured him and told him time and time again that uncertainty came like second nature to a red ranger, to any ranger.

"I'm okay," he said quietly. "It could just be all the salty smell in the air. I don't come by the ocean much."

"You know, you're gonna have to conquer your fears about the water soon enough," Krista said, making only one conclusion to his sickness.

"It's not that I don't like the ocean. Or the water. It's great. Just not something I would like to sink my feet into, ya know," he said shaking his head.

"Why are you so afraid of the water?" she grew rather curious.

Anytime Krista had asked her a question about his life, he never found it in his heart to lie. Well, except for the one thing he held more dear. His secret identity as a Power Ranger. He did manage to tell her a few things he never would have thought he could tell anyone. He kept a lot inside, as much as it didn't show sometimes, he did. "Well, it happened when I was really young. I was four. And we were on one of those family retreats to the mountains for the summer. I was hanging out on the dock with my brother, Eric. We were wrestling on the dock like most brothers would and we fell into the water. My brother re-surfaced, kicking and screaming. But I never came up. I tried to, but I had gotten caught in something and couldn't get out. I saw my life flash before me, and I blacked out. When I awoke, I was all snug by the fireplace. My dad was the one who saved me, and after that I just kinda never went near the water again. I was too afraid I wouldn't come up again."

It fell silent as Krista pulled him into a comforting hug. He knew he never told anyone about that, but somehow he could spill almost anything to her. She was there to listen to him, comfort him and tell him that things would be okay.

"You know they say you never really quite appreciate life until you really experience the thrills of it," Krista said. "And I know I never said this, but I was really scared that day that Zeltrax kidnapped me. I really thought no one would come after me, but when the Red Ranger rescued me, I was so grateful. I just never got the chance to say 'thank you' to him. Or I may not have really gotten the chance to know who you really were, Conner."

Conner managed a smile. Out of all the times she would bring up the Red Ranger, it felt like she favored the guy in the suit over him. Even, if it was him. But when she had said that, it felt like some of the burden left him. That he didn't have to be jealous that she favored 'him' in the ranger suit over just him. Conner leaned over and laid a passionate kiss on her lips. "Yeah, well, I think he would say it was no problem and that he was just doing his job. I can admit I was a little scared myself when you went to the tree sight when I knew it wasn't a good idea."

"I should have listened to you," she admitted.

"But that's the thing I like about you, Krista. You had so much passion for something like that, and it kinda made me look back at my own life. It made me look at the types of passion I had."

"Like soccer?" she said with a smile.

He nodded. That was his passion and way to get rid of all of the stress. But that wasn't the only thing. With her around, he was capable of focusing on his school work more and made sure he ended his high school career on a strong note. "And you, Krista. I don't think I ever really met a girl who was willing to help me out with my grades and make sure I don't fail any one of my classes. Most girls can't seem to look past my good looks and slip right along with me."

Krista couldn't help but laugh at his comment. And it made him laugh. Sometimes, she never could understand his humor, but liked it because it made him smile. She laid another kiss on his lips. "Just looking out for you. I'd hate to hear you won't be graduating because you failed one of your classes."

"Well, thanks for putting up with me," he said as he pulled her closer to him.

Krista smiled again as she gave him another kiss, and sunk into his embrace as they looked out at the ocean. The cool breeze came to close off the afternoon as the sun was running its course to the end of the day.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Okay, so there's a little date with Conner and Krista. It's kinda hard to work with a character though that didn't get a whole lot of air time, but I guess that's where the array of fanfiction comes in. I hope you liked it. It ain't much, and I'm all out of romantic juices at the moment. So, we'll be seeing some more action in the next few chapters. See you when I do. And may the powers always protect you._


	12. New Project of Destruction

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART TWELVE: NEW PROJECT OF DESTRUCTION _**(PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Dates are interrupted when an attack takes place downtown. But is the new project ready to be activated when it is taken to the scaling heights of destruction?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I only own Mindshatter, Dinoshade and the cybots. So, beat that. Sorry, but that is not the point. The point is that it's about Power Rangers and you decided to pull up a seat to see what I can do. So, enjoy the trip and come back as soon as you can._

_A/N: I don't really know what to say, but to just read on. I have lost my creative juices trying to catch up on all of this. I am really sorry about falling behind more than I needed to, but I've been either busy or really lazy to make it in front of the computer. I am gratefully sorry for the wait. I am trying. Really I am, and it's not easy when things change in a matter of days. But you know what to do. Read and say what needs to be said. C'mon, guys. I need some reviews._

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_"I was hoping that it would not come down to this. I do not know if we are ready to move on to our next set of plans. They have not been tested and it could be far too risky if we do it now. But we really do not have a choice we could live with. We have to try something."-Eclyptyk Neo  
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Deep in the dark shadows of the island fortress that once belonged to Mesogog, Mindshatter sat in the chair he now called his own, watching the monitor showing activity throughout Reefside.

He had his cybots working around the clock to get the place fixed and installed with his own hardware and experiments he found worth his time.

Dinoshade came in and bowed low toward his master. "I have assembled an army and await your order to destroy the city, master."

Mindshatter waved his hand through the air as the monitor went blank and the footage of the very first battle his henchman and cybots were in against his newest threat to dominate the world. He watched with amusement as he saw the Black Ranger wind up his staff in a circle collecting a line of energy and fired it at Dinoshade. He took it in collectively, absorbing it, as he roared and attacked the multi-colored warriors with his own weapons. And they hit the ground, demorphing. And that's all he needed to keep track of who was a ranger and who wasn't. "So, a bunch of teenagers and their science teacher is all that stands in my way for ruling this world? How pathetic is that? Mesogog couldn't beat a bunch of mortals with the only thing that could save them from truly dying are those shiny suits."

"My lord," Dinoshade began.

Mindshatter motioned him toward the door. "Let's play with them for awhile, Dinoshade. They won't know what will hit them in the end, will they?" He turned to the shadows of the room where another figure stood. A set of glowing yellow-brown eyes escaped from the shadows.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Tommy and Kim were just walking out of a 7/11 hand and hand, each with a slurpee. They jumped into the jeep as Tommy sighed deeply.

Kim looked over at him with confusion as she laid a kiss on his cheek. "Hey, Handsome, you okay?"

He nodded slowly as he leaned over to lay a kiss on his wife's lips. "Yeah. Just slightly discouraged at the fact we haven't heard much from Mindshatter. I'm growing a little worried that he could be plotting something really big against us."

"Or maybe he just packed his bags and left," she said with a smile.

Tommy shook his head as he started up the engine. "Thanks for the cheer up, Beautiful, but we both know that's not true."

"Well, why don't we head on home? You look a little hungry. I'll cook you something," she stated.

He managed a smile as he pulled out of the gas station. But didn't get very far as an invisi-portal opened up and there standing a few feet in front of the jeep was Dinoshade and an army of cybots. Tommy hit the breaks hard, catching his breath.

"Do you really like to jinx a situation?" Kim looked over at her husband, slightly mad and frightened.

Civilians saw the threat and raced into their cars or indoors for safety.

Tommy stood up in the jeep glaring at Dinoshade and the army assembled behind him. In the back of his mind he grew confused. Did they just come out of an invisi-portal? "I was wondering when you would show up again."

"We meet again, Black Ranger," Dinoshade greeted as he pulled up his arm pointing it at the line of gas pumping stations. "Are you so eager to die?

Tommy looked back to see some people racing out to their cars at the stations and could conclude one thing as he looked back at Dinoshade. Dinoshade raised his arm toward the gas station pumps and fired.

"Run!" Tommy shouted as he dropped into the comfort of the driver's seat, flipped it to reverse and pushed the pedal to the metal.

Time seemed to slow around the area as the laser fire flew through the air toward its intended target. And civilians raced away from the pumping station toward safety as the entire area exploded. Cars in the adjacent street came to a halt, screeching and crashing into one another as they tried to avoid the blow.

Tommy nearly lost control of the jeep as it hit the sidewalk. He looked back for a second to see the flames from the explosion come his way. Kim was already out of the car as she raced into the alley. Tommy sprang from the jeep and into the alley behind her. The impact forced them to the ground as he shielded her and the flames slowly disappeared.

Tommy let out a frightened breath as he looked down at his wife. "Kim? You okay?"

Kim let out a breath opening her eyes as tears fell from them. "I'm okay, baby. What about you?"

Tommy groaned slightly as he noticed the burnt fabric on his right shoulder. It was bad, just a singe. "I'll be fine. C'mon."

Tommy helped her to her feet. They walked over to the end of the alleyway peering out into the mess left by Dinoshade. People raced down the streets toward safety as the army of cybots came charging their way, pistols firing.

"Kim, get to safety," Tommy said firmly in his serious voice. "I got something to take care of." He pulled up his communicator as it changed to his DT morpher.

Kim pushed his hand down, shaking her head. Their eyes met, hers filled with fear and his lit were determination and anger. "You're not going out there on your own."

Tommy sighed as he pushed a button on his morpher. It would call out the other rangers for help. "You're not coming with me out there, Kim. It's far too dangerous, especially in your condition..."

"I am not crippled, Tommy," she glared at him with a new line of anger. "I can still help."

"I won't risk it," he shook his head. He looked at her in a way a leader looked upon his team. And she knew he was only doing the right thing. "Get to safety. The other rangers and I will take care of this."

Kim looked away for a moment. She stood up on her tip-toes and laid a warm kiss on her husband's lips. "Be careful, Handsome. All of you."

"We will, Beautiful. Now, go," Tommy nodded firmly as he circled around the corner into the battle. He morphed on his way in, pulling his staff free from its holster and held out to protect him as he raced toward his aggressors.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Ethan was sitting in the cyber cafe at one of the stations, bopping his head to the music in his headphones as he began to categorize the adventures of the DT Rangers.

Then the familiar chime of his dino morpher came to life. He threw his headphones on the desk covering his communicator. For a moment, he looked around the room to make sure no one had heard it. And it was clear no one did.

And he could only conclude one thing as he got to his feet and raced out of the door. An attack was going on somewhere in the city.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Kira and Trent were sitting against a tree in the park. At first they could not believe that they were now dating, but that didn't seem to be a big deal. They just liked to hang out, be in each other's company.

Kira had taken her guitar back as Trent pulled out his small notepad to write down a few inspiration lines he had in his head. Kira strummed the guitar quietly noticing him write something down. "What are you writing down?"

"Just a few lines I might be able to create into a poem or song," he shrugged. He did have a hidden talent to create poetry or possibly a song, but it was a matter of finding a beat that could work out with them. "'In the beginning we became friends. Then something pulled us apart and it felt like things would never be the same. But that was it. It never was supposed to be that way. We've traveled a path only so few can see.' I don't know, not the best."

"Well, I think it sounds good..." Kira said with a smile.

But it was cut short when the familiar chime of their dino morphers came to life. They exchanged a quick look as they sprang to their feet and raced out of the park.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Conner and Krista were hanging out in the cove. Conner was saying sweet nothings into Krista's ear as they laid there making-out on the beach.

It was a perfect moment as Conner loved to feel Krista's soft, warm lips against his. It made everything else feel like nothing compared to it.

And as their lips touched again for a quick moment, the dreadful call of the dino morpher came to life. Conner groaned internally as he sat up. He felt his stomach churn. He was mad at the interruption, but he knew they needed him.

Krista sat up beside him looking at him. She turned his face toward his as he looked into her sparkling eyes. "What is it?"

The dino morpher chimed again as Conner looked away as he got to his feet. "I gotta go. You know how my dad can be at times."

"Is everything okay?" she asked as she got to her feet.

Conner sighed. "I hope so. But I'll call you later, okay?"

Krista nodded as she laid a quick kiss on his lips, wrapping his hands around her waist. They held each other for a moment. Conner forced himself out of her hold and raced back up the ridge.

XXXXXXXXXX-

Tommy had made a path through the cybots toward his intended target, Dinoshade. He held his staff high as he brought it down in a vertical attack, but Dinoshade stopped it. And for a moment, Tommy couldn't get it free.

Through his visor, Tommy's eyes were on fire. "I know you have Anton Mercer. I want him back."

"That shouldn't be your concern," Dinoshade growled as he threw the staff up and over him as the ranger flew threw the air.

The black ranger hit the ground as he felt the huge foot of Dinoshade come crashing down on his chest. He groaned in pain as he tried to push it off, but the weight was nearly too much.

Then a line of blue lasers landed on Dinoshade as he stumbled back. Tommy slowly rolled away to catch his breath as he looked to see where it came from. The blue DT ranger was racing his way, Tricera Shield in hand, firing lasers and blocking the blows from his aggressors.

"Dr. O, you okay?" Ethan asked as he pulled his teammate to his feet.

The black ranger nodded, thanking the teen. "Now, let's put these guys back where they belong."

"Right behind you," the blue ranger nodded as he shielded them from laser fire from a few cybots.

Ethan pushed himself forward, using his shield to protect him as he raced through the army, laying a kick and punch where he figured the weak spots of the cyborgs.

Tommy had his hands full as he tried to force the cybots back to get to Dinoshade, who seemed to laugh at the fact the black ranger couldn't get to him.

Then Dinoshade launched another attack that made contact with the two rangers. They went flying to the ground in pain.

"Hey, metal brain," a voice called out as Dinoshade turned around.

"Back off," another said.

He was hit dead on by lasers from the yellow raptor cycle and the white ATV. He roared in pain as he stumbled back from the impact. The two young rangers raced over to the other side, shielding their friends as they turned their vehicles toward the robotic dinosaur.

"You guys okay?" Trent turned to look at the blue and black rangers.

"Yeah. Thanks, guys," Tommy nodded as he slowly got to his feet.

"I'm getting sick of these guys," Ethan growled with frustration. "Don't they ever know when to quit?"

"Hang in there, Ethan," Kira encouraged him. "It's not over until it's over."

Then a new line of lasers rained down on them. Kira and Trent revved up their engines and raced into battle, firing on the cybots. Tommy and Ethan rolled away and used their own weapons to lay out some damage.

For a long time, the team had moved against the cybots driving them back just to get some attacks into Dinoshade, but none of them seemed very effective. Dinoshade growled as he fired on the team again with another line of lasers. They all hit the ground, exhausted and weak. But they weren't out.

"You rangers are pathetic," Dinoshade hissed as he approached them slowly.

Tommy slowly got to his feet, using his staff to help himself up. He launched a wind attack toward the cyborg dinosaur using what energy he had left to push him back.

Then the flash of red became evident as he raced through the wind strike attack and gave it an added push to send the cyborg into the far wall of a building.

Tommy hit the ground in an exhausted heap as he let out a tired breath. The team raced over to him, pulling him to his feet. Conner raced their way coming to a halt in from of his team.

"You okay, Dr. O?" Conner asked as he patted the teacher's shoulder.

The black ranger nodded slowly. "Just a little drained, but I'll be fine. Conner, I think you should go Triassic. It's the only attack we haven't tried against them."

"I was thinking that too," Conner nodded as he turned around.

Dinoshade pushed his way through the debris growling loudly. Ethan and Kira raced to Conner's side as he pulled out the Shield of Triumph. And they fed their energy into the shield to bring life to the Triassic Ranger. Conner's suit glowed and changed into his Triassic suit.

"Battlyzer mode. Online," Conner announced as he launched himself into the air. A new line of light covered him and as he landed he stood there in the maximum power of his ranger status.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Dinoshade chuckled.

"It should," Conner said. "Battle blast!"

Then the cannons on Conner's shoulders roared to life and a line of power, energy and lasers erupted from them toward the cyborg dinosaur. For awhile, Dinoshade stood there, roaring with satisfaction, but as the attack increased, the cry turned more into pain. And the entire area around him exploded in an array of fire and smoke.

Conner hit the ground catching his breath. The team raced to his side as they watched and waited for the smoke to clear.

"There's no way. Is there?" Kira shook her head.

"Out of all of our attacks we've used on him, that's the most powerful one we got," Tommy concluded.

"I don't think it was that easy," Ethan said as he took another step forward.

The cybots turned and left in a rush through an invisi-portal. The smoke cleared and there was no one there. The rangers looked at each other taking a step back.

But that's when the ground began to shake and the rangers were thrown off balance. They turned around to see Dinoshade walk their way, but he was now 30 stories tall.

"Uh...that's not a good thing," Ethan took several steps back.

"And did those cybots just disappear through an invisi-portal?" Trent asked.

Tommy pulled up his dino morpher to call on Hayley. "Hayley, we could use a little assistance right now."

"But we haven't been able to test it, Tommy. It's only experimental. There are still bugs in it," she replied.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed we got a 30 story robotic dinosaur who will destroy the town if we don't do anything," Conner said.

"Use your dino gem energy," she said sort of reluctantly. "It should call them out of hibernation."

One by one the team concentrated on their dino gems as their suit began to glow with a new line of power. And they heard a line of roars echo through their ears. And it was at that point, they felt a new connection within each other and their dinozord.

Then two objects flew through the skies, one was white and the other was yellow. And it was evident it was the drago and ptera zords, or a close facsimile. The ground shook as they turned to see a blue and red object race their way, the tricera and tyranno zords.

The white drago zord looked just like its original self, but it was smaller. It let out a cry as he landed on top of one of the building. Its sharp eyes centered on its owner. The yellow ptera zord was slightly altered from its original self. The wing span and movement was more fluid like the white drago zord. Its green eyes fell on its owner as it came to a landing on another building top. The tricera zord and tyranno zord rammed into the huge Dinoshade before coming to a halt beside their zord companions. The tyranno zord had been slightly modified, but not a lot to distinguish its true appearance. The tricera zord was the same way.

And if one could look over the zords, it was almost as if they were never destroyed. They were only brought back from the scrape heap and resurrected.

"That's awesome. They're like our old zords," Ethan said with happiness.

"There's only one problem," they heard Billy's voice escape from the Black Ranger's morpher. "We haven't been able to find a way to combine them to create a megazord."

"What about Dr. O?" Kira realized there was no brachio zord evident on the battle field.

"Tom," Billy spoke clearly. "We both know the brachio zord won't do much in battle except act as a shield for the other zords. It is the only zord we haven't been able to configure. But, I got another plan."

Tommy furrowed his eyebrows as he held out his hand and something appeared in it. It was his dragon dagger from his days as the Green Dragon Ranger. "No way. You can't be serious. I am not bringing him back into battle."

"It is the only zord we have that could suit you until we figure something out. We already relocated him to Reefside," the original blue ranger stated.

The ground shook again as Dinoshade opened fire on the rangers. They all fell to the ground groaning. Their zords roared with anger and turned to open fire on the cyborg. Dinoshade growled as he hit the ground.

Tommy pulled his teammates to their feet. "Go, guys. I'll meet you up there."

"Right," Conner said.

"We're on it," Kira said.

"Let's see what these zords can do," Ethan said.

"Let's hope this works," Trent nodded.

The teens turned and took the giant leap into the cockpit of their zords. They confirmed they were in place, the cockpit a comfort fit for just them alone. The four dino zords roared with life as they glowed to life and went after Dinoshade, driving him into the outskirts of town.

Tommy caught his breath as he raced to the end of the pier, looking down at the dagger in his hand. He sighed quietly, looking at the hint of green glow from his dino morpher. "Well, it's time to rise back up, buddy. Just like old times." He pulled the dagger up into position and blew into it. The hum of the fanfare that called out his old zord escaped from it.

For awhile he waited and watched as the sea began to move about and indicated that something lurked in the depths of the sea. And then the head of the Dragon Zord rise out of the sea, and then the entire body. It roared to life, swinging its tail about and moving its body to awake it from its long slumber.

Tommy played out the dagger again as the dragon zord roared again, and looked down at who was running the controls. "Whoa, buddy. Relax, it's me. I'm just wearing another suit."

The dragon zord roared again as it swung its tail, the drill on its tip roared to life. Tommy forced out a breath and launched himself up and into the cockpit of his old zord.

On the outskirts of the city, the ptera zord and drago zord zoomed through the sky against Dinoshade, causing him to spin back and forth between their attacks. He roared with frustration as he launched an attack toward the drago zord. It veered away, barely missing the attack. The tyranno zord charged toward the cyborg dinosaur, locking arms with him. But it was hard to get a lock when the arms of the tyranno zord could not compare to Dinoshade. The drill of the tyranno zord whirred on and the tricera zord rammed forward, launching a line of electrical strikes toward Dinoshade as the attacks locked with him.

Dinoshade hit the ground again, but was quick to his feet as he pulled up his arms and the hidden guns in his arms came out. A line of laser fire escaped from them toward the ground zords. The sparks flew as the tricera zord came crashing to the ground. The tyranno zord growled loudly as it came to a stop beside the tricera zord.

The ptera zord zoomed through the air, but Dinoshade was already on his feet and opened his mouth to reveal a flamethrower breath toward it. The ptera zord cried in pain as it hit the ground.

The drago zord saw the danger and zoomed passed the enemy, sending him to the ground.

"My systems are overheated," Ethan growled as he slammed the controls. "My zord can't move."

"Same here," Conner said as he tried pushing some buttons, but nothing was responding. "Kira, are you okay?"

Kira groaned from within the cockpit of her zord. "I'm fine. But that attack tweaked the wings of my zord. I'm a sitting duck."

"Hang on, guys. I got an idea," Trent said.

The drago zord let out a cry as it fired a line of laser toward Dinoshade as it zoomed in and out of range. Dinoshade growled as he fired his lasers toward the lone zord. But he had no clear shot. Trent knew how to maneuver his zord through the attacks. He had experience with it, unlike his ranger counterparts, who usually formed the megazord the second they had to deal with a huge mess. The drago zord attacked again, clipping Dinoshade as it zoomed passed him sending him to the ground.

Dinoshade growled as he rose to his feet. For a moment, he didn't move. His glaring red eyes focused on the white machine zooming through the sky. Then when he had a lock, he fired. A set of laser beams came from his eyes much like Cyclops from X-Men, and struck the drago zord. The drago zord lost control as it plummeted toward the earth.

"Trent!" the other rangers called out.

The drago zord cried in pain as it came closer to the earth, but out of nowhere the light spirit of the falcon swept the zord, leveling it as it hit the ground.

Dinoshade turned around, watching the falcon dance through the air and merged into his new challenger. "What is this?"

"Have you forgot about me, Dinoshade?" Tommy stated from the comfort of his Dragon Zord.

The Dragon Zord roared as it pulled up its hands and fired its line of rockets toward the cyborg. It exploded upon impact, sending Dinoshade back a few steps. Then, a line of laser beams escaped the eyes of the Dragon Zord toward Dinoshade. Dinoshade growled as he hit the ground again. The Dragon Zord moved toward Dinoshade swinging its sharp tail toward him, but Dinoshade launched another attack that sent the zord to the ground.

The other zords cried out in pain and worry. They were desperate to join the battle, but they didn't move. They were all in need of serious repair.

"This is your doom, rangers," Dinoshade hissed with satisfaction.

Tommy growled as he tried to work the control. But they were shut down, and he felt pain run up his body. He felt so weak as he watched his ranger suit fade in and out. "No. C'mon. I know you're weak, but pull it together." He could only conclude the reason he felt so weak was he harnessed his falcon spirit, trying to control his old zord with what little power he had of his dragon coin hiding in his dino morpher, and already taken a bad beating in the fight earlier.

Dinoshade pulled the Dragon Zord to its feet looking into the eyes, the cockpit of it, seeing the black DT ranger inside. "You will be the first to go."

"No!" the other rangers called out.

Then they all heard the cry of a bird. The only bird that could cry that way was the crane. They all watched as the spirit of the crane race through the air and strike Dinoshade.

"Kim, no," Tommy breathed in fright as he averted his eyes to the ground below searching for where his wife could be hiding.

Dinoshade growled in frustration as he launched an attack toward the crane. The crane zoomed passed the attacks, making one another attack toward the cyborg. But Dinoshade had a dead shot as he launched another laser beam from his eyes toward the spirited bird. Then it cried out and disappeared, blinding everyone.

"No!" Tommy called out from the cockpit of his zord. He felt a chunk of his own being leave him as his stomach sunk. He continued to search the grounds for the pink ninja ranger, but found her nowhere. But she knew she had to be there.

Then from each of their cockpits, the teen rangers began to see their morphers glow to life. The colors of their respective suit filled their cockpits and formed an energy unlike any. A white, yellow, red, and blue light struck Dinoshade. He growled in pain as he dropped the Dragon Zord taking a step back. The energy was draining him as he hit the ground.

The zords slowly got to their feet, surrounding their aggressor. The energy continued to drive him down as a black and gold light joined in. Dinoshade growled in pain as his knees locked with the ground.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Ethan asked from his cockpit as he saw the controls roar to life.

"I don't know. But this energy is amazing," Kira said.

"I feel it inside me," Trent said.

"It's unlike anything I've felt. This goes beyond Triassic Power and the Battlyzer," Conner stated.

Dinoshade growled in pain. "I'll be back, Rangers!" Then his form melted into the darkness of night as he dropped into a shadow and disappeared.

The energy surge faded out and another victory was added to the rangers' record books.

Tommy jumped from his zord, running through the woods trying to find the source of where the spirit of the crane was. He found a small pink form leaning against a tree, dazed and weak. "Power down!" he called out as he raced over to the small petite woman catching her as she almost hit the ground. Tears streaked down his face as he caressed her face. "Kim, talk to me."

The small petite woman's face was pale. Sweat ran down it as her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Tommy. I'm okay."

At that moment, all the fear and worry left Tommy as he pulled her into a collective hug. He didn't let her go as her weak arms pulled him close to her. He laid a kiss on her lips as he heard footsteps in the distance.

The teens, in their normal clothes, were coming their way. They came to a halt a few feet in front of the couple, letting out relaxed breaths. But it was evident in the way they stood, they were scared for their friend in pink.

The black DT ranger helped his wife to her feet, but it was clear she took a brutal beating from the last battle as her knees locked. Tommy pulled her up, wrapping her arms around her waist and shoulders, sweeping her into his arms. Her eyes fluttering shut as she found a comfortable place for her head on his shoulder. He walked out of there toward the lab.

The teens followed behind them, but couldn't say anything. They were far too worried about their mentors and the strain it too out on the two of them. They could see the unstable walk in the black DT ranger as they made their way back to the lab.

**_to be continued..._**

_A/N: Yeah, I know what you're thinking. How can Tommy harness the Dragon Zord without his green power coin? That's why it is fanfiction. He still has some of the power, if you remember with that run in with Mesogog trying to save Kim way back in "The Reason." But I will reveal some of the answers to some of those questions that are stuck in your head in the next few chapters. And that's what was bothering methat Conner, Kira and Ethan always rushed to form the megazord. You never really got to see them in their individual cockpit like the old days. I'll hint at this, we could see the resurrection of a few more old zords in the past. Maybe the Zeo zords, or the Astro Megaship and crew. Hint. To stay tuned for later chapter. The battle has just begun. Anyway, before I ramble on too much, I'm out. See you next chapter. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	13. Weaken and Broken

'**TIL I COLLAPSE - _PART THIRTEEN: WEAKEN AND BROKEN _**(PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The battle is won, but it takes a lot out of the team._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I only own Mindshatter, Dinoshade, and the cybots. But I do take charge to see how the outcome of this series will be. So, be careful about the suggestions you make. They could mean something in the end._

_A/N: Just read on. It will lead to something the team never would have expected happen in the coming future. And it could shock us all. I don't know. See you when I do and make sure to leave a review or two. Later dayz._

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_"After this last battle, even if it was a victory, I really do not know how much these guys can handle. I have been through the hardship and pain more than anyone here, but I do not want to say they cannot handle it either. It is just harder for them, and they are tough if not tougher than me."-Eclyptyk Neo_  
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The team had returned to the lab. The first ones in were Kim and Tommy. Tommy had placed her on the medical table letting out a relaxed breath. He pushed away a strand of hair on her face and laid a kiss on her lips.

"Tommy," she spoke quietly as her eyes opened. Her strength was returning to her, but she was still a little tired from the mental beating.

He put a finger to her lips. "Shh! Just rest." He turned to the main computer console where the technical advisors were. They were busy trying to find out what went wrong with the zords. He let out a breath, slightly angry as he approached them. "What the hell were you guys thinking? Letting Kim go out there when I told you guys to keep an eye on her!"

"She had insisted on going," Billy said simply. "And you know how stubborn she can be."

"And you let her go!" Tommy breathed. "I can't...I just...

I don't want to put..."

"Yes, Tommy, I went," Kim spoke clearly as her husband turned to look at her.

"And what did I tell you about being safe!" he walked over to her, the anger lit in his eyes. "I will not put your life into jeopardy. Or our child in that matter."

"You could have died out there today, Tommy," she matched his wit as she slowly got off the medical table. She was still a little exhausted, but that didn't seem to bother her. "Don't you think that in the back of my mind I don't freak out about your safety, too?"

"I thank you for your concern, Kim, but you shouldn't have to worry about me or the other rangers. We have the powers to protect ourselves. But you, I don't want to put you at an even more disadvantage than you're already in," he said.

"So, it's like that? Just because I don't have a dino gem, it doesn't make me a ranger fighting in this battle? This isn't just about you, or the teens, it's about all of us here," she glared at him.

The fire of the pink ninja ranger met with the rage residing in the burning eyes of the black DT ranger. And for a moment, it fell completely silent.

The teens slowly walked into the room unsure what to make of the situation as they heard the arguing voices through the caves. They could understand why their teammate was mad, but they didn't understand why he had to take it out on his wife. Let alone, the technical directors. They already had enough on their shoulders, they didn't need the burden for letting Kim out on the field.

Tommy forced out a breath as he felt the eyes of an audience around him and his wife. "Don't do this, now. Not in front of them."

"In case you haven't noticed, Tommy, but what we do, affects the entire team. If something is wrong, they all feel it, no matter what goes on," she shot back.

"But I told you specifically that I didn't want you out on the field. Not in your condition," he said, knowing if they didn't settle this soon he would be letting out more than he needed to.

"You know better than anyone that you would have done the same thing for me. For any of the other rangers. I was only returning the favor. It's about watching each other's back."

"You should have watched it from here. Where it was safe."

"And watch you die? Or possibly the teens? I don't think so, Mister."

"Next time, let us handle the situation. I have said it again, and I will say it again. You are not coming out on the field. Even if you manage to find a power source that can power up a ranger suit, you're not. I have grounded you from stepping onto the field."

"You can't do that to me," Kim protested.

"I can. And I will. Next time, you may not come back. And do you think I want to live with that on my conscience? To allow you to go on the field, even in the early stages of your pregnancy? I lost you once in the past. I will not lose you again. You mean so much to me. So, no, Kimberly. End of dicussion. You are to remain here or somewhere safe whenever an attack goes on. No matter how tempting it will be to help, you won't. You'd better not. Do I make myself clear?"

The room fell silent again. The spectators of the room didn't know what to make of the situation. And it was clear that Billy was the most surprised to see the two lovers fight, especially on grounds such as these. He had to admit he did miss the days in suit, and he knew that Tommy was only looking out for his wife, but he could have cut her some slack. She took a huge risk, and she pulled through.

Kim looked up into her husband's eyes. A small line of anger still remained, but it was evident that she would follow his request more clearly. She nodded slowly. "Yes, sir. You have made yourself clear."

She turned and walked toward the stairs, saying good-bye to the others but didn't turn back or said anything more to her husband.

The room fell silent again as all the eyes turned on the legendary ranger. Tommy let out a surprised breath. He never had intended on saying any of that, but he was just mad. Right? It was the fact that he was just mad. Mad at the fact that their last battle was cut short, even if the victory was owed to the rangers. He didn't mean to yell at Kim. No, not at his own wife. He forced out a few breaths as he slowly collapsed on a chair. He was still taking in what had just happened.

Conner walked up to his science teacher and placed a hand on his shoulder. Tommy turned to look at him, seeing the look of intent and sadness on his student's face. "We've all been through a lot today," Conner began. "I think we all just need to take a break. Get some rest."

Tommy nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're probably right. You know, you guys, I never would have thought that would happen. I'm sorry, but you cannot tell me you would do the same if you were in my position?"

Ethan scratched his head, slightly confused and surprised to hear that question. "Um, well.. I would probably do the same thing. But, I mean, she did help us out, Dr. O."

"Yeah, you know. It's more evident in this battle and our last battle, we're gonna need all the help we can get," Kira said.

"I mean, of course, not Kim. No, but perhaps see what the other rangers are doing. Let them know the situation at hand," Trent suggested.

"It's a risk I don't know if I wanna take," Tommy sighed.

"We're kinda low on options right about now, Tommy," Hayley said as she turned to look at the team. "And it seems we got a lot of work to do with the zords."

"Yeah, give me a break, Tommy. It's been awhile," Billy stated as he nodded looking at the new ranger team. "And the technology you use as a unit is different then what was complied in the old Command Center."

Tommy nodded slowly. "You guys got some work to do on that. And I hope you guys do remember that I can't operate the Dragon Zord completely without the green power coin. And that's destroyed."

"Yeah, we're looking into that," Hayley confirmed. "I've called up Cam to see if he could come up with something. He said he might stop by to share his ideas."

"Do you know when?" Ethan asked, slightly excited to hear the genius behind Ninja Storm could be coming for a visit.

"Whenever he can make the time," she shrugged. "Let's just hope the next time Dinoshade or any other evil being who decides to take it up a notch won't do it until we get all of this figured out."

Tommy nodded again. "Yeah, I know that last fight took a lot out of us." He looked at his teammates and saw the weariness and tiredness in their eyes.

He knew in the back of his mind, this Mindshatter guy was draining them both physcially and mentally. And he wasn't sure how much more his team could handle of the captial punishment. It was only into two battles, and both of them rendered them weak and tired beyond most battles they've had. He knew they were strong, but he couldn't quite explain the surge of energy that re-powered up their zords to force Dinoshade into retreating. And it forced the team to work around the clock analyzing and trying to figure out what was going on.

The teens had all found a seat on a stone block or in a chair. Each of them were exhausted and tired. They couldn't keep their eyes open or really keep their heads up. It hurt to keep their eyes open. Their heads felt like sand bags on their shoulders. And as happy as they were to win that last battle, it had taken a lot out of them in a way that couldn't be fixed. They felt a new line of energy, and they weren't quite sure where it came from, but it was greatly needed and appreciated.

Tommy clapped his hands together to call forth everyone's attention in the room. "Well, I think we can call it a night. We've all been through a pretty exhausting day. I just hope it won't get worse." He turned to his students gesturing them to their feet. "C'mon, you four, I know you're tired, both physcially and mentally, but you guys need to get home. You got school tomorrow."

The teens groaned quietly. They knew they didn't want to go. But they were in need to. They wanted to hit the sack and get that much needed rest and hope that things would be a little better the following day.

"Man, Dr. O, sometimes I wonder how you managed to pull off this ranger thing in high school," Ethan shook his head in sadness as he got to his feet.

"Especially during your senior year," Conner felt at a loss.

"Hang in there, guys. I know it can be hard, and really rough, but I know we'll all pull through this. That's why you're rangers. And I don't think anyone else could have pulled this off better than you guys. You should be lucky," Tommy said in a sincere voice. "Now, yoy guys need to get home and get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

The teens said their goodbyes quickly and quietly. The teen boys all headed for the forest entrance, but Kira remained as the technical directors met the legendary ranger in the center of the room. By the looks on their faces, it was clear they were concerned about the black DT ranger's decision earlier.

Tommy looked away for a moment, but met the concern and worried look of his student. "What's up, Kira?"

"It's Kim. And your decision to ground her. Is she gonna be okay?" Kira asked, with no hesitation to questioning her P.E. teacher's place in this battle.

"What you guys do will effect the entire team, Tommy," Hayley nodded sincerely.

"It made no difference back in high school, and it makes no difference now," Billy had to agree. Though, in his short time in Reefside, and on Earth, he had seen the evolution of the team. He had seen the collected records of each of the teams, and had noticed that some things would never change. "I don't speak for just the ones that are here, but for all of us."

Tommy sighed quietly, recalling the harsh and angry words he had exchanged with his wife in front of them. He didn't want to live with the conscience of ever being angry with her. And this was the real first time they ever really got into a serious argument since Kim found out he was back in suit. He looked at each of the people remaining in the room. He knew he would have to talk to her anyway. "I know I was rather harsh on her, but I will talk to her. I didn't mean for it to happen, for it to blow up in all of our faces, but I'm only looking out for her. And for the rest of the team."

"Yes, please talk to her, for all of our sakes," Hayley said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We can't afford to take sides, not again," Billy stated.

Tommy nodded again, promised he would. He said his goodbyes and turned and headed up the stairs just as the trio was filing out of the room.

Tommy jumped up the last few sets of stairs up to the study. He closed the secret doorway, setting the alarm system before moving toward the bedroom, where he knew his wife was at. By the time, he got in there, the room was nearly pitch black. The sun was clearly out ofview to give it natural lighting. He saw the silouhette figure sitting on the bed, looking out into the window, or the vastness of space.

This was it. She might never forgive me and force me to go sleep on the couch for the rest of my life, or I could just apologize and suck up to her by making love to her. He thought to himself as he stepped into the room.

He made his way over to the bed and crawled over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She resisted for awhile, trying to force his arms away, but he just clung to her tighter. "I'm sorry, Beautiful. I didn't mean for that to happen..."

At that moment, she had turned away. Didn't bother to look at him or really want to say anything to him. He didn't blame her for the cold shoulder, even if he still held onto her.

"C'mon, Kimberly, baby. I was being a jerk. It's me. I can be selfish, sometimes. But I told you that I didn't want to see you out on the battlefield, whatever the reason may be," he whispered into her ears as he felt the tears forming in his eyes. "I'm only looking out for you 'cuz I love you."

He tried to lay a kiss on her cheek, but she pushed him away.

At that moment, he had let her go and moved to sit beside her. He knew it would take awhile to get her to say something. He just didn't want it to take the whole night. He refused to let this carry onto tomorrow, because when he is in a bad or upset mood, his students could make the conclusion that it had to do with his wife. He didn't need to let others get involved with it, and he couldn't afford for Kim's students to think the same.

"I know you're mad. And I really do hate that I grounded you, but I am trying to live up to my standards as a leader. I wasn't doing that just as a leader, no. But as your husband, too," Tommy said sincerely. He let his hand rest on her chin as she slowly turned to look at him. "I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose what we've worked so hard to make between us. You're the reason why I go out there to save the world because you're all I could ever need when it was over. I love you, Kimberly. From the bottom of my heart to the depths of my soul. You make me who I am."

It fell silent for a moment as Tommy watched the pool of water form in his wife's eyes. As she closed them, a stream of them fell down the side of her face. He leaned over and laid a gentle kiss on her lips before wiping the streams falling down her face. She stopped him, clinging to his arms as she opened her eyes again. A fresh new line of tera came crashing down.

Kim opened her mouth, but pressed her lips together unsure of what to say. But he had touched a finger to her lips to stop her as he shook his head. It was clear he didn't want her to speak, and by her body language he knew that she had forgave him.

"I'm sorry, Beautiful, but I want you to stay on the sidelines. Help out Hayley and Billy whenever you can. And sometimes, actions do speak stronger than words. I can prove that to you, if you let me," he said as he pushed away a line of hair behind her ears. He leaned over again and pushed a kiss to her cheek. And then he set a few kisses down to her neck and she didn't oppose as she pulled him closer to her.

After he had laid a few warm feather kisses on her neck he moved to lay her on the bed. He looked into her eyes, to make sure he could continue and she nodded slowly. And he would make sure that she truly was his to worship and hold for all of their days.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Ethan had strolled into his house, stopping by the local fast food joint to get something to eat at the semi-late hour. He knew his family wasn't home, working overtime or during the night. That's how it's been for the last few weeks, and he had gotten used to it either way.

As much as he could say that this was a victory he was waiting for, it was one that left all of them rather weak and tired. He felt like a broken toy that was in need of serious repairs. But in the back of his mind, he knew he wouldn't stop the fight until he was truly gonna collapse. For the sake of Reefside, and the rest of the world. He only wished that someone could tell him that. It had a bigger effect on him when another person told him advice he would always tell himself.

He retired to his room and fired up his computer. He figured the best way to clear his head for the time being was to play a computer game.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Kira strolled into her house, being bombarded, yet again, for showing up late on a school night. Her excuse, like always, was that she was at the library studying. And her parents had accepted it all the time.

She didn't know what to make of the recent attack. It was great having a zord again. She could feel her mental bond with it, but it was a different feeling than that of her original zord. She figured it was only that way since her original zord had been there since the very beginning of her reign as a ranger. But, it would do. At least, until all of the kinks were fixed with them. She had so many questions to ask about what ideas the technical directors had for their zords, but she would have to trust they knew what they were doing.

But this battle had taken a lot out of her. If not these battles with this Mindshatter guy. Both of them had left her both physically and mentally exhausted. She was just getting over the other battle, and now this battle was fresh in her mind. But, with the word of her science teacher, she knew that they could not give up. They could not stop fighting until they truly could not go any farther. She had to keep going until she would collapse. She could look beyond this battl, just as she did the other.

And though she had homework to do, she was far too tired to keep her eyes open any longer. She had raced down to her room, and literally hit the sack once she touched the bed.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Conner had moved from the front door up to his room without being questioned. His parents had trusted his word that if he came late, he was either doing some 'community service' work, or at a soccer practice, or at the cyber cafe finishing his homework.

But of course, it was not true. He had just gotten into another battle with Mindshatter's henchman, Dinoshade. And as relieved as it was to be over, it took so much out of him. But that's where he knew someone could make it better. Krista. He just felt bad he could not speak the truth to her about what he had been up to for the last two years of his high school career.

He wish he could have, but knew he couldn't risk it. No one would be feeling it, especially his science teacher. He had seen far too much anger rolling off the legendary ranger, but still respected him greatly for all that he did and has done for the team as an entire whole. He just wasn't sure if he could live with himself if he ever decided not to speak the truth to his girlfriend. And he just didn't know how she would react if he had to break it down to her and admit what else has been going on his life.

What matter now, though, was just to hear her voice. To comfort him, because after that last battle, he wasn't sure how long he would last. But he had to be strong. For the team, the team he was the leader for. But even he had more flaws than need be. He jumped on the bed and began to dial her number, knowing he would be on talking to her for some time.

_-XXXXXXXXX-_

Trent strolled into the large house, where only he had resided for the last few weeks. He didn't say that he hadn't gotten used to coming to an empty house, he just wished that there really was someone there to greet him. Especially after that last battle. There were a lot of questions going on in his mind and many answers he knew would not come for some time. But he really wanted to know so much.

Was my father okay? What does Mindshatter want with him? Why do I fear that Mesogog will return? And was that an invisi-portal that the cybots had retreated into? He thought to himself. But that was only a few of the questions that sat in his mind. There were plenty of other questions he could ask. He could only hope that things would be okay.

He forced himself to say that, but he wasn't convinced. He knew that there were so many things that wouldn't last. He just hoped that with the recent engagement of moving on with his relationship with Kira, they could handle balancing it out among other things. He could lose her as a friend. And that was the last thing he didn't want.

He hated the fact, though, about these constant dreams he had about that dino-faced freak who once was his father. They felt so real. And he wasn't sure about those evil bings he felt running through his veins, bringing him back to his ways of the past. He didn't want to go through it again. He wasn't sure if he could handle it again. He may be lost forever this time. And he could never forgive himself if he caused more destruction than what he did in the past.

He retired to his room, figuring perhaps drawing could clear his mind of the recent attack. He knew that it took a lot out of them as a team. He knew they could only hold on so long. He just hoped it would be no time soon. He had to hold on, be strong. But there was so much he had to overcome and fight. But it would be one step at a time.

He took a set as his art desk and pulled out the work he had been working on for his Advanced Art class. He had to create a portfolio, even if he had already been accepted to the art school of his choice, it was still required. His subject was on heroism, and he figured it would be too hard to do since he was in face apart of that list on a larger scale. But he looked at everyone as a hero, no matter what they did. And that's what motivation he had to keep him sane. Knowing that in the end, he could just melt back into the reality of having a normal life in his drawings.

_**To be continued...**_

_A/N: Uh...I'll just see you next chapter. I will try to keep you as updated as I can. Thanks for all the reviews. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	14. Taking Lives

**'TIL I COLLAPSE**_ - **PART FOURTEEN: TAKING LIVES** (PG-13)  
__SEQUEL TO:_ **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The team retires to a much needed rest. But the night is full of more surprises than they would have thought._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine, but the control of what they go through in this series is. If you didn't read "Ordinary World" or "The Reason" you'd better go back and do that to __understand some of the basis of this part of the series. Fair warning. Once you're in, you may not come out of my world._

_A/N: Um...I don't want to give anything away. Just read on and see what will happen next. It isn't what you expected. I didn't necessarily pick this title as any reference to the movie, but I couldn't really think of any good ideas for a title regarding what is about to happen to the team. And like I said before, it isn't what you'd expect. So, read on and tell me what you think, aiight? Later dayz._

_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
__"You know how I said that I felt like we were being watched? Well, now I think it is far more worse than I thought. I really do not know what to think of what has happened to us since this evil guy has showed up. And I really could not imagine what will happen to us if we do not succeed." -Eclyptyk Neo  
__-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

Anton Mercer sat slightly dazed and tired in a darken room he had called his own for the last few weeks. A small cot on one side of the room and a small desk against one of the other walls for him to continue his work requested by Mindshatter. It was evident in his face that he couldn't take the capital punishment anymore.

Day in and day out, since the island fortress was operational, he had been strapped down to a table or chair. Syringes of many chemical substances were injected into him, hoping one of them could be the missing link to bring back Mesogog. But many had failed, or would last for only a few hours. Never a full day. He was surprised that it had not killed him, but he was glad that it didn't.

Anton ran a hand through his hair, forcing out several breaths. In those hours he was Mesogog, his anger and rage were so much more powerful. So much more stronger. He didn't know what would happen if he ever became Mesogog. For good. "I have to be strong. I have to keep fighting. I can do this. I can hold on. For the team."

He didn't even want to think of what would happen if Mindshatter ever found a substance that would leave him in the permanent state of Mesogog. With all those trials, he could feel his mind become poisoned once again. He felt all his memories, of friends, family, his success, were being destroyed right before him. At times, he felt like he couldn't recall who he had worked with in the past, who his girlfriend was, or even who his son was. Or even who the Power Rangers were.

He lowered his head, sunk his shoulders, watching the blinking lights on his wrists. They acted as a homing device for his location, and if he wasn't mistaken could also house a camera to monitor exactly what he was doing at that very second in time. The headband around his head had been removed to compensate for the constant injections into his body, disrupting his train of thoughts.

He wasn't sure how long he could last. He had been fighting for weeks now. Followed orders as any person would from their elitist. But in the back of his mind, that's what set his own rage. To have some guy from space, who could be mistaken for a bad version of Darth Vader with a porcupine back, try to rule the world his alter ego worked so hard to achieve. And as any other evil being was attempting to do to Earth, all have failed. And he was his victim, a pawn, in the game to take over the planet.

He thought he could get away from his painful past, but now as the weeks have gone he could only really conclude one thing about it. In order to get peace, he may have to destroy himself. Self-sacrifice for the team. But he figured, that would come some time later.

He wanted to believe there was still hope that the rangers would come and rescue him from this torment, but Mindshatter was in fact, a tricky guy. He didn't know a whole lot about Mindshatter. He had kept many things to himself or had spoken in his alien dialect, in which he could not understand at all. Anton had also hated that no matter how far away he wanted to get from his past as being the guy who wanted to reset the world, and make it into the paradise lived by the kings of the reptiles, it would never leave him. In a small part of his mind, he knew that Mesogog still remained. Even after the painful separation from his alter ego months ago, he knew that Mesogog will always live in him. Because he was Mesogog. But not by choice. It was the end result of an experiment gone wrong. And now, here he was again, a guinea pig, to bring back Mesogog. He was living with his consequences, and they were painful.

He felt the rage inside him grow. He forced out several painful breaths as he felt his stomach churn and his head began to melt and transform as the infamous green and yellow light covered his body. His head slowly began to take shape as the head of Mesogog. His true eye color faded into the sharp golden yellow eyes of his evil alter ego. He growled as he hit the ground, his eyes fell shut.

The transformation had stopped, but the body of Anton Mercer remained and the head of Mesogog was locked on his neck.

The door slid open slowly as two cybots stepped into the room, and collected the unconscious half-man/half-dinosaur. They carried the creature around their shoulders into the main lab where Mindshatter had been waiting. They set the unconscious beast on the ground and left the room just as Dinoshade emerged from the shadows.

"You would put your trust into a pathetic human to find a way to destroy those rangers, master?" Dinoshade growled.

Mindshatter turned around, holding out a hand. It was evident he was angry as his eyes glowed to a hard bloody red. Dinoshade hit the ground, grabbing his head, groaning. "You failed to destroy the rangers when you had the chance! I do not take kindly to your lack of dedication in this regime, Dinoshade. If I must, I will find someone more reliable to take your place!"

"My lord," Dinoshade began as he tried to fight back the mental strain. "You said we should mess with the rangers first before we destroy them."

Mindshatter released his mental power on his henchman and thought for a moment. He picked up the unconscious creature on the ground and tossed him into the newly-defined Geno-Randomizer. "You have given me an idea, Dinoshade. I have noticed that these humans are most vulnerable mentally. What is the status on the new Geno-Randomizer?"

Dinoshade slowly got to his feet as he walked over to the control console. He pushed a few buttons on it, looking at the read-outs of the machine. "It is up and running, master. But there could still be some problems. If we destroy him, my lord, we may not have anyone else to pry information from about our enemies."

"There are plenty of resources out there. You just got to know where to look," Mindshatter hissed. "Fire it up!"

Dinoshade didn't say anymore as he fired up the console. The machine hummed to life as the lights turned on. And the cell in which the half-man/half-dinosaur laid in was clouded with smoke. Time passed slowly as the machine whirred down and the doors hissed open.

A figure emerged from the smoky mess as he roared to life. And of all the experiments and trials that were failures, Mindshatter was sure this had done the trick, if not cut it the closest.

Mesogog hissed again as he looked around the room to see his entire work no longer around. Much of the room was plastered with machine upon machine, metal upon metal, blinking lights of sorts. And of a technology that he wasn't familiar with. He lowered his head looking over his body, flexing his arms and clenching his claws as if to get a feel for what it was like to use them. In the back of his mind, he could hear the echoing cry of help of his alter ego, Anton Mercer. And he hissed with some satisfaction for returning to life.

"Revenge will be mine," he hissed with happiness.

"It is so good of you to join us, again, Mesogog," Mindshatter bowed. "I have been working for weeks now to bring you back to life, and it seems this has been the most successful test."

"If you think I will ever work for you, Mindshatter, you're wrong," Mesogog walked over to him, pulling up his talon hand in a threat.

"That's not what you said hours ago," Mindshatter shook his head. "Remember, I brought you back to life. You are clearly my servant. Just as Zeltrax was to you."

Mesogog growled as he turned away. He could recall that only hours ago, he felt his life force return to him, if that was a way to describe it. He wasn't sure exactly how, but even months ago he could still feel a little bit of Anton still living inside him after he found a way to separate himself from the scientist. When he went down in that battle with the rangers, he felt his body was destroyed, but somehow his spirit was still alive. Alive in his alter ego. Now, here he was, back in his body, but Anton still remained. And he knew now that he could never get rid of him. But that wasn't his concern now.

In the back of his mind, when he had returned for only a few hours, he had been told by that tin can in front of him, that he was merely a servant now. He never stood down to anymore, and that tin can would make no difference. He would play along with his game, but then find a way to overthrow him and retake his place to rule the planet under the age of the dinosaurs. He wouldn't allow some scrap heap to take his place as the one to rule Earth when he was nothing more but a cyborg in his eyes.

Mesogog blinked and turned back to the metal brain he wanted to destroy so much. "We share a common enemy, Mindshatter. The Rangers must be destroyed."

"I am glad you see it my way, Mesogog. I have a mission for you," Mindshatter nodded as he held out a small device for the dino menace. "Take this, and raid each of the rangers' homes. When they wake up in the morning, they'll be in for a surprise they won't forget."

Mesogog looked at the small device in his hand. He wasn't quite sure what it did, but he would take the word of the spiked leader as he nodded and left the room.

Dinoshade walked up beside his leader, shaking his head. "I do not like this, Master. We can't be sure it will work."

"If it won't destroy the rangers, it will destroy him. Keep a sharp eye on him, Dinoshade. He can be just as tricky as you," Mindshatter announced.

The robotic dinosaur nodded and left the room, using the shadows like his way of travel.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Kira had been snug in bed for some time, but when a brisk coolness brushed her shoulder, she opened her eyes and looked around the dimmed room.

She sat up and looked around the room again, but found no one there. But she had a funny feeling of being watched by something. She looked over at the clock, groaning as she sunk back into the comfort of the bed, throwing a pillow on her face.

"Man, is it only 1:00 in the morning?" she whined. She had to admit, since Mindshatter had shown up her sleep time wasn't what it once was. She would wake up in the middle of night, convinced that someone had been watching her from the shadows. But found no one there. She kept telling herself it was nothing, and it was nothing now. "Why do I have such a hard time sleeping now?"

Her eyes fell heavy and she went back to bed.

But from the corner of the room, a figure stood, holding out a device that began to whine and hum, but at a pitch no human could hear. And at the click of another minute passing in the evening, the figure disappeared into the shadows, never to be seen again in the room. At least for the time being.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Ethan's head slowly bobbled up and down as he tried to stay awake, but he couldn't. It was clear that he needed to catch some zzz's or he would never make it through the day at school. But he was so determined to get the game mastered that he could take to reality.

The game was Step Mania. A game that Trent had introduced him to. It was a step up from that DDR game many people were hooked to, and helped Ethan with his hand-eye coordination. And if he could convert that to the game-pad, he could rival Trent at it. But he still had to get the game pad, and time at the mall to play the game wasn't on his schedule. But he was determined to get it mastered in hopes it could inspire some new moves to present to the dance team.

But, he couldn't keep his eyes open at the late hour and his head hit the keyboard and he fell into a deep slumber.

In the very corner of his room, a figure stood in a knelt position, watching as the teen in blue finally called it a day as he fell asleep.

A device was held in his hand, and it whirred to life and quickly off when the process was complete. And when an upcoming car light passed through the window to light the way, the figure was in and out of the room like the wind.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Conner finally called it a night when he had reluctantly completed his homework and said good night to his girlfriend. After that last battle, he was glad to have someone there to comfort him. But still felt the sinking feeling of not telling her the entire truth about his life.

"Maybe another time, Conner," he told himself as he hopped into bed and tossed the blanket over him.

He reached over and turned off his lamp as he looked around the darken room. For awhile, he felt like a pair of eyes had been watching him from the very depths of the shadows in his room. After he had seen Dinoshade use the shadows as means of retreat, it made him fear the shadows as much as the walls. He could remember during Trent's evil reign when Trent would emerge from beyond the walls like they were nothing. Chameleon powers.

He shuddered as he pulled the blanket over his shoulders and over his head as he felt the heaviness settle on his eyes. And he slowly fell into a deep slumber.

A figure swiftly moved through the room, approaching the hidden red DT ranger with a device in hand. The humming and whirring came on in a blink of an eye and diminished just as the teen took a breath. And when he pulled his head over the covers, eyes still closed, the figure was gone out of sight.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Trent sat at his art desk, a line of pictures plastered on the tape or wall. He was creating a collage of heroes he felt were appropriate to pull off in his first project. He yawned as he shook his head, hoping to wake him up a little, but didn't.

His head sunk as his eyes grew heavy. He just couldn't stay up. And his head hit the desk and he fell into a deep slumber for the evening.

A figure emerged from the shadows as it approached the teen in white. With a device held in hand, a humming stirred the teen as he slowly moved his head. But his eyes remained shut, stopping the figure in his tracks.

"Dad, don't worry," Trent mumbled quietly. "We'll find you."

"Son..." the small weak voice of Anton escaped from the figure looming over him. "Help me."

But as Trent jerked his head up, his heavy eyes slowly opened,the figure melted back into the shadows. He looked around swearing he thought he saw something beyond his bed, but found nothing. He breathed slowly as he looked down at his dino gem, watching the glowing white light escape from it. And at that moment, he felt his eyes grow heavy once again and he fell asleep.

But the figure that had been staying beyond the shadows, where Trent was sure someone was, was now gone. And only the teen remained in the room alone to catch a few zzz's.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Tommy and Kim were snuggled close, Kim tucked into her husband's side as they slept soundly. After the sincere apologizes for placing Kim on grounded status, he had made it up to her by making sweet love to her. That no matter what, he would cherish her, even if she was no longer a ranger in true active status.

A figure slowly walked into the room, his eyes centered on the couple sleeping quietly. He hissed in disgust as he pulled out the device and pointed it at them. The device hummed to life and shut off in a matter of seconds and the figure left the room undetected.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Mesogog slowly walked through the darken woods as he found a place to crash. His head was pounding with pain as he slowly collapsed against a tree. He groaned in pain, and it was clear that something had gone wrong in the transformation if he was feeling this way.

He watched as the shadows began to dance around as a breeze came through the area. He sniffed the air, smelling the scent he distinguished as Dinoshade. "I know you're out there, Dinoshade. You can't hide from me, you pathetic excuse for a cybernetic dinosaur."

Dinoshade growled as he emerged from behind a tree beyond the dazed dino menace. He walked over to the weakened dinosaur, pulling him to his feet. "You're just as pathetic as those Rangers. It'll only be a matter of time until you're destroyed."

"Not until I see the end of you and Mindshatter. Earth is mine for the taking!" Mesogog hissed, but his eyes grew heavy and the strange hint of the greenish-yellow light that covered him during his transformation took over.

And when it ended, Anton stood there, sweat running down his face, still locked in Dinoshade's embrace. He looked pale as he barely could keep his eyes open.

"Why must you try so hard?" Dinoshade questioned the man.

"So hard to what?" Anton asked quietly as he tried to force the metal hands off his neck.

"To protect those pathetic rangers? We will find a way to destroy them, and when we do, it'll be a matter of time until you're all dead." Dinoshade hissed as he threw the man to the ground.

Anton groaned as he felt his body hit the ground. And for a moment, he caught his breath. He knew that in those moments, that Mesogog lived strong in his mind. But it was clear that his objectives were slightly different than what he knew in the past. But he wasn't quite sure what. And he knew, or more so felt, that after each transformation from himself to his alter ego, it would weaken him more. Dinoshade reached into the hidden pocket of the weakened man and pulled out the device Mindshatter had given to him hours ago. He pushed a few buttons on it as it whirred to life and a few lights turned on on the device.

And when he pushed one final button, a line of lights escaped from the device and raced through the woods until it disappeared out of view.

"What'd you do?" Anton asked as he slowly got to his feet.

"You'll find out soon enough," Dinoshade said as he grabbed the scientist's arm and pulled him into the shadows.

And they were gone out of sight. A figure, dressed from head to toe in black, pulled away from the shadows as the silence fell over the area.

"It's only beginning," the figure spoke quietly to himself. "We have to find a way to stop this, or we're all doomed."

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: So, um...yeah. It is official, Mesogog is back. But not of the permanent status Mindshatter is aiming for. And what kind of punishment does it take out of Anton? And how long will he last? And what does Mindshatter have in store for the Rangers? And who was spying on the robotic dinosaur and the scientist? So many questions. So little answers, in so little time. See what we got in store for our ranger team in the following chapters. You'd be surprised. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	15. On Different Grounds

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** -**_ PART FIFTEEN: ON DIFFERENT GROUNDS_** (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: When the Rangers wake up they are caught up in something they never thought was possible. Can they figure out how to get out of it before things get worse?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I only own this adventure and the evil dudes that are reeking havoc on their lives. Heh. Heh. You have been warned. I also own the power of ending this series as I want. So, if you decide to make suggestions, be careful how to say it. And if you haven't read "The Reason" or "Ordinary World" you'd better go back and read it, or refresh your memory, if need be._

_A/N: Um...just read on. I am not gonna say anything. Just hope I don't confuse you completely. Read it carefully._

_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
__"When I went to bed last night, things were just fine. Now, as I wake up, things are blown way out of proportions. What the hell is going on! Let's just hope we figure all of this out before things go completely wrong." -Eclyptyk Neo  
__-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

It was Friday. Finally, after another hard week, the week end was just around the corner. And it was just the time the team needed to relax.

Conner groaned quietly as he finally awoke from his slumber. He slowly turned in the bed only to find his arm hit something out of the ordinary. He opened his eyes to meet the brown eyes of another occupant in his bed.

"Ahhhh!" he screamed.

"Ahhhh!" the other person cried.

And when Conner turned, he felt the bed under him disappear and he felt the side table make contact with his head as he hit the ground. He groaned quietly as he rubbed his head.

The other person peered over the bed, down at the person laying on the ground, slightly dazed. "Dr. O?"

"What the hell are you talking about? It's me," Conner shook his head as he sat up. He looked up, only to realize that who he was talking to was Coach. "Coach!"

"What are you talking about, Dr. O.? It's me," the P.E. teacher replied. She looked just as freaked as him, as she protectively wrapped the blanket around her. "What's going on?"

Conner looked up at the person again, knowing that he wasn't dreaming. It was Coach, but when he looked down at himself, seeing the single band on his left ring finger and the bracelet housing the black dino gem, he could make only one conclusion. "Oh, shit! Kira?"

The P.E. teacher looked down at the man on the ground, looking into his eyes. And seeing something else there that she could distinguish was not the legendary ranger. "Shit! Conner, is that you? What's going on?"

The science teacher scrambled to his feet and raced over to a mirror located on the other side of the room. He looked himself over, and it was evident that he really was Tommy Oliver, but inside he knew he was Conner McKnight. The short spiked hair, the small line of hair on his chin and a set of muscles that has seen a lot of action and been through a lot of work.

The P.E. teacher raced over to the mirror, looking herself over. The long flowing brown hair draped over her shoulder. And it was evident that she was in fact, Kimberly Hart-Oliver, but inside she knew and felt that she was Kira Ford.

The two of them looked at each other again and screamed.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Ethan let out a yawn as he slowly turned in bed, stretching out his limps as he sat up. He shook the sleepiness out of his head as he opened his eyes and slowly got out of bed.

He slowly walked through the dimmed room, but slipped on something spherical, hitting the ground hard. He groaned quietly as he watched the ball roll across the room and under the bed.

For a moment, he thought. Did Conner leave his soccer ball at my house again?

He sighed and slowly got back to his feet and walked into the dimmed hall and into the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and the light and began to splash his face, but furrowed his eyes as he finally took a good look at himself in the mirror.

He caught his breath as the features on his face gave him more evidence of what he felt in his gut. The light skin complexion, the brown hair of his red DT friend, and the red dino gem now sitting on his wrist.

He took several steps back as he felt the back of the wall hit his back. He was dubbed in a red muscle shirt and some black sweat pants.

"Ahhhhh!" he screamed as he raced out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.

When he turned on the lights, it was all the evidence he needed to say that he was either in a real bad nightmare, or a nightmare that had turned into a reality. He was Conner McKnight, but in his mindhis thoughtswere still of himself, Ethan James.

He forced air back into his lungs as he looked at the room filled with soccer items of sorts and of a red color. He raced over to the mirror looked at himself as he pinched himself, hoping it was a dream. But it wasn't as he winced. "Okay, so I look like Conner. I sound like Conner. But I know I'm Ethan. I know I am. Oh man, this gives new meaning to an out-of-body-experience."

He grabbed a fresh set of clothes and threw it on, knowing that he had to get to the lab before it was too late.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Kim slowly turned in the bed, only to realize how small the bed was and that no one was there to greet her at her side. She opened her eyes and looked around the dimmed room, realizing she wasn't in the bedroom she knew so well.

She turned on the light, to see the hint of yellow all over the room. She saw the pictures around the room, of family and friends. But they weren't of her own. She looked at her wrist and saw the bracelet that housed the powers of the yellow dino gem.

She shook her head for a moment, thinking it was a dream as she dashed toward a mirror. But when she looked at herself, she saw the long blonde hair and the yellow clothes of her 'little' sister.

"Ahhh!" she screamed. She blinked again, as she felt the blood rush to her head and she fainted.

Minutes passed as she slowly came to her senses again, and slowly pulled herself up the dresser to look into the mirror again. And it was clear that she was in fact, Kira Ford, but she knew inside she was Kimberly Ann Hart-Oliver.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Tommy groaned quietly as he craned his neck, feeling the aching pain run down his spine. He rubbed the back of his neck as he slowly raised his head.

For a moment, he didn't think about where he was or how he got there, but the sinking feeling in his stomach was all that he needed. He rolled his neck to awake it from its painful state as he turned in the chair and looked around the room.

He furrowed his eyes, to make sure it wasn't a dream. And it wasn't. He saw the evidence of sketches and drawings plastered on the wall next to comic posters and small anime-like models. And he knew that he was no longer in his own bedroom, but Trent's.

He looked down at himself, to see he was dressed from head to toe in a white jumpsuit and when he pulled the cuff of the jacket away, he saw the white dino gem glow to life.

"Mindshatter," he said in a low voice as he got to his feet and headed out the door.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Trent groaned quietly as he raised his head and rubbed the pain from it as he opened his eyes. He raised an eyebrow realizing he was sitting in front of the computer. And not just any computer, but Ethan's computer.

"What the hell...?" he leaned forward as he saw the dull refection of himself in the computer screen.

He swung around in the chair as he looked around the room. It was in fact of a blue color, and with all the sci-fi posters and pics along with mountains of CDs, he knew he was in Ethan's room.

He jumped out of the chair and raced into the bathroom. And as he turned on the light, it showed that he was in fact, Ethan James, but he knew mentally he was Trent Mercer.

"Oh, man. Not good," he shook his head as he heard those words. It did in fact sound like Ethan, too.

He raced out of the room, found a fresh set of clothes and left the house as he raced toward the lab, where he hoped to get answers to what was going on.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

The two high school teachers sat some distance apart in the underground lab, still trying to understand what was going on.

And that was the problem. They weren't high school teachers, not mentally anyway. They were students at the high school trapped in their teachers' bodies. A star soccer player stuck in the body of his Geology teacher. An independent punk-rock singer trapped in her P.E. teacher's body. They didn't know how, but they knew why.

"I don't like this one bit," the science teacher spoke, but the tone in his voice was clearly that of Conner.

"I hear you. I have a History test. I can't go in there like this," the P.E. teacher spoke slowly, as she looked herself over again.

"Maybe you won't have to. At least you don't have to worry about teaching a science class if that's what it comes down to. You know I don't pay attention in there."

Then the forest entrance creaked open, and three more figures stumbled into the room. Ethan, Kira and Conner. Their voices trying to dominate the other as they were trying to figure out what was going on. The two teacher met them in the center of the room as a new line of panic and fear ran over each of them.

Another figure walked into the room. The White DT Ranger. For a moment, he knew that something was wrong by the aura in the room and residing among the team. He whistled, stopping everyone as they turned to look at him.

"Trent, what's going on?" Conner asked as the soccer player walked over to him.

"I'm Trent!" Ethan spoke in a slight growl.

"No, you're Ethan," Kim said as she tapped him on the shoulder.

Trent whistled again to stop the arguing from continuing. The team turned to look at him as he shook his head. "Guys, it's me," he said simply as he took another step into the room.

The team raised an eyebrow, looked at each other and made one conclusion.

"Dr. Oliver?" the science teacher spoke slightly confused.

The White DT Ranger nodded. "It's me, Conner." he walked over to the crowd of people, patting the science teacher on the shoulder. "And it seems that we might have gotten ourselves into a spot of trouble."

"Might have!" the soccer player breathed. "I'm Conner. I am supposed to be Ethan!"

"Yeah, and I can't be a P.E. teacher," Kim spoke.

"But it isn't that hard," Kira said.

"And I'm pregnant!" the P.E. teacher panicked.

"By two months," Ethan shrugged.

The P.E. teacher glared at the teen in blue as she pulled up a finger, but the White DT Ranger stopped her.

"Kira, relax. We'll figure this out," Trent spoke.

"Okay, stop!" the science teacher breathed. "This is confusing. So, let me get this straight. Somehow, when we were sleeping, Mindshatter had cast a spell or something to make all of us switch bodies. And now, I am Dr. Oliver when I should be Conner. And Kira is now Coach. Ethan is now me, and Trent is Ethan. Coach is Kira and Dr. O is now Trent. Is that right?"

"That about sums it up," Trent nodded slowly. The legendary ranger's status was evident in how he stood and how he let the words escape his mouth.

"Talk about freaky Friday," Conner shook his head. And by the protest heard in his voice, they all knew he was Ethan. "Have you guys seen that movie?"

"I am not going to school like this," Kim protested. Even as much as the two girls on the team were alike in so many ways, it was how they had presented themselves in front of the team that gave them what they needed to know to tell them apart. And in how the fear danced in her eyes, it was Kira speaking those words.

"We're gonna have to," Trent shook his head. "We can't afford to go on and skip school for something like this. As confusing as it is, we're just gonna have to pull off who we are for the day and hopefully figure this out by night fall."

"What if we're stuck like this?" Kira said.

The White DT Ranger turned to the Yellow DT Ranger, as the eyes of husband and wife met. It was clear she was scared, but still holding strong about the situation. She had seen her fair share of strange things, and this would make no difference. But it was clear that they never expected a blow like this. The look in her husband's eyes made it evident that they will figure this out as soon as they can. And she admired that he managed to keep his cool about a situation like this. It was really hard for her to.

"We won't. I mean, we can't. Can we?" Ethan asked as everyone turned to look at him. But where they all knew to find the intellect of the blue DT ranger there, it was the creative and artistic mind of the white DT ranger.

"No way. There's got to be a way for us to change back," Conner stated. "You guys remember that in the movie, right?"

"This isn't a movie, Ethan! This is real life!" Kim protested.

"Stop!" Tommy groaned, grabbing his head. It was clear he was getting a headache, or moreso Conner, and who could blame him. They all were. "You're confusing me."

"All right. To keep things simple, we're just gonna have to address each other by who we see. So, you guys can't address me at all as Dr. Oliver," Trent said clearly and firmly. "Or each other in those terms. Got it?"

The team looked at each other and knew they couldn't argue with him anymore. It would be risking far too much, and by the look of the time, they all had to get down to the school.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Ethan sat in the red GTO in the senior lot at the school. He had looked himself over and over, telling himself that he was Conner. He hoped it would only be for the day. But he wasn't too sure how well he could pull it off, especially with Krista. He had a sinking feeling about even saying as much as 'hi' to her since he wasn't exactly Conner right now. If he was lucky, he could try to avoid her at all costs, but that was no guarantee if he failed to do what Conner would do with her on a daily basis.

He groaned, sinking into the seat as he heard a knock on his window. He rolled down the window to see the teen dressed in blue standing there, leaning against the car.

Himself, but it was now Trent. "Hey, how are holding out?"

"You mean right now?" Ethan asked as he sunk lower into the seat. "I look and sound like Conner. You cannot tell me there

is something wrong with that. I'm literally talking to myself here."

"Yeah, I get that feeling too," Trent nodded as the soccer player got out of the car. "But you heard what Dr. Oliver said. We got to play it off like who we are for the day."

Ethan nodded as he followed Trent into the school. A line of students had greeted the soccer player, which Trent had to remind him that Conner was in fact, a popular guy at the school. Moreso for his jock status, and even if he was taken, girls still tried to flirt with him which made Ethan feel slightly uncomfortable.

The computer gamer pulled the soccer player down the hall as they made their way into the English Hall. They saw Krista wave them over, and as Trent stopped to greet her, Ethan kept going.

Krista raised an eyebrow slightly confused. "Is everything okay with him, Ethan?"

The computer gamer could only shrug as he called out to his friend. "Yo, Conner. Conner!"

Ethan stopped for a moment and took a breath. He looked down at the bracelet honing the red dino gem. "Wait. I am Conner." he told himself quietly as he turned around and slowly walked over to the duo.

Krista gave him a warm smile and a small kiss on the lips that had Ethan's eyes widen with fear. Trent elbowed him in the gut as the kiss was broken and the two guys exchanged a quick chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"If only you knew," Ethan replied, trying to keep his cool. How could I go off and do that? I just kissed, Conner's girlfriend or she kissed me. But I am Conner. C'mon, Ethan. You gotta play it off as Conner. he told himself as he slowly wrapped an arm around Krista's waist.

"Conner here didn't get a whole lot of sleep. Probably thinking about you too damn much," Trent stated, as he got a glare from Krista. "Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing. No. I'm just... I'll shut up now." He knew he could pull off Ethan well, but it was a matter of not slipping out more than he needed to.

Krista giggled. "Don't worry, Ethan. Are you sure you don't want me to find you someone to go out with?"

"Hey. Hey. Hey. I told you, I'm a free agent, but that doesn't mean I need the hook up. I think I'll still with the bachelor life," the computer gamer replied.

Krista turned to look at her boyfriend, tapping him on the shoulder. He was obviously pre-occupied with something. "Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just like Ethan said. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep," the soccer player said, absently scratching his head.

"So are we still on for tonight?" Krista asked.

"Tonight!" Ethan looked at her with some confusion. He looked over at Trent for support who could only shrug. "Um...tonight?"

"Yeah, silly. You don't remember?" Krista stated. "We were gonna go out and have dinner at that new Italian restaurant downtown."

"Oh right," Ethan breathed quickly. If they didn't figure how to fix this, he would have to go out on a date. And he wasn't sure how Conner was on a date. Let alone, if he could pull off a date on his own terms. He wasn't a ladies man, as he would hope to be. "Hey, listen, Krista, about tonight..."

The computer gamer cleared his throat as the soccer player looked over at him with some confusion. He pointed with his eyes up the hall to see as the artist and science teacher was heading their way. Ethan let out a breath, slightly relieved.

"Hey, guys," the artist greeted as he walked over to his friends on the side of the hall.

"What's up, Trent? Thank God it's Friday," the computer gamer stated as he patted his friend on the shoulder, greeting him with a friendly handshake.

"I hear you. This has been one crazy week," the artist nodded. "So, um... Conner, got any plans for you and Krista tonight?"

The soccer player scratched his head absently again. "Um...I don't know. We were gonna head over to that new Italian restaurant, but..."

But before he could finish, the science teacher nudged him in the back as he leaned up against the wall, watching the students pass by. As a teacher, he had to play it off as if he were monitoring the halls to make sure nothing bad or out of the ordinary was going on.

"You're talking about that new Italian restaurant on Stenson Dr, right?" the science teacher began. "Yeah, I heard that was a really good place to go. I'd take Kim, but she's sorta cranky at the moment."

The artist groaned internally sinking his head. He didn't want to say anything about that last comment as he pulled the science teacher off the wall. "C'mon, Dr. O. I thought you were gonna help me out on that photosynthesis and cellular respiration diagram. We'll catch you guys later."

The two disappeared down the hall. The computer gamer tapped the soccer player on the shoulder, indicating that the warning bell had rung and it was time to head off to class. He said he would catch the two later and left them alone.

Ethan was in a panic again. How could he pull off being Conner if he wasn't good about dates, let alone giving the right impress about saying good-bye to 'his' girlfriend? He wasn't like this one bit, and he felt like he had it the hardest. He had seen Conner and Krista hanging out so many times, but it was even harder being in his shoes and trying to pull it off.

"So, are we still on for tonight? I mean, I understand if you're busy or whatever, Conner..." Krista began.

The soccer player looked back at the girl locked in his arms, and held his breath for a moment. He shook his head. "No. Of course not. I thought I had something to do, but I can always push that off until tomorrow. Besides, we haven't had dinner in awhile, right? So, yeah. We're still on. 7:00, right?"

"Just as long as you don't forget to pick me up at the shelter," she stated.

"All right. I'll see you after 1st hour," he nodded as he slowly leaned over to give her a kiss. Krista finished it off as her lips melted with his. And for awhile, he couldn't let go. It was something to think about, but he had to kick himself in the head to tell himself that though he may look like Conner on the outside, he was still Ethan on the inside.

They said their good-byes and the soccer player disappeared into his first hour class, snagging the seat beside the singer.

Kira looked over at the soccer player–actually, Kim was looking–with a wide smile on her face. Ethan looked at her with raised eyebrows as he shook his head.

"Don't say anything," he said.

"Why? I saw you out there," Kim smiled widely again. "I thought you weren't much for being a lady charmer."

"Well, I guess some of that soccer player charm could be rubbing onto me," Ethan shrugged, sweeping his shoulders. "I think I pulled that off well."

"Let's just see if you can pull it off for the rest of the day," the singer replied in a challenging tone.

"Well, right back at you there, Coach," he shot back meeting her challenging glare.

"It's on," she smiled, before laughing.

And the bell had rung to begin their first class. Now, it was up to seeing if any of them could really pull off that first hour without choking.

Minutes passed.

The news was over and it was time to start the action of first hour.

"All right, class. If you will, pass up those short stories you've been working on for the past week. I hope to find some interesting pieces of work from some of you people. I hear we got some impressive writers in this class," Mr. Rodriguez announced as he took his place at the front of the room.

The computer gamer and P.E. teacher exchanged a look before diving into their–Conner's and Kira's–backpacks. If they were lucky, they would find it in there, but after all the crazy things that were happening that morning it was hard to really say if they were completely prepared for it. They tossed the binders on their desk and began to search through it, hoping to find it, but got nowhere. And that wasn't a good thing at all. Even one assignment could throw off a senior's grade completely, especially in an English class.

They looked at each other again, and their hands shot up faster than Conner's super speed could compare to. "Mr. Rodriguez," they said in unison, trying to keep their cool. But it was evident that they were slightly freaked.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Tommy sat at one of the lab stations trying to get used to the fact that being behind the desk was another story as being part of the audience seeking out an education. He looked over at the nervous teacher, himself–but held the spirit of the current red ranger–and sighed quietly. He knew Conner wouldn't make it, but he had to do something to reassure him that things will be okay and they would figure it out.

He pulled out the backpack and looked through the items, noticing some papers that weren't his own. Or more so, Trent's set of papers. It was Conner's and Kira's short stories they've been working on for the past week or so. He walked over to the science teacher, whose head was plastered to the desk.

"Hey, lighten up, Dr. O," Tommy replied as he patted the science teacher on the shoulder.

Conner slowly looked up at him, the look of fear in his eyes. He sunk, whispering. "I can't do this, Dr. O."

"Hang in there, Conner," Tommy nodded slowly. "Got a favor. Write me a pass. I'll go check on the others, all right?"

The science teacher nodded slowly, but stopped trying to figure where the hall passes were hidden. The artist pointed at the desk drawer closest to the teacher as he pulled it open. Conner quietly thanked him and wrote the pass, letting the science teacher roam the halls to see how their comrades were holding out.

Tommy let out a breath as the door closed behind him. He looked down at the stories in his hands, and figured the first place he would go was the English hall. He picked up his pace as he realized that the news was almost done and many times, a teacher would be collecting homework before it was done.

He nearly stumbled into Mr. Rodriguez's room as he caught his breath and everyone turned to look at him, slightly confused.

"Trent! Shouldn't you be in class?" Mr. Rodriguez approached the teen in white.

"Sorry, I forgot something in my locker," the artist breathed as he held out the printed work for the teacher. "And it's sorta funny that I'm here. Conner and Kira were over at the cyber café working on their stories last night and forgot to get them from the printer. So, I'm just gonna give this to you, and we could go about our business."

The teacher looked at him slightly confused, but thanked him for looking out for his friends. He turned back to his students and began to address their next assignment regarding a self-portrait work on them.

Tommy looked over at Kim and Ethan in the corner of the room. And the look of their faces was of relief and a great gratitude of thanks for saving their asses for the time being. He could only look at them with the sincere look and eagerness to find a way out of this situation and bring them all back to normal.

"_You guys okay?" _Tommy asked quickly as he slowly moved toward the door.

"_Whoa! What the...?"_ Ethan looked around slightly confused, knowing he heard that voice in his head.

"_We're holding out, okay, for now, Handsome,"_ Kim replied as a light smile passed her lips.

"_Ninja powers, Ethan,"_ Tommy replied simply. _"Just hang in there. I was gonna go check on Trent and Kira."_

"_How is Conner holding out?"_ Ethan asked.

"_He'll get by. I'll watch his back the most. Just for my own sake. Talk to you guys, later,"_ Tommy nodded. He winked and turned and left the room.

Ethan looked over at Kim, who let out a breath. "Is he always like this?"

"Always got our back," Kim nodded. "Without him I don't think we would have made it through this day."

"So, when are you two gonna hook up?" Ethan asked with a laugh, knowing that Conner had badgered his friend in yellow constantly about her relationship with Trent. "Some other girl might get to him, or some other guy could get to you."

"Like you?" Kim met his statement. "Besides, we've talked. I don't know about actually starting a relationship. I guess we'll see."

"I'm taken. Remember," he shot back.

"Conner! Kira!" the teacher barked.

They had to kick themselves mentally recalling that they had to watch their mouths, but they were holding off for now. They apologized and averted their eyes to the front. But they didn't seem to know about Trent's and Kira's recent hook-up. But, no one could blame them when that was only a day ago, and since then things were rather hectic to discuss any issues outside the ranger thing.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Tommy walked through the halls to the math hall where he knew where the true bearer of the body he was in was now stationed. He slowly came to a halt in the hall, as he watched the computer gamer slightly dazed in the back of the room. He figured that Trent had it all under control since he knew that Ethan was always tired, especially in the morning.

Then the head of the computer gamer turned slowly toward the hall, trying to avert any attention toward his teacher. He saw himself standing there looking at him.

"_How are you doing, Trent?"_ Tommy asked through telepathy.

Trent furrowed his eyebrows, slightly confused, but couldn't forget that his teacher was a master of ninjitsu and ninja magic. _"I can deal. I'm all right, Dr. O. How's everyone else holding out?"_

"_Well, you're probably the most calm about this than them. Conner being the worst off, but he'll get by. He has me for two hours of the day. Keep yourself in check, Trent. I'll see you later."_

"_See you later, Dr. O," _Trent gave a quick wave of his hand as he watched himself–the legendary ranger–head off.

Tommy made his way outside and over to the gym where he had to make on last check before heading back to class, but got stopped by the booming voice of one of the administrators, Mr. Titus. The guy no one could really stand next to Mr. Clarkson due to their over-excessive authorative business.

"Mr. Fernandez, what are you doing out of class? I assume you have a pass to be roaming the school like this," Mr. Titus stated, not too amused to see a student out of class who had no real authority to unless they were a student assistant. If one could say, he could almost pass as the male version of Principal Randall. He was a tall, slightly built man. And if he did have the strength it was covered up by a business suit, which he work every day. He had a short hair cut, one seen on a military guy, and he had a pair of glasses to finish it off. No one knew a whole lot on his record, but knew that he set the record straight at another school before turning it over to Reefside High.

Tommy forced out a breath as he played it cool. He slowly pulled out the pass and handed it over to the assistant principal. He forgot that though Trent's last name was legally changed to 'Mercer' those who seemed to hold a personal grudge against him called him by his actual last name. "Actually I do. And I was needing to head over to the gym to send a message to Coach Hart-Oliver from her husband in the science wing."

"Which would be?" the assistant principal looked down at the teen with a raised eyebrow. And that's how Mr. Titus was. He was always trying to get the dirt, usually for no reason, or right to.

"Sorry. You know, family business, Mr. Titus," Tommy nodded firmly as he took the pass gripped firmly in the assistant principal's hand.

"You're not family," Mr. Titus protested.

"Hey! Did I mention I was Dr. Oliver's cousin? So, that would make me family with every respect possible. Now, if you'll excuse me," Tommy turned and headed for the gym, hoping to avoid anymore confrontation. But in the back of his mind, he was beginning to see into the eyes of the students and why they had hated the assistant principal so much. And if one could look at the status of 'family' bonds, Tommy and Trent could pass as cousins considering the color each of them had honed regarding their ranger powers.

Tommy walked into the gym and headed upstairs to the upper decks. He watched from the railing as the students paced the outer edge of the gym floor to get their heart rates up. He saw the gym teacher he could call his wife, but had to remember at that moment it wasn't her. And he wasn't necessarily in the right look to see her that way, being a student himself.

The gym teacher began to encourage her students to push themselves a little harder as the music in the back set the mood for the jog around the gym. She slowly turned, realizing there was a spectator on the upper deck.

"Shouldn't you be in class, Trent!" the gym teacher called out as his eyes turned to look at her.

Tommy chuckled lightly, knowing that Kira had it under control. Or she was playing it off well, if she was still slightly freaked and nervous. "Thought I'd drop by and give you a message from your husband."

The students gushed and teased the gym teacher as they continued their jog.

"He says he likes the yellow one on you, but would prefer to see you in pink," the artist jeered with a laugh.

The other students teased the gym teacher as her face turned a slight red.

"Well, you tell him that he may have to deal with yellow for awhile if he keeps being a jerk about my new style," she shot back.

Tommy dropped his head, shaking it as he chuckled. Yeah, he knew she was holding out fine. _"How are you doing, Kira?"_

"_I can't believe you just said that to me, Dr. O."_ she breathed looking at her mentor with some shock.

"_Just trying to have some fun with this, Kira. And seeing how you're holding out, but I think you're doing fine," _Tommy replied as he leaned into the rails.

"_Yeah, I guess. But this is a whole lot harder than I thought. I mean, I know I have Coach for class, but being her is another thing. How about you? How you holding out being Trent, Dr. O?"_

Tommy shrugged. _"It's okay for now. But let's just hope we don't run into anymore surprises before the day is done. We can't afford anymore mix up. Just do what you gotta do, Kira. You'll be fine. I'll catch you later."_

"_See you later, Dr. O," _The gym teacher saluted as she watched the artist leave the deck.

Tommy slowly walked back over to the science hall, and he knew he had to get back to being Trent, and get himself that education. He casually walked back to the classroom, jumping the stairs as he came to a halt as he rounded the corner. He saw himself –Conner–sunk on the ground covering his face. "Um... Dr. O?"

Conner looked up at him, letting out a breath. "Oh, man. I am so glad you're back. Those guys were asking me far too many questions on my personal life. Well, more so yours, Dr. O, but... oh man. I didn't know what to say."

Tommy pulled Conner to his feet patting him on his shoulder. "Yeah, welcome to my world. But, what did I tell you. Names, bad thing. Remember, you're Dr. O. I'm Trent."

"But, Dr. O..." Conner began.

Tommy growled, covering his mouth shaking his head. "No..."

But he was cut short when he heard footsteps and they slowly turned to see the principal coming their way. She greeted them, but when they had fell silent she questioned what was going on.

"To keep things simple, Elsa. We got into a spot of trouble. It seems somehow Mindshatter set a spell on us to have us switch bodies. I'm Dr. Oliver," the artist replied as the principal raised an eyebrow with confusion.

"And this is?" Elsa looked over at the science teacher.

"Conner," the artist replied.

"And the others?" she asked.

"We all got switched," the science teacher replied as he shook his head in dismay.

"Well, I know you guys will figure this out. Hang in there." she reassured the two.

They thanked her for her encouraging words as they retired into the room, knowing they had to try and play this off as normal as possible.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

By second hour, Conner was so relieved to take a break from the constant badgering of the students in Dr. O's AP Bio class. And he didn't know how his teacher had managed it, he was just glad that he had his teacher there to guide him.

The entire hour was set around trying to pinpoint what exactly was going on and if they could find any solutions to the problem, but they couldn't seem to find one that could work.

They even hit up Hayley via webcam at the cyber café and briefly and in code, the situation they had to deal with.

"No way, I don't believe you guys. C'mon, Tommy stop playing around," Hayley laughed as she shook her head.

"We're not kidding around, Hayley. You're talking to Tommy and Conner here," Tommy stated from inside the body of Trent as she shook her head again.

"Well, I see you, Tommy. But I see Trent right beside you," Hayley said.

"Hayley, he's not lying. You may be seeing Trent talking to you, but you're talking to Dr. O. And when you look at me, you may think you're talking to your college buddy, but you're really talking to me, Conner McKnight," Conner said.

"Okay, fine," Tommy said, knowing that through the camera she was in fact looking at the science teacher and the artist. He had to come up with something only he knew about his college buddy. "Hayley, going back to the day we met. Remember, you were the one to approach me in Biology class that day. You said that you needed to ask me something important, or tell me something really important that only I could know. So, we went to the local café to get something to drink. You began to mention about someone in class really liking me, a friend of yours as you put it, but it was a way for me to talk to you. And you never told me you were actually feeling me until your graduation day at MIT. And even during that conversation, you had mentioned you had put two and two together and tied me into the Power Rangers. You said you had clips and information that could prove it true, and you did. And I couldn't deny it. I still remember it all."

For awhile it fell silent as the technical director was shocked to hear those words coming out of the white DT ranger. But that was evident enough to say that he wasn't lying–they weren't lying–about what did happen to them. She knew that only Tommy knew about that, and couldn't deny it now.

"Tommy?" she breathed as her eyes centered on the white DT ranger.

The artist nodded slowly. "Mr. Legendary in the flesh right here. So, do you think you can look into this situation and possibly find a way to get us out of this mess?"

Hayley nodded firmly. "I'll let Billy know and we'll get right on it."

"Thanks, Hayley. Keep us informed," Tommy stated with a nod.

Hayley said she would try to get answers as she left the two alone to attend to the problem at hand.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

The rest of the day was okay for the most part. But it was still a slight challenge.

When Tommy and Kim had taken their place in History to complete the test for the unit, under the look of Trent and Kira, it was sorta hard to pull off. Tommy wasn't much for history at all, and Kim's memory was slightly jogged around the line of late 1890s to the early 1920s. And even they were confronted about their pencil use. They were right handed, but in reality, Trent and Kira were left-handed. It surprised them to even have people recognize the difference. And it was just so hard to just ditch class and hold each other and enjoy each other's company as husband and wife. But, they weren't now. Well, physically.

Trent had to play off like he knew a lot about computers and computer games, and that was a slight set back. He didn't know a whole lot about computer games as he would like, and being asked about codes or info on them put him at a stand still. He also had to avoid any indication of drawing, and even he was confronted about the use of his pencil. Everyone knew Ethan as a right-handed person and here he was using his left-hand like it was no problem at all.

Ethan still hadn't gotten used to the surprise signs of affection that he was getting from Krista. He had to tell himself that she had seen him as her boyfriend, and that's how he had to play it as. He was Conner for the day. He had to play off being affection and protective over his girlfriend. And he also had to know the basis of talk among the jocks. And he was slightly surprised to hear such a thing as being asked about when he had screwed Krista or if he did, and he dropped it and walked away. He didn't say anything or didn't want to apply anything hoping they'd leave it alone. He had hoped that Conner really wasn't using Krista as a puppet to make himself look good, and wondered really how his friend in red really handled such pressures as asking if he's gotten Krista in the bed yet or asking about the next time they'd all get drunk.

Kira had it probably the easiest. The gym classes would be running laps around the track and come in and shoot hoops to pass the rest of the time. The athletic trainers were all watching a video on proper techniques to wrap an injury. She didn't say that she could get used to playing off as a P.E. teacher, it was kinda fun. The only problem was when she had been asked some slightly personal questions that weren't meant for other ears, or should be heard by other ears but by husband and wife. She couldn't even believe some of the conversations that went on in the locker room. Not that she had a chance to listen in when she herself was in the locker room as an actually student, but they were far beyond her reach. TMI. Too much information. But it was clear that being the teacher vs. being the student were different in a lot of ways.

Conner had to constantly tell himself that he could handle the hardship. But that was his problem, he had to actually teach the classes about things regarding science. The 9th graders were learning about genetics. The geology classes were discussing the geologic time scale. The AP Bio students only had a diagram to do regarding the connection between photosynthesis and cellular respiration. They would ask him a few questions, and it was hard to make it sound like he knew what he was talking about. And again, personal questions would come up about his life–or Dr. O's–and many were slightly shocking to hear.

But that was it. It was finally the end of the day and they had made it. Without really thinking about anything else once that final bell rang to end the school day, they all raced to the lab to get this all figured out.

_**To be continued...**_

_A/N: Whoo. I am finally done with this chapter. I hope I didn't confuse you completely. It was really hard trying to figure out how to write this chapter. Surprised? I hope you were. Read on and find out how the team finds a way out of this mayhem before it's too late. Later dayz. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	16. Technical Complications

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART SIXTEEN: TECHNICAL COMPLICATIONS _**(PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The technical directors are notified about the recent setback of the team. But can they put two and two together and fix this problem before another attack hits the city?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. The adventure you see before you is my own thoughts now. I mean, with PRDT now a thing of the past, I have the power to make it my own right here in the wonderful world of fanfiction. So, strap in and get ready for a real adventure._

_A/N: So, there is a set back. Can it be fixed? Just read on and see what I decided to do about this. Until this is all fixed, whenever I mention their name – as in Tommy – he is still stuck as looking like Trent. And so one down the line. I 'm real sorry for the confusion, but don't worry, it won't be like this forever. It's still confusing me myself. Just remember: Tommy looks like Trent. Trent looks like Ethan. Ethan looks like Conner. Conner looks like Tommy. And Kim looks like Kira. And Kira looks like Kim. Okay. Do we got it? Again, I do apologize for confusing you. See you when I do, cuz this is making my head hurt just trying to get this all right. Later daze. _

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"Okay, now that we are all on the same note about this, we just need to figure out if we can find a way out of it without doing something wrong. And no matter what condition we may be in, we gotta go out there and do what we do best. Protect this planet from destruction. We will not go down without a fight. And we will do whatever we can to end this." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The team raced back to the lab where they found Billy and Hayley sitting at the main computer console trying to work around creating a machine that could help in the little fiasco.

"Did you guys find anything yet?" the teen in white raced over to them.

For a moment, Billy looked over at the teen trying to believe if it was true. He turned to see into the eyes of the white DT ranger and saw what he saw only in his former leader. He sighed and shook his head. "Man, Tommy, you guys really got yourselves into a mess of things, didn't you?"

"Did you guys find anything?" he said again more firmly and direct.

Hayley shook her head. "Sorry, Tommy. We haven't. To tell you honestly, we don't even know where to begin."

"So, what do we know about this situation for starters," the teen in yellow began as everyone turned to look at her. It was evident in her voice and in how she stood, she just wanted things to go back to normal. And no one could blame her. She was missing her own body, and her own life.

"Well, we know that this had to be Mindshatter's doing. It only makes sense," the computer gamer shook his head as he tried to recall the past night. "Did any of you guys have that fear of feeling like you were being watched?"

"Yeah, all the time. With how some of these people have been able to tie us into being rangers..." the soccer player began, but the computer gamer cut him off.

"No. I mean, in the past night. There was something I just didn't like about last night," the computer gamer said.

"Ya know, now that I think about it, I felt a cold breeze that made me wake up," the P.E. teacher began. "But ever since Mindshatter showed up, I haven't actually been getting much sleep."

"I think we all have," the soccer player stated in his usual saddened voice they all knew as Ethan.

"Okay, before we get any farther with this, time out," Billy turned to look at the team assembled in the center of the room.

"To keep things simple," a voice said from beyond the forest entrance. The entire team turned to see the black ninja ranger standing there, set in his usual ninja uniform he was seen wearing around the lab months ago. He walked into the room, greeting them quickly as he moved toward the main computer console. "There's a device that Mindshatter created that somehow managed to switch you guys. You find that, destroy it, it should make things all normal."

"Were you out there spying again?" the teen in white looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, Tommy, I was," Adam nodded, not wanting to deny that he was in the area. "And don't worry, you guys don't need name tags or anything. It's not that hard to distinguish each of you by the aura you're giving off. But man, you guys really got yourselves into a mess."

"Wait. You said something about a device of some kind..." the science teacher stated in a confused and eager voice.

"Yeah, Conner, I did," Adam said with a confirming nod. "It seems that Mindshatter used it to do something. I am kinda surprised that Kim and Tommy hear didn't manage to hear anything. He was using some sorta high frequency that was too high for a human to hear, but not an animal such as the crane and falcon."

"You mean that was something. I thought it was just something in my dream," Tommy scratched his head absently as he took a seat, looking away.

"Look. Like I said, I think that if we can find that device, maybe reverse what it's doing and then destroy it, we won't have to deal with this again," Adam said.

"Only one problem," Ethan began. "How are we supposed to find it if we don't even know where Mindshatter is?"

Then the alarms went off and the main computer screen switched over to an attack downtown. It was Dinoshade with a few cybots terrorizing the citizens of Reefside.

"You had to say that, didn't you?" Kim said shaking her head.

"All right, guys. I guess you have to suit up and do the best as you can..." Billy began realizing the confused looks on their faces.

"No way. How the hell am I suppose to work with Conner's powers?" Ethan protested looking at his clothing to indicate he was still in Conner's body.

"Um...what about me?" Kim looked over at the teen in white.

Tommy held his head breath as he turned to the P.E. teacher. And it was evident in his eyes that he was making her stay. Making the true yellow DT ranger stay behind, for her own safety.

"Ahh, you can't be serious, Dr. O," Kira protested.

"Sorry, Kira. I have my orders. Stay here where it's safe," Tommy said firmly.

Kira looked over at Kim – Kim in her body – a tinge of anger in her eyes. "You really had to get pregnant, didn't you?" She found a place on a chair, shaking her head.

Kim could only shrug as a light smile passed her lips. "Blame him. He crawled up on me that night." She pointed to the guy in white.

Tommy looked over at her slightly appalled at her comment, but said nothing.

"Okay, guys. C'mon," Conner said in his serious voice. He looked down at his wrist, at the black dino gem, and forced out a breath. He pulled it up into position and watched as it changed into the brachio morpher.

The rest of the team took their position beside the science teacher, whose spirit was owned by the red DT ranger, and pulled the respective morpher of who they were physically into place. And slowly, but almost instinctively, called out the morphing call that would suit them up ready for battle. A set of light covered each of them and when it cleared the team stood there suited up.

Hayley and the others looked at them for a moment, wondering if that could have triggered any changes, but it didn't. They looked over themselves trying to get the feeling of what they were now wearing. And it was clear, if they made it through this battle, they'd be letting it all go by luck.

The suited rangers turned and headed out of the lab with the white ranger taking the lead.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Dinoshade stomped through the plaza, holding his arms out to launch a line of missiles into the buildings all around. The cybots were using their own blasters to destroy the city block. Dinoshade laughed with satisfaction as innocent bystanders raced for cover and safety.

Then a line of lasers erupted around Dinoshade and his army and they stumbled back. Dinoshade growled as he saw two ATVs, two raptor cycles and the blue tricera hovercraft cycle raced into the area housing the DT Rangers.

"Well, if it isn't the pathetic excuse for Earth's protectors," Dinoshade teased. "How do you like your new bodies?"

"You're gonna regret doing that, Dinoshade," the white ranger growled.

"What's the matter, Black Ranger? Miss your old body?" Dinoshade teased as he fired a line of lasers toward the team.

They revved up their engines and dodged the attack getting ready for their next battle. Conner had to get used to manning the black brachio ATV as he raced through the plaza, sprinkling lasers where the cybots stood. Tommy didn't have too many problems with the white drago ATV, but it was clear that he was missing his status as the black DT ranger. He floored the pedal, zooming past another line of cybots as he fired the lasers at them. Trent didn't want to bother too much with the hovercraft cycle, Kim being the same way, and no one could really blame them. They were just as eager to get this settled and back to normal before things really got out of hand.

Trent called on the tricera shield as he used it to shield the attack from Dinoshade and using what he knew about the blue DT ranger to attack their enemy. Kim raced to his side, and by the looks of it, she was having some problems getting used to being suited up after so long. But she got by, and she held on strong.

Ethan used the red raptor cycle to attack the cybots as he used the tyranno staff to do more damage. But even he wasn't used to using such a weapon as that to get by. He never used anything that was taller than him, and that made the battle for him at a slight disadvantage. But, he knew he had to hold on and keep fighting the best he could.

Dinoshade had a hold on the blue and yellow rangers, tossing them around like rag dolls as they tried to hold onto him, but he was too strong. He threw his powerful arms into the air sending them flying and crashing onto the ground a few feet in front of him. And with no hesitation, he launched a series of lasers toward them that sent them back even farther. Trent and Kim groaned quietly as they tried to pull themselves back on their feet. But they were slightly dazed and weak to continue.

Tommy saw the danger as he raced forward on the white ATV toward the cybernetic dinosaur. He launched a few lasers that sent him back, and leapt from the ATV onto the cyborg, throwing him to the ground.

Dinoshade growled, pushing the white DT ranger off of him. "You maybe using a different color, but you don't scare me!"

Tommy pushed himself back on his feet. "Are you sure about that?" He launched his arms into the calling card of Trent's super dino mode. And when the light cleared he stood there ready for battle at the level of near invincibility. "Let's go, Dinoshade!" The white DT ranger launched himself into the air, hands extended out with the spikes aimed right at Dinoshade.

Conner had gotten off the ATV and raced over to his fallen comrades, holding the brachio staff high to shield any attack made by the cybots. Ethan joined him some time later, holding out the tyranno staff he was beginning to understand a little better.

"This is a lot harder than I thought," Trent groaned as he slowly got to his feet. "It isn't the same not having the powers you're so used to having."

"I take that back. It is a whole lot more different now," Kim sighed shaking her head. "We need to find that device and get us all back to normal."

"How about we discuss this later and help Dr. O with Dinoshade?" Conner asked as he launched a wind strike toward a line of cybots coming their way.

"I got the cybots," Trent nodded as he raced forward, using the tricera shield to block their attacks.

The other rangers raced through the army of cybots to the other side of the plaza where Tommy was busy putting Dinoshade back to where he belonged. They all slowly joined the fight one-on-one, but it seemed that's what Dinoshade was waiting for as he launched the powerful lasers from his eyes at each of them. They all cried out in pain as they came crashing onto the ground.

"This is getting old," Ethan groaned. "I am tired of being tossed around like some rag doll."

"Ethan, I think you'd better go Triassic," Conner called out.

"What! No way, man. That's your gig."

"We don't have much of a choice," Kim said as she took her place by the red DT ranger.

"But..." Ethan whined as he pulled out the shield of Triumph shaking his head.

"Ethan, you gotta do it," Tommy called out as he peeled himself off the pavement, wiping off the dirt on his suit. He was back in normal ranger mode, and it was clear he wasn't liking this losing as much as any of them.

Trent raced over, realizing what was about to happen. "Let's go, Ethan."

Ethan slowly looked at the shield in his hands then at his suit. He was, in fact, in the red suit at the moment, and he was the only one who could pull it off. He forced out a breath and set it in place as Trent and Kim called on the dino gems they wore to power up the shield. The energy lit up the shield and covered the red ranger, transforming him into the Triassic Ranger. For a moment, Ethan forced out a breath as he looked himself over. He felt the surge of energy run through his body and it was beyond anything he's ever felt. He really was beyond super dino mode, and it felt great. He looked over at Dinoshade, who didn't seem at all intimidated by his new look.

"Big deal. You can't handle it, Blue Ranger," Dinoshade laughed.

Ethan glared at the insulting cyborg. "Oh, it's on, now, baby. Let's go, Dinoshade. You and me. Shield of Triumph, activate!"

A series of light filled the area, capturing the red DT ranger and Dinoshade in place and they were gone. They ended up in an alternate dimension set by the shield, and Ethan used what strength he now felt to take down the cybernetic dinosaur. Dinoshade took a lot of hard hits, but many of them did little or no damage. It was driving Ethan slightly mad as he used the energy of the shield to power himself up, calling on the sword as he launched it at the cyborg. The area lit up to a blinding display as they were ejected from the alternate dimension back into reality. Dinoshade came crashing on the pavement as the red DT ranger landed easily on the pavement.

The rest of the team commented on the work, done, but it was far from over. Dinoshade roared a powerful roar that made the ground shake and the team lost their footing hitting the ground.

"Oh man, he's mad," Conner breathed.

"Nah, you think," Ethan growled as he slowly got to his feet. "Now, what?"

Dinoshade slowly got to his feet, glaring at the rangers with blood shot glowing red eyes. His arms flew forward, and the team soon realized they were no longer touching the ground, but lifted right off and went flying through the air into a distant wall. And once they hit the pavement again, a rain of lasers came their way, sending them back into the wall. They hit the ground again, weakened and too tired to move.

"Not again. I am not going out on this battle," Trent breathed as he winced, trying to pull himself on his feet.

"Hang on, guys," Tommy said.

"At this point, I wish I was back in my old body, Dr. O," Ethan groaned, now back in the regular red DT suit.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

From the underground lab, the team had watched, both Kira and Adam, were the most agitated by the setback. They all knew that the team couldn't handle anymore punishment. And they weren't sure what could happen if they took another agonizing and powerful blow head on.

"I should be out there. I may not be able to do much, but it's better than seeing them take this kind of punishment," Kira growled. "Their not used to the powers they now have. They won't last."

"C'mon guys, pull it together," Adam breathed as he tried to push the anger inside of him.

It was clear none of them were liking the punishment the team was getting. And if they were destroyed now, Kira could be stuck as Kim forever. It wasn't something she could deal with. That was her team out there.

"Hayley. Billy. Someone," Conner groaned as he pulled the communicator to his mouth. "We could use some help here."

Hayley and Billy looked at each other before averting their eyes to the black ninja ranger.

"Yo, Adam," Tommy called out. "Gear up! We could use you out here."

The team in the lab looked over to the side desk, seeing the metal briefcase encrusted with the DT symbol, but forged with symbols of the zeo ranger powers. Adam raced over and pulled it open to see all of the zeonizers in place ready for action. He looked back at the screen and watched as his friends took another beating from Dinoshade. He forced out a breath and grabbed the one marked with the powers of the green zeo powers and headed for the forest entrance, when it swung open.

Then the familiar faces of Rocky and Tanya came walking in. They greeted the bunch saying they were in town to visit, and see what the news was. They had been vacationing for the last few weeks since New Year's and hadn't gotten around to seeing what the news was on the ranger terms.

Adam turned back to the case, grabbing the zeonizers marked with the yellow and blue zeo powers and tossed it to his friends before racing out of the lab. "C'mon, guys. We're back on active duty."

"Huh, hold up, Adam. I just got here," Rocky protested looking at the zeonizer he held in his hand.

"Yeah, what's up?" Tanya looked at the man in the black ninja uniform with a raised eyebrow.

Another explosion echoed through the room as the blue and yellow zeo rangers looked over at the main computer screen. They watched as the DT rangers came crashing into the ground again, and it was clear they couldn't make it any longer without a little help.

"Well, that explains it," Tanya sighed as she followed her fellow green zeo teammate.

Rocky looked at the zeonizer in hand, shaking his head. But before he could say anything, he felt the hand of his best friend wrap around his shirt pulling him out of there and onto the battlefield.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Tommy and Conner had shielded the team behind them, still finding some energy running through them. But it was clear they couldn't take another hard blow or it would force them to de-morph. Dinoshade slowly walked their way, laughing and teasing the team for another failed victory.

"You're weak, rangers. You're not even a challenge," Dinoshade bellowed. Then he turned around, hearing the footsteps of a few visitors. "What is this? You got innocent bystanders here to help you?"

The three figures came to a halt in front of Dinoshade and his army. Each of them had their eyes trained on the cyborg, a line of determination melted into their stance. It was Adam, Rocky and Tanya.

"A few bystanders with a little secret of their own," Adam said slowly, peering over at his teammates. "You guys ready for this?"

"Just like old times," Tanya nodded.

"As much as I thought it was over, I'm right behind you, buddy," Rocky nodded as he pulled his hands into place.

Adam gave the call all too familiar to the zeo rangers as the three of them launched into the morphing call of their old powers. And as the blinding light covered and cleared away, the three 'innocent' bystanders were suited up in their own ranger suits. They each struck a pose before falling into a defensive stance as Dinoshade took a step back, slightly surprised at the new discovery.

"More of them!" Dinoshade growled as he forced out his hand. "Cybots, attack!"

The three zeo rangers launched themselves into battle against the army of cyborgs. Dinoshade turned to the fallen DT rangers, who were now back on their feet. They were shaken, tired and weak, but they still held on.

"Once I destroy you. They will be next," Dinoshade growled.

"Let's go, Dinoshade," Tommy met his match as he raced toward the approaching robo-dinosaur.

The eight rangers battled long and hard against their aggressors. And the cybots had underestimated their challengers in the zeo rangers, none of them came close to leaving a scratch on any of them as they raced through the battle, throwing Dinoshade to the ground as all of the rangers surrounded him.

"Don't think this is over yet, Rangers! This is only the beginning," Dinoshade growled.

"Well, we'll all be hear waiting for you," Rocky said.

The white DT ranger hit the ground, he had taken the most punishment in hits, groaning in pain. Adam pulled him to his feet, patting him on the chest. "C'mon, Tommy, hang in there."

"Tommy?" Rocky furrowed his eyes looking at his friend in green and the white DT ranger. "I thought that was Trent."

"I'm Trent," the blue DT ranger replied before feeling his legs shake.

"Huh?" Tanya tapped her helmet confused.

"Long story," Adam sighed. "We'll explain later. If we ever figure this out."

The zeo rangers looked at their successors in the DT rangers and saw their weaken stance. They were still trying to hold on, but they were all meaning to take a break and rest up.

But it fell silent as they all heard the crackling in the air and saw dark green clouds cover the area. Lightning erupted from it, and as the cybots escaped into it, another figure came out. And by then, the DT rangers had all fallen to their knees trying to keep their stance. But they could barely stand up as they slowly re-grouped in front of Dinoshade and his new visitor. The zeo rangers took their place in front of the DT rangers, holding onto a defensive stance.

But as the other figure turned to look at them, each of them let out a breath trying to find the air to breath again. They could not believe, thought it must have been a dream, hoped it was, but it wasn't when they felt the aura in the air sink. Everything just felt colder and much darker as the other figure hissed with satisfaction.

"No way," Conner shook his head.

"It can't be," Ethan groaned.

"We watched you die," Rocky shook his head taking a step back. "You should be dead, Mesogog!"

"Dad, no!" Trent cried.

Mesogog hissed again as he took a step toward the team of rangers. He let out a roar that shook the area, making the team search for their footing. And it was no lie. There he was, dubbed in his usual black outfit, with the set of spikes escaping from the shoulders, the same horned head, glaring yellow-brown evil eyes on them. "I'm back, rangers. And this time, I will make sure you won't forget you ever crossed my path!"

The DT rangers slowly pulled themselves back on their feet as they all slowly backtracked as the cybernetic dinosaur and mutant dinosaur was coming their way. They were at a stand still. And with the DT rangers on a weaken state, they couldn't attack anymore without possibly paying the ultimate price.

Adam looked at the talon hand of Mesogog and saw the device he had seen the night before. He looked back at the DT Rangers. "Guys! The device."

But at that point, the DT rangers saw their morphers beginning to glow. They watched as the energy of their powers began to fly through the air and over to Mesogog. He was draining them of their powers, and they hit the ground groaning in pain.

Adam looked over at his zeo ranger teammates and nodded. And they nodded back, knowing exactly what he was thinking. The three zeo rangers raced forward toward Mesogog and Dinoshade, blasters in hand as they launched a series of lasers toward them. Dinoshade stumbled back and Adam launched himself toward Mesogog, kicking the device out of his hand. It flew through the air and hit the ground a good distance from both teams. Mesogog growled pushing Adam to the ground, racing to the device.

"Rocky!" Adam called out as he pulled himself back on his feet.

Rocky saw the danger and used his blaster to push it aside as he launched some kicks into the mutant dinosaur sending him back. "Back off, Mesogog. You're not as tough as they say you are."

"Don't test me, Blue Ranger," Mesogog growled as he launched his hand forward, sending a line of laser his way.

But Tanya tackled him to the ground inches before the lasers could make contact with them and hit the distant wall beside the fallen DT rangers. "No competitive jokes, Rocky. Not now."

Adam dove for the device and threw it into the air calling on the weaken legendary ranger. Tommy looked up to see it device fly through the air his way. He pushed energy back into his legs as he got to his feet and caught it. Dinoshade saw the catch and launched an attack toward the white DT ranger. It happened so slowly as Kim called out to him, pushing herself to her feet and pulling Tommy to the ground. But she had no time to pull away, and she took the blow hard.

"No!" the other rangers called out.

And the yellow DT ranger hit the ground hard, de-morphing. Her eyes fell shut as the white DT ranger raced over to her. He pulled her into his lap tapping her face, calling out to her. But there was no answer.

It fell silent as the rangers crowded around the two. No one could say anything, and even in the physically appearance of the DT team, it was evident in their spirits, that the legendary ranger's anger was running through the white DT ranger.

"Look at yourselves now, rangers. You're pathetic," Dinoshade laughed at his victory, teasing them again.

Adam and Rocky pushed Mesogog over to Dinoshade as the two dinosaurs looked over at the weakened rangers. Fear and anger ran through all of them as they turned to look at them.

Tommy slowly set the yellow ranger, the spirit of his wife, on the ground and got to his feet. His hands began to shake with anger as he clung to the device in his hand. He turned to the two dinosaurs, and by the aura running off of him everyone knew he had a burning fire inside of him. "Dinoshade! You have pushed me way too far."

The zeo rangers turned to see the glowing energy escape from the other DT rangers' morphers mixing into the air around them. And Tommy launched the device into the air, pulled out the drago sword and fired. The device struck into a stream of light covering the area as Dinoshade and Mesogog growled with anger. And it fell silent as the energy of the gems broke free and the designated colors went to their respective owner. That though Tommy had been in the white DT suit, the black-yellow energy covered him, Conner had been in the black DT suit, the red energy covered him, Ethan had been in the red DT suit, but the blue energy covered him, Trent had been in the blue DT suit, the white energy covered him, and though Kim was in the yellow DT suit, the pink and yellow light covered the fallen teen. And at that moment, the DT boys took their place beside the white DT ranger as they all ended up in their civilian form, all except the black DT ranger.

And it was evident in how they stood that the curse was broken.

Ethan jumped in glee to see that he was back in his own body, hugging himself. "Oh, body, I have missed you."

"We did it. We have our old bodies back," Conner smiled as he flexed his arm looking down at the red dino gem he knew as his own.

"That's a relief," Trent nodded, patting his friend in red on the back.

But Tommy hadn't said anything except cracked his gloved knuckles, now in his own respective black DT suit, glaring heavily at Mesogog and Dinoshade. He took several steps toward their aggressors, and when it was clear he wasn't stopping, the two enemies charged him. But Tommy hadn't broke a sweat as he blocked each of their attacks, using his signature brachio staff to block them and send them flying into the distant wall, hard.

"Energy orb, now! Fire!" Tommy growled in a low voice as he launched his most powerful attack toward the two dinosaurs.

And a huge explosion filled the area as the dinosaurs hit the ground, letting out a painful growl. They slowly got back to their feet, barked out an insult and disappeared through the invisi-portal, leaving the area quiet.

The zeo rangers raced over to the man in the black DT suit as he slowly turned and headed back their way. They were about to question him, but could find nothing to say to him. He had said nothing more, walking past the teen boys to the yellow DT ranger. As he lifted her, pulling an arm around his shoulder, she opened her eyes. The teen boys crowding around them, unsure what to make of it.

"So, is it Kira or Kim?" Conner asked cautiously.

The teen in yellow looked around slightly confused, realizing the protective hold the black DT ranger had on her. "Dr. Oliver? Is this nightmare over?"

"You're okay, Kira. The nightmare is done," the black ranger nodded.

"Kira? Kira!" Ethan smiled widely as he pulled the teen in yellow into a hug. But she winced quietly, and though Kim was the one who took the punishment, the physical evidence of the wounds were on her. He let her go, holding up his hands, freaked. "Whoa. Sorry. Sorry. I forgot."

The black DT ranger pulled Kira's arm around him. "You're a tough character, Kira."

"So is Kim," she nodded seeing the worried look of Trent meet her eye. Tommy slowly handed her over to him as the white DT ranger protectively wrapped his arms around her.

The other rangers noticed the gesture, exchanging looks. And as Conner and Ethan were about to say something, Rocky and Adam covered their mouths. The zeo rangers, now de-morphed, had greeted them briefly before turning away, pulling the eager red and blue ranger out of the area. Tommy, still suited up, looked at the two rangers engaging in an affectionate gesture and turned away, racing toward the lab. And as Trent and Kira noticed the team had been filing out, they went back into serious mode and followed to see what the status of the situation was in the lab.

_**To be continued...**_

_A/N: Whoo! That was long! But, okay. Now, it's settled. No more confusion. I swear. Or at least for now. They are all back in their needed bodies. It was hard enough trying to figure out how to write this all up, but I hope I didn't make your head hurt too bad. Confused? Shocked? Eager for more? That's what I thought. I'll see you next chapter and see what I got spilled out for their next battle and setback. The war for earth is only beginning, and it seems that some of the rangers of the past will be coming to help. But will they stay to join the fight? Check it out in the coming chapters. I'll see you then. Later dayz. Isang diwa. Isang mahal. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	17. Back To Normal

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART SEVENTEEN: BACK TO NORMAL_** (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: After the battle, the team is returned to normal, but with some problems. Can they overcome it?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I only own the power of creating a story—or in this case, a series—regarding our heroes in the shining colored suits. Thanks for stopping by. But if you haven't read "The Reason" or "Ordinary World" you'd better go back and check them out._

_A/N: I just couldn't keep them that way forever. Yeah right. It would be too confusing as it was to even figure out how to write/type it. But that doesn't meant they won't be getting into anymore crazy setbacks. See you when I do. Leave behind what you can to help me out in the future and I'll see you soon._

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_"I never want to go through that again. I do not think any of us do. So, as far as I could tell, we just got to be more cautious about what we do. We need to keep a sharp eye for anything and everything suspicious." -Eclyptyk Neo_  
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The team had raced back to the lab, Tommy had taken the lead. And no one could blame him when he was eager to see how/what kind of condition his wife was in.

After that last battle, and breaking the curse the team was now back to their normal selves, in their own bodies.

Adam, Tanya and Rocky had joined in the last battle, and as they raced to the lab, Adam had explained to the two what had been going on in the last few weeks since Mindshatter showed up. And they could not believe they had been missing out.

Tommy came to a halt for a moment, to see the two technical directors come down the stairs. He could only look at them with a worried and questioned look.

"She's upstairs, Tommy. She'll be fine, she's just really exhausted and tired," Hayley said in simple terms.

"Thanks, guys," he nodded slowly as he slowly headed up the stairs.

The two technical directors slowly made their way back to the main computer console, sighing deeply.

"Were you guys just saying that, or is she gonna be okay?" Kira raced over to them, a worried pitch in her voice.

"Well, Adam, I think you should take a look. You are, in fact, the medical doctor in this operation," Billy nodded toward his old teammate.

"Where would we be without you?" Rocky patted his friend on the back as the medical doctor turned and headed up the stairs.

"You'd all probably be in the hospital on your death bed," Adam called out as he jumped the stairs to the main level of the house.

Adam jumped out of the trap door located in the office of the Oliver homestead and out into the hall. For a moment, he had stopped at the threshold of the door leading into the living room and saw the couple engage in a warm and protective hug. It still made him uncomfortable to see other people display affection toward each other, even his own friends.

He could tell by the tears that was falling down Kim's eyes and could hear the soft crying from Tommy that they were just relieved to have another nightmare end. They shared a passionate kiss as the medical doctor slowly filed into the room.

"The team sent me up to see how you were doing," Adam said quietly as the couple broke the hug.

Tommy looked away, wiping away his tears. He knew he had to be strong, for the rest of the team, but it was just so hard to right now. He had so much to worry about, and no one could blame him. He slowly got to his feet, but Adam had stopped him as their eyes met.

"It's okay, T. The tears are normal. You're under a lot of stress. Why don't you make yourself and Kim some tea?" Adam suggested as he placed a small vial into the legendary ranger's hand. "Just a few drops. It'll soothe you both."

"Thanks, Adam," Tommy whispered as he retired toward the kitchen.

Adam took a set on the edge of the couch next to his old teammate dressed in pink. She too had been clearing her tears slightly embarrassed at letting her friend see her in tears like this. He shook his head, allowing her to let the tears fall.

"Don't worry, after this last battle we've all been feeling way too stressed about the situation," Adam began. "So, how are you feeling? Any changes physically? You should still be going through some morning sickness."

Kim took a breath as she had to recall the past few days. She did have to admit that being pregnant was a new thing for her, but she knew most of the symptoms that followed it. And she did go through the morning sickness time and time again. But today was one of those days it didn't. And she wasn't sure if Kira had felt it, but the memories of being in the teen's body were all a blur. She grabbed her head trying to think back, but Adam put a hand on her arm, stopping her.

He shook his head as their eyes met. "Don't push yourself to remember, Kim. Take a few deep breaths and just relax. I need to run a few tests to see how you're holding out physically."

Kim nodded as she slowly laid back down on the couch. Adam pulled out another vial from his pack around his waist and began to dab the woman on some of her pressure points. And using his ninja skills, ran a test over her body to see what he could find. He could feel her steady heartbeat, feel the blood flow through her, etc. Yet, it was clear that she had been stressing quite a lot and it was taking a toll on both her and the little life in her. He opened his eyes and looked away, catching his breath.

When Kim sat up to see his concern look, she was curious to find what he had to say. "Adam, what is it?"

Adam looked at her and held his tongue as Tommy had returned with two mugs. The aroma of the tea filled the room along with the herbal remedy Adam had given him.

Tommy met the eyes of his friend, a look of worry fell over him. "You found something, didn't you?"

Adam forced out a breath as he slowly got to his feet and Tommy found a place beside his wife, their hands intertwining. They were eager to hear the news and Adam knew he just had to come out and say it.

"You're both under a lot of stress, especially you, Tommy. It's rubbing off on Kim, and if it gets worse..." Adam caught his breath as he forced air back into his lungs. "We could see a miscarriage."

Kim put a hand to her mouth, trying to stop from crying, but the tears fell. Tommy looked down for a second as he forced out a breath, the news crushing him. Tears began to welt in his eyes as he felt Kim's arms wrap around him. They held each other closer trying to control their tears.

Tommy looked back up at his friend, as a river of tears fell down his face. "How close?"

Adam shrugged. "Miscarriages happen spontaneously. Anything can trigger it. Physical abuse. Stress. Lack of eating or even exercise, especially during these stages of your pregnancy, Kim. The best thing I have, especially after this last battle is get a lot of rest. Don't worry about all this ranger business, Tommy. What should matter now is taking care of you and your wife."

The couple nodded slowly, knowing that he was right. They had to respect those wishes, especially coming from a guy with a degree in medicine. They were still trying to get over the news of a possible miscarriage as the tears continued to fall.

"We'll leave you two alone," Adam said as he held out his hand. "Don't go anywhere near that lab, T. And just to make sure of that, give me your dino gem. Your first priority is taking care of each other."

Tommy didn't have to argue with that as he pulled off the bracelet and handed it over to his friend. "Are you sure this is fair? What if...?"

Adam silenced him with a wave of his hand, shaking his head. "No, 'what if's', Tommy. Mindshatter won't strike for another few days. He has to come up with another plan. I will take this and everyone else's dino gem and zeo crystals, and lock it up. All I'm asking from you and the others, especially the teens, is to go out and live a normal life for a few days. Don't worry about all of this ranger stuff. It shouldn't exist to you right now."

"Well, you're the doctor, Adam," Kim managed a smile.

Adam let a smile pass his lips. He knew they needed some time alone. "What would you do without me? Kim, please, keep Tommy in check. Make sure he doesn't go near that lab and that he's just paying attention to you. It's all you, Kim. No one else," Adam instructed. "I'll see you guys later. Be safe and rest."

The couple thanked their friend as they held each other close, each taking a sip of their tea. Adam stepped out into the hall, looking down at the bracelet honing the black dino gem. As painful as that decision was, he knew he was doing the right thing. Now, he just had to convince the others. And it wouldn't be too hard.

"Thank god for that degree in medicine," he told himself with a smile. Without it, it would take a lot of work to convince everyone else otherwise.

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Meanwhile, downstairs in the underground lab.

"So, looks like you guys are back in suit. How does it feel?" Conner asked, still breathing a sigh of relief for finally being back in his own body. Being a science teacher was one things, but he was just glad to be in the body made for a soccer star.

Tanya and Rocky looked at each other before shrugging slowly.

"I would have preferred not to go anywhere near the suit again, but if you guys need me, I'm there," Tanya replied. "Yet, I can't guarantee that I'll be one call away. Living a normal life and coming back to be a ranger isn't as easy as it sounds."

"Yeah, after all those suicide missions I went on months ago, I'm not so sure I really want to come back, especially now that we know that Mesogog is back," Rocky shut his mouth as he looked over at the teen in white. "But I'm there if you need me."

Trent hadn't said much on their trip back to the lab. And no one could blame him for that. For weeks now, the team had been searching for his father, and had come up empty handed. Now, with the recent discovery of a resurrected Mesogog, they all knew that Anton had paid a huge price for it. Now, they weren't quite sure if it was permanent, or if there was a way to save him at all, but they wouldn't give up. They couldn't give up.

Kira touched Trent's shoulder, shooting him back into reality as he looked at the eyes set on him. He looked away, but said nothing.

"Don't worry, Trent. We'll find a way to free him from this mess. Mesogog can't live forever," Conner said.

"Yeah, they don't know who they're messing with," Ethan said as he patted his friend in white on the shoulder.

"As long as my father is alive, Mesogog is alive," Trent said slowly, mostly to himself for his own reference. The sound in his voice was of pain and anger. His body shook with fear.

"Now, you don't know that, Trent," Hayley said as she shook her head.

"Have you guys looked into that? Into the fact that the invisi-portals are now operational?" Ethan began hoping to get some answers out of the technical directors.

"Well, it states the obvious. If the invisi-portals are opened and operational, then the island fortress must still exist," Hayley nodded as she began to develop a theory around it.

"And if those invisi-portals are up and running, then it means that Mindshatter must have re-harnessed the Geno-Randomizer or something to give life back to Mesogog," Kira added to the theory on hand.

"Oh man, this just gets more and more complicating," Ethan shook his head. "Man, it was never this hard with Mesogog. But Mindshatter is a whole other thing."

"No doubt, man. We almost had our powers handed to us on a platter today," Conner said sadly.

"You guys have had a lot of close calls with this guy," Billy nodded. "He is definitely a challenge. Looking into all the other evil beings in the past, I'd say this is the hardest."

"Ahh, gee thanks, Billy. You make that sound like we're on our death beds for this war," Kira mocked the technical director.

"Now, I never said he couldn't be defeated. All evil beings have a weak spot. We just need to find his," Billy stated. "Now, I've attempted to send a distress call to Aquitar and Mirinoi, but they've failed. So, going back to my first theory, we can't send any transmissions out of the atmosphere."

"How about in? Have you tried to contact the other rangers still here on Earth?" Rocky asked.

"Until we get the okay from Tommy, we won't move to put their lives into any danger," Hayley nodded.

"And what about us?" Tanya seemed slightly confused by her last statement.

"You guys walked in. And Dr. O had already called out Adam to join them in battle. So, he figured you guys should join them," Kira said simply.

"Now, before we get into anymore discuss about who should be pulled into this battle and who shouldn't, I must ask you four, the DT teens," Billy began as he looked at his young successors. "How are you guys feeling? Any strange side effects after the swap back to your own bodies?"

The teens looked at each other, almost forgetting that the transformation back to their own bodies was slightly different. It was more unexpected, but they didn't feel much of anything. They just couldn't think for a matter of minutes as the transformation went down. It was like they were in a trance, and when they opened their eyes, they were back in their own bodies. And it was evident in how they stood that they were just tired, mostly mentally.

"No capital punishment to your bodies?" Rocky seemed surprised as he looked over his successors. "I would have thought after taking some of those blows you guys would be having some broken bones or whatever."

"It's not more so broken bones, but I think a broken spirit," Ethan sighed as he rubbed a temple. "I think Mindshatter is trying to destroy us mentally. My brain feels like its been nearly burnt to a crisp."

"Besides, with our ranger powers, it makes the pain go away quicker," Conner shrugged.

"Well, they don't call him Mindshatter for nothing. It makes sense in his name," Tanya nodded as she looked at the teens. They were all too tired to stand as they all slowly found a place to sit or lean on. "Billy. Hayley. Have you guys been able to look into any background information on this guy?"

Billy and Hayley shook their heads. They quickly explained to the newcomers about the last few battles the team had faced, and how each of the battles had made them more and more tired. Weak. If their mental performance wasn't clear, than it rubbed in their physical performance. Tommy had told the two that the teens were struggling a little in school, and they were also falling asleep in class. No one could blame them. They had gone through a lot in the last two years of their high school career. It might as well top the predecessors' lives during theirranger years. And they all knew it must be taking a whole lot more out on Tommy. He was back in suit, with a new set of powers, and he had to mentor the new team, aside from keeping tabs on his wife. There was so much they were feeling, and it was rubbing off every time the team had come back from a battle, heads hung low.

None of their battles were a real clear victory, and they weren't sure how much more they could take of this punishment. They could only go so far before they crack, and who knows what would happen if it came down to that.

Billy and Hayley had been going through repairs on the teams new set of zords. They couldn't figure out how to combine them to make a megazord without it taking a lot out of the rangers. They didn't want to risk trying to energize the zords through the rangers' life force, but it maybe their only hope if it decides to go into scaling-high proportions again. They were still running tests on the Dragon zord and how Tommy could operate it without paying a huge price for it, and were still in the works of creating a brachio zord to hold the other zords in. They were also trying out new weapons that could be efficient in battle, but all were experimental. And they couldn't let the team test the new equipment if they were struggling with their normal lives.

Billy pulled out a device, scanning each of the teens slowly. It began to show the vital signs of each of them as they were transferred over to the main computer console where Hayley was analyzing their status.

"What are you doing, Billy?" Conner asked as his eyes grew slightly heavy.

"Just checking how you guys are doing. Make sure there is no broken bones or how stable your brain wave patterns are," the technical director said simply.

Hayley looked over their vitals. Everything was fine. Heart rate, brain wave patterns, blood pressure. No severe signs of injury. She turned to the teens. "You guys just need to get some rest. A lot of it. We'll let you guys know if we find anything, but for the weekend, just stay home and sleep. That's all we can really say."

"I wouldn't have to disagree to that," Ethan nodded as he slowly got to his feet. His body began to sway a little, and it was evident that the last battle had left them all dehydrated, too.

"And drink plenty of fluids," a voice from the stairs echoed through the room as the team saw the medical doctor return. Adam pulled out a set of small vials, handing each of the teens one. "Here, drop a few drops of these into something hot and it should soothe you. Mostly, it should relax your spirit and allow you to sleep better."

"How's Coach, Adam?" Kira asked cautiously.

"She'll be fine, but that last battle took a lot out of her. And even though you were in Kim's body, Kira, I'm growing a little worried about their baby. Kim's been under a lot of stress lately, especially since Mindshatter showed up. Another loss could put even more stress on her because of how Tommy is feeling," Adam said sincerely.

The team fell silent, the news hurting them more. They all knew if something like a miscarriage would occur, it would shatter the legendary ranger and his wife to the point of no possible repair. They didn't want to see that, or couldn't imagine the heartbreak, since they were all really one huge family. Whatever happened to them, it did effect the entire team. And eventually word would get out to their other ranger brothers and sisters, and it would crush them too.

"Oh man, I can't begin to imagine what would happen if Kim had a miscarriage," Rocky shook his head.

"Let's just try not to think about that too much. We all need to get out of here and give those two some space. And we're all needing to get some rest," Adam directed everyone out of the lab. "Doctor's orders. But I ask each of you to put aside any possible ranger business and try to enjoy the next few days as normal people."

"Meaning?" Ethan asked.

"Hand over the dino gems," Adam said simply as he moved to the briefcase on the distant desk. He pulled out the other that was set for the DT morphers. He placed his zeonizer back into the box as Rocky and Tanya followed, slightly unsure of his gesture.

"Is this a good idea?" Kira asked as she rubbed her wrist, freeing the bracelet that she never seemed to take off. She put it in its place in the metal case.

"Trust me, it's the best solution I have for this right now. Mindshatter won't strike for another few days. He has to cope with another failure just like any other evil being for a few days," Adam nodded. "So, I am requesting, as a doctor, to each of you, no ranger business for a few days."

Ethan and Trent exchanged a look before placing their morphers in the box. They had to trust him on this as they took a step back, reluctantly agreeing to his statement.

Everyone turned to look at Conner, who was the most hesitant to follow up on the request.

"Are you sure about this, Adam?" Conner asked quietly.

Adam nodded slowly. "I'm sure. Don't worry. I'll lock these up in the vault Tommy has hidden by the main computer console. They're not going anywhere. Just try to go about life as a normal teen, that's all I ask."

Conner nodded slowly as he finally coughed up his bracelet and placed it into the metal case. Adam sealed the cases shut, locking them shut and entered a code to seal them even more. The team slowly moved to watch him take the cases over to the vault hidden behind one of the main hard drives of the lab. He placed them in the vault, sealed it shut and entered in a code on the computer, securing the powers of the rangers.

"All set. No one is going anywhere near those unless they are a ranger themselves," Adam said firmly as he turned back to the team.

The team could say no more as they all packed up and headed out of the forest exit out of the lab and onto their normal lives. But in the back of each of their minds, they knew they would have to find a way to get rid of Mindshatter and all the stress he had left on the team. They could only hope they could do it sooner than later.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Whoo! A lot has happened. Give me a break when it comes to updating, but I will try to make it better. I love this tension and suspense I'm putting on you guys. I'll tell you this, be prepared to see the return of some old ranger friends. The war is only beginning, and it'll be unlike anything the rangers have faced in all their years as a ranger. See you when I do. Hit me with a review. Later dayz. Isang diwa. Isang mahal. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	18. Having Doubts

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART EIGHTEEN: HAVING DOUBTS_** (PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: After the last battle, Tommy reflects on all that has happened with Mindshatter and the painful thoughts about losing his one true love. Can he overcome them and win the war against their toughest challenge yet?_

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Power Rangers, I only own the power of this story and how it works around the characters of the PR world. I do own property of Mindshatter, Dinoshade and the Cybots, so if you don't like it, you just gotta deal. You're sitting there reading this anyway. I really do hope you've enjoyed your stay in my world. 'Cuz you're gonna be gearing up for a whole lot more surprises._

_A/N: This was one chapter that wasn't in the original script, but I figured I would add it in since it needs to be discussed. We haven't seen much of the whole husband/wife thing among Tommy and Kim, and I think it's gotten rather serious since that last battle. I hope you like it. Catch you on the flip side. Leave behind a review and I'll see you when I do._

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_"After all these years of living in fear of never ever seeing you again, I thought it would scar me forever. But with all that has happened since you have returned, I do not think I have ever been so scared for you. For us, as a couple, and now as husband and wife. I do not know how much more I can take knowing I may lose you in the end. Nothing could ever heal the scars I will have if I lose you." -Eclyptyk Neo_  
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Later that evening.

Kim had been tucked away in the bed as Tommy returned with a fresh cup of tea for her. He didn't oppose for feeling like her servant at this point, he just had other things on his mind. It was evident in how he stood, came and went through the room almost like a mindless zombie. It scared Kim a little to find him in that state of mind.

She called out to him quietly before he had a chance to leave the room again. "Tommy?"

Tommy stopped, letting out a breath before turning to look at his wife sitting on the bed. "What's up, Beautiful?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could tell me that," she said with great concern. "I know that look in your eyes, Handsome. There is something wrong. Tell me what it is."

Tommy sighed as he moved around to the other side of the room.

He pulled the curtains aside as he looked at the moonlit night. The sky was clear and calm. The air outside was cool and refreshing as he slowly pushed the window open. He took a deep breath, sucking in the cool air into his lungs as he felt the arms of his wife wrap around him.

"Tommy, please. Tell me what's wrong," Kim whispered as he laid her head on his back, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

Tommy leaned against the window, palms flat on the cool shelf along the window. He looked back out into the sky, into the woods. The images of the last battle played through his mind. When, stuck in Trent's body wearing the white DT suit, he grabbed the device and within seconds was thrown to the ground and watched as the yellow DT ranger, his wife at the time, take the blow for him. He could recall the moments after that, nearly a blur. But a rage unlike any he could begin to describe, except during his evil reign. He felt it run through every vein as his primary objective was to destroy anyone he thought was a threat. His body shook with fear, but the rage felt great. It gave him the boost of energy to take out both Dinoshade and Mesogog with ease.

But where he thought this rage would end, it hadn't. He still felt it inside him just wanting to take control again. And as he jerked his head to push away the images of the last battle, the images of him in his zord took place. The battle with the zords that could have ended more tragically. And finally, their first battle with the cybots and Dinoshade and how he forced Kim into hiding. And looking at a huge loss for the team. Again, he felt his blood boil, but as he felt the weight of his wife rest up on him, it slowly went away.

He forced out another breath as the images left him and he looked out into the beauty of the calm night. He slowly turned around, pulling Kim into a hug. She had melted into his chest as tears streaked her face. He knew she was worried about him, and that's not what she wanted. She couldn't be put under stress, not after hearing the news that she is in the stages of a miscarriage.

Tommy leaned over the small petite woman in his embrace, laying a few kisses on her head. "Thank you, Beautiful."

Kim wiped her tears and looked up into the alert falcon eyes of her lover. "For what?"

"For being here. Without you, I don't think I could ever make it through this," he whispered as they began to rock back and forth, still locked in each other's embrace.

"I know I shouldn't, but I am a little worried about you, baby," Kim said as she push her ear into his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, beating slightly faster than need be. And she knew it wasn't for the fact they were really close. It was something else.

Tommy pulled her back, looking down into her honey-brown eyes, she had looked up into his. "I won't lie to you, Kim. But ever since Mindshatter showed up, I have never been so scared of being a ranger. He has definitely been our toughest challenge yet, and now that he, somehow, resurrected Mesogog, we got a lot more to deal with than we might be capable of holding onto. I just don't know if we can handle it."

"You're strong, Tommy. You're tough. I would have thought that going through some military training would toughen you up," she smiled, hoping to lighten the mood.

Tommy looked away. He had to admit that he had gotten a lot more serious about what he did due to his time spent in the Army, or more the Army National Guard. He never said that he was retired though, just not active. He knew that Kim was trying to cheer him up, and that what he was trying to accept it, but it was so hard. There was so much that needed to be done, and Kim was trying to do what Adam had requested. He had to cater to her, and only her. "Don't get me wrong, Beautiful, it did. It's just how can someone continue with something as saving the world if in the last few battles we've had, we haven't had a clear victory? It makes me feel like we aren't doing enough."

Kim stood up taller as she pushed her lips against his. For a moment, the sparks had lit once their lips met, but as she had parted his lips and deepened the kiss, all thoughts were scrambled and unclear. The only thing that mattered was to cherish the moment in which they could enjoy each other's company. Explore into the depths of each other as the kiss had continued, Kim planted Tommy on the wall.

The minutes seemed slow around them as they began to struggle for air. Slowly, but sincerely, Tommy had pulled away long enough to catch his breath. He hadn't realize he had pulled her so close to him during their exploration that he could feel their hearts racing, almost as one.

Their eyes met again, as they searched through the other's soul. In words they could only keep to themselves, they could see into the other's thoughts and feelings. They could feel the sparks of how and why they had chosen the other to continue their life with for eternity.

Tommy had leaned over to lay another kiss on his wife's lips. With a hand wrapped around the back of his neck, she pulled him down closer to her lips. They shared a few quick kisses as she smiled against his lips. And he couldn't help but smile back as he pulled her into another warm, wet, passionate kiss.

Like before, it had them searching and exploring the other. In turn, they each let out a set of moans and groans that seemed to trigger the spot only their lover could hit.

After a good few minutes had passed, Tommy broke the kiss again catching his breath. He slowly opened his eyes as Kim's eyes fluttered open, and she knew at that point, he could/would bear all he needed to say to her.

She took his hands into hers and backtracked toward the bed. Slowly he followed. And as they got settled into the comfort of the bed, she melted into his side, running her hands through his spiked hair.

For a long time, no words could be spoken. Only being in the company of the other gave them reason to stay silent. Tommy wrapped his strong, protective arms around his wife, laying a kiss on her head.

"I have to admit, out of all the times we've had some close calls, this one had to have been the closest," Tommy finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "I never felt so scared for you, Kim. I seriously thought I'd lose you forever."

When the words had escaped his mouth, Kim felt the tears welt in her eyes. "I could almost agree." she sat up, looking away as she tried to re-collect the last few hours of their day. "I thought I would never open my eyes after that last hit. I don't know, but before that hit, I fell into a trance. It felt like I wasn't even in a body, just a free spirit in the vastness of space alongside Kira. I don't know how to really describe it. I could hear voices. Your voice and the others. Kira and me were just talking, and then we saw two lights. Pink and yellow. I had followed the pink and she had followed the yellow. And when my eyes opened, I saw you looming over me in the comfort of the living room."

Tommy sat up and looked over at his wife. The words stuck in his head, but it didn't seem to make much sense to him. But that didn't matter now. "You're alive. And that's all that should really matter to me. No more of this nightmare."

"You're alive, too," she turned to look at him. She melted back into his embrace as his arms locked around her.

"About those minutes following the break of the curse," Tommy began. He closed his eyes, as he forced air into his lungs. He saw the painful images of him catching the device, getting pulled aside and watched as his teammate/lover had taken a brutal beating. He felt the stream of rage run through him as his arm began to shake. "I feel it. A new type of rage. Energizing. Almost as if it is the only means for me to ever defeat these guys. I don't want it to, though. It shouldn't be it. I just..."

Kim had put a finger to his lips. "Shhh! I know you're scared. I have to admit, I can feel your rage, too as if it was second nature to me. But you're stronger than it, and you know that no matter what, light will always break the dark."

Tommy nodded slowly as he found his hand rest on Kim's stomach. Kim had noticed the gesture and placed her hand above it, their eyes fell on it. "I don't want you to worry about me, Kim. As much as you should, you can't. Not in your condition."

"I don't want you to take all these risks though," she said quietly as she looked up.

Tommy looked into her eyes, leaning over and laid a kiss on her lips. "I'm all about taking risks, Beautiful. But for your sake, I could just put up my suit and cater to you like Adam said."

Kim shook her head. "Don't try to pick sides about this, Tommy. I know how much you're still needed in helping the team..."

"But you should be my first priority. You're my wife," he protested, his voice rising slightly.

"And you also got a job to do about saving and protecting the world. Who else is gonna be there to guide the teens? They need someone who knows the game well. And they've grown rather close to you as a mentor. A friend. And a teacher."

"Yeah, until the school board decided to enforce that stupid rule about students and teachers creating as much as a little friendship outside the classroom. Now, as teachers, we have to be careful about what we do with our students. Stupid ass school board. You got that memo regarding that, didn't you?" Tommy shook his head, scoffing. He could recall a few days ago, a new policy going into major effect at school regarding what was okay for a student to do with their teacher outside of class. Even a simple gesture as offering a ride home after practice or a little tutor time at the library was being looked into.

"Yeah, I did. And personally, I think it's bull," Kim nodded with a little smile. She had to agree with him. The tone in his voice made it clear that he didn't like that rule all too much. "But, what we're doing for the teens is helping them out. They are getting the best sorta advice about what they do."

"Besides, outside of class I do consider myself more of their mentor. Someone does have to keep them in shape and make sure they are getting the most out of their 'after school' activities."

"The school board just got most strict since we lost Principal Randall."

"Just glad we don't have to deal with that witch. I mean, nothing personal to Elsa or anything, of course not. It's just ever since the curse was broken she's a whole different person. She remembers everything, and she wants to try and forget all that stuff. I don't blame her. But she's really kept us in line, both as Randall and as Santos. I'm kinda glad that we have someone like that keeping an eye out."

Kim nodded as another smile passed her lips. "I don't think I could really think of anyone else that would be able to pull it off like her. I give her a lot of credit for all she does for us as a school."

Tommy had to agree with her. He had given more respect to Elsa now that her status as a principal was under constant check. But she made sure that things got done and lead the school in disciplinary action towards troublemakers.

Again it fell silent as Tommy pulled Kim closer to him, his hands planted firmly on her stomach. They sat there encased in each others embrace, enjoying the silence that followed.

"I know it's too early to tell, or possibly ask, but have you looked into what name we shall give to our child?" Tommy whispered into her ear as he laid a kiss on her shoulder.

"Actually, I have thought about that. I kinda thought it would be nice to name him David, if it turns out to be a boy. Or if it was a girl, Arianna. Yet, you know how girls can be. We are very undecided about things," she shrugged.

Tommy laughed. "I like the names. They're nice. But there is that thing that leads to insecurity if you're always undecided."

Kim felt offended by his statement, turning to slap him in the shoulder. "Tommy!"

"I'm kidding, baby. I'm sorry. But sometimes, you women can be so insecure, or dramatic, about what goes on in your life it's something us guys can't help but not care about," he shrugged, catching her wrists before she could hit him again.

"Ever heard of the phrase, 'When women get mad or upset they go shopping, and when men get mad or upset they go to war.' Yeah, what is it with men always having to be the knight in shining armor? Or wanting to rule a country all to yourselves? Or swinging that dick around like it's your only means of conversation with a women?" she countered, a giggle passing her lips.

Tommy was appalled by her last statement, grabbing his chest and gasping for air. He mocked her back, with a smile. "I'm hurt. Talking about my fellow brothers out there who is just trying to do their job. Besides, does it hurt for some guys to be charming?"

"Or be complete assholes?" 

"Yes, there are a good number of them out there, including me at times. But even you gotta get down on your knees and be rewarded for dealing with a guy like me."

"Yet, it's so easy to bend you to my whim," she countered, her voice in a velvet tone.

"Only 'cuz I know with a body like yours we can do wonders." he leaned into her, teasing her with a heated breath.

"Like now?" she asked quietly, blowing a warm breath his way.

"But first," he said slowly as he pulled open the side drawer. He pulled out a small container of Altoids, opening it up for her. "Breath mint?"

"Thomas!" Kim smacked him in the shoulder as he laughed, tossing the container back on the table. He wrapped his arms around her, but as he tried to kiss her, he pushed his lips away. "Do you want to sleep on the couch?"

"That's harsh. And you know you can't make me sleep on the couch. You'd miss me too damn much."

"One night wouldn't do no harm." she shrugged.

"Not if it's doctor's orders to cater to your every commanding wish," he countered, feeling the serious tone in her voice.

"Since you put it that way..." she thought for a moment. She pulled herself closer to her husband, laying a few kisses on his lips. "We're both pretty stressed... I think a little relaxation in the tub could suffice for now."

"Oh, but we're already cuddled up in bed," he whined as he slowly moved off the bed, still having Kim locked in his arms.

"You don't want me to give you a nice scrub down?" she whispered into his ear. The heated breath sent chills down his spine.

As much as he would try to resist her beauty and charm, there were times he would fail. And he knew that at a time like this, something like a nice bubble bath together wouldn't do no harm. He got to his feet and slowly moved into the bathroom.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: I'll see you next chapter. I'm kinda lost in other thoughts at the moment, so give me a break, please. I am sorry about the status of being extremely behind. But, you'll get by. I'll see you in the lime light. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	19. Ditching Town

**'TIL I COLLAPSE **-**_ PART NINETEEN: DITCHING TOWN _**(PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Members of the Yearbook Staff make a startling discovery about their former editor that has anger raging beyond description._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I just own this adventure and the series this connects to. If you haven't read my past work better fall back and look back on those. I also own the property of those evil guys destroying the lives of the rangers, just to let all ya'll know._

_A/N: This is, in fact, based on a true story, and I really wanted to put it in because it did piss me and my fellow Yearbook Staff members. It may be out of the blue, but I figured I'd put a few random chapters in to compensate for the other chapters of the story. So, enjoy and tell me what you think. I also want to welcome in the newbies to the story. I thank you for putting up with me and I hope ya'll enjoy your stay here. I also want to thank some of you guys for your reviews. Without them, this may not have gotten this far either. Thanks again, __and onto the adventures of the DT team._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"I will say this. Do not settle down unless you know you really want to. You got your entire life to look into it. Just be careful how you decide to settle down. Regret is one of the hardest things to overcome." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Days later.

In the days after their last battle, the teens had gotten more done then they had in weeks. It was rather scary, but sorta upsetting. They had to admit it was hard to look beyond it and not begin to think about Mindshatter, but they somehow got by.

Adam agreed to stay on for a few weeks and keep the progress of the team in check. Rocky and Tanya, as much as wanting to, didn't. They had to get back to their normal lives, but they would stop by whenever the team needed an extra set of hands. No one blamed them when they hadn't been in suit for nearly nine years now, to officially call it coming back.

But even if the ranger thing had been pushed aside, it was still locked away in the back of their minds. They were in search of finding more answers to this, especially the technical directors. But it was more of getting the okay from the medical doctor to file back into the limelight of going back on active duty.

And he hadn't given them the okay at all. He kept his options open for anything out of the ordinary, but he was probably the more focused around the situation. He made sure the team had been following up on his requests. They had, very slowly, but more then they had in the passed few weeks.

Kira and Trent had been spending more time together, their relationship becoming more evident to people at school. But it still seemed to be in the early stages, if anything at all. There were no simple gestures as a hug, holding hands or possibly a kiss. But that's only because they did it on their own time when it was just them. They didn't need others to butt into their business, and it was understandable to their round of friends.

Ethan had gotten back with his hip-hop roots, showing off in the gym some moves at lunch. Many weren't convinced he had anything going for him, and when battles went down, it was a big deal to anyone in the gym. He still would occasionally hang out with his computer club crew, and his popularity was slowly increasing. More girls had noticed him now, shocked to find a guy of his intellect into such a thing as dancing or computer gaming. But he still wasn't up for a relationship or attempting to create one. He was still trying to bridge the gap for his own needs, not that he was trying to be selfish. He just had to keep his eyes open for things his comrades may not see, as Adam had put it.

Conner and Krista had gone back to their daily routines of hanging out. And if one could say, a few people could get sicken by their public display of affection (PDA) a few times. But that didn't seem to be too much of a bother to them. Conner had to admit, he was glad to be back in his own body before his little date with Krista. He feared that Ethan would have done something wrong, and like always, when he was with her nothing else really seemed to matter.

Tommy and Kim had been more cautious about the stress that came with teaching. It was more evident in Tommy for not issuing out huge amounts of homework to his students. They were relieved, especially the seniors. Kim had taken it a little more easier around the house, and gotten used to Tommy doing quite a bit of pampering to her needs, no matter how much effort went into it.

But that was the thing. In the few days that passed since their last battle, things were feeling almost normal. They were nearly living a life without being a ranger. It was sorta scary, but somehow relieving. It was one of those times they had to cherish.

Trent had gone to school early that day, January 26th, 2005, to get a pass from Ms. Obie, the Yearbook Advisor, to complete his work for the upcoming deadline.

"Not that Dr. O would have anything for me to do 2nd hour like always," he told himself as he walked into the English hall. He had gotten used to not doing a lot for his science teacher. It was merely a study hall in a science room. And he somehow managed to get more work done there than he ever could in the regular study hall setting.

He walked into Ms. Obie's classroom, realizing no one was there. Aside from yearbook, she was an English teacher at the school. And if anyone knew her, she was two different people when it came to making the yearbook for the year and teaching an English class. But she was cool. Much like Dr. Oliver, a person to talk to, more so gossip to, about their problems.

Yet, Yearbook was a whole other story. And compared to what work was done in the previous year, a lot more changes had occurred. They had an editor-in-chief who had graduated at semester who could almost pass as the female version of Hitler. She was a dictator, which would fire up rage in the other members, but only so few would challenge her about it. They were glad she was gone. Things had settled down. They just had to worry about the other editor-in-chief, which at times followed in her footsteps. But it was a very dramatic class. Things would be said or done there not seen in other classes. And in the times that Dr. Oliver would come by and help, he got a whole lot more than he expected from them. But he loved to help out where he needed and see the progress of the work the staff had done to remember the year.

Trent collapsed on a desk, waiting for the Yearbook Advisor, figuring she should be back soon enough. He looked around the room. Though he hadn't had her as an English teacher, he could tell by the set up in her room things were different from her two objectives at the school. Not that it was a bad thing, he was just surprised that there was a huge gap between the two.

Time passed slowly. And still no teacher. He knew it would never take this long to get things done and be back, even though she didn't have a class to teach first hour. He had to get to class, and he knew that Dr. Oliver didn't have the key to the Yearbook room.

He paced the room as he heard the warning bell ring. "Five minutes, and still no teacher. C'mon, Ms. Obie, where you at?"

He peered out into the hall as he watched people head to class. It was always easy to distinguish who was an underclassmen and who wasn't by who rushed to class. Upperclassmen didn't care too much. They were in no rush to get to class. They've already gone through eleven+ of school, and they were just wanting to get out of there. Especially the senior class.

Time passed. Still no teacher.

Okay, something must be up if she hasn't returned by now. He thought to himself. He figured he could skip out on it today, but this deadline was, in fact, the following week, and he just wanted to chill by week's end. He wanted to get his page done

"Hey, Trent," a voice had greeted him from behind as he nearly jumped out of his skin.

But as he turned around, he relaxed realizing it was only Kira.

He let out a breath as he light smile passed his lips. "What's up, Kira? How are you?" he asked.

Kira shrugged. As much as putting up the morpher had done a lot to the psyche of the team, she was probably having the worst sinking feeling about it next to Conner. But with Trent, he managed to relay all thoughts about it. "I'm fine. But shouldn't you be heading off to class now? I mean, Dr. O can be cranky sometimes if people are late."

"I would, but I gotta get my work done for yearbook. But Ms. Obie isn't in her classroom. And Dr. O doesn't even have a key to the Yearbook room, so I can't bug him," Trent sighed as he looked through the hall hoping to see his teacher in the mist of people. But still, she was not in sight. "And I know she is here because her stuff is in the room."

"Well, you did mention that she can get pretty wired about yearbook. And don't you guys got a deadline coming up?"

Trent nodded. "Yeah, we do. But she doesn't flip out all the time, or is gone this long. And sometimes, yearbook can stress a person out to nightmares. But things have been pretty calm since Nicole graduated."

"Yeah, no one really liked her anyway," Kira sneered shaking her head. "I can't believe she got editor-in-chief over you."

"Yeah, maybe it was because I came a few months later last year. So, I didn't have full advantage over the spot. And I did so much for them last year. Taking pictures, review people's pages. I don't know." Trent sighed as he shrugged.

He was a great addition to the yearbook staff. But he didn't actually come into school until a month or so after the first day of classes. He was constantly keeping people in check during his time in yearbook, but since Christmas hit, he was sorta slacking just a little, but presented one of the best set of pages a few staff members could get jealous at. He knew the odds and ends of the computer work, cropping pictures, and anything to make a good yearbook, but he had been over looked during the end of last year, because he didn't have a page and he was just hanging out in class. He had gotten over the dictatorship of the past year, but still upset he couldn't hold the position as editor-in-chief. It would have gone more smoothly if he had taken up the position. But past is past.

And Kira had Nicole in class, in Speech class last semester, and she would always put up an act that everyone knew was fake. She was merely a suck-up who wasn't afraid to spray her life story on the side of a building. And if need be, she could go into detail about it. Most of the popular people were interested in it, but for the many who just didn't care, literally didn't care and wanted to strangle her neck. Kira looked around the hall, realizing no one was really left. "Um..I should go before Mr. Rodriguez flips out about me being tardy. See you later?"

Trent nodded again as a smile passed his lips, again. "Yeah, I'll see you when I do."

They had said good-bye and Kira raced down the hall to her classroom. Trent slowly moved back into the classroom, figuring Ms. Obie should return before Channel One would be over. He wanted to get this page done. He just needed a break and relax.

Time passed. Not that he was used to watching the school news on a TV in the English hall, it was sorta weird sitting there alone. He knew the policy around students being in a room left unattended, and he hoped he wouldn't get caught. That was the last thing he needed to deal with, an administrator riding his ass for failing to follow rules.

Then he heard footsteps, boots clanking to the ground in the hall, he could only conclude belonging to one person. His Yearbook Advisor. He slowly got to his feet, walking over to her desk as she walked into the room.

She was a few years older than Dr. Oliver, her third year of teaching at the high school. And though the typical stereotype of being a blonde considered her dumb, she really wasn't. She was a person anyone could talk to, if they were willing to give her a chance. And that was the thing, the yearbook staff were the only ones who really saw her any other way. It wasn't a bad things, just something unique.

She rubbed her forehead as she noticed the visitor in her room. It was clear that something was bothering her, and the concern on the teen's face grew with worry. She greeted him with a smile, making one conclusion to why he was there. To get a pass to work on his page for yearbook. "Lemme guess, Trent. You need a pass to go work on your page?"

Trent nodded as he knocked absently on the side of her desk. He looked at her again, unsure what to make of the way she stood. Something happened, and he wanted to know what. "Ms. Obie, is everything okay?"

She signed the pass and handed it over to Trent. She sighed, rubbing her forehead before looking up at the teen. It was evident in her eyes that she had wanted to cry, but a rage stood there, too. "I just had to take care of some big yearbook business."

"Anything I should know about?" he asked slightly hesitant.

"All you need to know is that it has to do with one of the members on the staff, and what she did. But, I would rather tell you guys as a whole. Do you think you can give Dr. Oliver the head's up? I want him to hear this, too," she said calmly.

The teen nodded, but was really worried about the teacher's state of mind. Something did, in fact, happened, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. He just hoped that it wasn't anything too extreme.

The teacher wrote him another pass to get him back to class. He had wished her a good day, hoping to see she will be a little better by yearbook, but he doubted it. Not by the way she had looked and acted toward him right now. It wasn't like her, even for a bad day.

He slowly headed back to class, thinking to himself. He wondered what was up, and knew he would have to give Dr. O the head's up about coming by the yearbook room for the day.

As the door opened to Dr. O's room, eyes averted from the TV to the person who stepped into the room. Trent felt all eyes on him, except his teacher, as he moved toward the teacher's desk. He set the pass beside the teacher.

Dr. Oliver peered from his work on the laptop to the note. He peered over at Trent, eyebrows raised. "Gonna go work on your page for yearbook?"

Trent nodded. "Just so I can relax for awhile. But something is up."

Dr. Oliver turned to looked at his student furrowing his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Trent could only shrug. "I don't know. Ms. Obie just wasn't looking like herself today. She said she needs to tell us something as a whole. Think you can stop by?"

The science teacher nodded, looking over at the board to see what his Geology class was doing. They were just watching a movie on glacial activity around the world. "Yeah. Do you have any idea what it's about?"

Trent shook his head. "As far as I could tell, it has to do with one of the members in yearbook."

They looked at each other and shrugged. Trent slowly turned and headed to his seat. But he was still wondering what was bothering his yearbook advisor. And now, he knew his science teacher would be the same way, and would probably talk to Ms. Obie regarding the issue before class.

Hours later.

Most of the teachers who didn't have a fifth hour class were usually seen leaving campus to go eat out. Since, the issues regarding possible monster attacks, or threats, Reefside High went from an open campus to closed campus. Not many students left unless they had the right to for elementary assistant, work, class off-campus or just no class.

And as much news that had gone around regarding the recent marriage of two staff members at Reefside High, Dr. Oliver and Coach Hart-Oliver, they were never seen hanging around each other much on school grounds. They were always busy doing other things regarding their department or club they were associated with.

Dr. Oliver was just returning from a little lunch-in at Sonic as he strolled into the English Hall to the main office to sign back in. He held a strawberry shake in hand, a small black slingbag with some school work on his back, as he continued on. But as he rounded the corner, one of the English teacher's strolled into the hall to close the door, noticing the science teacher. It was Ms. Obie.

She greeted him with a smile as he nodded a greeting. "Hey, Dr. Oliver. Got a minute?"

Dr. Oliver nodded as he took a drink of the shake, stopping to make small conversation with the yearbook advisor. "I hear from Trent that something happened in yearbook. Mind giving me the head's up?"

She nodded slowly as a line of emptiness, anger and sadness fell over her. She looked away for a moment then turned to look at the science teacher again. "It's kinda hard to say without saying so much. I would rather wait until we can all hear it. But I will say it has something to do with a certain graduate from the staff."

Dr. Oliver thought for a moment, thinking back to the few members who graduated at semester in the class. And the only one that stuck out was the one person who had some charge on how the yearbook was being created, the editor. He nodded slowly, looking at the silent woman in front of him. "Is everything okay?"

"For the most part. Anika and I took care of it," she said, but it was clear that there was something more there. Her eyes glistened with what looked like the start of tears.

The science teacher nodded slowly, taking her word. "That's good. But, hey, I should let you go back and teach your class. Are you sure you're okay?"

The English teacher nodded as she wiped away the pools of tears forming in her eyes. "I'll be fine. I just want you to come down and hear the news, too. As little as you maybe around, you've also helped in creating the yearbook for this year. And you could give your own advice regarding it."

Dr. Oliver nodded again, said he would be down there and slowly left. He had quickly checked into the main office and headed over to the gym to talk to his wife. He walked passed the students using the gym during the late hour, some greeting him as he passed to the hall where the P.E. teachers had their offices. Some jeered him, making the assumption that he was there for something more than to see his wife.

He let it go as he walked into the distant hall. He felt slightly jealous that she had gotten sorta the star treatment for her work in the Olympics. She had gotten the best office in the P.E. department, which connected to the locker rooms by means of another line of halls. It hadn't quite been given the feel for a female teacher to use, but she still managed to make it her own with pictures of friends and family. There was a small basketball wastebasket located on the far end of the room. A few file cabinets and a few rewards and trophies hidden behind a glass case on another side of the room. There was also a couch in the room. And it even had its own working shower and toilet, which had been used a few times in the late hours or early morning hours of the day. And it was clear between both Kim and Tommy that whatever happened in that room stayed in there.

He peered into the glass frame on the door, seeing Kim sitting at her desk working on the computer. He knocked quietly before opening the door and stepping in. "Hey, you."

Kim smiled lightly as he walked over to lay a kiss on her lips, rubbing her shoulders. "What are you doing here? And you didn't get me anything to eat?"

"Hey, I offered, but you didn't want anything," he shrugged as he took another sip of his drink. He moved over to the couch and sat down.

Kim glared at him as she moved from the desk over to his lap. Though she was rather light compared to him, she rammed into him, making him wince. And with a baby on the way, it was another thing coming. "No. I said I didn't want you to go through the trouble, but thought it would be nice if we had lunch together."

"How about dessert instead?" he suggested as he moved a line of hair away from her neck, laying a few kisses on her neck.

She giggled under his touch, but pushed him away shaking her head. "Lemme guess, you want me to watch your class today while you go to the Yearbook room? That's usually the reason why you always come to see me 5th hour."

He smiled lightly, chuckling. "Yeah, basically. We got another deadline comine up. I just got to make sure everything is all set before we send it off."

She nodded, but it seemed like she wasn't up for doing it. But she knew she couldn't say no to him when he was just as much an important part to capturing the year's memories as anyone else on the yearbook staff. "You're welcome, Handsome."

"Thanks, Beautiful," he met her mocked tone. He pulled the slingbag from behind him and opened it up to pull out a bag full of food. Kim smiled happily as she pulled open the bag and pulled out a burger to eat. "Now, you know I was kidding when it came to getting you something to eat. Besides, aren't I supposed to be getting used to your strange cravings?"

She gave him a mock glare before stuffing a few tater tots in his mouth. "I am tired of you making all these pregnancy jokes, Tommy. Stop teasing me."

"Yeah, but it's gotten you off all this stress, just like Adam said. And speaking of that, he said we might actually get to go back to wearing our communicators by the end of the week."

"Yeah, just remember that you won't want to mess with me farther down the line. I hear these hormones could be quite fiery. And remember, you contributed to this. You said you wanted kids," she shot back.

He held up his hands, holding an innocent look. "Did I say that? Maybe back in high school, but now it's kinda hard to pull off. I mean, with all that's happened..."

She gave him a look, stopping him short of what he had to say. "Don't give me that bull. You said after that last battle with Mesogog months ago, you could handle anything. You even joked about saying a kid would be easier to raise than going on somesuicide mission to protect the planet."

"Did I say that?" he breathed, but knew she was right. He had said that as much as he had wanted to forget about that joke. He knew now he had to be careful about saying things around his wife because she had a sharp mind like a computer. She could remember things, almost to the littlest detail if she wanted to. And when she had looked at him again, he knew he couldn't win the conversation. "All right. All right. You're right, Kim. I did say that."

She smiled brightly, taking his drink before he could take another sip. She took a drink, teasing him with it, licking the straw before sipping it again.

"Now you're just making fun of me," he took the drink back before she could do anymore damage to his psyche. "But I should go. I need to get a few things done before my AP Bio class."

"Why? Not up for dessert?" she matched his wit about his earlier thoughts.

He managed a sly smile, but shook his head. With the few times they might have slipped a quickie on the couch or whatever they could concoct, they still were serious about their jobs as teachers. And it was only fair that they kept their love life out of their profession as teachers in fear of getting caught. He got to his feet and placed a quick kiss on her lips. "Maybe later. I gotta go. Just don't forget."

"7th hour. I watch your class. Got it," she nodded, before pulling him down by his collar for another kiss. "Love you, Handsome."

"Love you too, Beautiful. I'll see you later." he turned and headed for the day, saying one last good-bye.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

7th hour.

It was the moment of truth. It was that time of day where both Dr. Oliver and Trent had wondered what was bothering the yearbook advisor's mind. And if word hadn't spread to the other members, they were just as anxious to hear the news, too.

The students were slowly filing into the room located in the basement area of the cafeteria. It wasn't a bad place to be as long as the job was getting done. Dr. Oliver had headed down there straight after 6th hour, hoping to get more answers before everyone else, but it was clear he didn't. He sat on the metal stool in the front of the room with Ms. Obie. He was more quiet than usual, though, everyone had greeted him with a simple handshake or not.

Though he was no genius with computers, he knew the odds and ends to what must be done and should be done to make it an effective yearbook. Either way, no one of them was any less important than the other, even if there were the few that set ranks for who knew better. But somehow they got by.

The bell rang and though class had started, it was hard to get started when the students had their own conversations going.

Ms. Obie called out to them, telling them to stop all work and avert their attention to her at the front. But only a few did.

"Guys, settle down," Dr. Oliver called out, as the room slowly fell silent.

Moments passed slowly as the students slowly put down their things and stopped their conversations. They turned to look at their teachers, waiting to see what was up. And by the looks on Ms. Obie's face, they knew they had something to worry about.

"So, what's up, Ms. Obie?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah, I hear that something is up," John nodded.

"Something is up," Anika said mostly under her breath.

Some of her classmates looked at her with raised eyebrows as they turned back to their yearbook advisor.

Ms. Obie took a breath before looking up to meet the eager and concern looks on her students' faces. "As you're all aware, one of our editors has graduated at semester, and most of the hard work has been put on Anika. And she has really done a lot for you guys since Nicole left. But just yesterday we made a startling discovery. Several of the pages -- the baby pages, actually -- were still found in the brown dividers over in the corner of the room..." she started.

"Wait, I thought those were supposed to be sent out last year," Trent called out slightly confused.

"They were, but someone failed to send them in," Ms. Obie nodded.

"Nicole," some of the other students could conclude in a growl.

"And that's not all," Anika spoke slowly.

"The pages were all set to be sent before Christmas Break, but they've been sitting in there for nearly two months now. And we almost couldn't find some of those baby pictures. We tore this whole room apart last night just trying to find them. And many words were exchanged that I never would have thought came out of my or Anika's mouth. Luckily, none of them were lost. We found them all. Thank god. And I would have hated to have called parents to tell them we lost their baby pictures or we would have to refund all that money to those that lost a picture. And Trent, you would have been one of them," the yearbook advisor spoke.

Trent looked away for a moment, a line of hurt and anger ran through him. Lucky, they did find the picture, but if theydidn't there was hell to be paid. And as much as his father wasn't around, if he was he would chew out Nicole with no questions asked.

"So, do we got everything squared away?" Brittany asked.

"We've called the company up and told them the situation. Lucky enough, they will be accepting those pages along with this next deadline with no charge to us," the yearbook advisor nodded.

"We just have a few changes to make. All I ask is for some of you guys to pitch in and help me get it done," Anika spoke from her place at the main computer.

"So, they were just sitting there waiting to be sent and no one sent it?" Cristina furrowed her eyebrows slightly confused.

"No one noticed they were there?" Ms. Obie countered.

The room fell silent as no one seemed to say anything. Yet, it was hard to keep track of pages that have and hadn't been sent considering the little breaks that came between each of them. Yet, after all the chaos of trying to get back on track, it was hard to notice such things as that. And it was a serious issue that they all failed to look into.

"Well, what about Dr. Oliver? I thought you were the guy to make sure that everything was sent," Steve countered.

"I'm hardly down here. Sometimes, I can't come down because technically speaking, I have a class to teach this hour. Besides, I do got other things to worry about. Yearbook isn't the only thing on my agenda," Dr. Oliver sent back, his voice slightly angered, but calm.

"So, where's Nicole now?" Katie asked.

Once she had said that, a line of rage and betrayal fell over the yearbook advisor's face. She forced out another breath as a pool of water began to form in her eyes. "Ya know, Nicole must have done one of the most stupidest things anyone has ever done to me or anyone else." She caught her breath as her voice began to crack. Tears began to form as she tried to force them back. "First off, she failed to send off a butt load of pages, ones that parents had paid for. And second, she hasn't been very much help to us since she graduated when she said she would." She hesitated again hoping to clear away some of the pain. "And lastly, I heard that she had ditched town and went to New Mexico with her ex-fiancé."

Some protesting and chatter fell over the room.

"They got back together?"

"Apparently so," Ms. Obie nodded. "And there is no means of contacting her. She has disconnected her cell phone and her parents don't even know where they have gone. No one does."

"So, they just got up and left?" Cristina couldn't believe her eyes.

"That about sums it up," the yearbook advisor nodded as her voice cracked again. The tears became more evident as they streaked her face, as she wiped them away. "But I want you guys to know something. Never, in all my years as a teacher, have I ever felt more betrayed by anyone than her. She has literally disowned me, and made me look bad as an advisor and teacher. She made you guys look like idiots for ever putting your trust in her. I felt like she had this entire thing plotted against us. She was gonna do this."

"She hated this school as much as dogging us on every little thing we do wrong in this class," Ryan shook his head.

"I say we all go to New Mexico find her and beat her dead," Caleb announced.

Many of the other yearbook members didn't have to disagree. Many of them hated Nicole's guts anyway and it was clear that she had deserted them. Even as editor.

"How are you gonna take a job up like editor and not follow through on it?" Lexy shook her head.

"Well, if I was a Jan. grad, I probably wouldn't want to come back anyway," Dr. Oliver spoke with no real hesitation, sighing. Though he had already had his own senior year, two of them, many of his students were starting to rub on him, getting him into the senioritis mood.

"And that was basically her motive," Ms. Obie had to agree with him. "Somehow, I swear she knew. She probably failed to sent them on purpose just to make us look bad. And personally, I find that to be full of shit." she paused for a moment, seeing a looks on her student's face. But it wasn't like they weren't allowed to cuss in there, they just never herad it much coming from their teachers. "Excuse my crude words."

"Amen to that, Ms. Obie," several students preached.

"So, she plays editor like she loved that job. Loved being a dictator, and then turns her back and backstabs us?" Brittany shook her head in disbelief.

"Man, the only thing she really liked about that job was to tell us what to do," Katie stated.

"Look, you guys," Ms. Obie began as the tears slowly resided. "I don't want you to be like her. You know, get all attached to someone and claim it to be love. That you want to marry this person right out of high school and start a family. But you know what, go to college. See other people and just take a break to find out who you are as a person and what you really want out of life. It's okay to meet other people. Most people meet their significant other in college..."

"Not everyone," Steve blurted out, looking at the science teacher.

Dr. Oliver shook his head. "But I didn't get settled down out of high school. It's been a few years. And she's right. Don't get attached. Go out with other people."

"And he's not saying that as in sleeping around with other people," Ms. Obie defended him as she saw the look on some of the guys' faces. "It's okay to date other people. It gives you more variety. But don't assume that you're ready to say, let's settle down right out of high school. That is far too early. There is so much you still gotta see."

"But somehow some people gotta go back to a past relationship," Steve had to correct.

Dr. Oliver forced out a breath. As many times as he was down there, he could easily get annoyed of Steve. Anyone in the class could because he had put himself at a higher level than everyone else. Many claim it is the money, as the son of a rich guy, and the spoiled factor, but Trent was nowhere compared to him. Trent was more approachable without one fearing what opinion or child-like activity Steve would get into. "This isn't all about me. What we're concerned about, as teachers, is your outcome. Your future. Your place in this world. There is an entire world out there for each of you to look into. Things are different in college, and I can admit those were some years that leaves priceless memories engraved in your mind."

"So, what were you, Dr. Oliver, the party kinda guy?" Caleb laughed.

"Not the point," Ms. Obie stopped the interrogation. "But I just want you guys to know that I really care about you. That's why I decided to help out with this class, because this is the only class in this school that really gives you a first hand experience in the real world. We're like employees of each other and we have deadlines to meet. It is a lot of work, and I thank all of you here for putting in the time and effort to make this yearbook that much more special. I stayed on, even after I threatened to leave, because I was able to meet such an awesome group of people. Sometimes, too dramatic and informative, but sometimes, it's what we need to get something off of our chest."

Some of the members gushed over the comment, some laughed and cracked a joke. But all just to set the mood into something better. After hearing such tragic news as that, they needed a good laugh.

"Hey, is there a way to get rid of all of Nicole's names and work on the yearbook?" John asked.

"It would cost a lot of money. Most of the book has already been published," Ms. Obie stated. "And yearbook isn't exactly one of biggest funding programs at this school. Personally, if she ever comes back, I would strangle her neck for putting us through all this shit. She had a lot of guts doing that to me, let alone to you guys and this school."

"I think we can make it official. Anyone who says the name 'Nicole' should get a huge beat down," Megan stated.

"I'm still up for a manhunt down to New Mexico to find her. We can get a whole bunch of people who despise her anyway," Mike raised a hand in an offer.

The others had to agree as they began to start their own conversations and ideas to seek revenge on their former editor.

"Well, I guess I'm done talking. Guys, get on those computers and get those pages done. You guys only got a week left for it," Ms. Obie called out. "Find something to pass your time, if you don't got anything to do."

And that was it. As painful as the news was, the staff had to move on. They had to prove they were way better than this, and this setback wouldn't crush them completely. But by the look on the yearbook advisor's face, it was clear she was saddened and upset at the outcome of all that's happened.

Dr. Oliver sat there in silence, sucking up the news, and still not believing that a person could stoop so low. Well, he did, he just never thought it could happen now. Not in a part of his life where he had so much to worry about. It was too hard to say anything without saying so much. He was just as upset about the situation. He felt the anger, the rage, the fury. Never once could he admit that he liked Nicole, even though he never had her in class, he didn't want to. She had a big ego that could set up ranks just because that person is so much better than everyone else. She could pass as Cassidy, but worse. Far more worse, trying to make friends where she could, even if the other person didn't like her. She felt like the queen, and others were her servants, even teachers.

Throughout the hour, as personal as that class could be, students would stop and ask questions to their advisors. They were mostly about relationships, marriage, habits. And even the sex life, which was nowhere near the point of what was going on.

But, if they ever say sight of Nicole again, she would be dead before she goes anywhere near that room again. Even on the street, they wouldn't fail. She no longer existed to them, and it was a good thing.

They didn't need her now after what stunts she had pulled against them. Now, it was up to finding out if they could really take out her name from the book. If not, during yearbook distribution, they were all gonna scratch out every bit of her existence in their books.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Whoo, I didn't mean to make it that long. Sorry, but all this dialogue had to get put in. And I won't lie to you. This did happen, or along these lines. It left us all in a state of anger. And I swear, I want to kill our editor for doing that. However, that's not the point. You came here for more PR adventures, so gotta focus on that. Let's just say that's not the only news that Dr. Oliver will hear that will surprise him. See you next chapter. May the Powers Always Protect You All._


	20. Breaking News

**'TIL I COLLAPSE **- **_PART TWENTY: BREAKING NEWS _**(PG-13)  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: In hopes to clear his mind of the recent news, he heads home to fall into the comfort of his wife's arms. But he finds out more startling news that could change the outcome of being a Power Ranger in active status._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I just own this adventure and the series this connects to. If you haven't read "The Reason" or "Ordinary World", you might want to go back and look at those again. But I do own the property of those evil guys destroying the lives of the rangers._

_A/N: Hi! I know what you're thinking after that last chapter, I may be slacking quite a bit. I can admit that I am, I really am sorry about that, but it's so hard. I can't seem to concentrate anymore on anything. Oh man, the weeks just go by, and cruel world, you're pulling me closer and closer to the day I've waited so long for. My high school graduation. But, before I ramble on pulls out stun gun, aims at head and fires ... Now, back to the story. I hope you like my twist._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"I am not entirely surprised of the outcome of that news, I just never would have thought it could happen.  
But maybe I really am too blind to see what is set out in front of me since my mind is on how to protect this planet from destruction. Can it get any worse? I really hope not." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The hours had passed slow. Though, the next deadline for yearbook didn't need to be sent for another two weeks, Dr. Oliver had stayed late that night with Anika to make sure that all of the other pages were in check and getting close to be completed. They knew, as did everyone else, that they wouldn't make another mistake regarding a set of yearbook pages.

Ms. Obie couldn't stay since she had a doctor's appointment after school. But it was clear that the staff was left with some scars that may not get healed at all. But, they would have to move on.

But as it was approaching the 5 o'clock hour, it was clear they would call it a night. Anika still had work and homework to complete, and Dr. Oliver had to finish off some grading before really calling it an evening.

On the drive home, Dr. Oliver relayed the news he had heard about one of his students. About one of their editors-in-chief had left town and got back together with her ex-fiancÉ. It was, in fact, the worse news he could hear about someone, let alone the feeling of betrayal to all. He never could take to it well, as much as he had done it and dealt with it in his past. He just hated it for the feelings and scars it could leave on someone else.

He shook his head as he found out he was now home, sitting in the jeep, dazed and confused. He knew the best thing to do about the situation was to cuddle with Kim until they both fell asleep. He got out of the vehicle and headed into the house.

He had dropped off his briefcase in the study and slowly staggered into the living room, where Kim was watching TV. He had greeted her with a kiss to the lips before absently heading into the kitchen for something to drink.

Kim looked at him with raised eyebrows as he slowly returned and collapsed on the couch beside her. She leaned over him and laid a kiss on his lips, before he took a sip of the beer can in hand. "Hey, Handsome. You look like you had a rough day. What happened in yearbook?"

Tommy sighed as she moved to find a comforting spot on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her, sighing. "It seems our ex-editor-in-chief ditched town and headed to New Mexico with her ex-fiancÉ."

"No," Kim breathed, not believing the news. "Are you serious? Nicole ditched town."

Tommy nodded before taking another drink. "And that's not all. I don't know how I could have missed it, but apparently, she also didn't send in those senior baby picture pages that was supposed to be sent off last year. They were still sitting there in the classroom just waiting to be sent."

Kim sat up, looking into her husband's eyes to see if he was lying. She wasn't convinced, but the look in his eyes were no lie. It was true. She just couldn't believe that. And she knew how he felt around betrayal. "But you guys are okay, right?"

"I think many of us are psychologically unstable at the moment. But many of the students want to go on a manhunt to find her," Tommy admitted.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised. After a stunt like that, it seems like no one could object."

"I just hope that whatever happens, I don't have to see her face. I mean, you know exactly how I am around those who have betrayed me in any way."

Kim sat up and laid another kiss on his lips. When he had pulled her closer to him, she knew he was looking for a mind-numbing kiss that would push all those thoughts away. She didn't blame him as she moved to straddle his lap and deepen the kiss.

After a few moments, Tommy had pulled her close to him as they held each other closer.

Tommy laid a hand on Kim's stomach, letting out a breath. "How are you doing? You don't seem to be stressing out so much now."

Kim managed a smile as she nodded, laying her hand atop his. "Well, I can admit that those little jokes you make, as offensive as they could be, has made my day a little better. And I do like when you stop by to see me at lunch or whatever."

"I miss you too damn much," he had to admit. "I don't know, I guess I still haven't gotten used to you teaching at the school, though you've been there for a few months now. I just got to keep so many things..."

Kim covered his mouth shaking her head. "No. You need to stop worrying so much. You need to relax."

Tommy pulled her hand away but not before laying a kiss on it. "When I'm around you, nothing else seems to matter. Sometimes, I kinda wish we were back in high school just so I can see you more often. I feel like I've been neglecting you more now than I did in the past."

"Times change, but I'm not upset. Because we are together, Tommy. We got a set of rings to prove that to those who don't believe it," she laid a quick kiss on his lips. "I love you and you love me, that's all that should really matter."

Tommy smiled lightly. "Yeah. You're right. Thanks, Beautiful."

They exchanged another passionate kiss, before Kim had moved away. She began to fiddle through the papers and envelopes on the table. Mail call.

Tommy leaned forward, sighing. "Another thing I miss about high school, is not worrying about bills."

Kim giggled. "Yeah, I should really back off all that shopping."

"Yeah. Ya think?" Tommy mocked her. "You need to stop maxing out our credit cards. That's why I don't use credit card. Only check or cash. Credit card is only in an emergency."

"Hey, I pay it all back," Kim said as she backhanded Tommy on the shoulder. "Besides, I haven't been that bad lately."

"But it's still a bad habit."

"Do you want me to go back to our discussion about you men being assholes?" she countered.

"And how you like to have an asshole to train?" he smiled before she smacked him in the shoulder. "But then again, I can show you who is right by being my rebellious self. Admit it, you miss seeing me that way."

Kim didn't say anything. As much as she could admit that he had a rather unique rebellious side, she had preferred the more clean-cut image of him. But he was always full of mystery, that she still had left to discover about him. Not that she didn't like that, she liked surprises.

Tommy wrapped his arms around her, before laying a few kisses on her neck. For awhile, she didn't oppose, but liked the touch he was giving her. But she had pushed him away when she noticed a manila envelope marked with Tommy's status as a US soldier.

"Um...Handsome," she patted him on the head, to get his attention. She pulled out the envelope, looking at it with some confusion.

Tommy turned to see the envelope in her hand. It was addressed to: 'Staff Sergeant. Thomas A. Oliver. c/o US Army National Guard. 1992 Valencia Road. Reefside, CA, 90205.' And it was from: 'Philippine Military Academy. c/o Clark Air Base.' He took it from her, unsure what to make of it.

"I thought you were no longer part of the Army," she said. urging him to open it up and see what it was.

"I never said I was no longer apart of it, I was just not on active duty. I'm more on a vacation, if that's what you want to call it," he said. He didn't actually quit, or retire, he was just not recognized for active status since his dino research became his priority. Many soldiers couldn't see him pass up an opportunity to work with a famous scientist as Dr. Mercer, so they let him go. And he had went back for a few months before getting a job as a teacher. And he still wasn't on retirement, just a break.

"But why would you be getting a letter from the Philippine Military Academy?"

"I was stationed over there while doing study-abroad at CalTech. I was a soldier and a college student at the same time, and helped train some soldiers in the Philippine army. US relations with the Philippine Military had been having some problems, and several troops were sent over to re-establish our alliance with them. I don't know why I would get a letter from them though without being informed by my general, first."

"Maybe you should open it and find out," Kim asked even more curious to see what was in the envelope.

Tommy was just as curious, but slightly worried with the news. He had to admit that during his time at the air base he made many friends among the soldiers, even had a relationship with one of the female soldiers. And he knew that the Philippine Military wasn't exactly liking President Bush's decision to invade Iraq and send so many soldiers out there. There were a few Philippine troops in the Middle East, but there were still protestors on government grounds trying to pull Philippine troops out of there. They had their own problems to worry about regarding terrorists in their own country.

Tommy forced out a breath as he opened up the envelope, sliding the bundle of papers out of it. He began to read it slowly to himself, most of it in Tagalog.

"What does it say?" Kim asked, wrapping her arms around his neck looking down at the cover letter.

Tommy scratched his head absently, shaking his head. "It says they send their regards toward the loss of my research with the dino technology." He scanned through the letter picking out key points to say. "And they appreciated the work I did for the troops there along with the other US soldiers." He furrowed his eyebrows as he slowly scanned the letter, as he got to his feet. "...due to the recent events regarding the war in Iraq, several foreign soldiers had been placed on active status in the Middle East. ...but we have now lost one of our own... ...you now have custody over six-year-old Serena Julianne Oliver... ...please notify me if you are willing to take her into your hands, or we would have no choice but to put her into an orphanage until she can find a home..."

Tommy had mumbled all of that information to himself, and as he stood there, he couldn't seem to move. He was lost in his own blankness of space. He felt his stomach churn, but couldn't even begin to think. It was like he was paralyzed in time and couldn't say anymore. He didn't know if it was merely a joke, or it was true.

He looked down at the cover letter again, read those last few lines stating custody of a Serena Julianne Oliver. He slowly flipped through the other papers, a picture of a young girl in a school uniform used by kids in the Philippines, legal documents that had his name signed on it regarding status as a US soldier at Clark Air Base, a copy of the birth certificate for Serena, a letter from Serena written to her father telling him more about her, and a letter/will from the mother of Serena, Elena. From a love that could have been but never was. He absently dropped the papers to the ground as he felt tears well up in his eyes. He felt fear run down his entire body.

"Tommy," Kim called out to him as he slowly turned to look at her. The look in his eyes worried her. He never looked so scared in his life as she slowly walked over to him. "Handsome, what's wrong?"

As she was hoping he would fall into her embrace, hold her close, he didn't. He couldn't. He stepped back like a scared pup not wanting to be bothered even by the most caring of gestures.

Kim stopped, dropping her hands. Her face fell into a wall of concern and worry, as she looked down at the scattered paper on the floor. She looked back up at her husband, still unsure what had him so scared. "Tommy, what is it?"

Tommy forced air back into his lungs as he looked at the scattered papers on the floor. The news ran through his mind like a nightmare. He wanted it to be a dream. It should have been a dream. But it wasn't at all. He felt it in his soul. He looked up to meet his wife's eyes, and as he wanted to cry, he couldn't. "Kimberly, I have a kid."

_to be continued..._

_A/N: Huh! What! Hold up! Did I just hear that right? Tommy has a kid that wasn't conceived by Kim! You bet you did. You bet that they both did. And you're probably thinking, 'What the hell... are you trying to destroy their marriage?' You might hate me right now, but see what happens next in the next chapter. I just love putting in all these twists. Heh. Heh. See ya when I do. Isang diwa. Isang mahal. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	21. I Have A Kid

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART TWENTY-ONE: I HAVE A KID  
_**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Tommy has just discovered he has a kid that was not conceived by Kim. But what is her initial reaction to it? And what other news will the couple face in the distant future?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine, even if I tried. However, I do own the custody of those evil beings destroying the Rangers lives and now, Serena Oliver. To clear things up, this is the version they didn't want to show you on TV about Dino Thunder. But of course, this is my version of it. There are plenty more of them out there, but you decided to sit down and read this one. So, thank you and come back real soon._

_A/N: So, will the news destroy their marriage? I won't say __anything. Just read on. And I will hint at this: there is __another set of news they're about to discover. And it isn't __what they expected. Or possibly you, as the reader, of my novel._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"How could this happen? I never would have thought anything like this could happen. Please, forgive me, baby. I did not mean for any of this to happen. This is the first time I have heard the news too, and I cannot afford to lose you now. I will do whatever I can to fix this, but I cannot do it alone." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The moment Kim had heard those words escape Tommy's mouth, she felt her world come crashing down. She felt crushed. Lied to. And almost betrayed, yet scared and worried for how her husband was taking the news. It was the look in his eyes that told her exactly how he felt.

"Are you sure?" Kim asked, her voice a whisper due to the shock.

Tommy looked down at the scattered paper before looking at her again. A letter written so formally wouldn't be a joke and much of it was in a foreign language. A language foreign to people who have never heard it at all. "Would the military lie on such an occasion as this?"

Tommy was scared. He feared that this would crush them. It would destroy their marriage and possibly their entire future together. He looked as if he was a fool, and that Kim would have every right to walk out of that door and leave him. But she didn't. Yet, she wasn't so sure if she could look beyond it.

Kim looked down at the scattered papers as she bent down to collect them. She had briefly scanned through them before Tommy had swiped them out of her hand. She had managed to see the picture briefly, and the way the girl had stood had Tommy written all over it.

Aside from being upset, he was angry. Mostly at himself for not telling her much about his past relationships. He was never open any of his relationships and he knew that Kim wasn't exactly happy to hear about his past relationships, even his with Kat.

He let out an angered breath as he tossed the papers aside. "How could this have happened? Why didn't she tell me? What did I do to deserve this?"

Inside, Kim could feel some rage grow. But mostly, she just felt sorry for her husband. She watched as he let his anger go on the room. He tossed objects against the wall, slammed down others, and even sent a few punches into the wall. She had to comfort him. Had to tell them that things would be all right, and they would find a way out of this. They could fix things before it got worse. She couldn't afford to leave him. She loved him too damn much to do that.

And they were having a kid together as far as Adam had looked into it. But soon enough, they would have to find another doctor to do the proper examinations and tests during her pregnancy. Adam wasn't certified for that kind of work.

Tommy forced out another punch as it made impact with the wall, and this time it had left behind a bloody mess. He winced, holding in a painful breath as he slowly sunk to the floor. Tears had finally streaked down his face as he lowered his head to the ground.

Kim found her own set of tears streaking down her face as she slowly walked over to her love. She collapsed on the floor beside him, pulling him into a hug. And as he tried to pull away, she only held onto him tighter. The mental strain was taking its toll on him.

"You hate me, Kim. You hate me. You should just pack up and call in the divorce papers," Tommy whispered behind the tears. "I'm so sorry, baby. I didn't mean for this to happen."

Kim shook her head, laying it against Tommy's back. "I don't hate you, Tommy. This is just a setback. We can work around it..."

Tommy turned to look at his wife in the eyes. It was clear that he didn't know what to do about the situation. He wasn't sure if he can look at a positive outlook on the situation. "Work around this! I have a kid, Kimberly! A kid who just lost her biological mother in the war in Iraq. You cannot begin to tell me that if I were to take her in, it would be awkward to see her in this house, knowing that she wasn't yours?"

Kim looked away for a moment, unsure what to make of his last statement. He did have a point, but that didn't mean that they couldn't work around it. She wanted to make things right, or to the best of her ability. "You know, you're right about that. But you can't just ignore the situation either, Tommy. I know that you would rather let her have a good home -- with her father -- rather than be stuck in some orphanage or elsewhere without you."

"But I have a kid."

"You said you would be up for the responsibility," she countered.

Tommy shook his head as he looked away. At that moment, he couldn't bear to look at his wife at all. Even if he wanted to, find comfort in it, all he felt was that he was a cheat. "But that's the problem, Kim. I have a kid – a daughter – who I just found out existed now, almost seven years later. You cannot begin to tell me that was a diss to me. I mean, I don't even deserve to raise a kid I know nothing about."

Kim had already pulled away from him, reaching over to catch a few of the papers that came in the manila envelope. One was the cover letter, the other was written by his daughter. "Well, this seems pretty explanatory. Her name is Serena, she was born on July 26th, 1998 and she is a big fan of martial arts. She said she always wanted to learn, but her mother never wanted her to..."

Tommy had snatched the paper away, scanning it. Though, it was likely she wasn't good at talking in English, it was still understandable if you knew how to distinguish her grammar. He groaned kicking the couch with frustration. "How can I live with myself, now? What the hell am I supposed to tell the teens?"

"Don't you mean the team? And I'm talking about the entire team?" she asked with much curiosity.

Tommy shook his head as he collapsed to the ground again. "Fine, the whole team. But, hold on. Okay, new scenario. You are raised by your mother, and now lost her to some tragic accident. Now, you got to go and live with your father, whom you have never met or possibly seen in seven years? Not exactly what I would call a good father type of case."

Kim had framed Tommy's face in her hands, as their eyes met. And it was the first time, in a while, they had seen into the soul of the other. See the spirit of their animal guide them through the rough times. Kim leaned over placing a gentle kiss upon her husband's lips. "We can make this work, Tommy. Okay? I know this is a shock to the both of us, but I don't care. We'll make it through this. I can't afford to walk out on you knowing I would be making another huge mistake. I love you, Thomas Anthony Oliver. And I don't have any intentions on leaving you at all, especially if we have our own kid to raise."

Tommy could only smile internally. He was still aching with the news, and he knew he couldn't afford to not say anything about the relationship he had with Serena's mother. He took Kim's hands away from his face, laying a few kisses on them before interlocking them in his own. He turned to lean against the wall as he pulled Kim close to him, wrapping his arms around her. "I know you must be curious about how I have a kid, huh?"

"I am. But, I know how you feel about talking about your past no matter what it is," Kim said quietly. She had to admit she was curious about it, yet she didn't want to drill it in his head and interrogate him with all these questions. But she figured now, he would be rather open about such a topic as this.

"No. You should know. I mean, as soon as I make that call, you can consider yourself a stepmom," he admitted as he let out a breath.

Kim turned her head to look up into his eyes. "All right, Handsome. Spill the beans."

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Trent had gotten much of his work done more easily knowing he was almost a normal teen. He didn't have his connection to his dino powers hanging on his wrist, even if he still felt it inside him. But every time he had come home to a huge empty house, there was nothing. No one. Just him. Not even a butler or two. His father never trusted them after they were being scammed by a few years ago. But that's what gave him more of an independent sorta life.

He had finished his homework for the day and decided to do some more independent searching for his father. He had done it for awhile now, but now it was hard to really find anything. He was getting discouraged. He tried to find a way into the invisi-portals, making the only conclusion he needed about the situation. The island fortress wasn't destroyed and Mindshatter was now using it as his safe spot. He knew computers, but never like Ethan. He knew if he could get access into the invisi-portal system, he could get in and possibly rescue his father.

He sat there staring blankly at the computer in Anton's office. Most of it had to do with his sales, museum and research, and all of his 'personal research' was locked under a password Trent couldn't crack. He knew that's what he needed to find answers. He ran his hands through his hair as he let out a breath.

He reached under the desk to find a set of keys hidden in a small compartment and opened up one of the drawers. There was a safe inside. He used one of the keys to open it and began to search inside of it. Much of it was nothing more than business stuff, numbers that he may never quite understand. He dug deeper into the safe finding most of the adoption papers about him. He quickly scanned through them, finding no real interest in the process Anton had to go through to settle the statements around his adoption. It just brought more painful memories about the loss of his biological parents. Not that he could ever look at his father now -- at Anton -- and find him a bad guy, he's done a lot to help Trent cope.

He flipped through all the legal documents, ever realizing how much effort went into doing it. Signature upon signature including a legal name change that had went into effect a few months ago. Not that he didn't have much to complain about when he would respond to both Fernandez and Mercer. In one of the papers it stated he can legally change his name back to Fernandez by the age of 21, but that was some time away. Another was a copy of his birth certificate. He shook his head as he looked over them again.

Yet, as he thumbed through the final papers, he noticed another signature stood on those lines. And it wasn't just his, Anton's and the woman responsible for the adoption, Linda Thompson. Another that had him lose his breath as he got to his feet. He knew he to talk to someone right away as he left the room.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

It was hard for Tommy to start. He wasn't sure where he could start. He just found out he has a six year old daughter, by a relationship that had potential but never lasted.

Tommy forced out a breath as he dropped his head. "It happened a few years ago. Things were happening so fast, but yet so slow. High school graduation and racing. Then I went to the army to occupy my time before classes would have started at CalTech. I decided to do study abroad, which would help pay off for college since I was in the Army -- well, National Guard to be more exact. Most of my first two years in college was

centered around study abroad in Asia. And at the time, I was stationed in the Philippines. I would do some studies at the local university and train in military tactics at Clark Air Base. That's where I met her. The mother of my kid. Elena Sanchez." Tommy stopped a moment to catch his breath as he realized a little uneasiness in Kim. He didn't want to continue, but when her hands gripped his arms, it urged him to continue on with his story. "She was no older than me. And since the school system is different in the Philippines, she had been at the base for nearly three years now. At first, she had wanted to become a nurse, but felt her help would be better on the field. She was already a US citizen and she had joined up with

the US National Guard. She had helped trained some of the younger cadets along with others, including me, while earningher ranks. I ended up as far as Staff Sergeant just cuz I had to keep my studies in check. Thanksgiving had been coming around, and by that time we were talking more and more on a personal basis. I wouldn't be making it home that Thanksgiving, so she had invited me to hang at her crib. And well, we talked, had dinner and even caught a movie. And I had to admit, I was actually starting to have feelings for her. I knew she was feeling me, too. I was gonna get pulled out of the Philippines to attend classes on the CalTech campus. And it was sorta the moment where you may not have a chance to do something and it happened. We slept together. And as I continued classes at CalTech, we continued to keep in touch. But soon, they just stopped. And it wasn't from me. It was her. Every time I tried to contact her the phone was busy, or she just wasn't available. Pretty soon I got the picture that she must have found someone new and I was left to deal with another heartbreak. And even that one night we spent together it has now changed everything."

The room fell silent as Kim took in all that she was hearing from him. As much as she didn't want to know about it, she did. Now it was time to fill in more of it for her to understand.

"Did you ever figure out why she never told you?" Kim asked quietly.

Tommy looked down at the papers on the floor beside him. He scanned through them and scanned the letter written by Elena. "It says here she was too scared to tell me. She knew how I was about my studies, and didn't want me to stop them. Yet, she had wanted her daughter to meet her father. She apologizes for the sudden news and wished me well."

"She seemed like a really nice person," Kim had to admit. But it was clear in her tone that she was uncomfortable about this discussion. "Would you have married her if you knew?"

Tommy let out a breath. "It could have ended up that way. I don't know how else to put it. Sometimes, you find love in the strangest places, and sometimes you find it in front of your face. But right now, I don't know if I'm ready to bring my daughter into my life. What am I supposed to tell her?"

"The truth," Kim said simply. "She's gonna need to know about me, and you. And by the sound of this, she hasn't exactly been around American customs. She'll be scared."

Tommy sighed again. It was hard to figure out what he should do. "I don't know, Kim. I really don't know. I didn't mean for this to happen. It's okay to admit you hate me and you would prefer for me to sleep on the couch for the rest of my days..."

Kim turned to look at him, silencing her husband with a finger to his lips. "Tommy, stop. I already told you I don't plan on leaving you. I don't hate you. Just more upset, mostly at myself." She looked down with guilt as Tommy furrowed his eyebrows.

"Upset at yourself? I don't understand, Kim. Why would you say that about yourself?" Tommy asked.

"Look what I've done to you. Every relationship after me was a flaw. I never realized how much I could have effected you psychologically. I should be the one to apologize."

"They say that true love will always find its way back to your heart. Kimberly, you were my true love. And sometimes you face obstacles. Ones that could be bad. Or good. But I gotta live with my consequences," Tommy sighed as he was finally accepting the responsibility. "There's just so many of them."

Kim leaned over and laid a kiss on her husband's lips. "We will get through this, Tommy. We'll figure out what to do. But, you need to call and let them know you're gonna take custody of your daughter."

Tommy nodded as he slowly got to his feet, pulling Kim up with him. "Thanks, Beautiful. Without you, I might have already killed myself."

"But you didn't," she managed a smile.

"Love you."

"Love you, too, Handsome."

Minutes had passed. Tommy had moved from the living room to the kitchen to make the call. He figured it would be best if he sorted out any difficulties, and let Kim know if she needed to do some clarifying.

Kim had gone back to watching t.v., but from time to time she had watched her husband, his back facing toward her, with a line of concern. She was still heartbroken by the news, but glad that Tommy would take up the responsibility for his daughter. But she knew, at times he was great about hiding his stress and anger, other times it was hard to control. He had heard a lot of heartbreaking news in the last few weeks, and she wasn't sure how much more he could take before he went into a complete meltdown.

Then a loud pounding came to the front door. Kim raised an eyebrow, looking at the late hour. It was a little after 9:30pm and she wasn't sure why someone was coming by so late. But the pounding seemed rather urge as she got off the couch and went to answer the door.

The pounding continued as she finally made it to the door and opened it. There standing there out of breath, looking more whiter than usual, was Trent. He caught his breath as he collapsed on the door frame.

"Trent, what's up? Is everything okay?" Kim asked him with concern.

Trent caught his breath again as he looked down at the papers in his hands. "I'm sorry to bother you, Coach, but is Dr. O here?"

"Yeah, he's in the kitchen," Kim began as Trent came into the house. "But he's on the phone." She went after him, pulling him aside before he could say anything. "Trent, tell me first. Tommy has been under a lot of stress lately."

Trent looked at the petite woman and caught his breath. He looked over his shoulder as he heard the familiar voice of his science teacher, but in another language. One that he knew quite well. "He knows Tagalog?"

"I thought you knew," Kim protested.

The teen in white shook his head slightly surprised. He must have not paid attention much at the wedding and reception. He knew about his teacher's mother and relatives, but he didn't know about him. He would reply in English to them. As little as he used the language, he still knew it quite well. "No, I had no idea..."

"Trent," Kim stopped him before they got completely off-topic. "What's up? Did you find something we should know about?"

Trent had hesitated, unsure of what to say or how to break it. He knew how much stress they were under, he knew he wasn't supposed to put anymore on Kim. That was a big no and he wasn't sure if he should say something to Dr. O and possibly add more stress to his life. But he knew it had to be known.

"Well, it's all set," Tommy proclaimed as he walked back into the room. "I'll be meeting her this week..." Tommy stopped short of his sentence as he noticed the other occupant in the room. "...end. Trent? What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping he could clarify that," Kim stated.

Trent looked from his mentor/teammate to his other mentor. He forced air back into his lungs. "Dr. Oliver is my second legal guardian."

The room fell silent. Dead quiet among the occupants, the t.v. was on quietly in the background.

Tommy felt is knees weaken as he collapsed on a chair. He dropped his head letting out a breath. He didn't know what to say.

"Trent, are you sure?" Kim asked still trying to grasp what came out of the teen's mouth.

"His signature is on these forms right alongside my father's," Trent stated as he handed the documents over to the P.E. teacher.

Kim scanned through the documents, and sure enough, Tommy's signature was on a number of the documents. Many were signed with just his first initial and his last name, but she knew it was his signature. She shook her head, but it was right there. There was no denying it. She looked over at her husband, who was grinding his palms into his eyes.

"I thought you said you didn't know that Anton had a son," Trent protested.

Tommy sighed as he groaned quietly. "I didn't. There was one point before our research really began where we had to sit down with a number of lawyers, military personnel, and government officials to sign a number of documents. I must have signed over 50 different forms, and I never got a chance to read some of them. They were going so fast. It was sign, and sign and sign. Anton would have said the same thing."

"Then how come he has a copy of these adoption papers and you don't?" Kim asked as she walked over to him, handing them over to her husband.

Tommy looked over the documents, seeing the signature that was his own on them. And as he read through the fine print and documents, it did state that he was, in fact, held responsible for taking care of Trent if anything happened to Anton. He shook his head. "I don't know why I never got a copy. As far as I could tell, it was supposed to be Anton's responsibility to get me a copy. I guess he never did, or the thought never crossed his mind that I may need to keep an eye on Trent."

Trent walked over to the couple with some curiosity. "Okay, but aren't these documents only effective until I turn 18? That's only in a few months. I mean, isn't that how it worked with you, Dr. O?"

Tommy let out a breath. As far as he could tell, that's how the documents were signed. But it was more up to the adoptive parents to decide when to lease the form. "Depends on how your adoptive parents signed off on the form. But anyone is able to fend off for themselves once they turn 18, no matter who they are. But until that date, I guess I am your guardian until Anton returns."

Trent sighed as he took the documents back. "Kinda a crazy day, isn't it, Dr. O? I mean, first we hear that Nicole ditches town and now this. I don't have to call you dad now, do I?"

Tommy shook his head. "No. I mean, it's up to you, but personally, I think it would be weird if you did. I would prefer 'brother' instead, just for the factor of age. How did you access these, anyway?"

Trent grew quiet for a second. He knew he couldn't tell him that he was doing some independent searching for his father. He knew how his teacher was about suicide thoughts as that. "Well, I figured I could find some more answers to my dad's capture, and I sorta found them."

Tommy nodded slowly and left it at that. He knew that Trent was still getting used to the loss of seeing his father as Mesogog, let alone still being held captive. But as Kim tapped him on the shoulder, another set of papers in her hands, he knew he had to tell his 'son' something else. Tommy sighed sadly.

"What's up, Dr. O?" Trent asked.

"Well, as your guardian, you should know something about me," Tommy began as he handed the papers over to the teen. "I have a kid, Trent. Her name is Serena and she's six-years-old."

Trent looked over the documents, shaking his head. He felt dizziness fall over him as he slowly began to sway. "Are you sure? When did this happen? And it's not Kim's, is it?" He looked over at his teachers looking for an explanation.

"It was from a past relationship, Trent. And I just found out about it. Her real mother and I were in the Army together and she lost her life in the war in Iraq. Now, I have been asked to take care of her."

"No way. This is a joke, right?" Trent shook his head.

"I almost wish it was, but it's not," Tommy replied. "So, depending on how you want to look at it, Trent. You have a little sister."

"But the team? I mean, don't get me wrong, I am well aware of the kid coming on the way, but we need you, Dr. O."

"I never said I was leaving the team. I just need to work around it," Tommy stated.

"We'll figure this out, Trent. It is a setback, but life is always full of surprises," Kim spoke for the first time in awhile.

"How are you taking it?" Trent looked over at the P.E. teacher, growing concern.

"I'll say it's news I never would have thought would cross our path. It was painful. And the truth does hurt sometimes, but I don't intend on leaving when we got our own kid to worry about."

"And the rest of the team? They're gonna need to know sometime soon, right? Something like this can't be kept a secret."

Tommy nodded again. "I am well aware of that, Trent. And right now, with the line of news I have just received, I just need some time to get my priorities right before I say anything to anyone else."

"Yeah, you're right about that. So, when is she coming?" Trent grew curious about wanting to meet his 'sister'.

"This weekend. Saturday, to be exact. And unfortunately, she isn't completely confident about speaking in English, so..."

"She's more comfortable with Filipino (Tagalog)," Trent finished as he nodded. He could relate. With his biological parents, they would usually talk to him in that language and when it came to school, he got stuck in ESL -- English as a Second Language -- which he hated since so many people made fun of him and his accent. "Are we talking ESL?"

Tommy nodded. "As far as I could tell. Now, I have to go down to the local elementary school and register her into classes there. I just hope that there won't be anymore surprises until then."

"But are you gonna tell her about us? I mean, as us being the world famous Power Rangers?" Trent had to know.

"I think you should, Tommy. It wouldn't be best to keep secrets from her. Remember, she's gonna be in a whole new place. In a place that will get attacked by huge monsters frequently until Mindshatter is destroyed," Kim stated, making it clear that she had wanted to make this transition for Tommy's daughter as easy as possible.

"I hope she doesn't think I'm a freak," Tommy sighed.

"This is the first time you're gonna meet her, huh? And her mother was too afraid to mention it to you at all. And she apologizes for any issues you have to work around?"

"How'd you know that?" Tommy looked at him with confusion.

"I read it here in the letters. But, actually, it says here in Serena's letter that she loves the Power Rangers. She also likes basketball, and would like to learn martial arts. It seems you don't have much to worry about. She says she is anxious to meet you, but also mentions she is scared about the

new environment. She's used to life in the Philippines." Trent said as he scanned through the letter.

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. She's only six years old and she still has a lot to learn."

"We will make it through this, Tommy." Kim had to say it again. She wasn't convinced that he believed her, but she spoke clear.

"Yeah, I just hope that Mindshatter doesn't get any crazy ideas," Tommy sighed.

"He hasn't done much since that little switcharoo fiasco. Yet, I really hate the silence. He isn't like all the other evil beings. He hasn't actually sent down any monsters. Just his general and his army." Trent protested.

"Yeah, well, he is using a new technique we just got to keep our eyes on. But, you should head on out, Trent. It's late and there is school tomorrow."

Trent sighed. He knew that his teammate was right as he got to his feet and headed for the door. And as much as he had heard the news about Dr. Oliver having a kid, he knew that he couldn't tell the others. His science teacher would tell them on his own.

Tommy and Kim had escorted the teen out the door. They wished him a good night and watched from the porch as the teen drove off into the night.

For awhile, they stood there, arms wrapped around each other. They looked up into the night sky. It was a nice clear night to look at the stars. And compared to the city, out here the stars were more visible.

Tommy sighed and let out a breath. After all the shocking news he had heard, he wasn't so sure he could sleep tonight. Kim had kissed him on the cheek, sending him back into reality. He looked over at her, a light smile passed his face.

"We'll make it through this, Tommy," Kim said soothingly.

"I know, Kimberly. It's just so much to take it," he sighed.

"C'mon. We've had a rough day. I think we should call it inand get some sleep. I think that's the best thing we could do right now," she tugged him toward the door.

Tommy followed his wife back into the house as they headed up the bedroom and decided to call it a night. It was just one day Tommy wished he could put behind him as quickly as possible, but the news wouldn't leave him right away.

_to be continued..._

_A/N: Whoo. Now, that was a whole lot of information. And I know it was out of my way, but I decided to do something about that connection with Tommy and Trent. I would have made it something like cousins or something, but I didn't think it would have such a big effect on you, the reader. So, now that Trent does know about Tommy's kid, what about the rest of the team? How will they take it? And how badly will it effect the team as a whole? Find out in the next chapter. See you when I do. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	22. Meeting for the First Time

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART TWENTY-TWO: MEETING FOR THE FIRST TIME  
_**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Tommy has agreed to taking in his daughter, and goes to the airport to meet her for the first time. But what is the initial reaction for his daughter? And what about the rest of the team?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers isn't mine. I only own this adventure following the end of Dino Thunder, even if this entire series has been one huge AU. But without it, it may not have gotten this far or turned out this way. So, I hope you are enjoying your stay in my imagination._

_A/N: So, what happens now? Just read on. It'll only get harder for the team of rangers, especially for our legendary ranger. I hope you're not hating too much. I like to add all these twists. As you can now tell, I love the suspense and tension I am making with this series. Don't you? See you when I do._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"I do not know what to say. What should I say? How should I say it? I have already missed out on seven years of my daughter's life.  
What will she say to me? How will she react? And the team! Oh man! How am I supposed to break it to them?  
Can it get any worse than this?" -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Days later. Saturday. It was the day. This was the day that Tommy would be meeting his daughter for the first time in almost seven years. And as he sat there, somewhat absently, in the study, he wasn't sure what to tell the team. He knew they would be over shortly to get back into hero mode and get their morphers back. And he knew he couldn't pass it up and ignore the situation. They had to know.

He tapped a picture on the desk as he looked over at it in his hand. It was the picture of his daughter. And as he looked over it again and again, he could see a little more of himself in her. Her hair was of a flowing black color that was of medium length. She had a smile that resembled his own and she appeared to be a person who could lead well. She had some great potential, and according to her letter, she was smart, too. Not quite around school, but getting out of a situation she doesn't like.

He let out a breath as a small knock came from the entry way. It was Kim as she greeted him quietly walking over to him, laying a kiss on his lips.

He greeted her as he looked back at the picture. "Today's the day."

"Well, I think she'll like what you did to her room. Nervous?" Kim asked.

"More nervous than I should. I mean, I've read over that letter over and over again, and she never said she hated me. She just wants to meet me and have a parent -- or two -- to look after her. I just wish, ya know, that if this did happen, it didn't come around until after I knew this city was safe from danger," Tommy sighed as he shook his head.

Since the discovery of Tommy having a daughter, he had worked to set up the guest room into a room for her. He had placed a set of things she had enjoyed to do, in the room: a basketball, a computer for research, a martial arts uniform that he knew he would teach her about, a few small notes on the rangers that have come to pass, and just a few little things he felt a six year old girl would need. As far as telling her the truth, it would take some time, but he knew he would have to tell her soon enough. That he really was a Power Ranger.

"It'll be okay, Tommy. We will make it through this, okay?" Kim reassured him again, patting his shoulder.

Tommy nodded slowly. "I know, Beautiful. It's just gonna be one that will take some time."

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

A knocking came from the front door, and they both knew it was the team or at least the teens. As much as the week had been focused more on just having a normal life, they were all ready to get back into ranger mode and keep an eye on the city like superheroes again.

Tommy had slipped the picture into his desk as Kim left the room to answer the door. And according to the greetings, it was, in fact, the teens with the black ninja and the technical advisor of Aquitar close behind. As they came into the study, they greeted the science teacher as Tommy opened up the secret hatch to the lab below.

But it was evident in how he stood that something was wrong. He tried to hide it, but according to the look on Trent's and Kim's faces, they knew what was wrong with him.

"Man, I am so glad to get back into ranger mode. I mean, it was nice actually living a normal life, but I've gotten so used to the ranger thing," Ethan sighed.

"I should have just waited it off until we really needed them, but I feel like Mindshatter is gonna attack soon enough," Adam replied as he directed the teens down the stairs.

"I don't think I've ever really gotten used to a normal life. Even on Aquitar." Billy sighed looking over at his former leader. "I was creating new weaponry and technology just to make sure no threat would come to us. I haven't gotten very far with the zord project, Tommy. Sorry." he looked over at Tommy again, noticing the unusual silence around him. "Tommy, what's up?"

Kim had walked over to her husband and wrapped her arms around him as he blinked and looked back at the technical genius.

"Oh... nothing, Billy. I haven't been getting much sleep lately. Ya know me, always flipping about what attack those evil guys are gonna do next," Tommy said calmly.

"Well, I guess we need to get this done and over with, right?" Kim tugged him toward the trap door.

The trio filed down the stairs and into the underground lab, which almost seemed foreign to them after the week of not carrying around their communicators or morphers. The teens had looked around the room trying to get used to the feeling of being down there. It was almost like taking a vacation and returning to work.

"Man, we've been gone for nearly a week and it seems like forever," Conner stated as he collapsed on a chair.

"No kidding. I mean, looking around this room, it brings back so many memories. Kinda hard to imagine we could be leaving this in a few months," Kira sighed rubbing her wrist that honed the bracelet with her powers.

"Yeah. Oh man, I never thought about that. Graduation is coming up," Ethan cringed a little. As much as he was excited about all of this, being a senior and a power ranger, he knew it would have to end.

"There's another world for you guys to look into. Welcome to the real world. It isn't what you've expected," Adam stated as he moved over to the main computer console.

Billy found his place at the main computer console. Tommy had leaned against Kim for support, and it appeared as if his mental control was not where it should be. He felt like he was gonna break down and cry, but the teens didn't seem to notice.

The room fell silent as Adam entered in the password into the main computer. One of the main drives shifted slowly as it revealed the hidden safe. He entered a password onto the keypad on the safe as it hissed open, the temperature in the safe rising to room temperature. He pulled the door open and pulled out the two boxes inside.

"It's almost like opening a present at Christmas," Ethan said with a smile as he rubbed his hands together.

"Don't get too excited, Ethan. It's just our morphers. This is saying we're getting back into ranger mode," Kira said.

"Hey, like I said before, I'm kinda glad we are. I mean, being a ranger, it almost seems like you can't do other things. I mean, remember all the sacrifices we made," Ethan said.

"Is this gonna be one trip down memory lane?" Conner patted his friend on the shoulder. "Dude, that shouldn't be going on for another few months."

"I'm just saying..." Ethan began.

"Don't, Ethan. Trust me," Trent stated.

Ethan looked away and said nothing more. Adam had already unlocked the metal case that held the dino gems as he pulled it open and walked over to each of the rangers. One by one they took their respective bracelet and fixed them back on their wrists. Until it came to Tommy. It fell silent as he looked down at the case with his dino gem inside. He just couldn't seem to pick it up even as Adam urged him on.

"Hey, T. I know how you were feeling when I told you to give up the morpher, but I think you earned it back. I mean, I know how you are about being away from the ranger thing in awhile," Adam said as he took the morpher out and placed it into his friend's hand. "You got the powers back."

Adam turned away and locked the case, setting it on the far table. He opened up the one honing his zeonizers and placed it on his wrist. He looked over at the legendary ranger, and it was clear that everyone had been looking over at him. Tommy slowly placed the bracelet back on his wrist as he forced out a breath.

"Is everything okay, Dr. O?" Kira asked, being the first to wonder what was wrong with him.

Tommy looked over at Kim as she nodded slowly. And he knew he wouldn't be getting out of that room if he didn't say anything to them. They had to know. He forced air back into his lungs as he looked over at his team. "I think you guys need to take a seat. You guys aren't gonna believe what I'm about to tell you."

The teens looked at each other as they found a seat on a chair or table wondering what was bothering their science teacher. Trent had held his breath, knowing exactly what was up. And as he looked around the room, it appeared as if only three people knew what was going on.

It fell silent as they looked over at him.

The teens had said they noticed their teachers were acting a little differently in the past few days. They questioned if it was a serious thing, but when they had not answered, they knew it was.

Tommy looked throughout the room at the team assembled before him. Each of them were eager to hear the news. He let out a breath, closing his eyes. "I don't know how else to say it other than, I have a kid. A kid that was not conceived by Kim, but by a former love. She has passed on and now I have been asked to take care of my daughter."

The room fell silent. Yet, Ethan and Conner began to laugh. They figured it was a joke, but as many eyes fell on them, they shut up and said nothing more.

"It's not a joke, is it?" Kira asked still getting over the fact of hearing the news.

Tommy shook his head. "It's no joke, Kira. Her name is Serena, and I'm gonna be picking her up from the airport today. This is gonna be a new place for her."

"When did this happen?" Ethan asked as he grew serious about the situation.

"Years ago, Ethan," Tommy replied. He knew he would have to be as straight forward about this entire thing. "I met her in the Army and even one night can change everything."

"Wait, but this isn't gonna jeopardize your marriage, is it? I mean, I don't think it would be nice to go through something like a divorce now..." Conner was in a panic. It was clear the news had hit him the hardest.

"No, Conner. I mean, as painful as the news was for both of us, we haven't thought about a divorce. I mean, we do have a kid on the way and I'm gonna make sure that kid doesn't miss out on having a father."

"So, what now? I mean, you're not thinking about quitting the whole ranger thing, are you?" Kira asked.

"No. I'm not planning to. I'll work around it. Guys, just trust me on this."

"Well, this is definitely news that was out of the way," Billy spoke for the first time in awhile.

"This changes a lot of things," Adam said.

"Don't rub it in my face, guys," Tommy stated as he shook his head. "Adam you told me to lay off the stress. And Billy, I know you're wanting to say something about consequences. And I know, all right? I know. Just give me some time to straighten this out."

"Well, you're right about that. But, even you never could get out of this whole ranger thing. Don't worry, Tommy. I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to do all this fighting now. You gotta do what you gotta do. You have a family now," Adam stated.

"And that's what I've been telling you over and over again," Kim said.

"Yeah, but we are like one big family, too," Tommy sighed.

"No, it's cool, Dr. O," Trent said. "I mean, Adam does got a point. You can't be doing this ranger thing forever. I mean, that's why there have been all these other teams. You've done your part."

Tommy looked down at his bracelet. Things had changed in a matter of months, but he knew it still had a team to guide, if not lead. He was the only real connection between rangers of the past with the present. And it wouldn't do him much good to leave knowing he was there in the beginning. He shook his head. "I'm gonna keep fighting until I can't anymore. It's what any other ranger would do."

"Well, we'll always be behind you, T." Adam said as he patted his friend on the shoulder. "You know we got your back. We all got each other's backs."

"Amen for that. I mean, we can't afford another great loss from Mindshatter," Conner said.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be a nice time to inform the other rangers about this evil guy?" Ethan asked.

"Not yet. Not until he makes another move," Tommy stated.

"So, what about your daughter? I mean, you are gonna tell her about us, right? I don't think it would be wise to keep something like this from her. Especially if this is gonna be a new lifestyle for her," Billy asked growing curious about the new addition to the team.

"You let me worry about that. But I will tell her," Tommy said. He looked down at his watch, noting the time. "But I have to go. You guys can hang around here or be on your way. I'll let you guys know if anything comes up."

Time had passed slowly.

Tommy was up in the bedroom changing into his Army uniform. He was informed about showing up in his army suit. It would be more of a comfort to his daughter knowing that her father was still in the army. And he was, just on a 'vacation'. He had looked himself over in the mirror as he slipped his dog tags over his head. He let out a breath as he heard the small footsteps of his wife coming in.

She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him as she tucked the dog tags into his jacket. She laid a kiss on his lips. "Hey, Handsome."

He leaned over and laid a kiss on her forehead. "Hey, Beautiful."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Kim asked.

"No. I'm fine. What about the team?"

"They left. They figured they needed to give us some space to figure this out first before they intrude."

Tommy nodded as he laid his hands over Kim's stomach. "Almost three months now."

Kim placed her hands over his. "Only six months to go and we'll have our own kid to take care of."

"Thanks, Beautiful. For giving me so much to be grateful for. No one else could do it better than you." He laid a kiss on her forehead again.

"I'm always here, Tommy. Now, go. Bring your daughter home."

They shared another kiss before he turned and left the room.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

By the time Tommy had gotten to the airport, he would have to wait a little under 30 minutes to meet her. He knew that the trip from the Philippines was nearly one entire day and his daughter would be tired from the trip. She would be escorted by a Philippine soldier, a friend of his, Marlon Montano. He was going to attend school in California, and had been watching Serena for some time.

But that was it. Tommy wasn't sure what to say to his daughter. Marlon had told him time and time again not to worry. This was out of his league, but he didn't need to show that. He could only hope that he wouldn't be a bad father from this point on.

He leaned up against the wall, watching the times of the arriving planes. He knew they would be taking Philippine Airlines and coming from Gate 5. He looked around the airport, many people had gone about their business. People going on vacation or business trips all over the world. A few of them were tourists, just looking for some action to excite them.

Through the years, the attacks made on the cities of Angel Grove, Mariner Bay, Silver Hills, Turtle Cove, Blue Bay Harbor and now, Reefside had population increasing. Tommy never knew why some people wanted to live in a city that was once the battleground for the rangers. He could only conclude that they were hoping to meet a ranger or two in their time. He didn't want to blame them, but it was a dangerous thing.

He looked down at the bracelet around his wrist. He had folded up his jacket due to the weather. He let out a breath knowing that as much as he wanted to keep it a secret from his daughter, he couldn't. He already missed out on nearly seven years of her life, he didn't want to add to it. He didn't want to set up any lies that could destroy a relationship with her.

"C'mon, Tommy. You can do this. She's excited to meet you. She's always dreamed of seeing the world. And this is one step up from life in the Philippines," He told himself. He knew how life was in the Philippines. Much of it was left in poverty, and he felt guilty for his family there. And he knew that was life she had lived outside the air base. That's what her mother had gone through. Time and time again, he would send things

over there just to help them out.

He looked up at the screens indicating arrival times. He still had another 10 minutes to wait. And he wasn't sure if he could last without freaking out. He didn't want Kim to come right away feeling like he had left Serena's mother for another. But that was not the case at all. He did call. He did keep in touch. Elena just never returned his calls or the letters. And he just figured that was her way of saying they were done. He would tell his daughter on the way home that she had another mother to watch over her now.

As the time passed, he felt the nervousness run through his body. He couldn't do it. But he could. It was just so hard. He forced air back into his lungs as he looked over himself again. The last time he was in his army uniform was when he had come to bring Kim home. Now, it was his daughter.

"C'mon, Tommy. This is silly. She is yours. She is family. It shouldn't be a problem," he told himself quietly. "It'll be fine. We will work around this. We will make it through this. And we'll be okay."

He had to keep telling him that. All those days following the news was so hard to get over. To deal with. He knew his students were growing curious about his quiet attitude. He wasn't much of issuing out numerous amounts of homework. He didn't give that many lectures or quizzes. He was more calm than most people were used to and it scared them.

Time passed. And people from several flights had slowly filed down the hall toward the terminal. Several people had greeted family and friends as they walked through the airport. Tommy would look up from time to time, but found no one he could recognize to be his friend or possibly his daughter. He had to wipe his sweaty palms against his uniform just trying to catch his breath, but it was hard. He was still nervous. Hestill felt guilty for missing out on his daughter's early childhood. If he knew sooner, he would have been there. He would have been a father who made sure that his kid saw him as much as possible. But that wasn't the case now.

He looked up and saw the familiar face of his friend, Marlon. He was no taller than 5'7", with a buzzcut and a red beret. He, too, was dubbed in a military fatigue uniform, Army Reserve. Though he was serious about being in the military, he still loved to crack jokes. He had learned several martial arts tactics from Tommy, and even though he still had a Filipino accent, he spoke clear English.

As soon as they had cleared the security check, Marlon had directed a young girl by the hand over to the only other man dressed in an army uniform.

"I was only kidding when I said you should come in your army uniform," Marlon said as means of greeting to Tommy. "I know you took a break from it, Tom."

The two embraced in a bear hug as Tommy managed a smile. He hadn't seen his friend in some time, a friend outside the ranger family. And they usually hung out in his time out in the Philippines. They usually caught a movie and hung at the local clubs in the immediate area.

"Well, I'm here. I've gotten better about being on time for things," Tommy said. "So, how have you been, Marlon? How are things out at the air base?"

"The same old. A lot of training. And most of the soldiers that went to Iraq went voluntarily," Marlon caught his breath looking down at the small young girl still holding his hand.

She had been looking around the airport as if it was something completely new to her. She didn't look at all scared, but more so fascinated by it and the people around.

"I'm really sorry, man. And don't get me wrong, I just found out about this weeks ago, too. So, once Elena left I was sorta left in charge of watching little Serena until she came back."

Tommy nodded slowly as he asked his friend quietly about the status on his daughter. Marlon had simply said she knew English, she was just more comfortable speaking in her native language. Tommy couldn't blame her for that.

"So, you got back with your old girlfriend from high school?" Marlon asked quietly.

Tommy nodded, holding up his hand to reveal the single band on his left ring finger. "Not only got back, but sealed it, too."

"And I really thought you and Elena were gonna be something."

Tommy sighed as he looked away slightly guilty. "Yeah, well sometimes, a love you thought would last forever could only go so far before it ends."

"Yeah," Marlon agreed as he tugged on the young girl's hand. She looked up at him, and turned to look at the other figure beside him. He spoke to her quietly in Tagalog telling her the man in front of her was her father. He looked back over at his friend, nodding. "Staff Sergeant Thomas Oliver, I would like to introduce you to Serena Julianne Oliver, your daughter."

Tommy bent down before the young girl as a small smile fell over his daughter. "Hey, Serena. I'm your daddy." She slowly walked over to him as he pulled her into a tight hug, laying a kiss on her head. "Welcome to your new home, Serena."

At that point, the young girl held onto her father like there was no tomorrow as a line of tears escaped her eyes. "Daddy."

And as Tommy held her close, he wanted the tears to fall, but they couldn't. He had thought it would go over worse, but it hadn't at all. And he was freaking out about nothing. Now, he just had to get passed telling her that he was married to another woman. He just hoped she wouldn't freak out about that.

Marlon took a step back to allow the two some space. He couldn't help but smile over the feeling and just by knowing the two, that Serena could very well become a spit image of her father.

Tommy and lifted Serena into his arms looking over at his friend. "Thanks, Marlon."

"Well, I know she would prefer to be with family. And I know, you'll raise her fine," Marlon commented with a smile.

"Thanks. Are you out of here?" Tommy asked noticing the other man was looking at his watch.

"Yeah, I got another flight to catch down to San Diego. I gotta run through registration again before I can start school."

Tommy had insisted on having his friend stay for just the night from the long trip, but he had refused. Marlon thanked him for the offer, but said he had to get down there since he had family waiting for him. He had hoped to hear from both Serena and his old friend and wished them well. The two watched as he headed back for the security check and disappeared beyond it.

Serena had yawned quietly as she laid her head on her father's shoulder.

"You tired? You wanna go home?" Tommy asked gently as the small girl nodded.

They had disappeared down the terminal to collect her things and head home. On the ride home, Serena gawked at the sight around her. She had seen the city life, but it wasn't like Manila. Many people had their own transportation to get around or they would ride a bike or walk. The city was also much cleaner and seemed more friendly than her old neighborhood.

Tommy had looked over at his daughter, smiling internally for the fact that she could like it her. But he was aching for reasons he shouldn't. He looked at the single band around his finger, knowing he could lie to her about that. "Hey, Serena." He spoke quietly as the young girl looked over at him. "I don't know if your mother ever told you this, but I never would have ran away from the responsibility of taking care of you. It's just kinda hard knowing that you try to call and keep in touch, but the other person doesn't."

"Not your fault. I don't hate you. Mommy never hated you. Scared." she spoke quietly.

Tommy nodded slowly. "Yeah. I don't blame her. I loved her, but things never lasted. And now, I'm married -- one month – so, you have a new mommy."

The moment those words had slipped out of his mouth, she had looked down. She couldn't say anything. She seemed heartbroken, if not betrayed by her father's decision.

"Serena, I'm not saying that I ever left your mother for someone else. I tried to call. I wrote letters, but either they just got lost or I never got ahold of her."

"Scared. My new mother, she mad?" the girl asked.

Tommy looked over at his daughter, seeing the fear in her eyes. He sighed and shook his head before averting his eyes back on the road. "No. In fact, she is eager to meet you. She was an assistant coach to the Olympic Gymnastics Team this past summer. She's really nice, Serena. I think you'll like her."

The young girl nodded slowly, taking her father's word on it. It fell silent for some time until they had finally reached the Oliver homestead. Tommy turned off the engine and looked over at his daughter in the seat beside him. He knew right then and there she was feeling a little homesick, and missing the comfort of her mother.

Tommy reached over and gripped his daughter's shoulder. She had turned to look at him as tears fell down her eyes. He wiped them away gently. He spoke to her quietly in her native tongue. "Hey. Hey. I know this is a new place for you. It's a new lifestyle, but your mother loved you so much to give you a better life. I know you're scared. I know you're afraid, but you will find your place here, okay? I will make sure of that. And I know I missed out on six years of your life, but I won't add to it now. I love you."

The young girl reached over to embrace her father in a warm hug as he laid a kiss on her head. "I miss mommy, daddy. I miss her so much."

Tommy's eyes fell shut as he felt the tears run down his face. "I know. I know, baby. I miss her, too. But she is in a better place, looking over us. Be strong for her. That's what she would want from you."

Time passed slow. Little Serena had walked up onto the porch as her father had gotten her things from the back of the jeep. Serena had looked around area, noticing all of the trees. And the fact that he lived out in the middle of nowhere, but figured it was a way for him to practice his martial arts, as told by her mother.

Tommy had escorted his daughter into the house, setting her things down into the hall. She looked around the place, making little comments about how nice it was. He had given her a quick tour of the main level before escorting her into the living room, the aroma of food cooking filled the room. Tommy saw the figure in the kitchen calling out to her as she turned to see her husband, and a young girl in front of him.

Kim managed a smile as she walked into the living room to greet the two. She looked at the young girl as she bent down to her level. "Hey, you must be Serena. I'm Kimberly."

Serena turned and tucked herself into her father. And it was clear she was afraid of her. A small line of tears fell from her eyes. Kim slowly stood up, looking at her husband with a sign of sadness.

Tommy tugged at the young girl to get her attention. He spoke to her quietly. "It's okay, Serena. She's only trying to be nice. She wants to be your friend."

"But she isn't mommy," she cried.

Tommy looked over at Kim. And though it wasn't something Kim quite understood, she knew in the tone of her voice all that needed to be said. Kim turned away and headed back into the kitchen. Tommy knelt down before his daughter who was wiping her tears away. "Hey, I know she isn't mom, but she wants to try. But you have to give her a chance. She is willing to love and care for you as if you were her own."

Serena nodded slowly. "I try. But I'm tired."

"You don't want anything to eat?" he asked as she shook her head. He pulled her into his arms and took her up to her room.

He slowly set her onto the bed, tucking her in. He reassured his daughter that things would get better. And he waited until her eyes fell shut before he left the room.

Tommy had jumped the last few set of stairs and cautiously walked into the kitchen where Kim had absently went back to cooking a small dinner. He walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her and laying a few kisses on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Beautiful. I really thought that would have gone better."

"She hates me, doesn't she?" Kim asked quietly as tears began to form in her eyes.

Tommy shook his head. "No. She just misses her mother. I told her you wanted to take care of her, be her new mom. And she is gonna give you that chance. Besides, it was also a long trip. She was tired, so I put her to bed. She likes you, Beautiful, it'll just take some time to get used to. For all of us."

Kim turned to look at her husband. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood up to lay a kiss on his lips. They shared a warm, comforting kiss. "I hope you're right."

"Yeah, I hope so, too." Tommy had to admit.

"Can I interest you in something to eat, soldier?" Kim managed a smile as she tugged on his army uniform.

Tommy managed a smile as he nodded. "Sure, Beautiful. Some of us gotta eat after a long rough day."

_To be continued..._

_A/N: I would have made this longer, but I have been having the worse writer's block in the world. I mean, no, I haven't. It's just more so making the time to get it typed up and posted. I am really sorry about the wait you guys. Give me some time to get the next one up and I hope u like what has happened. See you when I do. And May the Powers Always Protect You._


	23. A Dark Finish

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART TWENTY- THREE: A DARK FINISH  
_**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: With hopes to spend some time together as a family, Tommy is called into action. And he reveals what he does to his daughter. But when the team goes into battle, it ends with a new surprise._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. Just the adventures they are now going through in this AU universe from Dino Thunder. And for all who don't seem to know what AU is, it is Alternate Universe, meaning I have control over what happens and how it happens. I have that power. So, beat that._

_A/N: Just read it. I know how you guys just want to get straight to the action. So, let's get back into battle. But first off, I must apologize for the long wait. Senioritis with everything I do, including this. So, I'm sorry. And also to clear things up, I am Filipino, just can't speak the language. I only understand it, just can't talk it. Don't ask. I know so little, just the simple things. Either way, let's get back to the action. There is a lot of things that happen in this chapter._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"I am tired of coming out of these battles losing. Will we ever make it a victory we can be proud of? And now that we have discovered so many new things, how will it effect us in our future? And could there ever be a future for the Power Rangers if we fail?" -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

After Tommy had his fill of something to eat that night, he had went up to his daughter's room and watched her sleep. It wasn't to freak her out, but more so keep an eyes on her. To keep her company. He knew there was still fear in her eyes, and he knew that Kim was aching, even if she wasn't really showing it.

And that's what scared him. He knew the moment he had heard that news about having a daughter, it had jeopardize his marriage with Kim. And as much as Kim was for it, had agreed in help raise her, he knew she was aching. Crying inside. But she just never wanted to show it when he was around. But he knew, sensed it in her body movements, that she was angry. That she felt betrayed. He couldn't blame her.

There were a few details he had left out of his relationship with Serena's mother. A lot, if one could say. It wasn't just one night that they had slept together. It was any night they could make time to do it. She had originally been one of those prostitutes on the street trying to find her way in the city. But that was the thing. She was only beginning when he had ran into her. It was her first night doing it, and she ran into him. They had slept together, but when she found his dog tags she ran. She was scared of authority. The following day, he had found her again, in his uniform, and she ran. But he had stopped her, tried to convince her that there was a better life from selling her body to strange men. He joked he wasn't like most guys. That he would rather pay her for finding a better way of life rather than through cash. And she gave him a chance to change her life. That's when she had joined up with the Army. He looked into it, found out she was an American citizen, which gave her the added boost to make it in there. And the life of prostitution had left her. He didn't have to lie saying that he thought there was something there. He wasn't sure who loved who more, but it just didn't last. And he did call, but she never called back. So, that was it. That was the last he had heard from her. Until now. Until the tragic news of death and now asking him to take care of their kid.

And here he was, almost seven years later from a love that ended before it could really begin. And had come with an aching consequence.

Tommy sat in one corner of the room watching Serena sleep soundly in her new bed. In her new home. On American soil. He walked over to her, sitting on the side of the bed as he pushed a line of hair away from her face. He laid a gentle kiss on her head.

He wasn't sure how he should be feeling now. He was happy. Yet, he was sad. Guilty. And angry for not knowing for so long. He felt betrayed and lied to. Yet, when he had looked down at her, things went away. Time almost stood still and it was that feeling of caring and loving someone more than himself. No. He couldn't judge and say that Serena was more important than Kim. They both meant a lot to him. And the child both he and Kim were waiting for. But right now, he knew that Serena had needed him more.

And he also knew he couldn't jeopardize any pain or huge stress on Kim. There was still a chance of losing that baby, even in the process of the six or so months she had left to carry their own child. Tommy never felt so lost and confused within himself. He didn't know where to turn to. Or if anyone could give him the advice he was looking for.

He heard footsteps echo through the hall and he knew it was Kim. Her shadow cast a silhouette into the room as she stood there at the threshold. But Tommy couldn't move. He didn't know what to do at that point. He felt like he needed to be in two places at once. He knew that Serena would have to get used to calling Kim 'mom' and he knew that Kim had to get over the fact of looking at the young girl and call her 'daughter'.

For awhile, it fell silent. Kim had stopped at the threshold, noticing her husband looming at his daughter's bedside. And at that point, it crushed her. Her heart was aching and she was feeling lost in a barren land. She wanted to say something. Hoping that one day Serena could accept her as being her mother, but somehow, she felt it would take some time. A long time. She turned away and headed back into her own bedroom, knowing she would have no luck in bringing her husband to accompany her. He had to be at his daughter's side, and she knew that. It just hurt. He had a kid, a kid that wasn't her own. And that's what was crushing her.

She had tucked herself in bed and slowly closed her eyes, but not without a stream of tears falling down her face as she fell into a deep slumber.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

The days had passed slow. It was hard for Serena to leave her father's side. As ambitious and as eager to learn, she was still scared about getting used to her new lifestyle. She didn't trust just anyone. And she was still not looking at Kim as a mother. Tommy had tried so hard to make the transition easy, but it was clear she had missed the Philippines and her mother. He had to call in two 'sick' days just to show and teach her a few things around town. Let alone, his birthday was this past Monday, February 1st, making him now 27 years old. He didn't want to celebrate it, but Kim had insisted on throwing him one, even if it was a surprise over the weekend. He wasn't much for birthday parties, but he dealt with them, knowing his friends would plot one for him, whether he wanted one or not.

Kim had gotten used to the lack of attention from her husband, and still tried to act like a friend to Serena. She was beginning to accept her help in making the transition better, but it was still putting an aching pain on the two of them.

Trent had come over to the Oliver homestead in the past few nights to help Kim with the native language of the Philippines. He also needed help on some biology homework Dr. Oliver had issued out to him regarding different protists.

Trent and Kim had been sitting in the living room. He knew that Dr. Oliver hadn't been in school due to his daughter, but he hoped he could get some answers regarding the legal issues around adoptions and kids. Yet, he knew that Kim needed some company just for the sake of trying to get used to the changes in the household. So did he.

"So, how are you holding out, Coach?" Trent asked as he put his biology homework into his backpack. "According to the others, you've been a little under the weather, as they put it."

Kim sighed quietly. "It's been really hard, Trent. Serena hasn't actually called me mom, or looked at me as anywhere near it. She's been really attached to Tommy lately. That's why he hasn't been in school for these past few days."

"Yeah, I guess I don't blame her for being scared. I've seen her over at Oceanside. Is that where she is enrolled?" Trent asked.

Kim nodded as she took a sip of her tea. "Yeah. But remember, it's only been her second day. She said for a majority of the time, she will be going through ESL, not a whole lot in the classroom until her English gets better."

Trent sighed, shaking his head. "I know that feeling. Besides, I'm still trying to get used to the other set of news. Ya know, about Dr. O being my second legal guardian."

"Have you told Kira about that, or anyone else?" Kim asked, not trying to sound all rude.

"Actually, I did tell Kira. And she didn't believe it until I showed her the documents. But I don't know. I don't think I could really call him 'dad' or even Tommy. You get used to one thing, it's hard to go to something else."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But, either way, I think it's kinda nice to know you do have someone else to go to for help or advice. But we're all here for each other."

Trent managed a smile. He knew that she had been aching over the news of all that's happened in the past week, but she still managed to make the most out of a situation. He didn't believe he ever saw Kim in a negative mode unless it was an argument with her husband. Yet, they had gotten passed them. Now, he wasn't quite sure about this one. He hoped that nothing would go wrong now, but it was too hard to tell.

Then they heard the front door open, and a small little voice speak, footsteps echoing through the hall. It was Tommy and Serena. They had gone out since Serena had wanted some ice cream before Trent had a chance to ask his science teacher for some help.

Then the small little girl had raced into the living room, but stopped short when she had saw the new occupant in the house. She looked over at Kim with some confusion then back at the teen in white who could only smiled at her. Serena turned and raced out of the room, but not before her father could stop her and pulled her into his arms.

He began to talk to her quietly as Kim looked over at Trent for some assistance in what he was telling her.

"Uh...he's just telling her about me. That I am sorta like her big brother and how I help out at the same school she goes to," Trent said slowly as he heard the words escape his science teacher's mouth.

Tommy had set Serena back on the floor as she slowly walked over to the couch and sat down, looking at Trent. She licked her ice cream cone but said nothing as Trent looked back at his science teacher for some assistance.

"She doesn't trust just anyone. If you haven't figured that out, Trent," Tommy said slowly with a shrug. He walked over to his wife and laid a kiss on her lips. "Sorry, Beautiful, she was really craving some ice cream. But I got you some of those buffalo wings you've been craving."

"Well, it's good to know you haven't completely forget about me," Kim smiled lightly as she took the bag from her husband and headed into the kitchen. She had offered some to Trent, but he refused, not feeling too hungry.

Tommy collapsed on the chair located on the other side of the room, looking across the coffee table at the young girl enjoying her ice cream. He let out a breath, shaking his head.

"But I'm not like most strangers, Dr. O. Did you tell her that I can talk to her in Tagalog?" Trent asked looking over at the young girl with some anxiety.

Tommy shrugged. "I did, but she's going through a phase. Some sorta psychological barrier as Adam had told me. We went to go see him earlier today and he said it was a phase. She's still coping with the loss of her mother."

Trent sighed and looked over at Serena. He spoke to her quietly, introducing himself. He had mentioned how he knew about losing a parent -- or two -- and how he was willing to help her out. He told her some of the things he liked to do, which was draw, write poems, hang out with friends, and train in the martial arts.

Kim found her place back on the couch beside Trent, a buffalo wing in mouth and a plate full set for her. She looked over at Tommy, who was clearly exhausted about the run around. "You're gonna spoil her, Tommy. That's bad, ya know. She's gonna be one of those kids who always gets what they wanted."

"Actually, no. Earlier today she wanted to get a puppy, but I told her it wasn't nice to have one in such as a place as out in the middle of nowhere. And she even asked for a few toys that I had also said 'no' to," he replied as he looked over at Kim under the visor he had made with his hand.

"But you go and get her some ice cream?" Kim raised an eyebrow with confusion.

"That was sorta my bad. I actually wanted to get some, and she did to. But that didn't mean I forgot to get you something either. I got you the buffalo wings, and I also got your cheesecake mix from Ben & Jerry's."

"You're gonna spoil me now, aren't you?" Kim asked as she finished off another wing and grabbed another.

"Only 'cuz I know I've been neglecting you for the past few days. Besides, I knew Trent wanted to come by and meet his little sister, and give you some lessons on Tagalog since I haven't been able to. Have you learned much?"

"A little. You weren't kidding when you said it was a hard language to learn. But is she willing to give me a chance?"

"She likes to be complicating, even when she talks to me. It's kinda surprising they put her in 2nd grade. She's well into 6th grade and 7th grade knowledge on science, if not better."

"Well, we know where she got that from, Mr. PhD," Kim smiled.

Tommy couldn't help but smile back. At least, she was still willing to crack a joke time and time again. And he would be back in school by tomorrow, even if it was an early release to finish off midterms. He had wanted so badly to have things go back to normal just a little bit, but it hadn't in the past few days.

Serena called out to her dad. She had briefly asked him if what Trent was saying was true. That Trent would look after Serena every now and then, while he and Kim would attend to some 'teacher conferences' throughout the year.

Tommy looked over at Trent slightly shocked at his choice of words, knowing what he meant by 'teacher conferences'. It was times when Tommy and Kim would be requesting some time alone to do other things. "Trent, you said that!"

Trent shrugged. "Just trying to keep it real, Dr. O. Besides, I think I finally got her to start trusting a few more people." He looked over at Serena speaking quietly only for her to hear.

"Dad, can we have lunch tomorrow? As a family?" Serena asked with a little puppy eyed look.

Tommy looked over at Trent, then over at Kim slightly confused by the question, but happy. Yet, Trent shook his head saying he had to work immediately after school and could not join them. Yet, upon the early release for the district, it would give the trio time to talk and hang out like a real family.

Tommy nodded a yes, figuring it could be worth a try to help bring them closer. "Okay, Serena. We could do that."

It was getting rather late, and Trent had to be getting home to finish the rest of his homework before the night was done. It was clear that once he had left, he and Serena were on good grounds. And Tommy could only question what Trent had told her since it was clear the two of them wouldn't tell him what they were plotting or doing. But it was good, since Serena had begun to talk to Kim a little more.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Next day.

Serena had been enrolled at the local elementary school, Oceanside, in the 2nd grade. And like many foreign students, she had also been placed in ESL. But lucky for her, Trent was a student assistant at the school. And he would make sure to keep her in check, for the sake of her education and her father. Yet, she wasn't like most kids her age. She had an interest toward technology that could blow the minds off of people at the high school level even. But due to credits and what she knew about the English language, she was stuck in 2nd grade.

Time had gone rather slow, even for a day that had no real point at the high school level. Classes were a little over thirty minutes long and there just wasn't enough time to do a whole lot of things. And it was growing more evident in the seniors that they just didn't care much for school. Many of them just wanted their diploma and get the hell outta the school, if not the area.

The teens had been staggering around in the parking lot trying to find something to do to preoccupy their time for the rest of the day.

"How about a movie?" Kira asked as she leaned against Trent's car beside him. They had stod closer to each other in the last few weeks, but it still appeared in the slow stages of a relationship, in the experimenting stages. But they were well beyond it, they just never showed it publicly.

"I can't. I don't have a whole lotta money," Ethan said slightly discouraged.

"Still haven't found a job?" Trent asked.

"Hey, don't get me wrong. I got a great resume. They just don't wanna hire a guy who's lacking on job experience," Ethan sighed sadly. He had been eagerly trying to find a job, but got nowhere. Even with his impressive computer skills, many companies wouldn't be hiring under 18 or without a high school diploma.

"Yeah, well. We could always just hang out at the cyber cafÉ," Conner had suggested. Not that it was the first time one had seen Conner without his girlfriend, but she would be out for the week visiting a few colleges on the east coast. "Hey, Trent. Have you met Dr. O's kid, yet?"

"She's an interesting character," Trent nodded slowly. "She seems to have a lot on her mind, I would assume from the loss of her mother, but there is lot she can say for a six year old. She is pretty smart."

"But she doesn't talk in English, does she? I mean, she did come from the Philippines," Ethan asked.

"Only a little bit. That's why she's taking ESL classes."

"But you know what she's saying," Kira said.

"Yeah, I do. I mean, she just prefers to talk in Tagalog, since that's what she's used to hearing. And plus, she doesn't want people to make fun of her accent. It's really thick," Trent stated as he shrugged. "Actually, I was the same way. But after a few years, it slowly goes away."

"So, is she anything like Dr. O?" Conner asked.

"She has that same fiery spirit like Dr. O. She looks like a person who could be a leader, and I can see him in her eyes," Trent answered. "I have to go pick her up, since Coach and Dr. O got a few meetings before they can hit up lunch together."

The trio had asked their friend in white a little more about Serena, but he couldn't give much information on it. He was still getting used to the concept of having a 'little sister'. Not that it didn't bother him, it was just a little weird to think along those lines now. He had told Conner and Ethan about the recent discovery of Dr. Oliver being his second legal guardian, and they could not believe it at all. He said he could probably bring her by for them to meet, but wasn't quite sure how she would react to the sudden attention. Yet, he hoped that wouldn't be a problem. He had ways to bribe a kid without making it seem like he was spoiling them. It was more so a reward for being nice.

Ethan had stated that the number of cars was decreasing in the parking lot, and it was their cue to leave. The administrators would get on anyone who decided to hang out at the school on an early release. It was their time to go do things off school grounds. And the teachers had their own work to do at the school.

The others agreed, saying they will all meet at the cyber cafÉ to hang out. Each of them had gotten into their cars and set off to do some quick errands before hitting their usual hang-out spot.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

As much as it was nice being a teacher, it was not fun to do. They had to stay at school for at least another hour or two to finish off grades and go through one of those long boring lectures regarding new techniques to teach. It was a snore fest for many of them, even if people from the school board were there. They had to look like they were paying attention, but really the weren't. They just didn't care.

Even at times when there were meetings like that, Kim and Tommy were never really seen around each other. Everyone thought something was wrong, but it was merely the concept of where they stood on the staff. And how it would be wrong to show any such signs of affection in the work place. They didn't need anyone on their business outside of school. And they took their teaching jobs seriously. Plus, teachers were in designated areas, the science teachers in one area, the English in another, and so on. It didn't have to do with segregation or anything, they were just used to it. And it was easy to distinguish who was who for the school board. And if they needed to address one particular group.

And as soon as the meeting was over, many of the teachers who had completed their grades early had a chance to leave early. And that was exactly what Tommy and Kim did.

Meanwhile, at the cyber cafe, the teens had met to hang out for the rest of the day. It wasn't like they had much homework to do. They just weren't feeling these long days. As far as any of them could tell, they just wanted the year to end. They simply wanted to get their diplomas and call it over for high school. And they were hoping to end this war with Mindshatter before their final year at Reefside would end, but they highly doubt it.

"How are we supposed to be excited about this year ending when we've nearly failed our job every time there is an attack?" Ethan sighed as he took a sip of his shake.

"At least we're not dead," Kira had to admit solemnly.

"Could you imagine if we failed?" Conner sighed sadly.

"But we can't. I mean, think about it. Remember, there was a ranger team of the future. If we fail, they won't exist," Kira countered his thoughts.

"Yeah, well, there is also the concept of saying that the future is always moving and anything could happen," Ethan said.

"Exactly. We still got a chance," Kira nodded. "We always have a chance."

Then the main doors to the cyber cafe opened to welcome in a new set of customers or those just wanting to hang out. Among those in the crowd of a few was Trent and a little girl holding his hand. And as the trio looked over to see the new visitors, they knew that the young girl was their science teacher's daughter, Serena.

Trent held up a hand in greeting as he walked over to his friends. He greeted them quickly as they greeted him back with a smile or nod. He looked down at the girl by his side as she looked up at him. He spoke to her in Tagalog. "Serena, I want you to meet some friends of mine. This is Ethan, Kira and Conner. They all take martial arts with me from your dad. He's also our science teacher at Reefside High."

Serena looked at each of them and smiled lightly. "Hi."

Trent smiled lightly as he turned to his friends. "Guys, this is Serena, Dr. O's daughter."

Each of them greeted the young girl with a kind gesture as she climbed into the open seat. Trent had offered her something to drink before her father would come by to get her as he trailed off slowly into his working shift for the day.

The other teens were slightly hesitate to start a conversation with the young girl, not sure of what to say or ask her. They knew she wasn't fluent in English, but she still could understand what they were saying. That was not a problem.

Kira was the first to ask the young girl where she lived in the Philippines and Serena had replied in Manila or on the military base depending on when her mother was needed.

Ethan asked about what she liked to do. And Serena simply answered by playing sports, writing and wanting to learn more about those color-coordinated warriors, the Power Rangers.

It sparked up some interest in the three, but as Trent had passed them by, kicking each of their chairs inconspiciously, they knew they couldn't say anymore than agree with her. It was clear that Tommy had not told her the truth, and none of them couldn't hint at it even a little.

Conner decided to change subject, asking the little girl how she was liking the city. She said it was something new, but said she could adjust easily. She was beginning to now, and liked some of the people she's already met.

But soon the topic had gone back to the Power Rangers, which had each of them twist and turn uncomfortably in their chairs. It was clear that Serena had dreams of meeting one -- or a few -- and wanting to become one. And with the look dancing in each of their eyes, it was clear that being the heir of such an honor couldn't get passed up by the young girl. She said she knew so little about the first few generations, but knew quite a lot about the past four teams since Time Force. They didn't know how she obtained that kind of information, but it was more than they could handle from one not fully associated with the rangers.

The trio was getting quite fidgetty, and like many times Hayley had come to see how she could help out. Briefly introducing herself to the young girl, who she learned was Tommy's kid, soon realized what was coming out of her mouth and why it made the teens uncomfortable.

Time passed slow as the doors swung open and the familiar face of Tommy Oliver came in. The group breathed a sigh of relief as they quickly got to their feet, Ethan and Kira racing outside to catch some air. Conner and Hayley stopped the man before he could go any farther.

"I see you guys have met my daughter, Serena," Tommy said slowly looking at the uneasiness in his friends.

Conner let out a breath. "You gotta tell her. This obsession is crazy. And trust me, we didn't say anything, but she is all over the Ranger thing like a kid over candy."

Tommy sighed quietly. He nodded slowly realizing that the teen in red wasn't lying. In the nights he would tuck her away, she would ask stories about the Rangers, and it, too, had made him uncomfortable. She knew more than anyone could ever know about a team of rangers who was seeking out the truth on them. He didn't know how she could have obtained this information, but most of it was pretty accurate. "You're right, Conner. I need to tell her, and I will. I just need some time to think through how I should tell her..."

"Tell me what?" a small voice asked as Serena walked over to the trio by the door.

It fell silent as the trio turned to look at the young girl who had melted into her father's side, grabbing his hand. Hayley had excused herself to take her place behind the counter to set up more orders for paying customers. Conner took a step back as Ethan and Kira entered the room again.

Tommy let out a breath smiling. He spoke to her quietly in Tagalog. "I got a surprise for you, Serena. But if you're not good today, you may not get it, okay?"

"What kinda surprise?" she asked eagerly.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."

"Trent told me you would have a surprise for me if I was good," she had replied. Tommy had looked across the room as Trent had set down some new drinks for his friends. Trent winked at him as he turned away. Serena tugged on her father's hand, desperate to hear the news. "C'mon, daddy. You can tell me. I've been good."

He shook his head, and told her she would have to wait until the end of the day. He looked back at the trio in front of him, nodding solemnly. And they knew he would pretty likely tell her by nightfall. They could only hope he was telling the truth as they said goodbye to the two and went back to their table.

Tommy had escorted his daughter out of the cafe and onto the small lunch outing they would have as a family. Kim was already at the park setting it up.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Island fortress.

In the last few weeks, Mindshatter had been working vigorously to find a way around keeping Mesogog in a more permanent state.

He had managed to pull off no more than two days, and it was frustrating him. Even with his new space-age technology, he could find no way to keep the dino menace from transforming back into his alter ego.

He had only one last choice. Mind control. The easiest and most simple way to bend anyone lower than him to his will. He had used it several times on Dinoshade and cybots for failing to do permanent damage to his enemies.

Anton laid in the chair, moaning quietly as the last of the tests and experiments had stopped for the day. He had taken more punishment than he could have imagined for a guy of his status. But he could only conclude that what dino DNA he had in him was acting as a shield to keep him alive. His head moved about dazily, but it hurt to even open his eyes. He could hardly speak from the pain.

Mindshatter loomed over him using his mind to connect with the one below him. And that's when he felt he had made some connection to the beast within the scientist. He could hear Mesogog, felt him wanting to claw his way to the surface and remain. He began to chat quietly in his alien language as a green-yellow light covered Anton. And when the chatting had stopped, Mesogog now laid in the chair.

Moments had passed as the dino menace finally stirred, ripping the straps away and getting to his feet. He growled at Mindshatter as he pushed him aside.

"Out of my way you big pile of nuts and bolts!" Mesogog hissed.

Mindshatter pushed the dino menace back into the chair. "I do not tolerate such disrespect from anyone, Mesogog."

"The only thing I would ever agree to help you with is to destroy the rangers, Mindshatter. And after that, we will see who is more worthy to take the planet for themselves," Mesogog announced.

"You have no idea what you're up against, Mesogog. You will continue to grow weaker if you don't let me help you."

Mesogog shoved Mindshatter's hand away and glared at the elite cyborg in front of him. Out of all the times he had felt the drill of experiments on him and his alter ego, Anton, he had grow weak. He wasn't sure how much more he could take, or if he could even make it to see another day. The experiments had left him that weak. And after Mindshatter's last idea, he was almost certain that this was as close as he could get to staying like this. Anton had been fighting, but he wouldn't last. And even as his alter ego, he felt he would have to fight too if they were both to survive. His main objective was still to get rid of Mindshatter, but he still had the feeling of ruling the world under his arm. But he couldn't do it with a robotic- porcupine in his way. "No evil being has ever won against the Rangers, Mindshatter. What makes you think you're any different?"

"Because I have you," Mindshatter countered. He barked out a call in his alien dialect as the shadows in the corner of the room took shape as his henchman, Dinoshade appeared. Mindshatter turned to him. "I have an idea for our little color-suited friends, Dinoshade."

"I have made a discovery about one of our favorite rangers, my lord," Dinoshade announced. "It seems the Black Ranger has a child who could serve as a great asset against them."

Mindshatter thought for a moment as he looked over at Mesogog.

"Creating an evil curse or encoding a gem with evil could divide the team," Mesogog announced. "And taking out their leader will render them weak and useless against us."

Mindshatter nodded. "I like it." Mindshatter moved toward one of the computers located in the room. He pulled out a device for Dinoshade. "Take this, Dinoshade. Go reek havoc on the town and call forth the rangers. Mesogog has given me an idea."

Dinoshade nodded as he left the room. Mindshatter had looked over at Mesogog commenting on he could be of more help to him than he could have realized.

But as Mindshatter approached the dino meance, he had forced Mesogog to the ground with his mind control. And Mesogog had no time to react since he was already weaken from the experiments for the day. Mindshatter began to start a chant as Mesogog tried to fight it. But he couldn't. And time had passed slow, Mesogog laid on the ground motionless.

"Rise, my new warrior," Mindshatter announced.

Mesogog did as he was told and when his eyes opened, there was a hint of red in them. There was a more darken look to his face and it was clear in how he stood, almost like a robot, that he was now under Mindshatter's command and control.

"Who do you serve?" Mindshatter asked.

"Dark Mindshatter," Mesogog said darkly.

"And who is your enemy?" Mindshatter asked.

"The Power Rangers," Mesogog announced. "Shall I destroy them now, or later, master?"

"Patience, Mesogog. I need Dinoshade to weaken them first."

The dino menace nodded and left the room to attend to other matters around the island fortress.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Dinoshade had landed in downtown Reefside with a swarm of cybots. They made no hesitation to destroy the city block. Innocent civilians raced for cover and out of the plaza to safety.

Moments later, four figures emerged upon the smoke from a line of laser blasts. It was the four teens of the DT team.

"Hey, didn't anyone tell you it's not nice to open fire out of boredom?" Conner called out.

"Just who I wanted to see," Dinoshade announced as he bowed toward the teens. "But where is the black one?"

"He'll have to take a rain check. You're dealing with us," Ethan said.

"And this time, we don't plan on walking away the losers," Kira announced with some confidence.

Though it had been nearly two weeks since their last battle, they felt they were ready to take on their enemy with whatever they could. They were tired of losing, and they knew they had some added boost knowing there were a few rangers lined up to help when need be.

Dinoshade laughed. "We will see. You have no idea what you're up against."

Conner took the lead in front of his team as he pulled his morpher into place. The trio followed and they gave out their morphing call. Their significant light covered their body, and as a line of lasers rained down on them, they emerged from it suited up ready for battle. All were in Super Dino Mode, weapons drawn and ready for action.

Conner and Trent made no hesitation as they raced straight for Dinoshade. Kira and Ethan made sure to clear a path for them as they went up against the cybots.

Conner would kick high but Dinoshade pushed it away. Trent went low, and managed to make their enemy falter. But even for a robotic dinosaur, he was quick to react. He made no hesitation to lay out a few laser blasts their way, sending them to the ground.

Kira and Ethan had their hands full with the cybots, who seemed more fired up than they had been in their last few set of battles. And as they tried to find a way to keep them at bay, they met pavement like they had in their past battles.

"Man, what's up with these guys!" Ethan growled as he slowly peeled himself off the ground. "They're burning up."

"I think we could use some help here," Trent groaned as he just got sent to the ground again.

"But we can't call Dr. O out. He's spending some quality time with Serena and Coach," Kira stated.

Conner fell back as he helped Trent to his feet, looking over at his team. He shook his head, remembering that sacrifices had to be made. They needed him. "But he's a Ranger, too, Kira. He's the only one we could call right now." He triggered his morpher just before another line of lasers fell over them.

And the teens forced themselves back into the battle, hoping to find a way to some sort of victory.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

At one of the parks not too far from the sight of the ocean under a tree sat the Oliver family. Tommy sat with his back against the tree, Serena against the sight of the park looking at the ocean, and Kim on the other in front of Serena.

In the time span they had already been there, they had enjoyed their lunch, a small cuisine of Filipino food, making small talk. Serena had told her story about what she had learned in school, becoming a little more comfortable about the English language. And she had continuous pleaded her father to teach her some martial arts.

Tommy exchanged a look with his wife as he snagged a bite of his food and sat up on his knees beside his daughter. He held up his hands, palms raised. "All right. All right. We'll start slow. Basic punching. I want you to hit..."

Serena made no hesitation as she had struck her father's palms, alternating between left and right. It was quick and carried some power that surprised Tommy, not just because she was young or a girl, but since she claimed she couldn't take martial arts lessons because of her mother. Those punches seemed to prove wrong.

Tommy had caught one of her punches, stopping her. "I thought you didn't know martial arts," he spoke in Tagalog. "You said your mother wouldn't let you take lessons for safety reasons."

Serena shrugged with a light smile. "I watched movies, dad. And many of the things I did know about it, she said came from you. I've always wanted to learn how to walk on a balance beam and perform on those uneven bars. I saw the Olympics, and I remember seeing mommy on them. It looked like fun to be there."

Tommy looked over at Kim with a smile. "Yeah, I'm sure it was."

Kim could only smile back, though she was still lost about what the young girl had said. "Okay, I didn't catch all of that. But I do know she mentioned something about the Olympics in there and seeing me there..."

"I learn gymnastics, mommy?" Serena asked quietly, hoping and eager to possibly one day learn it.

And at that point, Kim had caught her breath. She could feel her eyes welt with the formation of tears. It was the first time she had heard 'mommy' slip out of Serena's lips, directed toward her. And she had requested to learn gymnastics, from her. And she wasn't sure if it was to just make her father happy, but when she looked over at Tommy, he had looked at her intently and solemnly, telling her that Serena had spoke wholeheartedly about it.

Kim closed her eyes for a moment as the tears fell. She was finally feeling the acceptance by her step-daughter, and now most of the burden of pain was lifted. "Of course, Serena. I would love to teach you."

Serena smiled as she crawled over to her and hugged the woman in pink. "No cry, mommy."

"I'm just so happy," Kim said as she cleared her tears away.

Tommy couldn't help but smile to himself as he moved to encase the two people that meant the world to him. He laid a kiss on both of their heads as they locked Serena into a tight hug. "I love you, Serena. And I love you too, Beautiful."

The two had exchanged their own affections toward the man in the family. Serena gagging slightly as she watched her parents exchanged a kiss on the lips. Tommy could only chuckle saying she will learn to understand love as they did.

But for even a happy ending to this, came the disturbing call from another set of people that meant a lot to Tommy. His dino morpher chimed with the call he could only conclude was for help.

Tommy cursed internally, as the happy moment ended. He broke the embrace with his wife and daughter and looked over at Kim. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to leave them, but the look in his wife's eyes was telling him he had to go and help his team. And as painful as she didn't want him to leave, he had his duties.

"Daddy, what was that?" Serena asked, noticing the chime came from him.

Tommy caught his breath. He looked around the park. And strangely enough, there was no one in sight. He could tell her now, but he wasn't ready. And he knew though, he couldn't keep it from her any longer. She had to know, but he couldn't do it.

Kim laid a hand on his arm as Serena did the same. Each of them wondering what he would say. Kim called out to him, as he looked at her. And as it danced in her eyes, he knew she was urging him to tell their daughter the truth.

The dino morpher chimed again, and Tommy knew the team was in desperate need for some assistance. He forced air back into his lungs as he looked over at his daughter. "Serena, I have to go take care of something really important."

"You leaving?" Serena seemed saddened.

"I have to. Duty calls..." Tommy hesitated as he looked over at his wife. She nodded solemnly, ready to take responsibility of what news was about to be said. "...when you're a Power Ranger."

It fell silent as Serena took in the news like a sponge. For awhile she didn't say anything, as if she didn't hear what he had said. She shook her head and laughed, not believing it.

Tommy looked around again to make sure no one was around and got to his feet. "Maybe this will convince you." He pulled his dino morpher into place as it transformed and he pulled out his key for it. "Dino Thunder! Power up!"

And then a black-gold light covered him and when it cleared, the Black DT Ranger stood where he once was.

And again there was a silence. Serena slowly got to her feet and looked over the suit, touching it and feeling the texture of the spandex as it hugged against the occupant. "Daddy?"

"It's me, baby," the man in the black suit nodded. He bent down to meet her at eye level, grasping her arms. "I can't stay. I need to go, okay? I have a duty to protect this city. But I want you to also know one other thing, your mother here also served with me years ago as a Ranger."

Serena's eyes brightened as she looked over at her mother. "Mommy, too?"

"Yes, Serena. I was one of the originals," Kim nodded solemnly.

"There is so much we need to tell you, but not now. But, can you promise me one thing?" Tommy asked as she nodded. "Promise us you won't tell anyone what you know about the Power Rangers."

Serena nodded as she hugged her father. He locked his arms around her and got to his feet. He exchanged a hug with his wife. And like always she had told him to be careful. He took a step back to look at his family and then turned and raced out of there to help his team.

_-XXXXXXXXXX-_

Trent went flying into the air as he hit the pavement, his powers were down-sized to his normal mode. He groaned in frustration as he got to his feet and used his dash attack to send Dinoshade to the ground.

Ethan had used his tricera shield to block some attacks from the weaken Kira. But they had taken some capital punishment from the cybots. Many times, their aim wasn't quite on target, but today it had hit them nearly every time. They barely had time to clear the laser before being elbowed by one of the spikes.

Conner was showing some signs of fatigue as he tried to rip the device out of Dinoshade's hand. But he couldn't get to it even under his super speed. It was like the robotic dinosaur knew where he would plant all of his moves. He sent out a few punches and kicks, but Dinoshade managed to counter most of them. He pushed his weight against the exhausted teen as he fell to the ground.

They didn't know how much more they could take before collapsing completely. The cybots were slowly getting agitated by the fact the rangers would fall, but come right back at them, using what they could to drive them back.

And when the familiar call of the wind strike attack hit the cybots, the team knew their finally teamate had arrived. The cybots all went flying through the plaza. Once they hit the ground, an invisi-portal had opened up and picked them up. And Dinoshade was left to clean up the mess, not that he didn't mind. He knew more about the rangers than they could imagine, and he was at an added advantage because of it.

"Perfect. All here," Dinoshade hissed as he picked up the red DT ranger and shoved him into the assembling rangers.

"Whoa!" Conner cried out as he landed on top of the other teens.

The Black DT Ranger raced into the area as he took his place in front of the exhausted teens. "Sorry I'm late, guys."

"Better late than never," Ethan groaned as he slowly got to his feet.

"You guys okay?" Tommy asked as he helped Conner to his feet, never taking his eyes off of Dinoshade.

"Never felt better," Kira said sarcastically.

"All five of you here. Just what was I hoping for," Dinoshade proclaimed as he fired up the device.

A black sorta translucent light escaped from the device and formed a dome around the rangers and Dinoshade. The team looked around slightly confused unsure what to make of it.

"What is it, Dr. O?" Conner asked looking at the dome now encasing them.

Tommy looked around the dome shaking his head. "It looks like we're stuck in some sorta dome."

Ethan had walked up to the edge of it, and held his hand out to it to see if it could do any damage to him. For a moment, Tommy had watched the sparks jump around and ricochet around the dome and could only conclude one thing. He called out to the teen in blue, pushing him to the ground before he could touch the end of the dome. But Tommy couldn't catch himself as he hit the side of the dome and a spark of lightning erupted on him. He hit the ground groaning in pain as the power drain forced him to demorph.

Kira and Ethan raced over to pull the dazed science teacher to his feet. But as they did, they noticed something was wrong. The protection of their suits was deminishing and they soon stood there in their civilian forms.

"What's going on?" Trent looked over at his other teammates.

"Fools! You're shiny suits won't do you any good in this dome," Dinoshade announced. "Now, it will be so much easier to destroy you."

"Uh...Dr. Oliver, any thoughts?" Ethan asked as he patted his teacher on the chest.

Tommy groaned as he slowly raised his head, eyes fixed on Dinoshade. "If we can get that device we can destroy this dome and safely morph."

"And if we don't?" Conner asked.

"Let's try not to think of that. C'mon, guys. We gotta take him on with all we got," the man in black announced as he slowly forced air back into his lungs. He fell into a fighter stance.

The teens assembled themselves beside him and fell into a defensive stance. Dinoshade was the first to make an attack as he fired a line of lasers toward them, but they all moved away. Each taking their place around the lone robotic dinosaur.

But they weren't sure what they could do without the ability to morph. They had gone through several battles without their powers, but it wasn't the best feeling in the world, even if they managed to come out the victor. But this was one battle that could end far more worse than good.

Tommy was the first to launch himself at their aggressor as he lined up for a crescent kick. Dinoshade moved away, ducking the blow and forcing the skilled ranger to the ground by a punch, palm facing outward.

Conner and Kira decided to double team him by the sides, but ended up on the ground beside their fallen mentor. One by one Ethan and Trent had alternated attacks between Dinoshade. Each of them managed to make a blow that sent him back long enough for the science teacher to launch his own attacks toward him. Though, they were without their uniforms, they fell back when they could and attacked at any given opportunity. But it was hard. Exhausting. And the team was showing signs of fatigue beyond words.

They weren't gonna make it. Even if they were slowly weakening Dinoshade, it wouldn't be good in the long run. They may not make it that much farther even if they tried.

The team assembled on one side of the dome. And when they had managed to send Dinoshade into the wall of the dome, it had weakened him more. But it still wasn't enough, and they were running out of ideas.

"So, now what? We've tried everything we could think of," Conner breathed catching his breath from the battle.

"It's not over until it is over, guys. This is far from it," Tommy said.

Ethan shook his head. "No offense, Dr. O, we get it. But what do we got against him without our powers?"

"Power isn't everything. It may give you strength, but your spirit is one of the strongest things you got against anything, no matter how big or small. Be strong," Tommy directed his words of wisdom to the team.

"Are you done planning over there?" Dinoshade growled as he took a step forward, holding out the device. He watched as the skilled black ranger took his place in front of his team. "You want this, don't you?"

"And like always, you never freely give it up. Typical among you pathetic excuses for a henchmen to your master," Tommy shot back as he forced air into his lungs. He lowered his body slightly, looking like he was going to sprint for the device.

"You can't win, Rangers. Why don't you just give up the war? This world is ours for the taking and none of you will stop us from ruling it..." he announced.

"But in the end, no one is gonna care about you because once you destroy us, you're gonna be destroyed so Mindshatter will rule the world on his own," Ethan shot back. "Have you seen those sci-fi movies?"

Dinoshade took a step forward, making the team take a small step back. He sneered with a smile and took several steps forward. The team inched closer and closer to the wall of the dome, nearly inches from the electrical surprise. They knew if any of them hit it, it would do more damage to them then they wanted from it, especially without their suits.

But then Tommy had moved forward, using what strength he had left, fused with his ninja powers to take down the robotic dinosaur. Dinoshade roared as he felt the pavement hit his back. He quickly got to his feet, and swung hard striking the black ranger before he had time to react.

Tommy felt his world slow around him as his knees locked and they slammed against the ground. Then his face had hit the cement, and before his eyes had fell shut, they fell on the team on the other side of the dome. Then the eyes grew heavy and shut.

"Noooo!" the teens called out.

For awhile, none of them could move. They weren't sure if their teacher had just fell unconscious or if he really was dead.

Kira saw the device skid across the ground as Dinoshade slowly got back on his feet. She caught her breath and raced for it, knowing that would be their key out of the dome.

The others saw what she was doing as Ethan raced to their fallen mentor. Dinoshade was now back on his feet, heading straight for Kira.

Trent felt some strength return to his legs as he sprinted toward the robotic dinosaur. "Kira! Look out!"

Conner saw the danger to and used what energy he had left to follow the white ranger into battle with Dinoshade. Kira quickly grabbed the device, just as Dinoshade set up a pounce to take her down. But Trent and Conner had tackled the robotic dinosaur in mid-air sending him to the ground. But, Dinoshade had managed to get an outstretch hand, swiping at Kira's feet as she hit the ground. The device skidded across the dome, closer to Dinoshade. He tried to reach for it as Trent and Conner tried to hold him back.

But due to the impact of Dinoshade's arm, Kira had hit the ground hard. And she wasn't getting up. Her eyes had fell shut, too.

Meanwhile, Ethan breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the faint pulse of their mentor's heartbeat against his hand.

"Ethan! The device!" Conner called out to the teen in blue. He and Trent were having a harder time keeping Dinoshade back as he inched closer to the device.

Ethan quickly got to his feet, racing over. Dinoshade didn't hesitate to launch a series of his lasers toward the teen in blue. He had dodged them all, many too close as he rolled for the device. But one final shot had its target as it hit a spot a few feet from Ethan that sent him into the air and down on the ground, hard. He winced in pain as he felt his eyes grow heavy.

The device rolled over to Dinoshade as he grabbed it. Trent and Conner tried even harder to strip it away and keep the dino-robot on the ground. But it could not be done. Dinoshade jumped to his feet and used his powerful tail to whip both the red and white rangers across the dome. They hit the wall of electricity, and came crashing down beside the fallen white ranger. He groaned in pain as he called out weakly to his friend in white.

Trent looked over at him, but he, too, had felt some of the electrical surge as his eyes grew heavy. He watched as Conner's eyes fell shut and he slowly turned his painful head over to the robotic dinosaur. But before he could say or do anything his world had turned black. And he, too, fell victim to an unconscious state.

And it fell silent as Dinoshade roared with some satisfaction. He pushed a few buttons on the device. And when the dome had demolished, none of the rangers were in sight. And Dinoshade had disappeared through an invisi-portal.

_to be continued..._

_A/N: Huh! Hold up! Where did the rangers go? And were they all seriously dead? Doubt it! C'mon, I'm not gonna be hitting the bad news just yet. Yet, I will hint that some of these people are gonna die. It could be a ranger, or it could be a close friend. You're just gonna have to see in the future chapters. I hope I've established some more suspense. And just to let you know, there is just something about Filipino kids that makes them so irresistible. They don't get bratty until they hit about the age of 10 or 11. So, now that has been established, Serena has accepted Kim as her mother. Kinda fast, but that is how Filipinos can be. And she also found out her father and mother are Power Rangers? A lot to take in for a little girl. But what about the DT team? And where was the help when they needed it? I know, that's a lot of questioning and pondering. There's a lot that's happened in this chapter. You gotta see what happens next chapter. It's only beginning. And it's only getting better. Or possibly worse. Isang diwa, isang mahal. Catch you guys on the flip side. See you when I do and may the power always protect you._


	24. Back In Time

**_A/N: I am truly sorry about taking so long to post for you guys. I have been extremely busy with PROM and well, my graduation. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say I have officially graduated from high school on May 14th, 2005 and am free to enter the real world...well, sort of. I have to go through college first, but that has really kept me in a bind in the last few weeks since my last post. But, for now, here it is, or what I have thus far and what I've gotten around to in the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy. May the powers always protect you. (Oh, and just to let you know, I may be in a craze with Star Wars in the next few weeks just cause...well, you know. Star Wars Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith is out in only a matter of days, and I'm just so excited about it. Sorry, Star Wars fan...not geek. Just fan. May the Force be with you Always.)_**

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART TWENTY-FOUR: BACK IN TIME  
_**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The team makes a startling discovery about where they are. Can they find a way out of it?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. Just the adventure our DT team has now gone through, along with the other rangers throughout the years. I know you're liking it or you wouldn't be asking for more, so thank you for your reviews. And I wanna welcome aboard all the new faces to my production. Enjoy your stay. It's only beginning._

_A/N: So, where exactly has the team gone? There has been a lot going on this year in Reefside. Oh yeah, I figured I'd bring back some elements from the past—hint. Wink. Wink. One being, Mesogog is now under a curse to follow just Mindshatter's orders, similar to how Tommy was under the evil spell. Dinoshade gets rather jealous of Mesogog, kinda how Zeltrax did with Elsa and the evil White Ranger. And a few others... but I'm not telling. Just read on to find some answers._

_X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
__"I almost thought we could have won that battle. But now, something has gone wrong. I am not liking this war against Mindshatter one bit. Where are we supposed to go from here? I will not go out this way. None of us can." -Eclyptyk Neo  
__-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

Dinoshade walked through the halls of the island fortress. In his mind, he was sure he had finally did something right that Mindshatter wouldn't completely badger him about. But he was growing rather angry at the lack of attention or praise he had done to keep the rangers down. Mindshatter had been focusing more on keeping Mesogog in his permanent state rather than on giving gratitude to him.

"I have been doing most of the work," Dinoshade growled to himself. "Mindshatter has done nothing but sit here and watch. He has to worry more about that pathetic excuse for a dinosaur, Mesogog..."

"Do I hear some jealousy?" a voice said from behind him in a low and dark voice.

Dinoshade turned around to see Mesogog standing there, head down. But when Mesogog looked up, the hint of red in his eyes lit up like a fiery rage. It made Dinoshade somewhat hesitant, but he wasn't afraid of the other dinosaur. He was still merely a man underneath it all. And no human ever could compete with him, as the Rangers seemed to fail almost every time.

"You don't scare me, Mesogog!" Dinoshade growled as he pushed his way through.

Mesogog turned toward him, hand outstretched. He was using his mind control to lift the robotic dinosaur off the ground and pinned him against the wall. Slowly, Mesogog strode over to him, eyes fixed on the robo-dinosaur. "Mindshatter does not take jealousy well. If you think you will overthrow him, you'll have to go through me."

"Who do you think you are?" Dinoshade glared at the dino menace. His own eyes glowed with a bright angry red. He pushed Mesogog's hand away, but Mesogog planted it back on his neck.

"I am your worse nightmare, Dinoshade. And you will soon learn that Mindshatter will no longer need you," Mesogog hissed.

For a moment longer the two could only glare at each other. Mesogog slowly let Dinoshade go as he turned and headed up the hall. Mesogog watched him go and turned and headed the other way.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Ethan groaned quietly as he quick shot up, his eyes flashing open. The sun from up above had beat down on him, causing him to air out his blue flannel. The heat slowly picking up. He looked around slightly confused, unsure what exactly happened.

He scratched his head, trying to remember what exactly happened.

Then when he saw the figure laying next to him, he remembered.

He felt time pass slowly around him as he raced over to his fallen mentor. He checked a pulse, felt a faint one as Conner and Trent called out to him. He had to get the device in order to get them out of that dome and free from Dinoshade in order to morph or possibly flee. He had gotten it, but Dinoshade also targeted him and the impact of the laser blast next to where he stood sent him into the ground. And he remember his world turn black and he fell into a deep slumber.

He tapped the figure in white, trying to wake him up. "Trent! Trent, wake up!"

Slowly, the teen in white felt reality wake up around him. He slowly groaned as he opened his eyes and slowly pushed himself to sit up. He looked around as he looked over at Ethan, slightly confused. And when he saw the confusion and fright in the computer gamer, he had remembered what happened in their last battle.

He and Conner had kept Dinoshade away from Kira, but he still managed to swipe Kira off her feet. But he couldn't see how she was doing since he had his hands full with Dinoshade. They called out to Ethan to get the device, but he, too, fell victim to Dinoshade's blow and lost it. Dinoshade got the device back and sent Conner and him flying. They hit the wall of the dome and felt the electric shock run through them as they hit the ground and his eyes grew heavy, his world turn dark around him.

And now, here he was in some alleyway with Ethan. And they weren't sure how they got there, but it didn't look like any alleyway they were familiar with.

"What happened?" Ethan asked as he looked around, slowly getting to his feet. He reached over and helped the artist in white to his feet, brushing off his white flannel shirt.

Trent looked around shaking his head. "I don't know. But how come I have a feeling we're not where we're supposed to be?"

"Meaning?" Ethan asked as he followed him out of the alleyway.

The two came to a halt as they saw a building across the street. They looked at each other slightly confused and back at the building blinking slowly.

"Trent, am I seeing this right? But does that building over there say 'Angel Grove Gym and Juice Bar—Youth Center'?" Ethan forced air back into his lungs.

"Yeah, you're seeing it right. "Cuz I see it too," Trent nodded.

The two looked at each other again, before racing across the street over to the building. They scurried into the building looking around, slightly confused. Some people stopped to look at them as they passed through the hall into the work-out area. Other people were working out on the weight equipment, while there were a few conversing. But many of them appeared a little older than them, like they were in their early 20s.

Ethan and Trent slowly stepped up onto the juice bar level, still looking around with confusion. Compared to their style, the other occupants in the room appeared to have styles from years ago.

"Can I help you guys?" a voice called out from behind the counter.

Trent and Ethan slowly turned around to see where the question came from. The man was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt with an apron, and was rather big. And they could only conclude was the guy who ran the place, Ernie.

"Uh...we're just sorta visiting," Trent began unsure what to say.

"Visiting? A friend?" the man asked as the teens nodded. "The name's Ernie. And, well, many of the teens hang out here. But as of now, they should be in school. Who are you looking for?"

The teens stuttered still confused at what was going on. Ernie looked at them slightly confused, asking if everything was okay.

"Oliver," Ethan finally blurted out, that had Trent look at him with more confusion. "Tommy Oliver, ya know, skilled martial arts guy."

"Yeah, I know him. But, he won't be at the Youth Center until late afternoon. He's at school right now. You could probably catch him later. Should I tell him you stopped by?" Ernie asked kindly with a smile.

"No," The teens said quickly, making the man jump back uncertain what to make of their gesture.

"No, it's cool. We'll just catch him when we can. Um...thanks, Ernie. But we gotta go," Trent said as he slowly pulled Ethan toward the door.

"Are you sure I can't interest you two in anything to drink? You guys look a little exhausted, like you were running for awhile or something," the man asked as he pulled up two cups from under the counter.

"No, we're fine. We gotta go. But thanks anyway, Ernie," Ethan nodded and turned and followed the teen in white out of the room.

The two of them raced out of the youth center. They briefly looked back at it, then at each other before racing out of there, hoping to find some answers before saying or possibly seeing too much.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Kira had finally found some feeling return to her body as she felt the soft prickly grass under her. She groaned quietly as she slowly rolled to her back. The sun beamed down on her as she shielded it and slowly sat up.

It almost hurt to open her eyes, but she managed to pry them open as she looked around. The entire area was literally nothing but grass, but as she looked around some more, she could conclude that she was in a park. But when she looked again, seeing the lake—the lake she swore was only located in one place— she turned to the figure laying beside her.

She shook the tall athletic soccer player awake as he slowly came to. "Conner! Conner, wake up! You gotta see this!"

Conner groaned as he shielded his eyes from the sun beaming down, feeling hands gripped around his shirt shaking him. He slowly opened his eyes to see Kira staring down at him. He sat up looking around. "What is it?"

He looked around the green display of grass throughout the area and swore they weren't in a park last time. And he knew that the sun wasn't shining this brightly, it was partly cloudy.

He remembered their last battle as if it was a nightmare, but as he ran a hand across his chest, he still felt the pain and electrical shock run through him and knew it wasn't a dream. The team had failed to win another battle, and somehow, he and Kira ended up in the park. He didn't know how, but something didn't feel right.

"You cannot tell me that that lake over there doesn't look familiar to you," Kira asked as she turned his head toward his left.

Conner looked at the lake slowly, trying to recall what the singer in yellow was telling him. He had to admit it looked nice, but couldn't put his foot on where he had seen it before. "It is a lake."

"Conner, that's the same lake we saw Dr. Oliver and Coach get married at!" Kira nearly screamed.

Conner looked at her as if she had said something wrong, but when he looked over at the lake again, it all began to fall into line. She was telling the truth as he got to his feet. He shook his head, not believing what to say. "No, wait. Time out! That could only mean one thing."

"We're in Angel Grove," Kira concluded as she slowly got to her feet. Conner had helped her to stay more stable as they looked around again.

"But how?" Conner protested as they slowly walked onto the cement walkway to one of the shaded pavilions.

"I don't know," Kira shook her head as she looked down at her morpher. It still looked intact and operational, but glowed lightly with a yellow hint. "It must have been Dinoshade and that device he had."

Conner planted himself beside Kira on the table looking around the park again. There was no one in sight, and he figured the best thing they could do was sit put until they got more answers to what was going on. "Yeah, let's hope we get answers soon."

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Tommy swore he almost died in that last battle. He wasn't sure what happened except only that he had been growing tired. The entire team was. And Dinoshade had teased them about the device he held in his hand. Tommy knew that was their ticket to freedom outside the dome and being able to morph again. They couldn't take anymore punishment and they needed a way out of there. He used what energy he had left to take down Dinoshade, but it cost him.

He could only remember tackling the robotic dinosaur to the ground, but had no time to react as he felt the impact of a punch on his chest and his knees locked. He felt the air being forced out of his lungs and he hit the ground. The last thing he saw when his eyes grew heavy was his team, hearing them call out his name. And then he fell into a deep slumber, almost feeling like he would never wake up.

He felt time stop. But, now he could feel the feeling of movement return to his legs and arms. The pain had slowly gone away, but his head was hurting extremely bad. He groaned quietly as he turned his head and slowly opened his eyes, rolling over to his back.

He saw the top of the ceiling. A ceiling? He thought. The last thing I remember was being out in the open on the plaza.

He sat up and looked around, now realizing he was inside a school gym. But as he looked closer, and the colors that resided in the gym, they were purple and yellow. Banners of sports played at the school hung on the wall above the basketball hoops, all of which dating no more than 1995. He looked down, at the basketball court, center court and saw the wings residing to Angel Grove High.

He forced air back into his lungs shaking his head. "Oh man. This can't be what I think it is, can it?"

He got to his feet and raced into the guys locker room, where he was sure no one was. He raced over to a mirror and looked himself over. He still had his usual spiked hair, a line of hair under his lower lip and his appearance had slowly aged through its years. He was still looking his usual self at the age of, now, 27. He let out a breath as he sighed.

"Okay, at least you still look and feel your age. But what about this setback? What am I doing at Angel Grove High?" he asked himself.

Then he heard voices in the hall. His eyes shot to the entrance way as the voices got louder. He could only conclude it was the basketball team back from training outside. He disappeared behind a row of lockers, using his dino gem, which he realized was still operational, and watched as several teens, many of them tall race into the locker room. As the last of the members slowly came into the room, he shot out of the door, not being sighted or heard by anyone.

He made his way into the main hallway where several other teenagers had been. Still cloaked by his dino gem, he slowly maneuvered around them. He may not have been seen, but it didn't mean that people could feel him if they ran into him. And that's what he had to avoid. But as he looked harder at the teens around, things slowly began to fall into place.

He had remembered several of them from his years in high school. And that could only mean one thing.

_I've been transported back in time._ He thought to himself. _But how? And why?_

He rounded the corner, only to run into a man dressed in a suit. He hit the ground, knowing he had to cut the control on his gem as he fell. Luckily, no one seemed to pay attention as he let out a breath, getting to his feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I must really watch where I'm..." Tommy began to apologize, but as the man turned around, he lost all train of thought.

It was his high school principal, Mr. Kaplan, or is standing only a few feet in front of him. And according to the graying hair and mustache upon his slightly slender face, he still— looked just like he did during Tommy's high school years. Now, Tommy was certain he had been transported back in time.

"Well, that's quite all right, young man. You must be new around here, shall I direct you toward the main office..." Mr. Kaplan began.

"Actually, no. Just passing by as a teacher," Tommy corrected trying to act calm and collected. "I hear Angel Grove High has some exceptional students."

"Why, we have a lot of people here who will do great in their futures. And actually, now that you mentioned it, there is a teacher who just called in sick today. Mr. Owens, one of our science teachers. I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble for you to fill in for him, Mr. ..." the principal held out a hand for a proper greeting and pondering what his name was.

Tommy looked briefly down at the bracelet around his wrist. He could only hope that if the teens were around, they were somewhere safe. And he knew if he went off and hinted at any name prior to students attending AGHS he would be screwed. He grasped the principal's hand firmly and nodded a greeting, quickly thinking of the first name that came to mind. "Mercer. Dr. Mercer, actually."

"Doctor? Wow! I never would have thought. But I swear I'm having the strangest feeling of deja vu right now. Are you sure we haven't met somewhere before?" the principal asked giving the man a once over look. He furrowed his eyebrows, but couldn't put a finger on where he saw the man that stood before him.

Tommy lowered his head as he shook it. "I don't think so. This is my first time in Angel Grove. Just sorta passing by, I guess you could say."

Mr. Kaplan looked at the man again and nodded solemnly. "So, I see. But what's a guy like you wanting to do in a high school setting, anyway?" the principal seemed impressed by the position the man before him had. "I mean a person of your stature should be teaching at a college level."

"Just trying to settle down a little from the college life. It wasn't what I wanted," Tommy shook his head, sounding convincing.

The two slowly began to converse a little more about the school. Mr. Kaplan had mentioned a few bright students, and how the school held some strict orders towards getting a good education. Tommy had listened intently, looking like he cared, when really he didn't. He knew this stuff, just a little rough around the edges. He hadn't been in high school himself for almost ten years now. They came to a stop in front of one of the science classrooms. The halls were slowly decreasing with students, a few slackers bringing up the rear.

"Well, this is it. There are a lot of bright minds in this class. But if any of them seem to be any trouble to you at all, don't hesitate to send them down to my office," Mr. Kaplan announced with a gentle smile.

Tommy nodded a 'thank you.' "Well, I must say I should have things under control. I've worked around many..."

But he stopped short of his sentence when he heard voices up the hall. And not just any set of voices, ones that seemed all too familiar to him. He looked up briefly to see three teens heading his way. One was dubbed in white, another in blue and the last in black. And it only meant one thing. His younger self, with a teenaged Billy and teenaged Adam close behind.

"I told you guys we're gonna be late. There is approximately 15 seconds before the bell..." the teen in blue began in a panic. He had constantly looked down at his watch as they raced through the hall.

"Billy, relax. As long as we don't run into Mr. Kaplan, we'll be all good," the teen in white said.

"Yeah, well, if you weren't sucking face with Kimberly, we wouldn't have to be tripping over being late," the teen in black protested. "One of these days you're gonna get caught and be sent to detention for a week 'cuz of it."

'Dr. Mercer' lowered his head and sunk his shoulders as he shielded his face and melted against the wall. The principal turned to look at the three laggers as they came to a halt in front of him. Each greeted him with a light smile, but it wouldn't cut it. The serious look on the principal's face had shut them up before any of them could say anything.

"Late as usual, you three?" Mr. Kaplan asked in a stern tone.

The teen in blue looked down at his watch again. He shook his head, shoving his friends into the classroom. "Actually, it's not considered late if we're in the classroom."

The bell rung as Billy slipped into the classroom turning to look at his principal. The two other teens smiled with a shrug as Mr. Kaplan glanced over at them. He excused them for the time being as they slowly headed to their seats. He turned back to the substitute teacher, shaking his head.

"Yes, well, there are a few of them who can be running a little late, but they still manage to get an education," Mr. Kaplan sighed, tapping the man in black on the shoulder.

Tommy nodded slowly, but still covered his face. He knew now that Mr. Kaplan had a good look of his younger self, he could possibly put two and two together. And that's not what he needed. What he needed to do, was get out of there and fast. "You know, something just came up and I really have to get going..."

"Oh, nonsense, Dr. Mercer," Mr. Kaplan shook his head as he pat the other man on the shoulder again. "These teens can be tricky, but you just gotta be smarter than them. But I should let you get in there and teach them what you know."

Tommy had protested that he could not stay, but the principal didn't hear him and headed up the hall. Tommy cursed internally, knowing he just couldn't bail, but nor could he just go straight into the classroom looking like he did. He would be giving too much and there was no way he could get away knowing such a face as a young Billy Cranston in the room. He would connect it too easily, and seeing his younger self could spell disaster.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Trent and Ethan had made their way into the park, making sure to keep a low profile and hope to find answers to why they were in Angel Grove, and possibly exactly what year. Then they saw two familiar colors, red and yellow, that could only belong to their friends.

They started up a run as they raced over, calling out their names. Sure enough, it was Conner and Kira sitting on a table under a roofed area. They caught their breath as they stopped to catch their breath beside their friends.

"Guys, what's going on?" Kira asked, hoping the two had some answers to the situation at hand.

Trent and Ethan looked at each other, but shook their head as they turned to look at their red and yellow counterparts.

"I can only conclude that we must have fell into some inter-dimensional gateway and somehow ended up in the past," Ethan concluded.

"In other words, it's one of Mindshatter's crazy tricks. Have you guys heard from or seen Dr. O?" Conner asked.

Trent shook his head. "No luck. Our communicators seem to be down. We've been trying to contact you guys, but have not gotten anywhere."

Ethan popped a seat behind his comrades, pulling off the bracelet. He looked it over, examining the contents. "According to this, they should just need a few minutes to beginning operating again. There must have been a glitch in our communicators once we got here."

"Wait," Trent breathed, thinking through the situation. "We aren't quite sure what year we are in. But we do know that Dr. Oliver is here now, or at least his younger self. Which could only mean another thing."

"We get to see the crew when they were younger," Kira finished up on Trent's theory as she nodded. "But that could spell disaster if they see us."

"No doubt. Have you guys seen Back To the Future?" Ethan proclaimed as he took it a bit deeper. "The space-time continuum will be altered and could change all outcomes of the future."

"Well, it's not like we're gonna run into our younger selves. Besides, I was only like seven or eight during this year," Conner shook his head.

"Well, maybe we'll have some luck if we could get ahold of Dr. Oliver," Trent said.

"Yeah, and soon. Being here for too long...who knows what we'll get back to. If we ever do," Ethan nodded.

But all they could do now was wait. Ethan had continued to look over his bracelet, but there wasn't much to see. It was hard to really say what was what. He hadn't been able to familiarize himself with some of the technology resided around the morphers and weaponry. He just knew they looked operational and possibly give them a chance to morpher. But they just hoped they could contact their mentor before things got completely out of hand.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Tommy paced the hall trying to think of something, when he heard the humming of someone coming down the hallway. He looked around the corner to see a guy heading his way with a box of props for the drama class. He thanked the gods above and quickly jumped the teen, telling him he needed to use some of the props for a demonstration in class. The teen didn't say much as he allowed the man to look through the box.

Minutes passed slowly, but Tommy was sure he had found something that could keep his identity more secure. It didn't quite fit the description of 'Mercer', but he didn't care. He figured he'd just change up the name. He had found a Jamaican hat with a line of long dreadlocks, and a beard much like an Asian monk would have. It didn't quite match, but it sealed his identity behind it, which was all he was hoping for. He just had to get through most of the day and seek out his team, if they were even here.

He slowly opened up the door, to meet a line of paper balls and a few spitballs coming his way. "That's never gonna change," he sighed quietly shaking his head. But as he walked further into the room, the students had raced back to their seats and hid their treasures, hoping he wouldn't say anything about it.

"So, this is what happens when your teacher leaves for a day?" Tommy said slowly trying to pull out a Jamaican accent, but sounded more like a Filipino accent mixed with one from the Middle East.

Some students commented on the nice dreads, but when his eyes had averted, growing more serious, the students had settled more. They looked at the sub feeling the heavy, strong and alert gaze as he looked around the room. But he felt a sharp breath escape him as his eyes slowly met with his younger self. He could see and feel his semi-cockiness/semi-confidence attitude in how he sat. He looked down for a moment and saw the seating chart and attendance sheet.

"My name is Tony Mercer. But you guys can call me 'Tony.' That's all you guys need to know about me and I will be your sub for the day. First off, I will be taking attendance, so I hope you're all in your right seats or I will mark you tardy. And some of you may not like that," Tommy began slowly.

Time passed slowly as he looked at the clock located in the back of the room. He could only hope it wouldn't take this long to get through the day. He had to get out of there and as fast as he could. But what he really needed to do was figure out exactly what happened in that last battle, and find a way back to 2005.

He had directed them to take out their science books and beginning reading up on the Geologic Time Scale, as indicated on the sub reports.

But then the familiar chime of his dino morpher went off, and he wasn't sure if it was a glitch, or merely one of his teammates trying to contact him. He covered his wrist dropping it below the desk hoping no one could hear it. But unfortunately someone did.

The teenaged Billy raised his hand before speaking as he looked at the man in front of the room. "Uh... Mr. Mercer, I mean, Tony. I understand you're just a substitute teacher, but we don't allow pagers in school."

The man in the dreadlocks nodded slowly, apologizing. But it had gone off again, and it was clear it couldn't have been a glitch. He knew Hayley far too well to know she wouldn't screw up communications even for the slightest bit. She was precise when it came to their communications systems as a team. "Thank you, Mr. Cranston for your concern..."

"What happened to your accent?" the teen in blue pursed with some confusion and a raised eyebrow.

The teacher let out a dry cough, shaking his head. He spoke slowly as he lowered his voice to another pitch. It sounded rather dark, but seemed to be more effective, even if he added a Filipino accent to it. "I have a cold. I guess I'm not used to this weather. But, you know, this is a really important message that I must take. I want you guys to continue your reading and take some notes. You can expect a quiz tomorrow."

Then he turned and left the room, securely closing the door behind him. He swung around the corner pulling up his dino morpher to respond to the call. "Yeah? Go ahead. But you really caught me at a bad time."

"Uh... Dr. Oliver?" Conner's voice seemed rather confused at the way the response sounded.

Tommy cursed internally over the fact he had slipped using his strange accent to answer the call. He cleared his throat, apologizing in his normal voice. "Sorry, Conner. Kinda got hung up..."

"Um...I noticed." Conner said slowly. "But, no, seriously, what's going on, Dr. O? How'd we end up here? What year are we in, anyway?"

"It seems Dinoshade did a number on us. We're in the year of 1996, and you're not gonna believe where I'm at. Are the others with you?"

"Yeah, they're all here. We're sorta hanging out at the park. Ya know, the one where you and Coach got hitched."

Tommy nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. He was glad that they were all in one place. Now, he just had to get there. But it would be some time from now. "Yeah, okay. Stay there and keep a low profile. I'll have to meet you guys later. I kinda got stuck subbing for a class here at Angel Grove High..."

"No way," Ethan breathed with a chuckle, butting in. "So have you ran into your younger self?"

"Yes, Ethan. I have. And it isn't exactly..." Tommy caught his breath as he swung his arm behind his back, cutting off the transmission. He heard footsteps from up the hall.

And when the footsteps had cleared the corner, a small young petite teenage girl in pink was heading his way. Tommy had to hold his breath just to keep from saying anything to inflict any sorta big changed he didn't need. But it was so hard not to as he watched her soft, flowing brown hair bounce with every step she took. He wanted so badly to just reach over and feel it, smell it and even lay a kiss on those lips. He never really got a chance to fell her lips back in the present day before the battle. But he didn't move as she got closer. And as she did, it gave him new meaning to why he had chose to marry and love her like he did. Now, he was looking at Kimberly Hart, nine years ago, and it crushed him to know it had taken so long to make amends with her after their setback.

The teen in pink stopped, noticing the stare from the man in the dreadlocks. She raised an eyebrow walking over to him with confusion, a notebook held in her hand. "Hey, is Mr. Owens not in class today?"

The man blinked quickly as the words escaped her mouth. He shot back into reality, knowing he would have to make up a pretty strong excuse, hoping she wouldn't figure out who he could be. "No, actually he's sick today. I'm filling in for him. I'm Tony," he held out a hand in greeting.

The teen took his hand in a firm handshake as a smile passed her lips. "Tony, huh? I never met a sub who went by his first name. Interesting. I'm Kimberly." But as her eyes had looked up into his face, and locked with his own chocolate brown alert eyes, it felt silent. She nearly got lost in his gaze, in their beauty, but as he looked away she had shot back into reality, shaking any images she might have with the man in front of her. "Whoa. I'm having the strangest feeling of deja vu. I almost feel like I've seen or met you before, but I've never seen you around town. You new here?"

The man furrowed his eyes in confusion. _Why is she asking all these questions? She should be getting back to class. She isn't supposed to know who I am._ He thought to himself. He had to tell himself to be the calm one here, if he had given any hint that could clue her into seeing her boyfriend in his stance, or eyes, he could blow his cover and destroy the very basis of the space-time continuum of the past and present. "Shouldn't you be getting to class, Ms. Hart? And where's your hall pass?"

She pulled up the necklace dangling around her neck, the words 'HALL PASS' typed big on the laminated card. "It's right here. Are you trying to be smart... hey, how do you know my last name?"

The man cursed internally realizing she had not mentioned her last name to him. Then he saw the notebook in hand, seeing the names etched on the front along with a picture of her and her boyfriend, as he could only conclude. And he had remembered that she had Mr. Owens later on in the day. "I was looking through the seating chart to see who I might be dealing with in class and stumbled onto your name. And it's also etched into that notebook you hold in your hand."

"Smart guy," the teen nodded, impressed by his gesture. "But I really should get back to class. I'm just here to drop this off for my boyfriend, Tommy Oliver. I figured he would need it to take some science notes in."

The man took the notebook, forcing air back into his lungs. He looked down at it, etched with a crane and falcon on the front with a circle around them, above the picture.

_No, it wasn't a heart. It never really was. Hearts break, but circles can go on forever._ He thought to himself. "Uh-huh. Or it could merely be a notebook full of personal letters for you two alone." He began to flip through the notebook.

"Hey!" she protested snatching it away. "What gives you the right to go snooping through it?"

The man shrugged as he took it back. "Just kinda being a rotten sub, if I need to be. Besides, I hope there isn't anything inappropriate in here."

She took it back, a glare in her eyes. "And that's not your business to know. Maybe I should just give it to him?"

"No. No." he shook his head, snatching the notebook again, tucking it under his arm securely. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be butting into your personal life. It's not exactly my place. I will give it to him, and I won't read it. I'll even add a 'hi' from you to make things better. How about that?"

The teen looked at him for sometime, wondering if he was telling the truth. And it appeared so as she slowly took a step back. She still looked slightly freaked, as if she had seen a ghost, but the man had said nothing more. "Well, thanks, Tony. But I should be heading off to class now. I have your word though. You're not gonna look through that?"

"You make that sound like you really do have something to hide?" the man raised an eyebrow, though he knew the very contents of the notebook. It was, in fact, filled with a few personal notes or letters to the other. A few sketches, lyrics written by Kimberly, and bits and pieces notes from science class. There was a few things regarding the rangers in there to top it off, too.

"What is this? 21 Questions?" she asked slightly appalled by his comment.

"No. Like I said before, I just hope there isn't anything inappropriate for school in here. I may need to report it, but since I'm a nice guy I won't say anything. Now, as I also said before, Ms. Hart, I do believe you need to get to class and get yourself an education."

The teen thanked the man greatly. Yet, the look in her eyes held some uncertainty, but had trusted the man. There was just something about him—possibly his eyes—that held trust. She slowly turned and headed back to class.

Tommy looked back down at the notebook as he began to flip through it. He smiled to himself recalling the memories around some of the things in the notebook. "Man, I remember this thing. And I have every right to look at it since you're looking at the guy you'll be waking up to in nine years, Kim."

Then his dino morpher chimed again as he realized where exactly he was in this setback. He pulled it up to respond. "Sorry, Conner. Got held up. Kinda ran into a younger Kim."

"No, it's cool, Dr. O. It's all about keeping a low profile," the teen had responded. "So, now what?"

"Stay at the park, like I said. Keep a low profile. And by all means, try to stay out of trouble 'til I get there. I'll be over there as soon as I can. And don't contact me. I can't afford it."

"Copy that, Dr. O," the teen confirmed. "Conner, signing off."

The teacher breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he had to get through the rest of the day, hopefully with no more troubles, but he clearly doubted it. He walked back into the classroom, to find the teenagers reading, which he seemed slightly surprised about. He knew they were a lazy bunch.

He slowly walked through the class, watching to make sure they were actually reading. And as he passed his younger self, who was clearly day dreaming, he slipped the notebook onto his desk. "You got a one-of-a-kind sorta girl, Mr. Oliver. I hope you don't lose her." He patted the teen on the shoulder.

The teenaged Tommy looked over at the sub as he continued to walk through the class. And for a moment, as his eyes settled on the man, he felt a little strange. For a second, he felt energized with something else, almost like a new power, but also drained and tired. Almost weak. He shook his head, destroying all thought he had about what connection he felt with the man in the room.

Adam looked over at him, with some concern. He leaned over to whisper to his friend in white. "Hey, Tommy. You okay?"

Tommy looked back at the man and shook his head before looking at his friend. "I don't know. I almost have this strange feeling I've seen that guy somewhere else before."

Billy turned to face his friends, hoping to put some insight into the situation. "Funny how I've never seen him before. Most of the subs we get are old, fat guys who yells at you for just breathing. Kinda a strange character though."

"Yeah," Adam nodded. "Almost like he's hiding something. I don't know. What did he tell you when he gave you that notebook?"

"Well, he must have ran into Kimberly in the hall. But he said something about saying she was a 'one-of-a-kind' and he hopes I won't lose her."

"Yeah, with as clinging as you two are, you might even get married," Billy laughed.

"Now, don't jump the gun. It's too early to tell even if we've been going out for nearly three years, now," Tommy shook his head.

"I'd have to agree with Einstein here, buddy," Adam tapped Billy's shoulder with a nod. "It's gonna happen."

Tommy scoffed, though had to admit that he and Kim had jokingly talked about. They even acted as if they were married to just see how it felt. But he didn't want to assume anything even if he loved her enough to possible present a promise ring to her in a few months. He slowly slipped the notebook into his backpack and went back to reading.

The man in the dreadlocks stopped in the back of the room and watched intently at the trio of teens he knew too well. He had heard the entire conversation, remembering it almost like it was yesterday. He knew how much his friends would joke about it—about marriage—from the very beginning of his relationship with Kim back in freshmen year of high school.

For awhile, he knew and felt the unique surge of energy residing around them, the connection they could only make through being rangers and of having those ninja powers that made them each unique in their own way. And what seemed to scare him more was how was life back in the present day of 2005.

And how much of a change could come to it, if anything drastic happened now. He could only hope they wouldn't run into trouble, but he doubted it. He had looked down at his hand, at the single band around his left ring finger and almost felt tears escape his eyes. He shook his head and forced out several breaths as he made his way up to the front and sat at the teacher's desk, waiting for the class, and day, to be done.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: So, now that we got that squared away. The DT team has gone back in time, and not just any time, but the year of 1996. Whoa, now. That's just crazy, and what sorta danger will they run into? And will they get back to their own time? And what about the team in the present day? I'm glad you asked that. You're just gonna have to read on and find out. Either way, I hope you're liking this, or you wouldn't have gotten this far. So, I thank you for sticking by me. And I'm outta here for now. See you next chapter. And May the Power Protect You Always._


	25. Searching For Answers

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART TWENTY-FIVE: SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS_**  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Present day, 2005. The team realize something is wrong when they can't pinpoint the DT team. Can they find them before things get out of hand?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I only own this adventure and the control of what goes on here. I take property rights toward Mindshatter, Dinoshade, the Cybots and Serena Oliver. So, to all ya'll who try to use them best not without my consent._

_A/N: I figured to avoid extreme confusion, if I gotta jump between past and present day I'll split it up by chapters. And as far as I could tell, it'll only get harder for our team. I hope you like it so far. Keep reading and doing what you're doing. Peace._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"After that last battle, something must have happened. I swear, they were just there. I know they were.  
__But now, there is nothing. It's like they vanished into thin air. It's almost like they never were even there!  
And I do not even know where to begin searching for them." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Billy Cranston had been sitting in the underground lab monitoring activity around the city of Reefside. Hayley had her hands full monitoring the cyber cafe. When Dinoshade and the cybots had shown up, he had informed the teens to get downtown and stop them before any real damage could be done. He knew though, they couldn't last when they were taking hard hits and being thrown around like rag dolls. But that didn't surprise him as he was still working out new weaponry for the team to use against their enemies.

He had gotten used to the feel of being back in action as a technical director to the ranger team. He had even gotten used to life in Reefside, staying in a guest room over at Hayley's place. It wasn't like he was feeling Hayley as more than a friend, she was just being nice. He didn't want to be much of a problem, but hoped some of his expertise could be helpful for them.

And as much as he knew about Tommy now, and having responsibility for a family, his ranger team needed him. Conner had called him, but when he didn't come, Billy had send out another distress call to the legendary ranger.

And as he watched the team get encased in a strange dome, he worked quickly to diminish it. But he couldn't do it. The technology was beyond his knowledge even after being on Aquitar for so long. He had never seen technology that could match up to it, but it still appeared as if it was created by humans -- way beyond their years, possibly from the future.

And he couldn't even get to look inside the dome. The energy surrounding it was cutting off all visual status on the battle. Communications were also down even for him to get some information through the team's morphers. Nothing. He was at a stand still. And when the dome had slowly demolished, the DT Rangers were nowhere in sight and Dinoshade had escaped through an invisi-portal.

Now, he sat at the computer, vigorously trying to find answers to where they could have gone. But he didn't even know where to start.

And as the forest entrance opened up, he could feel the presence of his black ninja counterpart and another he could conclude had the green samurai powers. Adam had gone to Blue Bay Harbor to find Cam and inform him of the situation the current team was in. Cam had agreed to share his expertise in the ranger field, especially with the zords, which was still under repairs.

Through Adam's and Tommy's help, they had triggered the wolf spirit within Billy. And since that day, he had been able to feel the unique connection he held with the other Ninjetti Rangers. It was a connection a person could not really describe, but they knew it was there among them—the six original ninja rangers. Though, Billy had made it clear he didn't want to be seen on the battlefield since he had been gone from it for so long. They didn't drive him to do it. Tommy didn't want to drive any of the other rangers of the past to hop into battle knowing they had lives outside the ranger circle. If they wanted to help, they'd be there. They would always be there wherever they could.

Billy turned to the two, the look in his eyes ran with fear and worry as his eyes locked with the black ninja. "We got bad news."

Adam exchanged a look with Cam before racing over to the main computer console, Cam not too far behind. They were both pondering what the technical advisor meant by it. "What do you mean?"

Cam looked over at the screen reaching over to enter in a few keys as the screen was blanketed with a grid. A line of colors, blue, yellow, red, white and black-gold where the rangers were last spotted. "There. It seems there is still some residual energy of each of them before they seemed to have vanished. The satellite is picking up something, but beyond the energy, no lifeforms that match them."

"Meaning?" Adam looked over at the technical director of the Ninja Storm team.

Cam took the main seat as Billy moved behind him to see what he was doing. Adam and Billy watched as Cam ran a few more codes and keys across the plaza where the rangers were last battling. "They're just not there. And they're not in the immediate area. It's like they disappeared. I could run a worldwide search, but I highly doubt this Mindshatter guy will try something like sending them to an uncharted island." He thought for a moment turning to look at the other rangers. "Something like this happened with the other Ninja Storm Rangers. Choobo had sent them to an uncharted island that disrupted the weather patterns in Blue Bay Harbor. For awhile, I couldn't find them but I managed to after running through the satellite systems. But it seems the satellites have been acting up lately."

"Yeah. We haven't been able to work around it or possibly try to contact other planets for any news on this guy," Billy concluded.

"Exactly. He's trying to use our own systems against us. Pretty soon, he'll have the entire planet under an electronical seize only he could control," Cam began looking deeper into the theory around their newest enemy. "Do you have any idea where we could begin searching for the Rangers?"

Adam thought for a moment. "Hey, wait a minute. Yo, Billy, remember when Zordon and Alpha had told us about those sporadic time holes?"

"A tear in time," Billy nodded remembering that day like it was only yesterday. Kimberly's teleportation system had failed when it came in contact with a time hole, sending her back to the Wild West years ago. "It could send someone into the future or into the past. But then there was that time with the Wizard of Deception, too. But there has got to be more to it. Before the Rangers disappeared, they were engulfed in a strange dome. I tried to break it, but the technology is beyond anything I've been able to crack. I don't even know what went on in that dome, but after it cleared, the Rangers were gone."

"Gone? As in vanished. You know, I'm not liking this whole deja vu thing. You don't think they would have gone that far, do you?" Adam looked over at his friend in blue. He, too, remembered those days like they had been only a few days ago.

Billy shook his head, not convinced. "I don't know. This guy has been tough. Real tough, and I'm not sure how much more we could take of this without anymore outside help."

Cam was running a few more tests, trying to see what he could do to pry any useful information from previous battles. "So, guys, fill me in. Tell me what I'm working with so I know exactly what I'm looking for."

The two slowly began to describe the situation to the green samurai ranger. They told him about the arrival of Mindshatter, the capture of Anton Mercer, the little switcharoo fiasco, anything and everything that could provide useful information for the search of the DT Rangers. And as Cam was running another check through the time barrier, alongside Billy's help, they had been shut down.

The computer began to go haywire as it beeped loudly. A system meltdown. The lights in the lab flickered off then back on and sparks flew from the main hard drive to the system. The three rangers ducked away from the electrical storm as the last of the systems completely failed.

"That's not a good thing," Adam breathed as he picked himself off the ground. He looked around the room, acknowledging the damage to it. And it didn't look good at all. "So, what happened?"

"We must have overrode the system," Billy said as he raced to the main computer. The monitor came on with the DT symbol on display. But as he tried to punch in the access code, it was denied and the system locked again. "Now, I can't even get into it."

"It seems the glitches have already begun," Cam sighed. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a device that looked much like a PDA system. "I can start running a diagnosis over the system to see what the problem is. The only problem with that is it could take us a lot longer to find out where the DT rangers have gone. We can only hope they're in a safe place until we get things rolling again."

Billy and Adam had exchanged a look. They knew if Tommy hadn't informed Kim about the situation, let alone knew where he might have gone, they would be the ones to break it to her. And with all the mayhem that has gone on, they weren't sure how much more she could handle. Especially in her state of pregnancy. They had to get the system back up and running and find the team before anymore problems could be laid out.

**_-XXXXXXXXXX-_**

Island fortress.

Mindshatter growled as he threw his trustee robotic henchman across the room. It was clear he didn't like what his commander had done. "You what! You sent them back into time without taking their powers?"

Dinoshade growled as he got to his feet, shaking his head. "But, sir. They are already weakened even with them. They have failed to win several battles against us. It will only be a matter of time before they're all destroyed."

Mindshatter stopped for a moment and turned to the monitor. He used his powers to play back a battle. A battle that was in the out reaches of space beyond a distant planet with a green hint. The battle sent debris all over space, and nearly all was lost, except for the selected few survivors. "Yes. Before they're all destroyed." He turned around and grabbed the tin can he called his second-in-command. "But I need those dino gems. If we get them, we could finally put an end to those Rangers and rule this planet as our own." He pushed Dinoshade back as he turned to the shadows.

A figure emerged from the shadows as Mesogog made his way to the center of the room. Again, his appearance looked as dark as ever, if not more. His arms were covered with a black-armor similar to the design of Dinoshade. His clawed hands appeared more razor-sharp and deadly. His face glinted in a dark fury that appeared to have but one objective, follow orders.

"Mesogog," Mindshatter acknowledged his presence with a bow. "See to it to collect what information you can from the remaining help to the Rangers. You can't be seen."

Mesogog bowed. "Yes, Master." His voice carried a metallic tone as he turned and left the room.

**_-XXXXXXXXXX-_**

Principal Michelle 'Elsa' Santos had been sitting in her office looking over some papers regarding work needing to be done around the school. Though, it had been well into third quarter a lot of work had to be done to keep the school in check.

But it was hard. For as long as she could remember, for a month, now, the ranger team had been working to keep Mindshatter at bay. They had tried to seek out Anton, but only made the discovery that he had returned to Mesogog. She wasn't sure if it was permanent or if it merely was from the time being until they could finally set him free.

She pulled open one of the drawers looking through the office supplies to the bottom of the drawer. She found a CD marked with the DT symbol and looked it over in her hand. It had the very information that Tommy had displayed, a video diary of where the legacy of the Power Rangers had gone through in the years.

She knew they had been trying. Working hard to keep the city safe, but with the news reports she had seen and the things she had been told by Tommy, Trent and the others, they had not gotten very far with this war. They had their hands full, and she felt even more sorry for the teens. It was their senior year, and they had so much to worry about alongside protecting the city/planet.

She had wished she could offer some of her expertise, but even as she tried to recall some of her evil past, it hurt to remember it. It was like once she had been drained of her powers, of being Elsa, a part of her left with it and now it was missing. She could only focus more on running Reefside High.

She got to her feet and looked out of the window into the fields beyond the school. She saw the tree in the distance that had sparked up controversy about conserving the beauty of nature. She forced out a breath wondering when she could have a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She had to admit that Trent was really trying, almost treating her sorta like a mother, but there was just something missing. She had known that she and Anton had gone back, even before she had become Elsa, but couldn't recall it. That ever since she had become her old self, it really was a new life for her. A new beginning, and she still hadn't gotten used to it.

Time passed as she found herself outside by that very same tree that sparked up controversy on the school grounds and in the battlefield for Earth.

"A spring," she said quietly to herself. "With unlimited powers that could have ended everything, but started something new."

Then a strange wind came into the area as she rubbed her arms looking around. She was alone. It was late into the afternoon. Much of the staff at Reefside High had gone home hours ago, but she was also crunching numbers for Anton while he was away. She knew that Trent couldn't do it all, and had offered her assistance in the business field.

But there was something different about that wind, the strange roar that came to it. And she could only conclude it coming from one person. She walked farther into the field where a line of trees were set almost like a gate to cut off the area for the school. Then the strange wind blew again as she rounded a tree stump.

She had to admit at times she felt weak and scared, lacking what power she had when she was Elsa. But she still knew how to defend herself, just not against any evil beings from space.

"Anton," she called out, knowing that the roar could only come from one person. She walked deeper into the forest-like gate looking around. "Mesogog. I know you're out here. Show yourself. Please, Anton."

Then a shadow emerged from beyond the trees as the sinister face of the dino-faced menace walked out into the opening. Elsa stopped for a moment, catching her breath as she saw the fiery evil running through his eyes. She took a small step back as a cold chill ran down her back.

"Stay out of this, Elsa. This isn't your battle anymore," the dino menace replied darkly in his unusual metallic voice, but held some compassion in it.

Elsa forced air back into her lungs as she approached the dino menace. With every step she took, she could feel the aura around him grow darker. But she didn't care. She had loved this man. Strangely enough there was some attraction there when she had been evil and he as he was now. The way he had respected her, even if she failed. The loyalty she had given. And even now, it had made no difference. It crushed her to see the man before her standing in his alter ego, much darker than usual, but for some strange reason he couldn't bring himself to attack her.

By the time she had been within arms length of her lover, he had stiffen up. He became a statue as their eyes locked. She couldn't see anything more in his eyes but anger, rage and betrayal. But the sincerity and compassion in her eyes seemed to almost soften him up, even just a little bit.

"Anton," she whispered as she slowly rose her hand to touch the dino face. "Anton, I know you're in there. You got to fight it. Come back with me. I can help you."

"The only one who needs help around here is you, Elsa," he replied as dark as his stance stood. He pushed her hand away before it could even make contact with his face. "Mindshatter will win and none of you will be safe."

Elsa grabbed him, looking into his eyes. "No. You can win this, Anton. He's got you under a spell. Under all of this scaly skin and razor sharp claws is the man I love. Is a man who could change the world with his research. Is a father who wants his son to achieve all he can and more as he graduates high school. Anton, please. Fight it. Not for me, but for your own sake."

Mesogog shrugged her hands away and turned away. He slowly walked back into the darkness of the shadows. "Tell the others if they ever want to see the DT Rangers again, they will cough up any and all powers to Mindshatter. Or I will seize each of you and destroy you myself."

Elsa shook her head as she raced over to him, but he had whipped around, hand extended out. She fell to her knees as a grueling pain shook her mind. But she tried to fight it. "Anton, please. You can win this. We can help you."

"I have but one purpose, Elsa. And that is to destroy any threat against Mindshatter and his plans to rule Earth. And I might as well start with you," he growled.

Elsa winced in pain as she sunk her head to her knees. She began to lose all train of thought as she felt like her brain was caving in.

But as the mind shattering pain continued, three figures had emerged from the shadows to take down the dino menace. The torment had stopped as Elsa caught her breath, her eyes opened up slowly, but grew heavy as she saw her world turn black.

The three figures disappeared back into the shadows as Mesogog slowly got to his feet. He let out a roar that shook the area. Then a red and yellow streak took to the area sending Mesogog to the ground again. Another figure attended to the fallen principal.

Mesogog got to his feet as he raced over to the two figures, but stopped short as two figures, dressed in the garb of their newly modified ninja suits blocked his way.

"Nice try, Mesogog. You wanna get to her, you'll have to go through us," Rocky said with a slight bow.

"You don't scare me, you pathetic excuse for a bunch of old rangers!" Mesogog hissed.

"Go ahead. Try," Aisha said with a confident tone. "We've dealt with your kind for a long time. You make no difference now."

Mesogog looked from the two skilled ninjas to the high school principal and yellow zeo 2 ranger. Then he took several steps back holding in his frustration as he began his retreat. "I will be back, rangers. And next time you won't be so lucky!"

Then as Aisha and Rocky were about to jump the dino menace, he had disappeared through an invisi-portal leaving the area in silence. They glanced at each other, a little line of worry in their eyes as they turned to the other two occupants in the area.

Tanya had lifted Elsa to her feet as she slowly came to. She winced under the pain as Rocky offered his strength to keep the high school principal stable.

"It's okay. You're fine. Just relax," Aisha reassured the young principal.

Elsa looked around in a slight panic only to realize they were the only ones in the immediate area. "But, Anton..."

"He isn't who he once was," Tanya said sadly. "But that doesn't mean we won't find a way to help him."

"C'mon, we should get out of here just in case he decides to come back," Rocky suggested as he slowly moved out of the area.

The group turned and left the area.

**_-XXXXXXXXXX-_**

Meanwhile, at the park, Kim had watched Serena race through the park chasing the birds laughing and smiling. It brought a smile to her face, relaying any thoughts about what danger could be out there.

But when she had passed her hand across her stomach, her eyes averted to it. Her head spun and she was beginning to get a gut feeling as she pulled her hand away to look at the single band and its mate on her finger.

She had hoped that the battle wouldn't take too long, but that's what she had always hoped more and more now. For another battle to be won, and for her knight in shining black armor to return to her arms in no real time. But it wasn't. That was merely a fantasy since Mindshatter showed up. He had proven to be the team's worse enemy in all their years as Rangers.

She shuddered slightly, scared to find/hear any terrible news that came from her husband and friends. She knew they had a duty to the planet, but even they couldn't go on forever. She knew she had to get back to the lab and see what the status of the battle was. She didn't like feeling helpless though, not just because she was pregnant, but also because she had no powers like the other rangers.

And as she looked out into the open grass area of the park, watching Serena having fun, she had to fill her in and several things. She didn't want to do it without Tommy, but she knew their daughter needed to know a few things more about their gifted past.

She called out to the young girl directing her over to the tree. Serena didn't hesitate to ignore the call as she raced over, falling into her mother's arms wrapping her in a hug. Kim was slightly confused by the gesture, but knew it came with the new connection they were making as mother and daughter.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Kim asked her as the little girl nodded with a bright smile. "Your father will meet us back at the house."

"Okay. I want to hear all about your adventures," Serena said as she tugged on Kim's hand. She had been pulling her off of the tree toward the car.

Kim smiled warmly, laying a kiss on the young girl's head. "There will be plenty of time for that, Serena. C'mon."

The two had walked hand and hand out of the park. But as much and as happy as Kim felt at that moment, there was a slight sinking feeling in her stomach. There was something she wasn't liking about all of this. But she prayed that it was nothing too serious.

**_-XXXXXXXXXX-_**

Back at the underground lab, the trio of ninja rangers had been putting their minds together to clear up the damage to the system. But it was clear they were getting slightly frustrated with not getting anywhere with the situation.

Billy had been working around the hard drive, picking at wires and setting up new pathways for the electrical current, but got nowhere. Cam was sitting at the computer trying to re-gain access into the system. Until they got it up, there would be no communications among the other rangers—beside phone calls. Adam was trying to retrace where the glitch might have occurred, but found nothing.

Billy let out a breath running his hands through his hair in frustration. "I don't understand. I've re-wired the entire hard drive, and it's still not running."

Cam shook his head from his place at the main computer console.

"Nothing. The computer continues to deny my access."

Adam shrugged as he used the PDA device Cam had brought to scan the remaining equipment. "Until we get this thing running again, we won't be able to find Tommy and the others."

Then the forest entrance opened up. Each of them jumped to their feet falling into a fighter stance, but relaxed to find their fellow ranger counterparts and the high school principal.

They exchanged a quick greeting slightly confused at what they were doing there, but didn't object. They figured they would be needing some help to keep the city intact until they could find the DT team.

"What happened?" Aisha asked with some confusion as she looked at the damage in the lab.

"Systems malfunction," Billy said simply. "It seems Mindshatter is behind it."

"So, where's Tommy and the others?" Rocky asked noticing there were less people in the lab than usual.

The trio exchanged a look before turning to look at the curious faces of the four other occupants in the room.

"That's the problem. We don't know," Cam said slowly, slightly embarrassed about the situation.

"You don't know!" another voice nearly screamed as the group turned to the stairs. The pink ninja ranger stood there at the top of the stairs, a young girl by her side. "Where's Tommy?"

Everyone held their tongues, unsure what more to say. They all knew about her condition, and they weren't sure what they could say in front of the young ears. But Adam was the first to make any move toward the situation. He walked over to the stairs, helping the pregnant woman down as her legs seem to weaken with each step.

"Who's the kid?" Rocky asked quietly, tapping on Billy's shoulder as he watched the young girl jump down the stairs beside Kim and Adam.

"Long story. She's Tommy's kid," Billy replied quietly as the eyes of Tanya, Rocky, Aisha and Elsa widened with shock and surprise.

"Tommy has a kid!" Tanya had to force air back into her lungs after the news.

"How come no one told me?" Aisha asked slightly annoyed at not hearing the news until now.

"He just found out. Just as many of us did," Billy said, keeping his voice low to avoid saying more than he needed. "I'll explain later."

Adam had helped Kim over to a chair as he lifted Serena onto the table beside them. Kim had asked more calmly about where her husband was as her eyes locked with the man with the spirit of the frog. Adam let out a breath as he looked over at Serena, seeing the anxiety race through her eyes. But even as she sat, he knew that she now knew who he was. "During the last battle, the team had taken another hard hit. Dinoshade created a dome around them, and when it was demolished they were gone. We've only concluded that they were sent back in time, but we don't know how far or what condition they could be in."

It fell silent as Kim took in the news like a sponge. A hand came to her mouth as she felt the tears welt in her eyes. She was right. She knew there was something wrong, and now, here she was hearing it true. "No clue?"

Adam shook his head as his eyes glistened with sympathy. "None.

We were running a search through time, but overrode the system. Now, we've been trying to piece it together to get the search running again."

"But, it could take a few days according to the damage," Billy had walked over to the black ninja's side.

Kim's eyes fell shut as the tears fell. "No, Tommy..."

Serena had moved over to hug the crying woman a few tears had escaped her eyes. "Daddy gone?"

Adam shook his head. "No, Serena. Just lost through time. But we'll find him, okay?" He looked about the room, knowing there was some confusion from the other occupants in the room. He had quickly filled them in on the situation, introducing them to the young girl.

And when information had been exchanged, Adam had given Tanya and Rocky their zeonizers. And as much as they had been hesitate to re-join the fight, they knew they were the only defense against Mindshatter until they could find the team.

"We're the only defense left against Mindshatter until we find the others," Adam said as he handed his teammates their zeonizers.

Rocky and Tanya exchanged a look before slipping it into place on their wrist. They knew he was right as they gave an affirm nod toward his request.

"We're right behind you, man," Rocky said as he tapped his best friend's shoulder. "But I guess I'll be leaving our school to my brother again."

"Don't worry. He knows what's what. Besides, this is more important right now," Adam reassured his friend.

"I decided to turn down a trail for Michael Jackson to do this?" Tanya said with some annoyance, but when a wide smile came to her face she began to laugh. "Works for me."

"So, who died and made you leader?" Aisha teased with a laugh as she nudged her friend in black.

"Someone has to take charge of the operation," Adam shrugged. "Billy and Cam here are gonna have their hands full with getting the system back up and running."

Elsa had sat away from the group, but not too far from Kim. It was clear she was still aching from the recent events at the high school. The images of seeing Mesogog—of seeing her love trapped in his alter ego—and the darkness around him. She wasn't sure if there was any good left in the man, but didn't want to give up. Yet, now she wasn't so sure when she thought he wouldn't attack, but did.

Kim had called out to her, as she slowly moved to sit beside the original pink ranger. Kim couldn't help but notice the emptiness in the young principal and pondered what was bothering her. "Hey, you okay?"

For awhile, Elsa had been caught up in a void. She sat there looking blankly at the floor as she recalled all those times she had been evil. When she had served under Mesogog, and of see him now, in a new line of darkness and evil. When she felt the hand on her shoulder she shot back into reality looking over at the P.E. teacher. She looked away trying to push her tears away.

"I saw him, Kim." she spoke quietly as her voice shook with fear. "I saw Mesogog, and he was much darker than I remembered."

Kim gripped the other woman's shoulder. "We'll save him, Elsa. We'll find a way to free Anton from this madness. Mindshatter hasn't won yet."

Elsa looked over at the woman, seeing the concern and sympathy in her eyes. A light smile passed her lips as she thanked the other woman. "Thank you, Kim. For all you guys do. We'll find Tommy and the others. Be strong for Serena."

Kim smiled at the sympathy and words from the principal. She hadn't looked at the principal's past as something bad, but something to learn from. "Thanks, Elsa."

The two had exchanged a warm hug. And even behind a few scars, they were on good grounds. And that's what they needed in all of this.

Billy clapped his hands together to get the attention of the room. "All right. If we're gonna find Tommy and the others, we'd better get to work."

"Just tell us where we need to go," Rocky nodded as he offered himself to any help he could provide.

"The quicker we work, the faster we could get this thing running," Cam instructed. He began to file out jobs to those present in the room.

And the repairs were beginning. They could all only hope that it wouldn't be too late once they got the system running to find the DT team and bring them back to the right time period.

**_to be continued..._**

_A/N: There is just too many people to keep track of. Oh man, I am getting a little headache for compensating for all these people. But, that's settled. We got a few thing going on. But that's how it is, right? So, see you next chapter. Oh, and what about that little clip Mindshatter played back at the island fortress? Could it be bringing in more terrible news? Or good? Do you have any clue? Find out soon. But for now, I'm out of here. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	26. Ninjetti Meets Dino Thunder

**'TIL L COLLAPSE** - _**PART TWENTY-SIX: NINJETTI MEETS DINO THUNDER**_  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The DT team now knows they are in the wrong time period. They are in Angel Grove, set in the year of 1996. They meets in the park, but get caught up in a battle that Tommy can't recall at all. But, when the Ninjetti Rangers are on the verge of annihilation, what risk will the DT team do to help them?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. And I do believe that Ninjetti is not mentioned anywhere in the TV series, as it was in the first PR movie. But, in the AU universe it is. So,for all of you people who would like to object, just note that. Yet, I can't remember the morphing call either, so if I do get it wrong, I do apologize. But that is what AU is for, not at top accuracy, if you get my drift. Besides, it will help distinguish the teams better when it goes further down the line, and it's easier for me. But, other than that, I also own these adventures they are going through. So, thank you for your stay and come back real soon._

_A/N: I know what you're thinking. They can't do that. The DT team can't morph, they wouldn't have their powers. There is an error in that. Yeah, well, there is a lot of goofs in the series as a whole anyway. But, I was actually watching "Back To The Future" when I got this idea. To send the DT team back in time. Remember AU. But what will happen to the space-time continuum now that it has been altered? Read on and find out._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"I swear, I do not remember this battle. And I know you guys want to help.  
But if we could ever figure out how to get out of this, we have to keep a low profile.  
But we also gotta do what we gotta do to protect the planet, no matter where we are" -Eclyptyk Neo_  
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Past. 1996.

Dr. Thomas Oliver aka Tony Mercer had breathed a sigh of relief as he finally made it through a day of subbing at Angel Grove High. And he felt like he was living in hell and just jumped right back out. He felt like he wasn't gonna make it through the day, but somehow, he did.

He was about to leave the room when a small knock came to the door. He froze for a second as he called out to allow the person into the room.

The door opened and the small petite teen in pink came into the room. The man bit his tongue again, trying to avoid saying anything wrong. Or possible do something wrong as he felt some of his hormone rage in his body. He kicked himself mentally as he looked away shielding his eyes.

"Sorry, Tony," the teen apologized in a somewhat embarrassed voice. "I left my science book in here."

The teen had moved to the back of the room where her book had been. And if Dr. Oliver didn't know better, she had done that on purpose just to see him again.

_Okay, this is something new._ He thought to himself as he took a step back behind the teacher's desk. _She has been looking at me like she's attracted to -- wait, she is. Oh man! This is crazy. I gotta get the hell outta here._ "Yeah, you may need that for tonight's homework assignment." He reached into his pocket and found a folded piece of paper. He pulled it out only to realize that it was the same note the teen had been passing in class to her friend, Aisha. It had a few statements regarding him, a little too informative than he was surprised to find from Kimberly. But he figured it was only the raging hormones of being a teen. "You know, I know it's not my place -- yet again -- but I found a little note about a certain guy in deadlocks in your handwriting..."

The teen's eyes brightened with shock and surprise. She raced to the front of the room and snatched the paper out of the man's hand. "Oh my god! How'd you get this?"

"Well, as you were leaving class you sorta dropped it on the floor," he admitted as he kept his cool. "Not exactly a clean note to see considering you have a boyfriend. I mean, you still have one, right?"

The teen was in a panic. Her face turned bright red as fear ran through her eyes. "You can't tell him! Please, don't! It's just.. I don't know... kinda getting caught up in the moment. I mean, I guess I can admit you're sorta cute..."

The man held up his hand to silence her. "Relax. I hardly know him to say anything. Besides, I've been known as sorta a girl magnet nearly my entire life. But, I'm already taken," he said as he turned his hand to show the single band on his finger. "And it would be wrong for you to cheat on your boyfriend. I can admit there aren't enough young women like you in this world. You're definitely one of a kind. A treasure above the rest... but I'm sure your boyfriend, Tommy has told you all of this before."

Kim had to keep her control from crying. As much as she had to admit she loved her boyfriend, it was once she ran into this man there was some sorta connection she had made with him. Some attraction and possibly falling in love with, even if he was nearly nine years older as she found out. "He has. And I love him, too. With all my heart. He's given me so much. Yet, there is just something about when I look at you... I don't know, I mean, I can almost see him in your eyes, but I see a whole lot more there, too."

The man shifted his look as they locked with the eyes of the teen. "You'd be surprised at what you may find just by looking at someone in the eye. They say it is the window to another's soul. Kinda an interesting twist, but something we all can live by."

Again, the teen had melted into the alert dark eyes of the man before her. And as she searched through them, trying to find what he meant by it, she gasped as she could see her boyfriend in the man before her. That was no lie now, but she still couldn't see what he meant by his words of wisdom. And as he winked she nearly lost her footing, her head spinning. With quick reflexes, the man raced around the desk and caught her before she hit the ground. She fainted.

_Oh man. Not what you need right now, Tommy._ he groaned as he gently tapped her face. "Hey, c'mon, Kimberly. Wake up, Beautiful. C'mon."

Then he heard voices -- familiar voices -- just outside the door.

"She said she had to go back and get her science book," the voice of the yellow Ninjetti ranger stated.

"Does it take this long to grab a book? We had plans to hang out at the park after school," the voice of the white Ninjetti ranger said.

"Oh, how can I forget? A little be-lated birthday gift to you?" Aisha asked.

"Yeah. We are gonna have a picnic. But, I don't know. She's been acting a little strange today..."

The doorknob to the door began to twist as the man kicked himself again. He knew if he was caught with the teen in pink, even in this way, his younger self would through a huge fit. He quickly pulled the teen to her feet and sat her down on the desk, opening the science book.

"C'mon, Beautiful. Wake up for me," He quickly tapped her face gently, as she slowly came to.

"Tommy? Is that you?" she said quietly as her eyes fluttered open.

But as her eyes had quickly locked with the man before her, he was gone as if he vanished -- his dino gem. The door swung open and the teen in white came into the room. The teen in yellow followed close behind. The teen in white moved to his girlfriend's side just as the other occupant in the room, now invisible, moved away closer to the door.

"Hey, Beautiful," Tommy greeted laying a gentle kiss on her cheek. "You okay?"

Kimberly looked around the room slightly confused. She swore that Tony was still in the room, but he was nowhere in sight. There was only three of them in there. "Um... yeah. I'm fine."

"You sure? You look like you were crying," Tommy asked with some concern, running a hand down her face. He cleared away a trail of tears that ran down it.

She shook her head as she turned to look at her boyfriend, wiping her face. And as she looked, she could almost see their substitute, Tony, sitting before her. She blinked and the image was gone. All that remained was the young alert, falcon eyes gaze at her with concern. She smiled, leaning over to lay a kiss on his lips. "Nothing, Handsome. I'm fine. You ready for that picnic I owe you?"

The teen in white nodded as a smile passed his lips. "Yeah."

"Well, you two have fun. And try to stay out of trouble, love birds," Aisha teased as she made it clear to the two there was someone else in the room.

The couple left the room with the teen in yellow close behind.

Dr. Oliver let out a breath as he dropped his invisibility powers. He peered out into the hall and saw them head up the hall. He melted back into his invisible powers and headed down the hall. He had to get out of there and to the park, but not without finding a new disguise first.

**_-XXXXXXXXXX-_**

Angel Grove Park.

Conner had been pacing about the shaded pavilion getting slightly agitated. He had pondered where Trent and Kira had gone to get them some food. He was hungry. Let alone, pondering when their mentor would show up. Ethan had been poking at his bracelet to pass time.

"Was it wise to send Kira and Trent out to go get us some food," Conner groaned as he grabbed his stomach. It growled back at him, evident that he was getting hungry.

"Relax, bro. I think if one of us would have went out there, we might have screwed up somewhere," Ethan had to reassure his friend. He flicked it up to trigger the morpher, looking down at it. "At least we know these things still work. Power and everything. Kinda surprised that Dinoshade didn't destroy us."

"Maybe it has something to do with preparing for a bigger battle. Those always tend to be the worse case scenario in something like this," Conner sighed. Then a new line of frustration came over him as he kicked angrily at an invisible ball. "Man, I thought we almost had that battle."

"This guy is tough. But now that I think about it, since we're back in '96. Do you think we'll run into some crazy monster by Lord Zedd?"

"Don't come up with any crazy ideas, Ethan. The last thing we need is to have you be right about something like that," Conner shook his head.

Time passed slowly, and Kira and Trent had finally returned. They were nearly jumped by the blue and red DT rangers as they swarmed them for the burgers and fries.

"It's about time," Conner sighed as he took a huge bite out of his burger.

"Yeah, well, you're welcome. It was hard to get anywhere when your money currency doesn't quite match up to this time period," Kira had to inform the two rangers.

Ethan stopped, nodding slowly. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that. Even those 'new' twenty bills would have done you no good."

"So, where's, Dr. Oliver?" Trent asked as he took a seat, opening up his own bag of food.

Kira had moved beside him as she had opened up her own bag of food looking around the park. "Yeah, I figured school should be ending right about now."

"Which means we may need to find a new place to hide just in case," Ethan concluded.

A few people began to file into the park. Some had backpacks on, which was evident that they came from school. Others just came to enjoy the comfort and relaxation of being outside. The teens sunk lower, keeping their eyes peeled for their mentor or possibly their cue to find a new place to crash. They didn't want to bring attention to themselves, and they just weren't quite sure what to do without their mentor there.

They ate quietly, not saying a whole lot. Their problem was merely on trying to figure out what to do. On how to get back to their own time period and fast. It was evident in each of their faces that they were worried what they had left behind and which rangers were left to protect the world while they were stuck here. And it wasn't a good thing by the looks of what their new enemies were capable of.

"So, this is what happens when I leave you guys to fend for yourselves? You look like a bunch of paranoid deer having the eeling you're gonna get shot in a matter of minutes?" a voice called from the wind as the teens jumped to their feet.

But the very image of their mentor, or so it appeared, slowly took shape as he broke the connection of his invisible powers.

"Dr. Oliver?" Conner was the first to say something with an eyebrow raised with confusion. He reached up to scratch his head unsure what else to say considering what the man was wearing, if it was him.

The man before them was dubbed in a baggy black jumpsuit a white tanktop underneath it. The jacket had a hood on it, as it as tossed on his head. He had a well-kept goatee, a glue-on, and a set of shades to cover his eyes. To top that off he wore a skull cap, which made him look even more like a gangsta/rebel than the teens were used to, and a black bandana wrapped around it much like Tupac would wear it. But as he lowered the shades, they could see it was their mentor -- the look the legendary ranger could only hold -- as they breathed a sign of relief. Yet, they had never expected to see him in such a get-up as they looked at him with more confusion.

"Wait, don't tell me," Ethan thought for a moment. "This is how you looked like during this time period."

Dr. Oliver shook his head as he pulled off the shades and popped a squat on top of one of the tables. "It's a disguise, Ethan.  
Don't be stupid. I couldn't come to the park in my other get-up or I might have been spotted by any of those students in my class. And those dreadlocks were killing me."

"Don't you mean classmates?" Conner corrected.

"Don't make things worst than it already is," Kira groaned slightly. "It's bad enough we're even here in this time period. I mean, no offense to you, Dr. O."

Dr. Oliver shrugged, not bothered by the comment. "I was only kidding when I said I wanted to re-live my years in high school. And as far as I could tell, I think that device that Dinoshade had must have sent us here. My conclusion, it was a time warp device. And if we don't find a way out of this, we could be stuck here a very long time."

"It's bad enough we're even here in the first place. I mean, now that we're here, wouldn't it mean we've tampered with the future?" Trent asked, the worry of his voice carried through each word. It was clear he was afraid to see what they might return to if things did change.

Dr. Oliver sighed, dropping his head. He knew Trent had a point and didn't really want to make something of it, but now it was too hard to tell. Their enemies were tough and tricky and this was one thing they still didn't have all the answers to. "Let's hope we don't. And if we did, that could be more on my fault than on any of you. I already ran into a younger version of the team, the Ninjetti crew. But they shouldn't suspect anything," he paused a moment as he kicked himself internally. "Except Kim."

"What! But that isn't a good thing. I mean, if she does suspect something..." Ethan was the first to gasp for breath at the news. As the sci-fi freak, no one could blame him.

"Calm down, Ethan!" Kira slapped him on the back of the head as he stopped. "Don't worry. I mean, we'll figure a way out of this, right?"

Dr. O nodded, making it clear they had nothing to worry about. "If anything, Dinoshade is gonna come back and try to put an end to us. He should have that device with him and if we get it back, we can return to 2005. But what have you guys figured out so far?"

"Well, the morphers still work," Ethan concluded as he held up his wrist to reveal his tricera morpher. "And you were even using your powers, so we know those still work."

"And we also know we're stuck in 1996," Conner said slowly still trying to digest their presence in this time period.

"And it's not easy to get anything if you got currency or credit that won't be activated for nearly five years," Trent corrected as Kira stiffled a laugh.

"Yeah, how did you manage, Dr. O?" Kira looked at him, knowing he must have not gotten very far. "I mean, don't you got a rep by most of the city as some big martial arts legend next to Jason? Did you blow off a lot of cash to get that get up?"

Dr. O shrugged, not bothered by the problem. "I got my connections, guys."

"You jumped someone on the street, didn't you?" Conner had to change his words around, wondering if he really did.

Dr. O shook his head. "No. I just have connections. If we don't want huge confrontations from anyone, I suggest..." But he stopped short of his sentence as he looked up. He saw two figures heading their way, but they were clearly not paying attention to their presence. But as they got closer, and by the colors they wore, it was his cue to disappear. He cursed quietly as he hopped off the table and slipped the shades on and moved toward the bushes. "... Okay, guys. I suggest you guys either hide, and try to avoid any confrontations, now. I'll be over here."

"Hey, wait, Dr. O..." Trent called out, but turned his head as he heard voices in the distance, and getting closer.

The other teens followed his gaze as they saw two people - one in white and the other in pink -- heading their way. For a moment, they were caught up in a void. Things almost seemed to slow as they gushed over seeing their mentor and his wife,  
nine years ago. It was clear the love they showed then was as it was now, in 2005, if not stronger. But it seems that 2005 had beat their love for one another. This time, if not moment in time, was more like a teen love that could get far, but may not after one mistake. The teen in white had a picnic basket in hand as he whispered something into the teen in pink's ear that had her giggle as she backslapped his shoulder.

The DT teens looked at each other before racing to the retrieve their food and find a place behind the bushes where they knew their mentor had hid.

"Ow! I'm sitting here," Dr. Oliver huffed as he shoved Ethan aside, dropping control of his dino gem. He looked over at Ethan, who seemed slightly freaked at seeing his mentor and his wife, nine years ago.

"Sorry, Dr. O. I didn't see you," Ethan apologized as he slid aside to give his mentor more room. "You know, if you weren't using your..."

"Shhh!" Trent hushed him as he peered over the bushes to see what was going on. "I'm trying to listen in."

Conner, Kira and Trent seemed the most interested in the sight before them as they watched the young couple take a seat on top of table looking out at the lake set before them. They sat close, typical among dating teens.

"Oh, isn't that cute?" Kira gushed with a smile. "You guys are having a picnic."

"What was the occasion?" Conner asked.

"Belated birthday present. Zedd kept us busy in the last few days, so we never really got a chance to relax until now," Tommy stated as he filled them in on the situation.

Ethan joined his friends as they continued to spy on the young couple. Their mentor groaned quietly as he shook his head.  
He knew they were nosy, and it didn't surprise him to have his students spying on him and his girlfriend during their time here in 1996.

Meanwhile, by the table the young couple sat closely in silence. They were merely just enjoying each other's company. But a little distant, evident that the young teen in pink was bothered by something even if her arm was wrapped around the teen in white. She looked down, not saying anything. The teen in white looked over at her, nudging her as she looked up, but again said nothing.

"Hey, Beautiful, what's wrong?" Tommy asked her gently as he ran a hand down the side of her face. "It seems like you've been bothered by something the entire day."

Kimberly looked down for a moment as she pulled the hand Tommy had stroked her face with, laying a kiss on it. She scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "It's nothing, Handsome. I just got a lot on my mind."

"Anything I should know about?" he asked showing great concern for her and the attitude she was displaying.

Again, she had looked away not saying a word. In the back of her mind, she had thought about their substitute for science class. The way he had reminded her so much of Tommy, but wasn't quite sure in what ways. The way he had talked to her was at a comforting level that only her boyfriend managed to bring, and the look in his eyes was another thing. "Tommy, do you believe that we would have a future together?"

The teen in white nearly choked on a dry breath, but kept it to himself. He looked over at his girlfriend slightly confused at why she had asked such a question. "What do you mean? We've talked about it..."

"But it was mostly out of sarcasm to stop the others from making fun of us," she said quickly as a distraction to what was on her mind.

Tommy turned to look at her. He took it down to a more serious level, knowing instantly that something really big was bothering her. And he didn't quite like the fact that she wasn't telling him what it was. "Kimberly, Beautiful, what's wrong? You know, I have thought about it. About our futures together. About you being my wife and even carrying our kids..."

At the point, he had stopped. He didn't expect to say all of that. They were only kidding most of the time about getting married, having a family and being together forever. They could only dream because as much as they could say their relationship was love -- it could last forever -- it may not. But they didn't want to doubt it now. They just wanted to see how far they could get in their relationship together and still be happy with it.

Kimberly turned away, not saying anything. It was clear she had taken in all of that information as if it was painful. But she had to admit she, too, thought about those things on a serious level. She just could never admit it, to anyone.  
Not even Aisha, who she told a lot of things to if she couldn't tell her mother or boyfriend.

Meanwhile, hidden in the bushes, Conner had leaned forward just to hear the conversation more clearly. He exchanged a few glances with his teammates, besides his mentor.

Conner tapped his mentor on the shoulder as he turned to look at him. "I don't assume this is part of the script, is it?"

Dr. Oliver sighed and shook his head. "No. At least not that I could recall."

"Ooh, Dr. O has tampered with time," Ethan shook his head in disappointment. "Now, you know we're screwed."

"Shh!" Kira hushed her teammates. "This is starting to get a little interesting."

The DT teens held their tongue as they watched the couple intently and with great interest.

Kimberly shifted slightly uncomfortable on the table as her boyfriend took notice. Tommy had moved to face his girlfriend as he took her hands into his, pulling up her chin to meet his gaze. "Kimberly, you know I love you. I mean, for a long time,  
I never thought I could really find my place in this world, but ever since I met you, this journey through life has been almost indescribable. It's been amazing. I never thought I could find anyone more special or perfect to guide me. And you know you can tell me anything, Beautiful. I always got open ears when it comes to you."

Kimberly had to look away to hide her blush, but when she saw that grin on Tommy's face she knew she could no longer hide the truth from him. And it was a shock at times when he had been so open with her -- this being one of them. "Wow! That's so sweet, Handsome. And you know, I care about you just as much. You really are a unique guy, Tommy. And I don't think anyone else could make me more complete. But I must confess something... now, please don't get mad. But..."

She held her tongue, hesitate. Tommy had eased closer wondering what she had to say. "With you? I can't get mad. What is it?"

Kimberly forced air back into her lungs. "I think that substitute we had for Mr. Owens, Tony Mercer, was falling for me," she confessed as if it was the last thing she could say before she died.

"What!" he breathed as his eyes grew wide.

But he wasn't the only one in shock. The teens had called out too, matching his own shock in the statement, and even the guy dressed like a gangster could not believe what just slipped from the teen in pink's mouth. He had peered up out of the bushes as he pulled his teammates down from nearly standing up and blowing their cover.

"Wait! Did she just say 'Mercer'?" Trent looked over at his mentor.

"No, did she just say that you were falling for her?" Ethan corrected, pondering that question.

The DT teens began to file out question upon question on top of each other as their mentor held up a hand to silence them.  
But due to their sudden outburst of questioning, even in whisper, had the couple on the table fall silent.

Tommy stopped and looked around like a animal who sensed danger. Kimberly noticed his concern as she fell silent, feeling like she had said too much. As she pulled his face to look at her she asked what was wrong.

The teen in white looked around again before getting off the table. "Something is not right. I feel like we're being watched." He slowly moved away from the pavilion, moving closer to the bushes.

"Watched? By who? It wouldn't surprise me if it was Zedd," Kimberly shook her head as if it was no big deal.

Tommy looked around again, shaking his head. "No. I'm not convinced. It's something else."

The DT team slowly shifted, except for their mentor, as his younger self was coming their way. They knew their cover was blown if he got spotted, let alone questioned for spying. And that was one thing they didn't want to deal with.

But Dr. Oliver just seemed calm about it. He looked down at his watch and began to count down quietly.

Then a strange squawking came into the area as human-sized crow-like birds swooped in, nearly taking the teen in white by surprise. Tommy pulled away as he rolled over to the shaded pavilion where Kimberly had held her stance.

"Yup," Dr. Oliver nodded as he peered over the bushes. "Just on time."

"What the hell are those!" Conner looked at the birds as they began to attack the couple.

"Tengas. Zedd's newest set of soldiers thanks to Rito, Rita's brother," Dr. Oliver informed the team. "Their tough, but not hard to beat. Just like your normal set of T-Drones or putty patrol."

The tengas assembled around the couple, surrounding them. They squawked quietly as they slowly approached the two Ninjetti Rangers. Tommy and Kimberly were back to back as they watched their aggressors with sharp gazes. 

"Why do they always have to ruin a good moment?" Tommy huffed through clenched teeth.

"Because that's Zedd for you. C'mon, let's take them out before they take us out," Kimberly said as she moved toward two tengas coming her way. "And ruin our date more than they already have."

"Right behind you, Kim," Tommy nodded.

The skilled white Ninjetti ranger flipped off the table into a swarm of tengas taking out two and launching a crescent kick into another. He moved quickly to dodge an attack from another aggressor as its hit registered with a companion. Another tenga caught Tommy by surprise as he was struck in the back, flying forward hard into the ground.

Kimberly moved against three tengas using her agile grace to send them to the ground. But two more had locked onto her arms pinning her in place. Another tenga jumped up and launched a kick into her chest as she hit the ground. She winced in pain as she slowly peeled herself off the ground, but was covered by three more tengas.

"Kimberly!" Tommy called out seeing the danger. He shoved two more aggressors to the ground as he launched himself into the air taking out the tengas wrapped around his teammate. He formed a protective shield around her as they slowly backed away.

It was clear the tengas were on fire and not ready to give up the fight without doing enough damage to the two rangers.

Tommy winced under the pain he felt in his chest as he forced air back into his lungs. "Clearly these guys don't know just when to quit." He pulled up his wrist communicator calling out help to their mentor to retrieve the others.

"Help is on the way, Rangers," a small robotic voice replied through the com, Alpha 5.

But as the two were about to morph, they tengas had jumped them again, this time with more force. Tommy was nearly sent into the lake as he tried to fight to find his footing. Kimberly had been swarmed by a few others as she inched closer to the bushes that hid the DT team.

Conner nearly sprang to his feet to help, but his mentor's hand was on his shoulder quickly, pulling him back down. He looked back at his teacher, who just shook his head. "We gotta help them, Dr. O."

"And blow our cover? No way, bro," Ethan shook his head, not wanting to take any risks. "Besides, help is on the way."

"Don't worry, Conner. The tengas may be tough, but are easily defeated," Dr. Oliver reassured the teen.

Conner looked back over the bushes as he saw the punishment the two Ninjetti Rangers were taking. But they were holding on strong, and he knew he had to take his mentor's word for it. That was him out there, nine years ago. He slowly relaxed trying to push the images of defeat out of his mind. That was his problem for the most part. He couldn't stand failure for anyone, and being selfish just never came for him anymore.

Meanwhile, in the battle against the tengas, the two rangers had grown tired and fast. It was clear something was wrong with the tengas as they attacked with a new line of fury. It didn't take long to put an end to them, but it usually opened up the door to another monster attack by Lord Zedd.

The two Ninjetti Rangers met back to back as the tengas surrounded them again. Sweat and exhaustion was evident in how they stood, pain running through their bodies. They circled slowly watching and waiting for their aggressors to make a move.

"How are you holding out, Kimberly?" Tommy looked over his shoulder at the teen behind him.

"I've felt worse. But these guys are really bothering me right now," she stated in a fury, glaring at their aggressors. "They've never been this hard to defeat."

"You got that right," he nodded as he agreed with her statement.

And just then, a line of laser fire erupted onto the battlefield as the tengas moved away. The two rangers turned in the direction of the fire as they saw their four companions, suited up, heading their way, pistols raised. With as unique as their ninja powers were, they were still suited up in their old uniforms for battle. The original suits used by the first ranger team, except for the gold crest plastered on their chests to show what animal spirit resided within each of them. And they no longer had the old thunderzords, but new ninja zords to complete the circle around their ninja powers. They plowed through the tenga army as they shielded their teammates behind them.

"I thought this was our day off?" the black Ninjetti ranger stated looking back at his leader.

Tommy could merely shrug. "Don't tell me that. Blame them," he pointed out to their aggressors who reassembled before the Ninjetti team.

"Well, suit up. We'll meet you on the other side," the red ninja ranger patted his friend in white on the shoulder.

The four suited rangers raced into the army again launching their skilled ability toward them. Tommy and Kimberly exchanged a look as they launched the morphing call into their ninja forms and into their ranger suits. When the light had cleared, they stood in their ranger form ready for battle. For a moment, they struck a fighter stance before joining their teammates in battle.

The DT teens were amazed by the action of the battle, clearly finding out that the Ninjetti rangers had no problems sending their aggressors away. But yet again, they seemed bothered by something as they looked at their mentor, who looked like he was meditating.

"Yes, the suits were in fact, from our previous powers," Dr. Oliver spoke slowly answering their questions locked in their minds. "Ninjor was the first being to create the power coins except for the white tiger coin. That one was made by Zordon and Alpha. He was the keeper of the other powers for future generation of rangers, including our Ninjetti powers. Didn't you guys learn anything from those video diaries I made?"

"Yeah, well, we sorta forgot. It's one thing to hear about it than to actually see it going on," Ethan said.

Then a strange cloud covered the area, shaking the ground.

The DT team looked up to see an electrical storm open up around them as they moved around to dodge the bolts raining down.

"Okay, this is something new," Dr. Oliver forced out a breath, saying it more to himself than his teammates.

Meanwhile, the Ninjetti team had sent the tengas packing as they fled. But the blue Ninjetti Ranger was the first to notice something wrong. He looked up into the sky, shielding his visor as he watched the cloud coverage come in. The team slowly assembled around him looking up.

"What's going on?" the yellow Ninjetti ranger asked.

"It doesn't look like rain that's for sure," the red Ninjetti Ranger stated as he shook his head.

"I have a bad feeling about this," the blue Ninjetti ranger shook his head as he took a small step back.

The entire area was blanketed in a darkness as the air grew heavy. Then the cloud erupted with electrical bolts, sending them down toward earth toward the Ninjetti team. They moved to dodge them all and as it stopped for a moment, one bigger bolt opened up in front of the team. And when it cleared, a shadowed figure appeared before the ninja rangers.

The DT team peered over the bushes as their eyes widen with shock and surprise. They weren't sure who it was, but according to the sudden anger raging in their mentor they were slightly afraid to ask what he knew about the situation. His fists were locked in a pain-shattering grip of white knuckles as his eyes locked on the shadowed figure.

"Uh...Dr. Oliver, some help," Kira looked at him hoping to get some answers on their new visitor.

He didn't say anything as his glare grew to narrow slits. Even behind the shades he wore, they knew. They could feel the anger run through him.

The shadowed figure took a step forward toward the Ninjetti team as they fell into a fighter stance. His step seemed to shake the ground as he approached them. A new line of fury unlike any the team was aware of. The ninjas exchanged a look, unsure what to make of their new threat.

"One of Zedd's newest monsters?" the pink ninja ranger questioned as she looked over at her leader.

The shadowed figure launched a series of electrical bolts as he flew out his arm. The team dodged it again, moving left or right to avoid the attack.

"Has any of his monsters ever done that!" the red ninja ranger breathed as he slowly took a step back.

"I will have my revenge, Rangers. Destroy you where it all began," the figured bellowed in a low voice. "Starting with you, Oliver!"

As the figure said that, the hood flew back and the familiar markings of a certain cyborg with a grueling fury to destroy the black DT ranger revealed himself. He no longer stood in his heightened strength due to the spring water, but merely his old cyber-netic suit designed by Mesogog. And it was no dream to see Zeltrax standing there only a few feet from the rangers.

"Zeltrax!" the DT teens gasped.

"Zeltrax!" Dr. Oliver growled in a low voice as he got to his feet.

The DT team nearly fainted as they grabbed their mentor. He was on his feet, but luckily the other occupants in the area didn't see him or the other DT rangers. They forced him to the ground, holding him back as his rage grew.

"Stop, Dr. O. You'll blow our cover," Ethan breathed, pinning his mentor's arm back.

For a moment, the man looked at his team, seeing the fear run in their eyes and he stopped. He let the anger flow out of each breath as he looked away. They slowly let him go as he cursed quietly.

"I thought Zeltrax was dead?" Trent protested as he looked over the bushes to see if it was a dream. But it wasn't.

"Something's not right about this entire situation," Kira shook her head.

"But he's right there," Ethan stated.

"But how?" Conner shook his head. "We saw him die in that last battle with Mesogog."

Dr. Oliver shook his head. "No, we didn't. He was about to deliver one final blow but some bright light had stopped him. We never figured out what happened. He just disappeared and we faced Mesogog."

"Huh?" The Ninjetti team looked at their leader with some confusion.

"Tommy, do you know this guy?" the red ninja ranger questioned.

"No," the white falcon ranger shook his head. "I've never seen him before."

Another attack caught the eyes of the DT team as they watched the cyborg launch a new line of fire toward the ninja team. They all caught that blow as they hit the ground in pain.

"Okay, are you sure about that, Tommy?" the yellow ninja ranger winced as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. "He looks pretty ticked."

The white Ninjetti ranger shook his head. "I have no clue. I swear. I don't know why he has a personal grudge against me. I didn't do anything."

Zeltrax growled as he raced over to pull the white ninja ranger to his feet. Tommy tried to fight the grip around his neck, but couldn't break free. The other rangers raced to his aide, but the cyborg had stopped each of them and sent them back to the ground. The cyborg turned to look at the helpless ranger in his grip. He laughed with satisfaction. "This is the end for you and your legacy, Tommy. And I will prevail over all of you. Including Mesogog."

"Mesogog?" the teen in white growled with confusion as he tried to loosen the grip. "Who's Mesogog? What's Mesogog? And what's your beef against me? I didn't do anything."

"You were born," the cyborg hissed throwing him to the ground.

The black and red ninja rangers slowly pulled themselves off the ground as they raced toward the cyborg. They launched a few kicks sending him back as they shielded their friend. Zeltrax growled in frustration launching another line of bolts toward them. The two had no time to move away as they took the blow head on, falling onto the ground slowly. They laid there dazed and weak. The rest of their teammates called out to them.

Zeltrax laughed with sheer confidence that it was the end of the rangers. He looked down at the frozen white ninja ranger. "Maybe I should destroy your friends first, so you know I truly do mean business..."

The DT teens grew frustrated unsure what to do. They watched the ninja rangers fall, and they knew their predecessors couldn't handle anymore punishment. They began to ask their mentor what to do, who seemed to be in a trance. They shook him out of it as he peered over the bushes again.

"We gotta help them, Dr. O," Conner protested as he sprang up ready to pounce on something.

"We can't," Ethan shook his head. "What about the space-time continuum..."

"At this point, it wouldn't do us any good. If they're destroyed, we're finished!" Trent stated as he looked over at his mentor. "Dr. O?"

Dr. Oliver watched as Zeltrax launched another attack toward the ninja rangers. He forced air back into his lungs as the anger raged on. He looked back at his DT team and knew they were anxious to help, even if they were taking a huge risk. "Okay. We'll help. But don't morph. No powers. The least we can do is make them think we're just some bystanders just wanting to help."

"But what about Zeltrax?" Kira asked. "He knows who we are."

"It's a risk we're gonna have to take," Conner nodded as he spoke for their teacher.

Conner looked over at the man, the legend, and nodded. The man nodded back as they all got to their feet. The first two to launch into the air was Trent and Ethan as they jumped the bush, landing on the cyborg, whose back was to them. Next, Conner and Kira sent a few kicks into the cyborg as he hit the ground. The final member, in black, flipped over the bush to take his place in front of his DT teammates.

The Ninjetti Rangers looked at the new fighters with confusion as the cyborg growled and turned to his new aggressors. They looked at each other with questioning looks unsure what to make of the teenagers who decided to go against the cyborg.

"You!" Zeltrax growled as his gaze centered on the guy in black.

"Wow, I didn't think you would recognize me. Did you miss me, Zeltrax?" the man in black replied with a little smile.

"How did you get here?" Zeltrax held out a threatening fist.

"Kinda the same question we would like to know about you," Conner replied coolly.

"That is not your concern, red ranger." Zeltrax turned to the fallen Ninjetti team. "If I destroy them, now, then none of you will have a future."

"Not if we can help it," Trent met his threat as he took a step forward.

The DT team moved against their aggressor, measuring out his every move and attacking when they had a chance. It was clear they had to avoid, at any cost to them, using their powers or even morphing, and it was clear the confusion on the Ninjetti rangers had them work more cautious than they were used to.

Still cowering in pain, the Ninjetti team watched as the five fighters began to fight the cyborg. They exchanged looks, even under the helmet, and it was hard to really make out what was going on before them. They commented on their fighter style, obvious knowing how the cyborg was gonna attack.

"Who are they?" the yellow ninja ranger asked.

"No clue," Kimberly shook her head.

"I know I'm slow at this, but did that cyborg say 'red ranger'?" the red ninja ranger had to correct himself and make sure his comrades heard it too.

"You're not alone. And it seems he knows that guy in black rather well," the blue ninja ranger pointed out as they continued to watch the five people battle the cyborg.

Ethan side-swiped Zeltrax as the cyborg fell to the ground. But as he fell, he sent an electric bolt toward the African-American teen in blue. Conner saw the danger as he threw his friend to the ground just as Trent and Dr. Oliver jumped on Zeltrax to push him down. But it was clear that without the use of their powers or protection of their suits, they were taking some hard hits. Zeltrax growled as he flew to his feet sending the teen in white and the man in black to the ground. They winced under the impact as Kira and Conner jumped the cyborg again. Kira managed to get a few hits in as Conner was forced to retreat avoiding a hit to his chest. But by now, they were showing signs of fatigue and if Zeltrax launched anymore electric bolts their way, they may not be fast enough to avoid them all.

But at that point, a few of the Ninjetti Rangers were getting some strength back. The cyborg came charging at Trent who had winced over in pain, but he came to a halting stop when the black and pink Ninjetti Rangers blocked the blow, holding him in place to look back at the teen.

"Get out of here! This isn't the place for you," the black ninja ranger pushed the artist in white to his feet.

"We're only trying to help," Kira spoke as she tried to pull Zeltrax back.

Zeltrax growled as he shoved the singer in yellow to the ground, twisting out of the grip of the black and pink ninja rangers and threw them into a charging computer gamer in blue and a soccer superstar in red.

The guy in the black gangster outfit threw himself onto the cyborg as they hit the ground. "Step down, Zeltrax! You can't win."

"You've underestimated me, Dr. Oliver. And you will all pay for what you've done," the cyborg growled as he kicked the man to the ground.

The DT team raced over to shield their fallen comrade just as Zeltrax got to his feet. Zeltrax slowly moved against them, and it was clear they were getting far too weak to continue on without their ranger suits. He barked out another insult as he approached them, but came to a halting stop when laser fire erupted all around him. He growled in frustration turning around to see the Ninjetti Rangers back on their feet, pistols drawn and aimed right at him.

"Look, I don't know what your problem is. Or what your grudge is against me or these innocent civilians, but you're as much a threat to them, us and the planet," the ranger marked with the falcon crest announced as he took several steps forward. "And for that, you must be destroyed."

But before the cyborg could bark out anymore insults or possibly reveal the five civilians before them, the Ninjetti team attacked with full-force. They fought hard, energized by resting, as they took out the cyborg.

That was the cue for the DT team to retreat as they slowly pulled the man in black to his feet. They raced out of the area back into the comfort of the bushes. And by the sweat and grime running down their faces, they were all aching and tired. They could only hope that Zeltrax wouldn't reveal their dark secret to the rangers of this time period.

"Man, Zeltrax can sure pack a punch now," Trent sighed as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

"You can say that again. He isn't the same Zeltrax," Kira shook her head.

Dr. Oliver winced again. And he knew it didn't have to do with just the battle with Zeltrax. There was something else causing the pain, he just didn't know what. But he knew the feeling before, he just couldn't recall it. "Something must have happened to him. Because he's not stopping until we're all destroyed."

"You got that right. Guys, check it out," Ethan tapped Trent on the shoulder.

Ethan and Conner had been watching the battle rage on as the blue and pink Ninjetti Ranger took another staggering blow. The laser bolts from their pistols did nothing to slow the cyborg down. The yellow and red ninja rangers moved against him as the white ninja ranger took the risk in sending in more deadly blows. But it weakened the cyborg only a little.

He laughed as he raised his hands to the sky, the cloudy abyss above them grew even darker as bolts rained down, striking down on the earth. It shook the land and sent the Ninjetti team packing. They hit the ground again, unable to move.

"Victory is mine," Zeltrax growled with satisfaction.

The DT team looked to their mentor for guidance as he was already raising his bracelet into place.

"Are you sure about this, Dr. O?" Conner asked slightly worried about what could happen if they did.

"I will not stand here and let Zeltrax destroy us. If he destroys them, we're finished!" Dr. Oliver pulled his key out. "I'll meet you guys on the other side. SDM, but no weapons."

They watched as their mentor called out his morphing call and when the light cleared, he knelt down, suited up and in SDM. Each of them raised their morphers into place and quickly morphed. And as the last of the laser bolts seemed to seize, they jumped the bush again and assembled themselves in front of the Ninjetti Rangers, falling into a fighter stance. They all locked gazes with the cyborg, each of them in Super Dino Mode, as instructed. But still no weapons drawn, just more power and strength.

"What the...!" the red ninja ranger sat up in confusion.

"More Power Rangers?" the black ninja ranger breathed finishing his friend's statement.

"But who are they?" the white ninja ranger asked.

"Check out their helmets," the yellow ninja ranger commented as she recognize the markings of a dinosaur on each of them. "It's the marking of the dinosaur."

"Amazing," the blue ninja ranger breathed as he noticed the marking on the helmet.

"Their powers are of the dinosaur, too?" the pink ninja ranger thought for a moment. "No way."

The DT rangers, didn't say anything as they raced into battle. Now, under the protection of their suits they worked more quickly to dispose of the cyborg. And with the heightened powers brought on by SDM, they had no problems sending him back with every single blow. Zeltrax didn't stand a chance.

He fell to the ground in a weaken heap as the DT team assembled themselves before him, the black DT ranger taking the lead. "Your evil reign has ended before it has started, Zeltrax," the black DT ranger barked.

"Mark my word, Rangers. I will be back. And none of you will be able to stop me," Zeltrax growled. He raised his hand to the sky as a lightning bolt struck him and he disappeared, taking the cloudy abyss with him.

The sky cleared to shining blue skies and the area fell silent.

The black DT ranger was the first to turn around, noticing the gaze of confusion shining down on the young ninja rangers. They had all gotten to their feet slowly approaching the nearly- invincible team of rangers.

For a long time, no words could be spoken as the Ninjetti team began to investigate the appearance of their suits. And as they made comments to each other, the DT team turned to their black mentor for guidance. But he didn't say anything, merely letting his stance show that he would deal with any consequences they could be facing.

And when the investigation was over, the teams looked at each other, still not saying a thing. In order from left to right on the Ninjetti team was the blue wolf ranger, the red ape ranger, the white falcon ranger, the pink crane ranger, the yellow bear ranger and the black frog ranger. In order from left to right on the DT team was the white drago ranger, the yellow ptera ranger, the black brachio ranger, the blue tricera ranger and the red tyranno ranger. It was as if time had slowed for the moment as it was captured in each of their minds.

"Who are you guys?" the white falcon ranger finally spoke.

"Your future," the black brachio ranger said simply.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Huh! Wait, you cut it off there? I bet that is what you're thinking. Well, first off, this chapter was way longer than I had intended. And it was altered more than one could expect. Zeltrax! But how? The answers will come in later chapters. Surprised? And now that the Ninjetti team has met Dino Thunder, will they reveal who they are and risk any possible changes to their future as a legacy? Find out in the future. See you when I do. And may the powers always protect you._


	27. Captured

**_TIL I COLLAPSE_** - **PART TWENTY-SEVEN: CAPTURED  
**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Present day, 2005. While looking for answers, Kim becomes a captive of Mindshatter. Can the team get her back and still find out where the DT Rangers are before Mindshatter destroys the city?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. And you've read this long enough to know what is mine and what isn't. So, the end to that._

_A/N: Just read on. I know you are wondering how this set back is gonna end. And I hope I have caught your eye just a little bit more. Don't you just lost all the twists I'm putting in? Well, of course you are, or you would not be reading all of this right now. See you when I do._

_X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
__"We got to find them. If we do not, our entire future is at stake. No matter what it may be, the future is in motion and things can change so much, so quickly. We cannot afford to make any mistakes or we could all suffer." -Eclyptyk Neo  
__X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

Present day 2005.

The hours felt like days as the unique team of rangers worked around the clock to get things running again in the underground lab. But a full day had passed, and none of them seemed to realize it. They still had no answers to what caused it, or how to get things running again. The entire Ninjetti crew, minus their leader, the legendary ranger, the yellow Zeo 2 ranger and the green samurai ranger. To complete the mix was the technical director of the DT team and the young heir to the man with a huge legacy. Principal Santos had to return to the school to avoid any sort of suspicion. She didn't like the constant eye on her, but there was nothing she could really do if she wanted to keep her job as principal of Reefside High.

Though many of them were not familiar with the technology based around the DT team, Hayley, Billy and Cam worked in shifts with the other members of the team. Many times, they had told young Serena to avoid touching things, but she managed to sneak by and fix a few things without them looking.

Adam had repeated told Kim to ease up just a little, even if she was protesting. He didn't want to put anymore stress on her than need be, but she was making it hard on all of them. He had to give her something to drink, set with a herbal remedy to make her tired as she had retired upstairs to some much needed rest. He told Serena to keep her company, but that didn't stop the young girl from sneaking back down to help out in the shadows. And he had absently went back to work on one of the drives around the lab.

There was just too much chaos that didn't need to be around when their main objective was to get the main hard drive running again so they can continue their search for the DT rangers.

Serena had moved around the chaos as she took a seat at the main computer console. She began to type in a few things into the system, which had still been denied to anyone, including Hayley.

Then the lights in the lab went dark as everyone began to complain about the darkness. But when they switched back on the main drive hummed to life and the access into the mainframe of the computer was up and running again.

"Huh? What the...?" Billy peeked out from his place under a panel of wires. He rose to his feet and raced over to the main computer. He looked down at the young girl who only looked up at him and smiled. "How did...? Did she just get the system running again?"

Hayley walked over to the computer and pushed a button to reveal the DT symbol and the screen showed status of its search through time for the DT team. "It appears so."

Cam joined the trio at the computer shaking his head. "We got a genius in the family." He gently patted the young girl's shoulder commenting on her good work. "Good job, Serena."

The young girl said something in Tagalog and hopped off the chair heading for the stairs. Confusion ran on the faces of the team, unsure what she had said.

"Did anyone catch that?" Rocky scratched his head in confusion. "Cause I don't speak Filipino."

"She said that we shouldn't underestimate her just because she's young," Adam said as everyone turned to look at him. It was clear that they were shocked he knew the language when they knew of one person who understood her, and that was her father. They had no idea about Trent's connection in the foreign language. Adam shrugged absently. "What? When you've been all over Asia you learn a few things about other cultures."

"Fluent?" Rocky looked at his friend, wondering exactly what skeletons hid in the green Zeo 4/black ninja ranger's closet.

"I know enough to say I know the general idea of what she's saying," Adam shrugged again. "But anyway, onto our first objective -- finding the DT team."

The team knew he had a point as the technical advisors took their seats at the main computer console. Adam and Aisha were sent out on the city to see if they could find any evidence out there. Rocky and Tanya hung about in the lab checking on the other systems and their status.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Out on the city, Adam and Aisha began to trace back the steps of the last battle from the DT team. Aisha used a newly constructed device to reveal any strange energy cources in the area. Adam had his eyes peeled on any danger that could be around.

"I don't like this," Aisha shook her head as a cold chill ran down her back. "I mean, I don't know how this Mindshatter guy is, but he must be tough."

Adam nodded. "He's tricky. We haven't gotten a real victory since he showed up."

"You don't think this could be the end of the line, do you?"

"I doubt it. I mean, where would the other rangers in the future fall into play. I just don't like the feeling we haven't actually gotten anywhere with this war against Mindshatter."

The two came to a stop in the plaza where the DT rangers were last spotted. Aisha continued to scan the area as Adam scanned the area with his ninja powers. But there was something wrong. It was quiet. Too quiet for their taste. And they weren't sure what to make of the situation.

"Why's it so quiet?" Aisha looked around slightly confused. "You don't see this every day."

Adam shook his head agreeing with her. As much as the battle had now been a day ago, he figured life around the plaza would be back to normal. But somehow, it wasn't. "No. You don't." He looked around again reaching out with his ninja powers to see if anyone was in the immediate area, and one was. He let out a sigh as he turned to the stairwell breaking one level of the plaza from another. "Kim, what are you doing here?"

The familiar face of Kim popped from her hiding place. As much as a slurpee tried to hide her from spying, the black ninja knew it was more than that. She walked out into the open shaking her head pointing at the man in black. "You know, I am sick and tired of hearing from all of you I am not capable of helping. I am not crippled or injured..."

"But you're pregnant," Adam corrected as the glare grew heavy on him. "I'm sorry, but I have my orders. And so does Tommy. Look, we all care about you. We just don't want you to get hurt, that's all."

"So, we have to watch the DT rangers get their butts whupped while we sit around and do nothing? They're gonna need as much help from us as they do from each other," Aisha stated, making a point about why she had come to help.

"Are you taking her side!" Adam took a step back knowing he could not win against the pink ninja ranger and her best friend.

"Look, I get it. I know now that we may be calling in forces from the past to help out, but we got to realize the dangers here..."

"Like failing to stop Dinoshade from sending them back in time?" Kim countered. "Weren't you the only other ranger in the immediate area who could have done something? What happened to watching each other's back?"

"I was in Blue Bay Harbor looking for Cam. By the time I got back, it was too late. And you can't forget that Billy was monitoring the situation. And he tried to crack the dome, but couldn't. For a guy whose been around alien technology for a long time, he tried and couldn't. Now, don't accuse any of us for trying, but it's even harder trying to balance it with a normal life." Adam just wanted to drop the subject there, but the fire in Kim's eyes grew. And he didn't blame her for being upset. "Look, I get it. And you're right, I wasn't as alert as I should have been about any of this. I'm sorry. But remember, some of us do got a normal life to obtain. We're not teenagers anymore."

"Kinda ironic for something like that to come out of your mouth, Adam. After all the effort you have put in in the last few months, you'd say something like that. Life isn't exactly normal for any of us here. Look, I hate just sitting on the sidelines unable to do anything about this. We all are. It's just this Mindshatter guy has done far too much to destroy us as a team. And..." she caught her tongue unsure of what else to really say about the situation. She did, in fact, send Tommy off into battle to help his teammates, but didn't like the rush in his departure. There was so much she wanted to say. One of them was to tell stories of her adventures with Tommy and the original rangers to their daughter. But that never happened. She looked away, but the posture she stood in made it evident that she was crying. Adam and Aisha moved to pull the small petite woman into their warm comforting arms.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Island fortress.

Mindshatter paced the room waiting to hear of any news on the situation at hand. He had to admit now that he was able to control Mesogog's thoughts, he felt confident enough to put an end to the rangers. He was also convinced that after one final injection into the body of the dino menace, he was sure that was the one thing he needed to keep him that way. He had enough problems dealing with the wits of Anton Mercer, he was sure he could bend Mesogog more to his whim than the man, Dinoshade walked into the room, obviously more angry than usual. He didn't stop to acknowledge the presence of the hidden figure in the shadows as he bowed before his master. "You dare put that pathetic excuse of a dinosaur before me?"

Mindshatter glared at him as his eyes shot into a fiery red glare. "Do you defy how I run things, Dinoshade?"

"I will not stand for this. That man is just as useless to you as any other human. Isn't that why you came to earth in the first place? To make them all slaves in your army? Why take so long to do it?"

"Because someone failed to take out the group of adversaries that is in my way," Mindshatter growled as he flung his hand out. Under the force, Dinoshade flew across the room and hit the metal panel being crushed against it. "I would have thought since you had a mind of your own you would be smart enough to realize some of the weaknesses in our ranger friends, but you haven't!"

The figure in the shadows moved to the center of the room to stand beside the evil cyber-netic leader of the operation. It was Mesogog, who clearly despised the robotic-dino being crushed against the wall. Mindshatter released the grip on Dinoshade as he fell to the floor in a clamor of metal.

Mindshatter moved to a view screen overlooing activity in Reefside. He saw the trio of rangers in the plaza growling quietly to himself. "As weak as the rangers are against you, Dinoshade, you still haven't brought me the satisfaction I need toward victory."

He called out to his other henchman as Mesogog bowed in turn. "General Mesogog, dispose of the black and yellow ninja rangers.

But see to it you capture our little pink ninja ranger. I have plans for her."

"Yes, Master," Mesogog bowed and left the room.

Dinoshade growled as he slowly got to his feet walking over to his master. "Do you really trust him, Master?"

"As long as he is under my control we have nothing to worry about," Mindshatter said darkly as he nodded toward his henchman.

"Besides, I have plenty of schemes locked in my mind that those rangers will not expect at all."

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Adam had continued the search for any evidence toward the disappearance of the DT team. Aisha and Kim walked the plaza talking mostly about girl things to keep themselves off the subject of worry.

Adam's communicator chimed as he pulled it up to his mouth. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Well, we've ran some tests and there seems to be another lifeform that was involved in that battle aside from the rangers or Dinoshade," Billy stated through the comm.

Adam furrowed his eyebrows as he looked around the area. For awhile, he closed his eyes scanning the area as he tried to pick up on the battle through his heightened ninja skills. He watched the battle rage on, the team falling victim to some killer blows and when all was over a light covered the area, the DT rangers were gone and Dinoshade disappeared through an invisi-portal. "Yeah, I'm sorta getting that, too."

Then the device he held in his hand began to go haywire. He raised it up to see the readings watching as the device picked up the energy residing around those that was once in the area. A light indicated the color of each of the DT Rangers and Dinoshade, but then it blurred and another image came up. Adam watched as it began to take shape on the small monitor, and he nearly collapsed to the ground when he saw what it made. "Oh man, you guys are not gonna believe this? You guys getting this analysis I'm transmitting back?"

"Yeah, we're getting it, Adam, but..." Billy began.

"Zeltrax!" Hayley cut him off before he could say anymore.

"But how?" Adam shook his head. "You guys mind running a scan and see what you can find?"

"Don't have to tell me twice, Adam. Something is not right about this at all," Hayley stated. It was clear in her voice that she wouldn't make any hesitation to find answers. Things had just gotten harder to fingure out.

But then an invisi-portal opened up and a swarm of cybots surrounded the trio, pistols raised. Adam raced over to Aisha and Kim, who already shielded Kim from danger.

"Hey, guys, mind sending Rocky and Tanya down for some help? It seems we ran into a bit of trouble," Adam stated as he lowered his wrist communicator.

"They're on their way, Adam," Cam nodded. "We'll get to work on the analysis."

Aisha and Adam looked at each other before looking back at Kim. It was clear that as much as she wanted to help, she knew the danger that came with these guys. And though Aisha wasn't too familiar with how these cybots were, she knew they were bad news.

"Great. This is all we need," Adam sighed. "Kim, you know I'd hate to do this to you, but..."

"Go find a safe place to hide?" she finished as she slowly moved up the stairs. "Yeah, I'm there. Be careful, you guys."

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll be just fine," Aisha answered in a light sarcasm.

The two ninja rangers moved against the cybots, using what ninja skills they knew to attack. They were quick-witted. They had the experience to keep the cybots moving on their enemies with some frustration. But as they had managed to driven them back, more seemed to arrive out of nowhere to surprise them.

And unlike the other cybots, these knew where the ninjas were gonna plant each of their moves as they sent them to the pavement. It was as if they were analysis their attacks and now using it against them as they were being tossed about like rag dolls.

But the area exploded with a new line of laser fire as the cybots pulled back and the familiar suits of the Zeo 2 and Zeo 3 rangers plowed through the area to shield their friends.

"Hey, you guys all right?" Tanya asked as she helped her yellow counterpart to her feet.

"Better late than never, I have to say," Adam nodded as he used his best friend as a support beam to stand up.

But by that time, the spirits of the frog and the bear had joined to battle to pre-occupy the cbyots gving the rangers some time to re-group.

"Well, suit up, buddy. See you on the other side," Rocky grasped his friend's shoulder.

Adam nodded as he gave out the morphing call to the Zeo powers. His wrist flicked as the zeonizer appeared on each one and flipped his hands into place to morph. Aisha had called out to the ancient ninja form as she had melted into her ninja suit for some more protection. And as the sequence was completed and a new line of lasers rained down on the four rangers, they broke formation and went into battle.

The cybots moved quick, but not quick enough against the skilled rangers. They knew their marks, realized their mistakes and wanted to fix any errors and report back to the lab as soon as they can.

But after some time, the rangers couldn't hold their ground. They were being trampled by the numberous amounts of cybots.

As soon as a few went down, more and more came charging in bigger numbers. With more power and much more aggressively. They weren't quite sure how much more punishment they could take and not give up in the end. That was the last thing they needed. Was to surrender to a bunch of robotic excuses for trying to rule the world.

Rocky launched himself into the air despite the signs of fatigue running down his face. But as he tried to register a flying kick, several cybots opened fire on him and he came crashing hard to the ground.

Adam had his own hands full as he used the cybots line of attack on their own. As soon as one attacked, he pushed another in its way as a shield to protect himself. But soon, his plan was failing and he had hit the ground beside his friend.

Tanya and Aisha had tried a more subtle approach. They took it slow and steady in a frenzy of yellow ranger teamwork. The fire and grace that only came to the yellow rangers alone gave them the upper hand for some time, but failed in the end. They ended up beside their friends, tired and weap.

"Okay, these guys just don't know when to quit," Rocky stated as he winced.

"They don't call them robots for nothing. They're like the Energizer Bunny only with big guns and spikey appendages," Aisha cracked a joke.

"No time for jokes. Look, we should be able to take them...but there's just some thing not right about this picture," Adam shook his head as he thought a moment about the situation.

"Like what?" Tanya asked.

Then they heard screaming. And they all knew who it came from. Rocky and Adam sprang to their feet leaping over the stairs to the lower level of the plaza. They landed with ease on the lower level as Tanya and Aisha weren't too far behind. They raced over to where the screaming had occurred, seeing their friend in pink struggle to break her grip within Mesogog's strong arms.

"You're mine, pink ranger," Mesogog hissed with satisfaction.

"Ever heard of a breath mint, Mesogog?" Kim waved her hand over her mouth as she tried to twist free. "You know, it wouldn't hurt every now and then. You're girlfriend would be very upset to find you with such bad hygiene."

"Silence!" he hissed as he tugged her into the shadows.

The other rangers called out to their friend, but were stopped by a swarm of cybots. Pistols leveled and fired. The rangers hit the ground in pain as the cybots surrounded them again. They heard the echoing cry of their pink counterpart, who was still struggling to break free.

"This is getting real old, real fast," Rocky said in a low breath as he slowly peeled himself off the ground.

"Try telling that to them'cuz they mean business," Tanya stated as the cybots inched closer to them.

For awhile, none of them moved wondering if this was really the end of them. But with what little strength they had managed to muster, they got to their feet and pile drove their way out toward Mesogog and his prisoner.

Adam and Aisha tackled the dino menace to the ground just as Tanya and Rocky had shielded their unarmed friend behind them.

They quickly asked if she was fine and she had answered with a nod. They quickly joined their friends in battle, each of them guarded Kim in turn.

But Mesogog would have none of this. He let out a roar that shook the air, making the team lose their balance. His eyes grew to an even darker shade of red as he approached them. And as each of them tried to attack, they stopped shrot of him, guarded by a force field, or wall, he had planted before them. And with his arms raised, lifted them off the ground and flying across the area to distant walls. Leaving him alone with the pregnant gym teacher.

Kim slowly got to ther feet, but stood her ground. As much as fear ran through her for the new darkness she saw in the man before her, she knew there was still hope for him. "Anton, it's me. Kimberly Hart-Oliver. I am the wife of your friend, Tommy Oliver. We can help you. But you gotta help us, too. You have to fight it."

Mesogog didn't seem to hear her. It was like he was in a trance. He only had so few objectives, one being to eliminate any and all threats toward him or Mindshatter. "You will be destroyed!"

Kim took a small step back, but forced air back into her lungs. She didn't want to give up on him. She knew, or felt, the struggle and confusion. The plea and the protection the man was trying to obtain. "Anton, please. You have to try."

"Anton is gone," Mesogog hissed. "He was far too weak. The punishment nearly killed him. He is but one man who can't fight to survive anymore."

"Then let us try and help," Kim pleaded.

By now, Mesogog had her in his grip again. The grip had squeezed on her forearms as he looked down on her. His red eyes glaring to darkness and rage. The air around them grew heavy. "No one can help you now, pink ranger."

"Not if I can help it," a hooded figure stated as it launched into a flying kick.

It registered with the dino menace's chest as he fell back. The hooded figure shielded Kim behind him as he broke into a fighter stance. By now, the other rangers were slowly recovering from the toss, but they were still weak and trying to keep the cybots at bay.

Mesogog growled as he got to his feet. The hooded figure turned to look at Kim just as Adam raced over with some confusion.

"Are you all right?" the hooded figure asked the pregnant woman.

She nodded solmenly as a little smile passed her face. "I'll be fine."

"But..." Adam protested pondering who was behind the hood.

Just as the thoughts had crossed his mind, the masked figure pulled the hood away and quickly turned to see a charging Mesogog come their way. The red space ranger nodded a greeting to his ranger counterpart as he and the green Zeo 4 ranger moved as one against Mesogog.

For awhile, they had kept him back. Out of reach for Kim, but the cybots weren't too far behind to keep them on the defense as Mesogog came charging again. This time he managed to strike Adam down hard, pinning him down with the heavy step of his boot. Andros tried to tackle Mesogog, but he was ready for him. He picked up Adam and tossed him onto the charging red space ranger. They hit the ground hard, pinned down in pain for some time.

Tanya, Aisha and Rocky were still stuck trying to keep the cybots out of their hair, but it wasn't working. Every approach had ended with one of them going down hard. They were always on the defense, never on the attack.

"Can someone please tell me why this is taking so long to end?" Aisha asked slightly impatient with the fact of no one retreating.

"How about you don't ask and get as far as you can without hurting yourself too badly or even dying?" Rocky stated.

"Oh that's re-assuring. Thanks, Rocky," Aisha said sympathetically with some sarcasm.

"Look, as far as I could tell, either they're going or we're going. And I'm not about to be the one to go," Tanya stated as she jumped between the two.

What they needed to do was focus more on the fight at hand rather than the future outcome of it. They had looked back at their friends, realizing the presence of the red space ranger among them. They had looked at each other with some sheer confusion, but it wasn't too bothersome when they were just glad he was there.

Adam and Andros had slowly found their footing again. Mesogog didn't give them a chance to breath as he trampled the red space ranger to the ground. Adam jumped on the dino menace, trying to pull him free from his friend, but couldn't find a way to push him off. Mesogog hissed under the strugle from the Zeo 4 Ranger and grabbed him, sending him into another distant wall.

Andros tired to scrambled out of Mesogog's grip, but could find no one. He even tried to level his pistol, but Mesogog was there to swipe it away. The darkness running through his heavy gaze made Andros feel a little more vulnerable. He was like a predator on his prey. On his kill as he could feel the icy breath run down his neck. Andros pushed some weight into his body and tried to push up, but Mesoggo only came crashing dwon farther on him. He was trying to take the wind out of the red space ranger.

Then the cry, almost like a warrior cry, echoed through the area as Kim sprang onto Mesogog's back. She tried to pull him back, but it was enought to re-direct his direction to his main objective. Mesogog turned to the P.E. teacher and grabbed her, pinning her against him as his eyes bore down on her.

"You've done enough damage, Mesogog," she stated trying to hold her ground. But his gaze had sent cold chills down her back unlike any other evil being she had encountered.

"You're coming with me," Mesogog turned and dragged the small petite woman with him.

Andros was still recovering from his injuries as he tried to get to his feet. He called out to the two as he watched Mesogog disappear into the shadows. An invisi-portal opening up above them. And as time slowed and he had some strength to get to his feet, his eyes met with the determination and fear of the pink ranger. As he raced toward Mesogog and his captive, it was already too late. They had disappeared through the invisi-portal.

And soon after, the cybots followed. Leaving behind an eerie silence after a raging battle. Andros looked up at the sky briefly before slamming his fists into the pavement as he came crashing to his knees. It was clear he was upset at their loss. They all were when the other rangers had met him in the center of the quiet plaza.

Now, de-morphed and back in their civilian form. It fell silent among the five rangers for some time. They were all in pain. They were in shock. They were speechless. They felt helpless and weak.

"Now what? We can't just walk right into the fortress and free Kim," Rocky finally broke the silence. But the tone in his voice had indicated frustration and failure mixed with anger.

"If we don't get Kim back, Tommy will kill us," Aisha had to correct knowing how protective the legendary ranger can be over any matter regarding his wife.

"Hey, Andros. How did you know to come here?" Tanya had to ask as the other rangers greeted him in turn.

The man with his own legacy looked at the other rangers and let out a deep breath. It was clear that something was troubling him, but they didn't know what. "I got a distress call. Tommy sent one out to any and all available rangers. But that's not all. I may have some more information on this Mindshatter guy and what he really wants with Earth."

"Like what?" Adam asked growing the most interested in the finding.

"I'd rather not discuss it here in the open. We should go back to the lab," Andros suggested as he slowly moved out of the plaza.

"Hello?" Aisha had to stop her friends from taking anymore steps. "What about Kim? We can't just leave her to Mindshatter or Mesogog. Who knews what they'll do to her."

"Until we can figure out a safe passage into the fortress, we'll have to think of something else," Adam directed. "But we'll get her back. Hopefully before we find the others."

"Find the others?" Andros repeated with confusion in his voice. "You mean Tommy isn't around?"

"Why do you think we were fighting?" Rocky asked slightly annoyed.

Andros nodded slowly as he put two and two together. He directed the team out of the plaza. He knew they couldn't do much for Kim if they stayed here. They needed to get some more devices and running fast in order to keep things squared away and as calm as possible.

The team turned and raced for the underground lab hoping to learn more on the situation.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Underground lab.

The five rangers had returned to the lab, each of them in their own world full of guilt, confusion, anger and loss. What had them all steamed, though was the fact that Mesogog had managed to capture Kim and they failed to stop him. Now, they didn't know what to do or how to get her back.

As soon as the five rangers -- Adam, Aisha, Andros, Rocky and Tanya -- filed into the lab, they were met by the concern looks of the technical advisors.

"What's up?" Billy asked slightly confused.

The five rangers exchanged a look, unsure if he knew of the loss or if he was trying to avoid it. They didn't want to know or tell them the truth.

"We lost her," Rocky said simply.

"Lost her?" Cam repeated. And it was clear he didn't know at all.

"Mesogog took Kim," Aisha finally said to stop the silence.

"What!" the three technical advisors were on their feet. It was clear they were shock.

"But I thought she was upstairs," Hayley stated.

"Well, it seems she wanted to head out into town and got caught up in our battle," Rocky shrugged.

"And then Mesogog showed up. Luckily, Andros was there, but Mesogog got the upper hand and we lost Kim," Tanya said.

Billy let out a sigh as he collapsed into his chair, shaking his head. "Like we don't need more to worry about and then this comes up."

"Do you guys have any idea what Mesogog or Mindshatter may want with her?" Cam asked trying to elaborate on the situation.

Then the communicator chimed as everyone turned to the main computer console. It was Jason with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, guys. Guess whose got another heir to the Scott clan?" he asked as the smile grew bigger.

"Lemme guess, Kat gave birth?" Adam asked.

Jason nodded. "Baby girl. Nicole Rachel Scott. 7 lbs, 8 oz. In good health."

"Well, congrats, Jason. But this isn't quite the good time," Billy stated.

"Why? Where's Tommy? Need to give him a be-lated birthday what's up," Jason protested. He looked about the room noticing the presence of those in the room. "Okay, where is Kim and Tommy? And my teenage DT buddies?"

"That's what we're trying to say, Jason. They're not here," Hayley said.

Jason grew more serious. "Okay, you guys got a lot of explaining to do."

"Kim was captured by Mesogog. Tommy and the other DT rangers were trapped somewhere else in time and we don't know where. And we're still trying to figure out why Mesogog snatched Kim," Billy stated.

"Bait," Andros stated before anyone else could say anything. Everyone turned to look at him, wondering what he really did know on the situation.

"Bait! Whoa, now, why does that sound familiar?" Jason shook his head.

Andros cleared his throat slightly upset at the interruption. "Just like Mesogog. To lure us out into the open as much as possible and hopefully put an end to us. Mindshatter's first main objective was to try and take the best warriors of each planet and create his own army out of them and rule the universe with an iron fist. But since we're so stubborn about joining, like many, he is trying to pick the best out of us and turn us over. Make his warriors believe that his friends are really his enemies and turn on them. He would prefer to see us destroy each other rather than he do it."

"Okay, now that we got that squared away, any idea on how we could get Kim or possibly Anton back?" Rocky asked.

"That's not even half of the story. I can only imagine that you guys have little or no information of this Mindshatter guy, do you?" the red space ranger asked.

"And lemme guess, you do?" Cam asked not too surprised with the little smile that passed the red space ranger's face.

"Mindshatter is as he puts it an intergalactic being from the outskirts of space just trying to find his way in life. Not entirely true. He was more of an experiment gone wrong. Extremely wrong. He was supposed to be some universal soldier. Help out where he was needed, even be an aide for the Power Rangers. Meaning he can heal upon injury quickly, he could kick major tail, even have the powers of mind control and he was literally unstoppable. They couldn't control him. He was only supposed to be controlled by a super computer, but he outsmarted it and obtained his own mind. He was in control. And when he found out what power he really had he went out into the universe and began to destroy if he could not rule. Luckily, he was the only one. They had assembled an army of armored soldiers, the cybots, against him, but they didn't stand a chance and he had turned them onto his side. And that's when his reign began."

It fell silent as he looked at each of the rangers. It was clear that it was a lot to take in. But he wasn't even done. There was a whole lot more information he had to give. He waited for them to take in all of the news hoping it wouldn't freak them out completely.

"So, he's really some experiment that went wrong?" Cam asked breaking the silence. It was clear he was developing a theory around the situation.

"Why does that sound strangely familiar?" Rocky shook his head as he looked at his teammates. They all knew what he was talking about considering a certain dino menace.

Andros nodded, confirming the truth. "That sums it up."

"And he was supposed to be an ally for us rangers?" Aisha asked as Andros nodded again. "Question, though. You said he was an experiment. It had gone wrong and he maintained his own mind and power. But who created him?"

"Zordon," Andros said simply as he took a step back.

The original rangers looked at each other in shock. Knees seemed to lock and bodies sway with confusion. They were speechless as they looked over at Andros. They didn't want to believe it, but the look in his eyes ahd told them enough. He was right.

"Zordon?" Jason had to repeat just to make sure. "No way. There's just no way he would do something like that."

Andros looked away slightly ashamed as he nodded. "When he had returned to Eltar, he had began experimenting with 'Project: Universal Soldier'. This Mindshatter guy was supposed to help you guys out with Divatox and other threats in the future. But it never was completed since Zordon was captured. He wasn't merely captured for destruction, but also because Dark Specter and Astronema had learned about his new project. They wanted information on it. Astronema had kept Mindshatter locked away on her ship hoping to one day find that answers she needed to control him. But eventually, and somehow, he had escaped and fled to the outskirts of space. He waited and watched from the distance waiting to strike, analyzing his enemies as they came and went. And like I said, by the time the cybots were able to track him down, he had turned them into his own army. With them, he felt it was nearly time to strike. Only months ago, he had stumbled onto the planet of Mirinoi. The Lost Galaxy Rangers fought bravely. They did all they could do to stop him, but..." Andros caught his breath for a moment. "they never made it back."

The room fell silent again as heads dropped. Though none of them were officially associated with the LG rangers, they knew of the sacrifices and hardship they had gone through. Thousands of people from Earth had left on Terra Venture to find new worlds to inhabit. They landed and now stayed on Mirinoi, the planet that Maya lived on and where the Quasar Sabers were located.

"There was an epic space battle," Andros continued even among the hanging heads. "Zhane had followed Mindshatter -- a name he had chose simply to state he meant business -- and found out he was going to attack Mirinoi. He had teamed up with the Lost Galaxy Rangers along with about hundred other cybots. And they battled above the planet of Mirinoi. They fought, but none of them had returned. Mindshatter's army was now down to 200, which was sorta a good thing. When the people of KO-35 had not heard from Zhane, they feared the worse and sent a distress call to me on Earth. By the time I and the other space ranger had got out there, it was too late. Mindshatter had fled and we returned to Earth waiting until he would attack again."

"And here he is in good ol' Reefside, California," Adam sighed as Andros nodded.

"Well, I guess this changes things a little bit," Billy nodded as he began to file out what they now knew for the red space ranger to confirm. "So, Mindshatter was an experiment gone wrong that was supposed to help us, the power rangers, out in battle?"

Andros nodded.

"And Zordon was behind the creation of it, but it was the people of Eltar who had completed it or as much as they could before Zordon was captured?" Hayley asked as the red space ranger nodded again.

"And Mindshatter was with Astronema for some time. And both she and Dark Specter was hoping to use him as an ally to destroy us, but he somehow fled into the outskirts of space," Aisha stated more than asked.

"The cybots were created by the people of Eltar to find Mindshatter, but they were re-programmed and now work for him," Rocky said as it was falling into place.

"And then he was going to rule the universe with an iron fist. Take the best warriors from each planet if they didn't destroy each other first or he destroy them. He started out with Mirinoi and none of the Lost Galaxy rangers or Zhane came back," Adam said.

Andros looked away, nodding slowly. As painful as it was to tell them the news, he still held his ground. But they ocould tell he was hurting on the inside. Zhane was his best friend, and the only silver ranger in existence.

"I'm sorry about Zhane," Adam said as he put a hand on the space ranger's shoulder. "We all are about him. And the Lost Galaxy Rangers."

"Yeah," Andros said. "They died in the line of duty. That's really what matters. They fought their way to protecting the universe."

"Okay, so what about the strange electronical disturbance?" Cam asked hoping they could get back on the subject of Mindshatter.

"I told you guys that Mindshatter was supposed to be controlled by some super computer, but he had outsmarted it. Now, he has topped technology of this time, way beyond our time. In order to avoid getting outside help, he had placed a force field around the planet. But now that Mindshatter has mastered technology beyond what Earth can provide, he has the upper hand. No transmission. No distress call. No one enters or leaves the atmosphere. If they do, he'll know or it'll just be destroyed by the force field," Andros said. "So, we're sitting ducks. We're on our own for this."

"But how do we defeat him? I mean, there is a way to defeat him, right?" Tanya asked.

"There is. We can either re-program the cybots. Their initial objective was to track Mindshatter and dispose of him and anything associated with what he's done or created. Or we can try to overwrite or overload his system. He is still, after all, a machine. And without people like us, machines could not run," the red space ranger said.

"So, where does Dinoshade fall into place?" Aisha asked.

"Created by the people of KO-35, Dinoshade was supposed to match up against the cybots and put an end to Mindshatter. Literally self-destruct upon contact with Mindshatter, but somehow, his thoughts were jumbled. And now, we are looked at as the enemy. Mindshatter is hoping to create his own evil power ranger team to go against us. But of course, that is still in works. But he knows more about us then we think. He knows about the other rangers on Earth. Not just the DT team or me and the space rangers. He knows about the original teams, Zeo, Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force, Wild Force and Ninja Storm. All of us. He's just working patiently, waiting for the right time to attack."

"No way! That's impossible," Rocky shook his head.

"Why do you think the cybots are capable of attacking you guys with ease and you haven't come up with a real victory?" Andros asked as the team bit their tongue. "He can read minds, and he can control them. And remember, he outsmarted a super computer that was meant to control him."

"You're making that sound like he can't be defeated," Tanya said.

"No. He can be defeated. We just having found a really good weak spot to attack him at."

"So, what about the whole concept with the spikes? You can't begin to tell me that was also Zordon's idea," Aisha said.

"It wasn't. You can thank the DT team for that and their idea of Super Dino Mode," he stated as eyes grew wide again. "I told you the guy's been analyzing our moves and our actions as soon as he got the information."

"And how did he get the information?" Hayley asked.

"What about Zeltrax? How does he tie into this?" Adam asked as he remembered the data he had collected earlier.

"Zeltrax! He's back?" Jason shook his head, not believing it.

"Or so we think. We haven't been able to tie his appearance with the disappearance of the other rangers," Hayley stated.

"We're still looking into that," Cam said.

"What if he tipped off Mindshatter," Aisha suggested.

"Maybe. But until we get more answers we can't assume anything," Andros shrugged. "And that's where I'm at a lost. I don't have all the answers, you know."

"But you seem to have all of this information on Mindshatter," Rocky shot back.

"And that's where it stops. I don't know what else I'm leaving out. But this is what I've learned, and if we don't find a way to destroy Mindshatter before he outsmarts us then no one else will have a chance to stop him."

"That's not a good pick-up line on our behalf. All of this is on us," Jason sighed. "Well, have fun, guys. You know I'd love to help out, but I got a family to worry about..." He was about to sign off.

"Who says we're done giving you some information, Jase?" Rocky stated.

"Yeah, I'm sure you want to know about Tommy's kid, Serena," Adam added.

Jason stopped for a moment, his finger wavering over the ENTER key to end transmission. He looked at his friends with confusion and shock. "Tommy has a kid?"

"Huh? Wait, Tommy has a kid?" Andros had to repeat to make sure he had heard it right.

The rest of the team looked at each other and smiled, knowing there was a good amount of information that needed to get passed along to the other rangers throughout the world.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Island fortress.

Mesogog had casually walked into the main room with Kim in full sight as he escorted her in. She tired to hold her cool, not wanting to show any sign of fear, but when she caught sight of the leader of the evil operation, Mindshatter, her control had wavered.

Mindshatter raised his head slowly as his eyes began to glow with a hint of red as he got off the chair and approached the lone pink ranger. He bowed respectively toward the small petite woman before saying something. "You look a whole lot more tougher than you really seem. But I sense your fear. It's almost like fuel to me."

"I like what you've done with this place. Icy cold metal everywhere. It seems to fit you quite well, Mindshatter," she shot back with some wit of no fear.

"So, you've heard about me. Of course, you have. Those DT Rangers are to thank for that."

"What'd you do with them?" she asked as she felt some confidence run through her. "If I find out you..."

"They're fine. For now. But they won't be when I decide to destroy them in the past. And your entire legacy will be destroyed before it ever began," Mindshatter stated cooly.

"Don't bet on it. We'll stop you before you do it," she said.

"So sure are you? Even among the young and old there are so many of you that are confident enough to think you can destroy me. I don't assume you ever heard of the Lost Galaxy Rangers?" the lord of cyborgs asked as he turned to one of the view screens.

Mesogog had pushed her forward to watch the screen. And set right before her eyes was an epic battle with the LG Rangers above the planet of Mirinoi. Cybots had attacked their megazord as the rangers - Mike, Leo, Maya, Damon, Kai, Kendrix and Zhane - had done battle with them. They tried to keep them at bay while it appeared that Dinoshade was battling Mindshatter.

When they thought that it was a victory, Dinoshade and turned on them and destroyed them all, point blank range in a line of deadly laser blasts. None of them survived. And as the familiar cruisers to the Space Rangers began to file into the area, Mindshatter and his new army had turned and fled before they could stop him.

Kim looked away trying to control the tears from falling, but as she looked up to mee the gaze of Mindshatter, they fell. "You killed them."

"They were hardly a challenge after I managed to take control of Dinoshade," Mindshatter said abruptly. "And if the other rangers don't cooperate with me, they will suffer the same fate."

"So, why didn't you destroy the people of Mirinoi?" Kim asked bluntly.

Mindshatter turned away. "I have my reasons."

Kim thought for a moment. Did he merely have a heart for those not under the ranger code? Or was it something else? "So, what do you plan to do to me?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Mindshatter motioned for Mesogog to take her away.

Mesogog did as he was told as he left the room with the prisoner. They walked quietly down the hall, Mesogog still having her in full sight.

"So, Anton. How do you feel about that guy turning your old fortress into a metal box? Must be frustrating to find someone stronger than you trying to take out the rangers?" Kim began hoping to get through to the dino menace behind her.

The way he had handled her was bothersome. She had remembered that Elsa had told her that Mesogog really only warned her to stay out of the battle. That he possible did care about her, and that somewhere locked in the dino mind was Anton trying to break free.

"He is my master. I only follow his orders," Mesogog said simply.

"Yeah, right," Kim scoffed. "I bet you're really plotting against him. You wouldn't want someone made of nothing but metal to control the world you wanted to dominate. C'mon, admit it, Mesogog. You're only putting up an act to make him believe that."

Mesogog turned Kim around, pinning her against the wall. He looked into her eyes. The darkness was only lifted a little, but it was enough to tell her that there was something there. That she was getting through to him. "It's far too dangerous for you to understand."

"I think after seeing that epic battle with the Lost Galaxy Rangers and Zhane sums up he does mean business. But that won't stop us from destroying him. He is after all nothing but a machine, is he not? Would you let someone like that control you? You're still flesh and bone, even if you aren't exactly human at the moment. Let us help you, Anton," she pleaded hoping it could trigger something inside him.

"Before you can help me, you'll have to help each other. Find the other rangers," he said slowly as the control was finally becoming his own.

"So, you do have a change of heart, Mesogog? Tell me where to find them," she asked.

He looked away and shook his head. The struggle became more evident between who was controlling who in the dino menace.

He hit the ground groaning in pain, fighting the control. He could hear Mindshatter's voice run through his mind, but the man inside -- the dino-man inside -- was trying to break free. Kim fell to her knees trying to shake him out of it. "He's too powerful."

"I can't do this on my own, Mesogog. I need your help. We need your help," she stated loud enough for him to hear. He had to drill it into his head, but she knew it was the only way to get through to him and that's what she wanted. "C'mon, Anton. Please. He is only a machine. You can be our inside man in this operation."

"It is dangerous," he said quietly.

"Danger is part of our lives every single day. Danger could be as simple as stepping out of the house. No one is safe, but only if you really believe that."

She had touched his shoulder again, but as she did. It fell silent. He set his eyes on her, never letting it go as the darkness returned. He slowly got to his feet and roughly pulled her to her feet. He escorted her through the hall and into a dark room, tossing her inside. For a moment, he stood in the threshold of the door as she looked around it.

It was a small room. A small cot-like bed stood to one side, a desk against the center wall. A small light shined from above and it smelt of murky metal slowly rusting. It was similar to Anton's room on the fortress.

"I'll see what I can do. But it will be difficult to ensure your release, Mrs. Oliver," the dino menace stated with a bow.

The door closed shut and Kim was left alone in the darken, damp room. As frightened as she was to find out what Mindshatter was going to do to her, she could almost put trust in the dino menace. That underneath it all, the man – Anton Mercer – was still inside fighting. And perhaps, Mesogog did have a change of heart that would be beneficial to the team in the future.

_**To be continued...**_

_A/N: Whoa? Mesogog having a change of heart? There is no way. He's evil. But remember, it was Anton who created him. Look, either way if you want answers I'll give them to you in the future. And trust me, it isn't what you expected. What about the origins of Mindshatter? Surprised? I hope not extremely, but I told you I had to give some reference to the past. It would only be right. And if any of you are in fact, Star Wars fans, it is semi-related to that. Try and figure it out if you can, cuz I ain't telling you. And I know this is off-topic, but I was kinda hoping to get some reviews on some of my other work, especially the Star Wars stuff. (May the Force Be With You All!) But until next time, see you when I do. Isang diwa. And May the Powers Protect You Always._


	28. A Glitch in the Morphing Grid

_**'TIL I COLLAPSE**_ - **PART TWENTY-EIGHT: A GLITCH IN THE MORPHING GRID**  
SEQUEL TO: **_ORDINARY WORLD  
_**  
_SUMMARY: The Ninjetti has now met the Dino Thunder Rangers and make a startling discovery about them and the future. But what will happen now that the past has been changed? _

DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I own what goes on in this world, and you have decided to get pulled into it. Thank you for your support and cooperation. Now, if you may please set all tray and folding tables to their upright position, and secure your seat belt, we will be experiencing some turbulence due to such suspense and angst. Hold on.

A/N: I think the title explains most of it. Looking back, I told you I would be tying in some key points from the past. But I must apologize merely for my lack of knowledge about some of these episodes of the past. If I'm off, even by a little, I am so sorry. It's been a long time since I've seen like Season 3 or whatever, which is where this ties into. I don't have ToonDisney, where I could have caught some of it on PRG. Either way, before I ramble on about that, let's get back into action. Enjoy and hope you like.

_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
"Oh man. This changes everything. I tried to fight it, but I am living by deja vu than I would like. I hope it doesn't become a complete loss in the end, though. I do not think I can hold up much longer." -Eclyptyk Neo  
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_

For a long time, no words could be spoken as the Ninjetti team began to investigate the appearance of the suits on the mysterious team of rangers. And as they made comments to each other, the DT team turned to their black mentor for guidance. But he didn't say anything, merely letting his stance show that he would deal with any consequences they could be facing.

And when the investigation was over, the teams looked at each other, still not saying a thing. In order from left to right on the Ninjetti team was the blue wolf ranger, the red ape ranger, the white falcon ranger, the pink crane ranger, the yellow bear ranger and the black frog ranger. In order from left to right on the DT team was the white drago ranger, the yellow ptera ranger, the black brachio ranger, the blue tricera ranger and the red tyranno ranger. It was as if time had slowed for the moment as it was captured in each of their minds.

"Who are you guys?" the white falcon ranger finally spoke.

"Your future," the black brachio ranger said simply.

The red ninja ranger started to laugh, mostly to himself but the blue ninja ranger back slapped him on the chest to shut him up. But it was clear he was still laughing as he tried to stifle it.

"Rocky, that's enough," the white falcon ranger directed firmly as looked over his shoulder at his friend.

Rocky cleared his throat and took a small step back. "You can't be serious, Tommy. Did you hear this guy? He said he was our future. Look at them! It's a joke!"

The white falcon ranger held up a hand to silence him as his eyes fell on the assembly of rangers before them. He looked them over again, not sure what to make of the gesture. But as he looked at them, his eyes slowly lost focus and he was slightly swaying in a dazed manner. He quickly shook it away hoping it was nothing as his eyes fell on the black DT ranger.

"According to what I saw back there, you seem to know this situation best. And that cyborg seems to hate you the most," the white falcon ranger shook his head. "What does he knew about us? Or you?"

"More than you would like, white ranger," the black DT ranger replied. "He's dangerous. And you're lucky we were here to help you out."

"But this isn't a game. This is the real deal. You could have gotten hurt back there," the white falcon ranger spoke like any person would for looking after others.

"Well, if you think about it, Tommy, those suits are pretty impressive. And they look realistic, too. Not that many people can pull off a look similar to a ranger," the blue ninja ranger spoke.

"But what's with the spikes?" the yellow ninja ranger commented. "Now, that is something you don't see every day."

"Nor do you see a huge electrical storm with a huge vengenace toward this guy," the red ninja ranger chuckled as he patted his leader on the shoulder.

"Not the point, Rocky," the white falcon ranger shook off the gesture. His eyes centered on the black DT ranger again. "Now,  
like I said before. And I have no idea who you guys are, but you should seriously leave this stuff to the professionals."

"Don't worry. We look danger in the eye just like you," the white drago ranger spoke as he was elbowed in the chest by his yellow ranger counterpart.

"Have you?" the yellow bear ranger asked. "I must say though, those moves were pretty impressive, guys"

"Hey, thanks," the red tyranno ranger spoke just as the blue tricera ranger smacked him to shut him up.

"But what's the deal? You guys said you were our future. What? You gonna take us out with those fancy suits or something? Not really a selling point for a ranger," the pink ranger stated. "Or are you secretly working for Zedd and leading us off the wrong way?"

"Yeah, who are you guys? And where did you manage to get those suits?" the black ninja ranger asked.

"If we were working for Zedd, I think we would have taken you out already. We already sent that hunk of junk packing. But either way, you'll understand soon enough what all this means," the black DT ranger spoke in a low tone. "And sometimes asking too many questions could burn."

The black DT ranger slowly turned away, his team following suit saying nothing more.

"Wait!" the white falcon ranger called out as the black DT ranger stopped to look over his shoulder. "Um...thanks again for your help back there."

"Anything for a fellow ranger, Tommy. Good luck, guys," the black DT ranger stated with a bow toward the ninja rangers. "Maybe our paths will cross in the future again."

And the DT rangers slowly walked away. But as they got closer to the lip of the lake, the white falcon ranger began to sway.

The ninja rangers had watched the mysterious rangers with confusion, not noticing the uneasiness in their leader right away.

"Did he just call you 'Tommy'?" the red ape ninja asked rubbing his helmet in confusion as his leader nodded. "How did he know that? You never told him your name"

"I don't know. But there is just something about him. I don't know what," the white falcon ranger shook his head. "It's almost like he felt like apart of me or something."

"I know I may be slow about all of this, but those dino prints on their chests looked strangely familiar," the blue ninja ranger thought a moment.

"Yeah, what's with the white guy? His suit was different in design than the others," the yellow bear ranger stated.

"But those spikes, man. They look almost lethal," the black ninja ranger shook his head, the thought of fear running through his mind. "Do you think this is just some big joke? That maybe they could really be working for Zedd."

"No way. Their intentions seemed good. The guy in black even said they weren't." the pink ranger stood up for the mysterious team. "Wouldn't you say so, Tommy?"

Tommy began to sway even more as he nearly tumbled into Billy and Rocky. They caught him as he crashed to the ground wincing in pain. His suit began to glow as if it was being drained. The rest of the Ninjetti team called out his name in a panic as they questioned him about his status.

Tommy gripped his chest as if he was in pain, trying to force air back into his lungs. "Something is wrong..."

Meanwhile, beside the lake as the team was about to hide beyond the bushes, the black DT ranger swayed a bit. His knees locked and he hit the ground groaning. The rest of the DT team crowded him in an instant trying to cover it in hopes the other rangers wouldn't see it.

"What's going on?" Kira asked. "Dr. O, you okay?"

Dr. Oliver groaned again as he grabbed his chest. He looked off into the distance seeing the same fate of his younger self. Both of them were cowering over in pain, and he knew instantly what was going on. He had to get out of this time period, or avoid morphing again to trigger anymore damage. But as he tried to tell his team what was going on, the pain struck him harder. He moaned in sheer pain as if he was getting burned.

"Hey, c'mon. Stay with us, here," Ethan encouraged their teacher patting him on the chest. "What's up?"

Dr. O was about to say something, but it wasn't doing any good as he moaned in pain again.

Across the way, the Ninjetti Ranger had crowded their leader as he continued to cower over in pain.

"Hey, Tommy! What's the deal?" Rocky said as he gently patted his leader's helmet.

Then the familar chime of their communicators went off. Rocky pulled it up for everyone to hear.

"Rangers. Report back to the Command Center immediately. I have made a startling discovery," their mentor, Zordon,  
instructed.

They confirmed it as Billy took hold of their leader's teleporter. But as they were aobut to depart, they had caught sight of the other rangers tending to their fallen black comrade.

"Hey, check it out," Adam pointed out to the yellow ninja ranger beyond the lip of the lake.

They exchanged a quick look as they raced over to see what the problem was. The rest of the team had stayed back to try and knock some sense into their leader.

"Hey, is everything okay?" the yellow ninja ranger asked as the white and yellow DT rangers nearly screamed out by her sudden appearance.

"What! No. Everything is fine," the red DT ranger spoke clearly. "See, he's... uh... he's..." He looked at his friends for some assistance.

"It's not a big deal. He's just a like tired and exhausted," the white DT ranger said.

"Yeah, these suits are kinda killer," the yellow ranger stated as she began to fan herself.

The blue DT ranger had looked up for a moment and saw the same fate as the white falcon ranger across the way. He looked at the black and yellow ninja rangers. "So, what's going on over there?"

The black and yellow ninja rangers shrugged unsure what to make of it. But the pink ranger had called them back. They were all flipping out and they had to get back to the command center to get answers. They asked the mysterious rangers if their black companion would be fine and they said he would.

And as reluctant as they didn't want to go, they knew they were seeking out answers their mentor may have. They said good-bye and raced back to their team.

And as one unit, the six Ninjetti rangers became beams of light, resided by their colors, and teleported out of the area. The DT teens watched in awe as they left. but just as quickly tended to their weaken mentor.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Command Center.

The Ninjetti Command Center was only used by the rangers. No one could gain access into the center without any form of power to allow them in. A large tube with several pillars around were sending off energy to the entire place. The large tube held their mentor, Zordon, an inter-galactic being trapped in a time tube to keep him alive. A set of panels held the technology to keep the rangers in good condition. Across from Zordon was the view screen known as the viewing globe to display what was going on in the city. And a small anamaton robot, Alpha 5, kept thigns in check.

As the beams of light cleared upon entry into the command center for the Ninjetti Rangers, the white falcon ranger had landed on a cot-like table. The others set around him in a half moon. They had quickly removed their helmets as they raced over to their leader. He was still wincing in pain as he continued to grab his chest.

"Zordon, what's going on?" Adam looked up at the man in the tube. "Tommy was just fine a second ago..."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Kim had to ask, always the most concern about their leader.

"Rangers." Zordon directed as they turned to look at him,except Tommy. He had become very still as Alpha 5 slowly removed his helmet. He had fallen into a deep slumber. "I have made a startling discovery in the morphing grid. There seems to be a strangely high amount of energy running through it as we speak. Have you encountered anything strange since your last battle, Rangers."

"Hey, those guys in the park," Rocky pointed out as he tapped Adam on the shoulder. "There was this cyborg guy with a huge attitude. And these other rangers showed up out of nowhere."

"And they were good. They kicked major tail," Aisha said sorta embarrassed.

"Yeah, Zordon, they had these massive spikes on their suits. It seems those spikes gave them more power or something. And they fought off the cyborg with tactics and skills we would use," Kimberly stated.

"They can't be other power rangers we're not aware of, are they?" Billy shook his head as he turned to the viewing screen.  
It was replaying the last battle were the mysterious rangers having the upper hand against the cyborg. And it was clear that they had to be rangers. No one was capable of pulling off a nice looking suit or powers to keep them moving. No martial artists, as skilled as they may be, could dodge such attacks or move like they did. There had to be a catch, and they were all determined to figure out what it was. And it even replayed what the black DT ranger had spoke to the leader of the Ninjetti team.

"It is clear that this situation is rather unusual, even for an evil plot set by Zedd," Zordon had stayed. "But they did in fact help you and their motives were clearly good. Alpha, set a course to transport these mysteirous rangers to the command center. I would like to question them about what exactly their motives are. And why they are here."

"Affirmative, Zordon," the robotic assistant replied as he started to push buttons on one of the panels.

"Wait. Hang on. You can't just let them in here," Rocky protested.

"What if they do work for Zedd?" Adam asked.

"Rangers, I do believe that what our mysterious black friend told you was true about them. And according to our systems,  
they do in fact, carry powers to give them their strength. But other than that, I have no other information," Zordon stated. He had repeated the request to teleport the mysterious rangers into the command center.

The Rangers had exchanged a look of uneasiness. Then their eyes fell on their leader, who was still in deep slumber. Alpha and Billy were running a bio-molecular scan on him, hoping to find out some answers. The other rangers could only sit and wait, pondering what could happen next.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Angel Grove Park.

Though, the Ninjetti Rangers were long gone, the DT teen had still watched their mentor struggle to save his strength. They were still in a loss for the most part, but they could only hope it was nothing serious. They had to get out of this time period and back home. They had a lot of things to take care of as well as just being back among the things they knew.

Still suited up, but no longer under SDM, they waited eagerly to see if it would pass. They weren't what to do. He was far too weak, and they all knew that as he laid there.

"What do you think is going on?" Conner asked.

It fell silent over the other DT teens as they looked down at their mentor. For a second, it started to make more sense to Trent as he had recalled the fallen white falcon ranger. And as he looked at each of his teammates, they soon figured out what he was thinking about. Their eyes fell back down on their mentor.

The pain had slowly left him, but he still laid there catching his breath. Even if he was no longer gripping his chest, he still felt the pain run through his body in spasms.

"We have to get out of here," Kira stated.

"But how? We're not quite sure how to get out of here," Ethan protested.

"Dr. Oliver can't stay here. There is already a 'Tommy' of this time period. He's growing weak," Trent said. "They can't be in the same place..."

"It's not just me, guys," Dr. O slowly spoke as he tried to sit up. But Ethan pushed him back to the ground telling him to conserve his energy. "We're both losing strength."

But then something weird was going on. The teens slowly stood up and felt their stomach churn slightly. They looked up into the sky feeling as if their bodies were morphing from the inside again.

"What's going on?" Conner asked.

Dr. Oliver winced again. "Teleportation. It seems our little fight hadn't gone unnoticed. Brace yourself, guys."

But before they could protest or question exactly where they were going their bodies were engulfed and changed into beams of light, their respective color and power, and they shot out of the area almost like a rocket taking off. They traveled a long distance, but they couldn't seem to figure out what was exactly going on. It was as if they were in a trance, though they managed to see the world pass by around them. And when it was all over they saw a building hidden high in the cliffs on the outskirts of Angel Grove.

And when they had entered through an opening on the top, they crashed onto solid ground. The beam of light that seemed to keep them protected demolished and the younger DT rangers groaned under the impact. They hadn't caught themselves and landed hard on their behinds against the floor. Their mentor had managed to grab ahold of a panel to keep him level, not falling to their same fate.

The DT teens slowly got to their feet and looked around, stopping as they found the eyes of the Ninjetti team on them. The Ninjetti team was still suited up, minus their helmets that now sat on the shelves of the panels. Their leader still laid unconscious away from the main floor while the blue wolf ranger and the robot continued to monitor him. The DT teens looked around again noticing where they were.

"Whoa. No way. It's the original command center," the blue tricera ranger stated as the yellow ptera ranger elbowed him.  
"I mean, where are we?"

"Greetings, mysterious rangers!" a loud booming voice spoke from beyond the huge tube located to one side of the room. "I am Zordon, an intergalactic being from Eltar, mentor of the power rangers you see before you. If I may ask, what is your motives here in Angel Grove? And how did you obtain your powers?"

The DT teens looked at each other unsure what to do. They had heard quite a bit about Zordon, and they knew he was the ery being who gave the rangers their poewrs years ago. This is where the legacy began as they knew. And they knew they couldn't lie. Not to this guy.

The black DT ranger stepped from beyond the panel close to the viewing globe, using the panels to keep him upright. His team slowly and cautiously walked up behind him. And the device that the blue ninja ranger was using on their fallen leader started to sound erratically. The black DT ranger groaned in pain again as he fell to the floor grabbing his chest. And entire assembly of rangers crowded him in a panic. And the black DT ranger could no longer hold his own, the protection of the ranger suit, as it demolished. And the man in the gangsta get-up laid on the floor still trying to catch his breath.

"Wait a minute! It was you who was helping us before these suited guys showed up," Rocky stated recalling the battle again. Five mysterious fighters had gone against the cyborg, but fell back as the Ninjetti team regained their strength. And when they thought they thought were finished, these mysterious rangers with the powers of the dinosaur showed up.

"Who are you guys?" Aisha looked at the other four rangers still hidden beyond the helmet.

The man in the black get-up pulled off his sunglasses and pulled away the stick-on facial hair. He forced air back into his lungs and got to his feet, looking up directly at the tube holding Zordon. And for a moment, the Ninjetti team held their tongue as mixed thoughts went through their mind. "Zordon. It's me. I need your help. We need your help."

Zordon looked down at the man who had requested his help just as his knees locked and he struggled to stay up. Adam and Kim raced over to keep him stable as they helped support the man.

"Ayiyiyi!" Alpha 5 blurted as he noticed the face of the man. "My circuits must be re-wired or..."

"Whoa!" Adam nearly dropped the man as he finally saw the face of the man he held up. "Tommy?"

The man nodded slowly as he looked over at the other person who held him up. He winked as a gentle smile passed his face. "Hey, Beautiful."

"That was you? You were our substitute," Kim put two and two together. Her thoughts became more clear as she shook her head, stepping away in shock. "No. But that's impossible. How?"

Rocky had raced over to grab the man as he was still weaken. He had to look at the man himself to see if it was true. And it did look like him, only older. "Tommy? Is that you?"

The man nodded again as he caught his breath. "It's me, Rocky. Adam." he slowly turned to face the other rangers just as Billy came back onto the main floor to see the truth revealed before them. "Aisha, Billy, Beautiful Kimberly, it's me. Your fearless leader from the future." Then he directed his eyes toward the four slightly worried and shaken masked rangers. "This is the team you see before you from the year 2005." And he nodded slowly.

The DT teens looked at each other and slowly removed their helmets. One by one, their faces became a print in the young Ninjetti team. A silence fell over all of the people present in the chamber. No words could be said as they were trying to digest what was going on.

Time had passed slowly. The black DT ranger quickly introduced the DT team to his younger counterparts. He then walked over to the sleeping leader of the Ninjetti team, his younger self. And no one knew quite exactly what he was doing, but as he placed a hand over the others eyes and closed his own, they knew he was trying to wake the other. Concentrating long and hard, the black DT ranger finally found what energy he had inside to awake his young counterpart. And as he pulled his hand away, the falcon ranger slowly opened his eyes. For a second, the black DT ranger had disappeared into the shadows as he allowed his younger self to catch his breath and grasp what had just happened.

Tommy slowly sat up rubbing his head. "Man, I had the strangest dream." He slowly got to his feet, shaking his head. "I dreamed that these mysterious rangers showed up..."

But he caught his tongue when he noticed the new occupants in the room. Suited up, minus the helmet, those mysterious rangers from the park were now standing before him among his own teammates. All except for the black ranger that is.

"What's going on?" he breathed as he looked up at his mentor. "Zordon, what's the explanation for this?"

"I have yet to determine that, Tommy," Zordon replied. "But I am sure the black DinoThunder ranger could inform us all on the situation."

"Black DinoThunder ranger?" the white falcon ranger echoed as he slowly turned around, feeling the presence of someone behind him.

The shadow moved and altered as the invisible field dropped and the man stepped out into the light. And Tommy nearly collapsed again, from shock, as Billy and Adam caught him before he hit the ground. The man sighed deeply shaking his head.

He looked back up at the man within the tube.

"Zordon, this is gonna be harder than I thought," the man in black spoke. "The brink of the future rests on the very words that come out of my mouth."

"I am as shocked as any of the rangers here, Tommy. But until we can help you out, we must know a few things about the situation," the wise man spoke with a nod toward his 'old' ranger.

The man in black nodded as he approached the white falcon ranger. "Tommy, I'd like you to meet yourself, nine years down the road. I'm from the year 2005."

Tommy shook his head, hoping it was a dream. But as he looked at the man, himself older, he knew it was no longer a dream.  
"From the future?"

The man nodded slowly. "You'll be surprised about what I'm about to tell you. So, I suggest you give me your full attention. Oh, and by the way, Tommy," he patted the teen in white on his shoulder, turning him to look at the silent DT rangers. "I'd like you to me the future of all of your hard-work. The DinoThunder rangers. Conner McKnight, Ethan James, Kira Ford and Trent Mercer." He had pointed to each of them in turn as he introduced them.

And as cautious as he was about it, he began to explain the situation to the Ninjetti team. About how they are at war with an evil being from outer space, but had not mentioned his name. And how they were in battle with one of his henchmen and lost. He spoke of how this guy, who he said looked like a dinosaur in a robotic suit, had a device and used it to send them back in time. However, he believed that this robotic-dinosaur wasn't thinking about where he was sending the DT team and possibly sent them here by mistake. But with that said, and what the Ninjetti team has just discovered, he knew that the future was now altered. And he wasn't sure how much, if they ever found a way to return.

Another silence fell over the room. Dr. Oliver had moved to where his team had stood, now back in their civilian form. According to the looks on their faces, it was clear they felt slightly uncomfortable about the entire situation. Their mentor couldn't blame them for that, but could only hope that it would not last. He reassured them that things would be okay and that they would find a way back to 2005. And he knew they were just as eager as him to get back to the reality of their own time period.

"Okay, now that we got that settled. What about the whole fainting thing? I mean, didn't this already happen before?" Rocky asked, scratching his head with confusion.

"That is correct, Rocky," Zordon spoke with confidence. "It is clear within the powers of each ranger, no two could exist in the same time period. Or they could both be drained of their powers. Tommy has already gone through this once before with the Wizard of Deception. We should not face it again."

"But now that we know this, wouldn't it change our future as rangers as we know it?" Adam asked.

"It is clear that the future has now been altered since we've just been delivered such alarming news from 2005," Zordon nodded toward the black frog ranger. "However, it may be enough information we need to get these rangers back to their own time."

"I could try and reconfigure a time hole to open up. I've been trying out a new device..." Billy began to offer, but his mentor cut him off.

"That is far too dangerous, Billy. Time holes open erratically and cannot be altered to our choosing. Only the time hole can decide the fate of those who fall into it," Zordon spoke clearly.

"So, what do we do? They can't just stay here or Tommy is gonna suffer. Both of them," Aisha stated.

"He'll be back," Conner had finally spoke for the first time since they entered the command center. "That hunk of junk who sent us here will have to return at some point to destroy us all"

"'Destroy it where it all began.'" Billy recalled what the cyborg had said to them. He looked over at the man dressed in the black gangster outfit. "So, um...Tommy, who was that guy we were fighting against?"

The man in black looked over at his younger self as their eyes met again. "We all have enemies. And trust me, he'll be one with a huge problem. Let's just say jealousy comes into play in your future, my friend."

"Great. Like that's any surprise to me," the teen whose spirit was powered by the falcon stated sarcastically as he moved closer to his girlfriend for comfort.

The man in black noticed the gaze from the pink ranger on him for awhile. It was no surprise to him why she had fallen silent, or how he could have imaged saying some of the things he did to her. He didn't hope it was an offense or at all means disrupt what would become of their future or his present. He turned to meet her gaze, just as she quickly averted it away. He slowly walked over to her, even if his younger self had a sorta protective arm around her.

"If only I could tell you what has become of your future. Or in any truth, all of you," as he looked around the room to his young teammates. The team he had fought alongside for nearly three years, the ones who had started the legacy next to his older teammates, Jason, Zack and Trini. "I would. But I've already said more than I should. I can only hope that once we return to our own time I haven't altered it more than I needed to."

"What will we be coming back to, Dr. Oliver?" Kira spoke quietly as he turned to look at his current team. The fear was running more evident on their face as they grew more concern for the safety of their mentor and Reefside in 2005.

"Will we even be coming back to something we know?" Ethan asked. "I mean, altering the past could change the future extremely."

"Let's just hope it isn't as bad as we think it is, guys," the man in black spoke. "I can only hope the rest of them are holding down the fort while we're away."

"Don't worry. We'll get you guys back to your own time," Billy spoke as he patted the man in black on the shoulder. He looked over at the other DT rangers as a smile passed his face. "I just can't help but wonder what does happen in our future now."

"Oh, you'd be surprised, Billy," Ethan said as he looked at his predecessor.

"I still can't believe I'm looking at you older, Tommy," Aisha shook her head as she circled around the man in black again. "I mean, you still look young"

"I'm not that old, Aisha. I'm only 27," the man defended himself.

"I like the hair," Rocky commented, even beyond the skull cap. "You cut it off."

"Not the point, Rocky. What we need to do is keep our eyes open for that cyborg. Find a way to get these back to 2005. And make sure that Zedd doesn't find out about this," Tommy spoke like any leader would.

"Tommy is right. And to conserve both your energy and our friend in the DinoThunder suit, I ask the two of you step down until we get the answers we need," Zordon instructed.

The man turned to look at his younger self, and knew he didn't want to step down, but had no choice. They had to follow up on his request and it was the only way they could keep from completely collapsing.

Yet, it was clear that a lot of things were going on in the minds of each of the rangers. They knew there were changes, and they were unsure of how much, but they could only hope that it wouldn't be extremely bad. And that they could find the answers they need to send the DT team back to their own time. And the DT team was ready to head back to their own time period, too.

_**To be continued...**_

_A/N: Hmmm? Kinda an interesting twist. But I'll leave you at that. See you next chapter. May the powers always protect you._


	29. No Reality

_**'TIL I COLLAPSE**_ - **PART TWENTY-NINE: NO REALITY**  
SEQUEL TO: **_ORDINARY WORLD_**

_SUMMARY: In the past, the entire team of Rangers works around the clock to find a way to send the DT Rangers back to their own time. But it is taking a toll on the white falcon ranger and black DT ranger. In the present, the other rangers try to find them and find a way to free Kim before Tommy finds out. But what will happen?_

_DISCLAIMER: It's done and said._

_A/N: So, back to the nitty-gritty action. Whoo. I'm on the edge of my seat, even if I am the writer of the story. But oh man, this is getting really intense and really interesting. Oh yeah, for these next few chapters I'll be jumping between present and past throughout the chapter. Fair warning. I'm gonna have to cut these chapters shorter in order to get it done by my set date. Yet, I have so much freedom to do whatever I want with this. And I love this feeling. It is great. Beat that, Clancy, Brooks, Lucas, etc. Make way for me. J/K. At least not yet. Read on. See you when I do._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"We gotta find a way back to our own time before things get changed completely.  
I cannot afford to make a huge mistake here that could change all we have worked for in the present.  
We gotta hang in there, no matter what." -Eclyptyk Neo_  
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Past. 1996.

The hours did seem like days, or maybe it was days. They weren't quite sure. Evil activity in Angel Grove had grown quiet and they were still searching out what needed to be done. Sending the DT rangers back to their own time. The Ninjetti team had just discovered the mentor of the DT rangers was Tommy, nine years down the road. And yet, they wanted more answers they couldn't risk it. And even Zordon didn't permit it.

The brains of the operation, Billy, Tommy, Adam, Alpha 5, Ethan, and Dr. Oliver used what brainpower they could muster to find answers, but again they were at a stand still. They couldn't even locate Zeltrax or have answers to that setback. The rest of the rangers hung beyond the main console of the command center. But not much conversation could be mentioned in order to preserve what future -- or present -- the DT rangers would be returning to.

"So, you guys got some pretty impressive powers," Rocky began slowly hoping to break some silence among the non-workers.

"Um...yeah. I guess so," Conner shrugged absently.

"Yeah, Trent. What's your deal? Why do you got the better looking suit? You run the operation like young Tommy over there?" Aisha asked.

Trent shrugged slowly. "Not exactly. It's kinda hard to explain without saying so much."

"Yeah, as much as we want to tell you guys about what goes on in the future we can't risk it," Kira stated.

"But you guys know quite a bit about us, huh?" Kim asked feeling some comfort in the yellow ptera ranger.

"You gotta thank Dr. Oliver for that," Conner said.

"Doctor?" Rocky breathed still not getting used to the sound. He had heard the DT teens address the older Tommy that way,  
but couldn't believe it. "I still can't believe he would be a doctor. He isn't quite the most responsible type of guy or in that case, so smart."

"I heard that, Rocko," the man in black barked. "Watch how you say that. Or you might find me socking you pretty bad in the future."

"Yeah, try me, Dr. O," Rocky mocked. But lowered his head as he looked at the DT rangers. "He wouldn't, would he?"

"He's changed through the years," Kira said. "You'd be surprised at what he's gone through in the last few years of his life."

"Molded by many years of struggle, hardship and challenges," Trent added.

Meanwhile across the way, technical knowledge between those rangers were exchanged. But it was clear they were still on a stand still, and they weren't liking it. But it was also taking an unusal toll on Tommy of 1996 and Dr. Oliver of 2005.

A few steps around the main floor had each of them stubble. And as Ethan had requested they take a rest, their stubborness got the most out of the battle. They wouldn't rest until they found a way to fix this.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Present day, 2005. Island fortress.

Mindshatter had walked through the halls of the fortress as he came to stop in the main lab. Most of his time was spent here, but even he was getting annoyed at the lack of satisfaction he could find from his army or warriors. And he was sick of all of this. He had to take action now.

He turned to the shadows where he had sensed the presence of Dinoshade. Dinoshade emerged from the shadows, his red glowing eyes beamed to life as he bowed before his master. "You have requested to see me, Master?"

"Yes, Dinoshade. I have," Mindshatter acknowledged. "I have figured that the rangers have gotten enough time to dangle in the past. Go back and destroy them. Bring Mesogog with you."

"Yes, Master," Dinoshade bowed. "But must Mesogog be apart of this? I don't trust him. Ever since we captured the pink ranger he had been acting a little different."

"So, he has. You let me deal with that when the two of you return. But by then, the rangers should be destroyed and we can rule this planet with an iron fist."

Dinoshade bowed again as he left the room. He had a mission to complete, and he was glad to be out to finish it. He knew that he was getting restless about waiting to finish off the rangers. He knew it wouldn't take long for him to destroy them and that's what he was hoping to do.

Deep in the darkness of the fortress, many corridors had not been crossed by Mindshatter. Either he had no intention in exploring them, or he wouldn't bother with them at all. In one of the hallways, Mesogog stood with Kim. Secretly, and surely it was clear that Mesogog did have a change of heart. If he not had it the entire time and was putting up an act, Kim was not sure. Yet, even now it could have been a trap. But every time Kim had looked into his eyes, she knew he was a changed dino menace.

Or at least for the most part. He wanted to get rid of that pathetic excuse of a hunk of metal. He needed to rule over him, yet he knew he would need the help of the rangers to do so. And he also knew there were changes going on in him. He wasn't sure what, but something. And this entire mind controlling thing on him was an act. But that was for his reference alone. At times, Mesogog would seem to sleep and Anton would rise up at night. But due to the spell and the final set of experiments, he almost felt trapped in the dino menace. That he may remain in this state forever. He pushed those thoughts away as a mental note for him to battle on his own. But Mesogog's mind control was stronger and no one could take him down. Though, he heard words of wisdom come from his alter ego time and time again.

"My friends will make an attempt to try and rescue me," Kim spoke in a slight whisper.

The dino menace nodded. "I would have no doubt about it."

"But they need a safe passage. If we're lucky, we may be able to end this now," she said with a nod.

"It's not easy. Mindshatter is a tricky character."

"He wasn't against you obviously, Anton. That mind control of yours must have repelled it."

"Welcome to my world, Kimberly. Mind control truly only works on the minds of the weak. Humans are among the easist, but could very well defeat him if they're mentally stable."

"And trust me, they are. But I need a safe passage for them to go through."

"Near the lab. In the woods. There is one there," Mesogog said simply. "But I cannot be of anymore service to you..."

"Anton, please. You've been more than enough help, but this isn't over. And you know that," she stated.

"Once Mindshatter has found out I've given my service to his destruction, I could be right there on his death list with you.  
But whatever it takes," he said slowly.

Kim thanked the dino-menace and raced back into the shadows and back to her room. She knew if they found out she was gone they would suspect something. Mesogog was in charge of watching her, but he had also been gathering what information he could muster to help out the rangers.

Mesogog turned and left the hidden hallway. He emerged back into the metal abyss of mystery as he made it back to the main level. He walked through the halls only to run into Dinoshade. A weary look fell over the dino-menace filled with jealousy and anger.

"We're requested, Mesogog," Dinoshade stopped the other dino when he didn't stop to converse with him. "Mindshatter wants us to report to the past and destroy the rangers."

"So, he wants me to come along to make sure you don't do anything stupid?" Mesogog hissed.

Dinoshade glared at him, but said nothing more as he headed up the hall. Mesogog followed closely on his heels.

_**-XXXXXXXXX-**_

Underground lab, 2005.

The unusual array of rangers had continued to search for the DT rangers. And with the given information they now knew about Mindshatter, they knew it would be harder to defeat him than they had hoped for. Yet, they were glad to have someone with a little more expertise on the field of their newest enemy.

Andros had paced the room for sometime, drawing attention to the zeo and ninja rangers. The technical directors continued their work on scanning through time to find their friends, but had not gotten anywhere. And they were slowly beginning to lose hope. And it wasn't what they needed right now.

As much as Jason had wanted to help out in the cause, Adam had requested he didn't. He had his own life to worry about, and with a newborn now under his wing, he couldn't leave his wife's side. Both he and Katherine had sent their regards to the team and wished them luck on their search.

"So, how do you guys feel about going on a suicide mission," Andros began as he looked at the rangers assembled before him.

"How come it doesn't surprise me that you would request that?" Rocky said in a slight mock tone.

"Because a ranger's gotta do what a ranger's gotta do," Andros said with a grin. "As far as I could tell, we need to get in and out of there as fast as we can. We don't want to try and bring attention to ourselves once we get there."

"And how do you plan we get there?" Rocky asked. "You know that Mindshatter will probably set a trap for us if he finds out we're trying to get Kim back."

"And that is true," Andros nodded. "Meaning we have to be cautious. We gotta keep our eyes open for anything."

"And how do we plan to get into the fortress?" Tanya repeated.

It fell silent for a moment as if time seemed to stop around each and every one of them. And no one was quite sure what was going on, but it seems there was more the ninja rangers knew than they had expected. They looked at each other as if words were exchanged mentally, only for them to understand.

Aisha, Adam and Rocky found their place at the main computer console behind their blue ninja counterpart.

"Is it just me or am I having a weird feeling of deja vu?" Rocky asked running a hand through his hair.

"I think it is more than just deja vu," Billy shook his head as he pushed a few buttons on the keyboard. The screen went blank for a second and then there was a lock on the dino gems, all were hoping to find sooner or later. He turned to look at his teammates. "I got a lock."

"In the year of 1996," Adam concluded.

"I'm sending a transmission now. Let's see if it works," Cam began, seeing the confusion falling on his ninja predecessors.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Command Center, 1996. Angel Grove.

Ethan must have short-circuited his head, or had no real idea how technology worked around the command center, but he was a stand still. Even with a knowledge of computers under his wing, he just couldn't get the answers he needed to find a same passage to get them home. He had worked alongside the young Billy and Adam to find answers, but got nowhere.

Alpha had walked over to the two dazed rangers now sitting on the cot-like table the white falcon ranger was once laying on.  
He was using a scanner to run a bio-molecular scan over the two and the results showed some severe changes in the two.

"Ayiyiyi," Alpha shook his head. "You two are getting weaker by the hour. If we can't find a way to send the older Tommy back with the other DinoThunder Rangers, you both might lose your powers forever."

At the sound of the terrible news, the other DT rangers had raced over to their mentor's side. The other ninja rangers close behind. They looked at the two weaken rangers, and it was evident in how they sat that they couldn't last.

"Has anything extremely serious in the future happened to you, Tommy?" Rocky asked cautiously.

"I mean, it doesn't make sense. It was only one battle and it seems like the two have you have been battling for months in the same time period," Aisha stated.

The man in black let out a breath as he tried to recall the quick drain of power from his body. Even under the wing of his numerous powers hidden in the gem, it semed to drain him faster due to the amount of power there. He flexed his muscles to get a feeling of moving them again, but it ached. He didn't have any answers to give his younger counterparts.

"Do you think it was because we were in Super Dino Mode, Dr. O?" Kira asked slightly worried. "That does require a lot of energy from each of us to maintain."

"But it has to be something else. Even when I had to deal with it, it took months to attack," Trent stated.

The white falcon ranger shook his head. "One battle drained me when the Wizard of Deception decided to make a clone of me."

"But that's just it," Billy had met the team assembled before the legendary rangers. "You aren't clones of one another, which could conclude why your powers are getting drained faster. Since a clone is usually just a copy of yourself, there is still flaws in how it operates. However, since you two are both living and breathing humans with powers, it is draining you faster than we can find a way to get you guys back to your own time period."

"Still a genius as ever," Dr. Oliver spoke with a gentle grin. "You'll never change, Billy."

"Hey, guys!" Ethan called out from his place beside Adam by one of the panels.

The team raced over to see what it was. And as the other DT rangers noticed what was going on as they looked at the glowing hint of light escape from their dino gems.

"We're receiving a transmission from beyond this time period rangers," Zordon directed noting the beeping from an incoming message. "But due to some recent radiation we're receiving, the transmission isn't that clear."

"Hello?... Is... there? Tommy? Ethan? Conner? Trent? Kira? Can you guys read me, over?" the voice sounded distant and distorted, but came from each of the DT morphers.

Billy began to push a few buttons on the panel. "I'll try to re-transmit it to the viewing globe."

The team walked over to the viewing globe looking into the static abyss as a figure began to come through. And finally another. Soon, there was an array of figures, which the DT rangers knew, were in fact their mentors/teammates of 2005.

"Guys! It is you," Conner breathed a sigh of relief.

"You guys are not gonna believe where we're at," Ethan said.

"Don't worry. We already know. Let's just say we have a certain black DT ranger to thank for that," the older Billy stated from the viewing globe.

"So, have you guys any idea how to get us back to 2005?" Kira asked.

"We're still working on that," Hayley said as she looked beyond the assembled DT rangers. "Um...where's Tommy? And is that who I think it is behind you guys?"

A silence had fallen over the ninja rangers as their eyes locked with their older selves. Each of them seemed to stumble back in shock and disbelief.

"I look like that in nine years?" the younger Rocky said as he searched to plant his feet firmly on the ground.

"Look who's talking? I looked like that when I was 17?" the older Rocky shook his head.

The DT Rangers looked into the viewing globe again noticing the array of rangers now assembled in the underground lab. The red space ranger, the green samurai ranger, the yellow ninja ranger, the black ninja/zeo 4 ranger, the red ninja/zeo 3 ranger,  
the zeo 2 ranger, the blue ninja ranger and the technical director.

"Okay, so now that you found us, you have no idea of how to get us out of here?" Trent asked.

"I told you we're working on it. We've sorta had our hands full," Hayley said.

"Yeah, don't tell Tommy..." Rocky said cautiously.

"Don't tell me what?" the man in black had finally made his way over to the viewing globe. He was still clinging to the panel for support. And it was clear in how he stood that he was weak and dazed. His younger self was clinging to his girlfriend for support.

"Oh, hey, what's up, man? Didn't think you were around," the older Rocky tried to hide his discomfort in what he just said.

"What's going on?" Dr. Oliver asked in a serious tone. And anyone knew the look in his eyes and the tone in his voice told each of them they had to spill the truth.

"Um... well, you see. We ran into a bit of trouble," Rocky began.

"And it just happened out of the blue. I'm serious, Tommy," Aisha said.

"We couldn't stop it," Tanya said.

"Spill it out already!" Dr. Oliver said in a low growl.

"Geez, I'll do it," Cam sighed shaking his head. "Bad news, Tommy. Kim got captured!"

It fell silent for only a brief second as Dr. Oliver looked away to catch his breath. The DT rangers knew instantly the feelings running through him and they didn't like it as they slowly took a step back, pushing the young ninjas behind them.

"What!" Dr. Oliver nearly exploded as the fiery rage grew in his eyes. "What were you doing? Sitting around doing nothing?  
I give you guys a simple job to keep an eye on her and this is what I get? And what's your excuse, Adam? Didn't I tell you not to let her out on the field?"

"Now, time out, T. You didn't know the situation," the older Adam protested trying to calm his friend down. "The cybots were outta control. And she just so happened to be in the area we were investigating for your disappearance."

The argument seemed to go for some time. And it was clear that the man in black didn't care for the audience, or he just didn't realize they were there.

The DT teens absently looked away slightly embarrassed at the initial reaction to their mentor. But wasn't surprised. He was overpotective, if not highly protective, over his wife. And they all knew that, but sorta wish he wasn't.

"Do I seriously blow up like that in a few years?" the white falcon ranger asked cautiously to the DT rangers.

"You'd be surprised," Kira said.

"We've seen worse from you," Conner stated.

"Man, Tommy, if I would have known you'd be acting like that, I would have laid off all those disses and jokes," Rocky shook his head patting his leader on the back.

"Well, you might as well start now, Rocky," Kim suggested. "If they say they've seen worse, I doubt we want to see his worse side."

"Sometimes I wonder how this came to be," Ethan sighed as he looked back at his mentor blow-up to his friends. "I must apologize for his rude behavior. He's been under a lot of stress lately."

"I can tell," Aisha nodded. "Yet, years down the line I would have thought he knew how to control it. What has he gone through in his life, anyway?"

"Loss. Heartbreak. Death. Anger. The basis of any human life, except times that about ten times and you got what he's been through," Trent spoke cautiously in hopes they couldn't ask anymore about the future.

The DT teens knew how much they wanted to say to their young predecessors, but felt it not right to say anything at all.  
It was on risk they just could not take. Not here.

"But he always seems to deal with stress quite well." Billy looked over at his leader in white. "You seem to hide it well right now."

"A couple years down the road and you're not so lucky," Trent said. He turned around and patted the shoulder of his mentor slowly. And when his mentor had turned and cursed, not intentionally toward the white drago ranger, it fell silent.

Dr. Oliver looked around the pair of eyes locked on him from within the confides of the room. He let out an angered breath as he looked back at the viewing globe to see the silence fall over his friends. He kicked himself internally looking back at his teammates, and had not expected to let the rage out. But it did.

"We'll get her back, Tommy," Andros began in hopes to relieve some of the fear and tension in each of them.

"I just got a lock on an invisi-portal outside of the lab," Hayley stated from another computer in the room beyond the viewing globe. "It isn't too far from here. E.T.: 15 minutes tops."

"Go. But be careful," Dr. Oliver said in a calm, steady voice.

"Don't worry, T. We're not planning to return until we get her back," the older Adam stated beyond the viewing globe as he gave a salute.

But soon the warning alarms and signals had gone off in the command center, bringing attention to the reality of the rangers in 1996.

"Rangers," Zordon bellowed over the sounding alarms. "I have detected tengas in the park with Rito and Goldar. It seems your little bout has them just as curious about our cybernetic enemy."

"We're on it, Zordon," the young black ninja replied with a nod.

"Tommy," the older Billy directed from the viewing globe. The DT team turned to him. "We're losing your signal. But now that we got a lock, we'll try to re-configure a safe passage for you guys to return. But it could take some time."

"We got our hands full here. But do what you can," Conner said.

"We'll try. Good luck, guys," the technical director from the ninja storm team stated.

And finally, the static came through and the signal was lost. For a moment, silence fell over the rangers in the command center. The man in black turned away, melted into his own world where he could find his calm again.

Zordon had requested his team assemble and take out Rito, Goldar and the tengas before they decided to destroy the city. And as eager as the young falcon ranger wanted to go, Zordon didn't allow it. He knew though he would be taking a big risk by sending the other DT rangers to help out, but anything to preserve what they now knew about the future.

The ninja ranger had all morphed, except for their leader. The DT Rangers were the same way, except for their mentor. And the nine rangers teleported out of the command center into battle, leaving them behind.

For awhile, it fell silent over the man in black and his younger self. Dr. Oliver was still in his own void trying to keep himself calm. He knew how much he could be way too overprotective of his wife, but he was only doing what he felt was right. And he didn't want to lose her. Couldn't afford to lose her again in any way possible. He would never be able to live with himself if anything should happen to her.

Alpha had walked up to the two rangers, but fear ran through his circuits. And it was clear he had been scared of the man after his recent rage.

"I'm sorry, Alpha," Dr. Oliver spoke quietly. "I have been under a lot of stress lately. If only you knew." He turned to look at the man within the tube. "I apologize, Zordon, for my actions. It's not that easy to guide a team of rangers with other things to worry about."

"I have never had any doubt about you, Tommy. You carry on a great legacy and I am grateful for all of your hardwork and dedication to this planet, whatever time period it may be," Zordon had announced with a reassuring nod.

The man in black had turned to the silent teen in white he knew as himself nine years ago. He placed a hand on his shoulder just as he looked up to meet the eyes of himself, nine years older. "The things you will go through, my friend. I wonder sometimes. I really do. But you're strong. You'll always be strong."

"So, what was that back there? Biting off the head of my fellow rangers?" Tommy asked.

"You'll understand in the future. I could tell you everything that goes on in your life up to the point to where I'm standing,  
but I think I find it best you'll figure it out as you go. Just keep your options open and be aware of your actions."

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Angel Grove Park.

An army of tengas strolled through the park alongside Goldar and Rito. Goldar was, as one could describe, a big monkey in a gold suit with wings. Rito, Rita's brother, was nothing more than a skeleton with a rather huge odor problem, but something the rangers had gotten used to. One side was designed in army fatigue, the other was of a gray hint of bones.

"So, um... what exactly are we supposed to be looking for again?" Rito asked as he rubbed the helmet on his bony head.

"Anything suspicious," Goldar growled. "Zedd mentioned that there was some strange battle going on out here." He turned to the Tengas. "What do you know about this?"

Th teangas could only stutter an unclear answer. None of them were sure what to be looking for, let alone recall what had happened. They had fled the scene before any of them could see what went down.

Then the army of bad guuys came to a halt just as nine streaks of light came to a landing in front of them. As it cleaed,  
nine rangers stood before them. And the bonehead and monkey boy took step back in confusion and fright.

"Wow! Since when were there nine of you?" Rito asked in amazement.

"You'd better pack up and go right back up to space, Rito," Rocky barked back. "Haven't you gotten tired of getting beat by us?"

"Hey, where's the white one?" Goldar noticed the team of rangers was missing their leader. "Did the last fight finally destory him?"

"In your dreams, Goldar," Kim said.

And without hesitation, the tengas moved aginast the assembly of rangers. And they had gone into battle. Rocky and Conner had teamed up against Goldar. Trent and Adam were working around keeping Rito at bay. The rest of the rangers had played around with the tengas before taking them out.

But time and time again, Goldar and Rito had the upper hand on the rangers as they hit the ground. But it didn't stop a few other rangers to pick up where their comrades could not. Even under the array of nine rangers though, Rito and Goldar managed to get the upper hand in the end.

But the battle continued, and the tengas were trying to keep the other rangers away from their friends tied up with Rito and Goldar. And it seemed to be working. By dividing them, their strategies were changed.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Reefside Forest, 2005.

The team had just realized where and when the DT team was. Now, it was only a matter of time before they could find a way to bring them back into the reality of 2005.

The technical directors were busy at work trying to find a safe passage for the DT team to return home. Hayley monitored the invisi-portal closely. She didn't know how she managed to get a lock, but it was the chance they needed to find Kim.

Andros had lead the team -- Adam, Rocky, Tanya and Aisha -- into the heart of the woods where they would find the invisi-portal. Each of them wore a black jumpsuit with a streak of their given color across the side. Not that it was a big deal to really wear their significant color to tell each of them apart. It was like that for a ranger. Once you're donned with the color, it sorta sticks with you and never tends to go away, even if you tried. It would allow them to melt into the shadows easier and hopefully get in and out undetected.

Each of them wore a small earpiece in order to communicate to each other and the technical directors. They weren't sure how far they would get into the fortress without losing a signal because if they knew their enemies, the undetection may not work at all.

"You guys ready to go?" Andros asked as they came to a halt a few feet in front of the invisi-portal.

"Any way to get Kim outta there," Rocky announced with a nod.

"We got a little under than 15 minutes. So, let's make it quick," Andros said.

The team nodded and one by one, they slowly walked into the invisi-portal as it slowly shut behind them. But didn't complete shut down, only got smaller.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Mindshatter sat in the throne he had called his own for some time looking at the monitors with interest. He had noticed the figures looming outside one opened invisi-portal. And he knew exactly what they were trying to do.

"So, we have a bunch of old rangers trying to save their fellow pink ranger," he said mostly to himself. He looked over to one of his cybots, a leader to his unit, and shook his head.

"I will deal with them myself. But get your troops ready. I will signal you if I need you."

"Yes, sir," the robotic voice of the cybot replied and left the room.

Mindshatter got off the chair and walked over to the main console controlling the invisi-portal units. He pushed a few buttons on it, only to realize the change in codes in some of the portals. He kept the comment to himself as he went back to his seat and waited for his new victims to come to him.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

The team of rangers had made it safely through the portal into the musky old metal smell that was now of the island fortress.

"Wow, doesn't this look familiar?" Rocky asked sarcastically as he looked around. "A little musky. More metal. But still the same torment as the old island fortress."

"I only wished it was destroyed in that last battle with Mesogog out here," Adam sighed as he slowly moved up beside Andros, who was now leaning against a wall alert.

"We don't have much time," Andros instructed again. "I won't be surprised if our presence is already detected by Mindshatter and his army."

"Well, then let's make it quick," Tanya said.

"Yeah, this is kinda creeping me out." Aisha shuddered. "It's too quiet. I don't like it."

"I second that," Rocky nodded.

Andros signaled the team to follow behind him. They slowly manuevered through the halls using the shadows as much as possible in hopes really not to avoid running into any unfriendly faces.

For awhile, it seemed like they were going in circles around the same corridor. It was clear since the last time they were in the fortress it was different. The halls were a little more distinguished, but now, it seemed like it was all the same thing.

"Um...does anyone have any idea where we're going?" Tanya asked.

"I swear, we've gone down this corridor forever," Aisha said.

Andros stopped short as they finally came to a door at the end of the hallway. He looked behind them to find no one there and looked toward the ceiling in hopes no one was hidden up there. But there was no one. It was quiet. The only noise came from the shuffling of their feet.

"Can I say I'm really freaked out about this silence?" Aisha stated.

"I think you already have, more than you would like," Rocky said.

"I'm serious. Something doesn't feel right about any of this," she shook her head.

Andros held up a hand to silence them as they moved through the hallway. He quietly tapped against the door as he listened in to find if anyone was inside. A small tap came from within, much like morse code. A small smile came to Andros' lips. He nodded toward the team as the yellow rangers worked to pry open the door. It was clear it was locked shut by a keypad, but it wouldn't keep them from getting through. The other two rangers moved down the other hallways listening for any intruders, but not while setting up small detenators that would react to heat.

Andros moved up the hallway, placing his own set of explosives, coming to a halt. They had only so much time left and they only would have one way out once they got Kim out. The way they hadn't traveled, but provided the shrtest distance back to the main console to activate an invisi-portal out of there. He had sensed something wrong. Time slowed around them as he looked back up the hall, his eyes meeting with the yellow rangers. He quickly dove to the ground just as the yellow rangers followed suit, a line of laser fire coming their way.

As the smoke slowly cleared, a set of red beady eyes leered on the rangers. Andros quickly scrambled to his feet as he raced down the hall, but stopped short as if by an invisible wall.

The other rangers called out his name as Adam and Rocky raced ahead to help him. But they didn't get far when Andros went flying through the air, crashing into them. They winced quietly as they slowly peeled themselves off the ground.

When they looked up, each of them seemed to freeze in their tracks as the figure emerged from the smoky mist. It was Mindshatter, and he didn't look too happy. Yet, he was amused to have a line of rangers in his mist.

"So, we meet again, red space ranger," the robotic leader bowed in turn. "I must say, you never could surprise me. You still have all that rage inside from what happened out there in space."

Andros forced out an angered breath, pushing away any thoughts of the past out of his mind. He looked over his shoulder at the two yellow rangers indicating they continue their fight to pry the door open. Rocky and Adam were at his side, not even flinching.

"I wasn't the one who ran away from the sign of an enemy. Why did you run, Mindshatter?" Andros took a step forward. "You could have destroyed us all out there just like you did the other rangers."

"Sometimes you must flee to fight another day," Mindshatter announced with some respect. "Though, I am truly sorry for your friend, the silver space ranger. He was quite the fighter..."

"You know, I've had enough of that shit coming out of your mouth," Rocky shook his head as he scoffed. "You don't scare me."

"Than we haven't been fully introduced, Rocky," Mindshatter growled as he turned to the red ninja/zeo 3 ranger.

Rocky kept his cool, though was slightly surpised to find that the evil being knew his name. Yet, he had to tell himself that Mindshatter was merely a machine. A computer-based soldier that could be destroyed, yet obtained power and knowledge as he could grasp it. Adam held his friend back by a simple grasp to the shoulder.

The guy rangers taking their before the evil being. They didn't expect to get very far without going into a huge battle in the hall. They could only hope they could all get out of there alive.

"I know more about each and every one of you," Mindshatter hissed as he took a step forward. As he did, it almost felt like the ground shook. "I know your weaknesses, your fears, your feelings and your thoughts. Human souls are among the most weak I've seen. That's way it is so easily to persuade you otherwise."

"You make that sound like you can run this planet pretty easily," Adam said coolly. "Only one question. Why haven't you already taken control? I mean, any true evil genius would find a way to destroy the people of earth -- or control them -- with no questions asked. Now, if you look at the options..."

"Enough!" Mindshatter groaned as his voice thundered through the hall.

"Hey, you don't tell him what to do," Rocky protested as he took a step forward. It was clear his competitive nature was getting the most of him. "You're just a lame excuse for a soldier who thought he could rule over humans. Haven't you learned anything? You haven't quite won..."

"And neither have you. I'm still standing," Mindshatter announced.

"And so are we," Andros said.

"But you've already lost some of your comrades. You'll be next."

"I'm trembling," Rocky stated sarcastically.

Then they heard the door slide open as the figure inside raced out into the protective care of her teammates.

"Did you miss us?" Aisha asked as a smile fell over her face as she quickly embraced her friend in a hug.

"I was only wondering when you would get here. I'm glad you're here," Kim nodded as she pulled her friends toward an exit.

Up the hall Andros had nodded to the other two rangers. They watched as the yellow team had locked Kim in their protection as they raced down the right corridor. Quickly and diligently, each of the rangers who held a power source to morph, had gone into their ranger mode. The red space ranger used his telekinesis to push back Mindshatter, catching him off guard. He bolted down the hall just as Adam and Rocky brought up the rear, pulling out laser pistols and fired at the explosives.

In a blink of an eye, the hall erupted with fire, smoke and debris. The guys barely cleared it as the impact nearly threw them off their feet. But they found their footing quickly as the explosion travled down the hall down the other corridors but ended only meters from the fleeing rangers.

But they came to a halt when a series of cybots had stopped the girl team short of their goal. Tanya had raced into the battle to keep the robotic army out of their way as Aisha directed Kim out of there. Or tired to, but they were pinned against a wall. Aisha was trying her best to keep the cybots away. The guys saw the danger and didn't hesitate to attack as they took down several cybots with laser fire and grueling attacks.

Stubbornly, Andros had told the girls to get the pregnant woman out of there as the guys had their hands full with the cybots. And like many times, they had refused to leave their teammates behind.

"Don't argue with me," Andros declared. And like any ranger wearing the red suit, they couldn't refuse. "The invisi-portal is gonna close in less than a minute. If you don't get her out of here, Mindshatter will get to her."

"We'll find another way out. We're not going down without a real fight," Rocky stated as he pushed two cybots to the ground.

Just as they had hoped, the explosion was heating up the walls to make the cybots falter and weak. There was a theory around it if exposed to excessive amounts of heat, they would malfunction much like any technological device. They were just more worried about Mindshatter because they knew he was smarter than to fall into their trap.

Adam made his way over to the two yellow rangers shielding the pregnant P.E. teacher. "I don't know if you know this, Kim, but we found Tommy and the others."

"In the past," she nodded looking at him like she already knew.

"In 1996. Yeah, I know. Kinda weird though..."

"We could discuss this later," he said pushing her up the hall. "You need to get outta here. We'll hold them off."

"Good luck," Aisha patted her friend's shoulder.

And as one, the girls had moved out of the hall. Their footsteps echoed beyond the battle as Adam turned to re-join the other rangers in battle. Andros and Rocky finally forced the cybots back into the fiery abyss of heat, slowing down their actions. And it was what they needed to catch their breath. Despite being weak, the cybots came in a huge number that forced them to work hard to keep them away.

But again, time seemed to slow around them as the rangers turned to look up the hall into the fiery abyss. A figure slowly emerged from the fiery abyss, unharmed and protected by a shield he had created with his mind. Mindshatter's eyes seemed to grow darker into a bloody red as he began to manipulate the fire around him. Its shape morphed and changed to create a face, aimed right at the rangers.

They exchanged a quick look before backpedalling and racing up the hall rounding the corners. The firey face raced toward them and erupted into bigger flames as it rounded the corners and demolished feet above their heads. They covered their heads, catching their breath as it cleared.

They sat up, glued to the wall trying to figure out what exactly happened. And they knew they couldn't win against that. They had to bail and quickly. Adam peered around the corner, Rocky sat beside him, to see their hardest enemy slowly stride toward them. He signaled over to Andros on the other corridor as Andros rolled over to them staying as low to the ground as possible.

Adam pulled out a smoke ball throwing it to the ground to divert attention as they quickly got to their feet and headed up the hall. The smoke filled the hall blinding all line of sight from the cybots and Mindshatter.

The three rangers made their way through the fortress to the main lab, but fell short when they saw the looming figure with spikes running down his back in the room. Mindshatter turned around slowly to greet the three rangers as the metal doors closed behind them.

"Whoa! How'd he do that?" Rocky took a step back as he felt the metal wall against his back.

"They don't call him Mindshatter for nothing," Adam explained.

Andros took a breath as the eyes of their enemy centered on him. But Andros held his ground as he raced forward, using all his weight to throw the robotic menace to the ground. Rocky helped to keep him down as Adam raced over to the main console controlling the invisi-portal system. He pushed a few keys and a portal opened up a few feet in front of him.

"Adam, go," Andros demanded as he fired his pistol at Mindshatter to divert attention.

Adam jumped into the portal without saying anything else. Mindshatter tried to go after him, but Rocky along with the spirit of his inner animal, the ape, threw the robot across the room. Andros shoved Rocky toward the exit as he found his footing aging before the robot. Rocky protested, but Andros pushed him through leaving the red space ranger alone with the evil being.

"You can't destroy me, Andros," Mindshatter growled as he slowly got to his feet. "I am far more powerful than anything on this planet. You can't win."

"And you haven't won yet, either. We're still standing," Andros announced.

"We will see. You'll meet the same fate as your silver ranger friend and those lost galaxy weaklings."

Andros caught his breath again as he watched the portal behind Mindshatter begin to close. He fired several shots toward Mindshatter to push him back as he jumped for the portal, but not without laying down a few laser fire toward the console controlling the portals.

The console exploded with sparks and fire as the portal closed behind the red space ranger.

Mindshatter growled as he looked at the damage. He turned and left the room without saying another word. Another time. It would be another time to destroy them.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Reefside forest, 2005.

Adam had hit the ground as he rolled to embrace the impact, nearly crashing into his ranger counterparts. He looked behind him to see the portal slowly collapse behind him. Aisha and Tanya pulled him to his feet as he caught his breath.

"Nice of you to drop by," Tanya commented as she cleared the dirt form his ranger suit.

"Thanks. But I take any of the things back about saying this would be easy. We got a real fight on our hands," he stated.

Then another figure emerged from the portal as Rocky came crashing to the ground. He winced quietly as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. Adam and Tanya helped him to his feet as he looked back into the quiet forest.

"Wait, where's Andros?" Kim rushed over to realize they were missing the red space ranger.

The team of rangers looked out into the distance seeing the portal shut. But there was no sign of Andros anywhere. It fell silent as they waited for sometime, hoping to find him pop up elsewhere nearby. But nothing.

"I don't know. It all happened so fast," Rocky shook his head.

"We were running from Mindshatter and the cybots and raced into the main lab. Mindshatter must have found an easy way to get there, because he was waiting for us."

"But I thought he was right behind you," Adam protested.

"He was, but..." the blue zeo 3 ranger began, but stopped when they heard a noise from behind them.

They fell into a defensive stance around the pregnant ranger, but quickly relaxed when they saw it was only the red space ranger. Adam approached him cautiously as he disabled his ranger suit. He had to make sure it really was the red space ranger and not some decoy.

"It's me, Adam," Andros nodded. He signaled his own power down process as the ranger suit dropped. Andros now stood in his space suit as he approached the other rangers. "I managed to shut down the invisi-portal system, but it won't take them long to get it running again."

Adam nodded as he raced over to the pregnant woman. He quickly examined her, as she refused to let him through. She had stated that she was fine, but he wasn't convinced. Even if she hadn't been gone too long, it was enough to say just to be sure. And for the sake of her husband.

"I'm fine, Adam. He didn't do anything to me. Mesogog kept an eye on me," Kim began.

"Mesogog? But he was the one who captured you," Aisha said.

"But you're not gonna believe this. He has a change of heart. I don't know, but I don't think he really is Mesogog. I think it's really Anton," she said. The other rangers fell silent wondering what she did learn while her stay on the fortress. "He really didn't want to hurt me."

"It's bait," Andros nodded toward her, "like I said. I don't think Mindshatter is gonna do anything until he can take out the leaders of the operation."

"What do you mean?" Tanya asked.

"I told you that Mindshatter wants to destroy us by having us destroy each other. If his plan works, we may not exist, or only the strongest survive. If he takes out the leader, the whole team suffers."

"Is that why he's taking a liking to you?" Rocky asked.

"I would assume so. Aside from trying to make me feel bad for the death of Zhane and the Lost Galaxy Rangers. Tactics only an evil being would use. Built up on fear and rage to make a person weak and bed to their whim."

"Well, c'mon. I think we should head back to the lab. Maybe our techs got an answer to bring Tommy and the others back," Adam stated.

The team had to agree as they moved out of the forest and back to the comfort of the underground lab.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Angel Grove Park, 1996.

The nine rangers -- the original ninja rangers and the DT rangers -- still had their hands full with Goldar, Rito and the tengas. And it was clear the frustration was getting the most of them. They had to send them packing now, but something was wrong. They seemed to work at a much powerful pace than they were used to.

Then it fell silent. The area exploded with a blinding light, shielding everyone's eyes. And when it cleared, the evil beings on one side, the good guys on the other, two figures emerged from the brightness.

"Whoa! Who are you guys?" Rito asked. "This is our fight."

"Stay out of this," Goldar growled.

The robotic dinosaur turned to the two nitwits, eyes glowing red. He forced out his hand, as a line of lasers flew from his arm toward the tengas. They hit the ground beside Goldar and Rito.

"Um... never mind," Rito stated. "We're outta here."

And with the wave of their swords, Rito, Goldar and the tengas were gone, leaving the rangers to deal with the two newcoming enemies. The team assembled themselves before the threat, the DT rangers on one side and the ninja rangers on the other.

"Um... lemme guess, the guy in the robotic suit was the one who sent you back in time?" the young red ninja looked at the other red ranger.

"Yeah, that would be him," the red DT ranger nodded.

"I have returned to put an end to your legacy, power rangers," the robotic dinosaur roared.

Trent had taken a few steps forward as his eyes locked with the dino menace he had known as his father. For a moment, he could see the hint of blue return to those eyes as they bore down on him. Fear and guilt ran through him as he hoped to not see the truth. But it was clear that the dino menace was his father. "Don't do this, dad. Please."

"Huh? Did he just say dad?" the yellow ninja ranger asked in confusion.

"Long story. You'll find out later," Ethan said.

"Are you ready to be destroyed, rangers?" Dinoshade bellowed.

The device he had used against the DT rangers hung around his neck like a necklace. The line of rangers exchanged looks, their gestures showed what must be done. They had to get that device in order to send the DT rangers back to their own time. With no hesitation, the team moved against the two dinosaurs. But they had expected their attacks, and even nine rangers didn't seem to have a chance against either of them working as a team.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Command Center, 1996.

The warning lights went off erractically as the white ninja ranger and black DT ranger shot to their feet racing over to the viewing globe. They watched as their friends were taking a huge punishment from their newest threats.

"Are they the two responsible for all this mayhem in your time period?" the young white ninja asked.

The black DT ranger caught his breath as he nodded. Rage began to run through his blood, but he forced it back into the depths of his soul. "That would be them." He raced back over to the robot and his old mentor. "Alpha, run a diagnosis. What's the status on the rangers?"

The robot shook his head in a panic. "Ayiyiyi, Tommy. It doesn't look good. Due to their battle with Rito, Goldar and the tengas, they have gotten rather tired and weak. They may not last a battle with those two dinosaurs."

The black DT ranger looked back at his younger self and knew what had gone through his mind. They were eager to get out there to help their team out, but it was a risky situation.

The white falcon ranger looked up to his mentor. "Zordon, we can't just stick around and watch them take this punishment. We have to help them, even if it drains us of our powers."

Zordon nodded. "I am well aware of the situation, rangers. And you must help them. I can only provide some protection for the two of you. But it may not last before you both suffer greatly."

"It's gonna be a risk we're gonna have to take, Zordon. I won't let Dinoshade destroy this legacy," the black DT ranger spoke like any leader would. "Then prepare for the power transfer."

"It's morphin' time!" the young white ninja announced as he pulled out his morpher.

The black DT ranger pulled his communicator into place as it morphed into his brachio morpher. He pulled out his key and let out his own morphing call. "Dino Thunder! Power up!"

Just as the light cleared from the two rangers, now suited up, Zordon used his own power source to feed into the two rangers. It powered each of them up, and gave tehm some more protection from being drained quickly.

And as one, they teleported out of there and into the battle.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Angel Grove Park, 1996.

The nine rangers laid on the ground in pain. It was clear they were all out of energy and they wouldn't last any longer. One by one they tried to pull themselves off the ground, but all they could feel was pain.

"So, this is the end," the red ninja ranger winced. Dinoshade growled with satisfaction. "Time to end this, once and for all."

The rangers slowly scrambled to sit up as they back-pedalled away from their enemies. They were all out of options, and even under Super Dino Mode, the DT rangers couldn't win. Even nine rangers had no chance against them. But even during the battle, there was at time, the DT teens knew that Mesogog was hesitant to attack. Dinoshade didn't make no hesitation.

"I'll never get to see how my future is," Kim protested as she tried to find the strength to get to her feet.

Dinoshade turned to look at the small pink ranger and hissed with glee. He began to walk toward her, the soul target of his first annihilation during the battle. The other rangers called out to her, just as she was on the retreat.

And as Dinoshade pulled up his arm for the final blow, two lights appeared before him, blocking his way. Their stance held strength, confidence and power. It was the white falcon ranger and the black DT ranger.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Okay, so I cut you off in some weird places. But ot only builds up suspense. Yet, now that the past has been altered, what will it bring for the future? See to it and read on. I'm out and onto the real world scene. See you when I do. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	30. Lost Time

'**TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART THIRTY: LOST TIME_**  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_  
SUMMARY: Destruction in the past. Could this be the end of the Power Rangers legacy all together, or do they have a chance to stop it before it gets worse?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. You know that drill._

_A/N: Just read on. Read on until you find a way to understand what I got to say. I hope you like this now. Give me a break about my next line of posts. I've become quite the busy bee. It could be awhile. But see you when I do._

_X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"_We cannot give up. No matter where we are. And we made it back in one piece. But now, what? How much has changed since we have returned? And what more do we need to gear up for from this evil guy? We gotta be open and be prepared for everything and anything coming our way." -Eclyptyk Neo  
__X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_

Dinshade had saw his opportunity to destroy the pink crane ranger before the eyes of her fellow teammates, and successors. He had moved quickly against her as the other weakened rangers tried to get to her, but couldn't. They were far too weak to do anything except call out her name.

She had looked up to see the danger, but could only back-pedal away in fear. Just as Dinoshade had his chance, raising his hand to land the final blow, two lights came between the two.

As the light cleared, two new rangers had joined the battle. It was the white falcon ranger and black DT ranger, suited up and ready 90 for action. The strength, confidence and power ran through their bodies. And it was clear if he had decide to go anywhere near the pink ranger or the other rangers, he would have to deal with them first.

"Don't even think about it, Dinoshade," the black DT ranger stated coolly as he pulled out his brachio staff.

"If it isn't the leader of the entire pack, the black DinoThunder ranger." Dinoshade greeted. "I must say, I am surprised to see you standing here. I would have thought that last battle finished you."

"We're all full of surprises, now aren't we?" the black DT ranger replied. "But, why don't you step down before I decide to hurt you more than I would like to?"

"That doesn't scare me. Look around you, black ranger. You're team is weak and pathetic. You stand no chance against me," the robotic dinosaur said.

The black DT ranger peered over his shoulder to see the weaken line of rangers behind him. They slowly tried to peel themselves off the ground, but found no strength left in their bodies to sit up. He gestured simply for them to stay down as he walked over to the robotic dinosaur. He looked over the robotic shoulder to see the almost motionless dino menace. Mesogog could only stare at him, but had no intention in moving.

The robotic dinosaur pulled out his hand, and planted it firmly on the neck of the black DT ranger. "I have been waiting for this day."

"I'm sure you have, but you're forgetting something," the black DT ranger said calmly.

"What's that?"

"A certain white falcon ninja ranger by the name of Tommy Oliver."

The robotic dinosaur turned around to see a crescent kick fly his way as he took the attack head on. He hit the ground just as the black DT ranger moved against him. And though with the limited power the two rangers had, they kept the robo-menace at bay. At times, Mesogog would attack, but none seemed as strong or deadly as it came from Dinoshade.

The weakened rangers looked from the battle to one another, trying to figure out what to do. But they had already taken enough damage to continue on, even if they tried. And it felt like it was one battle they could not win.

"I thought they were too weak to battle," Rocky, the red ninja ranger protested as he tried to sit up.

"And when did it get this hard to beat the bad guys?" Adam, the black ninja looked over at his successors.

"Now, you know what we go through," Ethan replied as he shook his head.

"Aren't we all full of surprises? I mean, we just found out that our leader has his own team to mentor years down the line," Billy spoke as he looked at the two rangers battle the dino-robot.

But that didn't seem to stop the legendary ranger or his younger self from stopping the battle. They were beyond any need to worry about the limited power they had at the moment. The black DT ranger tried to claw at the device hanging around Dinoshade's neck, but could not get to it. Dinoshade had it well guarded against any of his attacks.

The white falcon ranger was slowly showing signs of fatigue, but he held on. He worked around his older self, matching his own wits against their enemy.

The weakened DT teens looked at each other again as they noticed the fatigue fall over the two fighting rangers. They weren't gonna last, and though they were left with only so much energy to move on, they knew they had to help out.

Conner was the first to his feet. Trent followed suit as he helped Ethan to his feet, and finally Kira. For a moment, the colored array of rangers caught their breaths setting up for the next set of attacks.

The black DT ranger swung with might under his brachio staff, but found no real weak spot on the dino-robot. The white falcon ranger used what ninja skills he could muster to keep Dinoshade as far back from his team as possible. At times, they made a hit, but it wasn't enough to really slow Dinoshade down. He was tough, and he seemed to get stronger with every blow, absorbing the impact like it was nothing.

For awhile, the white falcon ranger and black DT ranger had to re-group and figure out another strategy. And that's what slowed them down. The energy and protection was starting to leave them and they could feel it. The white falcon ranger winced under the punishment his body had already taken. The black DT ranger was also trying to keep his legs stablized on the ground. They were shaking and nearly out of support to keep him up, the drain of poewr taking an immediate toll on him.

Dinoshade bellowed out in laughter. "What? Tired already, Oliver? I'll have you know your wife is safe... for the time being. But if you ever make it back, she may not be who you once thought she was."

The black DT ranger let out a stifled growl under gritted teeth. A new fury and rage ran through his body as he heard Dinoshade laugh again. The next few actions seemed to slow down. Just as the DT teens were about ready to join the battle, they fell short as they felt a strong aura of energy rub off their mentor. They weren't quite sure what was going on, but it seemed to energize the white falcon ranger, too. The black DT ranger let out a warrior cry that sent a blinding light over the two rangers.

It forced the fallen rangers to shield their eyes as energy from each ranger seemed to feed into the two rangers. And when it cleared, the two rangers seemed to be energized beyond words once again. Their suits glowed to life, and the outline of the powers honed by the legendary ranger guided them into battle. The green dragon powers, the white tiger, the spirit of the falcon, the red zeo 5 powers, the power of the pink dino gem, the meterorite, and a little rage built up within the soul of the legendary ranger.

The black DT ranger and white falcon ranger fell into another defensive stance beckoning Dinoshade to come forth.

"Nobody messes with my wife," the black DT ranger spoke in a low voice.

"Or my team and gets away with it," the white falcon ranger urged the robo-dino their way again.

"You don't stand a chance," Dinoshade challenged as he took a step forward.

The two rangers didn't flinch as the dino-robot moved toward them. Another battle raged on, but the two rangers had the advantage this time. And they weren't taking no for an answer. They were on fire and they didn't seem to care what damage they were doing. They were trapped in the moment of the battle, laying out several attacks that could very well destroy a human in one blow but slow down the dino-menace. And that's ally they could hope for in this battle.

The DT teens exchanged a look before racing into battle, but fell short when Mesogog came between them.

"Don't even think about it," Mesogog hissed.

"Dad, please," Trent shook his head in protest as he held out a hand. "Let us help you. You don't want to do this."

"I have my orders, son. I have to destroy you," the dino menace replied as he took a step toward the DT team.

"No. You could be fighting with us. Put an end to Dinoshade, Mindshatter and bring some order to this planet's safety," Ethan corrected him as the dino menace growled at him. "Or not. But it is a thought. You want to work for a scrap heap made of metal? Sorta bad..."

Kira smacked the blue DT ranger's helmet shaking her head. "Stop." She looked back at the dino menace. "I know you have to be in there, Dr. Mercer."

"Anton is no more. Only I remain," Mesogog hissed.

"That's not true. We're not giving up on you," Conner stated.

"Then be prepared to be destroyed," Mesogog said as he moved against the teens.

"Dad, please," Trent pleaded as his voice croaked. "Don't do this. We can help you."

But he didn't hear the white drago ranger. And they were caught up in a battle against the dino menace. The attacks still seemed slightly weak and slow, but still inflicted some damage to the rangers. Yet, he was still holding back and they could tell when their attacks just weren't as strong as they could lay on him. Mesogog was the same way, as if fighting to keep himself from doing serious damage to the teens.

The rest of the ninja rangers had managed to muster up some energy to re-group beside a line of bushes. They were far too weak to continue on in any battle, and forced to rest and catch their breath.

"Um, anyone notice the change in weather?" Billy looked up in confusion.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Kim said quietly.

But then lightning struck from up above nearly taking them off guard and surprise. They rolled away to avoid the attack and when a bigger one dropped and cleared, a figure emerged from where it struck. The cybernetic robot pulled free his staff and raced toward the ninja rangers. And though weaken, they sprung into action with what energy they had left.

"Great, that's all we need," Conner huffed as he locked Mesogog in a hold. He had seen the scene unfold before him with the lightning bolt, only to find Zeltrax had joined the battle.

Trent and Kira joined Conner as they tried to force Mesogog into the ground. They tried to reason with the dino menace, but he didn't seem to hear them at all. Ethan side-swiped the dino menace to throw him off-balance. Mesogog hit the ground as he growled in frustration.

Meanwhile, Dinoshade was slowly faltering behind the new energy and rage within the skilled rangers of the two teams. He wasn't gonna go down that easily though. He refused to give up the fight, let alone hand over the device the black DT ranger was desperately trying to grab. He felt more power and rage from the black DT ranger, but the white falcon ranger wasn't too far behind. It was clear that both of them could not stand to see their team go down to anyone.

The ninja rangers had to time their attacks right, or they could be in for some serious damage than they really liked. Zeltrax was one guy they had no real preference about except that he had a huge hate trained for their leader—or more of his older self. Zeltrax had been weakened from the last battle, that was no surprise. But he still had power that drove them crazy.

And with some control of lightning, Zeltrax raised his hands to the sky and let out a darkness that swept the land. The area changed from day into night in a matter of moments. He let out an insult toward the shaken and weak ninjas and pushed his hands to the sky again. A wave of lightning struck the ground making it shake. It threw all the rangers off-balance and finally caught the eye of the other two evil beings.

Dinoshade growled as he kicked the white falcon ranger aside and strode over to the cyborg. "So, you are the one causing all these problems, Zeltrax?"

"Out of my way, you tin canned ancient reptile," Zeltrax hissed as he pushed him aside. "You would be nothing without me." He moved toward the fallen white falcon ranger and black DT ranger, both showing signs of fatigue and exhaustion. "If it isn't my favorite power rangers."

"And my favorite cyborg," the black DT ranger greeted sarcastically as he let out a painful breath. "So, Zeltrax, you had to return yet again for another bad beating?"

Zeltrax growled as he pulled the black DT ranger to his feet.

"I am tired of your jokes, Oliver. This ends now."

Zeltrax looked up into the sky as a spark of electricity came from his visor. A light began to formulate, drawing energy from around it above them.

For a moment, time slowed and confusion rushed onto the faces of the rangers. Zeltrax raised his free hand to the sky as the energy grew and began to form a point. And as he was about to launch it down, he fell to his knees groaning in pain. He was stopped short of his tracks as he began to grab his head. The energy bolt disappeared quickly. The black DT ranger tracked it back to the source of the pain as he caught his breath, it lead to Mesogog.

The DT teens had stopped short yet again, looking at the dino menace in confusion. Had they seen it right? Did Mesogog just help out their mentor? Yeah, he did. And he was continuing to. Without any real hesitation.

"Traitor," Dinoshade hissed as he charged at the dino menace.

A line of laser fire sent the dino-robot back as the ninja rangers held their ground, firing their pistols at him. The DT teens joined them quickly with their own line of fire. The black DT ranger helped his younger self to his feet.

"Shall we finish this?" the black DT ranger offered.

"And sent you guys back to the future? Works for me," the white falcon ranger nodded. "This protection isn't gonna last forever." He fell into a fighter stance.

The black DT ranger followed suit as they launched themselves into battles throwing kicks and punches into Dinoshade. He growled under the impact and pain as the rest of the rangers helped to keep him at bay.

Meanwhile, still locked in the mind control of Mesogog, Zeltrax struggled to keep it back. He was nowhere near the power of his former master, and it was clear that Mesogog wouldn't take anymore chances from him.

"You should have died when I drained your powers before, Zeltrax," Mesogog hissed as he walked up to the cyborg. "Don't think this time I will let you go. I gave you life, but I can also end it."

Zeltrax growled in pain as he grabbed his head. It spun like there was no tomorrow. He just couldn't think straight anymore. His thoughts were being jumbled, scrambled and erased right before him. The mental strain was far too much for him. "I will have my revenge, Mesogog."

"Revenge is all you ever mentioned and it got you nowhere. It destroyed you because it owned you, Zeltrax," Mesogog announced. "Say good-bye Zeltrax for good!"

With the heightened strength of mind power, the life force from Zeltrax was leaving him. He grew weaker as he slowly tried to drag himself toward Mesogog. But as he did, the pain only got worse. The cyborg began to glow and when Mesogog had pulled up his hand he had pulled out a small device taking the rest of his powers away. The cyborg laid there motionless for only a moment longer and a light covered the area, the darkness clearing away as the cyborg disappeared into thin air. It was like he never existed. Mesogog hissed in satisfaction as he flexed his muscles to feel a new wave of energy roll over him.

The DT team had now moved against the dino-robot and he was finally losing more than he could bargin for. The attacks got more stronger and powerful as they made contact with the robot.

"I will not be defeated," Dinoshade growled.

"And neither will we," Conner announced as he launched another kick into him.

That's all they needed as it finally locked with the device, sending it flying into the air. For a moment, all eyes fell on the device as they scrambled to get ahold of it. It jumped several hands until it fell into the grasp of the dino menace.

Everyone stopped short unsure what to do. Or what the dino menace had intented to do with it. With all that was going on, it was hard to grasp what would happen next. The ninja rangers had fallen back to catch their breaths again. They had hoped it wouldn't get worse, but it was really too hard to tell.

Mesogog looked at the device in his hand and threw it to the ground. The device smashed into pieces as a tear in the very existence of time appeared. The power of the tear acted like a vacuum sucking what it could in its path. Dinoshade tried to claw the ground, find his footing, but was the first to disappear through it.

The rangers looked at each other in confusion as the ninja rangers stepped back, pulling their weaken leader with them safely away from the suction. Yet, the fight had taken a lot out of the two skilled rangers, causing both of them to de-morph. Sweat ran down both of their faces, but the black DT ranger seemed to hold his ground much better than his younger self.

The blue DT ranger raced over to his weaken mentor, patting him on his shoulder. "Is that our ticket home?" Ethan nearly had to yell just to be heard over the vacuum-suction power of the tear in time.

The DT rangers looked at each other as they looked into the tear to see the familar downtown area of Reefside, CA. The area where their last battle was before they were sent back in time. Each of them looked at the pale face of their mentor as he nodded.

"It won't hold much longer," Dr. Oliver noticed as the tear became smaller. He shoved his teammates into the suction. "Brace yourselves upon re-entry. I'll meet you on the other side."

"Are you sure, Dr. O? It doesn't look safe?" Conner breathed as he felt the pull on him as he struggled to stay clear.

The familar chime from their morphers went off as Trent pulled it up for them to hear. But the message seemed distorted and full of static. But no one could blame them for the tear was disrupting it.

"We've...can, guys. Nothing...working. ...tear ...only hope ...back here...," Cam stated from the comm.

Trent tapped the communicator, but all that came out now was static. Each of them tired their own morphers, but got no better reception. They looked at their mentor who could only push them closer to the tear.

"Go! This may be our only chance," Kira shoved her teammates forward before their teacher could say anymore.

And one by one the DT teens had disappeared into the field and into the abyss of swirling lights and sparks back to their own time period.

The black DT ranger looked over at the dino menace who couldn't say much of anything. He seemed frozen in his tracks, but once he sensed the stare on him he had moved quickly away and disappeared through the tear leaving the line of ninja rangers behind with the black DT rangers. He had turned to face them as each held up a hand in good-bye.

"I'll see you guys in the future," Dr. Oliver announced.

"You all right?" the young white falon ranger asked as he flet some strength come back to him as he stood up straighter.

Dr. Oliver winked back. "I'll be fine. I got you to thank for the strong-will. You're a tough character, you should be proud of what you're capable of doing."

"Hey, Tommy," the young Rocky exclaimed. "You just let us know how much you changed the future now that this has happened,"

"I'm not so sure I really want to. But you'll find out. See ya later, Rocko," the black DT ranger replied.

"You got quite a great team before you, Tommy," Billy commented, a smile seemed the show beyond his concealed face in the helmet.

"I have you guys to thank for that. May the powers always protect you," the legendary ranger stated with a nod. "Oh, and Tommy, take care of Kimberly. You'll regret it in the future if you don't."

"But what does happen to you guys in the future?" Aisha asked.

"Do we see the wedding bells?"

"You'll see more than you bargained for. Tell Alpha and Zordon thanks for all they did and they're never forgotten, no matter the sacrifice."

And with time no longer on his side, the black DT ranger turned away from the predecessing team, a team he lead years ago, and headed for the hole. Before he fully departed, he turned to look at them again and saluted. And the suction had pulled him out of the scene and the tear closed behind him.

And life in Angel Grove of 1996 went back to normal. Or as normal as it could get for the power rangers.

For awhile, now all in their civilian forms, the ninja team had looked up into the sky pondering and wondering how exactly their futures were being laid out.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Reefside, present day. 

Conner and the others weren't quite sure what hit them or how they could have caught themselves, but they tumbled out of that tear landing on top of each other much harder than expected.

Due to the travel through the hole, it had caused them the protection of their suits as they landed in the plaza in their civilian clothes.

Each groaning, they all quickly moved away from another to catch their breath.

"Why must re-entries be so nasty?" Ethan sighed as he rubbed his back of the pain sitting up.

"You're telling me. That was one crazy trip. I guess I was sorta glad I was asleep when this happened the first time," Conner nodded as he finally found the strength to stand up.

Trent pulled himself to his feet as he helped the yellow ranger to her feet. Each had gushed slightly over the relief that things were back to normal and they were back in Reefside.

It was quiet, though. Not quite normal for something that just happened to be a big battle out of Angel Grove in 1996.

"Rangers," a voice growled from behind them as the teens turned around to see a shaken Dinoshade stomp their way.

"Don't you ever quit?" Kira growled under her breath.

"If I couldn't destroy you in the past, then I might as well destroy you now," Dinoshade growled.

The teens were still weak from the battle and needed some time to rest. But as Dinoshade was inching closer, it was cear he wasn't gonna stop. The teens took a few steps back, in fear but still held their ground.

But then a figure came between the dino-robot and the teenage rangers. It was Mesogog and a new hint of fury and energy ran over his body as he fell into a fighter stance.

"You traitor!" Dinoshade hissed.

"We're all full of surprises, aren't we, Dinoshade?" Mesogog replied. But his voice sounded more like Anton than it did the dino menace standing between the two sides. "You're fighting for the wrong team, I hope you realize that."

Dinoshade launched himself forward as Mesogog followed suit. And the two dinosaurs went into battle. Each throwing in their own share of attacks.

The teens stopped short, pulling their friend in white back from the battle. He was the most fired up about the situation as well as confused. They questioned each other still trying to get over the fact that it sounded like Anton talking rather than Mesogog, or moreso one in the same. Both he and Mesogog as one.

Mesogog growled as he pushed Dinoshade back. He looked back at the shaken and confused teens. "Go! Go, now!"

"No, we won't leave you! Dad, please," Trent pleaded.

"Go, now. I can only hold him off for so long. Trent, you must not wory about me!" the voice, combined of Mesogog and Anton demanded.

"No, you cannot protect them forever, Anton," Dinoshade hissed.

The two dinosaurs continued to battle one another, but Mesogog was slowly starting to show signs of fatigue. They weren't quite sure from what or why, but they were growing worried. But in the wake of the battle, Dinoshade had finally gotten the upper hand as he locked Mesogog in his grip dragging him closer to the shadows.

The teens raced forward, but came to a halt when Dinoshade held out an armored arm ready to fire a deadly blow their way. He barked out an insult as the two figures melted into the shaodws and the plaza was left in silence.

Trent pulled free from his friends as he raced into the shadows, only to find that they truely were gone. He held his breath for a moment, trying to control his anger and rage. He was so close. He could have gotten his dad out of there, back to the safety of the lab, but just wasn't fast enough.

Kira walked over to him putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder, pulling him back into reality. She whispered some comforting words into his ear before laying a kiss on his cheek.

It had only occurred to the team when they were in silence that something was not right. Conner and Ethan slit up scanning the plaza.

"Um...where's Dr. Oliver?" Conner breathed as he ran his hands through his hair. He shook his head. "He still can't be back in 1996."

"The guy is all about sacrifice, but there is just no way," Ethan had to agree.

Trent and Kira had gone into serious mode as they helped to search the plaza. He may have been hiding or getting overthe trip of traveling between time back to their own reality. Conner was about to call out the technical directors for help when a bright light filled the area. They shielded their eyes as it cleared and a figure emerged from it.

But as it showed, the man was shaken and weak. Upon re-entry he just fell to the ground like a dummy.

"Dr. Oliver!" the teens cried as they raced over to his side.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

Everything around Tommy Oliver seemed to grow heavy and dark. He could feel the presence of others around him, but he just couldn't seem to open his eyes. He felt like he was in a void where there just didn't seem to be no return.

But somehow, he felt the presence of the two most important people in his life, which gave him some strength and energy to move. He felt pain run over his entire body, but that didn't seem to matter.

He just wasn't sure if he had been dreaming the entire time or if it was a reality, but there was only one way to find out. He winced quietly as he finally flexed his arm.

"I think he's finally coming to," the familiar voice of Adam rang in his head. "Hey, Tommy, you there?"

Tommy winced again as he slowly opened his eyes. The images of faces all around him was blurred for a moment. He blinked several times to clear away the blurriness, the faces became more clear. "What happened? Where am I?" He slowly tried to sit up, but the medical doctor shook his head as he pushed him back into the comfort of the couch.

The excitement nearly fell over the entire room as they all breathed a sigh of relief for the man in black. The audience of people included the DT teens, the three technical directors the ninja rangers and the zeo rangers as well as a youngster with a legacy under her wing. His daughter and wife nearly ran Adam over, but he had stopped them short with an upraised hand.

"Hold on. Gotta check for signs of amnesia. Now, Tommy, do you know...?" Adam began.

"To hell with it, Adam! Come here, my two beautiful girls," Tommy sat up as he was encased in a tight hug by his wife and daughter. Tommy had whispered a few sweet nothings into his wife's ears as tears streaked down their faces.

Kim had laid several kisses on his lips as Serena was glad to feel the embrace and warmth of her mother and father. For awhile, the rest of the people in the room could only watch as the family exchanged warm gestures toward each other.

Slowly, they filed for the door, knowing it was probably best to leave them alone. But Tommy had waved a hand, stopping the bunch of people assembled in the room.

"No, it's cool, T. We should head out," Rocky stated as he tugged Tanya with him toward the door. "You've had it rather rough. You need time alone with them."

"You've been asleep for almost four days now, Tommy," Kim had told him before laying another kiss on his lips.

"Four days!" Tommy breathed as he grabbed his head. He couldn't quite remember what had happened, except a battle that had sent him and the DT teens into the past. Upon return, nothing seemed to click. He couldn't remember what happened upon his return back to the present. "No way."

"Actually, you have," Conner nodded looking at his watch. "When you came back, you were out cold."

"We brought you back to the lab. But you didn't seem to wake up," Kira added.

"Everyone was growing worried. We all got out fine, but you took the most punishment, Dr. O," Ethan said.

"We went back to school to avoid confrontations. But Coach nor Serena had left your side, since" Trent stated.

"Things around Reefside are normal. As if you guys never really left," Billy stated. "You're lucky, Tommy."

"Why?" he looked at his teammates with some confusion.

"You didn't seem to alter time too much," Aisha said rocking on her heels, looking away. "Besides, that little thing about you revealing yourself before us when we were younger sorta got lost in our minds."

"Thrown into the back of our minds almost like a dream, but we all know it happened. To some degree," Adam said shaking his head.

"But personally, my head is really about to blow with all these changes," Rocky said.

"We all haven't gotten much sleep since we've been worried about you. You were weak when the teens brought you back. Whatever happened in that last battle must have drained you good," Billy said.

For a moment, Tommy looked down trying to remember what had happened. As the images of the battle in the past played through his head, the players in the fight became more clear. There was him, the DT teens, the ninja rangers, younger, Dinoshade, Mesogog and Zeltrax. During the beginning of the battle Rito, Goldar and a few tengas showed up. He looked at his dino gem housed in the bracelet watching it glow, but seem to die out as if there was no more power in it. He was weak. "You mean, you guys don't remember what happened?"

Rocky scratched his head trying to recall what had happened. It was clear the other ninja rangers couldn't seem to put a whole lot on it. It had happened years ago, and as they had put it, it felt more like a dream rather than reality. "All I could remember was that it had to do with you being drained of your powers, both as the white ninja ranger and the baclk DT ranger."

"Then there was Mesogog, Dinoshade and Zeltrax in the mix of things," Aisha added as she tried to pry the memory from the back of her mind. "But it really is a blur. That happened years ago, Tommy."

"Maybe to you guys, but that was only days ago for us," Conner sighed. "That really did a number on our concentration in school, Dr. O."

"Yeah, Mindshatter really is a tough guy," Tommy had to agree.

"You can say that again," Rocky shook his head as their own mission in the present played back in his head.

"Don't worry. You're all squared away at school. I took over your classes for these past few days," Adam said with a nod.

Tommy thanked his friend as he looked around the room. He noticed something was missing. "What about Andros? I though he was here?"

"Andros went back to Angel Grove to see what else he could find. He'd let us know if he found anything more," the green samurai ranger finally spoke.

"Don't worry, we got filled in on the situation with Mindshatter, Dr. O," Conner said.

"It's some crazy stuff," Ethan breathed as if he just heard some heartbreaking news all over again.

"Yeah, you need to be educated on it, too, buddy," Rocky said.

"But we should leave ya'll to do your own thing."

"We've worked out a few things with the zords, but I think we should wait until you've conserved some more of your energy to give you the heads up on it," Billy said.

"It's some good stuff, daddy," Serena managed a smile as Tommy laid a kiss on her head.

"Yeah, we had Serena to thank for some of her ideas on it. I'm rather impressed," Hayley said.

The team slowly filed for the door, each had said their good-byes to the Oliver trio.

"Oh, I know I shouldn't be doing this," Adam stated as he looked directly at Kim and Serena . "I need you two to keep an eye on him. Make sure our boy, Tommy, over there, gets lots of rest. You may need to pamper him just a bit, but anything to keep him off his feet. Hey, Tommy. I'll keep an eye on your classes until you get better. You're still weak, if you haven't noticed. You need to rest as much as possible."

"And how long is that gonna be?" Tommy had to know with as stubborn as he was.

"A few days. Don't worry. I set some specific guidelines for Kim and Serena to follow. You're in good hands. If you need anything, you know where we'll all be at," Adam stated as he flashed a peace and left the room.

The moments felt like days, if not months or even years. Left in the wake of being locked in the arms of the two most important people in his life, Tommy could breath a little easier. He knew now that this was no dream. That this was reality. That he was back where he belonged.

And in their moments, nothing else seemed to matter. They were locked in their own world where only they seemed to be. A family as they waited on for another in a few months.

"I missed you, Handsome," Kim whispered into his lips as they shared a passionate kiss. And neither seemed to care if Serena was in the room or to see their deep affection for the other.

"I missed you so much, Beautiful. Are you okay?" Tommy asked after they broke their lips.

"I'm fine, Tommy. Nothing happened with me," She nodded as she put a finger to his lips. She smacked him across the chest as he looked at her with some confusion. "Don't do that again. No more of your suicide attempts, Thomas."

"What!" he breathed. "You would say that to the legendary ranger? You don't even know what happened."

"Not if you could have destroyed it all together in the past?" she countered.

"But I didn't. You're still here, as beautiful and as healthy as ever," he said as he laid a quick kiss on her lips. He reached over and pulled Serena in for another kiss. "And so is Serena, an angel from above. There will be scars. There are already scars, but that is life."

"I want to hear some of your stories, daddy," Serena had spoke, her thick Filipino accent escaped from her lips.

Time had passed slow. Both Tommy and Kim had started from the very beginning of the legacy of the Power Rangers. From how Kim had first gotten her powers with Jason, Billy, Zack and Trini. The original team. And lead up to the dark past of Tommy, which Serena just didn't believe, but with the video diary not too far behind, helped fill in the gasps.

But only with those stories mentioned, it had made Serena fall asleep. She laid soundly asleep on the lounge chair tucked away. Husband and wife laid in the slightly dimmed room breathing in the presence of the other.

"That wasn't a dream, was it? I really was trapped in the past, wasn't I?" Tommy spoke quietly as he stroked Kim's soft brown hair.

Kim nodded slowly. "You were. But it felt like a dream to me, Aisha, Adam, Rocky and Billy. I don't know. It's hard to describe."

"Then msybe we should just leave it as that. What's past is past. What happened, just happened. And we just gotta move on."

"I just gotta know something," Kim thought a moment. "You were our sub at Angel Grove High. Was I hitting on you, or you sorta hitting on me?"

"Hey, you were talking to your future husband, right?" Tommy laughed. "I will admit that it was a little weird considering I was looking at you nine years ago."

"And I was looking at you as you were now," Kim sat up for a moment, Tommy rose wondering what had her bothered. "I'm worried though, about Trent."

Tommy looked away and nodded as he recalled the last battle again. He remembered he was in a deadly lock with Zeltrax as a bolt of energy was about to lay down on him, but Mesogog had stopped it. It was also Mesogog who had destroyed the device and made a free ticket for the team to return to the present. "Mesogog isn't who he once was. He's more like Anton than that dino menace ever was."

"And he felt obligated to capture me. It wasn't his idea, it was Mindshatter, but somehow he just didn't do anything. I was locked away, but Mesogog had opened up an invisi-portal to let the team through before anything could be done to me."

"So, nothing happened?" Tommy asked still feeling some rage run through him for the capture of his wife.

"Nothing," she nodded. She shook her head as she laid a kiss on his lips. "I think Mesogog really does have a change of heart. The teens told me how he had saved you and opened up that tear for you guys to return."

"He really is helping us out, but can we really trust him?"

"That's your friend we're talking about, Tommy. If you saw him, looked into his eyes, you could really see Anton in all that scaly flesh."

Tommy sighed as he could recall the images of Mesogog before he stepped through that tear. He looked like a change dino menace. That in how he stood, it really was Anton, but trapped in his alter ego. "We have to help him. It's the best thing we could do. Have we gotten any more information on the invisi-portal network?"

"Now, time out, Tommy," she covered his mouth again. "I didn't expect this talk to go into ranger business. You're not supposed to be doing all of this or really think about it. You need to rest."

"But you know how stubborn I am," he admitted slightly embarrassed.

"I do, and I'm saying 'no'. You heard Adam. You need to lay off and rest. You know, he didn't tell anyone this, but me, but he was almost worried you wouldn't wake up at all. Traveling through time holes and being drained of your powers could have put you into a coma for a long time."

"But it didn't. I'm still here. I'm still alive." He tried to move his legs, but winced. "Just a little weak."

Kim pushed him back down on the couch laying a kiss on his head.

"Get some sleep, Handsome. I'll see you in the morning."

Tommy reluctantly followed her words, but opened his arms as she melted into his embrace. "Why not stay and keep me company until I fall asleep? Besides, you'd miss me too much if you slept upstairs by yourself."

Kim snuggled into his embrace as they laid there slowly falling into a deep slumber.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Whoo! Finally done. The DT team is now back in their own time and this was a whole lot more work than I would have expected from this part of the story. But I hope you guys liked it. I'll see you when I do and I am terribly sorry for these long waits. I'm serious. I have been a busy bee and it's so hard to keep going. I'm out. May the Powers Protect You._


	31. A White Darkness

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - _PART THIRTY-ONE: A WHITE DARKNESS_  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Weeks later, Trent continues to do some independent search to free his father. But is it enough to finally free his father from his imprisonment? And at what cost to the rest of the team?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. There could be some other references to other such hits as Star Wars, the Matrix and other genres not my own, so to those, I give you your credit under this title. I do own the property of how this series ends and the characters of Mindshatter, Dinoshade, the Cybots and Serena Oliver. Other than that, I also want to credit the inspiration behind the main title of this part of the series, Eminem, a man with a lot to say and knows how to get his way._

_A/N: So, I'm jumping the gun just a little. But I was in serious need of getting this done. I got other ideas locked in my mind, that this story has got to end. But don't worry, it won't be like three chapter down the line, at least ten more chapters has to be inserted before I can end this. But I wanna say, it has been an amazing trip all the way. Thanks for all you readers who decided to stay on until now. The fun is just around the corner, if not right now. See you when I do and enjoy your stay while it lasts.  
_

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"I cannot help but feel like I have not done enough to change all that has happened. Too much has happened and I cannot sit here any longer when we are so close to the truth. So close to ending this. I have to do what I gotta do to end this for good. And if it requires sacrifice, then so be it. Anything for the team. That's the real definition of a hero." –Eclyptyk Neo  
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Weeks later.

Life in Reefside was getting back to normal, like it really was for those that were not a ranger. It was just hard to grasp or understand. Especially for a certain four teens who struggled to keep up with school as well as maintain their status as protectors of Earth. It was a lot of work that they just weren't sure if they could handle anymore.

And that was the thing. Things were nearly back to normal. Their science teacher was more like his serious self than ever, but had drilled on and on about keeping them on track. He wanted to make it clear he didn't want to see any of his senior students in his class the following fall. And they would have to agree. The teens were just glad that he was back on his feet, and showing no real signs of extreme damage to his performance as a ranger.

After that last battle during their time in the past, it was hard to really get the gist of what was going on around them. Things had changed significantly in the ranks of rangers, and who was around to help and who wasn't. Yet, it was even harder keeping all of what they knew within the circle of rangers rather than out in the world of who they were protecting.

But that was the thing. It was a little too quiet around Reefside, CA. They weren't sure what Mindshatter was planning next, and as far as they knew, the invisi-portal network system was still down. But there was no sign or word of Dinoshade, the cybots or even Mesogog.

Trent had gotten the day off. Hayley had noticed his signs of fatigue and anxiety were getting worst. Like his friends, she had grew worried about it. She had told him to take a few days off, even with as stubborn as he was about it. She had insisted he stay clear of the work place. He had to admit though that he was in need of some time off. And it was nice to have someone to talk to to clear his mind.

Two people, if he could really say. He had Kira to talk to, which made no hesitation to listen to him about things that went on in his mind. It's not like she could hesitate when she was in fact his girlfriend now. And then there was little Serena, who had spent quite a bit of time with her "older brother" just to get a more calming feel to life in America. But she didn't seem to have that many problems anymore, which he was glad to find. She had made a number of friends at school, but even a few enemies, which she hadn't told her dad about. Only him, but it wasn't anything serious. Just jealousy among second grade kids. Elsa had kept tabs on his father's business even more while he kept his sights on his education.

As much as the other students at Reefside knew about the artist and independent singer dating, they didn't really seem to show it much in public. And it had their peers saying other things. Not that they were ever doing something wrong or bad, they just knew their priorities and limits. They had respected their relationship and stayed more in the confides of privacy about what they did together.

School had ended yet again for the day. March was finally beginning, which meant the day drew closer to their graduation day. Kira and Trent had walked casually into the senior parking lot, conversing quietly.

"I'm so glad we get a three day week-end," Kira breathed a sigh of relief as she re-positioned the strap on her shoulder. "My teachers have been rather stingy lately about homework."

"I hear you. There hasn't been any breaks in school since basically, winter break," Trent nodded as he moved a little closer to her.

Kira noticed the gesture as she smiled lightly, pulling one hand free from his pocket and locking it in hers. "So, what are your plans for the weekend?"

Trent sighed dropping his head. "I got a competition...Science Olympiad on Saturday. But according to the work we've done this year, I'm not sure we will be making it to state."

"Is it that bad? I would have thought that with a lot of help from the science department would boost up your stamina as a team," she asked remembering some of the stories he had told her about it. Not that he was a geek, he was just a smart guy with a taste in science, not just because of his dad, but that was his next best subject, besides art. He was apart of the Science Club, which competed in a regional competition consisting of several science related events. If the team does well, they would advance to State and then Nationals. Yet, this was the first time the school had issued two teams, which meant double the work. "And someone like Dr. O should be an advantage?"

"He is. Just not a coach, more of a helping hand. Too busy with everything else going on in his life. Plus, he said he would refuse to go against a coach who was pregnant when we already had to deal with one at home," Trent managed a chuckle. There was a thing about science teachers at Reefside, or any affiliated with them, about a pregnancy in the past few years. "I just hope we do better than our rival school, Mesa Ridge."

"We beat them in everything anyway. You'll do fine," she encouraged him as she thought for a moment about their science teacher. "Yeah, that's no fun. Having to deal with a pregnant teacher in your own department and having one as your wife. And no offense to Coach or whatever, but I am starting to see her bad side rising up. I just hope that months from now, it won't be worse."

"Just don't get on her bad side," Trent stated as a warning.

"Yeah, that's true."

The two continued down the lot as they finally found Trent's car near the back end. If it wasn't evident enough that they were going out, catching rides had said it. Unless they had to work, then they would use separate cars. It would avoid collision and difficulty getting out of the lot. Directly after school, people were much crankier about getting out rather than in the morning to find a spot, unless they were running late.

For awhile, others would stop to stare at the two. Not that they were causing a scene, they never do. Nor had anyone at the school ever saw the two really show signs of PDA except holding hands. But that didn't give enough proof to anything their peers were hoping to find.

"We got a crowd again," Kira whispered into Trent's ear as she looked behind them to see the eyes of several peers on them.

"Like that's ever anything new," Trent shook his head. "Why must you kiss to show you're going out with someone? I mean, not that it is a bad thing, no. We have kissed. Are we just weird because we haven't gone public with it?"

Kira giggled shaking her head. "No. I don't think so. It's our choice, not theirs. I remember when my parents first starting going out, they didn't share their first kiss until their fifth date. They would occasionally hug or hold hands at school, but never really got farther until that kiss. And they were going out for nearly two months before the kiss happened."

"That's cool. It doesn't bother me that they talk, I just don't like the fact they have to make a big deal about it," Trent had to clear up. He looked over his shoulder again, seeing the little conversations building between his peers. And he knew that the rumors were beginning or spreading like wildfire.

Kira looked back as the number of people grew smaller as they drove away or walked on home. A few would stare as they crossed paths with the two. A few would give them looks that seemed rather threatening or just down right pathetic as if they were two stupid people.

"Let them talk. If they can't say anything to our faces about it then they're the cowards," she said as she turned away, pulling Trent along.

Trent had to admit she did have a point about that. That's one thing he had admired about her, she had a way to speak her mind. And sometimes when she was angry, it never quite seemed that way in how she talked, or so it seemed. Yet, he knew there was still a lot he had to learn about her, but was willing to give up the time to do it. They had enough in common to keep their relationship in line.

"Busy?" he offered hoping he could get some alone time with her. She shook her head as another smile passed her lips. "You wanna hit the park for awhile?"

"Sure. I'd like that, baby," she had to smile again.

Being a gentleman, Trent had opened up Kira's door and escorted her in. And he had moved over to the driver's side. She had taken the key from him and started up the engine, just to even the score. At times, she never liked the pampering that came with dating, even if he was only trying to be respectful and a gentleman.

But she had been told time and time again by coach that such guys like that never come to often and it was best to cling to them as much as possible. And to never be afraid to jump in and surprise him, too.

And sharing a quick kiss under the tinted windows, they had left the parking lot and headed off to their new destination.

_**-XXXXXXXXXX-**_

At the park, the two sat against a tree enjoying the coverage from the blazing sun. Sitting close, Kira was writing another list of lyrics she would hope to make into a song. Trent had been looking out into the distance drawing a kid in a wheelchair and what appeared to be his sister enjoying a snack at one of the tables.

"You know, this year is going by rather fast," Trent began as he looked over at his girlfriend.

"It has," Kira nodded as she looked up. She looked into the distance noticing what he was drawing. "Hey, that looks really good."

"Thanks," he smiled sheepishly. He had grown accustomed to her comments about his art work, and from others. Yet, at times he was rather embarrassed about it. Many people still knew him for his super hero drawings, not the more realistic and reality-based drawings. "Yeah, it isn't too bad. It beats dealing with getting crap for not doing work in art class. Man, I can't stand that class sometimes. The people in there just ain't my type of people. They act like they own everything or they're better than everyone else. It annoys me. I'm not like that. I just do what I gotta do and keep my grades up."

"Yeah, how has that been going? The whole grade thing. Has Dr. O been a father with a serious problem towards getting good grades?" she asked.

Trent shook his head. "He doesn't do that whole father thing around me. He treats me more like a brother, but you know with Serena, he has be a father. But he ain't strict or anything. He finds that grounding someone doesn't do much for anyone. He just give the whole lecture thing."

"What about Elsa? How does she feel about the whole second guardian thing?"

"You know, when I finally told her she didn't seem at all too surprised about it. She had said she knew something about that. But ya know, she still sort acts kinda like a mom when she's around. Sometimes she stops by the house to fill in all that business slips or whatever. But for awhile now, she has been rather stressed out about the whole Mesogog/Anton thing. I told her what happened, and she had suggested to help, but I told her not to. I insisted she don't put herself in this mix either. She has enough to worry about."

"Yeah, that must be hard. But she has done more than enough for our school and just keeping your dad's business running." Kira smiled as she patted his shoulder. Trent wrapped an arm around her waist laying a head on her shoulder. Kira decided to change subjects, hoping to distract his mind on the previous manner. "Yeah, Coach was all telling me they went to the doctor yesterday to check on the status on the baby," She paused a second to see him look over at her with interest. "She told me that it's gonna be a boy."

Trent sat up and looked at her, slightly surprised. He had remembered that their science teacher had preferred not to know what the sex was. "That's not what Dr. O told me. He said they didn't want to know."

"He's just doing that to throw us off. Don't worry, I know my sources and I know the truth behind them."

They all knew that Adam was no longer keeping checks on Kim about her pregnancy. It wasn't his field of medicine, but he knew a lot of good people they could go to to monitor the progress of Kim's pregnancy. But that still didn't stop Adam from watching the others and their health both physically and mentally.

The conversation had gone on for some time. They had brought up the new theories and information they had inquired in the last few weeks. It included the use of their zords and being able to use them more sufficiently, if it ever came down to that. Then there was a theory around finding a certain gemstone to fuse into each of their dino gems to give them more power against their enemies. Then there was the information about Mindshatter and what he did to the Lost Galaxy Rangers and the Silver Space Ranger. They didn't want to believe it, but when they saw it for themselves, it had said enough. There was work around creating weaponry that Billy could only classify as 'Light Energy' toward their enemies. Hayley had been working closely with Cam on some sorta computer system that could finally run the controls for Mindshatter and Dinoshade. But many of the things were still in experimental stages.

For awhile, they had just sat there. Hand and hand intertwined, as Kira laid a head on his shoulder. He laid a few kisses on her head as they just loved the company of the other. It had relayed any other thoughts going in their minds. It was a time for just the two of them. In their own world, but still bent on looking at the world around them. They weren't that absorbed in each other to look around them once and awhile.

Time passed, and it was time to call it in. Kira had to get home for one of those family night things, and had insisted on Trent join her. He liked the offer, but said he still had things to do. He mentioned most of it revolved around his competition and she had to agree. He had to prepare for that.

He had dropped her off, but not before they had shared a warm, passionate kiss on her porch before she had left to go inside. He had quickly got back to his car an headed home.

After having a quick dinner, he had moved to Anton's office.

For the weeks following their last battle with Dinoshade, Trent had been working vigorously to find a way into the island fortress. He had grown worried about what could have possibly done to his father, or worse off. He had nightmares of watching his father die at the hands of Mindshatter, and he had hoped they were only images. That it was no reality. He was also worried about that has happened to his father. Did Mindshatter's use of mind control out weigh the control of Mesogog?

There was too many things goin on his mind and that's what bothered him. He knew his performance in school was staggering, but it was just too bent on trying to find a way to save his father. His friends all knew it. Dr. Oliver and Coach didn't have to deny it.

He could only hope that he could find a way into the island fortress. He was growing restless of waiting for the right time to attack. He was tired of being patient. He knew as well as the other teens that they couldn't stand the wait anymore. They knew if they didn't move, Mindshatter would get the upper hand in this battle.

****

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Island fortress.

The dino menace, Mesogog, sat against the cool metal wall of the small confided room he had been kept in from the moment his alter ego had been captured. His scaly skin had been running with sweat as he tried to keep his composure.

But there was something different about him. There has always been something different about him. He looked like Mesogog, but he felt like Anton Mercer. There was a bind of cuffs around his wrists that worked well to cloud his thoughts. Nothing seem to come into clear perspective since the day of his final battle.

Here he was trapped like an animal against his will. But for the sacrifice of the power rangers. And that was one thing they didn't know. Even Mindshatter as he hoped. That the dino menace before them wasn't quite who they thought he was, but he couldn't tell them that. He couldn't hint at it. He had to keep up the act, two minds, thinking as one. He and Mesogog. As they fought to find a way to overthrow the robotic menace and his minions.

But from there, it was hard to say what was going on. What would happen after that. Could Mesogog possibly win over and take him out and try to take the Earth in his own rule? Or did Mesogog really have a change of heart? It was too hard to tell.

The images of his last battle played through his head. He knew, or had seen through the eyes of Mesosog, what was going on around him. But he couldn't seem to find a way to control his actions. They weren't of his own. His thoughts didn't seem to be his own, but Anton knew he was still inside the body of Mesogog and saw everything happen before him.

The events that lead the dino menace and Dinoshade into the past to finish the rangers off. But it hadn't gone well for the evil beings. Mesogog was holding back. Dinoshade showed no mercy. And when Zeltrax had gotten ahold of the black DT ranger, he had stopped the cyborg from landing the final blow. He had used the power of his mind to stop Zeltrax because he knew he had no mind capable of blocking out his control.

And during the drain of Zeltrax's power, it was truly Mesogog who had done it and not Anton. And he knew that when it was over, Zeltrax was really gone.

And then when the battle had finally returned to Reefside, Mesogog had given up himself -- or moreso, Anton -- to get the rangers to safety. Dinoshade had him in his lock and they had disappeared into the shadows where he was taken back to the island fortress.

The dino menace had faced Mindshatter alone, but the evil being had done nothing to him but place the cuffs on his wrists. And from there had left it at nothing. He had been in the holding room since then, and had no clue at what was going on outside of it.

But he had been fighting for months now, and he wasn't sure how much more he could handle. Or his alter ego. They had both taken capital punishment, but it was really him in the end. His body had been taken too much torment.

The dino menace took a ragged breath as he tried to think of a way out of this mess. He had to get out of here and soon. He had far too much vital information that couldn't be held within him. It had to be known. He just didn't know how.

Meanwhile, in the main lab of the island fortress, Mindshatter had continued his work on the damaged equipment. He didn't seem to trust just anyone to do it. They had all failed him. Dinoshade failed to destroy the rangers in the past as well as Mesogog. The cybots failed to stop the rangers from keeping the older rangers from freeing their comrade and escape. Even Zeltrax, the cyborg responsible for secretly giving him information, was now gone. He had no way of trusting anyone else but himself.

He had worked for weeks now, but had not gotten the portal system up to working status as it should have been. He had known Mesogog had made it a difficult program to set up and master, but he was after all a robot with a mind capable of doing whatever he could think of. But he had not gotten anywhere.

He knew of the betrayal of Mesogog, but he would not destroy him until he knew the rangers were destroyed. He could taste victory, but it felt so far away.

He felt the presence of Dinoshade in the room as he turned to the shadows. The figure emerged with a bow as he approached the robotic leader.

"My lord, I have come to discover since our last battle, the white DT ranger has desperately been searching for a way to free his father every night and day," Dinoshade had reported.

Mindshatter paced the room slowly and nodded. "That he has. I have an idea that could lure him to us. If I cannot seem to destroy these rangers as easily as the others, than I shall divide them slowly but steadily."

****

XXXXXXXXXX-

Hours passed.

Trent felt like he would have to call it off for the night. He did in fact, had other things to keep in check. And he knew how much he still had to maintain in order to keep himself in line. He could only hope that there would be a way to free his father.

He began to close down the computer, when he noticed something strange in the network. He ran another line of codes passed it as it revealed a limited access to the invisi-portal system. But he knew that Andros had taken it out and he figured it was still in need of repairs.

Then the familiar green lightning darkened the room as a portal opened up. For a moment, Trent thought he was dreaming, but the portal was standing right there only a few feet in front of him. And the certain aura around it was calling him toward it.

He slowly got to his feet and walked over to it. Drawn to in almost like he was mesmerized by its power. And in a short instant, he walked into the portal and zoomed out of there. When he had opened his eyes, he now stood in one of the corridors of the island fortress.

He melted quickly into the wall using his dino gem's power as he began to morph into the wall. It was apart of him as he moved through the fortress. Still sent in a sorta trance, but being able to think, he had moved toward the call.

He wasn't quite sure what it was, but he somehow knew it was leading him to his father. And that's what his main objective was in the first place. To find his father and free him.

He saw a door at the end of the hallway and knew his father was held behind it. Yet, it was strange. It was too quiet. Really quiet, and he knew something didn't seem right. He quickly morphed, hoping to provide some more protectoin as he got closer to the door.

Time and time again he would look around him to make sure no one would take him by surprise. But nothing. No one. He was alone in the hall.

He tapped quietly on the door as he listened in for any possible sign of life. A little rattle came from within, and he knew someone was inside. He patted the wall hoping to find a keypad or a trigger to open up one.

There was no way to really open the door without one. He finally found it behind a loose panel as he looked at it widely. He wasn't the best guy to ask about electronic equipment. He was only educated on the basics and this panel seemed slightly complicating.

He tried to enter in numerical codes significant to his father's business, but nothing seemed to access the door. He had another idea as he used his dagger to pop off the keypad. He scanned the wires underneath and snipped off the red and blue ones, knowing they were the main two components to any circuit.

And it was what he needed as the door swooshed open and he cautiously stepped inside. The room was slightly dimmed except for a light centered dimly in the middle of the ceiling.

He noticed the figure immediately sitting against the far wall. He raced over to the dino menace, who seemed to be in a trance, grabbing his shoulders, hoping to wake the menace out of it. "Dad. Dad. Wake up. Snap out of it. It's me. Trent."

No answer. The dino menace seemed to stare beyond the white DT ranger into somewhere else. Trent shook him again trying to get his attention, but it wasn't working. He continued to call out to his dad as the dino menace slowly showed some signs of life. His eyes fell shut.

Time passed slowly as Trent tried to pull the dino menace to his feet. He moved but his weight seemed to outweigh the white DT ranger as he tried to pull him toward the door. He knew they had to get out of there, even if he noticed the menace was in some trance. He didn't care. He had come this far, so close and refused to see his father go through anymore torment.

"Trent," the dino menace finally spoke. His voice sounded so distant, but sounded more like Anton than Mesogog. "Trent."

Trent felt his knees weaken as he slowly lowered himself back on the ground, setting the dino menace down. As he looked at him, he noticed the dino looked physically weak, if not also mentally. It looked as if he hadn't eaten anything or been drained of his energy. "I'm here, dad. It's me."

The dino menace opened his eyes to reveal the blue ocean's Trent only knew to belong to his father. The look he had given the ranger was that of any caring father would do for his son, and it shook Trent up. He could feel the agony in his father as he tried to pull the dino freak up on his feet, but Mesogog refused.

"Dad, please. I can get you out of here," Trent stated as he grabbed an arm again.

The dino pulled his arm away and looked away. As he looked back up to see his son, the man inside the menace began to become more clear. He shook his head. "You shouldn't have come, Trent."

"No. This could be your only hope out of here, dad," Trent protested as he tried to shield his fear away.

"I have made far too many mistakes in my past. I must suffer for the consequences..." he continued. And at that point, he hadn't quite been addressing it to his son, but saying it to get it off his chest. Yet, he almost sounded delusional, too. Trent grabbed his father, forcing the dino menace to look at him. He pulled off his helmet to have the dino freak look directly at him. "Dad. you have to listen to me. I can get you out of here. There won't be anymore torment. We can find a way to free you from this scaly prison."

"You have no idea what Mindshatter is capable of doing or has been doing. Trust is crucial..."

"Then trust me now, dad. Trust me to get you out of here."

The dino menace shook his head, pushing his son toward the door. "I do, son. I do. But you cannot be here. If Mindshatter discovers you're here, he won't show you much mercy."

Trent refused to leave. He had never hear such doubt come from his father, no matter what, and that's what bothered him. He knew Anton was strong. A guy who could never really give up, but now, he seemed to be doubting himself as well as a possible chance to freedom. "I won't leave you. Not like this, dad. Not like this."

The dino menace shook his head as he pushed the white DT ranger out of the room. "Get out of here, Trent. I will not let Mindshatter subject you to the same torment as me. It's a trap."

Trent turned back to the room as he saw fear run in the eyes of his father. Then he looked up the hall and heard the footsteps echo through it. He had been discovered.

"Cybots, seize him!" the dark booming voice of Mindshatter shook the hall.

And when Trent looked back, the dino menace he swore was his father, was Mindshatter. He quickly looked into the room again, and saw the figure of a dino-like figure sitting against the wall. The large and tall figure stepped out into the hall as Trent backpedalled. The whole thing was a set up. Mindshatter had tricked him. He was trapped. He looked up the hall to see the cybots raise their weapons. But with Mindshatter behind him, they dare not shoot. Or would they?

Time seemed to slow around him. Trent wasn't quite sure what to do. He saw the huge form approach him slowly, and he just thought of the best thing he could do. He raced toward the charging cybots, close to the wall. And as he passed, he used his chameleon powers to melt against the wall for protection.

And the cybots were slow to realize what he did as they fired in the very direction of Mindshatter. But with an upraised hand, he had created an invisible field around himself. None of the laser fire grazed him or past through it.

"After him!" he demanded as a few cybots realized the white DT ranger was nowhere in sight.

Trent came to a halt as he caught his breath looking back to hear the footsteps of the approaching soldiers. He had kicked himself for letting his guard down for even a second and wasn't quite sure what to do.

He knew for the moments he had gotten a chance to talk to his father it was him, but in the very end, Mindshatter had tricked him and revealed himself to be Mesogog. He wasn't sure if Mindshatter was also a shape-shifter or if he was merely manipulating Trent's mind to believe he was talking to his father or was also a master of illusion. It was too hard to tell, but he truly didn't want to find out.

He looked through the halls trying to figure out where he was at. The place wasn't as different as it was during his time in the fortress, but the coverage of the wall, all made of metal, same texture and design, was throwing him off. He had no idea which way to go. And he was beginning to grow worried about it.

He had to get out of there. This was one mission that had to be aborted before it got worse. And the last thing he really needed was to get captured by Mindshatter, Dinoshade or the cybots.

He wasn't quite sure what his father's motives were now. Or what had become of his condition. He only knew that his father was beginning to reach his match and may not make it any farther. He wanted to do something. Needed to do something, but had no way to do it. He had wished he could have brought someone with him.

Trent thought for a moment. Ethan might have been hesitant to come, but he wouldn't want to let me go alone. Conner would find it a suicide mission that would require more than two rangers to seize the day. Kira might go, but she would clearly not like the idea of doing something behind the others back. Dr. Oliver would clearly say no without us looking at the options we had presented before us. And who knows what the other rangers would think?

He was stuck. Even if he wanted to go on this little adventure, he didn't think there would be anyone strong enough to support him in his cause. No one that would be capable of taking enough risks to do whatever it took to end this.

Laser fire exploded behind him as he dropped to the ground to avoid any blows. He peered over his shoulder to see the cybots coming his way through the smoky abyss of fire. He pulled himself to his feet and bolted up the hall hoping to find some cover to regain his thoughts.

He had to re-think his options. He knew that Mindshatter would be waiting for him if he got anywhere near his father again or even to the main lab. He had to keep his eyes peeled for the shadows, Dinoshade's greatest advantage in a fight. The cybots were quick witted and learned quickly from their mistakes, but they were still made of wires and armor coverings that made them heavy and bulkier than him.

He looked around the hall trying to re-trace his steps. He closed his eyes trying to remember the fortress as it was before it went through a new interior design. He figured no one would have gone down into the lower regions of the fortress. It was never in use due to the new halls above. In the beginning, he had learned that the island had been the home to the experiments his father and Dr. Oliver were working on years ago. The lower corridors were rumored to be unstable for support, but were where the first of their experiments began. Hidden in shadows, but an easy place to hide. A maze full of many corridors and could take days for his aggressors to find him. And if he was lucky, he could find a way out of there down there in the earlier set-ups of the invisi-portal network system.

He bolted up the hall, using his memories to recall the passages as he heard the footsteps grow closer yet again. As he rounded the corner, he came to a abrupt stop as he saw Dinoshade, arm out and pointing in his direction.

"Not so fast, white ranger," Dinoshade hissed as he took several steps toward the teen.

Trent caught his breath as he slowly backed away. He didn't know how, but he knew he would have to run like hell, face the consequence or try to fight his way out of there. He was running out of ideas as he raced forward, letting out a karate yell and pushed the robotic-dinosaur back.

Dinoshade whirled away before he could feel the wall hit his back. Trent crashed right into it, slightly dazed from the impact. The robotic-dinosaur grabbed the white DT ranger and knew him down the hall. Trent came to a screeching stop as he winced under the pain running down his arm. He looked up to see the robot coming his way, he rolled away and launched a few kicks into the robot and grabbed him, throwing him to the ground. Trent pushed himself to his feet using his drago dagger to launch several laser arrows throughout the hall. The hall became a smoky abyss as he raced out of there.

He continued on down the hall, until he saw a line of cybots come to a halt before him. They stopped to register what was going on then drew their weapons and began to fire. Trent deflected several shots, but a few came through striking him. He stumbled back under the impact, wincing again. His knees locked as the pain raced through his body and his vision began to blur.

The lasers continued to rain down on him as he tried to deflect a few more. He did, rolled away from others, but he was growing weak. He was growing tired. His movements began to slow down. A few more lasers struck him making him falter even more.

And when he had heard the stomping footsteps of Dinoshade approaching him, he knew he couldn't stop him. Dinoshade only had to throw the white DT ranger into a wall to knock him out cold.

The cybots raced over to retrieve the fallen ranger. Dinoshade ordered them to take the ranger to their master. They complied as they carried the ranger out of there. Dinoshade had moved down another corridor and disappeared into the shadows.

The cybots marched along with their new prize feeling some anxiety for facing their master. A few of them feared him, let alone worried. Their numbers were going down with every battle with the rangers, and they wouldn't last. Though some were lost, the others would gain from it. They would become stronger, but it could only go so far. And they knew that Mindshatter didn't like failure.

They moved into the main lab where Mindshatter had been waiting, sitting in his throne as they tossed the white ranger to the ground. They left without saying a word leaving the spiky menace with his captive. He looked at the motionless body for some time before rising to his feet and kneeling before the fallen ranger.

"Fear is the biggest downfall of any human. It will drive them into anger and hate for those around them. If they cannot control it, it will control them." Mindshatter had spoke as he turned the ranger around to lay flat on his back. He ran a huge hand over the helmet of the ranger and began to work his sorcery.

But not without realizing the presence of others in the room. In quick attacks, almost unseen by untrained eyes, Mindshatter had engaged in a battle with the air around him. He growled under the disturbance, and the trained skills they seemed to have to avoid any attacks.

He couldn't pinpoint them by their quick moves, but he knew he could by their weak minds. As he tried to search out where they were, they continued to attack in blurs or invisibly.

"I know you're out there, rangers. Your pathetic attempt to save your friend will not work!"

But as he looked down, he realized that the white DT ranger was no longer laying there. He let out a growl as he looked around the room. He launched an invisible force through the room as he heard the impact of something hit the walls and crash to the ground in the dimmed room.

He trained his eyes into the shadows trying to make the read-out of the figures now laying on the ground. He walked over to one figure pulling it to his feet and out into the light to reveal the black frog ninja.

Adam struggled to pull himself out of the grip, but couldn't seem to get out of it. His entire body was covered by the protection of a ninja uniform, only his eyes visible.

Another figure managed to race toward the back of the evil being as he launched a flying kick toward him. But Mindshatter sensed it and held up a hand to stop the red ape ranger in mid-air. With the movement of his hand, he sent Rocky across the room into a distant wall.

That didn't stop the hidden figure of the black DT ranger from re-calculating an invisi-portal and dropping the white DT ranger in. He turned back to the evil being and sent his own invisible force toward the robot. He had mis-interpreted the attack and went flying into the distant wall, releasing Adam.

Rocky staggered over as the black DT ranger held him up for support. _That was something new_, he spoke mentally to his teammate._It's a new experiment Hayley has been working on. Go, before he decides to get up._ Tommy pushed Rocky toward the small invisi-portal in the room. He raced over and pulled Adam to his feet.

_I'm okay. I'm okay._ Adam groaned slightly as he rubbed his neck.

_Go. Check out Trent's condition. I'll keep Mindshatter busy._ Tommy stated as he pushed his friend toward the invisi-portal.

Rocky and Adam took one last look at their leader, but said nothing more as the black DT ranger disappeared using his dino gem. They raced into the portal as Mindshatter recovered slowly from the impact.

"Do you think you can master me in your knowledge of mind control, invisible forces and illusion, Oliver?" Mindshatter growled as he began to overturn the room in frustration.

"So, you decide to throw this place into a pigsty just to find me? I thought you were trying to find a way to destroy us, Mindshatter?" Tommy challenged as he slowly moved away. "Trust me, you won't become the victor in this war, Mindshatter. We will find your weakness."

"If you are capable of doing it. I am after all a man who outwitted the computers of Eltar. Do you think any weapons on Earth could destroy me? I have even used your own satellites to create a shield around this planet. You cannot send for outside help. You will fall." Mindshatter began to scan the room looking around to see if he could find the hidden ranger, but could not.

"There will always be a weakness in every evil out there. You have flaws. You have weaknesses just as any of us here. Even if Zordon built you, you have become a threat. And you have to be detsroyed."

"The red space ranger had said the same thing, and he still hasn't destroyed me. What makes you think you can?"

"And what makes you think you can defeat us? You've been fighting us for nearly three months and have failed every time. We're still here."

Mindshatter growled as he let out another invisible force hoping to find the black DT ranger. The black DT ranger caught the impact fighting to push it back, just as Mindshatter realized where his force had stopped. In the corner by the invisi-portal console. He let out another force that had the black DT ranger struggle with twice the impact closing him against the corner.

He closed his eyes and focused all of his energy into the weight on his arms as he pushed it foward, but it had forced him and Mindshatter into a wall. Tommy let out an exhausted breath as he pushed himself to his feet. Mindshatter was on him before he had a chance to become invisible again. Tommy was thrown to the ground, the weight of the evil being crushing him.

Tommy concentrated the energy in the room again as he gathered it up and pushed his palms outward, throwing Mindshatter to the ground. Tommy grasped for breath as he felt air run through his lungs again. He slowly got to his feet, dazed by the impact. He kicked the leading robot to the ground just as he was getting up and used another invisible force to push Mindshatter away.

"I will not be defeated. And no one messes with my friends and gets away with it," Tommy replied coolly.

"So, you will let Anton die to save his son?" Mindshatter hissed.

"I will do what I must to save this planet from your destruction." Tommy turned and bolted out of the room. He used what knowledge he had learned about the fortress from Adam and the others to seek out what he was looking for.

He heard the approaching steps of cybots coming his way. He cloaked himself with his dino gem and continued down the hall undetected. He continued through the corridors when he came to a stop at an open door at the end of one hallway.

He saw the figure hidden inside as he raced over to it. He stopped a moment, to realize the trance the dino menace was in. He snapped his finger hoping to ger him out of it, but it didn't work. He placed a hand on the head of Mesogog and uses his ninja magic to awake him.

Mesogog, or Anton, he wasn't quite sure, stirred. The dino menace looked up to reveal the hint of blue in his eyes, and Tommy knew it was his friend. He blinked slowly to clear his vision and saw the black DT ranger looming over him.

"Tommy..." his voice sounded so weak and distant.

"I know Trent was in here earlier. I've come to get you out of here, Anton," Tommy said calmly as he pulled the dino menace to his feet.

Anton refused, just as he did with his own son, pushing the hand away and collapsing on the ground. "It's too late for me, Tommy. I've done all I can to protect you. To save you. I'm sorry I cannot do anymore."

Tommy couldn't believe what he was hearing. For a man he knew for years now, a guy who had influenced and inspired him in so many ways was giving up on him. It didn't make any sense. He knew Anton was still living with the scars of his past, but he didn't want him to think there couldn't be anything left to save him. "That's crazy talk, Anton. Don't let Mindshatter fool you. That's all he is trying to do. He is trying to build up fear, guilt, anger, whatever he can, to divide us. Are you forgetting what you've already done for me and the other rangers?"

The dino menace shook his head. He looked back up at his friend as the painful memories of his past played through his mind. If not him, but of his alter ego, which who Tommy was looking at right now, Mesogog. He may have felt like Anton, but he didn't look like himself. "What more can I do for you, Tommy? I've failed all of you."

"You're still here, Anton. You may look more like your alter ego, right now, but you're still here, Anton. You're still alive. You haven't failed anyone but yourself if you keep blaming yourself."

Anton held his breath as he pulled out a small disk hidden in the black apparel and held it out for the black DT ranger. "It may not be much, but I managed to obtain some information for you to use against Mindshatter." He indicated the bindings around his wrists. "I'm stuck here, Tommy. Until I can find a way out of them, I can't get out of here, or I will be destroyed. Look after Trent for me. I'll see what more I can do for you, but it may not be much."

Tommy took the disk and nodded firmly. "Thank you, my friend. We will be back for you. Stay strong and don't give up."

"May the powers always protect you, Tommy. Tell the other rangers as well. Now, go." Anton demanded.

Tommy was hesitant to leave the room as he slowly backed away. He had to trust his friend on this as he raced out of there and hoped to find another way out of there.

He pulled out a device from his belt and began to push a few keys on it, watching the code run through the small screen. He watched as the entered a line of code into it and an invisi-portal opened up in front of him and he disappeared through it.

He arrived just outside the Mercer homestead as he raced into the house to see the black and red ninja rangers looming over the unconscious white DT ranger. He dropped his suit as he raced over in his civilian form toward them.

"You made that seem easy," Rocky commented as he noticed the black DT ranger.

"Well, it seems some of this new equipment is actually liking us. So, how is he?" Tommy looked down at the white DT ranger laying on the couch.

"He'll be fine as far as I could tell. He just got knocked out. Yet, he is really stressed out about his father. It's been bothering him for weeks now." Adam reported as he dropped a few drops of an herbal medicine on Trent's forehead. "I think we got him out of there before Mindshatter could inflict any serious damage to him."

"Yeah, I can tell. His performance at school is starting to show it just a little," Tommy replied. He looked down at the teen, as the images of the day he heard he had second custody over the boy if anything would happen to Anton. He had to admit he wasn't acting like much of a father to Trent, but he knew what the teen was capable of. He trusted Trent to make some of his own decisions, but would always be there if he needed help.

"We should let him rest. That's all we can do for him," Rocky said.

"Sometimes you got to learn some things on your own," Adam added.

"We need to report back to Hayley, Billy and Cam anyway. I'm sure they're wondering how their experiments are going," Tommy stated as he directed the two toward the door.

The three older rangers left the house, and reported back to the underground lab in the late hour of the night.

Hours passed.

Trent groaned quietly as he opened his heavy eyes and looked around. He quickly sat up in a pani as he realized he was back in his house. He looked around the room to realize it was now early morning. He couldn't even remember what happened the night before, or how he came to be back in his house.

He heard the echoing clank of dishes in the kitchen and the aroma of breakfast filled the room. He rubbed his forehead as he slowly got to his feet and headed into the kitchen to see who was there. He slowly staggered over to a stool and sat down yawning.

"Oh, you're up," the voice of a woman filled his ears. He looked to see it was Elsa as a light smile covered her face. "I heard you've been really stressed out since that last battle weeks ago. I thought I would come by and surprise you with some breakfast. I heard from Tommy you haven't been eating much either."

Trent sighed as he rubbed his head again. He couldn't seem to figure out what had happened in the past night. He could only remember he was in his father's office and the next he was in the living room, sleeping. He had to admit, he hadn't really eaten much, but that's because he just didn't have the time.

Elsa walked over to him and placed a glass of orange juice and a plate full of breakfast before him. "You really need to eat something. I have also heard from some of your teachers you've been falling asleep in class, too."

Trent smiled lightly as he thanked his father's girlfriend for the meal. He took a few bites from the eggs as he let out a sigh. He looked at the figure in the kitchen wishing he could see his father right there beside her. He had gotten used to her frequent visits to the house, and even preferred to have her stay just to keep him company. But had not gotten the guts to tell her she should stay. "Yeah, well it's been really hard, you know. School. Being a ranger. Work."

Elsa turned to look at him. She walked over and placed a plate for herself in front of him. He placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder as another smile came to her lips. "I know, Trent. I know it's really hard not having your father here, especially now. And even being a senior is rough. You're lucky to have so many friends who can help you out."

"Or even have some company around this huge place," he managed to push open a smile for the woman before him. "Even you have been more than enough help to keep my father's business going. I really appreciated it."

"It's not a problem, Trent. Now, you can't forget, your father and I went back even before the whole Mesogog/Elsa thing. We met back when I was in college, and business was one of my specialities next to science. And it keeps me busy just so I don't have to worry too much about him."

Trent looked down for a moment. And Elsa caught her tongue, knowing she had hit a sensitive subject among the two of them. Both of them were worried about Anton, and it was clear they wanted to find a way to help him. But there was just no way, not yet.

She had reassured him, hoping to lift some burden off his shoulder. She had even suggested he should go out and hang with his friends for a few hours to clear his mind. She knew that it always helped him when he was stressed out. He had to agree.

They quietly finished their food as she offered to clean up.

"Thanks, mom," he replied as he left the room.

At that moment, Elsa thought she was hearing things, but when she let the words dwell in her mind, she knew that Trent had accepted her more than just his dad's girlfriend. She had remembered the nights she had hung out with Anton he was joking about marriage among the two of them. But never thought he was serious. Time and time again Trent had told her the same thing. That there were some times Anton would tell his son about her, but never had told her. One had included that.

She smiled under the thought of those words, again. And she could almost feel the reality that perhaps, she could call this her home among those she cared about the most.

****

to be continued...

A/N: Sorta a twist of crazy plots going on, huh? But, I' m trying to work around getting this done. I want to get cracking on some other story idea. Not necessarily Power Rangers, but perhaps, back to my Star Wars fiasco. I am hoping to get a few readers for those pieces on it I did nearly two or three years ago, but I guess we'll see. Other than that, I can't think of anymore to say. I'll see you when I do. Read on and find out what happens next for our heroes. May the Powers Always Protect You.


	32. Being Seniors and Rangers

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - _**PART THIRTY-TWO: BEING SENIORS AND RANGERS**_  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: After a brutal suicide mission, Trent isn't feeling like himself. Or is it just the stresses that come with being a senior in high school?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I do own the property of how this series ends and the characters of Mindshatter, Dinoshade, the Cybots and Serena Oliver._

_A/N: Anyone ever thought a guilt trip was bad news? Yeah, I'm sorta feeling that way right now with the things I've failed to do in my senior year, or could have done. I just don't seem to have the ambition. So, this is semi-related to my last few months in high school. Don't worry, it's not too bad.  
_

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_"After all that has happened in these past few months, I do not know where I stand. I do not know where I should really turn to. I fell like everyone is an enemy even if I have those that really want to help me out. But how can they really understand what I am going through? My life has not been as easy as others seem to know." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Time passed slowly.

On a Friday following anoter stressful weekend, Trent knew he would have to take advantage of this time off to hang with his friends. He decided to call them up to see what they were up to. Ethan said he was already at the park nailing some new dance moves for the dance team.

"Yeah, Conner said he'd be along in awhile. He's bringing Krista with him, which could mean he'll be spending more time with her than with us," Ethan said from his end of the cell phone.

"I guess that wouldn't bother me too much. I just need some time to clear my head. I'll call up Kira and see what she's up to," Trent replied.

"All right. Cool. I'll see you in a few, man," Ethan said as he said bye and cut off the call.

Trent finished getting ready as he felt his steps falter and sway again. He caught himself before he hit the ground pondering what was going on. But, he knew. He was just stressed out about his father. He was worried about him. He wasn't sure if it was a dream, or if it was reality. But he remembered trying to rescue his father, but he refused. Mesogog didn't seem to budge, but he knew it was his father. That blue hint in the dino menace's eyes had told him enough to say it was him.

He shook away those thoughts, not wanting to worry about it. Not that he should, he just didn't want to. He refused to at this moment. He got to his feet and took a seat on his bed as he began to dial up Kira's phone number.

A few rings later, the voice of his girlfriend came over the receiver. "Hey, Trent. What's up?"

"Not much. Not much. Hey, listen. I thought we could head over to the park and hang out, ya know the crew. Do some reflecting or whatever." he suggested.

"Sure, that sounds like a plan. It beats being stuck in the house with my annoying little brother and his friends. So, will I see you in a few to pick me up?"

"Of course. I'll see you in a little bit, Kira," he said and hung up the phone.

The minutes passed slow as he raced over to pick up Kira. He knew how annoying her little brother would be, and never really liked to be over there when he was around. He would joke that the two of them were a boring pair, not exactly doing what most couples would do, and pester them about what they did do together.

He pulled up into the driveway just as Kira was getting out of the front door to greet him. She shoved her brother back into the house to avoid the interrogations as she locked the door behind him. Trent couldn't help but keep in a stifled laugh as Kira relaxed when she got into his car.

"I wish sometimes I was an only child. You don't have to worry about annoying little siblings butting in on your personal life," she sighed as she buckled up.

Trent stifled his laugh again as he reached over a laid a kiss on her lips. "Yeah, well, you can't forget about me and Serena. Lucky for me, she isn't too much of a pain."

"You wanna trade? You can have my brother for a day," she suggested as he shook his head. "I'm sure you can knock some sense into him."

"Or I could just bring him to Dr. O and he can knock some sense into him. But you know he's just doing that to look out for you."

"He's more of a pest if you ask me rather than anything else."

"Hey, at least you only have to deal with Serena on certain days that Dr. Oliver and Coach need time to themselves," she said.

The rest of the drive was left in silence except for the quiet hint of hip-hop music in the background. Not that they had much to say, it was more to avoid distracting the driver from doing something crazy.

They arrived at the park about ten minutes later and saw Ethan trying to nail a handstand, but couldn't quite get it. He came crashing to the ground wincing under the pain that shot up his arm. Trent and Kira raced over to him to see if he was okay.

"I'm fine," Ethan stated sounding a little frustrated. He jumped back to his feet as he took a drink from his water bottle. "I've been trying to nail it the entire morning, but can't seem to get it. I used to but I think after all these battles with Dinoshade, it hasn't done much for me."

"Well, it beats keeping you in front of the computer all day, right?" Kira suggested as she looked around. A few other people were seen in the park having their own set of fun in the nice sun.

"At least we haven't had to worry about it for the last few weeks. I'm kinda glad that Andros took out the invisi-portal network system," Ethan breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, has Conner made it down here, or is he still needing some private time with Krista?" Trent asked looking around hoping to see their friend in red pop up.

"Nope, haven't seen him yet," Ethan shook his head. He began to move his body in a fluid movement counting quietly to himself.

"I got to nail these moves. We got a competition going on Sunday that I need to prepare for."

"Competition as in 'You Got It Served' style, or something revolved around school?" Kira asked.

The teens have come to realize that since Ethan had joined the dance team, his time around the cyber cafe had died down. And he had even limited his use on the computer or his laptop. Yet, he still never stopped using it. He had competed in a few events, giving more recognition to Reefside High about their dance team. There were times where he a few others from school and friends out of school would compete for dance scholarships and spot in music videos, etc. Whatever it took to get them heard.

"Another money prize. $20,000 to be split among the team who does the best routine. There is talk about a big break in nailing time in the entertainment business if we do a good job."

"So, what about that acceptance to MIT? You're still going, aren't you?" Trent asked.

Ethan stopped short before planting himself into another handstand. With his time spent with the dance team, he had been wavering over what he really wanted to do with the rest of his life. He still wanted to go to MIT, it was a great honor, but he also started to love the thrill in hip-hop dancing/breakdancing. He let out a breath and shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I still do. But for awhile now, this dance thing has really pushed me places. Have you heard people at school?"

"Oh, don't tell me you're gonna get caught up in this whole popularity thing?" Kira shook her head. "That's all people are about at school. If you're popular, or if you can do a certain thing you're the talk of everything. I don't need that kind of attention."

"Well, I don't know if you know, but people have been talking about you, too, Kira." Trent began as he saw her gaze fall on him. "It's not a bad thing. At least, as far as I could tell. A lot more people have come to respect you. They like your stuff."

"I'm telling you, if nothing else works out, this record deal thing gots to. What's the deal on that anyway? Have you landed one yet?" Ethan asked with great curiosity.

Kira sighed and shook her head. "Unfortunately, a lot of record companies have been rather picky. Tanya has been looking around, sending my demos out, but still no call."

"They don't know what they're missing if they don't give you a deal," Trent shook his head as he grabbed her hand, interwining them together. "You'd be making millions."

Kira blushed slightly under his comment. She laid a kiss on his lips glad to hear his reassuring words as much as from her friend in blue. "Thanks, Trent."

"Oh, so you guys get all cute and cuddly around me, but not at school?" Ethan looked away slightly disgusted.

"Because you don't seem to mind. I thought you liked the single life?" Trent said as he punched his friend in blue on the shoulder.

Ethan looked away and shrugged. "You know, it is nice. It's great. But when there are so many people around you exchanging a kiss or holding hands or whatever, it makes you rather disgusted. I feel a little uncomfortable about it, but I've gotten used to it."

Trent and Kira exchanged a look and shook their heads. "No, you haven't," they said in unison.

"We really need to find someone for you, Ethan," Trent stated as the teen in blue shook his head.

"No way. I'm not good when it comes to talking to girls. I mean, no offense to you Kira, or Coach... or the other rangers who are girls. I'm just not what one would call a ladies man."

"Who says you need to?" Kira asked. "We're almost done with high school and you haven't really had one girlfriend at all. Are you gonna be like this when PROM is gonna come around?"

"You're going to PROM?" Ethan seemed surprised to hear those words come out of Kira's mouth. "No offense, but you just don't seem like the type who really would."

Kira shrugged as she looked over at Trent. He nudged him before smiling his way, who seemed slightly ashamed at it. "He convinced me to go. I didn't want to, but the whole concept of going through regrets senior year, he said I should go. It is after all our last school function before school ends."

"That is true," Ethan shrugged as he agreed. "But what am I supposed to say to someone? You know, I try to be a friendly guy and I start talking about the latest hard drive or the coolest computer game of the year. Conner even said that was a turn off for girls."

"Speaking of Conner, look who it is," Trent stated as he looked out in the distance. He saw the red DT ranger dribbling a soccer ball around his girlfriend, Krista, as they headed their way. Krista had waved her hand in greeting, as the others responded with their own wave.

"So, you decide to show up now?" Ethan stated sarcastically. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming at all."

Conner apologized as he kicked the soccer ball up into his hands. "Sorry. It's her fault. She was taking her time."

Krista looked at him appalled as she smacked him on the shoulder. She shook her head as she looked at her friends. "It was his bright idea to start teaching me how to drive a stick shift."

"And I told you it wasn't hard to do," he tried to defend himself, but she shook her head and pushed him back. "It's not hard, just making sure you shift gears before each interval."

"Do I look like the speed demon here?" she looked at him slightly offended.

He apologized again before pulling her into an apologetic kiss. The three other rangers exchanged a look before taking a few steps back. Every time they managed to hang out, they had to be cautious of what they said regarding being rangers, let alone had gotten used to being neglected by their leader and friend in red. He would get too pre-occupied with Krista and at times, she could melt under his charm.

"So, what's up?" Conner asked as he realized his friends had grown quiet. "Have you guys been here long?"

"No. Not really. We just got here," Kira replied.

"I've been here all morning." Ethan shrugged as Conner looked at him in confusion. "Yes, you heard me right, Conner. I actually haven't been around the computer except to check my emails."

"Yeah, we're all just here hanging out," Trent shrugged. "We're busy for the rest of the weekend. I got a competition for Science Club and I got a college visit on Sunday as well as a martial arts competition."

"I got to work the whole weekend. I might be moving up to helping out in the production studios at the tv station. They have yet to decide," Kira said.

"Yeah, I got to practice for Sunday's dance competition. And then I got to help out Hayley at the cyber cafe to upgrade the computer network," Ethan said.

"Wow. You guys are really busy," Krista commented with a look of apology in her eyes. "And Trent, you're father is still out of town?"

Trent looked away for a moment and nodded. "Um...yeah. Sorta G-14 Classified work as he puts it. I haven't been able to talk to him for weeks since they've been keeping him busy."

"I was hoping to talk to him regarding Outdoor Club and maybe set some time set aside to see what his latest research is all about. I hear it is rather revolutionary."

Trent shrugged. "Well, it's still in the experimental stages. He hasn't been able to do much, but I know it has to do with trying to grow crops in many different regions."

"Anyways," Conner cut him off before his friend could go into come scientific mode. "Is there any plans? Or we just hanging out?"

"Unless you have any ideas, I'd like to hear it. We were just gonna hang out and reminisce a little about our senior year," Ethan said.

Conner and Krista looked at each other and shrugged. It was clear they had no idea and decided to pop a squat before the other teens. Trent, Kira and Ethan followed suit and took a seat in the cool grass.

"I cannot believe that we only got a little over two months left of school left," Krista breathed as she shook her head.

"Yeah, no kidding. This year went by really fast," Conner said as he pulled her closer to him. "I swear we were just all hanging out at the cyber cafe waiting for the new year to come, and now we're almost out of here."

"Well, sorta. We still gotta go through finals, finishing school and just trying to get by in school," Trent corrected.

"So, has the valedictorian figured out what he was going to say at our graduation?" Ethan asked looking over at the teen in white.

Trent shook his head. "I'm not gonna get it. There's no way, even if I tried harder. You know everyone else up there are basically cheaters. There's only like three of us who really deserve their spots, if not better."

"But what's your rank? Aren't you like 3rd or something?" Conner asked. "You're still up there."

"Yeah, I may be 3rd, but I can't get over Megan or Erin," he shook his head. "They're at an advantage with all those AP classes their taking."

"You know, I swear some of those teachers must have something up their butts. I bet that's why you haven't kept up with those two. I've been crammed full of homework almost every night," Kira shook her head. "You know, like that superhero story we got to write in creative writing, Conner."

Conner groaned. "Yeah, don't remind me. Sometimes, I wonder why I took that class. I'm not exactly a writer."

"It beats reading in class," Ethan said. "I would rather write something that read something, or I'd fall asleep."

"Yeah, that's true. I'm not much for reading something unless it is the latest issue of Sports Illustrated."

"Yup, that sounds just like you, Conner," Krista laughed.

"I got all this math homework to do. It's hell. I am tired of math," Ethan shook his head.

Trent relaxed as he let out a breath. "I am so glad I don't have a math class anymore. If I was still in Calculus I'd be dead."

"Actually, it isn't that bad anymore," Krista said. Trent looked at her with some confusion, and almost forget that she was in his math class. "There are only like 14 of us in there now. And we're just un-learning what we've done last semester."

"Yeah, well my mind isn't just what it once was. I never really liked math anyways."

"So, what about yearbook? How has that been going?" she asked with some curiosity. "Are things squared away in there?"

Trent shrugged for a moment. They had just completed another deadline for the book, and they had only two left. The spring events and a recap of the year's events around the world, but that one was usually done by the publishing company, they had to compile the work together. "We got basically one more left and it's all done. As far as I could tell, things have settled down since the incident with the baby pictures."

"Yeah, well, Nicole was just a selfish bitch anyways who wanted attention from everyone. You know she just put up an act for everyone," Ethan shook his head. "How did she get the position of editor-in-chief again?"

"Her 'innocence', which was really a cover-up. She was a major suck up to Ms. Obie. We must have been the Jews and she was Hitler, not to be mean but it was true. She would whip us with her words if we did something wrong. I am so glad she decided to graduate at semester. But Anika is just as worse, thinking she owns everything 'cuz she is the top person. Um...no, actually that is Ms. Obie and Dr. Oliver," Trent shook his head. "I think if we didn't have Dr. Oliver there, we'd be at each other's throats or dead by now. I mean, Ms. Obie is cool, but she can only handle so much."

"Is it that bad in there?" Conner said slightly surprised to hear those words escape his mouth. "That's not what I hear from some of the other staff members."

"Because they are just saying it to hide all of it. They don't want people to know about what we manage to talk about in there, or the fact we screwed up multiple pages and had to fix it within a matter of days before the deadline. It is so chaotic in there. If we could, you can drag a line of cameras down there and we could have like Real World: Yearbook with all that goes on in there."

"But with all the chaos, I hear this is one yearbook a person would regret buying, am I right?" Ethan asked.

"Oh yeah. No doubt. On the front is a mosaic picture of our mascot with the staff and students pics making it up. It's our pics from that day we picked up our schedules in the beginning of the year," Trent informed his friends. "It is really nice because the pictures aren't extremely small so you can see everyone."

"I guess we're all waiting to see how it turns out, huh," Kira said.

"Yeah. And I'm supposed to make some last minute check-ups to the pages, but I never get a chance to do it. Anika thinks I'm gonna screw it up." Trent shook his head.

"So what about Dr. Oliver? Doesn't he allow you to do it?" Krista asked.

"He does, but he doesn't get access to the proofs. I can only do so much," Trent shrugged absently.

"Oh well. There are just too many stupid people out there anyway. Or people who think they own everything and they really don't. They just think they do and take the glory away from people like us who actually got something going for us." Ethan stated as he shook his head.

"Well, that's life. It'll always be full of people you just can't get along with. It's up to each and every one of us to know how to deal with it." Trent said as words of wisdom.

"That's true. But kinda sad," Kira said.

"If life wasn't so cruel, we wouldn't have to worry about it," Krista said.

"I hear you on that," Conner nodded. "So, rumor has it Dr. Oliver and Coach went to the doctor the other day to see the progress on their baby. Anyone got the scoop on that?"

"Well, I heard from Coach it was gonna be a boy," Kira said with a light smile.

"Coach actually told you!" Conner seemed sadden. "I'm her student assistant and she can't even give me a hint."

"But Dr. O told me they didn't want to know," Ethan protested as he looked over at his friend in yellow with curiosity.

"Dr. O is just doing that so we won't have to interrogate them. He's still getting congrats on becoming a father, but he doesn't want it to add up to the questions regarding what name they decided to choose for their kid. Or at least, that's what coach told me," Kira shrugged. As little time as she could make time to talk to her friend, known as the original pink ranger, she managed to get enough information to pass onto her friends.

"And have they decided on a name for their son?" Conner asked.

"That remains to be seen. Coach won't tell me what it is. She wants it to be a surprise," Kira replied.

"But by the time we find out we'll probably be in college," Ethan stated. He was doing the math in his head, realizing that they may not get all of the information right away. But he knew his sources and could get them by other means.

"Now, there are rumors I've heard about Dr. Oliver having another kid that wasn't conceived by Coach Oliver," Krista stated as the other teens exchanged a look.

As much as they knew about their teachers' private lives, they also knew that Dr. Oliver had kept much of it hush-hush from a lot of people. Many people only knew about his time at Angel Grove High, the short time in the racing business, his time at CalTech and his teaching career. That was all once could really say about a guy, but they knew a whole lot more than anyone else could probably grasp in a lifetime with the man of mystery. But even they didn't know the whole truth around their science teacher.

Conner looked over at his girlfriend and nodded. "It's true. Her name is Serena, and he would rather not talk about it. There were some rough times in his past and he made some really difficult choices."

"Well, you guys have probably been the only people I've seen hang out with him outside of school. And you've mentioned he is like your mentor. Martial arts, right?" Krista had to correct herself to make sure it was right. She had remembered on dates she had spent with Conner, and he had to go take care of something, it revolved around his studies in martial arts, or as he puts it.

"Yeah, that's Dr. Oliver for you. He takes it very seriously, but I guess it comes with a fifth degree black belt," Ethan said.

"Is that why he was trying to come up with a Karate Club? To teach others some discipline in the art?" she asked as the other teens nodded. "I thought that would have been nice."

Trent spoke up. "He was supposed to team up with his wife. He would teach the karate part of it, she would do the gymnastics part. But the school board refused and the idea was dropped."

"Yeah, the school board has been really hesitant about what we can and can't do with the school. I think it has to do with all those crazy monster attacks on the city. I'm just so glad the rangers are here to protect us."

The teens exchanged another uncomfortable look. At times, they would enjoy their talks and hanging out, but sometimes then

Krista was around, it really didn't work out. They wanted to talk ranger business sometimes, but couldn't. It just wouldn't work out, and if Krista knew the truth about Conner and the others, he feared he would lose what he had with her. And he didn't want that. And the other rangers knew that too.

"Yeah, they really are something," Conner replied sorta saddened. With the many times he found himself alone with his girlfriend, he never could relay thoughts of himself being a ranger. He wanted to tell her, but knew of the line of questions that would come his way about it. That's not what he needed, or the other rangers.

"I wonder who they are, ya know," Krista said slightly dreamy. She looked over at her boyfriend to see the jealous look on his face. She leaned over and laid a kiss on his lips. "I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean it like that. I just want to know who they are so I can thank them."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll appreciated it," Trent said rather quietly and shy. "They're just doing their job."

"But have you guys really thought about that? Who they were? Getting the chance to meet one? Or really being one?" Krista continued to ask, almost in her own time.

The other teens shifted uncomfortably as they exchanged another look. They couldn't go on like this. They felt it was unfair, but they knew they couldn't. They just had to go along with playing dumb.

"Oh, I don't think it takes that much effort to imagine it," Ethan began, but was smacked by Kira. "It would be nice. But you know, I have seen my share of heroes. I would have to put my money on Spiderman."

"Spiderman?" Conner scoffed as he realized his friend was trying to change subjects to clear up the air. "No way. Batman is better."

"A guy in black with long pointy ears?" Trent laughed as he joined in the joust. "Nope. Sorry, I'm all about Superman."

"A guy running around with his underwear on the outside who is weakened by a stupid green rock?" Ethan shook his head. "No way. Have you seen Spiderman? Spider senses, shooting webs out of his wrists. That's awesome."

"Here we go again," Kira murmured as Krista looked over at her and agreed. Kira put a finger to Trent's lips to stop him from making the conversation worse. She raised her voice to stop the other two from arguing. "Anyway, how about some ideas for pranks? Didn't you need to pas a few along to the other people in council, Trent?"

"Oh yeah. I did," Trent nodded as he leaned in closer. "But this is hush-hush..."

"No. No pranks." Krista groaned. "Why are you gonna trash the school just to get a laugh?"

"Cause we gotta leave our mark on the school," Ethan stated. "Last year was stupid. 'You've been flocked by the class of 2004.' Who puts pink flamingoes around the school lawns and calls that a prank?"

"The class of 2004," Conner shook his head, scoffing.

"And we already got a few teachers on our side, especially Dr. Oliver. He is our key man in this operation. He has all of the connections," Trent added.

"The saran wrap idea. I'm telling you, it's classic. In the halls, on doors and the bathrooms," Ethan blurted out with a chuckle.

"That is just disgusting, Ethan," Kira shuddered as Krista had to agree again.

"The oreos and the toothpaste. I did that with my youth minister a few months ago. It was hilarious," Conner laughed.

"There is also that idea aobut trying to get one of the administrators cars on the roof or in the gym," Kira suggested.

"No, super glue or duct tape the doors. Or the cow upstairs," Ethan said as a devious look came over his face. "I can contact all my friends in computer club to come up with more ideas. We got a lot."

"But that's just wrong," Krista tried to defend the idea of no pranks. But the other weren't really having it. They wanted to do this and leave their mark as much as possible.

"Ms. Obie told me that when her brother was in school, the students had salted the fields to leave the year of their graduating class for the following fall. No one expected it," Trent said. "Or the chicken idea. We let lose like four chickens, paint numbers on them, but we would be missing let's say like number two. When they capture them, they'll be freaking out about number two and there really won't be one."

"I like the salt idea," Conner said.

"No. We can't forget about Operation: Reefside," Ethan hinted with a wink toward his guy friends.

Trent and Conner nodded toward him but dropped the subject before they could say anymore. Their mascot was a Gladiator, and there was a statue just outside the entrance of the school grounds. And they had an idea about giving this particular statue his 'manhood' before they left for good. It was plotted out by most of the guys on the varsity soccer team, a few dancers, a line of advanced art students and a certain science teacher who could lose his job for sure if he got caught.

"Anyway, enough about pranks. I can see Krista here doesn't wanna hear anymore," Conner stated.

"If you guys get caught, I won't be able to help you. They may not let you walk at graduation cause of it," Krista had turned away.

"That's why we got the connections," Ethan said. "But how about the state testing for the underclassmen? Man, the next two weeks are gonna be nice."

The others had to agree. Due to state law, students in certain grades had to take a sorta aptitude test to see how efficient they are in school and how the curriculum at schools are. That would require time out from normal school work to complete the tests. It was based on English, Reading, Science, and Math. Much like ACTs and SATs for upper classmen, it was hell and stopped at the grade level of 10. So, the teachers had to monitor the tests, leaving the upperclassmen to come in late for a total of four days and to not come in at all for two days. It was a relief off of their shoulders.

"I am beginning to hate school," Conner sighed as Krista smacked him on the arm. "I mean, not that it's a bad thing. It's just all the things we have to worry about, ya know. Make sure we pass all of our classes, community service work, money expenses... I mean, you name it. It's hell."

"I think that is just senior year," Ethan said. "But I would have to agree with you. I mean, on top of that you got worry about scholarships and college visits. Man, it is hell!"

"Might as well join the army so we don't have to worry about paying for college," Conner suggested.

"But aren't all men 18 and up supposed to sign up for Selective Service?" Kira asked.

"Well, yeah. I did do that. But it doesn't guarantee you free passage to the army..." Conner nodded.

"But you do remember what Dr. O said. It was a hard life, and once you sign that contract the government owes you for at least four years no matter what branch of military you get involved with."

"So, I guess it's too late for me to say I got accepted at West Point?" Trent said quietly.

"West Point? Are you serious?" Ethan breathed. "Isn't that the highest ranking military facilities in the country?"

Trent nodded looking away slightly embarrassed. He looked over at Kira and saw the sadness there, but had remembered telling her the news just as she had told him about her own appointment elsewhere. They didn't talk too much about it, nor wanted to just because they weren't sure if they were gonna take those paths. "I haven't decided if I'm gonna go. They say I can go to any military facility I choose if I don't want to go there."

"But I don't see you as a military sorta guy. The uniform would be nice, but do you really want to go fight a war in the Middle East?" Conner asked. "I mean, you would be leaving Kira behind. That would be rough, ya know, if you're sent away..."

"Hey, a second ago you said you'd join the military," Krista stopped him short.

"Yeah, to pay for college," Conner defended himself.

"Why would you need to? You got a full-ride scholarship to UNC on soccer. You even still got that offer from the Reefside Wave," Ethan stated.

"And you got one to MIT. So, you don't have to worry about it either, Ethan," Conner said.

"Is it too late to mention I got accepted to the Air Force Academy in Colorado?" Kira had spoke above the two guys, but sorta dully as if it wasn't a big deal.

The two guys stopped and looked over at their friend in yellow. Their eyes went wide with shock and disbelief.

"Wait, did I just hear that right? Did Kira Ford just say she got accepted to the United States Air Force Academy?" Ethan breathed as he forced air back into his lungs.

"Really, well, congratulations, Kira," Krista smiled a warm congrats as she hugged the other girl in the group. "That must have been hard to get."

"Not really," she shrugged. "But I think that's because my uncle was an Air Force pilot, so I might have had that advantage."

"Congrats, Kira," Ethan said with a smile. "And I mean that. You know, you too, Trent. I just don't think I could handle that kinda life, though."

"I didn't say I was gonna go, just wasn't sure yet," Kira admitted. "It would be nice. I always thought about how it would be like to be out there in the skies."

"Well, you are kinda at an advantage," Ethan winked as Kira gave him a cautious look. "I mean, with your uncle and everything."

"Hey, Trent. Maybe you can land one over there in Colorado so you two can still be close," Conner suggested. "You know the two of you are still gonna be going strong months down the line."

"And what about us?" Krista asked him as she smacked him on the arm again. "Just because I'm staying here in California doesn't mean we can't make it work."

"Long distance relationships are always hard, though," Conner said.

Krista felt offended by his comment as she got to her feet. And he kicked himself knowing he had said something wrong. He rose to his feet, but she had pushed him away. "Are you saying we can't make it work? Is that it, Conner?"

"What! No, of course not," he tried to defend himself. "You just know how those can be sometimes. They're hard to maintain. It doesn't mean I'm not willing to give it a try."

Krista shook her head as she slowly moved away. "And I know you're keeping something from me, Conner. Why do you tend to put training with Dr. Oliver before us sometimes? Is it that important? He is a reasonable guy."

"Uh-oh," Ethan muttered as he pushed away from the arguing couple.

Trent and Kira looked at each other before shifting back a few inches. The trio watched as the two battled it out, Conner trying his best to apologize and explain himself, but someone, the last thing he had said had triggered something in Krista. She walked off as Conner caught his breath, trying to figure out what to do.

"You'd better go after her, bro," Ethan stated as he pushed his red friend forward.

"I agree. She doesn't look too happy," Trent said.

"But I can't tell her the truth. Dr. O is gonna kill me if I do," Conner groaned as he kicked himself internally.

"But if you don't go after her, it could make your relationship worse," Kira said.

Conner looked back at his friends as they urged him on. They pointed out into the distance where they saw Krista become more of a dot now. He said good-bye and raced toward his retreating girlfriend using his dino gem to cut the distance between them.

The trio looked at each other again letting out a sigh.

"Do you think she'll find out eventually?" Ethan asked.

"You know if he doesn't crack, than one of us will," Kira stated.

"That's true," Ethan nodded. "But I hope she doens't take it too personal."

"No, she seems like an understandable kinda person," Kira said.

"So, going back to your appointments..." Ethan began. "You guys can't pass it up, can you? Have you told Coach or Dr. Oliver or the others?"

"Nope. Not yet," Trent shook his head. "I don't want to mention anything until I'm sure I wanna do it."

"How do you think your father would react to it?" Ethan asked.

Trent shrugged. "I don't know. He'll be proud, but he might also be upset. He may think that by doing this I will no longer have an interest in art, and take it as an even bigger opportunity to drill the business factor down my throat."

"No. I doubt it," Kira shook his head. "He is a reasonable guy, he'll understand."

"Speaking of that, why do guys think we haven't been in battle for the past few weeks?" Ethan lowered his voice as a few people passed by them.

"I don't know. But I don't like the wait," Kira said. "Dr. O said it might be because Mindshatter could be gearing up for a huge plan that might wipe us out for good."

"That is not a good selling point," Ethan said.

"Well, that's why we got to keep our eyes open for anything suspicious and unusual. I guess we should be glad we got all these helping hands," Trent said.

"But what do you think all those new weaponry Hayley and other keep hinting about?" Kira asked.

The other two rangers had to shrug. They had no idea what was going on in that underground lab under the Oliver homestead. And every time they tried to get down there to have a look, they were either shooed away or got no answers. They were working in top secret mode, and even the older rangers had some idea of it, but they didn't tell their young successors what it was all about.

"I hate just sitting here and waiting. I feel like a sitting duck," Ethan said.

"I would have to agree," Trent nodded.

"You know, I know this would be bad to ask, but how much do you think our lives would be, if people really knew who we were?" Kira asked as if she was dying to know the answer to that question for a long time.

"I don't know. But the people of Angel Grove found out about the Space Rangers. And the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers were known by their civilian duties. Time Force sorta and then there was Lost Galaxy..." Ethan stopped a moment as he shifted.

After hearing the tragic news and seeing it replay, they could not believe that Mindshatter had taken out the rangers of the Lost Galaxy and the Silver Space Ranger. Yet, they didn't understand why it was taking so long to take them out. A moment of silence fell over the trio for their fallen comrades.

Trent broke the silence some time later. "I think we've had more than we could bargin for in an afternoon. Now, I don't know about you guys but, I'm hungry."

A silence fell over them as they heard Trent's stomach growl. Ethan and Kira laughed as they nodded in agreement, each getting to their feet.

"How about Chili's? I'm buying," Trent suggested.

"Shoot. right behind you, bro," Ethan wrapped and arm around his friend.

Kira pushed him away to lock arm with her boyfriend as the trio headed for the car. She gave Ethan an innocent look as she apologize. "Sorry, Ethan. Just need my attention." She reached over and pulled Trent into a gentle kiss.

Ethan sighed as he shook his head. "Nah, it's cool. I'll just call up Conner and see if he's up to some grub with his crime-fighting buddies." He pulled out his cell phone and began to dial his friend's number. "But I'm serious, if you guys get all touchy-feely around me, I'm gonna exploit you at school."

Trent and Kira looked back at him slightly hurt by his gesture, but knew he had a point. Yet, they kinda liked to make the computer gamer jealous just to get a kick out of him. Not that they were afraid of PDA, just didn't want to make a huge scene out of it.

Trent leaned over and laid a warm kiss on his girlfriend's lips that had Ethan gagging. But he just wanted to do it to make Ethan mad, but Kira didn't seem to object as she deepened it just a little. The times they would hang out, which was usually the three of them -- Conner was out with Krista -- Ethan would get more than he bargined for sometimes. Not he had gotten used to it, it just caught him by surprise sometimes.

"Ahh, get a room," Ethan groaned. He pushed passed the two of them, snatching Trent's keys away. He got into the back of the car and sat there patient, hoping not to partake in any more smooching he didn't want to see.

Caught in the moment, Trent had causally opened the door for Kira, but stopped her with another kiss to the lips. She giggled under his touch as she pushed him back shaking her head. "I'm hungry, too, baby. So, why don't we go get something to eat?"

"Okay," he smiled lightly as he escorted her into the car. He moved over to the driver's side, where Ethan had already inserted the key and started the engine.

Kira turned to look at him. "Are you getting hungry, Ethan?"

"You guys are doing this on purpose," he shook his head. "I'm telling you, the rumors I hear are brutal."

"Well, at least you know the truth, Ethan," Trent stated as he took his place behind the wheel. "Besides, we're not all about that right now."

"No, you aren't like that around people you don't know too well," Ethan corrected.

Trent and Kira looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sorry, would you prefer if we didn't do it?" Kira asked.

"Either way, you remind me of Dr. O and Coach," Ethan said as he got cocked eyebrows from his friends. "I'm serious. And it's not that I'm happy for the two of you, all I got to say is finally."

"Not funny," Kira said as she shook her head.

"Yeah, I remember the first time you saw Trent. 'Isn't he so wow?'" Ethan mimicked as Kira punched him on the arm. "Ow! It was just like that, too. Admit it, it was love at first sight."

"Anyway, how about some food?" Trent changed subjects.

"What! You two never mentioned that day? That was last year," Ethan said as he saw the two shift uncomfortably. "It was love at first sight."

"It was a crush. Then it grew," Kira corrected. "We began to see eye to eye."

"And you never quite hooked up until Dr. O's and Coach's wedding?" Ethan sighed a disappointment. "Sad. I thought you guys had something going right after Trent was re-converted back to the light side."

"How about we discuss the rest of this over something to eat?" Trent sighed.

"Or drop it and wait for another day. Let's go, I'm hungry, Trent," Ethan urged his friend in white on. "Don't mean I still need some more dirt on you two. It just took too long."

Trent and Kira exchanged another look. Kira leaned over a laid a quick kiss to Trent's cheek. They looked at each other, a smile passing over both of their faces.

But at the kick of his chair, Trent shot back into reality and pulled out of the parking lot and drove off, treating his friends to an early dinner.

And at that point, it didn't matter if they were rangers or not, they were also teenagers. Teenagers capturing the moments they had left in their high school career and with each other before they would embark on a new chapter in their lives.

****

to be continued...

A/N: Whoo. I didn't expect that to be long, or end up that way. Oh well. It was good. It had some dirt, and it was sorta one of those random chapters that needed to get in. I hope you liked it. I'm out for now, but keep an eye out for the new set of chapters. See you when I do. May the Powers Always Protect You.


	33. Psycho Attack

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART THIRTY-THREE: PSYCHO ATTACK_**  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Weeks later. The Psycho Rangers were never destroyed, except for the Pink Psycho Ranger. They were only converted back to datacards. Now, Mindshatter has a hold of them and sends them out on Reefside to destroy the town._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I sit here and re-create the PR World into how I would see it. I have that power to end it like no other. So, beware. You have been warned._

_A/N: Hey, I thought this would be interesting to put in. Didn't I mention I was gonna make some reference to the past? Yeah, I did. I know I did. So, what happens? Read on and find out._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"There is more to Mindshatter than meets the eye. He is full of surprises that only we, as rangers, can see. He must use others to win his fight, and with that we may find the one weakness to end this for good." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Weeks later.

To many people, spring break meant getting away from school and hitting up some local club sports or a vacation spot in the Caribbean within the week. Unfortunately, not everyone gets a chance to relax and vast in the sun to relax. But that was the problem that worried the rangers the most.

It was quiet. Too quiet in Reefside. It had been like that for nearly a month and a half now, and no one knew exactly why it was that way. But it was bothersome. It freaked them out.

Many times they would surrender to sleepless nights. They were too worried that Mindshatter would attack when they were asleep, or not fully alert. And that's not what they wanted. It was the worse thing that could happen to them as a team.

They had learned to take shifts. It was obvious which shift was taken by who. The DT team was set in the morning and afternoon, though with their limits. They had school to attend to and had to worry about the obstacles with that. The two ninja rangers -- Aisha and Adam -- took the night shifts. Hayley would do what she could while maintaining the business at the cafe. Cam altered between the day and night shifts in the lab. But even they were in dire need of figuring out what was wrong. They all were.

On the eve to the start of spring break, the array of rangers were moving about in the lab. The DT team was the most anxious and worried about it. This was their fight. It always was. Not tha they liked the help, but it was their time. The legacy laid on their shoulders, not on the others who have come to pass. There was just those who had volunteered their time to help out.

Conner paced the room drawing out agitated breaths. "I am not liking this. I could be out enjoying myself over spring break and I'm stuck here monitoring any strange activity in the city. Nothing has happened for over a month and a half now..."

"Just because Mindshatter hasn't attacked in a long time doesn't mean he's given up," Ethan cut him off before he could say anymore.

"Ethan's got a point. This could only mean one thing," Cam said from his place at the main computer console. He had been glued there for nearly the entire month, but it wasn't like he had much else to do. The threat was no longer in Blue Bay Harbor. And the ninja school didn't need him too much. His father was glad to find him helping out the current rangers and had allowed him to go and share his expertise. Shane and the others had kept him informed, via email. Other communications from Ninja Ops had been shut down. And he could only conclude was coming from Mindshatter.

"Mindshatter is preparing for something big," Adam finished for him.

"I really wish that this was a guy we've already fought before. Then we'd know what we're up against," Aisha sighed from her place pouting about on the stone display of seats. "Not that we already do, it was just bad enough that he's one of our hardest challenges."

"Try telling that to the rest of us who's hardly been getting much sleep over all of this," Tommy groaned, his head swaying. He looked like he was drunk, but merely lacked sleep. He laid his head gently on his wife's shoulder, who appeared just as tired.

Even with Kim at his side to tell him what was best, she was beat. The stress levels were on different things, but enough to make it evident that they both lacked quite a bit of sleep over the past few weeks.

"What did I tell the two of you especially about getting some sleep?" Adam sighed as he shook his head. "It's not healthy, especially for the two of you. You need to rest. Go. Get some sleep."

"In case you haven't noticed, Adam," Kim began as she nudged her husband awake, "we've tried that, but it hasn't worked."

"Why do you think I gave you that herbal medicine? It's supposed to help you sleep. Now, go. Doctor's orders," Adam rose his tone, a tinge of seriousness falling over it. "Besides, you're not setting a good example for your daughter by doing this."

"We'll hold down the fort. If anything comes up, we'll let you know," Aisha reassured them as she pushed the man in black and his wife up the stairs.

Tommy looked back, but before he could say anymore, Kim had pushed him up the stairs. He nearly stumbled, but finally made it up the last few steps without falling back. Each of them were looking the worse, and the team knew it wasn't good for Kim's condition. That was the last thing she needed in any stage of her pregnancy.

Trent slowly walked over to the technical director. He was just as anxious and tired as any of them, but there was also a huge burden on his shoulders. He couldn't get the images of his father out of his head. For weeks now, he had suffered from nightmares of never freeing his father. Of seeing the truth that he may not become his normal self again. That the state of Mesogog was permanent. Or worse. The only way to end all this pain was death. And that's not what he didn't want in his head at all.

"So, have you guys gotten anything useful from the team based in Angel Grove?" Trent asked quietly as he yawned.

"Unfortunately, since Rocky, Tanya and Billy left to help them out, it's been rather slow around here," Cam replied as he looked up at the teen. "But to tell you the truth, I haven't gotten anything."

Adam looked over at him and sighed deeply. "Sleep is just hard to get these days with all this tension building up. I know that feeling."

"Why do you think Mindshatter hasn't striken yet? Do you think he really is gearing up for something big?" Kira asked as she moved away from the stone chairs.

"Well, unfortunately, we haven't gotten any new information at all. Andros and the others have been saying the same thing. They got nothing, too" Cam replied as he turned to the team in the lab. "And that's via email. Our normal communications through the system has been shut down. Nothing can't seem to get out of the area of Reefside. And I doubt they're having any luck in Angel Grove."

Weeks ago, Andros had showed up in Reefside to inform the team of new information regarding Mindshatter. He had lead a mission into the island fortress to rescue Kim from her captors due to the recent time hole fiasco. The DT team was stuck in the past while they had to fend off the future. The mission was a success. And they knew that the invisi-poral network system was shut down. For the most part, it had been down for awhile. They knew nothing more than that. But they wouldn't be surprised to find some remnants still functioning somehow.

Now, in Angel Grove, he had assembled the other Space Rangers to help out where they could. Rocky, Tanya, and Billy had joined them to help spread the word between the teams through the world. If Andros had it right, they may need to call forth a huge assembly of rangers to join in battle. It was a matter of seeing how many would volunteer to do it.

"But it wouldn't take this long to re-configure the invisi-portal system. I could probably crack the code into it if I really wanted to," Ethan shook his head. He had his own theory on the portal system. That after the damage that had occurred to the main network, only certain portals could open. But they could only hold on for so long before getting shut down. He also concluded that only one could open at a time and not two or three. He had ran several simulations on the computer in the lab and on his own laptop and it ended up the same. With those theories proven true. Unfortunately, it was only a theory that was still in check. "But it doesn't make sense..." he protested as he shook his head.

"Now what, Ethan?" Adam asked slightly annoyed by his theories, but open to his opinion and words.

"Dr. O knew about the portal system since they first came about. He was responsible for the primary function when this all began. Hayley was able to crack into the firewall and find one. They're invisible anyway. Isn't it possibly for us to re-create our own routes and use them against Mindshatter?"

"Can you spell suicide mission?" Conner patted his friend on the shoulder as eyes turned to him with confusion. "Besides, I think Mindshatter is smart enough to know if we're sneaking onto the fortress. It'll be impossible."

"Not if we create a diversion," Cam spoke form his place by the computer. "I've had Shane and the others operate Ninja Ops. They've been able to report that those invisi-portals have been located throughout the state of California. We create a diversion from many parts, it will give us a window to attack from another."

"A well conceived plan, but one with many risks," Adam shook his head. "If we do manage to do that, Mindshatter will still be on that fortress. He may send every single one of his cybot army down there to the diversion, but even without them he is powerful enough to take us out. And if Ethan's theory is right, we can only open one at a time."

"Thank you, Capt. Doubt and Worry," Aisha mocked. "We don't have time to just sit here and wait for him. Who knows what he is concocting in that fortress of his?"

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Island fortress.

Mindshatter had paced the room for far too long. He had been waiting for Dinoshade to return with the request he had made, and he was making it more like a chore with too many obstacles rather than a simple task.

"I ask that pathetic scrap heap to retrieve that precious box and he makes it look like a journey through time," Mindshatter growled to himself. "Time I do not want to deal with. I've waited to long too attack. I must do it now when they least expect it."

Meanwhile, deep in the corridors of the island fortress, Dinoshade had slowly treaded back onto familiar grounds. He had not realized that his master had hidden the box down in the confides of the fortress no one would dare tread into. The worse part, he wasn't quite sure where he was going. And he was hearing a strange howling wind that worried even his metallic body.

Mesogog had guided him down there, but he had refused to go any farther. He was still weak and dazed. Not that he could go down there. He knew every passage of the fortress like the back of his hand. It was merely to stall time, time that he would need to catch his breath. He didn't know how stupid Mindshatter was now, but he had "returned" to following the metallic mutant's orders. Or so he hoped Mindshatter would think. But it was clear that Mindshatter was hesitant to trust the dino mutant. He would hope it would be enough to help his friends out.

Dinoshade stopped as another howling wind erupted around him. He frantically looked behind him and in front of him, but found nothing. His best bet, hide in the shadows and return to normal grounds.

When he was back on normal grounds, grounds he knew within the fortress, he came from the shadows only to be met by the stern look of Mesogog. Dinoshade growled at him shoving him aside, but Mesogog grabbed him, despite his weakened state.

"Took you long enough. Mindshatter is not pleased," Mesogog narrowed his eyes looking at the beady red eyes of his companion.

"That's none of your business. You only showed me where to go. You didn't go down there yourself," Dinoshade shrugged over the talon-shaped hand.

"Scared of a little darkness, Dinoshade?" Mesogog hissed. "I thought that was your greatest ally in this war?"

Dinoshade's eyes lit with a fiery red, but he said nothing more. He pushed passed the mutant freak and headed toward the main lab with the box held tightly in his grasp.

Mesogog watched him go then turned and set open a hidden passageway in the door where several figures stood in the shadows. He looked at them with some satisfaction and nodded toward them. "Wait for my signal to attack. The time will be right soon enough. Stay down in the lower passages until I tell you otherwise."

The shadowed figures confirmed the orders with a low series of growls and disappeared into the depths of the shadows. Mesogog turned away and strode back up the hall, pulling out a small communicator-like device and pushed a button on it.

Mindshatter had pushed Dinoshade aside once he saw the box. He raced over to the console and opened it up to reveal four thick translucent cards with a hint of yellow-green to each of them. He looked at them like they were edible enough to eat, but dropped them into a slot on the console. He pushed a few buttons on the panel as the geno-randomizer came to life.

It hissed with an eerie howl as the chamber was filled with smoke. After a few moments, the chamber doors opened and four figures slowly emerged from inside it.

One of them had the markings of red on them, another was in blue, another in black and the last was in yellow. There was no facial expressions present due to the helmet that marked a hideous and sinister look to each of them. It looked like the design of a ghost that could haunt a little child in his/her dreams.

One by one they flexed their muscles and looked around the room trying to figure out what was going on. Then the red psycho ranger's eyes fell on the huge robotic figure standing before them.

"What's going on? Who are you?" the red psycho ranger demanded.

"I am your new master, Mindshatter," the huge robotic soldier bowed in respect. "I have a mission for you and your psycho ranger friends. I want you to go into the city of Reefside and draw out the DinoThunder Rangers. There will be five of them, see to it that you will not fail me."

The blue psycho ranger stepped forward. "We take orders from no one. The blue ranger is mine and he will be destroyed for placing me into that datacard."

"I want a taste of sweet victory when I destroy the yellow ranger," the yellow pyscho ranger growled.

"The black ranger won't stand a chance against me this time," the black psycho ranger announced.

Mindshatter bowed again. He had hoped that this was true. He had only heard rumors of what destruction they caused, but couldn't seem to put an end to it. But he knew about how their powers grew with every battle they faced against the rangers. It got harder to stop them, but somehow they managed to convert them into nothing more than datacards. Unfortunately, he knew that pyscho pink hadn't been so lucky. But that was now useless information to him now. He still had four of them to destroy the rangers. "This is not an easy task to accomplish. But with your heightened skills I know you will find their weakness. Now, go. And destroy."

The four psycho rangers bowed before him and turned and left the room. Dinoshade looked at them with some confusion, not sure what they were capable of and how well they could put an end to their ranger problems.

****

XXXXXXXXXXX

Angel Grove.

Due to the destruction of the command center on the hill, the rangers found a passageway into the hidden Power Chamber underground. It had been a surprise to them all, but it was enough to hid their research and their numbers. Unfortunately, without the knowledge from Zordon or Alpha to help them, they were still learning the tricks of the trade around the center. Even with Billy there it was hard to fully understand the basis of what still worked and what didn't.

Though many people of Angel Grove had found out the identity of the Space Rangers, they had not questioned them about their work. Even at times when they wore the uniform set around being the Space Rangers, they hardly used it since their time on Earth. They had been on Earth for enough years to say it was nearly time to hang up the morphers for good, but they had not. Not at all, just for the sake of the future. They were dressed more appropriate to the style of the year rather than their space uniforms. Each was still marked by their usual ranger color under the space team.

Yet, didn't seem to change too much in appearance. TJ, wearing the blue color, now, had looked just as athletic and strong as he did when he had first became a ranger. In his spare time, he had gone back to working more around his baseball career, but nothing too major that would jeopardize his status as a ranger. That always seemed to come first. Cassie was still in her usual pink array of clothes. Her appearance hadn't changed much either, but her skills as a fighter had improved greatly. No one would want to mess with her knowing they could get their butts kicked. Carlos, whose hair was now cut closer, much like a buzzcut, was still clad out in his black clothes. He, too, had improved a lot with his skills as a fighter, mostly as a student of Adam. He had even went back to playing soccer and even coaching for a little league team. Ashley had grown more into a beautiful young woman, no longer a teenager, clad out in yellow. Aside from the highlighted, layered hair atop of her head, she didn't seem to change much. Andros, whose long hair had been now cut short to an array of spikes, similar to Tommy's just a bit longer, was still clad in red. No longer in his usual space uniform had gotten used to the lifestyle on Earth. He knew with friends like the ones he had, he didn't have to worry so much about fitting in. Even Karone had joined up and stayed on Earth with the rest of the Space Rangers. KO-35 held far to many bad memories and she just wanted to start off new, nor could she really stay on Mirinoi after the tragic events. But, neither did she change much either.

"So, what do we got so far?" TJ asked as he stopped pacing the room to join the technical director at one of the consoles.

Billy sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately, most of these controls I've never been introduced to. So, I don't quite know what I'm working with."

"So, you mean to tell me this blinking light doesn't mean anything?" Cassie asked from another consle.

"What light?" Billy asked as he raced over in confusion. He pushed a few buttons and saw the light on the monitor Cassie was talking about. The location was unclear, and the blinking wasn't quite understandable either. "I have no idea. I can't make a pinpoint on the location. It's not coming from Reefside, I can tell you that much. It could be anything."

Karone, Carlos and Rocky had been trying to re-wire the circuits in Alpha, but it was too hard to figure out what was what. Luckily, he had joined up with the Space Rangers back on Earth after what the Lost Galaxy Rangers thought was their last battle. Unfortunately, he had suffered more than he bargained for and wasn't quite himself. They had shut him down, but now hoped he could provide some answers. They didn't want to put anymore burden on Billy's shoulders since he was still trying to work the chamber to a worthy capacity.

"Well, we know it isn't a transmission from space of any kind. To everyone out there, we're just one normal planet without any problems," Andros sighed trying to think where it could be coming from.

"But that's hardly true," Ashley protested.

Despite the time off from crime-fighting, Ashley and Andros still managed to keep their relationship going. It was slow paced, but it was still there. Yet, the thoughts of taking it farther hadn't crossed their minds much. Andros, no matter what, had been all over the ranger thing since he's time had expired to serve protection of the planet.

"So try telling that to Mindshatter. He's been screwing up transmissions to space since he got here," Tanya sighed.

"Maybe it's a warning," Rocky called out from his place in the back. He tinkered with another set of wires that sent sparks everwhere.

"A warning?" TJ thought for a moment before looking over at the leader of the space rangers. "For what?"

"I have a bad feeling about this," Andros said mostly to himself.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Reefside. The alarms within the underground lab went off, calling attention to the rangers assembled within it. They rushed over to the monitor as Cam began to pull up visuals of the entire city.

"What's going on?" Conner asked in a panic.

"I'm running a scan right now. But I don't see anything," Cam shook his head in confusion.

"It's late. You don't think Mindshatter decided to change his mind and hit it up during the night just 'cuz he knew our limits at night?" Kira asked.

Adam shruged as he shook his head. "You guys better get out there and see if you find anything. We'll keep you informed if we find anything here."

"What about Dr. Oliver?" Ethan asked.

"Let the man sleep," Aisha said as he patted the teen in blue on his shoulders. "Besides, it's probably nothing. With as weak as our transmissions have been, it could be just a bird or something disrupting it."

Conner pulled his team out of the door. And the four teens had moved out into the city to go investigate what was the disturbance.

The sun had finally settled well beyond the water's edge that night. Meaning the eerie silence of being alone in the dark could freak a person out. The teens treaded out into the plaza in downtown Reefside training their eyes on the shadows and the surrounding hiding places.

"Do you see anything?" Ethan looked around feeling a little freaked out about the silence.

"Nothing," Kira replied from a distance as she took the steps up to the top of the plaza.

Conner kept his eyes on the distant park hoping to find someone there, but found nothing. Trent was searching around a corner opposite Ethan.

Conner looked back at his teammates and shrugged. "I don't see anything."

"But how come I have the feeling that we're not alone?" Trent called out as he looked around a corner slowly.

Then out of nowhere, four streaks bounced into the plaza striking down the teens as they came. The teens were unable to stop them as they came crashing to the ground wincing in pain. The four streaks disappeared into the shadows and then came to a stop atop one of the rooftops. The teens raced to the center of the plaza, each holding an arm or leg, groaning. They looked up to see the shadowed figures, the color coordinated suits on them. They exchanged a look in confusion.

"Who are they?" Kira groaned as she rolled her arm out of pain.

"I don't know, but they don't look very friendly," Ethan shook his head.

The teens looked at the strange new aggressors standing atop the rooftop. They didn't move, but seemed to look out into another world. Almost controlled. Almost like robots. But they had one objective just as Conner took a step forward, the figure in the red markings dropped his head and looked at him.

"Uh... I don't think you were supposed to do that," Trent spoke quietly.

Conner held his breath as he took a step forward. He moved again, moving to the left and the red figure followed him. He looked back at his teammates, indicating his morpher as it changed. They nodded in return and followed suit.

"Dino thunder! Power up!" the three original DT rangers called out.

"White Ranger! Dino Power!" Trent called out.

And as the lights had cleared from where they once stood, there was an array of rangers standing in their presence. They fell into a defensive stance just as the four figures disappeared from the top of the rooftop.

"Hey! Where'd they go?" Conner looked around in a panic.

Then their morphers chimed off as Trent pulled his up to hear the news. The other rangers crowded around to hear in on it, too.

"I suggest you guys get out of there before things get worse. Those guys are bad news," Cam stated from the comm.

"Why is that?" Trent asked.

"Ever heard of the psycho rangers?" Adam chimed in.

The teens exchanged a look, but it was clear they weren't quite sure what they were up against. They slowly backed away from each other and trained their eyes on the plaza and the shadows. It was clear in Adam's tone that they were in for something bad. Real bad.

The streaks appeared again as Kira called out to her teammates. But before they had the time to see what was going on, they were all attacked by the streaks. And by no means, they had any chance to stop them. They hit the ground again groaning in pain.

Trent pulled out his draggo dagger and sent laser arrows throughout the plaza hoping to strike one of the psycho rangers. Luckily, he had stopped the blue and black rangers from attacking him and Ethan. Ethan didn't hesitate to get to his feet and launch a few attacks into his aggressors. Some went through, but didn't seem to do enough damage to his new enemy. Trent had no time to recover as the black psycho ranger disappeared into the shadows striking him down again.

Conner and Kira had their own problems trying to keep their aggressors at bay, even back to back and couldn't find any way to stop them. They were also on a losing streak with their new aggressors.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Angel Grove.

Despite the closing late hour, the rangers assembled there were still hard at work trying to figure out what was going on. Cassie had found a strange blinking light and couldn't seem to figure out what it was trying to say. Billy was working frantically to make a communication to the rangers based out of Reefside, but hadn't gotten a signal to relay any messages to them or from them.

"I'll try to widen the frequency and center it on the dino morphers, but with this interference, I can only get so far," Billy stated as he looked at Andros.

"Anything would work out," the red space ranger nodded.

They took a look at the viewscreen, but got nothing. It was all static. Billy pushed a few more buttons and began to hear voices on the other end. It sounded like they were in pain, being attacked. But it was still running against the static.

"It doesn't sound good," Rocky stated.

Andros thought for a moment trying to train his hearing on the background. He heard the impact of attacks, the rangers hitting the ground in pain. Despite the static he heard, other voices were hidden in the background.

"You will be destroyed, red ranger," one voice said.

"Say good night forever, blue ranger," another voice hissed.

Andros looked over at TJ and Cassie and saw the concern on their faces. They could only make one conclusion as the space rangers headed for the door. And it was as if by second nature to get out there and help them.

"Hey!" Tanya called out in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"Billy, try to send a transmission to Reefside," Andros demanded. "Code it if you have to. Warn them that the psycho rangers are back and looking for more trouble."

Billy nodded as he turned to the two zeo rangers left in th room. For awhile they had to think about what that meant, and knew they would follow suit. They set up their zeonizers and morphed as Billy sent out a transmission and sent them out of there.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Reefside, underground lab.

"So, those are the psycho rangers?" Aisha breathed as she watched the teens take another bad hit. She as well as the others in the lab watched helplessly as they tried to fight off their newest enemies.

"I think it's time for you guys to get out there," Cam instructed looking back at the ninja rangers.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Aisha turned and headed out the door into the woods. Adam appeared to follow, but turned and headed up the stairs. Aisha stopped and called out to him. "Adam! Where are you going?"

"Go! I'll meet you out there. I gotta go get Tommy. We're gonna need all the help we can get despite his lack of sleep," Adam called out as he raced up the stairs and out of the lab.

Aisha wanted to stop him, but knew he was right. She called out to Cam to keep her informed as she pulled away her normal clothes to reveal the hidden ninja suit underneath. She raced out of there to join the battle.

Meanwhile, Adam jumped the stairs to the top floor of the house. He nearly stumbled on the carpet at the top of the stairs as he rounded around the rail to the master bedroom. He peeked into the room as he noticed to two sleeping figures in the room. He crept over to the bed, tapping on the man on the bed.

"Psst! Tommy, wake up! There's a situation," Adam whispered as he tapped the man again.

Tommy groaned quietly as he turned over to face the shadow looming over him. He slowly opened his eyes squinting up at the shadow.

Adam gestured him toward the door without saying another word. Tommy shook the sleepiness out of his head as he noticed the eagerness in his friend. He slowly pulled the covers off and followed him out of the room. Despite the sleep, he was dressed for any action that came his way.

They crept toward the door, but stopped when the other figure on the bed stirred.

"Tommy?" Kim asked sleepily.

Tommy groaned as he pushed Adam out the door. He raced over to his wife and crawled onto the bed, laying a kiss on her head. "Hey, Beautiful. Go back to bed. I gotta go take care of something in the lab. I'll be back."

Kim turned away pulling the blankets close around her. "Be careful, Tommy." She replied quietly.

He leaned over and laid another kiss on her head. He tucked the blanket around her and kissed her again before getting off the bed. "Love you, baby. I'll send Serena in to keep you company."

"Okay, Handsome," she mumbled. "Love you, too."

Adam waited outside the door for him, apologizing for the disturbance. They slowly walked away as Tommy closed the door behind him.

"No, it's okay. What's the situation?" Tommy asked in a serious tone. It was like he was full of enough energy to do anything.

"Bad news. I don't know how. But we're dealing with the psycho rangers here," Adam said without any hesitation.

Tommy stopped for a moment to grasp what his friend was saying. He noticed the looming figure hidden behind the cracked door to his daughter's room. He walked over to it and peered in to see Serena standing there looking up at him with much curiosity.

"You leaving, daddy?" she asked quietly, sorta sleepily.

"I'll be back, okay? Go keep your mother company while I go take care of this situation," he said as he scooped her up in his arms laying a kiss on her cheek.

"Bad situation?" she asked with curiosity.

"For the most part, I hope it isn't. Don't worry. I'll make sure not to be out too long. Love you," he said as she pulled him into a hug.

"Love you, daddy. Be careful," she said.

He laid another kiss on her head and placed her on the ground. She scurried away and into the master bedroom just as he followed out to see Adam waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. He raced down them and followed his teammate out of the door, as they passed, they were suited up and ready for action.

****

XXXXXXXXX

Reefside plaza.

Conner managed to stop his aggressor to take a better look at him. But it seemed every time he tried to attack, his enemy knew where he would attack and stop him every time. He was thrown through the air and came crashing on the ground beside the blue DT ranger.

"Man, these guys are tough," Ethan groaned as he helped his friend to his feet.

"Yeah, I know. Where's the help when you need it?" Conner winced as he tried to find his footing again.

A surprise attack pulled them away from each other for support as the blue and red psycho rangers attacked again. They were caught in another fight with what seemed like their alter ego, and they stood no chance against them. They looked over to Trent and Kira and noticed their weakened stance. They were getting just as tired and weak quick, too.

Trent deflected a few attacks from the yellow and black rangers and sent his laser arrows their way. It faltered their steps and forced them to re-group for a moment. Trent helped his teammate to her feet as she leaned against him for some more support.

"You okay?" Trent asked as he held out his drago sword pushing away more shots coming their way.

"A little tired and weak, but I'll deal. I think," Kira replied as she felt her step weaken.

"Save your strength, Kira," he pulled her back onto her feet. "Hopefully, Dr. O will be here soon."

Ethan and Conner raced over to offer their support, but they were just as tired and weak. They formed a protective shield around the white and yellow DT rangers just as the psycho rangers re-grouped in front of them.

"They're weak. We should destroy them now," the yellow psycho ranger replied.

"They were hardly a challenge," the blue psycho ranger said.

"Then maybe you should deal with us," a voice replied from behind them.

The psycho rangers turned to where the voices came from just as the DT teens felt their knees lock again. One by one, hidden in the shadows, the space rangers popped out. Followed by the blue and yellow zeo rangers.

"You!" the red psycho ranger hissed as his eyes centered on the red space ranger.

"I'm back. psycho red. And this time, I'll make sure you're gone for good." Andros replied coolly.

"Now, you can't forget about me," the yellow ninja ranger leaped down from her place on a rooftop.

"She's mine," psycho yellow replied as she clenched her fists. "The yellow rangers must be destroyed."

"Or us," the black DT ranger emerged from the shadows with the green zeo ranger at his side. He walked over to his teammates just as the rest of the rangers followed, shielding the teens behind them. "Now, compared to these odds, I don't think you really want to mess with any of us."

The five DT rangers, the five space rangers, the three zeo rangers, and a ranger with the skills of the ancient ninja made up the array of rangers. Each of them trained their eyes on the given color of their aggressors. For those that didn't quite have a match, trained in on psycho black.

But the psycho rangers didn't seem to flinch or mind the numbers. They seemed to feel the adrenaline and thrill of going up against the fourteen rangers assembled before them. It was as if it didn't seem like a problem to them.

"It only gives us a better chance to destroy you all," psycho black replied.

Andros took a step forward, stopping the array of rangers from moving another step forward. He pulled them close, whispering quietly to each of them. "Be careful. These guys are tricky. They could learn your moves quickly and use them against you in a matter of seconds. It's not that easy to defeat them."

"Well, with these odds I highly doubt it," Ethan spoke up.

The blue space ranger looked over at him and shook his head. "If that were true, Ethan they'd already be destroyed. They've gotten stronger every time we had to fight them. This makes no difference."

"Keep to the one that matches your suit. Everyone else, you're after the black one. We have to destroy them now before they can do anymore damage to the town," Andros instructed. "Trent and Cassie, you're with me and Conner. The rest of you, fall out. Keep your eyes peeled for anymore surprises."

"Are you done conversing over there? Or do we have to go in there and break it up?" psycho red bellowed.

Andros took a step back as he looked back at the red psycho ranger. He quickly drew out his blaster and fired toward him. The red psycho ranger hit the ground groaning, flying several feet away from his teammates. That gave the cue for the other rangers to fall into line and battle the other psycho rangers.

Ashley, Tanya, Aisha and Kira took down the yellow psycho ranger. TJ, Rocky, and Ethan took down the blue psycho ranger. Carlos, Adam, and Tommy took down the black psycho ranger. While Andros, Cassie, Conner and Trent took down the red psycho ranger.

For awhile, it seemed like the battle didn't seem like a problem to the array of rangers. But as it got further, the psycho rangers were beginning to use their same moves against them. The impact seemed more deep and hard to break from then with the rangers trying to attack their enemies with. Even with weapons, drawn it was starting to make no difference.

The array of yellow rangers tried to push the yellow psycho ranger against a wall to slow her attacks down, but it didn't seem to work. She managed to pull away, and would use Kira as a shield forcing the other rangers to pull back many times. Even with trying to use her ptera scream, it didn't seem to have an effect on their enemy.

"So, it damages our ears, but it doesn't do anything to our enemy?" Tanya groaned trying to get the hearing back to normal in her ears.

"She's gotten tougher since the last time I fought her," Ashley admitted as they re-grouped to catch their breath. "And that's when I thought they would be gone for good."

"And how long ago was that?" Aisha asked with some dread in her voice.

"When the Lost Galaxy Rangers were active years ago," the yellow space ranger had to admit. "And it's been awhile since I've even been in this suit."

The three older rangers caught their successor as she lost her footing trying to make another approach on the psycho ranger. Each questioned and asked her to see if she was all right.

"I don't know how much more I can take. Even under Super Dino Mode, I don't think it will do anything," Kira sighed with some discouragement.

"Hang in there, Kira," Ashley patted her on the shoulder. "These guys have a weakness, but it seems to not be the same thing as last time."

"So what is it?" Tanya asked as she moved away from a flying kick by their aggressor.

"Um...I will let you know when I figure it out," Ashley called out before dodging an attack from her darkest enemy.

"I will not be that easily defeated," psycho yellow announced.

On the other side of the plaza the array of blue rangers tried to keep the blue psycho ranger from doing anymore damage to the teen. It was clear his new target was in the younger one of the three. Rocky was still hesitant to make attacks, let alone still getting used to the suit of his zeo powers. It almost seemed like TJ had never been out of the suit for more than a few days, but even his attacks weren't doing enough to stop the blue psycho ranger from sending out several attacks toward them.

Ethan shielded his predecessors behind his tricera shield as a line of fire came there way. The impact threw him off balance as the other two tried to keep him stable and on his feet, firmly. "I am sick of this guy! I thought you've fought him before, TJ."

The blue space ranger shook his head. He took a step back as the blue psycho ranger was coming their way. "I have, Ethan. But this guy just seemed to rise from the dead like nothing ever happened. It's almost like he's gotten stronger. I can't find anything to lower his defense."

"And that's a bad thing," Rocky stated as he pushed back an attack from their aggressors.

"You can't stop me this time," the blue psycho ranger protested as he counterattacked the block from the blue zeo ranger. Rocky flipped into the ground taking the impact hard. The blue psycho ranger quickly moved against the other standing blue rangers and sent them to meet him on the ground. "I will destroy you all. And will take those powers for my own."

Ethan slowly pulled himself to his feet. As much as he was never seen to be competitive, but anyone who managed to push his buttons threw him over the edge. He never liked to back down unless he knew he couldn't win, and this was one battle he refused to lose. He launched his new line of strength, SDM, and charged forward. TJ and Rocky were quickly on his heel, never wanting to let the teen out there on his own. They had to work as a team in order to get out of this alive.

In the lower regions of the plaza where the shadows played a numerous amount of hiding places for the rangers, stood the team against the black psycho ranger. Though geared up in his green zeo suit, Adam was always a black ranger by heart. And his ninja powers were giving him an added boost to use the shadows as well. Carlos had come to learn what his predecessors where doing to confuse the black psycho ranger, and it was slowly working.

But there was a problem. They were well beyond their limit as rangers by age, and psycho black seemed to fight with the spirit of a young fighter that was slowly leaving each of them. Though, with two skilled martial artists, psycho black was still getting the upper hand. And Carlos had to get used to what the black DT ranger was trying to do, using his invisible powers, against psycho black. As Tommy swung with his brachio staff, it missed and hit air just as the black psycho ranger finally made contact with him.

Tommy hit the ground losing control of his invisible field. Adam and Carlos quickly shielded him pulling out their blasters and firing into the shadows, but psycho black had mastered their tricks and disappeared into the shadows. Adam pulled his friend to his feet as he looked around for their enemy.

"We don't need this right now," Tommy said in a low voice. It was clear he was losing his control of keeping his anger under wraps. He hated loss as much as any ranger, and this was one time where it was hurting the most. He was still fatigue and weak from lack of sleep.

"Carlos," Adam called out to his successor. as the black space ranger looked at him. "What do we know so far about them?"

"They were converted back into datacards after our last battle with them. But now, they seemed to have more power than the other times we've battled them," Carlos said quickly as he kept his eyes on the shadows.

"They've analyzed our attacks faster than we could keep up. They've also gotten stronger," Tommy made his own observations.

"After every battle, they got stronger. It got harder to defeat them," Carlos confirmed with a nod. "When one of them gets destroyed, the others only get stronger..."

"Heads up!" Adam called out as he moved away, a shadow breaking them up.

Adam dove left, Carlos dove right and Tommy braced himself for the impact planting his staff in the path of the black psycho ranger. For a moment, their visors locked as if to see into the soul of the other. Tommy was struggling to keep his weight under the impact as his teammates raced to his aid. Tommy forced out his hand to give some distance between him and his aggressor, and it was enough to let Carlos swing with his lunar lance as their enemy. Their enemy losing his balance for a moment.

The black psycho ranger bellowed out a threat before disappearing into the shadows again. The black team looked around keeping their eyes open for any surprise attacks.

At the top of the plaza the ranger team assembled by Andros tried to keep psycho red at bay. And the DT rangers were both showing some signs of fatigue after the long battle. Conner used his super speed to land a few attacks, but nothing was enough to stop the red psycho ranger, only slow him down. Even Cassie and Andros couldn't seem to target his weakness anymore.

"They know all of our old moves. None of them will work against him," Cassie protested as she pulled her leader back for a moment.

Trent and Conner slowly gathered at their side, and it was clear they couldn't hang on. They were growing weak and tired more quickly than the others. The red psycho ranger was focusing his attack on the younger rangers over his former challengers.

Andros thought for a moment as he looked at his dark enemy dust of his suit like nothing fell on it but dirt. "They were datacards. How could Mindshatter have gotten them? I thought we locked those away in the Astro Megaship."

"We did, but somehow, someone must have gotten in," Cassie nodded.

"But even we can't gain access after all these years, no matter what NASADA said. After the battle with Serpentena that ship has been grounded and under heightened security even since it was docked. No one could have gotten access at all," Andros shook his head. "We gotta be missing something here."

"Can't we just combine all of our weapons and destroy them one by one?" Conner suggested as he winced under the pain he had already taken during the battle.

"It's not that simple. These guys are tough. Real tough," Cassie stated.

"Our best bet is to get them on the run so we have some time to analyze what we're missing. It's the only way we can even catch our breath," Andros stated.

"Hey, whatever works. I don't know how much more I could handle," Trent breathed as he looked over his shoulder.

The red psycho ranger was charging their way. They broke formation and quickly moved to attack their aggressor. But they were all getting tired and weak, and it was hard to see how far they could last. But they had to hold on. Their teammates had depended on them just as they were depending on them. Let along, they had a world to protect.

The battle raged on for each of the teams, and it was getting harder to hold their ground. The array of rangers were growing more and more tired with every attack that they made and the psycho rangers were taking a great advantage of it. They only grew tired bit by bit while the rangers we're getting the worse end of it.

The black psycho ranger was starting to show some signs of fatigue against the strength and skills of the two martial artist and the black space ranger. They refused to make any mistake. Even taking out one of them would be beneficial. Where one ranger slipped, another was there to pick up where he left off. Each used their given weapon, and even Tommy stood in SDM for added power. They had grown tired of their aggressors and wanted to put an end to him for good.

Adam and Carlos launched their own set of attacks as Tommy sent a shaking ground shattering attack toward the black psycho ranger. Psycho Black lost his footing and slipped into the crevasse formed by Tommy's staff and caught.

"I will not be defeated, black ranger," the black psycho ranger hissed.

"Don't bet on it," Tommy replied. He thrusted his staff into the crack. "Brachio staff. Fire strike. Full power, now!"

The crack was engulfed in a line of fire striking the black psycho ranger. Adam and Carlos combined their own powers with the strike of fire as a bright light filled the area blinding them and those that caught eye of the destruction. And when the light cleared, Psycho Black ranger was nowhere in sight. Nor, could Adam or Tommy detect him with their ninja skills. And they knew he was gone. But the effort had forced them all to their knees weaken and tired.

Despite, the fallen comrade, the other psycho rangers disappeared into streaks to deliver the final blows as the array of rangers hit the ground in pain catching their breaths. None of them seemed to move as they hung on to what control they had left within their ranger powers. They laid on the ground with pain running over their entire bodies as they looked over at their teammates. It seemed like no one was able to get up and do anything more.

When the final blows were landed the psycho rangers had stopped in the middle of the plaza to see the damage they had done to the rangers. It was clear they had won this battle, but to finish them off completely came for another day.

None of them could have imagined with the number of rangers going up against their darkest enemy could have lost. But they did. Many of them lowered their heads as failure and guilt ran over their bodies. They tried and they had failed. The psycho rangers had gotten the best of them and placed them on a silver platter to rot in their loss. After all of that, only one psycho ranger was defeated.

But why they didn't seem to land the killer blows left them confused. They would have thought they would destroy them, but the psycho rangers had stopped the battle. An invisi-portal opened up and a line of cybots emerged from it.

The rangers had no strength to get up as they tried to move away from the army of foot soldiers. But the cybots seemed to have their own strategy as they split into three different groups, two heading for the ones who tried to destroy the red psycho ranger and one toward the rangers going up against the black psycho ranger, who was only a memory now.

Three cybots had collected the weakened white drago ranger, Conner tried to grab him before they walked away with their new captive, but they just kicked him aside. The same for Andros as Cassie tried to grab him, but failed. Adam and Carlos were on their knees, too weak to stand up, trying to force the cybots back, but the cybots pushed them aside collecting the black brachio ranger into their arms.

The three captive rangers tried to break free from the grasp of their aggressors, but found no strength left in their bodies to push them away. They were trapped. And their teammates could only watch as the cybots and psycho rangers disappeared through the invisi-portal with Andros, Tommy and Trent.

Slowly, but regaining some strength, the remaining rangers raced to the center of the plaza, catching their breaths looking up into the night sky. And as they did, the control over their ranger suits had been lost and they all dropped into their normal clothes. Both Ashley and Kira nearly collapsed to the ground as their boyfriends were among the captive.

Conner winced under the pain in his body. "I'm sorry, Kira. I tried to stop them..."

Kira shook her head, stopping her teammate from saying anymore. "You did what you could, Conner. You were weak. We all are."

Cassie had embraced her best friend in a hug as she realized that Ashley was trying not to cry. She had made her own apologies for failing to stop Andros from getting captured, but Ashley stopped her disagreeing.

"We'll get them back. We have to," TJ spoke as any strong leader would say.

"But what about the psycho rangers? They'll be back. I mean, at least psycho black is gone. But they know all of our moves," Ethan said in a slight panic.

"That's true," Carlos spoke up. "The psychos have gotten stronger and will continue until they're destroyed or we are."

"Great. That's all we need. Let alone, how do you expect to defeat them? Even with fourteen rangers we couldn't," Rocky stated as he forced out a breath. "One of them. But only one."

"We're gonna have to call in some more reinforcements," Adam spoke. "Besides, I think the best thing we can do is report back to the lab and find out if there is anything we could use there."

"Now, you do realize if we do go back there and we don't quite have the guy who lives there with us, Kim is gonna kill us?" Aisha stated as she stopped her friend from making another move.

"She'll have to take a hint. We're all tired. We did the best we could and we need to analyze the situation before we can more on. And only hope that Mindshatter doesn't try to do something really crazy to Trent, Tommy and Andros," Adam said quickly as he moved out of the plaza.

The rest of the rangers followed him out one by one, knowing they needed to find some answers soon or they would all be sitting ducks. But as they left the plaza, they had failed to notice the figure looming in the shadows.

Dinoshade emerged from the comfort of the shadows as he pulled out a device, running a scan over the rangers. He hissed as he watched the charts of the energy he had absorbed from each of them during and after the battle. And it was clear none of them would notice since they were already too weak to do a whole lot.

"Beware, rangers. You'll be in for a much greater battle than you're prepared for. This will be your doom," he growled in a low voice. He turned and disappeared back into the comfort of the shadows leaving the plaza in an eerie silence.

****

XXXXXXXXXXX

Underground lab.

The array of rangers had slowly, but finally, made it back to the lab, many had found a place to crash. It was clear they were all weak and in need of catching their breaths.

Cam was still sitting at the computer console shaking his head. It was clear he was getting frustrated with his work and hadn't gotten very far with it.

Adam had walked over with TJ at his side. "So, Cam? What do we got so far? Did you get anything from that battle? Or possibly made any communications to Billy and Karone in Angel Grove?"

Cam shook his head as he looked up at the two rangers looming over him. "Well, I'm glad to see you guys back in one piece. Despite, we now have three captive rangers, I haven't gotten anything. I may be a genius, but it seems that electrical surge Mindshatter is using has shut us down. I've tried to change the frequency and the channel of the communication, but gotten nowhere. Mindshatter must have cut it off."

"So, we've heard nothing from them in Angel Grove?" TJ asked as Cam shook his head.

"Nothing that would indicate a connection to them at the Power Chamber. Even if both vacinities are underground there is still interference despite what protection we have from Mindshatter," Cam replied as he shook his head again.

"So, is Kim still upstairs sleeping?" Adam asked.

"As far as I could tell. I haven't heard anything from up there. She must be a deep sleeper. But if you don't want to deal withher wrath, I suggest you find a way to get Andros, Trent and Tommy back here before she realizes what has happened."

"Only one problem, Cam," Ethan stated as he got up to see what was going on at the main computer console. "Those psycho rangers will get in our ways. They almost finished us out there."

"Well, you're lucky they didn't," Cam said. "And that it's now down to three psychos instead of four. Or even five."

"But that doesn't mean the next time they attack us, we could be making it back," Cassie stated as she continued to comfort her friend. "They get stronger, not weaker."

"But they got to have a weakness of some kind," Tanya stated as she sat in the comfort of her boyfriend's presence.

"They do. We have to fight their power and strength with our own," TJ stated.

"But even fourteen rangers couldn't seem to defeat them, TJ," Carlos shook his head. "We thought we destroyed them when we teamed-up with the Lost Galaxy Rangers."

"But they were only converted back to datacards," Cassie shook her head. "How? I mean, I know psycho pink was gone, but I really thought they were, too."

"That's what I can't figure out," Cam nodded.

"Reinforcements. Couldn't we call in some other rangers to help out?" Conner had to reiterate on their previous conversationout in the plaza.

"But the only remaining rangers who still actually have their powers are the Lightspeed Rangers and Wes and Eric from Time Force. Right?" Ethan said. He tapped Cam on the shoulder. "Even you guys lost them when you fought with us months ago."

"As far as I could tell, that's all I know," Cam nodded in agreement. "Our powers were only temporary. They're forever lost in the Abyss of Evil."

"But even that should give us some added boost. We call them up, get Tommy, Andros and Trent back and end this war with the psycho rangers before it gets worse," Aisha said as she had comforted the youngest yellow ranger.

Something must have went off in Ethan's head as he raced across the room to his laptop. He raced over to Cam and began to enter a line of code and information into his database. "I got an idea. What if we found a way to convert the psycho rangers back into datacards? If we destroy the datacards, then we destroy them."

"And how do you expect we do that? We don't have the equipment here to do that," Carlos stated.

"It gives us a reason to go back to the island fortress. And if we're lucky, we can also weaken the defense around the fortress. It will open up some communications to Angel Grove and see what they got there so far," Ethan stated.

TJ and Adam exchanged a look before giving up to it. It wasn't like they had any other ideas on their minds right now. What mattered most was getting their teammates out of harm's way and back on their side of the battle.

The other rangers agreed. They knew if they didn't dispose of the psycho rangers soon they would have far more to deal with than they needed. The psycho rangers had to be destroyed and fast. After that last battle, they weren't sure how much more they could take.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Island fortress.

The cybots had left the darken room having strapped their captives onto three separate chairs. Each had a weird contraption strapped to their head, cutting off their thoughts and wiping them clean of their memories.

Another device was locked against their morphers as each of them were struggling to break free from the mind probe. Mindshatter slowly walked into the room with the psycho rangers on his heel.

"We should have destroyed them when we had the chance. But you had stopped us," psycho red hissed at the universal solider.

Mindshatter shook his head as he observed the three rangers groaning and moaning under the drain. "Be patient, my friend. Soon. You will get your chance soon. But you'll have some help. This time the rangers won't be able to stop me." The last statement sounded more like a note for himself.

****

to be continued...

A/N: Now, I told you that I was gonna bring up past references. Now, I'm not so sure about this huge array of ranger reunion thing or whatever, but it may need to get done. So, what about Andros, Tommy and Trent? What does Mindshatter have in store for them. Keep reading and find out. The end is near, but the beginning is only so far away. See you when I do. If you got any suggestions or ideas drop them down and I'll see what I can do. Until another time, later days. May the Powers Always Protect You.


	34. Shattered Thoughts

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - _**PART THIRTY-FOUR: SHATTERED THOUGHTS**_  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The Psycho Rangers have capturedthree keyrangers as Mindshatter foils up another plan to use against the remaining team. But what kind of plan does Mindshatter have in mind?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I only own the power of how this is gonna end. So, I hope you liked what I've managed to change in this respect. If anyone has any ideas to throw my way before this story ends, I'd like to hear it. Email me or do what you must to let it be heard._

_A/N: Okay, so I've added in another intense moment, but there are gonna mbe quite a bit as I finally shelf this under the completed files. Again, if you want to make some contributions with ideas for this story, or any you might want me to write about, hit me up with your ideas. Enjoy and se you when I do._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"Not again. Why is there always a time where someone is bounded to get captured for some evil plan we do not want to face. We have to get them out of there before anything happens to them. We will not let Mindshatter use us like puppets in his destruction toward Earth and us." -Eclyptyk Neo_  
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Island fortress. Hours later.

The three remaining psycho rangers watched as the three captive rangers finally fell limp in their chairs. They had no idea what Mindshatter was planning for the three rangers, nor wanted to ask about it. Each of the rangers still remained in their ranger suits as it became more evident that their bodies were growing weak and tired. Though they were never sympathetic over the loss of a teammate, they had grown angry with the loss. It was something they didn't need right now, and they were also upset about failing to end the rangers' existence when they had the chance. Now, they stood in the shadows as Mindshatter walked over to the red space ranger.

Mindshatter pulled the strange device off of Andros' head and moved over to his side. Andros slowly came to, but his thoughts were jumbled and his vision blurred.

"Where am I? What happened?" Andros said dazed and dizzy. His head swung back and forth, but his eyes couldn't seem to make out anything in the room. It was dark as far as he could tell.

"After that last battle, I'm surprised you're even alive, my friend," Mindshatter spoke. His voice was calm and almost mesmerizing. That whatever he said seemed to be recorded into Andros' mind like a record. But it sounded strangely like Zhane, even if it still held a bit of Mindshatter in it.

"Zhane? Wait, no. You're dead," Andros shook his head.

"I am. I shouldn't be, but I don't blame you for it, Andros. I had gone out there on my own, with those cybots and lost my life because of it. But did you know that TJ and the others still blame you for the death of the Lost Galaxy Rangers? And me? Why do you think Karone can't look at you the same way anymore? She hates you for letting me die, but you never did. It was my own fault."

"What?" Andros breathed as he shook his head. "No. It wasn't your fault. I tried to..."

"They're the enemy now, Andros. They always were," the universal soldier stated, still sounding like Zhane. Or how he was manipulating Andros' thoughts to think of that. His voice rose, drilling in the words into the mind of the red space ranger. "They could never be trusted. You could have saved Zordon without them. And remember, they didn't trust you when Karone came back to the good side. They were always jealous. They thought you were selfish for killing Zordon, but then again you had no choice. They could never understand it like you because they never exactly knew him."

Andros shook his head trying to fight the words. "No. It can't be true. How do I know you're telling me the truth?"

"See for yourself, Andros," Mindshatter said slowly as he waved a hand over the head of the red space ranger. The images of the raging battle in space over Mirinoi took place. But Mindshatter had twisted the images to reveal what he had just told him to show the "truth." The images showed the jealousy of his teammates, the anger in his sister, the destruction of the planet of Mirinoi as well as the rangers in battle. "You see? You had told them that you needed to get to Mirinoi. They didn't believe you and in the end, it had cost the lives of the Lost Galaxy Rangers and your best friend. Me. Now, they blame it all on you because you weren't fast enough to stop the mayhem. They don't trust you. They hate you for your failures."

Andros dropped his head. The images now planted in his head seemed real enough. Convincing and had the answers he needed. But that was the thing. His head was spinning and couldn't make sense of anything that happened before the very moments he heard that voice enter his mind. There was something about it. Relaxing. Telling the truth. That it truly sounded like Zhane. "So, what do I do?"

"There are only so few to trust, Andros. Trust me. I am telling you the truth. Did you also know that Carlos and Ashley have been having a secret relationship behind your back? They had one going even before they headed up to space, but never got a chance to develop it because being a ranger came first. But now, they had the time..."

"What!" Andros breathed as fury ran through his body. "You're lying. I've heard enough from you, Zhane. It's a lie."

Mindshatter nodded slowly and took a step back. "Very well. But I am only telling you the truth, Andros. Beware of your enemies. They could be even closer than you would have thought. In those you used to call your friends. They've betrayed you, but you never did. They must be destoyed, Andros. Avenge my death for Karone," He waved his hand slowly and watched as Andros' body fell into a deep slumber. He moved over to the white drago ranger and pulled away the contraption from his helmet.

The white drago ranger stirred with a moan as he began to move his head, looking around. But his vision was blurry and the darkness only made it worse. He couldn't see a thing at all, but could only hear the footsteps around him. He felt the presence of someone behind him. "Who are you? Where am I?"

Mindshatter pushed himself forward as he hit the chair, surprising the teen. He began to morph, change into Mesogog as he blinked slowly looking down at the white DT ranger. "Trent, it's me." His voice had changed to fit that of Anton/Mesogog combined.

"Dad?" Trent tried to pull himself out of the chair. "Dad, is that you?"

"Hear this voice! Feel these claws and this face!" Mindshatter bellowed as Trent fell into a panic. The white DT ranger tried to break free, but couldn't budge. "They did it, Trent. They did this to me. They made me into Mesogog again."

"They! Who's they?" Trent breathed. He was in a panic and was unsure what to believe. Everything before that moment seemed like a blur. He didn't know what exactly was going on, or where he was. but he almost felt like he had to believe this voice. He had to. It sounded just like his father's.

"Your so called friends, Conner, Ethan and Kira. They betrayed you. Only Tommy could believe you. He tried to save me, but now it's too late. I am forever Mesogog, Trent," Mindshatter continued to toy with the teen's mind as the voice became more darker with Mesogog's voice.

"No. I don't believe it," Trent shook his head. "Dad! It's not too late. We can still save you. Me and Dr. Oliver."

Mindshatter shook his head as the voice of Anton returned. "I can't be saved. You're only lucky that I'm not dead yet."

"No. We can still save you," Trent protested.

"It's too late," Mindshatter bellowed. "Those other rangers never took to you kindly anyway. You were after all evil at one time, Trent..."

"But the evil encoding was destroyed," Trent countered.

"That may be true, but they could never trust you. Only Tommy did because he knew exactly what it was like. Kira did, but she still feared you. None of them were convinced that the evil within you had completely left. They never could quite accept you. They still don't, after all these months. Have you noticed the great concern Conner has over Ethan and Kira? Kira especially. Why do you think he seems to protect her the most? He has feelings for her. Trying to take her away from you, even if he already has a girlfriend. He'll dump her just as soon as he finally gets Kira around his arm. He doesn't care about you or Tommy. You were never there in the beginning. You didn't take the same punishment they did. You never played the ropes like they did because you knew you should have been leader when you joined the team. The more powerful ranger should lead the team. Not the color of your suit."

"No. Stop. That's enough." Trent shook his head. But the words seemed to tell him the truth. And as Mindshatter waved a hand over the head of Trent, the twisted images of what he had just mentioned played through his head. The lies were being filled into his mind, blinding him from the real truth.

"They're jealous of you, Trent. They would have left you to rot in that fortress if they could. Both you and me. Or they would have left you to fight off Mesogog on your own with Tommy just because they didn't want to make the sacrifice," Mindshatter continued to say as Trent tried to fight out of the words. "Trust me, Trent. I've been there. Only I know how to find a way out of it."

Trent wanted to cry. He didn't know what to believe. The images now locked in his mind had told him enough. The voice of this strange figure, he swore was his father, seemed to know what was going on from the very beginning. He seemed to speak the truth unlike any other. "What do I do?"

"Destroy them, Trent. Destroy the other rangers. Make them pay for what they did to me. For not believing in you or Tommy. They are your enemy, Trent. They always will be no matter what they try to say." Mindshatter melted back into the shadows. He waved his hand and watched as Trent's body went limp and fell into a deep slumber.

Mindshatter, now back in his normal form, slowly moved over to his final target, the black DT ranger. He pulled off the contraption and looked into the visor of the black DT ranger as he finally stirred.

Tommy groaned trying to blink out the blurriness in his eyes, but couldn't find a way to clear it. His head felt heavy as he slowly moved it from left to right. He wanted to move his arms, but couldn't since they were strapped down, and he immediately began to panic. Even as he tried to figure out how he got there or even what had happened in the past few days, or even hours, it all seemed like a blur to him. "Where am I? What's going on?"

"Ease up, Handsome," Mindshatter said slowly as he waved a hand, the black DT ranger slowly relaxed into the comfort of the chair. His voice and appearance now belonged to his wife and former teammate, Kim. "After that last battle, I thought you'd never wake up. How are you feeling?"

"Like a semi ran over my head. And a baseball bat knocked the shit out of my eyes. I can't see anything," he groaned as he looked around again. His head was spinning, and he wasn't sure what to believe, but somehow the comfort in that voice had told him enough. "Why am I strapped down? And why am I still in my ranger suit?"

"I didn't want to alarm you. Sometimes when you wake up, you lash out in fear. You can get cranky. Just a minor precaution. Here, lemme loosen those bindings," the voice of Kim replied as the hands moved to unlock him from the chair. "Unfortunately, that last battle had re-set your morpher. But you should be fine in a few hours."

Tommy groaned as he began to flex his arms. But they ached from pain he wasn't quite sure came from. "Why am I in pain?"

"They're dangerous, Tommy," Mindshatter bellowed as the voice came out more like a sob. "The other rangers. They would have destroyed you, Trent and Andros just to destroy the psycho rangers. And they almost succeeded."

Tommy blinked trying to figure out what he was hearing. Something just didn't seem right about any of this, but it had been coming out of his wife's mouth. He had to believe it. "What! There's no way that they tried to kill me."

"Do you love me, Tommy? Answer me that," the voice grew louder and more serious.

"'Do I love you'? What does that got to do with me being strapped down or you freaking out about the other rangers trying to kill me?"

"Do you love me, Tommy?" she repeated.

"Of course I do, Kimberly. I did marry you..." he began.

"So, you don't trust me? The word of your wife, who knows you better than anyone else? Who should know you better than anyone else, am I right?"

"Well, yeah of course, but..." he tried to say.

"If you love me and if you truly trust me, than what I'm telling you should be the truth. They almost destroyed you, Tommy. How can you trust your teammates for something like that? It sounds like betrayal."

"They were doing their job. Any ranger would have done that. Even you," he said. "How come you remember the battle, but I don't? I thought you were sleeping."

"Did I mention that they blame you for all this evil reign in the first place? If you never were the evil green ranger in the beginning, Trent wouldn't have followed. Evil would have been destroyed very early on. And they wouldn't have to become rangers at all. As much as you had trusted them, they have felt your betrayal. Mostly for Mesogog turning you against us. They even feel it now, unsure where your loyalty lies. But your loyalty is still with me and the other rangers, right?"

"No. I mean, yes. But what you just told me can't be true. It just can't be," Tommy shook his head. "You didn't even answer my question."

"They hate you for taking away their normal lives, Tommy. I've tried to tell them otherwises, but they don't believe me. So, I fled. We've been hanging out here in this motel room all night."

"Even Serena?" he asked slowly.

"She has sided with them on this, Handsome. It's only you and me."

"And Adam and the others? They've sided with Conner, Ethan and Kira?"

"They all hate you for taking them out of their normal lives. I kept telling them that they had volunteered their time, but they wouldn't take it from a former ranger. They won't listen to me. They're jealous of you also because you've been classifed as Mr. World's Greatest. Always doing all this suicide stuff just to save a friend. Knowing so much about the past ranger teams. They feel you're stealing all the spotlight away. That you don't need them to win this battle if you know so much, as they put it."

"What! That's crazy talk. It can't be true. Kim, what's really going on?" Tommy shook his head. What he needed was straight answers. No more of these lies, if they were lies. He needed to know the truth.

Mindshatter growled internally. He hadn't realized how hard it was to try an manipulate the mind of the black DT ranger. He didn't have to try so hard with the other two, and he had drained them of their thoughts, shielded them from the truth, but it didn't seem to have a strong enough effect on Tommy. He smacked the helmet of the black DT ranger. "Listen to me, Tommy. They don't want you on the team anymore. Why do you think they tried to destroy you? They just don't care about you anymore. Are you gonna take that from them? You gotta knock some sense into them. Maybe make up your own team. A team you can actually trust and they trust you because they don't seem to right now."

Tommy shook his head. "But I do trust them. How can you say that about them, Kim? You're talking about your friends, too."

"Tommy, they kicked us out of our own house! They turned their backs on us! Did you know they blame you for the death of Trini and your brother? Did you also know that they had betrayed you when you went to save Trent weeks ago and believed that Mesogog could be saved? They lost hope in trying to save him, but you or Trent haven't. I don't either. But will they listen to me? Or you? They're almost about to lose hope in this battle with Mindshatter. You call them rangers for thinking of that?"

Tommy wasn't sure if he should believe any of this. but then he felt his mind being filled with the images she had just spoken of. Of the "truth" of their betrayal, jealous and anger in his teammates and friends. That the real truth was being shielded from his eyes and a new reality had been placed before him, the one that he had just heard about. A line of rage fell over his body. "They have no idea what I've been through."

"I know, baby. I shouldn't hate them. It's wrong, but the way they just kicked us out just doesn't fit in my book." It fell silent for a moment. "I also fled because I was scared."

"Scared about what?" he looked toward the voice of his wife. The anger still present in his body and the fear for hearing her sound like she was crying.

"Of Adam. I think he's falling for me. If you saw some of the times he looked at me. And how he would care for me, it's almost like he wants me," her voice shook with fear.

"What!" he breathed. "Adam taking you away from me? No way. That's a lie, Kim."

"Think about it, Tommy. He has been the only other ranger who has hung around since this all began. All the others went back to their normal lives, but he never really left. He has always been around. And you know how he is still single. I think he's starting to find something in me where loneliness is in his heart."

"We'll see about that," Tommy said slowly as the rage continued to grow.

"I don't trust them anymore, Tommy. I'm not sure who to trust anymore. I'm scared. I don't think I will rest easily until I know we're both happy."

"I would do anything to make you happy, Beautiful." he surrendered knowing that he had to do something to stop this mayhem. He had seen the truth and knew he had to fix it for both of them.

"Anything?" she asked as he nodded. "If you truly love me and care for me, you will destroy the reign of their madness. Destroy the other rangers, Tommy. They've done their time and they failed to see their mistakes. They must go. They're the enemy." Mindshatter melted back into the shadows as he waved his hand and the black DT ranger fell into a deep slumber.

Mindshatter emerged from the shadows as his normal self and left the room with the three psycho rangers following behind him.

"What was that all about?" psycho yellow asked.

"You'll find out soon enough, my friends," Mindshatter bellowed. "Be prepared for an assault by the other rangers. I'm sure they'll be along shortly to try and rescue their friends."

The three psycho rangers acknowledged his comment and disappeared up the hall. Mindshatter turned to see a figure emerge from the shadows. It was Dinoshade as he bowed before his master and pulled out a device.

"I have done it, my master," Dinoshade nodded. "The morphing energy has been manipulated without their detection."

"You'd better have, Dinoshade. I hate to see you fail me again," Mindshatter bellowed. He snatched the device from his loyal henchman and left.

Dinoshade let out a growl, turned and headed the other way.

Another figure emerged from the shadows as the heavy gaze of the yellowish-brown eyes of Mesogog were trained on the direction Mindshatter had gone. He melted back into the shadows and moved back against the corridor undetected.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Angel Grove. Power Chamber.

Billy had been working frantically at the main computer, despite the late hour. And though it was late, it still seemed to keep Karone up. As much or as little as she knew about computers, she wanted to keep the technical advisor company. But it was clear that he was already getting frustrated with his work. He wasn't getting anywhere.

"It just doesn't make sense," he said more to himself, but turned to the other figure looming behind him. "I've ran through the primary routines and sub-codes over a hundred times and can't find out what is wrong with it. I haven't even established a stable connection with Cam in Reefside. There's no way to contact them."

Karone put a hand on his shoulder, trying to be reassuring. Since her early retirement as a Ranger, and as little time spent in it, she had become well aware of their existence through the years because of her brother. But it was clear she was still living with the scars of her dark past as Astronema. "I'm sure we'll get it running in no time, Billy. You've already done enough for the night. You should get some rest."

He nodded slowly as he pushed a few keys on the console. But then another blinking light came on from another console. He raced over to it with Karone following. He pushed a few buttons to widen the signal. "I've logged on to something. It looks like some sort of brainwave patterns of some kind. They're completely erratic though and I can't get a real lock."

"What if you narrowed the lock and power it up to that area?" she suggested as she pushed a few buttons.

He gave it a try and watched as the monitor changed. It soon showed three different brainwave patterns and a normal set underneath each of them. "It's Tommy's, Trent's and Andros' brainwave patterns. But something isn't right. Their brainwave patterns should be like the one beneath each of these erractic readings, but it seems like they're in some sort of trance."

"Meaning?" her voice grew with more worry. She had to admit with the trust she had in her brother, Andros, she always felt she had to keep a close eye on him. Make sure he didn't get into a mix of trouble, and it was clear that this was one thing with a lot of trouble.

Billy thought for a moment. He looked over the readings again as a little light in his head went off. It was almost like he had hit a deja vu moment as he shook his head. "Their brainwave patterns are being altered. And I think Mindshatter is to blame for that..."

"Can't you do anything about it?" Karone asked in desperation.

"Not from here. And if I have it right, this sounds strangely familiar. Tommy had gone hrough this before in his past with Gaskett. I think Mindshatter is doing the same thing in making them believe that we are the enemy and not Mindshatter." Billy pushed a few buttons on the console and sighed deeply. "Unfortunately, since we're firing up this equipment after such a long time, it will take some time to upgrade it. We can only hope the team in Reefside is already looking into the situation."

Karone thought for a moment. She had remembered the information Andros had passed on to her and the other space rangers regarding the history within the Ranger timeline trough the years. She had remembered being briefed about this same thing and had hoped the worst couldn't occur. But she wasn't sure. "Do you think it would be permanent this time?"

Billy shook his head. "No. I have come to notice that Mindshatter I underestimating the human spirit quite a lot. He has much to learn about us than we do about him. Tommy had told me to look up the contents in a disk he had obtained from Anton weeks ago, but I haven't been able to look at it since I've been here for some time."

"Does he know what's on it?" Karone grew curious with the sudden news.

"No. I don't. And neither does he. Except, I'm the only one who really knows about it among the other rangers, and I left it back in Reefside. I'd prefer not to leave until I know we got things running here securely," he admitted. It was clear she couldn't take him away from his work at the technology set before him. He was after all a whiz and responsible for much of the work when the zeo rangers were active.

She patted his shoulder. "Well, I could help you, but I'm not quite sure what to do."

"No. It's all right, Karone. You should get some sleep. I'll let you know if I find anything or need your assistance," he said.

She reluctantly followed his requested and left the chamber. Lucky for her, the space rangers had re-modified the place to fit the needs of their stay. It was there home now. For the most part not much could be done about it. They really had no other place to go or intended to make many public appearance unless they needed to.

Billy had moved from console to console using his technological expertise to upgrade the equipment. But he was still frustrated with some of the work that didn't seem to progress through his hard work. He had kept a close eye on the monitor marked with the brainwave patterns of his friends and hoped that nothing extremely bad was going on.

"May the powers protect you, my friends," he whispered quietly as he continued on with his work.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Underground DT lab, Reefside.

Despite the late hour, none of the rangers had departed to get some much needed rest. They were still in search of a way into the island fortress. And they were running out of time. The more time they were stuck searching for answers, the more time it put between them rescuing their teammates and wondering what Mindshatter's dark plan was with them. If he so desired to cause such destruction with his new captive rangers.

Though fatigue was grasping most of them, they refused to leave. Even under the doctor's orders of Adam as he tried to send them to rest.

"You can't expect us to leave with our teammates captive by Mindshatter," TJ protested. He looked back at his fellow space rangers and saw the tiredness in their eyes. "As much as we're all looking for some sleep time, we can't."

"I'm not saying we're giving up. I"m just saying you need to rest," Adam spoke as he changed his words around. "After that last battle, I think we all need it. Those psycho rangers will be back and more powerful than ever."

"But there is only thre of them," Ethan said still trying to keep his eyes open. But he was dozing just as much as his own teammates.

"Even with three they're still strong," Carlos spoke up as he yawned. He pushed himself off the wall and approached his teammate in blue. "But Adam's got a point, TJ. We need some rest to conserve our energy."

"As the clock ticks Mindshatter could be doing who knows what to Andros, Tommy and Trent," TJ spoke up as he shook his head. Despite his color, he was still second in command for the space ranger team. And he still had the skills of any leader of a ranger team.

"But I still haven't gotten a lock on an invisi-portal. Until I do, we can't do anything but sit here and wait," Cam spoke from his seat at the main computer console. He continued to push more buttons, but found nothing. He looked behind him to see the sleeping bodies of the two female space rangers, the yellow rangers and the dozing DT teens. "And if you look around this room more than half of you have already fallen asleep or are getting close to it."

Adam nodded as he looked back at the blue space ranger. "Don't get me wrong, TJ, I know we're all wanting to get them out of there, but if we don't get any rest we'll be going in there literally out in the open and unarmed. Cam will let us know if he finds anything."

TJ looked back at his own teammates as Carlos tapped them awake. He sighed and looked back at Adam and knew he was right. "I guess you're right. I can only hope that Billy is having some luck up in Angel Grove."

"With as much luck as we're getting here, I'm not sure he's any farther than us," Cam replied. "But you guys should head out and get some rest. Trust me, Mindshatter will give it a few hours before he decides to make an attack."

Adam had moved to the other side of the room, nudging his best friend awake. Rocky stirred with a groan looking up at the figure passing him. He tapped Tanya on the shoulder before laying a kiss on her head to wake her up. She stirred and slowly got to her feet falling into his embrace. Adam moved to wake Aisha as she slowly came to and got to ther feet. The sudden shuffle in footsteps shook the DT teens awake as they followed suit.

And slowly, but with some energy left, had moved out of the room to some much needed sleep in the line of hidden corridors beyond the lab. Since the recent setback of pulling some late nights, there had been several modifications to some sleeping quarters in the underground cave. It had yet to be fully developed but it beat sleeping around in the lab trying to find a comfortable place to be. It was another room which had been carved out for an extension to the lab, but never got completed. There were a few cots lined up in there with a few bunks to finish it off. The floor and walls were already plastered with the same markings in the lab and was feasible for a few hours of sleep.

Meanwhile, in the main room of the underground lab, Cam worked in silence. Aside from the whir and humming from the machines all over the room, he had gotten used to it when he worked alone. He mworked to send a distress call or a signal to any other bodies that could pick it up, hoping to get a reply.

He was unable to make any contact with Billy in Angel Grove or Shane or Cyber Cam back at Ninja Ops in Blue Bay Harbor. He had tried for some time, but got nowhere with it. He just hoped that the distress calls could get picked up by either party. He needed some back-up while he knew it was still available.

****

to be continued...

A/N: So, there is some nitty-gritty stuff here. Now, will it turn out good or bad? C'mon. Have I ever done anything extremely destructive to destroy the joy of reading something like this? Yeah, right. I can't make it that much of a tear-jerking. I would hate myself if I did that. But I will admit one thing. I have no real idea how this will end. I'm just sorta going with the flow of how I feel about this story at the time. I hope you like it so far. Hit me with ideas. And I'll see you when I do. Later daze! May the powers Always Protect You Always.


	35. Psycho Streak

**_'TIL I COLLAPSE_** - **PART THIRTY-FIVE: PSYCHO STREAK**  
SEQUEL TO: _**ORDINARY WORLD**_

_SUMMARY: Several rangers assemble to infiltrate the island fortress to find answers, but at what expense to the rest of the team? And will it be enough if they now have to watch their backs regarding the psycho rangers?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. And it never will, but I guess there is a reason why I write these stories. So, I can get the pleasure to do whatever I want to our heroes. Not that it is a bad thing, I hope it isn't, but you know how it is._

_A/N: So, this just get a little bit harder to fight for. How much? Read on and find out. I'll be cutting away soon enough, so enjoy what you can._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"The only was we will be able to defeat Mindshatter is if we get into the fortress and take out every source of technology he could use against us. It is a risk we are gonna need to take if Earth will ever survive." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Early morning, Reefside.

Cam had dozed off for only a little bit when he heard footsteps echo from the stairs that lead to the main part of the house. He grumbled shaking the sleepiness out of his eyes and averted his attention back to the computer screen. He had been looking at three different sources with the same radiation, but had no idea if it linked up to Tommy, Trent or Andros in any way.

Let alone, he didn't want to go off and show that he was up all night trying to find anything. As much as Kim would come by in the early morning hours to see if he had found anything, he had always told her the same things. He was still working out the kinks left in the system and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He never liked to worry her, and didn't want to add to it right now. Especially now.

"Hey, Cam," the voice of Kim echoed through the lab as the footsteps drew down the stairs.

"Hey, Kim. I see you finally got some much needed sleep," Cam commented, but didn't bother to look up from his work.

"I really don't see how you can spend all this time in front of a computer. Don't you just get out and enjoy the fresh air?" she asked as she made her way over to him.

Another set of footsteps followed, a little more bounce in them. And like always, Cam wasn't surprised to see Serena not too far behind wondering about any news regarding her ranger friends and father.

"Yeah, well, there's work that needs to be done. And with Hayley working long hours at the cafe and Billy up in Angel Grove, who else is gonna keep this systems in check?" Cam shrugged. He greeted the young girl, who took a seat beside him, with a gentle smile. "Hey, Serena. How are you?"

"I'm fine. So, when am I gonna meet your ninja friends, Cam?" she asked with an innocent plea in her eye.

"When your father permits it. You know we're really busy around this place..." he began but was cut off by the concern voice in Kim.

"Where is Tommy anyway? He said he had to do some work in the lab. But I didn't think it would take the whole night to do," she said as she looked around the room, hoping to find him somewhere hidden doing some repairs.

Cam shrugged. "I don't know. He wasn't in here when I got in. I figured he went out for an early morning run or something. You know how he can be about staying fit."

"Yeah I do," she sighed and looked back at the computer screen. "So, what have you been working on?"

"Not a whole lot. I'm afraid we're still looking to test those new weapons and gear, but I don't want to try anything until I know we got all of the kinks out of them. There have been a lot of problems lately."

"Have you heard anything from Billy yet?"

Cam shook his head, sadly. "Unfortunately, communications are still down and will remain down until I can establish a new connection. I think Mindshatter finally managed to disrupt any technology we, as rangers, use against our enemies. I even tried a distress call at low frequencies to both Angel Grove and Blue Bay Harbor and got nowhere."

"Well, I know you're trying, Cam. And we are grateful you decided to set up some time to help us out with this. Listen, if Tommy comes in through here, send him up. I'll have some breakfast cooked up if you're hungry in a bit." Kim turned and headed up the stairs.

Cam thanked her for the hospitality and went back to work. He heard the footsteps echo out of the room and back into the comfort of the house. He sighed quietly as he turned to the little figure sitting next to him. And according to the look in her eyes, he knew that she wanted to help out where she was needed.

And having a little genius like herself was a relief. Yet, he had questioned how she had managed to regain such knowledge considering the sorta background he knew about her father. But that was always something for another time. He needed her expertise as she pushed a few buttons on the console he had slid over to her.

"Three signal readings?" she questioned as she looked at the screen. Despite, her thick Filipino accent, she was still understood. And her English had quickly improved in nearly two months. "Brainwave patterns. But not sure who. Did something happen last night?"

Cam looked down at that face. And that's what he hated most. It was always a trait he loved to avoid even in his students at the Ninja School. The look of an innocent puppy-eye that could never be passed up to a lie. He knew he couldn't lie to her. And if he did, she had a way to pick it out of him much like Tommy could do to others.

"It's those psycho rangers. I don't know if your father told you who exactly they are and their capabilities, but they're bad news. Real bad. We managed to destroy one of them, but three still remain," Cam began to explain and when he looked down at the eager face of the young girl, he knew he had to say the rest to her. "And we ran into some problems. I got four of the space rangers resting in the sleeping quarters. They offered their assistance, but that included losing Andros, Trent and Tommy to Mindshatter. Now, he has them and I'm not sure what he plans to do with them."

Serena fell silent for a moment as she absorbed the information like a sponge. She couldn't believe it, nor wanted to. But when she looked back at the monitor display those energy readings, she felt her stomach sink. Tears began to welt in her eyes. "Daddy and brother captured?"

"I'm afraid so," Cam nodded slowly.

They heard footsteps from behind as the familiar face of Adam was strolling through the hidden door in the back of the lab. the one that lead down the hall to the sleeping quarters. Ethan was at his side, clearly whipping out his hands to get to work on this matter.

"Let's get to work," Adam stated as he clapped his hands together. "Let the others sleep. We'll call them in once we find something."

Ethan rubbed his hands together as he let out a breath. "I only hope I can pull in some of my magic to get something out of this."

"Well, let's go, Houdini," Adam patted him on a shoulder as he directed the teen in blue toward a computer located at the other end of the room.

Ethan took a seat and looked over the keyboard in front of him. Then he averted his eyes to the screen before him. Serena had walked up beside him, eyes still wet with tears. He looked down to see her face and had to admit he hated to see such sadness in her face. He had come to enjoy her company and never liked to see a sad face. "I'll do what I can, Serena. But we will find them, okay? Just don't tell your mom."

A good long hour passed before Ethan had really peeled his eyes away from the computer screen. During that time, Adam and Cam had tried to make their own lock on entering the fortress, undetected, using the three energy read-outs like a source. But they had not gotten anywhere either.

Ethan let out a breath and sighed deeply as he threw his head back to catch his breath. He had been working long and hard to try and search out the firewall around Mindshatter's security but found it nearly impenetrable.

"I quit. Either my skills as a computer genius/hacker have left me or Mindhshatter has put up more security than I've come to master," Ethan groaned. "He is smart for a guy that was made from a computer. Hasn't he ever heard of the Matrix?"

Serena tugged on his shirt. He leaned over to hear her whisper a line of codes into his ear. For awhile, he wasn't convinced they would work, each had some connection to Dr. Mercer and Dr. Oliver's line of dino DNA technology research. He began to enter it in. The readouts on the screen blinked the entry ways to available invisi-portals close to the lab and the Mercer homestead. He looked over at the little girl who only smiled back at him. She disappeared up the stairs to go get something to eat, leaving him alone to feel like an idiot for not thinking of that earlier.

"Um...I think I got something," Ethan scratched his head in confusion. Adam and Cam walked over to him to see what it was and noticed the line of entrances locked to another part of the island fortress. "I don't get it. Serena's been here for only two months and she seems to know the backhand of every little thing we try to figure out. Are you sure she's related to Dr. Oliver?"

Adam shrugged. "As far as I could tell." He looked over the readouts again as he shook his head. He swore he has never seen the corridors that these invisi-portals were linked to. "But I've never seen this part of the fortress before. I don't recognize the structure."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Cam said. He pointed at the hallways as they seemed to form a maze. He pushed a few keys to reveal the upper level of the fortress. "Do you see that? According to this, it seems those hallways are located underneath the actual fortress. How did Serena access them?"

"She began to name off codes labeled off of Dr. O's work with Dr. Mercer during their time on the island years ago. I thought those underground passages were sealed off when the island exploded the first time?"

Cam and Adam shrugged. They were never briefed on the work around the technology set by the two doctors of paleontology. They only knew that some of the experiments they were working on were apart of the ranger's line of equipment and weaponry. They never could find any other information regarding the work Dr. Oliver or Dr. Mercer had done on the island. They only knew that on that very island, where Mindshatter seemed to be crashing, was the original location for all the strange dino activity. And there was no one else to ask because even someone like Hayley didn't know everything about what went on there.

"Man, I wish this was one time I knew exactly what Tommy wasn't telling us about his past," Adam sighed.

Footsteps echoed through the lab as they turned to see the other rangers return from a good night's rest. They still looked a little out of it, but eager to get to work and rescue their comrades from Mindshatter.

Unfortunately, they were still working out some things to secure a lock on an invisi-portal that they could use to get in and out with ease. Then Cam had moved over to another table and pulled out a device. He began to push a few buttons, resetting the frequency of the device. Another one, with similar structures sat beside it. He walked over to TJ and Adam handing one over to each of them.

"Make it quick," Cam advised the team. "I don't know how long these things will last. The lock on the invisi-portal system hasn't been at its best since Andros blasted it. But it doesn't mean that they're no longer accessible."

TJ looked at the device in his hand, turning it over. "So, what exactly are these?"

"An invisi-trans locator. They'll lock on any invisi-portal located in the fortress and you'll be able to get in undetected. From there, you gotta figure things out on your own," Cam began to tell them. "However, you only got one chance. Once a portal is opened by the device it can't be re-opened again. We haven't been able to work around fixing that problem. So use it wisely, each one only has enough power to open up one portal before we need to recharge it again. You'd be surprised to know that it takes a lot of energy to open up an invisi-portal."

"So, to sum it up, we can only use these when we're sure our work is done there?" Ashley asked as the technical director nodded in turn.

"That's correct, Ashley," Cam nodded. "I mean, for the time being you're there. But I wouldn't be surprised if Mindshatter will figure out sooner or later what we're capable of doing. You're communications will only be limited to inside the fortress. I won't be able to help you."

TJ turned to look at the yellow space ranger. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, grasping it lightly. "Don't worry. By the time we use this thing we'll have Andros back. We'll have all three of them back."

Ashley nodded as she looked away. At times she would doubt those words, but with the number of rangers present, she didn't want to. And when she looked around the room, also seeing the hurt in the youngest yellow ranger, she moved beside her and showed her own set of sympathy for her loss. Though they hadn't gotten a whole lot of time to hang, Ashley had to admit she saw a lot of herself in Kira during her years as a teenager. Not quite the same way, but in enough ways.

"We'd better go now. If we're lucky, we'll be back by mid-morning before Kim realizes what really happened to Tommy and the others," Adam directed the team toward the door. "C'mon."

Cam sent them off with a 'good luck' and went back to working out the communication systems. He knew he would be useless to direct them through the fortress. A shield had guarded it and he couldn't do anything about it. And he hoped they could communicate to each other. He could only hope nothing else would surprise him or the rest of the rangers.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Mindshatter sat in his throne as he watched the array of rangers walk into the darken woods from a viewscreen in the main lab. He thought for a moment before waving the image away.

"So, they have decided to come like I have thought. Let the battle begin between good ranger and evil ranger," he said mostly to himself.

The three psycho rangers looked like they were either sleeping or re-charging for the battle. When Mindshatter snapped his finger, they stirred and became alert to any command he wanted from them. Though, they had not been controlled by the dark soldier, they followed his orders in hopes it would bring them more chances to take out the rangers.

"Is it time to attack?" Psycho Red stepped forward, eager to get into battle.

Mindshatter held a hand out to the door as it opened. "I would like to introduce three more warriors to your side, my psycho friends." Three rangers entered the room, each holding a dark aura around their figure. The black DT ranger, the white DT ranger and the red space ranger. "They should be sufficient enough to believe the other rangers are the enemy and will destroy them with ease."

"What good are they? We could have destroyed them right along with the other rangers!" Psycho Yellow bellowed with anger as she walked over to the white DT ranger.

But as she approached, the white DT ranger had pulled out his drago sword and unleashed an attack on the approaching figure. With an effort to take him out, she landed on the floor before the two other dark rangers. Each drawing out their own weapons and pointing it at her. She slowly backpedaled in some fear, but stopped when Mindhsatter snapped again. The three dark rangers became still, lowering their weapons.

"They are completely under my command. They have but one soul purpose. To destroy the enemy. However, if they find anyone else a threat, like yourselves, they won't hesitate to destroy you as well," Mindshatter stated with a nod. He got off the chair and fell in line over the three dark rangers, the psycho ranger followed close behind him. "And by the time they realize what they have done, the other rangers will cease to exist or be on my side."

The psycho rangers exchanged a look, but didn't bother to ask anymore questions. They had more, but wouldn't bother. But it was clear they had doubted the plans. They weren't sure if Mindshatter was really dumb or if he never realized how strong the human spirit can be despite what evil would come their way. And they knew the rangers, especially the space and lost galaxy rangers, like no other. But they had been informed that seven rangers have been destroyed and only so few have their powers left. Once they could do away with these, the other set of rangers wouldn't be so much of a problem.

Mindshatter snapped a finger again as the three dark rangers bowed and left the room. The psycho rangers followed them knowing they would draw out their ranger friends.

Mindshatter smiled deviously to himself and fell back into the comfort of his chair. He flexed a hand to form a fist. "If this goes according to plan, none of the rangers will survive and I will collect any powers they have left and use it for my own purposes. No one will stand a chance against me."

Dinoshade had heard everything, but had not said anything or wanted to make his presence known as he moved against the shadows out of the room. He moved down a corridor, but came to a halt when we lost control of his hiding place coming to a halt before Mesogog. The mutant freak looked at him for some time, but didn't do or say anything.

Silence fell over the two dinosaurs as Mesogog finally held out a hand for the other being. Dinoshade took it in confusion. For awhile, he had been wavering, unsure what to make of the mutant freak. He knew, or thought he knew, that Mindshatter had disrupted his thoughts to make him look at the rangers as the enemy. That they were always the enemy, but the times they would run into each other in the halls it never seemed like that at all.

"You have been wavering over your loyalty, Dinoshade," Mesogog replied in a cool, calm voice.

Dinoshade had looked away and said nothing about the comment. For the most part, he didn't want to say anything at all to the mutant freak. He wasn't sure if he could trust him, nor understand what his real motives were. "Why should that be a concern for you? Shouldn't you be worried more about your own set of problems than mine?"

"If you told me, perhaps you really are more like me than you thought," the mutant freak replied with a bow.

Dinoshade looked at the mutant freak. At the dinosaur who had gone through so much torment, and somehow survived. He didn't know how, but almost thought him to be indestructible in his own light. He had to admit that he never had seen such devotion in him, mostly for his silence and protection over the rangers. And the sheer thought of self-sacrifice had made him re-think exactly what he was here to do. It was almost he had been shielded with lies and the time spent on Earth had opened him up for other things. Possibly to his own objective. Destroy Mindshatter.

Dinoshade turned away and headed up the hall. "You wouldn't understand. Let me deal with it."

The dino freak had watched his counterpart retire up the hall. And as he blinked, the last set of words Dinoshade had mentioned, played in his head. The hint of blue, of the real man underneath it all, had returned to his eyes. And in the moments that Anton managed to think for himself, he knew if he could convince Dinoshade otherwise, they could gain a new ally. One that they were in much need of.

Anton breathed slowly. "I understand that your primary goal is finally returning to you. Mindshatter must be destroyed."

****

XXXXXXXXXX

The ranger team had moved out into the forest, darken even at the morning hour by the towering trees above. They had set up a plan to split up into two groups, once they got into a fortress. One group would be set to find Andros, Tommy and Trent. The other group would try to get into the main lab and do some magic by destroying the equipment in there.

The team set out to find Andros and the others was made up of Conner, Kira, Ashley, Adam, and TJ. The other team was set to destroy the equipment, and hopefully lure the psycho rangers back to the lab and convert them to datacards again, and destroy them for good. But there was no guarantee. That team was made up of Ethan, Carlos, Cassie, Tanya, Rocky.

Without any words spoken, TJ had used the device he held to open up an invisi-portal. The entire array of rangers walked in and the portal shut behind them.

As they walked through the portal, they seemed to walk through a cut in time, finding themselves in a darken hall. The only light that seemed to come in was at the base of stairs that lead up. With a tap of shoulders and the glisten in each of their eyes, Team A had moved up the stairs first. Team B followed, and when they pulled the panel aside, Team A had went right and the other team went down the other way.

TJ had taken the lead for Team A while Conner had took up the rear. His eyes darted about in alert, always keeping an eye on behind them in hopes to avoid any surprise attacks from there. Despite the similar panels on the wall to get anyone lost in a maze of hallways, it didn't seem to stop them. The device was marked with a small readout of where they were in the fortress. They had melted against a wall, stopping short.

"Is it usually this quiet in an evil fortress?" Ashley asked in a whisper as she looked at her young successors.

"I don't like this. You would think they'd know we were here by now, right?" Conner said quietly.

"Well, how about we don't find out, and see how far we can get?" TJ looked back at his teammates and looked back up the hall. He knew he heard something there, and wasn't sure what it was. He waved a hand as they cautiously proceeded forward.

As they rounded the corner, they came to an abrupt stop, nearly crashing into each other. The three psycho rangers stood like a wall before them, arms crossed, eyes trained on their new sight and prize.

"Well, look who decided to come and rescue their friends," Psycho Blue sneered with a laugh. "You're a little too late."

TJ glared at his opposite as he took a step forward. "I doubt it. Where are they?"

"There's no need to tell you. You'll meet their fate or be destroyed," Psycho Red announced.

"So, they aren't dead," Conner thought for a moment. He looked down the hall and heard something down there. He wasn't sure what, but when he saw the laser arrows coming their way, it said enough. He threw Kira to the ground, just as the others followed. "Look out!"

The hall smoked up by the impact, but as it cleared, the Psycho Rangers had only moved up closer to the fallen and shaken team. Psycho Blue pulled TJ to his feet and threw him into the wall. Adam jumped to his feet and went to help him, but was stopped by Psycho Red.

"You're not going anywhere," Psycho Red announced.

Kira finally pulled herself back to her feet as Conner helped her up. But her eyes were squared on the distance down the hall. The smoke finally subsiding as she saw three figures move their way. She tapped Conner on the shoulder as he averted his eyes in the direction she looked. "Conner, do you see what I see?"

Conner let out a breath as he saw the weapons draw from the three figures coming their way. He nodded slowly as he slowly backed away. "That's not a good thing."

Ashley had stood by Adam's side, glaring at her aggressors. TJ was fighting to free the grip around the collar of his shirt. His own eyes trained with determined rage and fury on his opposite. But when he had looked away for only a second he saw the three approaching figures from down the hall.

The three figures pushed passed the clearing smoke and stood only feet away from Conner and Kira. Weapons still drawn and pointing right at them. Their aura seemed to reflect that of a mindless zombie, or a soul with one object. The thought that the rangers didn't want to face all over again. Their friends and teammates were transfixed to destroy. Evil.

Ashley turned to see the three rangers, the darkness and confusion around them. She slowly walked over to the red space ranger, but Conner held her back. "Andros?"

"You shouldn't have come. Not after what you've done to hurt me," Andros said simply, his voice leveled.

Ashley's eyes began to welt with tears as she pushed passed Conner toward him. But Andros had extended his spyro saber farther out stopping her again. Her eyes fell on the other two rangers to either side of him, the black DT ranger and the white DT ranger. "What's happened to you?"

"We know the truth now," Trent spoke up. He walked over to the frozen with fear and shock figures he once knew as his friends. "You betrayed us."

"We don't want to fight you," Conner managed to say despite his fear and confusion. He knew something was wrong when he had seen those laser arrows coming their way. But he wasn't quite sure what had happened with them. He wanted to know, but he didn't like that he may have to deal with some unsettled anger in his friends.

TJ had finally broke out of the lock Psycho Blue had on him as he nearly collapsed onto Adam. Team A were caught in the middle of a crossfire, and they knew they couldn't stand a chance. Except hold some protection if...

Adam flicked his wrists to reveal his zeonizers, and pulled them into the call of the zeo powers. "It's Morphin' Time!"

TJ and Ashley had exchanged a quick look before laying out their own morphing call for their space powers. "Let's Rocket!"

And then Conner and Kira followed suit, as their morphers changed. They launched their own morphing call. "Dino Thunder! Power Up!"

But nothing happened! As the light cleared from the red and yellow DT rangers, they had noticed their predecessors still stood there in their civilian form.

They exchanged a look as they melted into the wall.

"I think we have a problem," TJ said.

"What happened? Why can't you morph?" Conner breathed in fear.

The black DT ranger clapped his hands slowly. He let out a evil laugh as he shook his head. "I'd hate to break it to you, TJ, but your morphing energy has been fried. You can't morph."

"But we could?" Kira said in confusion. She shook her head. "Please, Dr. O, don't do this."

"It'll be easier so we don't have to see your face when you'll be destroyed," Psycho Yellow bellowed with a laugh.

"You can't do this..." Ashley protested.

"Shut up!" Andros growled. "How could you guys betray me like that!"

"What! Hey, Andros, you're not feeling like yourself..." TJ tired to say.

"We know the truth," Trent stated. His eyes centered on the red and yellow DT ranger. "And you two! I knew I should have destroyed you when I had the chance, Conner. And Kira... after everything, this is how you treat me..."

"What are you talking about?" Kira said. "Mindshatter filled your mind with lies, didn't he?"

Trent sprang forward to attack, but Conner was there to guard his teammate. But it didn't help. He came crashing to the ground, and Trent threw Kira against the wall. Adam tried to stop him, but Tommy threw him to the ground. And TJ and Ashley had already gone into battle with Andros, or at least try to avoid it. And it wasn't easy.

Adam groaned as he blocked off a few shots from his friend. He had to yell, just to make himself heard by his friend. "Tommy, stop! This is madness! I sense your confusion, T. Mindshatter did fill your head with lies. He's making you think we're..."

"I should have known you tried to take Kim away from me! You were tired of being lonely, and you knew we were having problems. So, you figure you could save me the trouble and take her for yourself. Didn't you? Didn't you, Adam?" Tommy spat as he threw a punch into Adam's face.

"What! That's a lie, Tommy. I would never do that. Snap out of it!" Adam stated as he blocked a shot, twisting his friend's wrist and laying out his own punch.

Tommy stumbled back as it gave Adam some time to catch his breath. But he was only picked up by Psycho Red. And the psycho rangers had joined the fight. The good rangers had to avoid hurting their friends, and refused to fight them, and had to deal with the psycho rangers. All while dealing with the fact that they couldn't morph, and only Conner and Kira had any real protection from big harm.

They could only hope that the other team hadn't run into a serious problem.

****

XXXXXXXXX

Team B had moved down the quiet corridor. And so far, they had gotten rather far without being detected. Or they hoped. They kept low to the ground as they continued down the hall.

Ethan had taken the front, using the invisi-trans locator to guide them through the winding corridors. They knew that Mindshatter was trying to throw them off with the similar markings all over the place, but the device had told them different. They were only a few meters from the main lab, and still no one in sight.

"Anyone have a bad feeling about this silence?" Rocky whispered as they stopped for a moment.

"Are you trying to jinx us?" Tanya smacked him on the shoulder as she looked behind her. No one was there.

"But it is too quiet," Cassie nodded.

"Maybe they're all in some re-charging chamber or something," Ethan shrugged. He looked at the small screen on the device. He waved them forward. "Only a few more meters. C'mon."

The continued on, but came to an abrupt stop when Ethan froze in place. A line of cybots lined the hall, blocking their way. It was a sea of cybots, on a silent march through the fortress. They registered the danger and pulled up their pistols, but hadn't fired. Just yet.

"Go back!" Carlos called out as he turned.

The rangers turned, but stopped again when they saw Mesogog standing there in front of their escape route. And when they looked at him, they weren't sure if he had plans to destroy them or help them. Mesogog snapped a finger and a swarm of Tyrannodrones assembled behind him.

"Huh? I thought they were destroyed!" Ethan breathed.

"Well, I"m not taking any chances," Rocky tapped Tanya's shoulder. He flicked his wrists to reveal his zeonizers and gave out his morphing call.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Rocky and Tanya said in unison.

Carlos and Cassie followed suit. "Let's rocket!"

Ethan shrugged to himself as he pulled his tricera morpher into place. "Dino Thunder! Power up!"

And as the light around Ethan cleared, he had noticed something wrong. His teammates were still standing there in their civilan form. The four rangers tried to link the powers again, but nothing. It was like a fraud. There morphers were no longer on line.

"Not good," Carlos breathed as he looked from the cybots to the mutant freak and his army.

Ethan shook his head. "No way. I can't be the only one..."

The cybots inched closer, clicking their pistols for rapid fire. The rangers fell into a fighter stance. Carlos, Tanya and Ethan faced the cybots. Rocky and Cassie turned to face Mesogog and his dino army.

When Mesogog snapped again, the T-drones advanced, and as the rangers were about to attack, the dino army moved passed them and into the sea of cybots. Laser fire rocketed through the hall, boucning like a ping pong. The rangers ducked to avoid the blow as they turned to look at Mesogog in confusion.

It fell silent as Carlos step forward, despite the battle going on behind them. He didn't know what to make of the mutant freak except as the dino freak blinked, the hint of blue fell over his eyes.

"Why are you helping..." Carlos began.

"Follow me, if you want to get out of here alive," Mesogog directed as he turned and headed up the hall.

The rangers exchanged a look as another line of laser fire echoed passed them.

"What do we got to lose?" Rocky sighed as he shrugged. He moved forward, following to catch up the dino freak.

The other rangers followed suit, never looking back to see how the progress was with the cybots and the t-drones. Their footsteps still continuing in a loud thump against the metal floor, had many things going through their minds. They weren't quite sure if they could trust Mesogog. Or was it Anton?

Ethan had told them that Mesogog did, in fact, save Tommy from annihilation from Zeltrax. He even stood up against Dinoshade to allow them to run when they had finally returned back to Reefside in 2005.

"Shouldn't we be going the other way?" Cassie called out. "I thought the main lab was that way."

"Mindshatter already knows you're in the fortress. It's only a matter of time before you fall into another one of his traps," the mutant freak replied, but sounded more like Anton than Mesogog.

"Dr. Mercer!" Ethan breathed. "Is that you?"

The mutant freak came to a halt as he pushed against the wall. He had stopped short to make sure no one was around. He quickly turned to look at the rangers assembled beside him. And it was more evident in his eyes, that the blue had broken through.

"You wouldn't believe me if it would happen any other way," the dino menace replied. "Your friends are in danger. Andros, Tommy and Trent's minds have all been altered by Mindshatter..."

"But don't you have mind control? That's how it stopped you from being controlled by Mindshater?" Tanya pointed out.

"And what about morphing? How come Ethan is the only one who could?" Rocky asked.

"Mind control is a deadly tool, and I have mastered it. Or at least my alter ego, so I have been protected. Dinoshade fried everyone else's morphing energy except for the DT rangers. They were unaffected because you, Ethan, and the others are the current team in existence. It has to do with the morphing grid. It's been altered somehow. Don't know how..."

"What did Mindshatter do to Andros and the others?" Carlos asked cutting him off, realizing they were running out of time. They had to act faster if they didn't want to fall to Mindshatter's fate.

"What he is good at. Mind control. He made them think you are now their enemies. The truth has been shard by lies they think is the truth. My powers alone won't be able to save them," Anton replied sadly as they moved down the hall.

The rangers fell closer to the wall, as they slowly moved through the corridors. They knew they had to go to their friends' aide and hope they were still around to save. But they also grew worried about the psycho rangers, too. They knew their friends didn't have any chance to survive.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Conner and Kira went flying down the hall, sparks flying form their suits due to the impact of the laser arrows. Struggled to keep their ground against Trent, they knew they didn't have a chance. He was just as tough in his evil days now as he was back then, if not worse. His objective was the same, their destruction, but it was fueled by hate and anger toward them.

Conner helped Kira to her feet as they both tired to catch their breath. They had looked up the hall to see the twists and attacks on their friends. How Andros and Tommy didn't seem to listen to what their friends were trying to do, but while dealing with the psycho rangers' attacks too.

But they had their own hands full with Trent. And that was the frustrating part. They were the only ones suited up, while their friends were taking more hits than they could get into Trent. Not that they wanted to fight, they didn't, but he was forcing them to.

"C'mon. You're hardly a challenge," Trent stated in a low and heavy voice.

"Trent, you gotta stop this. You're under the influences of lies..." Kira began to reason with him.

"Lies!" he spat. "Were you gonna tell me that you were gonna hook up with Conner? And that you, Conner, were really gonna take her away from me? What about my father? Explain that to me! He will be Mesogog forever because of you guys!"

"Those are lies, Trent!" Conner held his breath. His own rash anger and competitive side was taking over him. He had learned to control it, but with a guy who just couldn't see their reasoning was bothering me a lot. "Mindshatter put those images in your head...or whatever he did..I don't know But we're not the enemy, Trent! We are your friends!"

"You were never my friends! You guys always thought I was just taking up space. It was all about the three of you. You didn't even care about Dr. Oliver. Well, no more. This ends now."

"This ends when we know you're back on the right side of the mirror," Kira spoke up. She took a step toward him just as Conner raced over to stop another blow, but she stopped him. She looked into the red visor of her boyfriend trying to find something underneath the cloud. "C'mon, Trent. You're better than this. Fight it."

And in those moments, Trent could say no more. They were locked in a world only they could seem to be in. But it was still shrouded in a darkness of confusion, searching. Lies vs. truth.

Meanwhile, up the hall, Adam had pushed the red psycho ranger into Tommy to catch his breath. He never had much of a chance, even under his skills as a ninja. The red psycho ranger seemed to analayze it with ease despite the times he failed to strike the black ninja.

Tommy had shoved the red psycho ranger, "I've had enough of you. Get out of my way!" as he struck him with an energy orb with his staff.

Psycho Red cried out in pain as the close range impact sent him into the wall, hard. The impact had also sent the other rangers into the wall or lose their footing. And when it had cleared, Psycho Red was only a memory. The hall brightened, but dimmed as the rangers shielded their eyes.

It fell silent for only a moment when everyone saw what had happened. The blue and yellow psycho rangers stopped to see the remains of their teammates, a shadow image of him, before getting back into battle, focusing on their opposites. TJ and Ashley struggled to fight with them while avoiding the attacks from Andros on them.

"Andros, you gotta stop this! We didn't do anything wrong," TJ protested as he pushed the blue psycho ranger to the ground.

"You can't be trusted. None of you," Andros pushed the blue space ranger into the wall.

Ashley kicked the yellow psycho ranger aside racing over to her teammates. She tried to pull Andros off TJ as he struggled to break the hold on his shirt. "Andros, please. Those are lies. Mindshatter manipulated your mind..."

"No," Andros shoved Ashley off of him as she hit the ground. He pushed TJ farther into the wall, pulling out his saber to lay inches before Ashley's neck. "How could you do this to me, Ashley! After all the years we've gone out. And you go for that pathetic excuse for a black ranger, Carlos."

Ashley breathed as she shook her head. "That's not true, Andros. You've known me long enough to know that. There's nothing going on between me and him. We're just good friends from high school."

"Just like TJ here, right? Just good friends? Why don't you define 'good friend' to me again? Remember, I'm not from Earth!"

"Yo, Andros. You gotta believe her. She's telling the truth," TJ stated.

"No more of your lies!" Andros stated as he threw TJ to the ground.

Adam forced air into his lungs as he looked up at Tommy, slowly coming his way. He knew at that point he didn't stand a chance against his friend in that state of mind. There was rage there that was beyond any way to control right now. But he to try. He had to keep trying to reason with his friend. See if the real person underneath the cloud of a world of lies was still there.

"Tommy, you don't wanna do this! You don't want to hurt me..." Adam said as he slowly backed away, trying to figure out another plan. He knew that Tommy wasn't acting like himself. He knew that Mindshatter must have manipulated his mind. He knew that what he was now perceiving was all lies, a shroud to hide the truth.

"Tommy, wait..." Adam tried to say, but Tommy threw him up against the wall, hand gripping his throat, lifting him off the ground.

"How could you do this to, Adam!" Tommy growled. "After everything we've been through, and this is how you repay me? By trying to take Kim away from me!"

Adam gripped his friend's forearm, using a little ninja magic to loosen the grip a little. "Tommy. Listen to me! I'm your friend. We've been friends for almost eleven years now. You know I would never do that to you, buddy."

"You're lying. That's all you've been doing for years."

"I'm also your doctor and a ninja. I know what it going on. Mindshatter has shielded you from the truth. You have to believe me."

"No." Tommy shook his head as he pushed Adam farther into the wall. "I heard this from Kim. Do you think I could back down from my wife's words? Admit it, Adam. You are tired of being lonely, so you think you could take up Kim in your arms once I screw up. It's not gonna happen. No one is taking her away from me. Not this time."

Adam gasped as he felt the grip tighten again. "Tommy, this isn't real. Whatever she might have just told you...those are lies... you gotta listen to me.."

TJ had pushed his opposite toward the two black rangers, startling the black DT ranger. He raced over just as Tommy loosened his grip on Adam. He sent a flying kick, sending Tommy to the ground and grasping Adam before he hit the ground.

"Sorry, Tommy," he apologized as he looked over at Adam. "You all right?"

Adam nodded slowly, but not without Tommy making a quick recovery. He pushed TJ aside and locked arms with Adam again. TJ jumped Tommy, trying to pull him back.

"Tommy, you gotta listen to him." TJ stated. "He's telling the truth."

Tommy shrugged off the blue space ranger as he pulled out his staff, pointing it at TJ. "What would you know? You're as much as sell out to being a leader as Rocky was. You've been demoted as a ranger."

Ashley had already managed to send Psycho Yellow on the retreat. Psycho Blue recovering and dsiappearing up the hall. The yellow space ranger could only conclude that they were in search for the other teammates while they were stuck dealing with their confused friends. She started to go after them, but Andros stopped her with an extended saber. She stopped short and caught her breath.

"And where do you think you're going?" Andros asked, his voice still low and full of hatred.

"Andros, you don't want to do this. You gotta fight it. These things that you've heard, they're lies. But what I'm trying to tell you is the truth. What TJ has been saying. We're your friends. Not your enemies," Ashley said calmly.

Andros stopped for a moment, trying to re-think his options. For a moment, her words seemed to make sense. That all the words that came out of her mouth and TJ's was the truth. But he wasn't so sure. He could usually tell the difference between those who spoke the truth and those who spoke lies. But his mind was just clouded. He couldn't really think straight. All he really knew was that his friends had betrayed him and they should pay for their betrayal. He shook his head, clearing away the words spoken by the yellow space ranger.

"No. You're lying," he stated. But his voice sounded more like a confused child than someone full of anger and hatred. "It's not true. It can't be true."

"Andros," Ashley began again as she took a step closer, pushing the saber aside. "I don't wanna fight you. I would never want to hurt you. We've known each other for far too long to even think of that. You gotta look beyond those clouded thoughts. Mindshatter is to blame for all of this. Not us. He killed Zhane, Andros. He killed the Lost Galaxy Rangers. He is to blame for your pain."

Andros lowered the saber and his head as he thought again. As those words escaped her mouth, they slowly began to register in Andros' mind. That everything around him was one big dream and that he was finally waking up from it.

"Ash...?" he spoke quietly. The strain of trying to remember what was real and what wasn't disturbed him. He came crashing to his knees grabbing his head, trying to shake all the thoughts out of his head. "No. This can't be real. You're lying."

"Andros, please. You gotta listen to me. Mindshatter is the enemy. He has, somehow, put a shroud over your thoughts, shielding you from the truth," Ashley spoke soothingly. It was calm and relaxing as she knelt by his side, grasping his shoulder. "Andros, you gotta trust me on this."

His mind danced around the thoughts of hatred, betrayal and lies that Mindshatter had placed there. There were a few truths peeking through, which confused him even more. He didn't know what to believe or how to believe it. But what Ashley kept telling him started to make more sense in his mind than anything else.

"Come back to me, baby," Ashley moved closer to him. Her voice rang like a choir in his ear. "Come back to us. What you've thought about us hating or betraying you is not true. Look deep down and you will know the real truth."

For a moment, TJ and Adam had locked Tommy in their embrace as they watched the yellow space ranger reason with her boyfriend. They could hear her soothing voice try to comfort him, pull him back into reality. And they knew they were getting somewhere with it. He had stopped the battle and collapsed to the ground like a helpless child. And Ashley was the support he needed to see what exactly was going on around him.

Time seemed to pass slow. Though far from the battle, Conner and Kira had noticed the effort Ashley had been trying to do with Andros. They saw him struggle to believe the truth, and hoped that he could find it. But they were still having problems with Trent. Ones they didn't need. It was one thing to deal with him when he was evil, it's even worse dealing with him when he also holds a personal grudge against you.

Conner and Kira used all their efforts to shove Trent into the wall, locking him in place.

Conner exchanged a quick look with Kira, knwoing he would have to do what he could to knock some sense back into his friend. "Trent, you gotta listen to us. We're your friends..."

"Ex-friends," Trent corrected as he try to twist out of their grip. But they had him up against the wall tight.

"No. We are your friends. If we weren't we wouldn't be doing all of this to knock some sense into you," Kira said.

"You gotta remember who you're fighting for and what, Trent," Conner said, the voice of a leader returning to his pitch. "We aren't the enemy. Mindshatter is. Remember, he kidnapped your father and changed him back to Mesogog. He is to blame, not us."

Trent groaned, shifting his weight as he pushed the two DT rangers to the ground. He flexed his arms and looked down at them, swinging his sword around. "It's a lie. All of it. And now, you must pay for it."

Kira held her breath as she could only pray there was one chance to uplift the shroud over Trent's eyes. She had remembered the same story being told by Tanya, the yellow zeo ranger, regarding a certain legendary ranger in a dark time where he thought he was king of the entire Machine Empire. She stood up, crossing her arms before her and dropping them back to her side. "Power down." A light covered her body and as it cleared, she stood there in her civilian form. She slowly walked up to the white DT rangers as he took a step back. "Trent, it's me. Kira. Don't you recognize me? I'm your girlfriend."

Trent took another step back as the images of their betrayal played through his head. But even there were a few other images, of ones regarding a certain independent singer sharing her talent with other teens. He shook his head as he took another step back toward the wall. "No. You're lying to me, Kira. You're with him now, aren't you!"

Conner saw the gesture as he shook his head, getting to his feet. He knew he would have to follow suit and hope that there was some hope in bringing their friend back into reality. He brought his own arms up crossed his chest and back down to drop him out of the suit and return to his civilian form. "Power down!" He walked up beside Kira holding a concern face. "Trent, I know you're in there. I know you gotta think this is all ballistic, but I would never do that to you. You're my friend, not my enemy. Not anymore."

Trent shook his head again as his steps slowly faltered. For a moment he grabbed his head trying to remember what had happened days ago, but couldn't. The only thing that played in his head were the lies, betrayal, jealous and hate of his friends. He leveled his sword, held out in a threat as he eyed the two rangers. "I know what you're doing. My dad warned me about this. He told me you would try to do this, but you know what, who would you take the word of more? Family or friends? I'm sorry, but he's family and..."

Kira took another step forward. "Trent! We're also family to you in this circle of rangers! What you might have heard from Anton or Mesogog, or whoever, could have been a lie."

"No," Conner shook his head. "It was a lie. You have been made to believe we are the enemy. And you might think it was your father who said it, but it wasn't. Mindshatter has the power of mind control. He is using it on you right now to shield your eyes from the truth, Trent. You gotta try and remembered everything before all those things you might have heard from your father just recently."

Meanwhile, up the hall, Ashley knew she was finally getting to Andros. He was now on his knees, struggling, more silently, with the truth over the lies. And the way that Ashley kept approaching it, made more and more sense to him. It was like he was beginning to remember and understand.

"Your name is Andros," Ashley said calmly as she grasped his shoulder to make him look at her. "You are the Red Space Ranger, our leader. We went up into space with you to save Zordon. Me, Cassie, TJ and Carlos. You had to make a sacrifice and kill Zordon, but it was the only thing that could have been done to save us all. You also lead a task force team of Red Rangers alongside Tommy Oliver against the remnant evil of the Machine Empire and Serpentena. We tried to stop Mindshatter before he could cause too much destruction but were too late to save Zhane and the Lost Galaxy Rangers. But now, we have teamed up again with the DinoThunder Rangers to end this before it gets worse. Please, Andros, you gotta remember."

Andros looked away again. And at that point, he had pushed Ashley aside, grapping his head. He cried in pain struggling between the words she spoke and the images that played in his mind. They were still of the evil and lies planted by Mindshatter, but as he searched through them, it made more sense as nightmares he didn't want to face.

Ashley continued to encourage him, talking to him and sooting him with her voice. He groaned in pain as the struggled continued and then he had seen the light and the end of the tunnel. His vision was blinded by a white light and when it cleared, his eyes grew heavy and time just seemed to stop.

The world around him stopped and he had fallen forward, his eyes shutting.

But as he did, laying there motionless, he demorphed. For a moment, Ashley had not moved a muscle. And though both TJ and Adam were still struggling with Tommy, TJ had pushed the black DT ranger aside and raced over to the motionless figure. He peeled Andros off the ground as Ashley raced to his side, shaking the red space ranger awake.

"Andros? Andros, wake up!" they said, as each in turn tried to shake him awake.

Then Andros came to as if he just came out of water, coughing and gagging. He slumped over coughing for a moment until he was locked in a tight hug by Ashley. For a moment, he had forgotten what had happened, then remembered every second as he came out of a trance. He wrapped his arms around Ashley laying a kiss on her head.

"Thank you, Ash," he whispered just as TJ ruffled his hair. Andros looked over at TJ and nodded his thanks. "Thanks, TJ. That is something I don't..."

"I'd hate to break up this happy moment, but..." Adam called out, but was thrown against the wall again, a hand locked around his neck.

"Adam," Ashley quickly sprang to her feet, getting back into serious mode. She raced over but was stopped by another upraised hand as if a shield was planted right in front of her.

TJ and Andros quickly recovered racing over, but had ran into the invisible wall that seemed to stop them from getting to their teammate. The men tried to push and shove, put didn't seem to find an open. They watched somewhat helpless as Tommy had raced Adam a bit higher off the ground. They called out to Tommy, telling him to stop, but he didn't seem to listen.

Through the visor, Adam could sense the burning fire in his friend's eyes. Adam calmed his breathing and closed his eyes as he slowly began to concentrate. Use the energy around him and call upon his animal spirit in hopes to find a lock on Tommy's own animal spirit. He had already taken a bad beating which made it a little harder.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way, Adam," Tommy replied coldly, "but you have left me with no other options."

TJ, Ashley and Andros continued to call beyond the invisible wall, hoping to register something in his mind, but it just didn't seem to work. TJ looked down the hall seeing the same struggle with the DT teens. He called out to Conner as he raced over using his super speed. His eyes widen with fear as he saw the near fate of his friend in the black ninja suit. Adam's eyes were already closed and they thought he might have been dead, but Conner wasn't convinced.

"No, he knows more than we could ever understand. He must have a plan," Conner said quietly.

The black DT ranger had slowly moved as he still held the black ninja in his grasp. He slowly walked closer to the wall he had somehow created to give the other rangers a closer look at the demise. But as he walked, the two seemed to glow slowly. And as the rangers watched in confusion, they saw what looked like a spirit jump from Adam into Tommy.

Tommy lost his grip as the power of the jump threw him to the ground. Adam hit the ground almost like a rag doll and the rangers fell forward as the wall was broken. Ashley and Conner raced over to the motionless black ninja. TJ and Andros moved against the black DT ranger, who appeared just as motionless.

Meanwhile, down the hall, Kira had caught Trent as he fell to his knees. The struggle to know the truth danced in his mind as he tried to remember what was going on. And as he tried to get out of her grip, Kira had refused to let him go. She pulled him closer to her trying to be consoling and comforting. She calmly whispered into his ear of several memories he had shared with her and his friends.

"Trent, you gotta remember. For all of our sakes," she had ended her calm reasoning as he continued to struggle out of her grip. "No. I'm not letting you go. You must remember, please."

Trent groaned as his hands were plastered to his head, Kira continued to cradle him in her arms. Like in the past, she had been his shoulder to lean on during his transition into the ranger family. She had been there for a place to cry on and talk to. She always wanted to learn more about him since she had first seen him, and there were still a few things, a lot of things, he had yet to talk about. But, she wanted to see it through. See how far it got and this was just another obstacles they would have to overcome. An obstacle with great scars but many lessons for the future.

Then the struggled had stopped and Kira watched as her boyfriend demorphed in her arms. His body became still as the mintues passed slowly. The tears wanted to fall for fear that he could have died, but she knew it was not true. There was no way.

Then he finally stirred, again, like Andros gasping and coughing like he had come out of the water. He coughed and coughed as Kira loosened her gip to give him some air to breath. When he had calmed down he had looked up, seeing the relief fall over Kira's face. And though, he had remembered what had just happened, it was hard to describe.

"Kira, I remember," he breathed as he shook his head. "I remember everything now. I know..." But before he could saw anything he had felt her soft lips on his and he was pulled into a tight hug. He could only tighten the grip as he heard the soft crying come from his girlfriend.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

In the dark vastness of space. Of a place deep within the mind, two spirits drifted through the astral plains in a trance. The spirit of the frog and the spirit of the falcon. And once the falcon stirred, so did the frog. Both morphing and taking shape as a figure, a human figure. And then it revealed the very structure of Adam Park and Tommy Oliver.

Tommy looked around slightly confused. He felt like he had been in this state of mind, drifting and sleeping, for some time and that another had finally awoke him. "Adam? What's going on?"

"You know what's going on," Adam replied. "Mindshatter has taken control of your mind, but in the depths of your mind lives the primate side that never sleeps to anything. It's in all of us, but only so many have tapped into it."

For a moment, Tommy thought. He could remember the images and words of a mesmerizing Kim. But in the depths of his mind, he had never believed it. He just couldn't, where his primate and animal spirit lived. He had two, forged together by the white light of purity. The power and strength of the white tiger and the speed and knowledge of the falcon. "After all this, and he finally accomplishes it?"

Adam nodded. "I know. It's crazy. But it's time to wake up and look beyond the lies, Tommy. We need you fighting for the right side. With us. Fight back. But this is one battle you must fight on your own."

And with those last few words, the spirit of Adam had morphed back into a frog. It slowly drifted out into the plains of space within the mind, leaving the lone to figure out how to get back to reality.

For a moment, Tommy had remembered being strapped into a chair while something was locked around his head and dino morpher. It was almost like he sat beside himself as the mind probe and control took over him. He, physically, felt helpless. That only the spirit of his falcon could watch as he took a beating for the worse.

Then he saw the light and it all fell into line. His eyes flashed open as he began to cough and grasp for air. He forced air back into his lungs as he slumped over to his side, groaning. When the world around him finally began to register, he felt the presence of others around him. He slowly rolled over to his back to see the relief fall over the array of rangers planted over him.

No words were really spoken as his gaze locked on Adam. TJ and Conner had helped him to his feet as he looked around again. He was no longer in his ranger suit, and saw the exhaustion in all of them. Andros and Trent looked a little more pale and weak as they leaned against their respective girl.

He knew they had overstayed their visit as he looked at the setting of their location. He knew they were in the fortress. And he had remembered everything that had happened in that battle. And as close as they were to the destruction and truth, they had to fall back and come up with a whole new plan. He took the lead, though had to use the support of Adam and TJ to get them to their next destination.

Safely out of the fortress without running into anymore problems.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Team B had moved down the hall with Mesogog/Anton as their guide. He had led them into passageways that none of them seemed to recognize. Not even the device they held in their hands would be enough to tell them where they were going. They could only trust the guide in the mutant.

But their thoughts were wondering, they were in fear. They didn't know what kind of condition their friends were in. They couldn't contact them. As a warning by Mesogog, he told them, Mindshatter could use their communications as a homing beacon on the fortress. And that was one thing they did not need at all.

A line of strange wind echoed through the hall as the rangers came to a halt, but Mesogog only urged them on. They knew it was the T-drones, but they weren't sure if they were fighting on their side or the others. Yet, they were also unsure about trusting Mesogog.

But none of them had said anymore and followed him on ward. As soon as the halls seemed to dim as they moved farther down it, they felt like they had hit uncharted territory. But were stopped short when it came to a dead end.

"You just led us into a dead end," Carlos protested. He had gotten frustrated with their run through the fortress. He hated he had no clue about what was going on, and he knew they all were. "We should be up there helping our friends."

"We were given a task, and so were they. We gotta go with it," Tanya said.

"They go rescue the others, while we work some magic to damage the systems," Ethan spoke up.

"But I agree with Carlos," Rocky spoke up. "I mean, we don't know where Mesogog -- or Anton -- or whoever is in that dino body is taking us. How can we trust you and you're not leading us into a trap?"

"But weren't you the one who said we should follow him?" Cassie had to butt in.

Rocky shook his head, sighing. "You know, that is not the point. Right now, we have no idea where we are and what kind of condition our friends are in. Or if they're even alive at all..."

Tanya put a finger to his lips, shutting him up. In situations like this he would go crazy over not knowing what was going on. And that's what could get him into serious trouble. It would lead him to make some rather bad decisions, and that's not what they needed as a team.

"You can believe whatever you want, Rocky. I can only show you the door," Mesogog spoke up as he tapped against the wall.

"Don't use those Morpheus-like philosophies on us. You led us to a dead end," Carlos had to agree with the blue zeo ranger.

Mesogog looked away as he let out a breath. He tapped the wall again, reaching on the side walls as he felt a hallow area. He punched it to reveal a hidden keypad as he entered in a code. Then the wall, which they swore was a dead-end, opened up to reveal a darken room.

Ethan slowly stepped inside as the others followed suit. There were a mesmerizing humming in the room as panel upon panel blinked with life. There were wires connecting other panels together, but all seemed to play an important role for something.

Mesogog stopped short of the door as if a force field had been placed before him and he could not enter.

"What is this place?" Cassie turned to look at the mutant freak.

"The mainframe computer room to the entire fortress, am I right?" Ethan seemed fascinated by the work. He had moved over to a computer stationed at the center of the room looking at it in awe. "I didn't think you'd have one of these things."

"And neither does Mindshatter," Mesogog said from beyond the threshold. "Unfortunately, with this electrical bindings around my wrists, I cannot enter it. It would only weaken me further."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's just blast this place and end it now," Rocky said as he reached for Ethan's blaster at his side.

"If you do that none of us will make it out of here alive. This is the key element in the destruction of the fortress, but once it has been activated there is no way to stop it. The only way out of here is through the main portal system in the main lab because all other back-up systems will automatically shut down," Mesogog spoke slowly.

"Okay, that's not a good thing. We don't even know where we are in the fortress," Tanya said.

"In the lower levels where no one dares to trend into. The area that only I and Dr. Oliver know about, exits and entrances."

"So, why'd you take us down here if we can't destroy it?" Cassie asked.

"I had given Tommy a CD with vital information toward the destruction of the fortress and hopefully the end of Mindshatter. If we can get him down here, then it could weaken him. It is only theory, but by overriding his own mind, we could destroy him. He is after all only a machine made to follow the rules of a super computer. This is the closest thing you will have in order to stop him. If you can familiarize yourself with the computer work, especially you, Ethan, it could save us all."

Rocky grasped the blue DT ranger on the shoulder. "Well, looks like it is up to you. No pressure, Ethan."

Ethan shook his head as he ran his fingers over the main keyboard in the room. It had a standard keyboard mixed with a huge line of other buttons he had yet to understand. "Thanks for the encouragement."

"But I thought the portal system could only be opened from the main network in the lab?" Cassie said.

Mesogog nodded. "However, there is a way. With those device you have created to open up your own portal, it should work as a key to take you up to the main network in the lab. There is only once chance. And I can only brief you on what I know."

"How sure are you about how well this will work?" Carlos asked.

"It is after all only a theory. But I'd give you guys at least a 60-40 chance to go along with it."

Ethan sighed as he looked at the code running down the screen of the main laptop. Most of the codes he could not quite figure out, but didn't seem at all foreign. He had focused more on his dance life rather than computer life, but it wasn't like it still existed. It was running codes for locations and levels of radiation and energy throughout the lab.

"60-40!" Tanya said as fear struck her. "My only question is, does this thing link to our own network of systems in Angel Grove and Reefside?"

Ethan's eyes flashed over the screen as he consumed the material making calculations in his head over it. "It's running an analysis of the morphing energy and heat signature in the fortress. It's almost like a camera, except it's all in code." He looked up at Mesogog. "Who developed the system?"

Mesogog could only shrug. "Unfortunately, I am not quite a computer genius to answer that for you. It originally acted as a security system and research log for our work years before most of it was lost. But as of now, I'm not sure what it has been doing."

"Was this same system used to re-program the tyrannodrones?" Ethan asked as if he started to build his own theory around it.

"Yes," the mutant freak replied simply.

Ethan began to think for a moment as the other rangers looked at him with what thoughts he was developing. It seemed important enough to notice he was starting to figure something out. "I think we're starting to get something here."

"Like what?" Rocky asked. He was anxious to know what the blue DT ranger had come up with. "Do share."

"Yes, do share," a voice echoed through the hall.

Rocky and Carlos busted out of the room just as Mesogog turned to follow suit. They saw as two figures emerged from the dimmed hall into the sight of one of the light panels on the ceiling. It was the blue psycho ranger and the yellow pycho ranger.

"Great, that's all we need right now," Rocky sighed as he fell into a defensive stance. "But where is Psycho Red?"

"How about we don't ask and just send these guys on their way?" Carlos said as he followed suit.

Cassie, Tanya and Ethan peered out into the hall seeing the trouble. Mesogog turned to look at them as he pulled them out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

"You've run out of time, rangers," Mesogog pulled them up the hall. "You must go. If Mindshatter makes any discovery about this place, we may never be able to stop him. There will be another time to fight."

"But they're closing out our only escape," Cassie protested.

Mesogog continued to push them closer to the psycho rangers, but rammed into a wall to reveal a hidden passage. He shoved them in as he raced for the psycho rangers, forcing them back.

"Wait, Meso-- Anton, wait," Tanya tried to grab him.

Mesogog looked at them as he urged them on. "Go! Get out of here!" He pushed a hidden device on his belt and an invisi-portal opened up.

A line of t-drones blocked the path for the psycho rangers, sealing off the panel on the wall, leaving the rangers in the darken hall. They knew it was another sacrifice they had to look past. They didn't like the torment of seeing their friend being held captive by Mindshatter, let alone being trapped in the body of his alter ego.

Ethan began to push a few buttons on the device as an invisi-portal opened up in front of them. He pushed the older rangers toward it, not wanting anymore discussion over the manner. They had to get out of there before the psycho rangers could find them, or even the cybots.

But they would be returning with some key information that could prove to be vital in their future battles. After a moment of grasping his breath, especially gaining some knowledge form the coded computer, he knew it would be what they needed to end this. He looked back up the hall hearing the pounding and fight echo through the wall.

"Thank you, Dr. Mercer. We'll be back," Ethan said quietly as he jumped into the portal and it shut behind him.

He came to a landing in Reefside Forest as the other four rangers stopped to catch their breath. For awhile, they were glad to have such a device as that, but feared the worse for their teammates. They were nowhere in sight.

Rocky pulled up his communicator calling on the technical advisor back in the lab. "Hey, Cam. This is Rocky. Got anything from Team A, yet?"

"No," Cam replied. "But it's good to see the five of you got out of there in one piece."

"And we got some vital information for you, too," Ethan replied as he de-morphed, leaving him back in his civilan form.

"And some bad news. Our morphing energy has been fried, except for Ethan and other other dino rangers," Carlos spoke up.

"Okay. Okay. Time out. Give the others a few minutes. We need to discuss this as a whole. And I think I might be getting somewhere with our communications systems, too," Cam said.

They cut off the transmission, slumping on fallen trees to catch their breath. No real words could be said as fear ran over them. They wanted to say something to each other, but it was clear they had grown worried about their friends. They didn't know if they pulled it off, and hoped that they did.

The minutes passed slow. But finally, they heard the crackling sound of an invisi-portal and watched as eight figures emerged form it in the distance. They raced over as relief fell over each of them. Team A had returned, and they had the three captive rangers in their grasp. But it was clear that they were all exhausted and tired.

Andros, Tommy and Trent still looking pale and dazed by their little fiasco.

"Man, do we got some info for you guys," Rocky stated.

"And so do we. C'mon, let's head back." Adam said.

And the array of rangers slowly headed back to the lab. Each team talking quietly among themselves, trying to grasp the information said by the other.

But they all knew that it was only gonna get harder as the days went on. They knew they had to end this soon or it could destroy them all. It was getting harder to keep their guards up and it was even harder knowing that three of them had experienced the real power of Mindshatter on their minds.

But they were all eager to get the real news and wonder what vital information was locked away in the disk that Tommy had received from Anton. They just hope that battle would end sooner before later. They weren't sure how much more punishment they could take as a whole.

****

XXXXXXXXXXX

Mindshatter had sat in his chair thinking deeply. He had been sitting there, unmoved by the action of anything going on in the fortress. His mind was on other things. On other matters he had sent only his best cybots to accomplish. The gesture of Dinoshade caught his eye as he watched the array of candles being set up by his henchman.

A comanding officer from a unit of cybots had made the report of locating the rangers located in Mariner Bay. Mindshatter had absently heard the news as he waved the gesture away.

Dinoshade walked over to the lead soldier and bowed. "Master, the rangers have fled with the red space ranger, and the two dino rangers. You plan has failed."

"Don't underestimate me!" Mindshatter growled. "Send the psycho rangers to take out the Lightspped Rangers. And jam their transmissions so they won't be able to make a distress call. I will deal with the rangers assembled here in Reefside."

"But what about the other rangers still out there?" Dinoshade asked.

"That's where you come in, Dinoshade. Find them and eliminate them quickly. I do not need anymore rangers breathing down my back then need be. They should not be much of a problem since they do not propose a threat to me," Mindshatter gestured the robo-dinosaur out of the room. "Now, go and fulfill your duty. Take that mutant freak with you and keep a close eye on him. I am worried about his loyalty. Do not return until you have completely your mission."

"Yes, master," Dinoshade bowed and left the room.

Mindshatter walked over to the candles set up on the other side of the room. There were fourteen candles in all. Two were red, three were blue, three were yellow, two were black, one was white, one was pink and one was green. Five of them stood alone to symbolize the dino thunder rangers, while the others stood next to each other.

"Those rangers have no idea what they're up against," Mindshatter bellowed with an evil laugh. His eyes glowed to a fiery red haze. "I have huge plans for the black and white dino rangers."

****

to be continued...

A/N: Ooh. Kinda an intense moment, right? What happens next? Yeah, well read on. And there is a hint, you'll be seeing the return of a vital character. I hope I haven't pushed you off the seat completely as you fall to your knees begging for more. I'll get to it. Just keep reading and doing what you gotta do. May the powers always protect you.


	36. Life or Death

**'TIL I COLLAPSE:** **_PART THIRTY-SIX: LIFE OR DEATH  
_**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The rangers have made a terrible discovery about their fellow rangers in hiding. Can they stop it before it gets worse? Or will they meet the same fate as the other rangers?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine and never will. I just own this story and how it will end. You have been warned._

_A/N: Can you smell death in the air? I'm sorry, it has to be done to prove this guy really means business. I think I'm losing some of you people to short reviews. Not that it is a bad thing. Thank you for the reviews, or this would be nothing. I just need more to work with, so I hope you like it. Please don't hate me too much after you read this. This was sorta randomly put in, but it needed to for the transition between the chapters to come. So enjoy!_

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"We are running out of time. We need to move fast or we will suffer a tragic event we are not ready to face. I will not stand here and let the rest of the world crumble as this evil machine continues to destroy us. And try to divide us. We are better than this. We always will be." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The array of rangers had returned to the lab in one piece. Luckily, no cybots or the psycho rangers had followed them back. They had enough then they could bargain for in the last few days of their time as a ranger.

Upon their return, Hayley had joined Cam and Aisha in the lab trying to analyze the situation at hand. Still looking a little pale, Andros, Trent and Tommy were placed into the care of Adam to one side of the room.

"You're lucky, Kim hasn't come down here to ask where you were at, Tommy," Cam called from his place at the main computer.

"Glad to have you back, too. All of you," Aisha breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can I say I'm sick of these suicide missions?" Rocky nearly collapsed to the ground in relief that it was all over.

TJ moved over to the main console where he handed back the devices to the technical director with red hair. He thanked her for the work done to them and how it was ver beneficial in the fight.

Adam had worked frantically to revive the three rangers, giving them more energy and awake them from their trance. They had seemed to fallen into it once they hit the lab, especially Tommy and Trent. Ashley, Kira and a few others watched on with agitation wondering what service they can be to the medical doctor. They were relieved to have him there, but also wished what kind of miracles he really could perform.

"Well, let's go down the line with information. TJ, what did you guys discover?" Hayley asked.

"We can't morph," TJ replied as he looked down at his morpher.

Rocky sprang to his feet nodding. He pulled off his zeonizer and tossed it to Hayley. "Yeah. Rumor has it that the morphing grid has been tapped and we can no longer morph."

"Well, not us," Conner corrected as he joined the blue zeo ranger, looking down at his own morpher. "How's that?"

"Because we're the most current team. The grid didn't effect our morphing energy," Ethan replied.

"But if the grid was tapped into, somehow, that would leave the other rangers vulnerable, too, right?" Tanya asked.

Hayley looked over at the zeonizer in her hand. She ran a scan over it on another computer and nodded. "These things have been fried. You guys can't morph unless you find a way to tap into the grid and fix the energy source around your powers."

"Is there a way to do that?" Aisha asked. "And does that include our ninja powers?"

"It couldn't. Those powers were already destroyed, but the actually spirit has not. It's part of our soul," Adam called out as he snapped a finger in front of Andros. The red space ranger stirred as the color in his face began to return. He patted him on the shoulder. "Well, that's one. How you feeling, Andros?"

Andros groaned as Ashley rushed over to lock him in a hug. Relief fell over her as sighs fell over the other space rangers. "Like someone stopped over my brain and put it back in my head. But I'll be fine."

"You're lucky we got you out of there when we did. It could have gotten worse," Adam stated. "I'm not sure what Mindshatter did, but..."

"What he did best, produce images to think my friends were really my enemies. And I couldn't fight them. Not without help." he spoke as Ashley laid a gentle kiss on his lips.

"We're just glad you're back," Ashley nodded.

Carlos and Cassie moved to grasp the red space ranger in their own signs of relief and gladness. Adam had moved over to the white and black DT rangers who still appeared in a trance state. He waved a hand over Trent's head as he lunged forward, Adam catching him as he hit the ground.

Trent cried out in a panic as Adam stabilized him. The color in his face had returned as his eyes began to register the life around him. He let air back into his lungs as he sighed deeply.

"You're okay, Trent. The nightmare is over," Adam said slowly.

Trent shook his head. "Then why do I not feel convinced? I feel like my mind is still being probed."

"Those are the side effects. You should be fine," Adam stated as he patted the teen's shoulder.

Trent had to take his word for it. He was after all a doctor of medicine. He slowly got to his feet as he walked into the waiting arms of Kira. And relief fell over the two, as Ethan and Conner had relaxed a little for the two. But work had to be done and they knew the two need some time to catch their breath as did Ashley and Andros.

Adam moved over to his last patient as he used an herbal remedy to calm the tense shoulders of his friend. He waved his hand over Tommy's eyes and he slowly blinked and finally came to. His whole body began to show more signs of life. For a moment his eyes fell on Adam like a predator on his prey. Confusion and fear fell over Adam's face just as a little evil smile fell over Tommy.

But when they had both blinked, the reality of that moment was only a memory. And Tommy groaned, waking from the nightmare as he lowered his head, groaning.

"Hey, Tommy. You're fine. It's over. The nightmare is over," Adam said slowly as he placed a reassuring hand on his frien'ds shoulder.

Tommy shook his head, as he grabbed it again. "I wish I could believe you, but I"m not convinced, Adam. Something is going on in my head that I can't seem to figure out."

"You just need to rest," Adam stated more like an order. "We've all been through a lot in the last few days."

Tommy sighed as he nodded. He had to take his doctor's word on it. He just hoped that he was right. But he wasn't sure what he was feeling. He did feel different, that something wasn't falling into place. He didn't want to say anything and hoped that some sleep would let his doubts leave him.

After a few moments for all of them to catch their breaths, they began to inform the others about their findings while exploring the fortress or looking into communications systems among the other rangers.

Through constant trials and test-runs, it was official that no other ranger could more into their ranger suits, or use their ranger powers in any case, but the dino rangers. Meaning, if they didn't figure this out soon, they would be really doing this battle on their own.

Ethan had told the team about the underground passageways that Mesogog had lead them through and told them about the room that worked the entire network of the fortress. He said that, according to Mesogog/Anton, was the only sure fire way to re-program the cybots and Dinoshade. He had also mentioned that it could be in that very room where they could destroy Mindshatter for good. The only thing was acknowledging the type of codes that came with it.

The also found out that Mindshatter had a way to use their morphers as homing devices, much as they were trying to program them to track down each other. That's why they couldn't risk communicating to each other. He had been one step ahead of them the entire time. And that communications were limited within the fortress as well as from the command centers in Angel Grove and Reefside. But hidden well enough to avoid electronical damage from what Mindshatter was attempting to do in the future.

They had also concluded that there was only two psycho rangers left, but they can still cause a lot of damage. And if they didn't stop them soon, more damage would be inflicted than they would have wanted from an evil being.

Andros, Trent and Tommy even explained the thoughts and the mind tricks that Mindshatter had played on them. To make them, their friends, look like the enemy right before their eyes. That even under the pressure of figuring out how to stop them, they feared their minds were still being probed and controlled, especially Trent and Tommy. They felt like whatever was being said was somehow broadcasted to Mindshatter in the fortress.

"So, if we don't find a way to reset the entire morphing grid, we're on our own in this final battle?" Conner asked as fear ran over him. For as long as he could remember, he had always had some courage knowing he had the back-up of a few rangers with their powers. Now, there was nothing. "What are we against Mindshatter if there is only five of us to stop him?"

"A miracle. That's what we need," Kira admitted. "Even if we managed to get Mindshatter down to that central computer room, wouldn't you think he'd be smart enough to override it?"

"Not if there is a lot going on. If we can somehow gain access from this lab and possibly Angel Grove, we can add to the disturbance and distrupt him before he gets a chance to knock us out," Haylye concluded.

"Dr. Mercer had also mentioned something about a disk," Ethan said as he looked over at his mentor and teacher, who hadn't said much during their entire discussion. But the gaze had caught his eye as Tommy looked up at him. "A disk that he had given to you somehow. What was that about?"

Tommy sighed for a moment before getting off the chair and moving to a desk in the room. Despite the mess of gadgets and papers, he had found a disk under all of the mess and held it up for all to see. "I got this disk from Anton weeks ago when a certain ranger decided to go up to the fortress to go rescue his father," he stopped for a moment as his gaze fell on Trent. But Trent had not said anything as he looked down with guilt.

"Unfortunately, I have not had the time to look at it, nor do I quite know what is on it."

"Well, Mesogog, or Mercer, I'm still confused about it, mentioned that you also have some background knowledge about the underground passageways below the actual fortress. Mind explaining that to us, buddy," Rocky stated as he re-collected the words from the conversation with Mesogog/Anton.

"Actually, he's right about that. It was those same passages where most of our first experiments had begun. Unfortunately, most of it had been lost in the explosion. I guess, it was more so passageways meant for two, rather than a whole team. Not many other scientists we've worked with knew about those except for me and Anton. I had not realized they were still around because I thought the explosion would have taken them out, too. But it's been so long and I can only remember so much. I do know it is one place even Dinoshade or Mindshatter fears about going into. Yet, I have not figured out why," Tommy had to admit, knowing any information would be crucial to their cause.

"So, the disk," TJ pointed out as Tommy tapped it on his hand. "Any idea what sorta information Dr. Mercer gave you?"

"Enough to get us by and find a weakness in Mindshatter. But much of it is in code. In code even I can't decipher and I'm not sure if Hayley or Ethan could either, no offense, guys," Tommy said as he looked over at the two computer whizzes for the DT team.

Then there was a scream from upstairs. And like lightning, if not faster, Tommy stormed up the stairs and into the place he heard it coming from the living room. Several of the other rangers followed suit in curiosity and fear as they clamored upstairs.

"Kimberly! Serena!" Tommy called out as he came to a halt at the threshold of the living room. He caught his breath for a moment as he saw the tears escape his wife's eyes, Serena clinging to her with tears running down her face as well.

Their eyes were affixed on the tv like mindless zombies in fear. Tommy walked farther into the room as he saw what had caught their eye. It was a news report.

"...they just came out of nowhere. ...they didn't stop for anything. ...destroyed everything..." bystanders were shown in clips across the tv.

There were images of explosions and fire raining the streets. It was reported only minutes ago by an amateur cameraman. In the city of Mariner Bay.

Then it panned over to a woman news reporter, shaken and struck with fear. "This is a terrible and horrific event for the people of Mariner Bay. Innocent bystanders were killed today in a terroristic-like attack. Among them, the Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers, who the city is highly grateful for, were also ruthlessly and viciously killed by an army of robotic soldiers lead by two suited figures that witnesses could only describe as 'stormtroopers' and phantoms in a blue and yellow suit..."

Tommy felt his knees weaken and lock as he raced over to his wife and daughter, pulling them into a protective hold. Tears ran down all of their faces as the other rangers fell into the room like mindless droids.

They collapsed on chairs, hit walls or stumbled to the ground, others tried to hold their tears back. As they listened to the report and saw the footage that had been captured, fear ran over them. None of them had expected it or could have gotten the chance to warn them. They had fought, all six rangers, and none had survived, without their suits against the cybots and psycho rangers.

"...I have with me, the man who was responsible for giving the rangers their powers. If I may, Captain Mitchell, a moment of your time," the reporter requested as a man in a navy-like uniform shielded his face from the camera. The reporter began to file out questions as he refused and pushed the mic away, walking away. "...sir, please, I know this is very tragic for you, but..."

Then the man finally grabbed the mic, looking directly into the camera. His face was scarred with tears. "This is a message to the other rangers out there. If we do not find a way to end this, this entire world will be destroyed. Do not let this same fate happen to you or any other. I speak to you especially, rangers of Reefside, we must find a way to stop this or no one will be left to protect the planet. They took away my rangers... my son and my daughter..." He had pushed the mic away and walked off as the tears fell.

The rangers clung to each other, to the wall, to anything they could as they heard the words replay in their minds. Of the words spoken by another mentor of a ranger team. No one could really say anything. They were in awe and shock. They had not expected this to happen. The thoughts and images as another shot of the destructive nature of the cybots took out the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers with no mercy. Some had tears falling, others tried to hold them back. But all were feeling the loss.

"They're on a rampage," Conner breathed as he wiped a trail of tears from his eyes.

"They're taking us out. Team by team." Ethan said in a low voice. Despite the fear, grief and asadness, rage ran through his bones. "It's an elimination."

"They're like animals now. No mercy," Kira shook her head as she clung to Trent for comfort.

Then the broadcast had switched over to a guy in the studios as he touched his earpiece. "Indeed a tragic moment in the world. But I have just gotten word... another attack... in Turtle Cove. We go to Jerald Jones live in Turtle Cove..."

"No. Not Turtle Cove," Tommy said in a low voice. His eyes fell on the TV as the screen switched over to a man under the location of Turtle Cove.

"Madess raged through the streets of Turtle Cove only thirty minutes ago," Jerald, the reporter, began to say. "Many are injured, and several are dead. No information has been released by rescue workers about the damage done. However, witnesses have claimed that soldiers in white armored suits plowed through the streets, firing like ruthless terrorists toward everything and anyone. This is truly a tragic sight to see. Who are these masked soldiers? What was their purpose? And why weren't the Power Rangers of Turtle Cove here to protect us?..." he stopped for a moment as something was fed into his earpiece as he spoke. "I have just received word that there was some amateur footage of six people trying to direct people to safety and fight these armored soldiers. We go to the footage now..."

The eyes fell on the TV as the rangers assembled in Reefside watched in horror as the six figures fought the cybots. These six figures that all could conclude were the Wild Force Rangers, also without the protection of their suits, fighting. But the fire power was beyond their control to dodge or evade. One went down, then two, then two more and finally the last two. The cameraman raced out of there just as firepower came his way. And it was lost. But no real clue could be made if they had survived.

Tommy felt his knees weaken even more as he collapsed to the ground. Kim and Serena encased him in their arms as he cried. "No, not the Wild Force Rangers, too."

"This can't be happening," Cam breathed as he collapsed against the wall.

"Who's left?" Cassie shook her head. She just didn't want to believe the truth.

"They're attacking while we are most vulnerable," TJ said as he forced air back into his lungs. "When we can't morph. We're nothing without our powers."

None of them could believe it. In the matter of hours they were worried about getting Andros, Tommy and Trent free from danger, they had lost twelve rangers in the ranger family. They wanted it to be a dream, and even as Adam flipped through the other news channels, word had gotten around. Two Power Ranger teams ceased to exist in only a matter of minutes between each other. And that now contributed to the lost of the Lost Galaxy Rangers and the Silver Space Ranger.

Cam raced out of the room, pulling out his cell phone. It was the only means he had to reaching the others without getting tapped into. He dialed up Shane's number waiting patiently. Then it clicked as someone answered. "Shane, fall into procedure Code PRO-04 and don't argue with me. ...It will be your best defense against the cybots until this is over... You can't find Hunter or Blake? ...Find them, Shane! And quick before those cybots move against you. We can't afford to lose anymore rangers."

Tommy had heard the call out of the corner of his ear as he pulled out his own cell. He began to dial up Jason's number, hoping his friend had heard the news and moved onto Plan AGR-01, which meant finding a way into Angel Grove or Reefside if anything got too serious for the rangers. He waited for a moment, calming his anger, sadness and mixed feelings as he hoped to get a call back. It rang and rang, but the machine had gone off. He shook his head as Kim tried to comfort him, stop him before he went completely ballistic.

He tried Jason's cell phone, hoping to get somewhere with that. And even Aisha had moved to inform her boyfriend of the news, if he wasn't already on the move. And Andros had moved to contact Wes, in hopes Eric was with him, and they were already on the move. But none of them had gotten a connection.

For a moment, no one had moved as they exchanged a look, knowing what was going on in each of their minds. Did they lose five more rangers to the hand of the cybots? Hayley had raced down into the lab, with an array of rangers following. Tommy pulled Serena into his arms as he escorted his wife down the stairs, taking up the rear. Like all of them, they were all worried and hoped nothing had come of them.

Hayley was already quick to work as she used the cell phone numbers to target their location. Luckily, she was a genius enough to find some location on the hidden rangers. She worked at a speed no one had ever really seen her work at as images and satellites pictures ran across the screen. Then a red dot came up outside of Los Angeles was moving southward toward Reefside. She got another lock on one heading for Angel Grove.

"What do we got?" TJ asked as he raced over trying to figure out the images. Despite, the crushed spirits, he knew he had to be stron, as did Andros and Conner. The rangers as a whole had to keep their heads high for the sake of the rest of the world they had to save.

"I got one heading for Reefside and one toward Angel Grove. I think we got Jason and Katherine on a course toward Angel Grove. Wes and Eric is heading for Reefside," Hayley concluded as she tried to close in and the search.

"What about Zack?" Aisha bursted through as fear ran over her. With as much action as she had seen in her months of helping the dino thunder rangers she never had enough time for Zack. But nor did he, still working between his dance studio and getting his album perfected and completed. But they talked, kept each other informed about what was going on. But she hadn't actually seen him in weeks.

"What about Zack?" a voice called out from the forest entrance of the lab.

Everyone turned to see the original black ranger standing there. And despite the fear that seemed to run through his body, he still had a smile on his face. It was clear to the breathless run, he had left in a hurry and jetted onto a safe haven after hearing the news. He rushed over as the familiar face of his girlfriend as he locked her tightly into his arms as they shared a kiss.

"I missed you, baby," Aisha whispered.

"I'm okay, 'sha. I'm right here," Zack replied as a soothing clam fell over him.

Relief fell over the rangers as they were glad to see one ranger out of harm's way. It was the others they were worried about. And hoped they could find a safe haven soon.

"They're moving fast," Andros concluded. He had been making calculations in his head over the news. "Space Rangers, assemble. We gotta head back to Angel Grove. Karone and Billy are sitting ducks without us."

"Even without our powers, what good are we?" Carlos shook his head. He had to agree with his leader, but felt at a huge disadvantage. "We're nothing against that kind of firepower."

"I'll go," Tommy spoke up as he took his place at the center of the room. Eyes fell on him in shock and terror, especially from his daughter and wife.

"No way, Tommy. You're not going anywhere... did you see.." Kim began to say, but he put a finger to her lips shaking his head.

"Daddy, no. Don't go," Serena dried as she hugged him tighter.

"Yeah, no way, Dr. O," Ethan shook his head. "You've already been through enough..."

"We still got one more option on our hands. Well, a few. I've made a copy of that disk that Anton gave me. The rest of you guys stay here and look into it. See what you can find. I'm going with Andros and the others. If I'm lucky, Billy can find something out up there. They're gonna need some protection until we get the morphing grid back up..."

"But you're a key element in unlocking what's on the disk," Conner protested.

"You got Serena and Trent. They know enough to get you started. If I'm lucky, maybe we can call in another source over at NASADA, too," Tommy let out a breath as he looked over at his wife again. The look in her eyes ran with fear and he didn't want to see it. He laid a kiss on her lips as she pulled a hand over to her round belly. "I'll be okay."

"You'd better be. You've gotten into a lot of messes lately. I'd hate to have our son not see how great his father was as a person," she manages a smile as she laid a kiss on his lips. "Love you."

"Love you, too, Beautiful," he whispered as he looked over to the little girl he carried in his arms. She pulled him into a hug as he laid a kiss on her lips. "Keep an eye on your mother, Serena. I'll be back."

"You one crazy ranger, daddy," she said hoping to lift the burden on his shoulders. A smile passed her face. "But you gotta do what you gotta do."

"Hold down the fort while I'm gone. Make sure Trent doesn't do anything stupid. Love you, baby," he whispered as he placed her into his wife's arms and exchanged another kiss with his wife.

Then he turned and headed up the stairs with the space rangers following. The array of rangers in the lab watched as he left, unsure what to make of his plan, but hoped he knew what he was doing. It had consisted of the original black ranger, the pink and yellow ninja rangers, the green, yellow and blue zeo rangers, the green samurai ranger, the DT teens, the DT technical advisor and the little girl with a huge legacy under her wing.

And despite the tragic events of hearing the loss of two ranger teams, they had to get down to business and find a way to end this annihilation before they were next. For a good long time, they grieved, in their own silence over the loss. No one could speak to another. None of them could really say they had known any of the rangers who had fallen victim to death, but they knew of their contributions to the legacy. And they could only hope that the other rangers were finding a safe haven elsewhere.

The war was only getting worse, and the toll was striking on the rangers still alive to tell their story. They could only hope they find a way to stop Mindshatter before he found a way to take them out by another sinister plan.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: So, it is a tear-jerking, kinda. I mean, we now lost twelve other rangers. We have no clue on the others still out there. And what does Tommy have in mind as he heads up to Angel Grove with the Space Rangers? Hit up the next chapter to find out. Please don't have me too much for doing this. It had to be done. It just had to. RIP, my ranger friends. May the Powers Always Protect You. _


	37. Just In Good Company

**'TIL I COLLAPSE**- **_PART THIRTY-SEVEN: JUST IN GOOD COMPANY  
_**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: After hearing some tragic news, the space rangers head back to Angel Grove with Tommy. They hopes to find some answers they need to help them in battle. Along the way, they run into an old friend that could prove to be beneficial in their battle against Mindshatter._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine and never will. I just own this story and how it will end. You have been warned._

_A/N: I know, after a chapter like that last one, you guys must all hate me for that. I told you there would be death in this story, didn't I? It's not that I didn't like those rangers or were gonna try to fit them in, I just had to put something to catch your eye. I'm sorry. This is getting more serious and tragic as we go, just not extremely. And I thought I would bring up more of that past reference stuff. You guys tend to enjoy those, right? So, take a look at the title. Does it give a hint? Well, it should if you've been hanging on to the series on T.V. for awhile. I'll give you one hint... he replaced someone else due to complications. Yeah, okay. Still confused. Just read on. Enjoy! Don't hate me too much._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"So, this is it. We have to go back to where this all began and hope to find the missing links to this war we are in. I can only hope once we find what we need, a weakness can be found and we can end this for good." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The Space Rangers and Black DT Ranger had to move quickly. They weren't quite sure if they were being followed or if there was a way to get back to Angel Grove without being detected, they just hoped that Mindshatter would back off just a little against them. They all knew his grudge laid more in them than any other ranger team since they were the only ones who served as a huge threat. But the other teams. It crushed each of them in their own way. The Lightspeed Rescue Team and Wild Force Rangers had fought their way to survive and protect their cities, but failed. They wouldn't be forgotten, though. That much was clear by those rangers still standing.

They were all dressed down, hidden by another color in hopes not to attract too much attention. Tommy was the only one set in his miliatry uniform. He had informed them that he would first head over to the NASADA space port and find someone there who could help them out.

"If you can get that far. Even we can't gain access to the megaship in one of their holding bays. Ever since security precautions took place, we've been locked out," TJ stated.

"Don't worry. I got military clearance. And if all else fails, I got another set of tricks up my sleeves." the man in the military outfit replied.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

In the shadows and comfort of hiding places in the outskirts of Angel Grove, two figures moved against the blazing hot sun toward civilizations. They had left in such a hurry, no one on their squad had any idea where they could have gone or for what real reason.

Both of them were dressed in the uniform accustomed to the Silver Guardians of Silver Hills, CA. Wes ducked behind a boulder catching his breath. Eric knelt down beside him, tapping his awake. They knew they couldn't risk running by vehicle, and relied on a few bus rides, stowing away on semis and running.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Eric asked as he looked around, hoping to find no one around.

"Andros told me their base should be another 50 meters due east. Now, I'm not sure if they've heard the news, but you remember that if anything serious should occur, we'd better find shelter at either Angel Grove, Blue Bay Harbor or Reefside. And Angel Grove was the closest place we could have gone to," Wes stated as he forced air back into his lungs. He pulled himself back to his feet as he started for a sprint toward a rocky cliff.

"I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I hope you're right about this. We just sorta got up and jetted out of there like there was no tomorrow," Eric called out as he looked back again.

"Because there might not be for us. Our morphers are now off-line and we can't use them to communicate with anyone. I think that is fair enough to panic now," Wes said as he pulled himself up a path toward the top of the cliff.

Eric could say no more. He, too, had wondered why their morphers had not been functioning, and what exactly would come of them if they stuck around. He could only hope if they found refugee they could also apply some help and knowledge to the remaining rangers.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Power Chamber, Angel Grove.

Billy and Karone had been working frantically to locate the rangers they knew were still around and not in the haven of one of three locations. They had just heard the news about the deaths of the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers and the Wild Force Rangers and feared the worse for the others.

"How could this happen? Mindshatter waits until now to brutally attack us?" Billy shook his head as he pushed buttones on one of the panels.

Karone looked over the readouts on one of the screens before her. She shook her head in disbelief as Billy raced over. "But look at these readings. They indicate a disturbance in the morphing grid."

Billy looked over it holding his breath. "Attack when they're most vulnerable. This can't be happening, though. How did he tap into the morphing grid without our detection until it was too late?"

"I don't know. But I'm picking up two energy sources southwest of us," Kaone tapped on another screen as it revealed a heat signature around two objects.

Billy ran a few more codes as the satellite image centered on the two figures. He let out a breath. "It's Wes and Eric."

"Well, teleport them here. They're within range, aren't they?"

Billy shook his head. "Negative. Since their morphing energy has been disturbed, I can't get a complete lock. I'm shut down completely. I've been trying to get a lock on the space rangers, but can't lock on their energy either. They'll have to move in by foot and hope that no one followed them."

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

In the streets of Reefside, life had went on. But there were many that mourned, heard the loss of the ranger teams in Turtle Cove and Mariner Bay. They just could not believe it, but could only hope the Rangers of Reefside were still around to protect them.

They had seen the destruction first hand by these armored soldiers, these cybots, as some had learned. And were grateful to have them around. But along the way, innocent bystanders had succomb to death by the destruction of these cybots. The rangers had done all they could, keeping the city safe.

But doubt raged over a few. If the citizens of Turtle Cove and Mariner Bay had lost their own team, they could be next.

A red SUV drove through the streets, at a speed that worried some of the passengers inside. A family of four, two of them were veteran rangers, each holding their own against the terrible news they had heard. Without any hesitation, a few bags were packed and they had left Los Angeles to find refugee in the small city of Reefside.

JasonLee Scotthad not dropped a tear since they had left, but was feeling the hurt. He had come to love the company of the rangers who had just recently died, especially Cole. He had kept his rage under control, but the hurt dwelled in his heart as the images of the ruthless and flawless attacks took out two teams of rangers.

KatherineScott sat in the passenger seat beside her husband speechless. Tears had already scarred her face as she tried to make sense of the attacks on the rangers. It didn't make sense to her that the cybots would attack them. And she couldn't even figure out exactly why they didn't morph either. But even she was feeling a little weird about it. Almost sick to her stomach as if someone took apart of her out and blasted it to pieces. She felt empty inside, but clenched tightly the hand of her husband as he held it out for her.

She turned to see the two sleeping figures in the back. They had been asleep the entire time. Mark only waking up briefly to ask where they were going. She had replied they were taking a trip to go see their uncle in Reefside and would be staying there for a few days. If not weeks, but had not mentioned that.

The other figure, a baby of only almost two months, slept secure in the baby seat. Unlike the other child, she would have no idea what was going on. And Katherine had almost wish that she were that age. An age of innocence where fear never really existed.

"It'll be okay. We're almost there," Jason spoke in a whisper. But as he made the turn into another side street, he slammed on the brakes as the SUV came to a screeching stop.

Only meters away stood what he had been informed about was a robo-dinosaur, arm upraised in their direction.

"Dinoshade," he said mostly to himself. As much as he had been briefed about the situation in Reefside, he had refused to pull his wife into anymore of the ranger tasks. But somehow, she knew and gripped her husbandn's hand tighter.

Jason switched the vehicle into reverse and floored the pedal as the car bolted back. He skidded back onto the busy street, nearly taking out two cars in the rush. They came to a screeching stop, honks blaring. He flipped the car into drive and turned the wheel, gunning the pedal as it raced out of there. A laser blast had missed the back of the SUV by only two feet.

Another powerful laser blast shot the ground, shaking the road behind the SUV. Jason almost lost control as he pulled into another street never looking back. He knew they were in danger and had to find a way out of there and fast.

Then as he moved toward the very street he needed to head into the darkness of the woods, he nearly ran the red light and the incoming cars. Beside him, Katherine cried out in a panic as he fought to control the unstable SUV against the turn and raced out of there.

But it seems like they were still being followed. No, they were. Laser fire rained down from behind them, trying to pop a tire or throw them off the road.

"No. Not now! Back off," Jason breathed through clenched teeth.

Another jolt and awaken the two children. One bursting into tears as the other screamed in a panic.

"Daddy! What's going on?" Mark cried out as tears fell from his eyes.

"Just pray for us, Marcus," Jason replied as his hands tightened on the wheel.

Then as they rounded the corner, four familiar color-coordinated vehicles raced passed them toward the firing enemies. It was the DT teens, suited up and gunning their lasers at the cybot army coming their way.

With a motion by Conner on his raptor cycle, he told them to keep going as they went into battle with the cybots. Laser fired from both sides, but the DT team had the upper hand. They knew how to work they cycles in any sorta battle, using weapons and blasters for close range attacks.

But when all four DT rangers had finally got their fair share of attacks, the cybots had retreated in a flash before they had a chance to do anymore damage. They all came to a halt looking around in confusion.

"Okay, that was weird. One minute they battle us, the next they flee," Kira looked up into the sky where they had disappeared through a portal.

"I'm not liking this. They're pulling back," Ethan said.

"Maybe Dr. O was right. Maybe Mindshatter is gearing up for a bigger battle," Conner said.

"Well, we'd better go find Jason and escort him back to the lab. I doubt we're fully out of this quite yet," Trent said as he revved up his ATV.

The others followed suit and drove off toward the way where the red SUV was heading.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Tommy had waited at the base of the cliff as he watched the space rangers make the ascend to the top where the hidden Power Chamber was. Then he turned his jeep around and headed for south toward town where he knew the space port was.

He wasn't quite sure what he should say except that he knew they had to find a way into the space port. Vital information was locked away in there that he hoped to get access into, but wasn't sure what type of mess he would get into.

He hadn't been to the port in a good few years and didn't understand why even the Space Rangers weren't permitted in, if not TJ or Andros, who escorted him and several other red rangers into space.

Red Rangers. The fury in his mind rose at the thought of their demise. They didn't deserve it. None of them did. They were only living a normal life, set away from being some high-class superhero. He clenched his fists as he forced air out of his lungs, trying to feel the calm over it.

Then he had come to the main entrance to the NASADA space port. A guard stood his ground, stepping out of the post to greet him as he pulled up.

Tommy flashed his military ID and dogtags hoping it would be easy enough to let him. The guard gave him a once over look, stern like a doorknob. He was a big guy dressed in a blue uniform and black beret to signify his status as an officer, an Air Force class security guard. Even the license on Tommy's jeep had been changed from the usual California license to one labeled with the US Government insignia.

The man took the ID looking from the card to the man in the vehicle. "What is your business here, Sgt. Oliver?"

"A message for one of your commanding officers on base," Tommy replied calmly, not at all intimidated by the huge man or the pistol around his shoulder. "It's really important."

"No one is cleared to enter without an appointment or to discuss business with those in the base."

"And isn't that what I just said? Look, I'm in a rush. Why don't you call your commanding officer and tell him that Sgt. Thomas Oliver is requesting his presence?"

The man moved into the post as he pulled up a phone and dialed in. For awhile, Tommy just thought about plowing through the gate, but knew it would do no good. He'd get gun down for sure. He could only hope that the commanding officer he was looking for was still around or even in the base at the time.

The man had nodded and muttered a few things before hanging up the phone and returning to the waiting jeep. "You may proceed. He seems to be expecting you. However, I must also take a retinal scan and fingerprint for our own records for your visit."

Tommy held back an annoyed breath as he nodded in turn. All he wanted to do was clear security and be on his way. He didn't have time to be boasted for his rights as a US soldier and what business he had to discuss.

After the minutes of scanning his eye and capturing a fingerprint, he knew he was now locked in the NASADA database, which he swore should have already been in there. He didn't argue as he took the visitor's keycard and proceeded into the base.

Though he hadn't been there in years, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He proceeded to the main building and parked the jeep heading for the main doors. He swiped the card, entered in a code and proceeded into the building.

It was quiet, like any other day on the base. He hadn't been too familiar with the building, but knew it housed mission control to the many space launches in the area. There had only been a few take offs in years on the base, but mostly due to the access granted by government to launch from the site.

He casual walked passed guards, none seeming to notice or mind his presence. Not that he was authorized to move around military facilities, he just knew his limits as an actual soldier. But that didn't stop him at all. He had to get down to business.

He came to a stop as he saw the marking on one of the doors. It read: 'Commanding Officer' and he figured there was one person he could talk to in there. He rattled on the door before knocking as he heard a voice from beyond it permitting him in. He slowly pushed open the door and closed it behind him walking over to the desk at the other end.

"I was beginning to think that after all these years I would never get to see you again," the voice replied from beyond the turned chair at the end of the room.

"Well, I'm here. And I need your help big time," Tommy replied.

The chair turned to reveal the person behind it. Dressed from head to toe in an Air Force style uniform the man looked young behind the uniform, but he seemed to use it well. His face was stern, disciplined and no longer immature to his nature as a young boy. His eyes still danced with the knowledge of any prodigy and anyone could respect him, despite the year difference he was compared to others in the base. His hair was cut like any military style even if it hid under the blue beret on his head. But no matter what, one thing never seemed to changed about the young man that Tommy didn't recognize. His energy and spirit as a Power Ranger.

"What would you do without me?" the small boyish smile split the maturity from the commanding officer.

"We might as well hang up or morphers and surrenders hands up to this guy. C'mon, Justin, this is your time to shine," Tommy said in a steady and serious tone.

"Even after all these years I never would have thought you'd still be leading a team of rangers, Tommy," the young man known as Justin Stewart rose us. And by his height, he really wasn't that little anymore. He had towered over Tommy much like Conner did at six feet. And despite his age, turning 21 in a few weeks, his prodigy mind had gotten him many places.

The two moved out of the office into another office Tommy could only conclude was the next best place for computer work than mission control.

He had learned of Justin's presence at NASADA months before he landed his teacher career at Reefside High. But like many, Justin had wanted to put much of his ranger past behind him and keep focus on space work and life as a commanding officer to the NASADA space port. Many never could contact the old Blue Turbo Ranger, but Tommy always had his connections. Now, in his most desperate hour, Tommy had returned, like he had said, seeking out the expertise of an old ranger.

"So, give me the 411 before I can get down to business. I just heard that an evil being from space has come to take over Earth and that satellite systems have been tampered with. I also have come to learn about this armored army of robotic soldiers this guy has under his wing..." Justin spoke almost like a computer reiterating what was just entered into his database.

Tommy stopped him before he could saw anymore. He laid down the details as simple and as quick as he cold get thim across. He had mentioned the background behind Mindshatter, which he did not believe. The origins of the cybots and Dinoshade. The loss of the Lost Galaxy Rangers and the Silver Space Ranger. He narrowed down on some of their battles including going back in time and their most recent battle where Mindshatter had

controlled his mind to think his friends were the enemy. He also mentioned the theories unfolding around how to defeat Mindshatter and the glitch in the morphing grid, ridding the other rangers the ability to morph except for him and his dino team.

Justin nodded slowly as he grasped the news openly. "Well, this is a big miss we've gotten into. We've lost two more ranger teams to Mindshatter. And the only rangers who are capable of morphing is you and your dino rangers. Just so I'm on the same note as you, Tommy. Mind telling me how these dino rangers came into existence again?"

Tommy had to admit since his last meeting with Justin years ago, the dino thunder rangers were not in active duty at the time. He had only mentioned the design of the morphers and the powers, but of only three, not of five. So, he laid down the last few months of his ranger career as a mentor and member of the dino thunder team, now honing color number four in his reign. He had told Justin about his old colleague being the man behind the mutant mind to rule earth in favor of the dinosaurs. And his minions were a man, turned cyborg, who was jealous of Tommy for taking his place by Dr. Mercer's side and a high school principal who worked undercover to try and gain his trust. He mentioned the battles they faces as a team, and of the time where he and several other red rangers had turned to the dark side and almost annihilated the rising legacy.

And how it all connected to their more recent war with Mindshatter and his evil reign.

Justin could not believe his eyes or his ears for the stories his old leader had told him. But he had to believe it, a standing legend in his presence. "Well, that is unbelievable. And you married Kimberly along the way, too? Congratulations, man. I would have thought you guys wouldn't have made it work out, but you're still going."

"Don't jinx it, Justin. I need more information. Like why can't the other rangers exactly morph and is there a way to reverse it. If there is a weakness in Mindshatter. And if we can return Anton back to normal." Tommy said, as he held out a disk. "Among other things. Most of this is in code, but if you can decipher it, it could give us what information we need to get this thing rolling on our side of the street."

Justin took the disk and stuck it into one of the drives as he moved to one of the computer stations. He pushed a few buttons as it began to launch the disk and its contents onto the screen. Tommy had to enter in a line of passwords to continue the search and the screen went blank and a line of code scrolled down the screen at top speed.

"Whoa! You weren't kidding when you said that this was all in code," Justin sighed as he pushed a few keys. It stopped the scrolling code as it slowed down to a more readable speed.

It fell silent as he began to analyze the information, making mental note in his head as the information continued to fill the screen. Tommy was making his own notes, trying to figure it out on his own, but he wasn't as equipped with computer knowledge as he would like.

Minutes passed like hours as Tommy let Justin take in the information like a book of new knowledge. Then the screen went blank as the young commanding officer began to code in another line of codes. The pervious codes were slowly being deciphered before them on a monitor suspended in mid-air in front of them. Tommy fell back into a seat beside Justin as he began to make sense of the code.

"It's a log," Justin spoke slowly. "Records of your past experiments with Dr. Mercer mostly. Layouts of the fortress and re-programming codes to re-start functions on the fortress."

Tommy nodded as the codes began to make more sense to him. He had known about the logs thet Mercer had left in case of any emergency, recording the work. He thought it was lost, but here was most of it. But none of it seemed beneficial to their cause right now. He watched the deciphered code run across the screen. Over layouts, designs, records of experiments, names of people they've worked with, etc.

"There's got to be more here," Tommy stated as the last of the information was completely deciphered.

Justin ran a few more codes trying to look beyond the basic codes on his computer. He shook his head after awhile not sure what to make of the news. "There's nothing more here, Tommy."

Tommy shook his head. He had known Mercer to hide given information among other things, make it less obvious for any untrained eyes to see. He had been told about it before the untimely disappearance years ago, But it seemed like there was nothing more there.

Justin said that's all he could have decoded and apologizes for the lack of his assistance. Tommy thought for a moment as he thought about it again. He had to think back, way back, hoping to find the missing link he locked away in the depths of his mind.

Then the door creaked open and a figure entered the room. The two turned to it somewhat alarmed. "Commander Stewart, I have received information confirming the death toll... Tommy?"

Tommy raised an eyebrow as he looked at the figure, now realizing it was a female. Dressed in a similar Air Force like uniform with Commander Stewart, the woman froze in her tracks as her gaze centered on the man in the army outfit. "Elsa? What are you...? How did you...?"

"Elsa? Wait, this is your informant?" Justin looked over at Tommy with confusion. "But I thought she went by Sgt. Santos?"

"Informant?" Tommy looked over at Elsa in confusion. "Sergenant? Whoa...time out! I thought you were just a high school principal."

Elsa shrugged as she sighed. "I guess the cat's out of the bag, Tommy. I was apart of the Air Force where I had met Anton for the first time, right before I started college. And this whole Elsa/Mesogog fiasco. I've been telling Justin some of the news centered around Mindshatter and the dino rangers for awhile. now. The only way he believed me was that I told him I was your informant and you would send me up here to tell him the news."

"Well, this changes everything now doesn't it?" Justin scratched his head in some confusion.

"So, you've been one busy bee, too?" Tommy sighed as he collapsed into the chair, not answering Justin's statement. "Have you got anything on this matter? Why Mindshatter is attacking, or possibly cracking a few codes on this disk Anton gave me?"

She walked over and pushed a few buttons on the panel just as the screen went blank and the shadowed face of Mesogog came onto the screen. "You mean that?"

Justin and Tommy looked at each other before turning to the screen.

"Congratulations, Tommy," the mutant freak replied, but sounded more like Anton than Mesogog. "If you managed to get this, than you've cracked beyond all of the other records of our experiments. And by the time you are viewing this, you will find out the other rangers can no longer morph and some rangers had become victims to death. A tragedy, I know. But what I am about to pass on to you is crucial to the survival of the rest of us. So, listen up."

The mutant freak paused for a moment before continuing on with his discovery. "I will keep this as simple as I can. The rest of the rangers will remain in their civilian form until Mindshatter is destroyed, meaning this battle is left for you and the other dino rangers alone. But you must know something. Mindshatter has traveled to the outreaches of the Gamma-Tri system to obtain the very powers he needs to drain you of your morphing powers for good. He will start off with the other rangers, I am not quite sure who, and work his way to you and the other dino rangers. In order to protect them, you guys must destroy the candles before the flame goes out, but that shouldn't be new news to you. I also know that in the very room where we had recorded our results and monitored security on the island years before our experiments when haywire, is your only key to re-programming Dinoshade and destroying Mindshatter. But getting him there won't be easy. Those musky halls, which I have learned, disturbs their circuits and systems makes them somewhat vulnerable to attack. But don't underestimate them at all. They may be weak, but they are still powerful."

Again the image paused, giving the trio time to grasp what was going on right before their eyes. "Another thing you should know, Tommy, is that you are the very link Mindshatter needs to get to any surviving rangers. If they haven't succumbed to death, than they will be converted by the grasp of your hand. You are a key player, that's why he has refused to kill me. He knows if he can get you to come back here to save me, Tommy, than he will have his chance. He already has a hold on you and Trent. Your gems are powering it, though you may not feel it. Illusion, he is using it against you, slowly. but in time, it will take mover and no truth will ever break the lies. Be aware of it, Tommy. This has to end soon, or no one is safe."

Then the screen went blank. Eyes dropped and they three zoned into their own worlds, grasping the information like there was no tomorrow. It helped, but not every answer was completely answered. A new rage fell over Tommy as most of those words pulled him into a painful past. It was all of him. No pressure, not really. but it... yeah right. It was a lot of pressure.

"Don't you feel special," Justin spoke trying to lighten the tension in his old leader. "The survival of the world lies in your hands."

"No, not just his. But the dino rangers," Elsa spoke up trying to defend her co-worker.

"But more of it on me," Tommy sighed as he threw his head back, covering his face. "I am the link to the other rangers. And with those remaining, I really am the link to each of them." For a moment he grasped the news of a possible power drain. "The Gamma-Tri system. How did he know?"

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Tommy, but the Gamma-Tri system was the very system where Rita had obtained the powers to try and snatch your green ranger powers away, right?" Justin asked as he began to develop a theory.

"Yeah, it was. but Rita failed when I had handed over the coin to Jason. He had assumed the powers of the green dragon coin along with his own."

"And that's what I was hoping you would say," Justin nodded as a smile passed his face. "If we convert their powers to you and the other dino rangers, it should give you more power. Power than could send Mindshatter down to that room and destroy him for good. When it's all over, you can give their powers back. And it will avoid having them being stolen away by Mindshatter since they will be in good hands."

"That sounds like a risk we shouldn't take," Elsa shook her head.

"Don't doubt me on that. The only thing we need is to find an energy source powerful enough to make the transfer to you and from you. It's the oly safe transaction there will be if we're to survive."

Tommy had to admit that that could be bound to work. He hoped that it will. But he would have to look into finding the source, which he knew that Hayley would know about. And he also had other questions to ask about. "So, what about the communications systems? Why can't we make a connection with Angel Grove from Reefside, or vise versa? Tommy had to admit that that could be bound to work. He hoped that it would. But he would have to look into finding the source, which he knew that Hayley knows about. And he also had other questions to ask about. "So, what about the communications systems? Why can't we make a connection with Angel Grove from Reefside, or vise versa?"

Justin sighed as he shook his head. "That is one question I couldn't tell you. As far as I could tell, this guy has some link on the fortress that is throwing everything off."

"Didn't he come to Earth on some sorta spaceship? Where has that gone?" Elsa had to ask, wondering her own set of questions about the matter.

Tommy thought for a moment and had wondered that same thing. Why did he use the fortress as his namesake safe haven? And how did the fortress ever survive the blast from their own laser power? And did Zeltrax really tip Mindshatter off about them or was there another source? It was like a line of questions running in his mind like a nightmare. He wanted to know. Needed to know. But even some questions will never get answered, he just hoped these were a list of questions that never would. "It must be something on that ship. But it must be hidden somewhere else on the island. Somewhere we're missing. But where?" Tommy thought for a moment.

"No one knows that island better than you or Anton," Elsa stated.

"But even you did. As did Zeltrax and Trent," Tommy shook his head again, trying to figure out what was missing in this set of questions. "Mind control. Mesogog used mind control on both you and Zeltrax. But Zeltrax should be gone. I watched him die in the past. That only leaves us."

"The layouts of the fortress," Justin spoke up as he began to enter a line of code on the screen. It brought up maps of the fortress as Tommy placed it into is mind, locking the information in another part of his mind for use later.

Elsa moved in and pushed a few keys on the board to bring up another map giving the span of the entire island. "The entire island was made with a list of hidden passageways even I never knew about. No one really did, I think. Except, Anton."

"He had always kept a few things from me, but had told me when the time was right I would find out more than I would have liked about our work on the island," Tommy nodded slowly as he looked over the maps again. He pointed to an area that looked like a hangar off one of the cliffs. "We had stored many experimental bio-zords in that hangar. Those were our first tries at perfecting the zords, but failed. We never did destroy them, and I wouldn't be surprised if Mindshatter's ship would be hidden there." he pointed to a corridor from the fortress leading to the hangar. "There were several corridors leading to the hangar, but the main one was never destroyed, according to this map."

"A great deal of information we're learning about you now, aren't we, _Dr. Oliver_?" Justin mocked sighed as he looked at his friend. "Now, I don't believe you've told any of this to the rest of the rangers, have you?"

Tommy sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I haven't,_ Commander Stewart_. But, only because I thought that it was not important enough to mention. And according to these readouts, much of the original plan of the island is still intact. I didn't know this at the time Mesogog was trying to turn the world into a dino paradise. But now, I do, with this information. I had thought that most of our experiments were lost, and the only ones that still existed were the ones I know hold in my lab in Reefside."

"What other experiments have you been working on?" Elsa asked growing more interested in his findings about his hidden past.

Tommy pushed a few keys on the keyboard to reveal a record of experiments he had been working on with Dr. Mercer. Many of them were side projects, done by one or the other. Some were combined by the two, and according to the log only bared the mark of the two main scientists. "To many, we were the top dogs on the island. We had only asked for the help we thought we could trust. I'm sure you've read a lot of stories about the world we've been perfecting. The entire dino DNA technology was my idea. Anton was more for creating a sorta Jurassic Park- like area to bring in visitors. The real deal, not some ride at Universal Studios. But we had moved away from realistic ideas to thinking more about the future of mankind. What it would be like to create an army of dinosaur-like soldiers, the tyrannodrones, to fight in war for us? To create those bio-zords almost like a defense against terrorists or threats. And using dino DNA to somehow create a way for humans to survive just as long as they did. There were a number of experiments we never got to try out, too. But that remains to be seen. Ever since I've been teaching, I've kinda let that all go. Wanted to forget about it."

"Was there any connections to the development of Dinoshade? He seems to be a facsimile of what Mesogog could have been with the use of cybernetic technology," Elsa stated.

"The origins of Dinoshade came from the planet of KO-35. I had almost forgotten how handy Anton really was with technological advancements. Aside from his museum, he had mastered that right along with numerous engineering techniques," Tommy sighed. "If we could get him back, we may find out more about the island that even I'm forgetting. No one knew it better than he did. I just learned from him. I learned a lot from him."

"Well, Trent had told me that you guys have been working around perfecting new weaponry and new bio-zords, but haven't tested them. Any idea when those could be running?"

Tommy shook his head. "Unfortunately, with the number of limited resources we have and the type of energy we can use, they've all been failures, for the most part. Mindshatter must have brought something with him to halt our means of defense against him. I mean, even we have never gotten close to a victory with the cybots or Dinoshade. They've only fled."

"I also heard that the pyscho rangers are back," Justin jumped in as the leading ranger nodded in turn.

"Two now remain. But that doesn't mean they'll be any easier to defeat. Andros had told me that once one falls, the remaining ones only get stronger. It's gonna take a lot of firepower to destroy them."

"Firepower we don't have. There are only five of you who are well suited for action," Elsa said in a slight defeat and doubt.

Tommy nodded again as he looked back at the layout of the island. For a moment, he knew he would be needing to get back to Reefside and inform the rangers down there about his findings. He also needed to bring the rangers assembled here in Angel Grove and take him back with him to Reefside. All, if he was lucky, or the ones stationed at the Power Chamber.

"Mindshatter can be defeated. Everyone has a weakness of some find. As he done many fights?" Justin asked with much curiosity.

Tommy shook his head. "His biggest weapon is his mind control powers. I've witnessed it, but somehow still feel it. He was even probing minds when he first arrived on Earth. But he isn't like all other evil beings. He hasn't unleashed any of those gruesome monsters to attack the city. None of any kind. Only Dinoshade, his cybots, and a mind-controlled Mesogog, or so we all think. I know Anton is somewhere in Mesogog, but there are rumors that he could remain Mesogog forever."

He had stopped short as he noticed the slight faltering step in the woman of the room. He had known she had much stress over the safety of her boyfriend, and he never could blame her. She had a lot on her mind, but she was still a strong individual with much to say about any of this.

Justin thought for a moment as he began to think through their options. He hadn't believed the origins of where Mindshatter had come, that Zordon was responsible, but as he began to tie it all together, it was linking up the rangers of the past and present even more. He pushed a few buttons on the keyboard. "So, it makes sense why we can't send things into space, whether it is a space shuttle or a distress call. Mindshatter has put a wall up. He was supposed to be controlled by some super massive computer but overcame it and hitch hiked a ride into space with Astronema and had been hanging out in the depths of space until he found the time to attack. He attacked Mirinoi, but only destroyed the rangers and not the entire planet. He stayed in the Gamma-Tri system for a few weeks or so and came to Earth. And has been hanging out doing some dirty work and finally moved to destroy rangers that aren't at all a threat to him. And could not center on his bigger threat, the dino rangers..."

"What's the point, Justin?" Tommy stopped him before he recapped ever little detail of the past few months.

"I got another theory. Mesogog had mentioned something about Mindshatter not liking murky, damp dark places. That's what has come of the underground passageways on the island. Did Mesogog have some sort of machine to create his monsters in?" Justin asked as he looked at the two people in the room.

"The Geno-Randomizer," Elsa spoke up with a shrug. "It was a chamber to create any type of monster using the genetic composition of things located in the main lab on the fortress. But that can't be functioning still, can it?" She looked over at the black DT ranger for more answers.

"You know, for the times I've been up there, I swore I thought it was operational. But didn't look like it had been to much use. And even if it was, I have no idea what it's purpose is now," Tommy replied.

"Cryogenic freezing," Justin stated. "Color of rangers defines their ranks. This blue ranger, Ethan, he is the computer genius, right?" He looked over at Tommy as he nodded. Justin pushed a few buttons on the panel to run a code and program, simulation of what he was talking about. "If you can get Mindshatter in side while some sort of freezing program is loaded into the database it can act as a freezing shower. And you've just won.

No electronical-based object can stand extreme cold."

"Or extreme heat. Wires will melt away at a certain heat. Even an electrical disturbance. He is, after all a machine, right?" Elsa stated.

Tommy thought for a moment, formulating his own plans and theory around it. "It might just work. Ethan can go down to the main computer room and program it into the database of the Geno-Randomizer while the rest of us get Mindshatter into the chamber."

"Only one problem. Mind control. Doesn't he have a way into your mind?" Justin said. "Now, I now you're some big huge ninja guru or whatever. But what about the teens. Those suits won't b able to protect them against his mind control, will they? According to what I've heard it is pretty powerful."

Tommy fell silent as he thought for a moment on his past experiments. "Training. Lots of it. And possibly..it is only a theory. But Anton and I had created a dinosaur with the powers of mind control. Fossilador. We had to battle him months ago, but he was destroyed. But I know there are still some remnants of his DNA in my lab depite the destruction of the main bone to bring him back together. We fuse that our dino gems it should give us an advantage."

"So, tell me again why you didn't come up with this sooner?" Justin asked with a questioning grin.

Tommy shook his head as he got to his feet. "It's all falling into place as we go. But, it is all theory. Theories we may need to consider right now. I gotta go. If you two find anything important, lemme know."

The two had no chance to syay anymore to the legendary ranger as they let him go. Tommy had raced through the halls of the NASADA space port as he made it passed mission control. He stopped for a moment as he just remembered something running back to the main office where his friends were located.

He came up short of breath. "Justin, is there any way I can get access into the Astro Megaship?"

Justin tossed him a keycard and winked. "I was beginning to think you forgot about that. It's stowed away in Hangar 6. Just tell the security guards that the falcon has landed and mountain blaster three has granted permission for its use."

Tommy had kept the comment to himself as a little smile passed his face. He thanked the commanding officer for his time and left the room, hoping to tie in some lose ends he was forgetting.

He had reached Hangar 6, stated the code and ran the keycard through the locked hangar doors. They hissed to life as they moved and unlocked. Hidden behind was the fastest ship he had come to know and love. And he would give to be out among the stars just to enjoy the thrill of being in outer space, but had to focus on the manner at hand.

He raced over to the entry ramp as it allowed him access into the ship. He moved to the main cockpit looking around. Despite the little use it had been since it's depart months ago, it still looked in tip top shape. Things were still running though there was no one to command them or operate it.

Yet, Tommy still couldn't understand why the space rangers couldn't gain access into their own ship/command center. He ran a few fingers across the main board as they whirred to life. He had to admit he was still amazed by the technology of the ship, though he had been briefed on it many times.

"Welcome back, Tommy. It has been a long time," a warm female-like electronic voice rang up. The main component to operating the Astro Megaship.

"It has," Tommy smiled lightly. "DECA, are you up for a little trip to Reefside, CA?"

"Did Andros administer this?" DECA asked in some concern. "And despite that, security has been very tight here at NASADA."

"Well, we've been cleared thanks to an old ranger friend. So, we should be fine. Just set up a run to the outskirts of Angel Grove. We gotta go pick up a few people."

The engines roared to life as calculated by DECA. And Tommy had taken control of the main controls on the deck. The launchpad was lifted out of hangar and into the light of day. And with a pullback on the levers, the ship blasted up into the air.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

The Space Rangers had returned to the Power Chamber as some relief fell over Billy and Karone. They had been monitoring the two other figures looming in the outskirts of Angel Grove.

"It's Wes and Eric," TJ stated as a visual came on the screen before them.

"And they're not alone. Look," Ashley pointed out.

They've been tracked by an army of cybot who were moving on them fast. The team in the chamber looked on with fear as they questioned Billy for teleportation purposes.

"What do you mean teleportation is down?" Carlos asked shaking his head.

"I've been trying to fix it this entire time, but have not gotten anywhere," Billy shook his head as he ran another line of code into the system.

"How long have you been tracking them?" Andros asked.

"I'm lucky I even could. I've noticed your communicators have been locked out due to the glitch in the morphing grid."

"They're sitting ducks out there," Cassie said.

The team watched the monitor. Wes had lost his footing as he nearly fell down the side of the cliff, but Eric had caught him before he fell. The cybots were firing at them from the bottom, but it was clear their objective was their destruction. Some clung to the cliff and sprang up like it was nothing, cutting the distance between the two Time Force Rangers and the other cybots.

"They just won't stop," Ashley breathed.

"And we don't even notice the status in Reefside," Cassie shook her head. She had to turn away just to avoid seeing how far this would go. She could only hope as did the others, that it wouldn't lead to anymore deaths.

Then a shadow cast in the sky over the cybots as laser fire fell on them. Many were hit head on. Few opened fire on the shadowed cast but seemed to have no effect on the object. After some time, the remaining few had fled through an invisi-portal.

Then the shadow had moved to cast over the two exhausted and weak Time Force Rangers. In the moment the shadow fell over them and it had cleared, the two were no longer in sight.

"Wait! What was that? And where did it go?" TJ protested.

Andros smiled lightly to himself as he turned toward the main door of the chamber. It slowly opened to reveal the black DT ranger. He winked back at his fellow ranger indicating their departure.

"Fall out," Tommy instructed. "We're heading back to Reefside. I got some vital information to share with everyone."

"You got it back?" Ashley asked as he tied two and two together.

"Anyone wanting a ride on the Astro Megaship better move out now or you'll be stuck here dealing with cybots on your own." Tommy had to add some humor into his words.

"You really know how to make a entrance, don't you?" Billy let out a smile.

"You'd be surprised, Billy. Now, let's go," Tommy said.

Even though their stay in Angel Grove was now cut short, they didn't have to argue. They knew they had to get to Reefside, the center of this entire battle. And they were eager to know what the rangers in Reefside had found out. The team moved out of the chamber, resetting any and all security codes to avoid a breach.

They had moved into the comfort of the Astro Megaship. The space rangers had taken their positions on the main deck. Eric and Wes were being treated in the medical bay. They had fallen into unconsciousness, but nothing a little rest wouldn't do to fix.

And with many questions and answers in their minds, the rangers had moved back to their main base of Reefside, CA.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Mindshatter had held his breath as he had watched the entire battle go down in Angel Grove. He had to admit he was upset for the failure his army of cybots had done to try and take out the other rangers. And he didn't want to hear from Dinoshade of his failure to destroy the other rangers he was sent to destroy. He needed to knock down the numbers and quick.

He clenched his fists as his eyes lit with a fury of anger. "Those rangers will not defeat me. I will make sure of that."

He moved to the other side of the room and lit the candles one by one with the wave of his hand. He had lit the ones connected to the Space and Zeo Rangers. And for a while, he watched as they glowed to life. They slowly danced in the wind of his breath.

"Those rangers will have no idea what hit them before it is too late," Mindshatter laughed. "I will win the day."

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Ooh! Another intense moment. I know it is. I can sense it in my bones...wait, of course I can. I'm the writer. Well, I hope you like this. I told you that there would be a lot of past references. Surprised at what it was? Well, there is more. So, read on and I hope you like these intense moments. See you when I do. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	38. Rockin' Information

**'TIL I COLLAPSE- _PART THIRTY-EIGHT: ROCKIN' INFORMATION  
_**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: To tie up lose ends, the team discovers more about their future and past than they could have expected._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine, it just isn't. So, stop trying to tell me that I should become a writer for the show. It just won't happen. They don't want someone like me to join the team. I would screw them over and destroy the very concept of keeping it open to the youth of the world. Oh well, maybe that could be a good thing. Yeah, in my mind. Never mind._

_A/N: Okay, another one of those past reference things again. Now, look at the title. Think of a rock and what I have left in the summary. Ring a bell? If you have been watching DT than you would know, but either way, read on. And enjoy!_

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"I have some vital information that could prove to be what we need to stop this from getting worse. But it is up to each of you to decide whether or not it is good news or bad news. I can only hope that it will help us in the end."-Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Command Center, Reefside.

Though the fear was finally leaving each of them, theScott family had gotten into the underground lab escorted by the four DT rangers. Relief fell over the rangers in the lab who had awaited their arrival. And greetings were made by all of them. Old friends reunited, but at the brink of a tragic event.

"Well, at least we know you guys are safe," Cam sighed as he ran a few codes on the screen.

"Have you guys gotten anywhere with that disk yet?" Conner asked as he raced over, demorphing along with the process.

"Nowhere beyond these layouts and old data regarding the experiments Tommy and Dr. Mercer have been working on," Hayley replied.

"What about Dr. O and the Space Rangers? Have you heard anything from them?" Ethan asked.

Kim was sitting close to the computer, but had zoned off in her own world as she held onto little Serena. Aisha and Adam had been trying to get to her but she didn't seem to snap out of her trance.

"Is she okay?" Kira looked over at the P.E. teacher in fear.

Adam snapped a finger in front of the pregnant woman, but got no response. He sighed and got to his feet shaking his head. "Unfortunately, we haven't. She looks pretty struck about the whole traumatic events of the other rangers."

"Did anyone tell her about what happened earlier?" Trent asked in a whisper as the black ninja shook his head.

"I don't wanna add to it. She's been under a lot of stress, even for someone who's pregnant. I'm almost surprises she's held on after all that has happened. She really is a strong character, but I think after what happened in Mariner Bay and Turtle Cove, it just created a huge scar in her heart."

The teens exchanged a look as they looked back at their mentor's wife. They didn't know how to tell her that things were gonna be okay. They were having doubts themselves. And they were also worried about the rangers based out in Angel Grove. Did they make it there safely? And what was the status on Wes and Eric? There was a lot of questions going on in their heads and they had no idea how to fix it.

As they looked around the room, they felt the pressure. Among them, veterans to being a Power Ranger. Not that they were either. They were hitting up nearly two years of their lives as rangers which didn't make it any easier for them. But they had to be strong. Show that they weren't hurting, though they were. They knew as rangers it was a huge responsibility, and they knew, as told by their mentor, that no other group of people could ever pull it off like they did. That they were chosen for a reason and had to accept it. They had for this long.

"So, does someone want to brief me on what's going on?" Jason had spoken up to break the silence.

His old teammates looked at him, their heads hung low. Jason moved over to the main computer as he held his son in his arms. Hayley had exchanged a look with Cam before running a few codes to reveal the layouts of the information they found on the disk. They began to explain their setbacks in the battle. The capture of Andros, Trent and Tommy, the release of the psycho rangers, the inability to morph for anyone other than the dino rangers, etc. He didn't want to believe them, but even Rocky and Adam showed him a demonstration as they tried to morph into their zeo suits, but it failed.

"So, where did Tommy and the Space Rangers go?" Katherine asked as she walked over to her husband.

"Back to Angel Grove. Something about filling in lose ends and getting some information up there," Cam shrugged as he tried not to reveal the worry on his face.

"We can't even communicate with them or have any real idea what goes on outside of Reefside. Our findings are only locked on activity within Reefside," Hayley sighed. "It's been really frustrating lately since Billy has been up in Angel Grove for a few weeks now."

Trent had been sitting by Ethan working around de-coding the disk that Anton had given Tommy. So far, they had cracked it enough to decipher experiments they had been working on and layouts of the island and fortress. Conner and Kira weren't too far behind, making notes of the passage ways trying to lock the maps in their head for future use. But it was clear they were getting frustrated and had no idea about what they weren't getting about the work.

"There has to be more here. This is like old data that really has no real use for us right now," Ethan groaned as he rubbed his temples. He looked over at Trent who was trying to think up more codes for them to enter.

"My father was always good about hiding information. He must have locked them in under all of this to hide it from Mindshatter. I just can't figure out what the password could be to access them." Trent sighed as he dropped his head.

"Well, Serena had been coding in data that linked up to Dr. O's and Dr. Mercer's work before the island was run by Mesogog."

Conner's head was already spinning despite all the codes that had been deciphered. He never could understand the binary language of computers and was glad that he didn't. He wasn't the best person to go to about any of that. "Ever thought about links from Dr. O's past. Maybe there is something locked in there that Dr. O put in but hadn't realized was in there."

Ethan shrugged as he entered in several codes linking to their mentor's past. Places he has lived, college he attended, high school, and even forms of martial art forms he had/could have known. Then the screen went blank.

"Great, Ethan. You just busted it," Kira sighed deeply. "Now what?"

Ethan looked at the screen again, thinking deeply. He wasn't convinced. He looked around the room as everything electronic began to go haywire. The lights dimmed out.

"Ethan! What did you do?" Conner asked among the confused protests of the older people in the room.

Ethan shook his head and shrugged. "You made the suggestion. I just entered it into the computer..."

"Wait! Check it out!" Trent said as he pointed at the screen.

Adam, Cam and Hayley raced over to see what was appearing on the screen.

It read: "The answers you seek lies beneath the surface of a space where someone can enjoy the freedom of independence. The powers you hold will unlock the past, present, and future of a legacy that will forever continue to build."

"What the hell does that mean?" Rocky said as he read the riddle for himself.

Hayley grew quiet as she thought about the statement. Then she turned to the forest entrance as it cracked open to reveal the man behind the legacy of the dino rangers. Everyone stopped to see him standing there as his face grew to a more serious nature. And according to the look on his face, he knew exactly what was going on as if it was all coming back to him after a bad dream.

"Let's take a trip. I'll explain on the way," Tommy spoke in a tone that meant no one should argue with him.

"You really do know how to make an entrance, don't you?" Hayley manages to put a smile on her face.

"You'd be surprised," he chuckled. "Let's move. We don't have much time."

Rocky, Adam and Tanya had taken a few steps, until their steps falters just a bit. The teens racing to their sides to help support them as they all moved toward the forest entrance. "I was right," Tommy sighed sadly. He greeted his best friend with a bear hug. "Glad to see you made it down here in one piece, bro."

Jason nodded. "Yeah, man. Thanks to your team. I don't think we could have stood a chance."

Tommy had escorted them out of the lab, no one saying much of anything. He stopped short as he noticed the lone figure looming close to the main computer. He looked back at the group to see Trent comforting Serena, but knew only one could soothe the tension in the figure remaining. He walked over to the woman he knew as his wife, wrapping his arms around her and laying a kiss on her head.

"Hey, Beautiful. You okay?" he asked quietly.

She held onto him, but said nothing as the tears fell from her eyes drenching his shoulder. He pulled her closer, rocking her softly. For awhile, they had not spoken any words, just enjoyed the company of each other in the room.

"You know what my greatest fear is," Kim barely spoke above a whisper, "to see the same fate happen to you and the teens like the other rangers." She looked up into his falcon alert eyes as the tears welt in her own. "What if it did? I don't know what I would do... I don't want to think about..."

But he had heard enough, didn't need to hear it anymore. He pulled her into a warm, comforting kiss, pulling her as close to him as he could. He felt a kick around his stomach from the round belly that separated them from getting any closer. His own set of tears finally struck his eyes as the thoughts ran through his mind. What if he had been out in battle without the protection of his suit? What if he never returned? So many times he had close calls with Mindshatter and his evil plans.

He broke the kiss as she framed his face in her hands. But the tears didn't seem to stop. "My greatest fear is to never see you again. But what they did was as noble as any hero would have done. They will never be forgotten." He escorted her toward the exit. "C'mon, I need you to hear this too. It's important."

Kim nodded slowly as she wiped away her tears, locking her hands within her husband's hand. His protective embrace gave her the strength she needed to move on.

Time passed slowly.

The entire array of rangers had followed the black DT ranger and the DT technical director to the cyber cafe. The team was made up of the original black and red ranger, the Ninjetti crew, the Zeo rangers, the space rangers, the two Time Force rangers, the green samurai ranger, the DT team and a technical director with an eye on the rangers past and present and a little girl who was living up to the standards of being surrounded by the ranger legacy.

No one could really speak, mostly to themselves, unsure what to make of the gesture. They had no idea why they were there. Or what was really going on, but could only trust their word.

They went into the back room as Hayley pulled out a keypad hidden underneath her work desk. She entered in a code and a secret hatch had opened up on the far end of the room. Tommy had indicated they head down there as he began to file out the information he had obtained while at NASADA.

They followed the staircase down to a cool dark cave, luminated only by the hue of light escaping a rock in the center of the room. As they continued down, the Space Rangers and the three active Zeo rangers' steps seemed to falter more.

"...I had gotten word from Anton on the other side that Mindshatter had traveled to the Gamma-Tri system to obtain the powers he needs to drain us of our ranger powers," Tommy continued despite the faltered steps in his friends.

"The Gamma-Tri system. Wait, wasn't that the...?" Zack began as he looked over at his old teammates. The words slowly registered something in the back of his mind.

Each of their eyes fell on Tommy as they came to a stop around the rock, circling it. Kim still stood at his side, holding his hand much tighter as he looked away.

"Where Rita obtained the energy she needed to take my green ranger powers away? Yes, that's the same system, Zack," Tommy spoke as if every word hurt to say.

"But how did he know?" Jason asked.

"That is news I still have yet to discover."

"But he knows more about us than we could ever really understand about him," Andros said almost as if it was his fault to begin with. He groaned quietly as he almost hit the ground, but Ashley caught him. "I feel so weak."

"So, what's the rock for?" Ethan asked as he watched it glow in a hue of green. As he walked closer to it, he felt a buzz run through him.

"Ever heard of the universal morphing grid? The one that connects the powers of a ranger to the morphing energy at its primary source. You're standing right in front of it, Ethan," Hayley informed the teen.

"So, that rock houses the very powers and knowledge of the entire ranger legacy?" Conner asked in shock as he looked over it again. "No way."

"Now, this is only theory. But if we don't want Mindshatter to snatch the powers away from the rest of these guys, they have to give them up. Just because they can't morph doesn't mean that he still can't get ahold of them. And I'm talking to everyone," Tommy looked at the predecessing rangers in the cave.

"Give them up?" TJ repeated in confusion.

"In the past, I had given up my powers to Jason to avoid Rita getting ahold of the green ranger powers. It worked. When powers were passed down to another, we had handed over our coins and energy to another. Just as I handed my over to you TJ," Tommy spoke as he circled the rock. "But with this, it will enable your powers to only be transferred to another energy source until the grid has been reset."

"And this energy source, you can't just expect me to hand over my powers not knowing where it will go to," Eric protested.

Tommy shook his head. "No. Your powers will be in good hands. It'll be with me. And the other dino rangers." There were a few confused looks and fear running over the rangers. "You guys can't morph. What good will you be out there? You'll be fated to the same destruction as the other rangers. I will not let that happen. Not again. We are the only ones who now stand a chance against Mindshatter. The choice is yours, rangers."

A silence fell over the entire line of rangers from the past. Tommy moved to see fear run over the younger rangers. They didn't know what to believe. They have dealt with powers they could not believe. They were fused together with the help of the ancient ninja. They're gems could produce powers so big, connect them in ways no one else could ever understand.

"Are you sure about this, Dr. O? I mean, this is only a theory. What if it doesn't work?" Kira asked.

"You guys are strong. I don't think I've ever seen a stronger group of rangers. Your dino gems will protect you. Just remember what we've already been through as a team," Tommy spoke.

"Whatever it takes," Conner said slowly as he nodded.

The team looked at him, knowing he was right. They were the only thing keeping Mindshatter from completely ruling the world. They were the only hope for the planet.

"No pressure," Ethan shook his head, trying not to show his fear. "I mean, we're like the only ones who stand in the way of Mindshatter and totally annihilating Earth or run it for himself. Yeah, that's great..."

"Are you scared?" Trent looked over at him.

Ethan caught his breath, shaking his head. But it was clear in his stance that he was frozen solid with fear. "I'm petrified. I mean, I have my whole future to worry..."

Tommy stopped the teen in blue by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Be strong. Ethan. Mindshatter is tough, but he lacks something we all have. A soul and a spirit to fight for what we believe. The powers will always protect you, no matter what."

"It didn't protect the other rangers," Conner said mostly to himself, but nothing the others couldn't hear.

Tommy sighed, knowing the teen in red was right. But they had to move on. He had to find comforting words for them, or they would never make it in this war. "What the others rangers did was more than enough to prove they still care about the protection of Earth. They put their lives on the line, just like we've done for two years, for others. They didn't die out of selfishness or greed. They died for the nobility of being heroes. For going beyond themselves and sacrificing themselves for others. That's what they will be remembered for. That where this legacy will go. As long as there is evil there will always be good to fight back. That is life. That is our life and we've been chosen to take that responsibility to fulfill it to the best of our abilities."

He moved away from the teens, giving them some time to soak up his words. And like always they were glad to hear those kinds of words to keep them going. They knew he was right, and could never deny that his title as a ranger carried a lot of respect from the others.

With no other objections, the dino rangers took their place around the rock. The rest of them placed their very morpher or coin that housed the powers on a designated part on the rock. The rangers who had houses the ancient power of the ninjas stood a step back from the dino rangers, forming a diamond in front of them.

One by one, in the given order they had obtained their powers, the dino team placed their hands on the very center of the rock where a crystal had been sighted. The instant they had all locked their hands in place, they felt a jolt of energy run through their bodies.

Struggling with the power, the rock began to glow with the colors that now were locked on its structure. The dino team groaned under the energy from each of the coins and morphers as it began to feed into them, melt into their own morphers.

The rest of the rangers, feeling the drain from inside as if a part of their soul had been pulled away, taking out the burden that was linked with it. The Ninjetti Rangers faltered, nearly losing their steps as the other rangers assisted in keeping them upright.

The dino rangers groaned and moaned as they could no longer hold their own, falling against the rock for support. The entire cave glowed brightly with a white light that forced everyone to shield their eyes.

And when the dino thunder rangers had opened their eyes they had found themselves in a white void. Each had stirred, looking around and getting to their feet trying to make sense of what was going on.

"What's going on? Where are we?" Conner asked as his voice echoed through the void.

"I feel different. Almost energized," Ethan looked down at his morpher as it glowed in a hint of blue. He flexed his arms feeling a rush of energy take over his body. He could almost hear the echoing cry of the wolf rang in his head.

"Dino rangers," a voice boomed over them. They looked around in confusion, unsure what to make of the voice they heard. "Welcome to the space between reality and your link into the universal morphing grid. It is here where you can unlock your past, present and future as power rangers."

"There is such a place? Trent looked around.

"Yes. by combining your dino gems, you will be inputting your knowledge for future generations of rangers to see. As well as open the doors for you to see your own look into the future. Do you accept?"

The teens looked over to their mentor, who was just as confused as them. Tommy walked over to them and could only shrug as he pulled up his morpher. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. The others followed suit, hoping he was right about this entire thing.

The energy around each of them, matching with their respective ranger color, began to melt and form an energy source in the center of them. They groaned under the impact and watched as the void was dropped and they found themselves in a city.

"Something tells me this isn't Reefside anymore," Tommy spoke quietly as they looked around.

As he looked over at his teammates, he noticed that they were all looking more ghostly then he would have liked.

Then a figure, whose face was a hint of orange set in a geometric shape, entered the plaza. He threw a small ball into the air as it disburst to reveal an army of robotic-like figures with a drill-like weapon on one hand. There were no facial expressions, blocked out by a several circles and a red one

in the middle of their forehead.

"Oh man, crybots. Rangers, let's go," a voice said in the distance.

"Huh!" the teens turned their heads toward the direction of the voice. Their eyes grew wide with shock as they looked over at their mentor. Tommy could only shrug.

The dino rangers watched as five figures suited up in color-coordinated suits stepped into the plaza. It was made up of a red, blue, green, yellow and pink ranger. Each suit held a specific number clad in black on the left side of their suit, possibly by rank. Their helmets almost resembled that of the space rangers and time force rangers, but the visor seemed to make the design of ears, if one could describe it. A small badge marked their helmets and right bicep with the marking of a dog's head and the word 'police' on the top. The SPD log on the right side on their suit on the chest.

"On it," the blue ranger spoke up as he pulled out his blaster.

And the army of crybots, raced into battle with the ranger team. The dino rangers backed away for a moment, only to realize that their bodies were not present to those in the plaza. But even if they weren't, they dodged the attacks, moving away and gawking at the new equipment and rangers before them.

Minutes passed as the strange man with the geometic face was left alone. Those robotic-soldiers had fled the scene.

The red ranger stepped forward holding out a badge-like device marked with the same dog head on his suit. "Let's see what the patrol morpher says about you. Judgement mode, activate."

The dino rangers watched as the device opened up. A light escaped from it blinking between a red X and a green O. Then it stopped on the red X.

"Guilty," the red ranger stated as he pulled out an object that looked like a bone. "Ric, catch!"

A robotic dog barked, sprung into the air to catch the object, as it transformed into a powerful weapon. The rangers assembled behind it, locking on their target. The red ranger fired, but their aggressors re-tailated with his own attack, locking with the other flying bolt. The bolt grew in size overtaking that of their enemy's. It hit the figure head on as he went flying through the air and onto the ground hard. He barked out an insult and disappeared in a flash.

"He got away again," the pink ranger protested.

The red ranger stopped her, holding her back. "Don't worry, Syd. He'll be back."

"Um...guys, we got bigger problems," the green ranger said as he pointed to the skies.

A huge robot had gone on a rampage through the city. A drill jutted from where its hands should be and one centered on the middle of his forehead like a rhino.

"Dr. Manx, we could use a little zord power out here," the yellow ranger stated into her morpher.

"Zords on their way." came the reply.

The rangers disappeared into a flash and as the dino rangers raced out of their hiding place to see what was going on. A megazord classified under the control of this ranger team was doing battle with the robot. It moved through the city at a speed seen in the Matrix, dodging laser fire and jumping past debris like there was no problem.

"Whoa! No way," Ethan breathed. "That megazord is amazing."

"And did you see those suits?" Conner whistled as a light smile passed his face.

Time passed. The battle was won by the rangers. The dino rangers couldn't help but cheer them on, even if they couldn't be seen. But then the world around them morphed and melted as they now stood in what appeared to be an abandoned arena. It looked like it hadn't been in use, a demolition derby arena.

They saw a bird-like figure clad in important clothing stroll into the derby. He pulled out a sword, holding it ready for any attacks that came his way. He muttered something, but couldn't quite be understood.

Then they heard a rev of an engine and saw a figure race into the area on a sorta rusty-like cycle.

The figure on the bike had glowing red eyes, a skull-like head with horns jutting out the side of his head. But one seemed to have been cut off or deformed. It was clear an evil aura ran over his entire body.

"I asked for Doggie Cruger, not this pathetic excuse for a commander," the evil being bellowed.

"You'll be dealing with me, Gruumm, Supreme Commander Birdy," the bird began to say, but the evil being growled throwing him to the ground.

Out of nowhere a suited figure on an ATV shot through the area, raining laser bolts on the evil being, sending him back. "I'm here, Gruumm."

"Shadow ranger!" the bird protested.

"You're mine, Cruger," Gruumm growled as he got on his bike and went after the mysterious ranger.

Beside his enemy, the two teased each other with the skills of running their vehicles through lasers set by the other. Battling side by side, head on and against the debris in the area. But in the end, the one that stood tall was, in fact, this shadow ranger. The evil being came crashing to the ground as the shadow ranger stopped a few feet in front of him, pulling out his sword.

"Go ahead, Cruger. Destroy me," Gruumm teased.

The shadow ranger stopped a moment, lowering his sword. His suit seemed to have an extra armor and shield that the other rangers. It was of a hint of grays, blues and blacks. His number was coded as 00 on the left side of his chest with a huge 1 before it. And his helmet was marked with the actual design of ears jutting off of it aside from the visor. "No. Let this be a lesson to you, Gruumm. You took away my home planet of Sirius and everything I know, but you won't take away Earth. S.P.D. will prevail. I guarantee and promise that."

"We will see, shadow ranger. You won't stand a chance against me," Grumm got to his feet and disappeared. "This will be a long battle with many surprises." His voice echoing.

The dino rangers could say no more as the image disappeared and they were left in the white void yet again.

"Oh man, that was crazy," Ethan shook his head.

"By storing your knowledge into the grid, you can now access the past, present, and future," the voice boomed. "Like you, their fates were chosen to join the power rangers legacy and do away with evil. In a world set not too far from now, aliens and humans co-existed on Earth in peace until a renegade alien race known as the Truvians had come to take Earth for themselves."

"And everything was nice and peaceful before they showed up. It's kinda cool to know that aliens and humans co-exist with one another," Kira said.

"An academy known as Space Patrol Delta was Earth's newest breed of police officers. Five were chosen among them to become the new protectors of Earth after the "A" Squad Ranger Team was reported missing in action."

"No way. This changes everything," Trent shook his head. "We just saw the future of our legacy."

"Meaning this isn't the end of the line," Conner announced as he looked over at his mentor. "And that we have to find a way to destroy Mindshatter before he destroy us."

"I don't get it," Ethan shook his head, as eyes fell on him. "How come we got to see the distant future, but not the future of us?"

"The future is always in motion. But their fates have already been decided, just as yours was before you had a chance to stop it. Be wary of what the future brings, Power Rangers. It lies in your hands. May the Powers Always Protect You."

The white void slowly dimmed out and when the dino rangers looked around, they were back in the comfort of the cave. They had exchanged a set of confused looks as they looked around them to see the exhaustion on their ranger counterparts.

Tommy moved closer to the rock, trying to pull one of the zeonizers free, but it didn't budge. As he looked over the rock again, it seemed all the other coins and morphers were stuck in place, meaning only one thing. He looked over at the other rangers as they slowly pulled themselves to there feet, looking over themselves. He caught eye of the glowing mass on his wrist as he felt the surge of energy run through him. The mix of powers inside him.

The other dino rangers looked at their own morphers, seeing the glowing mass over their wrists. And as they flexed their arms, they felt the new wave of energy run over them. They heard the animal spirits of the ninja friends. And they knew they were up to doing anything now.

"It has begun," Tommy spoke quietly.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Island fortress.

Mindshatter growled in rage as he watched the flame on the candles blow out. The color of the candles dulled out and he knew they were now useless. He slammed his fists into the wall as the looked at the remaining five candles. "Oliver is smarter than I thought. He has figured out how to guard the powers of his friends. Well, those dino rangers won't be so lucky. I will make sure of that."

He left the room to recollect his thoughts, he clenched a hidden object under his cloak as he left. Another figure emerged from the shadows, a hint of glowing eyes escaped from it as he looked intently at the five untouched candles. Dinoshade walked up to them, holding a hand up to them, but as he did, was thrown back by an electrical bolt.

Mesogog caught a hold of him as they hit the ground. "Mindshatter has put a shield around them. I can't get through."

"We need to get those candles or your friends won't be able to survive." Dinoshade replied. "Not against him."

"Whatever it takes. But for now we must retaliate. Re-group," Mesogog headed for the door as Dinoshade followed.

Two more figures emerged from the hidden shadows. The blue and yellow psycho rangers. And they had heard everything, but kept it to themselves as they left the room and headed the other way.

"The battle has begun," psycho blue barked.

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: I gotta build that suspense again. Why? Because the end draws near and that huge epic battle is about to go down. But wait, did I just hear Dinoshade in need to help Mesogog out? Did Mesogog finally get around to him? I know, a lot of questions are going through your mind. So, keep an eye out. See you when I do. Yeah, I know. I didn't quite get those scenes from SPD quite right. AU, okay? I ain't into it all too much, but I still watch it. That's what it is there for. So, I'm out for now. See you next chapter. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	39. Blind Date

_A/N2: First off, I wanna apologize for the long wait in updating. Things have been very dramatizing in my neck of the woods, and I haven't had a real chance to get to working on this story. So, for now, deal with what you got. I'm stilll trying to compile my ideas for the final battle. And I hope these next few chapters aren't too far out of the way of the action. See you guys when I do. And I swear, I will try to keep you guys informed better, but school is coming up soon too... _

**'TIL I COLLAPSE_ -PART THIRTY-NINE: BLIND DATE_  
**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD  
**

_SUMMARY: A break from battle, no one said dating, nor marriage, was easy in a life driven by the power of being a ranger._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine._

_A/N: I thought I would back off from the action scene just a little, and hit more of our heroes personal lives. Anyone else wanting to see what goes down? Yeah, I thought you would. And I wanna thank my good friend beautifulpinkcrane (aka Kimber-leigh over at Yahoo! Messenger) for her inspiration in the scenes between Tommy and Kim. Without her contributions, I don't think those scenes could have been any more perfected. Thanks again, buddy! I just had to change it up a little, edit and connect it a little more to my story. So enjoy! Now, back to the show._

_X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
"So, I always thought that love would be one of the most incredible feelings in the world. So, why is it so complicating to understand sometimes? And why can't so many people not understand what it is about? Am I just different in this game of love? Or just one of the lucky ones? Or really unlucky after all?"-Eclyptyk Neo  
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_

One week later.

Mesogog/Anton had sat in the small room he had considered his own in the fortress that used to be under his control. It had been run by a universal cyborg wanting to take the world for himself and more. And if he could, Mesogog would take him out with ease. He was nothing more than wires and armored plating that a knowledge in cybernetic technology would have no problem disassembling. But that guarded mind had him knowing moves set by his enemies. And there was a mystery around the cyborg. News and information he had much to learn about.

Mindshatter a name that very well gave his dark nature a presence of fear that came in contact with him. He had ways to manipulate your mind in ways no one could distinguish or understand. The nightmare of watching the destruction of the rangers on Earth shook him to the core. It wasn't just any set of rangers. It was the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers and the Wild Force Rangers. Both teams knew exactly what the situation was with this evil being, but had not actually joined the battle for the sake of protection. And now, they were gone.

He had been sent out with Dinoshade, Mindshatter's second in command, to do away with the other remaining rangers of the past. He had followed, but he could not destroy. They had traveled to Los Angeles where they had destroyed a record company, believed to house one of them. They reported back to Reefside to do away with the original red ranger and pink zeo ranger. But failed there, too. He had been one step ahead every time. And no one knew.

He had warned them, care of Tommy Oliver, and got them packing and out of there before real damage could be done. But Dinoshade had found the original red ranger and his wife and almost ended it for them. Mesogog sent a distress call to the dino rangers as he watched in the darkness of the close destruction from Dinoshade.

But as Dinoshade was hoping to go after them, he was stopped. Shielded by a wall of tyrannodrones and the sharp eye of Mesogog. He had had enough of this madness. He took captive of Dinoshade, dragging him into the darkness of the fortress traveled by so few. His army dragged him down to that main computer room where he did his magic. Worked his mind control and tried to find the mind of the dinosaur who wanted to destroy Mindshatter for the betterment of mankind and survival of the galaxy.

With the help of the main computer, it wasn't that hard to break. He had set and re-programmed the cyber-dino. And was now an ally to the team. But, he didn't want to risk revealing it to the team. Not when they've come so far. Dinoshade had spoken of the strong hold Mindshatter had on him, and that the courage and strength of Mesogog was breaking him out of it. But that little boost had brought him back to his senses. The destruction of Mindshatter, even if it included destroying himself.

But here they were, now working in the shadows of the fortress trying to figure out a series of plans to set for Mindshatter. They had no idea how much he knew, or if their plans would work. But the metal cuffs around Mesogog's wrist had acted like a homing device. It would send out painful electrical shocks into the mutant freak. He had gotten used to them, but some would be so sporadic and random, it knocked him off his feet, weakening him.

Even Dinoshade had no luck to break it free. He was locked to those until either Mindshatter was destroyed or he was. He knew that, even after all these months in captivity he would probably not make it in the reality of having a normal life. And he feared, or Anton more, feared he would never see his human body again.

In the main part of the lab, Mindshatter had sat in silence.

Thinking and foiling out another plan for his ranger friends. Psycho Blue and Psycho Yellow stood close by awaiting any orders he was asking for. He had not summoned for Dinoshade since his failures. He had enough of him and would rather rely on those truly devoted to the destruction of the rangers. He had been weary of Dinoshade since they had arrived on Earth months ago, but never showed it. But now, it had gotten worse.

He had cracked into the minds of three of the rangers. Found their deepest darkest fears and used them against each of them. Now, the Space Rangers were nothing to him. Nor were the Zeo or any other ranger that was not classified as a dino ranger. Their powers were fused into the rock connected to the vital morphing grid and strength of their power and locked in the protection of the dino rangers, the others no longer had powers that could compare. His eyes, now set on the dino rangers alone, knew he had to do away with them and quickly.

"I must play with their fears, anger and hate. It will only make them weak and easier to defeat in battle," Mindshatter grumbled mostly to himself. "In the depths of the mind, imagination can play well into illusions of a world one could call their own. Where there is freedom to explore, but freedom to develop the weakness of the human mind." He turned to look at his two loyal subjects, the Psycho Rangers. He was infuriated that the red psycho ranger had been destroyed, but pushed it away quickly. Past was past. "Psycho Yellow?"

"Yes, sir," the yellow psycho ranger stepped forward.

"I want you to work your magic and move against the white dino ranger and the black dino ranger. Do it slow and make sure your disguise is believable."

The yellow psycho ranger nodded in return and left the room.

The universal soldier looked over at the other. "Keep an eye on the red and blue rangers, Psycho Blue. If Psycho Yellow does enough damage, both the yellow dino ranger and the former pink dino ranger should be left with scars that will render them weak in battle."

The blue psycho ranger nodded and left the room to follow on his own set of instructions.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Classes at Reefside High would be resuming by the following day. And it was clear that none of the teens were ready to go back to school. None of them were.

Tommy had been working closely around the teens, training them to adapt to the new powers. Understand the flow and balance of martial arts around their type of lifestyle. Being his usual mentor self, but he had been pushing them hard. Driving them to do things that no human alone could do without these super powers. But wasn't impossible to accomplish without the proper training.

Since the power transfer, they had been more energized. Full of life and energy that could have well been suitable for a child. They had learned as a team, that the others could only rely on their knowledge as martial artists, which all had backgrounds in. But the dino rangers themselves, fused with more power, had shared the characteristics and powers absorbed by the older, more experienced rangers.

And mind control was one of them. A key factor they knew they would need in this battle. Answers could never be too exact as to why. Only that when they had faced the wrath of Fossilador, his mind control was nothing like that of Mindshatter. They were on two different scales.

The entire morning had consisted of training in the woods. Tommy looked at his young accomplices, seeing and sensing their eager need to take a break. Though, all suited up, their shoulders had all slouched and their stance was no longer set for anymore training. He had to admit, he had pushed them hard during the week, even if it was spring break.

But they knew that when their mentor was serious about something, they didn't want to argue about it. There was just no way. If something had to be done, it had better. But the teens had kept it mostly amongst themselves. They felt like they were cadets, being trained by the first time from their drill major. At times, his philosophies sounded more like commands and orders rather than mind food needed to be grasped through thoughts and meditation.

Despite the idea of no longer having their powers, Tommy had refused to let any of the other rangers leave the city. Not that he wanted to sound like a babysitter, he just didn't need to take the risks. None of them really wanted to. They managed to find places to crash, hoping it would last no more than a few weeks and life could finally get back to normal. Or as normal as it got for a ranger.

The black DT ranger called attention as he clapped his hands together. The teens stood up more straighter as their gazes fell on their teacher. "You guys have done well. I don't think I could ever be more proud of you especially during this week. And I know I've been a pain. Pushing you to accomplish a lot of objectives. Drilling you with philosophies and testing your real powers and skills as a ranger. But this isn't a walk in the park, rangers. This is the fate of the world. We were slightly un-prepared for our last big battle, we won't be for this one. I will promise you that." He authorized the power down sequence as he dropped into his normal civilian clad outfit. A pair of khakis with a black T-shirt and a loose-fit flannel, unbuttoned.

The teens followed suit as they all let out a breath, relaxing a little. They could very well as lose time in training with the many hours they would put in. They knew their big battle was coming up. They knew they had to be prepared for it. They had to prep up for it. They hadn't seen much or heard from the other rangers even if they were in the city. Only Cam, Hayley and Adam hung out around the lab. And of course Kim, but that was a given for being the wife of the legendary ranger. The others would loosely stop by, but searched out ways to entertain themselves. Put the entire 'ranger thing' out of their minds, if they could. And just live a normal life. But it was hard, and they were coping for the most part.

Tommy had walked over to his students as they slumped over and relaxed a little more. "Look, I know I've driven you guys really hard this entire week, no one could deny it. But, I'll give you guys a break for awhile. I just expect you guys to keep what I've said and done crisp in your minds."

"So, what do you think, Dr. O?" Ethan asked solemnly, his face turned to sadness right away. "Think Mindshatter is really gearing up for that big huge, epic battle?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know what to believe with this guy, Ethan," Tommy replied as he sighed in what sounded like defeat. "As little as he seems to really do, he has done enough to scar a lot of people. Whatever he is planning though is never good."

"I wish I knew what his next move was," Conner breathed trying not to reveal any signs of agitation and worry. "I mean, how do we know how much he really does know about us, or if he is just saying all that bull to scare us."

"Those destructive orders he sent the cybots on seemed like enough evidence to freak us out," Kira answered for the rest of the team. "To strike us when we are most vulnerable."

"And we still are," Trent added as he felt a cold chill run down his back.

Tommy held up his hands not wanting to hear anymore discouragement come from the teens. He knew they were hurting. So was he. They all were. The surviving rangers. But even they had a lot of pressure on their shoulders. The very brink of Earth laid in their hands. It was good to have the knowledge of back-up, but now, it wasn't there. They had it, but it wasn't the same. These people were no real help to them but sent their encouragement.

"Look, I know it has been hard on you guys. A lot of things has happened to us in a matter of weeks. but we gotta be strong. For the sake of everyone else. It's okay to grieve. It's okay to cry. It's okay to be angry. But you can't dwell on it. And I can only tell you guys what I know. It is up to each of you to decide how you should perceive it. But for now, take a break. Do what you guys do for fun."

The teens fell silent for a minute and knew he was right. As much as they really didn't want to say 'no', and actually continue to train. He, too, had enough for the hard work they've placed into that week off from school. But normal lives had to be resumed as much as possible to avoid suspicions. They couldn't show it.

They all slowly moved out of the woods, into the clearing and onto familiar grounds that lead them back to the lab.

"So, we basically get the rest of the day to ourselves?" Ethan asked making it sound like it was hard to believe. "I mean, we've..."

"Go ahead, Ethan. The rest of the day is yours. Unless I need you guys, I'm giving you a well-deserved break. Besides, I know that you guys have a life outside of being a ranger. I want..no, I need you guys to resume it as much as possible. We don't need anymore attention brought to us," their mentor spoke.

By the time they had gotten back to the lab, Conner was the first on his way. He said he had to catch his girlfriend on some afternoon outing for the two to just talk and hangout. He had mentioned that their relationship had been going rather slow due to his 'busy' schedule, and it worried him. Prom was coming up at the end of April, and he couldn't afford to ask anyone out if he screwed it up. The entire reputation would go down the hole if weeks, or days, before Prom they broke up and he managed to find a replacement so quickly. And the team had let him go, wishing him well and hoping their relationship wouldn't hit rock bottom.

The next to leave was Kira and Trent. In exchange, they would be teaching the other another one of their best skills. Kira had continued to teach Trent how to play the guitar, and he was getting into it. He had showed her how to mix and dj, even beat box, which wasn't that easy for one who isn't quite into that style of music.

Ethan was the last to leave, still unsure if it was okay to leave. His mentor kept on insisting on it, telling the teen in blue to work out some dance moves, or nail down the latest computer game craze over at the cyber café.

"Are you sure you don't need me to do any work in the lab?" Ethan asked upon return into the lab.

"Ethan, relax. Take a break," Tommy shook his head as he pushed the teen toward the door. "I even sent Cam, Adam and Hayley on a break, which was hard to do. But they're just hanging out with the others, wherever they bounced off to."

"So, what about you, Dr. O? Got any plans with the wife or the little squirt?" Ethan asked, hoping not to sound rude.

Tommy shook his head. "Nothing. The two went out to do some of that mother-daughter bonding thing. So, I kinda thought I'd hang out at the house for a while. Later on, I was gonna hit the mall and find a few surprises for the girls. Ya know, girls love to get surprises." He shrugged as the teen looked slightly preoccupied. "So, um...what about you? Find anyone to go with you to the prom yet?"

"That is like in a month, Dr. O..." Ethan began as he started up coming up with an excuse.

"Ethan, I know it's not my business. But, you should find someone. Before you know it, it'll be that day, and you're going or you're not. And I think you should. Find a friend if you need to."

Ethan sighed as his mentor shoved him out the door. He knew he wanted to talk about this matter more, but would see no point. He would get nowhere with it, fast. He left, keeping his mentor's words fresh in his mind.

And Tommy caught his breath for a moment before leaving the room to do what he had to do.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The hours passed slow.

Tommy didn't quite know why he had found himself in the mall by himself. It wasn't like it was anything weird, but he was used to having someone accompany him on his days inside. He wasn't quite the best guy to go to toward shopping for things, let alone a gift or two.

He thought with all the mayhem going on, he would present his wife and daughter with some surprises. The only problem was, he wasn't quite sure what to get them. He had been walking around the mall for at least an hour, and had not found anything he thought was well suited for their taste.

He didn't want to call up his friends though to help him out. They would give him a hard time and make fun of him. As a husband and father, he should know what their interests were, but that was his problem. He was bent on other things. Busy. And here was a day he finally had some time to just push things aside and think about his family.

He had walked into one of the jewelry stores hoping to close some gaps on his shopping list. He began to look at the array of jewelry displayed, knowing it would be much harder than he thought. "Oh man, I hate shopping. What am I supposed to get those two, anyway?"

However, unbeknownst to him, Tommy had not realized that Kim had the same idea about taking Serena to the mall to do some mother-daughter bonding. They had hit up most stores for the blow-out prices on clothes and were on their way to the food court to go get something to eat.

Kim had ordered a plate of French fries and a deep fried twinkie, while Serena had decided to order out a slice of pizza. They had taken a seat in the lower section of the food court, overlooking a few novelty stores and a jewelry store. And the look in Kim's eye had her eyes trained on a certain male inside wearing a black clad shirt with a black leather jacket and a pair of dark khaki pants.

She had questioned the young girl about the sight of the man, asking if it was her father as she nodded in turn, watching closely, too. Both were wondering what exactly he was up to and sorta wondering if that was why he had requested the two do some bonding.

Meanwhile, in the jewelry store, Tommy was getting just a little frustrated. He had refused service from the employers and felt he may need to call his best friend to get some ideas on it. He moved over to a case of necklaces, eying a pearl necklace intently.

"Hmmm? That is an idea. A nice pearl necklace for my beautiful wife. And a locket for my daughter," he thought for a moment before groaning and running his hands through his hair. "Man, the choices! How did I agree to do this again?"

From across the store, a young woman, dressed in the riches of a celebrity, if one could say, stood leaning over a case of rings. Her hair flowed in a streak of browns, mostly dark cutting off at about half-way down the back. She was tall and despite the celebrity apparel, she was marked with a tattoo of Brown Pride and the Puerto Rican/Mexican flag, the ethnic background of her. Her clothes, were tightly worn, showing nearly every curve on her body. And she had a good curve that could consider her a runway model. She had only looked up for second, noticing the lone figure at the glass case of necklaces.

She moved toward the casing to get a better look, as if waking up from a dream. "Tommy? Thomas Oliver, is that you?"

Tommy raised an eyebrow as he heard the thick Spanish accent escape a mouth from beside him. He looked over at the figure taking aback by the surprise as he nearly jumped out of his shoes. "Isabel? Isabel Perez? No way. How... I mean what are..?" He was stuck on words. He was just too speechless to speak.

He couldn't believe it. The woman that had stood only a few feet in front of him was an old girlfriend from his past. A girlfriend he had to admit, never wanted to see again. They had a bad history he just wanted to forget. But there were things he swore was impossible, if not strange about all of this.

"What are you doing here?" Tommy managed to push air back into his lungs. "I thought you were out in Puerto Rico pursuing that nursing career you wanted so much."

The woman shook her head as she took a step forward, taking him by surprised. "Just passing by in town. I sorta dropped the entire nursing thing. Found something that suited me more. You know, dancing. Exotic dance."

Tommy took another step back, but had no more room to go. He had ended up with his back against another glass casing as he let out a breath, only realizing she was a little less than arms length away from him. But he could feel her heated breath against his face. "Yeah, how does that not surprise me? That fits you well. So, how are you?"

"I'm fine," she smiled a flirtatious grin as she pulled him into a hug. She didn't seem to make use of his other comment. "Thanks for asking."

When the hug had gone on longer than he had hoped, feeling her trail his back with her fingertips, he felt chills run down his spine. She had teased him with close hands running over his butt, he could sense, but never went that far down. He pushed her back as she finally let go. But fear still ran in his eyes. He didn't like this one bit.

"You've gotten stronger," she said as she winked at him. "I figured with all those crazy martial arts you do it's not a problem."

"Um...yeah. Um..I mean, no," he stammered as he shook his head, trying to get an understanding of what was going on. "Well, you know that staying fit and being in martial arts was always important to me."

"No. I didn't forget. So, you live here in Reefside? Isn't this where all that crazy army is doing a lot of destruction?" she seemed surprised as she took a step closer to him.

He moved away as he nodded in turn. "Yeah, I am. And time out," he had moved away again as she moved to embrace him in another hug and more by the look on her face. She was hungry for sex. "We haven't seen each other since you decided to ditch school. That was like... nearly five years ago. Things have changed. I'm married now!"

However, despite their dispute, Tommy had not realized that Kim and Serena had moved closer to the action. Kim had kept their daughter back, waiting for the right time to strike. She looked in the distance, pulling Serena into the toy store to go pick out something to buy. And once that had all been squared away, they continued to watch in the shadows of the conversation going on between Tommy and his little friend. A friend that Kim was clearly not liking as rage ran through her blood.

Isabel was laughing, making it clear she didn't believe his words. Even if he had showed her proof, she still was laughing like it was nothing. "You! Married! Out of all people I have dated, you would be the first. You were wild when you weren't always locked in your studies. There are so many nights I can talk about. There was one night where you and I were at your apartment..."

Tommy cut her off with a fiery glare. "I was drunk. And so were you."

Isabel moved closer to him again, as she grabbed him, reaching for a certain package between his legs. "But I've missed your..."

Tommy shrugged off her gesture, pushing her hands aside. He had had enough. He had told her repeatedly that he was married and that he wanted to get the hell outta there away from her. She was a bad omen from the start he had seen her. He could only hope that it wouldn't get worse.

"Back off, Isabel! What we had years ago, left me when you did. So, don't even try it. I mean, things have changed. I'm not that same guy you met in college."

Isabel looked at him as if she wanted to bitch slap him, but didn't. She looked at him, offended as she put a hand to her hips glaring at him. "Don't tell me it's that bitch from high school? Or that hoe you picked up from the Philippines?"

Tommy wanted to just strangle her neck for saying that. He had to admit, he told those he was dating about his past. About loves he thought would last, but failed. The two he had thought would have lasted had resulted in his connection to the two loves. His wife was his first love from high school. His daughter was from a love he thought would be the true one. But that blow was way too low for him to keep under wraps. And he even have to admit that someone like Katherine was on his list of possible marriage, despite their break up before college, but education came between them and not their relationship.

"You know what, Isabel," Tommy spoke as he took a step toward her. A fiery rage ran through his entire body as he tried to keep his calm, but it wasn't easy. "I don't even know how I could ever bother with you. You always had an insult for anything I ever said, even when I was serious. But why don't you do us both a favor and get to stepping before things get worse? It wouldn't matter to you who I married anyway, you just want to destroy it for me."

His ex-girlfriend gave him a wicked smile. "Did I say I always loved your angry side? You would do a lot of crazy things when you were mad..."

Tommy shook his head as he stepped back. He knew he wouldn't get out of this without getting any angrier. And with that diss still lingering in his head, he had to control himself from not hitting her. "No. No more, Isabel. I'm done with you. You have no idea what you did to me after we broke up. And you kept breaking up with me throughout our entire relationship, until I finally closed the doors for good."

After he had said that, he must have triggered her own anger. But instead of saying a whole lot to him, she had been making more of a scene by screaming out things in Hispanic. It was a little too fast for him to catch, but he did catch a few of the cuss words she managed to split in between every other word. Lucky for him, he was fluent in the language, just never liked to use it a whole lot.

"Daddy! What are you doing here?" a little voice called out as a small girl raced over to pull Tommy into a tight hug.

Tommy nearly jumped back at the surprise as he wrapped his arms around her, looking around confused. "Serena? What are you doing here?"

Isabel stopped to glare at the man in black. "What is this!"

Tommy retaliated with his own glare as it managed to shake up Isabel just a little. The blows were getting harder to deal with. And he swore, if she wasn't a woman, he would jump her and beat her up like there was no tomorrow. "It's my daughter. That's what." He looked down when Serena tugged on his jacket.

Isabel began to freak out some more, cussing up a storm in Hispanic. She just couldn't not believe those words and she wanted to smack him, but didn't need to bring anymore attention to them. Not that her screaming was enough to have a few bystanders stick around to see what would happen next.

"I'm here with mommy, daddy," Serena pointed at a pissed off Kim as she slowly strode to the scene. The little girl looked up to see the worry fall over her father's face. "She doesn't look too happy, though."

Tommy groaned as he cussed to himself, pulling Serena with him as he walked over to the woman he loved with all of his heart. She had dropped the bags, arms crossed, eyes dancing with fire. He leaned over to lay a kiss on her lips, but she turned away at the last minute, making it clear that he had a lot to explain. And she didn't like what she was seeing. Tommy took a step back as he looked away, understanding her gesture. Serena moved over to her mother's side, but could only look back at the woman who seemed to take a huge interest in her father.

"Daddy, who's that?" the little girl asked with much curiosity.

Tommy looked over his shoulder as the woman continued to zone off into her own world, cussing up a storm. He looked back at the little girl and the fiery glare of his wife. "Look, it's nothing. She was an old girlfriend from college. I mean, there is nothing going on with us. And I swear… …How long have you been standing here?"

"Long enough," Kim said calmly. She took Serena's hand and walked away.

Isabel had finally made it back over to the man in black, shaking her head. Another wicked smile past her face. "No. Don't tell me. She is running away again. She's the one you were talking about from high school, right? The one that…"

"Don't even say it!" Tommy cut her off, but she pulled him back gripping his arm tight.

"C'mon, Tommy. I can make it better for you. I'll only be in town for one more night. We can head over to my hotel room…" she whispered into his ear.

He pushed away the gesture as he saw his wife and daughter head closer to the door. He groaned again as he raced to collect the bags from his wife and daughter and follow them out. He began to try and explain himself, but it was clear that Kim didn't want to listen to any of it.

Kim had moved to place little Serena into her car seat by the time that Tommy had come around with the line of bags for the two. But as he tried to continue his explanation, Kim ignored him the entire time.

"Kimberly, baby, please, let me explain," he pleaded as he framed her body in his arms. But she had not looked at him. She only pushed him away and slowly got into the SUV. "Talk to me. Tell me you're not mad, please."

Kim zoned out, still looking into her own world. And though only so many words seemed to register in her mind, she didn't want to deal with it at all. She had seen enough. Her entire day was going fine until she had seen her husband with some other woman, who he swore had no other connections with. But as she tried to push the images out of her mind, the gestures this female made toward her husband angered her. She finally looked up to meet his face, so calm that it scared him as he took a step back.

"Who's your friend, Tommy?" she asked quietly.

"It's nothing, baby. I swear," he raised his hands in a surrender. The calm look on her face sent a chill down his spine. He took another step back as she held out her left hand to reveal the ring on it.

"Does this mean anything to you?" she asked. Then she moved to rub her round tummy as the evident of tears formed in his eyes. "Or even this?"

He was stuck on words. He was in shock. More fear ran over him as he felt his entire world come crashing down on him. This could not be happening. When he heard footsteps echo through the parking lot, he cringed, knowing it belonged to only one person. He didn't need this right now. The worse thing was ever seeing pain in his wife's eyes. But what made it worse was in the presence of his old girlfriend.

Isabel nearly ran into Tommy as she slowed down. "Hey, why'd you run away? We weren't done..."

Tommy looked over his shoulder, glaring at her. "Stay out of this, Isabel. Can't you see I'm having a talk with my wife?"

Isabel pushed him aside to look at the woman in the vehicle. She looked into the back to see the sleeping figure of Tommy's daughter. She turned with a raised eyebrow to look at the man, gesturing toward the round belly of the other woman. But she ignored the thought and held out a hand for the other woman as a kind gesture. "We haven't been properly introduced. Hi, I'm Isabel Perez. I've heard so much about you. How you left Tommy for that gymnastics thing. You must be...?"

"Kimberly Hart-Oliver," Kim replied as she took the other woman in a small handshake. She looked over at her husband, the calm look still in her face, but there was fire in her eyes. "Tommy's wife."

"Did I mention that I met him when he was in his army uniform?" Isabel smiled as she wrapped an arm around Tommy's arm, running a hand down his chest. "He was so sexy..."

Tommy shrugged her off, shaking his head. "Are you gonna take this from her, Kim? Look, she isn't quite herself. She hasn't taken her medicine for the day. She's just talking crazy talk."

"That's a lie!" Isabel scoffed. "He's known to do that. Just so he can get the chance to sleep with any woman he can get a hold of. He's full of so much bull..."

"Watch your mouth!" Tommy cut her off, but Isabel had pushed him aside to look over the woman in the car again.

For a long time, it seemed like years, the two woman had not took their eyes off the other. Tommy wasn't sure how he could really break it up. He had had enough of Isabel. And he knew he had to make it up to Kim big time, if he'll even have a home to go back to after this setback. The man slowly slid between the two woman, looking over at his wife with a gesture of apology. But there was no real emotion in her face that could help him out and tell him that things were okay between them.

"Look, baby. I didn't even know she was in town. I swear. No clue," he shook his head. "You mean the world to me. You and Serena and the baby. I don't think I could ever have it any other way. But..."

She held up a hand to stop him short. "Look, I'm tired and so is Serena as you can tell. And this baby has been kicking me all day. I'm gonna head home. And personally, I don't care what you do right now. I really don't care, Tommy."

Tommy sighed deeply and nodded in turn. He could see the tired look in her eyes and could tell she was getting frustrated with the jumpy nature of the baby she was carrying. She had been complaining about the constant kicking for awhile now. And he couldn't blame her. She was nearing around five months now. "Um...yeah. You should probably hit the house and get some sleep."

Kim looked away for a moment and started the SUV up before turning to look back at her husband. She didn't know what to believe right now. She was hurting, but she was relieved. Scared. There were just too many emotions going on inside of her that she didn't know what to believe. "I don't wanna talk about this right now, Tommy. But if you decide to come home, don't make me find out something I would hate to hear."

He nodded again as she motioned him to come closer. He complied as she reached up to wrap a hand around his neck and pull him into a warm, passionate kiss.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips before laying another small kiss on them.

"Love you too, Beautiful. Drive safely. I'll be home soon." he said before laying a kiss on her forehead.

He watched her back up out of the parking space and drive off into the distance. His eyes never left the vehicle until he was sure that it had safely made it out of the parking lot. But the presence and sudden gesture of hands on his ass made him jump away in surprise. He looked over at her, eyes set on kill, if only he could. The temptation was so close. A rage he had never wanted to feel again enveloped his being as he tried not to think too much about it.

"Was that really necessary?" he said, calming his voice. His clenched his fists and released them as he let out several breaths to calm his rage.

"I was only telling the truth. Was that so hard to accept?"

He shook his head. "But I've changed, Isabel. I'm not the same guy I was back in college. I have an actual life now. I got a wife. I got a daughter and a son on the way. I'm teaching at the local high school. I've been through a lot of shit since you decided to show up. You have no idea what I've been through. No clue. So, don't make it worse."

Isabel walked over to him, running a caring hand down his face. "Can I make it better for you, papi? My hotel is open to you. I did tell you this was my last night in town."

He pushed her hand away. "Don't call me that. I'm not your 'papi' anymore. I never really was after what you put me through. Do us both a favor, Isabel. Stay out of my life. For both of our sakes." He turned and walked away, heading back into the mall hoping to return to his main objective, getting gifts for his wife and daughter.

The woman watched him go. And in the flash of a late afternoon storm, a faint image of psycho yellow reflected off the woman. She turned and left the parking lot without saying anymore.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

In the brink of afternoon, Conner had been sitting at the window of a local burger joint with his girlfriend. They had talked about the coming future, which included prom, graduation and college. But there was a distance between them still. Conner knew, and he was worried about it.

"I don't mean to be rude, Krista. But you seem a little more quiet than usual. Is everything okay?" the teen in red asked as he reached over and gripped his girl's hand.

Krista took a French fry in her mouth before looking out of the window. "It's about what we've been discussing. I know you must be really excited about going to UNC on that soccer scholarship. It's been your dream forever. And I'm heading off to San Francisco for microbiology. I don't know," she let outta breath before looking back at her boyfriend. "I guess I'm scared to move on."

Conner thought for a moment. He knew she was right. For many, graduation was just so close, and they've all waited for more than half of their lives to get a feeling for freedom. But then it also led to good-bye, but hopefully never forever to his true friends. "Yeah, I guess so. That will be hard. On everyone. We've been through a lot at school."

Krista managed to push open a smile before pushing a fry into Conner's mouth, nearly catching him off guard. "We just need to enjoy what we have left of high school, right?"

Conner nodded as he leaned over and laid a kiss on her lips. "Can I say as long as you still want to be with me, I want to be with you?"

Krista blushed at his gesture as she looked away, changing colors. "Well, prom is coming up. I heard that Trent and Kira are offering us a place in their limo."

Conner smiled. He had remembered that they had all agreed to catch a limo on their final year of high school to the final school dance of the year. It was something they had all promised back when senior year began. But there was always one that they looked at and questioned. "So, what do you think about Ethan? Think he'll find someone by prom night or go stag?"

"With as much attention as he gets, I don't see why he hasn't hooked up with anyone. He's caused quite a scene with his dance moves that people love."

Conner shrugged. He still never could believe that his best friend had turned out to be a computer gamer, but he knew that Ethan thought the same about him. "I really don't want him to go his entire senior year without really getting to know someone on a personal basis. But he's really stubborn about it."

Time had passed. And they were done with lunch. Conner had escorted Krista out, holding the door and quickly grabbing her hand as she passed through. They shared a kiss on the sidewalk as they slowly headed over to his car. Locked in their own world meant for the two of them alone, but something didn't seem right.

Then a silence. As if by heightened senses, Conner felt something wrong in the air. But he knew with the spirit of the ape hanging around in his body, it was giving him a better perspective on his surroundings. Always alert and up to face what came his way.

He turned his head to see a line of cybots appear around the corner, firing lasers at innocent bystanders. But it didn't seem like too much of a problem. Only five stood in his way of enjoying a nice, peaceful date with his girlfriend. And he didn't like the disturbance at all.

He shielded her from a line of fire as she screamed with fear. He escorted her back into the protection of the car. He could just drive off, but that would be wrong to the innocent bystanders running in fear. He had a job to do, even if he would be sacrificing so much.

"Stay here. Stay low. I gotta go take care of something," he stated as he ran off.

And before she could protest, he was gone. She sunk into the seat feeling fear run over her body. He had ran away again at a strange time and she feared the worse. She knew he was training in martial arts with their science teacher, but had not expected he would test his skills against those dangerous beings. She knew they were bad news. She knew what they could do. And could only hope that the Power Rangers would show up before he got hurt.

Conner had raced around the corner, looking briefly around for anyone, but found no one. He pulled his morpher into place and morphed. His normal civilian clothes were replaced by his protective red ranger suit as he raced into battle.

As he came out of his hiding place, he pulled free his blaster and fired upon his enemies, catching them off guard.

Two cybots went down as he came crashing into a third one, pulling it off the ground and throwing it into another. Since the power transfer, this was the first battle where he could feel the heightened strength. But it also seemed to weaken him. He wasn't sure how to describe the feeling. He would feel strong enough to take out anything set by the cybots, but at times he felt drained, like all of his powers were gone.

But it seemed his little battle with these cybots had called forth another set of cybots as two launched laser fire his way. He barely cleared it as he tumbled into a wall, surrounded by his enemies. He caught his breath as he looked around.

"Not now. Not now. I'm trying to enjoy being a teenager again," he breathed, telling himself quietly.

He pulled out his tyranno staff, swinging it about, striking any cybots who came too close. Either the cybots were getting weaker, or he, himself, was getting stronger. He wasn't quite sure, but he knew that this would have to end soon.

But two cybots had broken from the group racing toward the parking lot where the red GTO sat with Krista. Conner noticed the two as he raced forward, but four more cybots moved against him, pushing him into the wall.

"No. Krista," he breathed with fear as he tried to push them back with his staff. But they didn't seem to budge.

Then he heard the rev of an engine as the sight of the blue dino ranger on his hovercraft cycle raced into the area. He laid a few laser fire in the direction where his comrade was locked in the grip of the cybots.

"Ethan! The car," Conner called out as he pointed in the direction of the two cybots moving toward it.

Ethan nodded as he turned and raced over to the red vehicle. He revved up the engine louder to call their attention before they could grab the door. Krista was screaming from within the car. He fired two shots before racing passed them, using his tricera shield to lay out some more attacks.

The cybots hit the ground, but had turned their fire on the blue dino ranger. Ethan groaned under the impact on the surface, making him lose control of his cycle. He jumped a car and came to a halt beyond it looking back at the cybots. They had returned to moving toward the door, but this time the red dino ranger had pushed them away.

He opened the door and pulled the girl to her feet. "Go. Take cover elsewhere." He pushed her toward an alleyway as the cybots jumped him again.

The look on her face was of protest, but the red dino ranger told her to go. Krista nodded reluctantly and raced for another place to hide. The blue dino ranger raced back into the action, calling out to his comrade, but was stopped short when a laser blast caught his front wheel. The cycle lunged forward, bucking the blue dino ranger off as he hit the ground hard.

Ethan groaned under the impact as he rolled toward the direction of where the blast came. The Blue Psycho Ranger was there to greet him with a huge pistol similar to that held by the cybots. He fired two more shots as the blue dino ranger shielded himself behind his shield and slowly pulled himself to his feet.

For awhile, he battled the blue psycho ranger, trying to figure out how long he could last against him. He could hear the call of the spirit of the wolf inside him, guiding him. And with the new feeling of the mixed powers running through his bones, he felt more confident in winning this battle.

But Psycho Blue was fast, enveloping the blue dino ranger into his own world. His powers seem to grow, as Ethan was fore warned about. He knew he would be in danger if he didn't send him on his way. If not destroy him. Ethan had enough of this guy and felt it was right to end it as soon as possible.

Conner had his own hands full with the cybots as they moved against him. "I'm so over you guys." He pulled his hands across his chest, letting out a battle cry. "Super Dino Mode, now!"

His suit began to glow with a hint of red and as it cleared the spikes that resided around SDM laid on him. As the light slowly dimmed out, the echoing cry of the ape rang through his head and Conner felt another rush of energy run through his body. For a moment, he had to look himself over and catch his breath as if being in SDM was a new thing to him. He moved against the cybots, making no hesitation to stop his movement as he raced through the army of armored soldiers.

Ethan came crashing to the ground again, under another line of kicks from the blue psycho ranger. He growled in frustration as he got back to his feet, glaring at Psycho Blue. "You really don't want to mess with me."

"You don't scare me one bit, Blue Ranger," Psycho Blue stated as he fired the pistol again. The laser raining down on Ethan, but he dropped to the ground, each shot missing. And as it cleared, the blue dino ranger stood in Super Dino Mode, the echoing cry of the wolf rang through his ears and beyond. "Do you think those huge spikes intimidate me?"

"Well, let's find out," Ethan said calmly as he stood up straighter.

The blue psycho ranger moved against him, but Ethan had moved even quicker. With the swift and cunning spirit of the wolf, it seemed like he was outside himself. That some other force was in battle, something else inside him. But he wasn't sure what. But he had to admit, he liked it.

The battle raged on, and when the cybots were on a full retreat, Conner had joined his comrade waiting on the blue psycho ranger. They barked out their own insults toward the blue psycho ranger, but he didn't seem at all shaken by the gesture.

"You have no idea what you're about to face, rangers. Your end is near," Psycho Blue bellowed. He pushed a hand toward the sky and an invisi-portal took him in and disappeared.

The area was left in silence as the two rangers powered down to their normal ranger suits, looking around.

"That seemed random," Ethan stated as he thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I agree. Mindshatter is up to something," Conner sighed as he let out a breath, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Thanks for showing up on time. How'd you know?"

Ethan shrugged. "I don't know. I think its these ninja powers inside me. The calling of the wolf or something."

"Yeah, well, Hayley, Billy and Cam are still trying to make sense of this entire power transfer. But I don't think we'll ever get the answer to it."

The two rangers moved into the darken alley before making the final power down, returning to their normal forms. But what they didn't know was that hidden in the same shadows farther down the alley was Krista.

She had nearly collapsed when she saw the two rangers return to their normal forms. She knew, of rumors, that the rangers were actually teenagers lead by a legendary ranger. And that was all the proof she needed to confirm her theories. "Oh my god. This changes everything."

With a quick exchange of looks, Conner and Ethan had moved out of the shadows, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Hey, where's Krista?" Ethan looked around, knowing she had disappeared into one of the alleys.

Conner shrugged only to hear footsteps echo from behind them. His heart must have stopped when he saw who the footsteps belonged to. His entire face went pale with fear as he approached the shaken figure he knew as his girlfriend. "Please tell me you didn't just see what I hope you didn't see, Krista."

"So, when were you gonna tell me, Conner? Or were you gonna tell me at all?" Krista asked as she crossed her arms, looking for a big explanation. She looked over at a strucken Ethan as he didn't know how to back-up his friend in red.

The two guys looked at each other, unsure what to make of the discovery. They had hoped that this would never happen again. Of the discovery of who they were. There was an exception with their mentor's family and his wife's family, but that was because they were the original rangers on Earth. They knew that Cassidy and Devin knew, but they swore they wouldn't tell no one. They feared the look in Dr. Oliver's eye any time they were talking with friends at lunch. He had kept his eye on them like a falcon. And he knew they wouldn't tell the truth to no one with an eye like his. But now, there was this wall in their face. And they didn't know how to react.

Was she mad? Was she upset? Was she happy to finally know the truth? They had no idea. Her face held such a calm look that it was hard to read beyond it. Even for a pair of rangers. Or a duo with some ninja powers to read minds.

Conner took a step forward as he wrapped an arm around her waist, but she moved away. She wasn't happy, and, now, he knew. "Krista, you gotta understand. I wanted to tell you. I should have told you. But there is a code I have to abide by."

Krista held up a hand. "I thought we were gonna be honest with each other. That's the first thing we promised in this entire relationship, Conner. You know you could tell me anything, and I will back you up and support you. But this..."

"But there is a strict code..." Conner tried to explain himself.

"Lemme guess. Set by Dr. Oliver? He's the one behind all of this, isn't he?" Krista began to state as it made more sense to her. "And don't tell me. The yellow and white dino rangers are Trent and Kira, am I right?"

"Shhh!" Ethan had to calm her down as he looked around, hoping no one was around to hear her. "You wanna just tone it down a little? We don't need this to go public."

"Krista, you're taking this all wrong," Conner grabbed his girlfriend's arms to look directly at her. "What we do... what we've done... and what we've been through... there is just so much I would have told you. I should have told you, but I couldn't. But I guess now that you know, you have a right to know the truth."

Krista shrugged off his gesture as tears welt in her eyes. "Right now, I don't think I can look at you, Conner. How do I know you're not lying to me about other things? That you could be double-crossing me and going out with someone else. Jocks are known to do that."

Conner took a step forward, but she smacked his hands away. "Krista, I'm not like that. I would never do that..."

Krista turned and headed up the alley way. Conner was about to go after her, but Ethan placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. Conner looked back at his friend and was about to take his advice, but didn't want to risk it. In the back of his mind, he knew that Ethan wasn't quite the best guy to go to about problems in a relationship. And as if Ethan knew what he was thinking, let him go and took a step back. Conner ran after Krista, but had not planned on any use of his powers. He just hoped his normal self could win back some of the trust he lost.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Hours passed.

Tommy Oliver had returned home with gifts in hand. Though the rain only came for a brief time, it was enough to calm him down. After seeing his old girlfriend, a relationship, he longed to forget, he had hoped he could find comfort in his wife and daughter.

He had stepped into the house, shrugging off the slightly wet jacket and placed it on a hook by the door. He moved over to the living room where he heard the soft soothe music of jazz play in the background.

He noticed the sleeping figure on the couch, dressed in a pair of his sweat pants and T-shirt. A small smile passed his face just thinking about the number amount of clothes his wife had stole from his closet for her figure in the passed few months and thought about the coming future. "It'll only get worse. And I won't have anything to wear. Or she'll have to hit the store every other week."

He moved over to the couch noticing the small plate of food set on the coffee table. It consisted of pickles and chocolate syrup. And he had to gag just a little knowing her mixture of foods was starting to disgust him. But he knew it had to do with being pregnant. Luckily, she also had a nagging for spicy food, which wasn't too extreme.

He took a seat beside his wife and leaned over to lay a kiss on her forehead. As he did, she stirred quietly. "Hey, Beautiful."

Kim groaned quietly, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. "Hey."

Tommy laid a kiss on her lips, before placing a bag on the table beside her plate. He pulled out a small wrapped box tied with a red ribbon. "I got you something."

"Cookies?" she took it as a joking smile passed her lips. "Kinda small."

"Not quite," he moved aside to reveal the bag of buffalo wings. "But I know how you are about your spicy food. And surprises."

Kim slowly sat up as she pulled the ribbon away and opened up the small box. For a moment, she caught her breath at the beauty of the necklace inside. "It's beautiful."

Tommy shrugged absently. "Yeah, it's a pearl necklace. But you know how I am about finding nice presents..."

"No," she shook her head as he pulled it out of the box. Tommy moved to place it around her neck before laying another kiss on her lips. "I love it. But not as much as I love you."

Kim slowly got off the couch, but had a little trouble. Tommy wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her up, locking his other arm around the other side of her waist to make her look at him. He laid a hand on her round tummy as they exchanged a smile and quick kiss.

"Thanks. I'm getting pretty big, huh?" Kim smiled again as she placed her hand over his.

Tommy nodded as he felt the kick against his hand from the baby inside. "Kinda crazy little guy, isn't he?"

"He is. Kinda like his father. Been dancing all day," she giggled, but winced. "Ow!"

Tommy fell into a quick panic, grabbing her. "You okay?"

"Yeah. He just kicked my kidney."

"That kid is gonna be a real fighter." Tommy had to admit as he relaxed a little. But when he looked at his wife again, her gaze turned more serious. He took a step back in confusion. "What! Did I do something wrong?"

"Who is she, Tommy?" Kim asked as her tone grew with some anger. She didn't seem to get those images out of her head, despite the sleep. She crossed her arms, needing more answers to his past with this other woman.

Tommy shook his head, hoping to drop the subject all together. "Kimberly, baby, no. Don't do this. That's old news. It's not a big deal..."

"Not a big deal! She just put her hands all over you like she wanted to take off all of your clothes. I think you got some explaining to do, Thomas," her tone grew even more serious.

And at the mention of his proper name, which he hated to hear, he knew he had to tell her. He sighed sadly as he ran his hands through his hair. "All right, I'll tell you, Beautiful. ...She was an old girlfriend from college. Yeah, we met when I was in my army suit. But I had gotten back from some late training at the base and she was lingering around in my apartment complex. I mean, it was nothing serious. We went out for a few months. And you know how I am about a relationship. I'm committed. She told me she wanted to be a nurse. Work with babies..."

"Yeah, your babies," Kim looked away disgusted.

Tommy sighed as he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess. ...I was serious about my studies. I was serious about our relationship, but she wasn't. She double-crossed me and I had no idea until months later. So, I broke up with her. Funny thing was she was the only real girl who hurt me. No. It didn't compare to you. Or Kat. Or Elena. She really put me into a lot of shit. I fell into depression. I thought I wasn't gonna finish college. I was drinking constantly. Never could think straight in class. I would pass out in my apartment for days. I mean, it was bad. Luckily, Adam had finished out in Korea and came by to visit. He set me straight, and I got back in the run to complete college. I avoided dating for a long time. I mean, I did go out with a few girls from time to time, but it wasn't like it would last. Or I slept with them. I shut myself out. Didn't want to risk getting into a relationship." He stopped for a moment to watch as sadness fell over his wife's face. But as painful as it was to speak of, he was glad it was finally coming off his chest. He hadn't told anyone about it except Adam. No one. Not even his best friend, Jason.

"It's kinda funny, actually," he continued on, knowing he had to close up some more doors. "I hadn't really slept with anyone since I broke up with her. That was like five year ago. I was far too serious in the whole dino research and my thesis. But when I had saw you at the funeral ... I was really hurting on the inside. I never thought I could have wanted you more and more to be back in my life. And look what it's gotten me."

"But according to her you guys shagged like bunnies," Kim said sorta absently as if trying to avoid the truth of what he was saying. But as she looked up into his eyes again, she knew that he had spoke the truth to every word that fell out of his mouth.

Tommy sighed. "Yeah. we did. But that doesn't compare to what we share. You and me. What we have is more intimate. It is pure. It's really special. We make love. We don't have sex. That's two different things."

At that point, the tears had finally escaped her eyes. She walked over into his protective arms as they shared a hug. "If I would have known she did that to you, baby, I would have hurt her right there."

Tommy chuckled lightly, knowing that she would. "Go ahead. I don't like her anymore. I really don't know what I saw in her."

"I do. She has the looks that could fulfill any man's dreams," she said almost out of jealousy. But it was clear in her tone that she had hoped, he would not fall into her look again. That she was really the woman in his dreams. "A real skank."

"No, but you're not," Tommy shook his head as he wrapped his arms around her tight. "You're beautiful in every other way. It's not just your looks, but your personality. Your heart. And you're my beautiful crane."

Kim smiled brightly as she stood up to lay a warm, passionate kiss on his lips. When it broke, Tommy pulled his wife into a tighter hug as her own arms locked around him. The round belly played a little obstacle between them as he felt the little kick from it.

"I'm due pretty soon, Tommy. And we still haven't decided on a name," she spoke as she poked at the round belly.

Tommy nodded as he sighed. "Yeah, I know."

Then there was a knock on the door. With a look of confusion on their faces, Tommy slowly moved toward the door. Kim woddled behind him just as curious to see who it was.

Tommy slowly opened the door and peeked out to see who it was. When he noticed, his heart nearly stopped as he opened the door up a little more. "Shit! Isabel! What are...? How did...? You have a lot of nerve coming here."

The Hispanic woman could only flash a little innocent smile. lowering her sunglasses. "I never thought I would see you again, Tommy. We never got to finish our chat."

"No," Tommy shook his head as he planted his foot into the door. She had been hoping to get in, but not with his foot stopping it from moving anymore. "We did. Haven't you done enough?"

Kim had pulled the door open a little more to see the other woman. Her face fell into a heat of fire as she glared at the woman before her. "You're joking, right? Why don't you just leave before I put a print on your face?"

Isabel looked at the pregnant woman, not at all intimidated at her threat. "How did you ever leave me to get back with her?" She looked back at Tommy sending him another sultry look. "She isn't even half the woman I was. And aren't you gonna be a gentleman and let me in?"

Tommy had to keep his cool. And he knew that. He would have let that door fly open and allow his wife to attack his ex with everything she had. He personally didn't care and would love to see it, but had to think back to Kim's condition.

"No, he's not. Now go away, before I make sure you stay away," Kim growled under her breath. Her fiery rage was growing as Tommy placed a hand around her waist to stop her.

Tommy shook his head as he laid a kiss on her head. "Kim, Beautiful... calm down. Remember, the doctor told you to avoid these temper tantrums. It's not good for the baby. I'll handle this."

Kim looked over at her husband making it clear that if he didn't he would see a side of her that he would regret to see. She stomped upstairs, as she began to cuss in French. It made Tommy cringe just to hear that come out of her mouth. She wasn't much for a foul mouth, and when it went into a foreign language, it was bad. Real bad.

Tommy sighed and looked over at his ex. "What are you still doing here? You've done enough and you gotta hit the road."

"What!" Isabel smiled as she pushed the door open, walking closer to him. "Not gonna get into one of those angry phases. You know you want to. It makes you harder faster."

Tommy took a step back, looking away. As much as he knew how to control his emotions, it was times like these he hated to deal with. Anger for the presence of his ex. Sadness for his wife. Worry for his daughter. Too many emotions and feelings that was blocking him from his immediate goal, getting his ex out of his house and out of his life for good.

"Don't try all that psychological mishaps on me, Isabel," Tommy shook his head as he held his hands up. "It's not gonna work this time. Don't make it harder for yourself. I'll give you a minute to step out of this house before I will be forced to kick you out of this house."

Isabel didn't seem at all intimated by his threats as she continued to approach him. He continued to step back as his legs hit the stairs and he fell onto them. She found a comforting place on his lap as she moved to kiss him, but he had placed a hand on her face, pushing her back. He recovered as he locked her in his embrace, trying to shove her out the door, but her feet almost seemed to be glued to the floor as he struggled to get her out.

"Ooh! I like it when you're rough," she whispered running a hand down his face. He shook it away as he inched closer to the door, but soon found himself being shoved into the wall, a hand planted firmly on his chest. "Why you gonna do this to me, Tommy? Admit it, you've missed me. Missed what I can do to you."

At that moment, Tommy wasn't quite sure how to react. He almost felt like he was in a trance. Outside of himself watching helplessly as this woman, his ex, tried to do him like she wanted. And he couldn't seem to break out of it. Isabel took a step toward him, teasing him with a heated breath as his breath fell into a ragged heap. Suddenly, a cool breeze fell over his chest as she ripped away his shirt, and inched closer to lay a kiss on his lips.

But at that moment, he had shot back into reality. That in some distance place he heard the cry of the crane. Tommy looked toward the top of the stairs and saw the shaken and shocked look on his wife's face. His heart sunk as he shook his head pushing Isabel back and raced up the stairs.

But Kim had turned away as tears fell, racing toward their bedroom. Tommy tried to catch the door before it slammed shut in his face, but was too late. He turned the knob, but it was locked. He pounded on the door in a panic as his own eyes welt with tears.

"Kimberly, open the door," he cried. His head was spinning. He had no idea what had just happened, but didn't like it one bit. "C'mon, baby, please. Open the door. It... This isn't what it looks like."

Isabel had raced upstairs after him, shaking her head. She ran a hand down Tommy's back pulling away the remains of the torn shirt. "You know what the difference is between her and me, Tommy? I want you. She doesn't. Why do you think she's running away?"

Tommy turned to glare at his ex. He was so tempted to slap her, punch her, do something, but knew it would do nothing for him. She seemed to be enjoying this little fiasco against husband and wife. "Get out of my house! You've done enough damage."

Kim opened the door, pushing passed her husband, duffel bag in hand. She moved across the hall to the other room where Serena was, slamming it shut and locking it.

Tommy held his breath as he raced over to the other room, knocking on the door. Pleading for forgiveness and hoping to get inside. But he knew that he had screwed up big time. He could hear the crying from inside, from his wife. And it sent a fury into him. He hated to see her cry for anything, especially directed towards him. "C'mon, Kim. Open the door, please. This isn't what it looks like. Talk to me, baby."

Isabel walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. The tease of her heated breath ran down his back. "Look at this, Tommy. She's doing it again. She's running away from you. Just like before. It'll never change."

"Like it hadn't for you." Tommy pulled away her arms, looking at her briefly. At that point, he watched as his hand came up inches to her face. But had stopped short as he held back, letting out his angered breath seethe through his teeth. He turned away and continued to bang on the door. "Baby, please, talk to me. Kimberly, open the door. Serena? This isn't what it looks like, please. Just let me explain."

"What is there to explain?" Isabel laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him back. "You came onto me, Tommy. Just like you're doing right..."

Tommy had had it. He turned around, gripped her arm tight and dragged her down the stairs. "That is it. You're gone. You're outta here. I've kept my cool long enough. And you've just pushed me over the edge, Isabel." He moved to the door, pulling it wide open as he shoved her outside. "Get the hell outta my life! You put me through enough of your bullshit! And I've had it. It's time for you to grow up. We're through! Done! I don't ever want to see your face again!"

For a moment, the Hispanic woman had taken several steps back, looking down with guilt. Tommy stood on the porch, catching his breath. He didn't know how else to put it. He had had enough of this woman and didn't understand why she just couldn't get it through her head. They were done, years ago. He had other things to worry about. Trying to live a normal life, or as normal as it got for a ranger, but she didn't know that. She had no clue what he had gone through in his life. And it would be more than she could really muster up in her mind.

"So, it's like that?" the Hispanic woman spoke in her native tongue as she looked up at him. A small stream of tears fell from her eyes. "You're just gonna throw me out on the streets and leave me to fend for myself?"

Tommy shook his head, showing no pity for her. "You've been doing that for years, Isabel. You threw away your life toward becoming a nurse to go around stripping for strange guys. Tell me that doesn't sound like a coward who was scared to face the consequences? Scared to finish off college just because your partying fiasco took over your studies? And you thought it was cool to cheat on me after I showed you how committed I was to the two of us? No. Whatever I saw in you... I don't even wanna know. Just get out of my life, Isabel. Stay away from my wife. My daughter. And especially from me."

The Hispanic woman took a step off the porch. Either she was thinking hard about what he had said, or it just wasn't registering in her mind. That she was only trying to formulate another way to win back his heart, if that was possible. She didn't want to give up, and within seconds she had stormed back up the porch, locking lips with his as the force pushed him into the wall.

For a long time, Tommy had struggled to break the kiss, but she had only gone deeper. He called up for air, tried to slide away, but she had him planted against the wall with no real place to go. He wasn't going anywhere until she wanted to move. And another side of him, possibly his wild side, if not rebellious, just couldn't seem to let that kiss go. He had sunk into the kiss, melted into its heat.

Time passed slow, down to a heartbeat as Kim strode downstairs.

She ran with Serena in one hand, the duffle bags in her other. And when she cleared passed the door, she swore she almost threw up. For a sight she never could imagine to see in her months of marriage, in her time spent with the man she loved dearly. He had been planted up against the wall kissing another woman. And not just any woman. But his ex, a woman that had sent his life into turmoil like no other, including hers.

Tears formed in her eyes. She turned Serena away from the painful image as they raced down the porch and into the awaited SUV to pull them away from this painful image. And back into a reality she could live with. She locked little Serena in her car seat and hopped into the driver's seat, tears still falling.

When Tommy had heard the slamming of a car door, his entire world was turned around. Again, he heard the echoing cry of the crane intertwine with a painful cry of the falcon. He pushed the woman glued to him away, racing toward the retreating SUV, still catching his breath from the mind-numbing kiss. He slammed into the door, shaking his head feeling the tears form in his eyes. But Kim had locked the door and refused to roll down the windows.

"Kimberly, baby. Don't do this. Don't. Please. You have no idea... let me explain," Tommy pleaded as he fought to get the door open, but it was locked shut. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you and her," Kim screamed, but it sounded crystal clear beyond the glass that kept them apart.

And as she finally turned out of the dirt driveway, she gunned the pedal, tires screeching and sped away. Tommy watched as the vehicle drove off into the distance. His world locked away in there. The most important part of his life. Gone. He let out a scream as if someone had stabbed him right in the heart and collapsed to the ground. But someone did stab a knife in his heart. His ex-girlfriend. He sunk his head into his lap, tearing running down his face. The clap of thunder rumbled through the area, calling forth a storm.

Tommy could hear the footsteps behind him grow closer. He was too psychological drained, emotionally hurt, to do anything. But he was hurting. The fire inside, a fire he knew that existed only during his evil reign, fell over him. But with all the other emotions playing a drum inside him, he didn't move. He was too hurt, emotionally, to move.

A hand fell onto his back, running up to massage his neck. "You know what will make you feel better, Tommy," Isabel suggested as she pulled him to his feet. "You, me, and a bed." She yanked him into the house, but Tommy was too empty to really realize what she had mentioned.

He could only follow her into the lonely house. Isabel had knocked away pictures she had seen of Kim and headed upstairs. Without any hesitation, she had tossed him onto Serena's bed, the closest room to fulfill her pleasure, and jumped on top of him.

She moved to kiss him, but this time another side of him kicked in as he twisted out of her lock, pinning her to the bed. A fire of rage and pain fell over his eyes and she knew at that point, he was done playing games.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" he spat as a angry growl escaped his lips. "You already ruined my life! Now, my marriage! What more do you want!"

"To make you feel better," she smiled a wicked smile. Then she wrapped her legs and arms around him pulling him even closer. "And you always liked it on top."

Tommy tried to pull out of her grip, but it seemed like a death grip. There didn't seem to be any way out of it, even if he tried. Even with his skills as a martial artist, or a ninja, it didn't seem to work to his advantage. She laughed, enjoying his struggle, teasing him more with heated words of what she wanted to do to him, or he should do to her.

And then she pulled him into another wet and heated kiss. A kiss that dragged a man to their knees and made them follow the call to the girl a kiss like that belonged to. Mesmerizing. Sensual. Heated. A start to a night where any dream of pleasure was literally possible to accomplish.

But when the kiss was finally broken, and Tommy had the time to catch his breath. His vision was finally returning, he had looked down, only to see the image melt away. And the woman, he swore was his ex, was not. But a face that would scar him for his entire life. The face of a phantom. Of a complete psycho.

He sat up in a flash as his heart seemed to stop. "What the...!"

"Stupid black ranger," Psycho Yellow hissed as she kicked him off.

Tommy went flying off the bed, and out into the hall, coming to a skid on the other side. But the impact and the shock of the news had shut him down. He heard the echoing footsteps coming his way, but his eyes grew heavy and he fell into a deep, dark painful slumber.

"Black is down. Now, onto yellow and white," Psycho Yellow reported more to herself. She raised a hand to the sky as an invisi-portal opened up and she had disappeared through it.

A few minutes later, a set of footsteps echoed into the house through the open door. Slightly drenched from the rain that started to fall, the young blue dino ranger stammered through the house. He knew he had to talk to his mentor about the recent discovery, even if it was best the red dino ranger speak to him himself. But he knew that Conner was far too busy to fix his relationship with his girlfriend to face his mentor right now. But he knew that Dr. Oliver had to know the truth about Krista's discovery.

Ethan came to a halt looking around the house, seeing the overturn pictures. Some smashed on the ground. Confused, he looked around the living room, seeing the evidence of food on the coffee table. But it seemed as if something had disrupted the Oliver household.

"Dr. Oliver? Coach? Serena?" Ethan called out as he slowly headed up the stairs hoping to find that things were okay. As he cleared the last few steps, he saw the motionless figure laying on the ground. He raced over checking for a pulse, shaking his mentor awake. "Dr. O? Dr. O, wake up!"

But there was no response. He raced into Serena's room, seeing the open drawers. He headed over to the master bedroom, seeing over turned drawers. Clothing scattered the floor. He wasn't quite sure what had happened, but could only conclude that Coach and little Serena had bolted out of the house, leaving the science teacher behind. But for what reason, he wasn't quite sure.XXXXXXXXXX

Driving across town at top speed, Kim didn't even think too much about what she had seen back at her home. Any time she did though, it only brought more tears to her eyes. She knew she needed some place to crash at, and felt the only real person who could provide the comfort she needed was her friend in the black ninja suit.

She had parked the vehicle in the parking lot of the Reefside Journey Apartment Complex where she knew Adam was staying. And as much as she hadn't want to disturb him, she just needed a place to hide out for awhile to clear her head.

She took Serena out of her car seat, pulling her into her arms. She grabbed the duffel bags and headed into the building and where Adam was residing. Serena had asked her mother why there was a sudden rush to leave the house, and Kim could only answer with the feeling that Tommy was gonna get back with his ex and leave them.

But at that thought, more tears formed in her eyes and she nearly collapsed as she made it to room 106. She knocked on the door as she almost collapsed to the ground from the emotional scars of seeing her husband lock lips with his ex.

The door opened and with quick reflexes, Adam raced to grab Serena and wrap an arm around Kim, pulling her back to her feet as he slowly escorted her into the apartment. Kim slowly backed into a wall, collapsing to the ground as tears streaked her face like waterfalls.

Adam looked at the little girl locked in his arms, looking down at the crying woman on the floor, slightly confused. "Kimberly, what happened? Where's Tommy?"

Kim caught her breath long enough to look up at the concern face of the medical doctor. "He kissed another woman, Adam."

Adam felt his heart jump. Did he just hear that right? No way. There was no way. He shook his head, not wanting to believe it. "What! You're not serious, Kim..."

"I saw it, Adam," Kim cried as she sunk her head into her lap. "I saw it."

Adam reached down and pulled Kim to her feet. He escorted her to the couch setting her down. Serena jumped on it beside her mother pulling her into a hug. Adam had to grasp the news again. He didn't want to believe it. It wasn't true. There was just no way. "Shhh! It's okay. Are you sure?"

Kim nodded. She caught her breath as she cried out in pain, feeling the impact of the baby inside her kick her hard. "Owww! The baby just kicked me!"

Adam knelt down beside her running a hand over her face. The tears slowed down and she seemed to relax under his touch. "Relax, Kim. Take a breath. You've been through a lot right now. C'mon, lie down." He slowly helped her to lay down on the couch. He ordered Serena to head into his bedroom to get some herbal ointments as he laid a hand on Kim's round belly. He felt the impact of another kick, telling her to relax and breathe.

Serena had returned as he began to dab the woman with one of the ointments. Her eyes grew a little heavy as she seemed to finally calm down and sleep. But she had grabbed a hold of Adam's hand as he slowly sat down on the floor beside her. "Please, Adam. Don't leave me."

And her eyes grew heavy and she went into a deep sleep. Serena didn't know what to believe or what exactly to do. But she didn't want to leave her mother's side as she made a place to lie in her mother's arms. Adam slowly placed Kim's hand back on the couch and got to his feet as he left the room.

He was taken by surprise by her visit, let alone still couldn't believe what he was hearing come from her mouth. He felt that there was something about this entire thing, and that last statement she had mentioned before she fell into a deep slumber sorta scared him. He was quite sure if it was merely just the word of a friend, or possibly even more. And he didn't want to think it was nothing more than being a friend and a trustee hand of a doctor.

His cell phone had been vibrating in his pocket. He answered the call, noting it was coming from Ethan. "What's up, Ethan?"

"It's Dr. Oliver. I don't know. I just came by the house and found him unconscious on the floor. Do you have any idea where Coach or Serena is?" Ethan seemed to go into a panic.

"Relax, Ethan," Adam breathed, but still was trying to get over the shock of what he heard escape Kim's mouth. He could only hope that Tommy wouldn't make something of it, but wasn't guaranteed it would. "Um... they're here with me. But Kim looked really upset. I put her to bed, but she claimed she saw Tommy kiss another woman," Adam reported.

"No way! Are you serious! Dr. O wouldn't do that," Ethan breathed, not believing the news at all.

"It doesn't make sense to me either. Some thing's not right about this. But, I'm gonna stay here with Kim and keep her company. Keep an eye on Tommy. See what you can find out from him when he wakes up."

Ethan knew that he couldn't argue with that. He did what he was told, hoping he could close the gap with what was going on with his mentor and his wife. And Adam had to say the same thing.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The hours passed slow.

But that's how Trent and Kira liked it. It gave them more time to spend alone with one another. They had hoped that nothing would get in their way.

They had been hanging out at Kira's house, while everyone else in the household was out doing other things. Not that they were doing anything wrong, they were just hanging out. Being a secure and rather reserved couple. And Kira's parents were cool with Trent. He wasn't like most guys. He was willing to make conversation with them, help out in the kitchen on times he decided to share a dinner with them, made sure to get Kira home at a reasonable time, and being a true gentleman.

Not that their relationship really had a chance to really get anywhere. They had worked really slow to build it, and it was sorta a challenge to manage. They had to deal with the life of a ranger, being on call whenever they were needed, school, work, a personal life, etc. But they were trying, which was a good thing. They did manage to let those three little words - I love you - escape their mouths, but it always seemed hard to say, and they never quite said it as much as what one could call a couple. But they had said it from time to time, mostly over phone conversations that went into the late night on occasion.

They knew there was talk around school. A lot of talk. Many found the two to be a cute couple, others found it rather a hand-me down. That since Kira had failed to get with Conner, she went for the next best thing - Trent. Which wasn't true at all, she always wanted to be with Trent. Yet, she still had to admit that she was rather confused about her friendship with Conner. She didn't know if it was good or if it was bad, or moving in directions that would pull it into some sorta dating scam. She didn't want that at all. Her thoughts and feelings were leaning more toward Trent as the days grew between them.

Sitting on the couch, searching for something to watch, Kira laid a head on Trent's shoulder. He pulled her closer when his arm wrapped around her waist.

"You know what, baby? My parents like you enough to joke you are one in the family?" Kira stated as she took the remote from him, searching for herself.

"Are you saying that like I would pass as your brother or something? Or nearly joke as if we were gonna get married or something?" Trent said as a chuckle fell over his lips.

"Well, you're the first guy I've brought home that's been quite a real gentleman," Kira had to admit as she sat up. She clicked off the tv and laid a quick kiss on his lips. "Actually, you're the only guy I've brought home who's been that way. And my mom says in a society like today, it's really hard to find a guy who really cares not only about his girlfriend, but her family, too."

"Well, that's the only way I really know how to act. That's how I've been raised. Not just by my biological parents, but by Anton, too. Not all rich guys are asses, though he was like that when we first moved to Reefside," Trent sighed. He looked away for a moment, as the painful images of knowing where his father was struck his mind.

Kira placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She knew how much it hurt him just to see his father as a prisoner of his own mistakes and of their newest threat. And she didn't like that it was effecting him more and more as a person. At times, she felt shut out by him. At times, he would go sleepness nights or his grades were slipping slightly. "We haven't given up on him, Trent. We'll get him back. We will."

Trent sighed as he shook his head. "So many times, we were so close to save him, but we had to pull back every time. And I really don't know how much more he can take of this. It's been months now. And we have no real idea what Mindshatter has done to him."

"But you said that somewhere in Mesogog, your father was still in there clawing out," Kira protested. She never liked to hear the negativity escape his mouth, especially about feeling no hope to save his father. "If he's held on this long, we can't just hang up our morphers and give up on him. We'd all probably be dead by now if he hasn't done all that's he's been doing to protect us."

Trent thought for a moment, nodding slowly. He knew that she was right. He had to keep telling himself that. It was so hard for him to say that to himself, but when another told him that, it made it better. Trent pulled her into a hug. "Thanks, Kira."

When they had broken from the kiss, it had fallen silent for only a few moments. But soon, sparks fell over them and lips locked with lips. Though their make-out sessions never seemed to get far for some strange disturbance, they were always intimate. It just gave them one more chance at grasping a moment alone in their own world.

Then when they had finally seem to melt into the moment, Trent's phone had went off. It had cut them short again as they broke the kiss, each groaning in turn for the disruptions. Sitting up, Trent scanned through the text shaking his head.

"Who is it?" Kira asked as she peered over his shoulder at the message scrolling down the screen.

"Rob. He says I need to close up the cyber café tonight. Hayley left early and since I'm the only other person with the keys, I gotta close up," Trent sighed as he got to his feet. There was only a few number of people that Hayley had entrusted to closing up the café if she wasn't there to do it. One of them was Trent. All of the other employees had yet to really work up to her trust as a manager.

Trent looked out the window to see that the sun had gone well below its stay for daytime. It was approaching the evening hours, and on a Sunday, was always closed early. At eight o'clock. Trent didn't seem to realize that the hours seemed to go that fast, but knew he had to go and get it done.

Kira got to her feet, taking hold of his hand. "Well, can I come just to keep you company, baby?"

Trent smiled lightly as he leaned over and laid a kiss on her cheek. "Sure. You can come. It's our last day to enjoy what time we have before going back to school."

The two had moved, hand and hand, out of the Ford household and over to his car. They conversed quietly, mostly about the sadness for not really having much of a spring break. It had been centered around their superhero lives that there was no real time to relax or spend time together. Or even with their other friends.

The ride to the café was slow, and rather lazy, but Trent didn't care. He never liked to close up when told last minute. He hadn't been at work for nearly the whole week, but only because Hayley had issued him a break. He was on a 'vacation' just so he can work closely with his mentor with their new powers.

Trent got out of the car, telling Kira to just stay in there. He promised her it wouldn't take long. And just a boring process, though she had come to keep him company numerous times on his shifts for closing the café. But she was feeling rather tired anyway, and had agreed to just stay in the car and wait for him.

He left and headed into the café, making some final check-ups. Make sure that everything was shut down, cleared up or put away. He had to make sure that chairs were up, computers shut down, glassware and dishes were cleaned. And that the security system was locked and set for the night. When he was sure that things were set, he moved to the back room and placed the final security codes in before heading out the back door and locking up there.

Then he heard footsteps behind him, slightly confused. "I told you to just wait in the car, Kira. I'm almost..." But as he turned around, he had stopped short. His mistake. It wasn't Kira at all. He felt sorta bad, but confused.

It was another girl. He knew only so little about her. She had just transferred into Reefside High weeks ago; a junior. She was still getting a feel for the strange activity in the city, and he could tell, slightly shaken by the strange activity. She was about his height, long flowing blonde hair. She was skinny, like she didn't eat much or would refuse to eat fast food, but wasn't one who actually refused to eat. Yet, she was sort of slow and ditzy, but really liked class in a guy, and he knew. She, herself, would wear clothes that made her look rich, but she was just an average girl. She had been eyeing him for some time, when many girls had told her about his background. He was the son of a very rich and powerful man. Yet, out of all the things, he never knew her name at all.

"Oh, um...hey. The cyber café is closed, if you wanted to get in. We close early on Sundays," Trent began to explain. "Sorry."

The girl shook her head as she took a step forward. "No, I know. Yet, I can't help but notice that someone like you working in a place like this. Isn't your dad some big, rich and powerful man?"

Trent looked at her with some confusion. He found it odd to see a girl like her out, or even questioning him about his father or him as a person. It seemed out of place on a Sunday in the alley behind the café. But he had nodded, seeing as it wouldn't hurt to talk to her. "Um, yeah. But I don't try to make much of a big deal about it..."

"It must be nice to live like that. Have the money to get whatever you want, even date whoever you choose. You must even get into those high class celebrity parties since your dad is kinda big and popular." she continued.

Trent shrugged again, not making it too much of a big deal. At times, there were formal events that his father would take him to. They weren't those big celebrity parties, though he has hit a few, but those formal, rich people banquets. He was never much for that, but did it only at the request of his father. "You're new at Reefside, right? You just transferred in a few weeks ago. Where did you come from?"

"Oh, just some small town in Arizona. The name's Jennifer. My dad switched jobs and got us a place here in California. I was kinda hoping for a place in LA where all the celebrities hung out, but I guess my dad didn't want that. So, we settled here. I hear you're sorta a celebrity in this town. Trent, right?" she asked as she held out a hand.

He nodded as he took her hand in greeting. "Yeah, it's Trent. Celebrity, me? Maybe because of the new research my dad is working on, but I wouldn't consider it celebrity status."

But at that point, Jennifer had taken a step closer to him. Trent raised an eyebrow as he backed away, but didn't get far for the wall was behind him. He held his breath as he watched the fire of lust, if that's what it looked like, dance in her eyes. And he swore, now, that she was truly hitting on him.

She shook her head. "I heard from a certain news reporter at school you did some work around this city on a crime-fighting basis."

Trent held his breath. What! There was no way that Cassidy would have told anyone. Or even dared to hint at it. He shook his head. He knew that their science teacher would hang them and erase their existence before news like that got around. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I mean, I do a lot of volunteer work to keep the city clean or help out at the local shelter with food and clothes. I make lots of donations with my dad, but that's it. I mean, I don't consider that on a crime-fighting basis."

Jennifer shook her head as she came closer. This time, she was a little over arms length away, but the way she was breathing had indicated more than he needed right now. He was taken. He had a girlfriend. He would never do anything to hurt her. But somehow, he didn't quite know how to react. He shifted, but she seemed to follow like a magnet. But as he seemed to fall into a deeper panic, and about to run, she had stopped him, planting him against the wall. She ran a caressing hand down his face as she let a heated breath escape her lips. She put a finger to his lips.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me. Ya know, you and your girlfriend, right? The one in the car in the front? And that computer gamer, star soccer player, and that hot and sexy science teacher you hang around. Are you sure he's married? He's too hot to have a wife," she seemed to ramble on, making Trent shift uncomfortably.

"Whoa! Time out, Jennifer," Trent tried to push her hand away, but it seemed to be made of steel. It wouldn't budge off his chest. "I have a girlfriend. And whatever you're thinking about Kira, or Ethan, or Conner, or Dr. Oliver or whatever. It's not true. I do martial arts training with Dr. Oliver. He is a fifth degree black belt, and he trains the four of us for competition. It's true. You can go ask him yourself."

Jennifer laughed as if those words meant nothing to her. She shook her head as she inched closer to him, closing the gap between them. Their lips were nearly centimeters from each other. And still teasing him, she seemed to enjoy his struggle. But he was getting nowhere, fast. And it was clear, he didn't like it at all.

"Relax, rich boy. You can always buy a new girlfriend," she said as she ran her free hand down his face again. She ran it down his chest, pulling his shirt up as he shrugged it away. "Like me. Don't worry. I'm not like that pathetic excuse for an Avril Lavinge wanna-be."

Trent felt a heated anger roll in his heart. He hated to hear that come out of anyone's mouth towards Kira. Not towards his girlfriend on a matter like that. He shifted his weight and pushed the girl off of him. "Don't ever call her that. You know, it's people like you I can't stand. All you want from a guy like me is my money. Not my charm or personality. Well, I ain't like that, Jennifer. I would rather date a girl who likes me for more than my riches. And Kira's given that to me."

Jennifer hit the ground in shock as she got to her feet, but he was already sprinting forward. She seemed to move faster as she tackled him to the ground. He came crashing forward, as Jennifer jumped on top of him. "We never finished our conversation. That's rude of you, Trent."

Trent groaned as he pushed her off. "Get off me, Jennifer. You came onto me, and I already have a girlfriend. Why don't you find someone else who is willing to be your trophy to parade around? Because, I'm not gonna be it."

Jennifer had grabbed his pant leg, pulling him back. If he could, he would have kicked her. And he knew if he could just get around the corner, Kira would see it and help him out. They both knew how a lot of girls at school would try to hit on him, mostly for the expense that he was a rich guy, but that wasn't the way with Kira. She had never at all thought about using him for her advantage at all. She liked him for who he was as an individual, not the bills he rolled.

"Trent, stop running," Jennifer laughed hysterically as if she was a lunatic. "You know you would rather be happier with me. Treat me like a Queen and give me whatever I want. Then you'll have a reason to spend that money."

Trent twisted into a windmill move as Jennifer let him go and he got to his feet. But as he seemed to round the corner, he felt the imprinted of a fist grab the back of his shirt, swinging him into the wall. And his lips had locked with another. But the way it was rushed and felt, didn't belong to the one girl that he loved to kiss. Not his girlfriend, Kira Ford, his first love. It was that freak Jennifer who finally got her wish.

Though it was brief, and almost to the point. Another figure wasn't too far to witness it. Trent had pushed Jennifer away, spitting out the kiss as if he just kissed a cat. Only to see the other figure who had witnessed the whole thing. It was Kira. And her face just went pale and tears slowly formed in her eyes.

Trent shook his head as he knew what she had seen. And he hoped that he could explain his case, but as he walked up to her, she could only back away. "Kira, wait, baby, you gotta..."

"I'm not your baby, Trent," Kira spat as a line of tears finally fell from her eyes. "How could you do this to me! To us! I thought you were serious about our relationship. I thought you loved me? And you double-cross me for some junior girl? Whatever," she pushed him back, not even giving it one single thought. "Maybe I was wrong about you. That you had to date a girl who really needed to use your money just to make you happy." She turned away, walking out of there.

Trent didn't even bother to look at the other girl who had ruined his relationship with his first true love. He raced after Kira, pleading forgiveness. But the other girl seemed to drift off into the shadow of the night. He began to plead his case, but she didn't seem to hear him. "You got to believe me, Kira. I swear. I would never do this to you. You know that. She came onto me. I didn't even any idea what her name was or how she even knew I was gonna be here..."

"So, her lips just happened to fall onto yours?" Kira glared at him. And for the first time, he had never seen such fire in her eyes that it crushed him. It sent cold, dark chills down his back. She pushed him away. "Don't bother, Trent. It was great while it lasted, but I guess some things have to end, right? That there are so many types of love, and you were only using me to make yourself look like the better man. By taking some girl who sings her heart out in every song she sings maybe because you felt sorry for her, since she hasn't landed a record deal, and your money can save her from falling into turmoil. I get it, Trent. It's starting to make a whole lot of sense, now."

"Kira..." Trent pleaded as his eyes welt with tears. And for the first time, he swore real tears had fell down his eyes for a crash in their relationship. He didn't think there was any, and there wasn't, a time where they had gotten into a huge fight. "No. She came onto me. No lie. I tried to contact you, but I...it slipped. You know, she was freaking me out. I don't know how but she knows about us. About what we do in our 'night shift' as crime-fighters. And I would never think of you like that, Kira. I would never want to hurt you."

Kira stopped to look at him, tears stained her face like scars. And it sent more guilt down Trent's spine. "Do you actually want me to believe that, Trent? I mean, honestly."

"But, it's the..." he tried to explain again.

"Truth?" Kira finished and turned away as she continued to walk off. "Don't even, Trent Mercer. Forget it. I just need some time alone right now. And maybe we should just take a break from each other. It could be the best thing for us right now. Or never talk to each other again." She turned to look at him, the glare still heated. "How could you do that to us? I thought you were different. But, I guess I was wrong."

Trent stopped short as if a wall was placed before him. He hated, and never expected her to use that tone, or say his name like that at all. He had never seen her this angry, and wanted so badly to replay those painful moment before she saw Jennifer's lips lock with his. He wanted her to believe him, but it was clear she wouldn't. And he hated to hear that they should take a break from each other. Or never talk. That was the worse news he could hear. He didn't want to hear that, at all. It was painful to his ears.

"Kira, please," he felt his knees weaken. It was crushing his mental control to see this even going on. This was one fear of his. To lose his girlfriend to something like this. And it wasn't his fault.

But she had not even looked back. Her figure disappeared into the dimmed shadows of an alleyway. And Trent had given into his loss as he hit the ground. He kicked himself for even letting something like this happen. He got to his feet, treading back to the café, hoping to find Jennifer there, but there was no one there to greet him. It was like no one had even stepped anywhere near the café since he had closed it up for the night.

He wasn't quite sure what he could do, but call up Kira, hoping she would answer. But she had not. He jumped into his car, trying to call again. But again, no answer. He sent a text of apology, explaining the situation, hoping to get one in return.

It chimed as he popped it open, starting up the car. "Don't bother with me, Trent. I need to be alone. I hate you."

It hurt to see those words ever come from Kira. He knew that she was a person you could never lose trust with. Once you did, it would never really be gained back. Even if he was trying to explain, plead forgiveness, she didn't have it. She was hurt. Scarred. And he had seen two sides of her he never wanted to see, especially if he was to blame. Tears of sadness and hate and anger on a level that no one would want to see from her.

He had called, left voicemails, knowing she wouldn't listen to them right now. But hope give them a chance without deleting them.

And that night, he didn't even bother to go home to clear his thoughts. He had retired to the cove where he sat, sleepless thinking about how he had screwed up a love he thought would have lasted forever. If not for a good amount of time.

And he had hoped that he could fix it, and perhaps, find some advice or comfort in his teacher or other friends at school the following day.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Mindshatter had sat in his chair, clenching his fists as a hiss of satisfaction fell over his lips. He had just been reported by the two remaining psycho rangers that the plan to divide the team had worked better than expected.

But as they left, he had moved over to his display of five candles, left untouched, but under surveillance and close watch. The five candles that had connected to the powers of the dino rangers. He could have just lit them, making them completely useless, but enjoyed messing with their minds.

"They are weak. As skilled as they may think they are, even a simple manipulation of their darkest fears and worse nightmares will destroy them," Mindshatter stated as he pulled out an object from under his cloak. It was designed like a sword, but was still in need of work as he looked over it before placing it into a casing beside the Geno-Randomizer. "No one will stand a chance against me. No one."

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Whoa! I didn't mean for that to be that long. Man, I need to stop trying to add every little detail to this story. But, it is coming to an end. I hope you like it. I really hope you do. I gotta thank my friend, beautifulpinkcrane, for her help on the fight with Kim and Tommy. It wouldn't have been so effective without her help. And then for the other creative minds who have added to my work. Thanks. But, enough shout outs. That's not the point, right now. You all are wondering if these couples can fix their mistakes before it gets worse? Let's hope they do. How will they deal if it doesn't work? Find out next chapter. See you when I do. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	40. We Belong Together

**'TIL I COLLAPSE -** **_PART FORTY: WE BELONG TOGETHER  
_**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Relationships seem to have hit rock bottom for some couples. Can it be restored before the big night of PROM?_

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I just like to make our heroes suffer and go through a lot of difficulties as they try to balance out a personal life with saving the world. But don't many of us do? That's why we got the power of fanfic to do whatever we want. I would like to dedicate this chapter to Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together", a treasure to our hearts in the game of love. Thank you for your contributions._

_A/N: So, PROM is coming up...um in the story. Mine passed a long time ago, if you didn't figure that out. I will be semi-tying it into my own time at PROM. AU, okay? I'll be ending the series soon enough. I know. (tears streak face) But some things must come to an end, right? Yeah. They really gotta. I can't just make the time I want to continue on. But, it will go out with a big bang, all right? I mean, hopefully, it will. I promise you that._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"I know I have not been one the best people about trying to keep a strong relationship going, but I am trying. I really am. I just cannot do this on my own. This is in need of two people, not one to let it grow. And no one is perfect."-Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The hours passed slow.

Ethan had managed to drag his unconscious science teacher into the master bedroom and place him on the bed. But he had been pacing trying to figure out what could have triggered such mayhem in the Oliver homestead.

He called up Adam requesting his presence, but he had his own hands full. He had heard from the medical doctor that Kim had caught her husband kissing another woman and jumped the wall, fleeting with Serena to Adam's place. Adam had refused to leave her side, and could only give the simple instructions for Ethan to stay with the science teacher until he awoke. And to place a cool towel on his head only concluding that he was knocked out by something.

But Ethan had his own set of problems, knowing he would have to tell his science teacher the news about Krista's discovery of their identity as well as hope to find out what had gone on with himself and his wife. And he figured he should tell his mentor the news about the unexpected attack from the blue psycho ranger and an army of cybots.

Ethan was tired of waiting though. He had to get home and finish some last minute math homework before he could really hit the sack. Not that late nights were ever a surprise to the computer gamer, he figured he just needed some time to clear his head of the day's events. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his cell phone began to ring.

He moved out of the room, taking the call, realizing it was Trent. "Oh, hey, man, what's up?"

Trent sighed deeply through his side of the call. "Bad news. I think Kira and I might be breaking up."

"What!" Ethan breathed as he shook his head. "Dude, what happened?"

"I don't know. I had to go close up the café, and some girl started to hit on me. Things happened so fast, and when I thought I could finally get away, she pushed me against the wall and kissed me. Kira saw it and thought otherwise. Now, she won't pick up my calls or answer my texts..." Trent said quietly, but it seemed as if he was all out of tears. But was in desperate need to let them go.

Ethan began to listen to the story, as he felt another burden lay on his shoulders. "And you tried explaining it to her? But she wouldn't listen. ...Man, that sucks. ...Look, I know this isn't the best time, but it seems Conner and Krista are having problems, too. ...No lie. We got into a battle and we powered down and she saw who we were. She was upset. ...No, Dr. O don't know. And speaking of that. More bad news. Rumor from Adam, says Coach saw Dr. O kissing some other girl. ...No, I'm serious, bro."

"But he would never do that, would he?" Trent protested.

"No way. At least I don't think so. He loves her too damn much to that. There is something not right about this entire thing. Dr. O is seduced by some other girl. Krista is upset at Conner and now knows our secret. You and Kira are at a stand still. It doesn't make any sense," Ethan thought a moment.

"Think Mindshatter is behind it?" Trent asked as if he knew it was, but needed another opinion on it.

"That's the only explanation I got. It's a little too coincidental to have all of this happen in just one day. Something has got to be up," Ethan said.

"So, where are you at, now?"

"Over at Dr. O's. As far as I could tell, Coach and Serena are at Adam's place to get their head straight. I was gonna tell Dr. O the news about the recent attack and what Krista knows, and found him unconscious on the floor. He's been out ever since. Just sorta waiting to see if he wakes up any time soon. If not, I'm just gonna head out, but leave him a note."

After straightening out the other set of news, Ethan had let his friend go. He figured that Trent needed some time to put his head together and figure out a way to explain it all over to Kira again. And Ethan knew he had more problems to spread to his mentor. But he had a right to know. He paced the hall for a moment, until he finally heard a groan from inside the room.

He peeked in, to finally see the figure on the bed stir. The dazed man winced as he slowly sat up, pushing a hand to his head, noting the towel there. He looked around for a moment, until his gaze locked on the teen in blue who slowly treaded into the room.

"Now, Dr. O, before you decide to bite off my head about possibly invading your privacy, there are just some things I would like to get straight," Ethan began to say as he stepped farther into the room. "What happened here?"

Tommy sighed as he looked around the room. He saw it was still tossled full of scattered clothes and drawers, indicating the departure of someone very quickly. He shook his head as he slammed his hand into the side drawer. "How could I let this happen! I kissed my ex-girlfriend in front of Kim. This was never supposed to happen. What am I supposed to do? She left me and took Serena with her. And even if I tried to explain it to her, she probably wouldn't listen to me. She knew what she saw. I know what she saw, and it won't change her decision."

Ethan took a step back, knowing his teacher was in need of some time alone. That hurt, guilt, anger and a line of mixed feelings ran through his bones. But he still needed to know exactly what happened. "Well, I guess that sums it up. So, I guess this wouldn't be the best time to admit that Krista knows about us now. And that her and Conner are having problems. And that Kira and Trent are also having problems. And Conner and I ran into a little unexpected attack by the cybots and the blue psycho ranger."

Tommy looked up at his student collapsing on the bed. He ran a hand through his hair as he dropped his head. "Well, this changes everything, doesn't it?"

Ethan nodded slowly. "It does." He wanted to say more, ask his teacher the thoughts on the number of surprises, but didn't know what to say. He figured it was time to call it in, and have his teacher get some time to himself.

And despite the news, Tommy had fallen silent, analyzing the news and trying to look at their options. He had looked back at Ethan, noticing that he, too, was looking at their options. But it was clear they needed some more time to look at their other options.

"I should head out. Let's hope we can settle this sooner than later because if this goes on for a long time, we might have a problem working as a team," Ethan sighed.

Tommy nodded as a light smile passed his lips. "I agree. Now, there is just one problem. Getting the girls to listen to us. Either this is a really sick joke or Mindshatter is really behind all this. He could be trying to divide the team. I just hope that's not true, or we could have an even bigger problem on our hands," Tommy nodded.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day was slow to begin.

Trent even thought about skipping school today, but saw no point. He knew that Kira was going to avoid him and that was not what he wanted at all. It wasn't even his fault. It never was. But he knew that Kira wouldn't listen to him right away.

He had casually walked passed Kira at her locker, but didn't bother to stop and greet her. He just retreated off to first hour, even if it was still early. She had noticed his presence, as her own line of guilt fell over her. She didn't even stop him just to say a greeting of her own. But something inside her kept telling her to let him explain the mishap of the previous night, but she had ignored it. The image of seeing her boyfriend lock lips with another girl crushed her, even if she felt she was in desperate need to talk to him. She had even gotten a call from Ethan trying to explain it, but his words seemed to go in one ear and out the other. That it didn't matter. She didn't want others to know about it, but it was clear that Trent had to tell someone. She could only hope no talk would go around school about their fiasco. She knew what she saw, but why was she hurting? Feeling like some of this was her fault, too.

Conner nearly surprised her as he collapsed against a line of lockers beside her. But it was clear that his own line of feelings had struck him, too. He was trying to explain himself to Krista nearly the entire night, but she didn't hear him at all. He even agreed to bring her by Dr. Oliver's place to reveal more about his secret life just to get her to listen to him. But she didn't bother. He hadn't even seen her all morning before classes started. And he knew that she was avoiding him. And when Kira finally turned to greet him, she had noticed the low visor of a cap on his head, not typical to the jock. His eyes were shielded behind it, but she knew he had been crying. He, too, was hurting and she knew from Ethan there it had to do with a possible break up between him and Krista.

"Is everything okay between you and Trent?" Conner asked quietly, hoping to relay any talk about his relationship with Krista at that moment. "I usually see you guys hanging out before the first bell."

Kira turned away as the name of her boyfriend passed her friend's lips. She wasn't quite sure what to do. She wanted to talk to Trent. There was a part of her that wanted to break up with him. She never felt so confused. "We had a fight."

"What!" Conner breathed. It was clear he hadn't heard the news from Ethan, and Kira couldn't blame him. Conner was already dealing with his own problems. "No way. You're one couple I would never picture in a fight unless he might become evil again but..."

"I saw him kiss another girl, Conner," she said as her voice rose. But tears slowly welt in her eyes as she hid her face beyond her locker door to control them from falling. It was clear she wasn't exactly a person to show sign of tears or possibly anger, but she was after all, human. And with Trent being her first boyfriend, the terms of love seemed to be more devastating and surprising at the same time. A new feeling she was still getting used to.

"What!" he wanted to ask for details, but knew it wasn't the best time as she tried to avoid crying or possibly a ptera scream to let go of some anger. "Yeah. Well, I guess I ain't got it any easier. Krista and I aren't on the best grounds either after what happened yesterday."

Kira asked the red dino ranger what happened, wanting to know what could have caused it. When he began to tell his story, she didn't want to believe that he was telling the truth, but he was. He was hurting with every word as he told her what happened. He even told her that Krista had found out about them being power rangers. And feared that their mentor might ask him to hand over his morpher after letting that one out of the bag.

"So, do you think that Dr. O is gonna be mad at me?" Conner asked, slightly worried to even go anywhere near that science room during the day.

Kira shrugged as worry fell over her. "She had a right to find out. I mean, with as long as your relationship has been, I would think she had a right to know. Dr. Oliver will understand. He has to."

"Yeah, I just hope he does," Conner sighed. He watched as Krista had moved passed them, but hadn't bothered to say anything to either of them as she passed. Conner looked away as he shook his head. "And I don't know if Krista will ever trust me again. She thinks I'm lying about other things, too, since I had that huge secret to keep. Once you lose her trust, you really can't gain it back."

"We could try getting Coach to talk to her or something," Kira suggested.

"Yeah, I heard that something happened between Dr. O and Coach from Ethan. Any idea what it is?" Conner asked in a low voice, not wanting it to be the talk around school. And could only hope that their attitudes wasn't gonna dwell on the day's activities.

Kira shook her head. And it was clear that she had not heard it either. Ethan was walking up the hall, greeting those who recognized him with a head nod, but was stopped when Conner grabbed him, pulling him into their conversation.

"We hear that the falcon and crane are having some problems on the homefront," Kira stated looking at the blue dino ranger for some answers. "What happened?"

"Um...they are. I was hoping to catch Dr. O and see if anything has changed. But I doubt it." Ethan shrugged as he took a step back.

"Why don't you explain it to us? I didn't quite catch what you were trying to tell me on my voicemail," Conner said.

Ethan sighed as he began to slip the news, keeping it strictly on a coded basis to avoid having others really understand what was going on. He, himself, though had not gotten a chance to hear both sides of it and was hoping to get to it. Conner said he could try to see what he got from Coach during his student assistant hour, but found that it was not quite a guarantee. He had dealt with the wrath of a pregnant P.E. teacher worse than the others, and hoped she wouldn't completely blow him off for butting into her personal life with their mentor.

But the first bell had rung and they had to get to class. Though they had wondered the news on their mentor and his wife, they knew they had to get back into the mix of school. Back to their normal lives, despite all that has happened and flew through their heads.

On the other side of the school, Trent had made it to class without saying a whole lot to anyone. But when he had stepped into his first class, immediately he felt a huge burden on his shoulders. His teacher could only greet him with a simple pat on the shoulder, knowing what had gone on with him and his girlfriend, as reassurance. But he knew he would be talking to his mentor in the following hour about what had happened the previous day.

Trent couldn't help but notice the missing light in his teacher's eyes as he began to file out a packet of reading and questions on genetics to his AP Bio class. Even after spring break, he had pushed a lot of work down their throats. And even as they complained about the workload, for a class of 10 seniors, the look in Dr. Oliver's eyes made it clear that he wouldn't be changing his mind about it. It was settled, and he allowed them to work the rest of the hour to get it started. He was in no mood to have anyone argue with him, and Trent knew that. When he was upset, you just let him teach the class as he decided and not argue with it.

But as the bell rang to send the class to their next class, Trent had relaxed just a little. Even in Dr. O's darkest moods, he knew that they both relaxed a little with just a line of conversing in the following hour. But it was clear, though, he didn't want to talk and even as the door closed behind the rest of his classmates, Trent didn't really want to talk about what had happened with him and Kira, but wouldn't be getting out of it.

"Ethan already told me what happened. For the most part," Dr. Oliver spoke, but didn't look up from his desk. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, Trent. I just hope you know that this could effect us as a team if we don't settle this."

Trent had zoned out, pulling out a sketch book and began to sketch something in it. But he had heard the words of his science teacher enter his head. "Yeah, I know. But I can't help but ask you what happened with Coach, Dr. O? Ethan told me something happened to you, too."

The science teacher let out a breath as he moved toward the white dino ranger, taking a seat in front on him at the lab station. He noticed the sketch that Trent was creating, a guitar. "It did. I don't know how it happened, but somehow, I had locked lips with my ex and Kim saw it. But it wasn't my fault. I swear. Now, even if I tried to explain it to Kim, she may not believe me at all. With or without proof."

Trent looked at him confused. He didn't quite know what his teacher meant by that, but knew that it was a serious issue. "What do you mean with or without proof? It wasn't your fault."

Dr. Oliver nodded as he looked away for a moment to catch his breath. "I know. But there is a big thing here called trust and cheating, especially in a marriage. I don't know..." He thought for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what happened. but it didn't seem to click in his head. He could only remember locking lips with Isabel, trying to stop his wife from fleeing and found himself on a bed with his ex. But after that, he wasn't quite sure how he had fallen unconscious or why. His head was still spinning around the events of the previous day, but couldn't seem to detail every little thing after Kim had fled with his daughter. But he was glad to have Ethan there to tend to him. "I don't even remember what happened to tell you honestly, Trent. It's all a blur. My head still feels like it's spinning."

Trent nodded slowly, but wasn't quite sure how to ask his next question. He knew he had gone to the science teacher and his wife about going out in the past, and they had given him numerous amounts of advice. "Man, that's rough. But what do you do when it wasn't your fault and you try to explain it to your girl, but they don't seem to hear you?"

Dr. O shrugged as he let out a breath. "I really don't know. I figure give them a few hours, if not days, but this is some serious stuff, Trent. If things happen on the battlefield, and we're still divided, we will suffer."

Trent nodded again as he had to agree with that. He knew all about divide and conquer and knew how efficient it was. He sunk his head as he looked down at his sketch book. It surprised him to see it was a drawing of a guitar. He didn't seem to realize what it was until that moment. "How could I let this happen, Dr. O? I mean, I didn't even know that other girl. And she kissed me. But Kira didn't see it that way. She just saw the kiss and thought I was the two-timer."

Dr. O nodded as he was re-living his own mistake. "Yeah, sounds just like me, Trent. And it isn't easy to admit you've done something wrong until you realize what you've lost. I just hope we can find a way out of this."

Trent had to agree with that again. "I figured you also heard the news with Conner, too?"

The science teacher looked away as if those words stung, but nodded, knowing that bit of information, too. "I did. From Ethan. Says that Krista now knows the truth about who we are. And that there was an untimely attack by the psycho blue ranger and a few cybots. Kinda a big twist on things."

"It is. But wouldn't you think it is rather odd that all of that has happened? On the same day?"

"It does strike me as a little odd. But, without real proof to my theory, no one is gonna really believe me."

****

XXXXXXXXXX

It was now third period.

Kim had sent her class outside to run some laps around the track, even if they had just gotten back from Spring Break. Conner had stood beside her, waiting for times to be recorded, unsure how to approach her about what he heard from the previous day. He knew that she was in no mood to talk. And even as some students were wondering what was wrong, or argued with her, she had only added to their run. Only so few learned not to mess with the moody pregnant woman and others were only driving her to more insanity.

Conner had cleared his throat as a few students raced passed them, Kim yelling out their times. But she was driving them to work harder and faster. Anything to relay what was going on as Conner coughed again to get her attention.

"Coach, I don't mean to be rude, but is everything okay?" Conner asked quietly looking down at the clipboard in his hand. He knew if this didn't go right, he would get double the work in a few hours. Not that he would participate in the activities of the young freshmen class, he just liked his own P.E. class among friends and upperclassmen later on in the day.

"Would you like to join them, Conner?" Kim turned to look over her shoulder at the slightly shaken teen in a red T-shirt and black shorts. It was clear she didn't want to talk about it, but he didn't want to give up. He wanted to know how she was doing, if not get her side of the story. And he hoped that he could possibly cheer her up even a little.

Conner shook his head as he took a step back. "Look, I understand you can get a little moody at times. Be harsh, especially with this whole pregnancy thing, but is it necessary to take out your hurt on your students? They'll notice something is wrong and think something of it. Do you really want that?"

The P.E. teacher whirled around to look at her student, as if wanting to strike him for saying something bad. Tears began to welt in her eyes, but she turned away, knowing that he was right. And that he had no real right to know, but wouldn't be surprised if he already knew what had happened. "It just happened so fast... I didn't know... no, I know what happened. I saw it. I saw Tommy kiss her..."

Conner held his breath unsure what to make of it as he slowly walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. The young freshmen stopped to see what was going on. Many making a big deal about it, claiming that was against school rule to engage in public affection-or comfort-or whatever it was- especially between a student and teacher - as Conner drove them to continue their run, despite what he was doing to comfort his P.E. teacher.

He had escorted her to the stands, hoping that maybe he would find some more information and try to provide some comfort for her. Many freshmen girls stopped to ask their P.E. teacher what was wrong, but Conner had shooed them away, telling them it was not their place to be. Conner stayed silent for some time as he allowed the pregnant woman some time to catch her breath.

Kim finally wiped away her tears, knowing if any more came out, her freshmen class would confront her husband about it, bringing about more attention at school, which she didn't need. "Was I too quick to judge without giving him a chance to explain himself?" Conner had shrugged, unsure if that was intended for him to answer, or just a question she needed to ask herself. "Would he do this to me, just to get me back for what I did to him years ago? I don't know. I don't want to make anything of it, but it is so hard to believe anything right now."

"Well, what does your heart tell you? I mean, if you truly love him, you would know if he were telling the truth or not," Conner said, despite his own problems. He was hurting too, and as the P.E. teacher looked over at him noticed that something else was on his mind.

"Yeah, I know. But right now, every time I try to think about him, I can only see that image..." she paused a moment as her fists clenched and anger fell over her. The cruel image of seeing her husband lock lips with his ex, on a very deep basis, crushed her. "... how that skank just stuck her tongue down his throat and..."

Conner calmed her down, knowing if she could, she would strangle the neck of that woman and dump her into the pier with no mercy. "Okay, okay, I get that you're mad, but remember, public eye. We don't need this to go around the school. But you will talk to him, right? I mean, if you're both in a crappy mood, it will just make our day, as your students, harder to get through."

"I don't know. I think I deserve a huge explanation from him. And right now, I don't think I'm ready to accept it. He doesn't realize what he's done..." the P.E. teacher watched as some of her students had completed their run, collapsing on the grass in an exhausted heap.

"No," Conner shook his head. "I think he does. He just doesn't know how to put it into words for you to understand. Or words that won't make you tick."

The P.E. teacher looked over at her assistant again, noticing the distance in his eyes as he looked away, slightly guilty and embarrassed. He was needing to say something, but didn't know how to put it.

"You're having problems with Krista and now you're worried she won't trust you again, aren't you?" the P.E. teacher spoke up as Conner nodded, obviously surprised to find out that she had figured it out. "I've been around many types of relationships long enough to know what is goes on. So, does it have to do with what you haven't told her?"

Conner nodded. "Let's just say she found out something she wasn't supposed to. And now she thinks I'm lying to her about other things, too, but I'm not. It was just that huge secret I've swore my life to."

"Give her some time, Conner. But in the end, talk to her and see if you can't work it out. Try to avoid the gifts, as much as it may work to save your relationship. She might think it is a bribery that could just result in just using her. Which isn't what you're trying to do at all. Maybe, just maybe, we could add her to the list of people who has a right to know what we do, and she should understand why we do what we do. And the whole deniability we carry with it."

Conner nodded, knowing that her advice helped. He had to take her word for it, and could only hope that there was a way for Krista to listen to him.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

By the time lunch had finally come around, Ethan had found Trent by himself by the soccer field. He figured he could keep the white dino ranger busy, knowing that it wasn't his place to talk to Kira or Conner. Nor was it quite right to talk to the artist, but he felt it was the best thing to do, hoping he could push away other thoughts in Trent's mind.

"Hey, man. Haven't seen you all day, everything cool?" Ethan asked as he popped a squat in front of the artist.

Trent looked away and shook his head. "Don't you need to go breath down Kira or Conner's back on their love life? You already got me and Dr. O."

"If you're mad that I told Dr. O what was going on with you and Kira, I'm sorry," Ethan apologized as he held up his hands. "Look, he had a right to know. And you know that, bro. Haven't quite got a whole lot out of Conner and Kira anyway. They're hurting pretty bad."

"And you think I'm not?" Trent said as he tried to avoid getting mad. But it was clear that Ethan was pushing him just a little.

"No, I know you are, too. I just wanna know or make sure this doesn't spread like wildfire around school. I mean, especially with you and Kira. I mean, you guys hardly make the whole PDA a show, but they know you got a thing going. And talk goes around fast."

"Look, I know you're trying to help out, Ethan. But let's try to leave my love life out of this. That's my business. Don't try to get into it. Maybe it was never meant to be between me and Kira," Trent shook his head as he got to his feet. "I need some time alone, all right?"

Ethan could only watch his friend go. He knew he wasn't the best guy to go to about getting involved in a relationship, but he hated to see his friends take a spill for the worse. In this case, the team was suffering and he didn't like being in the middle of it all. In many cases, he was glad not to be involved with anyone, just for the sake that the whole team was in on it. But he hated being the odd man out. He could see it in Adam, how they would just sit around on the net chatting away about their single lives, loving it, but hurting, too. They wanted someone to love and someone to love them back.

He let it go for the moment, giving the white dino ranger his space. And he figured it wouldn't do much good to see the progress in Conner or Kira. He had just seen Conner the last hour, knowing he was doing a little bit better, but would prefer to be left alone. So, that's what he did. He saw Kira before lunch started, and knew she too, wanted to be left alone. And he couldn't wait until last hour to confront his science teacher about his own setback, and had to find out if there was any way he could reunite any of the couples back together.

Ethan treaded into the school. It wasn't like it was not allowed to roam the halls during lunch, it was just not many people were around the halls. Especially on a nice day. And those that were in the halls were considered the actual geeks and smart people of the school, not that he wanted to judge them.

But some people would stare and talk. Many had found it shameful, if not weird, that a guy like him was finally breaking out of his shell during his senior year. He didn't like to be the one who was the center of their attention, but somehow he had brought it to himself by being apart of the dance team.

He rounded the corner letting out a breath when there was no one in sight. He figured he would drop the subject and ask his teacher later, but knew that something like this just couldn't wait. He needed to talk to him.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Dr. Oliver sat in his classroom liking the quiet air just to keep himself straight. After the long morning, he wasn't quite sure if he could go on like this. He needed to talk to his wife, and he felt it was stupid to avoid her anymore than he needed to. He didn't need talk to go around the school, nor did he like the fact that he had been acting more like his drill sergeant strict self on the day returning from Spring Break rather than his laid back self.

He knew talk had already gone around, as his students would talk in class quietly, choosing him as the subject of their conversation. But he wasn't rude to butt in, not that it would take much effort to hear what they were saying. It just wasn't his place.

He looked away from entering grades into the computer, down at the single band hanging on his left ring finger. For a long time, he couldn't get those images of his ex out of his head. The way she had seduced him under some sorta spell, to follow her lead. To fall into her embrace. And to touch his lips against hers. But as he shook the images away, the rage grew. He didn't need this. Not now.

He got to his feet, heading for the door, nearly running down the figure that seemed to be looming out of his door. It was his wife. He took a step back unsure what to make of the gesture as she didn't bother to look up at him. He couldn't blame her as he sunk back into the room, inviting her in.

Kim didn't say anything as she treaded into the room as he closed the door behind her. A silence fell over the two. The man was in desperate need to pull his wife into his arms and lay a warm, passionate kiss on her lips and never let her go. But he didn't budge. He couldn't. The woman was still hurting, but couldn't help but find herself in need of talking to her husband. She knew that Conner kept telling her to go see him, and she had done it.

"So, um...I was gonna head on over to see you. Kinda surprised to see you outside my door," the man spoke quietly, still getting over the fact that she was here in his classroom.

"Don't think that this is a formal greeting for me to come back home because I still need some time to think this through," the pregnant woman spoke as if she had not heard him speak. She turned to look at the man as he looked down, nodding. Nor wanting to argue with her. "How could you do this to me, Thomas?"

"Are you gonna make a scene by doing this here?" he countered. It was clear that this business didn't need to be seen by their students or fellow staff members. This was their own personal business, no one else's.

"Why did you do it?" she demanded, clearly not hearing him at all. Either she didn't care that this would cause an audience, or she wanted the school to see what was going on.

"If you're gonna let me explain, you'd better let me talk," he rose his voice a little bit. He never liked raising his voice to her, but if she wouldn't let him explain. And it led to his angry side, which he didn't like to let go.

"Fine. Go ahead. Talk." she found a place in his executive-style chair. She crossed her arms, looking at him and waiting for an explanation.

The man took a breath, trying to fumble over his words and figure out what was best to say. He knew if he screwed this up, it would be harder to win back her heart, if he even had a chance to win it back again. "Look, to tell you honestly, I don't know what happened. I tried to stop it. I did." But as he had said that, it seemed to not register in her head. "But she just kept coming back like a dog. She just didn't stop. I pushed her out of that door and off of our porch, but she took me by surprise and kissed me."

"And you didn't stop? Just like you somehow ended up without a shirt?" she glared at him.

"Kimberly, baby, please," he fell to his knees, taking her hand. But she had shrugged it away, looking away. "We had this discussion before she even came by the house. What we have is nothing compared to what I had with her. Not a damn thing. What we share is more pure and rich and intimate than anyone else I have really gone out with. I told you what she did to me after we broke up. I thought I could never love again. But you showed me the light again. You showed me it was okay to love again."

"But I know what I saw. You don't realize what I'm feeling inside right now," she shook her head. She could only look at him briefly, but looked away quickly pushing him away. "We're not dating anymore, Tommy. We're married. We've made it into the next chapter of our lives."

"Exactly." he breathed agreeing with her instantly. "And..."

"Which makes it clear that touching another woman is clearly off limits. Possibly even looking at them," she got to her feet, heading for the door. "I could make the exception to our friends. But how can I trust you anymore, Tommy? How do I know you're not really lying..."

"But I'm not," he shook his head as he tried to counter her words. "And remember you came to me about wanting this little chat."

"Don't put this all on me, Tommy Oliver. If you didn't go and kiss her in the first place we wouldn't be in this position. And you have Conner to thank for making me do this, but I guess I was wrong about it. Things aren't okay. I thought we could discuss this as adults, as husband and wife."

"Only because you're accusing me of kissing another woman and I didn't. She kissed me."

"Why's that matter? Your lips were still on hers. And she was your ex, Tommy. Your ex! Don't tell me that there is something wrong with that!" she pushed him back as she finally headed over to the door, opening it. "That is still considered cheating in my eyes."

Tommy took a step back as those words stung his heart. No matter how she had looked at it, even if he had told her it wasn't his fault, she was still mad at him. She didn't find comfort in him, only betrayal. And even if he did try to stop it, he didn't stop it long enough to avoid the lips of his ex touch his own, or the fact she had managed to destroy his shirt, too.

"Oh, and running away to Adam's place isn't out of the ordinary either? In case you're forgetting, he's single, which gives him..."

The woman turned to look at the man, eyes glaring with a fiery rage. "Don't you put him into the middle of this. He's our doctor and friend. And he would never do anything like that."

"How do I know that? I was under the impression that you were cheating with him, but it was another one of those nightmares and fears I don't want to live with. And you can't begin to tell me you find that isn't wrong either?"

"This all goes back to you, Tommy. Just remember that. You're to blame. If you didn't fall into the hands of your ex none of this would have happened," She turned and left the room just as the man raced out to stop her.

But it was no good. As the door slowly creaked back into his hand, the science teacher had not realized it almost came into contact with a certain blue dino ranger. The man looked at his student, shaking his head as a rage fell over him and he closed the door. Ethan held his breath as he watched the pregnant woman woddle down the hall, also holding an angry fit.

He raced up the hall, hoping to find some information on the situation, but it was clear she didn't want to talk to him. He looked through the halls, noticing the peeking heads and confused looks on staff and students. It was clear that they had heard some yelling, but didn't bother to deal with it or kept it to themselves.

"Wait, Coach," Ethan pleaded as he stopped her, but she pushed passed him. "Talk to me. Don't tell me you and Dr. O got into another fight."

"That's not your business, Ethan," the woman said simply. "I'll be expecting double the work from you when gym class comes around."

The teen in blue stopped, letting the woman make her way back to the gym. He kicked himself feeling like this was somewhat his fault. And didn't want it to continue. He needed to fix this soon or things would just get worse.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

That afternoon was strictly locked to be left alone. Ethan was left with no real options as he moved to the cyber caf130, despite seeing Trent at work. Hayley had confronted him, asking what was going on, being briefed by a certain wolf ranger who gotten word from a frog ranger.

"Break ups, that's what," Ethan said simply. "I don't know how or what the exact deal is, but someone out of each of their relationships is hating the other right about now."

Hayley sighed as she bent over the counter, keeping her voice low. The number of customers increasing, and the absent eye of Trent wasn't too far behind. "Yeah, I won't be surprised if this has already spread to the other rangers."

"What are we gonna do?" Ethan asked slightly worried. He didn't like this had already gone on for a day. And didn't want it to go on for another day, if not week. He wanted them to settle their differences and fast.

"We can only hope that they can settle it on their own. I really don't want to get involved, but if it comes down to it, we may need to." But even as she said that, she too, was worried if the results turned out bad or would come about soon.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

One week and a half had passed.

But things were still on a stand still. The two teachers still weren't really talking to each other, even with the number of calls he would make to her, or to Adam to see how she was, and he had told him the same thing. No progress. Adam told Tommy that even she didn't really talk to him. She had constantly dragged Aisha and Zack over for a talk, just to comfort her, but nothing seemed to be around her marriage. She had refused to speak of it, looking for other things to talk about.

She knew that if she were to call up Jason or Kat for a chat, they would drive her to talk to her husband, but she was not ready to confront him again.

Conner and Krista were talking again, but it wasn't anywhere near what one could even call a friendship. It was more a greeting in the hall, ask how the other was doing and drop it as they went on about their lives.

Though both Kira and Trent were in need of wanting to talk to the other, neither of them seemed to find the courage to talk to the other. Even in the halls, or in the class, they would look at the other when they weren't looking, but turn away when the other noticed the other's glance. But they hadn't actually really talked in the last week.

Ethan didn't know what to do. He didn't like to be the messenger to the other rangers as they asked him how the progress was, but he told them anyway. He didn't like being stuck in the middle. In the past week, he must have spent more time with his computer friends and the dance team than he ever did with is ranger comrades. And he didn't like it. He didn't like the distance. Nor did he like that the two teachers were piling work on their students for the loss in their connection as a married couple.

"At least Mindshatter hasn't attacked," TJ spoke up one night several rangers decided to crash at the café late night.

It had consisted of the blue dino ranger, the DT technical adviser, the Space Rangers, the red ape ninja, the blue wolf ninja and the two Time Force Rangers.

"But that would give Mindshatter the time to gear up for that last battle," Karone spoke up. "It only makes sense why he's attacked in small numbers in the last week."

There had been several battles, all only consisting of no more than ten cybots on the town. But the dino rangers had only fought in two or three, but never the full team. And once the battle was over, they had parted ways. But, Ethan had been at every battle, totaling now five of them.

"And their still not talking?" Andros shook his head, not needing to be told twice as he looked over at the blue dino ranger.

"Maybe we should do something about it. It's already been a week," Ashley said.

"No. No way," Rocky shook his head. "If I knew Tommy, he would kill any of us for getting involved."

"He's already kicked me out of his personal life. I don't even risk going by the lab knowing he might shoot me or something," Ethan said.

"Billy and I refuse to go, too. I know Tommy. When he is mad, and mad like he has been, no one wants to mess with him," Hayley said.

"But this is effecting his work at school and as a ranger," Wes said.

"If you want to go about and fix it, go ahead, I'm not getting involved. Even if it is effecting all of us," Eric patted his friend on the shoulder.

"It is bad enough that we don't even have our powers right now," Carlos said. "If I could, I'd go up to that fortress myself and end all of this."

"You and me. And the rest of us sitting ducks," TJ agreed. "But Tommy was only looking out for us. If we didn't hand over our powers, they would be in the hands of Mindshatter."

"TJ is right. But powers or not, we're still rangers." Andros spoke like a true leader.

"Thanks for the power boost, but I don't think it will do us any good if we're divided." Ethan sighed as he dropped his head.

"Give it another week, Ethan. I just hope they realize what kind of position their putting the rest of us in if we have to choose sides. We should never do that," Billy said.

"Reminds me of deja vu," Rocky groaned under the thought of what had happened years ago, if not months ago regarding placing them in the middle of setbacks in a relationship.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Another week later.

And still no progress. It was driving the rest of the team nuts. If things weren't gonna get settled in this week, they knew they would have to take action.

The good part was that the two teachers had stopped the work load just a little. And were a little more approachable, if you didn't bring up their personal life. But by this time, talk had gone around the school about the breaking couples, not just from those three couples, but a few others. But that didn't concern the rangers, only the three couples within their circle of friends.

Conner and Krista were talking a little more, but still not on good enough grounds to be considered on the status of dating again. There was no progress from Trent or Kira, even if Trent was trying his best to talk to her. She didn't respond. Or was still refusing to talk to him.

Jason was sick of it, and wanted to get in, but the other rangers had stopped him. They had refused to get the original red ranger involved in another's love life, and didn't want to pull him into it. They believed that he would only make it worse for all of them.

The other rangers were a little worried to get involved, unless they were actually pulled in by one of the hurting rangers for a talk. That had included Adam, Aisha, Zack, Rocky, Tanya, Kat, Karone, Ashley and Andros. The others sorta just ducked into the shadows, waiting for their call for assistance.

Luckily, there was no attack from Mindshatter, but it had the team worried if that was the sign to open up the doors for their epic battle. Hayley, Billy and Cam had worked secretly in the lab to prep up weaponry and other tools for their final battle, hoping it would be coming later rather than sooner.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Another week had passed.

And it was the Saturday before Prom. Ethan was shaking with fear. Not for the fact that he may be going stag, but that his friends were still not really talking to one another. None of them didn't really talk to him, knowing he was a messenger to the other rangers. And even if the other rangers tried to talk to one of the hurting rangers, none seemed to get through to them.

He wasn't looking to find a nice tux to wear, knowing the cost, but had gone to the mall to find something decent for the night's occasion. Only to notice a certain pregnant woman stagger around with a young woman, who one could mistake to be a younger version of herself. It appeared as if they were shopping, but the pregnant woman didn't seem all too excited about it. It was as if the other person had dragged her out of the house to do what women did best - shop.

He sunk into the comfort of grabbing his Mickey D's bag and getting out of there before a possible boot in the head for thinking he was spying on her. And he wasn't.

He began to ascend the stairs to the upper part of the food court, but lost his footing and slipped, crashing down the stairs. He had caught a few bystanders off guard, including the teen who was hanging around his P.E. teacher. He groaned as he felt a hand wrap around his arm, pulling him to his feet.

"Hey, you okay? You took a pretty nasty fall," the voice of a female rang in his ears.

Ethan sighed deeply, nodding as he looked at the person who decided to help him up. His heart sorta stopped at that moment as he felt somewhat lost in words, but managed to dust himself off as a light smile passed his lips. "No. I'm fine. I'm kinda clumsy when..."

"Ethan?" another voice cut him off as the figure of his P.E. teacher walked up to the two teens. "I didn't think that was you. What are you doing here? You weren't sent to spy on me..."

"No," He shook his head quickly. "I was here by myself. Looking for something for Prom. I swear."

"This is Ethan?" the other teen said. She was no taller than Kim with short dark brown hair with red highlights, the back of her head spiked up as opposed to the long bangs in the front. She had a set of two piercing in each ear, but didn't appear to be in much use, despite the stud earring in them now. If one could be mistaken by her appearance, she was the sporty-type, tomboy sorta. Or even a punk with the wrist bands, but he doubted it since she wore them more like arm bands. Or it could merely be an image, Ethan wasn't quite sure. The teen held out a hand for the teen in blue as he took it as a greeting. "I'm Kelly. My cousin Kim has told me a lot about you and your friends."

"Cousin?" Ethan turned to look at his teacher, wondering if this was true. They seemed so different, but still so similar in other ways. But the appearance in itself, made the two look so different.

"Yeah. She just came by yesterday to see the progress of the baby. And to visit. She was looking at colleges throughout California. She's graduating this year, too, Ethan," the pregnant teacher said when they had found a seat among the food court.

Ethan couldn't help but find some interest in that as he looked back at Kelly. "You don't say. So, what? Are you taking a break to visit or something?"

Kelly nodded. "For the week. My flight is Sunday.. I mean, not tomorrow, but next week. So, what are you doing here at the mall? I know you've changed your ways about computer games, but you mentioned prom."

"Well, he says he might go stag, but that might change," Kim spoke up as she let a wink pass across the table to the blue dino ranger. "He claims that being single is better than a love life."

It was clear that she had seen the sparks fly between the two. And it seems like she was playing cupid for them. And as the two had looked at the older woman, on their own terms, they saw what she was trying to do. And as Ethan had looked over the table, he had not realized that he had been holding Kelly's hand. Kelly casually took it away, laughing uncomfortably as she got up, hoping to get something to eat, but Kim pushed her back in the seat.

"Don't be silly, Kelly. I'll go get you something to eat. You two should talk. Get to know each other," Kim spoke up.

"But you're pregnant," Ethan blurted out, not liking the idea of being left along with a girl he just met, despite her relation to his P.E. teacher.

"Pregnant, Ethan. Not crippled. You still want some Chinese food, Kelly?"

Kelly nodded slowly, but still didn't like the idea of being left with the teen in blue, despite what her cousin had told her about him and his friends. But before she could oppose, the woman had left the two alone. "Are you under the impression that my cousin is trying to hook the two of us up?" Kelly finally turned to look at the teen in blue.

Ethan nodded as he let out a breath. "Yeah, I think she is. Not that I'm trying to be rude, but you're a free agent, right?"

"Yeah. I'm kinda with the whole single thing senior year with the drama that goes on with it."

"No kidding. That's how I'm feeling right now. I mean, my friends are having their own set of problems with love. Including Coach. But should we just go along with it?"

"Creating a natural conversation?" she asked as Ethan nodded. "Okay. Well, what do you want to know? I'm 17 years old, I will be turning 18 on July 10th. I will be graduating at the beginning of June, don't know the exact date, but am glad to finally be getting out of high school. I attend classes in Florida and plan to go to college here in California."

Ethan nodded slowly, as he listened in on her story. "Well, I don't know how much your cousin has told about me, but I'm one of those strange computer geeks who knows computer jargon like a second language. I joined the school's dance team and have landed a few deals, but haven't decided if I'm gonna go through with it. I'm kinda still wanting to go to college and do the whole software design/computer science stuff. And I actually turned 18 back on January 17th."

"Well, that's cool. I've always wanted to learn how to breakdance. I know a little bit of hip-hop, but it's probably nothing compared to what you do."

"Yeah, it's kinda all that stuff they do in that movie, 'You've Got Served.' I ain't the master behind breakdancing, but my friend Trent is. Kinda that whole stereotype that Asian/Pacific Islander people are good at everything they do."

"Yeah, my cousin says that about Tommy, sometimes. He's got his weak points just because he isn't full. Not that I would be judging. But Kim tells me they're having some problems, but wouldn't tell me what. I was hoping to see him today, but she's been a little cranky about me even bringing up his name. Do you know what happened? I mean, they are your teachers and all."

"Um...yeah," he looked down, falling silent. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to say anything, but hoped she was a person who could keep a secret. "I'm not supposed to say anything, but in case you haven't noticed, they aren't really crashing at the same house these days. I know they've talked, but she is still hurting for what he did. Or was accused of doing. Something about him locking lips with another woman, but he's said it over and over again that it was never his fault and he tried to stop it, but couldn't. But off topic, how come I don't remember ever seeing you at their wedding back in December? Did you even go?"

"I was there. I had long brown hair at the time, and I looked like an actual cheerleader, which I was. But after I decided to be a little different, look more sporty/hip-hop/punk, I guess one would say, they sorta kicked me off the team since I didn't look like a cheerleader anymore. They're kinda the white-wash school where popularity was a big deal. And if you do something out of the ordinary, they looked at you as a freak. Most of my friends though are mixed races."

"That's cool. I mean, that you got a variety of friends. But they judged you just because you were different for cutting your hair and changing your style of clothing?" he asked sorta surprised as she nodded. "Sounds like my school. You got the popular people. Then you got the ones who are really smart and popular, then the geeks, the punks, the druggies, you name it. We got some cliques at the school. There are some people who's friends with everyone, but not that many people."

"See, that's why I can't wait to go to college. At least you're around people who share some interest with you. I mean, they chose that college over others, you'll find people who want to major in the same thing you do, and you even got people from all over the world, if you're lucky."

Ethan nodded as another smile passed his face. "Yeah. And it beats having to go to school earlier. You choose what time you go to school and there is more freedom. And it beats being with your parents if you decide to go out-of-state."

Kelly had to agree with the other teen. "You got that full ride scholarship to go to MIT, right?"

"Well, I had some help from my friend Hayley, Dr. O., and Dr. Mercer. I had a lot of connections, so in some cases, I don't want that to go to waste if I decide to go down another path."

The two had continued to talk a little more about other hobbies they liked to do. Kelly had mentioned she was looking for a break in Hollywood because she did drama and theater, but if that didn't work out, hoping to nail some sorta fashion design major or along those lines. She liked hip-hop and r&b music, hoping to learn how to dance in those videos. Then Ethan had brought up movies he was hoping to catch during the summer, especially a certain sci-fi movie with an epic place in pop culture, Star Wars: Episode 3.

"I hear it is worth the wait. That the graphics are incredible, and that epic battle at the end..." Ethan caught his words, as if realizing he had screwed up their conversation by going into 'geek mode'. "Um...sorry. You don't look at all interest in that."

"What are you talking about! Go on. I must be one of the idiots at my school who can recite every single word from the five movies already out. I must admit I even have a Jedi outfit I'm planning to wear when it comes out. And the Matrix. I love that trilogy."

Ethan relaxed a little, not feeling too out of the way for looking like a geek in front of her. But she didn't seem to blow him away when he had talked about his computer gaming, or the latest hard drive for gaming pleasure. And as a sci-fi guru, something like the Matrix was up there in his standards. But as he looked around, he had wondered where his P.E. teacher had gone. "You know, Coach had been gone a long time. How come I have a hunch she is just chilling out, watching us talk?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. But it seems we've hit it off rather well. She told me that talking to girls wasn't one of your strong point."

"Maybe my Jedi tricks are finally pulling someone in," he couldn't help but laugh. She looked at him rather intrigued by his choice of words. "Which leads me to my next statement. Since we did manage to hit it off, it'll only be a matter of time before we get a chance to do this again. What if I interested you in a date, let's say next Saturday, for my senior prom?"

Kelly looked away, blushing and laughing. "You want me to go with you to prom? Okay. I'll go. I think it'll be fun. Plus, I wanna meet your friends."

Ethan couldn't help but turn away, letting a smile pass his face. But as he looked back at her, the smile dropped and as if by cue, the pregnant woman had returned with two boxes of Chinese food in hand.

The two teens turned to look at the pregnant teacher, despite the wordless smile on her face. They both knew what she had done, but didn't really say that they didn't like what she did.

But Ethan couldn't help but pull up his own set of questions regarding her own problems with her husband. Nor didn't want to be rude feeling that little Serena was neglecting to see her father in the passed few weeks.

"We've talked, Ethan. I'm planning to see him later today for us to settle a few things and head back home. But if he screws up, he's getting booted out," Kim said simply before burying her face in her food.

"Can you guys fix this? I'm tired of the talk going around school, let alone seeing both of you hurting from this," Ethan pleaded.

Kim felt like the teen had pushed her over the edge, ticked her off, but she had refused to get mad. She knew that he was right about this, and sick of seeing the two fight. She had talked to Kira about Trent, knowing the two weren't on good grounds yet. And that Trent had come to her time and time again when her husband wasn't at his best for giving advice. And she was hurting for never seeing her husband, especially in their off hours just to talk.

And as Kim looked at the two teens, who had slowly played their hand and found some interest in the other, she had missed her own time in high school. And she knew that maybe it was time to make some amends that she and her husband could live with.

Later that day.

Ethan had offered Kelly a tour of the city while Kim had returned to the place she had called her home for the last few weeks. Not that Adam did mind, or was even around much, since he was out and about being Mr. Zen or finding peace in nature. He was not there yet again, but with his more frequent times of being out, she knew that it was his way of saying that she and her husband were in need to settle their differences. He had even told her the night before when Kelly had come by that he was tired of being stuck in the middle of their feud. And he spoke for his friends when Kim and Tommy needed to fix their marriage.

She had collapsed on the couch, letting out a breath looking around the quaint apartment. Though, it was never quite a permanent resident to the black ninja, only on his frequent stays in Reefside, Adam made it manageable enough for a bachelor, though homely enough for any visitors to his door. She knew that Serena had been spending time with her big brother, as she had wanted and didn't oppose. She looked down at the single band and its mate on her ring finger as tears began to welt in her eyes.

All of a sudden she felt like the idiot for ever accusing Tommy of doing such a thing. That from the very moment she had seen his ex, she knew that Isabel was bad news. That the time she had spotted them at the mall, he had been trying to push her away from the very moment they ran into one another. And the times they had talked, he had avoided to ever bring it up, only talk about memories the two of them shared, or the latest rumors spread by the staff at Reefside. They never really brought it up, but as they parted, one of them would mention it and it would start up more fire between them. She didn't want that to happen this time. She was tired of their fights, and pulling their friends in all these directions.

A small knock came to the door as she moved to answer the door. And sure enough, it was the man she had loved with all her heart. But like all the times they had talk in the last few weeks, he had locked himself in a distant place. He had pushed away as much as any physical contact with her, and she was the one to do it. A pull of his hand and a quick hug pulled the two into the apartment for another talk, hoping to resolve their mistakes.

He slowly stepped into the apartment, never at all liking the idea of one of his fears running through his head. He had to keep telling himself that Adam would never stoop as low as to do something with Kim. But with the end of the month coming around, and her presence has been there for nearly all of April, he was wavering.

Even at school, he knew his performance as a teacher wasn't quite where it was. He could talk to his students, but if they ever got anywhere near the subject of talking about his personal life, he would nearly zone out. Hear the conversation, but not register with it. And time and time again, he would see his team and their own concern for him and his wife. He knew, but could never quite tell them the progress on it. Not that it was going anywhere with it at all, but at least they were talking. Sorta.

Kim slowly strode over to the couch and sat down. He had moved over to the recliner and slowly sat down, but didn't as much as look at his wife. He was still not in the position of screwing up what they were trying to re-build.

"How you doing?" Kim said barely above a whisper to start conversation between them.

Tommy shrugged absently. "I'm okay. What about you?"

"I'm all right. It's good." She nodded slowly.

"How's Serena doing?" Tommy asked as if it wasn't that much of a big deal, though it was.

"She's okay. She's hanging out with Trent right now."

Tommy nodded again as he seemed to sink lower into his own world. It was clear he just wanted all of this to go away, and for things between them to just go away, but that didn't seem to work. And it would only take more time for things to be better between the two. "That's good."

A silence fell over the two. And it just didn't seem like the best sorta time to talk, but it was clear that either of them liked how far along this had come without being really resolved. It had been effecting both of them. And it was clear that a lot of people were also concerned with their relationship.

Tommy had gotten several calls from Jason about fixing it, but he had refused to call back his best friend about it. Nor did he like the idea that his other friends were also ratting him and getting on his ass for fixing this. It wasn't there problem, but it sure was effecting them, which made it all the worse putting them in the middle.

Kim, herself, had been encouraged by Adam, when he was around, to stop moping around his place and just go home. That she and Tommy had to fix things and that this whole thing was a mindless devotion to divide the entire team. And that wasn't what they needed at all. It was hurting them all. Destroying everything they were working for as the protectors of the planet.

"Can we make this work out?" Kim asked, but she wasn't sure if she had actually said that aloud or it was just a thought.

"Life is full of choices and chances. But I can only promise you what I can if you give it to me in return," Tommy replied.

Kim finally looked up to see the man sitting on the chair, knowing that he was hurting really bad. If he hadn't held on to the little dignity or chance of saving their marriage, he might as well be dead on the corner. But even as she looked, hoping to see him, look into her eyes, he only lowered his head more, zoning into that lonely world for him alone.

It crushed her to see him in that state of mind, but she knew that her contributions had pushed him into that place yet again. Into a place she never wanted him to fall into. And would take some time for him to get out of.

"If I do decide to come back home, I don't want your pampering, okay? I know you may find that is the only way for me to enjoy your company, but it's not. Right now, we just need to talk," Kim spoke quietly yet again. And she still wasn't sure if it was a thought or actually spoken.

Tommy nodded, but it seemed like the words had not registered in his head. "That's all I ask. Let alone, for you to come home. I miss you. And I'm sorry about what happened between us. And I know I've said this several times, I really don't like that you decided to crash here out of all places. But I am grateful that Adam has decided to keep an eye on you, even if I don't quite feel comfortable with it."

"Adam's been treating me well," she spoke, knowing that he seemed to go deeper into his world. Any deeper, he may not be approachable from anyone. "And I speak the truth when I say there is nothing going on between the two of us. You can ask him yourself, or Serena, too."

"So, can I help you with your things or..."

"I need a few hours to think this through again, but I'll be there."

Tommy felt like he needed to argue that statement. But he was all out of nerve to yell at her again. He was tired of the distance between them, despite the talks they had. But he had to respect her request and allow her to do what she wanted. He could only simply nod as he got to his feet.

And in a desperation to just kiss her, he didn't. He simply left the apartment, hoping to see her later on in the day.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

But before anyone could really realize what was going on, the end of April was fast approaching, and the three couples were still not where they should be.

Kira somehow found more comforting talking to Conner than Kim. And he had done the same, even allow her to hang with him and Krista. Though, they weren't still on the best grounds, they were talking and still agreed to go to prom together.

Ethan still felt like he was in the middle of it all, talking between Trent and Conner and how their relationship was going, but there was no go with Trent and Kira. Trent felt like he was just gonna give up with her, but Ethan told him that he couldn't. Even if they weren't talking, they were still doing something together that required them to work as a team. Yet, Ethan had to admit that he had gotten on more than acquaintances with Kelly, Kim's cousin. But had not mentioned anything to his friends. He had hoped that he could fix things before Saturday.

They were all relieved to find that Tommy and Kim had resolved their difference enough to have Kim and Serena move back home. But there was still some distance between the two. They didn't seem to hold the same love they have before the incident, and it seemed more like they were in the company of the other for the sake of keeping the family intact. But they had gotten somewhere. Just not what they had hoped would take a whole month to fix.

Coming Monday, Trent had absently gone on with his normal life as a teenager. Going to school, trying to get over the feeling he may never find true love again, and just hoping to get through the final weeks of high school.

First hour had gone by slow, which felt like the worse part of his day next to second hour, just seeing his science teacher and knowing what he had gone through in the past month, too. But what made it worse was that he knew the two teachers were now okay, and he and Kira weren't.

His science teacher had been talking about the number of phyla in the animal kingdom, but he didn't seem to register any of the information. And in a class of only 10, it wasn't hard to really pick out who didn't care, daydreamed, sleeping with their eyes open, and the one or two who actually wanted to learn about it. But still, Dr. Oliver had continued his lesson despite the lack of ears or eyes on him.

Then a knock came to the door, as the teacher stopped short of his sentence, waiting to see if the door will open. It opened slowly to reveal two juniors, Cristina and Megan, both were apart of the yearbook staff and also apart of Junior Council, which was in check with Senior Council to make up the Prom Committee. Selected few from each council would discuss Prom, and they were among them next to Cassidy. And they were an obnoxious duo, but respected their teachers at all cost if they weren't goofing-off. If one could say, Cristina was the brains of the two, a Puerto Rican girl, while Megan, a white girl, was more the one getting the disses from her friend, just because she was slow for a blonde. Not that it was a bad thing, but they still managed to get the work done.

"Hey, Dr. Oliver. Can we borrow Trent for a few minutes?" Cristina asked as she pointed to the zoning teen in a white flannel.

"How you doing, Dr. O? Things cool with you and Coach?" Megan couldn't help but ask as Cristina nudged her on the shoulder.

The science teacher pushed open a little smile as he nodded. "They're better. We're okay now. Have you guys gotten things done for the final deadline?"

"Dr. O! We still got until the end of the week," Megan protested.

"Yeah, and I'm not Ms. Obie. I'm not as lenient about getting that stuff completed as she is, especially at the end of the year."

"Or me," Anika, their editor-in-chief butted into the conversation. "I expect those things to get done by Wednesday just so I can make sure they're completed."

But before the two could say anymore to the editor, they had pushed out of the door with Trent following. It was clear that the trio had had enough of their editor, but could deal with their teachers' watchful eye. They weren't the Hitler in the staff, just pushing out a more direct approach, but efficient way to get the pages completed.

Trent had crossed his arms, hoping to get whatever they wanted him for done and over with soon enough. He just needed his time to zone away and not talk to anyone. "So, what's up, guys? Is this yearbook-related?"

"Actually no," Megan shook her head as she handed over a slip of paper to him. "Try that big night this Saturday."

"You know how we were holding nominations for Prom King and Queen last week?" Cristina began as he looked over the note, a note of congratulations for his nominee and if he accepted. "Yeah, well, congrats, Trent. You're one of them."

"What!" he breathed as he looked at the note again. But it had said it true. He was a nominee for Prom King. "No way. How is that even possible?"

The two girls shrugged as they looked over the note. Cristina held the master paper that showed the nominees as well as a questionnaire for each of them, while Megan was holding the notes to give to the nominees for their acceptance.

"It says it here. The librarian was the one who checked the tallies. And your name came up quite a bit, both under Fernandez and Mercer. But we accepted both since we know that legal action was still underway about your last name," Cristina stated.

"So, do you accept it?" Megan asked.

"Who else was nominated?" Trent asked as he began to waver over the thought of who else was on the list. He was still getting over the fact that his name was under a Prom King nominee. He never quite considered himself a popular guy, let alone Prom King material.

"For King; Ethan James, Michael Lopez, Conner McKnight, Sean Richards and you," Cristina spoke as she looked down at the list. "And for Queen; Cassidy Cornell, Stella Cruz, Megan Smith, Kayla Johnson, and Kira..." But she had stopped short of finishing that last name as Trent took a step back.

Out of all the people to get nominated those were the bunch. First off, Trent couldn't believe that he had heard Ethan, but wasn't surprised with his status on the dance team. But so were Michael and Sean. He was an unofficial member to the team. Then there was no surprise for Conner. Then to hear the nominees for Queen. Megan was his competition for the top spot in the class next to Erin, who got the position of Homecoming Queen, so couldn't get nominated again. Kayla was a big sports athlete especially in volleyball. Stella was the Senior Class President. Cassidy, no surprised. And then Kira...what is going on!

"Are you serious?" Trent asked as if he didn't hear the names the first time around, but he did.

"Yeah, we are. Your class is weird about nominating people," Megan shook her head.

"Okay, Ethan is sorta a surprise. But how are you gonna vote Cassidy without Devin? Or in this case, Conner without Krista? And then decide to put me and Kira and we're not quite on good grounds," Trent still couldn't believe the news he was hearing.

"Like I said before, you guys are weird about nominating people," Megan said again.

"So, do you accept it?" Cristina pointed to the slip in Trent's hand. "Think of it more of an honor. I mean, this is Prom."

At that point, Trent must have not been thinking at all, or seemed to care what he was up against in the following week, but he had accepted his nominee. Cristina asked if he could fill out the questionnaire and return it to them by the end of the day.

When the two had moved over to the English hall, Kira was speechless with the news. She didn't as much as really show much expression, her face a mirror of a ghost. No real expression. No real thought. Conner had his own thoughts, but had no idea so many people would consider him Prom King material at all.

She, too, had asked about who else was nominated. And when the two had told her, she couldn't believe who was on the ballot. How could there be no Devin, but Cassidy? There was Conner, but no Krista, though they've talked? And Ethan? He must be just as speechless. But Trent? Trent? What is this world coming to?

"So, do you guys accept?" Cristina asked as she held out the slip for the senior in yellow and sports jock in red.

Kira looked down at the slip, saw her name on it and thought back to the long month that had passed. She had been hanging around Conner, which seemed rather odd, even if she seemed to find comfort in his company. She could not believe it. But felt no harm in accepting, despite what it could mean by the end of the week. Being escorted by her former boyfriend, Trent. She had exchanged a look with Conner, who made no hesitation to accept, though still shocked with the news. She had done the same, to confirm her acceptance, but didn't seem to realize that she might have made a mistake just as she and Conner had returned to their seats. She was no Prom Queen, let alone a nominee, but the acceptance had already been made. She was a nominee.

When the two had gone to see Ethan, he was nearly jumping through the halls, trying to find his breath over it. He kept looking over the slip in his hand, freaking out. He just could not believe that his name would ever come as close as anything on a ballot for Prom.

"Well, that is your name, is it not?" Cristina asked him as she pointed at his name on the list.

Ethan took in a breath as a huge smile fell over his face. "No way! This is nuts. Of course I'll take it. But who else is on it?"

He had been too excited to realizing the other names and when Cristina had gone through it again, he had stopped short. And she had to repeat it to him several times, slowly, just so he could catch it right, as well as see the list for himself, to confirm what she was saying was actually true.

"I don't really get the Class of '05. You guys are a weird bunch," Megan shook her head, still not believing the choice of nominees on the ballot.

Ethan shrugged as he took a breath. His head spun with worry. And with the confirmed slips of the other nominees, he was the last, he could not believe who else was on it. He would be competing with his fellow dance team members and friends, let alone seeing the faces of Cassidy and Kira on the same stage minus Devin and Krista. He could not get over that, even as he retreated back to class, he couldn't believe it.

But by nightfall, on that coming Saturday, they would be crowning the King and Queen for the Class of 2005 for Reefside High, and he pondered how it would all turn out.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Days later, Wednesday night.

The last two days had gone by, and lots of upperclassmen were feeling the rush of Prom as it got closer. But talk was still going around about the nominees, as everyone had heard who was on the ballot and who wasn't.

And for Cassidy, who was on the committee, which everyone thought was unfair, found it odd and out of the ordinary to not vote for couples, or couples that were actually together and not fighting.

There was a lot of complaints for the fact that the nominees were tweaked and it was a flaw to make those choices. There was just so much badger over it, it drove everyone nuts, even for the ones who could care less, but were tired of hearing about it in the last few days.

Krista, despite their status as a couple, still wished him luck, knowing he deserved to be up there among the nominees. She was not discouraged too much about it, but both felt worried about Kira and Trent. With the time Kira had spent with Conner, she had spoke of wanting to talk to Trent, even if he was trying to talk to her, but she was too afraid of getting hurt again. If Trent had known what he knew about the yellow dino ranger, things would be different and they would be back together, but it wasn't that way.

It was good to see Tommy and Kim back in the light of their love, though it was still not where it once was. There was still that line between them that had not been broken. Things were just not being said, or couldn't. Not enough physical contact for the two that worried the teens on sight of them.

But Ethan had his own set of plans as he had informed the other rangers, with their curious selves, to make sure that each of the couples were gonna listen to the radio during the 8 o'clock hour.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Kelly had asked him over the phone.

"Trust me. Just make sure that Dr. O and Coach are gonna listen during the 8 o'clcok hour," he had instructed her.

And it had reached the 8 o'clock hour. Many students at Reefside High were hanging out at the cyber café. Trent was working that night. And despite her luck, she had no idea how, but Kira was there too, doing some homework.

In other locations, students had listened intently to the radio, knowing there was a few guests to the hottest night show, NightBeatz on the Beat station from Reefside High. Conner had been out tuning up his car as a friend's place. Krista was at the animal shelter, working. Kim's cousin had taken little Serena out for some ice cream, but had left the radio on, despite the distance from Tommy and Kim. Tommy was in the study working on preparing finals for his seniors and Kim was in the bathtub soaking up a nice bubble bath, while listening to some tunes.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Down at the radio station, three out of the five Prom King nominees were gonna help the night radio DJ, Karson, run the show. Karson was a black male, in his late 20s, with a close crop haircut, but sorta a big guy. Kinda like a big teddy bear but could pull off a really deep voice if he wanted, but kept it to his street style.

Each were hooked up to a set of headphones, and a mic, while Karson hit up the main mic. During the mix of tunes, off air, the three had spoke of what was going on, and gonna talk a little about each nominee, and add in that special surprise that they themselves had secretly set up at lunch in the past three days. Karson was cool with it, saying he would give them support, even if he was the DJ set to run their night.

Then it was time for the show. Or the 15 minutes they had to steal the show and do what had to be done.

Karson pushed the on-air key, grabbing his mic and pulling it to his mouth. "Well, all right. It's time to start up the NightBeatz here on Reefside's newest hit station, the Beat. I got with me three guys representing Reefside High's Dance Team as well as giving you guys the low down on their big night this weekend, Prom. Guys, introduce yourselves."

One by one, each of them had said their names, said what they liked to do for fun, besides dancing. They had talked briefly about the theme of the night, 'Once Upon A Starry Night' and began to talk a little about each of the nominees, but in no way trying to embarrass any of them. They had talked to Karson about his spot as their DJ, asking him what they expected to hear. Etc.

"So, you guys also got a little surprise - or twist, I guess you can almost say - for Prom night, didn't you?" Karson asked.

"Yeah that's right," Michael, the Hispanic, replied. Despite his height, he was kinda small, he was one of the best guys on the dance team for doing any type of flip, and skilled in breakdancing next to the Asian guys and unofficial member, Trent.

"Ya'll know about the whole Prom King and Queen for the Senior class. That's how it is traditionally done," Sean, a black guy, spoke. He was the lead man on the dance team, running the entire team.

"Well, we decided to open up a ballot at lunch toward who should be Prom King and Queen for the staff. We just thought it would be sorta a nice way to bring about more school spirit. We've sorta lacked it with all those chaotic attacks in the city. And we got the whole student body in on it. Not just the senior class deciding the nominees," Michael said.

"That's cool. School spirit can lack quickly these days. So, do you guys have any idea who was nominated?" Karson said.

The two boys turned to the teen in blue as he sorta sunk in his chair, but had to step up and do what he had to do. "We got the winners, and we want it to be a surprise. But I'll say this, these two are real lovebirds, and I think they might know what I mean. Or at least they should."

"Well, I want to thank you guys for coming by to spread the word of Prom. Any last words for the listeners?" Karson asked.

"As Gladiators, protection always," the three had said as a joke, with a burst of laughter. As their mascot, a Gladiator, they had gotten disses from other schools about it.

"Actually, can I make a shout out?" Ethan had offered as the DJ nodded, starting up the intro to his song request. "This one goes out to you guys over at Reefside High. Kicking off the Prom season with a great song. To Conner and Krista, I hope you guys find a way to fix your differences and understand that not everyone is perfect and sometimes, it takes time to speak the truth in a relationship. To Kira and Trent, I know you guys ain't talking like you should, but don't be afraid to make this work out. What you guys got remind us of a love we all wish we could have. Innocent and pure. To Tommy and Kim, yes I'm talking to the two of you. I didn't come this far, none of us did, to see you two fall apart after all you've both been through. You guys know each other more than anyone else. That's love. It's that big. We all make mistakes. So, stop yelling. Stop fighting. And for all the other couples, make sure you know what you're getting into and make the right choice. Think about what you do and could do. Destroy or achieve. And really listen to the lyrics of this song. It'll be worth it."

Karson couldn't help but smile at his shout-out. "To hit off your Prom, Reefside High, this tune will be huge. You watch. This is the new one from Mariah Carey, off her new album, The Emancipation of Mimi, 'We Belong Together.' Enjoy! I'll see you guys on Saturday."

Then the song began to play. And it almost seemed as if time had stopped and everyone just tuned into the song, listened to the lyrics. Got into the mix of its words.

Conner couldn't believe his ears the moment he had heard his friend's voice on the radio. And when they had gone through a good 15 minutes talking about Prom, Conner found himself getting into his car and driving over to the animal shelter.

Krista had been just getting out of the shelter, to catch her breath, nearly in tears, as Conner was pulling up, the chorus of the song running in his mind. And when he had raced out, she had collapsed into his arms, the tears more evident.

Each began to apologize again for the long month of torment, asking forgiveness, and as the song had ended, had exchanged a kiss. And several more, turning into more passion as it went.

In the darkness of the alleyway, a certain red ninja and yellow ninja had been hanging out, waiting and watching to see as if they knew that was gonna happen. A smile fell over both of their faces as Rocky pulled up his cell phone to his mouth.

"ApeMan and BearGirl would like to report that RedLeader and NatureGirl have locked up their past, over," Rocky reported to a certain blue dino ranger.

On the other side of town, at the cyber café, several teens had heard the show. It had caught all attention from those present in the room, especially the last segment with Ethan leaving that shout out. Some teens had even passed looks over to Kira or Trent, wondering if they were gonna do anything. They knew that was who he was talking to. Many seemed to wait for the move, hoping that they would do something.

Trent had looked away for a moment, listening closely to the song as it seem to hit him like knives in the chest. But despite, the audience, he didn't seem to notice anyone else in the room, but Kira. And she herself, had looked away, grasping the lyrics of the song. And when she had looked around the room, it seemed like nothing else seemed to register but the teen in the white flannel.

And as if in a trance, or mindlessly, the two had looked at the other, eyes finally locking and found themselves make it to the center of the room. In one gesture, Trent held out his hand as an offer to dance and Kira could only smile as she took it, laying a head on his shoulder. And the two had engaged in a short dance, re-living the moments alone they seemed to share on their teachers' wedding day. And as the song had ended, Trent had found his lips brush lightly against Kira's. An uproar fell over the café, but the two didn't seem to notice as Kira had pulled him into a hug, pushing away the painful event that had pushed them apart of the past month.

Hayley let out a breath of relief as a smile passed her lips, looking over at the blue wolf, who had kept her company more and more at the café in his stay. And he in return winked and smiled to see that amends had been made, sensing the news that a certain red dino ranger had made amends with his own love.

Billy turned away pulling out his cell phone to inform the blue dino ranger the news. "BlueCom, TechAce and WolfMan would like to report WhiteArt and DinoWing have stepped back into the light, over."

Only one to go. And no one was sure what was gonna happen there.

Over at the Oliver homestead, Tommy had been sitting in the study, listening somewhat absently to the radio.

"...a ballot who should be Prom King and Queen for the staff..."

Tommy stopped his work, nearly chocking on the pen cap as it slipped into his mouth. He coughed it up as he turned up the radio, listening intently to what was going on. But his mind was swarming with a lot of questions.

"..So do you guys have any idea who was nominated?" the radio DJ asked.

"We got the winners, and we want it to be a surprise. But I'll say this, these two are real lovebirds, and I think they might know what I mean. Or at least they should," Ethan James had spoken up.

Tommy felt his knees weaken, even if he was sitting down. He could not believe it. How could he not notice that during lunch? And was it even authorized? He was freaking out because he did know what that mean. Ethan was talking about him and his wife. Was it coincidental? Was it on purpose? Or a sick joke played by the dance team?

The next he knew, he found himself racing up the stairs, knocking on the door to the bathroom, not wanting to intrude, hoping his wife would permit him in. But the door had creaked open as if by a light wind, and Tommy peaked inside. Kim had zoned out, speechless as it was evident she had heard it, too. Tommy wasn't sure what to do, but caught ear of the next set of words.

"...Innocent and pure. To Tommy and Kim, yes I'm talking to the two of you. ..."

Tommy's knees locked again as his gaze fell on his wife. Kim had finally turned to look at him. But she was still speechless. She could not believe that was going on. That she had heard this. That Ethan would go as low -- or sweet -- as make a shout out to his friends and driving them to fix their mistakes.

"...So, stop yelling. Stop fighting. ...make sure you know what you're getting into and make the right choice. Think about what you do and could do. Destroy or achieve. And really listen to the lyrics of this song. It'll be worth it..."

The two adults fell silent unsure what to believe at that moment. Each had zoned off, listening to the lyrics as it called to them. As if it was only meant for them, for their ears alone, despite the dedication made from it.

When the song had ended, a silence fell over the room. Neither of them had any idea what to say, but it was the truth. The song held such meaning that hit them both.

"Did you expect this?" Kim finally asked.

"No idea. Did you?" Tommy asked as he took a seat beside his wife, still looking at the radio. But the end of the song had came, and despite what was being played, neither of them could really notice what it was.

Another silence fell over them as they sunk into their own thoughts trying to make sense of what was going on. But those words, the song, had hit them long and hard that nothing else could really be said. And when Kim had reached over to grab Tommy's hand, the sparks had returned. Tommy turned to look at the figure emerged in the bubble bath, the woman he swore his life and protection to for eternity. And in the following seconds, it was hard to tell who exactly had made the move, but lips had locked and compassion and warmth filled them both.

And as the kiss deepened with more passion, they knew that they really belonged together, and the distance between them was far behind them. They had returned to the light of their pure love, hoping never to fall into a trap of betrayal, hatred, lies or other negative thoughts that could break them apart again.

Within their compassionate exchange, Tommy had vowed not to make anymore big mistakes like that, hoping never to hurt her heart again. She, herself, had told him that in order to be human is to make mistakes and be locked in confusing feelings. She had said that no one was perfect, and after a stunt like that, only made them realize more that their love was forever.

Kim had pulled her husband closer for a kiss, wetting his shirt, as she pulled the hand he was leaning on into the water to lay on her bare stomach. He nearly collapsed, under the kiss, but knew what it had meant when the kiss had continued on.

****

XXXXXXXXX

Over at Adam's apartment, the rest of ranger team had secretly met up to hear in on the news of what the blue dino ranger was gonna do. He had informed them all he was gonna do something on the radio, and they were eager to see what he had in mind.

Each were circled around the stereo, questioning each other quietly about the blue ranger's move, knowing it had to do with bringing the couples back to good grounds. And had required a little research to do it. If this didn't work, than he would have to move onto Plan B, which he really didn't want to do, but still had it ready if need be.

Quietly, Ethan had managed to access some surveillance tapes from the night at the cyber café and energy readings from the Oliver homestead. And had found the results that both Trent and Tommy had been a victim to the seduction by a certain yellow psycho ranger. And he had promised to let Krista see that diary regarding the rangers, with a special greeting from Mr. Legendary himself to her, if it came down to it. But, he didn't want

to push it into the couples, unless he knew he really had to use them, knowing there was a lot of ground to make up for.

"...we decided to open up at lunch a ballot toward who should be Prom King and Queen for the staff..."

"Are you serious?" Wes choked up a laugh as he shook his head, but Ashley had shut him up with a smack to the shoulder.

"You've got to be kidding me. Is that legal?" Jason shook his head, Kat nudging him as she nodded.

"It's possible. There was never anything against it," she replied, hushing him form saying another comment.

Carlos and TJ leaned closer, listening closely to what was being said.

" ...these two are real lovebirds, and I think they might know what I mean. Or at least they should..."

"They'd better," the room erupted as everyone agreed with their blue friend's comment.

But it was clear they were already in shock for his hints, and the work it seemed to do to all of them. All wanting to re-live the moments of sharing a love with someone they cared about. Or just re-living high school for the sake of running through such drama, despite saving the world.

"Actually, can I make a shout out?" Ethan had asked over the radio.

Carlos and TJ hushed their friends as they turned up the radio, waiting for the shout out request. And as Ethan made the shout out, talking to the three struggling couples, they couldn't believe that he had actually gone through the trouble of doing it. But all had to agreed with those words.

The radio DJ began to speak, introducing the song, speaking forth that it was the Prom anthem of the year.

And then the song began and a silence fell over the room. Everyone listened to the song despite the fact it wasn't quite sent out to them, but it was there for their listening pleasure.

And when the song ended minutes later, the team all exchanged looks wondering if it really worked. No words were said, but the look in each of their eyes knew that if this didn't work, than nothing would ever will. And they would pretty much give up, before really beginning, to fix their relationships.

Moments passed. Silence rang. Then finally Jason's cell rang broke the silence.

He answered it with no hesitation. "Lay it on me, BlueCom. What do we got? ...RedLeader and NatureGirl are cleared. ...WhiteArt and DinoWing are cleared. ...You haven't heard from the FrogMan over at.. huh, hold on?" Jason held his breath for a moment as he looked over at the anticipated rangers wondering the news on the final couple, the big one. Then it clicked and Ethan came back on. "..we got it? It's cleared! WhiteFalcon and PinkCrane have engaged in their courtship... no, that's great. Whatever you did, it worked... Yeah. No, you did it man. No more drama. ...All right. Talk to you later. Bye."

And when Jason had ended the call, the room erupted into a line of cheers and relief. That the drama of their friends was no longer an issue. And they were back on schedule, gearing up for their time out with Mindshatter. They could only hope that it would be another week or two before he decided to strike, despite the worry it would very well be the final battle for the dino rangers. But they would be ready.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day at school had been considered more recognition to Ethan and his two dance team members for their work on the radio the last night.

And as he rounded the corner, he had ran into the very picture he said he had missed from his friend in red. An exchange of kisses with his girlfriend. He tried to greet the two, but they were too zoned off in the make-out session. And as he turned away, he only felt a tug on his collar as he was yanked back, nearly losing his footing.

Conner had stopped to catch his breath, looking over at his friend in blue. And for a moment, the serious look that spread over the red dino ranger and his girlfriend sorta scared Ethan. But soon a light smile had passed over Conner's face, thanking his friend, and even questioning how Ethan had done it.

"I have my ways, Conner," Ethan brushed off his jacket as he smiled. "But, I am glad to see you guys back together. I really do mean that. I mean, this huge fight shouldn't have taken this long to fix."

"Yeah, well, what you said last night really hit home," Krista had to admit as she locked hands with Conner, leaning into him. "But, thank you. And good luck on the vote tomorrow."

"May the best man win, right?" Conner said as he held out his hand for Ethan to shake. A wink fell over his eye, which meant only one thing. Either he was saying that Ethan should vote for his best friend in red, or the white dino ranger with his girl. Each had their own thoughts on it, but would have found it more interesting to have Trent and Kira on the floor, since they were the only real 'couple' nominee and weren't what they considered Prom material, would have been cool to end their senior year.

And for a moment longer Ethan had been glad to see those two were locked back in a world known as love, and left. He had to check out the status on Trent and Kira. And sure enough as he made it outside, he found the two hand in hand coming from the senior lot. They weren't still on the grounds of the whole PDA, but had exchanged words when one or the other would say something into the other's ear.

"There are my two other favorite people in the world," Ethan raced over, arms extended out in a hug to encase them both in a hug. "Back together and talking again."

It was a brief hug, until Kira pushed him back, slightly irritated and still shocked over his handiwork on the air the previous night. She was complaining that she had no idea how he did it, but he had done it. Ethan had worked his magic and brought them back together just like he had said. And they weren't convinced.

"You had help, didn't you?" Trent asked him with a raised eyebrow. "What trick do you consider that? Jedi or Ninja?"

"Shhh!" Ethan hushed his friend. "You want my secret out?"

"We just wanna know how," Kira asked.

"I have my ways, that's all that matters. And it is good to finally see you two back together. I would bet that tomorrow would be hell, let alone Saturday if you two actually do win and you weren't on good grounds. People would be freaking out."

"Good Luck. I mean that. I just never thought we'd all be on the ballot," Trent shook his head, still trying to get over the nominee he got. "I still got the limo open. You still in?"

"Of course. And it's cool I bring someone?" Ethan asked. He had forgotten in his fight to bring back the couples in the last few days, he had not told his friends he had locked arms with Kim's cousin, Kelly. They were talking, but had not shared as much as holding hands and a few hugs. If Ethan played his cards right, he was hoping to finally share his first kiss with her. He had to admit, he was getting to like her, especially since she was very open-minded about what he would do or say.

"Ethan's not going stag? Since when?" Kira looked at him, but it was clear both Trent and her were surprised to hear this.

"Since last Saturday. You'll meet her on prom night. She's cool..." he nodded but ws cut short when the bell rang. "You gotta be kidding me. Either time has been cut short, or it really is going fast."

"Doubt it. I feel like these passed few weeks have been years to pass," Trent groaned, as Kira nudged him forward. "Plus, we were running late..."

"And I still need to go hit my locker," Kira said as she pulled Trent along.

Ethan had followed behind them as they slowly strode into the building. They raced passed the science wing, but Ethan had not gotten far when he felt another tug on the back of his collar, getting yanked into one of the rooms. A room he had hoped not to quite face until the end of the day. And when

he turned around he had met the stern face of his science teacher. Ethan could never tell when he was playing a joke or when he wasn't, but never liked Dr. Oliver in serious mode.

"So tell me, Ethan. Was this entire thing planned until this very week, or did this just come at the spur of the moment?" the science teacher questioned with an upraised eyebrow.

"Don't tell me the two of you got into another fight?" Ethan took a step back as his heart raced. "I really thought you kissed and made up."

"No actually, it's all good. Past is past. And we had a nice love-making session... but that is not the point," he shook his head, trying not to get off subject. "Stop with the mind tricks, Ethan." But the serious mode had dropped and a smile fell over his face. "But it was a good mind trick. It worked. Thanks. ..But what is this about a Prom King and Queen for the staff?"

"Come Saturday, you'll find out, Dr. O. G2G, or I'll be late for class. I'll see you 7th hour," Ethan flashed a peace.

And the blue dino ranger raced out of the room catching his breath, relieved and glad that it had work. And now, all they really came was the actual night of Prom.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

Saturday had finally come.

And girls ran across town getting their hair ready, nails pressed to impress their men, or trying not to freak out about the instant tan that made them more look more orange than natural colored. Beauty salons were packed with freaking out teenage girls, hoping to find a way to calm their nervous tension of the night's festivities. Many girls wanting to make it an extravagant evening, feeling like a Queen or Princess, even if they were not one of the nominees.

The men, who had gone through the trouble of getting a tuxedo, at the expensive cost, strode around the house early morning in them to just pay off the expense for wearing it. Others kept it simple enough in a nice dress shirt, tie and vest. But many had even come up with either booking limos for their date and friends, or finding a good place to crash for the night as a late midnight snack or after party. Even a few had secretly booked hotel reservations hoping that this was the night they could get a little something from a girl they were admiring.

Trent had strode out of his room, decked out in an all white tux. He fixed his collar before looking at the time, knowing he had to go get Kira and Ethan before hitting up Conner's by 4:30, which would give them a good hour or so to pass driving around in the limo. Not that he was used to the fancy clothes, with his father's formal invites, he was just not one to really enjoy it when he knew the multiple layers could be killer to him. When it came to dancing he could really get into it.

But, in some cases, he was a nervous wreck. Not only for the feeling of the nominees, but also the feeling of how Prom night would turn out. He was scared it would end in disaster, but hoped that it would not. He had to keep telling himself that he was there to enjoy himself in the company of his girlfriend and friends. The feeling of hearing that word 'girlfriend' brought a smile to his face. He was glad that they had moved on and gotten back together. He didn't know what he would do if that didn't happen.

Over at the James homestead, Ethan had been badgered with pictures by his mother. She had kept saying that she was so proud that he was going to prom his senior year, let alone, a nominee as a Prom King. And when he had mentioned that he wasn't going alone, it was an even bigger deal. Dr. Oliver had dropped Kelly off, early, ready and set to be bombarded by pictures and questions the moment she stepped through the door.

He had refused to go along with the entire tux thing, but was blinged out in a nice blue shirt with a matching blue tie. He wore diamond-clad stud earrings in each of his ears and topped off with one of his father's nice black jacket. The one he had worn to his prom back in his day. Kelly, whom Ethan's parents were actually shocked to see go with him to prom, had been decked out in a dark ocean-like color strapless dress. She wore a designer silver necklace with big looped earrings.

Ethan shook his head as another line of flashes came their way. He shooed away his mother's gesture, but she couldn't help but take more pictures. She had kept questioning the two, asking them how they met, what Kelly did, etc. Being a typical nosy mother, which made Ethan slightly embarrassed since it was her calling card to anyone he brought over.

"I expect to see plenty of pictures taken tonight, you stubborn boy," his mother stated as more of a demand than request. "And if you decide to do anything tonight, which you'd better not, you treat this girl with the utmost respect. If you do, make sure you use protection..."

Ethan held up a hand shaking his head. "Mom! Please! You're embarrassing me. Don't worry. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures, and be back by a reasonable time. And trust me, I don't plan to do any of that stuff, okay? Besides, Kelly gots a flight to catch tomorrow afternoon."

"That's still plenty of time to do something," his father said as he seem to signal something to his son by rubbing his eye. but his wife had smacked him, pulling him from the room. She was finally getting the picture to leave the two alone.

Ethan breathed a little as he finally had some time to talk to his date without his parents breathing down his neck.

Over at the McKnight household, despite the setbacks between Conner and Krista, their parents had become great friends. Krista's parents had dropped off the young teen, as well as tag along taking picture of the two once they had strode to the door. Conner had complained with the number of pictures they would go blind before Prom really started, but the parents couldn't help but reflect the young teens during their own time in high school.

Conner was decked out in a black suit, complete with a red vest and white dress shirt with a red bow tie and matching red handkerchief in his jacket pocket. His hair was slick back, wet. He had made sure that he had hid his nervous sweat under some Adidas cologne. Krista was decked out in a matching red dress, strapless with the very theme of Prom night embossed on her dress. It had flared out and puffed out on the bottom, making it somewhat of a challenge to sit or move around without the fear of falling over. Her hair had been strung up in a French braid with a glittery finish.

The parents had commented on how cute the couple looked, still not understanding how Conner had gotten a nominee for King, but Krista had not for Queen. Numerous amounts of pictures kept going on, the two swore their smiling faces were gonna fall off. And when they had some time to catch their breath, they were hoping that Trent would be over there soon to pick them up.

Over at the Ford household, Kira didn't have it any easier. Her kid brother, being his annoying self, kept busting into her room as her mother had helped her finish her hair and dress. She was decked out in a golden yellow dress, with mesh-like sleeves. Despite the fact of being in a dress, which she had not liked too much, she figured it was one night that wouldn't hurt. She wasn't much for formal events at all, but if she had to, she would. If she could do it for her teachers' wedding, she could do it here and now. Her mom had finished putting the final curls to her hair, hair up, aside from the stream of curls escaping from each side of her face. And for awhile, she was almost in tears fearing that something could go wrong in the night.

But her mother had encouraged her to not worry. After making the final touch-ups, the two had sat in silence, relaxing a little. Down below, Trent had strode up to the door, the limo parked right outside, holding a box with a hand corsage under his arm. He let out a breath as he rang the doorbell, waiting for an answer.

Sure enough, it was Kira's father, whom, Trent could very much fear with his status as a military guy. He was a tough, stern guy though had a lighter side, if you got to know him, which Trent did, but didn't like how her father can be at times. He had let the teen in the nice white tux into the house, commenting on the suit. Trent had thanked the man, looking away as some nervousness fell over him. Kira's father had spoken quietly, his 'only baby girl' lecture had been repeated to the teen in white. And Trent didn't argue, and respected his words.

And when Kira's mother had come down to greet the teen in white, she had a wide smile on her face, also commenting on his suit. But with cameras ready, all had turned to the staircase as Kira finally moved out of the room and down the stairs. Trent was stunned by her appearance, knowing he could never get used to her hidden beauty. By the time she had made it to the bottom, he wrapped the corsage around her wrist, commenting on her beauty. Kira's mother had urged them to kiss, but both were sorta embarrassed, though Kira's father had pushed on the young man. And they exchanged a kiss, took several pictures, both inside the house and by the limo, before heading on their way.

Over at the Oliver homestead, things weren't easy-peasy. Kim had been melted to the mirror, looking over herself constantly. She was discouraged a little by her appearance, that she wasn't quite in a state to really enjoy dancing in. Her appearance was in a simple black dress-suit to fit her appearance. She sighed as she collapsed on the chair, just as her husband had come from the closet, fixing his black vest, despite the entire black attire.

He walked over to her, laying a kiss on her head, noticing her discouraged face. "You okay, Beautiful?"

"Am I okay! Look at me, Tommy. I look like a balloon," she cried. "How did I ever agree to do this again?"

He reached over and wrapped the pearl necklace around her neck, before laying another kiss on the back of her neck. "You look fine. Besides, it's hardly noticeable. You know how black can be. It makes you slimmer. And I did promise I would make up for our own senior prom."

"I don't want people to make anything of it..."

"I think it's a little late for that, when the entire school knows you're pregnant, and have been for the last five months now. Besides, don't you want to hear the results of that Prom King and Queen for the staff? You know we got that in the bag."

Kim sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror again, rubbing her tummy. Tommy knelt down in front of her, peering over at the mirror, before reaching over to lay a kiss on her belly. She had pulled him up to lay a kiss on his lips, as a smile passed over hers. She was glad to have him there from time to time, to cheer her up and vice-versa.

"Aren't you gonna be hot in all those layers?" Kim raised an eyebrow as she ran her hands over his vest.

"It's this or no shirt at all," he joked as she back-slapped him on the shoulder. "I'm kidding. I'll be fine. I don't intend on doing a whole lot of dancing. I mean, we are still there to monitor the students, too. And probably talk to the other teachers who decided to slave away on this night."

After another line of kisses, Tommy had escorted his wife downstairs and out front, where a limo had been waiting. Kim had not expected that little surprise, and he had merely said it was a gift from Trent. Their daughter would be over at theScott household retreat in Reefside for the night. And they had went off into the night.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

After what seemed like an eternity of pictures at the McKnight household, the three couples finally got the chance to head off on their night. They had all relaxed a little once they were in the limo. Kira and Trent had taken the front of the limo by the driver. Ethan and Kelly were locked on the side seat, while Conner and Krista had been sitting in the back.

And it was clear, it was the first time any of them had been in a limo, besides Trent. On one side of the limo was a small drink display of glasses, sodas, water and ice to quench their thirsts. In the corner beside Kira was a small TV with a VCR/DVD player. At the back of the limo, Conner could man the lights in the limo along with the heating and cooling units, the CD player/XM radio and a moonroof to top it off.

And they had all got to talking as if they had been friends for years, some had filed questions toward the newcomer in the group, Kelly. But it was not out of trying to make her feel like an outcast, but to make her apart of the group. She had to comment that it was strange to see three out of the five Prom King nominees in the same limo, but they didn't mind it. Or at least not show it right away.

Ethan turned to Conner, requesting they should get the CD player going and joke about a karaoke competition to pass the hour. "Let's go, RedMan! Drop the tunes. Get the radio going. It's time to karaoke."

"No. That's not fair! We got Kira who doesn't have a problem singing. And Mr. I-Can-Do-Anything Mercer over there who could rival her in it," Krista shook her head as the two across the way could only shrug saying it wasn't their fault they had skills in that area.

"Well, at least get it going. It will kill the silence when we've lost something to talk about," Kelly said.

Conner pushed a few buttons, but nothing seemed to go on. There were far too many buttons for him to comprehend. He shook his head in frustration, as he played with the buttons, getting a feel for each one. He figured out how to work the lights, moonroof, and the cooling/heating unit, but not the radio. "I think it's broken."

"No. I think you broke it," Ethan shook his head. But as he looked over at Krista for assistance, she had simply held up her hands, revealing the nice French manicure and the concept she didn't want to fiddle with it. He slipped between the two, looking at the complex array of buttons on the ceiling of the limo.

"How many boneheads does it take to operate a radio?" Kelly laughed as Kira and Krista joined in a laugh.

And according to the frustration, even for a guy who knew electronics, Ethan couldn't figure it out. Trent had kept his mouth shut, until Kira had pushed him toward the back. Since he had been in a limo, he should know how it would work. Soon, the three guys sat at the back, fiddling with the stereo. The three girls looking on, commenting quietly, capturing the moment and laughing at their effortless attempt to get it working. Time passing slow as the limo continued its drive through the city, but still no music to make the drive more convenient.

"I thought you've been in a limo before?" Conner nudged Trent as he took off the face plate again, looking over the buttons.

"Not one like this. This is one of the nicer ones. My dad never liked these ones just because it was implying more to it, as he put it."

"So, we don't have a radio?" Kira asked as she shook her head. "And there's no good trying to watch a movie when no one brought a movie to watch."

"Pit stop. We could head over to Hollywood video and get something," Ethan shrugged with a suggestion.

"That's too much of an effort. Besides, it's not like we'd finish it anyway," Krista shook her head.

"What kinda limo has a stereo in it, but doesn't work?" Kelly asked.

Trent hushed them up, calling up the service phone to the driver in front. It was a driver he had grown to enjoy. Gary, was a well-built black guy in his late 20s. And always loved to joke around. If he had to be formal, he would, but preferred the attire of a hip-hop person. He began to explain the situation, and Gary said he'd take a look at it, if they would make a stop. And the driver also added that he wasn't used to the limo, it wasn't his. But a loan from the company since his own was being used in LA that weekend.

"Hey, anyone got any gum?" Ethan asked as he checked his pockets.

"Expecting a kiss from me tonight?" Kelly laughed.

Ethan shook his head, but blushed as the two other boys noticed it. "Well, if it happens, it happens. But you can't go wrong with gum. I mean, you don't wanna have bad breath all night."

The others had said they had none. And it gave them a reason to stop. Trent had given them a solution, making a pit stop at a 7-11. Ethan had questioned anyone if they needed anything from the corner store, but no one did as he raced off inside.

"Who makes a pit stop at the corner store in a limo on Prom night?" Krista asked exchanging a look with the two other girls.

"We do." Kira replied with a chuckle.

The driver had moved to the back, fiddling with the buttons, still not getting anywhere with it. Even he had problems with it, for a driver of a limo. None of them could believe it as the face plate was tossed about to see exactly what button could power it up. Even for a nice XM radio/CD player, it was complex to run.

"I'll have to look at it later. You guys are gonna need to find other ways to entertain yourselves," Gary stated as a final determination to his attempt at getting the stereo working.

The teens looked over at the independent singer, who could only make up an excuse she would prefer to have her guitar with her. So, they turned to Trent as he shrugged, taking up requests, if they wanted him to. They had questioned the Prom Queen nominee about if she was performing but had told them most of her band was out of town over the weekend, so it was a no go.

Some time later, Ethan had returned with a pack of gum to pass onto each of them. "Free gum. I only had a twenty and the guy told me to just take the gum. So, I kinda took a pack for each of us. Plus, I think he noticed the suit and the limo outside, thinking we were in a rush."

"No way. That's not possible," Conner stuck his pack of gum in his inner jacket pocket. "With the number of us in the limo, we all couldn't get one."

"Hey, free gum. And he didn't say nothing about me grabbing six packs." Ethan slipped into place beside Kelly shaking his head. He had repeated the situation again, as it seemed to be more evident int their minds. He was telling them the truth.

Trent had found his place back beside Kira as their hands interlocked, while Krista made her way back over to Conner. But without tunes, they were stuck talking. But that didn't seem to stop them, when they began to file out rumors about other people in the senior class.

****

XXXXXXXXXX

The Senior-Junior Prom of 2005 for Reefside High took place at the Antlers-Hilton Hotel. The theme was "Once Upon A Starry Night", which gave way to a sorta ocean-like, calm night display upon entry into the hotel. A sign outside had greeted the students as they came in.

Slowly, cars and limos pulled into the front while friends, couples and others strode into the lobby. Cameras began to flash upon entry as friends and couples took pictures at the arch display upon entrance into the ballroom where the dinner/dance was gonna take place.

Tables lined the back of the huge room, seating ten to a table. The table set for dining with wine glasses full of water. A centerpiece, a fishbowl lined with blue flat rocks, and a big star candle. Smaller fishbowls lined the bigger one with clear flat rocks and a tealight candle. Confetti stars and moons were scattered on the tables. The room itself, displayed a line of stars of various sizes dangling from the ceiling. Star-shape lights lined the sides with displays of greenery columns, trees and shrubs all over the room. The dance floor was located at the front of the room, where the stage sorta acting like the outcast of the sea into a moonlit night. The DJ's spot was off to a corner. And at every other corner of the room was a small bar offering soda.

The first hour was finding places in the room to sit, either closer to the dance floor, in the middle, or sorta segregated and hit the back, which many swore the teachers would be sitting. It also consisted of pictures and commenting on the dress apparel of others, good or bad.

The six teens had found it feasible to find a place somewhere in the front, close to the dance floor. And after a several line of pictures, they had settled down pondering when the food was gonna get served. Trent had warned them that it wouldn't be the best even if it was fancy. The salad, in itself, wasn't the normal stock one would find at the local grocery store. And the actual meal always had a weird mix of steamed vegetable with nuts or a blend of flavor and spices that one not brought up in rich-style food would get used to. And dessert was either too dry or never had enough flavor.

"Well, either way, food is food. And I'm hungry," Ethan groaned as he rubbed his stomach.

"I'm telling you, Ethan. It's not the greatest," Trent warned him.

Conner had been looking around the room, noticing some of the gazes on them. The talk that others were saying regarding how three nominees for King were stuck at one table. He shook his head as he took a drink from his glass. "Why must people make such a big deal about this entire Prom nominee thing? I mean, it is a friendly competition, right?"

Trent and Ethan exchanged a look before looking over at the jock. They complained that a person like him didn't have to worry about it too much since his status as a jock gave him an advantage. But were merely joking over the seriousness of the competition. It was gonna go to who the school thought deserved it. And as nominees they couldn't vote at all, so whoever won had won because of their peers.

"Don't you guys look cute?" a voice called out from behind.

"Actually, strikes me as a little odd to see three guys who are up for Prom King at one table," another voice said.

The group turned to see the science teacher and P.E. teacher standing behind them. Kim had been locked to Tommy's side arms wrapped around one another. The group greeted the two until Ethan pulled out his camera.

"Smile big, guys. Gotta getta picture," Ethan said.

Tommy groaned as he began to walk away, but Kim pulled him back smacking him on the arm. She had told them that he was stubborn about pictures, let alone hearing the same thing. Commenting on how cute they looked together, and they could still pass as a senior couple, looking young enough to still be in high school, rather than teach it. The teacher couple had already been bombarded with enough pictures by the time they arrived, and it wasn't any easier when their teenage friends wanted to capture this moment, too.

"It makes up for missing out on your senior prom, guys," Kelly said after snapping another picture.

"Let's just say it wasn't the best time of the year for either of us," the science teacher replied.

"So, I gotta know. Which out of you guys deserves Prom King? Who do you think got it?" the P.E. teacher couldn't help but ask.

The trio of guys looked at each other than shrugged. It was clear that most of the school had talked about the three especially, despite the two other guys from the dance team. It seemed to stand as a big deal for those three. Among the Queen nominees, it stood at all of them. No one had a real idea. Those who could care less, or thought about the not-so popular people had talked about Kira getting it. But then, since there was a number of popular people on the list, it was hard to determine out of them.

The two teachers were about to head on to the back to find a seat, but the group had offered them a place at their table. Tommy had complained saying he felt rather old to be around a table full of teens, but his wife had insisted on it, feeling more comfort in their company, rather than the other staff members. So, they joined them nearly passing as another couple at school, until others realized it was actually their teachers.

Dinner had finally been served closer to 7:30 rather than thirty minutes earlier. And like Trent had warned them, it wasn't the best thing they had had. Tommy had complained he was never used to fancy outings, despite his own invites by his former colleague, Dr. Anton Mercer.

Another hour later, and people were finally on the dance floor getting their groove on. Friends and couples had moved out into the hall to get their professional Prom pictures taken. The Prom King nominees had even agreed to take a picture of their own, which many girls wanted. But it wasn't easy for the Prom Queens, but only went through with it since the guy nominees did one.

With it being Prom, and not exactly on school grounds, teachers couldn't do much to their students about their freaky dancing, they were just shocked people could do that without thinking otherwise. It was sorta a scary scene. Some were literally on the floor grinding on one another, and probably getting a whole lot more out of it, too. There were a few shy ones here and there, not wanting to dance at all. And there were a few conservative ones, or not extremely freaky. For many guy teachers, they were spotted in the lobby chatting. The woman teachers were more in the ballroom, seeing what was going on in there and talking among their students.

But the night was nearly coming to an end, and the moment of truth was awaiting the nominees. Who was gonna be the court for the graduating class of 2005 for Reefside High?

Several members of the Prom Committee moved to the stage, calling forth the nominees. First, the Queens, each receiving a single red rose. Then the Kings, where people captured more pictures to blind them all. Cheers and jeers came toward them as the music was turned down, waiting to hear the results of the winners.

"Reefside High School, are you ready to hear the results?" Karson asked as the crowd was getting restless over the wait. "I would like to present to you your Prom Queen of 2005..." His eyes fell on the eager faces of the young women who lined the stage.

Quieting the crowd, silence fell over the entire room.

"Your Prom Queen for the 2004-2005 school year is..." he continued on, but changed subjects making the crowd groan with anticipation. "Are you sure you don't want to know the results of the staff one first? ... all right. All right. I'm sorry, guys. I would like to present to you your senior class of 2005 Prom Queen, Ms. Kira Ford."

An uproar of shock and cheer fell over many people, but the other nominees had congratulated her warmly with hugs as she was crowned and sashed by two committee members. Kira was speechless, had no idea how to react, as she felt tears welt in her eyes of happiness and shock.

Karson had to quiet the crowd again as the nominees for King took a step forward. Each had already congratulated the other for the nominee, making it clear that no matter what it was all out of a friendly competition. "All right, settle down. You guys want to see who got Prom King, right? So, pipe down and listen up. Now, this is a majority vote by your peers. So, I would like to present to you your senior class of 2005 Prom King..." he opened up the envelope as his eyebrows rose with shock and confusion. "Well, this is interesting. ...no, it's too hard to say." He shook his head and put the card back in the envelope, leaving the stand, creating more anticipation that the crowd did not need. "I'm just kidding guys. Reefside High, I would like to present to you your Prom King, Mr. Trent Mercer."

At that point, Ethan and Conner had to catch Trent before he lost his footing, shocked to hear the news. The other guys congratulated him on the win, as he was crowned and sashed. His eyes fell on the Prom Queen, who had turned out to be his girlfriend. Moments like this was usually spotted in the movies, but never in real life. Or as far as Trent could tell, if not both of them. They were too speechless to say anything to one another.

Still getting over the truth of the news, Trent slowly walked over to Kira, took her hand and turned to face the crowd as millions of flashed fell on them like superstars.

But before they could share that momentous dance as Prom King and Queen, Karson had to call forth the other question of the evening. The court for the staff at Reefside High.

"Now, hold on. I'm not done. The dance team would like to get our court from your teachers. And as told by my buddy, Ethan James, these two are real lovebirds. So, where is Dr. Thomas Oliver and his wife, Coach Kimberly Hart-Oliver?" Karson called out.

The science teacher had only entered the room for brief moment to see what was going on, but left as soon as he heard his name. But he didn't get very far when his fellow male teachers dragged him back in. His wife locked arms with him, pulling him toward the stage, who was obviously more excited by the news than he was. And it was evident, he was sorta blushing over it. Though, both of them still found it a little weird to be called forth as Prom King and Queen for the staff. It isn't every day that comes out.

"Now, now. Don't be shy," Karson called out as the two slowly made their way to the dance floor and onto the stage. Each had been given their own crown and sash, joining the young couple on the edge of the stage. Karson walked over to the stage looking over at the two couples, thinking for a second before turning to look at the crowd. "Now, this is very interesting. Very interesting. Capture the moment, folks. This is one moment you'll never see again."

And another line of flashes fell over the two couples. Each couldn't find the words to say except to congratulate the other. Then the crowd began to cheer on, hoping to see the couples lock lips before them. But it was clear that both guys were more embarrassed about the other, that the Queens had pulled their Kings into a warm kiss as more pictures were taken.

And to begin their dance as the court of Reefside High for 2005, Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" started to play. The two couples engaged in a slow dance as more pictures captured the moment.

"I think this song is gonna haunt me now," Tommy whispered into his wife's ear.

"It's a sweet song, Tommy," Kim blushed.

The rest of their dance was left in silence as they enjoyed the company of the other.

Kira and Trent were still getting over the fact of being announced as the court.

"So, this is what it feels like to be a Queen? Getting all this attention?" Kira joked.

Trent shrugged. "I didn't have a clue this would happen."

"You and me, both. But I guess this makes up for all the bad things that's happened to us. How do you think your father would react if he found out we got court?"

"He wouldn't believe it," Trent chuckled as he shook his head.

A silence fell over the two of them as Kira wrapped her arms around Trent's neck, pulling them closer. Each quietly sung the song, but not enough for the other to really quite hear.

"I love you, Kira," Trent barely said above a whisper as if it was hard to say. But relieved to finally get it off his chest. He never quite had the guts to tell her in person, but over the phone, or even the net, wasn't that hard to do. But in the physical appearance of her in his arms, saying those words, it really was a moment he didn't want to forget.

Kira looked at him and he wasn't quite sure what she had made of his gesture. The words seemed to catch her by surprise as much as being announced as Prom Queen. But a smile fell over her face and she pulled him into a kiss. Her own way of saying the words, before their lips parted. She was glad to hear those words escape his lips to her in person. "Love you, too, Trent."

The two teachers couldn't help but look on, noticing the gesture, their own relief and shock that the words had finally been said. They knew how much the two had wanted to actually say how much they loved the other, but had never quite got it out how they wanted to. Or at least in person. But now it was as the duo shared their own 'I love you's' and left the stage. And finally, Trent and Kira followed as the rest of the night had been devoted to more dancing.

And by the end of the night, on the limo ride home, Ethan had gotten his kiss. The first of his kind, but not the last as he hoped. The three couples had literally fallen asleep in the limo as it drove around for another hour following prom. But they still had to hit the after party at Mr. Biggs Fun Center, full of laser tag, go-karts, an bowling alley and arcade games. So, with a quick power nap and a change of clothes, the three couples had met up with others at the Fun Center to close off the after party.

But it had been a night of many memories. The limo ride, the pictures, the dinner, the couples, hanging out with friends, etc. Nothing else could have made that night that much more perfect.

****

to be continued...

A/N: Okay. You guys just don't realize how hard it is to put such chapters like these in. I know, this was just as long as Chapter 40, but longer. I had not expected it, but I hope you liked it. It gives me more time to compile my thoughts for the final battle, which will be coming up soon enough. So, enjoy and hope you give me a break for the long wait on posting. See you when I do. And May the Powers Always Protect You.


	41. Star Wars

**'TIL I COLLAPSE**- **_PART FORTY-ONE: STAR WARS_**  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The long awaited installment of the biggest event in movie history is about to hit theaters. But Mindshatter has his own set of plans that could very well test who is good and evil in the battle to protect Earth. _

DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I just like that I managed to carry on PRDT even after the show has ended, and I got some fans of my work. I also don't own any control to Star Wars and the biggest Jedi Master himself, George Lucas, so don't sue me, please. I only own this adventure and the creations of Mindshatter, Dinoshade, the cybots and Serena Oliver.

A/N: I had to do a chapter with the whole Star Wars things. I am serious, because all of my friends think I'm some nut job for liking the movie. I ain't a freak fan like others, but I like it enough to have my bragging rights to this Star Wars franchise. So, I figured what if there was a time where there were three Jedi trying to convert their friends into fans as well? I don't know. Never mind. Just read on. And be prepared to set pace into our epic battle. It is coming up.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-  
_"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ... lives a team of color-coordinated superheroes known as the Power Rangers. They are here to protect planet Earth from evil as well as bring peace and justice to the galaxy.  
But along the way, they must try to fit in and maintain a normal life among those they serve,  
but it is never easy when evil can be anywhere." -Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Mindshatter had sat mindless in the main laboratory of the fortress. He had not moved from that spot for days, waiting in the shadows, preparing. He had waited long enough for his final attack to go down. He had to move, and soon. His army was now down to only 30 troops. He didn't quite understand how they had stopped functioning or were beyond the point of repair, but seemed to care less about their fates. He had only cared that, in the end, he would be the victor in this battle.

He might have been a mind reader, probing and destroying the thoughts of his enemies, but he could not predict the future. And the thought of being around human minds any longer angered him more. He had had enough of their very existence. If he could destroy the rangers, than no one else would have a chance. But there was something about him, inside, that he couldn't seem to describe. He couldn't find the power to destroy any other human except for those residing around the Power Rangers. It was something he had tried to figure out for the months his reign had begun. But could never quite figure out.

He slammed his fist into the chair, frustrated. He didn't understand why it took so long to destroy these rangers on Earth, but could only conclude that they were moving against him at greater numbers. But their numbers were down just as his own. That wouldn't be too much of a problem, if he moved onto his next set of plans. And he hoped that it would go down soon enough.

The two remaining psycho rangers stood motionless in the shadows waiting for his orders. Though they had despised ever listening to the evil universal soldier, they did not want to jeopardy their own fates like their fallen comrades. First, there was five. Then Psycho Pink had met an untimely fate when she had almost succeeded in stealing away the Pink Space Ranger's powers, but failed and destroyed by the Pink Lost Galaxy Ranger. The four others were converted back into datacards and then re-converted back into living beings by Mindshatter somehow. But Psycho Black had fallen to the hands of three black rangers; Carlos, Adam and Tommy. Psycho Red had also fallen victim to the ruthless power, rage and evil of the black dino ranger. And now, only two remained, Blue and Yellow.

Mindshatter had looked over at the motionless soldiers as his eyes glowered to a heighten spark of red. He had waited too long to attack, that the team was no longer divided, and could result in making it harder to destroy them. But his biggest and darkest plan was still being prepared.

He moved out of the chair, to the main control system, looking over at a chamber beside the re-constructed Geno-Randomizer. Inside, something glowed in a hint of green, draining energy from the motionless evil Psycho Rangers in the shadows beside it.

"If he returns to the dark side, than none of them would have a chance," Mindshatter spoke darkly mostly to himself.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

One week later, May 7th, 2005.

Tommy had taken a run out in the woods, returning an hour later as it reached the 6 o'clock hour. At times, he was an early bird when it came to working out, especially on the weekend. If he didn't have the time to do it during the morning, he did it at night when time permitted.

He slowly strode into the house wiping the sweat from his face as he moved into the workout room. Another good long hour had passed when he felt that he had had enough. When he had stepped out, he had smelt the aroma of breakfast fill the house.

He tucked the towel around his neck as he walked into the living room, laying a kiss on the little girl who had woke up early to catch her usual Saturday morning cartoons.

"Morning, daddy," Serena smiled as she took a bite of her cereal. "Have a nice workout?"

"Yeah, I did. I best not find you watching nothing more than those cartoons," he warned her before placing another kiss on her head.

She only gave him an innocent look that he had hated to fall into, and couldn't refuse. But managed to work every time.

The man moved into the kitchen where he found his wife cooking up a little breakfast for them. He wrapped his arms around her, laying a kiss on the back of her neck that made her smile. "Shouldn't I be the one making breakfast, Beautiful?"

"And try to kill us all?" she joked as she flipped the pancake. She brought her hand around, only to feel the sweat run down his hair. She wiped it on his towel, shaking her head. "You're sweating, Tommy."

"I just got done working out," he countered. "Would you prefer me to go catch a shower before I came to breakfast?"

"It's an idea, but I'm almost done anyway. Besides, we gotta make another stop to the store."

"Again?" he breathed shaking his head, before laying another kiss on her neck. "You gotta be kidding me. Well, if you didn't have all these weird cravings and go off and eat everything in the fridge, we wouldn't have to go every week."

Kim turned and fed him the pancake that had just finished cooking. He cried out in pain from its heat as he dropped it to the ground taking a step back, surprised. He gagged trying to keep it cool about the burn on his tongue, but it hurted. She directed him to a chair as he slowly sat down, his head hung low like a puppy who did something wrong.

When the rest of the pancakes had been cooked, along with some eggs and bacon, Kim had called over the little girl for her fill of something to eat. For a little girl, she did have a huge appetite. The trio enjoyed their breakfast, father and daughter had kept quiet about the woman's weird blend of food. Kim had placed hot sauce on her pancakes, and made a sorta sundae with her eggs, bacon, whip cream, chocolate syrup and a cherry on top. The duo had to keep their heads low and close to their plates to really avoid feeling like they were gonna gag at the sight of her concoction.

By late morning, they had been on their way to the store -- Walmart. Tommy manned the cart with Serena riding on the back end while Kim slowly directed them throughout the store. Despite the times they were out shopping as a family, both Serena and Tommy had wavered over some of the choices Kim would make about getting stuff. Sometimes, she would buy in compulsive ways, stock up on food, and other times she would only get so little. And with her heated mood swings from time to time, the duo never really tried to compete with her about what should be bought and what shouldn't.

"I wish that baby would be coming out sooner than later," Tommy groaned quietly to himself. He didn't want to say that it would be any easier once the baby was out in the world, he just didn't like the fact that the long nine months in waiting for it was probably the hardest thing he would ever have to deal with. Kim's emotional stability wasn't exactly at its best, especially in the past few weeks. He just hoped that it wasn't a big deal and would pass in time.

After running through the grocery aisles for nearly an hour and a half, both Tommy and Serena were feeling a little worn out than need be. Despite the cart full of food, both were feeling a need to satisfy their inner child, hoping to go down the toy section to find something to ease their pain. For awhile, Tommy had to calm down Kim when she couldn't seem to find what she was looking for, or something was out-of-stock. But soon enough, he gave up, letting her rage out, literally knocking him down when she had gotten a little too emotional. Tommy knew he would have to find some surprise to satisfy his wife, but first, it was his needs he had to fulfill.

Serena had already sprinted across the store to the toy section, with her father and mother following some feet away. For a kid with a lot of energy, she still kept a level head above other kids. Most kids would cry about not getting something they've always wanted, but she seemed a little more strategic about getting her way. Tommy had no idea how she did it, but she did. She could say one thing, but it would mean another and soon enough, she would be getting what she wanted. Not that she was all about the material items, she just knew if she had to have it, she'd better get it.

When Serena had finally found the aisle she was looking for, she had raced over to pull one of the toy lightsabers from the hanging display, retracted it and swung the plastic blue blade about, making the sound effects of its deadly call. Tommy wasn't too far behind, needed to fulfill his inner child and grabbed another lightsaber, this one red.

"Serena, I am your father," he couldn't help but say in a dark, low voice as Serena swung locking weapons with his.

The two sparred for some time until Serena had went low, striking his leg. Tommy mocked cried as he hit the ground and she had mock stabbed him in the chest with a line of laughter following. Tommy groaned, dropping the saber, but grabbed his daughter pulling him into her laying a few kisses on her head.

"You will turn to the dark side. These kisses are tempting you to," he chuckled as he let her go and she began to gawk over the display of Star Wars toys across the entire aisle.

Moments later, the back of a cart had struck Tommy, catching his attention. His wife looked at him then over at the display of toys shaking her head. "I never did understand what was the hype over Star Wars, anyway."

"Never understood the hype! Now, come on, you can't begin to tell me you don't see what George Lucas has done to create a whole other galaxy full of good, evil and a line of interesting characters," Tommy moved to her side, laying a kiss on her cheek.

"It's only the best movie in the world," Serena smiled as she began to look through the action figures.

"And what she said. The entire franchise..." Tommy began to say.

Kim absently shook away his explanation, not caring too much about what he had to say. "Personally, I think it is just another one of those movies that pulls people into doing some pretty egotistical things like standing outside a movie theater for a month to wait for it to come out, having a duplicate costume from the movie and parade it around, or talk about the good and evil between two forces as either a small green guy that looks like a gremlin or some huge machine who can only live off of being in a robotic suit. Not exactly what one like me would call the best thing in the world."

"Well, you seem to know enough to get all that down," Tommy protested.

"I have a little brother who falls in love with amazing special effects, good story plots and interesting twists."  
Tommy nodded slowly as he had to admit that Kim's little brother had fallen into the generation of new age technology. And he was well rounded enough to get pulled into something like the hype around Star Wars. Serena began to tug on her father's pant leg as he turned to look down at what she held in her hands. She was holding the Darth Vader mask that breathed like he did, have a voice-changer and a button for movie phrases. He had to admit, he was in favor of getting something like that, especially around Halloween just to freak out everyone else. He had secretly been a fan of the Star Wars movies for a long time, even in his younger since, due to his father. He had a whole box full of original collectibles that his father had passed onto him, and in the following years within the release of the prequels, he had been collecting other toys and memorabilia to complete his collection. The only problem was finding a place to set it up and hope that his wife wouldn't find him too much of a geek for having all of it. But he had to admit, the collection was rather pricy, but probably couldn't compare to what other people had.

Tommy hadn't realize though, that his own daughter had her own interests in the movie. He had started off her own collection a few weeks ago, when the first of the toys for the final movie came out. And when he had realized it, the new Star Wars Episode 3 game had been out for a few days now, and he had to get ahold of that. And no one said that playing video games at his age was a bad thing. It would beat dealing with other things in his life when he couldn't find comfort in other things.

"Now, how did I know I'd find my science and P.E. teachers here in the toy aisle of the store?" a voice asked from behind.

Tommy turned around to see the blue dino ranger standing behind them. He held something in his hand, slightly hidden with the red dino ranger tagging along behind him. The duo had greeted the family asking what they were doing, but only concluded for themselves when they saw the cart full of food. They were shopping. And a certain little girl who was swinging about a lightsaber struck Conner in the leg, calling his attention.

"What the...?" Conner turned around, only to see Serena run behind a display of stuff animals. He looked back at the toy aisle they were in, shaking his head. "What is the hype with Star Wars?"

"What is the hype! Bro, it's like only the most epic movie ever to hit the movie screen," Ethan shook his head. "I mean, no one has ever pulled off six movies like that and can say that it will never die."

"It's just a movie."

"Finally, I have someone to agree with me," Kim let out a breath as she patted the teen in red on the back. "You and me both, Conner."

"Not just any movie," Ethan said, taking a breath. He knew that if he didn't get any back up about this, he would be on his own again, and everyone around him would think he was an idiot. "Those movies have grossed more money than any other movie could in its existence."

"Ethan's got you there," Tommy nodded as he moved over to Ethan's side to show his support. "Besides, did you know that in today's youth, more kids will be able to tell you who Darth Vader is but not William Shakespeare? Kinda a new twist on how much Star Wars has changed the world."

The pregnant woman looked over at the teen in red shaking her head and rolling her eyes. He leaned over to hear what she was telling him quietly, obviously not wanting to two other people to listen. Tommy looked over at Ethan and shrugged as he began to file out statements and rumors he heard about the movie. That the press release had happened only a few days ago, and reviewers have already gone around saying that this was one movie worth seeing. That the PG-13 rating, a first in its kind for the Star Wars movies, really was worth it and that it was in fact the darkest of all movies, tying in many lose ends between the prequels and the original trilogy.

Ethan had to admit he was surprised to hear his science teacher was a fanatic of the crazed movie, but glad he had someone to back him up. He had revealed what he had hidden in his hand, the Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon series that aired on Cartoon Network on DVD. He said he had already gotten the long awaited Episode 3 video game and said it was worth the purchase.

"Do you see these guys, Coach?" Conner shook his head as he took a step back. "I know it's not my place, but at least I don't have to deal with that, no offense to you. Do you see what the big deal is about this movie?"

"Only that I hear the last one is finally coming out after all these years. It's like the biggest thing to happen for any Star Wars fans."

"Can I say I've never actually seen any of the movies?" Conner said quietly, but it had caused the two Jedi to stop their talk, looking over at the red dino ranger as if he had said something wrong.

"You've never seen any of the them!" Ethan breathed. He walked over wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulder. "What do you think, Dr. O? I think we need to put these two through a little Star Wars boot camp."

"Now, I don't wanna go and shove it down their throats about it..."

Ethan cleared his throat repeating it as a wink fell over his eye. They had recently been discussing that the movie would be out in less than two weeks, and they were in need of catching it. It wouldn't be right to bring along some friends who had no idea what was going on about it. He walked over to his science teacher pulling him over for another private chat. He told his science teacher that Trent and him had been planning for that very day of release for the movie as a sorta big party for those interested. Yet, he wasn't quite sure what kinda assistance Trent was gonna pull into it, but wouldn't doubt his word. Ethan had to look at it as they were the Jedi Masters, and Conner and Kim were the Padawan in all of this.

"You are not gonna make me sit through six plus hours of that movie, Tommy," Kim walked over to him, shaking her head. "I know how long those movies are and I don't intend on watching any of them."

Tommy looked over at Ethan who could give him a simple nod. It was time to get out of the box a little. And there were several things that he could do to convince her otherwise. "Yeah, I guess so. But did I mention that you and I could pull off a pretty good Padmé and Anakin? I mean, we got this pretty handsome guy who falls to the dark side, and I have been down that path before. Then we got his wife, who also happens to be pregnant..."

Kim looked away blushing, knowing what he was gonna imply to the rest of the scenario. But it was clearly not for others ears to hear. She shook her head, hitting reality again. She was clearly not one to be pulled into such a thing as that. "Don't tell me you're gonna drag me into seeing that movie?"

Tommy shrugged. "I get it if you don't wanna go. But if you don't, it could send me one step closer down the dark path again."

Kim pointed a wavering finger in his face, shaking her head. "No. Not one of those Jedi tricks. My brother does it to me all of the time."

"Really? I had no idea," Tommy smiled lightly. But it was his fault in the first place that her kid brother would manipulate her words and throw them back at her. And it usually worked, to help him get his way when need be.

"Hey, guys," another voice greeted the group of people by the Star Wars toy aisle.

Everyone stopped to look at Trent and Kira coming their way, hand in hand. But Kira had pulled him back as he almost lost his footing. It was clear that she had been pulled into, or was trying to get out of, the whole hype with the movie. He already had a small bag in hand to reveal a video game under the franchise of the movie.

She shook her head as she raced to greet her friends. "Please tell me there is at least one of you here who can back me up and say that this whole Star Wars thing is sorta pathetic." Conner and Kim raised their hands as she moved to their sides, only to realize they had been in a heated dispute over how good the movies were and how bad they were. A few raised voices from each side created more tension between the fans and those who could care less about what the movie is or has done for pop culture, as the three Jedi tried to explain what the big deal was about the feature film, but were still at a great loss.

"You cannot begin to tell me that you just don't see the hype of this movie," Trent protested.

"We don't. I've sit through every single one. I think I might have either fallen asleep or almost have through each one," Kira had to admit. She had said that her little brother was to blame for the hype, and didn't need anymore Jedi Knights running around with a plastic lightsaber talking about the Force in her life. She already had to deal with her brother and his friends running around the house acting like Jedi or Sith.

"Now, I know it's even wrong for me to say, but have you seen the guy who plays Anakin? Most girls find him to be very attractive," Ethan said.

Kira shrugged like she could careless, but perhaps she did have a secret crush on the man who will fall to the dark side in the final installment of the trilogy. She blinked away the thought, shaking her head again.

But soon enough, another line of protesting and arguing came over them, and it was hard to truly understand what either of them were saying. It was clear that Conner, Kim and Kira had not, and would refuse, to convert their ways in liking that movie. Which made Trent, Ethan and Tommy work just a little bit harder to get the trio to listen to them. The dispute had gone on throughout the entire time from the toy aisle, to the check-out line, and even out into the parking lot. And before they had realized it, they were all still arguing about it upon arrival at the Oliver homestead.

Each had absently taken in the groceries for the married couple, while continuing the dispute. After Tommy had realized what had happened, he let out a whistle that stopped everyone, the room falling silent. Everyone turned to look at him, shooting back into reality only to realize his same action. They had been debating for hours, and they had all somehow found themselves scattered throughout the living room.

"Why is it we're the ones stuck on one side of the dispute, and we got you guys on another?" Tommy questioned as he seemed to notice the segregation between all of them. The fans of the movie on one side, the ones who didn't care on the other.

"Yeah, remember Super Bowl weekend?" Ethan sighed. He shivered under the thought of their loss. He, Trent and Tommy had all placed their bets for the Eagles to win, and the other three had placed it in for the Patriots. Of course, he lost along with those two and had to go around the next day at school wearing Patriots memorabilia and signs stating something about they lost nearly everything to the bet and needed some change for lunch that day. It was a sad moment in his life, if not for Trent and Tommy as well. Luckily, they weren't the only ones in on bets. There were a few who had it worse, and others who didn't have it so bad, but they were among the losers.

"Wanna make a bet again?" Conner suggested as he looked over at the duo on his side. Each seemed to exchange ideas mentally.

"No," the trio shook their heads quickly.

"So, why not drop this while it's in the early stages of dispute?" Kira suggested.

"No. See, you just don't get it. This is the biggest thing to ever happen to anyone. It is less than two weeks until the release of the final episode..." Trent tried to say, but was cut off by Kim.

"And we could care less about it. So, it is gonna be a smash at the box office. Big deal." Kim shrugged.

Tommy looked over at his companions, before directing them out into the hall. He knew, as much as they did, that they would have to work a little of their Jedi/Ninja magic. But wasn't quite sure what or how. Trent could only tell them to follow his lead as they had went back into the room.

"How about we make some deals so we're all happy here?" Trent began. "We show you our world around Star Wars, and you show us something the three of you can agree on."

The P.E. teacher looked over at the red and yellow rangers, shrugging with her eyes as if it didn't seem to hurt to try, as much as she didn't want to. But she knew, as the duo, that this heated dispute wouldn't go away so quickly with the movie fast approaching. Yet, they could only hope that it would somehow pay off for the time they decided to hand over to the Jedi trio to show them the light of the Force.

"Time out, Trent," Kira thought for a moment. "You can't just expect us to show you like one movie versus the six you guys tend to show us. It wouldn't be fair."

"How else are you gonna see what we see if you don't go through all six of them?" Ethan countered.

And soon, another heated argument went down. For awhile, Serena had tried to play it off, take both sides of the conversation, but was siding more with her father. But as far as she could tell, she didn't like that she was stuck in the middle of this madness, especially if her parents had different views on the movie. She covered her ears from the noise, humming to herself, hoping to get rid of the tension. But it only seemed to get worse in her head. She tried to play it off, but it wasn't any good. She was struggling to keep her cool, but it didn't seem to work. She let out a scream, that placed a long silence on the room.

Everyone stopped to look at the little girl. A hand fell on her shoulder and soon another, only to realize that the hands of her parents rested there in comfort and concern. She didn't seem to realize it until now, but tears had streaked down her face as the dispute went on. The man pulled his daughter into a comforting hug, laying a kiss on her head and apologizing for the mayhem. He pulled his wife to his side, apologizing for his mishap, and hoping that they could all find some solution to this, hoping not to deal with another division on the team over a feud on a movie.

"Look what you guys caused," Conner stated looking over at the white and blue dino rangers, their heads immediately dropping with guilt.

"Don't put all the blame on them, Conner. It was all of us," Kira stated, defending the two guilty Jedi.

Tommy rose to his feet, holding the little girl in his arms, nodding. "Kira's got a point. We can't let a little dispute as this get over our heads. The last thing we need right now is getting divided again."

The four younger rangers all dropped their heads lower, knowing that their mentor was right. The last thing they needed was to get divided at a time like this. There had been no real attacks in the last few weeks, and the entire team could only conclude that Mindshatter was up to something big. That the epic battle which they had hoped would never come at all, was getting ready to be launched. They could only hope that they would be more ready for it than not.

"Let's call a time out and figure out what we can't come up with and meet back here in a few hours, all right?" Kim suggested. She looked over at the yellow and red rangers with a little wink. "I need to do some discussing with my fellow non-believers here."

Tommy knew that she was right, and had moved out to the room, to put her daughter to bed. She had seen enough drama for one day, and just needed some time to rest. When that was squared away, he had moved out of the house with Trent and Ethan following close behind.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Island fortress.

The two psycho rangers had staggered about the main lab slightly weakened and shaken by the recent drain in their powers. Much of the lab had been left in ruins from the epic battle months ago with Mesogog, leaving Mindshatter to find other raw sources to obtain his dirty work; the two psycho rangers being one of the sources. But it would slowly be restored in time. They were like batteries, only needing to be recharged, and they would be set for battle.

But there was one problem, if not many, that Mindshatter had to relay. One of them was the loyalty he felt fell over Dinoshade and Mesogog. Staying in the protection of the shadows, they had done little for him, even if he had not requested it. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to tell them what their objectives were. It was pretty explanatory, but they didn't seem to see it that way. Or they were merely doing other things that he couldn't seem to understand, nor wanted to.

He had to set his plans on his final attack. He was ready for it. Needed to get to it, or the rangers would beat him to the punch about who would be the victor in this regime. And he never liked to lose. He hated to lose. He hated failure. He hated loss. He refused to let a bunch of humans come between him. They may have created him, but they would be on the ones to destroy him, and he would make sure of that. He wouldn't go down and prove to everyone that he was here to stay.

He looked over at the two psycho rangers, forming a new set of plans as he went along with it. He had to find a way to get this out into the open. The object he had held so closely in his possession, that would very well destroy the rangers for good. He just had to make sure that there would be no screw ups with this one. The other times just had one or two flaws that he had not liked and refused to look over. What was past was past and he had to move over his mistakes and be the bigger, badder villain.

Hidden in the shadows, melting in its secrecy, Dinoshade watched with interest as the work to create what appeared to be a weapon of some kind. He sunk to the ground, moving closer and listening intently to the words that had escaped from the universal soldier. But it was spoken in his foreign alien tongue. A language, that since his re-programming, didn't seem to make sense to him at all. And he wasn't sure if Mindshatter had sensed his presence and was using it against him, but he didn't like that he couldn't seem to pinpoint what the universal soldier was trying to do.

Mindshatter had opened up the chamber, a hiss of smoke fell out of it as the glowing green light inside began to dim. He pulled out the object, clenching firmly in his hands. But due to the darkness in the room was hard to distinguish. And as he moved away, the sight of the object could not be seen by Dinoshade. Mindshatter handed it over to the blue psycho ranger as he nodded and turned away, leaving the room. The yellow psycho ranger slowly followed after him.

Mindshatter was left alone in the comfort of the lab, until he stopped to look at the shadows. He held out a hand as Dinoshade found himself hit the ground before him, slightly confused at the impact and the feeling that Mindshatter was not surprised to find him spying. Dinoshade quickly got to his feet as he bowed low to his master, but Mindshatter had threw his hand to the other side, sending Dinoshade across the room by an invisible field.

"Do you dare to cross me in such a way to overthrow me, Dinoshade!" Mindshatter growled as he slowly walked over the robotic dinosaur. "For a long time I have played your game, watched you rot under my control, and after so long, you finally broke free from it. I know what Mesogog has done to you. And you can't expect me to believe that he can be saved or those other pathetic excuses for rangers. You will soon follow their path in destruction."

Dinoshade lowered his head, but at the last minute sprung to his feet, letting a power laser blast fly out of one of his arm guns toward the universal soldier. As if predicting the attack, the lead robot had moved away and launched his own electrical attack toward the robo-dinosaur. Dinoshade had no time to avoid it as he took it head on.

But due to his own pre-occupation with the robo-dinosaur, Mindshatter had not noticed the other figure who had entered the room. The dino menace, now more under the control of Anton, creapt into the darken corner where the five remaining candles stood, unlit. He knew he had to get to them, despite the shield around them. He had to get to them before they were lit or ever could touch the hand of Mindshatter again.

But he didn't get very far when he seemed to have hit an invisible wall and tossed across the room, smashing down on Dinoshade as he was about to get up. Mindshatter approached the two dinosaurs, glaring at them with blaring red eyes. He had retracted his spiky abyss of horns along his back in a line of anger over the two generals in his army.

"You will not win this battle. I will make sure of that," he growled as he pulled up his hand, pulling the two figures off the ground by this invisible force and sending them into the Geno-Randomizer.

The chamber locked on them, both too weak to move from their heap of pain. With another movement of his hand, the machine hissed to life, and the chamber began to fill with smoke, covering the two figures as they struggled to get out. But there was no way for them to get out or free from its torment.

Minutes passed, slowly.

After Mindshatter had worked around a panel of buttons, entering codes that didn't seem to make sense, nor really easy to decipher, his own thoughts and energy seemed to be faltered. It was locked onto the satellite system he had used as a transmission to relay images to his ship while he was in outer space. And for the time being, now on Earth, he had been configuring a program to use the satellite system as a sorta catalyst to shield the entire world in his own arms. He had already mastered to keep any information from leaving the atmosphere, shutting down any travel outside of it. But his next set of plans were even harder to accomplish as he tried to formulate the codes to set the next set of his plans.

Mindshatter found a place in his chair, where he thought briefly about his set of plans and failures, waiting patiently for the chamber to do its job. Due to his heightened knowledge with new age technology, he would make sure that those two had no chance in helping out their friends, even if they tried. He had also been tired of dealing with the two of them when they didn't seem to have the energy to do anything to satisfy him. It had upset him more to think he ever could trust anyone else to do his job to destroy any threat toward him. Even his own numbers in the cybot army were down, and he really had himself to take on the rangers.

"But only five remained," He had told himself many times. "Five will never stand a chance for what I have in store for them."

His eyes fell on the chamber as he refused to take his chances on the two figures hidden inside. With time, he would know when it was right to free his new creation and move onto his next set of plans. And the first trap was getting set by the psycho rangers.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Trent, Ethan and Tommy had been casually walking around the mall just trying to pass time as they thought about what they could do to have their friends fall to their side of the argument. But even as they walked, they had thought back to the biggest battle they hoped would never come. Wavering over the thoughts that they may not be ready for it, despite the training they were getting.

"So, what do you think, Dr. O?" Ethan asked quietly, keeping his voice low to avoid any peering ears from listening.

"I think we have to keep our eyes open for anything right now. It has been far too quiet around here, and I don't like it," their mentor replied as he looked around the mall, having the feeling that they were getting spied on.

"I would agree. I mean, there hasn't been anything beyond a few battles with the cybots, but that was it. It wasn't a big deal, but now that I look back on it, it seems like they pull back for a reason," Trent shook his head.

"Gearing up for the final battle. That is the only reason for this silence from his side of the battlefield."

The trio continued on their walk, trying to push their thoughts away from being Power Rangers for just a second to formulate a plan toward their friends who could care less about their favorite movie of all times.

They soon moved into an Asian/Oriental like store; a display of bamboos greeted them as they entered. Fans of all sized filled the ways and other Oriental/Asian base decorative filled the store. Tommy had told the two that he had been eyeing a set of samurai swords he wanted to put in the study, even if Kim had not agreed to having the sharp objects anywhere near the house.

"That doesn't make sense for all the other things in the house. And it's not like it's gonna be within reach of the kids, right?" Trent asked as he looked at the scrolls seeking out a dragon to put in his room.

"Try telling that to the wife. She doesn't like to take 'no', and with as far along as she is with her pregnancy, it doesn't surprise me she's been as stubborn as she has been," Tommy sighed as he moved over to the counter where the Asian weaponry was locked behind.

He looked over the items, trying to figure out what exactly he wanted to get. Despite, his need of getting something for himself, he knew it would be wrong to. But he had to have it. He had to just get that set of samurai swords he had been eyeing for some time now. They were black with the design of a green dragon on it. And he just felt that he needed to get it before there would be no more. He looked around, hoping to find one of the people who worked in the store.

Then an old Chinese man stepped out from the back greeting him with a bow as Tommy bowed back in return. The older man had glasses, and seemed to be wise beyond a line of stories and wisdom for the younger generations. He was dressed in black dress pants with a white shirt and blue vest. He looked over at the man in black before looking up at the display of weaponry on the wall and locked in the glass.

"You interested?" the Chinese man asked in a simple statement.

Tommy nodded as he found his eyes lay on the very set of swords he had seen earlier in the month. The ones with the black covering with the green dragon on it. It seemed to reflect him in so many ways, and he just had to get a hold of it. He pointed them out as the older man moved to pull the display off the shelf and place it before him.

Tommy pulled out the longest sword turning it in his hands before pulling it out of the sheath to see the shiny sharp metal inside. He knew that this was one of only places in the city that could provide only the best in the Oriental/Asian culture. Trent and Ethan joined their mentor at the counter, eyeing the sword with their own affection. Each of them had their own interest in whipping up their own Oriental decorative collection.

From the back of the beaded curtains another figure emerged to greet the customers. It was a Chinese woman, much younger than the man, dressed in a typical yellow Chinese dress shirt with black dress pants that hugged against her small body. She didn't seem to look that much older than Tommy, if not the same age. She had greeted them with a smile, holding up a sword that seemed to have just been shipped in from a foreign land. Not sheathed, it shined in a brightness that seemed to catch Tommy's eye.

Absently, as if by calling of that new sword, he placed the samurai sword back on the display and moved over to where the Chinese woman had placed the sword on the counter. The sword in itself seemed to be cut into perfection as it slowly jutted away from the base of the handle and curve up and away. A little emerald-like gem was encrusted to the top of the blade. The handle was black with gold trimming, that if he wasn't mistaken could almost pass up as his brachio staff, with the design of a dragon intertwined with a tiger in its grasp. On the bottom was a ruby-like gem to finish it off.

For a moment, Trent and Ethan had gawked over the beauty of the blade, but had no words to really say what they thought of it. Tommy moved over it, running his fingers against the shiny metal, speechless. Mindlessly, he pulled up the sword, the handle in itself seemed to melt and find comfort in his hand like he had wield it his entire life. He swung it about, feeling a sense of power for holding it. There was a line of feelings he had yet to describe as he slowly moved it about in his hand. And he had not quite realized it, nor did the teens, that once he touched that sword, his eyes seem to glow with a hint of green.

"This is a very good buy," the accent of the Chinese woman spoke up with a nod. "It just came in today. And there is nothing else like it in the world."

"Seems to fit your grip just fine," the elder Chinese man nodded.

Tommy nodded slowly as he looked over at the Chinese duo and back at the sword. He didn't know, but it seemed like the sword was calling him to hold it in his grasp. To have it. And he felt like it was an extension of his soul as if the sword was always his. He almost felt like he has felt this way before, having great power, but couldn't seem to put his finger on it. He had to admit, though, he sorta liked it.

Within minutes, he had made the purchase, walking out of the store with his new prize.

The two store clerks watched him go as they retreated to the back of the store. All tied up on the floor were the two real owners of the store as the tow imposters dropped their disguise to reveal the very images of the blue psycho ranger and the yellow psycho ranger. They turned and left through the back entrance without saying another word.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Billy, Hayley, Cam and Adam had been outside of the underground lab in the comfort of the woods trying out the latest weaponry. For the past week now, the care of the morphers had been entrusted to the technical directors as they began to program a new line of protection and weapons into each of them. But it wasn't easy. There was something different about their morphers, that the powers that were locked inside seemed to be on the only protection they needed, but weren't convinced.

Adam and Cam stood in the distance, swinging about the newly modified thundermax sabers, parrying and sparring. Now, glowing with what seemed to be a beam of light from both of them, one could literally call it a lightsaber. The distinctive color appeared blue and hummed to life with every swing, the energy from it, strong enough to cut through nearly everything. Billy and Hayley had fed the two of them with laser bolts and other flying objects, testing the durability of the laser swords. Each had cut threw the objects, absorbed the power of the laser or deflect its power seering the bark of trees as they flew through the woods.

They deactivated the power source, a crystal from the cave where Elsa found the source to drain their powers months ago, to its normal state. And with her hidden assistance to the team, she had helped them formulate a new line of weapons, powering up their weapons with something more. With her own background with weaponry, and the things she could remember from her time serving Mesogog, she was a great asset to the team and what they wanted to accomplish.

"Anyone ever heard of an actual lightsaber? This definitely isn't something CGI graphics are needed for. This is the real deal," Adam nodded looking over the saber in his hand.

"Do you think it is even wise for us to mention what we did to their weapons?" Cam asked as he handed the one he held in his hand back to Hayley.

Hayley looked over her new line of accomplishments, a smile to her face. With the flaws the technical team had gotten into regarding the weapons, they were getting closer to nailing the gun in its perfection. They had yet to modify the team's main weapons and look into some changes for their ranger suits as well. But they had not wanted to disturb the team until they were certain it was time to whip out the bigger artillery.

Billy held a device in his hand, running codes and programs to bring up energy readings in the hidden docking bay for the new bio-zords. He had been working closely with Cam to re-program the new zords, wondering and pondering how to create the megazord, if it ever came down to that. They were still missing the power source needed for the rangers to fully control the zords and they weren't quite sure what it was or where they could find it. They could only hope that they could find that source soon enough.

"So, what is the progress on the zords?" Adam asked sorta absently, but rather concerned for that project.

"Nothing yet," Billy shook his head. "We still haven't found a power source strong enough to keep the zords in check with their owner. After that experimental battle with them, they just can't seem to be functioning like they used to. The gems just aren't enough to power them up."

The technical team fell silent trying to figure out what they would possibly do next. With the weapons in constant check, and the fear that they wouldn't be ready in time for the epic battle, they didn't know what else wasn't ready for that big battle. Constantly, looking over their backs and trying to configure new equipment was harder to come up with at a time like this than before. There were so many things they had to keep in mind. Their enemy wasn't like those in the past and that's what worried them even more.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Hours passed.

The three Jedi had returned to the Oliver homestead and as if on cue, Kimberly, Conner and Kira had been waiting for their return. Tommy had quickly retreated downstairs to hide his new prize sword, hoping that his wife wouldn't find him with it. He had refused to tell her of his recent purchase, and there was just something about that sword...

"Took you guys long enough," Kira had said as the trio entered the living room.

Tommy had absently walked passed all of them as he headed into the kitchen to get something to drink. Since he had left that Oriental store in the mall, he had felt a little different. He didn't know how or why, but it felt like something inside of him was changing. Manipulating him. His thoughts didn't quite make any sense to him, even if he tried to push it away. He collapsed on the recliner, a bottled water in hand with some Tylenol as he rubbed the side of his head.

The heated dispute had continued between the rest of them, but he didn't seem to pull himself into it. He could only watch, groaning quietly as the headache seemed to get worse. He wasn't sure why, but he had hoped that it was nothing more than lack of eating or drinking enough water.

The argument had went on for some time until finally Ethan had blurted out something that caused the rest of the team to stop and look at the dazed black dino ranger. For a moment, no one had said anything when Kim made her wave over to her husband's side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, baby, you okay?" the woman asked quietly as she bent over to lay a kiss on his lips.

Tommy let out a breath as he shook his head. "I feel a little dizzy, and I'm not so sure why. Ever since we left the mall, I haven't been feeling so good."

"Now that you mention it, you look a little pale. No offense, Dr. O," Conner spoke up as he walked over to his science teacher.

Tommy shook his head as he groaned again, the pain returning as he lowered his head. Kim wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. She called out to him, but he didn't seem to respond. The other rangers slowly crowded around the two, but kept their distance as fear fell over each of them. They weren't sure what to make of the gesture, but didn't like he didn't seem to be himself.

A silence fell over the room as Tommy stopped, forcing air back into his lungs and looked around the room. His head no longer hurt, and it seemed like it was just his imagination. The others questioned if he was all right and he nodded in turn saying that it was just something that would pass in time. It wasn't a big deal.

And they had hoped that it was right, dropping any such thoughts of their previous argument and looking into their upcoming future. They had feared that Mindshatter was moving against them and fast, but had no clue how and hated the wait any longer.

**_To be continued..._**

_A/N: I figured I would leave it as that. There is a lot I'm still trying to compile with this whole epic battle. I hope I can figure out something that you guys can agree with. But see you when I do. And what about that sword? Does it ring some bell for you? Look back at a few of the other past references I have made and I hope I will make sense. But until another time, see you when I do. And thanks for the reviews and readers. Later daze. And May the Powers Always Protect You. And may the Force be with you always._


	42. Into Battle

**'TIL I COLLAPSE**- **_PART FORTY-TWO: INTO BATTLE_**  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The world falls into a deep slumber as the final battle slowly unwinds. The dino thunder rangers can only turn to the Ninjetti team for assistance and if they fail, no one will wake up again._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I ust wanted to continue on with PRDT because there was a lot missing from it that fanfic can fill in. The sky's the limit. So, enjoy it._

_A/N: So, you ready? I ain't gonna say much, but read on. Hope you like it. It was hard to develop._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"I never thought that our finally battle was going to be a whole lot more of a challenge than expected. But no matter what,  
we cannot give up or fall to his hand. We will prevail and we will be the ones holding the victory. Earth will never fall as long as we are around."-Eclyptyk Neo_  
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Sunday, May 8th, 2005. 8:30pm.

Tommy sat in the underground lab thinking quietly as he began to reflect on the past few months of his life. For the moments he had thought of his family-his daughter who would make him smile even in the worse of times, his wife who he loved with all of his heart, his unborn son and the possible thoughts of him upholding the traditions of being a ranger-happiness fell over him. He could never feel so happy and whole. Completed.

And he was glad that his team had settled the dispute over the whole Star Wars fiasco, as the trio had promised to watch the movies as much as the hardship of dealing with six plus hours of it. They would also have to play along with the whole Star Wars fanatic thing when the final movie came out in the following weeks. And in return, they would be tormented by their friend's requests. Trent and Ethan would get stuck being sparring buddies in Conner's soccer skills. Tommy would have to deal with a major shopping spree as well as spend some time in the kitchen trying to cook up something edible for the team. And with Conner's soft side, which the others didn't seem to realize he had, including Kira and Kim, forced the other trio into setting aside an entire day towards watching all of those sappy-romantic movies, which they weren't quite into.

But there was something else on Tommy's mind that night as he sat in the silence of the room. He knew that the technical team had worked hard to create a new line of weaponry, weapons that he had much to learn about. He had no idea what they would do, but hoped that they were worth it. But he didn't want to deny what the technical team did. They always seemed to pull through. But his concern laid in how their final battle would play out. He had no idea what was going on, or how their enemy was gonna approach it. And that's what scared him. He wasn't sure how far their enemy would go.

His eyes fell shut as the events of the previous day played in his head when he had bought that sword. He didn't know how to describe it. There was just something about it that he just couldn't clear his mind of. There was a calling to it. Forced him. Pleaded him. Begging him. To get that sword, and as he held it in his hands, swinging it about, he could feel its embrace fall into his mind. It was an extension of his soul. It had enlightened him with a whole new sense of power. It was indescribable.

But as he continued to keep his eyes shut, the painful images of his evil past played in his mind. Of his days as the first evil ranger, the day he thought he was the king to the Machine Empire, and the months where Mesogog had locked him up in his own set of evil plans. He was a pawn. A pawn in this game for the victory by both sides of the field. He had seen both sides of the field and he didn't like it. He hated it. His breath quickened as he tried to force it to stop, but the images seem to play faster as it struck him with an even bigger burden. Fear ran over his body as he pleaded for it to stop, but it just didn't seem to.

He found himself getting up and move to a hidden safe only he knew about at the other end of the room behind a display of dinosaur bones. He had slowly entered in the combination as he turned the knob and the safe opened. Tommy mindlessly pulled out the sword, freeing it from its sheath as he swung it about, grasping the handle as it melted into his embrace. A handle that was meant for his grasp alone. He felt the power behind the sword, the strength it seemed to possess.

For a moment, he felt the surge of evil rise up inside his body. His eyes glowed in a flash of green. He felt the power to destroy his enemies-in his friends. His purpose wasn't to serve Mindshatter, or was it? He seemed to re-calculate this new power. It was his alone. That once the other rangers were destroyed then he would move against Mindshatter and destroy him, taking the power to rule the world under what seemed to be the control of ... Mesogog? Or even for himself. It was too hard to tell.

He shook the images away as he heard footsteps from upstairs. He shot back into reality, slid the sword back into the safe, locking it and slid the bones in place to hide the safe. He retreated over to the main computer thinking quietly as he covered his face, catching his breath. He kept questioning himself asking why this was happening again. He knew what was going on, and didn't like it. Didn't want it to happen. He was becoming evil again, or so he thought, but it seemed like he just couldn't break out of it. He didn't want to, for some strange reason. Nor did he find the strength to tell anyone else about it.

"This is my battle," he told himself as he heard the footsteps on the stairs leading into the lab. "Come on, Tommy. This is yours. Don't let the others get involved."

"Involved in what?" another voice rang in his ears as he felt the arms wrap around him and a kiss was planted on his head. The woman he knew as his wife moved around to take a look at him, as he wrapped his arms around her. "Tommy? Handsome, is everything okay?"

Tommy caught his breath as he nodded, pushing the images of his evil past into the depths of his soul. He couldn't tell her. He didn't want to tell her, but he knew that she had a right to know. But he just didn't want to say it or find the real words to break it to her. "I'm okay. Just tired, Beautiful."

"Well, I figured," she nodded as she ran her hands through his spiky hair. She bent over and laid another kiss on his head as she felt him lay a few kisses on her stomach. "We need to get to bed. Gotta teach tomorrow, ya know."

Tommy nodded slowly as he sighed quietly. "Yeah, I know." He got to his feet as he laid a warm passionate kiss on his wife's lips. "Thanks, Beautiful, for always having my back."

"I'm here for you, baby. I won't leave you, okay?" she reassured him as she stood up on her tip-toes to kiss him on the lips.

Tommy wrapped his arms around her as they shared a moment in a hug and a series of kisses before heading upstairs and off to sleep. But Tommy still wasn't feeling like himself as he kept the headache to himself or the fear of being converted back to his evil ways. He had hoped that it was only the stress of the end of the year and nothing more. But as he dozed off into a deep slumber, the thoughts of destroying the other rangers played in his mind like a broken record. And he felt a line of rage run through him.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

7:00am, early morning. A few days later, May 11th, 2005.

The countdown was on until the teens could really say that graduation was within their reach. They had waited for more than half of their lives to feel the freedom from their young lives, and it was so close. But yet, so far. It was so much harder to grasp, especially fearing the powers of their newest enemy. A challenge in itself that they still had much to learn about, but was tired of dealing with it.

Conner and Ethan had walked through the school, trying to get the feeling that it was nearly over for them in only a matter of weeks. They just couldn't believe it. Their times in these hallways would merely be memories that they just wanted to leave. But weren't quite ready to do.

"I can't believe it," Conner breathed as he looked around the halls. "It's almost over."

"No kidding," Ethan nodded as he leaned up against the wall looking out at the other students, underclassmen with their own thoughts on graduation and moving on. "I just want it to end now."

The two graduating teens had to deal with too much in their lives as rangers, and at that moment, they could only hope and pray that those days before or after graduation wouldn't have to result in that epic battle they feared so much. They didn't know what to believe except that they just wanted it to end. They wanted to be normal teens again, or as normal as it could have gotten for a bunch of rangers.

Another figure came to join them, leaning against the wall beside the red dino ranger. Krista grabbed his hand looking from the two beside her to the other people in the hallways. For a moment, they had all fallen silent. Though, she still had much to learn about her place in the ranger circle, she didn't feel it was her place to get involved. She had to admit, it was a whole lot more burden off her shoulders for now knowing the truth, but she still felt a little betrayed for seeing that it took so long to hear the truth. But she didn't want that to stop what she already had with Conner, and glad to know that despite the times he wanted to tell her the truth, his commitment was true to being a ranger.

"After these last few months, I'm almost gonna miss this place. Or even all the mayhem we've been through," Krista had to admit as she began to recall all the memories of the past few months.

"I'm not sure I'm really ready to leave, ya know," Conner had to admit with a sigh. "I mean, these last two years have been bent around saving the world, and I almost felt like I never really went through my junior and senior year in high school."

Ethan thought about his friend's comment, and had to agree. He just couldn't believe that two years had gone by and his personal life had gone through a lot of changes. He had met new friends, faced new and unbelievable challenges, and even felt the sense of responsibility on an even grander scale. And here he was, on the brink of setting out into the real world, with a resume of several surprises. "It is a little hard to believe, but it has to end sometime, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Conner nodded.

"We must be prepared for wherever the road will take us, even if we're not ready to face it," Krista said recalling some of the inspirational words she had heard from the science teacher. She had come to acknowledge his words of wisdom, and had to admit that it was nice to hear them from time to time. As told by Conner, he had told her that the man had gone through a lot of hardship in his life, and he had learned a lot from each of his experiences. He had spread what he knew to those around him, always leaving a mark wherever he went. And that's what Krista had to admire about her science teacher. He would be well known in whatever he did and he was already on the top of everyone's list for staying in touch with in the future. He already left much behind in martial arts and his paleontology work, but there was so much more - more hidden talents - he had yet to release on the world.

"You know, you make that sound a whole lot easier than it is, and it really isn't," Ethan had to think through her words again. He knew that she was right, he just really didn't want to believe it. It was really hard to grasp for his own sake. That after two years of fighting, he may need to pass on his powers just like his mentor had done years ago when he gave up the Turbo powers. He wasn't quite sure if he could do it. He was more worried with if he had to and how well the next team would be when he was placed into retirement.

"I don't wanna scare you guys at all," Krista began as she saw the uneasiness in the two teenage boys. "I mean, I know it will be a big jump from what you're used to-what we're all used to- but it will be worth it in the end. It really will."

Conner and Ethan exchanged a look, but knew that she was right. That somewhere behind all of this mayhem, looking forward to the future will be worth all of the chaos, hardships, drama, etc. of living in the high school world of their lives. They wanted to move on, and knowing they had so many people behind them to support them, there was no way they were gonna stop here.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Despite their status as Prom King and Queen, Kira and Trent still seemed rather reserved about their relationship in the public eye. There were times where they were holding hands, but that was well beyond where they were. Fellow students would catch them exchange a quick kiss in the halls before running off into class, but as they tried to ask the two about their relationship, they never said much. Or they would catch sight of the two holding each other in the comfort of shade at lunch, sit close, an innocence that so many didn't understand, and only so few did. They didn't seem to see a point in going beyond it. It was no one else's business to get up in their love life, and if they were ready to hit the public eye, they would. But they didn't want to rush into it right away. It just wouldn't seem right, even with the end of the year coming up.

Hand in hand, Kira's head resting on her boyfriend's shoulder, the duo walked through the halls talking quietly. They had gotten used to the stares their way, but had to admit, at times, they were a little uncomfortable with the sudden fame. It wasn't like no one knew about Kira's little musical gigs or Trent's artistic talents, but their status had rose a little more when their status as Prom Court for 2005 had hit the school. It seemed to be a really big deal. They just didn't like that factor. It made it seem like if anything even went wrong, and even now, the worse of rumors would come their way.

"We got an audience again," Kira sighed quietly as she whispered into Trent's ear.

Trent briefly looked around him to see conversations stop, eyes falling on them, making him shift uncomfortably. He never wanted to admit that all those stares were starting to freak him out, he just never liked them. From time to time, people would go up to the couple, start up a conversation and possibly create a new line of friends, but other times, no one would say anything. And that bothered him. If you couldn't say anything at all to their faces, why bother trying to make a scene by looking at them in the first place. "It's nothing new. I just wish that it wouldn't have to be such a big deal, but to them it is. Why are they so concerned about us?"

"Why are you letting them get to you?" Kira asked as she pulled his face to look over at her. She laid a quick kiss on his lips. "It's hard not to avoid what we have. But don't let them get to you, baby. There's no point trying to fight them for that one. The only thing that matters is that we are together and that we know the truth, right?"

Trent let a smile pass his face. With the many times he felt left out in the dust, it seemed like Kira found a way to bring him back in the race. He had to admit with the times he had talked to his mentor about his relationship with the singer, his mentor had told him that it would sound much like his own in high school. But it seemed that Trent and Kira had more time to get to know each other during high school than Tommy had with Kim, or at least as his mentor had put it. "Yeah, of course. Thanks, maganda (Beautiful)."

Kira had to admit, she blushed any time she had heard even one word come out of Trent's mouth in another language complimenting her. It was never bad, of course not, but the way he had said it or would say it seemed to touch her in places no one else ever really could. She even admitted it to Kim about how Trent would tell her sweet nothings in Tagalog, fluent speaker, or even Spanish, a four-year veteran and loved to hear them. She had admired Trent for a long time, giving him credit of dealing with what he has gone through and how well he managed through it. And with as much traveling as he has done in his day, he had been able to pick up a few things from other cultures and languages, too. And with his status as an artist-and now as Prom King-he seemed well-rounded enough to interact with anyone, if he really wanted to.

Trent looked over at his girlfriend, noticing the silence, worry falling over him. Did he say something wrong? What bothered her? And why was she so quiet? "Hey, you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm cool." Kira blinked and nodded when she felt his lips brush up against hers briefly. She turned to look at him as they came to a halt around the corner to grasp the moment for themselves. She had framed his face in her hands as they shared a little more passionate kiss in the shadows of the dimmed hall. But it ended quickly when someone had cleared his throat behind them.

The two blushed for a moment, knowing who it was and hated that he would do it on purpose only to annoy them. They had quietly exchanged "I love you's" as Kira peered over Trent's shoulder to see their science teacher standing there almost like a gate, shielding them from the questioning eyes of others.

"Why do you do this on purpose, Dr. O?" Kira had to ask as she looked away, never getting used to their mentor's quick appearances out of nowhere. She swore half the time he really was spying through invisibility, which they felt was totally unfair to their privacy.

The science teacher shrugged as he noticed some of the watchful eyes of their peers. "Sometimes, I don't do it intentionally. I just run into you two or Conner and Krista, and I gotta keep you guys in check. I'm not trying to be rude at all, Kira."

"You sure make it seem like it sometimes," Trent sorta mumbled, but he knew his science teacher had heard him as he turned to see the teacher's raised eyebrow. "I mean, it's nothing personal to you, Dr. O. I'm sure you had your own share in these disruptive moments."

"Yeah," their science teacher nodded. "It'll never change. Trust me." He pointed to the ceiling counting down quietly as the bell rang to call in the start of another school day. "But it seems you guys need to get to class. I'll see you in a few, Trent. And catch you later, Kira." The science teacher flashed them both a peace sign and left them alone.

They exchanged another quick kiss before heading up the hall as Trent escorted his girlfriend to class.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Island fortress.

Mindshatter had sat silent in his chair thinking deeply about what he was about to do. He knew that he had waited a long time to do this, and there had to be no mistakes. There was no chance of mistake. This was the biggest battle he was about to face against his enemies, and he would do whatever it took to do it.

He had waited far too long to do this. He had prepared. Worked slowly, building up his remaining foot soldiers to run the game. He had hoped that he could tire out the team more than need be. That by the time they would face him and his newest creation, they could stand no chance against him. But first, he had to work out his own magic of mind control and his knowledge with the technology of Earth.

The blue and yellow psycho rangers stood beside him awaiting their own set of instructions and information on the battle. They wouldn't argue with him, but would only obey his command as they had hoped. They could only trust that he knew what he was doing and how far he would go to pull off a victory.

The universal soldier turned his head, his eyes glowing in a fiery red glare as his gaze fell over the Geno-Randomizer and the prize still hidden inside. For nearly a week now, the machine had been kept running, setting up the power and evil he was hoping to tap into. "They are merely an experiment for the return of our evil ranger." He turned to the psycho rangers questioning them to make sure if they really did pull off their part of the first set of plans.

They had nodded in turn, not wanting to argue with him at all. As far as they could tell, that sword in which the black dino ranger had purchased was far more powerful than they had thought. And it was important for him to get a hold of it. And with its calling and the way he had held it in his hand, it was almost as if he had held such power before. They didn't quite know how, or know the full background of their enemy in the black dino suit, but they knew and felt the rage for his destruction. He had destroyed two of their comrades already, they didn't want to be victims in his rage to destroy his enemies.

Mindshatter clenched his fists as his eyes glowed bright red with rage. He raised his fists into the air, barking out a command. "Let the battle begin."

He threw out his hand to the main computer by telekinesis, he had moved levers and pushed buttons entering in codes and saw the screen blink with a line of code. Blaring alarms fell over the entire room and then an image of Earth came on the screen. He watched as the shield created around the Earth through the satellite system had changed colors, set from blue to red, the shield acted as a coat over the entire planet. There was no way out of it or in it.

Mindshatter hissed with satisfaction as he watched the percent on the screen increase, waiting for it to hit maximum capacity, at 100. On a set of screens beside his chair, he watched as his victims, the human race, seem to slowly daze off.

"It has begun, Power Rangers," Mindshatter growled.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Minutes later.

Trent had sat rather dazed in AP Biology as his science teacher began to file out more information about the animal kingdom. It was clear that he really didn't care at all. By the end of the week, they would know all they needed to know to study for their final in the class. Their last science final in their high school careers, and they were rather happy for it. Dr. Oliver had promised the seniors that he would give it to them early, the following Monday, so they would have more time to just hang out in their final week of high school.

But when Dr. Oliver had gotten tired of seeing the heavy eyes of his students, he slammed his pointer into the chalkboard, catching their attention, but only for a brief moment. The rest of the students seemed to drop their heads a little more as they rested them against their hands, trying to stay up. Trent had stood up straighter as he rubbed the dazed feeling out of him, averting his eyes onto his teacher.

"I know it's a Wednesday, you guys, and you got a little under two weeks left, and you could careless about what I'm saying right now, but this is getting a little out of hand. Was there some big huge senior party last night and you all went and just didn't get any sleep?" Dr. Oliver had to blunt about the situation. He swore there would be a few students falling asleep, but not all of them.

"Why do you even bother with us anymore, Dr. Oliver?" Jon asked as he raised his hand, but dropped it quickly as he yawned. "You know senioritis has hit us faster than you could name all the phyla in the animal kingdom."

The science teacher removed his glasses as he looked over the ten students in his first hour AP Biology class. It just didn't make any sense to him. They were all looking a little more tired than usual, but it seemed to not affect Trent as much as it did the others. For a moment, he had averted his eyes to the skies outside, watching as he swore to see a faint red grid cast over the sky and disappear. He winced quietly as he felt a sudden rush of pain shoot up his arm as he caught himself against his desk. He let out a breath and groaned as he shook it away, hoping it was nothing.

"Well, there are a few of us who are in AP English who gotta finish reading a novel by the end of the week, Dr. Oliver," Kevin stated.

"And I don't understand how you guys can be multi-tasking by reading that book and listen to me at the same time...," the science teacher said as he shook his head. "Actually, you probably aren't paying attention to me or really reading, but make it look like you are just so I won't rat on you for falling asleep in class. And I guess that's okay, but even with these two weeks you got left, you can still flunk a class."

"But we all basically have a good grade in here," Jennifer yawned as she wrapped an arm around her boyfriend, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Actually, I got a few of you, I won't name who, with a borderline grade. I don't pass you if you get a D in this class," the science teacher stated. He held up a hand to stop the protests from starting. "I don't care if this is an AP class. You guys are seniors, and I refuse to see anyone with a D in my class. If you do, I will flunk you. That's my policy, not the school's, I know. But you decided to take this class, and I make the rules for it."

The students fell silent, despite the feeling of needing to go to bed. They were tired. They all were, except for Trent and the teacher, himself. Soon, four of them just couldn't seem to hold on anymore and hit the table. But only moments later, one by one, the rest of the students followed. Trent had already gotten off his chair as the science teacher moved from his place behind the desk to the sleeping teens. The duo exchanged a look as they slowly checked for a pulse on two sleeping figures. For a moment, they thought they might have died, but they were only sleeping. In a deep slumber as Trent tried to shake his friend Calvin awake, but he didn't respond. But their pulses were slower than usual for someone sleeping, and they all felt cold, looking a little pale.

"There's something wrong here," Trent began as he backed away, fear running over his body, as he moved toward the door.  
The science teacher nodded slowly as he followed the teen in white out into the hall. They moved over to the next science room, seeing the motionless, sleeping figures. Rushing over to check for a pulse, the beat of their heart was very slow. It was almost like their battery had run out, and they were in need of a recharge. They rushed over of the sleeping room peering into other rooms to see the same fate as the others in the hallway. They raced up the hall in a panic.

There was a major problem. And they knew as a sinking feeling fell the two of them. They heard the echoing footsteps from up the hall as they saw the red, yellow and blue dino rangers heading their way. Their own faces were lit with fear and worry. In the silent hall, a motionless sleeping body here and there sprinkled it as they came to a halt in front of the science teacher's classroom.

"What's going on, Dr. O?" Kira asked as her breath slowly came back. She had reached over to grasp her boyfriend's hand, despite the seriousness in their status as heroes, they were freaked. They all were. Something was not right about all of this.

The man in black shook his head. "Guys, I think we're about to face our biggest battle against Mindshatter."

"But the technical team isn't ready with our morphers," Conner protested. He knew, as did the others, that they were still in need of getting their morphers back. The technical team had them in their possession for some time, and would be returning it to them by the end of the week. But they were also glad because it brought them back into the reality of thinking about being normal. But now, it wasn't. It was time to get a little serious about the situation and gear up for a new line of events.

"So, what about everyone falling asleep, Dr. O?" Ethan asked. "Do you think it's apart of Mindshatter's plan?"

The science teacher nodded his head. "I think it is, and it is clear that something is wrong. Mindshatter must have placed some sorta sleeping sleep on the city, if not Earth itself."

"So, why aren't we affected?" Conner asked.

"Ranger powers. It's protecting us against it, which brings me to question," Tommy thought for a moment. He pulled out his cell phone, but noticed that it was out of service. He instructed his team to pull out their own cell phones...

"But we're not allowed to have our cell phones out during school," Ethan protested. "Only before and after school outside..."

"Do you see anyone here to stop you?" Kira asked him, shaking him back into reality.

Everyone else in school was fast asleep. Their mentor had instructed each of them to check in on the other rangers residing in Reefside, but they all had no service on their phones either. None of them would be getting a reply from anyone. And it made their stomachs sink even more. They didn't want to believe that they were the only ones left to fight Mindshatter. But with no responses, it made it worse. They would have no assistance where they knew they needed it the most. And they prayed that it wasn't true. But they had to do what they had to do to get it done.

But first, they had to get to the underground lab and get their morphers back. Then figure out where to go from there. They could only hope that they knew what they were about to face.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The dino team had made it back to the Oliver homestead at speeds no one could describe. But with a city in siege by Mindshatter, there was no one to stop them. No police. No other civilians. The streets were quiet, but rather hard to get through considering the sleeping figures in cars. Horns echoing throughout the city where people hit the horn as they dozed off. People lined the sidewalks as another chill would fall over the team. They never felt so alone in a world they were protecting. No one was there to witness their battles, and they had no idea how far Mindshatter was willing to go to get his way.

Racing into the house, Tommy bolted through the house in search of his wife. She had been feeling a little ill that morning and called in sick. He had hoped that she was in the house, but didn't want to face the fact that she was asleep when it looked like she was more dead. He called out her name as he raced to their bedroom, but found no one there.

The teens were already moving to the stairs in the study when they heard a few steps from within the lab coming up their way. As the latch fell open and the hidden door moved, both sides fell into a defensive stance despite the screaming that came from each end.

The red ninja ranger nearly fell down the stairs, but Adam grabbed him before he could fall. Each of them caught their breaths as they stepped out into the study to greet the teens. Both of them were donned in the newly modified ninja suits, which they had not worn in several months. The teens were just as freaked, still catching their breaths and relaxing a little to see the two ninjas standing before them.

"We thought you guys might have fallen asleep too with the rest of the city," Conner stated as he felt his breath returning.

"We thought you guys might have, too," Rocky said. "But it isn't just the city, it's the entire world."

"What!" the teens breathed.

Footsteps echoed throughout the hall as an out of breath Tommy nearly collapsed into the study as the black ninja and the white dino ranger grabbed him. For a moment, his head was spinning with the thoughts of his evil past but he shook them away quickly.

Adam tapped him on the chest catching his attention. "Relax, Tommy. Kim's downstairs with the rest of us."

The team slowly moved out of the study and into the underground lab. The teens could only question what the medical doctor meant by the rest of them, but could only find the other ninja rangers there. No one else. No other ranger. Not even their technical director who worked the cyber cafe in her free time. Just the ninja rangers. And when Tommy had cleared the final set of steps, Kim had rushed over pulling him into a tight hug as he laid a kiss on her lips. For a brief time, they had spent the moment grasp in each others arms, but as soon as the blue ninja began to explain the situation, they turned back into serious mode joining the rest of the team at the main computer.

"I've been running a diagnostic over the past hour since the city began to fall asleep," Billy stated, but shook his head. "I've concluded that Mindshatter has somehow used the satellite systems to act as a sorta catalyst to start up a sleeping spell that has hit the entire world."

"So, everyone else in the world is asleep? Including the other rangers?" Ethan asked as he looked over the codes on the screen. It was clear that Billy was limited to what he could and couldn't do, most of the communications were down. Satellite images were scrambled. Technology seemed to be on a stand still except for the few devices left in the lab itself.

"That's what I noticed," the technical director nodded.

"So, why weren't you guys affected?" Conner asked as his gaze fell on the red ninja ranger standing beside him.

"Ever heard of cryogenic sleep?" Billy asked as Ethan nodded, but the others still seemed confused. "It seems that Mindshatter sent a sorta shield to shut down the Earth and put them into it. Temperatures have already dropped almost ten degrees throughout the entire world. It's almost like he is setting up another ice age..."

"Time out. It still doesn't answer my question about how you guys aren't asleep, but the rest of the world is," Conner protested.

Ethan had exchanged a look with his friend in white, who he knew was a fan of the sci-fi era. And as they seemed to exchange thoughts mentally, they seemed to make sense of the situation more and more as the information was filed out. Let alone, they were rather the only other experts in the field of new age technology.

"'They say most of the brain shuts down in cryogenic sleep'..." Rocky began quietly as his eyes fell on the blue dino ranger.

"'All but the primitive side,'" Ethan and Trent seemed to voice in unison as they shook their heads as if it was second nature to what was going on. Ever since their powers had been combined with the other powers, the ninja powers included, they had grown accustomed to a whole new world.

"'The animal side'..." Tommy finished as he overheard their comment. "So, that's why you guys didn't fall asleep. The primitive side of you is keeping you awake."

Aisha smiled as she patted the man in black on the back. "Gives us a new name for having these ninja powers. I mean, we might have fed up some of that ninja knowledge into these guys, but that whole spiritual thing/primitive side will always be ours."

"I can tell," Conner sighed hoping they wouldn't get anymore complicating than that. He already felt lost in the entire situation, and had to go about his best judgment when it came to figuring out what was really going on.

"Now, before we can make any real conclusions about what is going on, I'd like to break it to you that most of the technology around this lab has shut down. It will do us no good in battle," Billy instructed as he moved to a metal casing box. He pulled it open, tossing the dino rangers back their morphers. Each in turn returned it to their respective place on their wrist. He moved to another box beside it, pulling it open. "Now, these have yet to work at all. Of course, we all know that the original power coins were destroyed. But Hayley, Cam and myself have been working around trying to reconnect a link to morphing, if not give us some added protection in battle," He opened it up to reveal six other morphers donned with the heads of the ninja rangers' animal spirit, similar to the dino morphers.

The ninja rangers moved over to the box, each gawking over the design to their designated animal spirit. It was all side shots of their given animal, and it was clear none of them had expected this at all.

"Don't tell me you knew this was gonna happen and had these waiting?" Rocky asked as he reached over and grabbed the morpher marked with the head of an ape.

"Just in case. You could never be over-prepared for anything," Billy shrugged as he lifted the case off the table, turning to the rest of his teammates. The other ninjas slowly retrieved their respective morpher, looking it over in their hands, falling silent.

"But I thought you guys can't morph at all. The morphing grid was tampered with," Kira began as she looked over at the two other females in the room. The look in their eyes was of confusion and fear, but of eagerness to help join the battle. But Kira had to admit, she was a little worried about Kim since she knew exactly what her husband's reaction would be to it.

"Exactly," Bill managed to say with a smile. "But what Mindshatter and many evil beings don't realize is what power we hold as ninja rangers. We were, after all, fused with the knowledge of the ancient ninja as well found our primitive sides, which needs no morphing grid to work. With these, it will protect us in battle. I mean, it's not the nice fancy suits you guys got, but the power in these things will be better suited if we go into battle."

"This is a lot to take in," Aisha had to admit as she moved over to her friend in pink's side. She had locked an arm around the woman's arm, comforting her with the fear of not joining in battle. She had seen the look on Tommy's face the moment that case was opened, he wasn't too happy at all.

But the team had fallen silent as their eyes averted to the black dino ranger, now holding two morphers in his possession. He had looked at the one marked with the falcon on it with fear and confusion. The other dino rangers had walked over to him, wondering what he would do with such power. The numerous occasions where power was almost undescribable and indestructible. And he had seen power on scales no one else could describe but him. He was, after all, apart of the original prophecy as the sixth and most powerful ranger to the team.

"Man, T, you really got stuck teetering on the edge now, didn't you?" Rocky managed to say, hoping to lighten the mood in his friend, but he was still upset. The red ninja took a step back saying nothing more.

Tommy shook his head as he fixed the other morpher to his right wrist. He turned his attention to the trio of woman who seemed to question most about the status of the pink ranger on the team. "I will not risk it, Kim. If this is really leading up to the final battle, then you are to remain here in the protection of the lab. You're grounded."

"Now, time out, Tommy," Aisha protested as the pink ranger turned away, saying nothing more. It was clear that she didn't want to argue with her husband's words, but Aisha wasn't gonna have it that way. She refused to see it end like this, after all this time to ground Kim despite what these morphers could provide for them. "You can't just go off and say that. She is just as much a help to us as anyone here."

Billy took a step forward, but was rather bashful to state what was on his mind. "Now, hang on, Tommy. With these morphers, it will enhance our ninja powers. Meaning, it will almost be like Kim wouldn't be pregnant. She'll be able to move about like any one of us here."

Tommy shook his head, not listening to the gestures made by his friends. "No. End of story. Kim will remain here until the battle is played out. I don't care how bad it is. She's not going out on that battlefield no matter what. There will always be the 'what if's' in life, ya know. And you said that these things were only experimental, meaning they could possibly destroy you guys in the run, too." The man turned to the medical doctor shaking his head. "Adam, you remember what happened last time you tried to morph with a broken coin..."

"But, Tommy, that's not the point," Adam shook his head. "That was the actual ranger suit. If you look back at every battle we've faced since then, the suit itself didn't exist. Only our ninja suits. And didn't you hear what Billy said. These things aren't exactly like the morphers. They'll only provide us the protection we need to help you in battle."

The teens exchanged a line of looks, making it clear that they knew this argument would go on longer than expected. But what could they say that would convince their mentor and predecessors that this was the world in their hands. They had to get down to business, but how far? Satellite images were down and even if they tried to figure out where the Psycho Rangers were gonna attack, or the cybots, or even Dinoshade and Mesogog, they would have no idea where to start. They were on their own for that. But they had a job to do.

And due to the dispute over the older rangers, it had the young teens ponder even more if they would ever turn out that way. That they just couldn't find a way to agree years down the road, bickering in ways adults seemed to do. But getting older always has its disadvantages as well as advantages from time to time.

The red dino ranger took a step forward, clearing his throat. And when that didn't work, he whistled, calling attention to the older rangers. "Look, I get that this is all a matter of protection and all, but right now, we got to think about the rest of the world here, too." He turned to look at the technical director dressed in blue. "Billy, do you have any other vital information about this cryogenic sleep the world is under?"

Billy took his place at the main computer, running codes and a series of keywords bringing up what he could. He shook his head as he turned to look at his teammates. "As far as I could tell is if we fail to bring down Mindshatter, no one else may ever wake up again."

"That's not a good selling point," Rocky stated as he became more serious about the situation.

"Of course not," Adam shook his head. "That's exactly how Mindshatter wants it."

"Did we ever figure out why Mindshatter never found it in his heart, if he has one, to not destroy the people of Mirinoi?" Kira asked, one of many questions that was bothering her for the longest time. And as her young teammates looked over at her, it was clear they, too, were wondering what the answer to that question was, among many others.

Billy shook his head, sadly. "Unfortunately, I have no clue. And we probably never will."

"What we need to focus on now, is on the here and now," Tommy instructed. "My guess is that Mindshatter is gonna play with our minds. Set up tricks and force us to face our biggest fears to disrupt us from battling. So, we gotta be prepared for anything. For now, I request that the ninja rangers stay here until we can scout out the city and find out if Mindshatter has made any other moves."

The older rangers didn't find it right to argue with him. He may have been strict when it came to giving orders, especially when he truly meant it, and none of them wanted to make the situation any worse than it already was. But they could only hope that they knew what he was doing and why. The legendary ranger turned to his teammates, instructing them to morph.

Tommy followed suit as Conner instructed the teens to lift their morphers into place, giving out the morphing call to their ranger powers. "Dino Thunder! Power up!"

"White Ranger! Dino power!" Trent announced his own call.

And when the light had cleared from the five rangers, they stood in the lab suited up for battle. For the moment, they watched as their suits began to glow to life as a new power seemed to fill their bodies and mind. Since the work done by the technical team, the dino rangers didn't have the chance to see what modifications had been made. Their suits, all and all were still looking shiner despite the many battles they had faced. They turned to the ninja rangers, who had nothing much to say to their young successors. But they could feel the new power inside them.

"Billy, keep us informed if you can," the black dino ranger stated as the team left the lab.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

On their respective vehicles, ATVs and cycles, the dino rangers came to a halt in downtown Reefside. Getting off, they began to look around at the motionless, sleeping bodies and the immediate area. But as they moved, there was a sense of sickness and loneliness in each of their hearts. They felt like if they failed ... no, if they did fail, no one else would wake up again. And even they might be destroyed in the long run of the battle. They had to face the responsibility of being heroes, and up to this point, they were almost wishing they weren't the ones with the powers to do it.

Tommy looked over at his young teammates, sensing their loneliness, fear, worry and mixed feelings boiling in each of them. He had to admit that he too, was scared. And as he tried to stable himself, it felt like once he had morphed, a new side of him had taken over. A side he just couldn't seem to control and didn't like. But he couldn't reveal it to his team. They would plummet just as far as he did if they knew what was going on in his mind. This was his battle, but one that would have to wait. He had to focus on what was going on right now.

"C'mon guys, I know what you're thinking. Don't be discouraged. You'll be dealing with a lot of pressure in your life, but you gotta remember that it is these battles and pressures will only make you a stronger person," the black dino ranger spoke up.

"You can't expect that to be entirely true, Dr. O," Ethan had to admit as a heavy sigh fell from his lips. "After all the battles we've faced, I don't think there could ever be one that matches up to this. I mean, this is some serious stuff. Look around..."

"But Dr. O's got a point, Ethan," Kira stopped her friend from saying anything more. "This will be hard. But we gotta job to do. There's no one else here to protect the planet."

"But if we fail..." Conner let out a breath.

The black dino ranger cleared his throat walking over to his team. "Don't do this guys. I know we're all feeling a little freaked about all of this. But this is exactly what Mindshatter is trying to do to us. This is just phase one of his plan. By making us believe that we won't win. Hang in there, guys. Keep your heads up and don't let him get to you at all."

"Speaking of that..." Trent stated as his eyes were directed toward the shadows.

The team's gazed followed suit with the white ranger as they saw a line of cybots emerge from one darken alley. Five more appeared from another alleyway, and soon another set. As the team frantically looked in front of them to the ones behind them, they were surrounded by the foot soldiers, all with weapons raised and aimed at them. Switching positions, the team stood back to back, weapons drawn waiting and watching. Sweat beaded down their faces as they waited. They slowly moved, back to back, watching the foot soldiers and waiting for their attack. But they didn't seem to budge right away, and that's what was making them nervous.

"I'm counting about 30 of them," Ethan replied. "Anyone have any other comments regarding this could very well be the remains of his foot soldiers?"

"I'm right behind you on that, Ethan," Trent nodded as he let a breath escape his lips. "And they don't look at all easy to defeat."

"Do you think Mindshatter charged these guys up to the max to give us a real run for the money?" Conner asked as his grip tightened on his blaster.

"How about we don't find out and move now?" Kira asked hoping it was their cue to move.

"No." the black dino ranger shook his head. "Wait for them. We won't attack until they do. Keep your eyes open for anything else."

But out of nowhere, two streaks had entered the battle, striking the rangers as they tried to attack, but missed every time. A punch there and a kick there sent the rangers flying around like ping pong balls as they hit the ground wincing and groaning in pain. When they finally found the strength to move, they looked up to see the blue and yellow psycho rangers standing before them. For a moment, the teens were frozen in fear. If they were already dealing with 30 cybots, they didn't need to have the psycho rangers on their tails either.

Tommy pushed out a painful breath as he got to his feet, gripping his arm. He glared at the two psycho rangers despite the helmet that shielded his facial expressions. But it was clear he had had enough of the psycho rangers and their reign of mayhem on the team. They had to go. He pulled out his brachio staff approaching the two unmoved evil rangers. Without even looking back at his teammates, he instructed them to take care of the cybots. "Guys, take care of the cybots. These two are mine."

The teens were about to argue with him, but had already gotten caught up in a crossfire with the army of cybots. Conner and Ethan had rolled over to the left while Trent and Kira and rolled to the right. In an instant, laser fire and arrows flew from the four dino rangers as they moved against the cybots. But the cybots seemed to move faster, moving between the blasts as they bombarded the four teens forcing them back.

They hit the ground groaning in pain, feeling the rush of anguish fall over them. They didn't want to be defeated by a group of cybernetic soldiers with a soul purpose to destroy.

Conner winced under the pain as he slowly got to his feet shaking his head. "We can't let them win!"

Trent pushed him aside just as another line of laser fire fell their way. "How can we defeat them if they don't even understand when to stop until they've accomplished their goal?" They were shielded behind a building catching their breaths.

Kira and Ethan pulled out their thundermax sabers watching it glow brightly in their hands. And when Ethan had extended out his hand, the saber began to hum and light up to a bright blue. For a moment, he was frozen in the thoughts of what the weapon was doing. And when a line of fire came their way, he deflected shots, sending them back toward the cybots. A few of them fell over, but more came where the others fell.

"Is that what I think it is?" Trent looked over at him.

Ethan breathed as he looked over the saber again. It began to hum as he swung it about, and as the laser fire continued to come his way, as if by an invisible force, guided him through the bolts as he parried and deflected the shots back toward the cybots. They were going down, but within minutes, they had recovered.

Kira was about to touch the blade of the saber, but Trent stopped her warning her that the power behind it could slice through her like nothing. Kira followed suit, helping her teammate out, but could not believe what was going on.

"Dude, this is practically a lightsaber," Ethan nodded as he zoomed past two approaching cybots. He cut through them like they were butter as they collapsed to the ground in a heap of scrap metal.

Trent stopped short as he used his laser arrows to avert attention away from him. But he had seen what happen when the two cybots fell to the hands of Ethan's saber. And he watched as Kira had done the same to two more. Conner had used his blaster and whipped it into saber mode as he saw it glow to life in a high energy of power. And when Trent had looked down at his own drago sword, concentrating on the powers of the gem, he watched it glow to life and die out. In a fluid movement, he launched another set of laser arrows that cut through the cybots, leaving them with holes as they hit the ground, three more down.

"Whoa!" Trent breathed as he caught the blow from one cybot as he went into hand-and-hand combat with it.

On the other side of the area, Tommy had moved against the two psycho rangers at speeds no one could really describe. He could feel the power of the falcon guide him through the battle as he used the wits of his dino gem to keep him from never losing his stride. He worked around their attacks, using his ninja powers and invisibility to his advantage.

But where he had hoped for the psycho rangers to fall, they didn't seem to. They were moving just as fast, keeping him on his guard all the time. He had no chance to catch his breath, and with two strong and powerful beings going up against him, it seemed harder for him to keep up. And he was still had a disadvantage. He just wasn't as fast as he was years ago. But then again, his powers now couldn't even compare to what he had in the past. His powers now were guided by more than just the black dino gem, but his falcon spirit. The pure white light of the tiger and even the hint of rage from his dragon powers.

The blue psycho ranger finally caught a hold of the black dino ranger, locking him in his embrace as the yellow psycho ranger moved against him, sending out attacks that sent the black ranger to his knees. Upon the impact, he let out a painful breath as he collapsed to the ground before the two psycho rangers.

"Pathetic," the psycho rangers bellowed as they moved toward the black dino ranger.

"Dr. O!" Kira cried out as she seem to see the motionless body of her mentor lay before their enemies. She zoomed past the cybots, swinging about her thundermax lightsaber sending two more to the grave. She let out a ptera scream sending the two psycho rangers back as she raced over to her fallen mentor. She helped him to his feet as he let out an exhausted breath. "You all right?"

Tommy nodded slowly. But his thoughts were suddenly jumbled when the two psycho rangers moved against them. He pushed Kira aside kicking the yellow psycho ranger to the ground, but locked arms with the psycho blue. They fought in close hand-to-hand combat but at the last second, Tommy let out an invisible force that sent psycho blue flying several feet into the air. Tommy let out another breath as he collapsed to the ground, his vision blurred as Kira wrapped her arms around him, pulling him to his feet. It was clear she could sense his weakened self, but had not known why, and was only trying to protect him.

"C'mon, Dr. O. Stay with me," Kira pleaded as she dragged him behind the comfort of a car.

Tommy winced as he felt the ground on his back. Pain shot up his entire body as the yellow dino ranger stood over him, trying to keep him awake. But for some strange reason, he was growing weaker as the battle went on. He had no idea why, but could only conclude that it had to do with the battles he had already faced throughout his years. And it was only that.

Kira shielded the man for only a minute as laser fire fell their way. She pulled out her saber, swinging it high deflecting shots and sending them back the way they came.

"Go, Kira. I'll be fine," the black dino ranger stated as he slowly got to his feet. He used the car as a support beam, and it was clear that Kira didn't want to leave her mentor behind. But had to take his word for it; her other teammates needed her help.

She nodded in turn, wished him luck and turned to rejoin her young comrades in battle. Tommy forced air back into his lungs as he felt the strength return to his legs. But he didn't get very far when the familiar faces of the psycho rangers appeared before him each holding a stance waiting for his move.

"You know, I am sick of the two of you," Tommy growled. "Why don't you just give up now?"

"We can't do that, Black Ranger," psycho blue replied darkly.

"We have our orders. And we must follow them," psycho yellow stated.

"You really don't want to mess with me," Tommy shook his head. He pulled out his brachio staff again, feeling its grip melt into his hands as he swung it about. For a moment, he watched it glow to life, but there was something else about it. A power that seemed to fill his entire body with the strength he needed to end the very existence of the psycho rangers for good.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Underground lab.

Billy had gotten the traffic cameras to work toward his advantage, but there was still a lot of bugs to work out. The satellite images were no match to fix or obtain even if he tried. He would have to get in the mainframe network on the island fortress. The rest of the ninja rangers could only watch from behind his skilled fingers as he worked around compiling enough data that could suit them. Adam was the only other guy who had some background knowledge in computers, despite what time Rocky would spend in front of it.

Aisha was still discouraged with the words of their leader's request as she kept the pink ninja company on a set of stone blocks on the other side of the room. It was clear that in time of great need, she didn't want to put Kim's life on the line, but she had wanted her to help. But as far as they could tell, they had been grounded by the falcon ranger for the sake of hoping they wouldn't be needed at all. But it was hard to tell.

It would only make sense for their assistance. The rest of the world had fallen into a deep slumber, and they were the only ones unaffected by it next to the dino rangers. It only made sense for why they were awake. They were needed. Maybe not now, but hopefully sometime in the upcoming future.

For a moment, Billy let out a frustrated breath, running his hands through his hair shaking his head. The red and black ninja rangers stood beside him wondering what was going on. Aisha nudged Kim as she helped her to her feet as they walked over to the main computer.

"What's up, Billy?" Aisha asked with much curiosity.

"Did you find anything?" Kim asked.

Billy shook his head as he tried to make sense of what was going on. "There's something wrong. Extremely wrong."

"What is it?" Adam asked as he noticed the fear run through his friend in blue.

The four ninja rangers crowded around the screen watching the battle unfold on the screen. They watched as the two psycho rangers were advancing toward the lone black dino ranger. The other rangers were busy with the cybots, doing away with them. But they still had much to learn about their enemies as more seem to come where others had fallen. For a number of 30 troops, they were still fast enough. They weren't like the cybots before. These ones had real skill and strategy against their enemies which had the rangers work a little harder to defeat them. But with their hands full, they didn't seem to notice much of what was going on with the Psycho Rangers and the black dino thunder ranger.

"Can't you get any sound out of those things?" Rocky asked, noticing there was no audio as they watched the fight unfold.

"That's what I've been working on for the last 10 minutes, but these cameras aren't fixed with it. And other communications regarding the rangers is still down."

"But you mentioned that something was extremely wrong with the battle," Kim stated as she tried to make sense of what was going on. She had looked at the screen again, watching the split image of the battle, one with the teens against the cybots and another with the psycho rangers against her husband. Yet, as she watched him grip the staff tightly in his hands, she had noticed something different about his stride. She just didn't know what.

"I did. The staff he holds in his hand is not his brachio staff," Billy announced.

"What do you mean!" Aisha breathed, obviously being the first to say something. But it was clear that none of them had not quite seen the difference in his weapon. A weapon was a weapon, and they swore that the weapon he held in his hands did belong to him. "That looks like the brachio staff to me!"

Adam had thought for a moment as he raced over to another table where a metal case stood. He unlatched it and pulled it open to reveal the brachio staff inside. He looked it over quickly before pulling it out of the case and racing back to the team. For a moment he looked from the screen the weapon he held in hands trying to figure out what exactly what was going on. He watched as Tommy had zoomed past the Psycho Rangers swinging his staff high and around their blows, striking them both as they hit the ground. But then he watched the blade of the staff glow slightly in a hint of green and traveled up the blade to the golden tip. And he watched as it had formed an emerald-like gem on the very top. "Did you see that! What the hell is that?"

Rocky looked from the brachio staff Adam had held in his hands to the one he saw over the screen. For a moment he had no clue what was going on, until Kim had snatched the staff from Adam's grasp as her grip tightened around it. She swung it about, feeling its presence and almost feeling the energy of the brachio spirit within it.

"So, what are you saying? The staff he has in his hands isn't what you guys have been working on?" Aisha asked.

Billy turned to look at his teammates as he watched Kim swing about the saber. It was clear she still wasn't convinced that the one her husband held was a decoy, but the one she held seemed feasible enough to pass as his weapon. He shook his head. "We worked closely with Tommy's staff trying to set up more energy on it, but hadn't had the time to re-program it to respond to the morpher. I've created a locator for each weapon, and it was like the brachio staff never left the room. It has been here the entire time."

Silence fell over the five ninja rangers as they looked over their options again. Kim had handed over the brachio staff to Billy as he turned it over in his hands, stating the details that could tell it apart from the other weapon. But before he could continue, Rocky had cut him short.

"So, time out! If this is the brachio staff, then what the hell is in Tommy's hand?"

Their eyes fell on the battle again as they watched the black dino ranger send out an energy orb, but there was something different about it. It glowed in a hint of green and it had encased both psycho rangers and himself. With lightning fast reflexes, they all bolted out of the room, not taking their chances. It was clear they were beginning to understand the nature of the attacks, more powerful, much more deadly that only meant one thing. And they had hoped that it was not true at all. That it was only a dream and that their friend wasn't going to become a victim of his own evil reign once again.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The teens were knocking down the cybots with ease, despite the fast reflexes they seemed to obtain. The four rangers had been too preoccupied with their own problems to notice the stride of the mentor. Conner had raced passed two more cybots his saber held high and swinging deflecting shots and slicing them down to size. Ethan and Kira worked double team against five more cybots, taking them out as they advances toward a wall. Trent sent arrows flying as a means to send laser bolts in the direction of the arrows, almost like heat-seeking missiles. And the times where the cybots were confused about where their shots had gone, Trent had disposed of them with ease.

The area fell silent as the four teens met each other in the center of the carnage and scrap heap of metal all around them. Metal wiring singed the air with the aftermath of laser fire all around them, several metal pieces still smoking from the battle. With weapons locked in the protection of their morphers, they caught their breath and relaxed.

Conner looked around at the carnage, letting a breath return. For a moment, he felt slightly weak and shaken, but glad that this part of the battle was over. He was exhausted, and so were his teammates. "That was tough."

"No doubt," Ethan sighed. "But I am so glad to have these weapons, compliments of the technical team."

"Without them, this might have been our last battle yet," Kira said with a nod.

Trent had been bothered by something as he looked around the streets. The other rangers looked at him with confusion asking him what was wrong. He shook his head as he continued to look around. "Guys, where is Dr. Oliver?"

The other three rangers exchanged a look as they searched the area with their eyes, seeing a line of smoke and hearing the crackle of an explosion in the distance. They followed the White Ranger as he was already moving toward the area of the boom. Running through alleyways finding them just beyond the docks in the city, they watched as the psycho rangers had engaged in another battle with the black dino ranger.

The black dino ranger had moved against them, despite the signs of fatigue he was showing, he didn't seem to stop. He wasn't ready to be defeated. And the psycho rangers couldn't seem to find an open where a punch or kick fell in contact with a block or the staff.

The teens raced over to their mentor calling out his name, but he had held out a hand stopping them in place. And when they tried to move closer to the battle, they noticed that they couldn't get any farther.

"Dr. O, what are you doing!" Conner breathed as he slammed against the invisible force field.

"We came to help you!" Ethan called out.

But it was like their mentor had not heard them as they continued to call out to him. Feeling around the force field on all sides, there was no way in or out of it even if they tried. And it had them worried. They continued to call out to their mentor, but he didn't respond.

The black dino ranger had moved against the psycho rangers, despite their ability to whip in and out of his attacks, the moves he made were quick, hard and deadly. A degree that took his fighting to another level.

Psycho Blue went flying through the air, but had stopped short as he came crashing into the invisible field before the teenage dino rangers. He growled as he raced back toward the black ranger, but went flying again as the staff struck him again.

Psycho Yellow had refused to go down as she used her own tactics to take down the black ranger. She would grab him, throw him off balance and strike, but Tommy was quick to recover every time. His staff swinging high and low to confuse his enemies, he would strike at the last minute with more power than the psycho ranger could realize what hit her.

The two psycho rangers were glued to the cement as they tried to get up. The black dino ranger barked out for their defeat, but they had refused as they got back on their feet racing his way.

"Dino energy orb, full rage power!" the black dino ranger swung his staff into a circular motion to form the deadly blow.

The two psycho rangers stopped for a moment, freezing with the thoughts of their demise with that blow.

The teens cried out in a panic, noticing something was extremely wrong with that attack. They had never heard of it before and as Tommy seemed to step through the orb, absorbing some of it energy and letting it loose, it had encased around the invisible locking around the two psycho rangers and the black dino ranger. The power and energy had forced the field to grow, pushing the helpless teens back. They watched in a panic as the two psycho rangers fought through the power to take down the black dino ranger.

The three figures had battled only briefly in the orb as the energy was too much to withstand and the two psycho rangers had meta-morphosized to a grander scale before the black dino ranger. The black dino rangers growled in frustration as he held out his morpher forming an X across his chest with his staff in the other hand, taking the impact of a deadly electrical assault to energize him.

But the brightness didn't seem to stop there as the intensity of the power and energy increased, forcing the teens back. But there was something else different about the entire thing. Their morphers seemed to be sucked into the invisible field as it locked within the energy of the orb, their knees locking instantly as they felt their bodies become drained. But at the last second, a series of shadows had pulled them all out of harms way as the four teens collapsed to the ground, de-morphing.

"What the hell is going on!" Ethan groaned as he tried to get to his feet, but Billy had pushed him to the ground.

"Save your strength, Ethan. Something's not right about this battle."

"You think?" Conner winced as he grabbed his arm. For the times they would demorph, he had not gotten used to the drain of energy it would do to him. He winced and groaned as he looked to the invisible force field, the battle still raging.

Adam, Rocky and Aisha had stood several feet from the edge of the invisible force field, not believing their eyes. Despite the energy orb that still seemed to encompass all of them, the psycho rangers, were now combined into one looked far more gruesome and psychotic than the rangers were used to seeing. The black dino ranger was still fighting to clear away what seemed to be the final blow, absorbing it against the sword and the morpher. His entire figure shaking as he fought to hold his ground.

Kim had collapsed to the ground in tears as the dino teens rushed to her side, hoping to lay some comfort on her. But they didn't seem to be of any help as a blinding light had imploded within the field, shielding all of their eyes. As it cleared, and the team could finally see what was before them, smoke clouds filled the area where the big battle had went down between the psycho rangers and the black dino ranger.

For a moment, everyone was frozen in their thoughts of thinking it was the end. Silence rang as they waited for the smoke to clear, none finding any strength to move again.

Then they heard footsteps echo beyond the smoke. They saw the shadow figure emerge from the debris as a dark cloud seemed to loom over it and the entire area. The team slowly got their feet, frozen in fear as they all shudder. They could feel the air around them grow to an icy coldness. And when their eyes had focused clearly on the figure, an evil laugh filled the air making them shudder again.

"No..." the teens breathed in fear.

The ninja rangers were in their own line of fear, anger, worry and mixed feelings as they looked over at the black dino ranger. His stance was clearly not his own, but of an evil beyond words. The shield, with a reign of evil deeds that once belonged to the feared pink dino ranger, was locked around him in a fury and rage that sent the area into another darkness. His grip had tightened around the staff as it glowed in a hint of green, but another sword seemed to fade in and out of its gaze.

"I'm back, Power Rangers! And your demise will soon follow to my hand," the dark reply had escaped the lips of the ranger.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Island fortress.

Mindshatter hissed with his own satisfaction as he watched the battle unfold on one of the monitors in the lab. He didn't care at that point, if it had destroyed his foot soldiers in the end. He wouldn't need them if all of this was staying on course of his plans. The excitement rose when he saw the black dino ranger use the staff, the staff which he knew he had created, against the two remaining psycho rangers. And he had showed no mercy toward them at all. And when he saw the energy orb encase the trio of fighters he knew the next set of plans was unfolding nicely.

The bright light had forced him to shield his eyes too, but when it was cleared and died down, he felt a new energy fill him. "Yes. I feel your rage and anger, black ranger. Use it against your friends and destroy them!"

He turned to the other side of the room and threw out a hand as the five candles lit to life. The five candles which he had obtained while in the Gamma-Tri system to use against the remaining rangers. The candles that had been connected to the dino rangers, and with a new line of twists. He sneered in his accomplishment as he watched the flames take life over each candle, watching as the sparks of color escape each time the wick burned slowly.

"Brace yourself for phase two of the battle, power rangers," Mindshatter bellowed as his eyes glowed in that eerie dark red of evil and rage.

**_To be continued..._**

_A/N: Whoa! Did you expect that? I bet you didn't. I bet so. Wait, Tommy is evil again, too? Of course. It drives the plot even more, and I figured it would bring in some more readers and more reviews. I hope you're ready for the next set of the battle. It's only beginning. And what will the rangers sacrifice in order to become the victors in this war? Stay tuned and hope I got you wondering for more. See you when I do. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	43. Enter the Battlefield

**'TIL I COLLAPSE **- _**PART FORTY-THREE: ENTER THE BATTLEFIELD  
**_SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The battle taks a turn for the worse and the power of the dino gems may not be enough to save them from destruction._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. But be prepared for another action-packed chapter. I hope you like the work I've put into this series. It was a lot of work and very time consuming, but I've loved every step of it. Enjoy what you can.  
The end is near._

_A/N: No lie. The end is near and this battle is getting harder to win. And hard to develop. As epic as their battle with Mesogog is, this one is even bigger. See you when I do._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"Remember that a ranger never gives up no matter what happens. You got to believe that you can do anything or we will never make it out of this alive. With great power and strength comes the responsibilty of knowing how to use it and when. The battle starts from the very first step you make toward your destiny" -Eclyptyk Neo_  
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

May 11th, 2005. Mid-day, 12:00pm.

The line of rangers were too frozen to move. They had thought it was a dream. They were hoping it was a dream. But it wasn't. The horrid images of seeing their friend and legendary ranger get locked into his own energy orb as he seemed to drain the two psycho rangers of life played like a broken record in each of their minds. And there he was, standing before them, unharmed by the intensity of the energy or the battle. A new person. A new evil.

Another evil laugh echoed in the area as the last of the smoke had finally cleared. There was no sign of the two psycho rangers, and the team could only conclude that they had met their fate. The team watched in horror as the black dino ranger laughed darkly, a shield that fixed him with great power, stood on his chest. The gold armbands to complete his uniform. And his helmet seemed to take some look to the psycho rangers design. A hint of red, yellow, green and black resonated off of him as he gripped the weapon in his hand.

But in the depths of his mind, he was screaming, wanting to get out of this mayhem and break away. That the actions his body was now doing was not his own, but in the control of the sword and its power. But in his mind, the spirit of the falcon where he was locked away, he could feel the changes going through him. That he needed to reach out, but a barrier had locked him in the cages of this astral plain of his primitive side. And something else would have to find another way to get to him. And the only thing he knew that would work, would in fact, be the destruction of that sword.

"Tommy, don't do this!" Rocky bellowed as he felt his own rage fill him. He had hoped never to face this again, didn't want to see his friend fall victim to his evil reign, but there he was standing before them looking meaner and tougher than ever.

"This cannot be happening again," Conner shook his head as he was still trying to get over the fact of what he saw before him. It was in fact his mentor, he knew, could sense it, but there was something different about him. Really different that only made him much darker than he was used to seeing from the black dino ranger.

"Oh, but it is, Conner!" the black dino ranger replied. "I have returned, and none of you will be able to escape me this time."

"Tommy, this isn't like you! Don't do this!" Billy barked out. His body tensed in the fear of seeing his old leader in his evil state.

The black dino ranger turned to look at the blue wolf ninja. He chuckled and shook his head. "Billy. It's been a long time since you've stepped out onto the battlefield. Things have changed since you last saw me like this."

The dino rangers were frozen in their own world as they looked at their teammate and mentor. They didn't know what to do or expect out of this battle. It just never made any sense. There were no signs. Were there? They swore there was nothing leading up to this unexpected surprise. And they didn't like it one bit. They were shaking with fear, but trying to hold their ground just because they were rangers. But this was one nightmare they just weren't ready to face again. A nightmare that led them to believe that if they didn't win, no hope would remain.

By now, Kim had fallen to her knees as tears fell like waterfalls down her face. Aisha and Adam had been there to console her. Her grip had tightened around their own hands as they tried to keep her mental stability leveled. But it was a heartbreak not only to her, but to everyone there. The yellow and black ninja rangers had looked over at the black dino ranger with heavy eyes of determination and fear.

"We don't want to fight you, Tommy. It doesn't have to be like this," Adam barked out as he bent over running a calming hand over the pink ranger's shoulder.

The gesture seemed to make Tommy tick as he took a step forward, his grip tightened around the sword's handle even more. He let out a low growl. "You! Out of all people I thought I could trust with my wife..."

"I'm not trying to hook up with her, Tommy!" Adam bellowed as he shook his head making only one conclusion to the black dino ranger's heated words. He had heard from both Kim and Tommy of the unwavering trust the legendary ranger had over the black ninja for keeping an eye on Kim. But he was merely doing his job as a friend and doctor. Nothing more.

"This is crazy talk, Tommy," Aisha said as she followed in the words of her friend in the black ninja suit. "Kimberly loves you. No one else. Adam, Rocky, Billy and the others are merely just brothers looking out for both you and her."

The black dino ranger continued to advance toward the trio, but was stopped by the blue and red ninja rangers. The four dino rangers took their place before them acting as a barrier and shield to the older rangers. Their gazes, though their hearts burned with fear, was of determination and strength that made it clear they wouldn't stop fighting until they had to. That they would do whatever it take to keep their teacher/mentor from doing any harm.

"Out of my way, dino rangers!" Tommy growled as he lowered his head for a moment.

"I'm afraid we can't let you do that, Dr. O," Conner spoke up matching the stride of any leader before him, including his mentor.

"If you want to step up to the plate, you're gonna have to go through us before you strike out on them," Trent said.

"Cute," the black dino ranger scoffed. "Pathetic words and puns won't do you any good in this battle, Trent. Now, out of my way! I will deal with them first. You'll hardly be a challenge to me."

The four dino rangers took a step toward their mentor, their gazes grew more serious and heavy on him. Arms crossed and stances holding their ground, they weren't ready to back down.

The black dino ranger took a step back, sheathing his sword and clapping his hands, congratulating his former teammates. "I gotta hand it to you guys. You've learned a lot from the battles you've faced, and you've even listened to what I've told you in the past. I'm surprised. But you haven't even seen the entire level of my powers. Do you really want to see them?"

"Bring it," Ethan challenged, not wanting this verbal confrontation to go on any longer than it needed to. "We got what it takes."

"You have no idea, Ethan. I'm not who I was months ago. I'm more powerful than all of your powers combined."

"Then prove it," Kira managed to say.

The black dino ranger removed the sword from its holster holding it in position. Conner pulled up his dino morpher as it charged up for battle, his teammates followed suit behind him. And they all called out their morphing call and morphed within seconds. And as the light cleared, they were all suited up and heightened with the powers of Super Dino Mode as they fell into a fighter stance.

Billy and Rocky had exchanged a look as they peered over at the trio of ninjas behind them. Adam had nodded toward the yellow ranger as she pulled Kim to her feet, taking a few steps back, finding some protection behind a car. Adam met his two ninja friends as they pulled out their specially-made morphers and forced it out in front of them, letting out the respectable morphing call to these morphers.

"We call upon the power of Ninjetti!" they announced in unison.

"The frog!" Adam replied as he felt a rush of energy fill his body.

"The ape!" Rocky announced as he watched his morpher glowed to life.

"The wolf!" Billy stated as his suit was lit by a hint of blue.

For a brief moment, as the four dino rangers watched the three ninjas transform – if that's what they could say – watched as their suits glowed to life in the respective color of their status on the team and see as the spirit of each of their animals come to life. It played out in gold and when it was completed, they flexed their arms and hands. Their nose and mouth was guarded off like any respectable ninja would look, leaving enough breathing room for their eyes and their heads, much like how they looked when they first got their powers. Some of the darkness around them was lifted and the echoing cries of each of their animals rang throughout their ears and the area. They fell into a fighter stance beside the young dino ranger team waiting on their newest enemy – their friend and mentor.

The black dino ranger didn't move for a moment, but swung his staff around several times before pointing it out, sending out an electrical shock, branching out to strike each of the rangers before him. It was so fast and quick, that none of them had expected it and took the blow head on. One second, the seven rangers were up ready to battle, and then they were sprayed on the ground in pain from the electrical surge.

"Give up already?" the black dino ranger barked darkly as he shook his head. "You're no match for me."

"Now, where have I heard that before?" Conner asked rather amusingly looking over at his friend in white.

Kira smacked him on the back of the helmet as she peeled herself off the ground beside her teammates. "No time for jokes, Conner. Focus here."

"Kira's right," Rocky breathed as he grabbed his chest. "We gotta stay focused."

The seven rangers huddled for a moment as they began to discuss among themselves the next phase of the battle. It was clear that it was unexpected and they had not expected it, but they had to hold on and keep their cool. It was only fair to all of them.

The black dino ranger shook his head as he let the staff rest on his shoulder, tapping it gently trying to find some amusement in waiting on his aggressors. He was in no rush to defeat them when he would rather play with them a little before he wanted to destroy them for good. He paced only briefly, waiting and clenching his fists hoping not to lose his patience right then and there. His job was to destroy them, but it was better to tick them off a little bit first. It would only make them more vulnerable to his attacks later on.

"So, Billy? Or Adam? Or Rocky? Mind briefing us on your findings?" Ethan asked quickly as he looked over his back, watching as the black dino ranger was starting to lose his patience with them.

"That's not his brachio staff. It's something else..." Adam began.

"To keep it simple. I can only conclude that Mindshatter has somehow found a way to re-create the Sword of Darkness for Tommy to make him evil again. If we don't destroy it, he will be like this forever," Billy said.

"And we don't want that. Got it," Conner nodded as he broke from the circle, but Billy grabbed him.

"I've seen that power before. It won't be easy to defeat. So, be prepared for anything he has in store for us."

"And we can't forget that he has the powers of the ninja and invisibility running in his blood, too," Rocky instructed.

"I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" a voice replied.

The team broke formation and Trent was struck by an invisible force, crashing into Rocky and Billy. And as they lined up for a brief moment, they saw the invisible force around the black dino ranger drop as he stood among them. Ethan and Rocky had moved against him, but he had zoomed out of their attack as he disappeared again. For a moment, the team looked around in a panic, hoping to find their hidden friend somehow.

But they were at another stand still. He would attack in the shadows of the ninja powers and his invisible abilities at a speed they couldn't quite keep up with. They almost felt like they were dealing with a phantom, forcing all of them to look within the shadows and open air for any sign of him, but he didn't seem to be anywhere in sight.

"Focus," Adam barked out as he froze in place, dropping his head and concentrating.

For a moment, the rest of the team had followed suit. The three ninjas had already been well aware of their heightened ninja skills, and were glad to have them, guiding them through the shadows to pinpoint their enemy. The four dino rangers were a bit slower, but each of them had allowed some space to get lost in the nothingness of their minds, in the open light of the battle and let that inner strength guide them in the battle.

And swiftly, the black dino ranger had moved against them. But didn't attack. He had his goal set on the two hidden ninjas behind a car. Despite the pregnant woman, both of them had also morphed to their added protective suits, still keeping an eye out. Aisha had been a little consoling, trying to relay thoughts of an evil Tommy out of both of their heads, but didn't quite work.

The black dino ranger had continued to advance against them, his staff held in a deadly blow. And as he brought it down, with lightning fast speed and reflexes the black ninja ranger and the red dino ranger had locked their swords with the deadly sword of the black dino ranger.

Tommy dropped his invisible state as he growled, kicking the red dino ranger to the ground. Conner winced under the impact as he grabbed his stomach crashing to the ground beside the pink and yellow ninjas. They asked if he was all right as he nodded. Adam had forced all of his weight into the staff, the original brachio staff, that he now held in his possession against his friend. In close sparring and deadly attacks, Adam was not used to using a sword in battle. It wasn't his specialty, his hands and feet were enough to do the damage he liked, but he didn't want to take his chances with his friend.

"Tommy, you gotta snap out of this!" Adam demanded.

Tommy growled as he swung high, catching his friend off guard. Adam lost his footing and slipped. But where he faltered, the other dino rangers had jumped their teacher, forcing him back. And under SDM, they had moved at a much faster speed than what they were used to. Or the black dino ranger was used to as he came crashing to the ground. The other ninja rangers had moved against him as he rolled away swinging his sword as a threat, letting out another electrical shock. The nine rangers had all sprung away from the attack as the electrical shock shook the area, setting off small explosions as it tried to make contact with them.

They all hit the ground, catching the impact in a knelt position and sprang to their feet and over the shock as it seemed to catch the black dino ranger by surprise for their quick thinking. The White and Red dino rangers moved against him first, weapons drawn, but hesitant to use against their friend. But they knew they had to do whatever it took to take him down. He was a threat to them, meaning he would be a threat to the rest of the world if he would stay like this. He had to be taken out and as soon as possible. The black dino ranger quickly disposed of them as the blue and yellow dino rangers moved against him where their teammates fell.

But soon, Ethan found his arm being twisted behind his back as he winced. He could almost feel the icy breathing run down his spine as the black dino ranger held him back. Kira called out to him as she rushed her teacher, but the black ranger had stopped her with the staff swinging and striking, making contact with her suit. She hit the ground, but Billy and Aisha weren't too far behind as they jumped their friend, but he had released Ethan as he came crashing onto Billy.

Aisha and Rocky had moved against him, using a double team to send the black dino ranger back. But Tommy was there to catch each attack as they came his way, using an arm, a leg or the staff to guard him against their attacks. They fell back only for a second as Adam and Kim had rushed him, the staff still held tightly in the frog ninja's grasp. He knew if he could just get Tommy to snatch up his original brachio staff, it should break the curse of the Sword of Darkness, or so he hoped. Adam used the staff, but it was clear that he was struggling with it. He wasn't used to it, let alone, he couldn't harness its real power. Not without the morpher in his own hands.

The black dino ranger caught another blow from the black ninja, holding him in place for a second. Kim had pulled out for only a moment, but came charging at her husband. She pushed against him, and despite the round belly, it didn't seem to be in the way of her action to knock some sense into him. But he had grabbed her wrist, gripping it tight as she felt her knees weaken and wince.

"Are you gonna cry for me, bitch? Don't!" Tommy spat out in an angry hiss. His grip tightened around her wrist as her stance faltered. Adam had his own problem trying to pull the staff away, but it didn't seem to budge. He was stuck unless he just let go of the staff, and it was the last thing he was gonna do. "Once a cheater, always a cheater! Now, tell me the truth. Have you hooked up with Adam!"

Adam tried to pull the staff away, kicking the shin of his friend. But Tommy didn't seem to flinch at the move. The black dino ranger turned his head to meet the gaze of the black ninja as he let go of the hold, kicking Adam to the ground. He gripped the wrist of his wife harder before tossing her to the ground beside the black ninja. Adam shielding her behind him as the black dino ranger approached them. He was really getting worried about her well-being. Despite what protection these morphers gave them, anything really dramatizing can still destroy the chances for the unborn baby.

"So, you use yourself as a guard to protect her? That was my job, Adam!" the black ranger growled.

"And it still is, Tommy! You don't have to do this. You're supposed to be on our side!" Adam stated.

"You will be destroyed! Every last one of you! Including Mindshatter and anyone else who is a threat to me."

"That's treason waiting to happen," Adam shook his head. "That's not your way, Tommy. You're a Power Ranger. Not a damn tyrant!"

"Noooo!" Conner jumped his teacher again. He knew that the black ranger was trying to use psychological tactics to disrupt their thoughts and didn't want to take his chances and hear any of it. He had to stay focus as his three teammates joined him for a moment. The black dino ranger growled as he pulled himself off the ground.

"Challenging me again, dino rangers?" the black dino ranger replied.

"You're one of us!" Ethan barked.

"Don't do this, Dr. O!" Kira commanded more than pleaded. "You gotta fight it!"

"We can help you!" Trent said.

The black dino ranger stood up straighter, lowering the staff. He dropped his head, looking at the morphers affixed to each wrist. His dino morpher and his falcon morpher. His body began to boil with more rage. They were right. With that dino morpher he was one of the dino rangers. With that falcon morpher, he was a ninja. And that's not what he was feeling like at all. The staff – the sword he now held in his hands – was no longer a disguise to the team, but truly looked like a facsimile to the Sword of Darkness.

"Power down!" he announced and the black suit dropped, revealing the man in his civilian form. But he still held a dark and evil power over his body, he had not looked up at any of the rangers lining up before him.

The nine rangers fell silent for a moment, confused as they tried to figure out what exactly was going on. As much as Kim just wanted to race to her husband's side, crack him open like an egg while he was in his civilian form, the team didn't take any chances. They had not seemed to care about their own welfare at the moment, but more for hers, even if she refused their pampering and protection. They didn't see it any other way. She wasn't gonna go out there.

The man donning the powers of the brachio had casually dropped the brachio morpher to the ground before him. And then slipped off the falcon morpher, too. He stood there, morpher less, but still had the Sword grasped tightly in his hands.

"So, what! You're gonna fight us like that?" Ethan had to tease, seeing to make sure that this guy was still in fact evil. "Don't you think that would only make you that much more of a target for our attacks?"

The man finally looked up, that evil smile fell over his face as his eyes grew in a darkness of more evil. They glowed in a hint of green that had the blue and pink ninja rangers shift a little uncomfortably. They knew of Tommy's reign in the very beginning, and had not liked it now. It would make no difference to them, but it was clearly something they didn't really want to deal with, but had to. The man held up the Sword of Darkness as he pulled out what appeared to be a coin of some kind from the bottom of the hilt. And when he had reached behind him, he had revealed a facsimile to the original dragon morpher in his grasp.

The team took a step back in shock. They had freaked about how he had gotten that, let alone stood in fear praying that didn't link to what it shouldn't link to. But they had to hold their ground, many of the guys' grips bled in a sea of white knuckles.

"I told you I'm full of surprises," the dark man sneered as he sent the sword in a deadly dance of movement and let out his morphing call. The call none of them swore they would ever hear from again, in reality. "It's Morphing Time! Dragonzord!"

"Noo!" the team called out, but were too late as the green light covered the man that was donned in the black dino suit.

And when it had cleared, along with a line of green smoke, the man whose current suit was black, was now back in his old and original green suit. The suit where he had caused enough damage that would leave scars upon anyone who was there to witness his destruction years ago. Scars that struck the world, if not more, crushing the dreams of young children years ago. But it looked slightly different. The helmet was marked with a silver lining, the same design as the evil ranger he had faced in a test to see what he really wanted in life – power or love. The shield was also modified, still taking on the design that suited him earlier in battle. And it seemed like any battles he had fought in as the black brachio dino thunder ranger had been lost or never existed at all, and he had died. Returning as a new man, an evil being.

The green dragon ranger gave out another thunderous evil laugh, that had the blue and pink ninja rangers crash to their knees. As being the originals who had fought to destroy the evil in their friend, they were living this painful deja vu moment all over again. And the rest of the rangers were feeling their pain. It had hit the black and red ninja rangers on a scale of anger and rage to see their friend, donned in red – in his Zeo suit – take on them with several other red rangers, under Mesogog's spell, to destroy them months ago. The teens and Aisha had in turn known and seen the dark side of Tommy, and had hated it with a passion, even if they wanted to help him.

Frozen in fear, the green dragon ranger took a step forward, tapping the sword against his shoulder. "What! Don't look so surprised, Rangers. Black is out and green is back in!" He let his hand fall into an array of motions as he pulled out his Dragon Dagger and pushing it to his mouth.

The team called out against him, trying to stop him. Conner, Kira and Ethan were quick to draw their blasters and fired, but the green ranger had already blown out the fanfare, using it as another shield to guard him from danger. The blaster bolts were deflected, a few set course for the rangers. They rolled away catching their breath as the laser fire came their way. Conner and Ethan tried again, but had found their own laser fire race back their way.

Adam and Rocky let loose their limps as they raced for the green ranger. He had been waiting for their attack as they engaged in a line of punches and kicks that could do enough damage to someone who was not used to martial arts or fights. Adam would go high, using his fluid Kung Fu style to keep the green ranger on his guard. Rocky's movements were a little more rigid, but held power behind each blow. But with that sword, they had to avoid his attacks at any cost, all strikenly deadly. They knew Tommy's skills with weaponry like that, and had not mastered his own skills with a sword. The green dragon ranger finally made contact with the two swift ninjas, but where they faltered, Billy and Aisha had joined the fight.

Locking him in their grasp, the two tried to get to the green ranger. Trying to make him remember what he was fighting for and for who. That they were not the enemy and his thoughts were being manipulated by the power of the sword. But he had pushed them away as the four dino rangers rushed him again from all sides. He had moved against them at lightning fast speed, moving away as they struck each other unable to keep up with his speed.

Kim had had enough of this as she raced forward, using all of her weight throwing the green dragon ranger to the ground. Adam and Rocky rushed to keep him down, trying to pull the sword free from his grasp, but it seemed to be glued to it.

"Tommy! Snap out of it!" Rocky demanded trying to pull the sword free, but Tommy had twisted out of their grasp.

Kim lost control as Conner caught her before racing into the action. She urged him into battle though he was still worried about her condition. She was too determined to reach her husband to think about her own health and condition. Conner had crashed into the green dragon ranger trying to talk to him, but his mentor had not heard him as he threw him to the ground again.

Ethan and Trent double-teamed him again with Adam and Billy following suit, but the skills of the green dragon ranger had them striking each other again as he moved away. Kira let out a ptera scream hoping to falter the moves of her mentor, but he had merely stopped, turning his head toward her unaffected by her attack. He slowly approached her but Aisha had rammed into him with the strength of a bear, the ape not too far behind.

The green ranger crashed to the ground in a groan as he slowly got to his feet, growling. "I will not be defeated, Rangers!" He extended the sword, slamming it into the ground as an electrical shock traveled across the ground striking the team.

The nine rangers groaned under the sudden shock from pavement under them. Too weak to move, they all winced and groaned in pain. The green ranger slowly approached the weaken team shaking his head.

"Hardly a challenge," he scoffed. He turned away, pulling out his dragon dagger. "Now, to destroy the city." He pushed it to his mouth and gave out the dreadful fanfare to his zord.

The team called out in protest, but the green ranger had continued to play as the sea began to erupt to life before them. Bubbles and waves rose like an underwater volcano had just exploded, but the sight of the Dragonzord's head had emerged from the depths. And slowly but with no rush, the Dragonzord was free from its long nap for several months. It let out a thunderous roar that shook the area, sending the rangers back to the ground as they lost their footing.

With the fanfare continuing, the Green Ranger took the giant leap to the top of its head. It gave out a roar as he looked down at the small multi-colored rangers below calling out to him. "This is your end, Power Rangers. And no one will be able to stop me!" He pushed the flute to his mouth and played out the orders to his beloved zord.

The eyes of dragonzord glowed to an eerie red haze as it roared under the command of the dagger. It rocked, walking out of the sea and onto the pier, looking down at the small ants – the rangers – below it. And in an instant, pulled up a hand aiming it at the defenseless rangers. They called out in protest, pushing each other aside trying to clear the area as the pier exploded in a line of smoke and fire all around them. The impact sent them to the ground again, moaning and groaning.

"Give up, Rangers. Your end is near!" the evil green ranger laughed as he commanded the zord to move toward the city.

"Noo!" Conner called out as he slowly peeled himself off the pavement. He caught his breath as he watched the dragon zord move away from them, heading into the heart of the city.

"We have to stop him!" Trent winced as he helped Kira to her feet.

The ninja rangers had moved toward the pink ranger worried about her own thoughts and mental stability. They weren't quite sure what was going on in her head, but it worried all of them. They didn't want to think twice about what would happen if they didn't succeed, or if their lives were already destroyed. But they had to hold on and as the teens rushed over, despite the helmets that guarded their facial expressions, their stance were of worry, fear and guilt.

"How are we supposed to go up against that? I thought the zords were non-accessible," Ethan breathed.

The team's gaze fell over on the technical director of the original team. Billy took a step forward as he pulled up his morpher. He threw a switch on it as it flipped open to reveal what looked like a gemstone, a sapphire. Their gazes widen with shock and confusion, unsure what to make of the gesture.

"We may still have a chance," he said slowly. But as the team was protesting about the gemstone, saying that wouldn't have the power to save them, he shook his head. He looked at his fellow ninja rangers, directing them to follow suit as they pulled up their morphers, flipping a switch.

A gemstone hidden in each of their morphers. Rocky held a ruby in his, Aisha with a tiger's eye gemstone, Kim with a rose quartz and Adam with a rare black diamond. Trent had retrieved the two morphers, the remains of their mentor, handing it over to Billy as he flipped open the hidden compartment of Tommy's falcon morpher to reveal a diamond.

"So, to keep things really short, what do they do?" Kira asked looking back to see that the dragon zord was moving farther and farther into the city.

Billy held his breath. "I found these gems, in a cave not too far from the underground lab. They match the components of the dino gems and will act as an added boost to control the zords. In theory it should create this dino rage megazord I've heard so much about. If it is done correctly, we should be able to stop Tommy before he destroys the whole city."

"Well, let's do it," Ethan said as he was about to call forth his zord.

"What about Kim?" Aisha blurted out and noticed an uneasiness in Trent, noticing the colors of the older rangers. The white ninja ranger had kicked out his ninja roots to go on an evil rampage. "Or in this case, Trent?"

Billy sighed as he handed over the two morphers and the staff to Kim. He whispered something into her ear as she nodded in turn taking a step back. " Trent will be bunking with Adam. I'll be with Ethan. Rocky and Conner you're another team and Kira and Aisha, you'll make the last team. Let's move. We don't have much time."

The four teens looked at each other before pulling their morpher to their mouth, in turn calling out their respective zord. The echoing call of each of their zords filled the area as the four zords emerged from the hidden comfort of the forest. And as one, the four rangers jumped for their respective zord as each let out a piercing cry.

The four ninja rangers had exchanged another look as they looked over at Kim. For a moment, she was hesitant to move until Billy gave her a nod. In return, a determined nod came his way as she gripped the gear in her hands. The four ninjas followed suit and leapt for the respective zord they were closely assigned to leaving the pink ninja ranger alone.

"If all else fails, he is our last chance to save you, Handsome. Please, hang in there," she whispered and turned, racing out of the plaza.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Sitting in the cockpit of his zord, Ethan had to get used to the feel of it. He hadn't seen the inside, let alone, the zord in the last few months. And with the many battles they had faced, only one being had to bring it to this grand scale. And that was Dinoshade. And now, this incident. Billy had stood behind him in the small cockpit, and though it was only really meant for one, they managed to find it accessible to the two of them.

"You ready to do this, Ethan?" Billy asked him.

The blue tricera ranger held his breath for a moment and nodded. The original blue ranger had instructed the blue dino ranger to put his hand on a panel on the main control base. A hand print scanner held his hand in place as the blue ninja loomed over him, holding out his morpher as it glowed in a hint of blue as he began to concentrate on the power of the gem. The two blue rangers watched as the entire cockpit glowed to life watching on the small monitor as the parts of the tricera zord began to re-configure.

Meanwhile, Rocky had been doing the same with the red dino ranger. Rocky, himself, had to get over the fact that he had not been inside the pit of a zord in a long time and it took him by surprise. But, with that surprise, he had to get down to business and get serious. He told the red dino ranger to place his hand on the panel marked with a hand as he set his arm above Conner, concentrating on the power of the gem. It began to glow to life, feeding into the cockpit as it lit to life in a line of bright light and red trimmings.

On the monitor, they watched the reconfiguration begin to take form around them.

Adam had his own insights on the things going on around him. With Trent running the controls to keep the drago zord stable in the air, Adam had instructed him to do the same as the others, placing his hand on the indicated panel. Adam worked his own patience and concentration into the rare black diamond as it began to glow, giving life to the cockpit of the drago zord. And they watched the configuration take place as parts began to break away, take formation for the megazord.

Aisha had to keep from feeling like she was gonna throw up. She had been in airplanes several times, even sky diving, but she had not in some time which made the feeling of zooming through the air sickening to her. Kira had kept the zord stable as it zoomed through the air, waiting for its own configuration to take place.

Kira looked over at her friend in the yellow ninja suit noticing she looked a little more sick than need be. "Are you okay?"

Aisha nodded, grabbing her stomach, throwing up a thumb's up. "I'm all right. I'm cool. Yeah, no problem here. Just set up for the formation. Place your left hand on the panel to the side..."

Kira did as she was told, feeling the rush of energy ran through her at the very moment her hand and touched down on it. Aisha had caught her breath as she began to concentrate on the gem in her grasp. The entire cockpit began to glow to life as it took on its own re-configuration.

Within their place in the cockpit, the teens felt the rush of energy and power run through them as their zords were energized with a new line of power. A part of them, in their soul, the very zords that had once been destroyed, was now living in their souls once again.

"Dino rage megazord formation," they spoke in unison within their cockpits.

Echoing in their heads, they heard the cry of their given zord as the zords themselves began to break and reform into a new megazord before them. Their eyes fell shut only for a moment as they felt their hands extend out before them almost like they were about to jump off a cliff. And when it had cleared, they had found themselves in a cockpit similar to the one they had been in months ago when they faced Mesogog in the grander of scales. Positioned in the front, Conner took the center stage, the round red dome that connected his very spirit to his zord stood before him. Ethan was on his right and Kira on his left, also holding in hand the very controls that linked their spirits to their zords. Trent stood behind them on a sorta pedestal a bit higher than them. But he too, also had control of his zord through the round white dome before him. The cockpit glowed with their presence as the marking of the three-pronged dinosaur foot stood big behind them.

For a moment, they were speechless to ever be in the same cockpit again, and had not expected the change with Trent had his own set of controls for the zord. And that he might have been the higher of power out of all of them. But it wasn't like that at all. They were all there to stop the dragon zord from destroying the city.

They had commented on the completed formation as they heard the voice of the elder rangers ring through their morphers. It seemed as if the cockpits in which they were once in was set for the ninja rangers as they took the place of their successors. The dino rangers themselves, would be operating the main controls of the megazord.

And as the configuration was completed. It had in fact, looked like the dino rage megazord, but had been powered by more than just the dino gems. But the spirits and strength of the ninja rangers and equipped with a new line of weaponry the team was anxious to test out.

"All right, let's go!" Conner announced, pushing forward as the 30-story zord roared to life and headed for the city.

The dino rage megazord didn't have to get far when it had spotted the dragon zord, tail swinging and missiles escaping its fingertips, sprinkling buildings with damage. A strike from the pterarang caught its attention as it stopped and turned around to see the looming size of the megazord that had come to disrupt him.

"Brings back a lot of memories, doesn't this?" Rocky breathed as he began to push a few buttons on the panel, calling up the status of the weapons' system on his monitor.

"It does. But stay focused guys. Tommy is a tricky guy, even tricker when he is evil," Adam warned them.

"I can see that. Hang on!" Conner blurted out.

The dragon zord had turned around, swung its powerful drilling tail toward them as the dino rage megazord had no time to react. It came crashing to the ground as the team lurched forward, the teens nearly landing on top of one another at the impact. The dragon zord gave out a roar as it began to stomp on the other zord, sending sparks everywhere.

"Not again," Ethan let a breath escape his lips. He pulled himself off the ground using his blue dome as a support.

"Our first time in the megazord in a few months and we're already on the ground," Kira stated as she shook her head.

"C'mon, guys. We gotta stay focused!" Conner ordered to his teammates.

"I got an idea," Trent stated as he ran the control of his zord.

The wings of the drago zord sprang to life working like a helicopter as it cut the tactics of the dragon zord down to size. The dragon zord stumbled back as the wings stopped spinning and flapped, pulling the megazord back on its feet. Turning to face the power of the dragon zord, the head of the tyranno zord let out a piercing roar charging forward, the head of the tricera zord working as a shield and punched the other zord. Sparks flew as they made contact on the two zords.

A hand to hand combat went down between the zords. A tricera zord fist flying or the tyranno tail drilling to catch the dragon zord by surprise. But it seemed, despite the time of not being in the zord, the dragon zord was moving at speeds and a skill mastered only by a ranger who has manned zords for a long time.

The battle continued to rage on. At times, the team would make contact with the dragon zord, but it didn't seem to do the same damage as the dragon zord was doing to them. They had hit the ground more times than they would have liked and didn't expect to be on the losing end, despite the use of technology and weaponry difference between the two zords.

For a moment, the dino rage megazord had taken a break to catch its breath, as did the dragon zord. Each compiling a new line of strategy to help them in battle.

The ninja rangers were trying to keep their cool, but their own frustration was clouding them from seeing through all of the mistakes. The teens themselves were already getting antsy and jumpy about the whole thing. They didn't understand how or why it seemed to take so long to have either of the zords fall. They were getting more tired and exhausted as the battle went on. And they had hoped it was just the exhaustion of battling for so long and nothing more, but it was too hard to tell.

"Hey, Billy. You were around to see the destruction of the dragon zord during its evil reign in Angel Grove. Mind giving us some pointers now?" Ethan called out.

From his cockpit on the zord, Billy shook his head trying to figure out what they were missing. It was clear, that though eight rangers were locked in the control of a megazord, they didn't seem to find a weakness within the zord of their adversary. He didn't understand why it was like this, only concluding that the dragon zord had more power to it than meets the eye, or Mindshatter had given it more juice. He knew that the dragon zord was tough, but with their new line of technology it shouldn't be a problem. But it was. A major one. And that's what bothered him the most.

"I'm working on that, Ethan. I just don't understand why it's so hard to defeat him. There's gotta be something about that sword or something we're missing about all of this," Billy sighed.

"I think it is the obvious," Adam replied. "We have to get rid of that sword..."

The megazord jolted forward as another attack struck it from behind. The megazord turned around to see the dragon zord beckon it over for another attack. The megazord moved toward the other zord as they engaged in another hand-to-hand combat. Punches from both sides were thrown, mixed with the deadly spin of the dragon zord.

But as time passed, the megazord found itself flat on its back again. The evil laughter escaped the cockpit of the dragon zord as it loomed over the fallen megazord. The dragon zord bent down to pick up the fallen megazord, the eyes glowed in a hint of red as it made contact with the cockpit housing the four dino rangers. All were battered, weak, tired and sick of losing to their own mentor, friend and teammate.

"Do you give up, rangers? It'll be so much easier for you to accept defeat rather than try to go up against me any further," the intercom from the dragon zord blared out.

"We won't go out like this! Not to you, Dr. O," Conner spoke up, his determination peaking over his uncertainty. His role as a leader had been tested on several different skills, and at times he had doubted his place as a member of the team, but he had a line of friends that were there to back him up and support him in anyway possible. A fist forming as his determination grew.

The ring of the evil laugh filled their ears again. It was clear it wouldn't be that easy to reach him this time around, but they couldn't give up. They just couldn't, for the sake of each other, the world and balance between good and evil. They had to keep telling themselves, especially the teens, that Tommy was not at all trying to be bad or evil, but was controlled by the calling of that sword he held in his possession. And it had to stop, anyway possible.

"Do you think you have what it takes to destroy me? You don't stand a chance," the green dragon ranger bellowed with a deep laugh.

"We're still standing now," Ethan said.

"And we're supposed to fight whatever evil is in our way," Kira said.

"Even if it is one of our own teammates," Trent had to agree.

With those words being spoken, the cockpit in which the teens were housed, began to glow, nearly blinding them. But it didn't seem to bother them. They could feel a new line of energy and power course through their bones as they tried to make sense of what was going on. They had remembered this feeling months ago when they were called into zord action. And yet, they didn't have any answers for it. And now, they didn't either. But it gave them more determination to end this.

Conner grabbed the controls of the megazord as they shook to life, feeling the universal dino energy surge through him all over again, throwing its weight onto the dragon zord as it hit the ground. The megazord pinned it to the ground not moving. And in the spared moments they had to play off the offense for a little bit, a shadowed figure had entered a hatch of the dragon zord.

The fanfare of the dragon dagger had given the zord its boost as it let out an icy breath to freeze the megazord for only a moment. The dragon zord swiped the megazord off of him and threw it to the ground, returning to its feet. The team inside had been tousled around like rag dolls.

"Okay, I am getting really sick of being tossed around like a freaking rag doll," Aisha grumbled from her place within the ptera zord's cockpit.

"I think I'm about to lose my lunch after this," Rocky groaned as he rubbed his head.

"Can we make complaints later you guys? I think we're starting to get the upper hand here," Adam retorted as he shook his head, sitting upright in the cockpit of the drago zord.

The teens themselves began to feel a rush of dizziness and weakness fall over them, and they weren't sure if they were gonna last. Peeling themselves off of each other, for the moments they had gained an advantage, they thought they could make it. But it was only getting worse and harder to complete. They would never get the upper hand if there wasn't anyone on the other side of this battle. They needed an extra hand.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

From inside the cockpit of the dragon zord, the green dragon ranger hissed at another victorious fall for him. He figured he had played with the rangers long enough, and would see their demise soon enough. He just had to figure out what was the best way to take them out. He had to do it in a bang. He wanted to do it in a bang. A memory to the rest of the world and the galaxy if need be that no one should mess with him.

He clenched the dragon dagger in his hand, looking down at the Sword of Darkness mounted on the main panel to give him added power and access to the zord's control. He had to admit that it had been awhile since he had been in that cockpit, but it was a feeling and sense of home. That this is where he had truly belonged in the field of battle. In the seat of his original zord under the reign and power of evil.

He pushed a few buttons on the panel as he watched the vitals of the megazord. It was crumbling, slowly. But it was falling to his hands, just as he had hoped for.

"This is your demise, rangers. Time to say good..," he stated darkly as he turned a knob watching the numbers rise on another panel.

"Not if I could help it," a voice replied from behind him.

The green dragon ranger quickly turned around in his chair only to be met by the fist of a glove to his helmet. He shot forward against the panel, catching his breath for only a brief time. Another punch had him ready this time as he pulled the sword from the main console to lock with the weapon of the other figure. The two had engaged in a battle within the cockpit, sending sparks everywhere.

"Dragon zord. Finish off the dino rage megazord and the rangers!" the green ranger demanded just as he felt a hand grip around his shoulder. He slammed his fist into the panel to give out the final commands he had wanted to say for a long time.

He tried to wither around it, but found no way out of it. And his own nightmare, a signature move to defeat the rangers and their zords, the tables had turned on him as he had hit open air and went flying out of his zord to the hard pavement down below, 30 stories below. The other figure following close behind him in close pursuit of ending this now.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

From the other cockpit of the megazord, the teens had questioned why the dragon zord had finally stopped attacking. All of them were confused at the thought that they had gotten their wish and someone was helping them out. Protesting over the sudden stop in battle, Ethan had called everyone's attention to the figure falling from the head of the dragon zord to the ground below.

"Guys, check it out!" Ethan bellowed as he pointed at the green ranger plummeting the 30-stories to the hard pavement below.

"It's Dr. O!" Conner breathed.

"But wait! Who's the other guy? That's can't be Dr. O in the black dino suit on his tail," Kira protested.

Confused the four teens didn't know what to believe. It didn't make sense. But as they wanted to get down there and have a better look or question what was going on, the dragon zord roared back to life, letting out missiles and a deadly spinning tail toward the megazord. And despite the owner of the dragon zord was now on the ground, the dragon zord still continued to attack under new orders. To destroy the megazord and the rangers inside for good.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

On the ground, the green dragon ranger groaned under the heavy concrete that stuck him, breaking his fall. For a moment, he had found no strength to get up. He heard the crash of footsteps as the other figure had landed a few feet in front of him. He sat up looking over at the figure who had decided to challenge him. Wait! ...but how?

It was the black dino thunder ranger. And he swore – no, he knew – that he had taken off the morpher. That it was not him, or anyway, some other side of him in that suit. The man donned in the black dino ranger suit stepped forward, fell into a fighter stance with the brachio staff in a ready position for attack or deflection.

"How does it feel to be thrown out of your own zord, Tommy?" the man in the black suit questioned in a cool voice.

The green dragon ranger growled as he jumped to his feet raising the sword he held in his hands, his grip tightened on the handle. He shook his head almost feeling like he was in some strange and bad nightmare. "You'll pay for that, black ranger."

"I've been through this game before, man. It didn't make a difference thirteen years ago, and it won't make a difference now." the man replied. "I have to stop you, Tommy, no matter what."

"Your move," the green dragon fell back, forcing his weight to his back leg, holding out his sword his free hand wavered over it. His stance kept him on the move as it would in this battle.

And for a moment, the two had not moved watching and waiting, trying to analyze the power behind the suit of the other ranger. Though Tommy didn't want to believe what he thought about his challenger, he knew that he had to destroy him just as any other ranger that came between him and victory. Then the green ranger had advanced, making the man in the black suit smile lightly before racing off into battle.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

With their hands full, the team assembled in the megazord had to keep the dragon zord at bay from destroying the city and themselves. It wasn't easy, yet didn't quite make sense. The owner of the zord was not even in the cockpit, and the dragon zord still continued to battle. The teens could only conclude that it was the power behind the dagger or any other controlling item to both the owner and the zord itself. They didn't want to destroy the dragon zord, but felt if this didn't end soon they would have to make another sacrifice and trash these zords right along with the dragon zord.

Blocking shots from the dragon zord, the rangers within would try to keep tabs on the battle raging below them. They watched as the green dragon ranger and the black dino ranger had engaged in a grueling and deadly battle.

"But who is that!" Kira breathed again, still not being able to put two and two together about the battle going on below them.

"No clue," Conner shook his head.

The ninja rangers either were too determined to put an end to the dragon zord to notice, or they didn't want to mention anything.

"Guys! Can we focus on this bucket of bolts first or we'll all be roasted rangers faster than we could sprint across a track field?" Rocky protested as the megazord rocked from another attack.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The battle had continued between the skilled rangers. For a moment though, the black dino ranger had the upper hand as the green ranger came crashing to one knee to catch his breath. He hadn't expected to go out like this, nor wanted to. But he didn't want to be the loser. It would destroy everything he worked so hard to accomplish.

"Giving up already, Tommy? You call this a challenge? I thought you were tougher than this," the black dino ranger teased. But grew more serious as he walked up to the green ranger. "You're better than this. All of this. Don't let Mindshatter take control of you. You gotta fight its control."

The green ranger dropped his head, tossing it around as the black dino ranger began to speak those words. He had refused to let those psychological tactics turn against him. He wouldn't have it this way. He would not get defeated. He didn't want to be defeated like this. But deep down within his soul, he was fighting to end this evil reign. "Shut up! Shut up!"

"Tommy, snap out of it!" the black dino ranger bellowed. "I'm here to help you. Not destroy you. Give me the sword. It has done nothing but destroyed the truth from you."

The green ranger shook his head as he swung high, coming in contact with the black dino ranger. He hit the ground in a groan as the green dragon ranger finally found the strength to rise over his aggressor. He had had enough. He pulled up his sword for another blow, but it was knocked away when a gust of wind and the ghostly spirit of the crane flew through the area. The green ranger turned in the direction of where it came, seeing the pink ninja emerge from the shadows.

Though her face was stained with tears, she still held the will-power, courage and heart to continue in the battle. Her hands were clenched at her side to control the anger raging inside of her as she walked out into the plaza to greet the green ranger.

"You have returned, Pink Ranger," the green ranger bellowed as he slowly turned to face her. "I was wondering if it would be easier to destroy you first, or have you suffer and watch my dragon zord destroy the rest of your friends."

"Don't do this, Tommy," Kim spoke up above a whisper. Her voice still hurt from crying, but she wasn't gonna give up on him. Not on the man she had loved with all of her heart. The man that had given her the gift of a child. Her husband. And best friend. "Fight it. Don't give into the evil that Mindshatter wants to use against us. You're better than this."

The black dino ranger caught his breath as he rushed the green ranger, throwing him to the ground. The green ranger growled as he twisted out of the grip of his challenger, punching the hard helmet. But the ringing and impact caused the other man to release the hold on his foe. The green ranger kicked him to the ground as he raced to collect his prized sword from the ground. But the pink ninja had moved against him, locking her embrace around him, tightening it and not wanting to let go.

"Get the hell off me..." the green ranger growled.

But Kim had refused as her grip tightened around him. The green ranger withered out of the grip, but somehow, Kim had managed to hold on. Find another way to embrace him. Not in battle or a threat. Nor in fighting. But with the heart and strength within her soul. "Tommy, please. You gotta fight this! This isn't you. This is Mindshatter's doing. This is the sword you hold in your hands. I love you! And I will not give up on you!"

For awhile, a silence fell over the two. From a guarded distance, the black dino ranger stood, ready to strike when he needed to just in case. He didn't want to take his chances. He knew how tough his friend was. He knew the power behind the evil running through the green ranger's veins. Though, the staff had been lowered, it wouldn't be too hard to raise it and strike if he had to.

The green dragon ranger clenched his free fist raising it over his head to delivery a painful blow to the pink ninja ranger.

"Kimberly, watch out!" the black dino ranger bellowed out as he raced forward, pushing the fist away. But instead, got the impact of the hilt of the sword across the helmet. The impact rang in his ears as he felt his knees lock. And before he had a chance to think, the impact of the sword had also been charged with an electric shock that rocked him to the bone. And he couldn't hold his own as he de-morphed to reveal the man beyond the mask.

The pink ninja withered out of the grip of the green dragon ranger to the fallen ranger, checking the damage done. "Jason, no!"

Jason Scott, the veteran and original leader to the Power Rangers, groaned quietly as he sat up, grabbing his chest. "I'm all right. Just a little stung. It's been awhile."

The eyes of the green dragon ranger narrowed as it fell on the two rangers before him. His grip tightened around the hilt of the Sword of Darkness as a new rage fell over him. "You! Out of all the people who decided to challenge me, it was you? Jason, you're pathetic. You should be asleep with the rest of the world. You no longer have the powers to defeat me."

Jason winced as he slowly got to his feet supported by the shoulder of Kim. His eyes narrowed as it centered on the green ranger. "Once a ranger, always a ranger, bro. Thanks to your dino morpher, it woke me up. And now, as requested, I'm here to stop you from letting this evil take control of you and the world."

The evil ranger gestured his challenger over to him, lowering the sword. "Well, then, just like old times, isn't it? But this time, I won't lose."

"We'll see about that." He moved away from the pink ninja ranger as he pulled the morpher into place, letting out the morphing call to the dino rangers. "Dino Thunder! Power Up!" He drove the key into its socket on the morpher twisting it as it initiated the morphing sequence. When the light cleared, the man, the original red ranger, had stood in the spirit of the brachio powers in the suit of the black dino thunder ranger. He knew that his powers were limited, the powers itself were and always will be fused into Tommy, but he had what he needed to protect himself against the evil of his friend.

The evil ranger didn't hesitate to move against his friend in the black suit, using the sword at a speed that surprised Jason. He had not challenged his friend on a weapon basis in a long time, and knew he was the better half with a sword. But he didn't give up. He didn't want to give up. He wasn't gonna go out like this, no matter what it took to destroy the sword and evil in his friend, for good. He hoped.

But Kim was tired of sitting on the sidelines waiting and watching, hoping the tables would turn and the good guys would be winning. That was her 'big brother' and husband fighting over the balance of good vs. evil. And she knew she was slowly getting to him, in another light. She knew that the real Tommy behind the evil was trying to break out.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The eight rangers in the megazord had managed to lure the dragon zord away from the city into the famous rock quarry where many battles had gone down for the history of the dino rangers. It was in this very quarry where they had faced the big bad Mesogog for the final time during his evil reign. But the vitals on both the dragon zord and megazord were on a critical mass. But the megazord laid dormant on the ground as the team tried to figure out a new plan against their aggressor.

"We can't go on like this! It'll implode on itself!" Ethan called out as he looked over the status of the zord.

"C'mon. We can do this!" Adam stated as he began to run codes along the cockpit of the drago zord.

"Tommy needs us to be stronger than this. Hang in there," Billy said.

"In case you haven't noticed, this megazord has gotten hit more times than I could count since we've been in our old zords months ago. It won't last!" Conner said as he shook his head.

"Self-doubt and failure are nearly the same thing. And that is exactly what you shouldn't be thinking about. C'mon, where is the fiery spirit of those teenagers I've come to love like siblings?" Aisha stated.

"Aisha's right. We can't give up!" Kira said. "This is not only for Dr. O, but for the rest of the world."

With a new line of determination, the four teens gripped the control of the dome before them, closing their eyes and concentrating on the power of their gems and the spirit of their zords. With that, a new energy and power rose over the megazord as it finally got to its feet. It struck the dragon zord, once...twice...three times... and on the fourth, let out a fire breath from the head of the tyranno zord as it roared to life.

The impact had sent the dragon zord to the ground, roaring weakly. And the team felt a victory was in their grasp soon enough. But their minds wondered about the outcome of the battle between the black dino ranger and the green dragon ranger.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The battle continued to rage on between the pink ninja and black dino ranger against their fellow ranger. With thoughts spinning, Kim had not expected to see herself fight beside Jason in an attempt to free Tommy from his evil state again. Jason, himself, still trying to get a feeling for the ranger suit and the power behind it, never would have thought he'd be battling like this again. Neither of them had any idea what to do about it, but hoped that it would end sooner rather than later.

The green ranger had kicked the black dino ranger in the chest as he stumbled back a few feet from the fallen pink ninja. It was clear they were both showing signs of fatigue and hoped it would end soon. But they didn't know what else to do about all of this. They wanted it to end now. They needed it to end now.

"Have you given up?" the green dragon ranger bellowed as he leaned against his sword waiting for their attack. "You'll make it easier for me if you just said 'yes' so I can end your very existence right now."

Jason shook his head as he helped the pink ninja to her feet, letting her lean against him for added support. He forced out a breath looking over at the exhausted Kim. "I don't know about you, but either he has gotten stronger, or we've been out of the suit longer than I would have liked."

"We can't give up on him, Jase. I know he's in there somewhere," Kim whispered as she rubbed her stomach. Though she couldn't see his facial expressions behind the helmet, she knew he was feeling the concern for her health and strength. "I'm fine. Just like getting a few bruises years ago."

Jason had to take her word for it as he nodded in turn. His body shifted as he looked up at the approaching green ranger. He pulled out the brachio staff creating a barrier in front of the weakened pink ninja. "I don't want to do this, Tommy. I don't want to fight you."

"Well, that makes one of us, doesn't it?" Tommy replied as he swung the sword about in his grasp, teasing the two rangers. "I thought you were better than this. Learned from the mistakes you made in the past? I guess I was wrong and you're no more a bigger challenge now as you were in the past."

The green dragon ranger struck the sword into the ground as it shook, sending an electrical trail toward the two rangers. They had no time to move away as they took the blow, hitting the ground again, wincing and groaning in pain. The green ranger continued to advance toward them until he came within range of the black dino ranger. He pulled the black dino ranger to his feet, gripping his suit even tighter as Jason tried to free himself from the grasp.

"This ends now, Jason. It's time to say good night. For good," the green dragon replied as he tossed the black dino ranger to the ground. He teased the weakened black ranger with the Sword of Darkness before raising it high over his head and winding up for the final blow.

Kim had seen what was going on as she forced out another painful breath, feeling some of the strength returning to her legs. She shook her head telling herself that it wasn't suppose to be like this. That it wasn't supposed to end like this at all. Her fists were clenched to white knuckles, despite the gloves on them. And she rose to her feet darting forward at a speed only guided by her animal spirit of the crane. She let out a cry as she dove forward, taking the blow meant for the black dino ranger and hit the ground, almost motionless.

"Noo!" Jason cried out as he watched the body hit the ground beside him, taking the blow.

A silence fell over the trio. The green ranger seemed to be scarred by his last attack as he took a step back. His grip around the sword loosen as he looked at the black dino ranger. It was clear that despite the fact he had wanted to destroy both the black dino ranger and the pink ninja ranger, he still had it in his heart to protect her. And now, his rage had brought her to an end. Or so it seemed. And he had hoped that it didn't.

He let out a growl. "You did this! You brought her into this!"

Jason shook his head as he lightly pressed a hand to the woman's neck. She was still breathing. That was a good thing; just unconscious and dazed. "You did that yourself, Tommy. Do you see what your rage has caused? It will destroy what you have with Kimberly. You're one true love and wife. Do you want it to get worse?"

The green ranger took a step forward lowering the sword so it was inches from Jason's face. His stance grew heavy and darker as more rage fell over him. But Jason stood his ground and refused to move. "This is all your fault."

"No. My fault would be to give up on you and I haven't. You're not a bad guy, Tommy. Mindshatter is making you think you are. Don't let him get to you, bro!"

The green ranger raced forward, but the black dino ranger had moved even faster as he moved the staff into a huge circular motion before Tommy. Quietly to himself, he held his breath. "I'm sorry for doing this, Tommy." His grip around the staff tightened with his strength. "Dino energy orb! Now!" he felt the surge of energy and let it loose and locked onto the green dragon ranger.

His cry echoed out in pain as the surge of energy forced him to stop dead in his tracks. He felt his grip loosen on the sword and as the electrical shock and energy surge enveloped his body, the very thoughts of being evil had left him. His mind screamed with pain as he heard the crying call of the falcon ring deep within his soul. As the energy orb broke away, the green dragon ranger's knees locked and he dropped the sword. The sword itself, hit the ground and smashed into a million pieces like a shattered mirror. And then the green dragon ranger hit the ground and hit the pavement face first as the final battle in the evil green ranger suit had ended.

And Tommy laid there motionless as he de-morphed. Jason let out a breath as he relaxed for only a moment, powering down the shield of the black ranger suit and bent down beside the pink ninja ranger. She moaned lightly as she finally came to, her eyes opening slowly to meet the concern and worry gaze of her 'big brother.'

"It's over, Kimberly," he replied in a whisper as he pulled her into a comforting hug. "It's all finally over."

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The megazord loomed over the fallen dragon zord as the hint of red left its eyes and it laid there motionless.

"Is it over?" Ethan breathed in confusion as he turned to look at his teammates in the main cockpit beside him.

"Vitals show that the dragon zord is now off-line," Billy stated.

"So, do we celebrate?" Conner asked as he rubbed his helmet in confusion.

The other dino rangers looked at him and shrugged.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Kimberly rose to her feet slowly with the support of Jason as they slowly approached the fallen and dazed man before them. He had stirred for only a moment, when his reflexes brought up into a knelt position. Jason took a step back acting as a guard for his 'little sister' as he looked down at the confused science teacher.

For the first time since the battle begun, Tommy had looked up in confusion. It was clear that he must have forgotten what had happened, or had no real recollection of the recent events. He groaned as he grabbed his head, rubbing it as he let out a breath. As he sat there, trying to remember what had happened, Kim had walked over to him, bending down beside him to lay a hand on his forearm.

"I'm here, Tommy. It's over," she whispered as she fought to blink away the tears forming in her eyes.

As the man looked up into the eyes of his wife, the recent events had played like a broken record in his own mind as he looked away. The guilt and anger rolled over him for ever thinking he'd be in that state of mind again, and for harming his wife as he did. But the woman had not cared as she wrapped her arms tightly around him as his own hold pulled her even closer. His own fears were slowly leaving him, but still left the scars he wanted so badly to get rid of.

Jason still stood a step back to give the couple some privacy, but as the true black dino ranger looked up at his best friend and brother, by all but blood, he had nodded his thanks and approval for his sacrifice. Jason had nodded back in turn without saying anything more.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Mindshatter growled as he slammed his fists into the chair. He had seen the battle unfold on the monitor, but his fury grew when the dragon zord couldn't do away with the rangers and their megazord. He grew even angrier to see the veteran and original red ranger go up against his prized ranger in a battle that had won over to the good side. And his Sword of Darkness was now destroyed.

He watched the five candles continue to burn, slowly. But surely be what he needed to end the very existence of the dino rangers for good. He clenched his fists raising them high over his head. "Get ready for phase three of the battle, rangers!" he growled. "You won't stand a chance."

**_to be continued..._**

_A/N: I hope you guys liked part two of the final battle. And you can't forget that they still gotta face Mindshatter and his evil creation with Dinoshade and Mesogog. Don't freak out too much, but I hope you like it so far. The end is near, but yet so far. I must apologize for the long wait. I just started college and was trying to get into the gist of it. It is a new thing to me and has taken me by surprise just a little bit. So, wish me luck as I continued on to further my education and keep an eye out for another line of posts. I want to thank ZRacer7350 for his inspiration and ideas on this part of the story. I hope you liked it, man. It was a little hard to do. But I hope I got some of you guys freaked out or surprised about all of this. And if any of you guys know of people who have read my story, or are interested, mind dropping them in on my writing? I would appreciate it, just as much as any ideas you guys might have. See you when I do. And May the Powers Always Protect You._


	44. Sacrifices

**'TIL I COLLAPSE** - **_PART FORTY-FOUR: SACRIFICES_**  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: The battle has moved into the fortress and a lot of choices have to be made in order for others to survive._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. Never will be, only the power of this fanfic and how it will end._

_A/N: So, the battle rages. I was playing a lot with this part of the story and didn't know how to end it. Hope I don't shock you, too much. Read on if you want to see what happens next._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"After all these months, and after everything I did, is there even a place for me in this world. I have made a lot of mistakes, screwed up numerous times. And I do not think I could ever get rid of these scars no matter what I do. I messed up big time, but I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me for what I have done and what I am about to do."-Eclyptyk Neo_  
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Tommy didn't know what to think at that moment as he held his wife close to him. The memories of the last battle played in his head like a broken record. He just didn't want to believe that he had gone through that again. And when it had led up to that moment he had wanted to land the final blow on Jason, Kim had came in the way of it, putting her life on the line and showing him a new perspective on sacrifice.

It crushed his inner being, his animal spirit, as he watched himself drop the sword. His physical being could not be controlled. His thoughts were being scrambled and jumbled, but in the astral plains, in the depths of his soul, he knew what was going on. He was evil, yet again. A fear he had lived with from the very moment he was free from it years ago. And he had to live with it again. Scars that may never get healed as he shuddered, letting the tears fall from his eyes.

The plaza was disrupted by a line of echoing shouts and footsteps that only belonged to the four dino rangers and the rest of the Ninjetti team. The four teens froze when they saw the sight on the plaza, of husband and wife holding each other. They weren't sure what to believe as they got closer. A sign of relief fell over the older rangers.

All in their civilian forms, they came to a halt beside the original red ranger.

"Wait! Jason! I thought you were asleep with the rest of the world?" Conner questioned as he scratched his head in confusion.

"Well, thanks to Kim's quick thinking, she found me and revived me with the power of Tommy's dino gem. I took hold of the powers and battled him until I destroyed the Sword of Darkness."

"Now, doesn't that sound a little familiar?" Rocky chuckled as he got elbowed by Aisha for making a bad joke.

"But we're not out of this yet," Trent shook his head.

"And why did you have to be right about that?" Kira replied sarcastically as she pointed to the skies.

A darken storm covered the area and a huge invisi-portal opened up before the assembled ranger team. The four teens took a step toward it, all holding their own for what laid ahead before them inside it. Aisha, Rocky, Adam and Billy walked over to them letting their face show the evident of sadness and fear that laid in their hearts.

"This is as far as we can go," Billy replied.

"You're not coming with us?" Ethan felt his world come crashing down.

"We can't. These gems will be shut down once we step onto the fortress. It would do us no good if we went with you." Adam replied.

The four teens exchanged a look before turning to their mentor. Though, he was still shaken by what had happened earlier, the determination and courage filled him again. He held his wife close to his side. And it was clear she had not wanted him to go, let alone her young friends.

"We got a job to do," Tommy spoke quietly as he felt his strength returning. "This is the life of a ranger. We live up to many dangers. This is one of them, but we will learn from it. And it will be hard, but if you guys keep your heads up high, I know we will succeed."

Jason walked over to his best friend's side, holding up the brachio staff and dino morpher that belonged to the true black dino ranger. For a moment, he was almost sadden to give it up, but had kept it to himself. Slowly, Tommy had taken it from his friend before clasping his friend's hand and pulling him into a guy hug.

"Thanks, man," Tommy nodded slowly.

"I got your back, bro. And I wish you luck," Jason stated with a firm nod. He turned to look at the younger rangers, their faces were still lit with some fear. "I wish all of you luck. The powers will always protect you. Don't stop fighting until the very end."

The teens had exchanged their own hugs with the elder rangers as each had spoke of wisdom to their ears. Words of wisdom they were glad to hear to keep them going. To make sure that there was no way for them to turn back from here and keep going until they collapsed. Even if it was until their last breath. They would always keep fighting. They were, after all, rangers to the end, no matter what. And they had a long line of predecessors to thank for the legacy.

The teens buried the pink ninja ranger in a group hug as she embraced them with her own knowledge. It wasn't like they were leaving for good, but it almost felt like it.

As the words of wisdom died down and the elder rangers had taken a step back, they had given their own respect and salute toward the dino team's final battle. Conner looked over each shoulder to see his teammates take his/her place at his side. And as one, they had raised their morphers into place and initiated the morphing call they had grown accustomed to.

"Dino Thunder! Power Up!" the four original dino rangers announced.

"White Ranger! Dino Power!" Trent announced.

And as the light had cleared, the five dino rangers had been back in their respectable ranger suits. They stood their in silence for only a moment, peering over their shoulder at the invisi-portal awaiting their entrance. The ninja rangers had stepped forward, tossing them the gem that had powered up the megazord. Conner had caught the ruby, Ethan the blue sapphire, Kira the tiger's eye, Trent the black diamond, and Tommy had caught the rose quartz along with his own falcon morpher from his wife.

Conner looked down at the ruby he held in his hand, running a hand across his helmet. "I thought you guys said that this was no good in the island fortress?"

"For us it won't do any good. It'll be like we stepped into the very source of the morphing grid's disturbance, which we are, and it won't do us any good. Remember, we still got our limits. But it shouldn't be a problem for you guys," Billy instructed them. "You are the only ones who could actually morph, remember?"

The team looked down at the gems now in their position. Exchanging thoughts as they looked at each other, they nodded slowly, and held out their morphers, pushing the gem to it. It melted into the embrace as it glowed to life, letting a light cover each of them and died out just as quick. But with it, they could feel the guided strength and power of the ninja spirits within them. It was more evident now than it was when the power transfer had occurred weeks ago.

Adam had pulled out a small device, tossing it to Ethan as he looked at it with some confusion, asking the black ninja ranger what it was. "That's the very device that should guide you through the plans we have discussed. You're the only computer genius on the team who will be able to program it into the main drive on the fortress and hopefully destroy the entire network for good."

"We programmed the readouts of the fortress into each of the morphers, as well as enhanced your communications for private conversing within the comfort of your helmets. Unfortunately, what goes on there won't do any good for us. You will truly be on your own up there," Billy stated.

The four teens had exchanged another look as their determination was growing more and more on fear and worry. But they knew they had a job to do. After running one last check on the equipment, Billy had given the team the thumb's up as they turned and headed for the invisi-portal. But the elder rangers had fallen silent, having nothing more to say as they watched them disappear into it and it closed behind them. An eerie silence fell over the rangers left in the plaza.

"Good luck, rangers. May the powers always protect you," the team had said quietly in unison.

**_XXXXXXXXXX _**

When the dino rangers had passed through the portal and through to the other side, they found themselves in an empty hall in the island fortress. But as they made the move from portal to the fortress, each of them felt their knees lock and seeking out some oxygen to breath. It was as if the wind was knocked out of them, and they were in search of their breath and some strength.

Leaning against the wall, each of them shook away the daze and they tried to stand on their own two feet.

"What's going on?" Conner asked as he looked over at his teammates, seeing the weakened steps in their stances. He reached over and grabbed Ethan before he collapsed to the ground, leaning against the tall red ranger for support.

"Dr. Oliver, any thoughts on this?" Trent looked over at the man in the black dino suit.

For a moment, Tommy had grabbed his chest as he forced air back into his lungs. He had no idea what to think as he leaned against the wall. Searching in the depths of his mind, he tried to recall the battles he had faced in the past, seeing if there was any links to them. As he thought, the images of himself being drained of his green ranger powers played in his mind. He let out a breath as he shook his head. "We don't have much time. If I'm correct about this, there was some other vital information Mindshatter had collected from the Gamma-Tri System..."

"Which is?" Ethan asked as he winced under a sudden pain that shot up his arm.

"He's using a set of five candles to drain us of our dino gem powers. Since all of us have been on the fortress since he has arrived, we managed to leave behind some sorta fingerprint he has fused into each of the candles."

"And I assume that is not a good thing?" Kira asked as she felt her steps falter, her legs barely having the strength to hold her up. She nearly collapsed to the ground, but her mentor had caught her before she hit the ground. "How much time do you think we have?"

"It could be hours. It could only be minutes or even a few days. All I know is we have to destroy them and Mindshatter before he can get a hold of them," the black dino ranger stated as he watched the weak forms before him falter again. "I want Ethan and Trent to go to the mainframe room and run that program. No one knows this place better than you, Trent. Conner and Kira, you're with me. We'll have to take on Mindshatter until those two get that program loaded and running."

The teens wanted to argue with him, feeling that splitting up was a bad idea, but they had no time to argue. They had to face Mindshatter and soon, or they could very well say good-bye to their dino powers for good, if not their very existence. And that isn't what they wanted to do. The black dino ranger had wished the blue and white rangers the best of luck and that the powers will guide them as he, Conner and Kira turned and headed up the hall.

Trent and Ethan had exchanged a look before heading down the hall, the sinking feeling returning to their stomachs as they moved.

**_XXXXXXXXXX _**

The black dino ranger had moved quickly through the halls, as his young predecessors followed close behind him. They had no time to argue or make any comments as they tried to focus on the task at hand.

For a moment, Tommy had stopped around a corner, lowering to the ground as he listened with his ears to the distant activity, if that's what he was doing. Conner and Kira had lowered themselves to a crouched position beside him as he peered around the corner again.

"What are we waiting for, Dr. O?" Conner asked quietly. The nervousness was evident in his voice and how he was crouched down. If he could, he would have wished to be on of those people sleeping right now, and have someone else out to save the world. Not him. Or his friends.

The black dino ranger held up a hand, his thoughts and focus up the hall. He waited for only a moment as he heard the scurry of footsteps up the hall. He ducked behind it looking at the red and yellow dino rangers. "I wouldn't be surprised if Mindshatter even knows we're here and is waiting for us to move against him. I say we move fast, in and out, but we gotta give Ethan and Trent enough time to load up that program."

He peered around the corner again, only to push away when a line of fire came his way. The other rangers dove to the ground as the halls were peppered with laser fire from an adversary, if not a few. For a moment, they had pinned themselves to the floor, only to slowly get to their feet and peered around the corner again.

A line of smoke filled the hall where they stood, in a haze of red. Tommy held his breath, but as he looked over at his young teammates they had already hit the ground, falling victim to the fumes of the gas. And as he tried to hold on, the gas seemed to send a signal to his mind and it shut down. His knees locked and he hit the ground falling into a deep slumber beside his fellow rangers.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Trent and Ethan had treaded down the hall quietly but swiftly in hopes not to trigger anything or send someone in their direction. With Trent as the lead, Ethan had constantly looked behind them fearing the eyes of someone watching them. If not from up the hall, possibly up in the ceiling in some surveillance work or something else.

It sent chills down his spine as he shuttered, but had run into the white dino ranger as he came to a halt around a bend in the hall. Apologizing quickly, Trent held up a hand lowering himself to the ground as Ethan did the same. "What is it?"

"I don't think we're alone," Trent replied as he raised his head to the darkened ceiling above them. "There is something here."

Then there was a crackle and a metal can hit the ground as a fume of red gas filled the hall. Trent got to his feet, pushing Ethan up the hall. And Ethan didn't have to protest as he quickened his run. The gas spreading like a wildfire through the hall. They rounded around a corner, only to get yanked into a hidden passageway and sealed after them, leaving the gas to its harm in the silent hall.

On the ground in confusion, the two rangers looked around in confusion to find themselves in a darken cramped hall. Looking around, they had no idea where they were or who/what might have pulled them in as Ethan began to feel around, feeling the helmet of his companion in front of him. Trent shrugged it off as he got to his feet, his eyes still affixed to the darken hall before them.

"I was only checking if you were here, sorry, man," Ethan apologized as he tried to adjust to the darken hall. "I think this is one of those hidden passages that Mindshatter doesn't know about."

"Good. So, now, he won't know where we are," Trent breathed as he looked around. "The only question is, where are we and how far are we from the main network room?"

"And who or what pulled us in there? What was that gas out there about?" Ethan asked.

"I don't know. Maybe the gas was supposed to either knock us out, or it could have been poisonous," The white dino ranger shrugged as he pulled out his drago sword, lighting it up to get a better view of where they were. He jumped back at the surprise and shock of three tyranno-drones standing before him. But as if he thought they were gonna attack, they had fallen back in shock of the light. It almost seemed like they had been afraid of it.

One of the t-drones stepped forward as he grabbed the white ranger's wrist, pulling him along. But Trent had retaliated, thought it was a threat, and attacked him only to have the other two shake their heads in dismay, hands up in a surrender. It was clear that both Ethan, nor Trent had any clue how to really communicate to the three t-drones. But it was clear with their gestures that they wanted the two dino rangers to follow them up the hall. With some skepticism, the two rangers could only shrug as they followed the three t-drones up the darken hallway.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Tommy had found himself strapped to a chair located in the master bedroom, which he shared with his wife, back in his civilian form, his attire was black from head to toe. He groaned and winced as he tried to break free, but it was clear that he was strapped down. His head was spinning, he had no idea what was going on. He couldn't even recall what had happened moments ago.

He could only remember being in the fortress and the next, falling asleep. "Hello! Is anyone there?" he called out as it echoed through the void.

But there was no answer as he fought to loosen the straps around his chest, arms and legs. But none of them seemed to budge and that was what was frustrating him. He looked down at his wrist only to realize his bracelet, nor dino gem was nowhere in sight. And all of a sudden, he had felt like he had no idea who he was. That as he tried to recall the memories of being a ranger, none of them made sense. It was all jumbled. Like it didn't exist and that he was merely a person who had admired the rangers, but was not one himself.

But something else inside of him, on the astral plains of his mind, he felt all of his anxiety and true self was. But somehow, his own physical motions and mental thoughts had been played with. And it was hard to recall what was reality and what wasn't. It hurt to think. It almost hurt to breathe. His head was spinning but he, himself, felt fine. Or that's what his body was telling him.

He called out again, until a figure had walked into the room from behind him. The echoing footsteps filled the room as if he was in a void as he tried to look behind him at who it was, but couldn't move. The light smell of vanilla filled his ears and as he watched a hand reach around pulling the straps away, the very image of his wife stood before him. She leaned over laying a warm, passionate kiss on his lips as he pulled her into his lap as she straddled him.

The kiss had went on for some time, but suddenly as if by some other means, Tommy had turned away catching his breath and shaking his head. "No. There's something not right about all of this."

The woman in his lap had looked at him with puppy-rich brown wet eyes. She leaned into him laying another kiss on his lips as she ran teasing fingers down his face. Kimberly shook her head as she brought his face, made his eyes meet her own. "What's wrong, Handsome? You okay?"

"Um...yeah, I think so." he asked as he shrugged off the pain in his shoulders. "Is there a reason I was strapped down?"

"I'm worried about you, baby. You're spending so much time in your research and teaching I feel like there is never enough time for us. It feels like we aren't married anymore. That all you care about is all this work you do with Dr. Mercer," she looked away trying to hide the fears of what seemed like a nightmare that was already coming true. That her husband no longer cared for her, but his work.

He shook his head as he pulled her close to him, laying a kiss on her forehead as a line of tears streaked her face. "No, baby. That's not true. And in case you're forgetting, my work with Dr. Mercer has nearly ceased to exist for the technology used by the dino rangers."

At the last set of words that escaped his mouth, his wife looked at him as if he had said something extremely wrong. That he was hiding behind a shield and lying about everything that escaped his mouth. "What are you talking about, Tommy? We've been married for almost four years now and you act like you don't even know me..."

"Wait...what!" he breathed as he heard her last statement. Now, he had his own chance of looking at her like she was insane and that she had said something wrong. He knew, for a fact, that they were not married for not even a year yet. And she is going off and saying they were married for almost four? What was going on?

"See, this is exactly what Adam told me about you. That you would be in denial and have no clue about us anymore. That our relationship was crumbling. We hooked up at Trini's funeral and got married by the time the end of the year came around. How could you forget?"

Tommy looked at Kimberly shaking his head. "What! No, that's crazy talk. It wasn't until last year when we started talking again. And you made the discovery about me being the black dino thunder ranger."

Kimberly laughed at his comment, slapping him in the chest as she continued to laugh. It made Tommy raise an eyebrow in confusion as she shook her head, clearly thinking he had gone off the deep end. "Black dino thunder ranger? Aren't we a little too old to be talking about being Power Rangers, Tommy? That was in the past. Now, it's just us. Having a normal life, being normal human beings."

Tommy tried to calculate all of this in his head, but it didn't seem to make any sense to him. As he tried to recollect any memories of him being the black dino thunder ranger, none of it made sense. "So, what happened to the Power Rangers, then?"

"Well, after the Space Rangers did away with Dark Spector and made the ultimate sacrifice to destroy Zordon to restore balance to the universe, there hasn't been a team since. Are you sure you're okay? All this stressing out must have gone straight to your head."

Tommy shook his head. But it almost seemed like what she was telling him was the truth. But in the back of his mind, he felt like it was all a lie. He got to his feet carrying his wife along laying her on the bed, but had paced the room in his own frustration. None of this was making any sense to him. How could there be no more power rangers? Why wasn't evil running amok? How could there have been no other ranger teams in nearly seven years. It just didn't make any sense to him. That would mean, he wasn't the mentor of the current team of rangers because there was no ranger team. "No. I don't know what's going on here, Kim, but whatever you're saying I can't believe."

Kim sat up and looked up him, giving him a more serious look. "Have you been taking drugs? Or doing some excessive drinking?"

"What about Serena?"

"Who's Serena!" Kim glared at him thinking immediately it was some ex-girlfriend from his past.

"Our daughter," he breathed as he looked at her, trying to keep his cool. But she was starting to not make any sense and tick him off more and more. Now, she was accusing him of doing some excessive drinking and drugs, but he wasn't like that at all. "Well, mine. From a past relationship but..."

"We have a kid?" she looked at him like he was insane.

"And I thought you were pregnant," he stated pointing to her flat stomach.

"I'm pregnant!" she breathed in confusion. "No one told me about this. And I think I would know if I was."

"Kim, this is crazy. Are you sure you're not the one who might be doing a little..." he imitated taking a puff or taking a shot as her mouth dropped.

Kim got off the bed, rushing over to him, and though she was small compared to him, shoved him into the wall, eyes heated with anger and rage. It was clear that he had said something wrong to tick her off, but he only wanted the truth from her. "How dare you think I would do any of that, Thomas! I wasn't like you who screwed up my life and went into depression..."

"For your information, if you didn't send me that letter in the first place, I wouldn't have been through all this shit in my life. And maybe, I wouldn't have been acting like such an ass right now," he retorted, not taking this anymore. It was clear that this was either some bad nightmare, or a reality that he had not wanted to face.

But it was clear that when he had said that, it had set her off just a little. For a moment, she had stepped back, giving him some room to breathe and he had fallen silent. He didn't mean to let it out like that, but there was just so much going on in his head. It was like a whirlwind of confusion, anger, and other mixed feelings he couldn't figure out.

He let out a breath as the anger left him slowly walking over to his wife, but as he did, it was like their magnetic poles were keeping them apart. As he approached her, she had backed away. "Baby, please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I just need to know a few things."

Kim had collapsed on the bed as the man approached her, but she had found nothing more to say. But as Tommy tried to grab her, she pulled away from his embrace. And as he tried to hold her again, she just shrugged or pushed him away, finally making contact with a fist to the face and a kick to his package. Tommy winced under the impact as he froze for only a moment, dropping to his knees and lowering his head to the ground. He didn't have to lie. It hurt and he didn't expect that at all. He groaned as the small petite woman peered down at him, tears streaking down her eyes.

"You brought this on yourself, Tommy. That's all we've been doing now; argue and argue. And it finally hit you harder than you would have liked," she said quietly beyond the tears.

Tommy nodded slowly, but internally, shook his head. There was still something wrong with this picture. As real as it was, it still didn't seem right to him at all. He closed his eyes, searching deep in his heart and in himself trying to find the truth. That's when he saw the events of the last battle going down. He knew, then and there, that he really was the black dino thunder ranger. And he had fought alongside his team, students at Reefside High where he taught, to destroy the psycho rangers and cybots. But it had led to him falling victim to his evil self, stripping off his powers of the brachio and the falcon and fighting them from his old evil ways in the green dragon ranger suit. And he called upon his dragon zord and almost destroyed them, but his brother, by all but blood, Jason had freed him. And then, phase three of the battle brought the dino thunder rangers to the island fortress in hope to face Mindshatter for the final time and be the victor in it. That was it. That was the truth.

This dream before him was just a lie. Of a distant future, or the possible thoughts and what if's in life. But it wasn't the truth. What he knew was that he had hooked up with Kimberly, his one and only real true love more than a year ago, got married and was expecting a child in August. He also knew that he really had a daughter from a love he thought could have replaced Kim, and that there was so much more he had left to do in the world. Not only as a Power Ranger, but as a teacher, mentor and human being.

Tommy had far too many fears, but one of them was losing the trust of his wife. Of hurting her and not believing that they could ever make it as a married couple. But in the back of his mind, his dreams had played out. What if things had changed a little? And they had been re-united all those years ago during Trini's funeral. Things would be so much different. But this different to play out like this present didn't even exist. That there was no ranger team to date, and he was actually living a normal life. It was too good to be true.

That was his sacrifice. He made many of them. He threw away a life of being normal to become a hero and role model to the world. And no one had a real clue what his status was as a ranger. He had to work in the shadows of being a regular Clark Kent/Superman image to those around him.

He looked up as he let out a painful breath shaking his head. "This isn't true. This is all a lie. I know what is the truth and have fought through your lies and deceit. I will not fall to you, Mindshatter."

Then the image of Kim had faded to reveal the very image of Mindshatter, a ghostly image as he reached out to grasp the black dino thunder ranger, take his soul as it felt, but Tommy had already blacked out.

"Ahh!" he screamed as he heard his voice echo out in his head and the hall. The black dino thunder ranger sat up looking around as he found himself in the hallway where he remembered dozing off in. He noticed the two thrashing figures beside him, having their own set of nightmares and lies bent into truth. "Guys, wake up! Conner. Kira. Snap out of it!"

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Conner found himself on the soccer field among teammates and the opposing team. It was a game. But not just any game as he looked at it. In the stance, on the field, on his uniform, and the many signs that showed sponsors from different areas of advertisement, he was in a very crucial game. The game to determine where the gold metal for the Olympics should go to; America or Japan...

The game was on the line. The score was tied, 2-2, and it was only two minutes left in the game.

"What the...?" he breathed for only a moment as he felt something tug at his foot.

As if in slow motion, teammates called out to him telling him to run with the ball, pass it or just keep it out of the Japanese hands, but for some reason he couldn't comply. He didn't seem to understand. And all of a sudden, his entire life long dream of being one of the best soccer stars in the world had shattered before him.

Someone from the Japanese team had swept the ball right under him as he tumbled to the ground. He felt something in his leg snap, and he was sure that fall must have taken out his knee or ankle. Or something. He couldn't tell, the pain wasn't really there, but the snapping of a bone did. His mind raced with mixed feelings, and he couldn't make sense of what was going on. All his skills as a soccer player were gone and it was like he didn't even understand the sport at all. His own teammates, faces that looked so familiar to him, but couldn't put a name to, cursed at him for losing it as they raced down the field to catch their aggressors.

For awhile, Conner didn't seem to move. He was too struck with fear to realize what was going on. And as he called out for help, no one came to his aide. He laid there watching as the team Japan raced down the field closer and closer to the US goal. The goal keeper danced about in fear as he prepared himself for the save. The goal keeper, who didn't seem to know soccer all too well, as it seemed, but was quick-witted had been dressed in the attire of the US team. He was an African-American boy, a teen, just like Conner.

And as Conner winced in his pain, the numb feeling running up his entire leg, the reality of it took him by surprise. The goal keeper was Ethan James, his best friend with more knowledge of computers and dancing over any sport. And as he looked into the stance, he saw more familiar faces. Upset and worry falling over them from friends, family and fellow students from school.

On the opposing side, they were horrid creatures. Monsters and creations made by the evil beings who wanted to take over the world, if not galaxy. And as he looked out on the field, this was more than just a sport, it was a down right battle. The other teammates, on his side, were his fellow rangers. And it was more than just a soccer game. There were more players on the field than need be.

The opposing team, the cybots he swore were destroyed. They were no longer the Japanese people he swore were just there. Though, not equipped with their guns, they still had the sharp deadly spike on the elbow and knees. They would ram into his teammates, the other rangers, show them no merely and leave gapping wounds on his teammates. But they kept fighting, either refusing to morph, or had no powers to protect them, it was hard to tell.

But then the assembly of cybots had formed like a stampede toward the lone goal keeper and Ethan appeared as if he had already shit his pants. Conner called out to him, screaming at the top of his lungs, but it didn't seem to do much good.

But where his scream seemed to have failed, another piercing cry sent several cybots to the ground as Conner turned in the direction of where it came. The yellow dino thunder ranger raced onto the field, racing over to the downed red dino ranger. "Always got your back. Don't forget that, Conner."

Conner nodded slowly as he watched the swift skills of Trent take the ball from the fallen cybots heading back up the field. With the amazing soccer skills of Carlos and Adam on each side of him, the trio and moved back up the field toward the other goal post. But there was one problem, the goal keeper was none other than Mindshatter. And it was clear he had sent laser fire their way trying to throw off their step or annihilate them as it appeared.

But they were going down, and finally no one had manned the soccer ball. No other teammates remained to have the strength to take the ball to the goal. And as Kira raced over to it, she had been taken out to. Conner heard himself scream again as he looked around, only to see the motionless bodies, the field littering with his teammates. And he never felt so alone on the battlefield.

The ghostly image that looked like Mindshatter bellowed out a laugh and taunted him. Conner winced under the pain as he slowly tried to get to his feet. As he began to calculate what weight he could put on his legs, he knew that it was his ankle that he had busted. But the soccer ball was so close, and so was the post. If he could just get to it...

Here was his fear. A test of his fears and his dreams. What did he want the most and where would he learn the most from? Following his dreams to become a world famous soccer star? Or throw it all away to understand the greater good of protecting the planet, helping mankind, and leaving his own mark in the legacy of a huge line of heroes? There were so many choices in life, and he had remembered not all of them were always gonna be what he liked, but it had to be done. For reasons. Some reasons that he would not understand. And the fear of being alone, that he had relied so much on everyone else, that now that it was his real time to shine, he wasn't quite sure if he was ready for it. Self-doubt, a virtue he had longed to get rid of, but still was working to understand. But he couldn't give up.

That was his sacrifice, to put his dreams of being a world-class soccer player on hold. His future on hold. And now, his future was full of more mystery and surprises he wasn't sure he was hoping to see. He thought he knew his life, but since he became a ranger, it was a whole other thing. A new type of light. A new set of responsibilities and friends.

He slowly hopped toward the soccer ball and scooped it up as he pushed it into the air and used what energy he had left to leap off the ground, strike the ball in mid-air to show off his creative back-flip kick. But he didn't have the strength to catch himself under just one foot as he stumbled to the ground, watching the ball fly across the air and toward the goal.

And it went in. Score. Game over. The game was won, and it was by the rangers.

The ghostly image of Mindshatter bellowed out an angered breath as he held out his fist toward the fallen red dino ranger. Conner could watch was his color...his life energy...was being stripped from him. But he looked deep within, concentrated on what heart and courage he had built up inside of him. He could feel his connection into the very universal dino energy that was his alone. The one power that he had specially signed to him as the Triassic Ranger. And his eyes fell shut and he watched as the glowing power of his dino gem and the ruby in his possession merged and mixed, the echoing cry of his tyranno zord echoed in his mind. And he had blanked out, the energy returning to him.

"Ahhhh!" he cried out as he sat up quickly, sweat was beading down his face. And as he tried to wipe his face, he had realized that his ranger helmet was still on his head. And as he looked around, he saw he was back in the hallway where he had collapsed under a strange fume.

The black dino thunder ranger quicky put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it for reassurance. Conner looked over at him, noticing that his mentor had suffered from his own weird nightmare. No words had to be said about it, he knew and sensed it in his stance. But then he had noticed the thrashing around of the yellow dino thunder ranger beside him, concluding that Kira was still trying to find her way out of the twisted nightmare.

"Kira, wake up!" Conner called out to her as she tried to shake her awake.

"C'mon, Kira. Wake up," The black dino ranger said quietly as if by prayer.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Kira found herself in the hills just outside of Hollywood, CA on a ledge looking out over the sea. For awhile, she sat there thinking, guitar in hand as she strummed it trying to find something inspirational to write about it.

As she looked over herself, decked out in the punk-rock bling of money and fame, she couldn't seem to believe that her dream had finally come true. She had made a record, it set platinum and she was gonna tour the nation on a tour. It was a dream she had wished for for a long time. And here she was in the middle of it. It felt like only months down the road.

She continued to strum, only to hear the echoing voices of others beyond the threshold into the house. As she got up, frustrating settling in – she needed peace and quiet in order to write – only to be bombarded by lawyers, managers, producers and others in the musical entourage. Bellowing out questions, statements, and other comments her way, she couldn't grasp any of it as she tried to kick them out of her house. But as she made it out of the house, to drive them away, she was bombarded with screaming fans.

Kids of many ages, shapes and sizes, teens screaming and chanting her name, guys bare chested with the letters of her name painted onto them as they rocked out to one of her songs. It was a freakin' block party on her front step as she got the musical entourage out of the house. Though she could hear the noise from beyond the door, she was glad to have some time to herself.

She looked around the empty house, realizing that it was a whole lot of space for one person. It was quiet. Was she really the only other occupant in the house? But as if by heightened hearing or a sixth sense, she had heard the rap of music in the distance beyond the noise outside. Music to her ears, she followed it as it lead downstairs into the darken basement that almost didn't seem to be in much use.

It was dimmed, but she had moved toward the room where the music began to grow and become more familiar. Tracks and sounds she knew that Trent was laying out for his own career in music, if he thought he had it, if not some new flavor for her. She peered inside, to see the teen donned in a white flannel at his desk. It was clear that it was just a recording and that he had been listening to it over and over again as he was drawing out something on a piece of paper.

On the wall, it was decked out with the faces of comic covers he had designed, stories and comics that were published under his name. And it was clear that he had gotten his own wish in fulfilling his artistic dreams of drawing and comics.

"Hey," Kira greeted the other occupant in the room at work, but it was clear that he didn't hear her. She wasn't sure if he was too into his work to notice her, or just didn't care to see her there, but it was clear it added some frustration to him.

She walked over to him, placing a hand on his forearm. The teen stopped for a moment, dropping the pencil and looking at the hand on his arm. Either she had done something wrong, or he was glad to feel her presence. It was hard for her to tell as she slowly pulled it away. But Trent had grabbed it in his own, holding it tightly, but not in a threatening way, but a secure and caring way.

"I didn't think you'd get rid of all those music producers, managers and writers and have the time to notice I was down here," he spoke quietly as he pushed the chair back, pulling her to sit in his lap.

"Why?" she seemed confused by his words. He made it sound like he was no longer apart of her life, but that wasn't true. He was nearly everything she could ask for in her significant other. They shared such an innocence and purity that belonged to them alone.

"Well, you've been so busy with them. The fans and getting ready for this tour, we haven't had much time to ourselves like we did months ago," he said still feeling left out and ashamed for something.

Kira shook her head as she leaned into him laying a quick kiss on his lips and laying her head against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. "Don't say that, Trent. I would never..."

"But you have. And I've been in and out of comic book products and producing new tracks for you that I don't think there was ever a real time we've had the chance to just sit and hold each other," He sighed as he looked away.

"What about now? I'm here, right?"

"Yeah, that's true," Trent could only shrug. But it was clear that something else was bothering him.

"What's wrong, baby?" Kira asked him gently, hoping to have him tell her what else was on his mind.

"I can't help but look at all this and feel like we threw away everything from our past for nothing. We gave up our powers to pursue our dreams. And it got us exactly what we wanted, except our friends. Since all this fame, it feels like they've defaced us and kicked us out of the group."

"What!" Kira breathed. That didn't make any sense to her. Did she hear him right? They were no longer power rangers, that they gave up their powers to pursue their dreams? And now, they have been betrayed by all of their friends because of their fame? It didn't make sense. They should be happy for them, not deface them and find the two of them nothing more to them. "Even Conner and Ethan? And Dr. O and Coach?"

"Especially them. I mean, your record deal came so fast. And as soon as I got out of high school, comic book companies were calling me left and right. I'm not sure how it happened, but it did."

Kira looked at him still not believing what he was saying. This couldn't be true. She kept telling herself that. They would be happy if she ever landed a record deal, they wouldn't deface her. And she had followed up on a dream. It was clear that their status as rangers had been put into retirement which gave them the time to explore the real world. She looked down at the ring on her finger, as she had noticed earlier, but said nothing about. Was it really an engagement ring? "What about this? How did this happen?"

Trent shrugged again. "It was sorta spur of the moment. You were sorta getting too caught up in the whole fame thing, our love and relationship was demolishing and I didn't want to leave you. Or you really leave me. So, I proposed and you accepted. It was sorta a shock to everyone, despite some happy people back home, but that was only a month ago."

But as she sat there in silence trying to grasp all that was being fed to her, she kept trying to recall all that had gone on in her life. She closed her eyes trying to look deep inside. Look beyond this. This couldn't be reality. Their friends would never turn on them. They would get all the support they could get, if not more. They were one big family, bonded together by the powers that gave them the strength to save the world. She searched and searched looking and feeling the warm presence of her dino gem fill her. Watched as the sharp shine of the tiger's eye gem had melted into the dino gem to create a bond only shared by her alone.

Her dreams and her fears mixed as one. For a long time, she had always wanted to pursue a musical career. Everyone she met, who could appreciate her work, had told her she had real talent. The only guy to tell her that outside of the ranger circle, at the time, was Trent. And he even thought of her as a hero on a different scale than being a ranger. For being brave and standing up for what she believed and could perform what she wrote. Some songs too personal for other ears, but she had real talent. But that was her fear. To reach her fame and star status, but have no one to share it with. But here she was, sharing it with her best friend...and now husband, but it just wasn't enough. She wanted her other friends to be there right with her. But they weren't. It was her and Trent against the world on their own.

Where this dream...or nightmare...seemed to start, she had looked back at the last two years of her life. She had seen more and faced more challenges than anyone her age. She was more than just an independent singer with a lot to say, she had been a hero to the world and galaxy. She protected it from harm. It held responsibility, power and great sacrifice. Her performance in school had changed, her dream and hobby of singing and playing guitar had to be put on hold. She was introduced to a whole new perspective of life. Met new people she could relate to and created friendships she would bring with her into college and beyond.

And when she opened her eyes, the very image of Trent had faded out to reveal the hauntingly image of Mindshatter. She quickly sprang from the lap as she backed away, the universal soldier turned to look at her, raising an arm to pull the life out of her. But she had held onto her life and her fears as a new lesson as she heard the cry of the ptera zord rang in her ears and she blanked out.

"Stop!" she cried out as she sat up quickly only to have a set of hands land on her shoulders for support and reassurance. She looked around to see she was in the hall where she had fallen victim to that strange red gas. The black and red dino rangers stood before her like guards and protectors as relief fell over her. The nightmare was over.

"You okay?" Conner asked her as she nodded rubbing her helmet trying to rid herself of the painful nightmare.

"I'll live." Kira replied as she let out a breath. "What was that all about?"

"Playing with our dreams and our fears," Tommy replied as he shook his head. "But since we managed to conquer them, it has made us that much less vulnerable to Mindshatter."

"How do you think Ethan and Trent are doing?" Conner asked.

"I just hope if they have fallen victim to our same fate, they find a way out of it. And if they didn't, hope they won't. That's one reality I don't want to live with," Tommy got to his feet as he helped to stable the yellow dino ranger as she stood against the red dino ranger for support.

"Yeah, I would have to agree with you, Dr. O," Kira nodded as she shuddered over the painful nightmare she just witnessed.

After catching their breath for only a moment, the trio had moved up the hall toward their destination. The main laboratory in hopes to end it sooner than later.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Ethan and Trent had followed in line with the trio of T-drones as they raced through the small compact darken hallway. It also smelt murky and sorta swampy with patches of water throughout the passageway. It was clear it was a passage not traveled by many, but at one time served a crucial purpose on the island during the experiments. Trent had to admit, he wasn't much for tight spaces, and Ethan wasn't doing any better. He didn't like that the lights would be flickering, playing with his eyes and teasing him. He felt like he was seeing things coming from the walls, but had to just stayed focused. It was probably just his imagination.

But suddenly, Trent's steps had faltered as he collapsed against the wall to keep himself straight. A rush of dizziness fell over him and he almost hit the ground, but Ethan was quick to catch him. But it was clear that Ethan had felt the rush of dizziness as he felt his own steps falter and shake under him. The trio of t-drones had continued up the hall as if they weren't gonna wait for the faltered steps of the two rangers.

"Hey, you okay?" Ethan asked as he let Trent lean against him as they continued up the hall, trying to catch up with the t-drones.

Trent nodded slowly as he swung his arm over Ethan's shoulder, feeling strength returning to his legs. "Yeah, I think so. I'm trying to figure out if this is as worse as having two white dino thunder rangers, or much more worse."

Ethan had to agree. Once they had stepped foot onto the island fortress they felt the rush of drain from not only their powers, but their lives, too. He wasn't sure what type of torment these candles their mentor had told them about, but they all knew that he didn't want to go through it again, nor did he want his students to suffer the same fate of losing their powers. And they had to agree.

Ethan felt the drain leave him as he began to retrieve some more strength. He caught up to the pace of Trent as they continued up the murky hallway. He had to admit, he didn't like the smell all too much and it was starting to driving him a little crazy. He had hoped that it wouldn't last any longer than it needed to. They needed to get to that mainframe room and fast. The rest of their teammates was depending on them.

For a moment, they had stopped when they had noticed the trio of t-drones had stopped. They seemed to be discussing something, but didn't seem too important to the two rangers. They could only wish they knew what the trio of t-drones were discussing, though. They weren't familiar with this 'dino' language, if that's what it was, and had to wonder if the only real person to understand them was Mesogog, if not Anton.

Catching their breaths, Ethan had thought about what their mentor had mentioned to them prior to the battle. About their fears and how well Mindshatter was known to manipulate one's mind from seeing one thing when it really meant another. It had bothered him for sometime as they moved through the cramped hallway, and he was in desperate need to get it out and in the open. He tapped on the white dino ranger's shoulder as he turned to look at him with some curiosity. Though, they couldn't read each other's faces, Trent knew that something was bothering the blue dino ranger.

"What's up, Ethan?" Trent asked to allow the blue dino ranger to continue.

Ethan shrugged as he rubbed the back of the lining on his neck. "I've been thinking about what Dr. O was telling us earlier. About how Mindshatter would be playing with our fears and making us believe things that probably weren't even there..."

"And?" Trent urged him on wondering what exactly was bringing about these thoughts in his friend.

"Well, I guess, out of curiosity, Trent, what are some of your fears?"

The moment those words had came out of his mouth, the white ranger almost seemed frozen in his tracks. He didn't know what to say. There were so many things he just didn't want to think about, but would haunt and scar him in ways he felt would never be healed. And that's what worried him the most. If he found no way to get rid of them, push away his past, he would feel like there was no way around it. After a good long silence, the white dino thunder ranger finally turned to look at his friend.

"My main fear is that I don't think I could ever totally get rid of my past and what it has become," Trent had to admit, but seemed to pierce his heart as he said it. "I also fear the fact of losing everything. I'm not talking more on the riches and money my father makes, but the things that make me who I am as a person, the friends I've made, and the lessons I've learned. But I mean, that's how we learn. To deal with our fears and overcome them. That's the basis of life, and if we come out of this alive, we will be that much more aware of what goes on around us and why."

Ethan had thought his friend's words. He had to admit that was some good words of wisdom, yet he had been bothered by his own question. "But what if we don't? I mean, what if we fail to succeed and truly fail? That is probably one of the biggest fears I got."

"I won't lie to you, Ethan. Failure and fear are like brothers. We all fear to be a failure in anything. It's what stops us from moving past it and prove that we can be the better man in this battle. And I don't speak for just this battle, but the battles we have faced and the battles that we have yet to face in life. And I'm not just talking about the superhero perspective, but life in general plays on whether we will succeed or not and how well we do it."

"How did you all of a sudden become some big wise monk?" Ethan had to ask on a lighter note, though he had to admit those words were hitting him like no other really could.

Trent shrugged, only to realize that the trio of t-drones had been moving along. He pulled Ethan along with him as they continued up the hall toward the way the trio had moved. "Well, I guess all those times I've hung around Dr. O and Coach, it sorta picks up on hearing such wise cracks."

"Well, they've been like your second family in more ways then one," Ethan nodded as he agreed, nor wasn't surprised to find that he'd hear such words like that from the most talked about married couple at Reefside High as well as ranger family.

"Don't try to think so much about what could happen to us, but more about what we need to focus on right now. I mean, we do got a job to do and it really is an important one." Trent had to remind his teammate.

The group had finally come to a dead-end. Both Trent and Ethan had feared that the trio had just taken them on some wild goose chase. That they weren't sure if they could trust following their word on it. They didn't have time for this minor setback, and what was worse was they had no clue where they were in the fortress. The layouts of the map weren't set out on the hidden secret passages, and even if it was, this was one corridor that wasn't mapped out at all.

Ethan had turned around feeling more frustration rush over him. He shook his head as he began to bellow out comments for how it would have been better off not to follow the drones, possibly take their chances out in that strange red gas, etc. But he was immediately shut up when Trent had smacked him on the head, which was the only thing that could have worked to make him stop.

The trio had slowly but quietly pushed against the wall, watching it shift and move out of place. And when it had been opened up, they had found themselves in the familiar light of the fortress. But that's not all they found. They were only a few feet away from the mainframe room. It was clear that the t-drones had led them in the right direction.

The two dino rangers only briefly exchanged a look as they raced down the hall toward the mainframe room. They had a lot of work to do, and not much time to do it.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Tommy had continued to lead Conner and Kira up the hall as their pace grew much quicker. But it was clear that the anticipation and anxiety was rushing over them as they got closer to the main lab. But there was no turning back. There was no turning back from the moment they had stepped into the invisi-portal.

But suddenly, a rush of dizziness fell over Conner as he collapsed to the ground. He had no time to react. He just felt as if his legs just shut down on him and he hit the ground in a thud.

"Conner!" Kira nearly screamed as she stopped at his side, trying to scooping his tall form over her to lean on.

Tommy had heard the cry as he stopped to see the yellow dino ranger helping the red ranger to his feet as he let out a painful groan. He raced over to offer his own support, but as Conner had switched his weight over to the black brachio ranger, the yellow ptera ranger had felt her own rush of dizziness and weakness. The black brachio ranger swung an arm out to capture Kira before she fell. Having to support both his students to keep them from not giving in under the motionless state of their legs. "Come on, guys. Hang in there."

"I can't," Conner groaned as he felt the pain shoot to his head. He felt like his entire life was being pulled out of him. "It's too strong."

"I agree with, Conner, Dr. O. No offense," Kira nodded, wincing under the pain that shot up the side of her body.

Tommy moved to support the two rangers as he used the wall as an added support for the two of them. But it was clear that he himself was feeling a little on the down side. He felt the rush of dizziness and weakness fill his own body. But it was clear that there was something different about what he did. And had. His ninja powers were keeping him from falling completely victim to pain. But it was enough to notice he, too, was getting weak. "I know you guys are getting weak. I feel it, too. Meaning, we really don't have much time."

Conner forced out a breath as he tried to take the lead as his position. "You're right about that. And if we just sit here, what good will that do for us?"

Tommy had to admit, internally, he was proud to have trained a worthy candidate of being a leader. Sometimes, leaders are hard to find that others, but Conner has well earned his sport as a leader. He had nodded, pulling the two along. And though Conner had finally feel the strength return to him to have him move on his own, Kira wasn't doing very good. Conner had offered his hand as a support as Tommy had taken the lead, drawing his weapon quickly as they moved up the hall.

"What's up, Dr. O?" Conner asked.

"There's something not right about all of this..." he paused as they came withing only a few feet in front of the main lab.

The trio had stopped in front of the door, but the legendary ranger had told the two to step back a little. He examined the door, sealed shut. And it was clear there was no way anyone could penetrate it. It had to be opened mechanical through the panel beside it. It was clear that the setting of it had overwhelmed Tommy, but had no real surprise. "I am not gonna lie to you guys. I think Mindshatter knows exactly that we are here, and decided to be a coward and not face us or..." He walked up to the door as he slowly let his hands hover of it.

Then it glowed to a light red as if he had triggered something. For a moment, he watched the light go on, and then suddenly blink. Slowly at first, but soon faster and faster. And with quick reflexes, the legendary ranger had pulled away, pushing his students along with him as he tried to get out of the way. The blinking had increased in speed and finally stopped, leaving a loud beep. And moments later, it had erupted into a cloud of smoke, debris and power that send the three rangers to the ground hard.

And as Conner had hit the ground, he had used himself as a shield over Kira. And for his students, Tommy had used himself as a shield. But it wasn't enough. Upon impact, the trio had fallen victim to another fall. They were now unconscious once again. And this time, it wasn't that red fume that had done it. But an explosion.

Time passed.

A sudden rush to Tommy's mind, and the cry of the falcon had forced him to open his eyes. The only problem, he felt weak from head to toe. It hurt to move his body even an inch. Just thinking about moving hurt. He groaned as he slowly and painfully brought a gloved hand to his helmet. But what was worse was that he wanted to roll over to his back, but a movement like that seemed almost impossible at that moment.

He tried to recall what had happened, watching the explosion play off in his head. It was clear that close range had sent him, Conner, and Kira to the ground hard, forcing them to fall into an unconscious state. And he had to admit, he hated to not know where or what time he was at after something like that. He had seen if far too many times in his past.

But as he managed to put some movement into his head, craning it a little to look around and pushing himself to his back. He let out a painful breath as he finally rolled over to his back, staring straight up at the ceiling. But something was wrong. He knew that the hall way wasn't this big, nor was the ceiling of that design. An abyss of darkness that seemed to go on forever.

Then, he heard a thunderous clap in the shadows of the room.

He groaned and winced, feeling some strength return to his limps as he found himself sit up. He looked around in search of the clapping trying to figure out where it came from. And when the room finally made more sense to him, the images becoming more clear, he was in the main lab. Conner and Kira were on the far side of the room, chained back to back. He was in the center of the room; he seemed to be in the spotlight of it all. On the other side of the room were the five candles that were draining them of their powers. There was a little less than half left on each candle, but his seemed to be a little less along than his teenage counterparts. His eyes never left the candles as he hoped to just somehow knock them down or blow them out, or find a way to stop them from burning, but it hurt to think of anything.

"Don't bother. By the time you'll be receiving your strength back, it'll be too late," the dark booming voice of Mindshatter filled his ears.

Tommy cursed internally looking over at the shadowed figure in the chair of the room. And he knew the universal soldier was sitting there watching him. He didn't know for how long, but long enough to drive him crazy. He had had enough. He wanted this to end now. "It's not over until our powers are completely gone or until you're defeated."

The universal soldier laughed again as he finally got to his feet, revealing himself to the black dino ranger. "You're pathetic, black ranger! You've lost. There is no way you can defeat me now. My powers go well beyond yours. I have the power to control your mind," Mindshatter bellowed as he began to circle around the black dino ranger. "Make you think what I want you to think... Say what I want you to say... See what I want you to see..." At that last comment, as Tommy watched the soldier pace around him, his very image began to melt and morph into his friend, Anton Mercer.

Tommy looked away. He wasn't gonna listen to him. He wanted so badly not to. He tried to avoid it, but it seemed like the universal soldier really did have control of his mind. His thoughts were jumbled. His movements limited. But in the hidden spirit of the falcon, in the only place he knew he felt safe, he sent out a distress call to the two remaining dino rangers. "Ethan. Trent. Get those asses moving! We don't have much time."

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Ethan had bursted through the doors nearly losing his footing as he took a look around. He watched the lights–green, red, blue, yellow, etc.–race across the boards of the network. The livelihood of any computer programmers dream. To have such power on his fingertips to control and access anything at his disposal. For awhile, he was glad that his computer skills would be coming in handy. He just could hope that he didn't fail.

Though, Trent was just as anxious, he had slowed down, stopping at the threshold, watching as the t-drones had turned and headed up the way. They had not made any other comments to the two rangers which bothered him just a little. Either they had their own set of plans or problems to deal with that they didn't have the time to stick around and lay out their own expertise.

But he had noticed and heard the low growls of more t-drones. And it finally caught his eyes as two more emerged from up the hall, each of them fixing something to the wall. He thought only for a moment until it finally hit him. "They're gonna blow this place up!"

Ethan had looked up from his spot at the main laptop controlling all activity on the island fortress, if not more. Though, Trent couldn't see his face, he knew that there was some confusion and questioning in his stance. "How do you know? I mean, they don't expect to do it while we're still here?"

Trent watched them closely before rushing to join the ranger in blue. "How about we just get this thing running as quick as we can before they do decide to get any crazy ideas?"

Ethan didn't have to be told twice as he pulled out the device that Adam had gave him regarding the program he needed to load into the system. Concentrating greatly, watching the codes fly and making sense of them quickly, he had entered it into the network. Trent had watched from behind him with awe and amazement. He had to admit, he knew computers well enough to pull out some rather awesome graphics and sites, but the basic binary language was far more advance for him. It was literally the Matrix in a code only Ethan could understand.

A silence fell over the two, when suddenly, as if in the wind, Trent had heard a voice.

"...Ethan. Trent. Get those asses moving! We don't have much time..."

"Dr. Oliver?" Trent questioned as he looked around as if hoping to find his mentor there, but it was clear that it had come from within. A part of himself, where he had somehow bonded with the likes of his fellow dino rangers and the ninja rangers, especially. It was something he could never explain or understand, but trusted it well. Trent had tapped his friend in blue, questioning him about it. "Hey, did you hear that?"

"You mean a silent wind that sounded more like in my head of Dr. O flipping out and telling us to run our asses faster?" Ethan asked, but had not stopped his work on the computer.

"Yeah, that." Trent nodded. "Think they're in trouble?"

"How about we focus on the task at hand before we worry about them? Not that I don't care about their welfare. But we gotta job to do." Ethan stated.

And it sorta surprised Trent. For awhile, Trent had been the one with words of wisdom, keeping Ethan on track, but now he was in the panic and Ethan was the one consoling and advising.

Trent nodded firmly as he moved toward the panels against the wall, using the info locked in his morpher as a guide to locate certain parameters and manipulating them according to the instructions on his morpher.

And despite their weaken state, and the sudden spasms of drain, the two pushed on. They had to, if the others were gonna make it. And they didn't quite know what state their friends were in, but worried greatly about it. A rush of thoughts filling their minds, fears mostly, but tried to push it away as they focused on their set of tasks. They had to get it done. So many people depended on it, especially their fellow teammates.

**_XXXXXXXXXX _**

The universal soldier continued to pace around the black dino ranger. As he walked his image melted to each of his friends, his voice changing with each change; from Adam to Rocky to Aisha to Kat to Jason to Tanya to Justin... it didn't stop. And as Tommy tried to fight through the thoughts, he wasn't sure what to believe or what not to. None of this was making any sense to him. He swore for a moment, he would see Adam, but then it was Kat? He had no idea what was going on as he tried to fight it.

"What's wrong, Tommy?" a voice entered his head. It sounded like Jason, it looked like him, but somewhere inside Tommy, it kept telling him that it wasn't. "There's no point in trying to fight Mindshatter anymore. We can't win against him. He's just too strong."

"No. This can't be happening. It's not true," Tommy told himself quietly.

"You did all you could have done, but there's no way around it," another voice. This time it sounded much like Andros as Tommy sunk his head to his knees. He didn't want to believe any of this. "It's okay to admit defeat. It happens even to the best of us. I'm sorry, Tommy. If only we could have been there earlier, none of this would have happened."

The universal soldier had stopped pacing around the black dino ranger, returning to his chair and his normal form. Or at least, that's how it appeared. He still toyed his Tommy's mind, playing around with the voices of Tommy's friends, putting blame on him. Making him look like a failure. Made it sound like Mindshatter could not be defeated.

And that's what was crushing Tommy on the inside. His friends would never turn on him. He had heard time and time again, as tricks and mockery to the fears he had, but it wasn't true. He had to keep telling himself that, but for some strange reason he couldn't stop thinking that maybe these were his friends talking and he just couldn't fight the truth anymore. But that's not what he wanted. It wasn't true.

"This isn't true. It can't be true," Tommy told himself quietly. "Mindshatter will be defeated. He has to."

"Look, man," now he heard Zack's voice. "We lost. We did all we could, but if you don't give our powers, the rest of the world will suffer."

Then another voice. This time it was Billy. "Sometimes you just got to make a sacrifice for those that you love, even if you don't like the consequences."

Tommy groaned under the words, trying to fight away the meaning behind them. It sounded like the truth, that his friends were winning him over, but he kept telling himself that it was true. There was no other way around it. They were at a loss. They had been defeated. After all these years, the Power Rangers had finally found their match in this universal soldier created by their original mentor, Zordon.

But a spark of hope, courage, and strength filled his heart. He could hear the echoing cry, a unique bond that he could only share with the love of his life, the falcon speaking with the crane. Inside the depths of his soul, where only he could explore love on another level that he could only share with one, his wife and true love, Kimberly. In another part of his soul, where he shared a bond with his fellow ninja rangers, where they could escape to in the astral plains of their minds, mainly through meditation, he heard the call of the other animal spirits; the bear, the ape, the frog and the wolf.

Tommy felt some strength return to his legs as he sprang up, drawing his sword and racing toward the chair. But where he swore he saw Mindshatter, now sat... his wife? He froze in fear as his staff came within only a few inches of her head. Tears welt in the eyes of his lover and best friend as she rubbed the round belly before them. "Kim?"

"Would you do it, Handsome? Would you destroy me and your unborn son?" the woman asked as the tears finally fell.

In the back of his mind, Tommy heard the cry of the falcon urge him on. It told him that this being before him was not his wife, but a lie to shield him from the truth. To destroy his thoughts and think what this master of evil sorcery was already doing to him. But Tommy was frozen in place, the staff wavering over the head of the woman he loved with all of his heart. He didn't know what to do.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Conner had finally stirred with a moan as he raised his head, opening his eyes. The shade of the visor gave the room a more dimmed look then he was used to. He soon realized that he was no longer in the hallway, and he was chained back to back with someone else. His head was spinning and he almost forgot what happened, until he felt some movement from behind him. He peered over his shoulder to see the dazed, but still full suited up, yellow ranger locked to him by a chain.

He nudged her only to catch the attention of what was going on across the room. He saw the black dino thunder ranger frozen in place as his staff was only inches from Mindshatter's head. "Hey, Kira? Wake up! Do you see what I see?"

Kira winced as she finally opened up her eyes, feeling the tightened grip around her arms. She could feel the presence of the red dino ranger against her back as he nudged her to get her attention. She looked up and in the direction where the black dino ranger caught her eye. But frozen in place, she wasn't sure what to make of the gesture. What was he waiting for? He was so close to destroying Mindshatter, and he didn't move. Or was Mindshatter capable of freezing his enemies in place under telekinesis? "Yeah, I do. What's he waiting for?"

Conner thought for a moment trying to figure out what was going on. He looked closely at the universal soldier watching him rub his belly. And as he blinked, for a quick second, he had seen what it appeared their mentor was seeing. Tommy was frozen in fear of destroying his wife. "I don't think Dr. O knows it's really Mindshatter. I think he thinks it's Coach."

Kira thought about her friend's statement as she looked over at her frozen mentor. It was clear that he stood there in confusion and fear, his arms shaking slightly as he tried to control his action. But as she blinked, she, too, had seen what looked like Kim sitting in the chair, one second and flash back to the very image of Mindshatter. It was a trick, and she and Conner had to knock him out of it. She peered over her shoulder to look at the red dino ranger, nudging him. "I think you're right, Conner. We gotta do something. Warn him and tell him that's not Coach, but really Mindshatter."

Conner nodded in turn as he bellowed out, trying to call attention to his mentor/teammate. "Dr. O, it's me, Conner. That's not Kim. It's only Mindshatter messing with your mind."

"Snap out of it, Dr. O!" Kira called out, in turn trying to squirm out of the chains, but it was locked tight around her and her red teammate. "Mindshatter is playing you out. That's not real. She's not real!"

On the other side of the room, a small smile had slipped passed the image that looked like Kimberly Hart-Oliver. But Tommy was too frozen or clueless to notice the devious smile. He could hear the voices of his teammates, but they sounded so distant. In another part of his mind like a dream. He didn't know what to believe as he was debating about lowering the brachio staff, or put an end to this madness and destroy the very person that looked like his wife. For a long time, he told himself that it wasn't her, but for the longest time, he felt lost and confused in his own mind. He had no idea what was going on.

The woman reached up to grab one of the man's hand, pulling it down as he lowered the staff in his other hand. "Don't do this, Tommy. You don't want to hurt me."

Tommy shook his head. He couldn't do it. He couldn't harm this woman, the person sitting before him. It was his wife. It was his life and angel. His crane. Right? He groaned as he tried to make sense of what was going on. He continued to hear the distant voices of Conner and Kira echo in his mind, telling him that this was all a lie, but could he believe it. He looked around, searching but found that he was now in the presence of the bedroom he shared with his wife.

Conner and Kira continued to squirm as they tried to get out of the binding, but were getting nowhere. Their voices were hurting from the constant shouting, and already being in battle for much longer then they were used to in awhile, was taking a lot out of them. But not only that, so was the candles that seemed to drain them of their powers as well as their lives.

"C'mon, Kira. We have to get out of this and help, Dr. O," Conner groaned as he tried to twist his arm out of the chains.

"What do you think I have been doing for these past few minutes?" she winced as she felt her head rush with dizziness. She looked over at the other side of the room where the candles stood, watching them burn slowly, but to an end. They were running out of time and fast. She nudged Conner asking for his suggestion on her next move. "Ptera scream?"

"Go for it," Conner confirmed with a nod.

The yellow dino ranger closed her eyes for only a second trying to muster up enough energy to launch out her signature power. It was clear with the slow drain of power, it could take out more than she was hoping for, but they were running out of options fast, and it was a risk she had to take. She concentrated on her dino gem, feeling the surge of power rise up in her lungs as she let out a piercing ptera scream that shook the entire room.

At the sound of that cry, a link between the three dino gems in the room lit up in a haze of pink. And Tommy had shot back into reality as he saw the very image that he swore was his wife, was now Mindshatter. And as he quickly pulled up his brachio staff to attack, the universal soldier was faster and launched an invisible force that sent the black dino ranger across the room and into the bolted door with a loud thud.

"Dr. O!" Conner and Kira cried out as the scream loosened the binds, but not enough for them to slip away.

The duo was still locked in the chains as they looked from their dazed mentor and teammate to the universal soldier who was now making his way toward them. In a panic, they tried to squirm out of the chains, but could not budge. They were at a lost and stand still.

The universal soldier growled as he pulled the chains, yanking the two young rangers to their feet. "You will not ruin this for me, rangers!"

"It's not over until we collapse, Mindshatter," Conner spat back in sheer disgust and determination.

"We'll do whatever it takes," Kira said as she stood by her leader's words.

"Pathetic words from a bunch of powerless rangers," Mindshatter hissed as he pointed to the candles on the other side of the room. "Your time is almost up and your powers will belong to me!"

"Not if I can help it," a voice stated from behind the universal solider. He turned around briefly only to be introduced with a strike to his chest, his grip loosened on the chains holding the red and yellow rangers as they slumped to the ground. The black dino ranger had struck him, but only briefly when he felt himself being lifted off the ground and sent across the room again.

Tommy groaned as he struggled to find his footing as he used his staff as an extra support to get back to his feet. But Mindshatter had moved at a heightened speed to close the gap between him and the black dino ranger. He engaged in a close hand-to-hand combat with the black ranger, who had lost his staff in the process of the throw across the room. Tommy wasn't used to the quick attacks when he had been dazed by being thrown around the room like a rag doll. He could only block so many, but many more registered on a part of his body that had him stumble, and he found himself being tossed across the room, crashing beside the red and yellow dino rangers, who were too helpless to offer their assistance.

"Dr. O!" Conner breathed in fear as he watched the black dino ranger struggle to sit up, even on his knees.

"I'm okay, Conner," Tommy winced as he watched the universal soldier move against him again.

The black dino ranger rolled away as the universal soldier tried to charge him, but missed. But as Tommy tried to use his dino gem to hide himself, it was clear that it was out of commission. With the black candle working against him, his powers were too limited for him to do what he wanted to do. He was in trouble, and he needed the help of his teammates. The universal soldier grabbed him again as he pulled the black dino ranger to his feet and off the ground by the neck. Tommy struggled to get free, but couldn't find a way out of it.

"It's your end, Black Ranger," Mindshatter hissed.

Tommy shook his head. This wasn't his end. This wasn't the end of the dino rangers. And he would make sure of that. They all would. They weren't going out like this. Not like this. It wasn't their time to go. "It's not over until it's finally over."

With his time being occupied with the black dino ranger, Mindshatter failed to notice the wrecking train of the red and yellow rangers as they plowed into him, making him lose his grip on the black dino ranger. He turned to face them but they were already backing away as he turned his attention to them. But it gave Tommy the time to grab his staff and slide between the universal soldier and his teammates, cutting the chains and freeing his teammates in the process.

But Mindshatter didn't stop to wait for them as the plowed into them, taking with him the red ranger as he pushed him against the wall.

"Conner!" the black and yellow dino rangers called out as they raced over to him trying to draw the universal soldier's attention to one of them rather than their weakened leader.

Mindshatter shoved the red dino ranger into the wall attacking where he found an open and dropping off the red dino ranger. Conner groaned under the impact as he hit the ground; the universal soldier turned to face the two rangers coming at him. He threw out his hand, stopping them short by some sort of field as they felt their bodies getting tugged and move at his whim.

Confused, the yellow and black dino rangers couldn't break out of his control. He had turned them to face each other, controlling their moves, making Tommy lift his brachio staff.

"Dr. O, don't!" Kira called out.

Tommy groaned trying to pull the staff out of Kira's way. But he couldn't seem to get it to follow his command. "I can't control it, Kira. Mindshatter is."

"Noo!" Conner cried out as he tried to peel himself off the ground, but he was too weak to.

And with a flickof Mindshatter's hand, the brachio staff fell and struck the yellow dino ranger. Her knees buckled as she let out a painful cry, hitting the ground before her mentor. Tommy growled under the thought of hurting his teammate as he felt the control, the shift of his body as it turned to face Mindshatter. "You!"

"Me? You attacked your own teammate, and you weren't actually being controlled by an evil spell," Mindshatter bellowed with a laugh.

Tommy closed his eyes as he began to look deep inside himself, to a place only so few could go. To a place where he knew his other hidden powers were left to protect him and his team, the spirit of the falcon. He threw out his hands, breaking the hold of the control Mindshatter on him, and raced forward, his staff held out in front of him as he swung high and low, with all of his might, to throw down the universal soldier. The guide of the falcon ran through every nerve in his body.

Mindshatter fell back several steps taking in the attacks as they moved faster and faster for him to block. He hit the wall stumbling to one knee beside the red ranger. Conner jumped back in fear, hoping not to become some puppet for the universal soldier, but it was clear that he was down for now. Tommy reached out a hand for the red ranger as he pulled him to his feet, holing the staff between the universal soldier and himself and his teammates.

"It's not over until I say it is," Tommy said in a low voice, a peak of rage and anger filling his words. It was clear that that last attack to his own teammate had been uncalled for and let out a sign of anger deep within his heart. He was pissed off, and it was clear that he was sick and tired of the tricks that Mindshatter was putting on him and his team.

"Good," the universal soldier laughed. "Then you'll be glad to see what I have in store for you." Mindshatter waved a hand as another light in the room seemed to appear on spotlight over what looked like the Geno-Randomizer.

The trio of rangers had fallen into line beside each other, Kira being supported by the two guys as their eyes fell on the chamber with confusion. It was filled with smoke, but it was clear that a shadowed figure was hidden inside. Then the chamber doors opened and a dark figure emerged from inside. Fear fell over the trio of rangers as they felt their knees buckle in fear.

The figure in itself could only be explained as being full of darkness and evil. It looked like Mesogog in a robotic form, taking parts from Dinoshade's armor and making it his own. The armor was evident on the being's arms, legs and chest. The head in itself, appeared to take on a more robotic form, but still looked like Mesogog underneath all of it. Its eyes glowed in a hint of red, but still showed evidence of the menacing golden-brown eyes of Mesogog when they didn't glow with hate.

"Who the hell is that!" Conner winced under the thought he could get his powers handed to him on a silver platter by just looking at the menacing creature.

"More like what the hell is that!" Kira asked as she felt the pull from the two rangers supporting her. It was clear that they were in fear, and none of them were ready to face this new challenger without the rest of their team.

"Lemme guess, Mindshatter found a way to fuse Mesogog and Dinoshade into one menacing being?" Tommy could only conclude as he looked over the robotic menace before them.

"And all such thoughts of helping you are strictly gone. Their mind, fused into one, belongs to me. I would like to introduce to you, Shadow Mesogog," Mindshatter hissed as he moved from his place of the room to the side of the menacing beast.

The beast didn't take its eyes off the trio rangers. It was like it was mad hungry for them, and waiting for the command to attack and tear them apart. The three rangers tried to stand the ground, but it was clear more fear was evident in the younger rangers. Tommy quietly gave them encouraging words as they continued to back away. Slowly, Mindshatter and the beast approached them, closing the gap between them.

"I hope Trent and Ethan are on their way over here," Conner breathed.

"I would have to agree with you on that," Tommy said with a nod.

"Or we're gonna be in a whole new world of pain and torture," Kira added.

**_XXXXXXXXXX _**

Trent had been working fast than his mind could really understand, it couldn't seem to catch up to what his hands were doing as he re-configured wires sending them elsewhere in the fortress. His mind was spinning with the thoughts of what his fellow teammates were going through. They were in the heart of the battle while he and Ethan were stuck using their divine intellect to get the mainframe of the fortress to work to their advantage. But it was hard work. It required a lot of thinking and fast movement.

He knew they had to get this done and out of there as quickly as possible. The team didn't do well when they were divided, and this was one time where he wished they weren't separated, but no one else could have access to the mainframe but the duo with background knowledge in computer programming.

"What's going on over there, Ethan?" Trent asked as he was making the final preparation on his part of the deal.

Ethan had been to zoned in his work to notice what was going on around him. He was in his element when he had the chance to program a computer to do what he wanted it to do. It was his speciality, to control machines as he wanted to. His fingers flew over the keyboard at speeds that could almost match up to Conner and his super speed.

"Almost done, bro. Just got to make a few adjustments so when we get up to battle, I just need to push a few buttons on the panel and should get that chamber running colder than the temperatures on Pluto," Ethan replied.

Trent raced over to his friend's side as he felt the sudden rush of dizziness fall over him. He could only image that the trio of rangers were getting it far worse, being close to the source that was draining their powers, but he, himself, didn't like it either. And he knew that Ethan was getting just as frustrated with the rush of dizziness as it disturbed his work on the computer. He had to get it done and fast. They were all running out of time, and he knew that without being told by anyone else.

Yet, both of them couldn't notice in the process that their dino morphers were glowing in a hint of pink as if giving some connection to their fellow teammates in battle. They didn't know what was going on, but felt the power drained, only to have some of it get restored by the power of the pink dino gem.

Did it have a hidden power that could heal? Trent thought to himself as he looked down at his morpher, a spark of pink showing through.

Then Ethan pushed ENTER as the screen went blank and the lights in the mainframe room dimmed and flickered. He pushed the device into his hand, using the small LCD pen to run the controls as he watched on the screen come to life with the controls of what he was hoping to accomplish. Control the activity on the island. And it was a success. A wide smile fell over his face as he began to push icons on the device, controlling the brightness of the lights in the mainframe computer room and immediate hall.

"This is awesome," Ethan huffed with satisfaction.

Trent pulled him toward the door. "Well, all right, computer genius. You can celebrate on the way to the main lab. The others need us."

The blue dino ranger grew more serious as he locked the device on his belt and followed his teammate out into the hall. They raced passed the assembly of t-drones as they continued to fix fuses to the walls of the fortress almost like mindless zombies. They had no time to configure what was going on with the t-drones and their thoughts of assisting the rangers, but they didn't care. They needed to get to their teammates and fast.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Before Conner could protest or lay an attack on the robotic menace before him, he found himself flying across the room. Kira and Tommy had already met their own companion in a distant wall as they laid on the ground groaning in pain. It was clear that they had underestimated the powers of Dinoshade and Mesogog, and combined was a new experience to each of them they didn't need. They didn't need this set back. All they needed to do, or hope to do on the fortress, was to destroy Mindshatter and the fortress and any remnant of it so there was no way for future use of it at all, but that wasn't the case.

They were all in pain and agony. They had already been in battle longer than they could have lasted, but that was how the big battle was with Mesogog and Zeltrax months ago. There was no time to stop and really take a break. They had a job to do, and it required saving the world by any means possible.

But how could they now, when they stood no chance against Shadow Mesogog, as Mindshatter had named his new creation.

Conner found himself getting pulled off the ground as the menacing beast lifted him several inches off the ground. He struggled to break free, but had no real strength in him to do it. He was growing weaker, and it became more evident as he looked at his own red candle burn on the other side of the room, guarded protectively by Mindshatter.

Kira and Tommy were slowly getting back to their feet, but they were too weak to stand upright. They could barely hold their own, but raced toward the menace as he threw the red dino ranger hard into the ground. Tommy jumped the robotic freak, riding him for so long before he lost control tumbling to the ground beside the red ranger. Kira tried her hand at some quick hand-to-hand combat, but found no strength to do it. Her attacks were countered as she found herself flying into the arms of the black dino ranger.

"How you doing, Kira?" Tommy asked as he pat her on the shoulders.

"Oh, besides being thrown around like a rag doll, I think I'm just fine," Kira replied sarcastically as she moved to slowly pull herself off the ground, but was held back by the red dino ranger.

"We don't stand a chance," Conner shook his head.

Tommy shook his head as he sprung to his feet, setting up a guard between the beast and his two younger teammates. "Don't give up yet, Conner." He turned to face the menacing beast, who did nothing but attack. No words escaped its mouth as its soul purpose was to destroy the rangers. For a long time, Tommy had stopped trying to fight the menace. He would follow the eyes of the menace as it looked at each of the rangers trying to figure out who to attack and who not to. His gaze never left the eyes of the menace as it glowed in a hint of red, but where he knew what answers he needed from the beast, it was all that he needed to end this battle, or so he hoped. The very soul of Anton fighting to break free. "And Zhane?" He questioned in confusion as he saw the faint image of the silver ranger dance in the eyes of the menace.

But before he had time to think through it, the robotic menace came charging at him. Tommy turned away, letting out a breath. "Super Dino Mode!" he bellowed, and despite the fact it gave him more power, it only made the process of his candle burn faster and faster. And it was at its turning point. If he calculated it right, it was a little under five minutes and counting. In his heightened state of powers, he had moved at a quicker pace, but was already getting tired of battling. He wouldn't last.

He managed to lay a few hits into Shadow Mesogog as he stumbled back in a grumble of frustration.

"Don't just stand there and take the pain like wimp, destroy them, now!" Mindshatter bellowed.

Conner and Kira had exchanged their own set of looks. They knew their mentor couldn't hold his own, with every attack he made, it took more and more out of him. He was struggling to even stand up right, and they knew they couldn't just sit there and watch.

"Whatever it takes," Conner whispered, but he knew that Kira had heard him.

"This is the life we live," Kira added as she let the power of the dino gem take over, or what power was left in it, concentrating on it, calling forth the powers of her Super Dino Mode. And a light covered her filling her with a new line of power and strength.

Conner was doing the same thing, but not exactly what he was aiming for. It seemed as the battle raged on, the light of the pink dino gem that had resided in each of them, continued to glow brightly. He closed his eyes, concentrating, as he began to feel his connection with the dino powers and the universe around it. This was his domain. The universal dino energy where only he knew what it was all about and he felt it feed into him, his teammates giving him some of their energy to power him up and as he opened his eyes, he stood there in his Triassic Suit.

Kira looked over at him with some confusion, but breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe they still had some hope in this battle. She turned back to the battle as she saw the faltered steps of her mentor. He wasn't gonna last anymore punishment. She raced forward, only to watch as Shadow Mesogog had landed one final blow on the black dino ranger and he tumbled to the ground, losing control of his powers and demorphing in the process. She jumped over her mentor, creating a shield around him as the Triassic Ranger raced to her side, each in turn calling out to him as their hearts raced with more determination, courage and a tinge of rage.

Shadow Mesogog hissed in satisfaction as it looked at the nearly motionless body of the black dino ranger. One down, four more to go. Kira sprang off the ground into the air and over the beast as Conner attacked from the front end, as one the two moved against the beast.

And despite the sudden flicker of lights and the whining and hissing from the bolted door, the battle continued to rage between the two rangers and the menacing robot. Then as the doors finally unlocked, smoke escaping from it, two more figures emerged into the room, both already in Super Dino Mode as they ducked a blow from the far end of the room.

Ethan and Trent looked away from the battle at hand to see who had fired the blast, and it was no surprise to see it came from the universal soldier. And as they turned to see the battle rage between their comrades and this menacing freak of bolts, fear ran over them.

"What the hell is that!" Ethan breathed in confusion.

Trent pushed him aside, but felt the rush of dizziness make his knees lock under him. Another bolt came their way as Mindshatter sat in the throne in the main lab, his eyes never averted from the five candles beside him. "We have to get to those candles. We don't have much time."

Ethan had to agree as he saw the candle had appeared to been burning for far too long. It seemed like a little less than 1/5 remained of the candles. But in their heightened strength of super dino mode, it seemed to speed up the process.

Trent threw himself into battle as he caught Kira before she fell to the ground. "Hey, Kira. Looks like you guys can use a hand."

"Perfect timing," she said a smile spread wide across her face as she jumped from his embrace back into battle.

Ethan had scanned the room, looking briefly at the device in his hand, making mental calculations in his head of the remainder of the battle. They had to stay clear of this menacing robot and get Mindshatter into that chamber before time ran out. But the fallen black ranger had caught his eye as he raced over to the weaken science teacher. "Dr. O? Hey, wake up."

The man stirred in a groan as he finally opened his eyes, his head spinning like a tornado. It hurt to think, it was as if his mind was stripped from him. He never felt so weak. Even lifting his eyelids hurt.

"Talk to me, you okay?" Ethan urged him as he tried to snap him back into reality.

The man nodded slowly as he gestured for the teen to join his teammates in battle. His entire body was hurting and even as he tried to talk, it hurt to even think about it. His eyes fell shut as he fell limp.

"Dr. O!" Ethan breathed as he shook his head.

_"Don't worry, Ethan,"_ a voice entered his mind, but he knew it was his mentor. He could almost sense the spirit of the falcon dance in his mind. _"My body took a major beating, but I will be fine. Go and battle. There is still one more shot to save both Anton and Zhane."_

"Zhane!" but it wasn't just Ethan who had said that, but his other teammates as they heard the mental connection with their mentor through the bond of the pink dino gem and ninja powers.

_"I'll explain later. But I need some time to recover. Double team. Drive Mindshatter into battle. We don't have any time for a second chance. One shot, that's all we got,"_ their mentor instructed them.

Ethan shrugged as he laid the man back on the ground and raced into battle, using the strength of the tricera spirit to ram into the menace. The four teens worked around the menace, attacking from all sides, finding an opening and then attack. They could make no mistake this time and that was clear in each of their heads. If they screwed up, no one would be coming out of this thing alive.

The battle raged on, and despite their weakened state, it seemed like the rangers were finally getting the upper hand in the battle. But it seemed like as they battled Shadow Mesogog, his own attacks were being faltered. His thoughts unclear and where his objective now laid.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

In the depths, in the mind intertwined by two souls, another battle raged. In a place similar to the astral plains met only by the Ninjetti team, but different in many ways.

The man behind the mask of Mesogog, Anton Mercer, floated aimlessly in the plains as he tried to search for a way out. For a long time, he had wondered aimlessly. It felt like eternity. He had control of Mesogog for some time, it truly was him in that dino body, not the poisoned evil behind the soul purpose of his alter-ego. But a need to help his friends in any way possible. And here he was on those plains again unsure of what to make of the situation. He had no idea what was going on or where exactly he was in time and space.

Beside him, another body had floated through the plains. He seemed to be asleep for a long time, his eyes never opened. No words would escape his mouth. But he was decked out in what appeared to be a uniform one in space might use. His short hair was bleached to an icy platinum blonde. But he had not said nor opened his eyes, showing no real signs of life. And Anton had to question himself and figure out if this other person was really alive, or just some lost soul like himself, maybe never to wake up again. He had hoped that he wouldn't fall victim to the same fate. But now, he wasn't so sure. He had been fighting for so long, dreaming, and hoping that he felt like he could hold on no more.

Then the echoing cry of the falcon echoed through the plains as the golden-outlined spirit of a falcon flew through the plains. It soared around the two figures before landing a few feet from Anton. He looked at it with some confusion, recalling what he had been told by his friend about what the falcon meant.

"Tommy?" he breathed.

As if it knew, the spirit of the falcon nodded as it looked from the man to the unconscious being before him. And it began to speak, but not by word of mouth, but more in the booming voice that echoed through the plains. But it was clear that it had in fact, sounded like Tommy Oliver. _"I can only help you get so far. You must do the rest for me, Anton."_

"What's going on?" Anton asked.

_"The final battle rages between the dino rangers and Mindshatter. And we are struggling with our lives."_

"The candles," Anton stated more than questioned. He had remembered trying to get to the candles only days ago, or was it weeks, he wasn't sure. And had failed. He had actually, under the control of Mesogog, had the powers to 're-program' Dinoshade to his normal self. And the two had tried to stop the candles from ever lighting up, but they had failed, finding themselves getting locked in the Geno-Randomizer. And after all of that, everything just seemed out of place. He felt like he was dreaming, but of nothing special. Caught in a void.

The falcon nodded again. _"I am sorry I cannot present myself in nothing more than my primitive animal form, but it is the only strength I really have left in this battle. The end is growing near for us, Anton. We won't last. Our powers can only hold out for long. Fight through the control Mindshatter has on you. We need you to help us."_

Anton turned to the figure beside him, still unconscious but still not putting a finger to his appearance. "But what about him?"

_"Zhane? The Silver Space Ranger. Unfortunately, he has little strength left. Until we free the two of you from this single bondage, he will remain like this. But we will help you, Anton. We will destroy Mesogog for good as well as Mindshatter. But we need your help. We can't do this alone." _

Then the falcon spread its wings and flew through the plains leaving Anton alone. And before he could protest or say anymore, he was left alone with the Silver Ranger to fend off the information he had just heard from his friend.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The battle continued to rage on the main lab. But its toll was finally taking on the rangers. They couldn't hold their own. Their movements were slow and where they thought they could lay a punch, it took so much energy out of them. It was like they were wimps and didn't even know how to punch. They just couldn't do any more damage. And with a swing of its hands, Shadow Mesogog struck all of the teens in one final blow as they hit the ground. And they couldn't hold their own. They had lost any real control over their ranger powers, each slowly demorphing out of their protective suits.

Mindshatter cackled in satisfaction. "Yes. Do it! Destroy them, Shadow Mesogog!"

Groaning in pain, numb bodies, the teens looked at each other feeling the fear of failure run through their bodies. It wasn't supposed to end like this. There was no way they could fall. They couldn't lose. They couldn't. Conner looked over at the motionless form of his mentor wondering what the condition was for the legendary ranger, and if they would meet his same fate.

They didn't want it to end here. It wasn't supposed to end here. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Their heads lowered, concentrating on any powers they felt was left in them. There had to be something left. Then they watched as the faint light of the pink dino gem came to life within their morphers. The outline of the very gemstones the Ninjetti team had handed over to each of them melted in line with the light of the pink dino gem. And each of them felt a buzz of warmth fill their fingertips as they pushed their hands to the morpher on their wrists.

And as by another force, they were lifted to their feet, floating a few inches off the ground before their feet were firmly planted to it. No words spoken, they exchanged a look as they felt the warm buzz fill their bodies and cover them in their certain color. Yellow for Kira, white with a tint of grayish-black for Trent, blue for Ethan and red for Conner. They watched as their own mentor was also lifted off the ground, the spirit of the falcon and crane danced around him and sweeping through out the room. A bright white light filled the room as the cry of the crane and the falcon echoed through the room and as it cleared, the five rangers were back in their ranger suits.

For a moment, the team had looked over themselves as if the suits they wore were something new to them. But there was something different about each of their suits. Where the three-pronged dino foot was engraved on their chest, was the gold encrusted coin of the Ninjetti spirit. Kira looked down at the bear encrusted on her chest, as her teammates had done the same. Conner had the ape, Ethan had the wolf. And though he had his shield, the frog had been engraved onto Trent's shield. In shock and confusion, they looked over at the newly revived black dino ranger, his entire suit modified to look somewhat like his original Ninjetti uniform but it still also looked like the brachio suit he was accustomed to. But unlike the other rangers, the gold encrusted coin on his chest had the falcon spreading its protective wings around the crane.

Mindshatter sprang to his feet as he let out a growl of frustration. "Shadow Mesogog, destroy them, now!"

But the beast had not moved. It stood there in confusion, looking at its own body. Creating a shield around the beast, the four teens turned to look at the universal soldier. The legendary ranger slowly strode over to take the lead for his team as he rubbed his hands together.

"I hate to break it to you, Mindshatter, but he's with us now. It seems you lost your own purpose of understanding what a true hero does. It doesn't take power, but heart, courage and true spirit to win a battle," the black dino ranger spoke.

"I will not stand for this!" Mindshatter growled as he got to his feet jumping from the throne landing only a few inches in front of the legendary ranger. But the brachio ranger didn't at all seemed threaten by him any more. He stood his ground with his teammates close by. The universal soldier threw his hand forward to lock a grip around the ranger's neck.

But Tommy was quick to react as he twisted out of the grip, throwing the universal soldier to the ground. The four other rangers moved in turn attacking from all sides, moving as one. And for the first time, if one could say, they were in complete sync with the other. Moving in and out of the battle at a speed and fluid movement, like it was a dance to them. They had created their own little kata. A form of grace and beauty in martial arts that they still had yet to master for themselves. Their mentor had told them the first few generations of rangers had their own to help them in battle. And not long after, the black ranger had joined in, never losing his own stride with his teammates as they sent the universal soldier around the circle like a ping pong ball.

And the final blow was made by Shadow Mesogog as he lifted the weaken universal soldier over its head and headed over to the Geno-Randomizer. Ethan had already moved to the main console in the lab, ready to fire it up, and hoped that the right program had been sent to the controls. But as if by quick recovery, Mindshatter had grabbed a hold of the beast pulling it into the chamber.

"Dad!" Trent cried out as he raced toward the chamber.

Conner, Kira and Tommy raced after him, fighting to pull the beast free from the chamber. But he couldn't budge. Mindshatter had a good hold on him and it seemed like he was draining its life. The beast roared in pain. Then Shadow Mesogog pushed out his hand, shoving the rangers to the ground.

His head whipped around to reveal the very image of Zhane and Anton in each of its eyes. And a sinking feeling fell over the rangers. A fear, of thoughts they hoped would never happen, filled their heads. They didn't know what to do when the chamber doors shut on them.

"Noo!" the rangers cried out.

Trent raced over to Ethan. "What the hell are you doing! That's my father in there!"

Ethan held up his hands, shaking his head. "I didn't touch them. I swear."

Tommy quickly got to his feet as the chamber began to smoke up covering the contents inside. But before he could say anything, he had turned to the throne where the candles continued to burn. Each of the flames were dying out slowly. They had run out of time. He raced over pulling off his morpher and placing it on top of the black candle. "Guys! Your morphers!"

The four rangers turned to the voice of their mentor, watching him gesture to their wrists. One by one, they had pulled off their morphers and tossed them to the black dino ranger as he placed them on the respective candle. He pulled out his falcon morpher and pulled out the gemstones hidden inside. And slowly, he concentrated, calling forth the power of the gemstones, concentrating on the powers of his dino gem, feeling them intertwine and create a new line of power inside. He could feel the other mix of powers, the ones obtained from the other rangers from the past run through him.

And it fell silent. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a white void along side his dino ranger counterparts. Still suited up, the five rangers felt the surge of power fill them. And the void dropped to a universal setting, a grid laid below their feet. And them an invisible force seemed to throw them off their feet and they found themselves back in the fortress.

It all happened in a matter of a few seconds, but so slow to each of them. The candles were now restored to their normal height and their dino morphers and gems were also restored. The other powers slowly leaving them, from their friends, but a new power still linked them together. The shattered pink dino gem. It seemed as if the morphing grid was finally back to normal, and the powers were returning to their respective morpher.

But with no time to celebrate, the room shook violently as the team was tossed about; a distant explosion heard in the distance.

"What's going on?" Conner asked as he retrieved the tyranno morpher, tossing Trent and Kira theirs.

Tommy had handed over Ethan's as he looked around the room. It was clear there was an explosion somewhere on the island, if not fortress itself.

"Well, we ran into a few tyrannodrones. They were fixing fuses onto the fortress walls and..." Trent explained as he looked over at the black dino ranger. "...well, you get the picture."

Ethan had been trying to make sense of the chamber, watching the status inside of it. The temperature within it dropping extremely fast. If he opened it too soon, the entire room would become frozen in an instant, and so would they. But there was no status on the occupants in the chamber.

"Well, that's just great," Kira said sarcastically as another explosion rocked the lab.

The five rangers held onto a wall to keep themselves balance.

"How long do you think we have?" Conner asked as he looked over at his mentor.

"Five minutes tops. Ethan, what's the status?" the black ranger called out to the computer genius.

"As far as I could tell, they should have been frozen, but it's hard to tell. It's kicked into high-drive."

Trent felt his knees buckle as he threw himself into the chamber, fists in a fury to open the door. The red and yellow rangers grabbed him, knowing exactly what was going on. Either, Anton or Zhane had not survived that and gave up the ultimate sacrifice for the team. Or they might have survived, but they had no clue what condition they would be in. But he was hurting. He didn't want to think this was the end of his father, or even the Silver Space Ranger, if he truly was still alive.

But it was clear that their battle with Mindshatter was finally over. Ethan had told them that. No machine could handle temperatures well under -100 degrees F. It would expand and crack into a million pieces once shattered.

Another explosion shook the lab, the smoke entering through the opened door. Tommy raced over to the console, slamming the doors shut. "Looks like we're not going out that way. Our only hope is the invisi-portals, can you find a portal, Ethan?"

Ethan nodded slowly. "I've been working on that."

"And?" Tommy felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"I need more time to find one that hasn't completely shut down or could cause us any problems."

Trent tried to get to the chamber doors again, but Conner and Kira kept him back. They knew he was hurting; they all were. They didn't expect for this to happen. For the longest time, they were trying to free Anton from his imprisonment. For the longest time, they had no idea that Zhane was still alive. This was all new to them. And it was all happening so fast. And now, they all swore that they were both dead.

"Bro, c'mon, there's nothing else you could have done," Conner tried to console his friend in white.

"He did this because he cared about you. About us. They sacrificed their lives over ours," Kira said as she pulled him into a hug.

Trent's mental strain sent the two to their knees as Kira locked her arms around her boyfriend. At that point, Conner was uncertain about where he lied within their friendship, but as the yellow dino ranger looked up at him, he knew she was asking for his own consoling. He pulled the duo into a hug, trying to sound reassuring to both of them.

Though, wanting to offer their own consoling, the black and blue dino rangers worked frantically to get an invisi-portal open. They weren't sure what the status was on the chamber, but they knew if they didn't find a way out of there now, they would also be handing their own lives over. And they just didn't want it to be like that.

Then the chamber doors hissed open, and a silence fell over the room. Everyone stopped all activity, turning to look at the chamber doors as the smoke escaped into the room. A trail of ice moved toward the trio on the floor, but stopped short. And the icy frozen figure of Mindshatter emerged from the chamber, but due to the weight, came crashing to the ground, shattering into a million pieces.

Each of the teens gave out a yelp as the shattered pieces shattered throughout the room, the very remains of Mindshatter was only a memory. And it was almost as if a long line of burden was lifted off of Tommy's shoulders as he stood up a little straighter.

"This is to you, Zordon. I'm sorry your project failed. But you will never be forgotten for what you did for me and your Power Rangers," Tommy whispered mostly to himself, but the blue dino ranger had heard it as he placed a reassuring hand on his mentor's shoulder.

Then the robotic beast that had combined the powers of Mesogog and Dinoshade, but the souls of Anton Mercer and Zhane, emerged from the chamber. The trio of rangers was now back on their feet, but still holding the white dino ranger back. They were unsure what to make of the moments they watched the robotic menace sway and slowly fall toward the ground.

But Trent had raced forward, hoping to some how catch it before it hit the ground and shattered. Conner and Kira followed only a step after, and Trent could only let his gloves slip passed the icy surface and the being hit the ground. But as it hit the ground and smashed, a bright light forced the rangers to shield their eyes.

And when it cleared, the very bodies of Zhane and Anton Mercer laid on the ground. The very being, Shadow Mesogog, was shattered all over the floor like Mindshatter. Frozen with confusion and fear, the rangers didn't know what to think. Zhane in his usual space uniform confide to the Space Rangers, and Anton Mercer in the very attire that was of Mesogog. There they were, laying on the ground before them.

Trent didn't wait any longer as he raced over to his father, pulling him up to his lap. "Dad! Dad, wake up. Please."

Conner and Kira slowly approached the other ranger, who they only knew to be the Silver Space Ranger. They had known so little about him, and thought, and swore, that he had fallen victim to the hands of Mindshatter. But there he was. Or was it a trick? But as they reached down, a slight moan escaped the skilled silver ranger.

"Zhane?" Conner spoke up as he pulled an arm around his shoulder, as he knelt beside the space ranger.

Kira had looked over the man, still not believing it. She had only seen pictures of him, images of him in battle, but never had she seen him in real life. But as she placed Zhane's other arm around her shoulder, it had to be true. He wasn't dead. He was here with them right now. "You're okay. It's all over."

For a brief moment, the silver space ranger stirred, could hear the voices, but found them to be distant. His weight almost took down the younger rangers as he fell back to unconsciousness.

Ethan had stood from his place at the console in confusion. He rubbed his helmet looking at his mentor for answers. "I don't understand..."

"I can only take a guess and think that Dinoshade had somehow allowed Zhane to fuse up with him as a way to save him," Tommy stated as he developed a theory around the very sight of seeing the Silver Space Ranger alive.

"But what about the other rangers?"

"Maybe he'll answer that for us once we get out of here." Tommy slammed a fist into the console as an invisi-portal finally opened up.

Another set of explosions shook the lab throwing the team off balance as they struggled to keep their footing. It was clear the explosions were growing closer and closer, and it was only a matter of time before the entire lab was full of flame and smoke. The black brachio ranger pushed Ethan to help Trent with his father as he ran some last minutes checks on the portal network.

This would be their only way out of there. And the portal in itself was already crackling in a sign that it looked unstable and safe. But they had no time to argue. They had to get out of here.

"Rangers, go!" Tommy ordered as he began to push a few buttons on the console, trying to keep the portal open. Skepticism fell over their faces as the four teens rushed over with the Silver Ranger and the famous scientist to the opening. They didn't know if they were supposed to go, or if it was safe. And as they started to protest, their mentor cut them short. "No time to argue. Go, now. I can't keep it stable for long."

It was clear that Trent didn't want to take anymore chances and wait, so he had already entered the portal with Ethan at his side assisting to get his father out of there safely. And soon, Conner and Kira followed as a beam from the ceiling dropped down from where they were only a few moments ago.

Tommy dodged another beam that came crashing down on the console, sending sparks everywhere. He groaned as he picked himself slowly off the ground. "Shit! Not good."

For a moment, he felt trapped as more beams hit the ground blocking his way to the portal. It was still open, but he wasn't sure what it might do to him, or if it was targeted for the plaza like he had set it up for his teammates. But he had to take his chances. The door had exploded, sending chucks throughout the room as he moved to dodge the flying debris. He let out a breath as he jumped from two beams, dodged another and jumped into the portal as it closed after him.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The dino rangers found themselves in the plaza where they had been fighting only hours ago. Sitting on the pavement, the Ninjetti rangers and original red ranger were meditating, if that's what it was, nearly jumped at the sound of the crackle of the invisi-portal and a line of rangers. But the portal itself exploded behind them sending them to the ground, stirring the older rangers from their meditation.

Slowly peeling themselves off the ground, they watched the portal close behind them. Their echoing cry rang through the plaza as the older rangers raced over, but were frozen with confusion.

"Zhane!" Adam looked at the other figure among the teens.

"Anton?" Rocky asked as he rubbed his head with confusion.

"And where's Tommy?" Kim nearly screamed as she noticed the missing black dino ranger.

The teens were in a frantic and panic state as they shook their heads. They were filing out explanations at a hundred words a second, all at once, that the older rangers couldn't comprehend. Jason called order as everyone stopped to look at him. Adam was working to check the vitals on the two unconscious figures, trying to make sense of what happened on the island fortress, but it was clear he had no clue. No one did.

Then a crackle shook the sky as another invisi-portal opened up and the black dino ranger came crashing to the ground only a few feet from the rest of the team. For a moment, he didn't move for the fear of never getting out of there alive, but he was back on familiar grounds in Reefside. The former pink dino ranger / Ninjetti ranger raced over to him, crushing him into her with a tight hug as he finally let air back into his lungs.

"Well, it's good to see you too, Beautiful," Tommy replied quietly as he was trying to make sense of all that had happened. His head was spinning with all the action that had happened in that entire day, and it was clear he had no real idea what had happened. It all happened way too fast.

But as the crackling of the invisi-portal caught their eyes, every set of conscious bodies turned their eyes to the sky watching as a faint outline of a grid ran across the sky. The invisi-portal crackled and imploded on itself, blinding them briefly. And when it cleared, the grid turned from red, back to green and slowly dissolved. A light hum filled their ears and as if life was slowly being restored, traffic lights began to come back on. And life in Reefside was returning to normal.

Tommy slowly pulled himself off the ground, his wife never wanting to let go as he approached his teammates. No words were spoken, but it was clear that it was their cue to get out of the public eye and back to the lab to discuss the recent events.

And as one, the assembly of rangers, with the freed scientist, moved out of the plaza and to the safe side of the underground lab.

**_To be continued... _**

****

_A/N: Whoo! That was long. That was hard to create and really downright a shock to me, too. Did you guys expect that? For Zhane to be alive? And for Anton to survive? Yeah, I know. A lot did happen. But I'm not stopping here. See you next chapter and it'll explain a little more about what exactly happened in that last battle. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	45. Legacy of Power

**'TIL I COLLAPSE **- **_PART FORTY-FIVE: LEGACY OF POWER_  
**SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD **

_SUMMARY: The rangers live up to the legacy they have created and have been apart of. _

_DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I own the right to how this story ends though. So, I hope I didn't lose you after all the work I've put into this. _

_A/N: It is rough. It is tough. I can't say much more than that. So, closing in on the end of the story. See you when I do. And read on to see what else the rangers must face._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"I know this is hard for all of us. I know it is even harder to realize that some things you can and cannot change. But no mater what happens, we will never forget what has happened and will happen to us every step we take towards a brighter future. __"-Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Thirty minutes later. 5:15pm.

The walk to the underground lab was left in silence.

No one had said anything once they got there. Adam had instructed the teens to take the two unconscious figures to the small infirmary on the far end of the lab. Billy had moved to the computer console running codes and announcing that they were finally back on line. Without saying much of anything else, he worked around getting the entire system back and running, hoping to run a diagnostic on the dino team before they decided to power down. All five of them were still locked within the protection of their ranger suits, but after the last battle, he wanted to make sure they were all still feeling like their normal selves.

Kim, with a tear struck face, was still clinging onto her husband's side, but Tommy couldn't blame her for that. He, himself, was just as freaked about the entire thing as she was. And he almost thought he would never be coming back. The very thoughts that ran through his mind spun and spun, giving him no chance to grasp what was going on. But here he was. He had survived that last battle with Mindshatter along with his team of dino thunder rangers.

Jason, Aisha and Rocky had scouted out the city to find the other rangers, as instructed by the legendary ranger. And they wouldn't be surprised to find the DT technical director to be heading their way soon enough. As far as they could tell, if the war was finally over, then the rest of the world should be finally waking up from their deep slumber.

Tommy had slowly moved over to the computer console to ask his friend in blue what the status was on the rest of the city and world.

"Well, it seems like this is all over. People all over Reefside and the world are finally waking up. Temperatures are returning to normal, and I can't get a lock on any invisi-portal what so ever," Billy reported as he turned to look at the black dino ranger. "I think it's safe to say that Mindshatter is gone. And the island fortress, as far as I could tell, is also gone."

Tommy nodded slowly. He didn't have to lie about that. He had seen it with his own eyes. He and the other dino rangers. They tried to free Shadow Mesogog from the clutches of Mindshatter, but the chamber doors shut on them and they were captured in the icy liquid nitrogen fumes. And when it was over, they watched as the universal soldier came crashing to the ground in an icy heap. Shattered into a million pieces like a glass structure. And so did Shadow Mesogog, but somehow, as the figure fell, a bright light filled the room. And there lying in its wake was Anton Mercer and Zhane. They had survived. And that's one of the things Tommy was still trying to make sense of as he continued to file through all the mayhem dancing in his head.

"Hey, what's that?" Billy asked as he pointed to the gold encrusted coin on Tommy's black dino ranger suit. It was marked with the falcon and the crane looming over it like a protector.

Kim turned to look at it, running her fingers over it with confusion. It was clear that it took her by surprise to see it looming on her husband's chest, let alone how it had housed both of their animal spirits. "It's...our animal spirits?"

Tommy shrugged absently. He had forgotten that it was still there, nor did he really notice it until Billy had mentioned it. To him, it felt like it wasn't a big deal, like it was always apart of him, but it was clear his two teammates had many questions for him about it. "I'm not the only one."

And as he spoke those words, Conner, Kira and Ethan had emerged from the small infirmary room.

"So, how are they?" Tommy asked, beyond the confusion that fell over his Ninjetti teammates. His concern laid mostly on his former colleague and the white dino ranger, though his concern still fell over Zhane and hoping to get any answers from him. He was still trying to figure out how exactly Zhane had lived, knowing and watching the footage that destroyed him and the Lost Galaxy Rangers. Or was it all a trick?

"Adam says that Zhane will recovery nicely," Kira said with a nod.

"His ranger powers are helping him to recover," Conner added, but still disturbed by something else. Worried. A mix of feelings that he and his fellow teammates were feeling.

"But it may take more time for Anton. Whatever punishment that he went through in the last few months really took a lot out of him," Ethan stated in a sad and worried tone. And it was clear as he looked over at his young teammates, they had their own thoughts about how Trent was taking the news.

"Just as long as they make a nice recovery. That's all that should really matter right now."

"I'm worried about Trent, though, Dr. O," Kira finally had to admit as her shoulders shuddered in fear. The blue and red dino rangers moved to each side of her, laying their comforting hands upon her shoulders. In the two years they had fought as rangers, she had looked up to the two as big brothers. As a shoulder to cry on and a way to escape the mayhem, just to be in their company, despite the fact they were guys. She had not mind it, nor did she care too much about that factor.

"We all are," the black dino ranger nodded as he felt a heavy sigh escape his lips. He knew that he, himself, had had it rough for several years of his life. But Trent had been the same way, if not worse. And the thought of him never recovering from this moment could leave a lot of scars on the teen in ways that shouldn't even be there. "Give him some time alone, as much as I know we're all wanting to console him, but if anything, I know he would like some time to grasp this on his own. It will be hard. I don't doubt that. We're all leaving this battle with scars."

But beyond their concern for the white dino ranger, Billy and Kim had continued to look from their former leader in black to the trio of original dino rangers in confusion. Where they swore was supposed to be the three-pronged dino footprint of the dino rangers was an engraved crest of one of the six Ninjetti animal spirits on each of their chests. The teens noticed the gesture, not quite understanding the wide eyes of their predecessors.

"What! Did we do or say something wrong?" Conner was the first to say something. The confusion and fear ran through his voice as he took a step back.

Billy shook his head as he seemed to get out of his state of confusion. He walked over to the teens, never taking his eyes off the crests on their chests. He didn't know how or where to start, and didn't understand why the teens had not caught on right away to what he and Kim had them on edge about.

"Okay, stop looking at me like I grew two heads! What's going on?" Kira asked as she looked over at the P.E. teacher for answers. She watched as Kim's hand continued to rest of the crest on her husband's chest and when she looked down, she had noticed the crest of the bear on her own ranger suit. "Oh...never mind."

"I don't understand," Billy scratched his head. "How? By what means? Is this...?" He was just too stuck on words to really say anything. Despite the fact that he was still in his Ninjetti uniform, and he too had the crest on his own suit, there it was laying on the blue dino ranger.

"I guess you have those gemstones to thank," Tommy spoke up as he took the gloved hand of his wife, intertwining into his. His other hand wrapped more protectively around her waist. He turned to look at her. "They really helped us out back there in the battle."

"Tommy, baby, I wanna know what happened up there on that fortress," Kim spoke quietly still a little shaken and shocked to see the crest of the falcon and crane implanted on her husband's ranger suit.

Tommy nodded as he pulled her into a comforting hug. "I know you do. But I think we want the whole team to hear this."

Time passed by slowly.

Within the hour, the rangers from the past had slowly filed into the lab, many voicing their concerns and questions over the recent events. None of them could recall the entire day, as Jason, Aisha and Rocky tried to explain to them the basis of it all. Hayley was among them, asking her own questions regarding what had happened in the entire day while she was in deep slumber.

"The final battle went down? And we weren't there to witness it?" Wes blurted out as he shook his head.

"When and how did this happen?" TJ questioned as he walked across the room to where the black dino ranger was sitting with his wife at his side.

"Time out, TJ. Before you accuse me of anything, why not pop a seat and listen to our findings?" Tommy said simply, still locked in the protection of his ranger suit.

The Ninjetti Rangers had all disposed of their Ninjetti uniforms, returning to their normal attire. All of them sitting off to Tommy's right where Aisha and Rocky had joined up with them. The preceding rangers from the past continued to file out questions like rapid fire as the dino rangers tried to settle them down. But it was clear there was some tension, unmentioned words and lots of confusion that shook the entire lab.

Billy had comfortably took his arm at the computer console, running scans over the vitals on the dino rangers. He still had to make sure they were in good order, and as far as he could tell, they were fine.

Then the computer clicked and an image of Shane Clarke popped up in the top right hand corner. The rest of the Ninja Storm rangers had been looming behind him, all calling out to make sure they were getting something back on their system.

"Hey, can anyone hear me?" Shane asked as he looked into the same webcam on the computer system back at Ninja Ops.

Billy clicked a few more keys to establish a link and reveal his side of the link to the rangers in Blue Bay Harbor. "I read you loud and clear, Shane. What's up?"

"Whoa, Billy. Dude, is Cam with you?" Shane asked as he searched through the assembly of rangers.

"Actually, who all is over there? It seems like a big party," Hunter stated.

"Well..." a voice called out from beyond the established rangers in Reefside; Cam. He moved to the computer console pushing a few more buttons on the console. "We all sorta woke up from a long nap. And it seems some of these guys got the chance to witness and fight in the final battle for Earth."

"Dude, I thought it was just me. One second I'm just sparring with Blake and I just hit the ground and I'm out cold, until just recently," Dustin shook his head as he ran his hands through his hair.

"So, do we get an explanation to what exactly went down in Reefside, or will we be left in the dirt?" Blake asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"If you guys are willing to listen, we'll tell you what we can," the black dino ranger turned in his chair to look at the assembly of rangers from Blue Bay Harbor via satellite.

After a few moments to settle down, all eyes fell on the line of rangers who had been through the final battle one way or another. The dino rangers, the Ninjetti team, and the original red ranger.

"Let's start from the beginning," Andros spoke for the rest of the rangers who had wanted answers about the final battle.

Billy took the floor as he casually spoke of the grid that was planted all over the world. He had said that before he realized what was going on, more than half the city had already been in siege of falling into a deep slumber, including the other rangers. The only ones unaffected by the spell were the dino rangers, as being the current team, and the unique bond carried by the Ninjetti team.

"So, how does Jason fall into place?" Tanya asked as she made some sense of what the blue ninja rangers was saying. "I thought he was a victim like the rest of us, and had no powers to protect him from falling asleep."

"During the battle, myself and the other dino rangers had engaged ourselves in the final attacks from the psycho rangers and the cybots," the black dino ranger began to explain. "I had ordered the remaining rangers, the Ninjetti team, to stay put in the lab while we went into battle."

"Dude, what about us?" Shane called out, trying not to sound like a nosy person. "I mean, we got ninja powers, too, but we all crashed on the floor."

"Because... Shane, the Ninjetti team isn't like us," Cam had to speak up, correcting his friend. "We may be ninjas, but we don't have any real morphing powers now. The Ninjetti team has a farm more unique bond than we do. And since, we also aren't the current team to tap into the morphing grid, we were affected."

"Anyway, trying to stay on topic," Conner cleared his throat as he coughed. "We were stuck battling the cybots while Dr. O held his own against the psycho rangers."

"What we didn't realize were the consequences that came with that battle," Ethan said somewhat quietly, as they watched their mentor shift uncomfortably in his chair.

"Unfortunately, Mindshatter had somehow made a facsimile to the Sword of Darkness that somehow fell into the hands of Tommy," Adam spoke up when the dino rangers had all made their own gesture of uncomfortable movement.

"And he became evil, yet again, driving forth the destruction of the psycho rangers, re-introducing us to his green dragon ranger powers and the evil destruction the Dragon Zord can do," Aisha stated.

"And we had all engaged in a big zord battle with him," Rocky added.

"With my quick thinking, I had told Kim to find Jason, and hand over the powers of the dino gem to him, in hopes he could knock some sense into Tommy," Billy said as he looked over Kim, who had not said much, still holding her own in the explanation.

"With the power of the dino gem, it had awoken me," Jason answered in line with his friend in blue. "Unfortunately, I couldn't maintain control, since the powers weren't my own, but I managed to toss Tommy out of his zord. Both Kim and I were responsible for destroying the sword and returning him to normal."

"While the rest of us were stuck in battle with the Dragon Zord," Adam said.

The team had frozen, allowing their fellow teammates to grasp what was going on. It was clear that this was a lot to take in, and they had wished they were there to witness it as it happened, but it was clear none of them in battle wanted it to happen again.

"Wait. Time out, you said something about how you guys had to engage in battle. I get the whole primitive side keeping you awake, but I thought you didn't have any powers?" Zack shook his head as he tried to make sense of how the ninja rangers were in the battle.

"Under the hidden agenda of Elsa, she had directed me and Adam to some caves on the other side of town," Billy began to say. "She told us of a power source, gems that housed power similar to the dino gem. But they weren't as strong as they should be, for an actual ranger suit. Hayley, Cam, Adam and myself had been working for weeks now to perfect a facsimile morpher to house these gems. And we used them in battle to help out the dino rangers. With our powers, we had helped re-harness and recreate a facsimile to the Dino Rage Megazord."

"Even Kimberly?" Kat asked as she looked over at the pregnant woman. "I mean, I didn't think she'd actually be in a battle in her condition..."

The entire line of rangers nodded in turn as they turned to Kim, hoping she would say something, add her own thoughts on the matter, but she hadn't. And it was clear, none of them wanted to urge her to say anything if she wasn't feeling like it. Tommy only pulled her closer to her as she fought her own internal battles about what to say and what not to.

"The gems acted like a catalyst to protect us and sorta give us a boost of energy in battle. Kimberly fought by our side as if the pregnancy wasn't a problem. Which, I must say was quite a surprise, but I ain't saying that's a bad thing. She did her part, just like any of us did," Billy spoke for her friend as he peered over at her to see her smile gently.

"So, what happened after that?" Ashley asked growing more curious in their story.

"With the Sword of Darkness destroyed, the dino rangers had escaped through an invisi-portal to the island fortress," Jason said. "We stayed behind..."

"But not without handing over the gemstones that had protected us in battle," Aisha said.

"It would have done us no good to go to the fortress because we would be in the very heart and source that was disrupting the morphing grid in the first place. We would have taken a bad hit the moment we stepped onto that fortress. And since, of course, they are the current team, they were unaffected," Billy said.

"Well, not entirely," Ethan corrected as he knew the rest of the explaining would fall on him and his ranger counterparts.

"It seems that Mindshatter had been patient about lighting the very candles that connected the dino gems to ourselves. We all knew about the Zeo Candles and the Space Candles, but had not realized that he had waited so long to light ours," Tommy said.

"And we split up," Kira said quietly. "Ethan and Trent had went to the mainframe computer room to work their magic, while me, Conner and Dr. O went in search for Mindshatter."

"And that's when we sorta were in some trouble," Conner began. "Caught up in an explosion, it sent the three of us into unconsciousness. We were knocked out cold."

Another silence fell over the rangers, and only for a moment, the red, black and yellow rangers had exchanged gestures. It was clear none of them wanted to speak of their nightmares, regarding the red fumes. Nor did Ethan and Trent want to discuss their own thoughts of fear that ran through their minds during the battle.

"We woke up chained back to back. And saw Dr. O wanting to make a killer blow, but he didn't seem to move," Kira said.

For a moment, Tommy looked away as if he wanted to just throw up, or faint. But he had needed a moment to catch his breath. His shoulders shuddered in a sense of fear as he found his hand grip his wife's hand tighter. "Master of mind tricks, Mindshatter was toying with my mind. Bad. I didn't know what to believe. I heard each of you in my head telling me we had failed. Telling me to give up and hand over my powers. But for some strange reason, I didn't believe it. I couldn't, and as I was hoping to land a killer blow, Mindshatter had toyed with my mind more, making me believe I would be hurting Kim rather than him."

"Luckily, Kira and me were there to knock some sense into him. But it was a rough and costly battle," Conner shook his head.

"And the candles, being in the presence of them, just made us weaker, quicker and faster. And super dino mode made the candles burn quicker," Ethan said. "It felt like hell."

"Ethan and I had moved from the computer room up the main lab when we were caught up in the sheer shock of a menace," Trent spoke quietly for the first time since they began to tell the tale.

"It seemed that Mindshatter had his own twisted thoughts and had used the Geno-Randomizer to combine Dinoshade and Mesogog into a gruesome creature. Two souls, one body with power that packed more than a punch. It was a ruthless battle, almost flawless," the black dino ranger spoke up.

"But we won. Somehow, we got through to the menace and he helped us destroy Mindshatter." Kira said, hoping to end the explanation there.

It was clear none of the dino rangers truly wanted to go into complete and utter detail over their battle. It was one only meant for themselves to learn and grow from. A battle with scars and a line of sacrifices no one could have expected. But, here they were, alive and kicking it.

"A swarm of tyrannodrones were seen in the fortress fusing it up to explode at every turn," Ethan added. "And well, we escaped through an invisi-portal and, well...here we are."

"And since you won, the world doesn't have to suffer," TJ said with a small smile. "All in a day's work of being a power ranger."

The team nodded slowly as a line of heavy sighs fell over them.

"So, is it bad to ask what exactly happened to Mindshatter?" Eric asked still wanting some questions to be answered.

"Well, thanks to our computer geniuses, we had re-programmed the Geno-Randomizer to act like its own little cryogenic chamber," the black ranger spoke up, knowing his teammates couldn't discuss the other issue with the final part of the battle. "We got him inside, locked it up and he had met an untimely death in the icy abyss of it."

"But, what about those crests? I don't remember that," Cassie had pointed out, never taking her eyes off of them.

"Something complementary from the Ninjetti rangers when they gave us the gemstones," Tommy had continued to explain. "At one point of the battle, we had all de-morphed. I was the first one to go. The teens were on their own for a long time because it also knocked me unconscious. That was a bad thing. But somehow, through a lot of concentration, determination, heart and courage, it gave us the strength to open up this new set of powers."

"Is it permanent?" Carlos asked.

The dino rangers had exchanged a set of looks before standing up, throwing their hands across their chest, to power down. The crests disappearing to reveal the very three-pronged dino footprint they had all come to remember. The gemstones sat in each of their hands, and in another final move, they had dropped from their ranger suits and returned to their civilian forms.

"No," the teens shook their head.

"But it was something that couldn't really be described. It just happened." Tommy said.

The receiver rangers had fallen silent again, as they had made comments to each other in silence. No real words had escaped their mouths, but the gestures they made were clear that there seemed to be a lot of missing gaps.

"So, what about...Anton?" Andros asked slowly and quietly as he watched the steps of the white dino ranger falter.

The team had fallen silent again as if something else was lingering in their minds.

"Or me?" another voice pierced through the silence.

Rangers sprang to their feet searching for the voice as the Ninjetti team had shifted over a few steps to reveal the Silver Space Ranger. Bandaged up from the torso up. A binding around his forehead. But very much alive and stable as he used the wall as an added support to keep himself upright. The Space Rangers were frozen in confusion, shock, fear and mixed feelings.

"This has to be a trick," TJ shook his head as he slowly stepped forward, closer to the mirage before him.

"TJ, it's me," the silver space ranger replied as he took a step toward the assembly of rangers. But he had lost his footing and nearly stumbled as Rocky and Adam caught a hold of him.

"Zhane?" Andros spoke breathlessly. Ashley was at his side in an instant, letting him lean against her as he tried to make sense of what was going on. He swore – no, he knew – his best friend was dead. His knees buckled as he looked away for a moment, trying to hide away his tears and fears, but as he looked back up, he saw his best friend standing there only a few feet away. His sister, Karone, had been at his other side, also trying to make sense of what was going on. "It can't be... I thought... no... you should be dead."

"Dead?" the silver ranger chuckled. It was like he had made this whole thing look like some big joke or act. But his face fell into a frown as he nodded. "I really thought that, too. But Dinoshade had offered me a chance to live, inside him, if that's how one could describe. I heard that was sorta the same thing with Mike and the Magna Defender."

The space rangers continued to advance toward their fallen – which they swore had fallen – friend, but he was there. In the flesh. And for the other rangers in the room, they were just as shocked to see him alive, let alone back on his feet so quickly.

"But how?" TJ asked as he was finally within arm's length of his friend in silver. He had slowly reached over patting on Zhane's shoulder, swearing it had to be a dream, but he had definitely hit something solid.

Carlos was at his side raising an eyebrow as he reached over to grasp the hand out for him by the silver ranger. Cassie didn't know what to believe as she found herself pull the man into a hug, concluding that this was no dream. It really was Zhane, the silver space ranger.

"I'm still trying to make sense of it all myself. So, don't think I have all the answers here, because I really don't," Zhane had to admit.

Andros, Ashley and Karone had finally made it over to the array of space rangers, still not believing their eyes.

"Are you gonna keep looking at me like that or give me a proper greeting?" Zhane asked as a wide smile locked on his face. Even in the most shocking of events, in the recent tragedy, the silver ranger had not found anything more than smile about it. Made it something more positive.

Ashley let a gentle smile pass her face before ruffling his hair and pulling him into a hug. And soon after, Karone had fallen into his embrace. Despite what protection Andros had over his sister, he had known the two of them were developing a relationship. It was very slow, but it had been moving along in the past few years. Not that he didn't disapprove so much -- it was his best friend – he just seriously stated that if Zhane had hurt Karone in any way, he would see to it personally to avenge her hurt and broken heart. But Andros had still been struck with fear and confusion.

"We haven't seen you in months. We all thought you were dead," Andros said as he had unconsciously engaged in his signature handshake with his best friend. "It's like you're back from it."

"Well, I ain't no zombie, trust me, Andros. Just sorta woke up from another long cryogenic sleep."

"But how?" TJ had repeated. It was clear this matter was still getting over his head, and he didn't know what to think of it. He had already grasped the fact that Zhane was there in the flesh, but 'how' was a major question for him and the others present in the room.

"Well..." Zhane breathed as he found a seat to crash in. "I did, in fact, go into battle with Mindshatter over the planet of Mirinoi with the Lost Galaxy Rangers. We fought, but we had no chance. Cybots were dropping like flies if they weren't converted. Dinoshade had guarded me from a blow, and he had quickly offered himself as a shield and haven of protection. And the next I know, I become apart of him. And he had tried to get to the Lost Galaxy Rangers, but by that time, Mindshatter had a hold of his mind, and he ended up destroying them. I, myself, had strangely fallen asleep. And the next I remember was laying on the ground on this island fortress Mindshatter's been crashing at... and well, I hit the sack again until I was revived by my powers and the help of Adam. Now, here I am."

"Yeah, here you are," Andros said as a smile finally passed his face.

And there it was said, set in stone. He had been alive this entire time, but the Lost Galaxy Rangers weren't as lucky, nor were the Wild Force Rangers and the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers. But it was clear that none of them had seen this coming. It was something new to each and every one of them.

"You know, I would really hate to ruin a warm moment, but what about Anton?" Eric blurted out, not trying to sound rude. But it was clear it had made the dino rangers shift again.

And it was clear none of them could speak, especially the white dino ranger as he felt his legs collapse and his teenage teammates raced to catch him before he hit the ground. They were all feeling the mark hit home, but none like him. There were just scars there that he would never get rid of, and they all knew that. But hoped they could provide some warmth where he felt lost.

"He made it out, but..." Adam was hesitant as he spoke from a more professional, medical doctor perspective. "He hasn't shown much signs of life or activity since he's been out. No progress. At this rate, he'll remain in a coma, but I'm not sure for how long."

The rest of the rangers had fallen silent. And it was clear that either the white dino ranger was putting blame on him, trying to cope with the fact his father might become a vegetable or never wake up at all, or something else. But he was hurting. He was crushed. Shaken with fear, regret, doubt and several other emotions.

"But he'll recover, right?" Kat asked as she had found her place in the arms of her husband as Jason laid a kiss on her head.

"He should. I just don't know what type of future it will be. He took a lot of punishment when he was on that island fortress, and I'm still trying to make sense of what torment Mindshatter has done to him. But, I think without that dino DNA fused into his body, he might have been a lot worse, if not dead," Adam replied trying to keep his voice level and quiet, hoping for not the white ranger to hear.

But it was clear that Trent had heard it as he let out an angered breath, wanting to punch something, almost striking Kira, but with quick reflexes Tommy had blocked the shot, rising over him and letting the teen collapse into his embrace. The other dino rangers crowded around the shaken teen, but where the tears wanted to fall, they didn't. Trent was just enraged with a fury that many of them would have to wait for him to ride out. In a collected heap, the dino rangers, including Kim, had provided some comfort for their comrade.

Trent had told himself quietly, though that it would be okay. It had to be. His father wasn't dead, as far as Adam had reported. He was just gonna be in a long process of recovery in the next few days, weeks and hopefully not months. But as he had looked at the pale face of his father, moments ago, it crushed him. If there was a way for him to use his dino gem to heal his father, he'd use it. But that was his own feat he would question about, locking it away with several other thoughts and theories for him alone.

After only a few moments of silence, the rest of the rangers had gotten the clue that this was the end of the discussion. What was said was said. And they had to give the credit that Mindshatter was finally gone, and they could return to their normal lives...hopefully. And as normal as it would get for a bunch of rangers.

Trent had finally collapsed into the comforting arms of his girlfriend, but it was clear his mind was spinning over a lot of issues regarding himself as a ranger, about his father, and his position as being Anton's son. There were far too many things he was worried about, and Kira knew as she held onto him, that the only thing she could provide for him right now, was her presence.

Ethan and Conner had held their own about the situation. They had been a close-knit group of friends, an interesting group of friends, but it was one group that none of them would ever want to get rid of. They were after all, one big unique family of super heroes.

After the silence was finally getting to all of them, the ranger of many battles had taken the center floor. He had done this months ago when they had fought their final battle with Mesogog and Zeltrax. And here he was, several months later, closing off the gap between the rangers of the past and the present.

"Where do I begin?" Tommy asked quietly as he tried to search for words to say. "I mean, here I am, only months ago closing it off yet again. We all are. Closing off another chapter in our lives as another evil being is defeated and we claim the throne of victory. It wasn't an easy battle, but no battle is ever easy to conquer. I don't speak for just the battles we face as rangers, but throughout our life. The surprises we've encountered and the shock and pain of losing those; some closer than others, but they will never forgotten."

Soon, Tommy had not found himself alone, as the original team had made their way to his side, lining up one side of him. His fellow teammates, from the years past on the other side. In the watchful eyes of the two Time Force Rangers, the Space Rangers, the Ninja Storm Rangers, via satellite, and the other dino rangers, the legacy had begun with them.

"We began the tradition. Created the legacy," Jason spoke up. He looked at the audience of rangers before him, shaking his head. "And to tell you honestly, you were lucky. No, I'm serious. You guys are lucky to have something to fall back on. To look back at rangers from the past as inspiration. But we were the first. We had nothing to fall back on and look to if we screwed up."

"All we had was a mentor who had forever been an ally toward good," Zack said.

Billy had looked from his place, to the other assembly of rangers to Tommy's left; the Ninjetti Rangers and Zeo Rangers. "These guys had us to fall back on, but we didn't."

"Yet, we had them to learn from. We still had to learn a lot of things on our own. We all did. We always will. Learning and communicating will help prepare ourselves for the future," Rocky spoke up, thought sorta shocked that something like that would escape his mouth.

"But, like I've said before, where this battle has ended, new beginnings start up where it has ended. It is a never-ending cycle. And where ever there is evil, the Power Rangers will stand forth and do our duty no matter where we are. But, as a respect to our fallen comrades in battle, I ask for a silent moment in their name. To the Lost Galaxy Rangers, discovering a new world and protecting the galaxy from evil, you will never be forgotten. To the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers who had kept this planet safe from being ruled by demons, you will never be forgotten. To the Wild Force Rangers who had made sure that Earth in, itself, would be a safe haven for life to evolve and grow into the future, you will never be forgotten. Though, the powers might have not been there to save or protect you, each of you have done more than enough to keep earth from falling to any evil. You will always carry the legacy on your shoulders, as all of us have. May the Powers Protect Each of You Always," Tommy had more formally said than he had hoped, but did.

And quietly, the room and fallen into silence, despite the humming from the running machines. Some of the rangers had fallen into a state of tears as the respect was given to their fallen comrades.

Time passed slowly.

Cam had reported that his stay in Reefside was well over-due, and he needed to get back to Ninja Ops to re-establish any lost links between the rangers of the past and present. Everyone had said their good-byes to the green samurai ranger as he went on his way in a ninja streak out the door.

After small conversations had begun among the rangers present, Tommy had collapsed on a chair beside the main computer where Hayley had been working her magic alongside Billy. Despite the mayhem of the day's activities, his head was spinning for the outcome of the future.

"You know you can't predict the future, right?" a voice entered his thoughts, though he had not spoken of what he was thinking to anyone.

Tommy shot back into reality as he felt a hand grasp his shoulder, the hand of his wife. He turned the chair to face her, pulling her into a hug. He had to admit that she was either getting bigger, or he was not liking how her round belly was keeping them from really getting any closer. But, within that belly, was the very gift he would hate to take away from her at any cost. This was the one thing that had connected them even more as husband and wife, a child of their own. From their own love for each other.

"You could read my mind?" he spoke quietly almost shocked that she had, or could.

"Well, I guess it's this special bonding we now have, considering the fused powers of that gemstone with your powers, huh?" she had replied before leaning over to lay a kiss on his lips.

Tommy figured that was one thing he felt he could ever really explain. Or understand. He wanted to say that it was a sorta blessing. That it would bring them closer together as husband and wife, yet something that felt like it was unconsciously linked to them. And it had hated that several surprises could only mean that much more trouble, but hoped that it wouldn't.

"You do know you can't predict the future, right?" she had repeated when he had not said anything.

"I know," Tommy replied quietly as he nodded. "It's always in motion, and even if we could, it would destroy the element of surprise."

"You always liked surprises," she giggled, knowing that he really didn't. He hated them almost with a passion, especially ones that seemed to be a bigger deal to overcome than others.

Tommy had sighed quietly as he got to his feet. He figured there was nothing more he could have done about the situation. For a long time, he had sit there and watched the white dino ranger with great concern. He knew that Trent was hurting greatly about it, still blaming himself for something he couldn't have fixed. And as far as he could tell, he knew the teen wouldn't want to talk to anyone about it for a long time. But that's not what he wanted. He didn't want to let the teen stay in a state of isolation, which he knew Trent was doing.

Trent had quietly left the room as he headed over to the small infirmary room in the back of the lab. He just didn't know what to think or believe about the entire situation. He had to admit, he was glad that Mindshatter had been destroyed, but if it had costed his father's life, he wasn't sure how much he could manage. There was already a lot he had gone through, and he wasn't sure how much more he could handle.

Adam was in the room checking out the vitals of the scientist, but as his eyes had met the eyes of the teen, he could only shake his head and left the room, knowing the teen wanted some alone time with his father.

Trent had slowly walked over to the bed that housed his father. Tucked away, but still looking pale and weak, it made Trent's knees buckle. His eyes fell shut as the images of the final battle played through his mind. Of the moment his eyes had locked with that evil robotic menace as he and Ethan had stepped into the main lab, it crushed his heart. He knew that in that menace, his father was locked inside. And somehow, he didn't know how, the menace had switched sides and joined up with them, putting an end to Mindshatter, but also to himself. Or so he thought. And the time that had been spent watching the chamber fill with the liquid nitrogen, Trent just felt his heart stop. His body shook with fear, guilt, anger, and several other mixed feelings as his friends kept him back. And when he had seen the frozen statue of Shadow Mesogog, he had raced over, hoping to catch it before it smashed into the ground, but had failed. Only in the light of the shatter, a bright light blinded him and the other rangers, to reveal the still figures of Zhane and his father.

He shook the images away as he walked over the bed, looming over his father. He didn't want to feel like he should blame himself for any of this, but it felt like it was his fault. If he had known, early on when the battle had begun, about how significant his father was, he would have been there to stop the cybots from taking him. From kidnaping him and subjecting him to hideous experiments to resurrect his evil alter-ego. But there was something about Mesogog... he wasn't evil no more. His father had control of him, and he knew that. He just didn't know how, but didn't care.

He began to file through his thoughts trying to figure out what to say. His throat burned, his eyes were in need of dropping tears, but he couldn't seem to let them go. Not around his friends. Not that he was trying to be tough about the entire situation, he was burning with a lot of mixed feelings. "It's over, dad. It's finally over. Mindshatter has been defeated, and you're out of the torment of being Mesogog. I hope. I really don't know what to think of the last battle, but for a long time, I've looked at all that has happened to me. And I don't think I ever really got a chance to really tell you how much I had appreciated all you have done and given me in the last few years. I mean, we never really have gotten a chance to bond as father and son, you were always busy, and here I am at the brink of graduating high school, and I feel that we may never get that chance. But, I do thank you for all you've done. I know it hasn't been any easier for you to have me around, especially in the beginning, but just so you know, I'm doing all right. I guess. I got – no, we got a lot of friends – here who are willing to help out. No more secrets, dad. Please. You've been through a lot. I only hope that you do get better and we can share some bonding before I move onto the next chapter of my life. I also want to let you know that Dr. O and Coach have been great guardians while you've been fighting your own battles. They've kept me sane. They all have...Kira, Conner, Ethan... everyone here. May the Powers Protect You."

Despite the lingering figures at the door, he didn't seem to notice them at all. Kira had been standing there for the longest time beside her mentor and science teacher as they watched the teen in white struggle with his own feelings over the matter. Kim had joined up with them some time later, allowing the yellow dino ranger to find comfort in her arms as the trio had watched the teen in the room.

Knocking quietly on the wall before entering, Tommy strode over to the teen, placing a hand on Trent's shoulder as they looked down at the unconscious Anton. "I know you'd prefer none of this to get out in the open, Trent, but Adam says we're gonna have to move him over to Reefside Hospital for more examination. He will see to it, personally, to keep an eye on him as he recovers."

"But what if he doesn't, Dr. O?" Trent asked quietly. His shoulders slumped down lower as he lowered his head even more.

"If Zhane recovered than so can he," the black ranger spoke firmly. "Anton is a tough guy, and I know that he will recover. There's nothing more we could do for him, but wait on him. But you know, we're always here if you need us."

The teen nodded slowly as he turned to look at the science teacher. For the months his father had been in the clutches of Mindshatter, he had gone to Dr. Oliver and his wife for advice, or just a place to crash at and hang out. The couple had not mind his company, only trying to provide a caring and loving environment as any parent or guardian would for the kid(s) they had looked over. He had also come to enjoy the company of the little pipsqueak known as Serena, Dr. Oliver's daughter, and the feeling of actually having a little sibling. His entire life had been bent around being an only child. He had nearly gotten everything he could ever want. And though, he knew his father, Anton, had not official said he loved or cared for his son, he knew that he did.

"Thanks, Dr. O for everything," he said as the science teacher wrapped his arms around the teen like an older brother would for their younger sibling.

"You'll always have a place to come back to here, all right?" the science teacher said quietly.

The teen in white slowly pulled away looking back at the motionless figure he knew as his father. For a guy who had more than enough to support him and the teen, the guy had a lot to look into in his future. Yet, as the teen was finally pushing away some doubt in his mind, he knew that there was still a chance for his father. And that's what he had wanted for him.

The hour had passed slow, but the assembly of rangers had found themselves making it back to the cyber cafe. Walking in through the back, to avoid the watchful eyes of the paying customers, they made their way down the hidden staircase to the very rock that had housed the energy to power of the morphing grid and the powers they were given through the years.

Quietly, but casually the rangers who had handed down their powers – the Zeo Rangers, the Space Rangers, and the two Time Force Rangers – lined the rock, placing their hand on the respective morpher they knew as their own. The Ninjetti team stood a few steps behind them, circling them and the dino rangers had taken the back end.

Slowly, the dino rangers began to concentrate on the energy of their dino gems as the small cave began to glow with the mix of colors that powered up the rangers before the morphing grid rock. Then the flow of energy traveled through the Ninjetti team and finally to the other rangers at the base of the rock.

A buzz of warmth filled each of them as they felt the energy return to their bodies and slowly each morpher had slipped from the rock onto the respective wrist of its owner. The room continued to glow and dance in a light of colors and when the transfer had been complete, the rangers had received their powers back from the dino rangers. The light clearing, every ranger stood in their respective ranger suit, or ninja uniform.

"So, this is how it feels to have power all over again?" TJ asked as he looked at the blue space ranger suit he knew as his own.

"You'll always have power, TJ. It doesn't matter if it comes from a gem, coin, morpher or not. We all have our own set of powers, that's heart, courage and true spirit," the black dino ranger stated as he stepped forward, walking over to the rock and laying a hand atop of it. He began to glow in a hint of gold-black as his dino teammates joined him. "That's what makes up a real hero."

The other dino rangers placed their hands atop his watching as the rock began to glow and blend the colors of each of the dino rangers into one. The rest of the rangers watched as the hint of pink escaped each of their morphers, showing the outline of the pink dino gem within each of them. And then they pulled away slowly as the gem's light slowly faded out. And the room was left in a dim haze.

"That rock contains the very chapter of each of the rangers teams that have come and gone through the years. We have just filled in the rest of our chapter up to this point into it," the black dino ranger said.

"So, that rock is the official means of obtaining the very information we need about the rangers that have come to pass?" Jason asked as he walked over to his best friend.

"That and more," Ethan spoke up, as he recalled the day he and his teammates had witnessed the adventures of a new team of rangers, the Space Patrol Delta Rangers, many years down the road. "But that waits to be seen for all of us."

"The future is always in motion. But the legacy will continue to grow and move through the years," Tommy said as he turned to look at the assembly of rangers before him. "No matter where you may be, never stop fighting the good fight, rangers. I've said this several times in the past, and I will say it again. No one ranger is less important than another. We all have our role to play in this game. And as we have seen, this legacy has gone as far as the year 3000 with our fellow Time Force Rangers. Where one chapter closes, a new one will begin with a lot more surprises and changes. Be prepared for anything, and may the powers always protect you one and all."

_**To be continued... **_

_A/N: Let me guess, from here you're thinking what else must I possibly be trying to add, right? Well, why not keep an eye out for the next set of chapters. And I do wanna apologize for the long wait. I've been working around trying to get back into the school mode, so I've been working in bits to complete this. I hope you liked the final battle. There is still much more for our ranger friends, but what? Check it out, later. Until another time, I'll see you guys around. Later daze and keep your eyes out for the last round of chapters. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	46. Operation: Protection

**_A/N2: Sorry guys. I am really bad about updating, but I have been busy. I hope you really like these next set of chapters. They were actually hard to compile with this little mind of mine. So, I had to get a lot of help. Thanks again for all the reviews and insight. You're greatly appreciated for all that you do. See you around and hope you like what I decided to write up. Enjoy!_**

**'TIL I COLLAPSE**- **_PART FORTY-SIX: OPERATION: PROTECTION_**  
SEQUEL TO: **ORDINARY WORLD**

_SUMMARY: Seniors at Reefside High unleash a series of pranks the school is never gonna forget._

_DISCLAIMER: Power Ranger is not mine. Never will be, but I guess you already know that. So, don't sue me. please. I just own how this will end. I also want to thak the show "High School Stories: Scandals, Pranks and Controveries!" on MTV2 for some work added toward the pranks._

_A/N: I figured I should end on a lighter note to all of this. There is only a matter of four more chapters after this and this story is gonna be shelved for completion. This is related to some pranks at my school, so enjoy!_

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"We gotta to this. We gotta leave our mark on this school so that no one will ever forget what has happened to the class of 2005. We have been through a lot and I just hope there are a lot of people with a sense of humor. Prank or not, even if I get in trouble. This has to be done to prove we can do something in our life."-Eclyptyk Neo_  
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

A few days later. Sunday night, May 15th, 2005.

Not much could really be said about the last few days in the rangers' lives. As far as they could tell, it wasn't like it would matter much in the following week, especially for the teens. They were graduating soon and they were all on the verge of needing to get out of there and onto new and better things.

Most of the rangers that didn't reside within Reefside had returned to their normal lives, and it was clear that they were glad the mayhem was all over. The only remaining members from the line of rangers stationed in Reefside, besides the dino rangers, were Billy and Adam. The rest of them literally stormed out of there as if they didn't want to get involved in anymore mayhem.

Anton Mercer had been moved over to Reefside Hospital, with Elsa and Trent on hand and foot waiting for his progress. But it was clear that with Adam's heavy heart, he was doing all he can to revive the scientist. But he had not responded to anything in the last few days, and it only made him more worried.

"Go on, Trent," Adam had instructed the teen upon his visit to his father's room in the hospital. "You still got an exam to study for, let alone, school to worry about."

Trent had not wanted to listen to him about that, but could only hope and knew that he was right. For a long time, he felt locked in his own pain for letting this happen, and he was making it show at school. He didn't talk to anyone at all except if it was anyone associated with the team – Conner, Ethan, Dr. Oliver, Coach or Kira. He didn't even go about talking to Hayley while he was at work, so she had forced him to take a long and much needed vacation.

The medical doctor moved around the bedside to place a hand on the teen's shoulder. "I will do whatever I can to help him out, Trent. But I can't do it without his help. And he hasn't respond to the most rigorous of tests I've put on him. Don't give up hope. But try not to worry. You still got finals to worry about big time."

"Thanks, Adam. I really appreciate all that you're doing," Trent said quietly as he moved out of the room.

The man watched the teen go, letting a sigh escape his lips. He turned to the corner of the room where the high school science teacher/legendary ranger had de-materialized from the powers of his dino gem. "I don't want to lose him like I did David. But, I'm not so sure I can do anymore for him, Tommy."

The man in black nodded slowly as he looked at the closed door leading out in the hall. "I know Trent is hurting. We all are. But he is the most. He will be hurting for a long time after this and I do know you're trying your best, Adam. Just keep it up."

The medical doctor let out another sigh as he moved over to the bedside, watching the unconscious man on the bed. He had worked countless hours over the past few days, trying every little Oriental remedy he could think of. He was also trying to use acupuncture and some ninja magic, but had got nothing from the scientist. It was like he had entered a void and nothing was there. No way to get to him. "What if I fail? I mean, I failed you when I failed to save David. I just..."

It was a shock to Tommy as he had heard and seen the fear running in his friend. In all of his years as a ranger and friend to the Korean man, he had not seen the man show any sign of fear or worry. He didn't as much as shed a tear, but then again, he was a rather reserved guy. But, now it was like all of his barriers were opening up and he couldn't do it. He just couldn't hold on to all he had locked away.

Tommy walked over to his friend, placing a firm hand on his shoulder before Adam turned to look at him. "I don't blame you for the loss of David. I don't. And you shouldn't. I mean, it was just something we couldn't fix or save. It's in the past. This is now. Let's worry about now, and what we can do for Anton."

The Korean man held his breath as he nodded letting the emotions slowly leave him through every breath that he took. "Well, I should get back to work. And you need to get some sleep and not worry so much about this."

The black dino ranger nodded. "I'll try not. Keep me informed, buddy."

Tommy turned and left the room, leaving the medical doctor to work his magic on his prime patient.

**_XXXXXXXXXX _**

Trent had returned to his house with Conner and Ethan on his heels. The red and blue dino rangers knew though, that Trent was still hurting. They didn't have to be told by his girlfriend, or anyone else. It was in how he stood and presented himself. He didn't talk much at all. Or he refused to get involved in chatting.

But they had work to do. Conner and Ethan exchanged a look, before each of them wrapped an arm around the teen in white calling his attention.

"Bro, I know you're hurting. But let's lighten the mood a little," Ethan said.

"Yeah, we got a lot of work to do before the night is done," Conner said with a nod and a wink.

And he was right about that. They did have a lot of work to do. For the last few days, they were meeting secretly over at Trent's house – like it was a big deal, when the huge house only had one occupant. They had been working closely with their science teacher in the shadows along with a few other guys to set up a line of pranks to show off at school. And they were sure they were gonna get their class known for their line of pranks.

Walking into the living room, there was a line of papers, mostly in code for them to read on plans to hit up on the school with a line of pranks. Quietly, they settled in until the door bell rang.

"And let the fun begin," Ethan chuckled as Trent moved to the door.

After getting a line of secret codes to enter, the teen in white had permitted the group of guys into the room. It was Operation: Manhood under way. The group had consisted of Kevin, Kellen, and Jordan from the soccer team along with their friend Sean, Michael from the dance team and Jon, Ken from Trent's Advanced Art class, and Robert, Steve and Daniel from the computer club crew. All of them were desperate to leave their mark on the school, and they knew many others were trying to come up with their own set of plans to hit up the school. But they knew theirs would forever be remembered by the staff and students of Reefside High. Not that they were trying to say that girls were welcome to join, they just sorta felt like they would blow their cover.

Getting squared away, the team had gotten down to business. Each guy had pulled out a bag full of oreos that had all been filled to the max with Rembrant Brand Toothpaste. A classic joke just to see someone bite into it and see their initial reaction by the face they made. But, that trick was gonna get laid out for the teachers and staff.

"Dude, how do we know this is gonna work?" Jordan asked as he took one oreo out, smelling it. The mint smell falling in line with his nose. "If I even smelt it, I would know there was something up."

"That is why we got the extra candy to cover up the smell," Ethan said.

Conner was beginning to laugh as he thought back to the prank he had played out with the "minty" oreos. "And it is funny to see how people react. If you saw their face, it is a priceless moment."

"Now, what if they ate them all? I mean, we're giving them all three. Are you sure it's not gonna make them sick?" Kellen asked as he began to lay out his bag of oreos on the table.

Michael, Ken and Jon were already working around making the bags to place the goodies in. Ethan was on his laptop typing up the little messages to place on the little goodie bag.

Conner shook his head. "I think after the first one, they should get the picture. But it's not they'll get sick. It will take a whole tube of toothpaste to do some real damage."

"But anyway, we need to get to work and set these things up," Michael broke into the conversation as he began to pile three oreos atop on another, two good and one bad, reaching for the mix of candy in the middle to complete the goodie bag.

"How many do we need?" Ken asked as he began to count the heap of stuff on the table.

"At least 100," Trent replied as he looked over a list of staff at Reefside High. "But, I'm gonna leave you, Michael and Jon and the computer crew to work on that. The rest of us need to discuss the other issues."

"The chicken run," Sean spoke up. "I talked to my uncle about it, and he was cracking up about the idea. He loves it. And we can also use one of his cows. We just need to let him know when it will go down."

"All right," Conner nodded. He, along with Ethan and Trent were the main brains of the operation, so they ran with the ideas set by their friends. "Now, we don't want to attack them all from one side. But we need to build on it."

"I still think we should hit them up with something nice. And then slowly get worse," Kevin suggested as he began to set up the goodie bags for the teacher.

"Well, you got Senior Council to thank for that. I know, it's a little weird but we'll be releasing a line of balloons in the hall for people to pop. They'll be candy, loose change, confetti and lots of empty ones. Some of them actually have fake passes that will have the students going to unknown places or a teacher hoping to get a surprise, but get nothing at all," Trent said with a shrug.

"Who does that?" Jon asked as he shook his head.

"The class of 2005 senior council, that's who. And it was hell to fill up all those balloons. Luckily, I had the hook-up and had a party company help us out. So, we got a whole lot more balloons than the council actually realizes."

"If there is gonna be loose change, we might as well and hit up the coins glued to the ground," Kevin said.

"It's an idea, but that will be a lot of work," Conner said. "We got one night to pull that off."

"Yeah, that's true. But didn't you guys say that you had Dr. Oliver in on this operation?" Kellen asked as the lead trio nodded. "But wouldn't he ruin the fun and go and destroy the concept of the oreos and toothpaste, or even some of our other ideas?"

Conner looked over at Ethan as he shrugged before looking over at Trent. The teen in white got to his feet and left the room. He had to check in on the science teacher about the whole operation.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Reefside High School, 10:15pm.

Dressed from head to toe in a black garb, the figure loomed in the shadows despite what powers he had locked inside to hide his image. Dr. Tommy Oliver had been scouting the area under invisibility for the last fifteen minutes to calculate shifts in security, cameras and other things that could hinder the operation of jokes.

He had gotten the head's up from Trent, Conner and Ethan, that they would be starting their run for the pranks this night. And he had to give them the heads up about what to do and how to go about their operation. Luckily, there was only one guard that watched the entire school as he slowly paced the outer perimeter of the school buildings.

Tommy had followed him on his routine in the darkness of the night, keeping low, knowing from time to time he might have triggered something if he stood normally. But he knew it wouldn't be too much of a problem, when he had a line of computer geniuses to work their magic on the cameras and security system for the school.

By the time 11:30 was coming around, he knew the team would be moving toward the school to begin the first line of pranks for the school. He had to admit that it was wrong to do this, but he felt like since he never got a chance to do it back at Angel Grove, as bad as it was, he had to do it now. Get that part of him out into the open and let the pranks fly.

He continued on walking casually behind the guard until his phone went off. And that's when he had cursed quietly as he quickly checked his pockets for it. He had forgot to put it on silent as he rang the melody for his wife.

He zipped around the corner just as the security guard had turned around. The guard searched the area with his flash light put found nothing. He scratched his head, shrugged and moved on.

Tommy peered around the corner to see the guard had been well around the other side of building and out of earshot range. He let out a breath as he pushed the receiver to his ear. The nervousness slowly leaving him, but was still there. "Hey, Beautiful."

"Tommy, Handsome, where are you? It's late and you need to get some rest. You got a class to teach, and don't you need to issue out the final for your seniors?" Kim asked, a tinge of anger lingering in her voice as she spoke.

Tommy knew that he couldn't tell her the truth. Nor did he forget to tell her that he would be coming in late, because he had some things to take care of. And if he told her, she would kill him. She was all for not playing off pranks at all, though it would be a crack, but had not approved of it at all. He didn't even want to ask her opinion or she would put two and two together and figure it out. "Sorry, baby. I know, you're right. But Adam really needs me up at the hospital. I'll be in late. But don't worry, things are squared away."

"So, what's the progress on Anton anyway?" she asked with some concern.

Tommy breathed a sigh of relief. If he kept it up, she would believe anything he said. "Well, there really isn't much. Adam thinks that my dino gem might be able to wake him, if not Trent's as well. But it is only theory."

"Well, okay. Just as long as you don't stay out too late. This bed gets really lonely without you in it."

Tommy smiled at the gesturing, thinking more of it. "Yeah, well, that bed can do a whole lot more too..."

"Don't get any ideas right now, Handsome," his wife countered. "These next two weeks will go by faster than we could have imagined, and we'll have the whole summer to think of what more we can do on this bed..."

The science teacher nodded slowly trying to relay any thoughts of doing what he wanted to do to his wife. But he had to get back to work, and he knew Kim needed her rest. Being around a line of rangers was one thing, but still being pregnant was another. "Anyway, I should let you go. You need some sleep, Beautiful. I should be in by the end of the night. Love you and good night."

"Good night to you too. Please don't stay out too late, and love you, Handsome," she replied.

Moments later, the phone clicked and Tommy let out a breath. He was glad that he had pulled that off. If he tried to explain himself, especially in person, he wouldn't pull it off. He would screw up big time and show every line of lying in how he stood or say something. And Kim was known to pick out when he lied almost every time. Other times, he would just pop and admit it, knowing he can't keep all secrets to himself.

He continued to move through the school grounds, keeping an eye out for the numerous cameras hidden on campus. Throughout the past few days, he had made mental note of all of them, making sure to inform the technical part of the team about each one they would be encountering on their way through the pranks.

He rounded the corner, only to realize that the security guard must have shifted directions and was now coming his way. Fora moment, he froze hoping his black garbs could act as a bigger shadow for him, but had almost forgotten that he had the power of invisibility so it wasn't even a problem. Only except that his cell had gone off again, and the sound of the vibration could be heard. Tommy jumped around the corner, quickly flipping it open and pushing the mute key before racing around to the other side of the building.

Tonight was not his night, but he could only conclude that it was a Sunday. The final Sunday before the Seniors would be dismissed from classes a week before everyone else. But their graduation would not be until the following Saturday on the 28th of May. And he knew that security was taking extra precautions hearing of the constant rumors of pranks being played on the school. But theirs would be foolproof. No one would be able to point fingers at any of them, and that was exactly what he and his partners of crime were planning.

"You know, this is my second close call tonight. Are you sure you wanna pull this off now?" Tommy asked in a whisper into the phone as he peered around the corner, hoping to not see the security guard coming his way.

"We gotta, Dr. O. So, lay it on me. What do we need to know?" Trent replied in an anxious need to get these first set of pranks done as fast as possible.

"One security guard and several cameras. I got the keys, and we got the computer geniuses to reset any codes for triggering the doors after we get inside. Move quickly. I say the faster you guys get here and set the pranks, the quicker it will be to jump the gun."

"I say we'll be there around 11:00," the teen replied.

"Cancel that. That's when the cops hit fast. Give it another thirty to forty-five minutes. By 11:45, the cops would be scouting the downtown area, so all we would have to worry about is the guard. Ethan and his team should have a program to reset the cameras at different intervals without any glitches to the system."

"All right, Dr. O. I guess you can hang out for awhile...we'll get there as soon as we can. Trent out," the teen in white replied as he ended the call.

The science teacher let out a breath as he left the wake of the corner and headed back into the limelight of the quiet night.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Trent had returned to the living room where his partners in crime were divising a set of plans to unless their line of pranks on the school. They very well had plenty to count, but it was hard to decide and figure out how and when they were gonna set them all up.

He had informed the team of the situation as he found most of them work to get the goodie bags done for the staff. They had hoped the staff wouldn't make something of it when they had heard a constant number of rumors about pranks being planted the last week of the seniors' presence. Nor hope their goodie bags was a trick because they really wanted to see the initial reaction of the teachers as they ate the "minty" oreos. And they would be a week too late for Teacher Appreciation Week, which was the week before.

They had already agreed to gluing lose change, coins, to the ground and have people attempt to pick up a quarter, only to find out it was stuck. And they were planning to the salt the field, if not bleach it. If they had it right, it would be evident by the time graduation came around and stay there for awhile, especially if they did it big. With some mathematical help, they had used a special spray paint evident only by the use of a goggles with a blacklight in them, helping the team to salt the exact dimensions of the sign.

They were also gonna do the fishing line around the poles, wait and watch people trip over them. They could only hope that they would not fall victim to their own pranks. Yet, there was a whole line of pranks they were needing to pull off.

After getting all the goodie bags set and getting their other items, the team had switched gear into a black appearel. And headed out the door all going to the line of black Honda Civics to begin their mayhem.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Meanwhile, over at Reefside High, Dr. Oliver had moved away from the school, keeping tabs on the time and how long it would take to pull off their first set of pranks. He knew they had to move quick, because if he wasn't mistaken, there had been a few suspicious cars looming around the high school. None looked too out of the ordinary but it was clear that some of them were planning something.

He walked up the street that lead to the back fields of the school where he had his own black jeep parked in the shadows of the night. And not too long after, four black Honda Civics had pulled into the darken alleyway. Dropping the sight of his invisibility, he sunk into the comfort of the jeep waiting for the team to assemble.

To him, it felt like an operation set by the rangers, but he had to remember not to go completely ranger-like with this crowd of people. But he had been among situations that had regarded sneaking in and out of a place, and he had come out successful most of the time. This shouldn't be any harder.

The trio of guys that the science teacher had recognized as his young proteges stawked over to his jeep, waiting for his sign to move along with the plans.

"So, what do we got, Dr. O?" Conner asked as he felt his adrenaline pumping. And this wasn't like the times where he had to battle some crazy monster Dinoshade out of the blue, it was something more set on reality. It was far more riskier than being a superhero. This was beyond the code of anyone who never as much as being comical or liked to play jokes. It was a whole new world to him, but he had to admit, he kinda liked the rush of adrenaline at this level.

"It seems we're not the only ones who want to pull a few on the school here. Either, people have the same idea as you guys, or wanting to hit it harder than we would have liked. So, we have to be cautious. Don't get caught. And we already discussed the escape route once the pranks are set," the science teacher stated in his usual serious tone. Either he was really freaked about the whole thing, hiding it well, or he was just as freaked as them about wondering how well they could pull off the first night. They knew once this night was done, the security could increase in the following few nights they were hoping to attack.

Ethan sunk his shoulders, feeling his body shake with fear. "This is big, though... I mean, this could cost us the chance to walk at graduation, if not more..."

"Don't tell me you're having doubts?" Trent looked over at him, slightly surprised. Ethan was one of the first people to make the suggestions about laying out a few pranks on the school, and all of a sudden he sounded like they were gonna bail.

"But we planned ours accordingly, Ethan," the science teacher. "Unlike the rest of these guys they may not have a good inside connection as me right here. I got all the links. Now, we need Daniel and Robert to run the program on the camera system. We gotta moved from the south end of the school and retreat out the same way. They also need to run the systems to reset the security codes as well."

Ethan nodded as he raced toward one of the cars instructing his friends of the news. Conner and Trent loomed a little closer to their teacher, feeling a new sense of fear run over them. After Ethan had made that last comment, their hearts just stopped and their stomachs sunk. They had waited far too long to screw this up, to go up on stage and grab that high school diploma they had been working to get for nearly 18 years of their life.

The man turned to the two rangers, seeing their sinking faces. "You think you got it worse? Try sitting on the teetering edge of losing a teaching career for good, and possibly losing the love of your life because you decided to be funny and set a few pranks on not only her, but an entire school. Yeah, that's worse. But ya know, you guys said you wanted to leave your mark and that's what I'm gonna help you do."

"So, is this the rebellious side of you, Dr. O?" Conner asked trying to push open a smile.

The science teacher winked. "I got your back, right?" He hopped out of the jeep as he directed the team to follow. "C'mon, let's move out now."

The team had followed the swift movement of the science teacher. Those who had known him long enough or about his other side had joked that the man had moved much like a ninja. Each fixed with an earpiece to hear the word of the technical geniuses back at the rendevouz point. Getting on campus wasn't a hard thing. They were hanging out under the bleachers as the science teahcer gave them one last set of directions.

"All right. I don't normally do something as low as this, but I must say your class as a whole, 2005, is unique. But we all got our jobs. If you at all hear other voices that you don't recongize bail and get the hell out of here. Don't stick around for anyone of us. Each team has a reliable leader on their watch, so listen to them. And listen in on Daniel and Robert, too. They got the cameras under their watch, they see everything. May the..." Tommy paused for a moment as he bit his tongue. Wrong phrase. "Good luck."

Splitting into four different teams, Conner had melted into the shadows with his soccer teammates, Kellen Kevin and Jordan to work out Operation: Salt the Field. Trent had taken his art buddies over to the main building with the mission to set up the goodies bags. Ethan, Michael and Steve headed out to the quads and outer hang out spots to work on the fishing line idea. Tommy had taken Sean with him to work on gluing the coins to the ground throughout the campus.

Time passed slowly.

But within the hour, the pranks had been set with little or no problems as they had moved from the campus out to the rendevouz point. And back into the darkness of the night where they could enjoy some relaxation.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Next day. Monday morning.

Tommy had slowly strode out of the jeep with his wife/P.E. teacher at his side. For a moment, he had kept the laughter to himself as he watched students attempt to pull the coins off the ground. Then he watched a line of people trip over the fishing line against the poles and heard a slueth of people talk about the set of pranks laid out around the school.

"What the hell is going on?" Kim asked as she looked around.

"It seems the pranks are beginning," Tommy replied simply as he took a step away from here. He had to get into teacher mode/professional mode, which meant none of the close knit touching or holding. Not that the two were seen in the halls from time to time holding hands, it was not their domain or respectful to do it.

"I'm not so sure I want to go to class, now," Kim breathed as she followed her husband over to the main building.

Like any staff member at Reefside, they had to check in at the main office before heading off to teach or do what they did around school. It was to keep their records straight about sickness, absences, etc among teachers.

Upon signing in, was a basket full of goodies for the teachers and staff at Reefside. It had consisted of three oreos and an array of candy to finish it off with a tag thanking the teachers for all they did.

"Did it say who they were from?" the science teacher asked as he grabbed one looking over it. But in the back of his mind he knew, but felt the sinking feeling in his stomach. He knew, but not sure how, wildfire and rumors hit the senior class from all angles. And if word got out about his involvement in these pranks, he'd be dead for sure. But he had to play his cool and be one in the crowd.

The secretary shook her head as she looked at the one on her desk. She shrugged. "Well, I figured it was either from Student Cabinet or maybe Community of Caring, but Teacher Appreciation Week was last week."

"Maybe they were working really hard to get them done, but hadn't got the time until now," Kim shrugged as she grabbed one for herself. "Well, it was awfully nice of them to do that."

"Yeah, no kidding. We'll catch you later, Ms. Arling," the science teacher stated as he pulled his wife along, escorting her to the gym. But in all honestly, another sinking feeling fell over him as each held their attendance and daily annoucements in hand along with the goodie bag. But he had to keep his cool. And keep it there for a good long two weeks, if not more.

The walk was not so easy though with some students trying to pry the coins off the ground, or others would point and laugh. As they made it outside and over to the gym, the science teacher had moved a few steps ahead to catch the door, only to forget the fishing line caught between two of the poles. He nearly stumbled forward landing against the door, but caught himself as the P.E. teacher cautiously moved over the line.

"You okay?" she asked as she helped him stand upright as he looked back at the pole. "Fishing line." She shook her head. "Those seniors are gonna make this one hell of a week, aren't they?"

"As long as it isn't too harmful, the administration is actually allowing them to do some of this stuff," Tommy replied with a shrug as he caught another student who tripped over the line. Bashfully, the young freshman girl said a quick thank you and bolted into the gym without saying anymore. "Now, I'm not so sure about this fishing line thing, but the coin thing is pretty funny."

"But can you imagine the work the janitors would have to do?" Kim asked as she looked around, shaking her head.

Tommy sighed quietly knowing she had a point, and had pointed out on the last day of the pranks, the team should assemble a line of being nice and deck out some huge spectacular thing as no joke, but it would in reality set up for the final prank up their sleeves. He had wished his wife a good day, warning her to keep her eye out for any crazy pranks and left to teach his science class.

After issuing out their final exams for their last science final of their high school career, Dr. Oliver had sat casually at his desk looking over grades for the seniors in the class. But from time to time, he would see his students look up at him as if urging him to take forth and partake in a little chocolate cookie. He knew that they knew what was in those and were longing to see the reaction on his face.

And he knew he would have to follow through and do it. So, he absently pulled away the string and opened up the bag, looking at the screen reading the latest news around the city. And casually popped one oreo into his mouth and didn't think twice as he began to chomp on it. But after that one bite, his face just sorta went sour. Chopping down on it several times his face grimaced as he wanted to gag. But he taken it in and and swallowed, furrowing his eyes grabbing another and lookng at it.

"Okay, either my taste buds are not working with me, or that was a really bad oreo," he shook his head.

Some of the seniors began to snicker quietly, while a few had no idea what was going on. Trent had not said nothing or indicated much of anything, zoning out like always as he finished his test. Yet, Trent was like that sometimes. Too absorbed in something if need be, but not that it was a bad thing. It gave him a sense of direction, allowed him to focus on the task at hand.

Tommy didn't even bother eating the other two having no idea if he got played out and had three bad cookies. One was bad enough, and he didn't need anymore toothpaste in his stomach. He wanted to gag, still tasting the after effects in his mouth. He quickly popped in a chocolate hoping to neutralize the taste, but it only made it worse. And if he popped in a piece of gum, it would only make his stomach churn even more.

By the time thirty minutes had gone, the whole class was done and he had left to run the tests through the scantron machine and enter the grades for them to know by the end of the class. The class itself were hanging out and reflecting on the year's activities and events.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Meanwhile, over in the gym.

Kim had watched her students pace around the gym running through the drills. She had been holding the little goodie bag in her hand eyeing the cookies inside. She was in need of fulfilling her little cookie needs as she opened it up. She looked over it before shrugging and popping it in her mouth.

The chocolately goodness filled her mouth as she smiled wide. She had to admit, she had not had an oreo in a long time, and it tasted so good to her. She didn't hesitate to pop the next one in. Again, it filled her mouth with its chocolate and cream mix. And after that one, she had just jumped to the final one as she was hoping to get a new fill of chocolate and cream.

She bit into it, feeling and tasting the oddness to the cookie. For a moment, she thought nothing of it but as she continued to bite down on it, she began to realize the minty taste in her mouth. And she knew it wasn't a minty oreo, it had green cream, and there was sorta a taste that made it more disgusting. Her face grimaced in grotesque. And she just lost it, she began to spit out the remains of the cookie on the ground.

Students stopped to see their teacher gagging, rushing over to her to see if she was all right. Some on them stopped and started laugh. But it was clear that the pregnant teacher was pissed, yelling at the top of her lungs. She was pissed, and as she continued to spit out the remains of the minty oreo, the students had left, getting back to work, working a little harder to make her happy.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The school day ran slow enough. And to add to the line of pranks, Senior Council had unleashed the balloon idea throughout the school sprinkling them all over and allowing students to stomp them. Bringing out a huge bang for anyone who came in contact with them. Many people didn't understand the point of those pranks, but had to admit, it lightened the mood over the errors on the coins and fishing line idea.

But word soon got out about the goodie bags, but by then, most of the teacher had had their fill of the minty taste if not more. And students laughed and joked, many finding out what was planted in the oreos and seeing the initial reaction of their teachers as they ate them.

But one day was one, and it was off to another night of pulling off a line of more pranks.

The team had assembled in another back alley not too far from the school discussing the next set of plans. They knew never to meet in the same spot twice, or their cover would be blown easily. Like always, Dr. Oliver had come a little bit earlier, using his stealth invisibility to scout the building. And he was correct, there were four more guards to total up to five different guards on campus, so it would make it much more tricker this night to get inside when two were scouting inside the school, the others outside.

"Well, we pulled that off easily," Kevin said with a shrug. "But about this night? Dr. Oliver, you said there were more guards out now, right?"

"That is right. We're not out of this yet. Now, that the administration knows that the seniors are doing this, they're taking harder precautions about what can and can't be done," the science teacher spoke.

"So, what do we got?" Michael asked as he held the items in hand, baby oil, duct tape and saran wrap. They all had it hidden in their packs.

"Split up. Two to a hallway and work your magic. Remember, we got Robert and Daniel on watch, so get in, lay it down and get out," the science teacher instructed.

"Time out, Dr. Oliver. How are we supposed to do the duct tape thing. We need to get out of the classrooms, but the doors open in, not out. So, how do we get out of a classroom if the tape is gonna be on the doors?"

"Hey, Dr. Oliver come in," Robert called out from the earpiece in the science teacher's ear.

"Go ahead, Robert. What's up?" the teacher replied.

"Looks like you're not alone tonight. We got a couple of stragglers on the football field. And we got people already inside the building playing off the duct tape idea..." he reported as they heard.

"And we got the saran wrap done by another," Daniel added.

"Hmm...it seems time is on our side tonight. Trent, you said the balloon thing is going on for the entire week, right?" the teacher sighed quietly.

"Well, yeah until Thursday," Trent replied with a nod.

The science teacher began to make mental plans as they flew through his head at top speed. He wasn't surprised to hear some other people, if not seniors themselves, trying to pull off a few more pranks on the school. But after Daniel and Robert had made another report, it seems another group of people were planting the baby oil and petroleum jelly on locker handles, doors and rails. It was a no go for tonight.

"Dude, who do these people think they are?" Jon shook his head as he clenched his fists in frustration.

It was clear the other guys were just as upset as him wanting to get this done, but it seemed word had gotten out to others about the other pranks, or they had come up with them on their own.

The science teacher sighed as he shrugged. "Well, it looks like we're out tonight. But maybe that's a good thing. What else do we got left to do?"

"Chicken Run and Betsy Upstairs," Ethan reported as he looked at his organizer. "And we got Operation: Protection set for the final night."

"And that's when you guys had set up the entire tailgate/fundraising event for the clubs at school, correct?" the science teacher looked over at Trent, who was their main link to the council.

The teen nodded. "That's correct. Mrs. Jackson knew this would be Senior Hell Week considering it was our last week of high school, but she wanted to close it off with contributes and fundraising working closely with Student Cabinet to get it all set up. I guess it's almost like a farewell party for the seniors as they move on in life. Each club is gonna have either food or some sorta activity going on. Just your regular run of the mill semi-carnival event."

"And that's going on this week?"

Kevin and Kellen had nodded, the duo of the team who was also Student Cabinet.

"And that was a lot of work to set up. We've been working on it for the last three weeks just to keep it in line," Kevin sighed.

"It should be happening Wednesday night. We were gonna do it on Friday night, but didn't want it to conflict a whole lot with finals for the underclassmmen," Kellen reported.

"All right. But I got the impression if people are gonna attack at this time, hit it up later on in the night. Meaning, we'll have to make an early bird appearance for the next two nights. Let's aim for around 4:00 for the Farm Animal idea and then 3:00 for the Operation: Protection event. For now, get some sleep and gear up for your finals if you got them to worry about."

The group had split up and went off into the night. Unfortuately, this was one night that had not gone according to their plans, but they still had enough up their sleeves.

**_XXXXXXXXXX _**

The next day had consisted of more pranks being pulled. Students were too disgusted to use bathroom facilities, touch railing or even their lockers not knowing exactly what was on them. And one passing period there wasn't any petroleum jelly on the railing or baby oil on the locker doors and the next time it was which had many teens frustrated with the jokes.

But the balloon idea had played out a few times which had some happiness, but the coins on the ground were still laying about, but the fishing line was now gone. As for the doors, that was harder to comprehend. For the longest time, classes were put on hold as teachers, janitors and other staff members had a hard time getting into the building, if not their classrooms.

And there were times when saran wrap had been in the hall, or in the bathroom to leave a huge mess all over the place.

It had seemed others were just as smart about setting off pranks as anyone else in the senior class.

The following night had the team assembled in the shadows of trees just beyond the soccer fields on the school. Without the coverage their cover might have been blown easily. The science teacher had told them to split up with the chickens, having them released on the campus from different angles and not straight away the same area or the guards could point out the source.

As for getting the cow into the school was a whole other thing. And Robert and Daniel had reported another unlikely set up of surprises for the team. It seemed others had already gone into the school, planted several desks in the halls blocking them off as well as placing a few adminstrative's desks in the gym along with a swimming pool party style event on the upper decks of the gym.

The frustration was starting to hit the group, but the science teacher had kept them calm and collected.

"Okay, so this has definitely turned into Hell Week especially for us but..." then he had heard a noise coming from the other end of the field.

The science teacher had pulled off from the group peering into the distance to see a huge crane enter the stadium heading for the gym. Two cars had been sitting not too far from the gym building. And as Tommy used his heightened sight to get a better look, he saw a construction worker alongside a certain principal in the passenger seat. And as he concluded who the cars had belonged to, he knew he had another set of ideas. The two cars had belonged to two other adminstrative staff members which many people could not stand, Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Titus.

The raced back over to the group, a little smile passed his face. "I got another idea. But this is one I gotta do on my own, but leave the cow. I suggestion you guys get out of here before someone finds you."

The group had nodded and turned to disappear into the shadows of the night. The trio known as the dino rangers walked over to their mentor wondering what was on his mind.

"So, what do we got, Dr. O?" Conner asked as he peered out of the trees into the distant where he saw the crane. "Is that a crane?"

"It seems there is someone else pulling a major prank on her fellow adminstrative staff. It seems Elsa gots plans of her own."

"Is she putting their cars on the roof?" Ethan caught a laugh in his throat nearly choking on it.

"It looks like that to me," Trent said.

"I forget those two are real early birds and like to come to the school early to inspect things before the day is done..." the science teacher spoke.

"Yeah, but they failed to stop what happened with the duct tape, which I will never understand got pulled off," Conner shook his head.

"Yeah," the teacher nodded. "But, how about we leave a little surprise for Mr. Titus and Mr. Clarkson? Load up that cow with laxatives and let's get it on out of here."

After a few moments of feeding the cow with the milky liquid, the science teacher had moved to the other side of the field where the crane had already placed Mr. Clarkson's black Mercedes sedan on the roof of the gym.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't a certain science teacher out in the early morning hours of school. Aren't you usually known for running late, Dr. Oliver?" the pricipal greeted as she had recognized the stride that belonged to him alone.

"Well, I didn't expect to find you here either, Principal Santos," the science teacher countered as he hopped onto the big vehicle beside her. "Nor did I expect you had a sense of humor to do something like this to your fellow staff."

"Funny, Tommy. So, what do you want?" the principal grew more serious, knowing that something must have been up. Either she knew that he was in the mix of pranks, or he had informed her of a few he had requested permission to do. The science teacher had forgotten several conversations with the principal.

"Mind adding a cow to your priority to Operation: Rooftop?" the science teacher hinted at a smile.

The principal joined in her own smile as she winked at him. "Is it packed up?"

The science teacher nodded. "Oh yeah, I'm sure by the time those two find a way to get their cars down they be seeing a rather messy transport."

"You know, you're really bad about this, I hope you know that. I never would have seen this from you."

"Well, I wouldn't be the only one losing my job, now would I?" the science teacher countered.

"Our little secret. I'm also sure your wife would kill you if she found out what you've been doing."

"Not all of these were set by me, just to let you know,"

The principal nodded as the cow had slowly strode onto the field. The science teacher had slowly directed the animal onto the panel as it slowly lifted and dropped the cow off on the roof beside the two cars. Without saying anymore, the construction worker had moved the crane out of the field and back into the darkness of the night.

For a moment the two had admired their new line of work. The trio of dino rangers still hidden in the shadows couldn't help but laugh at the accomplishments. The science teacher had told the trio to stay there, not wanting the principal to put any blame on them, or think they were responsible for some of the pranks on the school.

But looking at their watches, they knew they had to bolt out of there and cover their tracks before anyone could point fingers.

Tommy had raced out of their with the other dino rangers to the outskirts of town where they stripped off their black garb, tossed them into a dumpster and slipped on casual sweats, a T-shirt, and sweater to make it look like they were out on an early morning jog. Without saying anymore, the four had split and gone their own ways as they headed off back home and got ready for the next school day.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Tommy strode into the house quietly as he raced up the stairs. It was inching around 6:00 in the morning as he peered into the room where his wife slept. He had hoped that she had not noticed he had been gone for so long, or even gone at all. He moved around to the other side of the bed, laying a kiss on his wife's forehead before laying one on her lips causing her to smile.

"Hey, Beautiful. Time to wake up and get ready for the day," he whispered along her ear before laying another kiss on her lips.

The small pregnant woman moaned quietly as she turned to lay on her back, opening her eyes slowly. "Where did you go? I noticed you weren't in bed nearly thirty minutes ago."

"I woke up early and couldn't go back to bed, so I went out for a run," the man replied.

She nodded and sat up as her husband wrapped an arm around her waist laying another kiss on her forehead. She tossled his hair, feeling the sweat running down it. "Eww, you're sweating, Handsome."

"I told you I went out for a run," Tommy replied as he placed a hand on her round tummy. She pushed open a smile and placed her hand atop his. "But how are you holding out? I mean, you got how many more months to go?"

"I'll be fine. I've gotten this far, so I think I'll be fine."

"I can't help but notice that you're getting rather big for your size. No offense," Tommy stated.

"Yeah, I noticed to. I got an appointment scheduled for the weekend to go check it out." she said as she slowly got to her feet, her husband helping her to stay steady. "I'm gonna go get ready. And so should you."

Tommy pulled his wife into another warm kiss before telling her how much he loved her and escorted her to the bathroom. He knew he had to get ready himself, but he was also trying to figure out if she had any idea what he had been up to for the last few nights.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

By the time school had started, a crowd of people had assembled out of the gym building pointing and laughing at the two cars on the roof and the cow mooing beside them. Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Titus was in a panic since none of the construction companies wouldn't be starting work around 10:00 so the use of getting a crane to get their cars and the cow down would have to be posted.

Many of the students had been dressed in summer fun gear as they had heard about the swimming pool party in the gym. Security and janitors were working aimless to clear the halls of of the cluttering desks and getting the desks back into the main office. But not only that, some of the teachers had noticed their desk drawers had been switched, and they had no idea whose drawer they had.

It was mayhem, and it was only getting worse. But it gave the school another line of laughter, but some fear for what could be going on in the rest of week with only two days left.

Ethan, Conner and Trent had lined the back of the crowd as they looked at the cow and cars on the gym building. Some had brought cameras, busted out phones and captured the moments of the joke on camera.

"How is that gonna get topped?" Ethan shook his head.

"Don't forget we got one more plan to set up," Trent said in a low voice.

"Yeah, we already got the school excited about the day's events. I mean, we cut classes down just so there would be enough time for fun on the field for that little good-bye to the seniors," Ethan said.

"Dude, you just got punk'd," Conner couldn't help but laugh and say. With thel ine of pranks that had already happen at chool, it was the non-stop talk around school. And he wasn't sure how it would effect the underclassmen, but he could care less. He was nearly done with all of the mayhem of high school drama.

"Yeah, I'll be working to set up for that all morning," Trent sighed.

"Which gives us plenty of time to pull off another prank on the school," another voice entered the conversation, as the trio of guys jumped up in a panic. Turning toward the voice, they relaxed a little to see it was Kira. She laid a kiss on her boyfriend's lips before he had wrapped an arm around her waist pulling him close to her. "So, does that give me the okay to pull off my own prank?"

"You're not actually thinking about doing the tuna thing, are you?" Conner asked in a low voice, recalling the earlier talk with her in the week at the cyber cafe about her and a line of others wanted to plant tuna all over the school. He knew very well how bad the smell could travel around the school, and the damage it could do if it lingered for too long.

Ethan couldn't help but laugh. "But that smell will spread if placed in the right areas, especially if done right."

"Hey, as long as you guys do it at lunch, I think the rest of us got your back. Most of the staff will be working to set up for today's festivities after school, especially during lunch. That's when you can make you're move," Trent replied.

"We're just wrong. And who decided to put up those 'For Sell' signs all over the front lawn?" the teen in yellow asked.

The guys could only shrug as the bell rang for the start of the day. With the series of prank Reefside High had already gotten, it was hard to keep up with all of the mayhem of finals and just trying to have some fun. But the staff was directing the students toward class, so they had to get back into school mode quickly.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Lunch time had come around.

Kira had been hanging out in the empty science room of Dr. Oliver with several other people, many of them were apart of Science Club, not that she could judge them when she had one or the other in one of her classes. Some of them were members of Senior Council and had been working in the shadows to set up their own set of pranks for all to see.

"So, did each of you remember to bring at least two cans of tuna?" Kira asked, having taking the inititive for the operation.

"Now, we just need to figure out where to plant them," Samantha stated with a chuckle.

"Well, according to Ethan, he says planting it in one classroom in each hallway would do the trick," the teen in yellow stated as she pulled out the can opener in her backpack. She had a series of zip-block bags as well knowing they would use those to place them in other places.

"And for any other classroom, we need to hit the band room, choir room and auditorium, as well as the gym. And there are plenty of places to hide them there," Erin said with a nod.

"No, we can't do it in the band room, I still got class in there," Michelle protested.

"Well, I could careless, by Friday it wouldn't be a big difference," Jessie stated.

"Okay, we need to decide on each classroom within the main hall – Science, Math, English, Social Studies, Foreign Language and Electives hall," Kira said.

"We got the quad areas, too. There are plenty of hiding places there," Katie said with a laugh.

"I say we hit Mr. Derby in science. No one likes the guy for teaching at a college level when it comes to chemistry and physics," the president of Science Club said as everyone had agreed hands down.

"We should go for Mr. Jinn in the English hall. I mean, he already gots mold and abestos growing in that classroom despite how old/new this school is," Ken said, who had also been working in the shadows with Operation: Protection. "And I'm sorry, but we gotta hit up Mrs. Woods over in art. I mean, dealing with one pregnant P.E. teacher is bad enough, but an art teacher...um, no."

"Well, we got more than enough cans to do some real damage. So, let's split up and hit up what we can," Kira stated.

A small knock came to the door as she moved to it, the rest of the seniors in a panic to hide the tuna, but she had shook her head as she pulled it open to reveal Ethan and Conner along with their fellow partners in crime. Despite the fact they had their own group with a new line of pranks, they wanted to help out with this one. Many pranks during the day were much harder to pull off, but so much more fun.

After filing out the last set of instructions, they had split up, three to a group totaling up to eight different teams. Casually walking through the halls, two would cause a distraction while another would make the move and plant the tuna in the series of hiding places they found would work out to.

But by the time lunch had been over, all of the tuna surprises had been set and the team had dispersed to head off to class. And another prank had been landed on the school of Reefside.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

After school.

The carnival itself had a series of activities and games going on for people of all ages, food from different vendors and artwork displayed by the Advanced Art students that could be auctions off for money. Most of the proceeds were gonna go toward a split for the clubs at school, the rest was set for local shelters and charities in the area.

It was a big turn-out, more people than the members of Student Cabinet and Senior Council would have expected. But it had ended, and well into the clean-up stages as it was hitting the late hours of ten at night. Many people left were only on the clean-up crew, so it was a little less a challenge to complete.

The dino rangers were on the move, planning out the final prank for the school. But it was one with a lot of risk and difficulty to master. In the shadows of another hidden alley, alongside the swift crafty style of Adam Park, the five rangers were discussing their final prank on the school. At first, they didn't want to pull Kira into the mix, but figured she could cause a distraction, especially with her ptera scream if all else failed. As much as others wanted to get involved, Conner, Trent and Ethan had told their friends, this was one plot that had to be planned accordingly with little helping hands as possible.

"I hope you guys know this is wrong," Adam shook his head as he put the heavyweight object on the ground with the help of Tommy.

"C'mon, this is fool-proof," Tommy chuckled. "If we had a Gladiator over at Angel Grove, you know we would have done it either way. Someone was bound to do it."

"So, what do we gotta do, Dr. O?" Conner asked as he rubbed his hands together. He was getting really excited about their final prank, but had no real idea how they would do it, especially if there were a whole lot of people at the school.

"Well, Adam and I have been working on the design for awhile now, so you guys have to figure out how to get it on," Tommy said as he grabbed his friend and turned away.

"What! No, time out, Dr. O. We didn't agree to that..." Ethan protested.

Tommy laughed as he turned to join his teammates shaking his head. "I'm kidding. If I left you guys to do this on your own, it would get screwed up big time."

"Nah, ya think," Kira said in a mock glare. She had known their mentor and science teacher was kidding, but had to wonder what he had in mind.

"Trust me, this thing won't be coming off for awhile the way we designed it. And by the time they figure out how to take it off, they might have to just wield it right off the statue. And there is a little added feature that involves it moving up and down," Tommy said with a laugh.

The teen boys couldn't help but laugh as Kira groaned and shook her head. She had gotten used to the concept of hanging around guys, but sometimes, they were a little too much.

"So, how is it gonna go down?" Ethan asked.

"Well, I set you and Kira to be the look out. Trent, Conner, Adam and myself will be at the statue working our magic. So, let's get this done and over with before I change my mind about the whole thing," the science teacher stated with a nod.

The team had been given their instructions. Ethan and Kira had moved away from the group, splitting to keep an eye on the area around them. Tommy and Adam grabbed the heavy object and followed Conner and Trent out of the alley toward the statue that was in much need of his manhood.

In position, Ethan and Kira had given them the okay to move along with the plans. Tommy and Adam were stuck holding the huge metal shaft while Trent and Conner had strapped it on under the instruction of Adam. It was a series of locks and hidden latches that no technology could quite catch up with and understand unless you were a ranger yourself. Conner and Trent had to literally climb up on each other to get the thing into place.

"Are you sure this thing is gonna stay in place?" Conner asked as he made the final snaps to the belt holding up the huge shaft.

"Yeah, it should. We already ran the test," Adam stated as he struggled to hold it up. Not that it was that heavy, or extremely, but had required a lot of upper body work to hold up just to snap onto the statue.

Tommy groaned as he was trying to hold up his end. "Okay, are you sure you're done, my arms are getting tired?"

"Almost done, Dr. O," Trent stated as he used the support of Conner to lock the final lock into place.

As one, the four literally collapsed on the ground in front of the statue as they breathed a sigh of reliefs. Either, they had worked fast enough to not get caught, or it was literally that easy to pull off the series of pranks. But it was planted as they tried to stiffle their laughter over the accomplishment.

Operation: Protection had been set and like they had planned, their school mascot of a Gladiator had been given its manhood for the whole world to see.

But then they had heard noises, Trent grabbed Conner using his chameleon powers as a shield as he followed the swift movement of the ninjas out of the area. They jumped into a brush of trees and shrubs not too far from the statue each of them peering out to see who decided to show up.

Hidden in the darkness of the night, a total of ten people had moved into the area. But they stopped short when they had noticed the added object to the statue; they had been carrying what seemed to be their own shaft, but it was made of wood, and not properly thought out or designed.

"Hey, who's that?" Conner breathed as he peeked out to get a better look.

"They're all wearing black and ski masks. I wouldn't be able to tell you," Trent said as he shrugged.

"It seems others had the same idea," Adam said as he can only conclude.

"Yeah, but there's isn't as full proof as ours," Tommy said.

The gang of people had began discussing other things, only concluding that when a truck pulled up to them, they dug into the back and began to press lawn flamingoes into the ground. Two of them had moved closer to the statue getting a closer look at it as they began to mount a sign at the base of the statue.

And just as quickly, they had moved out of there. The four rangers had waited a few minutes before moving out onto the area.

"So, what's the sign say?" Conner asked in confusion.

"Um... 'Protect Yourself! From Charlie and the Class of 2005.' Huh! That's interesting," Adam said as he scratched his head in confusion.

"Why?" Trent asked.

"Why would they put a sign like that up, and then go on and put all these flamingoes up? I mean, that was last year's prank, but..." he shook his head.

"You don't think those guys were from the class of 2004, do you?" Conner asked.

Adam and Tommy had exchanged a look before shrugging. Then they heard other rustling and voices as they slowly, but swiftly moved out of the area, only to find that it was their two remaining ranger teammates.

"Dude, you were supposed to warn us when you found someone coming," Conner stated as Ethan held up his hands in surrender shaking his head.

"Hey, I don't even know what was going on. There was no one coming from where I was hanging out. I didn't even hear the engine until I actually saw it gunning out of here," Ethan said as a way of defense and excuse, and it was hard to tell if he was telling the truth or not.

Kira could only shrug herself. "I didn't see anything either and I just thought it was a car that was lost. I mean, it didn't turn toward the school or anything."

"Hmm, that's strange," Tommy thought for a moment. A couple of guys...actually ten guys... just sorta came and went, but not without leaving behind a flock of flamingoes and a sign. "Well, come on. Let's head on out before we get caught."

The dino rangers and black ninja had moved out of the area and on back home to catch some sleep. There was still two more days left for the teens, and Tommy needed to get some rest so he would be ready to torment the underclassmen tomorrow with more review work.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

The next day had finally come.

Like always, Tommy had been taking his time to get ready for school as his wife was preparing breakfast for the family. After making one last minute check on his hair, he had slipped out of the bathroom casually walking downstairs as he fixed his tie moving into the living room. Serena had been sitting on the couch watching the TV, usual cartoons, with a bowl of cereal in her lap.

He walked over to her, laying a kiss on her head greeting her. "Hey, baby. What are you watching now?"

"Scooby-doo," the little girl replied before taking another bite from her bowl and grinned widely at her father.

The man took a seat beside her, before fiddling around with his tie, making the last loop through it as Kim moved into the room handing him a glass of orange juice and some toast to start off his breakfast. They greeted each other with a warm kiss before Kim had reached over for the remote, requestiong some moments to check how the weather was going to be for the day.

"What's the point of checking if you're already dressed?" Tommy asked his wife before moving aside, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her down to sit beside him.

"Just wanna see how good the rest of the week is. I'm trying to figure out if it's better to make them run today or tomorrow," she said as she began to flip through the channels.

The channels switched as she found the local news, Reefside Eyewitness News, but instead of the weather it was a report of what appeared to be a statue. A line of people had been lined around it of all ages. Some were in complete awe, others were laughing and making the most of it.

"Hey, wait, isn't that the statue in front of the school?" Kim asked. She leaned forward, squinting trying to make clear of what was on it. A hand fell to her mouth. "No way, is that what I think... Serena cover your eyes!"

Tommy breathed as he reached over, pulling his daughter close to him, shielding her eyes. He wasn't surprised to find it on the local news, but he had hoped it wouldn't turn into anything extremely drastic. He couldn't afford to feel the boot if he did crack or any of the others.

The report began to file out several opinions on the change to it. A statue that held such importance, going to the Smithsonian Company to take care of it. And there it was de-materialized and vandalised by people who thought it was funny. The report even stated the several other pranks that had gone on at the school, and it was clear it seemed to be getting a bad rep.

"Who would have the nerve to put that on a statue like that?" Kim shook her head, clearly not putting two and two together.

Tommy couldn't help but laugh. "Well, you must admit it is sorta funny, because I don't think I would have ever thought of something like that."

"Baby, they got firefighters and wielders on it trying to get it off. And that's a good thing. I mean, we don't need the youth to see something like that."

"But they haven't gotten anywhere. Even wielding hasn't done a whole lot with it. I mean, yeah, we need to find those guys who did that and punish them, but you still gotta think about it. It is funny. I mean, he must be getting a lot of action with that thing..."

"Thomas Anthony Oliver," Kim smacked him in the back of the head as she pointed to the small figure in her husband's arms.

Tommy cringed for a moment, knowing he had said enough as he shook his head. So, he made one split up, but it wasn't his fault. But when he had heard his full name, he knew it wouldn't be the best to argue with his wife at all. He would lose hands down, no matter what he did. Now, though, he felt the sinking in his stomach, that if he stayed in the room any longer he would crack and blow their cover, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. So, he got to his feet and slowly moved out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Kim asked him.

"I need to get another tie. I just realized that this one doesn't really match this shirt," he replied as he jumped the stairs to the bedroom.

After he finally got into the room, he quickly pulled off the tie and let out a breath. He didn't know if he could hold out. He knew there was no way the firefighters or wielders would be able to get that thing off. And he didn't know if he could keep his cool about this entire thing. Especially with the press all over it and the constant questioning. He could only hope there wouldn't be an investigation. The last thing he needed was an interrogation. He would probably fail, despite how serious he could be. And he knew there would be a whole lot more to deal with he did not need.

And he was slightly a little worried about his teammates. He had hoped they wouldn't crack. With all the hype and media it was getting now, it would be worser once they got to school. With authority all over the school, it would make his worry about his fellow partners in crime. He figured they would have to get that thing off as soon as possible, but not in the light of day. He just needed to figure out how.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

By the time he had gotten to the school, it was actually hard to get through. People had lined outside on the street just to see the statue wondering how someone managed to pull off something like that or question if the team of workers around it would get it off.

Authority actually had to card everyone that entered, asking for school ids just to let them through. It was a little too controversial than Tommy had hoped. And it was clear he was starting to freak out more. And his wife had noticed him shift uncomfortably as she reached over to place a hand on his own.

"Hey, you okay?" Kim asked him gently.

Tommy looked over at her and nodded slowly, letting a breath escape his mouth. "Yeah, I'm cool. Just a little worried to find anymore surprises for us as a school, ya know. What other pranks might have been pulled or will be pulled on us."

"Yeah, it makes me wonder what other ideas these seniors can come up with," Kim had to admit with a shudder. "That swimming pool party wasn't cool, getting everything wet. I mean, we couldn't really do anything when janitors were trying to figure out how to get the desks about of the gym. And then that little goodie bag. Who puts toothpaste into an oreo and calls that a prank? Okay, being pregnant and having one of those things doesn't usually affect me since I eat a lot of weird things, but that was just wrong."

"Yeah, but what about that smell?" Tommy had to recall as he groaned.

There was an unusual smell lingering in the halls of Reefside High, and no one could figure out what it was. It was all over the place, which made many people lose their appetites during lunch since the smell was so bad. Janitors were thinking it was rats, but couldn't be certain when the smell was all over the place. They couldn't pinpoint a direct source to where it was coming from.

And for the past few days, some teachers actually took their students outside just because they couldn't stand the smell anymore. It was far too much for them to handle.

But upon arrival to class, each teacher had found a basket of condoms on each of their desks. A note attached to it: "Remember Teachers! It is that time of the year where things can get a little hectic and racy around students. Express your deepest gratitude and the feeling that you care for your students by handing these out. Their futures depend and start with your guidance. Protect yourself and your partner. Practice safe sex...or just masturbate. --From your school mascot, Charlie and the Senior Class of 2005. P.S. This time, this is no joke. We truly do care about our futures and those around us."

Some teachers had to admit it was one thing to see their statue and mascot being vandalized by a joke to give him his manhood, yet sorta weird but thoughtful to have someone, if not actual members of the class of 2005, take the time to hand out condoms. Or if it was just apart of jokes they had set out on the rest of the school, but with the sincerest of thoughts in the note, they didn't find a problem and play it off.

Luckily, for the rest of the day, there were no more pranks. Not a single one, aside from the stange odor that still lingered in the air. No one had a clue what it was, and for those that did, they were playing it off rather well.

Lunch had come around as the five dino rangers had secretly met in the science room to discuss their plans to remove the shaft on the statue. It was clear none of them had expected to see all this hype with their joke, and they knew they had to get it off before it got any worse. Trent and Dr. Oliver had already moved throughout the school with help of their powers to remove the coins still stuck to the ground. They had used a component that would dissolve the adhesive and the coins could be easily swept up with a big push broom.

"I mean, Adam and I could come by during the night and get it off. It'll be likely they will take a break by then, so all we gotta do is reset the code and it'll fall freely," the science teacher said.

"I thought it would have been a good joke. Not one that would go all over the news with many people freaking out about it," Conner shook his head.

"Yeah, well some people just don't have a really good sense of humor, and I guess that is normal, especially with some of these people. All this mayhem with saving the world and protecting the city, people just lost it."

"Why do you think we decided to do some of these pranks, especially with the school? I mean, as a school we have been through a lot, especially back when Zeltrax, Mesogog and Elsa was all we had to worry about," Ethan said.

The science teacher shrugged again.

"We just wanted a laugh," Trent said.

"Yeah, but what about this condom idea? We didn't come up with that," Kira said.

"Someone either truly cares, or it could be another sick and twisted joke played out by someone else," Conner said.

"I hear the salt on the field is coming along nicely. It is slowly starting to form the 2005, and I don't think anyone has noticed it right away," the science teacher nodded.

"Yeah, it should be seen by graduation day, even though a certain someone decided to scorch the field by placing the mascot in the center of the field," Ethan reported. "It sorta ruined the huge 2005 we planted."

"Well, don't worry about the shaft. Adam and I will get that. Besides, you guys only got one more day before you're outta here," Dr. Oliver said.

The teens breathed a sigh of relief. They had made it. They were so close to graduation and getting out of high school. And they had to admit that it was so good to be getting out of there, especially after Senior Hell Week. It definitely was hell week, and they could only hope that nothing more would be coming their way.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Nightfall had finally come around. But it was no good to move early in the night, so the two ninjas had moved closer to the 2:00 hour. And as they figured, no one was there to greet them aside from the mounted hidden cameras all over the place. Using a little ninja magic the duo had disabled the cameras and moved into the area.

"So, it just proves that this was a bad idea, like I said," Adam whispered as he shook his head. "But it was probably the best prank we managed to pull off."

"I am just so glad we got these powers, cause if we got caught I don't know what I'd do," Tommy replied.

"Yeah, well, if Zordon found out we were using these for personal gain, he'd strip them from us."

"Luckily, he ain't here or this would be a whole lot harder to accomplish."

The duo swiftly moved from the brushes, opening up all of their senses as they moved toward the statue. There were already scorch and wield marks all over the man-made metal shaft, but it had not moved an inch. Pulling out a device, Adam pushed a few buttons to see the hidden latches slowly break free as it shifted, the weight barely holding on. Tommy had used the control of the air to lift the shaft off the statue and let it sorta float in the air before him and his teammate.

"That was a whole lot easier than I thought..." Tommy said, but stopped when he had heard the voices in the distance.

The two ninjas exchanged a look, Adam jumped back into the shadows, Tommy melted into the protection of his invisible powers, leaving behind the shaft on the ground. The duo moved back into the brush as they saw two officers look at it bewildered and confused. But they breathed a sigh of relief as they inspected the statue. There was no damage to it once so ever, and they didn't question each other more, calling forth an assembly of firefighters to dispose of the metal shaft.

Tommy and Adam breathed their own sigh of relief as they moved out of the area just as quickly as they came.

"I think it's clear for me to say I'm out of the pulling prank business," Tommy sighed as he let out a breath.

"Ya know, I doubt it. The world needs a good laugh, and it wasn't like any of them were completely damaging," the black ninja shrugged.

"Yeah, well, thanks for your help. Is there any progress on Anton's condition?" the science teacher looked over at the medical doctor.

Adam let out a breath and shook his head. "I don't know. His heartbeat and brain wave patterns have slowed to almost nothing. To tell you honestly, Tommy, I don't think he's gonna make it. I've done everything, even things that could very well strip me of my medical degree with this ninja magic, but he has not responded to a single thing I've done."

The science teacher breathed a sad breath. He knew if Anton wouldn't make it, it would take a whole lot out on Trent. And that was something the teen did not need. He had wished his friend a good night before racing on home, clearing his mind of the recents events and hoping to find some comfort in his wife's arms.

**_to be continued... _**

_A/N: Yeah, I know, this was a whole lot longer than anticipated, but I hope you like it. There were a few changes to the next few chapters but I hope that you like them. Until another time, see you when I do. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	47. Shooting Reality

**'Til I Collapse** - **_Part Forty-Seven: Shooting Reality  
_**Sequel to: **Ordinary World**

_Summary: As the final day for the seniors comes, a real life tragedy strikes the staff and students of Reefside High when reality takes a turn for the worse._

_Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine and never will be._

_A/N: At first, I had thought about just taking this out, because I really needed to complete the story, but it will set up some more tragic news that I decided to add into the story before it ends. I know, you'll probably hate me just a little for this, but don't worry. No one of our main characters is gonna die...yet. But ya know how I like to build suspense and anxiety with you guys. And I know I said I wanted to end on a lighter note. I do. I mean, I will. But I still got to add some drama and suspense to this. So, what exactly happens? Read on._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
"After a series of pranks that no one would have expected, more controversy hits the school. But this is far more serious than anything done by us rangers. This is a real threat on our lives from our own race. What has happened to humanity to let something like this happen?"-Eclyptyk Neo  
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

T.G.I.F. May 20th, 2005. Early morning.

And any senior could say that was probably the biggest blessing they could ever get for any Friday of their entire life up to this point. This was officially the last day they would have to step into the halls and be considered students of Reefside High. After that they would be known as alumni, if they cared about it at all. All that mattered to many of them was waiting for that upcoming Saturday to grab their diplomas, turn their tassels and bolt out of there at lightning fast speed. They were done with high school and it was off to another part of their lives.

The four teenage rangers had been sitting at one of the picnic tables outside watching as students began to file into the school. Some of them would greet them with cheers for the fact it was their last day in school, others growing with emotion.

Despite all the pranks that had occurred on the grounds of Reefside High, it was a non-stop fest to get seniors and underclassmen to sign their yearbooks. Everyone wanting to stay in touch or write something in the book. The book itself was definitely a change from last year. The front, like Trent had said, was a mosaic picture of Charlie's headshot, their mascot, with everyone's picture...or at least of the ones who came during the beginning of the year to get their school ID and schedule. And the pictures weren't extremely small for someone to have a hard time seeing who was on the face. And the design in itself on each page was something a whole lot more. They had broken away from the standard square and rounded off corners of pictures to ovals, star shapes and any other design. Each page was also especially designed, having some relation or clip art to that particular event or club. On the senior pages, was a re-cap of pictures throughout the years of the senior class along with a message from each of them that had submitted a picture. And instead of having names off to the side for the mug shots, it was below the name of the person for both underclassmen and staff. It had a variety of things that made it that more unique and stand out from the typical layout of last year, and many people had to comment that the yearbook staff really pulled their own this year with it.

"Well, you guys should be proud of your work," Ethan commented as he flipped through his yearbook. Due to his sudden status as a well-known dancer, everyone wanted him to sign his book or they wanted to sign his.

"I still don't quite understand the theme, though. 'Blue Blood', I just don't..." Conner scratched his head with confusion.

"Basically it just talks about the spirit we have as an individual. Something that makes you unique, but unite us as a whole. For anyone who has walked through the halls as a student or staff member, we all have the spirit of this school with us. Even if some of us hate the school, we all leave something behind in our wake," Trent stated with a shrug.

"Was it just me though who found it almost a surprise that Dr. O didn't pull out all of his hair with all the rumors I've heard that goes on in that room?" Kira said with a laugh.

Trent had to shrug again. He didn't understand that himself. He would have thought that their science teacher would have bailed, especially at the end, but he didn't. He rode alongside them the entire way making sure it was well worth all the hardwork they, as a team, had put to capture the memories of the past year.

Some time later, Krista had joined the four teens making her own comments on the yearbook. Yet, she was still a little upset about the series of pranks that had been landed on the school, knowing that they were responsible for some of them.

"It was for a good laugh. They didn't do any extreme harm," Conner asked her as he pulled her closer to him, laying a kiss on her cheek.

"You're lucky I'm catching my tongue and not gonna say anything. But what about that awful smell? I don't think I can stand it anymore," she shuddered wanting to gag at the thought of the smell filling her nose one more time.

They had to admit, the smell was getting to them as well, but they had to admit, it was one prank well deserved after Operation: Protection had to get cut off earlier than they would have to like.

Ethan looked away trying to hold in his laughter as Kira smacked him on the shoulder, making him wince. "Ow. Hey, I didn't say anything."

"That smell was you guys, too?" Krista concluded as she looked at the assembly of rangers before her. She had to admit, she was still getting used to the concept of being pulled into the limelight of the ranger legacy, if not fame, despite the fact not a whole lot of people knew about them. But, she wasn't gonna be a snitch and tell the entire world that she knew who they were. Her lips were sealed for their sake as well as keeping the mystery alive. "You guys are just wrong. What is that?"

"Anyone for some tuna?" Trent said slightly under his breath as a snicker fell over all of them except the environmental activist.

"That was tuna!" she nearly yelled out, getting to her feet. But Conner quickly pulled her to sit back down covering her mouth with a kiss. She had pushed him away smacking him on the shoulder. "You guys are worser than I thought. Don't tell me you guys were also involved with vandalizing Charlie out front, too."

"Us? You think we'd stoop that low?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. But the look on his face gave every hint that they had something to do with it.

Krista nearly jumped off of the chair, pointing fingers, but Conner had stopped her again. He pulled her closer to him, sealing her mouth with his finger.

"Don't ruin it. We don't need anyone to know we were behind that one," he said.

"But we covered our tracks. And any and all evidence of it has been cleared. The statue is fine," Kira said.

"I knew you guys had to have been apart of that," a voice called out from behind.

The team quickly sprang to their feet, pulling off a defensive stance, but eased out of it when they saw it was only Cassidy and Devin. Not that they would hang out with the two from time to time, but they were just as absorbed in their own love to notice a whole lot around them. Each with a camera in hand, they were capturing the remaining hours of the time in high school. Luckily, Devin had not been using his video camera, or he might have caught the last set of statements on film, evidences the rangers did not need. But if all else failed, they would just have to go to Dr. Oliver and he would take care of it. Or as the saying goes as he told them from time to time he had their back.

"Seeing how you guys have the power and connection to do something like that," Cassidy replied as she pulled up her camera. "Don't worry, that secret is safe with me along with all the others ones I've locked away. But for now, photo op."

The team groaned shaking their heads. They had already been captured by too many cameras in the last week that they were getting tired of it. But it was done. They had to, for the sake of remembering the last hours of senior year. They, too, had brought their own digital cameras and video cameras to capture their own moments. They had for the last week, capturing priceless moments of the pranks all over the school.

"My only question is how did you manage to do it without getting caught?" Devin had to ask.

"We gotta lot of people looking out for us," Ethan winked.

"You guys are still wrong. But this school was in need of a lot of good laughs. I just did not like half of them," Cassidy shook her head. "The jelly on the railing and baby oil on the locker doors and handles. And the saran wrap... do not tell me that was you guys."

They shook their heads. Though it was on the agenda, they didn't do it since another group of people were doing it. Along with several other ideas.

"How many of those pranks were done by you and your crew of pranksters?" she asked.

"Sorry, that's classified stuff, Cassidy. I mean, we don't need our cover being blown any more then it needs to," Conner said with a smile.

Then the bell rang. And it was off to their final day of high school.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

First hour, AP Biology.

The ten seniors had been rather antsy about the whole thing. Their science teacher had secretly agreed to give them Krispy Kreme donuts and some milk as a final farewell to their time as a class, but was still nowhere to be found. A good fifteen minutes of class had been devoted to a tribute and goodbye to the class of '05.

They had watched the Reefside High News for the final time. It recapped moments of the entire year from the dances, to sporting events, to fundraisers held, and field trips some of them went on. There were pictures that were submitted from the entire four years of their stay at the school, and it was starting to hit home for some of them. People laughed, others in awe to see a picture of them even from the past year, and few shedding tears or trying to hide the evidence of their tears.

This was it. This was the final time they would be in this classroom. The final time to walk through the halls. See people for the first time, others for the last time. And to top it off, through the clips they had played Vitamin C's "Graduation (Friends Forever)" among other graduation-type songs.

And after the clip show, it had showed some of the seniors giving off their final goodbyes and shout-outs to friends, the staff and underclassmen of Reefside High. Even some of the staff members had giving off their wishes to their students and the class as a whole. Some of them were getting emotional through their messages as well, which made those watching it get a little teary-eye themselves.

But as it began to play through the shout-outs, silence fell over the entire room.

Trent had to turn away more than half the time to grasp the moment. This was it. He had made it to the end of his years as a high school student. Now, it was off into the future...whatever future that was. He wasn't so sure if he was set to go to college in the fall or wait it off after all that had happened. So many things had caught him off guards, so many others he didn't want to leave behind. And he wouldn't have been surprised if his teammates were feeling the same way. His teammates and friends. The moment where he had said that shout-out, recorded only two days ago, played in his head like a broken record.

Cassidy and Devin had gone all around the school trying to find seniors who wanted to say something to the school. He had been one of them.

"What am I supposed to say?" Trent asked as he looked at the mic in his hand.

"Whatever you want. Just keep it clean," Cassidy told him.

For a moment, he had to think about what to say, but then just pulled the mic up to his mouth and watched as the red light went on to record his message. "Well, I guess I have to say, congratulations to you, 2005. We finally did it. We waited far too long for this moment, but we did it. To all of my friends, ya know who you are, thanks for keeping the memories alive. To my best friends, Conner and Ethan, we're done. We pulled through every obstacle set in our way and conquered it. Nothing will hold us down. To my baby, Kira, ya know, you have been more than I could have asked for from anyone. And where ever the road takes us, I want you to know you really have been a true inspiration and real power to keep me going. I love you always with my heart. To the teachers who helped me get through my years in high school, thank you and I'll make sure to make a difference in the future, especially you, Dr. Oliver and Coach Oliver. Thank you. But we did it, class of 2005. Nothing will hold us down. Smile big and soar high into your dreams. It's our time to go and make a difference. Peace out, Reefside High. But this won't be the final time you hear from me."

And as Trent blinked back into the reality of the moment, he had felt his eyes well with tears as he wiped it on the cuff of his sleeve. He had looked down noticing he had been sketching an image of himself along with his close friends on graduation day throwing their caps into the air. And it was still in another week. But he had done it. They had done it. They were on the verge of graduating, a moment they could never forget for a long time.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

First hour, Creative Writing.

Close knit with mixed emotions, the seniors in Kira's and Conner's creative writing class were all having their own thoughts as they watched the final episode of Reefside High News play over for them. Looking throughout the room, even some of the underclassmen had to turn away, some even showed evidence of tears running down their face or welling in their eyes. It was definitely a segment that had hit them hard.

This was it. The senior class of 2005 was on the brink of moving on in their lives, and it had finally hit home for many of them. Others were glad for it to be over. For the most part, they all were, but it was hard to go. They just weren't sure if they were ready to hit that part of their lives. To step out into the real world as many of their teachers had put it.

Kira had looked down noticing the few tears that had blurred her vision for the moment. This was it. She had made it. After working hard for nearly thirteen years of her life, waiting nearly eighteen, to grasp the very prize she had wanted for so long, she had done it. She would be a high school graduate, moving on in her life. It was a new chapter in her life after this moment and after the day she would finally have her diploma in hand. A new start to her life as she began to ponder what would happen in her future. Not just her alone. But with her friends, especially the close knit bond she shared with her fellow dino ranger teammates and friends. She had questioned her own thoughts with Trent and what type of relationship they would get into after school. And wondering if she wanted to go to college, or accept her entrance at the United States Air Force Academy, or get a break and finally land that record deal she had dreamed of getting for a long time. Or just take a break for a semester, or even year, and just kick back and relaxed. After all that happened in her life that last option didn't sound like a bad idea.

And as she tried to relay the thoughts of that news report, it had hit home again, making her feel some sadness. And the messages her friends had left for her as she had for them had hit her again.

"Well, we did it, Class of 2005. In only a matter of days we will all be going up on that stage as our name is being called and grab the evidence that will pull us out of our past lives and show us into a new light. We're more than a class of students that are graduating high school, we will be the future of this world. Make a difference and take a stand. We hold our future in our hands. To my friends, you have been my inspiration for more than I could have imagined despite what I would have thought about you. Conner, Ethan, you guys were like my big brothers, especially these last two years of high school. And I know no one may ever understand the friendship we share, but you know exactly what it is. To a guy who has changed my world, made it something more, Trent, you will always be my King, no matter what. I know the future looks bright for the two of us. To the teachers and staff that pushed me to achieve a whole lot more, you guys will forever live in my heart with the words of wisdom you gave me and everyone in the class of 2005. To the underclassmen, grasp what you have here in high school. Your time here will grow short, quickly and you'll be right along with us who made it. As long as you have a dream, you can overcome anything. Don't let anyone tell you something cannot be done because as long as you believe you can do it than you can. See you around, Reefside High. And congrats to all of my 2005 classmates and friends."

There were so many things going on in her head. And as she looked over at Conner, his head was down. But the indication in his shoulders showed evidence that he was trying to keep his cool and not cry. Not here, but he had.

Conner had sunk lowered into his chair, burying his face into his desk as he covered it, not wanting to show any evidence of him crying. But he had forgotten that he, along with his best friends, had given their own shout-outs to the school. And here he was, on the brink of it all ending. He had made it to the end. He was gonna be a graduate. He would get his high school diploma and move on in his life. But to what future he had no clue.

The future was always in motion as told by the watchful eye of his mentor, Dr. Oliver and his friends. The legacy and where it all began. He was at the end, but not that it would stop with him or his fellow dino ranger teammates. He had a lot of people who looked out for him, and that's what kept him going. Now, he felt he had to pay his debt for their help. But that was the thing. He wasn't sure where he was going from here. Was it really off to college? Accepting the full ride scholarship to go to UNC or go to UCLA and play soccer over there? They both wanted him, and he had not decided where to go. Or would he just take it easy and go to the community college for a year or so and transfer out later. Or just take a long well-deserved break. These shoulders, his shoulders, had held up so much as his friends did in the last two years of his life. And as he tried to raise his head, the sadness leaving him, the image of him making that shout out played in his head, making him tear up again.

"Hey, guys. What's up, Class of 2005. We're at an end. We did it. We're finally graduating. I mean, I don't know really know what to say, except that we did it. We are outta here after so long. To the guys on the soccer team, we had a few rough spots throughout the year, but we still had a good year. We got by. We got as far as we could. And it has been a great four years with all of you. To my friends, we did it. We are about to move on in our lives, but I know I will remember all you have done to inspire me. Ethan, Trent, and Kira, you guys are my best friends. You kept me in line and made sure I didn't get into a whole lot of trouble. To my girl, Krista, I love you with all of my heart and I hope we can continue to grow as a couple. Thank you for everything. To the teachers who always kept me on my feet and challenged me with a whole lot more than I would have expected. I will make sure to carry your messages and advices with me in the future. To the juniors, well, now that we're outta here, you guys are running this school. Run it well, but remember your place, young ones. To the other underclassmen, you all have dreams. You all have goals. Don't let anyone tell you it can't be done. You can and will make it. If I did, then you can. I'll see you when I do Reefside High. We did it, class of 2005. We're dismissed."

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Ethan had been sitting there in math class, excited and wrapped up in getting so close to freedom, he didn't think he'd get out of it. There were several other seniors in his class that were acting the same way, but there were many of them also feeling the down-side of leaving. He was so agitated with the day. All his finals were completed, for many seniors it was, and a day like today was just pointless. They would be cleaning out their lockers by 3rd hour and be done with it.

The rest of their classes just had no real point, but he still had to go. The whole regulation for the day, which he felt was stupid. Even if he tried to call out, he couldn't. This was just one day the seniors couldn't skip out, and he didn't quite understand why.

Then it had fallen silent as he watched the very last production for RHS News. The entire show was devoted to the year of the seniors, recapping sporting events, social events, fundraisers, etc. Songs related to the graduation season played in the background of the clip show. And at the end, even though throughout the week, seniors were shown giving shout-outs and he knew he was among those on there for the final shout–outs.

And that's when it had hit home for Ethan. When he had heard and seen the messages from his friends – his best friends – his stomach sunk. This was it. This was the last time he would be sitting in this classroom. Last time he really walked through these halls as a student. He was at the top, running the school alongside his fellow senior classmates, and now, he would be the new "meat" on campus. That was if he decided to go to college right away. After all that he had been through, despite the full-ride scholarship to MIT, he felt like he just needed to take a big long break. A break to be as normal as he could be for someone who had gone through what he did.

He lowered his head to his table burying it into his arms, lowering his shoulders. He had waited for this moment, to graduate, and now he wasn't so sure if he could do it. He had been through so much in his last two years of high school, and he felt like he was gonna turn his back on them if he decided to go to college. Then he heard his voice on the screen, his own shout-out as he recited the whole thing as it played back.

"Class of 2005, you are dismissed! Yeah, that's what I'm talking about right here. We have waited far too long to hear those words and it is so close. And yet so far. And lemme start off by telling the underclassmen, some words of advice. Cling onto the friends and memories you make here in high school. They are far more priceless than you'll ever know. And don't be afraid to speak up and expand your horizons. Look beyond what you can do and experiment with something you thought you couldn't do. Look at me. I was literally known as a computer geek throughout my entire high school career until my senior year, and now, I'm one of the most-talked about dancers up in here. Don't worry. Some of you people may take some time to break out of your shell, but we all got talent that needs to be explored and seen. To my best friends, Trent, Kira, and Conner, you guys got my back like I got yours no matter what type of things we've gone through. We're like this...we're tight. We can't break. To the guys on the dance team, thanks for giving me a chance to show my full potential as one of you. To the computer crew, you guys aren't geeks, we're just more literate when it comes to technology. We will rule the world and take out Bill Gates...haha. Just kidding. To the teachers and staff here at Reefside, some of you stuck by us, kept going despite how life in the city was, but you guys carry more knowledge and advice that will take us places. I want to thank you personally, Dr. Oliver and Coach, the two of you have been more than teachers to me, but mentors that I could never forget. Where ever the road will take us, let your dreams soar. And never give up to the nightmares. It is a brave new world out there, but it is our turn to conquer it. Good luck, Class of 2005, we will meet again."

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Dr. Oliver had quietly strode down the science hall, but heard the news as he went. And as promised, had several boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts with some milk for his AP Biology class. He had no idea how that class had convinced him to do it, but could see no harm it. It was bad to treat his classes differently, but for a class of ten, and many who had found him an inspiration, he thought he could return the favor for them.

But that's when he got his own set of emotional mixture and confusion. He had to admit, it didn't hit home as much last year with the class of 2004, despite the friendships he had made with several of the students. But there was something about the class of 2005, and he didn't want it to be judged on the fact that four of them were his teammates as crime-fighters, but something else. He didn't quite know what.

He slowly strode into the classroom, despite the silence in the room. Everyone's eyes were either fixed on the TV in awe, sadness or mixed emotions. One or two of them had to look away, trying to hide a burst of tears or the thoughts of leaving behind the school they had went to for four years...or how long they had attended Reefside High.

Then the shout-outs from the seniors were done, and several staff members had their own words of wisdom and closing remarks to present to the Class of 2005.

Slowly setting the bags on the table, the science teacher turned to watch the scene, seeing the shout-outs, many short and quick congratulating the class, some long. And then, as if in a dream, he had forgotten that he, himself, had left a message for the class as well.

"Well, you guys did it. Class of 2005, you're outta here. Thank God! ...No, I'm just kidding with you guys. But you should be proud, each and every one of you. For the two years I have been here teaching at Reefside, I can't really judge quite yet, but you guys have a whole lot of potential. I know you'll go far as a class and as individuals. I don't know, but there is just something about you guys that stands out. I'm really proud of you. May you soar high and let your dreams take you to places you never thought you could. The real world will be tough, but you'll carry with you the wisdom and knowledge that sets you apart from the rest of the world. You are our future, so don't screw up too badly. And don't forget to keep in touch with us here at Reefside. Good Luck, class of 2005 and congratulations."

The science teacher slowly let out a breath as he turned to look at his students. Some of them could only briefly look at him before looking away to clear away the tears that welt in their eyes. He had not realized how much this was impacting his students, but it did.

But then again, he had to recall that his own graduation, and getting out of high school, was a whole lot different. He wasn't even at the ceremony because his uncle had offered him that position on the Angel Grove Race Team. So, he took it, but had not walked, grabbed the diploma in a cap and gown, alongside his friends. He got to graduate early. And college was...well, it was college. And graduate school...well, that was graduate school. It didn't have the same impact as high school because so much had happened in high school. And here he was teaching in a high school, where the last two years of his teaching was more then he would have guessed would happen to him in the past eight years since his own high school graduation.

Then his own message had faded out, and it had been an image of his wife on the screen. She was clearly trying to hold back her tears in the segment, but he knew by the time it was done, she would actually be in tears. Not only because she was pregnant, but she had grown rather close with a lot of the seniors, not just the dino ranger teens. She was just an approachable, friendly person, when she wasn't filling out due to raging hormones.

"Hey, guys. Class of 2005, congratulations. You did it. You made it through high school and now, you're out of here. I could never be more proud of any of you, and I want to thank you guys personally for making my first year here at Reefside one to remember," she paused for a moment as she looked away to collect her thoughts. "You guys will truly go far, I could never doubt that. Let your dreams be your guide as you move away from this chapter of your lives to a new one. And I also want to thank you guys personally for also giving me and my handsome falcon our senior prom back. We never got our chance years ago, and it was one night I will never forget. And all of the other momentous events you guys had mustered, even these pranks you've hit the school with, they're not forgotten. Though, I didn't agree with some of them, but they were well-needed. May your future look bright and good luck to each and every one of you. You are dismissed, but not forgotten."

Dr. Oliver almost felt his knees lock at the sound of those words. Not that it was just meant for him, but for the rest of students in the class of 2005. It was hitting home.

And as the last of the segment was being played, the students, all seniors, had shown some evidence of sadness. The look on their faces had shown it as their science teacher called forth their attention. Their eyes fell on him as if he was all that mattered at the moment. That what he had to say was important, but that was the thing. He didn't know what to say. Most of it had been said already in the clip, his shout-out, to the class of 2005. But they were eager to hear more words of wisdom come from him before they left.

Dr. Oliver cleared his throat, tossing his glasses on the desk and moving around towards the front of his desk. He had looked at each of his students, the ones in this class, and he knew he would in all of his other classes full of seniors. A sense of sincerity and being proud like a parent would for their child, sadness, happiness, and a whole line of mixed feelings. "I meant what I said when you guys had potential. You do. Each and every one of you. As people, we teach each other things day in and day out. And sometimes, the glass will be half empty or half full, depending on how you look at it. And you'll look at the world and ask why. Want to take your life away or do something crazy like that. But if you dig deep, look into the qualities that make you who you are, you'll make it. You guys are like my heroes. Anyone who can make a difference, or make something of themselves is my heroes. So, go far. Soar high. Smile big. And never give up on what you do. I congratulate you guys. And well, we all have a certain power that keeps us going. Let that burn brightly in each of you. And may it always protect you."

He had meant every word of what he said. And he didn't care if he had left them with that last statement. The statement he had heard numerous times from his mentor, but it held so much significance that he could never forget. And he was just passing it one to his students. They may hear it again in the future, they may not. But he wasn't lying to them.

Still in awe, no one had anything to say. And he wasn't surprised. He would just let his words sink in; let them mingle in their thoughts over the news segment. He didn't want to ruin the moment. He had sorta absently said that there were donuts and drinks for them if they were hungry, and they were free to just hang out for the rest of the class period. He walked back over to his desk and began to compile the notes and reviews for his underclassmen students.

But it was it, this was the end. They had made it to the very end of this entire thing. Of being in school, moving on in life. And taking on a new challenge that would pull them into new directions. One chapter closes and another begins.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Hours passed. It was lunch time.

Many seniors were still in some sorta sadness over what had happened earlier in the day. They had recalled the memories they shared, raced to capture the moments that still remained in their final day of high school.

Dr. Oliver had casually walked through the halls alongside Trent, Kira and Ethan. Though, they had hidden their sadness under the agitation of getting out of there, their science teacher could tell they were still bummed out. And when he had not said anything, it just made their stomachs sink more.

"Why haven't you said anything? Don't you have anything to say, Dr. O?" Ethan asked as he fell into a panic. He would have thought that his teacher would have more to say to him, but he had not said anything as they strolled through the halls of the school.

"What is there to say, Ethan? I've said all I really can right now," the science teacher replied with a shrug. He turned to look at the trio of students following him as if by a leash. And he could read the mixed and scared emotions that moved through each of them. He pushed open a gentle smile. "I understand you guys are freaked about the move. About graduating and stuff, but it's worth it. It'll be worth all the shit you've already been through. And it won't be an easy transition, but trust me, you'll make it."

The trio of teens had exchanged a look. It was clear they were still shaken by the move of graduating. They were glad, but they were upset. They didn't know what to do or say about any of this. They had not expected any of this to happen so quickly, but it did. This was the end.

"Don't worry, you guys. I mean, would I ever lie to you?" the science teacher stated as the smile still remained.

"Do you really want us to answer that?" Kira asked as she clenched her boyfriend's hand a little bit more.

Dr. Oliver could only sigh as he continued to lead them through the halls. Some seniors would race to the teacher to get one final photo op, as if they were never gonna see him again. But they still had graduation, and any other time they would run into him. Some were trying to keep their cool, but it seemed he and the messages set by other teachers and staff had hit them firmly.

"Man, either you guys are real wusses or... I'm not so sure," Dr. Oliver sighed as he shook his head.

"You gotta be kidding me, Dr. O. You seem all cool about this, but this morning you were just as sad as all of us," Trent protested.

The science teacher turned to look at the teen in white as he shrugged again. "I guess I can hide my feelings well sometimes..."

BAM! BAM!

Students were screaming as they dropped to the floor. Some dropped slower than others. There were many that were in shock, fear, and tears welt quickly in their eyes. They had no idea how to react. Some had raced into classroom, slamming doors shut as teachers were struggling to pull a few students into the classroom. But many were way too frozen in the hallway to move. They didn't want to take their chances. No one had any idea what just happened.

They just heard two loud booms that had sounded like a gun going off and they hit the ground. But no one had gotten shot. They were merely shots that rocketed through the air to stir up attention to those around the noise.

Without saying anything, the team had raced around the corner to see a figure dubbed in black from head to toe. But they froze in fear as they saw the gun in the hand of the assailant. It was a Sig P226 9mm gun, which was usually seen only on government agents. The figure was dubbed in a black garb from head to toe. And even the head was shielded off by a ski mask, so they had no idea who it was.

"On the floor now!" the figure demanded as everyone slowly sunk lower to the ground, everyone except for the science teacher and the trio of students behind him.

But Ethan, Trent and Kira had their own set of fear running through their bones. They had already taken several steps back from their teacher. This was a whole other thing. It was way beyond their control. Or so it seemed.

Despite the fear of ever seeing a gun, let alone it being loaded, Ethan still managed to create some sorta shield around the teen in yellow. Just as Trent had done the same, but he was just as freaked as any of them. This was real life. This was a reality. This made their stomachs churn and sink in ways fighting monsters could not compare to. It was in their own backyard in a place where education was important. It was a big deal. It meant something to them. And here they were, in front of a tragedy waiting to happen in the very school they were being taught in, and getting ready to leave.

The figure had turned to see the four people who still remained on their feet. Though, the teens had lowered just a bit lower to the floor. They tried to hold their ground, but didn't want to take any real chances with it. In battle on the field, they had a suit, an armor they could move in, that would protect them from attacks. All they had now was their own flesh and blood covered by clothes. Not a good defense against something of that nature. But the science teacher either didn't seem at all threatened by the gun, or he was too frozen in fear to move. But the second option just didn't sound possible for him.

"What part of 'on the floor, now!' do you not understand, Dr. Oliver!" the figure growled as he slowly raised the gun to level against the man's chest.

Dr. Oliver had slowly raised his hands in surrender. The assembly of students in the hall were freaked, but pondered what the science teacher was gonna do. "So, you do know me? Then this eliminates that you're an outside source. But why don't you just put the gun down? You don't wanna hurt anyone."

The figure scoffed as he waved the gun around in a threat, pointing it at people as they cried or looked away. "Why do you care? I ain't after you. It is all these shit heads right here."

The man slowly approached the figure dubbed in black. He could only conclude, according to the height and sound of the voice, it was a teenager. Maybe even a student of his, he wasn't quite sure. His hand still raised up in a guard and surrender, he had taken a few steps forward until the figure had pointed the gun back at him. "I thought I ain't someone you're after?"

"Hey, man. You keep coming closer and I'll make sure to pop some lead up your ass," the figure bellowed.

The man let out a breath as he shook his head. "Look...um, I don't want any trouble. None of us do. But I must ask, why? Why are you doing this?"

"Why? Because there are a lot of stupid people in this world. So, I'm trying to rid it of some of them now. Get rid of all the people who will never make it after high school, if not during..."

"You know that's not a very reasonable idea for you to even bring a gun to school. I mean, you'll always run into people who are difficult. But do you think by rolling on something like that that it will make it better?"

"Hell, yeah," the figure nodded as he pushed the pistol forward to meet dead square with the chest of the man. "I gotta protect myself from the likes of these people. I mean, you have no idea the type of shit I've gone through my entire life."

The man had taken another step toward the teen. "Well... I probably wouldn't. But do you wanna know something about me that might compare or comes pretty close?"

"I don't give a..."

"Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway," the science teacher cut him off, his voice rose a little bit higher. But the teen had not showed any signs of fear from the military voice of the man. "When I was four years old, I lost both of my parents in a terrible car accident. I was placed into an orphanage for almost two years, until a young couple found it necessary to take me in. It wasn't easy for me either. I had to fight to keep my place at that orphanage among the bigger and tougher guys. I got into a lot of fights. I began to practice martial arts to protect myself, and that hobby became something more for me. It was a refuge. I traveled a lot throughout my years as a teen, so it was hard for me to fit in anywhere, since I was always moving. It wasn't until I came to Angel Grove where things changed..."

"And that's where you met the love of your life and lived happily ever after," the teen mocked as he shook his head. "That doesn't compare!"

"I'm not finished," the man declared as he continued to walk toward the teen, but was now taking small steps away from the man. "I thought I did. But it took eight years for the two of us to get back together after we broke up. I even found out I had a brother I had no idea about and his life was taken a few years ago by a disease that no one still hasn't figured out. One of my best friend's lives was taken by a terrible accident a few months after my brother's death. I even lost a few more good friends two months ago when those cheap display of stormtroopers took out the cities of Mariner Bay and Turtle Cove. And that doesn't even compare to all the other things I've gone through in my years!"

The teen had fallen silent. He had lowered his head only for a second, but raised it back up pushing the gun against the man's chest, the metal met the dress shirt on the science teacher. "Back off, Dr. Oliver! Don't make me pull the trigger."

"Do it and you'll be charged with assault, battery, murder and possibly a first or second-degree charge among other charges. Do you want that to happen?" The man slowly placed his hands on the gun, but had not touched it hoping it wouldn't cause some unconscious thought for the teen to fire. "C'mon, man. You can be so much better than this. You can be the bigger man and just give me the gun. We can get you some help."

"You wanna help me? So many people wanted to help me, and they couldn't. They thought I was insane. You won't make a difference," the teen took another step closer to the teacher. "And where are your friends now?"

Dr. Oliver didn't even look behind him, but he knew that Ethan, Trent and Kira had lowered themselves to the ground. But they were trained with the skills of the ninja, and several other forms of martial arts, to spring back on their feet in record time and help their teacher out. But at that moment, they were just too scared to move. And he, too, had to admit, with the gun against his chest it had brought back memories to his honeymoon when he had ran into Carl, Kimberly's ex-boyfriend. He could almost feel the impact of a bullet graze the side of his chest as he re-lived those moments with a shudder. And here he was, in the path of a gun once again as he tried to keep his cool with the teen. "Give me the gun. I don't want to hurt you..."

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Minutes earlier.

Conner had opened the door to the building leading into the science wing as Coach Oliver followed him through the halls. For most of the lunch period, he had been seen talking to her. Mostly about his relationship with Krista and questioning how the change could impact the two of them. They were graduating, and Krista was heading on up to San Francisco for college, and he had been wavering over the last few weeks if he should just take that full-ride scholarship or not. Or just take a break.

They had walked through the halls, noticing it was dead silent. No one was in there as they exchanged a look. They knew it was still lunch time, many were outside, but there should be some in the halls, but no one was there to greet them.

Just as they had walked around the corner, they had seen a swarm of kids on the ground, some in tears...but all were in fear. In the center of it was a figure dubbed in black holding out a gun that was pointing right into the chest of Dr. Oliver.

"Give me the gun. I don't want to hurt you..." the science teacher began to say as he held his breath.

"Tommy!" Kim nearly screamed.

And it seemed to all happen in slow-mo after that. The assailant had turned around, startled, pulling the trigger as a bullet escaped the barrel in the direction of the soccer player and P.E. teacher. The echoing cry of the crane filled Tommy's ears as he felt his knees lock. But with the skills of his dino gem, despite the on-looking eyes with fear, Conner had pushed himself and the P.E. teacher to the ground, covering her as the bullet had hit the wall behind them.

The cry of the falcon echoed in Tommy's mind, if not his teammates as well, as he felt a new line of anger fill his bones. And when the assailant had turned to face him, Tommy had gripped the gun in his own embrace trying to pull it away. But the teen decked in black had a death grip on the gun, and he just couldn't break it free.

"Drop the gun, now! Before you actually kill someone," the man stated as he breathed, trying to keep his cool. The last thing he needed to do was blow up in a teen's face among other peers and students. He had to reason with him without as much as a threat, but he had to get that gun out of the hands of the other individual and fast.

"Why's that matter? There are more of us all around the school. And you wanna know something about all of this, Dr. Oliver? They say that the Power Rangers are usually there when people need them. Yeah, there to protect us against those strange monsters and evil sorcerers who want to rule the planet. But not for the actual reality of violence on the streets..." the teen bellowed almost as if he had known something more about the science teacher.

At that point, Tommy felt his knees lock again. Those last few words had hit home for him, if not his team who had been sprayed all across the floor among the frightened students. The assailant almost had a point. He was there as a Ranger to protect the city against the evil beings and monsters that threatened Earth, but he wasn't there for the violence that went on in their own backyard. For not stopping the robberies that took place, the car chases on the highway, for innocent people to die at the hands of a drunk driver, to helping out the troops in Iraq, to the gang violence in the shadows of darken alleys, etc. But they weren't gods. They weren't the all-around miracle workers. They could only do so much as any other authority or hero could do.

And that was one battle he had to face on his own. Everyone else around him was too freaked to move or say anything, not risking to see a bullet fly their way. He had to tell himself that he wasn't perfect. He as a ranger, and as a human. And neither was his assailant, but he could still try. And that's what he was doing.

"We all have our place in this world," the science teacher shook his head as he felt the loose grip on the gun from his assailant. "Give me the gun, and I swear, you'll get put down for a lesser charge."

"No. I can't do that," the teen growled.

The two continued to fight over the possession of the gun, the weight caused the teen to lose his footing as the man came crashing down on him. Then...

BOOM!

Hearts stopped. Eyes widened with tears, others looked away.

Looking into the eyes of the assailant as he looked into the dancing alert eyes of the science teacher, their vision blurred. And he knew that the teen had not survived. The science teacher felt his whole world stop, that breathing was almost impossible as he slowly rolled to his back. The evidence of blood stained his shirt, but it wasn't his own warm blood. It wasn't his. The gun in his possession, and by second nature, a call from the falcon, he had seen the other figure dressed in black looming over his three teammates.

He fired it once, then twice as the second assailant groaned and cried in pain. The first shot grazed his left shoulder. The other hit the right thigh as he hit the ground. Several students, including his teammates, yelped or screamed with fear. The other gun had skid across the ground to meet the science teacher's feet.

And then finally, Dr. Oliver had relaxed only a moment as he felt the air return to his lungs and he could breathe again. And he never felt so glad to get air into his lungs. It was the best thing he could have asked for at that moment as he gripped the gun tight in his hands. And as he could only peer over at the motionless body right next to him, his body sunk. His stomach lurched in pain as he wanted to vomit. So many thoughts went on in his head. Was he responsible for pulling the trigger? What if the gun was facing the other way? And what if he didn't stop the other assailant? Would he be dead on the ground? Would anyone else? He had no idea how to react as he felt a set of arms wrap around him tightly as he clung onto them with his life, tears began to welt in his eyes.

And it was clear that neither he, nor his wife, had cared all too much about being in the professional state of their careers, they were glad that was over. They had shared a passionate kiss as he pulled her as close to him as he could.

His teammates had raced over to him all questioning him about what had happened. But he had shook his head. He had no idea what had happened. He knew that his hands were nowhere near the trigger of the gun. But he had no clue which way the gun was facing. He just knew that it fired a round somewhere between his struggle to pull it from the teen.

And as he re-lived that moment in his head again, his mind went blank and he shuddered in fear as tears wanted to fall, but couldn't. It was over. It had to be. Other students in the hall had slowly peeled themselves off the ground questioning each other before cheering on and congratulating the science teacher. They were just as glad for it to be over.

The other teen that had gotten shot had slowly dragged himself across the floor. He winced under the pain as he caught the attention of several students. "Don't tell me you think this is over? There are more than just two of us in this school with a damn gun. You'll all be dead before you realize it."

The science teacher looked at the other teen who had grabbed his shoe, letting a breath escape his lips. "What do you mean? How many more are we talking about?"

"You'd think I'd tell you?" the teen had pulled out a hidden knife in a side pocket on his pant leg. The man twisted out of the grip thinking the teen would strike him, but instead had taken his own life as he slit his own throat right before the team of rangers.

Kira's eyes welt with tears as she crashed into the arms of Trent as he held her close. Ethan looked like he wanted to vomit. And Conner was just as speechless as Trent as they exchanged a look before lowering their heads. The moment Kim had seen the knife she had turned away, as if she knew what was going to happen, still locked in her husband's arms. And Tommy had to force more air into his lungs. He felt like his life had already been threatened enough in the last few moments, and he didn't need anymore right now.

Not on this day. A day that was meant for the seniors of Reefside to celebrate. Only mere feet away from them, another teen's life was taken. And by his own actions. The answers he held were locked away in his mind as he took it with him to his deadly fate. But the thoughts ran through his mind like wildfire. That last statement made by that teen shook him to the core. As desperate as he wanted to know who was under the masks, he had found no strength or dignity to do it. But there were more. How many more?

Then he had thought back to that night. The night when he was pulling the biggest of pranks with his ranger team and a swarm of figures in black came to the school to reek their own damage. But not like he and his team did. Not until now... were they the same guys? If so, there were still eight more to deal with. If not more.

His eyes darted over to Conner and Trent as they looked over at their science teacher with some confusion. His eyes danced with words that could not quite be spoken. And he knew they were still in shock, fear, guilt, etc. over the recent events. He slowly got to his feet, though his wife pulled him back down, shaking her head.

"No, don't try to be a bigger hero and find the others," she cried as tears filled her eyes.

The man shook his head. He did have a job to do. And he knew his students just didn't have the mind set to go on with this and help him. Not that he could ask a whole lot from them, but he just could not risk it. Their minds had already been rattled in more ways than it needed to on this day, and he just couldn't afford to make it any worse on them. And though, he had wanted to stay, be locked in his wife's arms, he had to find those other guys. Before they hurt anyone else, or possibly injure them. He laid another warm kiss on her lips as she pulled him as close as she could to him.

The kiss broke slowly as their eyes melted and drained into the other, watching and hearing the spirits of the crane and falcon dance in their eyes and minds.

"Be careful, Handsome," she whispered against his lips.

"Stay with the teens. And keep your head up. Be strong for me, Beautiful. I love you," he said against hers before planting a kiss on her lips again.

"Love you too, my falcon," she said.

And slowly, Tommy had slipped one gun in the back of his pant, locking the safety into place. And took the other gun in hand and headed down the hall. Students looked at him with confusion and insanity thinking he was insane for searching the school for the rest of the gunmen. But they just couldn't say anything to him or each other. They were in shock, awe and a sleuth of mixed feelings they didn't need at that moment.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Dr. Oliver swiftly moved through the halls, using the skills of the ninja to search out anymore threats. But had not found it right away. He lowered himself to the ground and saw no one else in the hall. With little concentration, he had disappeared from anyone's view as he used the powers of the dino gem to become invisible.

Crouching down low, despite the invisibility, he had made it to the front office where he had seen four more guys suited up from head to toe in black garbs. It was clear they had struck there first. Luckily, none of them were carrying more than the 9mm Sig guns, but it was beginning to make sense to the science teacher as he began to calculate the status of the situation. Attack when it seems to be the most vulnerable to the students and staff. During their lunch time, and on the last day where the seniors would be spending time in the school as apart of the learning environment. They had moved into the office first, which made sense for why the call for the Code Red could not be issued. Yet, he didn't understand how no one had not realized a line of teens dressed from head to toe in black walk onto the school grounds without looking extremely suspicious, or were people too caught up in the day's farewells and good-byes to the seniors to even notice? Or the shots heard. Gunshots could go out with a bang, if it wasn't silenced. That was one thing that bothered the science teacher.

The four assailants were stationed throughout the office each had a gun pointing at someone who was bound to crack or pull some hidden button to set the Code Red alarm. Code Red was a system that would force the school to go into a lock-down. And if it was the real deal, another warning would siren the authority of Reefside to come to the school and check out it. And after the events of what happened at Columbine High in Colorado, it had struck the school systems nationwide to practice the procedure at least once each semester.

But on a day like today, it had not happened. So, no one quite knew. Teachers, other staff members, and students had just assumed it was a regular day until there were backfire echoing through the halls. Now, the status was unclear on the entire situation. The science teacher could only ponder what was going on outside of the school, perhaps on the soccer fields, or in the quad, or elsewhere on campus. If he had already seen two, and there were four more assembled here, there was still another four left in the school. If he had his theory right. The same guys that had wanted to pull their own prank of giving the statue its manhood and failed. Was this why they were taking out students? Just because someone had beat them to the punch? Or was it more than that? Too many questions had gone on in his head that he just didn't need. He had to focus on the situation at hand.

He had to disarm these four students and find where the other four remained...if they even were on campus. Whimpering, tears and fear ran in the people of the office. Many of them were women, only two of them were guys, one a janitor and the other was a social studies teacher.

The science teacher had moved around to the other side of the main desk, peering out to see what exactly was going on. In the center of the office was Principal Santos roped down to the chair, blood was already streaming down the side of her leg from a shot she had taken. But she was tough, and the science teacher knew that. She hadn't showed much signs of pain, even though she was in a lot of it.

One of the assailants had loomed over her, teasing her with the gun. "So, I wonder when we're gonna get our air time about all of this?"

"Is this what it's all about? Putting us on the map as some nationwide tragic story to a city that's already been faced with 30-story high monsters?" the principal stated quietly as she tried to keep her breathing leveled from the wound on her leg.

"That's one reason. But there is plenty more. One of them being, some other punk ass group decided to take our air-time from the local news to monument how pathetic we think this school really is," the masked figure bellowed. Or was it man? He had a thick Hispanic accent that made him sound a whole lot older.

The figure had gone on to say that the city itself was crumbling under the destruction of these monsters and evil beings wanting to rule the world. And like his fellow assailants in the science hall, he had brought up the concept of how real life tragedy was so much more different then saving the world from evil sorcerers.

Behind the counter, Dr. Oliver had held his breath as he heard those words rang in his ears. He knew the first time he heard it that it crushed his spirit. The second time, he knew it hit even harder. He was not perfect. He was no god. He was only a human being doing what he could to protect the world in all he knew. Now, here he was faced with the reality that crushed every living aspect of being a hero in his heart. It was almost as if he had no clue what that word meant anymore.

He sunk to the ground, wanting to cry, push away this reality and have it all end like some bad nightmare. It should be a nightmare he just wanted to wake up from, but this was a reality. It was happening right before his eyes. And when he had struggled to get the gun away from the first assailant, he felt his world stop. He thought he had gotten shot when the gun went off, but it wasn't his life. It wasn't his world that stopped. And to see the other assailant slit his own throat before him, several other students and his dino ranger team, he wanted to gag. He wanted to vomit. He was sicken by the greed and selfish power these teens had abused by bringing guns to school and acting like they were the toughest thing in the world.

But then he had realized something. He had looked over himself, and though he could see himself, he knew others couldn't, which would include the assailants. He just had to be careful about how he approached it. He knew if one of their team members went down, they'd fire in all directions, and it could come into his path. And his own blood was one thing his invisible powers would not be able to hide.

But he had to risk it. That's what his life was all about. He was a Ranger for as long as he could remember. He had looked danger in the eye several times, and this would make no difference. He even looked at death in the eyes more times than he liked. It just couldn't bring him down. He had come so far.

He forced air back into his lungs as he leaped over the counter, taking down the closest assailant with the butt of the gun. The assailant groaned and whipped around firing the gun, but the invisible man was already there to block it as he kicked the gun aside and swiped the guy off his feet. The second assailant had saw it letting the sound of gunfire ring through the office, but it had stopped when he had stumbled back, receiving a shot to the chest. He stumbled and groaned grabbing his chest, only inches from his heart as he hit one of the office desks and hit the ground face first.

The two remaining assailants had already been freaking out as their own gunshots rocketed through the office in all directions.

"Dude, this school is haunted," one of the said.

The one that had teased the principal had kept his ground as he began to let the bullets fly, hoping to hit something, if not someone. But it had hit walls, shattered glass and debris and smoke flew through the air. Then he watched as his friend had been thrown back by some invisible force as if tripped from the feet to stumble to the ground.

The leader had continued to open fire, even if it including shooting his friend. And two had hit his friend, but it seemed another had hit something else.

The invisible science teacher winced in pain as he felt the bullet graze the side of his chest again. Only inches from where he had gotten shot from his Carl months ago. How could he not notice the danger? His falcon spirit had guided him through the entire fight up until that point where he felt the heat of a bullet strip through his shirt and some flesh. He covered it with his left hand as he jumped to buck the other assailant in the face.

The man groaned as he stumbled back and the science teacher took him out with a tornado kick as he stumbled flying over the counter to the other side. The invisible science teacher held his breath as he moved to free the principal from the chair. But he knew if he didn't get out of there before his blood had hit the ground, others would get suspicious. They were already confused enough to see the four armed men were now either in sheer pain, if not dead.

"Thank you, Tommy," the principal whispered as she felt the ropes loosen around her.

_"Anytime. You okay?"_ he replied through his thoughts as it seemed to startle the principal just a little.

"I'll be fine. But there are more out there." she said with a nod.

The ropes had finally dropped as Tommy's left hand began to fill with his blood. He had to get out of there. He didn't say anymore as he raced out of there. Stopping only for a moment to see that the man that flew over the counter was gone. He caught his breath as he raced out of there and outside where he could catch some air and drop his control on the dino gem.

He crashed against a wall dropping the control of the gem and looking at the wound on the side of his chest. It had gone a little deeper than the first time he had gotten shot, and stung a whole lot more. He was at a closer range, which made the impact that much more painful. He groaned as he wiped his bloody hand on his shirt. But he had to stop the bleeding or slow it down somehow. He stripped off his sleeve wadding it up and pushing it against the side of his chest as he winced under the pressure.

"But four more...no, five remain," he told himself. But now that he was in the open he had his chance. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. As soon as the operator had came on to ask what the emergency was, he didn't hesitate to answer. "My name is Dr. Thomas Oliver and I am a teacher over at Reefside High School. We are on lock-down. I repeat we are on a lock-down and we have issued a Code Red. There are several men here on campus with guns, some are dead and several are injured. We need police and paramedics over here as soon as possible..."

BAM!

But as if milliseconds before he had heard that gunshot go off, the science teacher had already dropped to the ground as the bullet had hit the wall where his head had just been. But in the process, he had lost his phone as he turned to see who had attempted to shoot him. It was the same figure who had threatened the principal only minutes ago.

"I see you got shot, Tommy," the man replied, again the thick Hispanic accent had escaped his lips. "It seems even the best of us have to get taken down sometime."

For a moment, Tommy's heart had stopped. Why did that voice sound familiar to him? As he looked over the man again, a rage he knew only came when one person was in his presence filled his body. This man, under the ski mask, was the very man who had taken his love away years ago. It was Carl Lopez. "You! You plotted this whole thing, didn't you?"

"Unfortunately, it had not gone according to plan," the man had nodded as he stripped away the ski mask to reveal the very face that made Tommy's heart boil to degrees he couldn't describe. Almost a spit image of himself, but of Hispanic descendant, was in fact, Carl Lopez. "You should be dead, and I should be taking _my wife_ home with me."

"That's _my wife_. And she'll always come home to me," Tommy forced air into his lungs as he slowly got to his feet, but another gunshot inches from his feet had sent him back down.

"Don't bother getting up. I'll end your life right here," the man said darkly as he leveled the gun at Tommy's head.

"Is this what it's all about? Revenge? By taking out students and staff at this school just because the supposed love of your life decided to fall into the rightful arms of the man she loves?" Tommy spat back as he held his ground. He didn't want to charge the other man, or he knew he would fire on him.

"Not the only reason. But did Kimberly ever tell you that she felt like you didn't love her anymore? That's why you had sent her to Florida because you were trying to get rid of her. I mean, wasn't that around the same time as that new girl came into town that I heard took her place in your friendship... or relationship... whatever you want to call it?" Carl questioned with a quizzical look.

Tommy growled internally. That was not the case at all. He only wanted Kim to be happy. To have her follow her dreams. He had not even looked at Kat as anywhere being a girlfriend to replace Kim at the time. But after he had gotten that letter it had screwed up everything. "I only wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to follow her dreams and become what she wanted."

"Cute, really it is. But did she ever tell you that she would have been more happier to have you stop her from getting on that plane? Because her dream was to be with the man she loved, and she had thought it was you, but when she was in Florida she began to realize that the calls were getting shorter, the letters even shorter. And your time together just could not last..."

Tommy held his breath as the words had escaped the mouth of Kim's ex-boyfriend. Was that the truth? He had never heard it come from Kim at all, nor did he really want to risk asking her about it. It would only bring back painful memories he longed to forget. "But we found our way back to each other. We needed a break. You know what Carl, I think what you got is infatuation with Kim. You only loved her for what she could do with her body, but I was not like that. I had more going for me and what I loved about her. It wasn't just her beauty, but her personality, stamina and heart as an individual. And truth be told, if you find true love, you'll always find your way back to each other somehow or some day. And we did."

Either that had ticked off Carl even more, or it only made him stop short of what he was about to do. But at that moment, he looked frozen in his tracks. He had no idea what to do. Against the wall behind Carl, Tommy had seen something stir and move. And by other means, he had known it was Trent. And just as the teen had moved against the man, so did Tommy. Carl had not expected it as he felt a kick to his back flying forward as Tommy grabbed him and threw him to the ground. And through a painful deja vu, he had fought with the man over the control of the gun.

"Dr. O," Trent cried as he raced to help his teacher. He had managed to grab the gun tucked away in his teacher's pants.

But as Tommy continued to struggle with the gun, Carl had pushed him off. The gun was still in Carl's possession. He leveled it pointing it at Tommy, but...

BAM!

He had stopped for a moment, froze and slowly turned to where he saw the teen in white stood. Trent had shakenly pulled the trigger of the gun in his hand as it hit Carl's back. Carl groaned as he slowly turned to face the teen pulling the gun up. Trent froze in more fear as he dropped the gun hearing the echoing cry of the falcon as he watched the science teacher take down the man.

BAM!

Frozen in more fear, the teen in white stood there almost motionless as if he had taken the bullet, but he had not. Tommy was shuddering in fear as he loomed over the man under him. Motionless. He slowly rolled off the other man rolling him over too, to see that Carl had fallen against his own gun. And as he fell, his finger had slipped and the gun had shot him in the chest. As if their hearts finally got jump started again, Trent had slowly walked over to his science teacher as tears seemed to fall from his eyes. Another tragedy that shook both of them to the core. And though that madness was over, Tommy felt his stomach churn with disgust and rage.

"How many more people have to die before this tragedy is over?" he asked barely above a whisper.

The teen in white had collapsed to his knees beside his science teacher and could find no words to say. The science teacher slowly sat up pulling the teen into a tight and comforting hug as they sat there in silence. Both of them were already in tears, and it didn't matter to either of them.

A day that was supposed to be full of great memories was now shadowed by the tragedy of several dead bodies and others injured, including the science teacher himself. A tragedy that would forever scar the staff and students of Reefside High on the day of May 20th, 2005.

Within ten minutes a swarm of police and SWAT had entered the school, directing the staff and students to fall out of the building, leaving all material inside and rushing out with their hands on their heads. And with the wake of nearly every task force in Reefside on scene at the school, it didn't take long for it to hit news here in the city, the state and finally the whole nation.

Live footage had captured the students leaving the premises with hands on their heads directed by the SWAT. Theremaining assailants had been found on the soccer field, all gunned down when they had brought out huge military-issued machine guns, not wanting to back down. And according to the status, none of the suspects had survived, or in critical condition that was clearly of no-state to return. They were all dead, bringing with them their reasons for attacks with them to their graves.

Parents of the students had Reefside had swarmed the surrounding streets as they rolled with happiness to see their son or daughter alive along with several other citizens coming to pay their respect or see for themselves what was going on.

Yet, it was clear no one had seen this event coming. Getting used to monster attacks, this was a step up – or down, it was hard to say – from what the citizens were used to. But it was something no one had expected or wanted to see again. But it did. Years ago it occurred in Colorado, but with two assailants, not a whole army.

But it was over. The tragedy was over and they no longer had to deal with anymore of this scarring mayhem.

Minutes passed.

The star reporter from Reefside High News and the newest edition to the Reefside Eyewitness News, Cassidy Cornell had made the final report for the news cameras to capture. "Reporting to you live from Reefside High School on May 20th, 2005, a day that was meant to leave behind good memories for the graduating class of 2005, was left in tragedy. Apparently, as the seniors here were enjoying their final meal in these halls, a group of ten men, some of them were students here at the school, had entered the building with guns planning to kill several other students in their wake for attention, or so the police have reported. The surviving suspects will be questioned, if they ever wake up from their critical condition. However, many of them were killed in this tragic event. The names of these suspects have yet to be released to the public as well as the names of victims who have been killed or injured. Our deepest and greatest sympathy and condolence goes out to the families of the victims. It is indeed a tragedy to the students and staff here at Reefside High, and I hope we will overcome all of this and come out stronger than before. This is Cassidy Cornell signing off for Reefside Eyewitness News."

_**to be continued...**_

_A/N: Wait! What just happened? Did a group of people bring guns to the school and decide to go on a rampage? And who did they kill, or injure? I know there are a lot of questions flying through your heads. And trust me, some of them will be answered, but there are a few that must always be left in mystery. You gotta understand. That's how I am sometimes. But I hope you liked it. I'll see you next chapter. Let's see what else I got stuck in my little mind of mine... Peace out for now. May the Powers Always Protect You._


	48. Reflections

**'Til I Collapse**- **_Part Forty-Eight: Reflections_**

Sequel to: **Ordinary World**

_Summary: During the aftermath of the day's tragic events, the staff and students of Reefside make some painful discoveries about victims of the day. The week following leaves the teens with many more scars to live with. And a day before graduation, the DinoThunder team reflects on their adventures as Power Rangers and what has happened in the past year at Reefside High. _

_Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. So, just deal with it. If I owned it, there would be so many things I would change. But I won't. I will just do it through fanfic. _

_A/N: I had not originally wanted to add the aftermath to what had happened, but figured you guys needed it. It will set up more surprises for our heroes in the future. But getting back on track, I thought it would be a nice way to end the story, right? To see the team refelct. I did it for the end of 'Ordinary World'. So, I hope you like it. Read on. The end is near._

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
_"So after everything that has happened it is time to reflect on all that has happened to us. And a lot has happened that no one of us was expecting at all. But we made it. We pulled through and it just brought us so much closer."-Eclyptyk Neo  
_-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

After Cassidy Cornell had made that report, her composure could not be maintained. She was just as shaken and hurt as any of the people there over the events. She had remembered the day was supposed to be left in happiness and some sadness of leaving, but it would take place in everyone's life. She was finally graduating high school and moving onto another part of her life.

But after what had just happened, it shook her to the core. It all happened so fast. She didn't know how to react. She had been hanging with some of her cheerleading friends walking through the halls when she heard a loud bang. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but only could remember being pulled into a classroom as the door shut behind her.

Sitting in silence with other students and two English teachers, the group had no idea what was going on. They weren't sure if it was only a drill, or if it really meant something. She was on her way to go see her boyfriend, Devin, in the TV Production room, but had never gotten a chance.

The cameraman had cautiously and absently took the microphone from her as she shot back into reality. She had been in too much of a panic to really confront anyone on the situation. She had even attempted to call Devin on his cell phone, but he had not picked up and that was what worried her the most. She walked passed the crowd looking for a group of people she could find comfort in. Anyone who would understand her feelings and provide some support for her own fears. She needed that the most right now.

She had moved out of the crowd to where a line of ambulances winded around the main entrance to the school building. And she had noticed a group of people she knew could help her get through this.

Friends she had come to appreciate for what they had done, not only for her as an individual, but for the city as a whole, the Power Rangers. She slowly approached them, hoping not to intrude or be rude about entering their world.

By the ambulance, the teens had stood in complete silence for a long time. They had not said anything or as much as mutter a word as they watched their science teacher being patched up by one of the paramedics. Hands intertwined tightly with his wife, the P.E. teacher had been dropping tears for a long time.

Trent had been holding onto Kira for some time, who almost seemed like she was in a trance over what had happened only an hour ago. She was just as pale and white as any of them there, being in the heart of the gunmen's attacks. His own shirt had been stained by Dr. Oliver's blood as he tried to push away the thoughts of what had happened minutes ago, but he couldn't.

He had left the rest of the team in the wake of hearing more gunshots echoing through the halls searching for their science teacher. He had followed a sight of blood on the ground leaving the main office outside. And he had frozen in fear when he had seen his science teacher in the wake of another gun leveled at him. Trent had snuck behind the assailant, finally realizing who it was, as he heard the conversation going on between the two men. The gunman had been Carl Lopez, Kim's ex-boyfriend who had taken her away from Tommy years ago.

So, sneaking by, he dropped his chameleon powers and attacked the man. Dr. Oliver had grabbed ahold of the gun as they began to wrestle over its control. But he lost his step, thrown away, and was in the wake of a deadly blow. But by that time, Trent had the gun his science teacher had tucked away, and his mind just stopped. He had no idea what had happened. He just remembering hearing a gunshot go off, his entire body tensed as it hit the back of the gunman. Then Carl had turned to him, a fury unlike any he could have seen in his own fear as the gun was now pointing at him.

But Dr. Oliver had quickly recovered and took down Carl before he could fire the gun. And as they continued to wrestle on the ground, another gunshot rang in Trent's head. And for a moment, he watched as neither of the two men had moved. The moments felt like years, but the science teacher had slowly gotten off the other man rolling Carl over to his back, only to see him swimming in his own pool of blood. Carl Lopez was dead.

And the next Trent could remember was having a set of arms wrap tightly around him from his science teacher as tears rolled down both of their eyes. Trent had to admit that Dr. Oliver had been like the father he almost wished he had despite the one had started to build with Anton.But Dr. Oliver had been there for him in the last few months helping him cope with the tragic of seeing in father in his current state; as Mesogog and now struggling with his life to survive in a hospital bed. Not only Dr. Oliver, but his wife as well and little Serena he had to admit was like the little sister he longed to have. He was after all an only child, which made life a little better but also very lonely from time to time.

Things had changed so dramatically in the last few months, if not two years he had been here in Reefside, and he could not take away any of the memories. Any of them except for this one. He longed to forget this one, but he knew, as did everyone, that this was one that will forever scar his heart and mind.

The paramedic had made some final touch ups for the science teacher. He patted him on the shoulder letting a little smile pass his lips. "You're a very lucky man, Dr. Oliver. I don't know what the count is for injuries or deaths, but you're one of the lucky ones."

Tommy let out a breath as he nodded, thanking the other man for patching him up. He turned to look at his students, who had all fallen silent in the aftermath of the tragedy. But he had not gotten a chance to say much of anything when he felt the warm, comforting lips of his wife lay on his own lips. Lost in the kiss, the two had let passion, relief and other emotions mix in the kiss as it finally broke and Kim pushed herself closer to her husband.

The teens had been in their own thoughts about the entire thing. However, in the wake they had not quite noticed the other teen approaching them. Clearing her throat and catching their attention, the emotions spun and Cassidy Cornell had collapsed into Ethan's arms as tears fell from her eyes.

At first, the teen in blue had no idea how to react about the gesture, but could only wrap his arms around her trying to be a comfort. But he, himself, had been just as scared and freaked about the entire thing.

The events of the day's activities had gone through his head like rapid fire. He remembered reflecting with his friends at a picnic table in the early morning hours, heading to his math class for the final time, watching the news segment. He saw the goodbyes and shout-outs made by the senior class and several staff members. He had made it through his morning classes with some ease, but as he had been walking the halls with his science teacher and two best friends, minus Conner, things just went wrong.

He heard the sound of two loud bangs as if it was a dream.

And he remembered racing around the corner, only to see a spray of his peers on the ground screaming and shouting in fear. In the middle of it was a figure dressed from head to toe in black, his face covered by a ski mask, a gun in his hands.

And he just froze with fear.

"On the floor now!" the gunman demanded as more people sunk lower to the ground.

And he just didn't know how to react. He felt his heart literally stop in his chest, then run at a speed so fast he felt like it would just jump right out. Yet, besides the freaked out thoughts of seeing a gun, he held some dignity and strength. He had taken a step forward, using himself as a shield for Kira, just as Trent did. Not that he knew Kira could hold her own in a battle, it was merely a brother looking out for his sister sorta thing.

He just could not believe it, though. He didn't know how to react or what exactly to do. He only remembered that his science teacher was not backing down, was not following in on the rules and wanted to make sure that everyone got out of there safe and sound. Dr. Oliver was merely pulling the back up aspects of what made him a hero. And Ethan had wished he could have been a whole lot stronger about the situation, but he just wasn't.

And when the assailant had gone on, asked the science teacher where is back up was, he had backed down just like Kira and Trent. They were vulnerable to the sight of the gun. They knew what it was packing, and at such a close range could kill them instantly upon impact. He had thought about his future, knowing he had a bright one. But it was still full of mystery.

And after these past two years of being a Power Ranger, he had almost wished he wasn't a hero in that way. He had hoped that this was all one big dream, but it wasn't. It was a reality. He watched his science teacher continue to reason with the assailant, the gun leveled right at his chest. And Ethan's heart just sunk even more. He couldn't afford to see his mentor get shot down like that, if he did, but he just couldn't move.

This wasn't like saving a city or protecting the civilians from evil. It was a whole other thing. Or at least it felt that way. When he had seen Conner and Coach round the corner, hearing his P.E. teacher scream, his heart lurched in his chest. He didn't know what to do. But with Conner's quick witted skills, he had pushed himself, acting as a shield, over the pregnant teacher and hit the ground.

Then his science teacher had raced over, trying to pry the gun away. But it was a sheer struggle over the control of it. The assailant had gone on and said that there will never be heroes to save those who live a hard life. That the Power Rangers themselves were not worthy of anything. But they weren't the best. No one was perfect. No one could change everything in the world. And then...

BAM!

Ethan thought he was sitting outside of himself at that moment. He, himself, felt dead. Like no one had really existed around him. His mind a complete blank, in a void. And he watched as his science teacher finally stirred, shaken, he could tell. But it just happened so fast. Dr. Oliver had leveled the gun and fired two shots above him and his friends/teammates.

That's when they had noticed the other gunman in the hallway as he hit the ground beside them. Blood streamed out of his wounds as they slowly backed away. And just as quickly, he and his two teammates had raced over to their mentor just as Conner and Coach followed suit. But it was like whatever came out of his mouth just didn't seem to make any sense to him. He was just glad it was over. Right? It had to have been.

But the other assailant had gone off and said that there were more around the school. That's when his heart shook with more fear. There were more people around the school with guns? And as Dr. Oliver had demanded to know how many and where the assailant had been, the assailant had not said much to help them. And right before their eyes, only a few feet away, he had slit his throat right in front of them, hitting the artery that would kill him instantly.

He just wanted to vomit right there on the floor. He didn't know what had happened after that except that gunshots rang through the school, and Trent had offered his own expertise in cloaking himself to find their science teacher. Trying to be strong, he and Conner had stayed behind to comfort Coach and Kira.

Then he had remembered being escorted by a S.W.A.T. guy out of the building and over to an ambulance where Dr. Oliver had already been starting to get patched up. Locked up in his thoughts, he had not said or could really say anything. He didn't know what to say. Couldn't figure out what he could really say. Then he had heard someone clear their throat and Cassidy had fallen into his embrace as tears streaked her face.

"How could something like this happen?" the science teacher spoke quietly as he rubbed the side of his chest. He winced under the impact as his fingers ran over his soft spot from the wound. "Why do people do this sorta thing?" He turned to look at the news reporter still locked in Ethan's embrace trying to find some comforting words for the teen. "I'm sure Devin wasn't caught up in the mayhem of the actual shooting, Cassidy. But, not that I'm trying to sound rude, but has the police reported anything about deaths or injuries?"

The teen finally pulled her head away from Ethan's shoulder as she cleared her tears trying to control her composure. She shook her head as she caught her breath. "They won't release that information to anyone until they are certain they know the right numbers."

Trent and Kira had reached over to grasp each shoulder of the news reporter providing their own comfort for her. Soon, they found themselves being wrapped into a huge group hug which had included both teachers as they tried to find some comforting words. But they just couldn't. But being in the company of each other was enough to say that they were all right.

Well, for the most part. There were a few missing pieces to the puzzle of their friendship.

The science teacher looked around as he raised his eyebrow scratching his head. "Have any of you guys seen Conner? I thought he was right here."

Trent began to say that Conner was behind him but when he had turned around the red dino ranger was not there. He was nowhere in sight for as far as they could tell.

"But he was right here," Kira spoke quietly as concern fell over her face about her friend in red. She turned back to the main entrance of the building shaking her head. "You don't think he went back in there to look for Krista, do you?"

Trent had pulled her along, making only one conclusion as the two were obviously thinking the same thing. They had to find their friends and hope that for the most part, they wouldn't be finding anymore painful things in their wake.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Conner had absently slipped out of the grieving and sorrow that filled the circle of his friends. He had to admit he didn't know how to react. He was doing fine before the tragedy happened earlier that day. He was hoping it would end in happiness, relief and thoughts of freedom coming so close. But now, it seemed like those feelings didn't even exist. He didn't know what they were.

The events of the past day filled his head like a broken record, making his steps falter just a little. It was supposed to be a happy day. It was supposed to. It was a day they wouldn't forget, just because it was their final day as high school students. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Earlier in the day, he had told his P.E. teacher that he would like to hang out with her at lunch, talk to her on a one-on-one private basis. It had to do with love. It had to do with relationships. Some personal things that he felt he could discuss with her. And when he had talked to her, she always gave him advice he could understand. And he had felt better about the whole situation. Most of it had to do with Krista, and he found that Coach was the right person to go to about his problems or concerns about his girlfriend and their relationship. He had remembered they would be meeting the science teacher, Kira, Trent and Ethan over in Dr. Oliver's classroom for one final private Ranger lunch. But that's when things seemed to go wrong. For a long time, he felt his stomach churn as if something wrong was going on. He had entered the building with Coach, only to see it literally completely empty.

He had asked the P.E. teacher about it, but she had no straight answers herself. And when he had rounded the corner, his stomach had lurched, making him sick. His heart had stopped and he had seen a man in black attire with a ski mask on who was leveling a gun at his science teacher's chest.

At first, he thought it was some sorta act, but as he looked at the tears and fear of his fellow classmates, he knew that it wasn't. And the entire time, he had sworn he had heard the on-going screaming of fear from the falcon and crane, the very spirits that combined his teachers together in unique ways. He had gotten used to it, but this time it was far more fearful, scared, and painful.

This wasn't a dream, and when Kim had screamed out her husband's name, it had freaked out the assailant. He turned and fired the gun, but Conner was a whole step faster. The world around him slowed down and he watched the bullet break free from the barrel heading their way, slowly. With his skills with super speed, at that moment, he was so glad to have them. He used himself as a shield and pushed Kim out of harm's way as they hit the ground moments before the bullet had struck the wall where they had stood.

He didn't even know how to react after that. He had heard the assailant, watched as his mentor had wrestled with the gunman to get the gun. The assailant had used psychological means to disrupt the teacher, and it had finally hit home when the gunman had said something about the Power Rangers. He was talking about how they were no heroes to the reality of violence on the streets. To the fact, all they could do was protect the city from the harm of evil beings and grotesque monsters. His heart had stopped at that moment when he watched as his science teacher had pushed his own weight against the gunman, forcing them to the ground. And then...

BOOM!

He felt like his entire spirit had jumped out of his body as he watched with tear-streaked eyes at the motionless figures on the ground. It felt like ages, but the science teacher had finally stirred, caked in blood as he moved just as quick, letting the gun he now held in his hand fire two more rounds as it struck another gunman that loomed over his best friends.

The gunman was down, but not officially out and he had raced over with the P.E. teacher to the aid of the science teacher, who seemed just as freaked and confused as any of them. Conner had not expected to see a gun in the possession of his mentor at all, but he was sorta glad that this mayhem was over as some relief fell over him.

But the other gunman had said there were more of them out there. And that's when his heart sunk even more. Conner didn't want to believe that. There were more of them in the school? How many more? And where was Krista? Why were they doing this? Far too many questions went flying through his head and he just couldn't figure out why or shut them down.

Then the assailant had barked out something else, but Conner didn't catch it as he watched the shiny blade swing in his hand. And only a few feet before them, he and the other dino rangers had watched as the other gunman had taken his own life before them. His stomach sunk as he felt a glance from Trent. He could only look at him with some shock, but turned away and could find no words to say.

His throat burned with dryness as he tried to wet his mouth, but it was just too dry. It hurt to think. It hurt to move. It hurt to do anything right now, but somehow his legs were pulling him absently through the halls trying to find something.

A few bodies were sprayed around him...victims. Death all around him. He never felt so cold. Nameless figures, but not that any of them were important. They all had lives. They all had futures. And it was taken away at the hands of some psychotic bunch of gunmen who wanted attention...or revenge. He may never know.

It had created rage in the very depths of his body. If he would have, he would have gladly taken his own life just to have these people live. And that's when he had seen it. Racing over at a speed his dino powers didn't set, he had came crashing to his knees collecting the motionless body into his arms. His entire frame a shrug of emptiness as waterfalls fell down his eyes.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Trent and Kira had casually stepped into the school, but once they had gotten in, they had not realized the damage done to it. The floors were caked with debris from the bullet-shot walls and blood. A few empty body bags laid throughout their path.

And it made Kira's stomach lurch again as she doubled over, wanting to throw up. But Trent had grabbed her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, the other around her waist as he gave her some added support.

"Why do people do this!" she nearly cried as her eyes welt with tears again.

Trent could only shake his head as he looked around, seeing the empty body bags throughout the hall. How many people died? Were there more assailants than he had thought? There should have only been ten of them. No more. But maybe even less. He had no answers as he pulled his girlfriend into a hug.

Kira had wrapped her arms tightly around Trent as some relief fell over her. But as she kept looking at the bright side of the situation, the tragic events of the day played through her head like a broken record.

The news segment had hit home and it was hard to make it through the morning up until lunch time. She had been hanging out with Ethan and Trent for some time before they were gonna hit up Dr. Oliver and have one final Ranger lunch in his classroom as students at the school. It was going well, aside from the sinking feeling about leaving.

She had not realized that there were a lot of things she would be leaving behind. She had even thought long and far into the future. Like if she had to give up her rangers powers. She didn't know if she could do that. She didn't know if she was ready to close this chapter of her life.

But then something just happened. Almost like heightened senses, or seeing quickly into the future, she swore she saw a guy dressed from head to toe in black, a ski mask covering his face, was terrorizing her fellow students.

Then she heard the backfire of a gun. She knew that sound from anywhere. She knew exactly how a gun sounded as she raced around with her team to see right before them a man with a gun.

He had barked out an order for everyone to get on the ground, and people had followed suit. But somehow, she didn't want to back down. She wasn't supposed to. She knew all about sacrifice, taking chances and risks, looking death and danger in the eyes and proving she could overcome any of them. And here she was looking at it again, but somehow things were different.

This reality had shook her more to the core. Trent and Ethan had put themselves before her just as their science teacher had put himself before them as a shield. This was a reality that had more haunting scars than ever fighting 30-story high monsters. But somehow, she couldn't put her foot on it and figure out why it was this way. She just felt her heart literally stop.

She had watched as Dr. Oliver had tried every reason, not acting as a threat, to get the gunman to drop the weapon, but he had not. And then she had heard footsteps and saw two more people come into the hallway. It was Conner and Coach. And after that time just slowed down. The P.E. teacher had screamed out her husband's name and the gunman turned around -- almost caught off-guard -- and fired the gun. But Conner was one step ahead as he tossed her to the ground and used himself as a shield. That's when Dr. Oliver had raced over trying to wrestle the gun out of the hands of the assailant but it didn't budge.

The assailant had gone on and said some more words to disrupt the psyche of the science teacher, but the moment the words 'Power Rangers' came out of the gunman's mouth, it struck a chord in Kira. She had heard the whole thing as if in a dream. They were no heroes, but only protectors against monsters and evil sorcerers. They couldn't save the city or nation from the on-going violence in their own backyard; drive-by shootings, highway chases, robberies, etc. She had never felt so helpless as a person. She wasn't perfect. They weren't perfect. Everyone made mistakes, everyone had to fall in order to get back up and learn again.

And that's when time had stopped when she watched as the science teacher and gunman hit the ground.

BOOM!

Motionless, tears welt in her eyes. Was her mentor dead? But he had finally stirred and she had no idea as he raised the gun, now in his hands, over her head and fired. Her heart stopped as she almost thought he was freaking out, needing to get out his anger and rage by firing the gun. But she heard a groan and a cry of pain behind her and watched as another gunman had hit the ground beside her. Trent and Ethan had quickly put themselves between the gunman and herself, but they were just as freaked to see the other gunman. They had no idea he was looming over them. The trio had shook the thoughts away as they raced over to the shaken science teacher. The questions raced through her head, but none of it seemed to make any sense to her. She was just glad it was over.

Or was it? She watched as the gunman that Dr. Oliver had shot pulled himself across the ground, grabbing the science teacher's leg. He had gone on to say there were more of them in the school. That they were not alone and the battle was still going on. Dr. Oliver demanded to know where and how many more, but the gunman refused.

And then he had pulled the knife, the science teacher twisted out of the grip, only realizing that it wasn't intended for him. And only a few feet away, Kira had watched with her dino thunder teammates the other gunman take his own life when he slit his throat. Her stomach lurched as she felt the bile fill her esophagus, burying her face into the chest of her boyfriend as the tears soaked up his shirt.

She had no idea what was going on after that, only that once she heard gunshots echo through the halls again, Trent had offered his own sacrifice to seek out where their science teacher had gone. He had moved away from them several minutes ago, but the fact of being left in the wake of the death of two gunman made her stomach sink even more.

Conner had been a watchful eye for her as he let his embrace melt into hers as they waited for the news. Not that they had some sparks fly between them at that moment, they were just glad, as any of them there, to be alive.

She hung in silence by the ambulance as she watched the paramedic patch up her science teacher. It struck her with some shock to see the teacher had gotten hit in the first place, but was glad to find out that he was going to be okay. That he was alive and kicking it. Now, here she was entering the halls again looking for her best friend in the star soccer player. Feeling a warm brush of her boyfriend's lips on her own, she had shot back into reality, trying to focus on the task at hand. They had to find their friend and hope that they wouldn't find anymore in their wake.

Police and S.W.A.T. team members had already moved to take some of the body bags out of the school, Kira holding onto Trent even more. It was one thing to protect people from 30-story monsters, but this was a whole other thing. Something, she and Trent had wished would have gone better.

Kira froze for a moment as she had noticed one of the body bags had been stuffed with another body. As she moved over to get a better look, she swore that she was dead. Covering her mouth, her eyes welting with more tears she had called Trent over to her. "Trent? ... Is that who I think it is?"

The teen in white had slowly and cautiously walked over to her as she loomed over the body bag. And that's when he felt his knees lock once again as he tried to stand up, but now had to lean against Kira for support. Out of all the victims to the shooting, one name...many names weren't supposed to be on the death list. But apparently, this was one of them.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Several weeks ago.

After the final envelope was sealed and stuffed into the package with the zip file full of pictures, the entire yearbook staff had all let out a breath with satisfaction. They were done. They had completed the very last pages for the yearbook before it would be sent off and set for final publications.

"So, how do you guys feel?" Ms. Obie asked as she watched shoulders drop from the tense moment.

"Great that it's finally over," John said with a nod as he patted his friend Caleb on the shoulder.

"I hear you on that, man," Caleb nodded.

"Even though you guys didn't have a whole lot to do this final deadline?" Anika asked with a raised eyebrow.

"All that matters is that it is done. And as done as we could get it. I mean, it won't be completely perfect. But it's pretty damn close," Dr. Oliver nodded as he rolled slightly on the stool he sat on. "Capturing the year like this wasn't an easy task to do, and with all the changes we've made since last year, this will be definitely be worth all of our time and effort."

Being the bunch they were, the students of the yearbook staff had gone on to reflect and bag on the worser times in the class. But they did it. It was complete. This year had been collected up in a book to present to the rest of the school.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Blinking slowly, Trent had felt his entire world come crashing down on him. This could not be happening. It had to be a dream. It had to be just some bad nightmare that he longed to wake up from. But it wasn't. He wanted to gag. He wanted to just punch a wall. Kill someone, those who... wait, they were already dead as far as he could tell. His entire being shook with fear as he tried to make sense of what was going on. But it was a reality. It was the truth.

In one of those black body bags was Ms. Obie. The heart of keeping the memories alive at Reefside High. Though, she, herself, was not exactly wanting to do a class like yearbook in the first place, she had only done it for the students in the class. For the members of the team who would captured the moments of this year, if not the past few years. Now, it was gone. Her own future was taken away. Thrown away with the memories of the year. She was dead. Dead. A word that shook everyone in that school more on this day than on any other day the Power Rangers were out there saving the world. This was a new reality to everyone at Reefside High. What made it worse was trying to figure out how to cope with the mayhem. To look beyond all the mistakes and try to find a brighter future. Right now, it seemed no future could ever be bright, for anyone whoever stepped into the halls of Reefside High School.

No one could look at the day of May 20th, 2005 and say it was a happy day. No. It was not at all. Not after such a tragedy as this.

Then they heard some sorta cry, maybe a mournful cry, that rocketed through the hall. And it was followed closely after by a mix of the roar of the tyranno zord and a faint cry of the ape. It made their knees lock as they raced around the corner and saw Conner McKnight embracing something in his arms up the hall.

Only looking at each other briefly, they raced up the hall, but were stopped by another figure. It was Devin, his face and life were drained of any color. His clothes were stained in blood as he shook his head. The two rangers asking him if he had gotten shot, but he had not. He was merely trying to save a life, but there was just no chance at all. Tears seemed to streak his face as he tried to keep his composure and figure out exactly what had happened that day. But he seemed just as lost about the entire situation as any of them.

"Devin what happened?" Trent asked as he tried to keep his cool. But his heart was racing at a hundred miles per hour over the thought of what he would find up the hall. Another dead body. And not just any...

The teen known as the expert cameraman of the school shook his head as he turned away. "It all happened so fast. I don't know how... I was in the AV room when I heard lots of screaming and noise. ..." he was stammering over his words, trying to stay calm. "Then I heard a gun go off several times, and Krista hit the ground. I rushed over..."

And as he spoke those words, it pierced through all of their hearts. No one had expected it. No one could have really done anything to stop them since they were unarmed themselves.

Kira had offered her condolences as the other teen shook with more fear, collapsing into the arms of the independent singer. Trent had wrapped his arms around both of them knowing that Devin couldn't really say anymore with the painful memories of the event playing through his head. And he just wanted to get out of there. He just wanted to forget any of this ever happened like the rest of them. But it was so hard to do.

"Did she say anything before she...?" Trent asked as the trio had broke the warm and comforting hug.

Devin wiped away his face and let out a breath. "'Tell everyone I'll miss them greatly. And tell Conner I will always love him.' Then her eyes just fluttered shut and..."

The duo of rangers had silenced him before allowing him to speak again. They knew it was far too painful to recall anymore than that, so they had not wanted to drive it out of him. And they knew he was in desperate need to get out of there, find some freedom of getting out of that building and find his girlfriend.

"She's outside with Dr. Oliver, Coach and Ethan by one of the ambulances," Kira said before pulling the teen into another hug. "Will you be all right?"

Devin shook his head, but then nodded it. But had to turn away as he fought to push back the tears that wanted to form in his eyes. "I don't know. I hope so."

"We'll help each other get through this. We all will," Trent tried to sound reassuring. He had always found Devin a little on the weird side, especially during his hunt with Cassidy over the identity of the White Ranger -- himself. But never had anything against him, especially since he had beaten Ethan at his own master game of Demolition Man months ago. And he knew, just like any of them, they all needed to help each other get through this.

"Thanks, man. Tell Conner that I'm truly sorry about Krista..." Devin began to say, but was cut off by Kira.

"You did all you could have done. Just know that you're a hero for that, Devin," the yellow ranger spoke.

Devin allowed a small smile pass his face before embracing his friends in one last hug and raced out of there, trying to push away as much of the painful memories as he could. But he knew as did any of them that it would take some time to get over this. He could only hope, as any of them, that it would just end as soon as possible.

Trent and Kira had slowly moved up the hall to where the red dino ranger had seemed to melt into a state of fear, sadness, emptiness and a new line of mixed feelings. But none of them were happy, and they both knew that. They both knew he was struck down. He wouldn't be able to get up from this without help from his friends. And was gonna take a lot of will-power to get him up off the ground and back into the reality of life. Whatever reality that really was at the moment.

Standing a few feet before Conner and the motionless body in his arms, the two other dino rangers couldn't find any words to say. Their eyes welt with more tears as they tried to make sense of what was going on. They wanted to just close their eyes and hope to God that it was just a dream. That this was no reality at all. Any of this, let alone seeing the dead and injured people.

Crashing into the ground, the two rangers had pulled their leader into their arms trying to comfort him. He tried to push them away, just to be alone with the girl he had loved with his whole heart, but they had refused. They may have been boyfriend and girlfriend, but Krista Johnson was also a close friend to the team. They held onto him, despite the motionless body between all of them, they had not wanted to let go of their friend. He needed their comfort. Their strength and sympathy over the entire situation. And it wasn't going to be easy, but they didn't want to give up on him.

Conner's entire body had just shut down. At that moment, he felt like he didn't know how it was like to breathe. To move. To think. To feel. All of his senses had gone numb as he tried to fill the emptiness that now seemed to cut through his heart. It could never be healed, and he knew that. He could feel it.

Nothing else seemed to matter. The tears just continued to fall. His two best friends had been right at his side, holding onto him, comforting him as he held the motionless body in his arms.

A life that wasn't supposed to hit the darkness this soon. A life that had a bright and wonderful future. A life that had a man who cared about her in ways no normal guy could. She had looked beyond his figure of being a jock. Gave him a chance and a relationship. She wanted to make a difference in the world, let her thoughts and good-will spread through it. She was also intelligent, funny, and a slew of other feelings and descriptions that made her so unique. For awhile, she had not judged or could have imagined her boyfriend was one of the world famous Power Rangers, and for awhile it crushed their relationship, but they had gotten out of it. They fixed their differences and it brought them closer as lovers and friends. But, now it was gone.

Time had just stopped. And the future he thought he, Conner McKnight, could have shared with her was now gone. His girlfriend for not even a full year in Krista Johnson was dead. Dead when he had gotten to the scene. And probably a long time ago when the shooting took place. She was gone and he wasn't there to hear her dying words. To possibly turn back the hands of time, and replay those moments. He would have gladly allowed his life to be taken over hers. He wanted to do it now. He had seen and been through so much more than she did, and had not deserved this. No one did.

"Why? Why did this have to happen?" Conner continued to cry, continued to question why she was laying motionless in her arms. Trying to talk to her, hoping it was just some twisted joke she decided to pull on him, but it wasn't. She was in fact gone.

Trent had confirmed it when he reached over to her neck trying to feel a pulse. Nothing. Not even a faint beat. He placed a hand on her back hoping to feel her breathing, but nothing. She was gone. She truly was gone. She was dead. "I'm so...no, we're so sorry, Conner. We really are."

Conner had looked up as the fiery heat of anger, rage, sadness and other feelings danced in his eyes. He was in pain. Sheer pain and hurt that no one may not be able to get him out of. They knew he will forever be scarred, even changed by this event, but his friends weren't gonna let that stop him at all. "Sorry! You're sorry? Krista is dead. She is dead, damn it! And she won't be coming back. If I could have been with here earlier, none of this would have happened..."

"No, but that could be you wrapped in her arms dead or either dying," Kira had to force out, trying to keep her tears back. She had to be strong for him. Tell him that things would be okay and that they could get through all of this, if they allow each other to help the other out in all of this. "Do you know what her last set of words were, Conner? She said, 'Tell everyone I will miss them greatly. And tell Conner I will always love him.' Don't get me wrong, Conner. I feel for you. I do. Krista is dead, but you gotta move on. She would have wanted that for any of us here."

"What do you guys know about death! You have each other," Conner growled as he pushed his friends back. "You guys can live happily ever after. I lost one of the most important things in my life..."

"Conner, my father is struggling with his life in a hospital bed!" Trent stated feeling some heat and pain escape his lips. It had been nearly a week since the final battle, and there had been no progress on his father's condition. And he was getting more worried about it. "And don't think this is gonna be one happy ending for us, 'cuz it ain't. It won't be. It never will be. But we are here for each other. We still care about you, Conner. We want to help you get through this..."

Conner had shoved Trent to the ground, his own frustration, anger and mixed feelings danced in his head. Nothing seemed to be making sense to him at all. All that seemed to be going on in his head was that his girlfriend was dead. And here he was holding her lifeless form in his arms trying to tell himself that it was a dream. But he had to break out of this state and just accept it. A small part of him told him that. "Don't even bother with me right now, rich boy!"

"Conner!" Kira nearly screamed as she turned the red dino ranger to look at her. "We know you're hurting! We know you're crushed! Okay? We know! We wouldn't have come back into this building if we didn't care. If we didn't want to help you cope or any of that, we would have just waited on you to just come out. But we didn't. And you know why? We want to help you. Don't worry. This is a tragedy to all of us. It is..."

"She wasn't supposed to die," Conner cried as he lowered his head to the cold one of his girlfriend's. Looking down, she had been shot nearly three times as far as he could tell. One in the arm, one on the leg and one to the stomach. But her entire being had literally been caked with blood. And despite the red soccer jersey Conner was wearing, it was stained with her blood. The only thing that wasn't bloody was her face, which only looked pale and drained.

"Of course not. No one should truly die unless it was really their time to go," Trent stated as he tried to find some dignity to keep his head high about this situation. "And it wasn't for her, but she would have wanted you to move on. That is nothing new to anyone. You can mourn, you can sympathize, and go through a whole lot of other emotions, but eventually you got to move on. You just have to. It's the best thing anyone could do after something like this. Look back on the good memories you had with her, Conner. Don't dwell on the bad."

"But she is gone," Conner whispered quietly. But he was beginning to see eye-to-eye with his friends. But right now, he didn't want to even though they were trying to help him.

"We know. And we're sorry. We are here with you for this, Conner. We won't let this tear you down because it does hurt. I know. Keep your head up, Conner. You have to," Kira said more calmly watching as his shoulders dropped from their tense position.

"I'm not trying to bring back bad memories, but for awhile, I was in pain over the death of my parents. But now, when I look back on it, I look at the good things, at being happy and at peace with it, just knowing that I will see them again some day. I know I will. And I know they're like angels helping out others and looking over me. And I am sure Krista will do the same thing," Trent said with a gentle smile.

It fell silent as the red dino ranger slowly loosened the grip around his girlfriend. It shook him to the core that she was gone. There was no doubt about that, but he had to move on. He had to be the stronger one in this and push on. Look at the good memories he shared with her and take the advice of his friends. They were here to help him. They wanted to help him.

A police officer had casually walked over to the teens, telling them it was time to go. That they needed to clear up the hall and get everyone out of the building before they make one final scan of any survivors, and dead, to report. Trent and Kira had slowly pulled their friend to his feet. But for a long time, he had still carried the motionless body in his arms. Laying one final kiss on her head, and for his own sake one against her cold lips.

But then he had turned to look at his friends and teammates as he held the body in his arms. The very words that struck him to the core as a Power Ranger shook him up. They were no heroes at this moment. They were merely human beings with lives just like anyone else, and they had failed. They were not perfect. They just weren't.

"Could you give us a few moments?" Trent had asked the police officer.

The man nodded slowly as he took a step back. "Sure. I'll be checking the rest of the building, but I expect you guys to be out of here when I return."

The teens had thanked the man and watched him head up the hall. Trent and Kira had fallen silent as they watched their leader pull up his bracelet, watching it change into his morpher. For a moment, they were confused at his gesture, not quite sure what he was getting at with it, but knew what it meant.

"This is for Krista. For all the lives lost after this tragic event," he spoke quietly.

"We're not perfect. No one is," Kira nodded as she had followed suit watching as her gem had changed into her ptera morpher.

"We may be Power Rangers. But we're also human. And that's what the world needs to see," Trent let out a breath as he followed suit, his drago morpher revealed.

And as one, they had turned and headed up the hall. As they walked, their civilian forms were dropped and they all stood in their ranger suits, heading into the light of day. The motionless body of Krista Johnson rested in the arms of the red tyranno ranger.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Meanwhile, during the silence that fell over the two teachers, the computer gamer and the news reporter, something seemed to disturb the black dino thunder ranger. He heard a faint cry in his head. A cry from the tyranno and a faint one from the ape that now resided in the red dino thunder ranger. He tried to shake it away as he let out a breath trying to make sense of what was going on. The way it had sounded was of pain, a mournful cry unlike any he had heard. And his shoulders sunk. It only meant one thing as far as he could tell. Krista Johnson, Conner's girlfriend, was dead.

He rubbed his head gently as he turned to look at the blue dino ranger who was still holding the stricken Cassidy in his arms. He knew, as did Ethan, what had happened. They could hear it and sense it with this new unique bond they shared as dino rangers. It was almost like the same feelings and connections the science teacher had shared with his fellow Ninjetti Rangers.

Then they heard footsteps, hearing the name of Cassidy peak out over the running. And with a tear-stained face, she had looked up to see Devin running their way, his clothes were drained in blood. She had raced into his arms as her boyfriend held her closely. Relief had fallen over the two teachers and computer gamer as Ethan had moved closer to his science teacher's side. It was clear that this was bothering him just as much as anything else.

"Do you hear what I hear, Dr. O?" Ethan asked not wanting to sound like a complete idiot. "This whole new spiritual bond... or whatever it is... with Conner? And even Kira and Trent?"

The science teacher nodded slowly as he looked over at the teen in blue. "I do, Ethan. And it isn't a good cry, either. I know Conner's hurting right now, and he needs his friends to help him cope with what he just discovered."

"When you know all about loss -- have gone through it -- you finally realize that life has to be cherished in new ways," the P.E. teacher had said sorta absently. If they weren't mistaken, they knew that she could hear it, too. With her short time as a dino ranger, she was still apart of their bond. It wasn't as strong, since she didn't have the gem in her possession, but it was enough to say it was there. She had heard the faint cry of the tyranno. "That the time you have is precious no matter how little there is of it."

Then muttering and confusion fell over some of the police officers that exited the building. Catching the attention of the two teachers and computer gamer, they turned to the main entrance to see three people donned in the colors of the dino thunder rangers walking out.

In the arms of the red tyranno ranger was a motionless form that sent more tears to the trio by the ambulance. This motionless form was none other than Krista Johnson, the red tyranno ranger's girlfriend. A body bag had been set a few feet before them as the red dino ranger placed it into the bag before them. The white drago and yellow ptera ranger stood over him, their shoulders dropping with more sympathy and sadness.

"Thank you, Krista, for everything you've given to me as a friend and lover. I love you with all my heart. I'll see you on the other side," he whispered quietly. For a moment, he had not moved, looking at the body. But with enough strength, and help from his two teammates, he rose to his feet.

And they had turned briefly to the trio at the ambulance. But had not said anything. The suits and gesture they had made was enough to tell them exactly what they were thinking.

They were not perfect. They were not God. They were merely human beings. And they could only do so much before it comes tumbling down. Then the trio of suited rangers had turned away and disappeared into the shadows as the computer gamer and science teacher had followed suit. In silence, the five rangers stood as their mentor had offered one last request of them before they left the area.

He had pulled his morpher out as Ethan had done the same, and the duo had joined their teammates as they suited up in their protective ranger forms.

As one, the five rangers had emerged from the shadows and walked out into the opening where many police officers, paramedics and lingering students and staff of the school. And to pay their own condolence and respect, the five rangers had showed their spirited kata for all to see. A tribute, one could say, to the victims and their families and falling to their knees before the police officers showing their vulnerablity to the entire situation. They were no Gods. They made mistakes. They could only do so much. They were after all only human beings, their spirits running freely through the physical normality of life. They were different, but not by much compared to the rest of the human race. And they wanted everyone to know that.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

One week later. May 27th, 2005, 8:30pm.

They could not believe it. The teens just could not believe it. It had been one week since the tragic events that hit Reefside High School, and they weren't even there for the past week. It was one of the longest and hardest weeks of their entire life. Shutting out nearly everyone, but each other, the four teens didn't seem to leave the others side one way or another. Ethan and Conner were hanging out like two brothers who couldn't seem to get tired of the other's company. Trent and Kira had been on each other's watchful eye the entire week. But during the night, the four teens would hang out in the Mercer homestead trying to cope with what had gone on.

Trent had also been at his father's side nearly day in and day out, talking to him about his day or almost questioning him about what had happened on Friday, May 20th, 2005 as if he could provide some answers for his son. But there was no progress. Anton Mercer had laid dorment and motionless on that bed with tubes and I.V.s entering into his body from several different angles. But there was no progress. The only things they could monitor were his heart beat, his brainwave patterns, his breathing, among other vitals.

The numbers weren't officially in about the deaths and injuries on the shooting, and that's what frustrated the teens even more. Keeping tabs with their science and P.E. teachers, neither of them could provide any information themselves. For the entire week, they had to go through a security check before entering school grounds as well as the building which at times was a very tedious process.

Lounging in the living room of the Mercer homestead, the four teens sat in silence for awhile. They had gotten better about the situation, about talking to each other and trying to get things back to normal. But it wasn't easy. They had to be careful about what they said or it could trigger more sadness in one or the other.

Yet, at that point it seemed like they wouldn't be able to get out of thinking about the sadness they had left in their hearts. It was something they were fighting to break away from, but it was not going away as quickly as they would have liked.

Finally breaking the silence, Trent cleared his throat as he looked up at each of his friends. "So, tomorrow is the big day."

After a brief silence, Kira had answered. "It is. And up to this point, I am not so sure I'm ready to do this. After waiting for it for so long, I almost feel like I no longer deserve this."

"I know. I mean, this entire week has been one of the hardest weeks I have been through," Ethan admitted as he lowered his head. "Has it really been a week since that happened?"

"Unfortunately, it has," Conner said sorta absently. It was clear that none of them could fill the gaping hole that laid in his heart. For a long time, he had not spoken to anyone but never said anything about their company. He was still trying to cope with the emptiness despite the talks he would have with his friends. He just didn't feel like the same. Up to this point, he never felt like a bigger failure in all of his life, and his friends had told him that he wasn't. Yet, somehow, he couldn't register what they were saying into his head.

Trent had turned to look at his leader in a red T-shirt and black sweat pants. "I know it hasn't been an easy week for you, Conner. But sometimes falling will help you become a stronger person in the future."

"And how long do you think that will be, Trent?" the teen in red asked as he looked up. His eyes began to water, but the tears didn't seem to fall.

"It's up to the individual," Ethan replied for the teen in white. "We can only give you advice about how to move on, but it is up to you to decide how you take our advice and apply it to your life. We're showing you the door, but you have to walk through it."

Conner had dropped his head as he began to think through the words of his friends. He knew they were helping him. He knew that they wanted to stop dwelling on his mistakes and failure. They wanted to break him open, push him back up to the Conner they knew. Not some mindless being who felt like he had no real point in living anymore. "It hurts. It just hurts so much."

"We know that, Conner. We know that you're fighting between these emotions. Trying to find yourself again. And it will never be the same. We got that, too. But look at everything we've already overcome. Look how far you have come as a person," Kira said.

Another silence fell over the teens. The blue, yellow and white dino rangers had exchanged a look before looking back over at their leader. Ever since that day, one week ago, each of them had suffered with the nightmares of it becoming another reality on graduation day. They had hoped that it wouldn't.

They had hoped that this was not going to get any worse than it was. They had hoped that by tomorrow, they could hold their heads high. Talk had gone on about the Power Rangers. Some of them were bad, most of it good. People had to comment over the display of respect the team had done for the victims, confused but respected their gesture. Others had gone on about what the gunmen babbled about as their place as heroes to the city versus the darkened alley of violence on the streets. There were so many things, but none seemed to be fully understood. And that's what was bothering them. They had to keep telling themselves they were human. That's what their mentor had told them over the course of the week since they had paid their tribute to the fallen students and staff at Reefside High.

After the silence had passed, Trent had changed subjects once again. Trying to push it more towards the excitement of the next day's festivities. "I hear that there is gonna be a special guest speaker as our commencement speaker tomorrow. Anyone have any idea who it is?"

Ethan thought for a moment. "I thought it was supposed to be Dr. O, or did he decline? Or wasn't Elsa supposed to do it?"

"Well, Elsa told me that they had to change the program. She won't be giving us the speech, she's still emotionally stricken by the events. Plus, her injury has her in that wheelchair for another good week or two so standing up or even giving a speech in her state, she felt it wouldn't be right. And I heard nothing about Dr. O doing it," the teen in white replied.

"Don't you have a speech to give, too?" Conner asked, the life of the jock was beginning to return to his voice. It had shock the other teens, but they had not commented on it. They were glad to hear more life returning to their leader.

Trent had looked away sorta blushing. He was not one who had really been big about doing the whole big public-speaking speech. But after Elsa had learned what had happened to Anton, going to visit on days she could, she felt that the teen needed to apeak to his fellow classmates about facing battles, beating darkness and other situations throughout his life. So, he had agreed. "Yeah, I do. And quite frankly, you guys know how I feel about speeches. I am not too big on them. I just hope I don't screw up too badly. It wasn't easy to write down what I was gonna say."

"Well, I'm sure it's good. I don't want to ruin the surprise and have you recite it for us now," Kira said as she patted his leg sending him some encouragement. "I'll wait until tomorrow."

Trent had looked away blushing again. It was not easy for him to come up with the right things to say, and since the events of what had happened the week before, he had changed much of the content. He even thought about admitting he was, in fact, the White Dino Ranger to his classmates, staff, family and friends tomorrow, but felt it wouldn't be a good thing, so he dropped that idea.

Ethan had scratched his head as he showed evidence that he was bothered by something else. His friends had looked over at him, wondering what was going on in his head. "I know that this is way off-topic, but is it just me, or does Coach look a little bit bigger than usual?"

"What do you mean?" Conner chuckled thinking that his friend in blue was thinking crazy.

Ethan had imitated the shape of their P.E. teacher as he created an imaginary dome over his stomach. And according to his gesture, it looked big enough to say that something was up. "Dude, I am serious. She looks like a balloon. Not that I'm trying to be mean. But she looks like she is gonna explode."

"Well..." Conner looked over at the teen in yellow. He had known, like any of them that Kira was the person to go to about the dirt on the condition of the pregnant former pink ranger. "What do you think, Kira? Lay it on us. You seem to know these types of answers."

Though Kira had to admit, she had shared a rather close-knit sisterly bond with the pregnant P.E. teacher, she had not talked much about the pregnancy with her. And from time to time, she would like to avoid pissing the teacher off more than she needed to. The downside to all of this was all of the raging hormones that ran through Coach's blood and knowing when to talk to her and how so she wouldn't blow up in your face. She could only shrug. She had no answers for them. "I don't know. I mean, I've noticed it myself actually, but I thought it was because she was small."

"But that big!" Ethan shook his head. "That's not normal. Either she is gonna have a really big baby, or we could be expecting twins."

"Twins!" the trio breathed as they raised their eyebrows with confusion. The trio exchanged a look before laughing.

"I'm serious. Have you seen her?" Ethan made the gesture of a huge dome over his stomach. "She is big."

The trio of rangers looked over at the blue dino ranger as he nodded his head. He was serious, and he wasn't gonna change his mind on it any time soon. They had exchanged another look before getting a little more serious themselves.

"Well, okay if they do have twins, do you think Dr. O knows about it?" Conner asked.

"I think he would have freaked out about it if he knew. So, I don't think he has any clue," Kira stated as she shook her head.

"Could you imagine if they did?" Trent breathed as he raised an eyebrow. "I mean, even Serena can be a hassle from time to time; but twins are a whole other thing."

"I think it would be cool, but do you remember Dr. O's initial reaction when he found out he had a kid? And if Coach knows about it, and hasn't told him yet, could you imagine how it's gonna be the day she goes into labor?" Ethan said.

The other teens shuddered. They all knew exactly how their science teacher could get sometimes. He was grumpy from time to time, not in any mood to talk to anyone, and other days he was laid back and cool. They almost swore he was bi-polar or something close to that nature, though they knew the type of stress he was going through. They were only surprised that he hadn't gone completely insane. And glad to have the original pink ranger to keep an eye on him. They didn't even want to really think about the day Kim falls into labor, but they could only hope that it would go as smoothly as possible, but they highly doubted it.

"So, tomorrow is the big day...any last confessions before we move onto a new chapter of our lives?" Ethan asked as he broke the silence of his friends.

"What is there to say? I mean, we have just been through a lot," Kira let out a breath.

"These last two years of our lives haven't been one of the easiest to face since we ever became juniors or seniors, let alone Power Rangers," Conner sighed as he dropped his head again. He seemed like he was going to shut himself out of the conversation again, but when he had looked up, his friends had not questioned his motives.

"We have gone through a lot of things," Trent had to agree as he let a breath escape his lips.

"I still cannot believe that we are apart of something as big as this legacy of super heroes, ya know," Ethan added as he began to reminisce over the last two years of his life. "Man, I can almost remember the very first day we got those dino gems."

"And we met Dr. O's wrath," Conner pointed out as he recalled the very day they had found the dino gems. "Remember, he didn't look very happy."

Ethan cringed as he sunk in his chair. He could never forget that. At first, he thought it was weird, yet cool that their new science teacher had taken him and two other students out to a museum for detention. Back then, he knew so little about Kira and Conner, and would never be caught in their presences, or at least they wouldn't in his. And now, two years down the road, they were literally inseparable. They were the best of friends. "Yeah, I swear he wanted to just kick our asses right there for intruding. I don't think I could ever forget that look in his eyes."

"Are you serious? I thought he was cool with it?" Trent asked. He was never fully answered about how his friends had gotten their powers, but knew that it had come from their science teacher. And some time later, Dr. O would join them as a member of the team, and then he would as soon as the evil spell was broken.

"Oh no. He was pissed off. We told him what happened with Kira when she got captured by the tyrannodrones and even showed him we had the gems in ours possession and he just freaked," Conner said.

"But he told us the deal with all those dino experiments he was working on, or at least most of them," Ethan shrugged.

Kira had to shudder at the thought of that day. She had not wanted anything more to do with Conner or Ethan after their little detention, nor the gem she held in her hands, so she had given it to Conner.

And she just walked off, only to be attacked by the tyrannodrones and taken away to the island fortress. Being the first to meet the very menace they would be going up against, she could never forget those memories. That though, she had not been harmed, she found herself safely out of the fortress and landing right on top of Dr. O's jeep. "Yeah, I don't want to go back to that day again."

Then a knock came to the door as Trent jumped over the couch to answer it. And as predicted, or as he had thought, their mentor had been standing there at the door. He had grasped his 'son' in a firm ranger handshake before stepping into the house and greeted his fellow teammates before moving across the room to the other side where he took a seat on an open lounge chair.

"Sorry, guys, I would have brought Kim along, but she was really tired," the science teacher said apologetically. "But shouldn't you guys be getting to bed? The big day is tomorrow."

The teens groaned as they shook their head. They knew he was going to ask that. Not only, from time to time, did he actually sound like father to them, they hated that he did.

"Dude, Dr. O, this is our last day to reminisce about all that has happened to us in the last two years," Conner said.

The science teacher raised an eyebrow as a serious look fell over his face. The teens fell silent, but relaxed when their mentor smiled and could only laugh. "So, is this what it is all about? Being up at a late hour to reflect on all that has happened to you?"

"Not just us, but with you, Dr. O," Kira added.

"And it's not that late," Ethan protested. "It's a little after 9:30pm."

"We were just talking about the first day we got our powers, and how you reacted when you found out we got them," Conner said as he watched their mentor cringe slightly.

"Yeah, don't remind me," Tommy shook his head as he looked at his former students. Yet, they would always be his students and he would be their mentor, he knew.

"Not that I'm trying to sound rude, Dr. O, but has it always been to your nature to be grumpy?" Ethan asked sorta cautiously hoping not to find his teacher lash out on him.

The black dino ranger could only shrug. "It depends mostly on the situation. I guess I should really think about what I say, but for a long time I have not had that many good days in my life. But I've gotten better about it."

"Yeah, because you finally got a girl in your life to keep you sane," Kira said. "Was this last day that bad on you guys?"

"If I would have, I would have left the school right along with the other students. Those meetings were driving me up the wall. They were all talking about the same things; how good the educationally system is, testings scores for the SATs, ACTs, and standardized state tests, safety precautions, and other pointless things. They even actually made the suggestion I open up a Martial Arts club, or even a school, during the summer for people to learn self-defense."

"Are you gonna do it, Dr. O? I mean, you said you wanted to actually open up a school of your own," Conner seemed rather anxious about it.

"You make that sound like you want to help me out with that?" Tommy raised an eyebrow as he looked at his fellow teammates.

The teens had exchanged a look. Over the course of the week, they got a real chance to look at their lives and what they wanted to do for the rest of the summer and upcoming school year. Though it was still in the process of being confirmed completely, they had all seemed to agree they would be taken at least a semester off before actually heading off to college.

"Well, after all that has happened, taking a break sounds like a really good call for us," Conner spoke for his friends as their mentor appeared more interesting in learning more about their decision as a whole. "We haven't forgotten about college, we just feel that we need to take this break."

"I mean, you're not gonna lecture us about saying that's not a good thing, are you?" Ethan asked as he leaned back on the chair, but made it look like he was getting ready to bounce on up out of there before he knew what was coming his way.

The science teacher looked down for a moment then shrugged absently. "Well, that is up to you guys. I can't choose your path for you. Personally, I would suggest it. I was actually burnt out by the time December came along. I was packed busy my freshmen year of college."

"Yeah, but weren't you also doing all that basic training stuff in the army, too?" Trent asked.

Tommy shook his head. "If you're gonna go the military way, do the military first before you go to school, unless you're doing Air Force. They are probably the most flexible when it comes to studies. But I was doing literally overtime on my studies and training. It was rough, but I got by. I'm still here."

Ethan shook his head as he looked at his mentor. "You know, to tell you honestly, Dr. O. I don't think I could ever look at you as an army guy."

"Not a lot of people did. But like I said, I made that choice, and this is what it got me. I mean, in life you'll face a lot of difficult decisions. I had to decide between racing, an education, serving the country as a soldier, among other things. It was a rough time, but I don't think I would ever really trade it all back for something else."

A silence fell over the dino rangers as their thoughts began to mix with sadness. The black dino ranger sat there and watched as his teammates looked over their past year, their memories, their flaws and triumphs and the feelings of graduation. They were starting to freak out about it again. And not only that, the very day of the tragic school shooting.

And it also rung in Tommy's ears. He felt his heart race as the backfire of a gun going off several times rang in his head. The impact of a bullet striking his side. He felt his hand come to the side of his chest as he winced under the band-aid that was still wrapped around his waist. It had been one week, this day, since the events and he had to admit, he had not slept much these past few nights because of it. He almost felt like he was being watched, so, he had been up, meditating, protecting his family from harm. But nothing came, he just felt it though. "How are you guys holding out today? Doing better?" the science teacher finally spoke, asking the same question he had asked them over the course of the week.

The teens had not answered right away with words, but could only nod in turn. The black dino ranger had not wanted to rush them knowing how sensitive the subject was for them. And not only them, but him as well. After he had joined his teammates that day, suited up in their ranger suits to demonstrate a graceful kata for all to see, it was clear that their status as rangers had changed in many different ways. Some of it was good, others were bad. But they knew that they had every right to do what they did.

"It's so hard, Dr. O," Ethan said quietly as he felt the dryness in his throat. The thoughts running wild in his head as he tried to push them away.

"I know it is, Ethan. They had confirmed that 27 were reported dead and 14 injured, or at least that is the report that Elsa had given us," the teacher spoke quietly as their eyes rocketed with tears and shock over the news. But they were eager to hear more of the report. "Two teachers, a custodian, all twelve assailants; five of them were seniors and two were juniors, the rest of them were relatives to one of the students, but didn't go to the school and twelve students; six of them were seniors, four were juniors, one sophomore and one freshman dead. All of the assailants are dead, so we will never know exactly what their motives were or why they decided to it, everyone taking it to their grave. But it will forever shake and rattle the halls of Reefside High."

"Do you know the names of those dead?" Conner had to ask as he felt a lump return to his throat. He had not been doing good about the entire thing. Every time he would hear about the shooting at Reefside High on the radio or see it in the news, he would turn away. He wanted to just punch a wall, and a few times he had. Luckily, he had not busted his hand because of it.

"They won't release them to the public until they are sure all of them are identified. I do know that Ms. Obie, and Mr. Reeves, from P.E., and Mr. Roberts of the custodial staff are also among the dead. But you know I am eternally sorry about Krista, Conner. We all are," the science teacher nodded.

The red dino ranger looked away as a lone tear escaped his eye. But he could not seem to keep them from falling as he kept playing out that tragic day in his head like a broken record. Of him walking out of the school, in his ranger form, with his girlfriend, motionless, in his arms. And she had quickly been put to rest the following day, with not so many questions asked. He had been there with other friends and family who mourned and paid their respects. And it was not easy to see that casket slowly being lowered into that darken hole as he grabbed a clump of dirt and dropped it onto the casket. One by one, family and friends joined him and watched in tears as the hole was covered. And as the images faded, he found himself rushing over into the comforting and protective arms of his mentor as the tears fell like waterfalls down his face.

Despite the pain that Tommy was still in from his own injury, even with the painkillers, he had been a shoulder to cry on by many students. Not just the seniors, who had found themselves in those halls over the past week, but the students he had in class or knew of his courageous work. The rest of the teammates had fallen into line as they shared one huge group hug, set with tears, sadness and other mixed emotions.

Tommy Oliver had been considered a hero, commended for his bravery and courage. He didn't want any special award for his deeds, nor recognition, but word had gotten out fast. He was almost like an overnight celebrity since he was responsible for stopping a majority of the gunmen and calling up the police about the shooting. So, in a private meeting at his house on Wednesday, the chief of the police presented him with a Medal of Honor for his heroic deeds.

After several good long minutes passed, and the team had finally calmed down a little, they returned to their seats, clearing away the thoughts of the past week. Tears cleared and returning to a cool, collected state, the team had gotten back to conversing.

"So, they say you're the big hero in all of this, Dr. O. Do you agree or disagree?" Trent had to ask as he watched his mentor blush slightly.

"I was only doing what I thought was right. Disarm the assailants as quickly as possible. I had no intention in wanting to kill any of them, I just wanted to protect those around me. Now, I don't like that everyone is calling me some big hero, getting a Medal of Honor and everything, but if that's how the city sees me, than I guess they'll see me that way."

"Well, it's not like they can commend you, or any of us, for our deeds as the Power Rangers," Ethan had to state. Though, his status as a Ranger had been big not only in the city, but around the world, he had not gotten any real recognition for it. But it was just about doing his job – their job – as heroes; about being able to help mankind.

"Guess not. The shiny medals do not mean anything to a ranger, but the benefits you get for helping out others," Tommy replied, though he knew they all knew that. He just had to re-iterate on it and make it clear to them.

"But now, more people seem to support your idea about the whole Karate Club/Martial Arts school thing, right? I heard you've been getting some fundings both from the citizens of Reefside and the school for that. But doesn't that mean that you would also have to hand over teaching at the high school because you'll be busy with this?" Kira asked.

The black dino ranger could only shrug, but then nodded. "That what I've been told. People are willing to help open up a Martial Arts school here in town. I mean, there are like one or two around, and I am not trying to run them out of business, but if people want to be taught by me, I guess I'll make the time for it."

"And we can help," Ethan added with a smile. "I mean, we said we were probably gonna take the semester off, if not year. So, it'll give us a right to do something productive. I mean, you can classify us as black belts, right, Dr. O?"

Tommy shook his head as he chuckled. "Just because you have the belt doesn't mean that it says anything about how good you really are as a martial artist. It takes time to understand the discipline around it..."

"But we've practically been training under you for the last two years, and we've come a long way," Conner added.

"Come a long way fast, and that also included the help you had from your dino gems," Tommy corrected as he nodded his head. "Now, unlike Trent here, who was already a black belt before all of this ever began, none of you had any real previous training until I came along."

"Well, what about Shane and them over at the Ninja Academy? Didn't they become teachers only after like a year and a half or whatever into their training?" Ethan countered.

"You guys really want this, don't you?" the skilled martial artist raised an eyebrow as his teammates nodded in turn. He sighed as he gave up with them. "I'll think about, which could very well be yes. I'll have you guys teach them during the day, and I'll take the night classes. And I will also grant you guys as black belts."

"Ooh, so, what? Are we like 3rd or 4th degree black belts?" Ethan hoped to get more out of his mentor.

"Don't push it, Ethan. I'll decide on that later when I take a look at the status you guys can present to me."

"Meaning we have to fight against you?" Conner seemed slightly worried.

"On a one-on-one basis, too," Tommy added with a nod. "None of this team work stuff. And since you guys think you got what it takes to go against me, I am willing to test your skill level."

"Yeah, and shouldn't you be practicing yourself, Dr. O? I thought Coach said you got a martial arts competition in a few weeks that will determine if you move up to a 6th degree black belt," Trent asked.

"I do. And I have been practicing, but being able to practice with different skill levels will help me. They usually do it under karate, kung fu, or tae kwon do, but it depends on which one I decide to register under will determine how much work I have to put into my training," the science teacher nodded.

"Stop bragging. But you'll get that belt easily, Dr. O. I mean, you're, by far, one of the best I have seen," Kira said.

The black dino ranger blushed as he shook his head. "Yeah, let's just hope it is. But before we get completely off topic...what about you guys? Ready for the big day tomorrow?"

They shook their heads as they began to protest about the entire thing, speaking over each other. Their mentor had to silence them with a whistle as they grew quiet waiting on one or the other to speak. But it seemed they were getting jittery over the whole thing.

"Actually, one question, Dr. O. Do you have any idea who our commencement speaker is? I thought it was you," Trent said.

The science teacher shook his head. "If I was supposed to, no one told me about it. But, no I don't have any clue. I just don't understand why they are making the staff members wear a gown. I mean, I know some high schools do that, but personally, I always felt it was more appropriate for a college graduation. But maybe that's just me."

"I didn't realize they were making the staff where a gown to the ceremony," Ethan said as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Well, they thought it would look more professional and formal if we did, so yeah. I liked that you guys managed to do it outside. I mean, personally, not that many people get to have it outside in high school. Oh, and before I forget, Operation: Salt the Field was a success. Most of the staff actually wants if covered, but the custodians refuse because it will take too much work to try and cover it. They've been doing it for the last week now; setting up for the graduation. And it took them awhile to realize what was on the field and what it said. But it does say 'Class of 2005 was here,' just like we planned it."

"Is it nice? I mean, the ceremony itself, not the salt idea," Kira asked.

"Yeah, I think it is. There is a balloon arch where you guys will be going through as your names will be called, and a good floral arrangement through the stadium. And they'll also be releasing balloons and the Thunderbirds will hit the skies once you guys are dismissed. So, I think it'll turn out well."

"So, where is the staff stationed?" Conner asked.

"Why are you asking me all of this? Can't you wait until tomorrow?"

"We're anxious, Dr. O. C'mon, it's us," Trent could only shrug.

"At the front on both sides of the stage. I thought you guys went to rehearsal yesterday?" he said.

During every graduation day, a rehearsal had to be done. They had come, seen their classmates, who many they had not seen for a week, and ran through the process of the ceremony. It was long and tedious since they had to go through the names of each person, but it had gone smoothly then. They could only hope that it would go smoothly tomorrow.

But unlike last year, and for a few years now, the graduation class at Reefside High was stuck celebrating it inside the gym. Not that it wasn't big enough to invite close friends, having it outside just seemed more appropriate. And they fought the system long and hard to have them do their ceremony outside. And they won. They didn't know how, but they did. It was gonna be at the football stadium which seemed a hold a lot more people than their gym could.

"We did. But I was half awake when they were doing it," Ethan had to admit as he yawned.

"Well, it seems it's time to wrap things up. You guys need to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow," the science teacher got to his feet.

Telling them good-night, he had let himself out and left the teens alone. Not that the entire week had been around crashing at Trent's place, this was one night the others had to get home and sleep in their own beds. Their families would want to get as many pictures of their teenager in their cap and gown.

And this was the long run. Less than a day before the ceremony, and though they were excited, they were also worried and confused. But they had waited far too long for this moment. It was their time to shine. Their time to grow. Their time to be recognized. The graduating class of 2005 at Reefside High School was about to step out into a whole new world.

_**To be continued...**_

_A/N: So, at times it was extremely sad. I bet I got some of you crying. At times it was rather nice and bright, but no one said that after a event like a school shooting would be easy to overcome. So, what do you think? Ready to see how their graduation is gonna turn out? Well, I hope you like it. I know that was supposed to be done a long ways ago, but I've been busy...had writer's block...etc. You know how it is from time to time. See you later. And may the powers always protect you._


	49. Dismissed

**_A/N2: I want to apologize greatly for the long wait. I have been fairly busy with school, so it hasn't been easy making the time to post or get working with this story. But I hope you like what I managed to pull. Only one chapter remains and well...it is the end. Or is it? Only one way to find out. Read on. And hope you enjoy. See you when I do. And may the powers always protect you._**

**'Til I Collapse**** - Part Forty-Nine: Dismissed  
**Sequel to: _Ordinary World _

_Summary: It is Graduation Day for the class of 2005. _

_Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine. None of the names mentioned are intentionally of anyone I know, but merely for fiction contents aside from Krista, who had been apart of the DT series. If they are, it was merely coincidental. My respect goes out to anyone who has ever lost anyone in the wake of a horrible tragedy; natural or unnatural. _

_A/N: Class of 2005, you are dismissed! I had to do it. I just had to put in that memorable moment for our heroes. It was much needed. And is semi-linked to my own graduation. So, enjoy. I mean, I know I'm like way behind with this whole update thing, but I've been busy. You understand, right? Well, you'd better. 'Cuz writing something like this is much harder than sitting there and reading it. But yeah, only one chapter remains. Enjoy! _

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_"You are dismissed! We did it. We finally did it. We get to throw our caps high and hold our diplomas tight. We are no longer high school students, but men and women set to take on the real world. And we have been through a lot, but we still pulled through and we are set to do anything. Our future is our own and we get to make it what we want. "-Eclyptyk Neo  
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May 28th, 2005, early morning, 5:00am.

Barely seeing the sun peaking out over the horizon, Trent Fernandez--his legal name, as it was finally settled only days ago--had gotten up early that day. Today was the day. It was the big day. He would be graduating among his friends and fellow peers only hours from now. Though, still holding a heavy heart for those who would not be joining them on their momentous day, he had knelt down in silence to pay his respects.

A total of eleven seniors would not get the chance to walk with their fellow classmates on this day; six of them had not deserved their fate at all. They were laid to rest, within the week; many had come to pay their respects to their fallen classmates. Krista Melissa Johnson, the environmental activist and Conner McKnight's girlfriend, was going to attend classes at the University of San Francisco and major in Geography and Environmental Studies. Robert Glenn Montana, a star football player, was going to go play for the University of Miami. Ashley Jo Medina and Jared Scott Wright had both agreed to join the Army and would begin basic training during the summer in Fort Walton, TX. Dennis Joel Platte had actually landed an acting contract in Hollywood and would have began shooting for a new comedy movie alongside Adam Sandler in July. Shawn Allen Brown was merely a face who had no idea what would come of his future, except to ride it out every single day having fun.

The other five were teens who had been holding a gun in their hands as a threat to take down anyone in their path. Three of them were the ones that Dr. Oliver had taken down by his own wits and courage. Raymond John Williams was known as a street-wise-cracking teen who had been brought up on the streets of Compton until his parents sent him to Reefside to stay with his aunt. Jacob Thompson could express his feelings through his artwork, but rather reserved around others. Kyle Daniel Robertson was always a mystery to everyone, a quiet character who didn't have many friends. Juan Alberto Lopez, cousin to Carl Lopez, had always been a troublemaker the day he stepped into Reefside High, Christian Antonio Salazar was Juan's best friend who always found a way to cause ruckus to the school even on a normal day.

Trent had wished he could ask the assailants why they had decided to do that, and even why they decided to take their lives just so they wouldn't get convicted or so no one could question them about their motives. He had hated that he may never know why that had gone down, but made him look at life in so many new and different ways.

After several minutes had passed, he rose to his feet and disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Dressed in a set of nice black dress pants, an off-set white long-sleeved dress shirt and a black and gray designed tie, he left the house closer to 6:00am, heading over to the Reefside Hospital. There was one person he needed to see before he would head over to the school for roll call at 7:30am.

He had walked through the quiet halls of the hospital up to his father's room. A silence came with him, as he carried his navy blue cap and gown in hand, as he continued on. He had to admit, he had not gotten used to the walk down those halls, even if it has been going on for more than two weeks now. He just never liked walking down the halls, hearing and seeing the same thing.

There was no progress. There was no reality to say it, but somehow, Trent knew his father was dying. That he had fought for so long, and he just couldn't hold on anymore. But no one could have the heart to tell him that, not even Adam. Trent had never seen the Korean man more stressed out than in the past two weeks he had been fighting to keep Anton alive. And Trent had to thank his friend for all his effort. He was glad to have someone he could truly trust with his father's life.

He had quietly walked into the room, lit dimly by the sun's rays as they peeked in through the curtains. Pulling them free, Trent had let some light into the room before setting the cap and gown on a chair and walking over to the bed where his father laid.

Looking over at the machine that read Anton's vitals, he watched the slow, steady heart beat, the patterns of brain waves and other key vital signs. But Anton Mercer had not shown any signs of progress since he was admitted into the hospital weeks ago. He was in a deep state of a coma, and he wasn't coming out of it. Trent kept telling himself that would get better, but it wasn't happening. There was just no way to say this; but as far as he could tell, Anton Mercer was already dead despite what the vitals were showing on him.

That's what crushed Trent's spirit even more. In the time he had hoped to see his father recover from that final battle, he had not. He had gone to see his second legal guardian, Dr. Oliver, told him about the progress of his father, and like always found encouraging words from the science teacher. But on his last visit, it was clear that both of them had gotten more worried with the status of the businessman / scientist. He may not make it.

He wasn't showing any signs of improvement, and Adam had been doing more than he would have liked to revive the man. His ninja practices, not exactly certified under medical law, were all that came between him and saving the man by a form of sorcery, per se. He had worked a little with it over the course of the past two weeks, but Anton still had not responded.

Trent leaned against the bar on one of the sides of the bed, letting out a breath as he looked at the coma-stricken Anton. He tried to push the mixed emotions and tears away, but they didn't stop from falling. "Hey, dad. How are you doing? I'm all right." He choked back the tears as he looked away to catch his breath. "Today's the big day. I'm finally graduating from high school. So, you now have every right to kick me out of the house and make me fend off for my own. But I was really hoping you would have recovered by now. You should be awake. You should be up and about. You should be just fine by now. You should be there to see me and my friends graduate, but you're stuck here in this damn hospital bed. I would gladly trade places with you right now, dad. I would. You don't deserve this. You've already been through enough torment. We shouldn't add to it. I mean, I know that you're proud of me. And words for you, sometimes, they're hard to express. But I know what you're trying to say. That you do care about me and that you are proud of me, but you never could really say it completely. I just wish I could have been a little bit faster, or you wouldn't have to be in this bed right now. I know I told you about what happened to us nearly a week ago. And Dr. Oliver is recovering well, and so is Conner. But he is still scarred. We all are. I guess you're kinda lucky you didn't have to face that. I mean, it was scary. It really was. I don't think I ever really held a gun before in my entire life. A toy gun, or a blaster. But not a gun that was packing that sorta muscle." He shuddered as he sunk back into the chair set close to the bed.

For a moment, he caught his breath. He closed his eyes and tried to look into the future. Look to the celebration of graduating and watched as he and his friends would go up on stage, grab their diplomas, turn their tassels and cheer like they've never cheered before. He could see it play in his head, but no faces. It was like they were all blank. And it wasn't very clear. It was really fuzzy which didn't make any sense to him.

When he had opened his eyes, he didn't realize that he began to perspire just a little bit. He was getting nervous. He had to give a speech before his classmates, and as he had recited it last night in his head, over and over again but he continued to change it in his head right now. He knew he wouldn't be reading completely from the script, but it was enough to make him nervous. He was no true public-speaker. He was still trying to move away from the sorta reserved, shyness of his past, open up a little more, but it was taking a long time to break the habit.

He took a breath as he shook his head. He wasn't only sweating over the thoughts of giving a speech. Fear ran over him as he thought of the moment he ever touched that gun, firing it and have one pointed at him still lived like a nightmare in his head. And he just couldn't get it out of his head. He had to keep telling himself that nothing bad would happen on this day. They were told that there would be undercover cops all over the place, but just that thought alone made him more nervous.

"I'm freaking out, dad. I don't know why, but I can't seem to get those images out of my head. It is so hard. I mean, how could this happen? For people--our fellow students--to go out there with guns and go on a rampage to terrorize the school. What has happened to society? Has our youth really been brought up with more negativity or been influenced by the darkened media? There are just so many questions to ask, and I know you don't have all of the answers, but I wish that you were awake to actually hear what I'm telling you. I miss you, dad. I do. You don't need this. You don't deserve this. You've already been fighting longer than you need to. I'm so sorry."

Another silence fell over the teen as he hoped to get some reaction from his father. But there was nothing. Then he heard a beep from the monitor. His blood pressure had dropped down another point, which meant he was losing it. Forcing air into his lungs, Trent shook his head as he looked at the motionless figure.

"Hang in there, dad. You just gotta. I can't afford to lose you, too. No. Not now. Not now," he got to his feet as he leaned over to look at his father.

He could see the perspiration develop on his father's forehead. Had Anton heard his son this entire time, but had no means to contact him? Or was it just the shock of trying to break out of the coma? Was he finally coming to?

BEEP! BEEP!

His heart beat had dropped another two beats as Trent slowly took a step back. He watched the vitals go haywire, going slow then rising. And he watched as his father had gone into shock. Racing to the door, he pulled it open, calling for assistance. For help. The vitals had become a more rapid beat as he looked back over at his father. He was in shock.

"Somebody help! I need help in here. Anybody, please!" Trent yelled out.

Up the hall, Adam had peeked out of the receptionist's office before racing up the hall, pushing past all of the other nurses in the hall. He came to a halt at the threshold of the door and saw the man had gone into cardiac shock in less than five minutes.

Slamming the door shut behind him, he told Trent to secure the door and make sure it was locked. He raced over to the man as Anton rocked the bed. Adam placed a hand on Anton's neck as he took a breath, his eyes falling on the monitors and then back to the man. He had to work fast, or he knew he would lose him all together. And he didn't want that to happen.

Driving something into one of the I.V.'s, it had slowed down the beats a little bit, but not enough. Trying to knock him out by hitting a pressure point, it only set off a nerve in Anton's arm as he swung sending the doctor to the ground.

Trent was too freaked to figure out what to do. He had no idea how to react, praying mostly for the survival of his father, but it was clear that something was wrong. And he didn't know what.

Adam breathed as he got to his feet, tapping on Anton's face as he saw the eyes of the man on the bed open. "Anton! Anton, listen to me! Snap out of this! Relax."

But the man had not reacted as the medical doctor hit another pressure point. It made Anton's arm tense again as he swung it, hitting Adam again. Adam had planted his feet to embrace the impact as he tried to pin the arm to the bed, letting his other hand lay on his head, and concentrating, he tried to enter the mind of the other man.

Still wrestling with the man in shock, Adam had a hard time concentrating. Trent had pushed himself against the wall in fear, tears had streaked down his face. He didn't know how to react. He couldn't see another person go. Not another. Not him. His knees shook as he tried to keep himself up, but he had to lean against the cabinet to keep himself up.

A few moments had passed and the struggle had stopped, but Adam had collapsed against the side of the bed and the vitals had returned to normal.

"Adam," Trent raced over as he pulled the medical doctor to his feet.

"Trent," the voice was not that of Adam, but of Anton Mercer as the teen almost dropped the guy he knew as the black ninja ranger.

"Dad?" Trent said with confusion.

The medical doctor had leaned against the railing of the bed, holding himself there. His eyes still shut, Trent had watched as the lips of the man on the bed had slowly moved, but the words seemed to be coming out of Adam's mouth. And he could only conclude it was the mental connection Adam had managed to create, but for how long was not a given.

"It's me, son. But I am afraid I cannot continue this battle anymore," the man replied as he shook his head.

"Dad, you can't say that. You gotta..." Trent protested as he shook his own head.

"I am sorry, Trent. I've done all I can. But this is one battle I will not be winning. I'm sorry, son. Tell everyone I will miss them greatly. I have fought for far too long, and my body just can't hold on anymore. I am proud of you son. No doubt about it. I've heard everything that you've told me over the course of these two weeks, and give my condolence to Conner as well. Tell Elsa I am sorry we never got to have a better relationship and..."

"Dad, no," Trent shook his head with more fear as tears continued to fall. He couldn't believe this.

After all the talk about hoping to see Anton recover, to finally have a chance to talk to him after all these weeks, he had given up. Trent just couldn't believe that his father would just pack his bags and call it quits. "Don't say that, please. We can still help you."

"You already have, Trent. You saved me from myself, my evil self in Mesogog. And I finally got control of him, used him to our advantage and we seized the day and won. Well, you did. The Power Rangers did. And I know you'll only become stronger from this tragic event that shook the halls of Reefside High..." he continued to say. Either he didn't hear his son at the moment, or he had to get this all out before the connection was lost.

"Dad, listen to yourself!" Trent had to raise his voice a little. "You're gonna give up on all of this? You're gonna take away your life when you still have a chance to beat this?"

"I can't," the man in the bed shook his head just as the medical doctor followed his action, almost like a puppet. "Mindshatter took more out of me than I would have known. As Mesogog, it felt like nothing, but now in human form, it is much harder to fight. I'm sorry, Trent. There is nothing more you or Adam, or anyone else can do for me. It is my time to go. I love you, son. Take care. And may the powers always protect you."

Trent froze in his tracks. Did he just hear it right? In the years that he had called Anton his father, he had finally spoken the three words that meant a whole lot more to him than the riches his father could provide to him. Anton had really loved him as his own.

Then he watched the medical doctor take back his own breath. The man on the bed fell limp, and the medical doctor stirred with a little echoing cry of the frog. And when Trent had looked away, it seemed like he had hit reality all over again.

And the vitals had gone off the wall again, and Trent watched as the medical doctor had returned to normal, trying to calm down Anton, but he could not.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Trent could feel his heart stop in his chest as Adam turned to look at him. It seems as if he was trying to tell the teen something, but at that point, Trent's mind was swirling and spinning. Nothing seemed to make sense to him.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Adam had pinned the man to the bed, hearing the pounding on the door outside. It was clear that more nurses and doctors had been alerted about the situation and were offering their expertise and help, but Adam had refused to open the door.

BEEP!... BEEP! ... BEEP!... BEEP! ...

"No. Not now. Please, not now!" Adam bit his tongue as he watched the vitals begin to slow down. "Anton, stay with me! You can't do this now! Not now!"

BEEP! ... BEEP! ... BBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

Flatline.

Adam had quickly rubbed his hands together and placed them on the man's chest. Thanks to his ninja skills, he could create a set of his own electrical currents with the energy around him. Using his own palms to set up the power, he drove the energy into the man, hoping to bring him back to life.

... BBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPP!...

"Damn it! C'mon, Anton. Don't do this now! Hang in there," Adam cursed as he tried again.

... BBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPP! ...

From the corner of the room, Trent had watched as the moments that Adam was trying to revive his father from death, it seemed to turn into hours. The hours into days. Trent could no longer think at all. His mind a void of emptiness as he tried to make sense of all the things he had heard his father tell him only minutes ago.

"He knew he was going to die. Somehow, he knew," Trent shook his head as he spoke quietly to himself. He had recited the last set of words his father had told him before he fell back into shock. "'I'm sorry, Trent. There is nothing more you or Adam, or anyone else can do for me. It is my time to go. I love you, son. Take care. And may the powers always protect you.'"

But Anton had told him that he actually loved him. That he did mean more to the businessman than someone to parade around and push into taking over the family business--but he was like the son he had wished he could have had.

And now he was gone. The minutes had gone by so slow, but nothing could be done.

... BBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPP! ...

The body went limp, never to move again. Motionless on the bed. The medical doctor loomed over the man for a moment before shutting off the machines looking over at the shaken teen in the corner. He had quickly pulled up a clipboard recording the last set of status on it before tossing it onto the side table.

Anton Latham Mercer was pronounced dead on May 28th, 2005 at 7:07am at the age of 40.

He had slowly moved across the floor as he wrapped the teen into his own shaken embrace. "I'm so sorry, Trent."

But Trent could find no words to say to the medical doctor as his grip tightened around his friend in black. He knew that Adam did all he could do, yet he didn't think that Adam could recall those moments he had made the mental connection with Anton. But he had not wanted to question the medical doctor. He figured it was the last bonding he would make with his father, and it was only meant for the two of them alone.

After they had had a moment to grasp what had just happened, the embrace was broken. "Are you gonna be okay? I mean I know you got that speech to give, but..."

Trent had cleared his eyes as he let air into his lungs. It wouldn't be easy. It wasn't. Not on a day like this. "No. I'm gonna do it. I have every right to do it now. Thanks, Adam, for all you did."

"Not a problem, Trent. I'm sure your father is proud of you either way," Adam nodded slowly.

Trent had looked away, letting those last few words he heard from his father play in his mind over and over again. His father did care and loved him for more than just a trophy. And that was one thing he thought he would never get to know about his father, if he did look at his son in more than just another person. And he did. And that's what kept his head high, though he was struggling with the hurt on the inside. "I know he is."

"Well, you need to go and head over to the school. I'll take care of this," Adam said as he grabbed the teen's cap and gown and handed it over to Trent. "Keep your head high, Trent."

The teen nodded, thanking his friend before leaving the room. But despite the factor of keeping his head high, he was hurting. Hurting a lot. But for some reason, he was hiding it well, more physically. But he knew that he couldn't from his teammates. Not when he heard the faint cry of the drago mourning over the news as well as the faint spirit of the frog, too. Or maybe they wouldn't hear it at all and that was his own thoughts he would be dealing with.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

The Oliver homestead.

In the master bedroom, Tommy Oliver had looked himself over in the mirror almost blankly.

Something else seemed to be on his mind, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Or why he couldn't seem to think at that very moment in time. It seemed almost as if a part of him just was ripped away and no one could fill it back up. He had hoped it was nothing. Prayed that it was nothing. But many times, he couldn't doubt this gut feeling he had. Something was wrong, and it was clear that there was. He just didn't know what.

He had been dressed in some dark khaki slacks with a black long-sleeved dress shirt. A black tie had finished it off as he leaned against the dresser letting out a breath. When he stood back up, he watched as a gown--designed for those with a doctorate's degree--fell through his arms and around his shoulders, watching as his wife had slipped the graduation gown on him. The bell-shaped sleeves fit rather loose, yet snug, against his arm. The velvet material ran down the front of his gown and in three bars on each arm. Along the way was the hood that draped over his neck to indicate the status of his degree. A good four-feet--for any doctorate's degrees--the hood was colored with golden yellow--for science--and light blue--for education--to indicate what set of studies he got his degrees in. It was a real honor, yet he had to admit, he never really liked wearing a gown.

He blinked once, then twice and finally turned to face her. She was wearing a pair of loose-fit dress pants, with a light pink blouse. She had already been in her own graduation gown--a bachelor's degree designed gown, long-pointed sleeves with an untrimmed front that had to be closed--putting up anymore final touches. Her status on the hood, which was 3'1/2" feet long, was also golden yellow and light blue. And despite the size of it, it made her pregnancy that less noticeable, even if everyone knew she was expecting. He pulled her close to him, laying a kiss on her soft warm lips. The two of them melted into the arms of the other as they stood there in silence.

After a moment, Kim had pulled away to look up at her husband. Confusion fell over her face. "What was that for, Handsome?" she asked.

He could only shrug before pulling her into another kiss. This one carried more passion in it. After a moment, he had took a step back to look at her, a little smile passed his lips. "Love you, Beautiful." She could only smile before pulling him into a hug, but not before planting her own passionate kiss on his lips. "Love you, too." After another moment in each other's arms, she had slowly pulled away to look at herself over in the mirror. She raised her arms up to her shoulders letting out a sigh as she shook her head. It was clear that she wasn't liking the formal-wearing tradition of a Reefside High graduation. "Did you have to do this last year, Tommy?"

The man in black walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her neck and laying a kiss on her cheek. "Yeah, I did. I didn't like it then, I don't like it now. But it is tradition. I guess since we're on the other end of the spectrum--as the teachers--we get more respect by upholding a formal ocassion such as this."

"I feel like a judge," she whined before feeling another warm kiss land on her cheek from her husband.

"A very pregnant judge," Tommy added with a chuckle.

She grumbled, pulling away and slapped him on the shoulder. "Not funny. This is your baby, too."

He held up his hands in surrender and laughed. "Hey, I know. I just thought I could crack a joke or two before we had to get all serious and all."

She let out a sigh and turned to face him, helping him zip up his gown and fix the hood around his neck. "So, are you ready for that big speech, Dr. Oliver? And have you told the teens?"

Tommy mock smiled; chuckled, then shook his head. "Not funny--despite the status this gown shows--but that is not the point. And unfortunately, I haven't told the teens. But I'd like to keep it that way. The only ones who knows about me giving this speech is you, me and Elsa."

"Well, then, don't mess up."

Tommy mock-smiled before laughing again. "I'll try not to..."

But before he could finish his sentence his cell phone began to ring. And according to the ringer, he knew that it was Adam. For a moment, he froze as his heart began to sink with fear of terrible news. He reached into his pocket and flipped open his phone as he slowly moved away. "Hey, man, what's up?"

Adam had been hesitant on his side of the call. It was clear that the next set of words that would come out of his mouth would be hard to get out. "I'm sorry, Tommy. I did all I could, but..." He forced air back into his lungs as he cleared his throat trying to push back the tears. "Anton didn't make it."

Tommy just felt his knees buckle and lock as he collapsed onto the side of the bed. His heart sunk lower in his chest as he lowered his head, shielding his eyes and trying to clear away any tears that wanted to fall. "When did it happen?"

"Only a few minutes ago, man," Adam replied simply.

"And Trent? Have you told...?" Tommy began, but his friend finished it for him.

"He was right here in the room when it happened."

Tommy shuddered in fear as he tried to keep the tears back, the fear, and thoughts about how Trent was feeling about the entire thing. He knew that the teen was crushed, and may not be any mood to do his speech or talk to anyone for the entire day. He would have to find a way to comfort him, but knew that he couldn't break it to the rest of his teammates about the tragic event. He knew that Trent would be the one to tell them, but he had a right to know. He was after all Trent's official legal guardian until Anton recovered...but he did not. Now, he had custody of the teen despite the fact Trent was a legal adult at the age of 18. "So, how is he taking it?"

"To tell you honestly, man, I know he is hurting a lot, but he didn't show it to me. He's still gonna go on with the speech, but I suggest you give him some space for awhile. You know how he can be from time to time."

"Yeah, I do. Well, thanks, man. I'll talk to you later." After Tommy had said good-bye he had lowered his head trying to bury his head into his lap. He was shuddering with more fear as he let the tears break from his eyes.

His former colleague and friend was gone. The man he had looked up to for more reasons than not was gone. And he knew how legal terms would get for the teen in white, and that's what he didn't want him to deal with right now. But what could he say, or tell him-his son. Trent was now his own. He didn't know what to believe or think at that moment until he found an arm wrap around his back, the other around his waist as he laid his head on the waiting shoulder of his wife.

It was clear at that moment that no words could be spoken among the two of them, but Kim knew exactly what was said in that conversation. Kim laid several kisses on his head before pulling him as close as she could. She had to admit that the entire week was one with far too much stress than she had needed in her time as a woman. In her time as a pregnant woman.

Then the tragic events of the terrible day shook through her head again as tears began to well in her eyes. When she had been talking to Conner earlier on that Friday, things were cool. It was calm--a little nerve-wrecking--but it was not big difference. She had enjoyed the company of the red dino ranger from time to time at lunch when he would hang out in the gym. She always felt that she needed to help him cope the most with his position as leader of the team. But things were different that day. It was the final day she would look at him as a senior at Reefside High. He would be a graduate and become something more in his future. And when she had walked into the science hall and rounded the corner, her heart just stopped.

She didn't even know what to think at that moment. She could only remember seeing an assailant had a gun pointed right at her husband's chest, his finger wavered over the trigger. Her entire body locked with fear. She had seen danger in the eyes several times, but somehow, things were different now. This was more a reality than worrying about 30-story high monsters or if Mindshatter would set up some other evil plan.

The events played in her head like a broken record. And when she saw the very moment and heard the gun go off, she jumped. Gave out a squeal just as she felt Tommy's protective arms wrap around her. She blinked back into reality as she felt his grip tighten around her not wanting to let go. She didn't want to let go herself as she melted into his embrace. But as she had rather absently told him they needed to head out, he had loosened his grip around her.

Getting to their feet, letting special breathing exercise escape their lips, they had found their composure again. They would have to be strong. It was a day to celebrate a new chapter of their friends' lives. And they weren't about to ruin it with the pain of what happened in the last few weeks.

Kim turned to face the mirror one last time. She made final preparations and proceeded to follow Tommy out of the room. With Serena set in her own decked out style, in Ecko Red gear, the trio had moved onto the Reefside High Stadium.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Reefside High Stadium. 7:15am.

It was a bright and beautiful morning at the stadium. This stadium where many football and soccer games were played. There were rallies and petitions held there. It was the last place where all of the seniors were caught at, that Thursday before the tragedy event, to capture more memories and sign each others' yearbooks. It was where they had taken a huge class picture months ago; the senior class of 2005 sat in the stands to capture the very thing that linked them together. Nothing could make the day that less perfect or significant.

Ethan James had arrived early as he walked from the senior parking lot over to the gym to check in and moved out onto the football stadium where several other graduates stood. This was it. He did it. He had finally made it to the day where he would graduate high school. And he never felt so relieved. He never felt so glad in his life. But this was it. This was the last time he could really look at the school as being a student. He had come a long way, and he didn't have to deny that. He and his friends.

He moved passed the set up of chairs - 292 graduates, but only 281 would be sitting there alongside him. A balloon arch was set centerstage where the graduates would be moving up toward to retrieve their diplomas. There were floral-like archs on the side of the stage where they would be coming down from and move back to their seats.

Decked out in a nice set of black slacks and a button up blue dress shirt, he was already wearing the navy blue graduation gown, his cap in hand. The silver cord, to define him as one of the honor graduates in the class, laid over his neck--he ranked number 23. Greeting his friends and other seniors with a handshake or a hug, he tried to keep his tears back. This was it. They had done it. They were graduating from Reefside High School.

He continued on looking at the ground, seeing the evidence of dead grass below him. From this perspective it wasn't as clear, but he knew from the stands, it could be seen easily. Aside from several other pranks, this was one successful one. The dead grass on the ground had written out the 'Class of 2005 was here' for all to see.

"Ethan!" a voice called out to him as he looked up to see the yellow DT ranger race over to him.

Kira Ford's graduation gown was a sky blue color; a tradition for the graduating girls to wear. She already had her cap on her head, but it was clear she was frustrated with it, holding onto it as she ran. She wore a set of nice dress pants, with her knee-high boots and a nice yellow flannel shirt. As soon as she made it over to Ethan, she literally crushed him into a tight bear hug, which he knew she picked up from Aisha.

He winced under the air that escaped her lips, and it was either she was freaked about something, or just as happy to see this day as him. "Kira, I can't breathe. Mind giving me some air?"

She blushed as she let him go fixing the cap atop her head. She grumbled as she replaced the bobby pins to keep it in place. "Oh my god. Today is the day. We're finally graduating."

He nodded slowly. "I know. It's crazy. I mean, after all that we've been through, I am almost surprised that we made it this far."

"I'm just glad that we did, especially after last week," Kira had to admit as she felt a lump fill her throat. She knew, just like any of them, that this was one of the longest and hardest weeks to get through. Not only did she feel like, she herself, was no longer a worthy power ranger or hero, but she felt at a loss knowing how many people had been stricken by the horrid incident on these grounds nearly one week ago.

Ethan knew as much as her how much something like this was hurting their stamina as heroes. They felt worthless and helpless more now than they did when their powers were getting drained, they demorphed painfully, or their zords were captured. It was like a whole part of their heart was ripped out of them and stomped into the ground.

They just never thought they could find a way out of this, but somehow, they were still here. They were still breathing, and now, they were here to play off the other part of their lives. Being seniors in high school getting ready to graduate and set out into the real world. And if they had it right--or as their mentor had put it--they would have to decide about hanging up the morpher--no, not hand over the powers. Those powers will forever be theirs no matter where they may go-just no longer be a ranger. They were young men and a young woman set to look at another part of their lives. Their future as people who would make a difference in the world without being a superhero.

Ethan opened up his arms again, pulling his little sister close to him as he let their mixed emotions melt away. "What's past is past, Kira. We have to move on. Without a doubt, it will be long and hard to overcome, but we gotta for everyone else." He tried to tell that to himself--had heard it from his mentor numerous times--but he was struggling to get past all that has happened in a matter of two years.

Kira slowly pulled out of his comforting embrace as she cleared away the small line of tears that escaped her eyes. After she had gotten a chance to calm down, she looked up and smiled at her friend in the navy blue graduation gown. He smiled back at her just as someone had cleared his throat behind the two of them.

Conner McKnight stood before them. And though he was still wearing red underneath his graduation gown, it was hard to picture him in anything but that color. The duo was too used to seeing the red garbs on their leader that looking at him in any other color just didn't seem to fit the standards. He had been dressed in a nice set of black slacks with a long-sleeved red dress shirt. Either they hadn't noticed it, or he just got a haircut, but his hair was closely cropped, in a wet and messy mix on his head. It wasn't as out there as it was during the last two years of his high school career.

Kira had moved to be encased by the tall teen as he wrapped his arms around her, a smile passed his face as he felt their sibling bond grow. "Hey, Conner. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing a little better. I mean, this day was supposed to be happy, so we'd better make it as damn close to it as we can," the teen in red admitted before breaking the embrace and moving over to encase his best friend in a bear hug.

"Now, there's the Conner we're longing to hear from. Congratulations, man. You did it. You're graduating despite slacking off for nearly the entire year," Ethan had to crack a joke after the two broke the embrace. He patted his friend on the shoulder as a smile passed his face.

"Not just me, Slacker No. 2," Conner laughed as he wrapped an arm around Ethan. "We all did it. We made it to the end. We are practically set to head out into the real world."

"Let's just hope the real world is ready for us," Kira added as a smile passed her face.

"They won't be!" Ethan laughed. "'Cuz we are the Power Rangers."

Conner couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head, shoving Ethan to the side. Kira mock-punched Ethan in the face as he played out a stumble from her impact.

But the intercom sounded and it was time for the seniors to report back to the gym and set themselves up for roll call. Conner wrapped an arm around both of his friends and pulled them along with him as they headed for the gym.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

On one side of the bleachers housed half of the senior class of 2005, the other half sat on the other set of bleachers in the respective order they needed to be. The gold cord recipients-- the top 3 of the class would be leading the ceremony. Trent was among them, though just as glad to be there, something else seemed to linger in his mind. His friends could tell, but didn't want to question it. They figured he was just nervous about giving his speech as they watched his lips move as if recalling the speech over and over in his head. The silver cord recipients had followed closely behind them while the rest of the class was set up in alphabetical order from where the cord holders broke from the other students. Not that they were trying to show who was on the smart end of the perspective and who wasn't, that was just the tradition at Reefside High. After getting situated, and re-arranged as need be, the counselors of Reefside High continued to instruct the graduating class of 2005 on the procedure of the ceremony.

This was their time. This was their day. It was all about them. And though there were many happy faces over the fact it was over, there was--without a doubt--still sadness looming in the air.

The teaching staff of Reefside High had also been divided into two. They would be situated at the left and right of the stage looking out at their students. Talking among themselves, they watched the mixed feelings of the students. Smiles fell over many of their faces, but they--just like anyone else--were also shaken by what had happened only one week ago.

"Now, remember to smile big, Class of 2005. This is your day. This is your time to shine. Congratulations and we all wish you well," the head counselor spoke with a bright smile on her face.

Minutes had passed.

It was time to start the procession. Led by two top students from the junior class--all were suited in white graduation gowns, minus the caps--the first of the teachers had moved out of the gym and toward the stadium. And in a line, the rest of the teachers moved out followed by two other junior escorts and the gold cord recipients on each side moving toward the double doors that would take them out into the stadium.

Hearing the band play an introduction, The Gladiator Theme Song, cheering and screaming began to echo from the stadium stands. The band and choir was situated behind the graduates as the sound they played was carried through the loudspeakers.

But it had slowly faded away, and then the start of "Pomp and Circumstances" began as the teachers began to file in from both sides of the stage, making it around the outer edge of where the graduates down the middle and into their seats stationed at the sides of the stage. Standing tall, smiling and looking at the packed bleachers as they were filled with family, friends and several other guests. The administrators were already on the stage among the directors of the District 33 School Board of Education and distinguished guests from the elementary schools and juniors highs to join the ceremony.

And as soon as the two following junior escorts stepped onto the field on the outer edge of where the graduates would be sitting, more cheering and noise came from the stance. And in sync to each side of the stage, one by one, the graduates slowly walked out onto the field. They followed the outer edge rounded the back of the chair setup and walked down the center until they began to line up to their designated chairs, smiles and happiness filled each of them.

The stands rang with loud noise from horns, megaphones, screaming and any other noise the crowd managed to create. And slowly, all of the graduates had filed onto the field and into their designated seats. The song continued to play as the graduates turned to the stands, waving and smiling. Others could care less and just want to get their diploma and bounce, but it was just a day that none of them would forget.

After the song had ended and the ROTC had presented the colors and flags along with the Star Spangled Banner, the graduates had settled down into their chairs. The screaming subsiding for just a little bit but support and cheers allowed the high school principal Michelle "Elsa" Santos, to slowly make her way up to the mic, standing up. Due to the injury, however, she was in a wheelchair. She would be on crutches by the time the first month of her recovery was met, but she had shown a lot of stamina and strength through the last week of school that many people had respected about her. That though she had gotten shot, she was still holding on strong. She showed no signs of fear and had made it clear that despite her injuries, she still had a purpose to keep the school intact. But her address to the class would have to be short considering what she was told about resting and recovering.

"Thank you, and you all may be seated. Good morning. It is a great honor to welcome all of you here--students, staff, friends, family and distinguished guests--to the Reefside High School Stadium on this bright and beautiful day of May 28th, 2005 as we present to you the 10th graduating class to this school," she had announced as the cheering rocked the stands and several graduates. "My name is Michelle Santos and I am the principal here at Reefside High School. Today, we have, before us, 281 graduates who have met the requirements to obtain a high school diploma from School District 33. And I ask all of you here, to join me in a few moments of silence for all those who could not join us on this day. Their dreams will never be forgotten or the memories they have created for this high school and the future they could have had."

Heads lowered and silence fell over the stadium as everyone present had paid their respects to their fallen classmates and teachers.

After the silence, Principal Santos had continued on and spoke of how the traditions of Reefside High was highly acknowledged on a day like today, and that it would be disrespectful to scream out of turn when the names would be called. Each graduate deserved to hear their name as well as the parents and guests who had come to see them. After she had completed her introductions, she had handed the floor over to the Student Body President to present the welcoming remarks to the class.

As president of the student body, Kevin Mitchell Bergham was among other students from all four grades of the school, who ran the pep rallies and fun assemblies throughout the year. He was among one of the best soccer players at the school next to Conner, and always found a way to look at the bright side of things. He was also a whiz at playing poker; it was his passion without a doubt.

His speech had clearly spoke of how life would move in ways that people wouldn't understand if they didn't stop to look at it. He had spoke of the feelings that life was too short to be serious about, and it should always be about fun. He even pulled in the famous words from Ferris Bueller.

"...'Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once and awhile, you're gonna miss it. Well, see ya later,'" Kevin said with a bright smile as the graduates rocketed into a line of cheering.

After the bands had presented another piece to the graduates, an original piece to the school itself, the next speaker had took the stand. As their Senior Council President, Stella Lynn Cruz was one that had shaped many people's lives throughout high school. She was student council president all four years she stayed at that high school, and made sure to carry on her dreams and compassion for the future. And she would be addressing them with the Senior Class Address.

Her speech had consisted of life lessons learned. She had spoke that people would make mistakes, but that no one should dwell on the could haves, would haves, should haves of life but dream and live for what could be done in the present. Even throughout her speech, she had gotten more emotional when it came down to talking about how the people around her had shaped her life in so many ways. That friends she could have had and friends she will remember forever will never leave a place in her heart. Tears seem to shake up some of the students, especially those who were rather close to her. She had even dedicated a segment to the retired personnel of the staff and other educators in the district and spoke about the fallen comrades who had dreams too.

"...we have paved the way into the present. Now, it is our time to move on into the future. We must understand that we can build our own kingdoms and become more than we would have expected. Congratulations class of 2005 and thank you," Stella said as she cleared the tears from her eyes and took a step back.

It was a tradition at Reefside High to have the first recipient of his/her diploma go to the Senior Council President. Following suit would be the valedictorian and then the salutatorian. Then it would read off the Top 3-the gold cord holders--and then the Top 12-the silver cord holders. The rest of the students were read in alphabetical order to avoid revealing who was really at the top and who wasn't.

Then their senior class song, a song that was voted on by the seniors, played. It was Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)." And after the presentation of the honored staff and teachers the commencement ceremony had moved onto the valedictorian.

It was no real surprise to anyone after people looked at the numbers, but many would complain about how the system ran. But the results were in and the status stood. Erin was in fact the valedictorian, which made a close running mate of Megan to take her place as salutatorian. Trent had kept his spot right at number three in the class.

Erin Alicia Reid was a teen with a lot of activities under her shoulders. She was not only involved with numerous clubs and organizations, she was involved in sports, too. She was always one who focused on getting good grades, but didn't hesitate to have fun and hang out with friends. Her G.P.A. had stood at a 4.3 status.

Her speech had gone off to start making a dedication to the people who had changed her life: friends, family, staff and others present. With that said, tears had already begin to start in her eyes. She also left some remarks about her fallen classmates and left behind some inspiring quotes she had managed to get from them at one point or not. As she continued to address the class and the guests to the ceremony, she had looked at those who had inspired her as well as her fellow classmates.

She had continued to speak of how it was a place like this, out on the stadium--or in the gymnasium--is where a person would find a long line of Gladiators in one area. That the sounds they had been used to for four years would now be far behind them and they would move on and search out new challenges and success in life. She had said that they all had talents that the world had yet to discover and find out about.

"...now, take with you the memories of your past as you move onto a new future, class of 2005. Take with you these skills as we move on, my fellow classmates. Congratulations and let your future burn brightly in the dreams you have set before you. Thank you and God Bless You All," Eric said with a smile as she wiped away the tears that fell.

After a few moments to grasp her inspirational words, it was time for the Salutatorian to take the stage. As a close competitor to Erin, Megan Ann Smith had managed to get off with a G.P.A. of 4.291 on her transcript. She was an athlete herself, but her passion was more on challenging herself. She was always one to complain about how things never got done and would take action to try and fix it. Yet, there were plenty of people who felt she had cheated her way to the top--and she did--but this was no time to take her out. The evidence just wasn't there to prove her guilty though many people knew she had snuck to the top by cheating all the way up there.

She had began her speech like Stella and Erin with a shout-out to her friends, family and teachers who had changed her life. She had continued to go on speaking the truth that she was no real speech giver and that she had enjoyed the intense challenge of having her spot at the top of the class. She had spoke of how people would dwell about the past, but that it should not be done. That a person should carry with them the experiences they have and bring it with them into the future.

"...take with you what you have learned for these past four years of high school and bring it with you to a new part of your life. You will begin to understand that these experiences will do more for you than you'll ever know. If your mind can conceive it, and your heart can believe it, than you can achieve it. Congratulations class of 2005 and thank you," Megan smiled and took a step back.

A stadium full of more cheers and another song to present to the class, Reefside Excellence (The Alma Mater). Still lined with mixed emotions, the graduates sat rather uncomfortably and anxious to fly through the next set of speeches, get to their diplomas, turn their tassels and head out the door, but to many, they were locked in their own thoughts about the day.

Then the song ended, applause erupted and it was now the moment of truth. Trenton Jeffrey Fernandez--third in the class with a G.P.A. of 4.25--caught his breath as he heard his name get announced and he found his feet carry him up the stairs and onto the stage. For a long time, he had sat there like a motionless zombie. He had arrived right when the graduates were getting situated in the gym, and had no time to greet his friends. But it wasn't like he was ignoring them. When they were getting arranged on the bleachers, he had looked across the way, smiling and waving at his friends. Ethan was on his side of the divide behind him and to the right by three seats. Kira and Conner were situated on the other side of the divide.

But as he got onto the stage, and throughout the entire commencement celebration, he had sat there absently watching those who gave speeches come and go. He heard their words, but nothing more. It was like all the cheering and applause were muffled and a good distance away. He heard the music, but as he seemed to look to anyone, there was nothing. Their faces--all of a sudden--didn't seem familiar. Everyone before him looked like strangers.

He made his way around to the back of the podium and looked around. All eyes on him. From behind him, the administrators and distinguished guests sat with curiosity to hear what he had to say; his fellow classmates as well. He turned his head to the crowd of people in the stands, and though he had spotted the line of people he had grown close knit to--his ranger family--it didn't seem like it would be the same. His eyes darted to the staff members of Reefside High as their eyes fell on him pondering what was on his mind and what he would say.

Then his eyes had locked with the science teacher. His mentor and teammate on the field. Dr. Thomas A. Oliver was like the father he had wished his father, Anton Mercer, was more like. But that's what crushed him. He couldn't compare his science teacher--his second legal guardian--to his adoptive father. They were two totally different people; that's what made them unique and special in their own way. They carried their own words of wisdom in ways for him to grasp and understand. He watched as a simple nod urged him to go on, and Trent turned to look at his classmates again. And he was glad to have known the man as more than just his science teacher.

He had not realized in those past few seconds, he had lost all train of thought. As he pulled out his speech that was hidden on the shelf of the podium and looked it over, it looked like a foreign language. It didn't make any sense to him at all. He let out a breath, cleared his throat and adjusted the mic to his level.

He tapped it a few times hearing the feedback resonate off of it as he touched it. Taking in another breath, he looked up and watched as his classmates waited for him to speak. But again, as he looked at them, none of them seemed at all familiar to him. They looked like he had never seen any of them before. "Good morning! I want to thank you personally--friends, family, distinguished guests, the staff here at Reefside High and you--Class of 2005--for making a day like this possible. We did it. We made it to the end, my fellow classmates. We worked long and hard and our efforts will finally pay off as we all long to get our diploma set out before us." He hesitated for a moment and looked down at the words typed out on the page. None of that was nowhere near what was written on the page, nor did he expect the rest of his speech would follow suit. He shook his head as he pulled up the paper.

He looked out into the crowd, could see some familiar faces--or so they looked--but he wasn't so sure. He still felt like he was in a trance; he felt like he was outside of himself. "I was asked personally to address you guys as a guest senior speaker only a few weeks ago, and back then I had no idea what I would say. I spent countless hours writing up a speech and this is what you see before you on this sheet of paper. But to tell you honestly what I think of that speech right now..." he began to rip it apart. It was clear that it had surprised nearly everyone there as the remains of his speech dropped to the ground like confetti.

He leaned against the podium centering his attention fully on the students--his fellow graduates--before him. "This is it, you guys. We have waited far too long for this event; many of us have called in relatives and friends from all over to see us graduate. It is a momentous occasion. It is supposed to be happy. And many of you know exactly how I am when it comes to giving out speeches. I'm not good at it. I would never really be caught in the sight of a camera, but would prefer to be behind the scenes. That's who I am. But today and for many more days before you, I am a changed person. And you know why? You want to know why?

"It is from people like you. And I don't mean that in a bad way at all. Because no matter what, each of you brings a line of skills and differences that could shape the world in new ways. We are the future. We hold in our hands the control to choose how our future will be. How the future of this planet will be. And to me, that is what defines each and every one of you as a hero, whether you'd believe it or not. Heroes come in many different forms, and what I see before me is a class full of them. So, will we follow in the footsteps of our forefathers and destroy it, or actually make a difference? Some of you will go straight to college, some will work, others will become complete bums and even some of you will go into the military and serve our country. But for all of you, I hope you choose a path that you enjoy."

Trent had caught his breath for a moment, and he had not realized that his voice was cracking. Not because he was nervous, but he was nearly breaking out into tears. He tried to collect his composure as he let air into his lungs. He searched the crowd again, and saw his eyes lock with his girlfriend. For a moment, he could find comfort and calmness in those eyes. He searched and found Ethan and Conner as well; and soon the class before him began to reveal friends he could never forget. "For as long as I could remember, many of you have looked at me as a guy who had everything in the world. I was a rich guy, spoiled to nearly every aspect that many of you loathed about me. But did I ever act any different to you? I didn't want to be judged by the money I had under my wing. That's not how I want people to judge me. I wanted you to judge me for who I am as an individual. And that is how you should look at each other. Don't judge a person by the car they drive, the style they wear or just because they are Asian, Black, White, Mixed or any other perspective of the rainbow. Judge them by who they are as an individual.

"I saw that when I found a friendship in a new line of people. And to many of you, you may never understand how my best friends seem to be my total opposites. But that's where diversity and giving others a chance comes into play. Don't be afraid to explore new things. I was the new guy in town. I didn't share that many memories like many of you have had for nearly your entire life. Some of you have been friends forever, others just in this high school career or year alone. I've only been here in Reefside for two years, but I've created my own set of memories I will never forget. Others of you came right along with me, but take a look around you. Look at the person right next to you and what do you see? Another face--maybe not a friend--but only someone you know by name or not at all. Look at their face and remember it because this will not be the last time you will see them. Do you hear me? This will not be the last time, whether you think so or not."

Trent took another breath as he tried to keep his composure. It was clear that his shoulders had dropped and he was bothered by something. He looked up as his eyes fell on the three people he had called his friends for life, a family and love he could turn to to find comfort in. And that's what he needed right now. He looked over his shoulder to the two very people who had acted like his parents in the last few months, Dr. Oliver and his wife, Coach Hart-Oliver. Then he looked back at his classmates as he felt the tears run down his face. But no longer foreign to him, he knew many of them now. His voice croaked as he tried to force out the next set of words from his mouth.

"Cherish life, my fellow students. It is far too short to take seriously or live it sitting on your butts doing nothing. Tragedy hit this school only one week ago, and our fellow peers will never get a chance to follow their dreams just like we have before us. But they will never be forgotten. It is up to each of us to face the facts and know how to live without them. I will not lie, it won't be easy. It hasn't been easy, but no one expects it to be. That is life. This is life. So, dream. You gotta dream because without it you will never make it far in life. As long as you set up goals and have dreams, you will make it. You can achieve what you hoped to accomplish if you believe. And I believe in all of you; you can do so much with your life.

"If only you guys knew--right now--what I have gone through as an individual, and to some of you, you know exactly what I am talking about. I truly dedicate this speech to you people who have forever changed my life and gave me something more to live for. To the very people who gave me life, my real parents, Ron and Gina Fernandez, thank you for showing me a new way to live. To take me out of the struggle you had lived with and gave me a new home. You believed in me no matter what I decided to do. To my friends--there are too many to name--I look out at you--the class of 2005--and find a friend in each of you. You guys are the reason I can come up here and share such inspiring words for you. To the love of my life, Kira, I want you to know that you showed me a whole new world. A world I never knew existed until I met you. And you proved to me that anything is possible and that no matter what happens you will always have a special place in my heart. To you, Principal Santos, you kept me sane. You watched over me like a caring mother and friend and made sure that my family business would not crumble. To the educators: you are the reason we sit here before you. Without your knowledge, wisdom and caring natures, we wouldn't be sitting here before you getting ready to step out into the real world. To you, personally, Dr. Oliver and Coach Oliver, the two of you had been like my second parents while my father was out there trying to make a difference in the world and I thank you for everything. To the rest of you out there in the stance--whoever you are--I hope you continue to impact these young people's lives. Our lives in ways only you can carry with you."

Trent caught his breath as he looked down trying to catch his breath. He was hurting. He needed comfort. He needed to get this out of his system. But he was hurting, and he watched as sadness and tears fell over his fellow classmates. He was getting to them. And he had no real idea what was coming out of his mouth. It was just coming out. "To you...to you, Anton...my second father..."

At that moment, Kira's eyes never seemed to move from their spot as they locked on her boyfriend on the stage. She knew just as any of his friends that he never liked to give speeches. Not that the words he had left to say were rather inspiring, he was one to say it in writing rather than address it. But as she had watched him for the longest time give that speech--the way he had addressed it--was clear that something was bothering him. She could only look back at the moments when they were getting situated in the gym when she had seen him. He had come late--and as much as he seemed to carry a smile on his face--Kira knew that something was really bothering him.

Looking and searching in hopes to make contact with his eyes--for only a brief moment, he had found her gaze on him--it was all she needed that told her what he was trying to get out at that very moment. Looking away, she had to figure out how to grasp what had just happened. It wasn't true. There was no way. She could feel that gaping hole in her boyfriend's heart. The emptiness of thoughts in his head that didn't seem to register what he was saying. Whatever words came out of his mouth didn't seem to lock in the thoughts of the teen at the podium. He was lost and confused inside himself. And it only meant one thing to her. Anton Mercer, Trent's adoptive father, was dead. She wish she could go up there--on stage--and give him the support he needed at that moment.

He turned away and caught his breath. His eyes locked with that of the principal and at that moment, he had seen her heart crush underneath her. Her hand moved to her chest as she fought to find a breath, her eyes dropping to her lap as she shuddered with fear. Trent clenched his fists before turning back to face his peers. "To you, Anton... I thought you never cared. I thought you just never supported me. I thought I was merely only a trophy to you. But I wasn't. I was your son. I was your own pride and joy. You really did care for me. You really did love me like the son you longed to have. And to you, dad, I will make a difference. I will shine a light on this world and prove I can become something more, no matter what tragedy I go through. I've seen more tragedy than others will ever begin to know, but I can achieve it. And so can you, class of 2005. They say you'll never appreciate something until you lose it. Well, think about that long and hard. If you can learn to live without it, than you will make it. You will grow. You will bring with you more experiences and lessons than you could ever possibly imagine. Never stop dreaming. Never stop fighting for what you believe. Congratulations, class of 2005. This is not over, nor will it ever be. Go out there and make a difference where you can. Isang diwa. Isang mahal. One spirit and one love to you all."

Trent took a step back as he felt the uproar of cheers erupt from his fellow peers. Kira was the first to her feet, the evidence of tears on her face as she clapped and cheered him on. Then Ethan and Conner had followed only a few steps behind her, and slowly the entire class of 2005 rose to their feet to give him a standing ovation. Several people from the stands and teachers joined them.

He had pulled the principal into a tight hug, whispering the very words that his father had left for him to tell to her. "I'm so sorry, Elsa. He told me he wishes the two of you could have had a better relationship but..."

The principal shook her head as she laid a kiss on his cheek. "I know, Trent. I know. And I thank you for everything you have done. He is in a better place. Hold your head high for him. And congratulations."

Trent let out a breath and turned to look back at the loud applause that rocketed through the stadium. His shoulders relaxed and he was relieved that it was finally over. But he had to admit that he didn't have a real idea of what he had just said. But it seemed to hit home if he got a standing ovation. No one else who had given a speech before him had got one. And as he slowly moved down those stairs, people would grasp his hand or give him a hug as a comfort as he slowly made it back to his chair. He lowered his head to his hands and let out several breaths. He was glad to have all of that off of his chest, but he was still struggling with his pain. But he was feeling much better, and that's what he needed.

After the crowd had settled down and found their seats again, murmuring came over the occupants of the stadium. It was the moment of true. To hear that all around important and biggest inspirational speech from whoever had been chosen to give the Commencement Speech to the graduating class of 2005. In the program, there was no name underneath that category. It only read: 'Special Guest Speaker' and nothing more.

From her seat in the wheelchair, Principal Santos had moved over to in front of the podium to look at the students before her. "Thank you, Trent for that wonderful speech. Now, it is with great honor to present to you, class of 2005, your commencement speaker. He wasn't that easy to get."

As she rolled back to her place behind the podium, murmuring fell over the students. Who was their commencement speaker? And if they had one, where was he? She did say it was a guy, right? Looking around and confused, everyone was questioning if this was a joke or just something that was not timed right or...they had no idea.

Then they heard someone begin to hum as it roared into life on the loudspeakers. Looking around, murmuring, no one had any idea what was going on. They heard it grow as if someone was going to start singing.

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away," a voice sung so smoothly, that it made everyone fall into silence over it. Looking around again with more confusion, eyes fell to the center of where the class was divided watching as something seemed to fade in and out of it almost like a phantom or ghost. There was something there and it was making its way toward the stage. "Now, it looks as though they're here to stay..."

Some in shock, others murmured and protested they were dreaming, and others not having a real clue watched as this strange wind...or whatever it was... that entered the center the aisle had moved onto the stage. Someone was going into straight a capella, and to many girls it made them swoon with its voice.

"Oh, I believe in yesterday. Suddenly, I'm not the man I used to be, there's a shadow hanging over me. Oh yesterday came suddenly..."

Going through the entire song slowly to capture and captivate the audience in silence, no one could believe that someone would actually sing a song to them. Let alone, have it show some impact, especially after a moving speech like Trent's. And after the last set of words had escaped the soothing voice of this mysterious figure, standing before them at the foot of the stage before the podium was the Black Dino Thunder Ranger.

Trent raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at Ethan who was just as confused as him. The duo could only shrug. On the other side, Conner had to grip his chair to keep from moving as he tried to make sense of what was going on. He could see Kira squirm a little in her own chair as she tried to make sense of what just happened. Looking from the stage, searching through the crowd of classmates trying to find each other's eyes, the four teens didn't know what to believe.

Was it really their mentor in his ranger suit? And was he going to give them their commencement speech? And also possibly reveal who he might be? Would he do that? What was he planning to say that he hasn't said already?

The four teens, though not really communicating to one another began to search through the faces of their teachers in hopes to find their science teacher among them. And it was clear that he was not. Just like his wife, they were in the back of the line. The order in how they were situated had led more toward how long they were teachers at the school, and the duo were one of the few new teachers to the staff. But it was clear that their mentor was not there, but their P.E. teacher was there sitting among the other teachers. As their eyes centered on her, she could only wink back at them as a small smile escaped her lips.

After the shock had slowly decimated--but not by much--the black dino thunder ranger moved only slightly to show that he was still alive. That this was no image; he was the real deal. But he had not moved behind the podium. It was clear that he would address them up front from where he stood.

"Good morning, friends, family and distinguished guests here at Reefside High School. To the class of 2005, congratulations. You did it. You made it possible. You are graduating and will have more power to choose how you're life will be. Not that you've always had that option because you have. You control what you want and don't want in life. Always remember that. Many of you will try to change people around you, and it is possible. It is. I have seen it. But know that sometimes changing yourself will make all the difference in the real world.

"I stand before you, class of 2005, because I was personally asked by your principal to address you today with that inspirational commencement speech. And she said it was hard to get a hold of me, right? Actually, it wasn't. I was flattered to address you guys in such a manner. It is an honor because I've kept my eye on many of you for awhile. I was more hesitant about figuring out what I should and should not tell you. So what do I tell you guys? What should I tell you? I never got a chance to write any of this down, so bear with me. All of this is just coming from the brainpower I have locked in my head. And I must say, you guys have come a long way. Farther than many of you will ever begin to understand. I have watched you guys closely grow into intelligent and amazing young men and women over the last two years. You are our future, class of 2005. You will either destroy it or make something of it and change what you can.

"So, don't screw up, right? Well, I know that no one is perfect. Yes, even a superhero like myself is not perfect. I ain't no god. I ain't perfect. I even screwed up as a hero more times than I would have liked. I will repeat it to you; no one is perfect, Class of 2005. I won't lie to you there. We all have our bad days. We all have good days. And when I heard what happened to this school--a school with so much going for it--it crushed me. Well, not only me, but my teammates as well. They are here among you, Class of 2005, sitting before you are my fellow teammates. Do you think I'm lying to you? I'm not. They are sitting here within this assembly of students getting ready to face the real world just like any of you. And we had our fair share of shocking days. There is no way to deny that. We have seen a lot of things. I've seen more than I would have bargained for, but I'm still here. I'm dealing. I had to face a lot of things in my past and even now.

"A few years ago I was right here where you guys are sitting--well, not quite--but I graduated high school just like you. Yes, I live a normal life; or as normal as one could get with a status as huge as mine. I am your run-of-the-mill Clark Kent/Superman material right here. It's okay to laugh. I've heard them all. But that is not the point. I want to address that my status as a hero doesn't change who I am as an individual. I still gotta live up to paying for bills, working a job, provide for the family, and just live life as best as I can.

"Life is full of several twists and turns. There is no doubt about it as we have seen in this past week. That is where you can learn so much more than you could have expected from life. From times where you don't expect it at all. Challenge yourself, Class of 2005. No matter what it is, live up to the thrill and adventure of life. If you didn't, well, life would be way too boring and serious. I mean, I have to admit, these speeches I have heard today are definitely a set of amazing work that will shape how you are in the future.

"And you know what? I was there. I was there right along each of every one of you living up to the same fear and threats that day those gunmen came into the halls of Reefside High. So, I know where you're coming from. And I am not saying that any of those people who couldn't join us had a right to reach fate like they did because they didn't. And sometimes, we can't change what happens. We gotta be ready to embrace what is about to happen.

"And this is exactly what is happening to you guys right now. You are closing an old chapter in your lives and starting up a new one. It's all about the concept of alpha and omega--the beginning and the end--you can't have one without the other. That is how life is. You gotta expect it to change. You gotta expect that life won't always run to your liking, but as long as you keep your head high and believe that you can do anything, you will make it.

"I mean that. I'm not as shady as I may seem in real life. I've heard you guys. Seen you guys say that about a guy like me. I wouldn't blame you because I want you to know, wherever you go, you'll always find someone not to your liking. It could be a group of people, or it could be one person, but whatever the case may be, these people have some sort of talent just as any of you. We are all unique, despite what race, age, or gender may say about you. We carry with us the knowledge and beliefs that make us who we are. I'm not trying to drill all this philosophy down your throats, but I just want you to know that some people say the real world is easy. Others say it's not.

"Well, you won't know until to really live the experience yourself. Explore, Class of 2005. Don't be afraid to do that. And sometimes--maybe many times--you will fall or burn. But you just gotta get up and keep going until you can't anymore. We all fall. No one is perfect. We are all vulnerable. You guys think life is easy as a superhero? It's not. It really isn't. But that is not the point. What really matters is you guys and where you will go with your futures, and I know you guys will be able to pull it off. You'll make it. Never doubt yourself or it will only make things worse.

"Lemme tell you guys another thing. Like I told you before, I have watched you guys evolved over the last two years, and you have come a long way. Don't stop here. There is a whole other world for you guys to explore no matter what it may be. And many of you would be surprised to see what you will find. The memories you have created will never be forgotten by myself, the educators of this school and the lives of your friends, family and fellow peers. You have many more to create and remember. Each of you has a spirit that keeps you going through the years; guides you in ways you may never understand. And some of you may never find it or go your entire life searching for it. Don't worry about that. Just go out there and have some fun."

For a moment, the black dino ranger had fallen silent. When he had looked up, it seems his gaze had centered on a particular set of four teens. Conner had to shift in his chair as he looked away. He didn't know what to say. He was speechless and appalled at the ranger's speech. But he was used to the advice his mentor had given to him. But somehow, it had hit home in ways only he could feel. Kira had to hold her breath just to find a way not to cry. She had always loved to hear the aspiring words from her mentor, but she could have never thought he seemed all too natural about the entire thing. That this wasn't too much of a big deal for him. Trent--the very ranger that was more open to exposure than any of them--had felt the gaze from the ranger on the stage. He had not expected it at all, for his mentor, to be the one to give the speech--no he did, actually--just not in his ranger suit. But it was a set of words, he felt really hit him in ways that only he could grasp. Ethan had to admit he was shocked to even take the sight of seeing the ranger on the stage. Though playing around in shock over the fact a ranger was giving the huge speech, he had to admit that the words he heard were one of the greatest inspiration he would have heard from his mentor. But he was glad that he did.

"I request that the presence of Trenton Jeffery Fernandez, Kira Emma Ford, Ethan Kevin James and Conner James McKnight join me here on this stage." Murmuring came from many people--especially their fellow students--as they slowly made their way to the stage, blank stares on their faces as they met the black dino ranger on stage. "Class of 2005, understand that we as superheroes do not live a perfect life. We make mistakes and we wish we could have done more for you that day tragedy hit the school. We know all about the sufferings and failures we have faced. But no one is perfect; even superheroes aren't invulnerable. We are not invincible. We break down and cry from time to time. We fall to our knees almost wishing we could just die. We are, after all, only human like any of you. And that includes these four teenagers standing before you. Congratulations, Class of 2005. Keep your heads up and always soar high for what you want in life. May the Powers Always Protect Each and Every One of You."

For the moment the four teens stood on the stage, they were star struck with confusion and fear of what was about to happen next. They thought that this man--their teammate and mentor in more ways that not--was crazy to address them in such a way. Turning to look at the man in the black ranger suit, he had taken a step back and nodded his approval.

"Trust me, rangers, it is for the best," the black dino ranger whispered as if it only passed through their ears and their ears alone.

Conner looked at his friends before pulling his cuff up into place. Ethan followed, and then Kira and Trent only a few seconds later. Motioning again--the bracelet they had fashioned for two years of their high school career--had changed into the respective morpher of the recipient.

And giving out the morphing call significant to the dino rangers, the three original rangers called out. "Dino Thunder! Power Up!"

Trent had followed only a moment after they gestured their power-up. "White Ranger! Dino Power!"

And as the respective light of their color cleared away, the Red Tyranno, Blue Tricera, Yellow Ptera and White Drago Rangers stood where the four teens stood, joining their Black Brachio Ranger teammate on the stage.

Silence fell over the entire crowd of people sitting before them. It felt like they were being observed for huge experimentations, and it was clear that none of them wanted to deal with that. The worse feeling in the world would be to find out and admit who they were to the world, or even a line of people like this and have their cover blown.

But as the silence continued, none of the rangers could make sense of what was going on. Why was the crowd so quiet? Were they just too shocked to realize what had just happened? Or could they not believe that for the longest time, even clear speculations, had pinpointed the very source of the Power Rangers to these five standing there on the stage?

Then in a strange way, almost like robots, the crowd of students and those present rose to their feet, applauding and cheering loudly toward the five DinoThunder Rangers. In sheer shock, and the feel of this energy, it nearly took the rangers off-guard. They took small steps back looking around to see hands raise up, cheer and applaud, and strike a cord in all of them. They were being accepted--not rejected--as they were feeling over the course of the week.

Each exchanging a warm hug with the principal, shaking hands with the school board and administrators, they showed some love by waving to the audience. Despite the fact some of them swooned--now knowing who the rangers were--none of the graduates had moved from their spots to greet the rangers.

The team had displayed another graceful kata for the crowd, before taking a leap off the stage, as one, in front of the first row. As they came down, their suits demolished and the five rangers had ended up back in their civilian form. With the crowd slowly dying down with cheers and applause, more confusion and shock filled those present.

Seeing as they had found out who the other rangers were, none of them had a real idea of who was the black DT ranger until he had revealed his identity to the rest of the world. Standing among the four graduates was Dr. Thomas A. Oliver, science teacher at Reefside High.

Resettling and after the shocked had died down, the head counselor had moved to the stage. She had begun to speak about the class, of the numerous scholarships and acceptances to some of the most prestigious universities and academies located throughout the U.S.A, among other awards and recognitions. She had to even admit the new surprise in four teens and a certain science teacher.

"...so, I'd like to introduce to you, the School Board of District 33, to the graduation class of 2005. Each senior here has some great potential in their futures, and I am indeed, proud of all of you. Congratulations Class of 2005 and Good Luck in whatever you do."

More cheering and rocketing loudness filled the air as the school board members moved to either side of the stage. The very diplomas on the table was unveiled, the ribbons holding them in bundles, falling free. This was the moment many of them were looking for. To get their diplomas--one of the only schools in the area who got the actual diploma inside the holder unlike several other schools--turn their tassels and run free to the fact they were no longer high school students.

The assistant principals of the school, Mr. Gorman and Mr. Titus, would be reading the names of each graduate as they made their way to the stage. The first row slowly rose to their feet and moved to the center of the stage, moving up the small flight of stairs. As they heard their name called, each of them would be presenting a small token--a brand-new 2005 penny--to the principal of the school before turning to receive their diploma, shake a member of the school board's hand and preceed back to their seats.

In respect to the fallen seniors of the Class of 2005, their names were read first as a set of blue, sky blue and silver balloons were unleashed into the sky for them. Then slowly, the rest of the names were read as friends, family and others cheered and/or applauded each graduate on.

"...Trenton Jeffery Fernandez..."

"...Ethan Kevin James..."

"...Cassidy Angus Cornell..."

"...Devin Dwayne Delvalle..."

"...Kira Emma Ford..."

"...Conner James McKnight..."

And when the last of the names were called and all of the graduates had been situated, more cheering and applauses erupted from the stands and some of the seniors. Principal Santos slowly pulled herself to her feet and made her way over to the podium. Waiting and requesting for silence, she had announced the retirement of the colors as the ROTC took the flags from their posts and proceeded to leave the stadium with them.

After the group was well off the field, the stands erupted with more loud cheers, noisemakers and whistling as eyes averted back to the principal of Reefside High School.

"Class of 2005, you have now graduated as individuals, each of you receiving the very diploma from this school you came from, now it is time for you to graduate as a whole. I ask that each and everyone of you move your tassels from left to right," she had paused for the moment.

The crowd rocketed with more noise and cheers as the class of 2005 at Reefside High had turned the tassels on their caps to the respective side of the mortarboard.

"Congratulations. Class of 2005, you are dismissed!" Principal Santos nearly yelled over the cheering, addressing the class for one final time.

Then as if on cue of that being said, a set of Thunderbirds rocketed through the sky as a line of balloons were released into the air. And several graduates moved to throw their caps high into the air, some of them whipping out silly string as it flew through the air. Other began to hug each other or shake hands as it ended the ceremony.

Spreading out across the field, the graduates waited on their friends and family from the stands as they slowly moved their way to the field.

Embracing each other in warm hugs and smiling faces, the four teenagers known as the Dino Thunder Rangers had made their way to the side of the stage to catch their breath. They had done it. They were now graduates of Reefside High and now set for the real world.

"We did it," Ethan breathed as he let out a breath.

"I can't believe it," Conner managed to push open a smile. "We graduated."

Though, happy, it was clear that Trent was still upset with the loss of his father. For a long time, Kira had wrapped her arms around him and just held him close to her as his tears of joy and sadness drenched her shoulder.

"Neither can I," another voice had spoke from behind as the four teens turned to see the science teacher and P.E. teacher looming over them.

Squealing in happiness, Kim had collected the blue and red dino rangers into a tight hug congratulating them. And she had quickly moved to the young couple and embraced them in a hug. Conner and Ethan were caught up in their own bear hug by their science teacher before he knocked off their caps and began to ruffle their hairs, or what he could for Ethan.

"So, you guys are officially young men and women ready to set forth into the real world. Are you ready for this?" Dr. Oliver asked them before wrapping an arm around Ethan and Conner again.

"I don't know. Do you think the world is ready for us?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"With a genius mind like yourself, I think you'll do just fine." the teacher replied for turning to look over at the teen in red. "And you, Conner, I see you fulfilling that soccer dream you always wanted."

"Well, after things settle down, of course," Conner corrected.

Kim had moved away as she cleared away her tears. They were of happiness, but also for sadness, especially for the teen in white. She had not gotten a chance to talk to Trent on a personal basis that entire morning, and this was the only real time she had spent with him in the last few days. She pulled Trent into another warm embrace laying a kiss on his cheek.

"You know we'll always be here for you, Trent," she whispered into his ear as his grip seemed to tighten a little around her.

"I know, Coach." Trent whispered as he let the tears fall. "Thanks for everything. I mean that."

Breaking the hug again, Trent wrapped an arm around Kira laying a head on her shoulder. Switching places, the science teacher had wrapped his huge protective arms over the white and yellow dino rangers as they pulled him into a hug.

"Congrats, you guys," Dr. Oliver replied. "Now, you guys won't be stopping by the house so damn much and you can focus on being as normal as can be."

After they had broken the embrace, clearing away tears, and trying to keep from crying some more, Kira had looked up at her science teacher with curiosity. The man looked down at her and knew exactly what was on her mind.

"So, you were willing to risk it all by revealing ourselves to the entire world?" Kira asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It was for the best. Not that you guys have already gotten respect from others, but I wanted people to see and realize that we aren't perfect as human beings and as superheroes," he replied with a nod.

After a few minutes, the families of the teens--excluding Trent--had moved to take pictures and congratulate them with warm hugs, kisses and presents. Parents of the teens had even congratulated the two teachers and thanked them for all they had done for the teens.

"I knew it! There was just something about you," Brian, Kira's kid brother, blurted out as he pointed at the science teacher. "I don't know what, but just having my big sis always hanging out with you and all these crazy monster attacks and..."

Kira covered his mouth and pushed him aside. "Cute kid, when he isn't so annoying, Dr. O."

Dr. Oliver shrugged as he grasped the firm hand of Kira's father nodding toward him. "Your daughter has come a long way, Mr. Ford. You must be really proud of her."

"I am. I just never realized she also had something like this under her wing. And she never told me," he turned to look at her as Kira seemed to bury herself behind Trent.

The science teacher shook his head, as he realized there were a whole lot more questions coming from the parents of the three teens. "I can explain it all to you later. And trust me, the reason for why they had not said anything about their hero status was because of me. And it was because of me, who had decided it was time to tell the world who were are. I mean, some people may never knew the identity of the other rangers, and others do and/or will. It is all about respect and following a code of honor." The science teacher began to explain his findings and logic as well as admitting to the parents of the teens the other relation he had with his wife and how they were connected in the past as a couple and as teammates on the battlefield.

Meanwhile Eric, Conner's twin brother, had looked his brother over and his friends before shaking his head. "Dude, I never would have thought you'd be saving the world. I mean, I could understand Sensei Shane and them but you..."

"You never finished your training at the Ninja Academy," Conner countered as he wrapped an arm around his brother and began to mess up his hair.

"At least I went," Eric said as he tried to pull out of his brother's lock, but got nowhere.

"Only for disciplinary reasons, and that didn't work, so you were sent to Military School. You know if dad didn't send you you would have to deal with him on a much more personal basis."

Eric managed to pull himself out of his brother's lock but ran into the watchful and curious eyes of Ethan's older brother and sister. It was clear the siblings of the teens had many more questions for the graduates. But that would be for another time.

The rest of the ranger family, for those present, had greeted and congratulated their successors on their accomplishments and wished them well for the future.

Exchanging more hugs and congrats with other fellow graduates, the teens were locked in more pictures, and even a few autographs from the siblings of their fellow graduates. But a day that was left with happiness and fun was also left with great joy and more memories.

May 28th, 2005, the seniors of Reefside High School had graduated, but would carry with them the memories, wisdom, knowledge and skills that would carry them into a new chapter of their lives. They were on their own. They would be heading out into college or the work force. Some would head out into the military and others would just enjoy living life whatever they saw and set for their lives. But none of them would forget what happened on this day. None of them could find a way out of ever forgotting how much this day, these years, these months had shaped them in many ways.

This was the end, but it was also the beginning. And this class was full of many people that could change the world, not just the four dino thunder rangers who had a whole lot more under their wings.

Congratulations, Class of 2005!

**_to be continued... _**

_A/N: Well, there you go. Chapter 49 is completed. Are you surprised with the outcome? I hope not. Not completely. I know, some of you probably didn't want Anton to die, but he had just been through too much torment. I had to put him to rest. R.I.P. Anton Latham Mercer. So, now that Chapter 49 is done..and you didn't expect I would make the rangers reveal themselves to the world did you? Well, that had to be done, too. I hope you liked it. Only one remains. So, what will that have? Well, read on and find out. May the Power Always Protect You._


	50. Epilogue: In The End

**_'Til I Collapse_****_ - Part Fifty: Epilogue: In The End  
Sequel to: Ordinary World_**

_Summary: A snapshot view of the summer of 2005 of our heroes as they head off into a new chapter of their lives._

_Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine, because I would have so much freedom to do whatever I wanted, and I seriously would have made this story into a continuation of the series. My view, my writing... well, this is the stuff they don't tell you about the Power Rangers. I want to personally thank TheBlackDragonRanger for beta-reading this chapter and several others in the past. It helped me make it that much more interesting. _

_A/N: Just read on. Don't want to hint or ruin it for you. And I also want to apologize for the long wait. I just have not had the time to really get a chance to work on this. I have not forgotten about this at all, I just have not had the time. So, I am deeply sorry that you had to wait so long for the conclusion. But I do hope you like it. This was a lot of work to complete. And I do apologize for the length of it, but you won't be disappointed. You won't. I can promise you that.._

_**-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X  
**"So, this is it. We have battled through evil lords who wanted to take over the world. We faced the drama  
of being in high school. Of being and dealing with teens. We made new friends. Lost many others. But we  
understand that no matter what, anyone can truly be a hero and we must learn to overcome what comes  
our way. That is life. This is life. No one said it was easy or ever will be. Face the facts. Expect the unexpected.  
I wish you the best in whatever you do. I am proud of each of you." -Eclyptyk Neo  
**-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**_

Sunday, May 29th, 2005. 10:54a.m. Hayley's Cyberspace.

It was only a day after the commencement ceremony for the graduating class of 2005. The previous day already had a few outings and parties made by several graduates. It would be hard to keep track of them all, and to visit them all. For the next month, weekends would be packed with several different kinds of graduation parties. This was one very such event.

Arriving early to help with the decorations, set-up other events at the cafe, the four teens - Conner, Ethan, Kira and Trent - had been there in the early hours to prep up for the party. They would be hosting the event, and it was open to anyone with a ticket to get in. It only made it fair for the capacity the area could hold, which was a little over 175 people.

The place could only hold so many, and after the events of the New Year's Celebration, many people had wanted to come to the 'Ranger' Graduation Party. They knew it would be off the hook, if not more. Scalping tickets or trying to make counterfeits, the teens where literally like local celebrities after the events of the previous day.

Some people still had no idea - or were not convinced and found it all an act - but for those that did, wanted to get in just to hang out; and to have fun and party as much as they could.

Of course, it was set only for the youth of the city, but it wasn't like Hayley would be there to keep an eye on them. It was her space they had reserved to use. Let alone the elder rangers would be there to assist in any way they were needed.

Trent had been setting up the DJ station alongside Kira to play off the tunes for the event. Ethan was helping Hayley with the decorations and Conner - which the rangers could all mistake to be a younger version of Rocky - was raiding the catered food.

"Conner, get your grubby hands off the food and come help us," Hayley blurted out as she saw him slip a few small smoked sausage links into his mouth.

"Yeah, bro. We've been working the entire morning getting this place set up and you've been sitting there eating up all the food," Ethan added.

Conner groaned as he grabbed a few potato chips and moved over to the center of the room where the two of them were. He slipped them into his mouth before taking one end of a table and shifting it over to where Hayley had directed them. "What can I say? I'm hungry!"

"You're always hungry," Trent called from the music station as he began to reset the wires making sure that no one could/would trip on them.

"You're just like Rocky," Kira couldn't help but laugh from her place on the stage. She was working to keep the microphones in check. A karaoke system was set for anyone who was interesting in singing. She tapped on the mic, and then moved from the corded one to the two wireless ones on the stand that held the karaoke screen. "Testing one, two, testing one, two; can you guys hear me?"

Ethan threw out a thumb's up. "Read you loud and clear, Kira."

The guests would be arriving by the following hour. The tables had been pushed aside leaving more room for a dance floor. The internet stations were still up for anyone who wanted to check those out as well as the TV station and small arcade area in the corner of the room. The bar was open to serve drinks. And on the other side of the room across from the stage, was the line of food. Most of it was finger food, but there were a few items that could stuff a person if need be. The DJ station was right next to the stage where - of course - a karaoke station stood for any singing pleasures. The decorations came in the shades of blue and silver; the Reefside High School theme - had a history of leading people into money.

It had been an idea that Ethan had come up with. Not because he was thinking about the riches, but mainly about how "they had it made" as individuals and as friends. They had created memories that could be priceless, yet rich in their minds to remember. Each of the teens had even agreed to create a collage of pictures - from their days as babies to the present day - for their guests to see. It was a nice setting.

Minutes passed.

Slowly, the people began to arrive. The bouncers of the event were Jason and Adam, who didn't take too kindly to anyone with or without a ticket. It had to be authentic, even if they knew their faces. It was slightly unfair - yet fair - but it would be the only way to keep the event in check. The other elder rangers present were Aisha, Billy, Rocky, Tommy and Kim. The others had gone back to their normal lives, or were too busy to attend.

Many of them, seniors, were mostly there for the free food and just to hang out with old faces. Yet, it was a little hard for the group of people to get along or start a conversation with one of Conner or Kira's friends versus one of Ethan's or Trent's friends. It seemed like they were still on their differences about the other group of people and were not willing to expand their horizons to meet new people, or try new things.

From behind the bar, Hayley had been preparing some drinks for some of the guests with Billy and Tommy in check beside her. Kim had been chilling by the T.V. station talking among those interesting to hear why/how she was lucky enough to marry a Power Ranger. No one had any idea that she was in fact one herself, let alone putting it together that Tommy had honed more than just one color or set of powers.

"So, how does it feel to be the talk of the city?" Billy turned to Tommy as he wiped a glass clean before setting it on the counter.

From his place at the cash register, Tommy could only shrug. "You probably would have done the same thing if you were in my position. Besides, I thought it would be right. They had to know that no one is perfect, including superheroes."

"I never said it was a bad thing," the man in blue replied as he shook his head. "But yeah, that was a good thing that you did."

"This will change everything for them, Tommy," Hayley said as she poured a strawberry shake into one of the cups. She looked across the room, scanning it for the four teens who were hosting the event. Smiling faces on each of them, she couldn't help but smile to herself. She had to admit that they had come a long way, and it was good to know they would have so much more to look for in the future.

The man in black let out a breath as he nodded. He was in their position several years ago, and it wasn't going to be any easier for them to hang up their morphers either. He knew as well as any of them that the teens would have to move on from their time as rangers and move towards something more in their liking. Following their dreams to complete college, or land that huge record deal, or make the U.S. soccer team, or finding a new way to program the biggest and hottest new computer game on the market or whatever the case may be.

But they all had potential and the skills that would bring them so much more than just being superheroes. And that's what Tommy, and all the older rangers - and technical advisor from MIT - wanted them to do.

"So, I'm surprised you never actually said anything about your connection with other rangers in that speech of yours yesterday," a voice stated from behind the trio as they turned to see the yellow bear ninja standing there, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

After collecting the black woman into a hug and shrugging, Tommy looked out at the line of guests in the room. Many of them, he had seen walk the halls of Reefside and knew how much more they could do in their futures. But that was one concern he didn't need to focus on now. It was on what happened in the presence of this celebration. "Well, I didn't want to reveal everything about what I do, or who I knew. Besides, I think I would keep some things a secret still."

"They're really gonna go a long ways," Aisha had to admit as she turned to see Ethan and several other dance team members break out into a small routine in the middle of the dance floor.

"I wouldn't doubt that," Billy nodded as he watched the blue Tricera ranger bust a few moves, a wide smile on his face. "I mean, you look at all of us here. We got an MIT grad who became our biggest ally in this battle, someone like me who went off-planet to save an entire race of aliens from extinction. We got a guy with a degree in paleontology, one in medicine, and another in psychology, though he never uses it. Then we got an Olympic potential coach and performer, a marine biologist, a guy who teaches martial arts as well as a cop at one of the biggest divisions in the country amongst several other things. I mean, we've come a long way as friends, too."

"Welcome to our lives, ladies and gentlemen," Tommy couldn't help but laugh as he spoke in a newscaster's sorta tone. "On tonight's show, interviews with a group of friends, who were once superheroes, and are now trying to live a normal life."

Racing over, Conner and Trent began to pull the science teacher over to the stage. In confusion, he began to protest as they pushed him toward the microphone. Either, they were making him say something to their guests, or they were making him sing. Either way, they were putting him in the spotlight, and he made it clear that this was one day he didn't want to be out in the eye of the public. This was not his day to shine for any reason whatsoever.

"C'mon, Dr. O," Conner urged him on as he dragged him onto the stage. "Everyone - or nearly everyone - wants you to sing us a little something. You know, kind of for the whole last time sorta thing."

Tommy froze a moment as he looked out at the crowd of people who had noticed he had stepped onto the stage. A silence fell over the room, and then there were an uproar of cheering and applaud.

"Don't you just love being a celebrity, Dr. O," Ethan couldn't help but laugh as he made his way to the foot of the stage.

"First I get recognized with a Medal of Honor for my bravery over stopping the gunmen, and now the students and staff of Reefside High - if not the city, or even world - now, know what else I do in my day. Not exactly much for saying I enjoy it," the science teacher sighed as he shook his head.

"Overnight celebrity," Trent added as he moved over to the DJ station. "C'mon. You swooned us yesterday, I'm sure you can do one right now."

The science teacher looked back out into the crowd as some more eyes fell on him. They were urging him. He knew and figured he wouldn't be getting out of this any time soon. And he figured, he felt it was right to do it for those present. Searching the room, he found his eyes lock with his wife. Letting a smile pass between the two of them, almost absently, the man grabbed a mic and moved to stand behind the karaoke screen.

Starting off with a harmonizing note, he caught the attention of more people as they turned to watch the science teacher. It was clear that some of them were still not convinced he was even a singer, let alone some still had to figure out if he was just joking about the whole ranger thing or not.

And then the words flew out of his mouth smoothly as he started off in an acappela. "How do I say goodbye to what we had? The good times that made us laugh, outweigh the bad..."

At the start of the next line of the song, Trent had mixed the song quietly into the mix of his father's smooth and almost mesmerizing voice. "...I thought we'd get to see forever. But forever's gone away. It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday..."

Standing at the DJ station, he had to hold his breath and push away the sadness that slowly rose up in his mind. But it was hard not to. The night before he had stayed in the Oliver homestead, in the very guest room, he had found his way into on some nights. And he knew that he would always find a home in that place. Without a doubt, he could treat both the science teacher and P.E. teacher as the parents he longed to have, but knew could never truly replace his own parents or Anton Mercer.

For many of them in the room, hearing those words, the contents of the song that the science teacher had decided to sing, hit home once again. This would be one of the last times, these people-friends-would really get to see each other.

Months down the road--if not weeks--these guys would be going their separate ways. Some of them would follow each other into college, others will be bums, and others will just be living it up and doing what they could to build the memories.

"...And I will take with me, the memories. To be my sunshine after the rain. It's so hard to say good-bye to yesterday..." the science teacher sung as it seemed to pull those present into a trip down memory lane.

Not that he was trying to create such sadness between the guests, he only thought that the song in itself seemed to hold potential that could carry a message he didn't want them to forget. Slowly fading out, and ending the song, the room fell into a dead silence.

Finally opening his eyes, he looked around the room. Heads lowered, eyes glistening in tears, he seemed to hit home for some of them. Nor did he expect the emotional stamina of these teenagers to be so low...or whatever it was...that he had a way of shaping their thoughts in ways he could never begin to imagine.

Making his way slowly off the stage, there were more cheering and applause. He didn't get very far before he was encased into a huge group hug by his teammates and young friends. Like one big happy family, if one could say, they were bonded by more than their friendship. They were bonded by the power of their gems, of this unique bond they had established right alongside the help of the Ninjetti Rangers. But it was probably one phenomena that would be left in question for a long time. But not like they would be complaining about it.

The rest of the afternoon was centered around holding tight the memories the four teens shared with those present. One set of memories that any of them could/would forget in a long time.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Wednesday, June 1st, 2005, 10:00am. Reefside Cemetery.

Gathering on a hill, friends, family and several co-workers who had known the scientist/businessmen joined each other to mourn over Anton Latham Mercer's death. Everyone was dressed in a shade of black under a hood, as the rain fell around them. It wasn't a downpour, but it was enough to say the hood was needed as they all stood or sat over the lone coffin.

Sealed shut in a glossy black coffin, flowers sprinkling the top, it stood on the ropes that would lower it into the hole underneath.

After a small prayer from the priest, Trent had moved over to stand at the foot of the coffin. Looking out at the small assembly of people there to pay their respect, his eyes locked with the eyes of his girlfriend. His third sets of parents - Tommy and Kimberly - were looming behind her with his kid sister, Serena. He took a breath before looking down at the coffin.

For awhile, he had not shed any tears. But at that moment, they seemed to well up in a way that he couldn't stop them from falling. He closed his eyes, falling back on the day he heard those words come out of his father's mouth. Those words were the ones that told him how much he truly cared for his son. That it was no lie and that Trent was more than just a prize to show off. He was the very son that Anton had always wanted.

"I want to thank you guys for coming here to pay your respects. For many of us here, Anton, was a man who found it in his heart to try and change the world. He may not have shown it all the time, but it was his intention to help out where he could. He wanted to revolutionize the world in ways that no one else could. He was a brilliant man. He was intelligent; wise. He held advice that helped many of us out throughout the days and years we have known him. And I know from time to time he wasn't a very approachable guy, but he was serious. He took things very seriously and made sure that things got done or would get done. He was always on the ball, but he wasn't perfect. He had his mistakes - some of them had cost him more than he would have liked - but he won't be forgotten. Without a doubt, he will be missed, but he is in a better place. He has built his own legacy, that's in me and in all of you here. May you rest in peace, dad. We'll see you at the crossroads."

He slowly moved back to his seat, nearly collapsing on it as Kira wrapped her arms around him. His head fell onto her shoulder as he shuddered with more sadness. He felt a hand grip on his shoulder knowing it had belonged to the one man he would never had thought he would call his father, but it was set. If anything should ever happen to Anton Mercer, Thomas Oliver would assume the role as a parent to Trent Mercer - Anton had legally adopted him just before Mindshatter took him, which he never got a real chance to tell anyone. And that's what Tommy was now considered to the teen; his father.

The priest had assumed his prayer to the late scientist/businessman. Time passed slowly, but it was enough to drive the sadness into them. Watching the casket lower to the cool, damp ground it brought them all back to the memories of seeing the departed be placed into complete rest.

To the older rangers present, it brought them back to the painful memories of watching one of their own getting lowered to the grounds of San Francisco years ago. It brought them back together after all the years of never really talking much, but it also built tension and fear in each of them. Their own thoughts on the matter, one thing was clear, none of them had expected that something like this would have happened to their own. To a ranger. To a dear friend.

To the co-workers or those who have been of service to Anton could not believe that something like this could happen. Many of them would never know the full truth to the death of this man, but many of them would sympathize or empathize over the terrible loss.

To the teens - minus Trent - it was clear that they were just as hurt and shocked to see such pain fall upon them again. They had seen tragedy and faced it in ways that no one else could ever understand. But this was one event that had hurt them in ways the scars may never heal. It felt like the pain, fear, confusion and loss for their fallen classmates. This just added to it, considered it was all within a few weeks of one another.

To Trent - who hurt the most - felt that it was one tragedy he would not break out of. As far as he could tell, he felt like he was still outside of himself. He was searching for answers, wanted to learn so much more about why his father just couldn't make it, but didn't need the scientific confusion drilled into his head. He still had so many questions on his mind, but it was clear he would possibly not get out of it right away. Not that he could. He just had to take his own advice. Learn to live without his father. He learned to live without his biological parents. But it was hard. It was really hard. This would be just as hard, if not harder. But if he could do it in the past, he could do it now. It would just take some time; a lot of time.

To Elsa, a woman who got a chance to learn and know Anton like no one else felt the emptiness. Though, she was one of few who could crack Anton like a code, it was clear that he still had locked up several things she wish she could have asked him about. From time to time she knew and felt the tension in their relationship, whatever it exactly was. She had known the man for years. More years than she could have counted as she continued to search for her past, for the gap between her time as a minion in Mesogog's army, to the very day she met Anton and to the present day as a school principal.

It was clear that all of those present were still scarred. They were searching for answers, wondering and hoping that nothing could get any worse than this. But it was clear that it would not be the case. This was one thing that would have far more questions than answers.

Minutes passed.

For those who had bared flowers, moved to place them on the casket. All watched in silence - some in tears, others fighting not to shed one - as the casket slowly lowered to the ground.

One by one - for those who felt it was right - grabbed a handful of dirt and dropped it into the hole. Looking down at the hole, another painful shock ran over Trent as he had to look away from the sight. He was breaking down; he was shutting others out. He had for the days following the party. He didn't really talk to anyone. Even if his friends or - now, official - parents questioned him about it, he would just merely shrugged it off or tell them that it wasn't a problem. But here he was, locking them out. It was clear as he found no words to say to anyone.

The grave diggers shoveled the dirt into the hole to cover the casket as it laid at complete rest. More tears and sobs fell from the emotional crowd. Some had to turn away, or didn't bother to stick around for the painful moments of watching the hole fill with a man who held so many dreams was put to rest.

Dispersing slowly, those present began to leave as the priest had left the area. The ground compacted and sealed with dirt - the hole no longer there - was covered. The remaining people were the Dino Thunder rangers and one high school principal. Each of them had not said much to one another, but all of them were hurting from this event - especially Tommy and more so, Trent.

But none of them would forget the dreams and memories left behind in the wake of this man; Rest in Peace, Anton Latham Mercer._****_

XXXXXXXXXX

Friday, June 3rd, 2005, 8:00pm. Mercer Homestead.

Trent sat somewhat absently in the huge living room. In that household, it was easy to simply zone out, especially after living in it for nearly five months as the only true being in the household. He sat there looking over into the distance, not saying anything.

Another figure walked over to him and sat down beside him, grasping his shoulder. Looking up to see who the other occupant was, he could only turn away and say nothing at all. He had to admit, he wasn't at his best when it came to the past week and the events of it. No one could have expected any of the things that had happened would have changed his perspective on life forever. It wasn't just him, though. All of them were suffering from this down set. But he was hurting the most.

The other figure set down the two mugs on the coffee table in front of them. Kira had kept her own feelings bottled up inside trying to figure out what to say to her boyfriend. She knew he was hurting extremely bad, especially over the funeral service of his father. And she was trying to open up to him; open him up and try to get him back to normal.

In the beginning, she had remembered the first time she had seen Anton Mercer, she knew he was bad news. She hated him more when she found out that he was Trent's adoptive father. Then was his reason for wanting to take out the cyber café. Next was him taking his place as the extended sub for Dr. O's "sick leave". To stoop even lower, and for the longest time, be the very enemy they were trying to destroy: Mesogog. But after these past few months - these last months of her senior year - she had seen a more kinder and genuine Anton Mercer.

He was no longer a man driven--well, he still was, just not as serious--by work. He could have gotten serious from time to time - he still did - but he seemed more approachable now then he did nearly a year ago. But now, all of that just pretty much went out the window. He was gone, now. Put to rest only two days ago.

Kira looked up and around the room. There were several boxes scattered about. Trent was moving out. There was no point for him to live in that mansion alone. Not that he could turn it into some sorta bachelor pad or whatever with his friends; he just didn't want to stay in a place that held so many good memories and many more painful ones.

The invaluable things would come along with him, but those that he knew would be of no real use for him, he was getting rid of; donating to those who truly needed it.

Trent felt he needed to truly open a new chapter in his life, and this was the best way to start it off; start off as fresh as possible. Heading out onto his own was just what he was hoping for at the age of 18. To be independent, but know that there would always be a place for him with his friends…especially with Kira. All of his friends had offered him a place to crash, which he kindly refused. He had two new loving parents - Kim and Tommy - who welcomed him with open arms.

He was just glad to have so many people looking out for him. And he knew he would be okay without him. He still missed him, without a shadow of doubt. But he had so much more to live for, and hope that the legacy of his line would be remembered with the name of Dr. Anton Latham Mercer also in the mix of it.

Grasping his shoulder again, Trent had looked up to meet the eyes of his girlfriend. It was obvious, and clear, in the last few days since the death of Anton Mercer, Trent had not said much to anyone. He was still locked up in his own zone of trying to fight the pain on his own. He wanted to, but now he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up the act much longer.

As if reading his own thoughts, Kira had opened up her arms and allowed Trent to melt into her embrace. She held him close to her chest, and slowly, but quietly he let the tears fall. There was no used trying to hold in the emotions he was feeling now.

He could only find comfort in one person and this one person he could tell anything to, for he knew she would listen to him with open ears. There would be no hesitation there. Sure, he had to admit that his new legal parents were the same way, but the love and support they gave him was that of loving parents; of an older brother and sister, if he could define it in that way.

But there was one person, he could really confide in. Not that he could give the excuse that it was only some high school love, but there was just something about her character, her charisma, and her actions...that he couldn't begin to really describe. There was so much he could say, but then so little. It was so hard to get out in words. And even from time to time, he would have to admit that actions did speak better than words for anything.

The moments passed slowly.

Trent finally found some strength to sit up, but his eyes were still locked to the ground. His face was stained with tears as he wiped them away and let a breath escape between his pursed lips. Then as if by another force, or his own locked emotions, he leaned in and laid a kiss on Kira's lips.

But unlike any other kiss they have shared, this was one that had more heat and passion to it. There was a need there; a want, almost as if he was asking for something more. Kira leaned closer to him, almost startling him, but he didn't seem to object about her gesture. He wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her even closer to him.

Pulling away and looking away with shame, Trent had not expected to let such heat slip from his lips. In those moments he locked lips with Kira, there was a new spark of chemistry. A spark that he didn't want to let go of, could almost picture where it would lead, but felt too rushed. That perhaps, Kira wasn't looking at the situation to turn into something more between them.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what I...I just needed to..." Trent tried to explain as his face began to build with heat. He was blushing; shocked that he had done that.

But Kira could only silence him with a finger to his lips. A small smile passed over her lips before she leaned closer to him almost startling him. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Trent. And you can't blame yourself for what has happened with your father, you just have to deal. And I'm here for you. There are others out there who will always be there for you. You don't have to do this alone."

She leaned over and pushed her lips against his. And this time, he didn't seem to object about her gesture. Her kiss held the same heat and compassion as he had sent her way only moments ago. He wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her even closer to him.

Then she parted his lips a little bit and pulled him deeper into the kiss. It didn't startle him as he could only allow the kiss to deepen between them. After only a few moments, Trent found himself lying on his back as he found his girlfriend press up against him, the kiss continuing.

When both of them were sure they couldn't hold their breaths anymore, the kiss was broken. Just holding each other that much closer was a little shock to them, and when they both finally opened their eyes and looked into the other pair; more wavering questions fell between the two of them.

Kira fell into Trent's embrace, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him. His own arms wrapped around her more protectively as they held each other for several minutes. There was a silence between them, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was in a sight of where they had no real way to say how they felt about each other. That the words they were hoping to get out could get out just didn't. And the best thing they could do at that moment was lay there in each other's embraces.

Trent pushed his lips against her forehead as her eyes fell shut, and she buried the side of her face into his chest. She heard the soft patter in his chest; his heart racing with nervousness. They had not held each other this close, and it had both of their hearts racing just a little bit faster.

Finally breaking the silence, Trent tried to admit to something. To admit how he wanted to confide in her his entire life, but he couldn't find a way to say it. He was stumbling over his words. "Kira, I... every time I look at you ... I ...you..."

Kira sat up and looked down at him as he fell silent. He didn't know what to say or how to say it. She leaned down and kissed him with the same heat and passion they had shared only moments ago. At that point he relaxed a little, and pulled her as close as their bodies could get with clothes acting as their barriers.

She smiled internally when a new rush of emotions ran through her body. The feeling of being this close was something new, but for some reason, she didn't try to avoid it. She liked it. And when she felt a certain organ tighten and grow hard between her, she knew that he didn't seem to avoid what was about to happen between them.

In their little make-out session, she had pulled off his shirt and he did the same for her. As if absently, or another calling, the duo had tugged at the hem of the other's pair of pants, but had stopped when each of them had to catch their breath; to think through the situation and what was about to happen between them.

Would they risk it all? This wasn't just out of sympathy and it certainly wasn't out of empathy. This was a decision they would both be making. And sometimes, one night was all it would take that would change an entire future. But that was the thing. At that moment, it seemed as if their future was already blurry enough. It seemed that hat no matter where it took them, the only thing that mattered in these moments was the present course of their relationship, and if they were ready to take it one step further.

Looking down at Trent, there was a longing and desire in his eyes. From Trent's position of looking up at the girl he wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to, he could see the longing and desire to be loved, to be held, to be one with him so plainly, so clearly, it made him…smile.. But there was a slight fear from it. Mostly from him, as he felt a cold chill run down his back.

"I love you, Kira. I love you with all of my heart. And I'd do anything to make you happy. But are you sure about this? Are you sure you really wanna do this?" he asked, his voice slightly raspy from the intense make-out session. As he thought about it, this was the first time he had a real chance to hold Kira the way he did; to look at her from a different angle. And this was his chance to take it further. That even though they had only known each other for two years, and had only been going out for a few months, there was just something there he wasn't about ready to let go. He wanted to show her how much he cared about her; show her how much he loved her. He felt that at that moment, he wanted the girl sitting over him to be the one he wanted to be with until his dying day. This was his love; his one true love that he couldn't let go of.

But did she feel the same way? What was her reaction to all this? Did she care about him as much as he did for her? And was she willing to take that step forward? Was she going to allow herself to disclose her life into his embrace and into his heart?

She had now for the past two years she has known him. At first, she thought it would only be a loving and caring relationship of a sibling for another. She had thought it was from time to time, even when she had to admit she looked at him more than just a friend - more than just a brother. He was something more to her. He was a love that she didn't want to deny anymore. She had cared and loved him in more ways than just a brother. He was almost like her best friend; she told him things that only she could tell him. There were things that she didn't tell her mentor or his wife, but to Trent. It was him she had disclosed so much to. And she was willing to take it that one step further to show that he meant a lot to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, nodding before pushing her lips against the side of his neck. "I love you with more than I'll ever know or understand. And I am sure about this, Trent. That is if you are, too."

Then Trent wrapped his arms around her back, pulling them both up and off the couch. Leaning into him as she wrapped her legs around his waist for more support, he escorted the two of them out of the room and up to his bedroom. And in that night they had locked themselves in that room, they had proved that some actions did speak louder than words. That they had given each other a gift neither one of them could forget. Giving up their virginity to the person they had loved with their whole heart.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Monday, June 6th, 2005, 1:15pm. Law office of Anton Mercer's attorney.

Days later. Dressed slightly to impress, Trent sat at the foot of the huge desk hearing the set of legal lawsuits toward his status as an individual. Michelle "Elsa" Santos, Thomas Oliver and his wife, Kimberly Hart-Oliver had accompanied the teen on his visit to the office. The quad of people knew there would be discussions about what was written in Anton Mercer's will.

Charles Azar, Anton's attorney, had gone over several of the legal issues over for the three to make sure they understood what was written in the will and what could take action if they all co-signed on a new contract toward the business under the Mercer name.

The man looked over the papers in the file again before closing it and looking at the trio sitting before him. "Now, I have gone over this written will several times, Trent. It states clearly that if you sign off on this contract, the business under Anton Mercer will now be in your name. However, I don't doubt you at all, but that must be a lot of responsibly for a teen just getting out of high school."

Trent nodded slowly. "I am aware of that, sir, and I don't disagree with your actions on requesting I get a co-signer or two..."

"Anton has in fact, mentioned both Michelle and Thomas in his will as well. The inheritance he has made as he states here 'shall be split between the three people I entrust my name to - Trenton Jeffrey Mercer, Thomas Anthony Oliver and Michelle Elsa Santos.' Looking at the numbers, that is quite an impressive number for each of you."

"The guy was worth a lot of money," Tommy added as he had looked over the copy and reports in his hand. He had to admit that he was no real expert when it came to lawsuits and information regarding it, but he knew that this was one serious issue. If it wasn't dealt with now, it could be brought to the courts and take an even more brutal charge.

Anton was a very intelligent man; wise beyond his years with so many things under his wing. Without a doubt, it would get him places. It did. He had gotten a lot of recognition over the years. He was one of the most powerful men in the world, there was no lie about that with the money his research was bringing in. He was no Bill Gates, but he could almost be known as the Bill Gates of science and technology research. He was worth a lot. His business was worth a lot. His research was too.

"His research really paid off," Michelle nodded as she looked over at the science teacher, a small smile passing her face.

"Yes, it did. And if I'm not mistaken, you, yourself, Thomas, have quite a big savings account under your name as well," Charles spoke.

Tommy nodded slowly. "Yeah, well, you let me deal with that. We are merely here as Trent had requested. We are willing to sign off on anything to make these legal transactions as simple as possible. We don't want to make it anymore difficult that we need to."

"Well, the big issue here is deciding how and where the business of Anton Mercer Industries will fall under. We can split it three ways, among the three of you here, or however the three of you have discussed it."

Sitting in silence as Trent looked at the two older people in the room he had entrusted a lot to, he knew without a doubt that he could trust them to keep his father's business alive. Not that he was willing to put his name on the contract; he wanted to. His mind set of business was different than what his father really wanted, but he wouldn't forget what he had to do and what must be completed.

Tommy had already signed off on another contract. It was about taking up the full responsibility for any actions of Trent and taking the rights of being his parent. Kim was one step behind to complete the process as she, too, signed off on the contract, to take up her own responsibility for Trent.

After several moments, a silent conversation between those present in the room, Michelle had stepped forward as the name under which Anton Mercer Industries would fall under. They had already discussed it before, and Trent felt that it was necessary, that the best way for him to truly repay for all of her support and guidance was place the business under her name.

Inking the contract with her signature, Anton Mercer Industries, was now officially under Michelle Elsa Santos' name. Trent co-signed that if anything were to happen to her, it would automatically fall under his name. And if anything would happen to either party, Tommy had signed off as the third party witness to upholding the business.

Filing the signed papers into the manila folder and stamping it, Charles Azar rose to his feet, firmly taking Trent's hand in his. "Well, it has been set, Trent. Your guardians are now Thomas Oliver and Kimberly Hart-Oliver. The business is under Michelle's name. The inheritance - a $800million dollar split - goes to you, Michelle and Thomas and if you're lucky, you won't have to step into these offices to fulfill anymore of Anton's farewell requests. Congratulations and Good Luck in your future."

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Saturday, June 11th, 2005, 2:00pm. Backyard of the Oliver homestead.

Walking around to the back of the house, the teens found a set of mats on the ground. Each of them were dressed in a loose set of clothes. Trent was the only one in an actual karate suit. Today was the day that each of them would face and help Tommy get ready for his martial arts competition the following week.

However, they would be getting more than they would be bargaining for. This wasn't like practicing in the woods against some random attack by the skilled martial artist. This was real contact without the help of the ranger suits. And the dino gem in their possession. This was a straight sparring exercise.

Tossing their gym bags to the ground, they began to look around hoping to find if the skilled martial artist was anywhere in sight. This wasn't looking at him like a science teacher. This was looking at him like a master of martial arts; a master of several different forms of self-defense.

"Do we really want to do this now?" Ethan released a breath as a he took a drink of his gym bottle. "I'm starting to have some regret over all of this."

"I take back anything I said about Dr. O being too old and not being able to kick anyone's ass," Conner added.

Trent could only shrug about it as he walked onto the mats. Almost instantly, he began to do some stretching and warming-up exercises. In a series of a few flips and exercises to get his blood flow moving, the others were slightly impressed to see what the teen in white was doing.

"Just because you have some prior training with the guy makes the rest of us look bad. What do you expect we do about all of this?" Ethan asked.

"Start warming up, that's for sure," Kira said with a breath as she took a seat on the soft grass. She put her feet out in front of her and began to stretch out her leg muscles.

Ethan and Conner began to do their own stretches as they tried to figure out what they had gotten themselves into. They were a little worried to see what could happen or should happen with all of this. It was clear, or they felt, that this was one situation they didn't want to get into.

The moments passed slowly.

"Is it too late for us to bail?" Ethan asked as he lowered his shoulders just a little bit.

"And not get that much wanted black belt of yours, Ethan?" a voice caught him off-guard as he nearly jumped out of his shorts. He turned around to see the skilled martial artist known as his former science teacher decked out in a karate uniform. The belt around his waist had indicated the very level of his experience; a fifth degree black belt with more than twenty years worth of practice.

"Man, I'm serious, Dr. O, one of these days you're seriously gonna make me shit my pants when you do that," Ethan caught his breath as he shook his head.

The man could only shrug as he casually walked off the porch and onto the lawn. He already explained the concept of the day's activities. He would go against each and every one of them on an individual sparring event. From there he would evaluate their performances and decide what rank he would award each of them. There would be no advantage of using a dino gem, and he said he was able to tell if they were using one or not. As far as any of them could tell, they wouldn't want to bother making him upset in that field.

Following only a few steps behind him, was the very impregnated original pink ranger and blue ninja ranger as a judge for the event. Questioning the genius, the teens wondering if they would go against his former leader in a sparring exercise. Billy's clear excuse was that his skill level could not compare to Tommy's and he wasn't the one who was worried about his rank of experience and skills in the field of martial arts.

The first one - victim, as the others slightly snickered about - was Ethan. And like before, he was already nervous about going against his mentor alone. Not that a few exercises for his ranger training consisted of this, but this was a whole other thing. This was really proving how much he had improved in the last two years of his life. The last two years since he was really introduced into martial arts and the benefits with them.

After a bow of respect, Ethan had fallen into a fighter stance. Tommy had kept him moving, though, as he moved all around the outer edge of the mat. The entire time, he was messing with Ethan's psyche and mental stability. It was clear that it made him falter a few times, missing a block or getting a hit by the skilled master.

"Your mind wonders, Ethan. Like I have told you in the past, you need to keep your head in this game at all times. You never know when your enemy will attack," Tommy said in a heed of warning before he swept the teen off his feet.

Ethan groaned as he felt the mat underneath him in one blow. Laying there for some time, he finally let out a breath and pushed himself to his feet. He shook his head as he looked back at his mentor. "I can't do it."

"Don't say you can't, Ethan. Because I know you can. I have seen you in battle, and you've come a long way since the very first day you got these powers..."

"But..."

Tommy shook his head, holding up a hand. "No buts. The very first weakness you can let out is doubt. That will be followed by fear, and it will not get you anywhere. Keep your head up. If you can believe you can do it. You can do it. And don't forget about how far you've gotten in these last two years. Look at what you did when you joined up with the dance team."

Ethan let out a breath and thought about the words that escaped his mentor's mouth. He had to admit the words that came from the skilled ranger were by far one of the most inspirational and meditative set of words he was willing to give a try. They carried with them the very aspects that made him admire the man. It brought with it experience and knowledge about what could be done, what shouldn't be done and how things are set.

Then he launched himself forward putting his mentor on the defense for the first time since his sparring exercise began. It kept Tommy back, driving him farther and farther, closer to the edge of the mat. But at the last second, Tommy had twisted out of a punch grabbed Ethan's hand twisted it and sent Ethan flat on his back.

The man leaned over patting the teen on the chest. "Good. You're getting there, Ethan. Just give it time. 3rd degree black belt." He held a hand out for the teen as Ethan took it and jumped back on his feet.

Slightly discouraged and in pain, Ethan accepted the call and didn't want to argue about it. He made his way back over to the porch where the rest of them waited and watched.

Conner was the next one up. And like Ethan, Tommy had used the same tactics to disrupt the teen in red from sparring with him at full potential. However, Conner was more resilient to his mentor's choice of words. Some of them were slightly distracting, but enough to keep on always on his guard.

"Come on, Conner. Don't hold back on me. I can take a beating," the man rose his voice a little urging the teen in red to advance toward him. "You're trying to prove yourself to me, so do it."

Conner was a little more loose than Ethan as he kept his eyes on his mentor. He made sure to keep his feet moving. His mentor would surprise him with a close attack, but then he would fall back when Conner set up for a block. But it was clear that he was holding back just a little. He was still a little uncertain about wanting to move against his mentor. But Tommy kept urging him on, driving him to attack.

Then Conner couldn't keep his competitive nature under control. He moved forward, throwing a punch or a kick that he hoped would hit the skilled martial artist. But Tommy was already there - a prediction - to stop every blow that came his way.

One final sweep off of his feet, and Conner found himself face first on the mat. He let out a breath as he felt a hand on his shoulder. That was the end of that sparring exercise.

"Good job, Conner. You've come a long way. 3rd degree black belt for you as well," Tommy said as he helped the teen to his feet.

Conner nodded slowly as he made it back to the porch where Kim greeted him with a cool beverage. "I really thought I had him."

Kim smiled at him. "Don't be so discouraged. You have come a long way, Conner. Tommy is only doing all of this to help you guys out. Trust me, it'll be worth it in the end."

Conner nodded again as he embraced the woman in a hug, starting up a conversation that pulled Ethan into conversing with her as well.

Kira was already making her way onto the mats where the skilled martial artist stood and waited for her. She smiled gently as she saw one pass her mentor's lips. "Are you sure you are ready to go up against me, Dr. O? I mean, you've already gone against Conner and Ethan. Shouldn't you take a little break?"

"We're helping each other out, Kira. And don't worry, I'm just fine. My only question for you is you gonna prove yourself to me, or do I have to drive it out of you?"

"Don't worry, Dr. O. I'll make sure to give you my best," she nodded.

"That's all I need to hear. Good luck to you," the man nodded before he bowed before the teen in yellow.

Kira had done the same just as quick before launching herself forward toward the skilled master before her. He had almost missed her first attack when it made contact with the side of his body. But he was there to block her next two shots as he sent them back on her. Almost instantly, the two had engaged in their own sparring exercise.

Trent had been watching on the sidelines along side Billy, watching the moves each made. They made sure what was legal attack and what wasn't. And it was getting a little bit harder to tell who would win and who wouldn't. Either the science teacher was hesitant about his moves since she was in fact a girl, or she was really giving him a run for his own level of skills in martial arts.

"Come on, Dr. O. I thought you would be a little more of a challenge. And don't tell me the reason you're going easy on me is because I am a girl, is it?" Kira asked from her side of the battle zone.

The skilled master took a breath as he slumped over letting out a breath. He had to admit that many of those attacks were least expected, but he did recall that Trent was teaching her a few things of his own. And he had to admit they were working a little on him. He let out a breath again as he stood up straight and looked over at her.

"Ya know, you might actually be giving me a run for my money, Kira. You have become quite a great fighter. But I haven't fallen yet," the man winked urging her forward.

Kira relaxed a little before springing forward and heading back into the battle. But this time, Tommy was ready for her as he moved in and out of her attacks. Blocking and sending a few counterstrikes her way that was a surprise to the teen in yellow. But she was still there to pick up where she messed up, if she missed one attack, she would go about doing another only within seconds of the other. She was fast-moving, quick and very agile.

And that was one advantage that the man had to admire about the teen. Even in his youth, he wasn't as agile as some of the other martial artists, but he was still fast. And his blows were just as powerful, if not stronger than some. And through his years, he had improved, almost mastering the signature move of one of his idols, Bruce Lee. One move that only the legendary and true dragon could perform-the one-inch punch. The amount of power set behind a punch like that would send an opponent flying back and far. But he still had many more years to learn about himself as a martial artist.

And it was through practice like this, and other activities, that helped him move in several directions. In new ways and ways only he himself could really understand. His own spiritual connection with his art and passion. This was his element. This was truly it.

But one mistake sent the teen slipping on the mat, and allowed the skilled master to land the blow that would call the end of the exercise. Holding out a hand for her, the man pulled her back on her feet as she let out a sigh, one of disappointment.

"I really thought I had you going, Dr. O," Kira sighed as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

Tommy smiled back at her and nodded. "You did, actually, Kira. And I did mean it when I said you have become a great fighter. You've also come a long way. I think you might actually have the skills to beat Conner and Ethan. 3rd degree black belt for you," he said, but leaned over and whispered something into her ear. "Actually you're closer to getting your 4th than those two. Good job."

Blushing slightly, she walked off the mat and onto the porch. Kim exchanged a knowing look with her before pulling the teen girl into a hug congratulating her on a great sparring exercise.

Tommy slumped over catching his breath as Trent slowly moved onto the mat before him.

"Tired already, Tommy?" Trent taunted, a competitive tone in his voice as he raised an eyebrow.

Tommy shook his head as he stood up straight, stretching out his back before falling into a defensive fighter stance. "You still haven't beaten me once yet, Trent. So, don't let that cocky nature take over the confidence you have over your skills as a fighter."

Trent gestured the man over to him, teasing him with a back flip. The skilled master could only shake his head as he moved forward and toward the teen in white. And with a quick bow - the battle seized due to Billy - the two engaged in their own sparring exercise.

And in the way the two of them battled, it was almost like watching Tommy and Jason spar in the days of their high school years. Back when they were competing over who was the better martial artist. These moves were fast. They could knock anyone off their feet if they hadn't trained with a few lessons on martial artists. It almost looked like they were at each other's throats half the time. They were really into it. Blows came in loud thuds that it almost sounded like it was over something personal.

A blow to the stomach or the head was met with a kick to the side, or a block by an arm. It was as if they were fighting each other like they were enemies. Fighting for what was right and what was wrong with all of this. It had all the other spectators on edge to see how far this was going to go.

After awhile, Billy nearly gave up trying to keep track what was an illegal move or not. Or what counted toward a point or didn't. There was no point trying to figure it out when even if he stopped them from saying anything, they wouldn't listen to him. They didn't, but pushed him out of the way and went back to sparring.

If that is what it was anymore. It seriously looked more like it was a fight. No, it looked more like a fight to the death, than one with feuding sides. And this was the best way to solve it, was in battle.

The moments passed slowly as the spectators held their breaths waiting for a victor from the grueling battle. Another attack sent the two of them flying at each other and landing on opposite sides of the battle zone. For a moment, no one moved, including the fighters. Slowly, Trent and Tommy turned to face each other, forcing air into their lungs.

It was clear that both of them were exhausted and tired from the battle-no, this was a battle; this was no longer a sparring exercise-but there was no clue about who was the victor. Who would falter first? Or would they manage to pull off one final attack that final sent one of them to their knees?

No one moved as they waited to see the results. Slowly walking toward their opponent, the skilled martial artist moved toward the teen in white. Trent winced between his teeth as he took several steps forward.

The two fighters never took their eyes off the other as they walked closer to one another. And once they finally got close enough to see the real emotions running on the other's face, another line of held breaths filled each of them.

Who was the victor? Did the skilled martial artist finally meet his match, or did he prove himself as a more skillful fighter?

Then eyes widened with shock as they watched one of the fighter fall. Watch him fall to his knees before slumping over onto all fours, wanting to just collapse to the ground. The only thing that held him up was hanging on his arms as he let out a breath shaking his head. It was over. And the victor didn't belong to the skilled martial artist, but to the teen that was the very equivalent of him at that age...or as close as it came out of the successors from the huge legacy.

Trent took a few steps back wanting to collapse himself; but it was clear that whoever fell first. Whoever could not continue to exercise was the victim; the loser. He was in pain, but he did it.

He had defeated his teacher. And he was trying. He was working hard to accomplish his goal. To win. And he did it. He didn't want to make something of it; say that he only won because Tommy was tired. But that wasn't the case. He knew how the older man fought. He grew accustomed to analyzing a move, anticipating a shot and predicting where a blow would land. He had gotten better; made sure to protect himself in whatever case that would be.

And he knew that Tommy was giving his all in that battle. He gave Trent a run for his money. And this was like no other ranger sparring exercise. This was their own flesh and bone. No help from the dino gem of any kind. It was a way to prove who would be successful and who wouldn't. They all did great. Had their mentor on the run several times, but they still had a long way to go.

But at that point, Trent had deserved his bragging rights. He defeated Tommy-a legend in martial arts to many-who had skills like no other.

"I won?" Trent breathed as he couldn't get over the fact it was true. But it was as his friends rushed over to congratulate him.

Hugging Kira tightly, the pain began to return to his aching muscles. This was nearly a grudge match and a good rest would do him some good at this moment. He swore that there would be bruises showing up on several parts of his body after this.

Tommy let out a breath as he finally pulled himself to his feet, leaning against his wife for more support. Pushing her lips against his caused her to blush when he wished under her touch. But she also couldn't help to giggle as well.

"You can't win them all, Tommy," she covered her mouth again to keep from laughing again.

Tommy sighed as he nodded laying another kiss on her lips and one on her forehead. "Yeah, well, it was slightly unfair..."

"Look who's talking, Mr. I-Have-The-Strength-To-Take-On-All-Of-My-Rangers," she shook her head before pushing his shoulder as he winced slightly. She giggled again.

"Woo, you got served, Dr. O," Ethan had to point out, but stopped quickly when his teacher's eyes narrowed on him.

Trent held out his hand congratulating the skilled martial artist on a good fight. But for a long time Tommy just stared at the outstretched hand. And before the teen could say anymore, he felt arms wrap around him in a big bear hug, despite the pain each of them were having. Congratulating the teen on a good fight, the grudge that seemed to develop during the fight had left them, and all thoughts of ever thinking this was nearly a battle-to-the-death was all gone.

"Now, I don't know about you guys, but I know this guy is needed to ice down on a few things..." Kim laughed again as she gripped Tommy's shoulder and he winced.

"And so do I," Trent raised a hand and nodded. Kira wrapped an arm around his pulling him into the house.

Conner, Ethan and Billy couldn't help but laugh as they followed the rest of them into the house. And to just hit a day of relaxation.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Saturday June 18th, 2005, 3:00pm. Reefside Sports Complex: Martial Arts Qualifications Competition.

Getting situated in the stands that surrounded the huge floor of the sports complex, people came to see the many competitors from all over the city and state. The competitors ranged from wise older men down to the kids who just began their journey in martial arts. The other competitors had several years under their wings. Skilled in several different forms of martial arts, there were several different types of ways to earn their ranks. And several different types of competitions would be going on the floor to the stadium.

They broke it down each part of the competition by skill level and what type of martial arts forms a person knew. The more they knew, the longer time they would have to prep up and get ready. From that, they had divided it by weight division.

Situated among several other competitors, Tommy sat on a beach in the locker room. Several of his friends had coached him along the way; helped him prepare for the day he would earn his next degree under the title of black belt.

Jason, Adam and Trent stood over him as he continued through several breathing exercises to calm his nerves and tension. Watching the man shift a little, his shoulders shrugging slightly, the trio knew he was nervous. Waiting out there on the floor was the very thing that would move him up in the experience and skills that made him who he was.

Encouraging him as he finally came to, opening his eyes and looking straight ahead rather than the ground, the trio of guys made it clear that he had nothing to worry about.

"You'll do fine, Tommy. Just relax, and do what you gotta do," Jason patted his brother on the shoulder by everything except blood.

"You've been doing a lot of rigorous training anyway, especially this past week," Adam added.

"You have nothing to worry about. We aren't doubting you at all, and neither should you," Trent added as he found his hand on Tommy's other shoulder.

The skilled master sat there as he caught his breath once again. For awhile, he wasn't sure if he was ready to do this. It was years since he had gotten his ranks as a fifth degree black belt. Now, he would be moving on to getting his sixth degree. He didn't say that he doubted himself about it; he was just nervous. These years were filled with far more surprises than what he had seen in his past. This was a whole other thing, but he didn't want to look at the mistakes or mishaps of his past. He would make it. He had to.

A lot of people were out there, and it wouldn't look good on him to screw this up. Martial arts was apart of his life; a second nature that could never leave him after all that it had taught him through the years. He had come a long way, and everyone around him knew that. They were counting on him. And he couldn't let them down.

Moving from the bench and out into the hall, he was nearly taken by surprised when he felt someone grab him arm and throw him into the wall. But his anger and confusion at the gesture was lost when he felt a set of warm lips fall onto his. For the moments he had briefly shared that kiss with his wife all tension left him. Pulling her a little bit closer, he was slightly discouraged that the round belly had kept the two of them from really getting any closer.

"Show us you can do it, Handsome," Kim whispered into his ear before laying another kiss on his lips. She straightened out his karate uniform, tightening the belt around his waist. A bandana was wrapped around his head to catch the sweat from landing in his line of vision.

Tommy leaned over and laid a kiss on his wife's forehead before resting his own onto hers. Locking eyes for those moments, his hands intertwined with hers and they stood there taking in the presence of their significant other.

A referee moved down the hallway to call in the next set of competitors; Tommy was one of them. Laying another kiss on Kim's lips he smiled gently before moving away from her and heading out the dark tunnel onto the competitors floor.

Trent had taken Kim back into the stands where the others were. Jason and Adam would be encouraging and coaching Tommy from the sidelines of the floor.

The competition itself was one of the hardest things the competitors had faced. There was a competition between weight class division for each martial arts types. There was a singles demonstration and a weapons demonstration that each competitor were required to perform.

The hours passed slow.

Tommy had to admit that it was one tough competition. He had relied on the use of his dino gem several times before and this was one real time where he couldn't use it. Not that he had felt that loss of power or lack of power or limits of using powers, he was just taken by surprise that he had relied so much on his powers. But this was his element.

And he had proved himself to be a worthy competitor and martial artist. It was clear that the teens were especially impressed by his weapons demonstration. They had no idea that he had been able to use some of the weapons on the list, but not completely surprised. He had used the bo-staff, the katanas, the butterfly swords, the sais, the nun chucks, the tonfas and several other weapons. His blend of martial arts was as he told the judges was his own creation, a blend he would hope to teach others in the future, was known as Toso Kune Do.

After the evaluation, waiting patiently for the results, a judge stepped out onto the floor toward the skilled martial artist. On the outside, Tommy looked as calm as the weather on a cool day. But on the inside he was sweating, kicking himself, for the mistakes he had made. He criticized his own performance as he watched it play back on the screen beside the judges; a panel of five of them.

"After calculating our results, we were impressed with your performance, Master Oliver," the judge proclaimed as he stuck out his hand in a firm greeting and conclusion. Locked in a firm grip with the martial artist, the man pulled out a black belt and handed it to Tommy. "Congratulations. You have proven yourself as a martial artist and have earned your sixth degree black belt. Use your skills for self-defense and to teach others; they will be satisfied with the results, Kyoshi Oliver."

The judge turned away as Tommy forced out a breath looking at the black belt in his hands. The markings of a sixth degree black belt laid across it. Bowing before the panel of judges, he raced off the floor as he was jumped by Adam and Jason for a job well done. Holding the belt high, the stands roared - where his family and friends sat - with whistles, applauds and cheering.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Monday, July 4th, 2005. Independence Day.

Weeks had gone by, and it seemed harder to grasp the fact that summer was going by as fast as it was. Despite the fact that the teens had found nothing better to do in their days, they hung around the Oliver Homestead or cyber café to pass their time. If not, hanging at the condo Trent had been now living in for more than a month. There were even possible rumors of Kira moving him with him by the end of the summer, but that was in need of discussing.

Trent was still working at the cyber café until classes started in the fall, if he was gonna go. Kira was still working over at the TV station. Ethan was helping his mentor archive the Ranger history as well as find a place to live by the fall. He felt it was time to be out on his own, and even agreed to have Conner bunk in with him as roommates. Conner had been passing his time trying to find a way to operate some sorta sports camp - if not soccer - for the kids in Reefside. However, the teens themselves had discussed the issue several times trying to decide if they should just go to college or take a break.

Sitting on the back porch at the Oliver homestead just hanging out among friends - the ranger family to be more exact - they were having a little cookout to bring in Independence Day.

"I know I may be slow about all of this, but if we were gonna have fireworks, why are we here among all these trees? Aren't they gonna catch on fire?" Ethan asked before taking a drink of his soda.

Conner and Kira could only shrug. Trent had been helping Tommy by teaching him some techniques on how to cook. It was a long shot and one with great risk, but as far as any of them could tell, he was doing just fine. Kim had been conversing with her old teammates and closest friends, including the Space Rangers. All were constantly joking about the size of her and the expectancy of having twins if not triplets in the way she was looking. Adam and Rocky were teaching Serena a few martial arts moves as well as how to throw a sprial with the football. Most of it was all in good fun just hanging out with friends and family. While Eric and Wes were merely poking fun at Tommy for trying to cook. For a guy of his stature, they had thought he would have learned to cook a few things, but it was clear that it was not his style.

Shane, Tori, Dustin and Hunter were unable to make it merely because they needed to continue their teachings at the ninja academies. Cam and Blake were there hanging out with the young dino rangers.

Jason and Kat were still on their way from Los Angeles, but hoped to get there soon. But they were caught up in the limelight of downtown L.A. and may not be in at all, but sent their regards. They would come to visit when they could.

The hours passed slow. But it was a time to reflect. To hang out, and literally have that much needed ranger reunion as they had hoped. It wasn't much, but it was a start to many more times they would all be meeting to just hang out.

Sitting among his old teammates, the group had talked about the memories they had shared throughout high school. About the very first time they had become rangers to the days when Zack, Jason and Trini had left and Aisha, Adam and Rocky took their place. They discussed the miss-happenings with Bulk and Skull and several other incidents. The list went on and on as they laughed, blushed and nearly cried about their adventures when they were younger.

Time passed.

Sipping on some lemonade in the comfort of the porch, Tommy sat alongside Kim as they watched the others play a little touch football on the lawn.

"Now, this is the life," Tommy sighed as he threw his hands behind his head and leaned back in his lounge chair.

"It is. I mean, we can finally settle down and just relax," Kim smiled over at him before leaning over to lay a kiss on his cheek.

"Well, at least until that little guy is done cooking in your oven," Tommy couldn't help but snicker as he felt a backhand on his shoulder.

"You try carrying this thing around for nine months, Thomas. You wouldn't last one day," her eyes narrowed on her husband as an indication of her raging hormones were taking over.

Before Tommy had a chance to counteract her last comment, his cell phone rang. Putting a finger to his wife's lips, he pulled out his phone and answered it.

"Hello? Tommy Oliver speaking, how can I help you?" He replied as it fell silent.

Tommy listened intently to the other person on the line as his face began to take on several different emotions. Sitting up to look at his face, Kim grew concerned as she saw sadness sink more onto his face.

"Yes... No, I mean...well, yes I did. ...And you are certain? ...No, I'll be just fine. ..No, of course not. ...Yes, sir. ...Yes, thank you, Officer..." Tommy said quietly as he flipped the phone shut and looked down. He felt his heart skip a beat at that moment as he tried to figure out if the news he had just received was true. But deep down, he felt it. Somehow, he did. He felt the loss. The confusion. The pain.

Putting a hand on the side of his face, Kim turned his head to look at her. And where she had just say calmness, a sadness blanketed his face. "Tommy, Handsome, what's wrong?"

Figuring out what exactly to say, Tommy forced air back into his lungs before looking back up at Kim. Tears began to welt in his eyes before he felt Kim pull him into her, hugging and holding onto him as if his life depended on it. The tears fell slowly and his throat felt dry to the very last drop. He could barely breath, but he had to tell her. And everyone else.

"Kim," his voice shook with fear. "I just got off the phone with an officer from L.A. There was an accident.."

Kim pulled away for a moment looking at him with confusion. Tears began to welt in her eyes as she felt her stomach sink. She felt a suddenly line of dizziness, but before she could put her finger on it, Tommy had completed her thoughts.

"Our young Turbo friend, Commander Justin Stewart, was pronounced dead only thirty minutes ago," he managed to say before pulling her back into his arms. His face buried into her chest as he felt the loss.

"How?" Kim asked quietly as she began to rub his back, comforting him.

"Drunk driver. He was on his way down here when he got into the accident. Rushed him to the hospital, but he was D.O.A. by the time they got him into the E.R."

After Kim had digested the news, a silence fell over her as she pulled him even closer to him. "I'm so sorry, Handsome."

The moments felt like an eternity as Tommy tried to figure out if it was fate or something else that brought this up. He had remembered that Wes and Eric had told him they had several close calls from their trip into Reefside. And even as they were patrolling the streets of Silver Hills, they were nearly targeted by robbers. By other sources. They felt watch, almost violated in every step that they took. Jason had also told Tommy that he almost had a close incident with an accident during one of his patrols in L.A. He didn't know if it was coincidence or if it was merely not connected at all.

Tommy pulled away wiping away his tears and letting the air fill his lungs again. He looked over his shoulder as the sun was beginning to set, the game between his friends and family would be ending soon. But would he tell them? He had to. They had every right to know.

Calling it quits and slowly filing toward the porch for some refreshments and more food, the players were too pre-occupied over who won the game to see the black dino ranger standing at the top of the steps.

Stopping only to notice him standing there, a silence and murmur came over the crowd of rangers. Tommy had looked at the ones who had served with the young blue turbo ranger back in their days before looking at everyone else.

"Tragedy has struck the ranger family. I just got word from a police officer... Justin Stewart was pronounced dead nearly thirty minutes ago." Tommy had said as if it was like any other set of news.

People in the crowd shifted and swayed. Nearly collapsing, Andros caught Ashley as Carlos caught Cassie. Rocky and Adam exchanged a look of shock and sadness. T.J. had exchanged one with Carlos before looking over at Zhane with confusion and shock. The mixed thoughts in the crowd had filled each of them with sinking feelings. With sadness. Sorrow. Sympathy. Empathy. Tears welt in eyes, others were already sobbing. Others had sunk into themselves trying to grasp the news that came their way.

"How do we know it is true?" T.J. asked as he felt some of the pressure lay on him. He was in fact the leader of the team after Tommy and the others hung up their morphers. He was the one who paved the way for future generations of leaders. He had particularly kept a close eye on the young ranger during his time in the suit and made sure he didn't get hurt. He was playing the role of an almost overprotective older brother.

Tommy flipped open his phone as he read the text message he was just sent. "Because I just got confirmation from Jason that it is true."

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Tuesday, July 5th, 2005. Early morning.

Despite the tragic news from the previous day, the remaining rangers knew they just had to get out. Find a way to clear their heads and just try to figure out how to get away from the sadness and confusion. Wes and Eric had returned to Silver Hills while Blake and Cam returned to Blue Bay Harbor. Zack went back to establishing a contract with some landowners over a building in L.A. to start a dance school up by the beginning of September. The Space Rangers had returned to Angel Grove to keep things in line there and prepare for a trip up to space on the Astro Megaship.

Jason had managed to come down, deciding that it was time for a little guys day/night out. The girls were more for staying in and catching up on the latest gossip and romance movies as they sat around in their pajamas. But it was clear some of them were more stubborn to go than others.

Standing before the mirror in the master bathroom, Tommy had looked himself over shaking his head. He was in no mood to go out. He was still stricken by the news of the previous day. And no one could blame him considering what had already happened. He kept telling himself that there was nothing to worry about. This wasn't a bad thing. That it had no connection to a possible new threat the rangers had to deal with. He hoped that by the start of the fall semester he would hang up his morpher - hopefully for good. But with the thoughts of a new threat running through his head it was hard to think of other things.

Splashing cold water onto his face, he looked back into the mirror to watch it drain down like a set of veins. Forcing air back into his lungs, he just couldn't believe that another tragedy had struck the team. It didn't make sense to him. Didn't add up. But the reports - or what he was told by Jason - stated otherwise. They stated that Justin Stewart had been running over the limit by nearly ten miles per hour when a drunk driver had clipped him sending the car into a spin. He had crashed into several other cars before coming to a stop over a bypass. Luckily, he was wearing a seatbelt or he would have flown right over the bypass to the busy street below. But it was bad. Several people were injured and hospitalized. And then there were those that didn't make it; a total of four of them. He was one of them pronounced dead.

Tommy forced himself to not believe that any of this was a series of bad events; events that lead to some possible new threat against the ranger team. They had been out of commission for nearly two months now, and he had hoped that they could finally hang up their morphers and helmets for good this time. But there was no guarantee about that. There wasn't. He just hoped that it wasn't true at all. He just couldn't afford it. He wasn't sure if he was up to battling another enemy before he ever turned 30. He had seen far too many battles. More battles than he would have liked, but he was dealing. Dealing the best way he could, but for how long? How long would it be before he finally broke down?

"This has got to be a bad idea," he said quietly to himself, but apparently it wasn't quite enough.

Footsteps scurried through the bedroom coming to a halt by the threshold of the bathroom. "I think it is the best thing we could ask for right now, Handsome." Stepping into the bathroom, waddling over to her husband, Kim laid a kiss on his cheek before pulling him into a hug.

Though both of them didn't really like the idea of a little outing with their same-sex companions, it was the best way to clear their heads from all that has happened. And it was much needed. Despite the feeling of it being summer, it was still a stressful one. One that was not necessary for any of them.

Encouraging Tommy once more about the benefits of a night as this, he finally gave into it. He could only hope he would have as much fun as Kim was putting it.

And only minutes after that, Rocky and Jason nearly bursted into the house and dragged Tommy out like he was being kidnapped Watching with giggles, Kim waved out to them wishing them a good time as she had hoped to have with the girls on a night in.

"Is this really necessary?" Tommy protested as he tried to break out of his friends' strong grips.

"Sorry, we know how you are, T. You aren't in a good mood about any of this, so we have to force it upon you in order for it to work," Rocky said.

"Relax, it isn't too extremely out of the way. Just remember, whatever goes on stays between just us guys." Jason said as he pat his friend on the back.

"Then how come I have a bad feeling about this?" Tommy raised an eyebrow.

"It will be a relief off your shoulders. And you'll thank us for this someday," Rocky nodded back.

Rocky and Jason continued to drag Tommy down the driveway and shoved him into Rocky's truck before taking off like a bat out of hell. On the road, Tommy questioned the two about where they were gonna take him, but they had not said anything about it.

"Where are we going?" Tommy demanded as he raised his voice a little bit more.

"That's for us to know and you to find out, bro. Relax. It's nothing too out of the ordinary," Jason said as a smile passed his face patting the man in black sandwiched between him and Rocky.

"I was afraid you were gonna say that," Tommy murmured to himself.

The drive had consisted of some more memorable moments in their young lives, but also of Rocky's terrible singing that had both Jason and Tommy ready to jump the car at the next intersection if it got any worse. But as far as Tommy could tell, they were on their way out of Reefside and heading east.

In a parade behind them followed the rest of the guy rangers - those that had personally served with Tommy for a good part of their ranger careers. Adam and Billy were next in line, with the teens following behind them.

Meanwhile, back at the Oliver homestead, Aisha nearly stormed through the doors with Kira and Tanya. Kim was in no real mood to have anyone over, but it was clear that Aisha wasn't gonna accept a no from her. She paraded in with sweets, popcorn, make-up and several romance and a few horror movies for their viewing pleasure.

"Well, since you can't come out of the house considering you're more on bed rest than you need to be, we'll bring the party to you," Aisha stated as she tossed the line of movies on the coffee table.

"C'mon, 'sha, I'm tired. I was just going to head to bed..." Kim started to move out of the room, but Kira and Tanya grabbed her.

"Nice try. Since the guys are having a night out on the town - or whatever the hell they are doing - we're having a night of our own, too," Tanya protested pulling the pregnant woman back over to the sofa.

Kat and Hayley had arrived some time later. All crashing in the living room, the girls had settled on popping in a movie and piling up on the gossip they managed to muster about celebrity couples and other things.

_**-XXXXX-**_

Hours had passed.

Clearly on the outskirts of California along the border of Nevada, the trio of cars had come upon desert from all sides. It was now night and more confusion fell on Tommy's face as he finally realized they were no longer driving on paved road but the smooth sands of the desert.

"Where are we?" Tommy asked as Rocky pulled the truck to a stop. A plateau stood before them but it was clear there were lights coming from the other side of it.

Getting out of the truck, Tommy could hear the engines beyond the plateau. There was a line of loud bass-boosting music and screeching of tires as if someone had peeled out of a parked position. The other guys gathered around before walking up the plateau to see what was on the other side.

In the wake of their sight was what looked like a huge desert party blaring with techno music, flashing lights and racing. Street racing from not only cars, but motorcycles, A.T.V.s and several other forms of ground transportation. It was one big Street Wars desert party. And it was clear they could be getting more than they bargained for on this trip, but it was just one way to clear out their heads, even if something like this was illegal to host. It was a source of a huge black market sale, racing other men and women with decked out imported street cars. About learning the difference between straight throttle racing and the use of nitrous. And even seeing how creative some people have gotten with their rides from the high rolling Cadillac Escalades to the crotch rockets and the All-Terrain Vehicles. And who knows what else.

"I thought these things didn't exist," Ethan breathed as his eyes widened with shock. "And I thought these things were illegal, too."

"We're not here to crash it, are we?" Tommy looked over at Jason with a raised eyebrow.

Patting Tommy's shoulder, Jason only smiled. "What happened to living life in the fast lane? Sometimes you just gotta live a little, right? This is just apart of the thrill of the game in life."

"Now, you do realize if the girls find out where we are at, we're all dead, right?" Billy asked.

Adam and Rocky jumped on Tommy's back, nearly making him lose his balance. Despite some of the fear that ran through all of them, it was a thrill they were needing to experience.

"Let's go, T. Show these guys what you're rollin'. And we know you know how to run with it, Mr. Former-Race-Car-Driver," Rocky proclaimed as he pointed to an unattended tent close by.

"And I know these guys have been working on making their own little speed demon, isn't that right?" Adam looked over at the trio of teens in the mix of their circle.

Looking away, the trio had took a step back before following Jason down the hill. This was one thrill that these guys were not gonna forget.

_**-XXXXX-**_

Back in Reefside, the girls had all finally crashed for the evening. Well, more like early morning of the next day.

Kim slowly found her way heading up the stairs, but for the longest time she wasn't feeling too good. Quickly, peeking into Serena's room to make sure she was still asleep, a small smile passed her face when she moved away to catch her breath. She was feeling a little dizzy and lightheaded the entire evening. Letting out a painful breath before clearing the last set of stairs, she started to rub her stomach. Using the rail, she pulled herself toward the master bedroom. She moved passed the bed and into the bathroom nearly collapsing onto the sink counter to keep herself up.

Sweat filled her face from top to bottom as her breathing came more suppressed and short. Her entire body felt a little bit lighter, slightly warm as she reached over and turned on the faucet. Reaching over to cup the cold water in her hands, she took it and splashed it onto her face. But then she felt something else was wrong, or different about all of this. She looked down to see a pile of water underneath her as her underwear began to soak up with water.

Kim's water had just broke.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Kira had snuck into the bathroom. For the last few weeks she was feeling a little sick and dizzy at times. And her appetite wasn't where it was. She had refused to eat from time to time. She didn't say a whole lot the entire night nor anyone quite noticed the number of times she left the room. She was sitting on the toilet seat hugging herself before reaching over to take a drink from the water bottle she brought in with her.

Letting another breath escape her lips, she didn't want to think that all of this sickness had to do with what she was thinking about. But one time was all it took. One time to change everything. She shook her head, not wanting to think of the consequences of the decisions she had made only weeks ago.

She had thought about it from time to time, about the offer that Trent had made to her throughout the passed few weeks. He knew that she was in need of finding a place to stay as she moved onto a new chapter in her life. Onto getting a higher education and possibly landing that huge music contract. She didn't want to rush into it, but during the course of the last few months of their relationship, it had gradually gotten more intimate. More compassionate. More personal time between just the two of them.

But as she thought about the feelings of moving in with her boyfriend, she heard a shrieking cry echo through the house. She raced out of the bathroom and headed toward the cry that could almost match her own ptera scream. Running up the stairs and into the master bedroom, she met the startled and pale face of Kim.

"Kim, oh my god! Are you okay?" Racing over to catch her before Kim's legs nearly gave out from underneath her, Kira noticed the puddle of water in the bathroom. She looked over Kim again as she wrapped an arm around the teen in yellow. "Oh, shit!"

More footsteps echoed through the hall as the girls came to a halt in the master bedroom. Aisha raced over to support Kim's other side looking over at the puddle of water in the bathroom. Serena pushed passed all of them to lock her mother into a tight and worried hug.

The look on their faces turned to more shock and worry as the news finally fell over each of the girls present.

"Kim's having the baby," Aisha stated as Kim let out another painful breath.

**_-XXXXX-_**

Several hours later.

The first thing to come to Trent's ear after such a peaceful sleep was the blaring sound of his cell phone going off. Groaning and reaching over to where his phone was, he nearly fell out of the bed as he pushed the receiver to his ear. "Hello?"

"Trent! Thank God! I was getting worried..." but Kira's voice was a little too frantic and worrisome for Trent to fully grasp.

Calming her down and getting to his feet, Trent moved over a snoozing Rocky pulling the curtains free to see the bright blaring sun shine down on him. Kira continued to flip out as she was saying that she was trying to get a hold of him for hours. And as Trent stopped her again, she straight out and told him the news.

"Kim's water broke. She just went into labor," Kira said.

Nearly dropping the phone, Trent gasped as he shook his head. "What! Are you sure?"

"Trent, we just got to the hospital. And there is a puddle of water in their bathroom that likes to say otherwise. She's having the baby."

"But she isn't due for another month!" Trent protested as he nearly shouted. At the brink of that news, it made his stomach sink with surprise and shock. He knew that Kim wasn't due for at least another month, but it was never uncommon for a premature baby to come into the world. But he didn't expect the baby for another few weeks if not closer to the due date. But not now.

"Trent, where are you! You'd better get Dr. O and the others down here right now, or I swear there will be hell to pay..."

Trent was wiping the sleepiness out of his eyes as he continue to hear Kira freaking out on her side of the phone. He opened his eyes again as he met the brightness of the land. That's when his eyes widened with shock, and he dropped his phone, but caught it before it hit the ground. He was looking at the jungle and tropical paradise of the Mirage...in Las Vegas!

"Trent, where are you!"

Trent grumbled under his breath before looking back into the room, where it appeared as if nearly everyone looked a little wasted and out of it. Scattered throughout the suite, the guys found a place to crash on the floor, in chairs or the bed. "Kira, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Well, you'd better get your asses down here before we come find you."

Then the call ended and Trent let out another breath. He looked back out the window, and his eyes were not playing tricks on him. He was really looking at the strip of Las Vegas, Nevada. Smelling his shirt, he could smell the gasoline, smoke, alcohol and other substances that mixed into a unique odor. An odor that would need a lot of explaining when they got back to Reefside.

"But, how the hell did we end up in Las Vegas?" he asked himself trying to remember what happened the previous night. But he had no idea. He had no clue how the hell he got there...or any of them in this case.

Running through the room, trying to wake the guys up, not a single one of them was responding. Looking around the room, he could see the scattered sheets and other garments on the floor. He didn't even want to ask what happened, but he knew he had to get these guys out of there and on their way back to Reefside.

Looking around the room again, he had noticed that someone was missing. Letting out a breath, he headed out of the door looking for the man that was missing. "Adam."

He found Adam in the little zoo watching the dolphins getting fed in the early afternoon of the day. Calling out to him, the Korean man turned to look at him.

"I assume you just got the news about Kim?" Adam asked as a means of greeting.

"Adam, what the hell are we doing in Las Vegas! The last thing I remember was being in the desert racing down it at 120 miles per hour and the next thing I know we're here," Trent protested as he looked at the man. It appeared as if Adam was rather calm about the entire situation. That he didn't seem to mind any of this and that it wasn't a big deal. "Wait! You knew about Kim?"

"I just got the news a few minutes ago. Now, if you ask me about how the hell we got to Las Vegas, I won't be able to answer that. I don't think any of us will be able to."

"Well, I do know if we don't get Tommy and the others on their feet and back to Reefside, the girls are gonna come find us. If they find out we're here in Las Vegas, we're dead," Trent took a breath as he shook his head. He didn't want to think about what Kira would do to him if she heard about his night out with the older guy rangers. Let alone, he didn't want to think about what Kim would do to Tommy if there could have been some female companions along for their wild ride.

"We could be dead either way, but let's move before they decide to sniff us out."

Returning to the top floor of the Mirage, the duo began to wake up the line of guys in the suite. But it was clear that they were all nearly out of it, if not drunk too. They had to make sure they were all sober by the time they got to Reefside, or it would be hell when they got to the hospital.

Hours passed.

Crammed in two vehicles, Trent and Adam made the trip back to Reefside. And it was clear the guys were still out of it. But it was only gonna get longer when there was a reported accident on the interstate they were on.

**_-XXXXX-_**

Arriving at the hospital, the line of girls were screaming and yelling at a panic that it was really hard to understand any of them. One of the nurses had raced out of the sliding doors with a wheelchair as Aisha and Hayley helped the pregnant woman out of the car.

Despite the fact that Kat had already given birth to two kids, she was in a huge panic for her friend. For once, she was one the opposite end of the spectrum and she didn't realize how much nerve and panic came with it.

Kira was doing her best to calm them down, but it was hard on her own sake. She hadn't need to deal with someone really giving birth for a long time. And she was young when her own little brother came into the world, but somehow things were different. These people were like her second family. They meant a lot to her, and she would do anything for them. She carried Serena in her arms as she tried to keep her calm as well.

Tanya was also in a panic. That, though, she had not formerly worked with the original pink ranger, she knew exactly how much Kim had meant to her former leader, Tommy. She knew as any of them, that the heart of the team came from Kim. And if anything bad happened to her, she knew that Tommy would not take to it that well. She saw it when Kim had broken up with him years ago. He was a mess. He would shut down and not let a whole lot of people in.

Aisha had been pushing the wheelchair along with the heaving woman seated in it, but she was also leaving a message on Adam's voicemail informing him of the news. Hayley had been coaching Kim, telling her to relax and take deep and calm breaths, but it was hard for her to grasp what was going on. She was going into a panic. Kim was screaming in pain, whining and crying about where her husband was, but none of the girls could provide a straight answer.

Trying to tell her to calm down again, Hayley had looked over to Kira hoping to get some answers from her. She had just gotten off the phone with Trent, and she knew that she was the only one that was able to get a hold of one of the guys.

"Where did they say they were?" Hayley asked.

Kira shook her head as she raced alongside the wheelchair taking Kim's hand as she reached out for hers. Looking over at the technical director, she could only shrug trying to calm her senses. "Trent didn't say. But I told them, if they didn't get down here soon, there would be a lot of hell to pay."

"That's for sure," Aisha said. "I don't care what they were doing, they're still gonna have a piece of my mind."

Two more nurses had raced over to the group of women, taking the wheelchair along with them and racing down the hall with her. Following close behind, Aisha and Kira grew a little weary about whether or not the guys would be there on time.

**_-XXXXX-_**

Sitting nearly bumper to bumper on the highway, Trent was already getting more frustrated from behind the wheel of Conner's car. It would take a miracle if they ever got to the hospital on time at this rate. They had been on the road for nearly two hours now, and they had finally cleared the border of Nevada going into California. And at the speed they were going, they would be lucky if they even made it by midnight.

It was already running late into the afternoon, and he was too scared to call up Kira to hear what the status of Kim was. He knew that she would be asking too many questions. But he, as all of them, had agreed not to speak of that night to no one else but each other. Outside of their circle, this bond that they had created would have no right to know what went on that night. The only problem was, he didn't even remember what happened that night.

Situated in the car, Conner, Ethan and Billy were still passed out around him. Trent figured it was no good from Adam's own car. He figured the guys were just as wasted up there as they were in this car. And that's what worried him more; if they wouldn't be coming to any time soon.

Before they had left, Adam had slipped a pill into each of the guy's mouths. The hang-over pill - his special blend - that should hopefully clear out their system by the time they got there; if they got there on time.

Adam, himself, was getting more frustrated, knowing that waiting on this highway any longer would drive him mad. Tommy was sitting in the passenger seat, still passed out. Just like Rocky and Jason in the back. Gesturing out the window toward Trent behind him, he was only making the best suggesting they could come up with. Take the back roads back into Reefside and hope that they could get there faster.

Following Adam's lead, the two cars had took an exit onto the desert plains of eastern California and began their journey back to Reefside at top speed.

**_-XXXXX-_**

Situated in one of the hospital beds of a room where pregnant women were waiting for their cue to give birth, Kim had been slightly sedated to keep her nerves calm. But tears were still streaking her face in sadness and fear. Fear that her husband wouldn't be there to witness the birth of their son. And she knew she would kill him for missing it. Let alone, he would probably hang himself for missing his son's birth.

Knocking on the door quietly before entering, Aisha and Kira walked in to meet the lone Kim on the bed. They walked over to her, each taking her hand as Kim opened her tear-stained eyes. A light smile passed over the two yellow rangers as they tried to find the words to say to keep her calm.

They had been waiting for hours now, and the doctors had come in, checked how big she was, and shook their heads simply saying she was still not big enough to allow a baby to pass through. To make matters worse, there was still no word from the guys. Where there was worry, there was also frustration, some anger, and a need to beat up the guys when they showed up. It was clear the women wanted some explanation from them, and if they wouldn't get it, they would find a way to get it out of them.

"Where is Tommy?" Kim managed to say calmly. But as her husband's name escaped her lips, tears began to fall from her eyes. "I want my husband."

Aisha had pushed a stray of hair away from Kim's face as she smiled. "He'll be here. You know, he's probably out there saving the world, home girl. But he'll be here."

Kira leaned over and hugged the original pink ranger. "Yeah, you know how he can be from time to time. Always gotta show off just a little. And he always likes to make an entrance. But he never lets anyone down."

Kim had to smile, despite the fact that she knew her friends were lying. They didn't want her to worry and say that they had not gotten a hold of the guys in hours, but she was worried. How could Tommy do this to her? Was it just some sick twisted way to avoid seeing the birth of their son? Or was it merely just some untimely consequence that no one had expected? It was hard to say.

She knew, as any of them, that she wasn't due for another month. But it was nothing new to hear about premature births. She just wished that it wasn't by this much. But apparently, she was wrong. She just couldn't hold on anymore and this baby just had to come out.

They had already been waiting for a total of a day and two hours now - 26 hours - and still no sign from the guys or the okay to go into the labor room. She laid there turning her head away as she let out a sharp painful breath.

"Find him, guys," Kim pleaded as she looked up at them with more tears. "Or I swear, I will kill him if he doesn't show up soon."

The two yellow rangers nodded in turn before leaving the room. They walked down the hall to where the other women were waiting. Hayley had been there beside Katherine and Tanya to keep them calm. Serena had fallen asleep not too far from them on the couch. They had been in a panic the entire time, and they weren't sure what to do. As far as they could tell, they would hurt each and every one of the guys when they showed up.

They had been waiting for far too long, and it was almost a wonder how Kim's water broke nearly a day ago and she still wasn't ready to go into the labor room; especially since she was a tiny person.

Hayley had been trying to track the guys' cars or energy readings but for some strange reason, she couldn't. As the women looked on for more information from the technical director, she could only shake her head in sadness. She couldn't find them and she had no idea where they were.

During the entire time, the guys cell phones were shut off. Every single one of them. Including Adam and Trent, the two guys that the girls were managed to get a hold of. And that's what worried them even more.

Four hours later.

The doctor had come into the room and woke the sleeping Kim. Then he checked Kim once again. With a light smile on his face, he nodded in turn. "It's time, Kimberly. Are you ready?"

Looking around the room, she fell into a panic when she had seen that no one else was in the room, but her and the doctor. Shaking her head, there were more tears there. Her husband was nowhere in sight and she didn't want to go into the delivery room alone. She just couldn't.

"Has my husband checked in yet?" she pleaded as she began to shake with fear. At that point, she wasn't mad that he wasn't there. She was upset to find him not there. She had hoped that he was there, somewhere. Anywhere. And she really wanted him at her side. She needed him to comfort and console her.

"I'm sorry, Kimberly, but he has not," Dr. Walsh replied in a bit of sadness. "But I am sure he will be here. If it is okay with you, shall we move you to the delivery room to begin?"

Kimberly let another tear escape her eye before nodding. The doctor called in several nurses to help the woman out of the room and into a wheelchair before getting wheeled passed her friends and down to the delivery room.

**_-XXXXX-_**

Coming to a screeching stop beyond the emergency vehicles, Adam's hard braking skills finally awoke the two men in the back of his car. Groaning in confusion and looking around slightly dazed, Adam had moved around to the passenger door where Tommy was still sleeping.

Trent was only one step behind him with a confused and dazed group of rangers. Looking slightly frustrated, he moved over to Adam's side who was still trying to wake up Tommy. "That's the last time we decide to take the back roads back into town. I think it took us a whole lot longer than if we would have stayed on the main road."

"Well, we're here. If we're lucky, we could get this guy upstairs and into the delivery room before the girls find out we've been gone this long," Adam said as he began to tap at the other man in black's face. "I give you nearly a day to recover and you're still out like a light? Damn you, Tommy! Wake up!"

"What's going on? What happened?" Ethan groaned as he looked around confused. "Why are we at the hospital?"

But before he could finish saying anything else, Trent had stabbed him with a syringe given by Adam. Wincing in pain, he smacked Trent's hand away just as he pulled it out. Moving quickly to drive another syringe into Billy and Conner's arms the duo winced in pain and confusion. Adam had stuck Rocky and Jason with another set of syringes that made them groan as well.

"Apparently, those pills didn't work. But I've given each of you guys an adrenaline boost, and something to clear out your system. You should be back to normal in less than 15 minutes. But we need to get this guy..."

Footsteps had echoed through the parking lot toward them as they heard the clamoring yelling from several women. Looking over his shoulder only briefly, Adam finally saw Tommy's head move as he drove a pill into his mouth and stabbed him with another syringe.

Helping the dazed man to his feet, Adam and Trent pulled Tommy out of the car only to be stopped by a line of angry women rangers.

"Ooh. Um...hey, guys. Look at who we found," Ethan smiled but it was dropped when Kira glared at him.

"Where have you guys been?" Kat back-handed Jason's shoulder as he was making his way out of the car.

"Better yet, why the hell was your phone off!" Tanya glared at Rocky.

"Hey!" Adam yelled over the screaming and clamoring of the ranger women. "Look, I'd like to stay and hash this out right now, but we need to get this guy up to his wife's side, right now."

"You're lucky, they just took her to the delivery room," Aisha said as she tossed Adam a doctor's jacket.

"But I ain't delivering the baby, am I?" Adam raised an eyebrow.

Aisha pushed Adam aside and began to fit the jacket onto Tommy. "No. But if Kim doesn't see him right away, maybe she'll calm her nerves a little before she decides to kill him. As well as the rest of you guys for being late. If he steps into the room looking more like a doctor, she should ease up."

"'Should' being the operative word," Ethan exclaimed a little too loudly that had the other women glare at him again.

"Oh, you got a lot of explaining to do, Ethan," Kira smacked him on the back of the head.

"Hey!" Ethan shot back slightly upset. "You can't just put the blame on just me..."

"And I wasn't," she exclaimed as she looked over at Conner. "Do you have something to say?"

Conner looked away and shook his head. "No. Not at all."

Then she looked over at Trent who couldn't stand to look at her at that moment as she walked over to him. "Or you? How dare you turn off your phone when you knew that Kim's water broke? I told you..."

"You told me to get the guys here as soon as I could. And I did," Trent countered but kept his voice leveled. He didn't want to raise it to her, let alone he couldn't help but notice she was in a more bad mood for the last month or so. And he didn't quite understand why, but had hoped that it was nothing too extremely serious.

Kira pulled her hand back. And by the look of it, it looked like she was about to strike him much harder than they would have seen from her. It was apparently obvious that she was pissed off, but they didn't think she would be this upset. Unless it was something else, as Trent exchanged a look with his two best friends. She sent her hand forward, but stopped inches from Trent's face. "You did. But I want some explanation for why the hell it took so long. It's clear that you guys weren't here in the city."

"No doubt about that," Kat sent her own glare over toward Jason. He could only look away.

Aisha and Adam had already moved back toward the hospital entrance with a slightly dazed Tommy. He was finally coming to, but he was also still in the states of getting out of a hangover-like headache. As the trio raced through the hospital, the duo managed to slip more doctor-like items onto the man expecting a child.

By the time they got him up to the third floor where the delivery room was located, they had slipped him into a doctor's mask and a set of gloves before shoving him passed the E.R doors.

Aisha had pushed Adam forward telling him that he was going along to watch the progress of the situation. As well as assist Dr. Walsh in delivering the baby as Aisha informed him. Adam had clearly stated he was not certified in that field, but the yellow ranger gave him a look that merely told him he would have to go along with it or feel her wrath.

He knew he couldn't argue with that as he followed Tommy into the delivery room. Already prepped for the delivery of the child, Kim was in tears over the fact her husband was still not present. Or so, she thought.

The two men joined Dr. Walsh and the two nurses by Kim's side. Still feeling the aftershock of the medicine Adam had administered, Tommy still looked a little pale and confused. However, he was coming to, which was a good thing.

Kim whimpered in pain as she felt the contractions come in closer together. And according to the doctors – Dr. Walsh and Dr. Park – they both knew it was time as Adam began to explain the situation to the other doctor. Nodding in turn, Dr. Walsh looked over at the other man in the room and winked.

Dr. Walsh walked over to Kim patting her gently on the arm as the other man – this mysterious man – took her hand in his. But she had pulled away as a set of tears fell from her eyes. It was clear that she couldn't tell this man was really her husband at her side moments before she would give birth to their first child.

"Where is Tommy? I want my husband here," she cried quietly. But winced in pain again as another contraction fell over her small frame.

"We need to begin, now. These contractions are right on top of each other and we can't wait any longer," the doctor replied.

The mysterious man took her hand again, but this time Kim didn't refuse as she clasped his hand. Getting fitted to help in the delivery, Adam was also gloved and masked to protect himself and the woman from any penetrating disease or germs.

As Dr. Walsh moved to his position, Adam had moved to her other side, pushing a pressure point to cause her to relax just a little bit more.

"Okay, Kim, you ready? I'm gonna give you the count of three to start pushing..." the main doctor announced.

Kim shook her head pleading to wait it off just a little bit longer. It was clear she was fighting the urge to just give birth. She refused to do it without her husband there.

The man who had locked his hand with hers had pulled it up to run down the side of his face. Kim turned to look up at him with some confusion. The confusion was soon turned to relaxation and relief as some fear fell over the man. He wasn't sure what type of punishment he would get for being late, but he was there now, and that's what mattered most. Pulling down the doctor's mask, the man revealed his identity to her. Leaning down, Tommy pushed his lips against Kim's forehead as she relaxed under his touch.

"I'm here, Beautiful. Sorry I'm late," he whispered.

"You always like to make an entrance, don't you?" she smiled up at him, running a hand down his face. Pulling him down to place a kiss on his lips, they shared a passionate moment. However, it ended quickly when Kim bit down on Tommy's bottom lip. And this wasn't a tease. It was one way to say she was upset and that he would be getting it when this was over.

Licking his lip and rubbing it, Tommy could taste the blood as it filled his mouth. Now, finally alert to the situation, he didn't blame her for that, but had hoped she could show some compassion for the fact she managed to wait it out until his arrival.

Kim pulled him down for another soft kiss, sucking a little on the cut she made on his lip. "Sorry, baby, but you've just left Earth and now entering Hell."

Looking slightly confused, Tommy had not heard Dr. Walsh give Kim the count to begin pushing. Feeling Kim's grip tighten around his hand, it took him off-guard as he almost collapsed to the ground. The pain shot through his hand and up his arm, making his knees buckle. And Kim was beginning the first set of stages to childbirth.

Screaming out in pain, Kim started to push Tommy away as the tears became more evident in her eyes. "I hate you! I hate you, Tommy! Get away from me... aaahhhh..."

Tommy looked at her confusion as he looked toward the two other men in the room. "But, baby..."

Almost in unison, the two doctor's replied as a smile passed under their masks. "It's completely normal."

Breathing and heaving hard against suppressed screaming, Kim nearly crushed the bones in her husband's hand. Not that she was trying to do it intentionally. But, she was just in pain. In major pain for pushing this little life out of her.

"Okay, you're doing great, Kim. Just keep breathing and pushing," Dr. Walsh said with a light smile as he watched the process of it.

Forcing air into her lungs again, Kim forced out another huge push as she felt the shift and pain running through her body. During the process, she had crushed down on Tommy's hand again.

With the constant yelling about how much Kim hated him, it was almost hard to tell if she was just lying. But as she continued to crush down on his hand, it was clear that she didn't want him to go anywhere. Tommy tried to keep his cool, but it was clear that after this, his hand might just get cut off or wrapped up for the damage done. Suppressing his own screaming from the force Kim had, he was almost surprised she could have such strength.

Tears fell from Kim's eyes as she shook her head. She was already getting exhausted and she didn't want to push anymore. She just didn't have the strength.

"I can't...I can't...I just can't push anymore..." Kim cried as she shook her head.

Tommy laid a kiss on her sweaty head, wiping it as he tried to pull his crushed hand from Kim's. But she wasn't letting go. It was as if they were glued together or stuck together. "C'mon, baby, I'm here right beside you..."

The other two doctors also continued to encourage her as she let out a breath giving another big push.

"I see a head," Dr. Walsh announced as he nodded toward the other medical doctor.

Adam had moved to see the progress, nodding and confirming the results. There was a head. And that was a start.

Kim's eyes bursted with more tears again. She looked over at Tommy, pulling her closer to him. These weren't tears of happiness but of fear. "Baby, I'm so sorry I yelled at you... I just can't..."

"Tommy, would you like to see the progress?" Dr. Walsh offered as Kim let out another small push.

Stunned, Tommy only made a brief peek as he felt his stomach churn. He might have been a science teacher, but being in the actual presence of watching a baby being born made him sick to his stomach. The grip around his hand tightened again as Kim gave out another scream pushing with all of her might.

Not being able to hold in his own screaming from the pain, his yelp had matched that of Kim's as she pushed again. "Owww!"

"We got shoulders," Dr. Walsh confirmed with a nod. "Now, Kim, one more big push and you should be done."

Feeling no circulation coming back to his hand, Tommy laid a head on Kim's shoulder as he tried to catch his breath. He thought if it was this much effort for childbirth, he wasn't sure he was really wanting another kid. And he was also worried about Kim's small frame. She was much bigger than he would have known for a woman of her size, and it was clear there had to be some problem with that.

Taking a breath, he pushed another kiss to Kim's forehead. "Okay, baby, just one more push. Okay?"

"Okay. Okay." Kim whimpered as she reached over, clinging to her husband for dear life.

"Breathe. Just breathe," he whispered.

Taking in several breaths, and under a pressure point push from Adam, Kim relaxed a little before giving out one last push. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she had grabbed Adam as well, squeezing down on both of the man's hands. Not expecting it at all, Adam had joined Tommy as they screamed in pain nearly matching her own.

Then it was over as the echoing cry of a baby filled the room.

The tears of pain had turned to happiness as Dr. Walsh had pulled up the baby that had just come from Kim's womb. Letting go of Adam's hand and moving over to hug Tommy, they all let out a huge sigh of relief. Kim's hand loosened around Tommy's own as he slowly felt the blood rush back into his hand.

"Congratulations, guys. It is a boy," Dr. Walsh nodded in turn. Holding out the scissors for Tommy, he took them as he caught his own breath. "Would you like to do the honor's, Tommy?"

It was finally over.

He laid another gentle kiss on Kim's lips. Then she had pushed him forward as he cut the umbilical cord from the little life. Crying quietly, the doctor set the little baby boy into Tommy's arms. He moved over to Kim's side as a weak smile fell over her lips.

Adam patted Kim on her shoulder, looking at her. It was clear there was something going on, but Tommy wasn't paying attention. He was too overwhelmed and happy to see his son lay in his arms. This was his son. And not that he could have appreciated Serena in any way, but this was the first birth he had witnessed. And he can clearly say that this was his. His own flesh and blood with whom he had created with the woman he loved with all his heart.

"Have you chosen a name for him?" Dr. Walsh asked as he walked over to one of the nurse's recording the information on the birth.

Looking over at Kim again, Tommy saw the smile on her face. A little nod came from her. And in unison, the two replied. "David."

"David Thomas Anton Oliver," Kim replied in a small voice as she reached over to touch the baby boy's arm.

The other nurse took the child from Tommy as she moved to clean him up. And relaxation fell over the husband and wife.

But then Dr. Walsh had slipped on a new set of medical gloves as did Adam moving back over to Kim.

"Are you ready for round two?" Adam had finally spoke up before looking over at Tommy.

It didn't register right away until every set of eyes fell on the science teacher. He finally felt the eyes on him as he looked around. Confusion and a raised eyebrow met Adam as Kim took Tommy's hand again.

"Surprise, Handsome," she pushed his hand to her lips. "We're having twins."

"What!" Tommy nearly jumped, but the grip Kim had on him told him he wasn't going anywhere.

"Okay, Kim. Now, this shouldn't be as bad as the first one. Are you ready? Start pushing," Dr. Walsh announced.

"Whoa. No," Tommy shook his head. He was clearly not believing this. It had to be a joke. It just had to be. There was no way he was expecting two babies, nor did he ever noticed them in the ultrasounds. He only saw one baby in there. He knew. He saw it. "There is not another one cooking in this oven..."

"Oh yes there is, you horny son of a bitch," Kim cried as she winced in pain and screamed.

Tommy let out another painful yelp as he felt the blood circulation leave his hand. And the process of labor fell over those present in the room once again.

The moments felt like an eternity since Kim was so exhausted from pushing out the other baby.

Hearing encouraging words from the men in the room, the small woman pushed herself to continue. She had to get this out. Once she did, she could finally relax and think about getting back into the cute clothes and outfits she had missed out on for nearly nine months.

"Okay, Kim. Just one more big push and she should be out," Dr. Walsh nodded.

Kim nodded as Tommy looked at her with confusion. It was clear that the medical doctors in the room knew about Kim having twins. And the gender of each one. Kim could only let out a small smile to delay the shock she had seen in her husband's face. He was still getting over the fact that there were twins. And that Kim didn't tell him about it.

Squeezing Tommy's hand with all of her might, the small woman gave one last push as the echoing cry of a baby filled the room. Relaxing and catching her breath, Kim's grip loosened only a bit as her head fell back. She was exhausted. She was tired. She was weak. There was no doubt about that.

But where shock and dismay once sat on Tommy's face, it was soon gone and a smile fell over his face. He was a father...again. And not to just one, but two. Twins. Adam handed Tommy the scissors as he cut the umbilical cord of the tiny little girl.

Dr. Walsh had handed the nurse the little girl as the other nurse returned with little David. Placing the sleeping baby into Tommy's arms she smiled and congratulated the married couple on the delivery of the twins.

"And the name for your daughter?" the other nurse asked in a soft tone.

Looking over at Kim, Tommy didn't know what to say. He didn't even know that he was going to have a little girl. And he didn't even quite think of a name for her. The discussions were made, but there was no confirmation on what to name the little girl if they had one. And now they did.

Kim gave a weak smile. "Trini. Trini Krista Ann Oliver." Then she looked up at Tommy and their son sitting in his arms.

Tommy couldn't help but smile as he leaned over to let Kim see the baby in his arms. He laid a kiss on her lips before laying a head on her shoulder. "There aren't anymore in there are there?"

Kim giggled quietly. "No, Handsome. There was only two in there. How is your hand?"

Pulling it out and flexing it, he winced a little. He had to admit that it still hurt, but he didn't want to break it to her. "I think its fine. But I think I'll have Adam look at it later."

Adam couldn't help but chuckled to himself as he pulled down the doctor's mask. But as he moved over to the other side of the room, he had noticed the stream of blood that seemed to continue to fall. Looking over at Kim, he saw her eyes grow a little heavy and her heart rate had dropped a few beats.

Kim winced quietly as her eyes grew heavy. And the world around her started to turn dark. Looking over at Tommy, she lightly touched his hand, but her eyes couldn't stay open. "Tommy..."

But the words had escaped her lips so quietly it was almost hard to understand. The other nurse had moved to place the little baby girl into Kim's arms, but by that time Kim's eyes fell shut. And her heart rate dropped down another set of beats.

Dr. Walsh slipped on a new set of medical gloves directing instructions to the other medical people in the room. "We gotta move, now. We need to get her into surgery. Stat."

Unable to move from his spot, Tommy stood there with the twins in his arms alone. The rest of the people had already moved into the emergency room. Fear ran through his bones as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. Things were just fine only moments ago, and now there was turmoil.

And if he feared the worse, he hoped that it wasn't true. He had read numerous reports about how mother's would give birth to their young, but didn't have the strength to live after childbirth. It would be due to lack of oxygen, or blood, or other means. And he didn't want to make anything of it. He couldn't. He wouldn't. But as he stood there alone with the twins, he just wanted to hit the floor and cry desperately for help. And support.

Hours passed slowly.

And Tommy found himself in the waiting room among his friends, his hand wrapped up due to the damage done. Just a sprain, and would be taken off in a few days. Still in shock over the news, the other rangers and technical director could not believe the news. It was twins. Somehow, they all knew. But they didn't think it was possible. But Adam was still back there with Dr. Walsh in the emergency room.

And when they had gotten word that Kim was taken into surgery, worry fell over all of them. Eyes would fall on Tommy, but no one found the words to ask him if he was okay or not. They knew he just needed some time to himself. Occasionally, a hand would touch his shoulder and congratulate him, but sympathy and empathy fell over them as well. They wanted to tell Tommy that things were okay, but couldn't quite find the words to say it.

The hours felt like an eternity as they waited. Not a single one of them wanted to even go and see the twins without knowing if Kim was okay first. Sitting off away from the group, Tommy kept to himself the entire time. He didn't know what to say. As far as he could tell, he was upset. Felt that there had to be some blame put on him about this entire situation.

But no one was blaming him, but himself. The others were merely trying to encourage him. To tell him that things were gonna be okay and that there was nothing to worry about at all. There was nothing. He had to push himself to believe that. He had to push himself to believe a lot of things, especially at times like this.

Echoing through the halls beyond the operation area were footsteps. People rose as they saw Adam step out before them. Looking away, it was hard to tell what his initial reaction was. The man moved over to Tommy as everyone followed hoping to hear some good news about the situation.

"How is she, Adam?" Aisha was the first to ask as she was holding onto Rocky's hand.

After forcing air into his lungs, Adam had looked up and pushed open a small smile. "She's gonna be okay. She lost a lot of blood, but she will be just fine. She's stable now. They're moving her into a room at this very moment."

Relief fell over several of them as they fell onto chairs, or embraced each other in a hug. But there was still another cloud lurking in the room. There was something else that they were missing. And Jason was the first one to figure it out as he had clasped Tommy's shoulder. Tommy, himself, had relaxed under the good news, but he, too, had felt the cloud over what was about to happen next.

"But…" Jason could tell there was more the medical doctor wanted to say.

Everyone stopped and looked over at the medical doctor again. But he didn't say anything as he pulled Tommy to his feet, pulling him out of the group of people. It was clear that it was only fair he heard the news first, and no one could blame him for that. Still being nosy, however, the rest of the team had leaned in hoping to hear the news that Adam was about to tell Tommy.

Putting a hand on his arm, Adam forced Tommy to look at him. "I'm not gonna lie to you, Tommy. She did loss a lot of blood, and the aftermath of giving birth to twins for such a small woman as herself raises a lot of issues."

Tommy looked away at the moment trying to muster what was about to come out of his friend's mouth. He could feel his throat dry up and tears begin to form in his eyes, blurring his vision. He blinked them away as he looked back at Adam, hoping to hear the news he needed to hear.

"Kim may not be able to conceive again," Adam said simply, catching the other man as Tommy's legs buckled.

Shaking his head, he didn't want to believe that that was true. But he wasn't so sure. He didn't know what to believe. "No. It can't be true. It can't…"

"Tommy, listen to me," Adam rose his voice a little as he looked over at his friend. "I said 'maybe'. That is the operative word. It doesn't mean that that is true. So, don't get your hopes down about any of this. She is just really tired and exhausted. And no one could blame her for that. She pushed out two kids simultaneously on top of the fact, the huge difference in their weight. That's not exactly what one could consider normal, especially for twins."

At that moment, Tommy didn't realize that that was true. He had to think back to the moments he had held the two babies in his arms. These babies which he had created with the love of his life. David was in his right arm, while Trini was in his left. And it was clear you could see the difference in their size. Trini was in fact smaller than David. And as he looked at the report Adam handed to him, it was true.

"'Certificate of Birth. Name: David Thomas Anton Oliver. Sex: Male. Born on: July 7th, 2005. Time: 05:04 p.m. Height: 21 inches. Weight: 9 pounds, 14 ounces. Eye Color: golden-brown with hazel patches. Hair Color: dark brown. Place of Birth: Reefside Memorial Hospital. City: Reefside. State: California. Country of Birth: USA. Father's Name: Thomas Anthony Oliver. Mother's Name: Kimberly Ann Hart-Oliver. …."

"'Certificate of Birth. Name: Trini Krista Ann Oliver. Sex: Female. Born on: July 7th, 2005. Time: 05:18 p.m. Height: 17 inches. Weight: 6 pounds. Eye Color: deep dark blue-purple. Hair Color: honey-golden brown. Place of Birth: Reefside Memorial Hospital. City: Reefside. State: California. Country of Birth: USA. Father's Name: Thomas Anthony Oliver. Mother's Name: Kimberly Ann Hart-Oliver. …'"

"And the twins? What about…?" Tommy looked from the files to his friend he knew as one of only medical doctor's he could really trust.

"They are both healthy. Devoid of any birth defects or side effects that I know of. They are fine." Adam pushed Tommy up the hall. "Go. She'll expect to see you when she wakes up. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything."

"Thanks, man." Tommy clasped his friend in a ranger handshake before making his way up the hall.

"I got your back, T," Adam called out before looking over the other set of notes and records on his clipboard. Turning to see the anxious eyes of the other rangers, he knew he had to tell them the truth as well.

Tommy moved up the hall to the room where his wife was resting. In those moments to himself to grasp the news, he could feel a pain running through him. He was still hurting over the news of what had happened. He was looking at the 'what if's' about the entire situation. And it was not a good thing. Guilt filled him as he walked up the hall and stood outside the door to the room. Feeling his grip tighten around the doorknob, he opened it and stepped inside.

Beside the main bed, he saw the two small figures sleeping in their respect bed. Then he saw the woman he had loved with all his heart. He didn't know what he would do if things could have been worse. And that's when he had looked at the 'could have's' about the situation. Things that could have happened, but didn't. And it let some of the burden fall from his shoulders. He didn't have to worry. What mattered was that everyone was okay.

Walking over to the bed where Kim laid, he pulled up a seat beside her, taking her hand into his. The last time he had been in the hospital with Kim was when that accident happened on the balance beam. Now, here he was, years ago. A different man. A whole different situation. They were there for the fact that within that room was two babies they had brought into this world through their love.

Stirring quietly, Kim turned her head as she felt the warm lips of her husband land against hers. Her eyes fluttered open and a weak and tired smile fell on her lips. "Hey, you."

"Hey, Beautiful," he whispered before laying another kiss on her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. And a little tired," she shifted a little as she pulled Tommy's hand up to her lips.

"I don't blame you. And after…" he tried to say.

"Shh…" she shook her head. It was clear she didn't want to hear any bad news at the moment. And Tommy didn't blame her for that. "So, where are my babies?"

Tommy got up and walked over to the small bed stations that housed David and Trini. Pulling up Trini first, he walked over to Kim and placed the baby girl into her arms. Then he moved to get David, who was a little more squirmish for being moved. But as he found comfort in his father's arms, he relaxed and fell back into a deep sleep.

Making room for Tommy on the bed, he sat beside Kim looking at the twins within their embraces.

"He's so big. Must take after his father," Kim giggled quietly as she touched David's face.

"And she is so small. Seems like she's already like her mother," Tommy said before laying a kiss on Kim's forehead. "I love you, Kimberly."

"I love you, too, Handsome," Kim poked at David's tiny nose. "He looks so much like you."

"Not really. I don't think so. She looks more like you then he looks like me," Tommy ran his hand down Trini's soft face.

After sitting in silence for a moment grasping what was theirs...what they had… a small knock came to the door. The door opened as Serena peeked into the room followed by Trent, who was pulling Kira along. But it was clear she didn't want to intrude. She wasn't exactly of family, but Trent had said otherwise as he joked the two of them would act like a married couple from time to time.

"Hi, mommy, hi, daddy," Serena whispered as she walked into the room. "Can we come in?"

The two nodded in turn as she pulled Trent into the room, who in turn pulled Kira alongside him. And though Kira was still feeling just a little out of place, Tommy and Kim had insisted that it was okay she stayed.

"We agreed and said that family would be in first to see the two of them," Trent said as he moved to one side of the bed. He placed Serena on the bed as she crawled over to greet her new little brother and sister.

It was clear the trio was just as shocked and confused to see the difference in the two newborns. And it was clear no one could blame them. But with one look from Tommy, they didn't want to ask why or how. They would get more details later. They could tell that Kim was tired and needed some time to rest.

The moments they had grasped being a family, the world around them seemed to enlighten. Things were gonna be okay. No matter what, with friends and family there, they knew they would all be all right.

Kira invited the rest of the ranger family in, as the room crowded with not only them, but gifts as well. Flowers, balloons, and even some new toys, clothes and items for the twins.

On a day like this, nothing bad could happen. And they would all make sure of it.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Saturday, July 30th, 2005, 1:00pm. The Oliver Homestead.

Despite what had only happened weeks ago, things around the homestead had slowly settled down. It was time for some fun. This would be Serena's first birthday in the states, so to her, it was almost re-living the memories of having a birthday for the very first time.

Let alone, no one could blame her parents for nearly pulling out all the stops to make it a really special day for her. They put in a lot of effort to make it a special day. Not only was Serena turning seven years old, but it would be the first birthday she got to spend with her father. It was also special in the sense that she was turning seven in the month of July-hence the seven-lucky number seven for her. Despite the fact that her official birthday was two days ago, it was for the sake of her friends.

The theme in itself was no real surprise to the older guests with a Power Ranger-oriented theme. In a general sense it blended in several different teams, but the focus was more on the current team, the Dino Thunder team.

The teens were the coordinators of the festivities since they knew that both Tommy and Kim would have their hands slightly full with the twins. Trent manned the sound station. Kira was in charge of the entertainment while Ethan and Conner were the emcees for it.

This was Serena's day. And it was clear that she had every right to getting as much attention as possible. And the teens made sure that it was one day she would not forget. They all knew she was slightly discouraged by the amount of attention her parents had put on the newborn twins, so it was up to them to make the day well worth it.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Tuesday, August 9th, 2005, 11:30pm. Los Angeles, CA.

In LA, doing some business for her musical career, Tanya Sloan had pulled another long day at the studio. Not that she had gotten used to the long days between her singing career and her life as a lawyer, she had to add the small role of playing a Power Ranger in all of this.

"Once a ranger, always a ranger," she had told herself quietly as she moved out of the studios down the hall.

It was quiet as she tried to reflect on the last few months of her life. It was full of surprise and shock. It took turns that nearly surprised her in ways she could not believe. But her entire life was one filled with lots of surprise, mystery and hardship. But she got by. She managed. She proved herself time and time again.

She had her friends to keep her going. But she had to admit that her relationship with Rocky was on the rocky side, especially during these last few months. Not that she could say she cared for him-she did; he was becoming more like his old self. More of a player, almost, a guy who lived by the code of single-life. Of being a bachelor for as long as possible. But as long as the friendship was still there than she was willing to let that keep them close. If they couldn't get anymore intimate then they have, at least they still had their friendship to live on.

She said good-bye to one of her producers and headed out of the door. Even on a summer night, it was rather chilly. She pulled the coat up closer around her looking into the quiet night. She walked down the stairs onto the sidewalk and up the street hoping to find more life than the darkness of the street she was on. She had to admit she was a little shaken up with fear for the silence, and it took her by surprise from time to time, but she dealt with it.

Then she heard voices as she rounded the corner. Looking at the two people up the sidewalk, her eyes narrowed to see if she could see them better. She swore the voices sounded familiar but what she was looking at just didn't make any sense to her. It couldn't be. Could it?

Walking hand-in-hand, was Aisha and Rocky. And that just didn't make sense to her. She knew that Aisha was up in Angel Grove visiting family for a few days. And Rocky was down in Reefside trying to find a place to crash. It was clear that it was now a temporary resident for the other rangers, and they needed to find places to crash on their numerous visits down. Especially with the newborn twins from the power couple of the legacy.

Or was it all a lie for the two of them to see each other? To two-time both Tanya and Zack for some sick and twisted cheat session between ranger friends? Tanya's heart sunk and her stomach churned as she watched Rocky lean over and whisper something into Aisha's ear. Aisha could only giggle as she pushed him aside for a moment, but that only made him collect her into his arms and lay a kiss on her lips.

Tanya's heart sunk again in anger and fear. She didn't know what to believe or expect. She never would have thought they would have done that. Despite Rocky was a flirt, he still had a code to follow as a ranger. They all held a respect that being a ranger brought to the table. They knew their limits and how to control it, or at least they should. And did.

But this just didn't make any sense to her at all. It just didn't. But what was she supposed to do about it? What could she say? What if it was just some other couple that looked strangely like them? It was late after all, and she was tired.

But when Rocky had pushed Aisha against the wall, pushing his lips against hers, it was all that she needed to set her off. She couldn't hack it anymore. She walked over to them, a line of tears fell from her eyes.

"How could you do this to me!" she came out to say. Tears fell down her face as she shook her head.

The man pulled away and looked over his shoulder to see Tanya standing there. A line of shock fell over Rocky's face as if he had no clue what had just happened. As if his reality had come crushing down on him, but when he looked back at Aisha - to see some lust fall into her eyes - he only looked back at Tanya and smiled.

"I thought you knew," he said simply before enveloping Aisha's lips in another heated kiss.

Tanya couldn't take it anymore as she pulled her hand up. It balled into a fist, but came down as a huge slap across Rocky's face. Her entire body shook with fear as she couldn't even look at the woman who was her predecessor. She had looked at Aisha as a role model and a friend, but now, she wasn't so sure. She just couldn't see it anymore. She felt empty. Confused.

"And how could you do this to me? To Zack?" Tanya finally looked at the other woman.

"In the eyes of the beholder, they must learn to know the difference between the truth and deception," Aisha merely replied as she walked over to Rocky.

He was rubbing the pain from the slap as he let out a breath and shook his head. He didn't know what to expect…well, he did. He just didn't expect it to turn out this way. To be completely out of way for him to do. But his feelings, they were treading on thin lines. On several lines. He was just as confused about all of this as the two woman. But did he regret it? For some strange reason, he didn't.

"Yeah, well, this is for the times you decided to sneak over to Adam's room and do who knows what? This is payback, Tanya," Rocky protested. "Payback for two-timing me!"

Tanya looked at him with shock. For the times she had went over to their place, hung out, she had never looked at Adam as more than just a friend. Maybe years ago, but that time had passed. That was another part of her life. And there was no sense in trying to say that there will be anything between her and the unique and mysterious Korean man. "Oh, that's a whole lot of bull, Rocky! I would never do that to you guys. You guys are like best friends."

"Funny how friends can turn into lovers, but then into enemies, right?" Rocky shot back.

Tanya looked at him with confusion. He had never acted this way before. And in a sense, Aisha was either the neutral party, or siding with Rocky more on this situation than need be. And that's what bothered her. Despite the fact she was a lawyer, Tanya was at a stand still at this moment. She didn't expect this. Didn't know how to react. Didn't want to destroy a friendship with anyone. But what could she say? What could she do? She was lost in her own confusion.

"I don't understand," Tanya nearly cried as she took a step back. "Why would you do this? To us? To each other? To..."

"To prove a point," Aisha said, her hand was sitting behind her. But it was clear she was either hiding something or trying to find something in the wake of this heated dispute.

"And what point is that?"

"That you lose." Aisha replied.

And in the light of the cool night, an echoing ring of a gunshot filled the air. And within moments, the two figures loomed over the motionless body. The figure of Aisha Campbell began to flicker out and soon vanished into thin air. The figure of Rocky DeSantos began to fade and take on a darker image, still resembling the Mexican man.

"The game has been set. The prizes have been announced. Welcome to my world, Power Rangers. You won't be escaping this time," the man replied. His voice was a dark and phantom-like feel to it.

And the figure turned to leave the motionless body of Tanya Sloan to lay in the way of her own blood. She was dead, and there were no witnesses or suspects to support the cause of it.

**_-XXXXX-_**

Reefside, CA. The Oliver Homestead.

Tossing and turning in the wake of his own sweat, Tommy Oliver began to shudder with a cold fear. All of a sudden he felt his world around him turn to black. The peaceful nature of dreaming about the love of his life was haltered and covered in a darkness. His stomach churned. He felt the bile fill his throat.

Groaning, he felt arms wrap around him shaking him awake. He could hear the distance voice of Kim call out to him, telling him to wake up; to come back to reality.

Then his eyes flashed open and he sat up in a flash. He let out a yelp as he finally relaxed. The coolness of the room let the sweat slow to a halt. He caught his breath wiping the sweat from his face as Kim collapsed into his arms.

"Handsome, what's wrong? You were having a nightmare," she replied before laying a kiss on his chest.

He looked around the room looking at the clock. It was a little after midnight as he shook his head. Something was just not right about all of this. In the back of his mind, he felt that something terrible had happened. He didn't know what, but when he saw his cell phone light up and a call coming through, his body shook with more fear.

Kim reached over to grab it, knowing that he didn't have the strength at the moment. She looked at the incoming call as she saw the name of who it came from...it was coming from Jason.

Tommy took the phone from her and pushed it to his ear, listening intently to the news from his best friend. The look on Tommy's face turned to fear and sadness. Tears welt in his eyes and when he ended the call and placed the phone back on the nightstand, he collapsed into Kim's waiting embrace.

"Handsome, what is it?" Kim grew concern as she began to rub his back.

Catching his breath before laying a warm kiss on her lips, he finally looked up into her eyes. Her eyes glistened with tears ready to fall. And he knew he had to straight and tell her the truth about all of this. "Tanya was brutally murdered on a street corner in LA."

The tears finally dropped from her eyes as Kim pulled Tommy even closer to her. And all they could do at that very moment was hold each other close.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Friday, August 12th, 2005, 8:00pm. Downtown Reefside, five minutes from Reefside High School.

In the wake of the last few weeks of trying to play off a normal life, no one could have expected it to be this hard. But it was. It was harder than it really looked. The teens especially were having a hard time adapting to just worrying about being a normal teenager. They had to admit they had looked behind them time and time again with fear. Fear of someone watching them.

With the untimely death of so many people, it was hard to determine if it was fate playing out a harsh deck of cards, or if it was really something else. The school shooting at Reefside High had changed everything. It changed a lot of people. It had changed some people almost for the worse, others for the act of self-defense; for hoping to get a boost of stamina and charisma from the tragic events.

But beyond the shooting, a lot more had hit home for the rangers of Earth. At least, for those that were still alive. They felt watched from every angle, almost as if they were being analyzed; like they were a part of some sick and twisted experiment to eliminate them one by one. Or was it by strength? Or was it merely by the liking of who this being was and who he/she wanted to annihilate? They were on their guards waiting for a move of attack. They had already lost more than they could have bargained for.

And they had no straight answers to make sense of what was going on now.

Walking through the alley to the back end of the building, Tommy had walked into the building with his ranger protégés. No matter what, they would always be his apprentices - his students - but they had come a long way. In the future they could pass their own teachings to those they felt deserved to learn what they have.; to obtain the same knowledge as they had received. If not that, then more.

The teens had followed their mentor into the building not saying a whole lot. They knew why they were there. They were making last minute check-up and set-up to the karate academy.

For weeks now, Tommy had been searching around town for the perfect place to put his dojo. With the money he was rolling in, there would be no problem to set it up and keep it going for awhile. And citizens from around the city were up for supporting him in any way possible. And there was no joke about how he would be running it. He would run it rather strictly. Make sure that his teachings and his fellow teachers at the academy - the teens, along with his friends from time to time - would be passed on to a great deal of people.

The paperwork had been set. He had control of the property and what to do with it. And without a doubt, it would become the very martial arts school he was dying to start.

After all these years, he had never expected he would follow through on his dream of creating his own martial arts school. For a long time, it was one dream that had been shelved. He was too locked up into his dino research, the thoughts of starting up a dojo never crossed his mind. But when he heard about Jason and then Adam and Rocky...it made him think back to when he wanted to create one of his own; how he wanted to present his knowledge and skills as a fighter to others.

And now, here he was. He had done it. He had followed through on another dream of his. He just could not believe that it was happening. The building in which he was in, alongside his students and teammates, would be a place where he can really shine. Sure, he was a great science teacher, but this was his element more than the scientist inside of him. This is where he could define himself in ways that people would really appreciate.

Known as the Rising Sun Karate Academy, it was the talk around town. Many people pondered about the success of the place, while so many wanted to be enrolled into its teachings. The four teens, credited and certified to teach at the school, would be running it for the most part. The highest teacher and man running the place would mostly be working behind the scenes; during the night after he was done teaching at the high school. And it would begin to open its doors starting the following day.

A few weeks before the start of regular school, they thought it would be nice for some people to bring some of their teachings with them into their education. The way the teens were taught to be rangers had been also viewed as becoming teachers with the knowledge of martial arts on their side.

A set of mirrors lined the walls of the room for the students to watch how they moved. There was a punching bag in one corner of the room for anyone who needed some time out to themselves. One the second level of the dojo were places were someone can be taught privately or work in smaller groups. Down one hall was the set of locker rooms for the students, another was a small gym to build up and strength muscles. And in the near future, with control of the entire lot, Tommy was hoping to extend the school beyond the storage beside the building into a branch of gymnastics work as well.

He had discussed it time and time again with his wife, but it was clear that Kim was strictly based on worrying about their family at the moment. That if things died down, if they did, she would gladly join up and spread her own teachings of gymnastics to others. He didn't blame her for that, he had almost wished in some cases that they didn't settle down and have a family so soon. But in many cases, he was glad that he did. He could settle down just a little bit, because up to this point, he felt like his life just kept moving. It kept going with no stops. And with a family he had to take care of, he knew it would allow him to stop for a few moments and lay down his life for the people that meant the most to him.

The teens had seen it, too; the changes that had gone on with the man in black. In the last few years they had known him, they had seen him evolve and change in ways that could surprise anyone. He had faced so much, fought through so many battles, but they were apart of this legacy. It was a legacy that taught them more to be a team, but to be apart of something bigger. And have a responsibility to show what they can leave behind for the future.

In the last few months of their lives, there were a lot of changes in the teens. A sense of maturity and growth from their time in high school. They no longer were as senseless, as immature, or as cocky as they were in high school. They did, in fact, look a little different, too. In the way they dressed and appeared. In the way they stood their ground.

Conner was, of course, no longer the typical dumb jock he was only a few years ago. He knew his place on the team and represented leadership in ways that his preceding red rangers would be proud of. He was, after all, under the wing of one of the greater rangers any one of them had seen. His appearance had also matured quite a bit. His hair was no longer in the mess of control on his head. It was a little more in control; a semi-spike mess that could be worn forward or back. He still wore the clothes that made him and indicated his rank on the team as the red ranger. Still athletic, he was a whole lot more faster, aware and open to the environment around him. He wasn't some self-centered jock who wanted attention from any girl he saw, but molded in ways that being a ranger would do to a person. Molded by the scars of losing the love of his life and the battles he had gone through, but his head was still held high. He was still holding his ground, which made him a model for future generations of rangers.

Ethan had grown more as an individual himself. Though in the wit of still being a computer genius, he was a different guy. Built more tough, and not afraid to fight any battle he got into. In the years he held the legacy in his hands as the blue ranger, he had left his own mark on all of them. He was shaped by the people he was around. And for getting involved with the school dance team, it built up his confidence. His character. His attitude toward other people. Not that he was really an all around guy, it was just that no one wanted anything to do with him since he was considered a 'computer geek.' But in the months of this summer, he had taken on a more tougher image. Thug-like in a way, but had a side where he guarded things that meant a lot to him-like a wolf was to their territory. His appearance consisted of the baggy clothes, rolling around in skull caps and fitted baseball caps and even a few bling-bling chains, earring and necklaces. His hair was closely cropped to his head, with a thin line of sideburns running down the side of his face. But on other occasions, he dressed down from the more gangsta look to his usual gear that made him look more like a friendly guy. But like any of the other rangers, he had been shaped by all types of events. Events that have left scars, events that will, and times where he just had to down right figure out what was the best thing to do in a situation.

Kira was also a step up from her past appearance to the public eye. Still rocking out in a style all of her own with a blend of punk and rock in the mix; she herself had changed in more ways than she could begin to describe. Not that she was trying to sound like she was some social outcast, or she was much for making conversation with other people, she just wasn't one who could as easily start a conversation in the past. Now, it was easy to do. She was a whole lot more approachable, and a whole lot more people were finally feeling her music. Giving her support. Hoping she could and would pursue that musical career she wanted to land. Where she would have doubt, it was covered up by confidence, a strong self-esteem, and a great deal of control, attitude and respect not only for herself, but for others. Her hair was worn mostly straight now, in a darker shade of brown with a mix of honey; a shade that was similar to Kim's own hair color. She took trust seriously, didn't want to break a friendship with anyone without figuring out exactly what to do about it. Hoping she could fix something before it got worse or there was no real way to fix it. And she was very resourceful and reliable when it came to a lot of things. Without a doubt, her own actions would build in the legacy she was apart of.

Trent, himself, was shaped by so many different situations and adventures. He had seen things that no one else would know. He had been on both sides of the battlefield; of being an evil the rangers wanted to destroy to becoming one of the biggest allies in taking down their enemies. He had constantly been moving around nearly his entire life due to the research his parents got involved with. His own biological parents and his second legal guardian. Now, here he was, living in Reefside. He had seen so many things. Faced so many challenges. Watched people die right before him, some at his own hands due to the power of evil in his dino gem. He was so much like his now current legal guardian and his own past. He was similar to Tommy in a lot of ways than none. He had lost his parents just like the man he now addressed as his father. He was an evil ranger before joining up with the real and rightful side. He had faced so much, and came out strong. Grew from each experience, but many of them held a lot of scars. Scars that he locked himself into. He was reserved, still quiet at times, and would speak only when he felt it was right. Much like Ethan, he had dressed down to a more thug-like/gangsta look. His clothes were loose-fit and baggy. He would be wearing a baseball hat from time to time, and his hair was similar to Conner's but shorter. He could wear them as a semi-spike look, or he could wear it forward for a more slightly sophisticated look. He was always on alert, never hesitated to look behind him even if no one was there. He never let his guard down and made sure that whatever he learned was something he would carry with him and cherish.

But anyone could agree. They had seen the changes in the four teens. They had seen how they evolved and became even better people. And no matter where they would go, they would find a way to put what they had learned to the test. To pass what they could and prove they could come out stronger. They were hurting, but in time, they would fight through the pain and become so much more stronger. Prove themselves mostly to their own being, but to the rest of the world.

Stopping in the center of the room, the teens looked at their mentor as they watched him circle around the room. "This is it, you guys," the man turned to look at the teens he had fought alongside for two years now. "This is a start to a whole new level of responsibility, respect and attitude. Not only toward your own actions, but the ones you will be teaching."

Conner looked around the room, the main room where a line of mats covered the ground. But he could find no words to say at that moment. Nor could his teammates as they looked at the man again.

"Are you sure you guys really want to do this? I mean, with college and everything...I don't want it to overwhelm any of you," Tommy had stated as he looked at his teammates again.

A silence fell over the four teens. They had shifted a little, looking at one another, before their eyes fell on the floor between their mentor. It was clear that had been discussing a few things; and one of the biggest decisions was if/when they would continue on with their higher education.

"It won't, Dr. O," Conner finally spoke up as he shook his head. "We've all decided what we wanted to do. Well, as far as I could tell, we have. We're not going to be going to college."

Before the news could completely sink into the science teacher and he had a chance to say something, the blue Tricera ranger had spoke up.

"Not right away, anyway. We'll be taking a break. Hopefully, just a semester," Ethan said.

"Well, except for me, that is." Trent spoke up as he took a step forward. "I've decided to get as much of my basic classes done at the community college, and hopefully by the start of the next year be transferring over to an art school, either here in California or New York. But then again, we're all leaning toward so many sides it is hard to decide on a few things."

A silence fell over the science teacher. He had not said much as his eyes shifted to the ground. It made the teens nervous by the initial reaction he was giving them. They weren't sure if he was sadden by their decision, or could careless about it, or just trying to get over the fact that it was after all their lives, and he was not the all-powerful God who controlled what they did and didn't do.

The man finally looked up as he locked eyes with his students. Fear ran over them when they weren't sure what to make of his facial expressions. He didn't have any. His face held a straight and stern look that showed little emotion to them. But after only a few moments, his eyes danced with some light. And a small gentle smile passed his lips.

"Hey, whatever works for you guys, I'm okay with," the man nodded in turn as the teens breathed a sigh of relief. "Just as long as you guys know what you are doing, then I'm okay with it. I'm not offended in any way. But just know, if you guys ever need help with anything, don't hesitate to let me know. I got your back. I mean, we are bonded by more than our friendship, despite what people say about a relationship a student has with their teacher."

"But aren't we your equals on these grounds? I mean, we will be teaching here during the day while you do the science teacher gig and stuff," Conner thought about it for a moment.

"You guys proved you are exceptional teachers. And I would never doubt or could have chosen any other group of people to teach the rest of those interested to learn more about martial arts than you guys."

Looking away, it was clear that his last comment had made them blush. They were glad to know that they had been taught under one of the greatest people. He may not have been some huge celebrity loved by millions-well, he was, in some sense-but he definitely knew how to impact the people whose paths he had crossed with. Whether it was big or small, he always left an impression on someone. And they were apart of that circle he would never stop talking to. Apart of something greater than them. They were apart of a long legacy that may never end.

"Wow, I never thought you looked at us like that, Dr. O," Kira looked away, still surprised to dwell on the words their mentor had left them with.

"You guys have come so far in the last few years of your lives. You faced many challenges and proved yourself over and over again. I am impressed. I will always be because I know you guys will make a difference when you finally step out into the real world. You will have your place to shine, to grow, and develop, and you will leave your mark. And trust me, I look at you guys in a lot of ways. And I'm proud of each and every one of you."

Blushing at his words again, the four teens shifted looking away. He was like their loving father...or perhaps, brother...but he was a man that none of them could forget if they had gone their separate ways. Move on with their lives. He was one person they would never want to lose touch with. He had made a difference in their lives in more ways than any other person really has. And it brought them back to the memories of graduation day.

They all knew what the other was thinking as they had exchanged a look with one another before looking away again. The man had left the four of them alone to head into the very office where he ran the place. He knew they needed a few moments to be alone, to bask in their place as teenagers in this world. A place only they-as young people-could cross and understand.

Tommy had moved out of the room, into the office he would be conducting a lot of business meetings in. Talk personally with the students of his school. And doing what he had to keep the business running, or a possible update on any ranger-like activities. Taking a seat in the executive like chair, he had looked over the office. The office was already filled with the evidence of his ranks in martial arts. In a style he had created of his own blending several different forms of martial arts, he could claim being the founder of Toso Kune Do. A blend of eleven different types of martial arts that included: American Karate, Judo, Boxing, Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, and several other forms. His skills as a weapons' master was also extraordinary. And his demonstration nearly two months ago impressed many viewers. There were even photos of family, friends, and several martial arts competitions he had been in all over the place. He even had a desk nameplate that said 'Master Thomas Oliver.'

Outside this place, he was known as Doctor Oliver, but within these walls he was under another title. Not that he wanted to really put himself a step up from others, but it was merely all out of respect. People would direct him as Master. As Kyoshi. Or even Sensei. Then there was also Renshi. He was after all, a sixth degree black belt. One of the highest ranks a person with no real prior martial arts knowledge would be impressed about. Either way, he would have to get over the fact of hearing one of his former students being addressed in the same way.

Chuckling to himself about hearing something like 'Sensei McKnight' or 'Master James' he knew that these teens, his teammates in action, would do quite well in their futures. And their start for an even more higher line of responsibility would be coming from teaching their knowledge of martial arts to others.

**_XXXXXXXXXX_**

Friday, August 19th, 2005, 5:00pm. The Oliver Homestead.

Tommy was treading around the house slightly dazed and tired, despite the fact it was late afternoon. Though it had only been a little over a month since the birth of the twins, there were constant visits from the other rangers. He didn't blame them when they wanted to see the progress of David and Trini. They were just simply irresistible. But they were also a hassle. Menaces, if one could say. But this was finally one night he could really grasp for himself and his family.

Stepping out from the study, he heard a knock come to the door. Kim had walked right passed him, but not before giving him a kiss, to answer the door.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that Kira and Trent were coming over tonight, Tommy? We were gonna have a big family dinner together," she said before pulling the door open.

Tommy shook his head. He didn't forget, nor could he, when Trent had called him up earlier that day about something. It was somewhat of a personal note, yet it wasn't. As far as he could tell, it was a big deal though when he could hear the urgency in his oldest son's voice. And as he stood there, there was also another urgency in his wife's voice. It was clear that something was up, and he knew it. Yet, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Throughout the entire summer, Trent and Kira would constantly be coming over. Not that he had anything against that, but it was almost clear they were almost observing how the married couple would react to certain situations. Take care of the kids. Run the house. That sorta thing. But he had also noticed from time to time, when it would just be Trent or Kira coming over to talk to either him or his wife, more personal issues would be addressed.. Secrets, if one could say. Personal matters that only a loving parent or even mentor…or in the context of an older sibling, from time to time… could understand.

After greetings were exchanged, they had all moved into the living room where Serena was watching the twins. And despite it only being a little over a month since their birth, there was a significant observation toward how smart they were. They could easily respond and communicate what they wanted from their parents. If they were hungry they would rub their tummy, or if they were tired they would lay down and look like they were. Or if they did need a diaper change, they would pat their butt.

None of the other rangers had really seen it, but the immediate family had seen it several times. And if any of them could be mistaken, they would be far more intelligent as the years would go by. Occasionally, Trent would joke that they would surpass Tommy's intelligence and rule the world with an iron fist with as smart as they were. And Tommy would respond with some humor about only if they got the approval of their mother first.

Kira was sitting somewhat of a distance from the rest of them, but all the easier for her to run out of the room if she needed some air. She had merely said that it was just a cold that was going around in her own family and she didn't want to get Serena or the twins sick with it. And it was left as that.

Trent had been bouncing little David on his knee beside Tommy trying to get over the fact that he was now the brother to two other siblings. Not that he had gotten used to Serena, he was just still overwhelmed that he had gone from being a single child to having siblings in a matter of months.

Time passed slowly. But Tommy couldn't help but count the numerous times he had seen Kira step out of the room. This time, however, Kim was one step behind her. He turned to look at Trent, who was a little pre-occupied with David.

"Trent, are you sure that Kira is sick? She sure doesn't look like it," Tommy shook his head. "It looks like something else."

Trent let out a breath as he sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know. I think when I brought up the fact she was moving in with me, she got all quiet. Been acting a little weird or whatever. I'm not so sure she likes the idea too much anymore. And then I was just joking about if I married her, would she think otherwise about all of this."

"Maybe you shouldn't have looked at it in that sorta context. I mean, Kira isn't one to take things seriously, especially from you guys…no offense…but an issue like that is definitely a step up from where you guys were. You guys just came out of high school. The thoughts of marriage is out of the question for some couples. Not that I could say it would be nice to see you get hitched..."

Then Trent dug into his pocket, pulling out the small jewelry box. "Do you think it's too sudden?"

Tommy could recall the hours earlier in the day when he had went to go see Trent. Kira was not within the proximity of their presence, but the topic was, in fact, on tying the knot. On closing the deal and hoping that Kira would find the guts to muster up to the feelings she was still denying about her boyfriend. On asking for her hand in marriage. Tommy could tell on the visits she would make to their house to talk to Kim. He didn't eavesdrop, but he knew there were a lot of issues that the young woman had asked his wife about. Topics about relationships. Friendship. And even marriage.

"Like I told you before, Trent, if I could have done the same thing and sealed the knot with Kim years ago, I would have. And many times I even regret that I did wait so long. That I let her go the way I did. But it also made me a better person through the years, too. I say, go with what your heart is telling you."

Nodding in turn, Trent had looked down at the box before opening it up. There was a huge white diamond around a silver band. In certain light, if one could shine it right, there were hints of yellow and gold in the diamond. A rare find that Tommy managed to pull for Trent months ago. On each side of the diamond was a series of smaller diamonds riding on the back of what looked like the ptera and drago zords, but to most people would be mistaken as birds – almost like the crane and falcon. "Did I mention that I feel that Kira has been the only girl who could and will look at me more than for just my money?"

"You have, actually," Tommy nodded in turn to his son's question. "Do you think if she would have known you were the son of a millionaire, she would have looked at you otherwise?"

Trent sighed as he looked at the ring again before closing the box. "I don't know. I mean, she seems to make it sound like it isn't a big deal about the riches I got. That was never a factor in our relationship at all. Just our feelings for each other."

"And isn't that the love that you want from someone for the rest of your life? To look at you for your personality and looks? Not how much money you're rollin' around in your wallet?"

Trent nodded again as he pushed the box back into his pocket. "But now doesn't seem like a good time…"

"Why not?" Tommy turned to look at the teen in white with more anxiety.

"I mean, I'm starting up classes on Monday and she's gonna start teaching at the dojo. I mean, personally, that is a lot to come by."

"But you did tell me she did take up that offer about moving in with you. And you guys have already moved most of her stuff into your place."

"Yeah, that is true. We just decided to take a break from all that and come here. You know, doing the whole family thing," Trent nodded again, not having to deny that. After some time, and patience, Kira had finally accepted Trent's offer about moving in with him. Not that Trent wanted to drive her, but it was good to know that they could finally find more private time to themselves without anyone nagging them. Tommy had personally said that by being out on their own – and he spoke to all four of the teens – they would begin to realize a lot more about responsibility and what they want out of life. Or at least, in his eyes.

"But that wasn't the only reason you guys came here for, is it?" Tommy said with a small smile. He knew that Trent did, in fact, set this night aside to make the move. To ask Kira's hand in marriage. And he had also known that Kira had set this day aside to discuss something else. He didn't know of what, but he could almost put his finger on it as he got to his feet. "I'm gonna go check on the ladies."

"Okay. Thanks for the advice, dad," Trent didn't oppose, but knew that his father – which he was still getting used to calling his dad, but had to admit liked to say – was giving him some space to think about his situation. Looking down at the drooling mess of David, Trent groaned in frustration. "David not all over my new shirt!"

Trini was sitting some distance away playing with the plush toys beside Serena. But the two of them couldn't help but giggle and laugh over the fact that David was taking a personal liking to slobbering all over Trent's shirts…and even Tommy's.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the guest room, Kira had been sitting some distance away from the side bed table. There was something there, a thin strip that would determine the future for the teen in yellow and her boyfriend. Kim wasn't sitting too far from it as she looked over at the silence following Kira after the results. There was little conversing, but for the times they did manage to say something, the two were discussing the decision Kira had made about moving in with Trent.

"Do you think he is happy that you've made that decision?" Kim asked quietly as she reached over to touch the teen's shoulder to get her attention.

"I would think so. Yet, I still think he's putting a barrier between us," Kira had to admit as she recalled the days they were moving things in and out of the condo that Trent found months ago.

"Because of his father?" Kim could only conclude as she had heard briefly about when she walked passed closed doors of conversation between her husband and his newly adopted son.

Kira nodded again as she finally looked over at the P.E. teacher. "I don't want to say that he should move on, because I don't think he's quite ready to let go of Anton. I know as much as they weren't close, they still were, ya know."

"But this should be a good move. For both of you. It will give you a chance to see if you're really ready to take your relationship that much further."

Kira had to look away again. She had to admit that, though, she had been in denial about her feelings for the white drago ranger, she didn't want to lose what she had with him. If it was a friendship, or even a loving relationship. "You know, he was the only real guy who supported me with my music outside of the Ranger circle? And after he drew that picture, too, I really thought he cared about me. I could never find the words to tell him, even now, but I feel like he can really relate to me."

"And you've kept him sane. You helped him cope after he was broken from the white dino gem's evil spell, and you gave him a chance to really feel part of the team. I can understand why he disclosures so much in you."

"And yet he doesn't. I mean, what do I tell him about this?" Kira asked sadness filled her body. Her music career would have to be put on hold. And he was still going to college, what would he do now, if he heard this news. "One time is all it takes to change everything…"

"And it was a decision that the two of you had decided on together. You both wanted this. So, don't think of it as it was some sorta badly fated choice to tease you guys to think more about your future together. It is a blessing."

"I just hope he will understand my decision about it. How do you think Tommy will react to this?" Kira had to ask, knowing now that she was looking at her mentor as more than just a mentor. He was the father-figure that was watching over Trent now. Not that Trent could have gone the root to emancipate himself, he just felt that it wasn't a good time.

"I don't know. I really don't know, Kira. But I'll have a talk with him about it," Kim nodded as she collected the teen into a warm hug.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Tommy couldn't help but laugh to himself as he left the room. Walking down the hall, he was hoping to find the two ladies in the study, but they were not there. Then he heard small and quiet voices coming from upstairs. He began to climb the stairs as he heard that one of the voices had turned into quiet sniffling and tears. Walking passed the guest room, he had seen his wife talking with the teen in yellow.

Knocking before completely entering the conversation – or room – a silence fell over the two women as Tommy peeked in. "There you guys are."

"Is there a problem downstairs, Tommy?" Kim asked as she walked over to him laying a quick kiss on his lips.

"No, just thought I would check up on you two. Been gone for some time." Shaking his head, he saw the sloped shoulders of Kira. Concern fell over his face, but as he began to tie things together in his head, it was almost a smack in the face. "Is everything okay up here?"

"Yeah, just fine," Kira said almost quickly as she got to her feet. She started to move out of the room. "Well, maybe we should go and check on that cooking."

Tommy looked over at Kim, who could only shake her head in turn. But the certain look in her eyes had told him what he needed to confirm about what he thought was true. And seeing the little strip on the side bed table, he knew what it meant. Reaching over to collect the teen in a hug, Kira didn't refuse as she melted into her mentor's arms. The tears began to fall again as she let it soak up on the older man's shirt. He didn't oppose as he rubbed her back comfortingly.

"How long have you known?" Kira asked, knowing exactly at that moment she couldn't deny the truth from her teacher and mentor.

"I think it occurred to me a few weeks ago. The biggest hint came during Serena's birthday party when you weren't in the mood for eating a whole lot despite the fact you love Filipino food," the man replied as he pushed a kiss to the girl's forehead. He wrapped his arms around her like a shield and protection. "We'll help you get through this, Kira. You know we're always here."

"But what about Trent?" she shook her head as she buried it into the man's chest. "What will he think? How will he react? What if he leaves me?"

"He won't." Tommy shook his head as he found himself wrapping his arms around Kim as she collected the teen into another comforting hug. "He isn't like most guys."

"Yeah, Kira. He is a rare find. And you should hold onto him as long as you can," Kim said as she looked up at Tommy. A light smile fell over her face. "Don't make the same mistake we did."

"And my parents? They'll make something of this. They still didn't approve of me moving in with Trent as much as they think he is a great guy. And…" Kira protested. She shook her head pulling away from the caring nature of her mentors/friends. It was hard to really say how she could describe the two of them. They were like older siblings to her, yet they held great advice like mentors. And at times, they were great friends, and even better parents. She didn't have to doubt how Serena, David and Trini would be raised because Kim and Tommy were great with them. But she had wished her parents were like them, understanding and caring. Not that they were, but she could relate to Tommy and Kim better than her own parents. But she never denied the love and care her own parents gave her.

Kim walked over to her, hugging the teen again as she let the tears fall against the older woman's shoulder. "They love you, Kira. Your mom called me a few hours ago. She said she was nervous about letting her little girl out in the world, but knew that she was in good hands. She had thanked me and Tommy greatly for what we've done for you and the other teens. She thought that without our guidance, you might have turned out a whole lot more different. But they will always love and support you, no matter what you go through."

Kira had looked up to meet the eyes of the original pink ranger. She knew that Kim was telling the truth, and just hearing those words were enough to inspire her. To help her relax and cope with this situation. She pulled Kim into a hug as Kim smiled back at her. "Thanks, Kim. Thank you for everything."

"We're always here if you need us, Kira. Just remember that," Kim nodded in turn before clearing her own eyes of some tears. They were for happiness, but they were also for relief and a little on fear, too. She didn't want to think that the future didn't look bright for the future singer and artist, but it was hard to tell.

Kira pulled away only to see the man open his arms waiting for some attention from the teen.

"Forgetting about me? After all that I've done for you and the others?" Tommy seemed slightly hurt, but could only laugh as he collected the girl into a warm and comforting hug.

"No, Dr. O, I didn't forget about you and what you've done. I truly owe you a lot," she said as a smile passed her face.

"You don't owe me anything more than to just make me proud. And I know you will. And like Kim said, we're here whenever you need us. We got your back just as you got ours."

"So, this is the basis of every ranger relationship?" Kira asked pulling away to look at the two of them.

Kim and Tommy exchanged a look. And before Tommy could say anymore, Kim had stopped him short with a finger to his lips. Shaking her head, it was clear that his inspirational lecture would have to wait for another time. "Sorry, Handsome, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. And I'm sure the kids are too."

Kira could only giggle as she walked out of the room, leaving the two to vast in their own little private time.

Time passed slowly as Tommy and Kim finally made their way downstairs to where the kids were. All getting anxious, it was clear they were all wanting to get some food into their stomach. Tommy didn't have to complain as his stomach growled loudly causing everyone else to laugh, including the twins.

"Looks like someone is a little hungry," Trent looked up from where he stood. He had an arm wrapped around Kira's waist as Trini was pouncing between their laps.

"Yeah, well, you know how I can be from time to time," Tommy looked away slightly embarrassed.

"You are the equivalent to Rocky on days where all you had was some coffee and a bagel or two mixed with some Cup O'Noodles for lunch," Kira couldn't help but laugh as Trini whimpered with her own need for food.

"Well, all right, let's move this party into the dining room, then," Kim directed as she pulled David into her arms.

Time passed slowly as the family had moved out of the living room and into the dining area located somewhat away from the rest of the house. Tommy was at one end of the table, while Kim took her place across from him on the other side. To the right of Tommy sat Trent and Kira. And on his left side, he was busy feeding David while Kim was busy with Trini on her right. Serena was sandwiched between the twins. And for once, the twins weren't being restless or trying to make a huge mess with their food. Getting settled with an entrée of Italian-based and French-based foods, they had all settled on getting their grub on. And despite the fact the twins were only a few months old, they somehow managed to eat some solid food as well.

Conversing quietly about the upcoming weeks and months, Trent had to admit he was getting a little nervous about settling into the college environment.

"But you are only going into a community college, Trent. Trust me, it isn't as bad as it sounds," Tommy said before he took a bite of his breadstick.

"Well, maybe so. But I mean, it is a step up from high school," Trent added as he let his shoulders drop just a little.

"You'll do just fine, baby. If any of us were ready to go into college straight out of high school, it was you," Kira reached underneath the table to interlock her own hand with his.

Looking over at her, he couldn't help but let a smile pass his face. In the wake of all this mayhem, he always seemed to find a comfort in those eyes. In her words. And that's what managed to make him cope with his loss. To cope with the things that flew through his mind. He leaned over to lay a kiss on her cheek, but it was slightly short-lived when she had pushed a breadstick his way.

"No. You have garlic breath. That's just nasty," she pushed his face away with a giggle.

"No PDA at the table," Serena protested as she slurped up on a stream of spaghetti on her plate.

Kim and Tommy, sitting at both ends of the table couldn't help but laugh internally at the gesture. If they weren't a distance away, they wouldn't have hesitated, even if it was a simple kiss on the cheek.

By the time dinner was done, the family had settled with stomach filled, it was time for some dessert. Ice cream sundaes of their choosing where they could decide from the numerous toppings to put on their sundae. But it was almost clear as they had made it back to the table to eat, there was some slight tension between the young couple in the room. It seems they were both trying to calculate when was the best time they were going to say what they needed to say, but it was also hard to figure out if they would go along with it in the first place.

Slightly bumping into Trent as he moved back to his seat, Tommy urged the teen in white to go along with what he needed to say. It was clear the tension had moved to the married couple as they watched with curiosity over what would happen next. Serena was too into her sundae to notice. And Kim had returned from upstairs after putting the twins to bed.

Trent peered over and could see Kira's bouncing leg from under the table. Reaching over, he took her hand into his as her leg stopped and the nervousness left. Looking up to meet his eyes, Kira could almost see the anxiety and nervousness where only moments ago she saw happiness and relaxation.

Trent's grip tightened a little bit more over Kira's hand as he looked into her eyes. And where he thought there was nervousness, there was only happiness. There was relaxation and a comfort that he just couldn't look away from. He couldn't walk away from, and he knew that he had to do it.

"Kira, you know that I care about you in ways I may never quite understand, right?" Trent began as eyes were averted to the young couple with some more curiosity.

Looking away, slightly blushing, she nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"And how I would do anything for you?" he asked, a shaking tension built up in his voice.

Kira nodded in turn again, but had kept her face away as she felt the tears welt in her own eyes. "Well, yeah..."

Before he continued, he had turned her face toward his. But she still couldn't find the strength to look up at him. But the only thing that mattered was that she was listening to him. And he knew. "Well, I've been thinking a lot about us. About what we've been through and what we will be going through in these next few months. And there is no one else I don't think I could ever begin to dream about but you. Years ago, I was in a huge dilemma. I felt like I couldn't fit into a place like this. I thought I would be some huge outcast, but when we had met, I could almost feel a longing to learn more about you. To see if you were that angel I had prayed for. You were. And I never wanted to hurt you. Not intentionally at all. You were someone who could understand. Someone who was willing to give me a chance. To show me more about myself and how I could fit into this world. And I really want to thank you for that."

Pausing for only a moment, he could see the trail of tears running down her face, landing onto her lap. She was still scared to look up into his eyes, but she had heard everything that came out of his mouth. She wasn't about ready to zone out. Not that she ever did when he needed to tell her something. But this time he was serious. He was really serious about the words that came out of his mouth. And she could almost tell he was just letting them come out without any much of thought. It took her back to their graduation day and he had given that speech. Not from some words he had on a piece of paper. But from his heart, where it really mattered the most.

"Oh, something is about to happen," Serena couldn't help but giggle. But it seems as Tommy and Kim had moved over to where they were now across the table from the young couple, both of them sorta covered her mouth before she could say anymore. Apparently, they didn't want her to ruin the moment.

"And I've also thought about that night. The night where we really gave our love to one another. It was amazing. Really something that can't be describe in words and..."

"What! You did..." Serena protested but her words were muffled as Tommy grabbed her placing her into his lap and covering her mouth.

"Don't ruin the moment, baby," he whispered into her ear as she continued to squirm around in his embrace.

Trent and Kira had looked over at the trio looking on, but had to look away, slightly embarrassed as Trent tried to search for the words to say. He just couldn't quite figure out what needed to be said. He lost his train of thought. And as he was about to say something else, Kira had put a finger to his lips to silence him.

"Let me say something first, Trent," she offered as he nodded in turn, wondering what she was about to say about this. "When I look back at these past few years, I never regretted a single day of it. There were just so many memories that I could never forget, and one of them was getting a chance to meet you. To see who you really were as a person. Did you know the first time I saw you at the cyber cafe, it was so hard to really find words to describe how I felt at that moment? Ethan picked on me for weeks about that because I was crushing on you the moment you stepped through the door. I think you could almost tell when you came over to us and asked us where Hayley was. And when I found out you were gonna work there, there was even more tension building up in me. Even at those performances I did, I had to find ways to impress you. To have you look at me, and you did. There was a connection there. Some sorta connection that I couldn't deny or forget about. And when we finally were open to going out, I never felt any more happier than I am now. You gave me strength. You understood me. Gave me a chance. Supported me. And I want to also thank you for the memories we've had together. And I don't care where the road will take us because I want us to stay in those moments where its breathtaking. Where only you and I can go."

"I love you, Kira," Trent managed to say before he felt his own tears well up in his eyes.

Pulling Trent into a tight hug, the tears became more evident in Kira's eyes. "I love you, too, Trent."

From the other side of the table, Tommy and Kim were trying to keep their own emotions bottled up. But as a small sniffle escaped from the man, another silence fell over all of them as they turned to look at him.

"Oh, daddy's crying," Serena couldn't help but giggle.

"No, I'm not," Tommy denied as he got up. "You know, why don't I clear up these dishes?" He began to grab the plates and bowls on the table.

"Yeah, lemme help you out, Handsome," Kim nodded in turn, getting to her feet and clearing away the own set of tears that fell from her eyes. "C'mon, Serena. You wanna help mommy and daddy with the dishes?"

"No, I want to see Trent ask her..." Serena began as she leaned over the table. But before she could finish her words, Tommy had swept her into his arms covering her mouth. It was clear that the little girl had figured it out on her own, but no one could blame her when she was rather advanced for her age.

"Cute kid. Assumes way too much because she watching too much T.V. Now, Serena what did I tell you about watching all those soap operas?" Tommy moved out of the room.

Kim cleared up the rest of the dishes as she moved out of the room. It was clear the trio had wanted to leave the two of them alone. And it was even more clear that that was what Trent was wanting from them. Not that he minded their company, he just needed those moments alone with the love of his life. But as the married couple had put the dishes into the sink, they hurried back over to the threshold that split the kitchen from the dining room peaking in and eavesdropping on the young couple.

From within the dining room, a new silence fell over the young couple. Trent was feeling more tension build up as he felt his heart pounding in his chest. He looked over at Kira and interlocked his hands with hers. He forced air into his lungs as he found some courage return to him.

"I have to admit that this is a whole lot harder than it looks," Trent had to say before he could find more words to say.

"What is?" Kira asked, a new tension building up in her about what was about to happen.

Reaching into his pocket, Trent had pulled out the small black ring box he had kept in his care for months now. Holding it out to her, Kira could only let out a small gasping breath as a hand fell over her heart. He opened up to reveal the ring inside. Another shocked breath had escaped from her lips as she tried to make sense of what was about to happen. Her head was spinning with thoughts she couldn't quite understand. See what looked like their future, only this time it was full of happiness. Not of the fears she had lived with for so long, not of the fear that Mindshatter played with.

"They always say that there will be other fish in the sea if things don't work out between the one you love. But that's not what I want. I don't want to be fishing for someone else. I found my catch and that was in you, Kira. I don't want to sound like I'm rushing it, but for weeks now...probably even months...I've dreamed about us. About our future together. About where we could go and where we've gone with this relationship. And from a great man, who personally, I can almost admire, Alex Hitchens. 'Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink. But if you must lie, liein the arms of the one you love. If you must steal, steal from bad company. If you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink in the moments that take your breath away.' Kira, you've been the only girl I feel I can fly with. I can hold in my arms. And sometimes, we must leap for what we want. We can fall. But you haven't done that for me. You made me soar. You make me feel like I can truly fly. So, I ask you from the bottom of my heart, Kira Emma Ford, will you marry me?"

Looking away for a moment, Kira didn't know what to say. She had to admit, in the pit of her stomach, she had seen this coming. Had felt it coming, but somehow, now that it was a reality, she didn't know what to make of it. It was truly a step up in their relationship and it was also a step up towards the confidence she needed to tell him her own set of news.

"Isn't that a little too 'Hitch-like' for you?" she couldn't help but say quietly. But she still couldn't find the words to say what she needed to say to give him a straight answer. Her head was spinning.

"What can I say, it was a good movie. And we are getting hitched, are we not?" Trent countered her remark with a smile of his own. Looking at her, he can tell there was a smile on her own face. But she was only trying to make it difficult for him. So, he would do the same thing.

"I don't know, are we?" she pushed her hand a little bit closer to him.

"I thought I was the one who popped the question here?" Trent asked in confusion. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to take her hand, or if it was merely just her way of teasing him more. He wanted to hear a straight answer from her.

"You did," she nodded in turn. After pushing air into her lungs, she finally looked up at him. Looked up into his dark brown eyes and saw the sparkling character she had loved to see from him. And in the blink of an eye, she had seen their future together. Distant. But it was still full of happiness and love that could match that of the original power couple. "I don't want to lose what we share. What we have. I may never quite understand what it is all about, but I can't deny that I want to see how far it can go..."

"So, in simple terms that would be...?" Trent knew she liked to make things difficult at times, but that was not her intention at all.

As Trent's own eyes had locked with that of her girlfriend, a bright and huge smile fell onto Kira's face. "You mean it isn't that obvious?"

"I take that as a 'yes'?" he could only conclude. But he didn't have a chance to say anything else when Kira fell into his arms, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Of course I will, Trent," she replied as more tears seem to fall from her eyes.

Pulling away, only to give him some room, Trent had pulled Kira's left hand closer to him and slipped the ring onto her finger. And in another flash, he had pulled her into a kiss and a hug. That even though the two were closer, they were still a little conservative about their actions as a couple. No one could blame them. And knew exactly how the two of them were about their relationship. Whatever went on between them would usually stick between the two of them unless they had stated otherwise and wanted others to know about what they did.

From beyond the threshold, the trio had been cheering quietly. But it wasn't quiet enough when the young couple had turned to look their way. Apparently, they were all relieved that something like this happened, and if they could find a way to hide it, they wouldn't be able to. In the eyes of Kim and Tommy, they were seeing almost themselves re-living the days when they were engaged. In the eyes of Serena, she was watching her big brother gear up to marry the girl of his dreams.

After the young engaged couple grasped what had just happened to them, they had invited the trio back into the room. Almost tackling them, the trio congratulated Kira and Trent on the recent engagement. This was no longer a dream, but a reality. Tears of happiness seemed to be evident on everyone's face.

But for only a moment, Kira looked down at the ring on her hand then placed it onto her stomach. Despite, this good news, she still had news of her own. Speaking quietly, no one could hear her over the clamor of congratulations.

As Kim collected Kira into a hug, the tears in her eyes had turned into fear as she shuddered in Kim's embrace. She wasn't sure how she was going to put it. Reaching over to grab Trent's hand, she knew she would have to come out and say it. There was no more holding back.

Trent turned to face his fiancee noticing the tension that seemed to create a barrier between them. Only a step behind Trent, Tommy stood over him. His eyes had met briefly with Kira's as he nodded a gesture to continue on.

"Trent, you know I love you with all my heart. And I know this was hard for you to do. But now, I have some news of my own," pausing only for a moment to see if he was paying attention to her, Kira forced some air into her lungs. "I'm pregnant."

As the words escaped her mouth, a new silence fell over the room. Despite the energy found in Serena, she had stopped short of any discussions or thoughts. Blanked out in shock by the news, it had matched that of Trent's. Kim and Tommy had exchanged their own looks as they tried to read the emotions running on the young man's face.

And though Kira was glad to finally get that off her chest for so long, she felt a wall grow between her and the man she loved. She was always able to read his emotions despite the steady look he can hold. But this was one time, the one real time, she had no idea what was going on in his mind. And how he was taking the news. She could only hope that this didn't change anything between them. She didn't want anything to change between them. She could not afford to let things change between them...well, not that it already did. But not for the worse. But for the better.

Finally, Trent made a movement. His eyes falling to the ground between him and the woman he would call his wife. And all of a sudden, his heart sunk. His stomach churned. His thoughts displaced. He was sitting outside of himself. He was happy. Wasn't it? He was confused. That was no lie. He was angry. How could this happen? He was sad. What about our future? Too many questions would fly, but he had no answer to any of them. And as he tried to search out what he needed to say or how to react, it didn't come out. He really didn't know how to react.

Kira reached over and took his other hand into hers. His eyes fell on the very ring he had placed onto her finger only moments ago. Was it a mistake? Was it a blessing? Was it all a sick and twisted way to keep them together? "Trent, please..."

Kira was caught on her words. She didn't know what to say or how to say it. But she could almost feel his rage take the most out of him, and that's not what she needed or intended to see. She didn't. She stammered, trying to find a way into his heart and soul. "I-I-I didn't know how to tell you. ..I'm sorry. Please, don't be mad with me."

"But you're pregnant," Trent finally spoke up. But it was so quiet. The voice unchanged almost as if he didn't care.

"And this is yours. This is ours..."

"And our future?" he finally looked up just as she had met his gaze. There was hurt. Some betrayal. And lots of confusion that Kira was hoping to fix. But she just didn't know how. She wasn't ready to just walk away from all this and act like none of it happened. It happened. There was no way to deny that.

"It's always in motion. No one's future is set in a way we hope it to be. That's life," she found some strength to back up her own fear. She wasn't about ready to hear him speak of all the misfortunes. She was told this was a blessing. And she was going to make sure that Trent saw it, too.

"But you're pregnant," he had said again as his eyes fell to the ground.

"You can't run away from this. You won't run away from this because you know that you want to be apart of this child's life. This child needs a father. And I want it to be you," Kira spoke up. Her voice rose a little, hoping to speak a little over the doubt that ran in his head. But her eyes were streaming with tears. She feared the worse in how he was reacting to all of this.

But at that point, Trent just wasn't having it. Or he lost it. One way or another, he had walked out of the room. Kira collapsed into the waiting arms of Kim as Tommy had moved only a few steps behind Trent. There was no way he was going to let his son walk out on this, and everyone else in the room knew that. Kira buried face into Kim's chest sobbing.

With the front door flying open, Trent jumped from the porch out onto the darken land. The sun was nearly setting and darkness filled the area almost quickly at that hour. Stopping at the threshold, Tommy caught his breath before he felt his own rage build up. He had thought Trent was better than this, and he had hoped he could change his mind.

"Trenton Jeffrey Mercer, you may be able to walk out on me, but you will not be walking out on her!" Tommy called out to the teen.

Trent had stopped, catching his breath. He had hated for anyone to use his full name. Anyone could say that when they knew they were in big trouble. And at the very sound of his name–the name he was certified under due to the adoption papers–it struck a cord in him. He had not heard the name of Mercer in such a long time over the course of the last few months. His stomach churned. He wanted to throw up, but somehow it wouldn't come out. His second legal guardian, Anton Mercer–his adopted father for several years–would not be able to see his grandchild in the flesh. Sadness fell over him.

The only words that escaped his mouth at that moment was... "I'm not running. I needed some air."

Turning slowly, he saw as his third legal guardian–his new adopted father–was moving toward him. He didn't say much of anything else as he looked away. But in the light of the moon, Tommy could see the glistening in his eyes. There were tears there and he knew instantly from what it was.

Tommy had to find a way to encourage the teen. He needed it greatly at this moment. "Trent, I know this had come unexpected. A lot of things this year alone presented so many unexpected turns and tribulations. But that is life. This is life. No one knows exactly what will happen in it. But what you and Kira have is something that does not have to fall into the category of hardship. Or struggle. Or any sorta negativity. When I look at the two of you, there is–without any doubt–love that will keep you together. So, don't let her go. You need her as much as she needs you right now. And you know that we're here to help you get through this. We won't let you go through this alone. And I'm not talking about just me and Kim, but everyone. Your friends. And the rest of your family. We're all here for you, okay?"

Another silence fell over the two of them. Trent was slowly soaking up the words of the other man. He knew that he would have to take it and use it to help him grow as an individual. The messages Tommy had carried were a real inspiration. And one that he had needed greatly.

From the threshold of the front door, Kim watched intently at the two conversing. She couldn't make out facial expression in the dim lighting, but she could see the silhouettes of her husband and son out there. Occasionally, Kira would look up, but she was still in a state of fear and panic that Trent would in fact take back the ring and leave her.

Tommy had moved so that he was right in front of Trent's path. And he knew if he was, Trent would have no choice but to listen. Running would be no option because Tommy would be one step behind him instantly. "Don't walk away from this, Trent. I know how much easier it is to run away from something like this, but don't. Be the bigger man in this and prove to everyone else that you can be a man. I would have done the same thing if I knew about Serena. But I didn't until only recently. But you know. You knew right when it really mattered the most. Kira needs you especially right now. She can't do this alone. And she won't. And out of everyone she had chosen to make this decision with, it was you, Trent. The two of you agreed on it. This isn't a twisted fate to destroy your futures. This is a blessing that you should cherish. Both of you."

Where Tommy was hoping to hear something come from the boy's mouth. It didn't, but Tommy knew very well, that the words he was speaking was getting to Trent just as he had hoped. And before he knew it, Trent had collapsed into his arms, letting the tears fall.

"I don't want to leave her. But I don't know..." Trent couldn't keep it in anymore. He was falling into his father's arms like a hopeless little boy. He was shaking with fear. Fear of failing to make Kira proud. To be a good father. And to be an even better role model to others as well as his younger siblings. He was at a loss.

"Doubt is the first thing that leads to fear. You'll do just fine, Trent. As long as there is love and care, you'll make it. And you know, if you ever need any help, you know how to reach me."

Nodding into his chest, as the tears fell, Trent knew that things would be slow and rough. But he wouldn't let that stop him. He would make it. He would show them that he could do it. "Thanks, dad."

After a moment, Trent had pulled away, turning to the door where he had saw the two figures watching them. Taking a few steps back, Tommy waited as Trent opened his arms. Kira raced over, nearly tackling him as she ran, crushing against him as he hugged her tightly.

"I love you, Kira," Trent whispered into Kira's ear. He pushed his lips to meet hers and she had to admit that she was glad he had changed his mind. Or if he merely did need air, and he was accepting all of this. He pulled her as close as he could not wanting to let go of the moment.

"I love you, too, Trent. Please, don't leave me..." Kira whispered as she felt the tears fall from her eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here and we'll get through this, okay?" he said.

But at that moment, he felt his stomach churn even more. Their future was already put into jeopardy the moment he had proposed to her and she had accepted it. It even changed back when Kira had took up his offer to move in with him. Now, there was this issue. There was this problem. This blessing. He didn't know what to make of it. He didn't, but he didn't want to doubt anything at all. He would be there for Kira. That didn't matter. No matter what, he loved her. And she loved him. And they were going to get married. This was just something to add to their agenda. To their list of accomplishments if one could say.

I'm gonna be a father. Trent thought to himself.

Kira could sense the confusion and loss in her fiance...a light smile fell over her face from that word–fiance...but she too was worried about their future. It had been tested on several different scales and she didn't want to make anything of it. She didn't want to say that this would make her weaker, but make her stronger. That no matter what, she had so much support from her friends and family she would be okay. So, a few things would be put on hold for awhile, but all that mattered was that he wasn't going to leave her hanging. That he still loved her with all his heart, if not more. And she thought the same thing about him. But she felt fear coursing through her veins, and it would be hard to face up to them.

I'm gonna be a mother. Kira thought to herself.

**THE END**

_to be continued in..._

**_THE POWER OF REALITY_**

**_...may the powers always protect you..._**


End file.

Power Rangers, Angst, Suspense