Time frame: Where "If That's What it Takes." ends.

Sora nodded taking it all in. "Doesn't it seem kind of crowded up here?"

"Only when everyone's in their rooms." Dallas said with a smile. "Then we use traffic signals."

Sora started laughing. "Dal can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Sora."

In a lower voice she said, "Tell me about Tommy."

"Well let's see. He's nineteen and has been a Defender for two years." Dallas said pretending not to know what her sister wanted to know.

"No I mean what's he like!" Sora said.

"Oh why didn't you say so? Well let's see. I think Jason told me his girlfriend of about three years broke up with him yesterday. He is a nice guy. He just woke up from a coma and," Dallas said with a sly smile. "I think he was looking at you."

"Oh come on Dallas you said his girlfriend just broke up with him!"

"I know what I saw Sora. Come on I think him and the others are in the Rec. Room." Dallas said and led her down the hall.

"I just don't know." Dallas could hear Zhane's voice saying. "They've got three Defenders and because of how our powers are made we can't track them." Zhane explained.

"Sometimes being too cautious can be a bad thing." Billy said.

Dallas interrupted the conversation. "Well back than hiding who we were was an important detail. We had to keep our energies hidden especially on KO-35. It really doesn't work anymore though the scramblers. It's really just Astronema blocking them. They used to work well until there was that big shooting at our ship."

"I still can't believe you guys are Defenders." Sora said shaking her head.

"Neither can I. I thought Tommy and Jason had a fight because neither of them was in Angel Grove at the same time. Adam, Kimberly, and Rocky all told me they were in Los Angeles. Supposedly that's what Adam and Rocky told Kimberly."

"I was really surprised when Kim asked me how Los Angeles was." Tommy said.

"Me too." Jason agreed.

Sora looked at her watch. "I have to go home. I have cheerleading practice very early in the morning. It was nice meeting all of you. I'm glad we get to Ranger together."

They all said goodbye and watched Sora teleport away.

When Sora landed, she heard a rustling in the bushes. She got into a fighting position. It jumped out and revealed itself to be Darkonda. Sora raised her communicator "Guys Darkonda's at my house!"

"Come on sister of the Sun Ranger." He challenged.

"It's Morphin Time!" She yelled.

"Sound Power!"

"Ah so you're a Defender now. No matter, no one's here to help you."

"She's not alone Darkonda." Tommy spoke up from behind Darkonda. Darkonda turned around and saw the rest of the Defenders and Rangers.

"Ah so the others come. Along with a new Ranger too. That is cute. Maybe we should take more of you. See what else you come up with." Darkonda laughed. "Quanatrons attack!" He commanded.

Quanatrons instantly surrounded them. They immediately got to it. They weren't having any trouble fighting the Quanatrons.

Tommy ducked under an intended blow to see Darkonda approaching Sora. Tommy ran over to help. Darkonda turned around and fired at Tommy. Tommy instinctively ducked. Darkonda took the chance to close the gap and had a hold of Sora. Tommy jumped to his feet and tried to pull Sora out of Darkonda's grasp. He was hit with the handle of the sword just as he pulled Sora away from Darkonda. He fell into Sora's arms. Jason hurried over to grab Tommy and teleport him up to the ship. "Come on Darkonda." Jason challenged. He turned towards Sora. "Teleport up. He's after you."

Sora nodded and was gone.

"You'll pay for that Thunder Ranger!" Darkonda swore.

"What are you waiting for Darkonda?" Jason asked. Zhane who saw the problem joined Jason.

"I'll be back for her I swear it." Darkonda promised and teleported away.

Dallas came up to them. "He's after my sister? Why?" She wondered aloud. "Where is my sister anyway?"

"I told her to teleport back up to the Talorn. Darkonda wasn't wasting time about getting her. He knocked Tommy out." Jason said.

"Come on let's go back up to the ship." Zhane said.

They teleported up and saw Sora standing waiting for them. "Hey guys." She said. "What am I going to do? I don't think I can go home with the fear that Astronema's goons will try to kidnap me."

"I'm going to go tell mom and dad about us being Defenders. They'll understand better. With school just hang around with Ashley, Cassie, TJ and Carlos."

Tommy staggered into the room. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more of help but Darkonda hit me with his sword."

"That's alright Tommy we understand." Cassie said.

"I'm going to go down to Earth now." Dallas said.

"I'll go with you just in case." Zhane spoke up.

They teleported to Earth and hurried to Sora's house.

Dallas knocked on the door while Zhane looked behind them. Denise Meyerson opened the door. "Dallas! Zhane! This is a pleasant surprise! Come on in."

"Thanks mom." Dallas said as she and Zhane walked into the house. "We have something important to tell you."

"Do you need your father here also?" Denise asked. They nodded. "Geff! Come down here a sec." She yelled.

Geff came down. "Dallas! Zhane this is a surprise!"

"Mom, Dad I have something important to tell you. Do you remember the group on KO-35 called the Defenders?"

"I believe so. We weren't around to see them for long." Geff answered her.

"Well the reason you couldn't find me was because I'm a Defender. The Sun Defender to be exact. Sora just became the Sound Defender."

"Just now?" Denise asked.

"Yes just now as in today. Three of our other Defenders have been captured. Them being Alexis, Roland, and Andros."

"Amazing. I would have never guessed Dal. Where's Sora?" Geff asked looking around. "She wasn't captured too was she?"

"No. She almost was though." Zhane finally spoke up. "We want to keep her on the Talorn. She can stay with Cassie, TJ, Ashley, and Carlos during school. It would be safer for her."

"I understand." Denise said sighing. "My two girls are Defenders."

"Denise why don't you and Dallas go up and pack some clothes for Sora. Zhane and I'll stay down here." Geff suggested.

Denise nodded and she and Dallas hurried up the stairs. "Is there room for Sora?"

"She'll be staying in my room till we get Alexis back then she'll probably share a room with another Ranger." Dallas said.

They got to work packing clothes, books, schoolbooks, toiletries, and other things Sora would need. They headed downstairs with their hands full. Zhane jumped to his feet and took the box out of Denise's arms.

"Bye." Dallas said while she and Zhane teleported out.

"I thought you might want some food. I don't think you have the strength to sit up by yourself. Let me help you." Jet said and gently pulled Andros to a sitting position and leaned him against the wall. "There. Do you think you can feed yourself?"

"Yes."

"Fine then." Jet said and left the room.

Andros picked up the first item and inspected it. 'Looks alright to me.' He put it in his mouth and started chewing. He forgot how good it was to eat actual food. Jimanya was worried chewing would exhaust him and gave him shots of food substances. 'Ah that's what she meant!' Andros thought, as he was growing tired. 'I will never doubt Jimanya again.' He slumped to the floor and fell asleep.

Petra walked in, saw the uneaten food, and picked it up. She looked down at Andros. 'Poor kid. Dang that Cordon! If he hadn't done that Andros would be alright.'

"I almost can't believe I am. I hope I can help with computers. The way this place looks, it looks like Alexis has done a good job."

"Yeah computers have always been her specialty." Tommy paused as he began to get dizzy. He put a hand on his forehead and abruptly passed out.

Billy and Jason exchanged confused and concerned looks. "I'll go get Jimanya." Jason said and hurried to his feet in search of Jimanya.

There was a flash of light and Jimanya appeared. "Andros!" Jimanya said rather surprised.

There was another flash of light and Tommy appeared. He had a very surprised look on his face. "I'm not even going to ask." Tommy said. "Jason and Billy must be freaking out because one minute I'm talking to them the next I'm here."

"Well that confirms my suspicions. You've got a concussion Tommy." Jimanya said. She returned to the matter at hand. "Andros how are you doing? Where are you?"

"I think I'm in the dungeon on Petra and Jet's ship. When I'm awake it's really painful. Petra told me some things about her past, my past, and my father's past. Jimanya did you know Astronema was my half-sister?"

Jimanya sighed and looked down. "Yes. I didn't tell you because Camille thought it would be better for you if you didn't know. Maybe we should have told you."

Andros was confused. "Wouldn't it have answered a lot of what's going on if I had known?"

"Yes. Nevertheless, you know now. Try to stay in this Dream World as long as you can. You won't hurt here." Jimanya reminded him.

"Okay." Andros said and saw Tommy disappear. "What happened to Tommy? Why does he have a concussion?"

"Oh. Darkonda hit him in the head with his sword. He was knocked out." Jimanya answered him. "I've got to go. Contact me anytime." Jimanya said and disappeared.

"It's Tommy. He passed out." Jason said worriedly.

"Where is he?" Jimanya asked as she jumped to her feet. 'Well I have to check him anyway. He might be fine in Dream World but here is another story.'

"In the Rec. Room. Follow me." Jason said.

Tommy was awake and sitting up still with a hand on his forehead when Jason and Jimanya entered the room. "Tommy are you okay?" Jimanya asked rushing to his side.

Tommy understood that he should not mention what was discussed in the Dream World in front of the others. "Just really dizzy. I guess the blow was worse then we thought."

"Here let me look." Jimanya said coming closer to Tommy. "Follow my finger." She said. She also had Tommy do a few other things before she shook her head. "You definitely have a mild concussion. As I have learned from reading about humans, you need to stay up for twenty-four hours. Sorry Tommy." She said sympathetically.

"Tough break Tommy. Do you want me and Billy to keep you company?" Jason asked.

"No, no that's okay. I'll be fine." Tommy said.

"We insist." Jason said. Billy nodded.

"Tommy you need someone to make sure your awake and they did volunteer." Jimanya pointed out.

"All right I guess there's no sense in arguing with you. It probably won't make you stop pestering me." Tommy said reluctantly.

"What is it Rojer?" Cordon asked.

"It's about Andros." He whispered. Rojer was the only one in the group, besides Cordon, who was around long enough to know about Andros.

The eyes on the face of Cordon widened with fright and signaled Rojer to follow him out of the room. "What's wrong with my son?"

"Cordon I don't know. I got a message from a woman named Jimanya saying your son was in danger." Rojer answered.

"Jimanya? As in Princess Jimanya of Edenoi?" Cordon asked.

"I believe so. I cannot be sure though. She did not say much about what happened just told me to tell you to contact her on a ship. Hold on the name of the ship escapes me. I think it was called The Talorn. I think that's what she said."

'The Talorn. Something must be wrong for her to be there.' Cordon thought. "Thank you. Tell the others for me that the meeting is adjourned." Cordon said and hurried to his quarters. He sent a message to the Talorn. 'It's late I hope someone's still awake.'

Zhane hit the button. He saw a light blond hared man looking at him curiously. "How can I help you?" Zhane asked.

"I need to speak to Princess Jimanya. I know she is on this ship. She left a message for me saying she needed to talk to me. Tell her its Cordon." The mysterious man said.

"Sure." Zhane said sparing him a confused look before leaving the room. He hurried to Jimanya's quarters and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Jimanya's voice said.

Zhane came in and saw the young Edenoid Princess turned around and looking at him with a surprised and yet gentle smile on her face. "Oh hello Zhane. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes. There is a message in the Command Room for you. Someone named Cordon said he was returning your call."

"Cordon? He returned the message rather quickly." Jimanya muttered. 'Of course, he did. It is his son.' Looking back up at Zhane, she smiled. "Thank you Zhane." She said and hurried out of the room with Zhane following her.

She got to the Command Room and saw Cordon. "Cordon. Thank you for returning my message so quickly."

"No problem." Cordon said and then saw the man who answered the message was still there. "Who's that?"

"Who?" She turned around and finally noticed Zhane was behind her. "Oh this is Zhane. He is the leader of the Defenders and Rangers. It's all right if he's in here." Jimanya answered.

Cordon sighed before continuing. "You left a message with Rojer that there was something wrong with Andros."

"Let me start at the very beginning. Alexis and Roland were each replaced at separate times. A Quanatron replaced Roland. We think it happened during a late night fight. Alexis was replaced sometime that we're not sure of. Dallas thinks it was after everyone else returned to the ship after the fight. A Quanatron did not replace Alexis. Petra replaced her. We didn't realize it until it was too late. Andros, who had been out of the fight because of injuries, hurried down to Earth to help the Thunder Ranger. He was fired at again. Petra, who was in the guise of Alexis, ran to help Andros. She lost her disguise and teleported Andros away. Andros contacted me and told me he was on Petra and Jet's ship."

"Contacted you?" Cordon asked in surprise.

"Yes well he does have the lightning signature. Anyway, I thought you might want to know. As far as I can tell, Petra and Jet won't harm him. Petra still has a love for her son."

"Of course she does." Cordon sighed and looked down. "I never expected her to lose that. She almost had Andros before Zordon was able to tell him what was really going on. But Petra, who has always hated Zordon, was able to destroy him. Antiqua is gone also."

"I know it's a shame. Antiqua is a great woman er being. We'll get her back Cordon." Jimanya said remembering how close Cordon and Antiqua were. "I think the best you can do is help get Andros back. Even if the Civiens won't harm Andros, there is still a fear that the injuries won't do him any good. He shouldn't have rushed out of here to help Jason but I guess he saw there was no choice. Camille told me once 'I hope you have someone that is as thick headed as you are to train.' Well she got her wish. I have two of them." Zhane smiled after hearing that.

"I'll look into all of this Jimanya and will get back to you. Don't hesitate to contact me if you find anything either. We'll it's late there so I'll let you go. It was nice meeting you Zhane." Cordon said and signed off.

Zhane looked at Jimanya expectantly. "Andros's father right?"

Jimanya looked at him surprised but then smiled. "Yes Cordon is Andros's father. Interesting family tree if I ever saw one." 'More then he knows. But I'm not going to tell him about Astronema being Andros's half-sister.' "I'm going to check on Jason, Tommy, and Billy. Tommy has to stay awake and Billy and Jason volunteered to stay up with him." Jimanya left the room and looked in the infirmary. She saw all three sitting on the floor chatting.

Tommy stopped and saw Jimanya. "Hi Jimanya! Is there something you need?"

Jimanya couldn't help but smile. That's what she found herself asking for the last couple of weeks. "No. I just wanted to see how you guys were doing. I see you're all right. I'm going to turn in for the night. Wake me if you need anything. " Jimanya said and exited the room.

Roland sat up quickly and glared at Astronema. "What do you want?" He asked. The noise brought Alexis awake.

"Just making sure you were still here. How do you like the cell?" Astronema asked.

"It's much better on our own ship thank you." Alexis answered her. She tried standing but her ankle wouldn't allow her.

"Ever the polite one are we Alexis?" Astronema asked as she fired at Alexis's ankle.

Alexis fell clutching her ankle biting her lip to keep from crying aloud.

Roland got up and stood protectively over Alexis.

Astronema grew bored and left the room.

Roland bent down and inspected Alexis's ankle. The ankle was swollen again. 'Dang that Astronema.' Roland turned to Alexis. "Shh. She's gone. It's all right."

However Alexis knew it wasn't all right. They needed to get out of there before Astronema killed them both.

Billy decided he might as well tell them what happened on Aquitar. "Cestria and I were in love. It was evident to both of us and all that were on Aquitar. But I was beginning to really miss Earth. Cestria knew it too. She finally told me 'Billy I know you want to go home so go.' I asked her why? And told her that I love her. She just simply shook her head and told me that she loved me too but it was hurting her to see me so sad. I'll probably go back and visit Aquitar. She's probably already moved on with her life."

"I doubt it man. How could she move on when she had you?" Jason said teasingly. Seeing that it was probably a good idea to change the subject he did so. "Has anyone heard from Aisha?"

"I haven't talked to her since everyone came back to save my life. Probably too busy in Africa." Tommy suggested

"I think Kim told me she got a letter from Aisha not long after she went back to Florida. The letter mostly asked how Tommy was adjusting. So she definitely still thinks about us." Billy said.

"Speaking of adjusting, how are you holding up bro?" Jason asked looking at Tommy.

"With staying awake or the fact that Kat broke up with me?" Tommy asked.

"The second one of course!" Jason said rolling his eyes.

"It hurts you know? But I can see why she did it. She had no way of knowing I'd be back. Jase your lucky Emily never gave up on you."

"That's because she didn't know I was going to another planet to fight a war!" Jason reminded him.

"Tommy I do have a question for you. I think Jason could agree with me on this one. But I saw you giving Sora the eye." Billy said.

"She's a really nice girl. Even if I was interested in her, the feeling's probably not mutual." Tommy said. He didn't want to get his hopes up.

"Oh come on. She was giving you the eye also. She's not that much younger then you." Jason reminded him.

"Just two years. Not that big of an age difference you're right." Tommy said.

"Well then you should ask her out." Billy said.

"I'll think about it." Tommy said. They went back to sharing stories of what had been happening the past two years.

When Sora came in she saw the only seat left was the one next to Tommy. She sat down and thought she saw Dallas, Jason, and Billy exchanging looks. She decided it would be best to ignore it. "This is definitely going to be an experience. Ashley, Carlos, TJ, Cassie, and I compared schedules. Though we never noticed it before, I am in a class with at least one of them every period of the day."

"That's great to hear." Zhane noticed how tired Jason and Billy was. "Jason and Billy you guys go to sleep Dallas and I can make sure Tommy doesn't fall asleep." He suggested.

"Thanks Zhane." Billy said stifling a yawn. He nudged Tommy who looked like he was about to fall straight into the food he was eating. "Twelve more hours Tommy then you can sleep all you want." He promised.

"I just had to get a concussion on top of everything else." Tommy mumbled.

"Well if you didn't Sora would have been captured." Dallas reminded him. "If you hadn't pulled Sora away and fallen back into her Darkonda would have gotten her."

"True." Tommy consented.

Cassie looked at her watch. "Oh! We've got to go. See you guys this afternoon." Cassie, Sora, Ashley, Carlos, and TJ teleported down to Earth to go to school without haste.

Tiffany Walkinson hurried over to Sora and Ashley when she saw them enter the building. "Sara! Ashley! You guys missed Cheerleading practice! Mrs. Carlington was about to throw a fit. She gave the rest of us this long lecture about since today's the last day before winter break it's important to be here for practice. And she also said that since the game's tomorrow we have to stay late."

'Oh no we completely forgot about practice!' "I'm sorry Tiff." Sora apologized.

"Me too. I can't believe I slept late!" Ashley added.

"You better come up with a good excuse when we have cheerleading practice this afternoon." Tiffany said. She looked down and noticed the big scratch on Sora's hand. "What happened to your hand Sara?"

"Oh this? It's a paper cut." Sora said. She remembered how she got it. It was when Darkonda was trying with all his might to keep Tommy from pulling her away. She didn't think it was that noticeable.

"Okay." Tiffany said deciding it was best not to argue. "Oh look at the time. The bell's about to ring. I'll see you guys at practice." She said and hurried down the hall.

"I can't believe I forgot about morning practice!" Sora said sighing as she and Ashley walked to first period.

"Don't feel too bad. So did I." Ashley reminded her.

Ashley looked at the clock in the hall. "It's seven o'clock I wonder if anyone's in there?"

"Since it's seven Tommy probably fell into bed. The others are probably in the Rec. Room or in the Command Room."

"Hey Sora? Have you thought about the Holiday Dance that's being held for all of Angel Grove?" Ashley asked.

"Sort of. No one's asked me." Sora said.

"That's because it's a Sadie Hawkins Dance. You're supposed to ask a guy." Ashley reminded her.

"Hmm. I don't know who I want to ask."

"You could ask Tommy." Ashley said with a grin.

"Sure and you can ask Carlos." Sora joked.

"I would like to ask Andros but he's not here. And I doubt he's in shape enough to go to the dance even if he was here."

"I've never met Andros. Is he a nice guy?"

"You'll like him trust me. He's kind of quiet though. There is something about him that he's hiding. I don't know why. It's like one of those secrets only the Defenders know."

"Not all Defenders. I don't know what he's hiding." Sora said as she and Ashley walked into the eating area. They saw Cassie and TJ were eating. "Hi guys."

"That was a really late practice. You guys must be starving." TJ said and moved out of the way.

"So where are the others?" Ashley asked.

"Well Tommy's asleep. I think Dallas and Zhane are in the Command Room. Carlos is at his home. Billy's around here somewhere. I think I saw him looking over Alexis's computer. And I think Jason went to visit his parents or something." Cassie answered her.

"I was just asking Sora this. What are you guys doing for the Holiday Dance?" Ashley asked.

Cassie and TJ both blushed. "Well I just asked TJ to go and he accepted." Cassie answered.

"I'm not sure who I want to ask. With all of this excitement of joining the Defenders I completely forgot." Sora said. Ashley and Cassie exchanged smiles. Sora noticed this. "Why is it whenever I walk into a room someone is always exchanging looks or smiles. Is there something I should know about?" She asked rather flustered.

"It's nothing Sora." Ashley said reaching for an apple. "Don't worry about it."

Sora sighed and tried to forget.

Just then the alarms went off. "Okay that's it. I'm getting Astronema a clock." Ashley said putting her apple down. She and the others rushed to the Command Room.

Seconds later they were joined by Billy, Dallas, Zhane and even Tommy who looked tired.

Zhane was bent down in front of the monitors. "Jason come in. You need to get up to the ship ASAP!" He didn't wait for a reply before contacting Carlos. "Carlos come in. You need to get up to the ship ASAP!"

Jason materialized followed by Carlos. "What's going on?" Jason asked.

"Astronema has sent down a monster and Quanatrons. We need to get down to Earth and stop them." Zhane informed him. "Tommy are you up to this? You look tired."

"I'm fine. Let's go get rid of them." Tommy answered.

"It's Morphin Time!" Zhane yelled.

"Sound Power!" Sora called

"Lightning Power!" Tommy called.

"Thunder Power!" Jason called.

"Sun Power!" Dallas called.

"Star Power!" Zhane called.

"Let's Rocket!" Billy, Cassie, Carlos, TJ, and Ashley called.

When they got down to Earth they ran over and attacked the Monster and the Quanatrons. Ecliptor, Elgar, and Darkonda teleported down soon after.

Ecliptor went right after Zhane. "Come on Star Ranger!" He taunted. Zhane called for his weapon and got right into fighting Ecliptor. Ecliptor pulled out his sword and knocked the weapon out of Zhane's hands.

Meanwhile Jason, Tommy, and TJ were fighting Darkonda. Tommy's head was starting to hurt, but he wouldn't let Darkonda have the pleasure of knowing it was.

Darkonda had just knocked Tommy and TJ to the ground. Now he was making his way towards Jason. "I said I'd get you back for yesterday Thunder Ranger! Now I will." He pulled out his sword. But before he could even do anything his sword fell out of his hands. He turned around and saw it was Sora who had done it. "So there you are Sound Ranger! My queen would like to meet you."

"I don't think so!" Sora said charging him. Darkonda simply swatted her away and watched her hit the ground.

He slowly approached her but saw someone jumped in front of him. "Leave my sister alone!" Dallas yelled pushing him away. Darkonda simply kicked her and watched her tumble to the ground next to Sora.

Another person grabbed Darkonda and he was easily able to see that it was Tommy. "Don't you ever give up?" Darkonda asked before hitting him with a fireball. Tommy fell where Dallas and Sora were. Darkonda looked up and saw they were right outside of a cave. He was about to fire at the rocks when Zhane got away from Ecliptor. 'I try to get one person and everyone gets in the act. Darkonda turned around and caught Zhane trying to kick him in the back. He flung Zhane into Dallas. Then he fired and watched the rocks fall trapping the four Defenders.

"Give it up Rangers. You're now without a leader and three other Defenders. You may still have the Thunder Ranger on this side but even he can't help you!" Darkonda laughed.

"Yeah. We'll defeat you and feed you to the Rock Drones." Elgar put in.

Billy called for his Spiral Saber and was about to fire at Darkonda. Before he could, Darkonda, Ecliptor, and Elgar were teleported away.

"Great!" Jason fumed. He looked at the rocks and shook his head. "We need to get them out of there!" Jason said and started removing the rocks. The others quickly went to assist him.

"There was no way of knowing he was going to do that Zhane!" Dallas reminded him. "The others will get us out."

"If Astronema doesn't stop them first." Zhane said.

"It can't be good whatever it is." Roland said shaking his head. He could hear some of the conversation.

"They are down to six. It'll be easy pickings now." Astronema's voice sounded gleeful.

"Oh no!" Alexis whispered looking at Roland with scared eyes. Roland did the only thing he could think of. He hugged her.

"Jimanya I've got a plan." He said.

Okay that's it for part nine. I'm writing this on a laptop on a freeway in Montana. I'm on vacation! Boy did I need one. Just kidding about needing one. So if that explains why my story is weird then there you go. I told some of you that this fanfic was going to be called "Destinies Met." But the title no longer seemed to fit the story. Part ten is on the drawing board. I have a pretty good idea on where I'm taking it. And no it won't be the end. I'm throwing in another surprise. I love surprises myself. I hope you all do too. Email me at Willow@grrtech.com.