The blood trickled unmercifully into my eye blinding me for a moment. I wanted to brush it away but I just couldn't bring myself to. Everything hurt. I didn't even remember where I was. I lay there for a time later until I finally thought I might be able to stand up. I pushed myself slowly and painfully into a sitting position. In the moonlight that filtered through my window I saw the endless cuts and welts across my skin. I was in a corner of my room nearest the bathroom. I barely remembered what happened and I guess that was for the best. I began to cry as I puled myself up and stumbled into the bathroom. I tripped over one of my feet and landed in the middle of the floor, my head just missing the bathtub. I felt so sick to my stomach from pain I was afraid I'd throw up. I told myself not to. If I did they would hear down the hall. I didn't want them to wake up. I had to call 911.

I pulled myself up to the sink and looked at myself in the mirror. That did it. I threw up. So many open soars. It was just gross.

I realized I'd thrown up blood. "Perfect. Internal injuries." I mumbled.

I crawled back across the floor and out the door. I thought it'd be locked but, I guess Evan thought I'd be unconscious for the night. I'll show him.

I almost fell down the stairs but caught myself on the railing. It set off a shot of pain through my body and I almost screamed. I kept it in and finished my descent. I reached the closest phone and punched in 911.

I merely told them my address and not to turn the siren's on. That's all I managed before the world once again became dark.

"Come Nikki. We have much to do." The little girl took my hand and led me through a narrow path between an odd bunch of flowers.

"Where am I?" I finally asked. "This is ………………….." Answered the little girl, "It is a place where you can choose whether to go on living or die and go to live with your ancestors."

"Well of course I want to go living." My voice held hesitation. Why? I didn't want to die. Did I? "You can't fool me. I've been doing this for 6 thousand years. You want to go back to the world where you can be with Justin and take on the responsibilities of being a Power Ranger again, but yet there's a part of you that would rather stay with your parent's for eternity."

I opened my mouth but said nothing. "I know everything about you Nikki. Actually I know everything about everyone that comes here." The girl said after a while.

"But you're so young."

She looked up at me. "Young? You think 6,005 years it young?" "You've been doing this for 6,000 years. Was the five years when you were alive?"

She nodded. "I was killed by an attack at my planet, Anaste, when I was only five years old. Like my ancestors I went on doing their job. I can do it for as long as I please. I love doing this. I guess you could say it's a way to now people." Killed when she was 5? No bitterness. Not at all. I guess you get over that after 6,000 thousand years.

"What's your name?" I asked after a while. The little girl looked up surprised. You're the first person in 2 thousand years to ask me that. Most people are rude and just want to do what ever needs to be done and get back to living. You're different. I like you."

She smiled broadly. "Oh and my name is Didrika. When I was alive it was Mrena however." "What do those names mean?" "Didrika means leader of people. For obvious reasons. And Mrena means white eyes."

She looked up at me and found the reason for that. Unlike most eyes, the back's were a pale blue and then the white outside the pupil. I gasped. "That's amazing! How did you get white eyes?" "I know not. There are no other white eyes on my planet. I was quite an attraction when I was little. Everybody wanted to see my amazing white eyes."

"So you were kinda like a tourist stop." "Yeah. I wish some times my life lasted longer. But then I don't feel so bad when I get little babies. They can't even choose. I just have to send them to their ancestors. And there's been people very old and frail and ready to die. But never have seen such a child as you. In come ways you are ready and you're not even half over with you life."

I sighed. "Sometimes I feel like my life is more than 75% over. I've had so many near death experiences in the past 6 months, you wouldn't believe. And now this. I have to choose whether or not I want to go on living." "I'm going to show you some things. Stuff that happened in the past and things that are yet to come." "You're going to show me what will happen if I choose to go on living?"

"A few things. This is a big deal Nikki. Choosing whether you live or die. That doesn't happen every day." I nodded understandingly. She led me to the edge of a cliff that over looked a valley with a river flowing down the middle.

"Oh it's beautiful, Didrika." I said softly. "It may seem beautiful now but this is where you will see all the things of your life pass before you." She replied.

She held her hand out and a staff appeared. She swung the stick toward the sky and immediately the bright blue sky changed and a scene of me and my family when I was two appeared.

"Sit down Nikki. This will take awhile." Didrika whispered. I settled myself into the soft grass and stared up at the sky.

The scene held no sound but I didn't need it. It showed us moving into our first house in Los Angels. The next scene was unfamiliar to me. It showed a baby boy in my stubby little arms. I must have been 3.

The next scene was even more unfamiliar. It was my dad and mom standing around a gravesite. My dad held in me in his arms. I still looked about 3.

Who was the baby? I brushed it out of my head for the time being as my life went through the sky. Finally a while later it was the crash site. The pain and agony came back and felt a tear slide down my cheek. My parent's funeral, the orphanage, becoming a ranger, being kidnapped by Astronema all 3 times, meeting Justin, and then coming to live with Evan.

The scenes with Evan left and I turned away only to be pushed back toward the screen by Didrika. There the sky held an older me, with Justin, fighting monsters, being with Andros and the others, and then my wedding and my first child.

The screen then left and the sky was as normal as it had been before the scenes. "Why didn't it show who I married?" I asked as Didrika stood up.

"Not all things will be revealed to you. If you choose to go on living they will be fulfilled." "Who was that baby?"

"That was Decoda, your little brother. He was a preemie and died after only living two months." "Why didn't they ever tell me?"

"That Nikki. I do not know. I do remember when he came here though. The cutest baby I'd seen in a thousand years. He's with your parent's now." "I want to be with them too."

"That's a big step. Once you choose to die you may never come back to your life. It's your only chance to decide." My mind hurt from thinking it over so much. "I'm really tired." I finally replied with a yawn. "It's 2:30 am your time. You should get some sleep. Days last longer here." "But when I called 911 it was 3:30am."

"It's been a whole day. You're in the hospital." "I am? Is Evan there?"

"Evan is in jail. They found his finger prints all over you and they didn't believe his story anyway." "What'd he tell them?"

"That you fell out of the window." "Fell out my window? You don't get whipping welts from falling out of a window."

"Exactly." "I thought he was smarter than that."

"Go to sleep. You still have all day tomorrow to decide if you want to live or go on to your parents." Only a day? I didn't say anything but I followed Didrika down to a tree. She sat down on a log as I slipped down to the fallen leaves.

Didrika waved her wand over me and a heavy fur blanket draped over me. I snuggled under the warmth and drifted off to sleep.

"Where is she?" Mike ran into the hospital and over to a nurse. "Who sir?" The nurse asked confused. "Nikki Thompson. What room is she in?" "She just got out of surgery. She's in a recovery room. I can take you there, but you can't go in." He nodded quickly and pushed Justin in front of him as the nurse led them down the hall. She led them to a large window, they peered through to find Nikki laying helplessly in the bed tubes hooked up to her everywhere. She looked lost under the white sheets. "How's she doing?" Mike asked. "She's on life support. She barely made it through surgery. She's not expected to live much longer. I'm sorry." With that the nurse tossed Justin a sympathetic look and walked away.

"She needs her White Ranger powers." Justin whispered. Mike put his hand on his son's shoulder, "Would that work son?" "I'm sure it would. I'm going to go talk to Zordon about it right now. Don't leave. I don't want her to be alone." Justin glanced up the hall and then teleported out. Mike stood at the spot he'd last seen his son. He'd never get used to the thought of him or Nikki being Power Rangers.

"Hello Justin. How is Nikki doing?" Zordon spoke as Justin's body formed on the bridge. "They don't think she's going to make it." Justin paused for a second, " She needs her powers back, Zordon! It'll help her heal. She needs them Zordon."

"The power entering her body could be to much for her Justin. That might kill her." "How big of a chance it would help her live?" He asked anxiously.

"It looks a half chance for both." "I'm not going to stand and watch and her die! We have to do something."

"Justin. It is up to her now. She is in a place called, Purgatory, there she will choose whether or not she want's go on living or die and live with her parent's." "Her choice? She gets to decide whether or not she dies?" "Not always. It may be that she's too weak. She might die anyhow. There is nothing for us to do but wait."

"If the powers enter her body, will she know?" "Yes she would know."

"Wouldn't that make her choose to live? If she had something to live for?" "It might Justin. If you feel Nikki would want this, you and the other rangers can go and give Nikki back her powers. Just place her power coin in her hand. The power will return to her. It will either help her or kill her. I want you to know that." Justin nodded. "I'm going to do it. Nikki's strong. She'll be able to handle it."

"I'll contact the other rangers and tell them to meet you at the hospital." Zordon told Justin. Justin teleported out barely hearing him.

"Nikki? It's time to get up." I stirred slightly and opened my eyes. Didrika stood there standing over me with an odd fruit in her hands.

I pushed the fur blanket off me and took the fruit from her hands. Taking a bite of it cautiously I realized that it tasted much like a banana. I ate it quickly as Didrika stood over the cliff gazing at the river. I brushed myself off and walked over to her. "What's the matter?" I questioned.

"You're friends want you to live very much Nikki. They are trying at this very moment to keep you alive. Justin is giving you back your powers as we speak."

"Justin we are not supposed to be in here." Ashley whispered harshly as they entered Nikki's room. "I don't care. You don't have to be here, I'll give it to her myself." Justin growled angrily.

"Why are you so edgy?" T.J. questioned. "My best friend is dying! How am I supposed to feel?" Justin snapped.

The other found it useless to talk to him and stopped. They stood around Nikki's bed and Justin placed the coin into Nikki's pale hand.

Justin felt a jolt as the power left his body and entered Nikki's. Her body glowed a pale white and all was silent once more. She stirred and they held their breath as they watched.

Her heart monitor suddenly flat lined and a batch of nurses flooded in. "What are you doing in here? Get out!" A nurse ordered shoving them out the door.

They watched anxiously from the window as the doctors and nurses tried to revive her. Just as the commotion had started, it stopped and they began to the pull the various tubes out of her body.

Justin gasped and his body crumpled beneath him. He'd killed her.