Announcer: Previously on Power Rangers...Zordon received a message from Trider of Horat telling him that he needed the rangers’ help on planet. This was just an addition to the rangers’ many emotional conflicts, with Kat being self-conscious around Tommy and Emily acting strange whenever she was around Jason, not to mention Tanya and Zack’s secret relationship. The rangers traveled to Horat, and Zordon sent Trini, Zack, and Jackie to Phaedos to receive the Ninja Powers after, much to his regret, making the White Ranger think that he had no faith in him. Zack, Trini, and Jackie, meanwhile, met up with Dulcea, but they were not able to gain their Ninjetti Powers because of emotional conflicts. Kat broke up with Tommy on Horat, and Jaime and Kim shared their first kiss before going out to fight. Rocky’s powers faded due to an unidentified Horation weapon, and he was aided by a mysterious Red Ranger and Silver Ranger. The other rangers beat Gasket and Archerina’s Cogs, but not before Tommy could be attacked by the same weapon as Rocky was and be aided by the unknown rangers. Then, when everything seemed to be going well, Kat saw Kim kissing Tommy and Tanya was taken away by Gasket in an attempt to drain Trey of Triphoria’s powers. Will Trey give up his powers? Can Zack keep his relationship with Tanya a secret? Will Tommy and Kat be able to work things out? Can Kim and Jaime confirm their feelings? Who are the mysterious rangers? Find out in part ten of Allied Evil...

Pain. Burning. Sobbing. The sound of evil laughter assaulted her ears. Who was screaming? It seemed so far away. Someone must have been getting bad. Damn Archerina. She was a bitch...always tearing them apart with that husband of hers. The scream was female...oh God, Kat...it couldn’t be her, could it? No...that didn’t sound like Kat.

Emily then? She had only had the Gold Ranger F powers for a short while. What if Gasket had captured her and was torturing her. A shiver went up her spine. Stop hurting Emily! No, it wasn’t Emily...she sounded different...it was someone else...

Kim!? No! Not Kim! Don’t hurt Kim! If you dare touch her...Jackie or Trini? No, they didn’t come to Horat...who was it, then. That was when it dawned on Tanya Sloan...the screaming she heard was herself.

Glancing painfully at Archerina who was eyeing her with an eerie satisfaction, she cried out as the mechanical queen struck her again with an electric charger that she had called the Nergizer. “What do you want from me?” Tanya asked weakly. She could feel blood trickling down her face and onto her ranger costume, but her hands were bound...they were bound so tightly that she could feel them digging into her wrists.

Archerina chuckled before leaning down in front of her, the lights in her eyes unusually dark. “It is not what I want from you, Yellow Ranger, but what I want from who I can get by using you.” With that, she laughed and struck Tanya again making her jerk on the metal contraption she was lying on before passing out.

A breeze flew through the trees on the planet Horat. Darkness had descended over the planet a few hours ago, and now its moon was shining brightly on the cool planet. Inside of the large stone Horation castle, the golden sculpture of Bulk and Skull stood proudly overlooking the main room. Beyond this area was the meeting hall which wasn’t lit except for a few candles in the middle of a long wooden table.

His face illuminated by one of these candles, Jaime Talsik of Triphoria stood from where he had been sitting at the end of the wooden table and walked over to the small window to his right and looked up at the sky, putting his hand over the black and silver stripes on his right eye. Closing his eyes, he let out a deep sigh before leaning against the wall and sinking to his knees.

Trider, Master Warrior of Horat, watched him before looking back to the Black Ranger, Adam Park, who had just finished telling them what had happened to Tanya and shook his head. “We can’t risk Trey’s life. He’s the King of Triphoria and an important part of the Meledan.” In a way, he couldn’t help but feel insecure witting in the middle of the Power Rangers. He was the only one with lizard skin on his face, and he was also the only one that didn’t have a connection to the Yellow Ranger who had been taken by Gasket just a few hours earlier.

“The what?” Rocky DeSantos pulled on his red collar and frowned. This whole situation had just popped out of nowhere...just when they thought that everything was going great in the Universe Tanya had to be taken by Gasket. The Bastard. Instead of answering, Trider just looked at him before turning away.

Adam watched this before pounding his fist on the table. “Damn it, Tanya is part of our team. We can’t just let her die up there!” His usually boyish face was creased with lines of worry and anger that were rarely ever visible.

“So you’d let Trey die instead,” Jaime whispered, putting his arms around his knees and supporting his head on them.

Sighing, Adam muttered, “They don’t want to kill Trey. Gasket said that he’s just after his powers.”

Kimberly Hart gazed at him with worry before shaking her head. “Look, Adam, you know how much I like Tanya, but Jaime is right. If this Trey guy gives up his powers, he’s as good as dead. The Machine Empire will kill him in a second.”

“The Gold Ranger Powers are connected to mine and Emily’s, as well,” Jaime added softly. “If Trey hands his power over to Gasket then it will be like both of us did the same, and the Morphing Grid will be weakened.” At this, Emily Johnson turned to him before pushing her blond hair out of her face and gazing at Jason Scott who had dropped his head onto the wooden table and was watching everyone with concern.

“Still, we can’t just leave Tanya on Gasket and Archerina’s ship and let her die!” Katherine Hilliard exclaimed. “There has to be something we can do to get her off without giving up Trey’s powers.” She hoped that Tanya was all right. Adam’s guilt was killing him inside. What would happen to him if she died?

Rocky turned to Tommy Oliver who was sitting at the other end of the table and, uncharacteristically, hadn’t said anything. Seeing the blank expression on his leader’s face, Rocky put a hand through his hair, disturbed. “Hey, Tommy.” When the White Ranger didn’t respond, Rocky waved a hand in front of his face. “Are you ok?”

Tommy took in a sharp breath before looking, startled, at Rocky. Seeing the Blue Ranger narrow his eyes in worry, Tommy rubbed his eyes before saying, “We’re wasting our time.”

“What are you talking about!?” Adam yelled, making Kim jump. “How are we wasting our time!? That’s my girlfriend of there, and one of your supposed friends!” He had thought Tommy, out of everyone else, would have understood what he was going through!

“Calm down, Adam,” Tommy ordered. Hearing his leader voice come out, the Black Ranger folded his arms in his lap and leaned back in his chair. “I love Tanya, and I don’t want her to die up there,” Tommy told him gently, sensing that he had gained control of the conversation, “but we’re wasting our time fighting over if we should give up Trey to Gasket or if we should let them keep Tanya. What we need to do is contact Triphoria and get Trey here so that he can make his own decision.”

Jaime stood and walked towards him in protest. “Tommy, if you call Trey here then he’s going to agree to giving himself up to get Tanya back. It won’t be a decision that is thought through, but a King-like thing to do in his mind.”

Glancing at Jaime, the White Ranger stood as well and limped towards him, sighing as he felt how stiff his ankle was. At least he knew his hip had nearly healed, and the scars on his face were barely visible. “Trey is capable enough to make his own decisions, Jaime. You have to have faith in his judgment.”

“If you knew him, you wouldn’t trust his decisions,” Jaime whispered. Seeing the two continue to near each other, Jason made a mental note to stay alert just in case this argument turned out badly and he had to get involved. He had never seen the Triphorian really upset before, and none of them had any real idea what Jaime was capable of.

“Ask yourself if you were in Trey’s position, would you do the same thing?” Watching the Silver Ranger bite his lip before lowering his eyes, Tommy nodded, having expected something like this. “We’ll call Trey here and have him evaluate the situation.” Tommy looked at Jaime’s wrist before smiling. It was wrapped. Now who was showing their weakness?

Jason turned his attention to Trider. “Do you have a master communicator here...like a viewing globe?”

Trider nodded. “Our Bulk and Skull statue is also a communicating device. It is the main part of our planet.”

(What irony.) Emily thought to herself. “Great.”

“I suggest that the rest of you get some sleep,” Trider said. “You’ve been up for quite a long time, and we don’t know when Gasket and Archerina could attack next.”

Adam wanted to scream out ‘How do you expect us to sleep when Tanya is missing!?’ but, seeing how worn out everyone else looked, he sighed. Didn’t they care at all that Tanya was missing? “That’s a good idea, Trider. Will you contact Trey?”

Trider grinned at him. “Of course, Adam. Get some rest.”

“I’m going to feel weird resting while Tanya is missing,” Emily admitted. “Have you guys ever felt like that?”

Jason smiled. “There was Tommy’s experience being king for a day in Gasket’s arena.”

Tommy groaned. “You, of course, had to bring that up.” At Jason’s apologetic grin, he shook his head and rubbed his neck before standing and stretching out his back.

Kim watched him for a moment before putting a hand on his back. As the White Ranger turned around, she frowned. “If you need to talk to someone, just teleport to my room. I don’t care what time it is, Tommy. You won’t be a bother.”

Understanding what she meant, Tommy nodded slowly. “Thank you.” Unbeknownst to him, Kat was watching the two with an expression of hatred that would have freaked even Jason out.

“The same goes for me,” Emily said, touching Jason’s arm. “Let me know if you want to talk.”

Jason coughed before looking down at her. “Um, I will. Thanks, Em.” As everyone turned towards him, knowing that he hadn’t used her pet name since they had been going out, the Red Ranger glanced at the floor. “Thanks, Emily.” Tommy looked from he Gold Ranger to the Red Ranger before taking in a shaky breath and teleporting out of the room, the rest of the rangers doing the same after him.

Back on Earth in the Power Chamber, command base of the Power Rangers, Zordon of Eltar watched his assistant, Alpha 5, scurry around the room working on consoles. “Ay yi yi, Zordon! I’m still picking up Tanya, but she hasn’t been released, and I haven’t found any breaks in the force field around Gasket and Archerina’s ship!”

“KEEP TRYING, ALPHA,” Zordon told him. Closing his eyes, he sighed before gazing down at the robot. “PREPARE TO SEND A TRANSMITTION TO HORAT.”

Alpha tilted its head. “Again? What is the matter, Zordon?”

The wizard lowered his head, knowing that Alpha already had a small idea of what was going on. “I WISH TO CHECK ON THE WHITE RANGER. HE WAS ALMOST KILLED ON HORAT DURING THE LAST FIGHT.”

“If Tommy was not doing well, Trider would have teleported Rocky and him back to Earth,” Alpha told him gently. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

“THERE IS A NEED WITHIN ME TO SPEAK TO TOMMY DIRECTLY, BUT I WOULDN’T WANT TO INTERRUPT HIS REST.”

Alpha sighed. “He knows that you care for him, Zordon, and that you were only angry because you felt the need to protect him as you feel the need to protect the other rangers.” Zordon merely nodded and watched as Alpha continued working on the consoles for a way to free Tanya.

Shadows formed along the ceiling of Jason’s room in the Horation castle, and he watched them tensely before closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep, but he knew that his attempt would prove as futile as his other attempts had. (Emily or Trini...Trini or Emily...) Plus, now everyone knew that there was something going between them. He hadn’t called Emily ‘Em’ in such a long time.

Standing, he slipped on a red sleeveless shirt and black loose jeans before locking in Tommy’s coordinates and teleporting into the White Ranger’s room. He found his best friend, still dressed in the clothes he had been wearing before, fast asleep on his bed with Saba, his enchanted saber, in his hand. (That’s weird...I didn’t know Tommy slept with Saba...who sleeps with a sword?)

Walking quietly over to Tommy’s bed, he shook him a few times. “Hey, Tommy, wake up?” Tommy murmured something in his sleep before curling up and letting out a deep breath. (Why does he have to be so stubborn?) “Tommy, wake up,” Jason tried again. The White Ranger pulled away from Jason’s touch but refused to regard him any other way.

Saba, however, noticing the disturbance, opened his eyes wearily and, seeing a form above Tommy, gasped. “Intruder! Intruder!”

“No, Saba!” Jason whispered harshly. “Will you shut up!? I don’t want to wake everyone up!”

Saba’s interference was enough to wake Tommy up, however, and, seeing a blurry form above him, he picked Saba up and jumped to the other side of the bed, reaching for his morpher. As his vision cleared, he saw exactly who the person was and threw Saba on the bed before leaning against the wall. “That was not what I needed, Jason.”

“Sorry,” Jason muttered. “I was trying to wake you up on my own, but Saba had to get in the way.”

“Like I could see who it was,” Saba murmured.

Tommy rubbed his eyes before putting a hand through his long brown hair. “So, now that you nearly scared me to death, what’s up?”

Jason smiled. “I’m sorry about freaking you out, but I couldn’t sleep and I felt like talking to someone...alone...” He glanced at Saba.

Seeing this, Tommy picked up Saba and sighed. “You heard him. Go away.”

“It’s obvious you don’t have an clue about kindness and decency,” Saba muttered. “I thought we were buddies now.”

“We are, but Jason doesn’t want to talk to you,” Tommy argued. “He wants to talk to me.”

Saba glanced at Jason. “You don’t mind if I stay, do you?”

When the Red Ranger didn’t answer, Tommy smiled. “That translates to ‘he does mind’, so leave.”

“Fine,” Saba said with a fake sniffle. “I know when I’m not wanted.” With that, he teleported away.

Jason sat down on Tommy’s bed, relieved that the saber was no longer there, before inquiring, “Since when do you sleep with Saba?”

Tommy grinned. “You make it sound so sexual.” As Jason continued to eye him with confusion, the White Ranger sighed. “I was kidding, and I don’t always sleep with Saba. When I got back I felt like talking to someone so I called him up, and I must have fallen asleep without teleporting him away.”

Nodding, Jason leaned back on Tommy’s bed and mumbled, “I felt like talking about what you and the others saw today.”

“What did we see?” Tommy questioned, not sure exactly what Jason was talking about.

The Red Ranger groaned. “You know...Emily and me...I called her Em...and I haven’t done that in awhile.”

Tommy shrugged. “I figured that you two were getting along again and the nickname just stuck.” As Jason shook his head, Tommy sat down next to him on the bed. “So, what happened?”

“I was sleeping in my room after we fought all night here on Horat, and Emily came in and started kissing me!” Jason exclaimed. Watching Tommy lie back next to him, Jason closed his eyes. “I told her that I was with Trini and that I loved her, but she wouldn’t listen, and it felt good, Man. Really good...she probably could have gone all the way, and I would have gone with her, but she wants a commitment again before going that far which means I have to choose between her and Trini. She didn’t feel for Jaime, Tommy. I literally dumped her for no reason!”

“Do you want to go out with her again?” Tommy asked. (Gee, this sounds awfully familiar...)

Jason shrugged. “I know this is going to sound awful and really pigheaded--”

Tommy smiled. “We all do at some point. At least, that’s what Kim told me when we were going out...” He frowned suddenly, realizing for the first time that Kim had meant it as an insult.

“I love Trini, and I want to go out with her. Tommy, I know I love her and I know that she’s who I’m meant to be with, but I want the sex, too!”

Whistling low, Tommy put his hands behind his head. “You sound like me a couple of weeks ago. Well, kind of.”

The Red Ranger looked at him. “I swear, you weren’t having problems for no reason...it was some kind of sickness, and I caught it. Can I take my shoes off?”

“I don’t care.” As Jason’s sneakers fell to the ground with two sporadic thuds, Tommy sighed. “The sex is superficial, Jason. If you love Trini then you should stay with her, and who knows...she might just surprise you with how far she wants to go.”

Pondering this, Jason frowned. “Trini called sex a ‘mistake’. She screwed with Richie and now she regrets it. Why would she do it with me?”

Tommy gazed at him and thought about what to say before replying, “Richie hurt her, Jason. Hopefully you wouldn’t hurt her, and you’re right...it does sound awful that you would give up the person you love just so you could have sex with Emily, but have you ever thought that she was milking you? Emily might not love you anymore, either. All she wants now is sex, just like you.”

“I want the relationship, too,” Jason said, “and if Emily just wanted sex wouldn’t she have done me without asking for a commitment?”

“I’m guessing at this, Bro,” Tommy said with an exasperated sigh. “Give me a break.” At Jason’s chuckle, he added, “You need to decide who means more to you, and you need to see if your love for Trini is just the fear of hurting her and if your love for Emily is just lust for sex.”

Jason turned to him and smiled. “When did you become so good at this?”

Tommy smirked. “What, after all I’ve been through recently?”

“How is that going anyway?” Jason asked. “Are you and Kat ok?”

“We broke up,” Tommy told him. At Jason’s startled expression, Tommy sighed. “I wasn’t surprised. She needed to deal with everything...she thought that I needed time to think...and since then I’ve kissed Kim.”

Jason frowned. “So, you’re back together with Kim?”

“No, she has a crush on Jaime.”

“Wait, but you just said that you kissed Kim,” Jason argued.

Tommy nodded. “I did.”

At this, Jason sighed. “Forget it. I gave up on understanding your life a long time ago.”

“Let me explain,” Tommy said, snickering at his best friend’s puzzlement. “I told her about Uriel and how Kat had dumped me, and we went out to the balcony. After that...I can’t really explain it...it was like what I felt for her in high school was rekindled inside of me, and I kissed her, but after that we realized that all we felt for each other was friendship and the love of a brother and a sister. It isn’t like it was before.”

“So, you kissed your sister?” Jason made a face. “Good one.” Tommy frowned at him before jumping across his bed, getting his pillow, and smacking Jason with it before he had time to prepare himself. “Hey, hey...no foul play...it was merely an observation,” the Red Ranger said, laughing.

Tommy stuck his tongue out at him before throwing the pillow to the top of the bed again and standing. “Are you going to be ok?”

Jason nodded. “Yeah...I think I’m going to walk back to my room instead of teleporting...it’ll be more relaxing. Do you want to come, Hurricane Tommy?”

“If you start calling me that, I’m going to have to hurt you,” Tommy said with a chuckle as he remembered their conversation about how he had a monster put in his stomach by Rita. “I’ll come as soon as you get your shoes because I definitely don’t want them. They’re getting the carpet dirty.” Jason smirked and slipped his shoes on before walking with Tommy out of the room and down the hallway towards Jason’s room.

“So, Kim likes Jaime,” Jason said as they walked through the wide hallway past sleeping chambers of the other rangers and Horation warriors. “Is it official?”

Tommy shook his head. “I don’t think so. Kim said that they kissed each other, but it ended awkwardly. Still, I told her that it’ll just be a matter of time before he--” Glancing down at one of the doors they were walking past, he frowned as a bright gold light flashed from underneath it. “What is that?”

“I don’t know,” Jason admitted, seeing the same thing. “Who’s room is that?”

“I think it’s Jaime’s,” Tommy answered. He glanced at Jason worriedly. “Should we check on him? I mean, I wouldn’t want to piss him off if nothing is going on.”

Jason shook his head. “Still, it would be better to make a mistake than to walk past and have Jaime be hurt or killed in his sleep.”

Nodding at this, Tommy twisted the door knob of the Triphorian’s room, surprised that it opened easily. The White and Red Rangers looked at each other before slowly pushing the door open and stepping inside. Once entering, they found the Silver Ranger curled up on his bed breathing lightly, and they were about to leave when Jason saw a dark figure towering over the bed. “Tommy...look...”

“Shit...” The White Ranger breathed, seeing the same thing that Jason did. “Jaime, wake up!”

The Silver Ranger sat up, alarmed by the fact that Tommy and Jason were staring at him in horror from the doorway leading into his room before spying the being towering over him. “Shit!” Jumping to the other side of the bed in only a gray tank top and boxers, Jaime fumbled through the black pants he had been wearing earlier in search of his morpher.

Watching this with amusement, the being laughed and took a step forward, allowing the light from the outside hallway to fall on him. “You guys sure are jumpy...oh, and nice look, Jaime.”

Jason, realizing instantly who it was, let out an embarrassed chuckle before looking at Tommy who was just as humiliated. Jaime was purely mortified. “God, Trey...”

“Well, I’ll forget about surprising you again,” the King of Triphoria said, still snickering. Walking over to Jaime, he helped his best friend to his feet before smiling at Tommy and Jason. “It’s amazing you didn’t wake anyone.”

Jaime embraced him, still a bright shade of red. “It’s good to see you, Man. I wish it was under better circumstances.”

“So do I,” Trey admitted, “but Trider explained the situation to me, and I agree that I need to be here to help out.”

Tommy nodded. “It’s good to have you here, Trey.”

“Well, I’ve missed you guys,” Trey told him honestly. “Plus, we need to get Tanya back.” Jaime merely sighed and lowered his head. Jason knew that the Silver Ranger was going to oppose Trey giving up his powers, just like Trey would protest if the roles were reversed. What did that mean for Tanya’s fate? (I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.)

Adam watched from his spot by the stone fountain in the main room of the Horation Castle as people continued to teleport into the room. After Tommy had alerted him to Trey’s arrival, he had suggested that they have a full meeting about what to do. Sleep wasn’t a luxury they could afford at the moment. Besides, he knew he wouldn’t be able to rest until Tanya was saved from the Machine Empire.

Gazing across the room, he found Jaime saying something quietly to Trey who was nodding quite frequently and trying to get a word in. The conversation seemed quite heated, and for a moment Adam wondered what they were arguing about, but then he realized that Jaime was probably trying to tell Trey that there was some other way to get Tanya back then giving up his powers. The Bastard. Who was he to decide if Trey’s powers were too high of a price for the Yellow Ranger’s life!?

Standing in front of the large gold statue of Bulk and Skull were Kim, Rocky, Jason, and Tommy, and all of them were talking in hushed whispers. Adam supposed that they were also talking about Trey giving up his powers. Though he would have normally joined the conversation, he knew that he couldn’t. None of them understood how important it was to get Tanya back. They probably didn’t even care that she was missing. Adam only knew that it was his fault Tanya was taken, and he wouldn’t let her down by not getting her back.

Kat and Emily were whispering to each other with the two women frequently looking at the group by the statue. At the moment he didn’t care what they were gossiping about. Nothing interested him besides getting Tanya back. All of a sudden, he was alerted by a voice from behind him. “Moping around will not get the Yellow Ranger back.”

Spinning around, Adam found that it was Trider, and that the Horation was watching him with concern. “No one else cares about her,” Adam growled. “She’s just some fighter, but she’s so much more than that to me.”

“If no one cares about her then why did all these people assemble to save her life?” Trider asked. When Adam refused to answer, he continued, “Many warriors of Horat have been lost to Gasket and Archerina, and a rescue mission was never attempted for any of them. Who knows? They might not be dead, but they were simply fighters. Tanya is not. She has all of you to support her, and because of that we cannot let her go, so don’t shut out your friends when you need them the most.” With that, he walked away leaving Adam to ponder this.

Suddenly, a hush fell over the crowd as a Horation dressed in fine linens entered the room and walked to the center of it. “Present are our highest level warriors and the legendary Power Rangers as well as the King of Triphoria and his Royal Guard...I’d say that we’d better find this Yellow Ranger if we are ever to destroy the remains of the Machine Empire.”

“General Woltor,” Trider began, walking towards the obviously more mature Horation. He bowed humbly. “Gasket and Archerina have asked for the Golden Powers of Triphoria.”

Trey took a step forward at this. “General, I would do anything to save Tanya. She is an amazing fighter.”

“We cannot ask this of you, Trey,” General Woltor said. “Triphoria is part of the Meledan, and the Golden Powers are vital to the Morphing Grid.”

“If only there were a way to drain my powers and save the powers of the Silver Ranger and the Gold Ranger F,” Trey told him, “then the Morphing Grid would be sustained. I can’t ask Jaime and Emily to give up powers that are rightfully theirs.”

Jaime shook his head. “I don’t know about Emily, but I will give up my powers if it means that Tanya is released--”

“I would, too,” Emily voiced from her spot by Kat.

“However, there has to be another way to free Tanya without losing the Triphorian Powers,” Jaime concluded.

At this, Adam shook his head. “Jaime, Gasket and Archerina won’t be bent. The powers need to be lost or Tanya will be lost.”

The Silver Ranger frowned at him. “There’s always another way, Adam. Being a ranger, haven’t you learned this? Trey losing his powers the first time wasn’t the end of the Gold Powers because Jason took them, and when Jason was losing them and his life, Trey was able to take the Power back. While you feel nothing for these powers, the Triphorian Powers have been protected for hundreds of years, so to ask us to give them up this easily...there has to be a way to sustain them.”

“Tanya will be killed--”

“Millions of Triphorians have been slain to protect these powers,” Jaime shouted angrily at him, “and I won’t let their deaths be in vain...not if there’s another way to get the Yellow Ranger back!”

Sensing that the argument had gotten out of hand, Rocky tried to cool things off. “Jaime, if there is another way to get Tanya back, then we’ll find it, but you have to understand that she means a lot to us and to Adam.”

The Silver Ranger shook his head, exasperated. “Don’t you think I know that!? Tanya means a lot to me, too! I don’t want to lose her...all I’m saying is that I respect the lives that were lost to keep the Triphorian Powers in existence, and that we can’t give them up!”

“What then, Jaime, do you propose that we do?” Adam asked spitefully. “Should we just go up to the ship and ask for Tanya back?”

Jason frowned. “Calm down, Adam.” He couldn’t remember having seen the Black Ranger so upset before. It was unheard of.

“Calm down!? That’s my girlfriend up there!” Adam exclaimed. “It’s my fault that she’s gone, and I won’t let her down!” Rocky looked at him with concern before glancing at Tommy who was shaking his head. The mood in the room had become horribly tense, and everyone knew that until the conflict was solved that nothing would be accomplished.

In the moon palace, Lord Zedd was watching the Earth with boredom before gazing at Rita Repulsa, his wife who was yelling at her brother, Rito Revolto, about being a bonehead. What else was new? He was a skeleton after all. “This is so dull. When are those rangers going to be back from Horat!?”

“We could attack the Earth anyway,” Rita suggested after sending her brother into the hallway to think about whatever idiotic thing he had done. “Angel Grove will be destroyed.”

Zedd shrugged. “What is the point? I want to destroy the Rangers...not some already ruined city.” Rita nodded in agreement. “At least you don’t have your Green Ranger to play with.”

Rita cringed, remembering how Goldar, her stupid monkey henchman, had told her husband that Tommy had gone up her shirt while he was evil. Glaring at him, she muttered, “Well, Kat isn’t here, either.”

“Never bring that up again,” Zedd snarled. “It was momentary pleasure with your little cat.”

“Well, it was momentary pleasure with my servant,” Rita argued. “What’s the difference?”

Zedd grunted. “Kat has some physical attractiveness, unlike Tommy...”

“That’s because you’re a guy. Tommy is physically pleasing to me, and he felt better than you have in a long time!” Rita screeched. Queen Uriel, who had just entered the room, heard this before shaking her head. (Just when I was starting to think about being evil again...)

“Why aren’t we attacking the rangers?” Uriel questioned, smoothing down her long black skirt. She put a hand through her luscious blond hair before staring at the two in confusion. “Are they not on Earth?”

Zedd looked at her without saying anything for a moment before feeling Rita smack his arm. Shakily, he answered, “The rangers are on Horat helping Trider.”

Uriel smirked. “Trider? The little goody brat that used to be on the side of evil? I’ve heard stories about him, and I’m surprised that Zordon actually sent the Rangers to help. Zordon and Horat do not mix.”

“Horat is protected by the Meledan,” Rita explained, “and Zordon is required to help them when they are in need no matter how much he doesn’t like the planet or Trider.”

At that moment, King Rashell ran into the room. “I have received news from an informant. Jackie Oliver, Trini Kwan, and Zack Taylor have received Ninja Powers from Dulcea.”

“They went to Phaedos!?” Rita exclaimed. “Damn it! Why didn’t we see them leave!?”

“Zordon must have been blocking their teleportational track from us,” Uriel realized. “Ugh...I hate Dulcea. She’s such a bore. ‘The Meledan will stop you’ this and that...”

Zedd chuckled to himself before suggesting, “Why don’t we test these new powers by sending Tengas and Jagas?”

“A wonderful idea, My Husband,” Rita said. “Rito and Goldar could lead them, and with the other rangers on Horat, the three will easily be destroyed!”

Rashell nodded. “I will alert Goldar and Rito. Uriel, gather the troops and send them to Earth.”

“Yes, Rashell,” Uriel said. Teleporting to the lower room where the evil troops (Putties, Tengas, and Jagas) waited to be called, she smiled evilly at them. “Tengas and Jagas, go to Earth and destroy the Ninja Rangers.” As the putties murmured things in protest, Uriel sighed. “We don’t want you just yet. Save your energies.”

Turning away from them, she touched her stomach softly before murmuring, “Please, Zordon, don’t call Tommy back to Earth. Call anyone but Tommy.” With that, she teleported back up to the Throne Room.

Zordon looked down at Alpha as alarms began to sound in the Power Chamber. “WHAT IS WRONG, ALPHA?”

“Ay yi yi! The Moon Powers have sent down Tengas and Jagas along with Goldar and Rito to Earth!” Alpha exclaimed.

(I knew it wouldn’t take them long to figure out that we had three new Rangers.) “CALL THE NINJA RANGERS HERE NOW, ALPHA.”

Alpha nodded. “Yes, Zordon.” Pushing a few buttons on a console, he watched as three lights flashed in the room and Jackie Oliver, Trini Kwan, and Zack Taylor materialized. “I’m glad you answered my call, Rangers.”

“What’s going on, Zordon?” Zack asked worriedly. “Is there a disturbance?”

“TENGAS AND JAGAS HAVE BEEN SENT TO THE PARK ALONG WITH RITO AND GOLDAR. YOU MUST STOP THEM.”

Jackie took in a shaky breath before smiling weakly. “I always thought our first fight would be with the others, but I guess we should go.”

“Yeah,” Trini said, pushing a strand of silky black hair out of her face. “We should go.”

Zack nodded before getting into position. “It’s morphing time!” The three pulled out their Power Items and held them out, watching as their colors entered them.

“GREEN EMERALD NINJA STALLION POWER!”

“COPPER PENDANT NINJA HAWK POWER!”

“PURPLE GEM NINJA CAT POWER!”

Zordon watched, somewhat proudly, as his three rangers morphed into their specified colored Ninja Rangers. “MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU.”

“Well, here goes nothing,” Jackie breathed. “Teleporting now.” The three pushed buttons on their communicators and teleported to Angel Grove Park.

Reaching it, they found themselves faced with hundreds of Tengas and Jagas. Goldar, spotting them, laughed. “Three Ninja Rangers!? This will be a piece of cake!”

Zack scowled. “You think so, Goldar? Come on, then. I’ve missed you while I was at the Peace Conference.” He raced towards the space monkey as Trini and Jackie began to fight the Tengas and Jagas.

Trini dodged Rito’s sword before kicking a Tenga away and punching a Jaga in the face sending it flying across the battlefield. “These powers are amazing! No wonder Kim loves using them!” Flipping over a group of Tengas, she kicked three Jagas in a row before kicking two Tengas.

Jackie watched as three Tengas ran towards her before using her Ninja Speed to race away from them. “Hey, snails!” The Tengas cawed, frustrated, before running towards her again, but, just like before, she moved away. “To think that I was actually afraid of you guys before!” Summoning her Ninja Laser Power, she shot at the Tengas, burning them to a crisp. “Cool! Forget my thinking that Tommy was the greatest for being able to do all this.”

Zack kicked Goldar away from him before punching a Jaga. Seeing that Goldar was charging him again, he used his Ninjetti to disappear from sight. “Come out and fight me, Coward!” Goldar yelled in fury.

“Whatever!” Zack yelled, kicking him from behind. Watching the armored ape go down, he laughed. “Woohoo! I’m loving these powers!”

Gasket laughed hideously at the unconscious Yellow Ranger before dragging her over to her cell and throwing her inside. This action was enough to decimate her powers, and she unmorphed. Watching this with interest, Gasket turned around to face his wife and chuckled. “You were a little hard on her, Dear.”

“I aim to please,” Archerina told him. “My husband, I was thinking, and maybe we should send down more Cogs to keep the Rangers busy so that they will decide to give up Trey’s powers. If they have time to think about it, then they might find a way to save her.”

“That can’t happen,” Gasket said with a frown. “Command the Cogs to go to Horat and attack. We will have the Triphorian Powers, for along with Trey’s powers will come Jaime’s and the Gold Ranger F’s as well.”

Archerina smiled, pleased that he had taken her idea to ‘heart’. “Yes, Dear.”

Meanwhile, Jason’s head snapped up as he heard Trider exclaim, “Gasket and Archerina are attacking again, and our troops aren’t ready.”

General Woltor, hearing this, looked at Tommy who was watching him intently. “White Ranger, would you and the others fight the Cogs as we get our full troops together?”

“Yeah,” Tommy told him. “Let’s go, Guys.”

As Trey nodded, Jaime sighed. “Look, I don’t think you should go, Trey. If you’re out there, Gasket and Archerina could find a way to drain you.”

“I agree,” Adam said. “You need to stay here.” Trey glanced at him, and it was obvious that he wanted to protest, but at the last minute he nodded in resignation and sat down against the fountain wall.

Tommy made sure that everyone was ready before calling out, “It’s morphing time!”

“NINJA CRANE POWER!”

“TIGERZORD!”

“MASTODON!”

“PTERYDACTYL!”

“TRICERATOPS!”

“TYRANNASAURS!”

“GOLD RANGER F POWER!”

“SILVER RANGER POWER!”

Jackie kicked at Rito only to be flipped back. She was about to attack again when Rito powered up his sword and used it to electrocute her. Crying out, she fell back. “Damn it, and we were doing so good before.”

“I don’t know how much more of this we can take!” Zack yelled as Goldar kicked him to the ground. “If only there were more of us!”

Trini helped Jackie up before bringing her communicator to her lips. “Zordon, we can’t take much more of this! You have to call the others back!”

“I CAN’T DO THAT, TRINI. THEY ARE FIGHTING ON HORAT.”

“You have to do something!” Trini cried as a Tenga kicked her down. “We’re really losing badly!”

Hearing her, Zordon sighed and glanced down at Alpha. “CONTACT THE RANGERS. TELL THEM THAT JASON, ADAM, AND EMILY ARE TO RETURN TO EARTH TO HELP HERE.”

“You’ve got it, Zordon,” Alpha said. “Oh, ay yi yi! I hope they make it!”

Tommy had just kicked a Cog down when his communicator beeped. “Talk about bad timing.” Running to an area by the boarder of the jungle, he pushed a few buttons on the device before bringing it to his lips. “Tommy here.”

Relieved to hear the White Ranger’s voice, Alpha muttered, “This is Alpha. You must tell Jason, Emily, and Adam that there is trouble on Earth and that we need them to return.”

“Alpha, we’re fighting on Horat right now. We need them.”

“That was an order directly from Zordon, Tommy,” Alpha told him. “Tell them to return now. Jackie, Trini, and Zack are in trouble.”

Hearing this, Tommy shut off the communication before pushing a few more buttons on the device. “Jason, Adam, and Emily, come in.”

Jason, who had just dodged blasts from a Cog’s eyes, raised his communicator to his lips. “I read you, Tommy. What’s up?”

“Emily here,” The Gold Ranger F called into her communicator.

The Black Ranger nodded as if Tommy could see him. “I’m here, Tommy.”

“You’ve got tickets back to Earth,” Tommy told him. “Trini, Jackie, and Zack are in trouble. You three need to get back there immediately to help.” For a moment, the three were silent. Finally, Jason questioned, “What about you guys?”

Tommy smiled. “We’ll be fine. Go. They need you.”

“Ok,” Adam said reluctantly. “Tommy, you know I don’t like leaving Tanya up there and going back to Earth, but I have faith in you. I know you’ll get her back.”

(How do you answer that!?) “I’ll do everything I can to get her back, Adam,” Tommy told him. It was true. The question was, would whatever they tried work? Looking up, he watched as three lights went up into the sky and left Horat. (Good luck, Guys.)

Gasket and Archerina watched the fight from their ship, and were both scowling as reinforcements from the Horation Castle joined the fight. “Blast!” Gasket yelled. “I can’t believe those Cogs are so incompetent!”

“They are utterly useless,” Archerina agreed hatefully. “All they do is waste time.”

“Yes, but time is the one thing the rangers don’t have,” Gasket reminded her with a cruel laugh. “That gives me an idea. Half of the soldiers fighting have been bitten by our secret weapon, the Power Sucker, and so with a push of an activating button their weakness will return.”

Archerina giggled happily. “Then, we will have the upper hand again! Brilliant, My Darling!” Gasket merely nodded and pushed a button on the complicated console in front of him. The two watched the screen showing them the fight and watched as at least twenty Horations fell to the ground in pain. Keeping their eyes on the Rangers, they cackled as two of them unmorphed and keeled over.

“That, My Dear, is how to destroy a ranger,” Gasket said. “Every time we activate the effects of the Power Sucker more power is drained from the rangers and warriors. Soon, they won’t be able to stand let alone fight!”

Rocky groaned as his Triceratops Armor disappeared leaving him completely vulnerable. “Damn it! I don’t believe this is happening again!” Suddenly feeling even worse than he had the first time this had happened, he watched as the world began to spin. Feeling faint, he plummeted to the ground and could only watch as a Cog ran towards him.

Before it could reach him, however, a foreign voice invaded Rocky’s ears. “Spiral Saber!” Looking up, he watched as the mysterious Red Ranger that he had seen before flipped in front of him and destroyed the Cog on the spot with a strange-looking sword. The Ranger ran over to him and, looking him over, he sighed. “You don’t look good, Blue Ranger. Let’s get you back to the Horation Castle.” With that, the two teleported away.

Like Rocky had been, Tommy was also on the ground feeling ill. “What’s going on?” He asked himself helplessly. Watching as a Cog neared him, he raised his arms and waited for the blow that would most likely kill him, but, much to his surprise, it didn’t come.

He watched as the mysterious Silver Ranger jumped in front of him. “Hey, Oil Breath, I don’t appreciate you messing with a fellow ranger! Silver Silverizer!” Using a sword unlike anything Tommy had ever seen, he sliced the Cog right in two.

The Silver Ranger ran to his side before shaking his head. “Are you all right?”

“It’s happening again,” Tommy told him weakly, “only this time the effects are stronger.”

“This isn’t good,” the Silver Ranger said. “Come on. I’ll get you back to the Horation Castle. Yaralla will take a look at you. She’s been working on a cure to the Power Sucker.” With that, the two teleported away.

A few minutes passed in a room that Rocky and Tommy assumed was some kind of medical facility within the Horation castle. The two watched as the Red and Silver Rangers walked around and worked on computers while looking at different chemicals. “I think this will work,” the Red Ranger said, lifting up a blue substance in a tube.

The Silver Ranger nodded. “Yeah, and if it doesn’t, I doubt it will be harmful. Then again, humans are different than us.”

“We’re all mortal,” the Red Ranger argued. “Let’s just try this.” Putting some of the substance in two different needles, he handed one to the Silver Ranger, and the two neared Rocky and Tommy.

The Blue Ranger shivered before asking, “Who are you guys?”

Chuckling at this, the Silver Ranger mumbled, “We could ask you the same thing.” With that, he injected his needle into him while the Red Ranger administered his to Tommy. The White and Blue Rangers only had a few moments to look at the mysterious rangers questioningly before passing out from the effects of the medication.

“I hope help comes soon!” Jackie yelled, getting back up after being hit by Rito. Kicking at the large skeleton, she cried out as he hit her again with his sword.

Zack and Trini helped her up before backing away from Goldar, Rito, and the troops that were circling around them. “What are we going to do?” Trini asked. “There are way too many of them.”

All of a sudden, lightning fell from the sky knocking down all of the evil forces. Looking around, the Ninja Rangers let out a sigh of relief as Emily, Adam, and Jason walked towards them. “Ok, let’s clean up this mess!” Jason ordered. Adam and Emily nodded. “Power Sword!” Taking it, he knocked Goldar over before slashing a few of the Tengas that had gotten back up.

“Power Ax!” Adam yelled, striking Jagas that attacked him. Seeing the Black Ranger, Zack frowned. For a moment he wished that he still had his old powers instead of these new ones that barely had any power. (No, Zack. Don’t be greedy.) He smiled ironically to himself. (You both have adequate powers, you both have the same friends, and you both have the same girlfriend. What is there to be jealous of?)

“Cover your ears!” Emily ordered. As Jason, Zack, Adam, Jackie, and Trini did what she said, she took in a deep breath before yelling, “Golden Trumpet!”

The force of the noise made most of the Tengas and Jagas disintegrate on the spot. Goldar and Rito moved back in agony. “We’ll be back!” Goldar exclaimed and, with that, they, along with the leftover troops, teleported away.

Shutting the Golden Trumpet down, Emily ran over to the others. “Are you guys ok?”

“I was able to brace myself for it this time, at least,” Jason said with a smile. Adam nodded.

Trini grinned. “It’s great to see you guys. We couldn’t have beaten them on our own.”

“Let’s get back to the Power Chamber,” Jackie suggested. “Zordon should be able to tell us if the worst is over.” The others nodded and teleported away in flashes of green, copper, purple, gold, red, and black.

Reaching the main room of the Power Chamber, Adam inspected the suits of the newest rangers before murmuring, “Stallion, hawk, and cat...at least none of you have to be the frog.” At this, Emily chuckled.

“WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH TANYA, JASON?” Zordon asked.

The Red Ranger sighed. “There’s a lot of arguing going on. Trey is willing to give up the powers, but Jaime really doesn’t want to let him. Hopefully the others will be able to figure it out without us there.”

“I’m sure they will,” Emily voiced. “Jaime is logical...he’ll go along with whatever is best.”

Having only heard this information for the first time, Zack frowned. “What’s wrong with Tanya?” His heart leaped in his chest. (Is she in trouble? Oh no...damn that Adam for letting something happen to her!)

“Gasket and Archerina took her and are holding her ransom for Trey of Triphoria’s powers,” Adam told him guiltily. “I tried to stop him--”

Jason cut him off. “This wasn’t your fault, Adam.”

“Yeah,” Emily said. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. She will be saved, and Tanya is strong. She’ll be able to live through it.” Zack merely closed his eyes in fury and turned around. Watching him, Trini and Jackie held their breaths, hoping that he wouldn’t tell Adam the truth at that moment. He was already under enough stress. Luckily, the Green Ninja Ranger didn’t say anything.

“Hey, I think they’re coming to.”

“Back off...give the guys some air...”

Rocky opened his eyes only to find two unknown people staring at him in concern. Sitting up quickly, he touched his head as it pounded in protest. The person with short blond hair put a supportive hand on his shoulder. “Easy. The effects of the medication still have to wear off.”

Nodding slowly, the Blue Ranger glanced at Tommy who was curled up on a bed next to the one he realized that he was lying on. “Is he going to be all right?”

Following his eyes, the one with both brown and blond streaked long hair smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. The worst should be over for both of you. He should be coming to soon.” Sure enough, the White Ranger was already opening his eyes, his eyes betraying his confusion.

“We’ve been watching you while you have been here,” the blond-haired one explained. “Yaralla has been on a more permanent solution to the effects of the Power Sucker.”

“What’s a Power Sucker?” Tommy asked groggily as he rubbed his eyes.

The brown and blond-haired one answered, “The bug that you found after your powers gave way the first time we met...that is a Power Sucker. It is Gasket and Archerina’s secret weapon.”

All of a sudden, it struck Rocky like a bolt of lightning. “You guys are the Red and Silver Rangers that have helped us.”

Chuckling, the blond-haired male nodded. “That’s right. I’m the Silver Ranger, and he’s the Red Ranger.”

“I’m Andros,” the Red Ranger told them. “We’re warriors from KO-35 that travel around the galaxy helping with fights whenever there is trouble in a world protected by the Meledan.”

“I’m Zhane,” the Silver Ranger said. “After the near-destruction of KO-35, we decided to make sure that scale of war never happened again on any world.”

Andros nodded. “Well, since we’ve introduced ourselves--”

Understanding, Tommy smiled. “I’m Tommy.”

“I’m Rocky. We’re both from Earth and are under the command of Zordon of Eltar,” Rocky told them.

Zhane nodded. “Zordon...he’s a powerful part of the Meledan.”

Tommy smiled, pretending to know what a Meledan was, before questioning, “So, what’s up with the Power Sucker? Why did it effect us like it did?”

“Yaralla is still doing studies--”

“I’ve finished them, Andros,” a voice said from the doorway. Turning, the four saw a tanned woman in a white shirt and khaki pants holding a printout. “You two must be the White and Blue Rangers. What I can tell you right now is that the Power Sucker held a formula within it that went against the Power of the Morphing Grid. It was built to attack Meledan powers. I should be able to make an antidote to permanently kill this formula but, until then, I’m afraid the medication that Andros and Zhane have come up with will have to be enough.”

Rocky stared at her in awe for a moment. She was positively beautiful! Swallowing hard, he smiled faintly. “I’d be glad to help you find a cure.” Her dark brown eyes sparkled hopefully at this making his heart to a flip. Standing, he walked over to her, and the two left the room despite the fact that Andros was protesting Rocky working so soon.

“Your friend sure seemed eager to work with Yaralla,” Zhane said to Tommy, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The White Ranger nodded. “It has been awhile since we’ve been around different people besides each other...especially different women.” Seeing that his friend still wasn’t understanding, Andros chuckled to himself. “So, who is Yaralla?”

“She’s a specialist in all kinds of medical and technological things that we might need,” Andros explained. “She created most of our weapons.”

Tommy glanced at Zhane. “Like that Silver Silverizer you have?”

The Silver Ranger grinned, pleased by the fact that the human was so enthralled by the weapon. “Yeah, she made it. I’ll have to let you see it sometime. You can use it as a sword, but it can also be a blaster, too.”

“Amazing,” Tommy breathed. “All I have is Saba who is a blaster and a sword.”

“Saba, as in the enchanted saber?” Andros whistled low. “I’ve heard stories about him. Apparently, anyone in possession of Saba can be considered one of the most powerful rangers in the Universe.”

Tommy laughed at this. “Seriously? I always just thought he was an annoying pest that I was forced to work with.” Zhane and Andros snickered, and the three continued talking, surprised by how much they had in common.

Trey came to when someone kicked his foot. That was when he realized he had fallen asleep with his back against the wall of the fountain in the main room. Standing above him was General Woltor who was looking around worriedly. “Sorry.”

“You need to get out there, Trey,” Woltor told him. “Normally, I wouldn’t force you to go, but our forces are down 50% because the secret weapon has been activated again. Two rangers are down and most of our people.”

The King of Triphoria nodded. “I’m on it.” As Woltor began to walk away, Trey sighed. “Well, here goes nothing. It’s morphing time!”

“GOLD RANGER POWER!”

“It’s time for a gold rush!” Trey yelled, knocking Cogs to the ground that had been going after Jaime, Kat, and Kim.

Seeing who it was, the Silver Ranger frowned. “Trey, what the hell are you doing out here!? You’re supposed to be back in the Horation Castle!”

Trey sighed. “General Woltor told me that the forces were down 50% and that I should come help.” At this, Jaime shook his head and promised himself that he would have to have a chat with the General as soon as the battle was over. Deciding not to start and argument with his best friend, Jaime kicked a few Cogs before calling for the Silver Thunder which killed a bunch of Cogs on the spot.

Kicking away another Cog, Trey looked up to see that Prince Gasket (King Gasket since his father had been destroyed) himself was nearing him. “What do you want, Gasket!? Give Tanya back!”

“You know our ransom, Gold Ranger,” Gasket growled. “We are calling back our forces, but know this...you have little time to make your decision. If you don’t, Tanya will be killed.” With this, he disappeared along with the Cogs that were left standing. Trey watched him leave in awe before hanging his head. The clock was ticking. He had to decide what to do.

As the rangers filed into the main room, weary and frustrated, General Woltor sighed. “Take some time to yourselves, Rangers. You’ve earned it.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but I want my to return to my flimsy cot in the shelter,” Kim muttered. Glancing at Kat who was giving her a heated look, she shrugged and went off in search of Rocky and Tommy.

Jaime and Trey, meanwhile, unmorphed and walked over to the fountain by the statue of Bulk and Skull and gazed at each other nervously. Trey laughed finally. “Sorry...it’s just been so long...”

“It’s only been a little while, but it seems like forever,” Jaime observed. “So much has happened since you left me here on Earth.”

Trey smiled. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Well, Tommy and I were made evil by Uriel, but the others broke the spell,” Jaime told him. “Then, the rangers went to Aquitar and defeated Divatox. Zordon made me stay behind.”

“For good reason,” Trey voiced. “Things have been so tough in the kingdom after Dad died. I had to adjust to being King, and some planets are getting upset by our slow trade.”

Jaime smirked. “What do they expect? If the king of a planet dies then obviously all business interactions are going to become lower in priority.”

Trey frowned. “Yeah, well, try telling them that.” His frown quickly went away, and he smacked his best friend’s arm good-naturedly. “It’s great to see that you’re fully healed, Jaime.”

“It’s good to be fully healed,” Jaime told him. “I haven’t felt so good in a long time.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t wait for this matter on Horat to be dealt with so that you can return to Triphoria with me,” Trey said. Not noticing that the Silver Ranger’s face fell, he continued, “Mom has really missed you, and, well, it’s been boring not having my Royal Guard.”

Jaime licked his lips before faintly asking, “I’m g-going home?”

Trey nodded and grinned. “Isn’t it great? I can’t wait to have you back, Jaime.”

(What about the rangers? What about Kimberly!?) “Um, I guess I didn’t expect to be called home so soon. What if the rangers need me?”

“We’ll be on stand by,” Trey told him. He laughed at the Silver Ranger’s solemn expression. “Come on, Jaime! We’re always on stand by for Earth!” Jaime just nodded slowly, all the while knowing that he hadn’t been expecting this and that leaving the rangers would definitely be bittersweet.

“We have it!” Rocky exclaimed, running into the medical treatment area where he had been lying before. Tommy, Zhane, and Andros watched with amusement as he entered with a beaker with a strange syrum in it. “Yaralla is amazing, Tommy. She’s so smart!”

Following him, Yaralla chuckled at his hyperness before turning to Tommy, “There is enough for all the infected individuals, but I figured that Zordon’s Rangers should be the first to have it.”

Zhane smiled. “You know, just in case it kills you, we won’t waste any Horations.” Tommy frowned falsely at him before grabbing the small cup Yaralla handed him with the syrum inside of it. As Rocky took one, as well, the two looked at each other before swallowing the horrible tasting liquid.

Seeing the disgusted look on the two Rangers’ faces, Andros laughed. “Hmm...is it good?”

“Wonderful,” Rocky muttered sarcastically, gagging after swallowing it. “Yuck!”

“Hey, the taste doesn’t matter,” Yaralla said, “as long as it gets the job done.” With that, she walked slowly out of the room, and the four males had no choice but to watch as her hips swayed gracefully with each step, holding their breaths.

After she had disappeared from sight, Zhane rubbed his eyes. “Yaralla just has that effect on people.”

“I’ll say,” Tommy murmured. Seeing that the Blue Ranger was staring after her, he smirked. “Why don’t you go follow her, Rocky? It’ll be better than having daydreams about what she could do with that sway...believe me...” Wordlessly, Rocky nodded and ran out of the room to help Yaralla distribute the syrum to the other Horations.

Watching as he ran out of the room, Kim shrugged before walking up to Tommy and touching his hands. “Thanks for telling me where you were.” Her anger was quickly gone, however, leaving an expression of worry on her face. “Are you all right?”

Tommy nodded. “My powers drained again, and the two mysterious rangers I told you about helped me.” At this, Andros and Zhane smiled proudly.

“Did you figure out who they were?” Kim asked.

“I sure did,” Tommy answered. He motioned to the two males standing by his bed. “Kim, meet Andros and Zhane. They are the Red and Silver Rangers from KO-35. Andros, Zhane, this is Kim. She’s the Pink Ninja Ranger.”

Andros nodded towards her. “Hey. Nice to meet you.”

“Hi,” Zhane said, his eyes sparkling warmly.

Kim smiled. “It’s nice to meet you both.” She turned back to Tommy. “I was going to get something to eat, so maybe I’ll see you later?”

“I don’t see why I can’t come, Kimberly Hart,” Tommy said, somewhat offended. “That is, if Zhane and Andros can come.”

At this, Zhane perked up. “Really? You won’t mind?”

Tommy shook his head. “Of course not. Hey, you guys saved my life. The least I can do is treat you to lunch.”

“Wait, Tommy,” Kim said seriously. “Are you supposed to be walking around?”

“Rocky is bouncing off the walls, so I don’t see why I can’t walk,” Tommy said. “Besides, Yaralla, Andros and Zhane’s technological and medical advisor, gave me a syrum that healed the problem.”

Kim grinned. “Well, then, let’s go. What are they serving?”

“If it’s chicken salad I’ll have to hurt someone,” Tommy breathed as he pushed himself off of the bed.

Andros licked his lips before commenting, “While I prefer delicacies from KO-35, it is most likely they will be serving Horation food.”

A few minutes later, the four were seated in the dining room of the Horation Castle with plates of strange-looking meats and vegetables in front of them. Tommy attempted to stick his fork into the meat, found that it wouldn’t go it, and gave up on it all together. Kim picked up the green vegetable with yellow spots on it. “This looks like something Dr. Seuss would eat.”

“At least it isn’t green eggs and ham,” Tommy quipped. Kim chuckled.

“Well, it isn’t like they gave us spinach,” Zhane said with a shiver. Seeing Tommy and Kim flash him disgusted expressions, Zhane smiled. “Do you have that on Earth, too?”

Kim sighed. “Do we? My dad made me eat that every night. He said that it would make me healthier. To be rebellious I would go to my room later and eat a bunch of chocolate to make up for it.”

“We have chocolate on KO-35, too,” Andros noted. “I miss it. We haven’t found chocolate like that of KO-35 anywhere in the Universe so far.”

Tommy glanced at Kim and the two smiled at each other, simultaneously saying, “Godiva.”

Zhane frowned. “What?”

“Let’s just say that you have to drop by Earth,” Tommy told him. All of a sudden, a finger poked his shoulder and, immediately feeling a large nail poke into his back, he winced before turning around to see Kat standing there with an expression of fury on her face. “Um, hey, Kat,” Tommy murmured. “What’s up?”

Kat pointed at Kim angrily. “Her! Always her, Tommy! I broke up with you so that you would have time to think about what had happened on the moon, and you went behind my back and got together with Kimberly!?”

Tommy stared at her in shock for a moment before saying, “Katherine, Kim and I aren’t a couple. We’re just good friends!”

“Sure, fine, whatever,” Kat muttered. She leaned towards him, her face twisted into one of rage. “Then why, Tommy, did I see you kissing her!?”

“What!?” Tommy yelled. “What the hell gives you the right to spy on me!? We’re not going out anymore, Kat, and I don’t know why you would even care about what happened after all that you--”

Knowing that this was all a big mistake, Kimberly cut in. “Katherine, I want you to listen to me...I was jealous of you and Tommy, and I wanted him back, but I released him as soon as he chose you over me. Now, I have a huge crush on Jaime. The kiss that you saw was a rekindling of the fire from high school, but we both agreed that it isn’t the same as it was back then. We’re always going to be good friends, and if that bugs you then I’m sorry, but Tommy is really close to me, and I won’t stop hanging out with him no matter what you do to me.”

Kat looked at the two, her expression softening, before burying her head in her hands. “God, I feel like an idiot.” Gazing at Tommy who had grabbed her hand and was rubbing it with his thumb, she sighed. “I’ve been thinking about all that happened with Uriel, Tommy, and I’m sure now that my love for you will surpass what happened then. This is now, and I love you with all of my heart. Emily once told me not to take the one I had for granted, and when I saw you kissing Kim...it was like seeing my worst nightmare come true.”

“I love you, Kat,” Tommy said, embarrassed by the slight stutter in his voice. “I always have, and I always will. You’re the only one for me, and I know that now.”

“Please take me back. I want to work through everything together, because if we try to function apart, we’ll break,” Kat told him.

Tommy smiled at her. “I will take you back, Kat, but on one condition.”

Kat gazed at him hopefully. “Yes?”

“You have to forgive me for all I’ve done...I want to start from scratch.”

“Of course,” Kat said, kissing his hand which still held hers firmly. “You know I will. I already did a long time ago, Tommy, but I was confused and angry and scared...”

Tommy nodded. “That’s all over now, though. We’ll be all right.” Glancing at the Red and Silver Ranger who had watched the scene with interest, he smiled. “Kat, meet Andros and Zhane, the Red and Silver Rangers from KO-35. Guys, this is Kat, the Pink Ranger.”

Andros smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Kat said, unable to blush as she realized they had both heard and seen everything that had just happened.

Zhane looked from Kat to Tommy before observing, “Life on Earth sure is interesting.”

“I’ll say,” Kim said. “Look, I’m going to go find Jaime. Everything with Trey has been hitting him really hard, and I want to make sure that he’s all right.”

“All right,” Tommy said.

Kat lowered her eyes slowly. “Thank you, Kim.”

“Yeah, well, you have to be strict with men sometimes,” Kim told her with a wink. “I’ve taught her well, Tommy. You’d better watch out.” She turned to the two from KO-35. “I’ll see you two later.” They waved to her as she left before turning back to Kat and Tommy and eagerly asking them more about Earth life.

Kim walked through the ball room which was now deserted before calling for Jaime again. That was when she noticed that one of the balcony door was open. Moving towards it, she crossed her arms in an attempt to keep warm as cool air rushed through it. Looking outside, she found that the Silver Ranger was looking up at the sky in wonder. “Jaime!”

Frowning when he didn’t acknowledge her, she walked towards him and touched his arm softly. “Hey, Jaime, are you all right?”

He turned around, startled, before putting a hand through his soft brown hair. “It’s amazing how your life can change in the blink of an eye.” Jaime gazed up at the sky again and sighed. “Have you ever thought about that?”

“Lately, I’ve been thinking about that every day,” Kim told him honestly.

Frowning, Jaime glanced at her and murmured, “When Trey returns to Triphoria he intends on taking me with him.”

Kim stared at him in stunned silence for a moment before inquiring, “Are you going to go?”

“I’m not sure,” Jaime admitted. “A part of me really wants to go. I miss my status, my people...my King and Queen...Triphoria is my home, Kimberly, and I can’t forget that, but I feel awful leaving you and the rest of the rangers all alone.”

Grabbing his hand, Kim smiled faintly. “Do whatever your heart tells you to do. I know you can decide on your own.”

Swallowing, Jaime cautiously kissed her cheek. “I don’t want to leave, Kim, because I don’t want to leave you.”

Kim blushed at this before asking, “Did you feel uncomfortable about what happened between us on this balcony before?”

“I’ll have to be honest here...I don’t know what I’m feeling for you, Kim. Up until now I’ve never really been involved with anyone. My life has been fighting. I can’t trust love because most people that I’ve ever cared about have abandoned me...my father abused me, my mother and adoptive mother were killed, Philip of Triphoria was killed, Gloria was killed...Trey, the only other one that has ever cared about me, is asking me to leave the world that saved me. How do you respond to that?” Jaime lowered his head and sighed.

Putting a hand on his shoulder, Kim shook her head. “Trey isn’t the only one that has ever cared about you, Jaime.” She watched as he gazed at her before saying, “I care about you. A lot.” Leaning forward, she kissed his lips gently before putting her head on his shoulder and mumbling, “I don’t want you to leave, but I don’t want to hold you back, either.”

Taking in a shaky breath, Jaime put a hand through her hair before whispering, “I need your support, Kim, because right now I’m so scared...I don’t know what to do.” Kim rubbed his back soothingly before closing her eyes and wishing that they could stay that way forever.

As alarms sounded in the Power Chamber, Alpha scurried around the room before looking up at Zordon. “Ay yi yi! Rito and Goldar are attacking again with a squadron of Zedd’s putties!”

“CONTACT THE RANGERS, ALPHA, AND TELL THEM TO TELEPORT TO THE PARK IMMEDIATELY.”

“Right Zordon,” Alpha said. “I’m contacting them now.”

About five minutes later, the six rangers were in the park surveying the situation. Emily sighed. “I guess Zedd wasn’t happy about my using the Golden Trumpet.”

“Ok, Guys,” Jason called, “it’s morphing time!”

“GREEN EMERALD NINJA STALLION POWER!”

“COPPER PENDANT NINJA HAWK POWER!”

“PURPLE GEM NINJA CAT POWER!”

“MASTODON!”

“TYRANNASAURUS!”

“GOLD RANGER F POWER!”

Zack flipped over a group of oncoming putties. Summoning his laser power, he killed them on the spot. “Fried clay, anyone?”

Trini hit the ‘Z’ on three putties before running past them and going after Rito. Meanwhile, Jackie ducked under Goldar’s sword before kicking a putty and punching another one.

Jason slashed at Goldar with his sword before falling to the ground as the space monkey connected with his chest. Adam helped him up. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m ok,” Jason told him. Glancing at the Black Ranger, he smiled. “Let’s fight fire with fire.”

“You’ve got it,” Adam said. Calling for his Power Ax, he fired at Goldar and watched as Jason put extra energy into the Power Sword. Red beams of light shot from it, and the two energies combined were enough to send Goldar flying against a tree.

Rito shook his head at Goldar’s predicament. “Pathetic, really. Well, you have to do what you have to do.” His sword illuminated with fire and, waving it towards Adam and Jason, the fire hit them both right on the chest sending them falling painfully to the ground.

“No!” Trini yelled, running to their sides. “Are you all right?”

Jason looked at Rito before frantically motioning for her to get away. “Run, Trini!”

“Too late, Red Ranger,” Rito said, shooting more fire at the tree. Trini plummeted down while Jason and Adam, already on the ground, were able to avoid it.

Sitting up, Jason inspected Trini gingerly. “Say something.” When the Copper Ranger made no move, Jason shook her, trying to stop tears from falling. “Damn it, Trini, say something!”

Adam sat up next to him. “You should take her to the Power Chamber. We’ll be ok.” He motioned towards Zack and Jackie, who were busy fighting Rito, and Emily, who was fighting Goldar, to make his point. Jason nodded slowly and teleported away with Trini in his arms.

Emily watched him go before shaking her head. “Jason! Come back!” Kicking Goldar away, she flipped on her communicator.

“She will be ok, Jason,” the Gold Ranger F heard Alpha say. “Some bruises and scratches here and there, but nothing life threatening.”

Jason sighed. “I love her, and I couldn’t protect her when she needed me. Forgive me, Trini.”

Hearing this, Emily blinked to hold back tears before glaring at Rito who had just knocked Zack and Jackie to the ground. “I’m going to kill you!”

“Really, Goldar Ranger?” Rito asked jokingly, “Come on. I’m up to the challenge.” He powered up his sword and fired, but was surprised when Emily dodged the blow and ran towards him.

Kicking him with all her might, Emily scowled. “You nearly killed Trini and now he loves her!” She punched him, sending him flying to the ground. “Rito, you’re going to pay for the pain you’ve caused me! Golden Lighting!” Gold rays came from the sky and hit Rita’s brother.

“Hey, don’t you think that’s a little unfair?” Rito questioned weakly. Sparks flew from his body until he was nothing more than flames on the ground. From the flames came a black spirit that molded into Rito’s face. “The one you thought you blew away lives to fight another day.” With that, the spirit flew up into the sky.

Emily watched him go before slamming her fist into the ground. “Damn it! I’ll get you someday, Rito Revolto, and I’ll make you pay.” She was so absorbed in her own emotions that she didn’t even notice Goldar teleport away in a flash of fire.

Feeling a soft hand on her shoulder, Emily turned around to see the Purple Ninja Ranger eyeing her with concern. “We should get back to the Power Chamber,” Jackie suggested. At Emily’s nod, the four rangers teleported away from the park.

“That’s unreal,” Kat breathed. “You have no idea at all where your sister is?”

Andros shook his head. “As a young child Karone was taken from my family by Darkonda, a servant of Dark Specter.” The memories of his sister being abducted still burned his mind, and he vowed that one day he would find his sister, whreever she was.

“Luckily, we haven’t crossed Dark Specter’s path in awhile,” Zhane told them, “and, by the blank looks on your faces, I’m guessing you’ve never had to meet him. Lucky you.”

Tommy shrugged before looking down at his communicator after hearing it beep. “This is Tommy. Go ahead.”

“White Ranger, this is General Woltor. Come to the main room with all the rangers on the double.”

Hearing the communication end, Tommy sighed. “Is he always this friendly?”

“We’ve only been on this planet once before,” Andros told him, “but he’s always seemed like a tight ass, as you say on Earth.”

“Well, we’d better go,” Kat said. The other three nodded and, together, they teleported to the main room of the Horation castle.

Reaching it, they were just in time to hear Woltor say, “May the Power protect you.”

Tommy waited for the other rangers to join them before asking, “Is everyone ready to go?”

Jaime nodded before gasping as he saw who was with the White Ranger. “What the hell are you two doing here?”

Seeing him, Zhane frowned. “Oh look, Andros. Jaime of Triphoria.” Spying Trey, he smirked. “The King, himself, is here. Amazing that he actually remembers how to fight.”

“Lay off, Funny Man,” Jaime growled. “You almost got us killed on Zarok.”

Andros shook his head. “We got you killed!? I don’t’ think so. You must mean that you almost got us killed after what happened.”

“Jaime knows what he means,” Trey told him sternly, “and I thought you had agreed not to get in our way.”

“You agreed not to get in our way,” Zhane countered. “We’re helping the Horation people.”

Jaime nodded. “We are, too.”

Andros sighed. “Well, we need to fight the Cogs. If you two get in our way, we’ll kill you.”

“Go ahead and try,” Trey snarled. “You’d be dead before you knew what hit you.”

Kim and Rocky looked at each other with confusion before glancing at Tommy and Kat who were just as puzzled. The White Ranger sighed. “Um, it’s morphing time.”

“NINJA CRANE POWER!”

“TIGERZORD!”

“PTERODACTYL!”

“TRICERATOPS!”

“RED ASTRO RANGER!”

“SILVER ASTRO RANGER!”

“SILVER RANGER POWER!”

“GOLD RANGER POWER!”

Reaching the jungle, Jaime pushed past Zhane to get a better view of the fight. “I don’t see Gasket.”

“Duh, Braniac,” Zhane muttered. “Gasket is going to wait until there are less fighters before showing his mechanical head.”

Jaime smirked. “It was an observation, Mr. Know-It-All.” (It was bad enough fighting with him on Zarok, but here? Hopefully I’ll be able to stop myself from killing him.)

Rocky and Tommy sighed before attacking Cogs that were running towards them. ‘Power Lance!” Slashing a few of the robots, Rocky smiled. “Losers.”

Pulling out Saba, Tommy fired at some Cogs before slashing at more. “Hey, Saba, are you legendary?”

“Who told you that?” The saber questioned.

“Zhane and Andros from KO-35,” Tommy replied. “So, are you?”

Saba thought about this for a moment before smiling. “I believe that I am.” Tommy merely shrugged, still not believing it, before continuing to fight the Cogs.

“Silver Thunder!” Jaime yelled, watching as some Cogs fell to the ground in pain. Looking at the Silver Astro Ranger, he nodded smugly.

Zhane watched him before muttering, “Show off.” Seeing Cogs near him, he raised his blaster up and pushed a few buttons on it before yelling. “Silver Silverizer Blaster Mode!” Yellow beams shot from the device and knocked the Cogs to the ground. He glanced back at Jaime and folded his arms proudly over his chest. “That’s the way to destroy a Cog.”

“Spiral Saber!” Andros called. Spinning, he sent about five Cogs flying to the ground. Seeing a few more near him, he jumped in the air. “Red Power Punch!” Pushing a button on his morpher, he smashed his red glowing fist twice into the Cogs.

Trey shook his head at this before raising his staff into the air. “It’s time for a Gold Rush!” Watching as the golden beams of light struck the Cogs, he smiled.

“Power Bow!” Kat called. Shooting pink energy at some Cogs, she nodded proudly before kicking another one that had been about to hit her.

Kim flipped over a ground of the robots before shouting, “Summon laser power!” Pink energy welled up in her fingers and hit the Cogs, killing them on the spot.

From their ship, Gasket and Archerina watched this with disdain. “Activate the secret weapon,” Gasket ordered. “Let’s get control of this situation.”

“Yes, Dear,” Archerina said. Obediently, she pushed a button on the console in front of her before watching the monitor as most of the Horation warriors fell to the ground.

Tommy and Rocky looked at each other after unmorphing. “Didn’t Yaralla give us the cure?” Rocky asked, not understanding what was going on. (Why is this still happening to us!? Now I know what Jason felt like when he kept unmorphing every battle as the Gold Ranger. Losing the Zeo Powers after Angel Grove and Stone Canyon were destroyed was bad enough!)

“It must not have been strong enough,” Tommy reasoned, rubbing his arms as the cool air touched his skin. “Let’s try the Ninja Powers.” Rocky nodded.

“NINJA FALCON POWER!”

“NINJA APE POWER!”

They had just appeared in their new armor when a bright light appeared and enclosed around them, making it impossible to see anything. When it faded, they found themselves in the medical treatment area of the Horation Castle with General Woltor watching them. “Unmorph. Yaralla must check on you.”

“General, we would have been ok out there,” Rocky argued. “There was no reason to call us back.” Tommy nodded in agreement.

Before Woltor could argue this, Yaralla entered the room with a concerned look on her face. “I was positive that the syrum worked!”

“Don’t worry, Yaralla,” Woltor said. “It probably needs only a few minor changes. They were able to call up their Ninja Powers, after all.” Yaralla sighed and walked over to her computer where she began typing in equations. Tommy and Rocky watched her with interest before sighing with relief as General Woltor left the room.

Kat looked around the jungle clearing before joining Kim, Jaime, and Trey who were grouped together. “Guys, have you seen Tommy and Rocky?”

“I don’t know where they are,” Kim said worriedly. “Maybe they’re with Andros and Zhane.” Kat shook her head and pointed at the Red and Silver Astro Rangers who were walking towards them.

At that moment, all of the Cogs teleported away and, in the middle of the clearing, Gasket and Archerina appeared. “If you want Tanya back, tell the Horations to retreat,” Gasket ordered. Seeing that this was aimed at him, Trey looked at the Horations and waved them away. Reluctantly, they teleported back to the castle.

Archerina chuckled before waving her arms in the air. There was a bright yellow flash, and when it faded Tanya appeared in her arms. The Yellow Ranger was unmorphed and gagged. Chains were wrapped over her arms and legs, and blood ran down from a cut in her forehead. Kat was about to run towards her, but Andros held her back. “We don’t know what they’re capable of.”

“Trey, you know what we want,” Gasket said. “Step forward if you agree. If not, then we’ll be forced to kill this poor human.” Trey watched in horror as he pulled out a dagger and handed it to Archerina who put it up to Tanya’s neck threateningly.

Turning to Jaime, Trey sighed. “I’m sorry.” With that, he took a few steps forward making the Silver Ranger shake his head and glare spitefully at Gasket who he wanted to kill more than anything, but he knew that if he made a move that Tanya would be killed.

“Good,” Gasket said with a dark chuckle. “You have your priorities straight, Trey. Now, prepare yourself for one of the most painful experiences of your life.” Raising a hand, he pointed at Trey and laughed maniacally as Golden Energy left the Triphorian and entered him.

Trey cried out before putting a hand to his forehead as his armor flashed. Falling to his knees, he dug his nails into the moist earth of Horat as he wished for the burning in his chest to end. As he felt another power enter him, he knew that his best friend was about to go through exactly what he was, and he silently wished that both Jaime and Emily would forgive him for his decision.

Jaime’s body tensed as his head began to throb. Seeing a silver light leave his body and enter Trey, he felt his knees weaken before curling up on the ground and biting his lip to keep from crying out. Tears began to fall from his eyes as sharp pain went through his whole body like a thousand daggers cutting him up inside. Slowly, he raised his head to see that Trey’s armor was flashing on and off like a light, and he knew it would only be a matter of time before his silver energy was inside of Trey and he began to receive Emily’s powers. Quietly, he prayed that since Emily hadn’t had the power nearly as long as he and Trey had that she would be spared this pain.

Emily was standing in the Power Chamber next to Adam who was checking some printouts on Trini’s condition as she felt a burning in her chest. Taking in a few deep breaths, she looked around frantically as her heart began to beat faster. (What the hell?) All of a sudden, she remembered Jaime’s words. Her powers were connected to his and Trey’s. The Gold Ranger must be giving up his powers. Falling to the ground, she watched as her body began to glow with a golden light. She was barely aware of Zack, Adam, Jackie, and Jason frantically asking her what was wrong and, soon, the pain left as did the golden light which, she sensed, meant that her powers were no more.

“Emily, what just happened?” Adam asked worriedly. “What was that?”

Looking at him, she let out a shaky breath before replying, “Trey is giving up his powers for Tanya. I’m no longer a Ranger.” With that, she buried her head in her hands and began to cry leaving the Black Ranger to look at her, not able to believe that his mistake caused both Tanya to be taken and his friend to go through this much pain. Suddenly, an even worse thought crossed his mind. Emily had only had her powers for a little while. Jaime had been the Silver Ranger for at least a few years if not more, and Trey had been the Gold Ranger all of his life. This power drain must be killing them.

Jaime watched helplessly as his armor flashed once more before leaving him completely. The pain dissipated for a moment, but after that it appeared again as a new armor, this one completely gold, covered him. He groaned and closed his eyes against the burning sensation. (My powers are gone...now I have Emily’s...) Sure enough, he looked up to see that Gasket was covered in a bright gold light and Trey was now thrashing around in his armor. (God, this is going to kill him...) He wished that he could support his best friend and tell him that everything was going to be ok, but his own pain prevented him from even moving.

As a hand fell on his shoulder, he looked up at the person it was connected to before turning away. “Leave me alone.”

“Will you shut up?” Zhane growled. “You need the support. It’s almost over.” Jaime glared at him before softening. He was right...the pain was nearly unbearable, and he did need someone to help him through it...even if that person was Zhane, the joker of KO-35.

Another hand touched his back, and he immediately knew who this was. “Kim...”

“I’m right here, Jaime,” the Pink Ninja Ranger told him. “Your armor is flashing. It’s almost over. Just hang in there.” As the Triphorian’s body shook, she cursed Gasket for taking Tanya and making the guy that she liked...she seriously liked...go through this.

Jaime’s heartbeat quickened, and he gasped for breath. How many people had actually lived through a draining of powers? Not many, if his memory was right, but as Kim continued to caress her back and Zhane kept telling him that it was almost over, he knew that was going to live...no matter what it took. Shivering, he watched as the Golden Power left him unmorphed. Jaime looked up at Trey before closing his eyes as his chest throbbed with his energy loss. “I think he’s blacking out,” Zhane muttered.

“Talk to me, Jaime,” Kim whispered. She watched his lips move as he tried to say something, but no sound came out. “Damn Gasket...”

Andros and Kat were helping Trey as Kim and Zhane were helping Jaime, and they could tell by the quickness of the King of Triphoria’s breath that he wasn’t fairing well. “Please hang on, Trey,” Kat mumbled. “Stay strong...your kingdom needs you.”

Nodding, Andros added, “You can do it. Don’t let Gasket beat you. That’s what he wants to do.”

“One more drain and the Triphorian Powers will be ours!” Gasket exclaimed as the Silver Power entered him. As the Gold Ranger F powers began to enter him, he gasped as Tanya flew out of Archerina’s hands. “W-what’s happening!?” Archerina turned to her husband as sparks erupted from her body. Falling to the ground, she exploded into a million pieces.

Gasket looked around in terror before something sliced into his back. He cried out, horrified, as sparks flew from his chest. Falling to the ground, he blew up as his wife had with the thought of how he had been so close to glory.

Trey watched, amazed, as Emily’s armor left him and his armor returned. Feeling his strength come back, he stood and hugged Kat. “Thank you, Kat.” Turning to Andros who had looked away, he sighed. “I owe you.”

“No,” Andros said. “We’re even. After Zarok--”

“Forget it,” Trey said. The two clasped hands before smiling at each other.

As the Silver Armor closed around him, Jaime stood up in awe before hugging Kim with all of his might. “You’re incredible.”

“I know,” Kim said with a chuckle. “Then again, so are you.”

Jaime turned around and faced Zhane, and the two gazed at each other noncommittally for a moment. Finally, the Silver Astro Ranger put his hand out. “So we’re both pissed at each other for something. Let’s just try to put it behind us.”

“Deal,” Jaime said, grabbing his hand. The two shook before nodding towards each other.

Kim looked around. “I don’t understand, though. Gasket and Archerina were destroyed by someone...they can’t have just blown up.” Hearing a crack from the spot where the two machines had been standing, she turned around along with everyone else.

Standing there were the White and Blue Rangers. Putting away his Power Lance, Rocky smirked. “Yaralla said we weren’t ready for action.”

“Yeah,” Tommy muttered, putting Saba away. “She has no trust. I mean, she thought that we wouldn’t even be able to last five minutes without unmorphing, and I’d say it’s been more than five minutes.” All of a sudden, the two looked down as their armor disintegrated. Tommy sighed. “Ok, now I feel like an idiot.”

“Me, too,” Rocky said. “You think she’ll forgive us?”

Tommy smirked. “No, but oh well.” Rocky shrugged and took a few steps back as Kim threw her arms around him.

Unmorphing, Kat ran up to Tommy and kissed him before saying, “You’re so stupid...always risking your life.” Tommy opened his mouth to respond apologetically, but she kissed him again. “I love you.”

Not having expected this, Tommy blushed lightly. “Um, I love you, too.” Feeling Andros and Zhane shake his hands, he shrugged. “Thank Rocky. It was his idea. I just came along because I thought if he was going to do something dumb like this then I should do it, too.”

“I’m glad you did, Tommy,” Trey said honestly. “If you had waited one more minute Gasket would have had the Triphorian Powers and there would have been no way to get them back.” Jaime nodded.

Andros sighed. “Well, we’d better get back to the Horation Castle before Yaralla begins stalking you two.” Tommy and Rocky shuddered at the thought. With that, they teleported away.

“Well, I did find an antidote that is definitely going to work,” Yaralla told Tommy and Rocky who were back on their beds in the medical treatment area. Tanya was lying on a bed across from them, Kat waiting for her to wake up. “Guys, I don’t know if Andros and Zhane have told you, but guys that have a spirit for adventure interest me.”

Rocky licked his lips at this. “Really?”

Yaralla winked at him. “Really. Without guys like you, life would be boring.” Putting some of the antidote in two separate needles, she smiled. “There’s just one thing you guys should know about where I draw the line.”

“What’s that?” Tommy asked. Instead of responding, Yaralla poked the needle into his hip harder than necessary making him wince. After that, she did the same to Rocky.

“I don’t appreciate adventurous guys that are under my medical care,” Yaralla said, her voice showing her annoyance, “and if you dare to do anything like that again, I’ll be forced to stab you with one of these needles and kill you. Got it?” Both rangers nodded quickly making Andros and Zhane, who had been listening in, laugh.

“Good old Yaralla,” Zhane said. “What would we do without you?”

Yaralla frowned at him. “Don’t get sweet with me, Zhane. Remember...I’m giving you a shot to eliminate whatever is left of that Dactorian virus when we get back to the Megaship.” The Silver Astro Ranger swallowed hard before moving behind Andros who shook his head and snickered.

“You guys came in your own ship?” Tommy questioned. As Yaralla nodded, he frowned. “I wish Zordon would give us something like that. We have to teleport from planet to planet.”

“Teleport!?” Andros shook his head. “I don’t think so. Your friend isn’t going to be able to teleport back in the condition that she’s in...we’ll take you.”

Rocky smiled. “Thanks. The teleports are rough. Hey, Tommy, do you think Zordon has some kind of ship that he hasn’t been telling us about?”

“We have the zords,” Tommy said. “If worse came to work we could travel in them to another planet.”

“Not comfortably,” Rocky muttered. “The seats are so cramped in the Shogunzord!”

Tommy shrugged. “The Ninjazord is a little better. Then again, I preferred the Red Battlezord myself, but it was probably destroyed along with our Zeo Powers.”

Rocky smirked. “That’s only because the Red Battlezord was built for one person so you had all the room in the world. They should have some kind of lounging place in the zord.”

“Rocky, I don’t think that would be a good idea--”

“Think about it, Tommy. We could fight and get a sandwich later,” Rocky observed. The White Ranger just laughed and shook his head at the idea. Knowing Rocky, he would attempt to eat the sandwich while fighting a monster.

Zhane and Andros looked at each other before glancing back at the two humans. “Um, what’s a Shogunzord?” Andros questioned with confusion.

“Yeah, and what are Zeo Powers?” Zhane asked interestedly.

Tommy and Rocky looked at each other before chuckling to themselves. “We’d better hope that the ride home is pretty long,” Rocky said.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Kat watched as Tanya stirred and opened her eyes slowly. “Hey, Tanya. You’re safe now. Gasket and Archerina were destroyed.”

Tanya, upon seeing who it was, shuddered. “It was horrible, Kat. They tortured me until I was black and blue all over!” Touching the cut on her forehead, she hissed in pain.

Kat pushed her hand back down. “Easy. After we get back to Earth, Alpha is probably just going to make sure that everything is all right. Yaralla didn’t seem to think that there was anything really physically wrong with you besides some cuts and bruises.”

“Who’s Yaralla?” Tanya inquired weakly, “and where’s Adam?”

“Yaralla is a medical attendant from KO-35, and Adam went back to Earth. There was a disturbance that he, Emily, and Jason had to help with,” Kat explained. She was about to say more, but Trey entered, ending all conversation in the room.

“I just received a message from Triphoria,” Trey informed everyone, “and my mother says that I am needed. There are some diplomatic problems that need to be dealt with.” Walking over to Jaime who had been conversing with Kim, he smiled. “Well, it’s time to go.” Expecting his best friend to follow him easily, Trey was somewhat shocked to see the torn look on his face as he gazed at the Rangers and then back at him. “What’s wrong, Jaime? Don’t you want to come home?”

Jaime rubbed the back of his neck before lowering his eyes. “I can’t go home. Believe me, Trey, a part of me really wants to, but I...” His voice trailed off as he gazed at Kim. She put a hand on his arm.

Trey frowned. “I don’t understand, Jaime, because I just figured that you would come home after you were healed.” Stepping closer to his best friend, he got a better look at Jaime’s eyes, and, finding that they were locked with Kim’s, he shook his head and smiled. (The loner finally finds love...) “I’m going to miss you, Man.”

“You’re letting me stay?” Jaime asked, startled. “I mean, you aren’t going to--”

Cutting him off, Trey continued, “Whenever you’re ready to come home do so. I’ll be waiting.” Trey embraced him before putting a hand on Kim’s shoulder. “Take care of him, ok? He has a tendency of doing some pretty outlandish things.”

Kim smiled. “I’ll keep him in line.”

“Thank you again, Katherine,” Trey said, hugging her. “You and Andros saved me.”

Kat rubbed his hand softly. “I’d do it again anytime.”

Walking over to Tommy and Rocky, Trey shook his head. “You guys are nuts...going out there before you were fully healed.” He grinned. “I owe you one.”

“After the millions of times that you saved us on Earth!?” Rocky smirked. “We still owe you nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand times.” Tommy nodded.

“Be sure to wish my best to the others,” Trey said.

Tommy smiled. “Of course. Take care of yourself on Triphoria, and if you need us, call. We’ll be there in a heart beat.”

Trey shook his hand and nodded. “Likewise, and I mean that.” Turning to Andros and Zhane, he lowered his head before chuckling. “Stay out of trouble.”

“Look who’s talking,” Andros muttered. Grabbing his hand, he sighed. “You’ll probably be too proud to admit it, but if you need us--”

“Whatever,” Trey mumbled, his eyes betraying his humor. “Like I’ll need you, and if you need me--”

Zhane smirked. “Yeah, right. Just watch your back on Triphoria, ok?”

Trey nodded. “You got it.” Waving goodbye to everyone, he teleported away in a flash of lightning.

Kat smiled and looked at Andros. “So, where are you guys planning to go after this?”

“I’m not sure,” Andros replied. “We don’t have any set plans.”

Zhane shrugged. “We’ll probably just go around looking for more planets that we can help out.”

“You guys must get lonely up there sometimes,” Kim noted.

Andros sighed. “We do, but we have each other. It isn’t like it’s one or the other up there.”

Rocky, who had been listening in, suggested, “Why don’t you guys come to Earth with us? Zordon would be sure to put you guys on the team, and the more rangers the better, right?”

Jaime opened his mouth to protest, but Andros spoke before he could. “Zordon really wouldn’t mind if we came?”

Tommy shook his head. “Of course not! You guys would be more than welcome on Earth.”

Zhane and Andros looked at each other before nodding. “We’ll have to take you up on that offer,” Zhane told him. “Plus, we have the Megaship so it isn’t like we’d need a place to sleep.” Seeing Jaime cross his arms over his chest, Zhane smiled sweetly. “Really, Jaime, I thought we had overcome our differences.”

“Yeah, but that was when I thought we were only going to be together until this mission was over,” Jaime muttered. Andros just snickered mockingly.

Tanya, who had been looking at the two newcomers with confusion, glanced at Kat. “Who are they?”

“Believe me, we have a lot of things to tell you. Quite a few things happened since you were on Gasket and Archerina’s ship,” Kat told her. The others laughed.

Rocky sighed. “Well, once we get back we’ll have to eat chicken salad again.”

“Aw, poor thing,” Kim said, touching his arm. The others laughed.

Andros walked up to Tommy and handed him a printout. “These are the coordinates of our ship.” Tommy nodded and locked them into his communicator.

“Thank you, Rangers, for helping us through this,” Trider said. “Without you, Gasket and Archerina would have beaten us.”

Kat shook his hand. “It was an honor. Besides, it’s good to know that Gasket and Archerina are no more.”

“Definitely,” Tanya said, limping along with Kat to the outside of the Horation castle. She took a moment to catch her breath before laughing. “Now I know how Tommy felt after that incident outside of Aquitar.” Kat nodded.

The Rangers stopped in front of General Woltor who was eyeing them sternly. Finally, he smiled and saluted. “You are fine young warriors, Rangers. It is a shame to see you go.”

Kim smiled. “It was great to fight by the side of your people, General.”

Shaking hands with Andros and Zhane, Woltor nodded. “Thank you for joining us in this fight.”

“It’s what we do, General,” Andros told him. “Thanks for letting us use your facilities during our stay.”

“Anytime,” Woltor said. Shaking Jaime’s hand, Woltor smiled. “We asked you to do the most horrible thing to save the Yellow Ranger. Thank you for being so humble, as you King was.”

Jaime shrugged. “It was Trey’s decision, but I was honored to stand by him.”

Shaking Tommy’s hand, Woltor muttered, “I don’t know, White Ranger. You made some risky maneuvers as the leader of the Earth Rangers, but you taught me a few things about fighting.”

“I’m probably going to be lectured by Zordon when we get back,” Tommy told him with a chuckle, “but thank you for allowing us to stay within the castle. We were honored to fight here.” Everyone then teleported up to the Megaship that Zhane and Andros had told them about.

Landing in the control room of the Megaship, the Rangers looked around in awe. “Wow,” Rocky murmured. “This is like Star Trek only no Captain Kirk.”

“Star Trek?” Andros frowned in confusion. Rocky shrugged, and Andros got the message: don’t ask.

“This is amazing,” Tommy breathed. “I mean, our zords aren’t even this complex. Hell, our Power Chamber isn’t this complex. None of this means a thing to me.” Zhane smiled at this before saying, “Oh, I told you I was going to let you use to Silver Silverizer. Do you feel like trying it out?”

Tommy nodded eagerly. “Of course I do.” He followed the Silver Astro Ranger out of the control room to another part of the ship.

Watching him go, Kat couldn’t help but smile at her boyfriend’s excitement at playing with a new toy before looking with worry at Tanya who was obviously beginning to tire out. “Is there anywhere that she can lie down?”

Andros nodded wordlessly and led them out of the control room and into another room that had a few bunks in it. “She can stay in here until we reach the Earth.” Kat nodded and helped the Yellow Ranger to lie down before walking with Andros back to the control room.

Rocky turned to Yaralla who was beginning to pilot the Megaship. “Hey, um, how do you pilot this thing.”

“I don’t trust humans to pilot,” Yaralla told him. “They find a way to screw up everything.”

Grinning, Rocky sat down in the seat in the middle of the room next to hers. “Come on, Yaralla. You could use some help.”

Ignoring him, Yaralla looked at the wall. “DECA, set a course for Earth.”

“Course set,” a female voice answered. At this, Rocky jumped back. “Activating thrusters.” With that, the ship sped away from Horat and towards Earth.

Kim and Jaime looked at the little blinking light on the wall before shaking their heads. “The ship can talk,” Jaime muttered. “What will they think of next?”

All of a sudden, Kim gasped as Alpha walked into the room and pushed a few buttons on a console. “It’s great to have you back, Yaralla.”

Hearing that the voice was different from Alpha 5’s, Kim murmured, “You have an Alpha unit?”

“Yes, we do,” Yaralla said. She glanced at her. “You have one, as well?”

“Alpha 5,” Kim told her. “Our Alpha is Zordon’s assistant.”

Yaralla nodded before pushing a few buttons on a console. “Our Alpha is DECA’s assistant and, therefore, it is our assistant, as well.” She smiled. “I didn’t know there was another Alpha.”

At this, Alpha looked up at her. “There are many other Alpha units, Yaralla.” Looking at the strangers in the room, Alpha’s lights moved faster in observation. “These foreigners are Power Rangers, and yet they are not Astro Rangers.”

“I’m a Ninja Ranger, and Jaime is the Triphorian Silver Ranger,” Kim explained. Jaime nodded.

Looking at the Pink Ninja Ranger, the Silver Ranger sighed. “I’m glad I stayed with you, Kim.”

She sighed. “I feel so bad, Jaime. You gave up your people and your best friend to stay with me...with us...”

“Believe me, Kim, I don’t regret it at all,” Jaime told her. Kissing her cheek softly, he turned away, somewhat embarrassed by the passion he had shown.

Seeing this, Kim kissed his hand before murmuring, “Well, then, I won’t feel bad about it.”

In another part of the ship, Zhane watched with interest as the White Ranger used his Silver Silverizer to blast a few targets that he had set up. “You’re a natural,” Zhane told him. “I didn’t even understand how to use it that fast.”

Tommy smiled at this before biting his lip and firing again. “I love this thing. Mind if I call up a friend and show it off?”

“Be my guest,” Zhane told him. He watched as the White Ranger moved his hand in a strange pattern before a white saber appeared. Gasping, Zhane realized that the saber was Saba, the weapon that he had heard so much about.

The enchanted sword frowned at Tommy. “Where are we?”

“We’re on Zhane and Andros’ ship,” Tommy told him proudly, “and guess what. The Silver Ranger has a better weapon than you ever will be.”

Saba frowned. “Oh really? What weapon is this?”

Tommy smiled at him. “The Silver Silverizer.”

“I’m afraid I’ve never heard of this amazing weapon,” Saba told him sarcastically. “Would you mind showing it to me?”

“I was planning to,” Tommy countered. Lifting up the weapon, he blasted a few targets with it before turning it into a sword and slicing another target in two. “It’s faster than you.”

Saba smirked. “Yes, but can that weapon have an animated conversation like this?” He yawned for emphasis before spotting Zhane standing, frozen, by the door to the room. “It’s a nice weapon, Silver Ranger, but I doubt that you can talk to it.”

“Um, n-no, I can’t,” Zhane told him shakily. He had not been planning on ever talking to Saba, the saber that he had never thought of seeing in his life. How could the White Ranger make fun of it like that!? Didn’t he know how powerful the saber was!?

“I can see that your friend, the Silver Ranger, realizes how powerful I am, Tommy,” Saba told him smugly. “Now, if I could only show you...” The saber smiled and fired his lasers at the White Ranger’s hands making him hiss in pain and drop the Silver Silverizer which Zhane was barely able to catch before it hit the ground. “The Silverizer can’t fire on its own.”

Tommy glared at him. “That hurt, Saba! What the hell has gotten into you!?”

Saba smirked. “What’s gotten into me!? You’re the one showing off that dumb weapon. Why try out the rest when you’ve got the best, Tommy?”

Sighing, Tommy teleported him away before turning back to Zhane who was shaking his head to keep from laughing. “Well, it is a nice weapon. Sorry I almost dropped it.”

“No problem,” Zhane said. “God, you guys must be starving. Feel like going back to the control room to see if anyone else wants to eat?”

“Rocky eating is a given,” Tommy said with a chuckle. “Sure. Let’s go.” He let the Silver Ranger lead the way out of the room.

Returning to the control room, Zhane smiled. “I’m hungry, he’s hungry...what about everyone else?”

“Definitely,” Andros said. Rocky nodded eagerly as Kat, Kim, and Jaime all smiled. Yaralla gave him a thumbs up.

“Alpha, can you keep an eye on everything while we eat?” Yaralla asked. At the robot’s nod, they left the room and walked past the elevator to the room that had a table, a few chairs, and six slide-like holes at the back.

Rocky motioned to them interestedly. “What are those?”

“Teleportational holes,” Andros told him. “Zhane, Yaralla, and I guess that this ship was originally built for a team of rangers...at least six, but, as far as we know, there are only two Astro Morphers.” Walking to a machine, he pushed a few buttons before opening a door in the wall and pulling out a plate of steaming hot food. “Ah, I’ve missed food from KO-35.”

Kat looked at the food and was unable to help crinkling her nose in disgust. “Is that...all you have?”

“You’ve never used one of these before?” Zhane questioned in wonder. The others shook their heads. “Well, you can get any food imaginable out of here. Just punch it in, and you’ll get it.” Pushing a few buttons, he opened the door and pulled out a plate with food much different than Andros’.

Yaralla looked at it before laughing. “You and your food from Dactor...we shouldn’t have taken you to that planet.” Pushing a few buttons on the machine, she opened the door and pulled out her plate of food.

Eyeing it, Zhane shook his head. “Yeah, well, we’ll have to keep you away from Feltor if you’re eating their food now.”

Walking over to it, Jaime sighed before pushing a few buttons on the machine. Opening the door, he pulled out his plate and was surprised to get exactly what he wanted. “I haven’t eaten this kind of food since I left Triphoria!”

Rocky looked at the machine for a moment before pushing a few buttons and pulling out a plate with a cheeseburger with fries on it. “Mmm...I miss Ernie’s...”

Pushing a few buttons, Tommy opened the door and pulled out a plate with Chinese food on it. “Yes...yes...yes...”

“Pesto pasta...” Kat breathed and, opening it up, she pulled out a plate that held exactly what she had ordered on it.

“Alfredo with chicken...” Opening the door, Kim smiled. “I love this thing.”

Rita looked out at the Earth with her Repulsascope before stiffening as something came into view. “Zeddy...” Her husband, who had fallen asleep on his throne, snorted in his sleep but said nothing. “Zedd.” Again, he didn’t move. Walking over to him, Rita smacked his arm. “Zedd!”

“Wha-” Seeing her, Zedd growled. “Blasted woman. What is it, Rita?”

“Have you ever seen that thing?” Rita asked, pointing to the small craft that had stopped right in front of the Earth.

Zedd glanced at it before shaking his head. “I don’t think so...who could be traveling on that?” Seeing eight colored lights come out of it, he snarled. “Power Rangers!”

“What about the Power Rangers?” Uriel asked as she walked into the room. Spotting the craft that Rita was pointing at, she scowled before yelling, “Rashell!” Her husband walked into the room sleepily but gasped as he saw the ship. “What are they doing here!?”

Rashell shrugged. “I don’t know, Uriel! They should be on the other side of the galaxy!”

Rita frowned. “Who is that? How do you know them?”

“They are Power Rangers from KO-35,” Uriel explained. “Andros and Zhane, the Red and Silver Astro Rangers, pilot the ship along with Yaralla, an annoying girl from the planet.”

Zedd shook his head. “KO-35...that was the planet Dark Specter attacked about two years ago, is it not?”

“That’s the one,” Rashell cawed. “Andros and Zhane have joined forces with the rangers!? They can’t stand Jaime Talsik, though! Not after what happened on Zarok!”

Rita sighed, frustrated by the lack of knowledge she had about these two new rangers. “What happened on Zarok?”

“It isn’t important,” Uriel told her, “but we could exploit this weakness...” Rashell nodded, and Zedd cackled. It was perfect. The rangers would soon fall.

“WELCOME BACK, RANGERS,” Zordon said to those that had just entered the Power Chamber, “AND WELCOME, ANDROS AND ZHANE. IF YOU CHOOSE TO STAY, IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO HAVE YOU.”

Andros shrugged. “There’s nothing else for us to do right now, Zordon.”

“Besides, we’d be honored to fight for you,” Zhane told him.

Tommy smiled and gazed at his sister who was watching him intently. Slowly, he hugged her. “I’m so proud of you, Jackie. It’ll be great to have you as a ranger.”

“You won’t be ashamed of me?” Jackie asked hopefully.

“Why would I be ashamed of you?” Tommy questioned. “I love you...you’re my kid sister!” Turning to Jason, Emily, and Adam, he sighed. “Trey wishes you three the best.”

Jason nodded. “I wish I could have said goodbye to him.” He gazed up at Zordon. “Will Trini be all right, Zordon?”

“SHE WILL BE FINE, JASON,” Zordon responded. “AT THE MOMENT, SHE IS RESTING COMFORTABLY AS IS TANYA.”

Zack sighed at this before saying, “Well, I’m going to go down there, too. I’m tired.”

“Me, too,” Emily said. Glancing at Jason, she shook her head sadly before teleporting away with the Green Ninja Ranger.

Andros and Zhane looked at each other before nodding. “We’ll head up to the ship now,” Zhane said, “but we’ll come back tomorrow so we can be informed of anything we might need to know during our stay here.” With that, they teleported away.

One by one, everyone teleported out of the room. Tommy was about to follow, but a printout came out of one of the consoles. Looking at it, he found that it was from Yaralla and meant for Rocky, so he folded the paper up and gazed at Alpha. “See you tomorrow.” The robot nodded. Glancing up at Zordon, Tommy smiled. “Later, Zordon.”

“WAIT, TOMMY. THERE’S SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO SAY TO YOU.” As the White Ranger took his hand off of his communicator and leaned against a console, Zordon sighed. “YOU GOING TO HORAT WAS...INCREDIBLY DUMB. IT WAS IDIOTIC TO TRAVEL IN THE CONDITION YOU WERE IN LET ALONE FIGHT LIKE THAT. YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED.”

“My ankle is much better now, Zordon,” Tommy told him softly. “It healed on Horat, and I can barely feel any discomfort now.” Seeing Zordon glare at him, he bit his tongue and let him continue.

“HOWEVER, THE WAY IN WHICH YOU LEFT...I LET YOU LEAVE...I FELT AS IF YOU THOUGHT I DIDN’T BELIEVE IN YOU,” Zordon admitted, “WHICH ISN’T TRUE. I’M PROUD OF YOU AND THE OTHERS IN EVERY WAY. YOU ARE ALL MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, AND I AM HONORED TO BE LIKE A FATHER TO ALL OF YOU. ALL OF YOU HAVE GROWN SO MUCH SINCE YOU BECAME RANGERS...YOU ESPECIALLY, TOMMY.”

Tommy let this sink in for a moment before clearing his throat. “I’ve, um, I’ve been lucky to have such a great mentor during my time here, Zordon.” Lowering his head, he took in a deep breath before saying, “I know that you get mad at us for our own well-being, and I know that I can be a risk taker sometimes. Believe me, sometimes I wish that I wasn’t, but when I first became a ranger under Rita I was taught to be a warrior that would do anything to win, and that trait kinda stuck with me. That’s just the way I am.”

Zordon nodded. “IT’S A TRAIT THAT I WOULDN’T DREAM OF CHANGING, WHITE RANGER.”

“Well, I wish I felt that way, too,” Tommy murmured. “Maybe I will someday.” He smiled at his mentor before nodding. “Goodnight, Zordon...Alpha...” Pushing a few buttons on his communicator, he teleported away in a flash of white.

Alpha watched him go before looking up at Zordon. “Ay yi yi...I’ve grown so attached to them, Zordon. What if something happened to them? What would I do?”

“I DON’T KNOW, ALPHA,” Zordon said, thinking the exact same thing. “I’VE GROWN ATTACHED TO THEM, TOO. QUITE ATTACHED.”

Reaching the Crisis Center, Tommy looked around for Rocky before finding the Blue Ranger staring up at the ceiling in thought. “Hey, Man, Yaralla sent this for you.” As Rocky took the note from him, he smiled. “Congratulations.” With that, he went off in search of an empty cot.

Rocky stared after him for a moment before opening the note and reading it:

Rocky,

It’s been a long time since I’ve spent any time with another guy besides Zhane and Andros for two years, and I found that I really enjoyed it. You’re a great guy to be with, Rocky, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I’m so glad that Andros and Zhane decided to come to Earth. Maybe we’ll get to know each other even better.

Yaralla

Folding it up again, Rocky looked up at the ceiling. “Cassandra, I miss you, but I have the feeling that you would want me to go out with someone else. You always used to wish me happiness...if Yaralla would make me happy...would you want me to be with her?” Glancing at the note, Rocky stuck it in his pocket, not knowing what exactly he felt for the beautiful woman from KO-35. All he knew was that since she would be on Earth for awhile that he would have plenty of time to find out.