Nothing. Everything was black...it was like a veil, covering whatever light had been apparent during the day. There were no stars...no breeze...no wildlife. Perhaps this was not even the outdoors. It was just dark. Nothingness.
A light appeared overhead, though a ceiling could not be seen. It landed on the bleak wooden floor. In the center of the light was a chair, and in it sat Jason Scott, the Red Ranger. He was looking around nervously. Where was everyone? What was this place?
(In the case of Jason Scott.)
[YOU FEAR BEING ALONE]
He looked up at the voice. Who was that? What was going on? "I'm not afraid."
[YOU FEAR BEING ALONE]
"I don't fear it." He thought about this. Sure, as a ranger, there had been times where he had not wanted to be alone...when King Sphinx had attacked...and so many other times. "I...I don't fear it."
[YOU FEAR BEING ALONE]
"Maybe I do." Jason lowered his head and stared at his feet. "Where am I?"
[UNCOMFORTABLE]
"I like familiar areas," Jason muttered towards the voice. "There should be nothing wrong with that. Strangeness in my profession usually equals trouble."
[FORMER PROFESSION]
Jason sighed. "Does it make a difference? Former profession. Whatever."
[PEACE CONFERENCE?]
"What's so strange about that?"
[WHY IS A MURDERER GOING TO A PEACE CONFERENCE?]
Head snapping up, Jason faced the darkness with an expression of anger on his face. "I'm not a murderer!"
[YOU KILLED]
"I killed when I had to!" Jason growled. He clenched his fists furiously. "Angel Grove and the world would have been destroyed if I hadn't done my job!"
[INNOCENT BLOOD WAS SHED]
"Yes, but that wasn't my fault!" Jason argued weakly...seeing the bodies...blood...of citizens that had been killed during zord battles or just regular fights. "It was all Rita's fault! Zedd's fault! Not mine!"
[WHY DID YOU KILL?]
Jason buried his face in his hands. "Shut up! I didn't kill!"
[WHY DID YOU KILL?]
"I didn't kill!"
[WHY DID YOU KILL?]
"SHUT UP!" Tears were flowing down his face by this point, and he did his best to keep from sobbing. Had he killed? Honestly? He had let people die. As the leader of the rangers, Jason had let people die. "I...I'm a murderer."
"Jason..." Looking up, the Red Ranger gasped as he saw Tommy standing in front of him. His best friend's eyes were sorrowful as he held up his Dragonzord coin. "Why couldn't you save me? Why couldn't you save my power?"
Closing his eyes morosely, Jason shook his head. "I tried, but I failed."
[FAILURE]
"I couldn't save Tommy's powers...my best friend...my brother...I couldn't save his powers!" He looked up only to see that Tommy had disappeared into the darkness from which he had first appeared. "Tommy blames me. I blame myself."
[DEFEAT]
"Everything is my fault."
Such is true about the Green Ranger.
(In the case of Tommy Oliver.)
Now in the same seat that Jason had just been in, Tommy fiddled with his hands nervously. Why was he in this place? What was going on? "Is anyone there?"
[AFRAID OF YOURSELF?]
"What?"
[AFRAID OF YOURSELF?]
Tommy thought about this for a moment and straightened his green vest before answering, "I'm afraid of what I'm capable of, but I wouldn't say that I'm afraid of myself."
[YOU'RE EVIL]
Frowning, Tommy shook his head stubbornly. "I'm not evil."
[YOU'RE EVIL]
"No! They all forgave me! The rangers don't blame me for what I did under Rita's influence!"
[MERCY]
Tommy smiled softly. "They want to be my friends. All of them. Jason, Kim, Trini, Billy, Zack...everyone."
[LOVE]
"I love Kim," Tommy said, his smile growing. "In my heart, I believe she loves me, too. That's a strange feeling. I've never felt so loved before."
[DEPENDENCY]
"Um...I don't know. Do I depend on them? Perhaps..." Tommy closed his eyes and thought about this. "Yeah, I do. I need them."
[SUICIDE]
"I could have killed myself after losing my powers the first time," Tommy whispered as he remembered the painful memories. "Luckily, I didn't, though."
[WHO ARE YOU?]
"Tommy Oliver."
[WHO ARE YOU?]
"Tommy Oliver."
[WHO ARE YOU?]
"The Green Ranger."
[WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?]
He thought about this before bowing his head in defeat. "There is no difference. I am the Green Ranger; nothing more."
(In the case of Zack Taylor)
Zack was now sitting on the chair where Tommy had just been with a solemn expression on his face. "I'm ready for whatever."
[YOU'RE AFRAID OF THE UNKNOWN]
"There's no reason to fear what I can't see," Zack responded calmly as he stared into the darkness.
[YOU HIDE BEHIND A SMILE]
"I don't hide behind anything. If I'm happy, I'll smile. If not, then I won't. That's all there is to it."
[WHAT DO YOU FEAR?]
Zack grinned...it was the first time he had that day. "I fear nothing."
[YOU'VE LIED]
"Lying isn't something to be afraid of," Zack pointed out with a smirk.
[YOU'VE LIED ABOUT NOT FEARING THE UNKNOWN.]
Zack sighed boredly. "Really? Why is that?"
[DEATH IS CONSIDERED THE UNKNOWN]
He froze at this and looked around the darkness before slumping in resignation. "So, I'm afraid of being erased. Big deal. Everyone is at some point in their lives."
[YOU ARE NOT LIKE EVERYONE. YOU FEAR IT...LOATHE IT. YOU HATE DEATH...YOU HATE THE UNKNOWN]
Zack thought about this for a moment and shrugged. "I don't want to die."
[YOU RISK YOUR LIFE EVERYDAY]
"I'm a ranger. It's my job."
[YOU LOATHE YOUR JOB]
Frowning, Zack folded his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair. "I love being a ranger."
[YOU HATE IT]
"At times..."
[YOU HATE IT]
"Leave me alone!"
All of a sudden, Kim appeared from the darkness, and she put her hands on her hips angrily. "Zack, how could you put your life above ours!?"
"Kim, I--"
"You're so selfish!" Trini cried from where she stood next to the Pink Ranger.
Tommy shook his head with disdain. "You're pathetic, Zack."
Billy frowned at him. "You don't deserve to hold the power."
"I'm afraid you're going to have to give up your position on the team," Jason declared, reaching into Zack's pocket and yanking out his Power Coin.
Crying softly, Zack reached out for the source of his power only to have Jason pull it out of his reach. "I'm sorry. Please, Guys, you have to forgive me! Please..."
The other rangers regarded him for a moment before coldly replying, "No." As they disappeared into the darkness, the only sound heard was Zack's sobbing as he dropped his head into his lap.
(In the case of Kimberly Hart)
[WHORE]
"Excuse me?" Kim looked around the darkened room while perched on the chair that her three fellow teammates had been sitting on earlier. "What did you call me?"
[YOU USE MEN LIKE TOYS]
"I do not!" The Pink Ranger cried in alarm. "I don't use men!"
[YOU'RE A WHORE. TOMMY?]
Kim shook her head in protest. What was going on here? "I love Tommy!"
[YOU USE TOMMY]
"I don't use him!"
[HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED HIS SADNESS? GUILT? PAIN?]
"I care about him."
[DO YOU LOVE HIM?]
Tears streaming down her face, Kim covered her eyes. "Someone help me."
[DO YOU LOVE HIM?]
"Tommy, help me!"
[CALLING TO HIM FOR HELP AGAIN?]
"Help me!!!"
Kim looked up to see that Tommy was eyeing her with dark eyes. He shook his head. "I'm not your pawn."
"I've never used you!" Kim cried in anguish, only able to watch as he disappeared through her tears. "Tommy, come back!"
"You're sickening." Turning around, Kim found that it was Trini, and the Yellow Ranger was shaking her head disapprovingly. "Kim, you're so weak. All of us end up saving you every time. Can't you take care of yourself?"
Kim rubbed her eyes. "Of course I can!"
"Can you?" Trini asked.
[CAN YOU?]
Looking around, Trini sighed as she considered the question. "Can I?"
(In the case of Trini Kwan)
"Sometimes I am afraid of holding the team back," Trini admitted softly as she sat down in the chair that Kim had just occupied moments earlier. "If I move too slowly...they'll be upset with me."
[SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS]
Trini sighed. "As a ranger, you aren't supposed to be self-conscious, but I am. I want people to like me."
[WHAT DO YOU FEAR?]
"I'm afraid that my friends will abandon me," Trini admitted after a short pause. "I need them, and I don't want to be alone."
[LONELINESS]
Shrugging, Trini muttered, "Sometimes I am lonely. That can't be helped. Kim has other friends besides me, the guys will go off doing...guy things, and Billy will be studying. Then, I'll be left all alone. I don't like being alone."
"Trini's coming." Turning around, Trini found herself in Angel Grove Park walking closer to Tommy, Jason, and Zack. "What should we say?" Tommy asked hurriedly.
Jason shrugged. "I don't know. Remember, I came up with the excuse last time."
Zack's eyes lit up. "We're going to work on some basketball skills. Trini doesn't like basketball! Will that work?"
"Add that Billy was looking for her. That'll keep Trini away for awhile," Tommy suggested, and the other two laughed before all three male rangers disappeared into the darkness.
[CONFUSION]
"Why don't I fit in?" Trini wondered briefly. "I haven't done anything to them...what is it about me that makes me unique?"
Uniqueness...a quality found in the Blue Ranger, as well.
(In the case of Billy Cranston)
[WHAT DO YOU FEAR?]
"I fear being picked on," Billy answered, his voice calm...almost subdued. "Those who taunt me frighten me. I'm afraid of them."
"Why don't you go back to your bookworm friends and study quantum physics, Dweeb Boy?" Bulk asked tauntingly as he came out from the darkness, his arms folded proudly over his chest.
Skull appeared next to him, a maniacal laugh escaping his lips. "Yeah, Dweeb Boy?" He laughed again, and Billy lowered his head to his hands.
"Leave me alone...why can't everyone leave me alone!?"
"That guy...is a ranger?" Raising his head, Billy found that Zack, Kim, Trini, Jason, and Tommy were pointing at him with secretive expressions on their faces. Tommy smirked. "Billy's a dork. You can't be serious!"
"We're serious...Billy's been following me around since kindergarten," Jason explained with a look of disgust in his eyes. "He's afraid to be alone, so I've been forced to stand up for him until now."
Kim stuck her tongue out. "I know, and he talks so weirdly. What the hell is a prototype seratonalyzer anyway?"
"Forget it...Billy probably just makes up tough words like that to show off how smart and wonderful he is," Zack muttered, and Trini nodded in agreement.
Billy felt tears running down his cheeks. "I can't change the way I am!" He screamed. "This is me!"
[WHO ARE YOU?]
"Billy Cranston."
[WHAT IS YOUR VALUE IN THIS WORLD?]
Thinking for a moment, Billy quietly responded, "I am the Blue Ranger, and I save people's lives."
[NOTHING MORE?]
"Nothing more."