The original Angel Grove High building stands abandoned for many years. After the mishap with it’s security robot, the building was in danger of being shut down anyway. After a technician died, it was closed down immediately. The kids who went there were sent to Stone Canyon High until about a year or two later, when a new school was built. Some say that if you listened through the windows of the old school, you could hear the tire treads of the robot still looking for the four who survived the original incident. Anyone dumb enough to get caught around the building after dark was never seen again.

“And my cousin Trini was one of the only four to survive,” Cassie said.

“What ever happened to her and her friends?” T.J. inquired.

“They graduated several years back,” Cassie said, “Trini and Billy got married not too long afterwards, and they still are. She said that Kim and Tommy were together for the longest time, but were forced to break up when she had to go to France, to live with her mother.”

“Hey, don’t forget about me,” Justin said, “Tommy’s my uncle, after all.” Justin was the only child of Tommy’s older brother David. “He still wishes Kim were here, and that they were still together. You should’ve seen him after she left. If it wasn’t for me and dad, he would have killed himself a while back. He’s still heartbroken.”

“You didn’t have to get so detailed,” Andros teased, “Tommy does seem to be a really nice guy, though. What do you think, Ashley?” He looked at his girlfriend.

“Yeah, he is,” Ashley said, “I wish there was something we could do.”

“We shouldn’t get involved,” T.J. said, “I haven’t even met the guy, for crying out loud. What do you think, Carlos? Carlos? Hello, is anyone there?” He waved his hand in front of his friend’s face. When he got no answer, he followed Carlos’s line of sight, and saw a knockout of a brunette over at the entrance of the Surf Shop. He let out a low, appreciative whistle. Cassie smacked him in the back of the head, to remind him that his girlfriend was still sitting right beside him.

“I wonder who that is?” Carlos finally said. With that, all of the others finally turned around. When Justin saw the girl, his jaw almost literally hit the floor. “You know who that is, Justin?”

“I sure do,” Justin said, “That’s Kim.” He got up and started for Kim. “Hi, Kim. Remember me?”

“I sure do, Justin,” Kim said.

Justin grinned at her recognition of him. “What are you doing in town?” he asked.

“I came to visit,” Kim said, “How has Billy, Trini, and your dad been doing?”

‘She left out Tommy,’ Justin sadly noted, ‘She probably doesn’t even think of him anymore.’ “They’re fine,” he said, “You know about the wedding of course, since you were there. Dad’s been working with Uncle Tommy on...” All of a sudden, Justin stopped when he noticed the pained expression on Kim’s face when he mentioned Tommy.

“How’s Tommy doing?” Kim said, mentally kicking herself for her oversight of Tommy.

“He’s great,” Justin said, “He’s still sad because... well, you know. He’s racing for his uncle’s racing team.” ‘Forget about that,’ Justin thought, ‘She still loves him, with a passion.”

“That’s Tommy for you,” Kim said distractedly.

“Hi Kim,” Cassie said, “I’m Cassie, Trini’s cousin, remember?”

“Of course I remember you, Cassie,” Kim said, “Though you have grown a lot since I last saw you. Last time I saw you, I was baby sitting for you.”

“Well, it has been at least six years since then,” Cassie said, “And you’ve grown even prettier since the last time I saw you.”

“Thank you,” Kim said, “You too. When I last saw you, you were an adorable ten year old. Now, you’re one knockout of a sixteen year old.”

“Got that right,” T.J. said. He extended his hand. “Hi, I’m T.J. Nice to meet you, Miss Hart.”

“Please, call me Kim,” Kim said, “Being called Miss Hart makes me feel really old. It’s nice to meet you, T.J.” She shook his hand.

“My name’s Carlos,” Carlos said, shaking her hand.

“Ashley.” Ashley shook Kim’s hand.

“Andros.” Andros shook Kim’s hand.

“We’re waiting on a few more friends,” Cassie said, “Would you like to join us, Kim?”

“I’d love to,” Kim said, “But I need to go do a few things. You know, things to do, people to see.” ‘One of three in particular,’ she thought. “I’ll see you all later?”

“Sure.” With that, Kim left.

“Look, there’s Aisha,” Ashley said, pointing to a girl just about to come in.

“Hi guys,” Aisha said, “What’s up?”

“Nothing much,” Carlos said. Rocky and Adam joined them, and they set about their usual stuff.

Kim walked up to Billy and Trini’s house. She was pretty nervous. Trini opened the door as soon as she rang the doorbell.

“Kim,” Trini screeched. They hugged. Trini ushered her in. “I can’t believe you’re here. What made you come back?”

“The anniversary,” Kim said, “We made a pact to come back once each year, no matter where we are, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Trini said, “But you haven’t seemed to remember for a couple of years now.

“I know,” Kim said, “Mom just hasn’t let me for a while. I would’ve come if I had been able to. You know that.”

“I know,” Trini said. She hugged Kim again. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Where’s Billy?” Kim asked.

“At school,” Trini said, “Guess what? I’m pregnant.”

“Wow,” Kim said, “That is so great. How far along are you?”

“Two months,” Trini said, “We’ve already decided to call the baby William if it’s a boy, and Trini if it’s a girl. You wouldn’t believe the looks we still get. Not too many people like the idea of an Asian girl married to a white guy.”

“I remember that from before I left,” Kim said. She seemed hesitant. “How’s Tommy?”

“He’s good,” Trini said, “I work as nurse on the track. It’s a good thing, too. He gets a lot of little scrapes and stuff

“Poor Tommy,” Kim said, the love obvious in her cracking voice.

“There’s still love there, I think,” Trini said.

“Love was never the problem,” Kim said, “You have to remember, distance is what put a wedge between myself and Tommy. If I didn’t have to move to Paris, Tommy and I would have gotten married some time back. We knew a long distance romance wasn’t really a romance, so we had to put a stop to it.”

“I know,” Trini said, “Well, come on. I’ve got to be up at the track in about an hour. Why don’t you come with me? Tommy will get a real kick out of seeing you.”

“Sure,” Kim said, “Why not? Your car or mine?”

“Mine,” Trini said, “If I know Tommy, he’ll insist on coming back with us. And knowing you, you’ll be riding with him.”

“Trini, I need to ask you something,” Kim said seriously as they were heading towards the race track.

“Shoot,” Trini said.

“Has Tommy... seen very many girls?”

“He hasn’t dated any, if that’s what you’re getting at,” Trini said, “He’s been hoping that you might come back, and that the two of you would pick up where you left off.”

“I don’t know if that’s possible,” Kim said, “The original problem that resulted in us breaking up is still there.”

“You know, you could stay with Billy and me,” Trini said, “Our house isn’t very big, but mi casa es su casa. And you could stay as long as you like.”

“I couldn’t impose,” Kim said, “Especially with the little one coming.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Trini said.

“I’ll think about it,” Kim said, “I’m staying in town a few days. I’ll give you the answer by the time I’m supposed to leave. By the way, I was talking to Cassie and Justin at the Youth Center... I mean Surf Shop. Cassie has grown up so much from the shy little girl I used to baby sit for.”

“Yeah, I know,” Trini said, “Justin has, too. It’s hard to imagine he’s only thirteen.”

“He seems very mature for his age,” Kim said, “He was the last time I saw him, too.”

“He is, at that,” Trini said, “Personally, he reminds me more of Tommy than David.”

“True,” Kim said, “Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”

“No,” Trini said, “The resemblance is just coincidental. Tommy never even knew Justin’s mom, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Kim said. The road the rest of the way in silence. The track just seems to pop up out of nowhere.

“I can’t wait to see him,” Kim said, not even trying to hide her feelings for Tommy. She didn’t even wait for Trini to come to a complete stop before jumping out of the vehicle. She waited impatiently for Trini to park.

Trini shook her head playfully and got out of the vehicle once she had. “You’ve got it bad, girl,” she said teasingly to Kim.

“Oh, I do not,” Kim said, pouting. “Do I?”

Trini laughed as she led Kim to the nurse’s station. “I have to check in,” she said, “And then we can go down to the track.”

“All right, but hurry,” Kim said whiningly, “I’ll stay here. Maybe, just maybe, Tommy will come by.”

“Not if he’s busy,” Trini said, “Which he probably is.” Trini goes inside the building and checks in with the doctor on call there.

When she comes back out, Kim is literally hopping from one foot to the other, impatient to see Tommy again. “About time you got out,” Kim said. They head down to the a cafeteria.

“Tommy will probably be here,” Trini said, “It’s about lunch time.” They started looking around.

“There’s John, his uncle,” Kim said, “He should know where Tommy’s...”

At her surprising halt, Trini followed her line of sight, and saw John and Tommy sitting at a table.

“Come on, Cinderella,” Trini said, tugging on Kim’s arm. “Let’s reacquaint you with Prince Charming.” Trini blocks Tommy’s seeing Kim and walks towards the pair. “Hi, Tommy.”

“Oh, hi Trini,” Tommy said, “What’s up?”

“There’s someone here to see you,” Trini said conspicuously.

“Who?” Trini stepped out of the way. Kim was standing right behind her, enchanted by Tommy’s eyes. “K-Kim?” Kim couldn’t even speak. Tommy got up, and the two rushed at each other into a hug and a passionate kiss.

“That’s right, geeks,” Bulk said, “We dare you to spend the night in the old Angel Grove High building.”

“I don’t think so,” Cassie said, “The robot is still there, remember?”

“That’s just a rumor,” Skull said, “If you don’t, we’ll make sure everyone at school knows you for the wimps you are. The robot isn’t there.”

“Come on, guys,” Justin said, “It could almost be fun.”

“One night is all we ask,” Bulk said, “One night, and we’ll leave you alone.”

“If it’ll get you off our backs, I’m in,” T.J. said. Everyone but Cassie nodded.

“I don’t know,” Cassie said.

“Come on, Cassie,” T.J. said, “The robot couldn’t still be there. It was said to have been destroyed in that explosion, remember?”

“All right, all right,” Cassie said, “Well, I’ve got to be heading home. Trini is supposed to be over later. Bye, guys.”

“Bye, Cassie.”

“I knew they’d get back together once they saw each other again,” Trini muttered to herself. She was watching Kim and Tommy kiss. They had moved outside once they had come up for air.

“I don’t want to lose you again,” Tommy said.

“And I don’t want to lose you,” Kim said, “I still love you just as much as I did when I left.”

“And I still love you that much, too,” Tommy said.

“Hey, Tommy,” Trini said, “As much as I’d hate to interrupt, you’re supposed to be down on the track, aren’t you?”

“You’re right,” Tommy said, looking at Trini. He looked back at Kim. “How long are you here for, beautiful?” They started walking down to the main racing area.

“For good, hopefully,” Kim said, “Billy and Trini, well really just Trini, offered to let me stay with them for a while, but I don’t know.”

“You can stay with me,” Tommy said, “I have my own apartment now, and I’d love for you to.”

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Kim said, though that reasoning was visibly weakened by who was proposing the idea.

“Tell you what, beautiful,” Tommy said, “I’ve got to run a few practice laps. It won’t take more than an hour. Take all the time you want. Do you guys want to go to the cemetery afterwards?”

“Sure,” Trini said.

“That’s one of the reasons I came back,” Kim said, “Missing every anniversary since I left.”

“We don’t blame you,” Tommy said, “We know that you just haven’t really had the chance to come down. Well, I’ve got to go. Watch me, would you?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, handsome,” Kim said. Tommy left her with a kiss, and walked towards the pit area. Kim and Trini went up to the bleachers.

“I can’t believe you guys talked me into this,” Cassie said, as her and her friends were walking up to the school building. Carlos had invited his girlfriend. Adam invited his girlfriend, Tanya Sloan, too. Aisha and Rocky were there together.

“Hey,” T.J. said, “You wouldn’t be here, unless you’re really curious, too. You know, to see if the robot is still here. Besides...” He patted his bag, and motioned to Carlos’s and Andros’s. “We’ve packed some weapons, just in case.”

“Besides,” Ashley said, “It’s not like we can’t get out if we need to. The old security doors were taken down a long time ago.”

“Well, let’s get staked out,” Cassie said. The others went into the building, while she hesitated. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” With that, she reluctantly went inside the school building.

“I’ll never forget you, Emily,” Kim said, repeating the words she said that fateful night every time they visited the grave site. They had met Billy at the cemetery after Tommy had gotten through racing.

‘I’ve lived my life for you, bro,’ Tommy thought, as he was standing over Jason’s grave, which was empty, since there really wasn’t anything left to bury after the explosion. ‘With the exception of one thing, of course.’

It was late when they started back for the school. Like everything else, they went to the old school building every year. They even went inside.

“I’ll never forget when this place was closed down,” Kim said, “Our class was the last to graduate before it did.”

“Who’s there?” They all spun, to find Cassie and her friends standing down the hallway.

“Trini,” Cassie cried, running towards them. Her and Trini caught each other in a big hug.

“What are you guys doing here?” T.J. and Tommy both said.

T.J. did a double take and extended his hand to Tommy. “Hi, you must be Tommy,” he said, “I’m T.J.”

“Nice to meet you, T.J.,” Tommy said, “Now, what are you doing here? I thought the robot was still around here, somewhere.”

“We were... dared into coming,” Carlos said sheepishly. He didn’t have to introduce himself. Tommy had met everyone but T.J. until now, and even Kim knew who almost everyone were. “There’s no real proof that the robot is still here. No one’s actually seen it since you guys blew it up.

“Yeah,” Andros said, “Well, I didn’t really want to come, but Ashley here insisted on it.”

“Hey, you were more than willing,” Ashley protested.

“Adam wanted to come, so I really just tagged along,” Tanya said. Adam, Rocky, Aisha, and Tanya introduced themselves to Kim.

They started walking towards the infirmary. “This was Jason’s last stand,” Kim said, “He filled the room with pure oxygen, lit a match we found, and boom. I’ve always wanted to think that the robot was destroyed here, but when that guy was found, and the way he died...” She shuddered.

“You think that the robot’s still here,” T.J. finished. Kim nodded.

“Well, we better be going,” Tommy said, “We’ve got a lot of things to do, after all.”

“Yeah,” Kim said. They started walking towards the entrance. When they get there, they find the roof collapsed right in front of the doorway.

“No,” Cassie said, hurrying over to the rubble. “This is the only way out. Help me, guys.” Even with all of them trying to move it, they can’t budge enough of the rubble.

“I don’t get it,” T.J. said, “What could do this?”

“One guess,” Tommy said, “Let’s get to the gym. That’s where we were the safest last time.” The others nodded.

“Good thing we’ve still got our stuff with us,” Carlos said, patting his bag.

They started for the gym. Once there, they found the robot, waiting for them.

“Intruders, halt,” it said, shooting at them. The gang was quick to dodge and take off.

“What do you know?” Kim said, “It does learn.”

“Good thing we packed for the occasion,” Andros said. Him and the guys took off their packs and started taking weapons out.

“Talk about deja vu,” Billy said. There were four shotguns, a handgun, and some pipe bombs.

“None of this stuff will help,” Trini said, “The robot’s bullet proof, and can take a point blank explosion with little or no damage.”

“Well, this should help anyway,” Rocky said. He took one of the shotguns, the same with Andros, Carlos, and T.J.

“Listen,” Kim said, “We’ve got to find a way to blow that thing up. That’s probably the only way to beat it. This time, we’ve got to make sure it’s destroyed.”

“We could blow up the whole building,” Billy said.

“Good idea, Billy,” Tommy said, “Any ideas?”

“The idea from before,” Billy said, “If there’s enough pure oxygen canisters, we could use them to blow up the whole building.”

“Awesome idea,” Kim said. They went in search of the canisters, but were disappointed to find none.

“If any had been left behind, the robot must have collected them,” Billy said, “It does learn, and adapts. Now what do we do?”

“The gas stoves in the school’s kitchen,” Tanya said, “Last I heard, they were still running for some reason.”

“Perfect,” Billy said, “Now, all we have to do is... uh oh.” All of a sudden, the robot came rolling towards them. They all tried running, but Ashley was caught in the back with a laser. She died instantly.

“No,” Andros screamed, opening fire on the robot.

“Andros, we have to get out of here,” T.J. said. Andros ignored him and kept up the barrage. The others reluctantly left Andros behind. A few minutes later, they heard him let out a short cry, that was cut short by laser fire.

“I know that robot can’t move that fast,” Trini said, “There has to be...” Another robot came rolling out of nowhere, towards them. Catching them by surprise, it cut down both Rocky and Aisha. When running by Rocky, Tommy stopped to pick up the pack, which still had a shotgun and most of the explosives. He quickly put it on in mid-stride. When they got to the stairs out back, they quickly slammed the door shut and blocked it off.

“There’s all kinds of spare parts in the maintenance closet, if I remember correctly,” Billy said, “The robot must have used them to build another robot just like it.”

“All right,” Tommy said, “This is the deal. T.J., Billy, Adam, Carlos, and I will get down to the kitchen. Justin, you and the girls should wait here.” With that, the trio started to take off.

“Wait a minute, Thomas Oliver,” Kim said scoldingly. Tommy turned back around. Her face softened as she ran up to Tommy, threw her arms around his neck, and gave him a long, passionate kiss. “Be very careful.”

Ignoring the knowing grins he was getting from Billy, Adam, and T.J., and the rest for that matter, Tommy returned the kiss and then disappeared out the door. Kim and the others quickly put the barricade back up when they were gone.

“Tommy,” Billy said, “Are you going to ask her this time?” The two were so close of friends, Billy didn’t have to specify what question Tommy was going to ask whom. Tommy could tell.

“Yeah,” Tommy said, “I’m not going to make the same mistake this time. When this is all over, I’m going to pop the question to Kim.” Billy grinned. It faded when they heard the unmistakable sound of whirring of the tractor treads of one of the robots.

“Wait a minute,” Carlos said, as they were going by a janitor’s closet. “There’s some kind of way outside from in there. That’s how we escape after setting the trap in the kitchen.”

“That’s right,” Tommy said, slapping his forehead. “I forgot. Hey, Billy, remember when that teacher was going to lead us out of here during the first mishap with the robot?”

“Yeah,” Billy said, “Oh yeah. This is the room we were about to enter when that guy died. Let’s go back and get the girls and Justin. They can wait for us wherever this leads, and then we can set the trap and join them.”

“Right,” T.J. said, “Let’s go.” They raced back to the corridor that the girls and Justin were staying in. About halfway there, they ran into the girls, who were coming from the stairs, sans Carlos’s girlfriend.

“The robot broke in at the end of the hall,” Kim explained, “We had to get up the steps to the next level and take the emergency steps to get back down here. I’m sorry, Carlos. Andrea didn’t come out of it alive.”

Carlos’s knees almost gave out on him. He leaned up against a wall, breathing hard. When he looked back up, he had a hard look on his face, but tears in his eyes.

“Let’s go kick some metallic butt,” he said. The others were worried about him, but kept it from showing in their faces. They hurried as fast as they could to the kitchen, where they started turning on the gas stoves.

“It’ll take a while for the gas to hit enough of the building to matter,” Tommy said, “And now, we’ve hit the same dilemma from last time. Someone needs to be here, to light the match.” Tommy took a long, hard look at Kim, then turned away. “Go. Go for the exit in the janitor’s closet.”

“No,” Kim said, “Tommy, why you? Why?” Tears were falling down in face in torrents.

“Kim, there’s something about my past I never told you about,” Tommy said, “Something I have never been proud of. A long time ago, I killed a man in cold blood and fixed it to look like it was self-defense. For a while, I did think that I was proud of what I did. I thought that the man was a criminal. You should’ve been there when I found out that the man was as honest as Abraham Lincoln. It’s been eating me up ever since then, making me miserable, even when I’m with you. This is my chance to atone for what I did.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Kim said, “Please, don’t do this. I love you.” They both blinked. That was the first time that word had ever been said by either of them, in all of the years they had been dating.

Tears were forming in Tommy’s eyes, as well. “I love you too,” he said, “But you deserve better, not a cold-blooded killer, and a coward to boot.”

“You’re the bravest man I’ve ever known,” Kim sobbed. Tommy took her in his arms and comforted her.

“Kim, I have to do this,” Tommy said gently, “But before I do, I... I’ve got to ask you something.”

“What?”

Tommy took the ring out of the box in his pocket. “After all of this, I was going to ask you to marry me,” he said, “I just need to know the answer. Would you have married me?”

“In half a heartbeat,” Kim said.

“Keep the ring,” Tommy said, putting the ring back in the box and gently pushing it into her hand. “Remember me.” He nodded to T.J. and Adam, who came up from behind Kim and started pulling her away.

“No, let me go,” Kim said. But both ignored her as they pulled her back to the little janitor’s office. Tommy looked around for Carlos, but didn’t see him. ‘Must have already gone through the exit,’ he thought. Crossing himself, Tommy waited for inevitable. The last thing that went through his mind was Kim crying her eyes out, as Carlos conked him on the head, knocking him out. Carlos dragged him to the janitor’s office and through to the other side. Then, taking a last look at the world, he ducked back inside.

T.J. and Adam were going back one last time to talk Tommy out of killing himself, and they found him unconscious outside the tunnel leading back into the janitor’s office. A few seconds later, a big explosion rocked them off of their feet. When they dragged Tommy back to the others, Kim rejoiced. However, they all had heavy hearts because they knew that, if Tommy hadn’t let loose the explosion, only Carlos could have. They slowly walked back to their vehicles, sore and utterly drained after what they hoped to be the final battle with the robot.

The next day, they went to the old school building. They had to make sure. They found Carlos’s remains, and made sure the fire fighters knew who they were of. They found the remains of not one, not two, but three robots. When they came to the elder of the group instinctively knew was the original, the eye gleamed with energy. They gasped and went into fighting stances, but the light went out. They all sighed with relief, for it was finally over. They then went to their cars and went to the Youth Center.

Despite popular belief, Carlos didn’t die in that explosion. He lost his memory, and, unfortunately, never regained it and lived to be about ninety, I believe. Never married, and died alone.

The identity of remains that were found in the ruins of the old school building is unknown to most humans, but I will shed some light on the subject. The explosion was the last act of an older Thomas Oliver, who had traveled back in time from an alternate timeline to stop the robot, once and for all. To accomplish this, he was willing to die, because he would have been erased anyway. He found some way to get Carlos out of the building at the last second. The method was extremely risky, and that’s what permanently wiped young Carlos’s memory.

Justin went on to be a big computer programmer and designer, get married, and have a daughter. One day, he was working on a new computer system, when it short circuited. The poor guy didn’t stand a chance.

Tanya and Adam were later married. They had many children and grandchildren. They died on their sixtieth anniversary.

T.J. and Cassie split up not too long after the incident. They remained great friends, but didn’t feel the spark they once did to remain as a couple.

Billy and Trini went on to have their kid, but Trini tragically died during child birth. Billy gave the baby to his parents to adopt, and then killed himself.

What happened to Tommy and Kim, you might ask? They were married not too long after the incident. Every one of the survivor of the second incident, even Billy and Trini, because it was before the birth of their child and their deaths, were there to see the two exchange vows. People could say that when they kissed then, you could feel the power of it radiating throughout the entire building. They had a baby nine months to the date of their honeymoon. They went on to have nine more and have nearly three times as many grandchildren. The two are still alive today, and though they’re both well over one hundred years old apiece, the spark is as strong as ever. I believe that they just celebrated their ninetieth anniversary.

Ah, yes, and about the robot. It had finally been destroyed in the second explosion, ridding the world of one of the greatest mechanical menaces it had never seen.

And who am I, you might ask? I am Uatu the Watcher, a celestial being that is oath-bound to watch and never to interfere. I have partially broken my sacred vow to allow you to hear this story, one of tragedy and of love. And now I bid you good day.

The End