Title: Reclaiming His Crane
Author: Mykkila09
Chapter: 5 of 5
Chapter Title: The Falcon and the Crane
Settings: during ZEO and then TURBO; starts out with that atrocious episode, "There's No Business like Snow Business" and that God-awful letter and ends with T: APRM.
Story Summary: Tommy gets the letter and after thinking things over, he decides not to let things end that way and to follow his heart. This is more like a series of connected one-shots.
Chapter Summary: A new villain shows up and Kim, with Jason, is caught in the crossfire. After Kim is attacked, the villain finds out just it was a bad thing to face a pissed off Tommy

Chapter Word Count: 12, 696

A/N: So sorry for the long wait you guys. Truth is, the reason why the chapter took so long is because I honestly had no idea what to write as I had never expected to write more than three chapters and I never expected for the story to be so popular. When I finally did figure out what to write, I had no idea how to write it, to bring it all together. But, now I have, so...here it is. Again, so very sorry for the long wait and I hope you guys like it. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban; no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. If you didn't get that...I do NOT own and I am NOTmaking any money off of this.

'Thinking'
"Speaking"

It's been a few months since Kim came home and the spell was broken over Tommy. It was now November, with Thanksgiving only a week away.

Kim sighed as she sat in homeroom, Tommy's arms around her shoulder, as he talked to Rocky. Her gaze landed on Jason and she couldn't help but to remember the heart-rending moment the rangers had experienced a few weeks ago.

Flashback

Halloween was only a few days away and the rangers, Kim included, couldn't be happier. Halloween was one of their favourites as they loved dressing up, all the candies and best of all, helping out the neighbourhood kids—they would offer to take some of the kids Trick-or-Treating while the parents stayed home.

The teens were at their usual hangout—Ernie's—eating lunch. They would be going to the park later on today.

Kim was sitting with Kat, Tanya and Billy, while Jason and Tommy were sparring and Rocky and Adam were on the weights.

"Are we gonna go shopping later this afternoon?" Tanya asked as she popped a fry into her mouth.

"Oh we should," Kat grinned, "There's a sale today at Maurice's."

"Really?" Kim looked up at the blonde. "Oh we definitely have to go then."

"I thought you'd say that," Kat laughed.

"Oh man," Billy groaned as he looked at the three girls. "Can I stay here?"

"No!" all three girls said at once.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked as he and the other boys joined them. He dropped a kiss on Kim's head before sitting down next to her.

"Shopping," Kim smiled over at him.

"Why am I not surprised?" Tommy chuckled. "And lemme guess, us boys are all going, right?"

"Yep," the three girls nodded with a laugh.

"Alright," Tommy shrugged with an easy smile.

"Just like that?" Adam looked at his leader and friend, "We're gonna give in just like that, no fights or nothing?"

"Do you really want to fight with them?" Jason smirked as he clapped Adam on his shoulders and gestured to the girls.

Adam looked over at the girls before shaking his head. "No."

"That's what I thought," Jason laughed.

"Let's go to the park," Kim stood up, pulling Tommy with her. "It's so nice and I feel like being outside."

"Why don't we just make a day of it and hang out at the lake?" Tanya suggested.

"Sounds good," Kat grinned as she looked around at her friends. "Why don't we all hurry home and meet at the lake at our usual spot?"

"Let's do it," Rocky clapped his hands together.

Smiling, the friends grabbed their stuff, waved to Ernie and left the youth centre.

~...~

Half an hour later, the gang was at the lake; Kat and Kim were sitting under a tree, Tanya was in the water with Adam while Billy, Rocky, Jason and Tommy played football on the shore.

The friends were relaxed and enjoying their peaceful afternoon, but good things must come to an end.

Kat and Kim had just gotten up, and was about to change into their swimwear to join Tanya and Adam in the water when the sky darkened ominously.

"What the hell?" Kim muttered as she looked up.

"I don't like this," Kat took a step closer to her petite friend.

The boys turned to look at them and was about to head to them when cogs appeared.

"WHOA!" Rocky said as he jumped back, dropping into a stance.

"There goes our good day," Jason growled as his body tensed in preparation of a fight.

Tanya and Adam quickly made their way out of the water and joined their friends just as the cogs attacked.

The rangers fought them off, managing to damage them enough so they could morph.

"IT'S MORPHIN TIME!" Tommy shouted out.

"ZEO RANGER ONE: PINK!"

"ZEO RANGER TWO: YELLOW!"

"ZEO RANGER THREE: BLUE!"

"ZEO RANGER FOUR: GREEN!"

"ZEO RANGER FIVE: RED!"

"GOLD RANGER POWER!"

Now morphed, the rangers attacked the cogs with more energy and power.

Kim took refuge behind a tree. She knew that despite her being a former ranger, she was in no shape to truly fight the cogs. That decision was taking out of her hands when she was attacked.

"Whoa!" she jumped back just in time to dodge the blow from a cog. Just because she wasn't a ranger anymore didn't mean she forgot how to fight.

Tommy looked over and saw his girlfriend fighting two cogs. Destroying the one he was fighting, he quickly made his way to her. Kicking the cog from behind her, he grabbed her hand and ulled her behind him as he destroyed the other one.

"Thanks Handsome," Kim grinned up at him.

"Ahhhh!"

The shout drew their attention and they looked over and saw Jason on his knees with his hands on his helmet, cradling his head.

"Jason!" Kim gasped as she and Tommy made their way to him. Kim knelt next to Jason, her hand resting on his shoulder. "What's wrong Jase?"

"I...I d-don't know," Jason said between groans. "My head...feels like...something's...something's tearing."

"What's happening going?" Rocky asked as he joined the two.

"We don't know," Kim answered.

"Kim," Tommy looked down at his girlfriend, the leader tone in his voice. "You and Billy take Jason and teleport back to the Command Chamber and let Zordon know what's going on."

"Ok," Kim nodded. "Come on Billy."

Billy knelt next to Jason and wrapped an arm around Jason's shoulder. Kim wrapped her own arm around Jason, tightening it as she pressed the side of her communicator, teleporting the three of them to the Command Chamber.

"Alright," Tommy looked to the rest of his team. "Let's finish these guys off and get to the Command Chamber."

~...~

Kim and Billy landed in the Command Chamber.

"Zordon there's something wrong with Jason," Kim said as she straightened up and looked at her mentor.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi," Alpha sounded out as he moved to the trio.

"Gold ranger," Zordon looked down at the three humans. "What is the matter?"

"I don't know Zordon," Jason groaned out. Suddenly, he pulled away from Billy and clutched his head, his suit started disappearing and reappearing and he started glowing gold.

"What's happening to me?" Jason asked before he let out a scream and then collapsed to the floor unconscious, demorphing as he did so.

"Jason!" Billy and Kim said as one.

"Alpha," Billy turned to look at the robot. "I need you to teleport Jason to the Med Bay."

"Yes Billy," Alpha said as he walked over to the console and pressed a few buttons. "Teleporting now."

Gold light covered Jason as he disappeared.

"Zordon," Kim looked back the tube. "What is going on? What's wrong with Jason?"

"I fear young crane," Zordon started, his voice grave, "Jason's life is in terrible danger."

"What?" Billy and Kim exchanged shocked glances.

"What do you mean in terrible danger?" Kim asked, "it's not like he's dying, is he?"

Zordon remained quiet and looked at the two.

Kim saw the look on his face. "Zordon, is that what it is? Is Jason dying?"

"Yes," Zordon told her.

"Oh my God," Billy breathed out, his eyes wide in shock and horror.

"But...but how?" Kim asked. "How can he be dying? What's he dying from?"

"Jason came to me a short time ago," Zordon began, "he told of pains he started experiencing after using the powers; headache, nausea, nightmares, fatigue. At first, he had thought it was just a common cold, but as things progressively became worse, he came to me and told me the symptoms. I had my suspicions, but I declined from saying anything without further proof. A few days ago, Jason came back and said that he felt even worse after morphing, almost as if the morph itself was draining his powers."

"So what was wrong?" Billy asked.

"He was right," Zordon said, "every time Jason morphed, it was draining his life force. His symptoms—the nausea, headaches, fatigue, nightmares—were a manifestation of it."

"What are you saying?" Kim asked, her heart pounding.

"The Gold Ranger Power, while they accepted Jason as their new leader when King Trey passed them on," Zordon explained, "they have decided to turn on Jason."

"Zordon," Billy started, not wanting to complete the sentence he knew his mentor was saying.

"Yes Billy," Zordon said gravely, "Jason is dying."

"No!" Kim's hands flew to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. "Zordon, there must be something we can do. We can't just let Jason die!"

"The only way to save Jason is to remove the powers from him," Zordon told the two, "and the only way to do that King Trey. He has to reclaim the powers as his own."

"So we'll contact him," Billy said. "We'll get him to come and take the powers back."

"I was already in the process of having Alpha contact Trey when the three of you teleported in," Zordon said, "however, it might take some time for communications to be established. Time I fear we do not have. Jason cannot wait too long, for even as we speak, the powers are draining his life force."

"No," Kim's tears spilled over and she ran from the room and hurried to the med bay.

Billy watched her go with a heavy heart, wanting to go with her, but knowing he had to stay here and help Alpha contact Trey. Squaring his shoulders, Billy turned to the robot.

"Alpha," He started, "show me what you were doing. Maybe there's a way I can help to enhance the signal to make it stronger to reach Trey."

"Right Billy," Alpha said as he walked over to the console. The two had only started working for a few minutes when the others teleported into the Chamber.

"Is Jason ok?" Tanya asked as she powered down, the others following suit.

"No," Billy answered, his voice tight as if to stave off the grief that was filling him. "He's not."

"What's wrong?" Tommy took a step forward and asked. "And where's Kimberly?"

"She's with Jason in the Med Bay," Billy said, and then he paused, sighed and turned to face the others. "Guys...there's something you should know."

"What is it?" Adam asked, wondering what had his friend looking like death had warmed over.

"It's Jason," Billy told them, "it turns out things are more serious than we thought."

"Was he hurt in the battle or something?" Rocky's brows furrowed as he tried to remember if Jason had been severely hurt.

"No," Billy shook his head and then he explained what Zordon had just told him and Kim. When he was done, the others were looking at him in shock and disbelief.

"Zordon," Kat turned to look at their mentor, her blue eyes wide with tears, "are you sure? Jason is dying."

"Yes Katherine," Zordon said, "if we do not get Trey here in time to reclaim the Gold Ranger powers, then Jason's life shall be forfeit."

The friends looked at each in disbelief. For the boys, it was like déjà vu all over again as the last they had gone through something like this was when Kim's power coin had been stolen and she had been taken by Zedd.

"Billy," Tommy spoke up, the leader tone in his voice, "continue trying to establish contact with Trey. Between you and Alpha, I have faith that you guys will succeed, though I don't need to say that time is of the essence."

"Got it," Billy nodded and he and Alpha turned back to the console.

"I'm gonna go check on Kim and Jason," Tommy said and turned to walk out.

"We're coming with you," Tanya said and the five walked out.

~...~

When they entered the Med Bay, it was to see Kim sitting next to Jason's bedside, his hand clutched tightly in hers.

She looked up when the doors opened and they could see the pain in her eyes. Tommy hurried over to his girlfriend's side, carefully lifting her from the chair and sitting down, placing Kim on his lap. He tightened his arms around her as much as he could and placed a kiss on her head.

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

"Not so good," Kim said, "it's hard to see him like this, you know? He's always been the strong one, ever since we were kids."

"I know," Tommy nodded. He couldn't imagine what she was feeling. Jason had been her big brother since they were young; he'd been her rock and her strength when she needed it until he Tommy had come into their lives, and for her to see him like this, it shook Kim to her core.

"He's going to be fine Kim," Rocky said as he pulled up a chair next to Tommy, resting a hand on Kim's knee. "He's a fighter and he knows that you'll kick his ass if he gives up."

Kim gave a teary chuckle. "Yes he does. Did Billy make contact with Trey yet?"

"He's still trying," Kat said, "but don't worry, he'll do it. If anyone can, it's him."

The friends crowded around the bed, showing their support for their fallen friend. They hoped that he could feel them there and gain comfort from their presence. He could.

~...~

What seemed like hours later, the team, who had fallen asleep next to Jason, were jerked awake by the bed shaking and the alarms going off.

"What's happening?" Tanya asked as she watched Jason convulse on the bed. "Oh God...something's wrong."

"Get Billy!" Tommy ordered as he quickly and gently moved Kim from his lap and leaned over to grab his friend to settle him. "Jason! Jason! Hold on bro." he looked back to the doorway. "Where they hell's Billy?"

"Adam went for him," Rocky said as he held Kim tightly. She had moved into his arms when Tommy had let her go and now she had her head buried in his chest; he could feel his shirt becoming wet with her tears and he ran a hand up and down her back, hoping to soothe her.

"Seems I got here just in time," a voice said and they looked up to see Trey, Billy and Adam rushing into the room.

"Help him!" Rocky yelled as he jerked his head to Jason's body.

"Step back," Trey told Tommy as he stepped to the bed.

Tommy did as he was told and retook Kim from Rocky's arms. His arms tightened around her as he watched Trey hold out his hands over Jason's convulsing body.

A gold glow started at Trey's hands; it became brighter and seconds later, another started from Jason. The rangers could see the powers moving up and down their friend's body in waves of colour and hoped that everything would turn out okay.

The waves of power slowly left Jason's body and moved to circle Trey's hands; as they did so, Jason slowly stopped convulsing, the machines started beeping slower until they settled into the normal rhythm. When the power transfer was over, Jason relaxed back into the bed while Trey glowed gold before the colour disappeared.

Finished, Trey stepped back from Jason and turned to the others. "It's done. The powers are now back with me."

"And Jason?" Kim asked, her eyes on her brother's form.

"He's going to be fine," Trey reassured her. "I would like to apologize. Never did I think this would happen when the powers chose him to wield them."

"So," Adam spoke up, "Jason is ok? And he's not a ranger anymore."

"Yes, he's ok," Trey agreed, "and no, I'm sorry to say he's no longer a ranger."

"Considering the alternative," Rocky breathed out, raising a shaky hand to run through his hair, "I'm all for that."

"Same here," Kat agreed as she wiped her eyes.

"He's resting now," Trey continued, "but should awake in a few hours or so." He started out of the room. "I'm going to give my regards to Zordon and then take my leave."

"Thank you," Tommy's voice stopped him just as he reached the door.

Trey turned back. "You're welcome. And I truly am sorry for everything."

The others nodded and he turned and left.

"Jase," Kim whispered as she carefully climbed onto the bed. She cuddled into his side and the others smiled when they saw that even unconscious, Jason's arms moved to wrap around Kim.

~...~

An hour later, Jason groaned to signal his wakening. His eyes opened slowly and he became aware of a pressure on his side. Tilting his head, he smiled when he recognized Kim.

"Welcome back." He looked up and saw the others. It was Billy who spoke.

"What happened?" Jason asked, being careful to keep his voice low as to not wake Kim.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Tanya asked. She was able to finally relax upon seeing Jason awake.

Jason's brows furrowed as he tried to remember. "Fighting the cogs." He looked at the others. "What happened?"

"You almost died bro," Tommy spoke up. "We almost lost you."

Jason looked confused before his expression cleared. "Oh shit."

"Yeah," Rocky said, grinning in relief with a hint of laughter. "That about sums it up."

"How am I—"

"How are you still alive?" Kat cut him off. "Trey." At his look, she explained everything to him. When she was done, he laid his head back on the pillow, tightening his arms slightly around Kim.

"How's she doing?" he asked as he ran a hand up and down her back.

"Scared," Tommy answered, retaking his seat, an arm coming to rest on Kim. He looked over at Jason. "She's going to cry when she wakes up and see you and then, she's gonna give you hell for not saying anything earlier about what was happening."

Jason groaned and let his head fall back.

Kim jerked out her thoughts by a nudge from Tommy.

"You ok?" He asked as he looked down at her.

"Yeah," She smiled up at him. "I'm ok."

"Ok," Tommy smiled before pressing a kiss to her forehead. Minutes later, the bell rang—signalling the end of the day—and the students quickly left the class. After putting their stuff away in their lockers, the friends made their way out of the school. Getting into their vehicles, they headed to Ernie's.

~...~

Settling in at Ernie's, the friends sat at their usual table. They had just started eating when their communicators went off.

"Oh come on!" Rocky groaned, placing his burger back on the tray.

Kim laughed. "Sorry, Rocks, but duty calls...especially for you guys."

"You know," Jason laughed, "as much as I miss not being a ranger, that is definitely one thing I do not miss."

"Shut up," Kat threw a fry at him as she and the others stood up.

"We'll be back," Tanya smiled, "Hopefully without too much damage."

"We'll be here," Kim grinned up at them. "Go on."

"Stay here," Tommy bent down and kissed Kim's cheek. "Please."

"I will," Kim nodded. They had planned to go the park later, but with the battle, he was worried about her getting caught up in it.

"Good," Tommy straightened out. "Let's go guys."

"I'll head to the Command Chamber to help Alpha," Billy said as he stood up as well. "I'll be back guys."

"Later," Jason waved them off and then turned to Kim. "So, sis, what shall we do now?"

"Eat?" Kim laughed and took a bite out of her burger.

"Ok smart ass," Jason laughed and he started to eat as well. The two talked as they ate, both hoping that the battle was going ok and that their friends would escape with no more than their usual wounds. They were so into their conversation, they never saw the person that walked over to them.

"Some things never change." The voice drew their attention and they looked up, shocked at who was standing there.

"Trini?" Kim questioned.

"In the flesh sis," Trini laughed.

With a squeal, Kim launched herself from her seat and into the arms of her childhood friend and big sister. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Trini started as she pulled slightly back from the hug. "My time in Geneva is done, so instead of staying the rest of the year, I decided to come home."

"What about Zack?" Kim asked, "did he come too?"

"No," Trini shook her head, "he decided to finish out the year and his decision may have had something to do with Melanie."

"Who's Melanie?" Kim cocked her head to the side.

"A girl he met at the Peace Conference," Trini answered before she turned to Jason. "Are you gonna sit there and stare at me or am I gonna get a hug?"

Jason laughed and got up. "I was just waiting for Kim to let you go so I could get my turn."

"Sure," Kim scowled playfully at him, "blame it on me."

Raising an eyebrow at his sister, he turned back to Trini. Smiling at the girl, he pulled her into a quick hug and then gave her a kiss. "Welcome home. I missed you."

Trini grinned and kissed him again. "I missed you too and I am so glad to be home."

"Ok," Kim laughed, "enough with the kissy-faces."

"Like you and Tommy don't do the same," Trini raised an eyebrow in Kim's direction.

"Yeah, but we're not talking about me and Tommy," Kim grinned.

"Smartass," Jason tossed at her as he retook his seat, pulling Trini into his lap.

"So where is Flyboy?" Trini asked as she looked around, "And the others?"

"Battle," Kim answered, "they left like almost twenty minutes before you got here."

"That is the one thing I do not miss about being a ranger," Trini said with a laugh.

"I know, right?" Kim agreed and the three launched into a discussion about their ranger past and the things they had gone through. The talk then shifted from the ranger world to their personal lives.

Trini had just finished telling Kim and Jason about the trouble Zack had gotten into with Melanie when she saw the others heading towards them. "Hey guys."

"Trini?" Tommy, Rocky, Adam and Billy stopped in their tracks.

"Yeah," Trini cocked her to the side with a grin.

The four boys looked at each other and then hurried over to the table. Rocky grabbed Trini's hand, pulling from Jason's lap and into a hug, the other three joining in.

"What are you doing here?" Adam asked when they pulled back from each other.

"I'm home for good," Trini answered. "My time at the Peace Conference is and I decided to come home."

"Man, it's good to see you," Tommy grinned.

"Same here," Trini said as she sat back down on Jason's lap.

"Whoa, whoa," Rocky waved his hands. "When did this happen? Since when are you two together?"

Kim laughed while Jason and Trini exchanged looks.

Jason spoke. "We've been together since the end of August, so, about two or three weeks before I came back to be the Gold Ranger."

"And you knew?" Billy turned to Kim.

"Of course I did," Kim rolled her eyes with a giggle. "They both called me the night they got together."

Kim looked over at Kat and Tanya, suddenly realizing the two girls had been quiet. "Boy, are we rude. Tri, this is Tanya Sloan and Katherine Hillard. Tanya took over after 'Sha and Kat took over after me. Girls, this is Trini Kwan, the original yellow."

"Nice to meet you," Tanya's eyes were wide as she shook Trini's hand. Meeting Kimberly had been one thing, but this was something else entirely. She was meeting the original yellow. "Wow...I can't believe I'm meeting you."

"Nice to meet you too," Trini smiled, already liking the dark skin girl. She turned to Kat.

"Nice to finally meet you," Kat said as she held out her hand.

Trini cocked her head to the side and looked Kat over. She had heard all about how the blonde met the others and became the pink ranger. This was the girl that had befriended them on orders from Rita and who had stolen Kim's power coin and had almost cost Kim her life. Kim was her little sister and she was very protective of her, so she held some wariness towards Kat, but she also knew that the blonde had been under a spell and had broken it in time to save Kim's life and for that she would always be grateful.

Kat fidgeted a bit as Trini's dark eyes bored into her. It felt like the Vietnamese girl was searching through her soul and was trying to determine if she was worthy enough.

Next to her, Tanya watched with confused eyes. She turned to look at Adam and the others but saw that they were smiling slightly.

The others watched what was going in amusement. They knew that Trini knew everything that had happened with Kat and Kim and that the dark haired girl was just being protective.

"Same here," Trini said finally as she grabbed Kat's hand. "So, I heard you have something in common with Flyboy over here." She gestured to Tommy.

"Oh, you mean Rita?" Kat laughed, and if it held a hint of relief, she ignored it. "Yeah...I guess so."

"So," Trini said as she leaned back into Jason. "How do you guys actually like doing what you're doing?"

With that, the tensed atmosphere disappeared and the friends relaxed as they caught up with their friend.

~...~

The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Christmas had come and passed and they had rung in the New Year at Ernie's. It was now the middle of March and the beginning of Spring Break. The students would be getting two weeks off from school.

It was Friday and the friends were in their last class for the day.

"Man, I can't wait for Spring Break to start," Rocky grinned, eyes glazing over at what they could do, "being at the beach, hanging out at the park—

"Rocky," Adam laughed, "we do those things every day."

"Yeah, but this time," Rocky told him, "We won't have to worry about having to be in school the next day and having homework to finish."

"He's right," Jason laughed.

"Fine," Adam conceded with a grin and then he pitched his voice lower so that only they could hear him. "Hopefully the Machine Empire will give us a day off."

"Hopefully," Tanya nodded, "but I wouldn't count on it."

"But we can still hope," Kat injected. "I for one will hope."

"Hear, hear," the others echoed, causing Tanya to laugh even as she rolled her eyes.

The bell rang and shouts of joy echoed throughout the classroom as everyone got up and headed to the door.

"Straight to Ernie's?" Trini asked as she walked over to her locker, making sure there wasn't anything she really needed in there.

"Yep," Kim answered, "figured we could spend some time there and then head to the mall. There's a sale going on and I want see what they have."

"In other words," Tommy grinned, "she wants to buy out the stores."

The others laughed and Kim smacked Tommy's arm. "I don't. Ok, I'll buy a few things, but that's it."

"Uh huh," Billy smiled, "a few things can and will easily become a multitude of bags."

"I have no problem with that," Kat grinned.

"Neither do I," Trini and Tanya said, causing the boys to groan.

"This is going to be a wonderful Spring Break," Kim declared as she looped her arm through Trini's.

"I agree," Trini smiled and the two girls headed to the exit, their friends following them.

~...~

Three days later, Kim and Trini were proven wrong. As was the norm, everyone was at Ernie's; Tommy was doing katas, Trini and Billy were talking science, Rocky and Adam were at the weights while Kat and Tanya were out shopping. The only two missing were Kim and Jason.

Tommy finished up his Katas and joined Trini and Billy. He had just sat down when Kat and Tanya walked in.

"Hey guys," Kat smiled as she and Tanya joined them.

"How was shopping?" Trini asked as she looked at the two.

"When it's for you, fun," Tanya said, "when it's for your mom and it's an errand shopping, not so much."

Trini laughed, "I hear you. I hated doing those...still do actually."

"Where're Kim and Jason?" Kat asked when she realized the two weren't there.

"Scuba diving," Tommy answered. "Jason had promised Kim a long time ago he'd take her someday and Kim collected on it today."

"Ahh, so it's brother/sister bonding moment," Tanya grinned, knowing how close the two were.

"Yep," Trini, Billy and Tommy answered as one prompting the two girls to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Rocky asked as he and Adam joined them.

"Nothing really," Kat answered, "so, any idea when they'll be back?"

"They said they'll be maybe an hour or two," Billy shook his head, "so we told them we'd wait here for them."

"No problem with that," Tanya groaned, "I just want to relax and remove the stress from shopping for Kat's mom."

"Hey!" Kat smacked her friend's shoulder.

"Oh please," Tanya rolled her eyes, "like you don't feel the same."

Kat opened her mouth and then closed it with a sigh. "Eh, you're right."

"Thought so," Tanya grinned. "Right now, all I want to do is relax." No sooner had the words left her mouth did their communicators go off.

"Tanya!" Adam, Rocky and Kat groaned.

"You jinxed us," Tommy shook his head with a grin.

"Shut up," Tanya snapped, though her voice lacked any heat.

"I'll stay here and wait for Kim and Jason," Trini said, "you guys go ahead."

"Alright," Tommy nodded and got up from his set, gesturing for the others to follow.

After finding a secluded spot, the rangers teleported to the Command Chamber. When they got there, they got a huge surprise.

~...~

Trini looked at her watch for what seemed the millionth time. Kim and Jason were supposed to be back from scuba diving over an hour ago, but she had yet to see either one and she was getting worried.

"They're fine," Trini mumbled to herself. "They probably lost track of time or something."

But even still, she still couldn't shake the bad feeling she was getting. After sitting for another ten minutes, she decided to go to the Command Chamber. When she got there, she saw Billy and Alpha at the consoles.

"Hey Billy," Trini greeted, "where are the others?"

"They went on a quest," Billy told her, "there's a new villain heading our way and the ZEO powers aren't enough to stop her, so the rangers went to gain a new set of powers called the TURBO powers."

He turned around and stopped when he saw that it was only her. "Where are Kim and Jason?"

"I don't know," Trini said as she started to wring her hands together. "They were supposed to be back over an hour ago, but I haven't seen or heard from them."

"That's not like them," Billy frowned, "maybe they lost track of time."

"I thought that too," Trini sighed, "but I can't shake this bad feeling I have. Something's wrong Billy."

He opened his mouth to answer, but was stopped by the others teleporting into the room.

"What's wrong with Kim?" Tommy asked before anyone could say anything.

Billy and Trini exchanged looks.

"Why do you think something's wrong with Kim?" Trini asked instead of answering.

"During the whole quest," Tommy explained, "I could feel that something was off and that it had to with Kimberly. So tell me, is she ok?"

"We uh, we don't know," Billy answered.

"Kim and Jason were supposed to be back from scuba diving an hour ago," Trini said, "but they haven't come back and I haven't heard from them either."

"Are you sure?" Tanya asked, but she knew that they wouldn't be this worried if they weren't.

"Yeah," Billy nodded.

"Did you try to get a lock on their communicators?" Tommy asked, "because you know Kim still wears her."

"You guys came just as Trini told me," Billy answered, "so I haven't done that yet; I'll do it now."

Everyone gathered around the blond, watching him work at the console, all the while hoping he would get a response. The minutes passed and the tension built as Billy failed to get a response or a lock on Kim or Jason's communicator.

"I don't know what it is," Billy admitted with a frustrated sigh, "but I can't get a lock on Kim or Jason's communicator. I can't find them."

"What?" the others echoed.

"Where ever they are," Billy turned to his friends, "it's blocking their signal."

"So what do we do?" Adam asked. He glanced at his leader and saw the way Tommy's eyes had darkened and the menacing aura pouring off of him and he shivered a little as he remembered the last time he had seen Tommy looking like that.

"How do we find them?" Rocky asked, worry for his friends in his voice.

Billy's brows furrowed a bit as he thought on what else he could do. "I—

The alarm going off cut off what he was about to say.

"What is it?" Trini asked.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi," Alpha cried as he pushed some buttons on the console. "Zordon, it's a message from Lerigot."

"Who's Lerigot?" Kat asked.

"He's my friend," Alpha answered, "and he's in trouble."

"Where is he?" Tanya asked.

"His coordinates place him in the middle of a jungle," Alpha told them.

"Two of you will go and search for Lerigot," Zordon said, "the rest will wait. Tommy, I would like you to be one of the two."

Tommy glared up at his mentor. He didn't want to go on the rescue mission because he knew that he would be too worried about Kim to fully concentrate on what he should be doing.

"I know that you are concerned about young Kimberly and Jason," Zordon said, "as I am and we all are, however, I would feel greatly appreciated if you as the leader were one of the two that went on the rescue mission for Lerigot."

Tommy stared at his mentor, his expression still dark. The others looked between the two, wondering what was going to happen next. They needn't have worried as Tommy nodded in compliance.

"I'll go," Tommy said slowly, trying to push his rage back down.

"I'll go with you," Kat spoke up. She was very worried about Kim and Jason and she needed something to do otherwise she would go out of mind trying to figure out what happened to them. She had and Kimberly had gotten close after learning of Kim's kidnapping in Florida; the two had spent a lot of time on the phone talking and getting to know each other better. When Kim had returned from Florida, they had only gotten closer.

"Ok," Tommy looked at her briefly before looking back at Zordon. "When do we leave?"

"It would be wise to leave now," Zordon told him, "Alpha will send the closest coordinates of Lerigot's position to your vehicles."

"Alright," Tommy nodded before looking over at Billy. "Find her…please."

"I will Tommy," Billy said.

"Let's go Kat," Tommy told the blonde and the two left the room and headed to the Zord bay.

"Come on Billy," Trini walked over to the console, "I'll help you with the search. Between the three of us, we should be able to at least get a trace or a lock onto where Kim and Jason were last."

Adam, Rocky and Tanya, not having anything to do, moved to sit on the floor, their backs against the wall.

"What do you think happened to them?" Tanya whispered, not wanting to distract the two techs from working.

"A part of me wants to believe that they are fine and their communicators were damaged or something which is why their signal is blocked from transmitting," Adam answered.

"But?" Tanya probed, hearing the slight hesitation in his voice.

"The bigger part of me already knows what happened to them," Adam continued, "and I'm hoping I'm wrong."

"What do you know, or think you know?" Tanya asked.

"That they were kidnapped," this time Rocky answered. "And I think so too."

"Oh my God," Tanya's eyes widened in shock, "I didn't even think about that."

"It's the only explanation as to why neither Billy nor Alpha can lock on to their communicators," Rocky continued.

"Who do you think has them?" Tanya's mind was going a mile a minute as she tried to think on that question.

"We do have our pick of enemies," Adam pointed out, "including this new one."

Both Rocky and Tanya's eyes widened in horror.

"Please let them be ok," Tanya whispered as she leaned against Adam.

~…~

"Kim?" Jason whispered softly, not wanting to alert their kidnappers that they were awake.

"Yeah Jase?" Kim groaned as she moved, trying to follow her big brother's voice.

"Are you ok?" Jason asked after hearing the groan.

"I'm fine," Kim said as she braced a hand against the wall and carefully walked to Jason. "My body's a little sore, but other than that, I'm fine. You?"

"I'm ok too," Jason replied, the relief obvious in his voice. He felt Kim's hand touch his arm a few minutes later and his body relaxed slightly. "I've got you."

"Jase," Kim wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest. "I'm scared because I don't know who has us or what they want."

"I know sis," Jason murmured, "me too. But don't worry, ok? I'm gonna get us out of this. I'm not sure how yet, but I will."

"I know," Kim let out a shaky sigh. "I'm not worried about us," she chuckled, "well, of course I am, but I'm more worried about the others, especially Tommy." She paused, "Jase, you and I know both know what Tommy's like when I'm in danger."

"I know and I hope to God he doesn't lose it," Jason said, remembering how Tommy got whenever Kim was hurt and what the others had told him about what had happened in Florida.

"So do I," Kim sighed. Nothing was said between the two after that.

~…~

Almost an hour after they had left, Tommy and Kat teleported back into the Chamber and they had an injured Lerigot with them. With the help of Rocky and Adam, they managed to get Lerigot onto one of the beds.

"What happened out there?" Trini asked, as she took in the soaked appearance of both rangers.

While Tommy got out of his wet clothes, Kat told them about their trip; she told them about how she fell off a cliff, how Tommy saved her from being bitten by a snake, how they found Lerigot and how the little creature healed her leg. When she was done, she asked the question that had plagued her and Tommy's mind.

"Any word on Kim and Jason?"

The computer started beeping before anyone could answer.

"Zordon," Alpha said, "it's an incoming message."

"Bring it up on the screen Alpha," Trini said as she and the others turned to it.

"Zordon and Power Rangers," a woman appeared, and they immediately realized that she was Divatox, the villain that Zordon had told them about. "You have in your possession something that belongs to me."

"What is that exactly?" Zordon asked.

"You know exactly what I mean you old fool," Divatox sneered, "the furry little creature that you have, he is mine and I want him."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Zordon said.

"I knew you'd say that," Divatox grinned, "so I brought an incentive." She gestured off screen to someone. "Release him, or his wife and child will be killed." The rangers and Alpha gasped when they saw the female version of Lerigot with a baby. "What's it gonna be Zordon?"

"You would harm a mother and child?" Zordon asked.

"The woman and baby won't be harmed if you return him," Divatox grinned, "and to make sure you comply, I have something else in my possession." The screen went blank for a few seconds before it came back on. "I also have what you call humans trapped on my ship."

The rangers saw that it was two humans, but their backs were to the screen, when they turned around, the rangers gasped.

"Oh no," Kat looked over at her friend. "Tommy, look."

Tommy, who had bent down to remove his shoes, looked up at Kat's words and what he saw made him freeze in shock; it was Kim and Jason.

"K-Kimberly," Tommy couldn't believe his eyes, "And Jason."

"So you know them," Divatox smiled when she saw the reactions, "good. Return Lerigot or not only will his family die, but so will the two humans." With that, the screen went blank.

The others exchanged looks, horror in their glances at the thought of their two friends and Lerigot's family being held captive. They felt a dark aura and looked over at Tommy, even more horrified when they saw he was starting to glow green. The last time they had seen Tommy like that was when he had been kidnapped by the Machine Empire.

Tommy was frozen in disbelief. The thought of Kim being in trouble had fear rushing through his body. He had known all along that something was wrong; he had felt it, but he had never thought it was something like this. Images of Kim being kidnapped by Danny and then Alex and then being hurt by the Prince Gasket and his General flashed through his mind and he could feel the fear take a back seat as the anger took over.

'Why us? Why her?' He thought furiously. 'Why is it always her that gets kidnapped? That gets hurt? I'm sick and tired of these villains attacking my girlfriend!' his eyes flashed green. 'They'll pay for this!'

"Tommy," Trini said softly as she walked over to stand in front of her friend. She saw his eyes flash green and had to fight the urge to move away. She was feeling angry and scared over Jason being kidnapped, but she knew that what she was feeling was nothing compared to what Tommy was going through. It seemed like ever since he and Kim became a couple, they were targeted by the villains than everyone else.

'It's cause they're the strongest out of all of us,' Trini thought, 'the heart and the strength of the ranger team; together the two of them are very powerful and that's why every villain focused more on them.'

Shaking her head to get rid of her thoughts, Trini focused back on her friend. "Tommy?" when he locked eyes with her, she continued, "I'm not going to ask how you're feeling, because I know, but you need to not lose control. As much as he wants to get out, you can't let him. Kim needs you." She had heard all about him being turned evil by the Machine Empire which had caused his alter ego, Dragon, to emerge. Only Kim was recognizable as friendly to him and she knew that with Kim not there, they wouldn't be able to handle Dragon. He would destroy them.

"She's right bro," Rocky said, "you can't let Dragon come out."

Tommy heard their words and nodded to himself. The rage threatened to take over, but he pushed it down. "I'm good."

"Good," Adam nodded, the expression on his grim. "So what do we do now?"

"No, Lerigot, don't!" Alpha cried out and they turned towards him. They saw that Lerigot was glowing slightly and could hear him chanting in a strange language.

"What is he doing?" Tanya asked after she and the others had rushed over to the bed that held the creature.

"He's preparing to give himself up," Alpha said.

"What?" the rangers, except Tommy, were shocked.

"He can't do that!" Kat cried out.

"Let him," Tommy said and they turned to him in disbelief.

"Tommy," Tanya started, "how can you say that?"

Tommy ignored her and walked over to Lerigot's side. He looked the creature in its eyes and saw the fear inside, fear not for himself, but for his family. Leaning down, Tommy whispered. "I get what you're doing, because I'd do the same for Kimberly. Do what you have to do to save your family and I'll help."

Lerigot looked up at Tommy, smiled and raised his arm to touch Tommy's chest, over his heart.

"Mate," Lerigot cooed, his voice sounding melodious.

"Yes," Tommy nodded. He straightened up and turned to Alpha. "Alpha, lock on to the coordinates of Divatox ship, see if you can figure out where she's going." He turned to the rangers. "Prep the TURBO vehicles for travel. Lerigot is going to give himself up to Divatox."

"If he does this, he will die," Tanya said.

"And if he doesn't," Tommy countered, "his family, as well as Kimberly and Jason, will die. He has no choice." He glanced at Lerigot, glanced back at the blank screen and then back at his teammates and friends. "We have to let him give himself up. This is the only chance we'll get to finding our friends and saving his family."

"He's right," Trini nodded, "I don't like the idea of giving up Lerigot for this Divatox to use in any way and for God knows what, but to save Kim and Jason and Lerigot's family, you have to."

"They're right, you know?" Rocky spoke up. "You guys may disagree, but this is the only choice we have, and we're standing here wasting time. Kim and Jason and Lerigot's family need us."

Tanya and Kat exchanged looks before they sighed. "Alright, let's do this."

Zordon looked down at his rangers with pride. He knew that they were torn as their duty was to protect the innocent, but this was the right thing for them to do. And the one thing he had always taught his rangers was that sometimes, the right thing to do, may not always be the easiest.

The rangers quickly got everything together and soon enough, they were ready to leave.

"Be careful guys," Trini said as she stood in the Zord bay watching them. They had managed to reconfigure the old ZEO zords into a ship, one large enough to store the TURBO zords.

"We will," Adam nodded.

Tommy said nothing; his entire body was tense and his eyes held pure determination. The woman he loved was in danger and he would do everything in his power to save her. Nothing would stop him.

"Let's go," Tommy ordered and he boarded the ship, Rocky helping him with Lerigot. The other rangers followed suit.

"See you when you get back," Billy said and waved when the doors closed and seconds later, the ship disappeared.

"I hope everything works out," Trini whispered.

"It will Tri," Billy said as he wrapped an arm around his childhood friend's shoulders. "They'll save Lerigot's family and Kimberly and Jason. "Have faith."

"I do," Trini smiled. "Now come on, let's go back to the computers to keep an eye on them."

"Sounds good," Billy smiled and the two turned and left the Zord bay.

~…~

Watching Divatox's henchmen throw the two bodies into the water had been hard for Tommy. His mind had screamed out in pain, but it was the knowledge in his heart that stopped him from leaping over the side to check and double check; it wasn't Kim.

Kat and Tanya had been confused as to why he didn't want to check just to make sure, but he hadn't cared. He knew that it was just a way to try and distract them. He had simply told them that he hadn't felt the pain of losing Kim. Even though they knew of how close he and Kim were and how much they meant to each other, they still didn't understand the connection the two of them had. Rocky and Adam did; they weren't there when he and Kim had started, but they had got there to still see and understand and accept that they were connected in ways other people weren't and if when he said he hadn't felt the loss of Kim, they accept it.

Now, they were finally on the island. They had figured out that Divatox had been heading to an island called Murianthesis, which was the prison for a being known as Maligore and that the reason Divatox needed Lerigot was because it needed a source of pure good energy to free the man. Meaning, she planned on sacrificing Lerigot to release the monster.

Standing on a cliff, the rangers and Lerigot looked down to see Divatox and she wasn't alone; her henchmen were with her and some of them were carrying a cage with two familiar looking creatures, others were walking with weapons while the rest held a chain that had two human captives.

"Kimberly," Tommy whispered as he looked down at his love.

"And Jason," Rocky added on. "They're ok, and so is Lerigot's family."

"The question is," Adam asked, "how do we get to them?"

"I don't know," Tanya sighed, frustration evident in her tone, "but we—hey guys, where did Lerigot go?"

They jumped around, eyes widening when they noticed the alien being wasn't with them.

"He's gone!" Kat exclaimed, her worry filled blue eyes on her friends, "but, where did he go?"

"His family," Tommy answered after a few minutes. "He's doing what he has to do…and so should we." He looked back towards Divatox and the group. "We can't attack now, Lerigot's family, Kimberly and Jason could get hurt. It looks like they're headed to the volcano. Let's get back in our zords and drive there. We'll cover more ground that way."

"Got it," The others nodded in agreement and after throwing one last look down the cliff, they headed back to the zords and took off for the volcano. A short time later, they stopped.

Getting out of their vehicles, they realized they were just a short distance from the mountain.

"Alright," Tommy said, "I don't think the cars can go any further, so we'll foot it from here. We'll morph; it'll be quicker getting there and we should be prepared."

"Sounds good," Rocky said. He could feel determination flow through his veins. His little sister and friend were in trouble and he was ready to do anything to get them back.

"Ready?" Tommy asked as he fell into a stance.

"Ready!" echoed back to him.

"SHIFT INTO TURBO!" all five cried out. Within minutes, they were each adorned in their ranger suit.

"Let's go guys," Tommy commanded and they took off running. They were a blur of colours as they sped through the jungle. Minutes later, they stopped.

"Do you guys hear that?" Kat asked as she cocked her head to the side. "It sounds like chanting."

"I hear it too," Tanya said, "where do you think it's coming from?"

"Inside," Rocky gestured to the mountain wall just a few feet from them.

"Alright guys," Tommy ordered, "see if you can find an opening, and be careful."

"Right!" the rangers carefully made their way over to the wall, feeling alongside of it for any openings.

"I found one!" Adam shouted twenty minutes later.

"Good work Adam," Tommy said as he and the others hurried over to the green ranger. He looked over the opening. "It's a single file, so stay close." With that, he headed inside, the others following behind him.

As they walked, they could hear the chanting grow louder and pretty soon they came to an opening. When they looked out, they were shocked. They saw Lerigot on the ground leaning against the cage that held his wife and daughter, Divatox standing close by with some of her henchmen around her and others walking around. They saw two of then henchmen standing at a winch and their eyes followed the rope and horror filled them when they saw Kim and Jason at the end, tied together and hanging over the lava pit.

"Kimberly," Tommy whispered, his heart pounding like a drum. He watched as her head snapped up, turned directly to where they were and her gaze locked with his.

~…~

Kim held back the whimpers of fear as she and Jason hung over the lava pit. When they had left to scuba dive earlier that day, she didn't think she end up kidnapped and about to be fried. She had thought that her days of being kidnapped were over, but apparently, she was wrong.

"You ok sis?" Jason whispered to her.

"Other than the whole hanging over boiling lava," Kim replied, "I'm fine. What about you?"

"Same," Jason chuckled softly. "You'd think with us not being rangers anymore, we'd avoid all of this."

"I just thought the same thing," Kim said before she sighed. "Sorry I messed up the escape plan." When they were on the ship, trapped in the bowel, Jason had managed to open up one of the canon holes for her to escape through. She had made it to the beach where she had collapsed from exhaustion. She had been relieved and overjoyed to escaping, and worried about Jason, but her relief had turned to disbelief and horror when she had been kidnapped again.

"It's ok," Jason murmured, his big brother instinct kicking to comfort his sister. "It was a good plan, we just didn't expect the villagers to help."

"True," Kim sighed. She wondered how Tommy was doing; she knew by now the rangers knew what had happened to them—Divatox had gloated to them how she had told Zordon she had captured two humans—and that by the presence of the Lerigot creature, they were on the island. She just hoped that they would get there soon…before she and Jason became ashes.

Suddenly, she felt Tommy's presence and she heard her name. Looking up, she saw him and the rangers standing just out of sight of Divatox.

"Tommy," she whispered, joy filling her at the sight. She knew he would find her.

"What'd you say?" Jason asked when he heard the whisper.

She opened her mouth to tell him, but one of Divatox's men beat her to it.

"Mistress, look! Intruders."

Divatox whirled around and glared when she saw who the intruders were. "Power Rangers? Who invited you?"

Feeling rejuvenated, Kim perked up and smirked. "I did! Rangers meet Divatox, Divatox, meet your worst nightmare!"

"Kim!" Jason groaned at her words.

"Piranhatrons, attack!" Divatox yelled out. She couldn't believe they were there.

~…~

"Hanging over a pit and she has time for jokes," Rocky shook his head with a grin.

"You guys fight them off," Tommy said, "I'll go help Kim and Jason."

"Got it!" the four said and quickly got into fighting mode.

Tommy fought the Piranhatrons in his way as he headed over to where his friends were. He was determined to get to them and save them.

Divatox, seeing that, sneered. "I don't think so." She turned to the two Piranhatrons at the winch. "Lower them down!"

"NO!" Tommy shouted.

Jason and Kim started moving, hoping to loosen the rope a little, but to no avail.

"Guys, help!" Kim called out.

The rangers tried hard to reach to their friends. Rocky had gotten to the winch, and had fought the guards, but when he was reversing the direction of the rope, he was attacked from behind, the blow sending him through the air to land a few feet away.

"Hold on guys!" Kat shouted as she and Tanya tried to make it to them, but found their paths block by more of the robots. Looking around, the two girls saw that their teammates were in the same position as they.

As such, they could only watch in horror as their friends disappeared from view and were lowered into the boiling lava below.

"NO!" rang out from of all of them, the one from Tommy being the loudest.

Divatox chuckled, "as we speak, the flames of Maligore are turning them into his children of evil."

A small explosion rocked the ground and flames shot up into the air. When the smoke cleared away, Kim and Jason were standing on the edge of the pit with their backs towards the room.

"Guys!" the rangers shouted in relief and hurried towards them. They stopped when the two turned around and they saw their eyes were glowing red.

"Well, well, well," Kim spoke and her voice was so dark and evil, everyone shivered from the sound, "If it isn't the pesky power rangers."

"Oh no," Tanya whispered as she took in the state of her two friends.

Kim brought her shackled her hands up and pulled, breaking the bonds, before executing a flip off the edge to land in front of the rangers. "Did ya miss me?"

Jason did the same as Kim, coming to land next to her. "Let's play sis."

The two exchanged dark looks and then, they attacked.

The rangers immediately went on the defensive as they fought not only the robots, but their friends as well.

Kim and Jason separated, and the brunette found herself standing a few feet from Kat.

"Hello Kitty-Kat," Kim smirked as she grabbed the blonde's arm and threw her back against the wall. "I want to have some fun with you."

Kat groaned as she staggered to her knees. She winced when she heard Kim's words. She had already faced an evil Tommy and she knew that facing an evil Kim would be just as bad, and if she was truthful, she wasn't looking forward to it at all.

"Kimberly please," Kat pleaded, hoping that her friend would hear her underneath the spell. "Fight this. We're your friends."

Kim cocked her head to the side. "Friends?" she frowned and her brown eyes flashed a deep, dark red. "What makes you think I'd be friends with someone like you? Someone who almost killed me?"

Kat flinched from the words as they struck a chord in her heart. She had always held the thought deep in the back of her mind that Kimberly hadn't really forgiven her for what she had done when she was under Rita's control, but the brunette had assured her she had forgiven her for what had happened and that she didn't hold any blame towards her. It seems it was a lie.

"What's the matter Katherine?" Kim smirked, "don't like hearing the truth?"

"This isn't you Kim," Kat said, ignoring the words. She knew what being evil was like and she knew that Kim was just lashing out.

"The name's Firebird," Kim spat at the blonde as she grabbed her hand and pulled her off the ground. "You'd do best to remember that." Making a fist, she punched Kat in her stomach and when the blonde doubled over, she brought her knee up.

Tommy, seeing what was happening, kicked the robot away and hurried over to the two girls, grabbed Kim's arm and spun her around.

"Kimberly!" Tommy said, "It's me."

Kim cocked her head to the side as she looked at the ranger in front of her. Something about him was pulling at her deep inside. She could feel the evil inside her demanding she destroy him, but she couldn't.

Hoping to get through to her, Tommy powered down. "Look at me Kim…it's me, Tommy." His heart ached at what his girlfriend was going through. He knew what it was like being under the pull of evil and it was the one thing he never wanted her to experience.

Kim's red eyes locked on to Tommy's chocolate brown ones and she could feel a power surge through her. She read the pain and love in his eyes and felt the same answering deep inside. A part of her didn't recognize him, but she could feel a bond to the guy standing in front of her. His eyes pleaded with her to remember and she took a slight step back when she felt a response inside. The evil that held her screeched in anger as another power awakened inside her and the power struggle began; she started glowing, shifting colours between pink and red.

When he saw the colours appear around Kim and started changing, Tommy could've jumped for joy, but he didn't. He knew that Kim was fighting to regain control, but he knew it would be a hard battle, and he was determined to help her. Closing his eyes, he focused on her and how they felt about each other, their bond. As he focused, he felt it, a power he hadn't felt in so long, one that he thought was gone.

He could see himself standing on a plateau, similar to the one on Phaedos, he heard a screech and he looked up to see his falcon flying towards him at full speed. Joy flowed through him at the sight. The falcon slowed its speed until it was hovering in front of him.

"I need your help to save Kimberly," he said.

The falcon let out a screech at its mate in trouble. "And you shall receive it."

Tommy opened his eyes, not aware they were glowing white. He ignored everyone as he focused on Kim. He saw that she was now glowing red and when she opened her eyes, they were still red.

"You will not save her," Kim spoke, but her voice was demonic, letting him know it wasn't her, but Maligore speaking through her. "She is mine!"

"No she isn't," Tommy shook his head, "she doesn't belong to you, she doesn't belong to anyone, but she belongs with me. And I will save her. I never failed in doing that and I don't plan on starting now."

Neither one were aware that everyone had stopped what they were doing and were staring at them in shock. Kim attacked Tommy, forcing him backwards. She ducked a blow from him and threw a punch at his stomach sending him to the ground a few feet away.

"Fool," Kim laughed, "You think you can take me on? I have been around for centuries, before your ancestors even came to this place."

"That may true," Tommy said as he rolled to his feet, "but it doesn't mean I won't try. I love her and I am not letting you have her. So let her go."

"You want her so bad?" Kim taunted, "then come and take her back. I can feel it, you know? How much she loves; are you really ready to fight her? The one that loves you so much?"

"There's more than one path to a destination," Tommy said before he grinned and stretched out his hand, palm facing Kim. "NINJETTI WHITE FALCON POWER!" a white ball of energy formed from the centre of his palm, growing bigger by the second. When it was as big as a softball, Tommy looked into Kim's eyes.

"I know you're fighting Beautiful," he said softly. "Keep fighting, don't let him win. Call her, she will help."

"There is no one to help!" Kim laughed. "I have already won."

"No," Tommy shook his head, "you haven't. And there is someone." He focused on Kim and bond, stay strong Beautiful. Without warning, he threw the ball of fire at Kim and just before it hit her, he shouted. "Now Kim!"

A pink glow surrounded Kim the same time the white ball hit her. The three colours swirled around Kim, blocking everyone's view of her.

As Tommy looked on, he could only hope that it was enough to help Kim. A hand grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"What did you do to my sister?" Jason growled as he threw Tommy back against the wall.

"Jason," Tommy groaned as he quickly moved to his feet. It was clear the former red and gold ranger was still under Maligore's hold.

"I will destroy you!" Jason snarled out as he went after Tommy.

"SHIFT INTO TURBO!" Tommy yelled. He was in his ranger suit just in time to block Jason's attack. Their fight brought everyone out of their stupor and the fighting continued.

Tommy and Jason fought, not even realizing how close they were to the edge of the lava pit. Tommy's gaze caught Kim and he saw that she was still glowing, but this time, the white and pink were overpowering the red.

That slight distraction cost him and Jason landed a blow which had him falling against the edge. Before he could move, he was being strangled by Jason as his head hung over the edge.

"Jason," Tommy groaned, trying to break through to his friend, "snap out of it bro."

Jason said nothing; he only growled and tightened his hands.

Tommy could feel the heat from the lava burn through his suit and knew that if something didn't change, both he and Jason would fall over. Just then, an explosion shook the place and he found himself on the ground, with Jason hanging over the edge. He quickly turned around and grabbed on to his friend.

"I got you," Tommy grunted as he tried to pull Jason up. It was a little hard to do as the guy kept resisting.

"Let me go," Jason growled. He knew his sister was gone as he couldn't feel her anymore. He was supposed to protect her, she was his twin, and he had failed. As far as he was concerned, he had nothing else to live for.

"No," Tommy kept trying to pull him back over.

"Tommy!" Kim shouted as she fell next to him.

~…~

Kim felt the three powers fighting inside her. She had done what Tommy had said and had called on her crane powers. She hadn't been sure she could do it, but she trusted Tommy and she had felt when he had reconnected with Brennan. She could feel Maligore trying to influence her into giving up.

"No!" she said forcefully. "I won't…I refuse to."

She fought him, but it seemed too much. She heard Brennan and looked up and saw and she focused on her bond with Tommy and how much she loved him. She saw Brennan and Shalimar combine and the two sent a burst of power at the dark red Firebird. The bird screeched in anger and disappeared.

Kim's eyes shot open as Maligore's power exploded from her body. Breathing deeply, she felt Brennan leave her and Shalimar resettle inside. Turning around, she saw the rangers fighting and her eyes caught Tommy and Jason.

"No," Kim whispered as she hurried over to them. "Tommy!" she shouted as she fell next to him.

"Kimberly?" Tommy looked over at her, shock and joy warring inside him.

"I'm with you," Kim said as she reached down to grab onto Jason. Between the two of them, they managed to pull Jason up and over and three rolled away from the edge.

"You ok?" Tommy asked as he grabbed Kim's hand, his helmet turned in her direction.

"Been better," Kim smiled briefly. "I'm ok Tiger. Come on, we have a job to finish."

Tommy nodded and the two got to their feet. They immediately joined up with the other rangers and helped them fight off the Piranhatrons.

Kim got separated from the others and found herself surrounded by three of the robots. She fought one of them off and turned to fight the other. She kicked it away from her and turned just in time to see Jason take out the last one.

"Need help Ptera?" Jason teased.

"Rex?" Kim cocked her head to the side, a grin starting to build.

"Who else would it be?" Jason chuckled as he moved to stand next to her.

"Shut up," Kim smacked his chest. "Let's go help the others."

"Right behind you," Jason said and the two joined their friends.

They all fought, destroying most of the Piranhatrons, and then Maligore managed to break free, so the rangers called upon their zords to form the TURBO Megazord and destroyed him once and for all. When they were done, they returned to the Command Chamber.

"Kimberly!" Trini yelled when she saw her childhood friend. She ran over to her and pulled the shorter girl into a tight hug. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," Kim whispered as she returned the hug. Trini's hugs always made her feel better.

"Why is it always you sweetie?" Trini asked as she pulled back from the hug.

"I don't know," Kim grinned, "I mean, it's not like I wake up and think, 'Oh, I think I'll get kidnapped today'. Bad guys just love coming after me, I guess."

"That's because it's you," Jason teased. He grunted when Trini flew into him, her arms wrapping around his neck. "Well hello there."

"Thank God you guys are ok," Trini said and she kissed Jason for a few seconds before hugging him again.

"Of course they are," Rocky smiled, "minus the whole being dropped into a pit of lava and then turning evil thing, they were great."

"I saw that," Trini grimaced. "It looked bad."

"It was," Tanya nodded.

"Zordon," Tommy looked up at his mentor, "Maligore's destroyed, but I think Divatox will still be a problem."

"I agree Tommy," Zordon said. "However, with the destruction of Maligore, you have at least stopped her main plan from coming to past. Well done rangers."

"Thank you Zordon," Adam said, grinning at the others.

"What now?" Billy asked.

"I could go for a smoothie," Kim spoke up, drawing chuckles from the others.

"To Ernie's it is," Tommy laughed.

~…~

Two days later, the rangers were back at the Command Chamber. They were outside, just a few feet from the entrance, where they had a couple of blankets laid out on the ground, with about four baskets and two coolers.

Kat was sitting by herself and was startled out of her thoughts when a shadow fell next to her. She looked up and saw Kim.

"Hey," Kim said as she sat down. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Kat smiled, "just thinking."

"What about?" Kim asked. "Does it have anything to do what happened when I was evil? Like say, what I told you?"

Kat looked away. "Maybe."

"Katherine," Kim used her full name, knowing the blonde would know she was serious and she wanted her to look at her. "What he said, it wasn't true."

"Yes it was," Kat shook her head, "I almost killed you and you were right not to forgive me."

"Kat," Kim reached out and took her hands. "I forgave you a long time ago; the moment I chose you to replace me I forgave you. If I hadn't, I never would've entrusted my coin and my friends in your care. Those words, they weren't me saying them; it was Maligore and he was just trying to hurt you." Kim looked at the blonde. "I already forgave you Kat, but when are you going to forgive yourself?"

"I thought I had," Kat whispered as she looked down at their joined hands. "Thank you Kimberly. We never really talked about what had happened and I'm glad we did now."

"You're welcome," Kim smiled. "Now, let's go join the others."

"Good idea," Kat said. The two girls shared a laugh and got up from the rock. They started walking over, but Kim stopped.

"Go ahead," She waved Kat on. When the blonde walked away, she turned around and smiled.

"That was good what you told her," Tommy said as he walked up next to her.

"It was the truth," Kim grinned as she stepped into his embrace. "I love you, you know that?"

"I do," Tommy nodded and pulled her back to kiss her. "And I love you too."

The two started walking over to where their friends were.

"You know," Kim said, "I think Florida is bad for me."

"How do you figure?" Tommy asked as they neared their friends.

"Well," Kim explained, "that's where Gunter Schmidt came from and had his gym, and because of him, I went through the most horrible experiences in my life one after the other."

"All the crap with Zedd," Tommy mused, "because Schmidt was here, Zedd decided to use it to tear us apart."

"And then all the drama with Danny," Kim said.

"What's that about Danny?" Trini asked; she had heard all about Kim getting kidnapped by a fellow gymnast from Jason who had been told what happened by Rocky and Adam.

"We're just talking about the horrible experiences Kim went through," Tommy said.

"And we realized that Florida was the main reason," Kim said, "so it's bad for me. I mean, Schmidt came from Florida, which started all the crap with Zedd and then, when I got to Florida all the crap with Danny." She sighed, "But, some of that is my fault."

"Kimberly!" immediately the others started protesting.

"No," Kim shook her head, "if I hadn't let Danny get to me, if I hadn't let him fill my mind with all of his crap, I never would've written that letter."

"Wait, what?" Rocky held up a hand. "That doesn't make any sense."

"What is it?" Tanya asked, her tone coloured with curiosity.

"What Kim just said, about Danny being the reason she wrote the letter," Rocky explained, even as his gaze shifted to their leader. "Remember when Tommy came back from Florida, before Kim got kidnapped?"

"Yeah," Kat nodded.

"Well remember what he said the reason behind the letter was?" Rocky asked.

Tommy started fidgeting as he knew they would figure it out. He never thought they would and he had hoped to keep it a secret.

"He said," Adam spoke up, eyes widening in remembrance, "that the letter was a fake; that there was a girl that didn't like Kim and she dared her to write the letter and when Kim did, she threw it away and then the girl took it out of the garbage and mailed it."

"That's right," Billy snapped his fingers. "That's what he told us."

"Wait," Jason stood up slowly. "Are you saying that Tommy lied to us?"

Kim turned to look at her boyfriend in disbelief. "You did?"

"Guys," Tommy held up his hands and started backing away when he saw Jason move towards him and Rocky, Adam and Billy get up. "It wasn't like that."

"You lied," Billy said, "no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

"It was only because," Tommy said.

"Because what?" Adam cut him off. "You didn't trust us to tell us the truth?"

"Of course I trust you," Tommy told him. "I just—

"Tommy," Jason's voice was calm when he spoke, "run."

"Guys, come on," Tommy pleaded. He took one look at their faces and took off.

Jason, Rocky, Adam and Billy chased after him, while the girls laughed.

Kim shook her head as she watched her boyfriend and their friends. She had no idea that Tommy had lied and she wondered just how it was the truth hadn't come out before now. She looked back up when she heard the boys' grunts and laughter and her gaze locked on to Tommy's and the two shared a smile, one filled with love.

The guys made their way back over to the girls and sat down. Tommy sat behind Kim, allowing her to rest against his body, his arms wrapped around her.

Kim sighed as she relaxed back into him, smiling when she felt the kiss he placed on her head. Yes she had gone through horrible things, things no one should go through, but it was moments like this, that made it all worth it. And she knew that no matter what, Tommy would always be there to save her, and she him; they were each other's other half, their soul mates, the falcon and his crane, together always.

A/N 2: so that's it, the end of the chapter. As you can tell, I completely re-wrote a lot of things, including Jason losing his powers, Justin becoming a ranger, how T: APRM happened, and other things. One reason I took Justin out was because I didn't like how in the movie they brought in this kid to fight against an evil Kim and Jason, and how he was so eager to be a ranger that he didn't really listen to caution when they were on the island, and because I completely forgot about him *grins* until I finished the story. And also, I totally re-wrote T: APRM, the ending especially, so…yeah…Anyways, now that you're at this point, all that's left to do is review…

Reviewers:
hopelessromanticgurl; general-joseph-dickson; VampsGurl; Young at Hear21; XRanger13; dandelion657; Pinkrangerfan; Taeniaea; sabina21; brankel1; RFK22; Jeremy Shane; andyg2525; mae-E; Falcon4Crane; oldtvlover; acro4ever; hansongirl14; Purple Dragon Ranger

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