Reefside, CA

Tommy woke the next morning to a bed without Kim in it and the violent sound of shrieking coming from the kitchen. Fearing the worst, he quickly threw the covers off of his body and made a beeline for his bedroom door in his pajama pants and a pair of moccasin sandals that he always kept right outside of his closet.

Taking the steps two and three at a time, a million thoughts began to run through his head when the shrieking turned into laughter. He froze a few feet outside of the kitchen. Smoke was pouring in every direction. Rocky, Jason and Zack were rolling on the floor, laughing like madmen while Aisha and Trini tried desperately to fix the mess that he knew Kim had created.

He could only shake his head when the smell of burnt bacon reached his nose. Combining the sight of his three friends wheezing with laughter and the scent of well overcooked pork, he was somewhere in between wanting to help Kim in the kitchen or joining the rest of the guys on the floor.

The beginnings of a grin started to form on his face but it immediately disappeared when he saw the tears in Kim's eyes. He was by her side in an instant, grabbing a towel off the counter to help the her and the other girls combat the thick wisps of smoke rising towards the ceiling.

"I thought I told you that you weren't allowed to cook anymore," Tommy said softly, nudging her with the side of his butt.

"Shut up, Tommy. I'm so not in the mood," Kim grumbled, beating at the smoke with a towel. "Just keep your mouth shut and help."

"Hey, Kim?" Tommy asked but she didn't reply, didn't even look to acknowledge him. "Kim? Earth to Kim. Come in Kim."

"What!?" she shot back angrily.

Trini winced and put her arm around Aisha, leading her as far away from Tommy and Kim as possible. She knew Kim was on the verge of a blowup and didn't want to be anywhere near her when her anger meter went into the red.

"I love you," Tommy replied, smiling at her.

Rolling her eyes, Kim tossed the towel onto the counter and folded her arms across her chest, staring back at Tommy with an unimpressed look on her face. She wanted to be mad at him, really she did, but the smile he wore erased every ounce of anger she was feeling.

Sticking his arms out, Kim found herself instantaneously gravitating towards the invitation of his embrace. When she was close enough, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a crushing hug against his chest.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I was just upset about ruining breakfast," she whispered, standing on her toes to kiss him. "I love you too, Tommy."

Tommy smiled down at her as their lips met in a passionate kiss, both of them clinging to each other, oblivious to all that was going on around them. Rocky and Zack were pretending to mimic Tommy and Kim while Jason, who was on his knees, was acting like he was going to throw up. Trini and Aisha just stood there outside of the kitchen with their arms folded across their chests, smiling at the couple. It wasn't until they heard the sound of something crashing outside that they broke their kiss.

"What was that?" Zack asked, pushing himself away from Rocky.

"I don't know," Tommy answered, moving towards the sliding glass door. He poked his head outside but didn't see anything. Leaning back into the house, he looked at the others and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see anything out there but I'm gonna go check. Any of you guys coming with me?"

"I'll go," Rocky volunteered.

"We'll all go," Kim interjected. Jason gave her a look and she returned it with the middle finger, sticking her tongue out at him in the process. "Shut up, Jase. It's not like we have breakfast to eat."

"Fine," Jason grumbled. "Let's go."

Tommy nodded his head and stepped outside onto the porch as Jason, Rocky, Zack, Aisha, Kim and Trini all followed him into his backyard. For precautionary measures, he flicked his wrists and summoned his Zeonizers, signaling for Rocky and Aisha to do the same as they approached the woods. Following Tommy's lead, Jason unclipped his Morpher from the back of his belt, motioning at Trini and Kim to get there Morphers ready too.

They had only taken a few steps into the woods when they noticed a huge oak tree had been chopped down and was laying on the dirt. Tommy rationalized that the tree was where the sound came from but there was still the question of how it got there.

Another couple of feet into the trees and he didn't have to wait long for the answer. One loud bang later and another giant oak tree started falling quickly in their direction. Pushing their girlfriends out of the way, Tommy, Jason and Rocky all dove after them and managed to narrowly avoid being hit by the tree. Unfortunately for Zack, he wasn't so lucky.

The tree came crashing down on him as he tried to dive away, crushing his legs in the process. The sickening sound of Zack's legs being crunched by an oak tree was enough to make all of them queasy and enough to make Rocky, Kim and Aisha act on that queasiness.

Zack screamed out in pain, unable to move his legs even a little bit as he tried to wiggle away from his trapped position using only his upper body. Even with the combined strength of six Power Rangers, the tree was too heavy for even them to move. Try as they might, they just couldn't get it to budge.

"Zack, it's too heavy," said Trini, using all her strength to no avail.

"No shit!" Zack writhed, biting back tears. "Try Morphing! Just fucking do something!"

Looking at Rocky and Aisha, Tommy nodded at them and moved to stand in between the pair as Kim and Trini fell back behind Jason.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Tommy yelled.

In unison, the three Zeo Rangers raised their arms to the sky, making an "X" with their wrists before bringing their arms down and stretching them out horizontally. Pulling their arms back in, they locked their Zeonizers in place.

"Zeo Ranger Two, Yellow!" Aisha called.

"Zeo Ranger Three, Blue!" Rocky followed.

"Zeo Ranger Five, Red!" Tommy finished.

Blinding flashes of yellow, blue and red light erupted in the forest. When it had subsided, three fully morphed Zeo Rangers stood there, waiting for Jason, Kim and Trini to follow.

"Let's do it guys!" Jason ordered, swinging his Morpher around from behind his back. "It's Morphin' Time!"

"Pterodactyl!" Kim started.

"Sabertooth Tiger!" Trini added.

"Tyrannosaurus!" Jason ended.

With that, the six Rangers moved back towards the tree to give it another go. On Tommy's signal, they had just bent back down to try again when the sound of laughter began to echo in the forest. Six heads turned and stared in horror at the two figures walking across the tree trunk towards them.

"Goldar," Jason breathed angrily.

His grudge with the oversized, winged, and armored monkey went back further than any other Ranger. He had been the one that Goldar always targeted from the moment he became a Ranger until he passed his powers on to Rocky.

"Sorry, Zack," Tommy whispered. "Looks like we got company."

"Kick his ass, bro," Zack returned, grimacing in pain. Tommy nodded his head and turned to walk away but Zack grabbed his wrist. He turned back around and stared down at Zack from under his helmet. "Make that son of a bitch bleed for me, Tommy."

"You got it, bro," Tommy replied quietly.

Tommy turned to join the others, Zack's hands gripping the ground tightly. Dirt was slipping in between the cracks of his fingers as he tried to ignore the pain running through him. The intenseness of the pain shooting through his entire body was quickly becoming too intense to deal with. However, it wasn't until Tommy and Jason led the rest of the Rangers charging towards Goldar and Scorpina that Zack finally was able to get a good look at his legs.

He took one momentary glance at his legs, saw that some of his blood-covered bones had penetrated his skin and immediately started to feel woozy. A few seconds later, he lost consciousness and passed out on the ground.

With their Zeo Sword and Power Sword in hand, Tommy and Jason went for Scorpina and Goldar respectively, leaving Kim, Rocky, Aisha and Trini to deal with the army of Putty Patrollers that Goldar had summoned.

The battle was fierce but quick. The Putties were stronger than anything the Rangers had faced before. In the end though, they were nothing more than foot soldiers. Once they had picked up on the tactics of the new Putties, the fight became a lot easier.

On Tommy and Jason's side of the battle they had Goldar and Scorpina reeling. Using his sword to parry one of Scorpina's attacks, Tommy pushed back and landed a kick right in her chest plate. Jason had executed a similar maneuver and as Goldar flew through the air, he collided with Scorpina, both of them landing in a heap on the ground.

"You haven't seen the end of us, Power Rangers," Goldar growled, pointing his sword directly at Jason. "We'll be back for you. Lord Zedd will have his revenge."

That being said, Goldar and Scorpina disappeared in beams of energy that looked like flames, fleeing the forest and the fight at the same time. The Putties that hadn't been eliminated followed suit a few seconds later, leaving the Rangers to attend to Zack.

As Tommy and Jason ran towards him, Tommy touched his wrist, calling his ATV to him. They stopped right in front of Zack, waiting for Rocky, Aisha, Kim and Trini to join them. When they were all there, Tommy and Jason pulled out their Blade Blasters and motioned for the others to do the same thing.

"Zack's out cold. We're gonna have to blast a hole in the tree," Tommy said commandingly, aiming his Blaster at the trunk. Five more weapons pointed at the tree, simultaneously taking aim. "Hold on, buddy. We're gonna get you out of there."

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Rockporium, Briarwood

"Thanks, mate," Xander smiled, signing his name on the UPS driver's clipboard before handing it back to him. "Cheers."

The man in brown just nodded his head, handed Xander the pink copy of an invoice and turned for his truck. He had been delivering to the Rockporium for almost three years and he still couldn't figure out why Xander hadn't adapted to more of an Americanized vocabulary.

Grabbing the handles on the green hand truck, Xander let out a grunt as he leaned the contraption back and pulled it through the store towards the Rockporium's stock room. Once he had the boxes all situated, he picked up the invoice he had been given by the driver and shook his head.

"A hundred and fifteen copies of Kylee Styles new album? She's not even that good," Xander sighed, pulling one of the cases out of a box and looking at the cover. "But she is definitely a looker."

"But not more than me, right?" a female voice asked. Xander wheeled around in surprise to find Tori leaning against the door with a smile on her face. "Hey, you."

"G'day, love," Xander said softly, walking over to where she was standing. Taking her hands in his own, he placed a soft kiss on her lips and, when he broke the kiss, Tori was blushing. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Something bothering you?"

"No," she breathed, smiling up at him. "It's just-Blake, he-he never kissed me like that. It seemed like it was always about him. But you…I don't know what it is but there's something about you that makes me feel like you really care about me."

Xander sighed. He knew all about Blake Bradley, the Navy Thunder Ranger, and how he had broken Tori's heart when he left her behind a few months prior to travel the country, racing dirt bikes for his team, Factory Blue. The poor girl had been crushed when, after a Factory Blue stop in Briarwood and an autograph signing at the Rockporium, Blake broke up with her right outside the manager's office.

Toby Slambrook, the manager of the Rockporium, had been having a conversation in his office with Xander regarding the whereabouts of fellow employee and Power Ranger, Nick Russell, when it had happened. The events of that fateful afternoon were both fortunate and unfortunate ones that Xander could still recall vividly.

He remembered walking out of Toby's office to find Tori in tears, slumped on the floor and muttering a few choice curse words that he was sure no one ever said in Australia. He remembered going after Blake to teach him a lesson about respecting women only to have Tori follow and restrain him. Most of all though, he remembered when she grabbed his arm, bit back her tears and told him that it wasn't worth it, that Blake wasn't worth it.

"Look, love. You have to forget about Blake. He's a jackass, if you ask me," Xander replied, kissing her on the forehead. She winced at the name calling but practically melted into his arms when he kissed her. "He missed out on the greatest girl in the world when he left you. And I'm glad he did 'cause if he hadn't, you and I wouldn't be here right now."

"You're a smooth talker, Xander Bly," Tori retorted, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him again. "What do you say we get out of here and go grab a bite to eat?"

Staring down at the Rockporium's most recent shipment of CD's, it was times like these where Xander was thankful for Chip, Madison, Vida and Nick, when he was around. They could take care of putting the order away. He had more important things to tend to.

Shrugging his shoulders, he looked down at Tori and nodded his head, reaching for her hand. Walking towards the exit of the record store, Xander yelled something to Chip about taking his lunch break, allowing Tori to pull him towards her van.

"Where are we going, milady?" Xander winked, pulling the seatbelt across his body. "More of that fine American dining you love so much courtesy of that fast food monarch, the Burger Queen?"

"It's Burger King you big doof," Tori laughed, pushing him on the shoulder. "And no, we aren't going there. I was thinking somewhere a little more romantic."

"Romantic?" Xander asked rhetorically, laying his head against the top of his seat. "I love romance. What do you have in mind?"

"Don't worry about it," Tori answered slyly, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "You'll see when we get there."

Rolling his eyes, Xander took Tori's free hand as she pulled the big blue van out of her parking spot and onto the road. They had only been driving a little more than five minutes when Tori caught something up ahead in the distance that made her slam her foot on the brake, bringing the van to a screeching halt. Xander's forehead smacked against the dashboard and he cursed loudly, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"What was that about?" he asked, turning his head and looking at Tori.

"Up there," she replied, pointing out the window. "What does that look like to you?"

"Uhh…" Xander squinted, trying to see what Tori was pointing at. "It looks like some people being attacked by some guys in gray, maybe a little red. Why?" Tori gave him an are-you-really-serious look that didn't immediately register with him. It took a few seconds before what she was trying to tell him finally clicked. "Oh crap. Let's go."

Unbuckling their seatbelts, they hopped out of the van and ran down the street towards a group of Cogs that were surrounding a small family. They came to a stop right in front of the Cogs as Xander pulled out his wand.

"You ready?" he asked, getting a nod from Tori in reply. "Then lead the way, sweetheart."

"You got it. Ninja Storm, Ranger Form! Ha!" Tori yelled, basking in the power as her helmet closed over her head. "Power of water!"

"Now it's my turn. Let me show you how it's done," Xander followed. He winked at Tori who, from under her helmet, was smiling at him. "Magical Source, Mystic Force!"

With his cape fluttering in the wind and Tori by his side, Xander pointed his wand right at the Cogs and unleashed a blast that left half of them tied down by oversized tree roots. The rest of the Machine Empire's foot soldiers came running at the pair as they prepared for the impending battle.

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New Tech City, 2027

Oh yes. I can feel the blood rushing right to my head. I kinda like this. Hey, is that Cruger and Dr. Manx? What are they doing here? Never mind, it's not them. Silly Bridge, you must be seeing things again. You know what Z always says…no, I don't. Hmm, what does Z say? I wonder what Sky and Syd are doing right now. I bet they're…hey! I could sure go for some toast right now. I bet Z would get me some toast but where is she? Oh, here she comes right now. I should wave. Woah, woah, woah, woah. Oww! Bad idea Bridge.

"You're never gonna learn, are you?" Z asked, standing over the top of Bridge.

She had just walked into the room that he had once shared with Sky Tate before his promotion to Commander of S.P.D. and managed to catch Bridge in a rather precarious position. Space Patrol Delta's Red Ranger was standing on his head like he always did when he had noticed Z enter the room and tried to wave to her .

Unfortunately for Bridge, gravity wouldn't allow it and he went toppling over like a ton of bricks, landing on his back and looking up at Z who simply stared down at him and shook her head. How she had ended up with Bridge was a mystery she was still trying to solve. She was quiet and reserved. Bridge was loud and goofy but something about him had endeared him to her. She was just trying to figure out what that something was still.

"Hey, Z," Bridge smiled from the floor, now able to give her a real wave. "You should come down here. The view is really amazing."

"Bridge, you're staring at the ceiling," Z replied, shaking her head. She offered him her hands and he took them, allowing Z to pull him off the ground. "Why do you do that stuff to yourself? That has to be bad for your brain."

"I don't think it is. Besides, I think better that way," Bridge answered, recalling his thought before she had walked in. Z didn't believe a word of it, though. "Like, I thought I saw Doggie and Kat but then I realized I didn't and then I was like, Hmm, I wonder what Sky and Syd are doing? Then I was thinking about how much I wanted toast. Mmm, I love toast. Especially when it's buttery."

"Knock that off," Z continued, playfully slapping his hand away from his mouth when he tried to wiggle his fingers in front of it. Bridge just smiled at her and pulled her into a tight hug against his chest.

Ahh, that's why I like him so much. Sure, he may be a little quirky. Okay, a lot quirky but he's such a sweetheart. How can you not love that face? He's like an innocent little puppy dog that just wants to be loved.

Indeed, Bridge was quirky, but he also knew how to get down to business when the time came for it. This was one of those times. When the sound of Delta Base's alarm reached his ears, he immediately let go of his hug on Z but made sure to grab her hand as he pulled her out of his room and into the hallway.

Heading towards the base's Command Center, Z had the misfortune of being with Bridge when they passed the mess hall. Everything came to a screeching halt when Bridge heard the clicking noise of fresh hot bread popping out of a toaster. He was like a dog when it came to things like that, couldn't stay focused on one thing for very long and immediately lost interest in whatever he was doing as soon as he heard a sound that he liked.

"No, Bridge. We have to go or Sky's going to be mad at us," Z said sternly, maintaining a tight grip on Bridge's hand as he tried to run away. She refused to let go of his hand but when he turned and looked at her with those sad puppy dog eyes her heart melted. "Fine. But hurry up. I really am not in the mood to get yelled at."

"Thanks, Z," Bridge smiled, pecking a kiss on her cheek. "You're the best."

"That's what they tell me," Z grumbled, watching Bridge run towards the serving counter.

Three minutes later he was back with a piece of toast in one hand and a stack of it wrapped in a paper towel in the other hand. He just stood there in front of her, munching on his toast like he had forgotten what they were doing there in the first place. Rolling her eyes, Z snatched the slice of bread right out of his hand, popped it into his mouth and grabbed his now-free hand, dragging him as far away from the mess hall as humanly possible.

A few minutes later they came to another stop, this time in the Command Center where Sky was standing and waiting with his back to them, arms folded behind him. Bridge was in the middle of a bite when S.P.D.'s newest Commander turned around to face him.

"Cobbanda Tay, seh," Bridge saluted with a mouthful of toast. "Brid Cawsor rebortin feh doty, seh!"

For as much as they didn't want to laugh, neither Sky nor Z could help it. Bridge's goofiness had just grown on them to the point that it didn't seem to bother them anymore.

"Bridge, how many times do I have to tell you?" Sky laughed, shaking his head. "You don't have to salute me or call me Commander Tate. Sky will work just fine."

"Sorry, Commander Tate," Bridge replied, swallowing the food in his mouth. "I mean, Sky. So what's going on? We heard the alarm and came running here but then I had to stop for toast and Z wouldn't let me but eventually she did and now we're here. Wait, why are we here?"

Burying his face in his hands, Sky shook his head back and forth, wondering how in the world Bridge had turned out the way he had. Z laid a hand on Bridge's shoulder and raised a finger to her lips, signaling her boyfriend to just be quiet.

"Shh, Bridge. Let momma do the talking," she urged, squeezing his shoulder and turning to Sky. "So what's going on, Sky?"

"Apparently, you're both needed in 2007 as soon as possible. I just received a transmission from Dr. Oliver and he said it's urgent that you both come," Sky answered, returning the head nod that Z had just given him. Bridge was trying to listen but the stack of toast in his hand was just too damn distracting. "You're both to morph and leave for 2007 immediately. You'll be taking S.P.D.'s newest ship made for time travel, S.W.A.T. One. It should land you right on the outskirts of Reefside. From there, send a transmission to Dr. Oliver. He'll come and pick you both up."

"Wait, where are we going?" Bridge asked, taking another bite.

"Bridge," Z said calmly, taking his hand. "Let's go. Sky, we'll see you when we get back."

"You two be safe out there," Sky returned, a slight smile on his face. "I've got two new recruits that are going to need training and I want you both here to do it. Preferably alive."

"Oooh, new recruits?" Bridge asked excitedly. "Who are they? Come on, Sky, tell me. Who are the new recruits? Are they cool? Are they funny? Are they-"

"Carson! Calm down!" Sky ordered, taking a deep breath. "Their names are Jeffrey Oliver and David McKnight. If all goes well they'll be taking over the vacant Blue and Green Ranger positions that you left open after your promotions. Now go!"

"Aye-aye, sir!" Bridge saluted again, almost falling down when Z yanked him by the arm as quickly and as far away from Sky as she could.

She practically had to carry him the whole way, against his will, to the docking station where the S.W.A.T. One was waiting for them. He wanted to know all about the new recruits: who they were, what they were about and why their last names sounded so familiar but Z was having none of it.

When they got to the ship, both of them had to stop and marvel at it for a moment. It was like something out of a movie, a long craft painted in a sleek shade of black with the S.P.D. logo emblazoned on all sides. Unclipping his Delta Morpher from his belt, Bridge looked down at Z and asked the question she already knew was coming.

"Ready?"

"Yeah," she answered, retrieving her own Morpher.

"S.P.D.!" they yelled in unison, bringing their Morphers across their body. "Emergency!"

Hand-in-hand, the Red and Yellow Rangers made their way up the boarding ramp and into the ship. Z settled in behind the controls and hit a sequence of buttons, the engines on the ship coming to life. With a sad look on his face Bridge stared out the window of the rising ship, waving goodbye to the Delta Base as it slowly started to fade from view.

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New York City, NY, Present Time

Sitting in his office, Billy Cranston was engaged in an instant messaging conversation that had been recently been arranged by an old friend of his. Between trying to figure out how NASADA was going to pay for the replacement parts needed for the Mark II after Zhane's accident in it and keeping up with the instant messaging, he was quickly starting to get stressed out.

wcranston: Send me the specific dimensions of the product and I'll see what I can do. With the technology we have here, I might be able to help you out.

gamefreak1: Seriously? You really think you can do something? Oh man, that'd be awesome.

wcranston: I can't make any promises but I'll do the best I can.

gamefreak1: Hey man, that works for me. Anything you can do to help is great. Thanks a lot.

wcranston: No problem. Hey listen. I'm pretty busy right now at work so I'm gonna go but I'll be in touch soon.

gamefreak1: Ok. Later.

wcranston: Bye.

Signing out of his instant messaging account, Billy closed his laptop and swiveled his chair around so that he was now sitting in front of his work computer. He brought up NASADA's financial report for the last quarter, buried his hands in his face and slowly shook his head.

NASADA had already spent nearly two-hundred and seventy million dollars, in intergalactic currency of course, to get the Astro Megaship:Mark II to Earth from KO-35 and that was with Andros finagling a discount because it was Ranger related. Now they were looking at another sixty-five million dollars in repairs because Zhane had decided to take the ship on a joyride past Gamma Vile and had gotten it caught in the crossfire of the planet's fourteenth civil war in the last century.

Mr. Cranston, your wife Katherine is on Line One.

"Tell her I'm busy and that I'll call her back in a few minutes," Billy replied to the speaker on his desk. He picked up the receiver from the dock and immediately hung it back up before his secretary could reply.

Rubbing his forehead, he took a deep breath and thought long and hard about what he had just committed himself to. He had been through power losses so he knew what his new friend was going through. More than anything, he wanted to help, but he just didn't know if there was anything that he could actually do.

That actually worried him a little bit. Every time the Ranger's needed his expertise he had come through. Now he was facing a situation where, for the first time that he could remember, he wasn't truly confident in his abilities to help.

Sighing, he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, picking up the phone and returning his glasses to his face at he same time. He had reached the point where all he could do was his absolute best and pray that Ethan didn't get his hopes up too much.

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Reefside General Hospital, Reefside, CA

After blasting a hole in the tree and getting Zack free, Tommy had put him on the back of his ATV and taken him back to his house. He laid some towels down in the back of Jason's SUV, laid Zack on top of them and picked the rest of the Rangers up before heading for the hospital. On the way to the hospital, Rocky had called Adam who, along with Hayley, was sitting in the waiting room with the others, trying to remain patient.

If patience is a virtue, none of them were being very virtuous. Tommy, Rocky and Jason were all pacing back and forth in the hallway. Kimberly and Trini were sitting in the corner of the waiting room with nervous expressions on their face, holding their eighth and fifth cups of coffee, respectively. With Hayley curled up against his side asleep, Adam had his arm wrapped around her and was trying to carry a quiet conversation with Aisha seated on his left.

Regardless of what they were doing though, none of them were very happy. They had already been at the hospital for over an hour with no word from the doctor regarding Zack's condition. Both Tommy and Jason had tried to extract some information from Zack's doctor but to no avail. Fire was practically shooting out of Jason's eyes when the doctor had tried to tell him that he couldn't give him any information because he and Zack weren't family.

"Not family!? Not family!?" Jason had bellowed, fighting to break the restraining grips of both Tommy and Rocky. "That man is my brother!My fucking brother!"

Jason was inches away from breaking not only out of the confines of Tommy and Rocky's arms, but the doctor's nose and any other bones he managed to get his hands on in the process as well. Luckily for the doctor, the thought of a criminal record kept Jason from doing anything to him outside of yelling and a few well aimed threats.

"I'm gonna go outside and try to call Zack's parents again," Jason muttered to Tommy and Rocky. "You guys wanna come with?"

"Nah. I think I'll stay inside," Rocky answered. "Maybe go keep Adam and Aisha company or something."

"I'll go," Tommy added, getting a nod from Jason. "Just let me see if Kim or Trini want to go with us, too."

Jason nodded and leaned against the wall as Tommy and Rocky turned around and walked back into the waiting room together. A few minutes later Tommy came back out alone. Apparently neither Kim nor Trini were much in the mood for going outside with them.

Not even bothering to acknowledge the absence of Kim and his girlfriend, Jason turned and headed for the elevators as soon as he saw Tommy come out of the waiting room. He didn't even wait for Tommy to catch up until he had gotten inside the elevator at which point he decided to put his hand on the side of the door so that it stayed open for his friend.

They rode in silence from the fifth floor to the lobby. The elevator stopped on every floor on the way to the lobby, Jason rolling his eyes every single time the doors opened to let more people on. By the time they reached the lobby one more ding coming from the doors every time they opened would have sent him into a conniption fit.

When the doors finally opened he had to wait for the seven people in front of him to get out of the elevator and then deal with pushing past the rest of the people trying to get in. He had to clench his fists to prevent himself from snapping at a random person.

His phone was pressed against his ear having already rung twice when he and Tommy stepped through the automatic doors into the fresh air. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for someone to pick up the phone. On the sixth ring, the line clicked.

"Hello," a female voice whimpered. Jason knew as soon as he heard her voice that Zack's mother had gotten his message.

"Mrs. Taylor, it's Jason," he breathed into the receiver. "Did you get my message."

"Yes, sweetie. Allen and I are on our way right now," she answered, clearly sounding like she had been crying. "How's Zack. Is he okay?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Taylor. The doctors won't tell me anything," Jason muttered bitterly. "Some bullshit about me not being family. Stupid fucking assholes."

"Jason Lee Scott! What in God's name has gotten into you!?" Diane Taylor scolded. Jason's cheeks immediately turned red. "Your mother raised you better than that, young man. Talking like that isn't going to make my son better."

"I know, Mrs. Taylor. I'm sorry," Jason replied sheepishly. "I'm just so frustrated that they won't tell me anything. Zack's one of my oldest friends. He's like a brother to me."

Jason looked over at Tommy sitting on a three-foot high cement barrier surrounding some random bits of foliage. Tommy just nodded his head in Jason's direction, signifying that he was sharing the same feelings as Jason.

"I know, baby. I know. Allen and I are going to be there soon," she continued. Her voice was so soft that it immediately started to calm Jason's nerves. Not completely but enough to the point that he didn't feel like punching random people in the face anymore. "I know your temper, Jason. I want you to sit in the waiting room and behave yourself, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Who all is there?"

"Umm, everyone from the old group but Billy. Tommy, Kim and Trini are all here. So are Adam, his girlfriend Hayley, Rocky and Aisha but I don't think you've met them yet."

"No, I haven't. But I look forward to meeting them. Tell everyone that I said hello and that we'll be there shortly. I have to go, Jason. Allen's outside honking the horn at me."

"Okay, Mrs. Taylor. Drive safe," Jason replied. "I'll talk to you soon."

Flipping his phone shut, Jason stuffed it into his pocket and gestured towards the hospital entrance. Tommy took the hint and got up from his seatto follow him. They were halfway to the entrance when Jason heard a noise and froze on the spot. He didn't even need to turn around to know what was making the noise that sounded like someone gargling water in a very high pitched voice.

"Putties," Tommy whispered.

He had obviously heard the sound too. Still facing the hospital, the pair looked at each other and nodded their heads, spinning around in unison to face the clay creatures. As the Putties jumped up and down to both sides, Tommy and Jason dropped into defensive stances.

"Is it just me," Jason growled, ducking a punch and connecting with one of his own to the stomach of the Putty in front of him. "or is there timing always shitty?"

"Nope," Tommy replied, landing a kick to the chest that sent one Putty flying towards the third row of cars in the parking lot nearly thirty feet away. "It's not just you."

In the parking lot area, a couple was standing next to the first couple rows of cars and were watching the fight. A small group of Putties who weren't occupied with Tommy or Jason noticed this and started to run towards them.

"Help me!" a young woman screamed.

Tommy heard the screaming and turned around to see the Putties surrounding the young woman and her companion, a young man, both of whom looked to be around the same age. In his momentary lapse of concentration, he caught a punch to the gut and dropped to his knees. The punch had knocked the wind out of him.

"Jason," he coughed. "Go help them."

Nodding his head, Jason dropped down low and swept his leg in a half-circle, dropping four or five Putties in the process. With the Putties on the ground, he took off running towards the young couple, the other group of clay foot soldiers quickly closing the distance between themselves and the two young people.

"Leave them alone!" Jason yelled. He launched into a corkscrew flip that sent him over the Putties and landing with his back to the couple. Turning his head, he looked back and glanced at them momentarily. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah," the man replied. "Thanks."

Jason nodded his head and turned back around to face the Putties, bending his knees and forming a fighting stance. As he cocked his leg back for a kick, a hand fell on his shoulder. From his knees, Tommy looked up just in time to notice Jason turning around.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he yelled.

He got an instant rush of adrenaline and hopped onto his feet to run after Jason but there were seven or eight Putties and only one of him. The clay foot soldiers all wrapped their arms around him and held him back as Jason looked Goldar and Scorpina right in the eye.

The first thought that ran through his head was that the Goldar and Scorpina had killed the young couple and that he hadn't noticed. That thought was quickly put to rest when he looked behind the two titans and found no sign that the man and woman had ever been there. Coupled with the fact that he hadn't heard any noises, Jason realized that it had all just been an elaborate trap. Goldar and Scorpina had simply disguised themselves to lure him into a trap, knowing that he wouldn't let innocent people be hurt.

Jason started to feel nauseous but he didn't get a chance to act on the queasiness in his stomach. The moment his eyes had met Goldar's, he froze in surprise just long enough for the titan to land a punch right to Jason's face that completely knocked him out.

On the other side of the parking lot, Tommy had managed to break free from the Putties. He was running towards Goldar and Scorpina when the scorpion woman pointed her sword at him and sent blast after blast of evil energy in his direction. Somehow, he managed to dodge every one of the shots she fired at him. Little did he know the only reason he avoided the blast so easily was because Scorpina hadn't intended for them to hit him.

For as much as both Goldar and Scorpina wanted to just kill him and get it over with, eliminating Tommy wasn't a part of Lord Zedd's orders to them. They had specific orders to capture Jason and that was exactly what they were going to do. With Tommy laid out on the ground chewing grass, Goldar grabbed the unconscious Jason by his neck and pointed his sword to the sky. When Tommy finally looked up, everyone, including Jason, was gone.

"NO!" Tommy growled from his knees, punching the ground.

Over and over he beat his fists against the grass until his hands were sore, his arms completely gave out and he collapsed in a heap. Coming out the front door, Kimberly looked left and right for Tommy or Jason but didn't see either of them. She took a few steps out towards the parking lot so she could see behind some of the bushes and that was when she noticed Tommy on his hands and knees, tightly gripping handfuls of grass in each hand.

Tommy heard the soft pitter-patter of footsteps against the concrete and looked up to see Kimberly running towards him. Slowly he stood up and, without saying a word, threw his arms around Kimberly, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"Tommy, what's wrong?" Kimberly asked in a whisper, gently stroking the back of his head. "What's going on? Where's Jason?"

With tears in his eyes, Tommy pushed back a little bit so he could look at Kimberly. Softly, he shook his head from side-to-side a couple of times.

"Goldar and Scorpina. They got Jason," Tommy replied, shaking in Kim's arms. Her eyes widened at what he was telling her.

"How?" she demanded. "What happened."

"There were Putties and then I noticed them going after some civilians. I couldn't get to them so I told Jason to help them. He ran over to help but it was a trap," Tommy muttered, tears sliding down his face. Kim reached up to wipe them away and he reached out softly to hold her wrist before continuing. "They kidnapped Jason, Kim. They kidnapped my best friend and it's all my fault. If I hadn't sent him over there none of this would have happened."

Kim heard the words coming out of his mouth but chose to ignore the last part of them. This, and only this, was the one thing she had never liked in Tommy. His guilt complex for things out of his control was ironically, more often than not, out of control.

I guess I'm gonna have to be the strong one here she thought. Instead of justifying his guilt trip with a response she chose to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him close.

"It's okay, Tommy. We'll get him back. I promise," Kim whispered in his ear, fighting back her own emotions for the sake of Tommy. "But we need to go let the others know so we can start coming up with a plan to rescue Jason."

"Okay," Tommy replied, sniffling as he dabbed at his eyes with his shirt sleeve. He broke his embrace with Kimberly and dropped his hands to his side, waiting until their fingers interlocked before heading back towards the hospital entrance. "Jason got a hold of Mrs. Taylor. Her and Zack's dad are on the way. She's gonna ask a lot of questions when she finds out Jason isn't here and everyone else is especially since he's the one that called her."

"We'll figure something out, Tommy. We always do," Kim responded, resting her head against his shoulder.

Tommy nodded his head as they stepped onto the elevator. Two minutes later they were on the fifth floor, fifteen or twenty feet outside the waiting room. As they reached the waiting room, Tommy looked down at Kimberly, taking a deep breath in the process. She smiled softly up at him and gave his hand a tight squeeze.

Hesitantly and with shaking hands, he reached out and grabbed the door handle, turning it softly in his hand. The moment he stepped through the door his eyes immediately went to Trini's. She could tell right away from the look on his face that something wasn't right.

"Tommy, where's Jason?" she asked, eyes filled with concern.

Looking away from Trini, he had to take another deep breath to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to tell her. Bringing his eyes back to her, they fell on her own that were starting to fill with tears. This was going to be a hell of a lot harder than he thought it would be.

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