One whole half of Angel Grove's downtown area had been demolished in a single night's attack.

The citizens counted themselves lucky to have any kind of lull. Most, who had been unfortunate enough to live in the vicinity of the attack, had moved. People had opened the doors of their homes to take in whole families suddenly homeless. The Shelters were at capacity. The Red Cross had been flooded with donations of food, clothing and money from around the world as the world watched...and waited. They knew what each and every person in the city knew.

This was a city under siege.

While the government debated over the best way to tackle the problem, diplomats tried to establish communications, the military squabbled about when to attack and the world's press waited in eager anticipation for what might be their shot at the Pulitzer Prize. A city of satellite linking, relays and instant broadcast centers had sprung up overnight at the edge of Angel Grove.

It was a siege in more ways than one.

But life went on. Time did pass, too fast for some. For others -- those families whose children or loved ones were unaccounted for -- time slowed, until only the changing days on a calendar marked the passage of one hour into the next.

It was a form of torture for them, this waiting. Watching every sunrise, and every sunset. Wondering if this would be the day they might see their loved one again.

Still, they hoped. They watched, and waited. These people had seen miracles happen in their city. They knew not to give up too soon. Their city had a band of guardians unique in the world. A colorful group they had begun to hang all their hopes for the future on. They watched the replays of footage from that battle, and memorized their heroes' voices, their uniforms and weapons, their style of fighting.

The people of Angel Grove watched...and waited for the Power Rangers to return.

Jett watched his face as he slept. Wisps of long, dark hair stuck to his sweaty face, and she reached out to smooth them away. He grimaced and jerked his head to one side, eyes clenched tightly shut.

_He is dreaming. Again._ Jett's eyes narrowed. The Green Ranger was hers, in the physical sense, but his mind and soul.... Those were proving more elusive than she had anticipated. With more gentleness than any of the wraiths would have given her credit, she stroked his forehead, pushing the heavy hair off his face. Long eyelashes lay against dark circles under his eyes. _He sleeps, but there is no rest in it._ She ran her hand down one arm, feeling the tenseness in the muscles. Even his hands were fisted.

"Jett."

The woman turned her head to face the door. Mirage stood there, eyes downcast. He waited. "What is it?"

"We should attack now, while they are weakened."

Bowing her head, Jett let a long fall of hair obscure her face from her brother's view. "Not yet."

"But they are hurt, wounded and heartsore from losing two-"

"NO!" Eyes flashing, Jett looked at him. She lowered her voice as the man on the bed tossed restlessly. "No." Turning to look at the sleeping man, she sighed. "To fight now would mean allowing the Guardians' influence upon our captives." Jett shook her head. "They are not completely ours yet."

Mirage scowled. "We beat them once. We can do it again."

Shrugging one milky white shoulder, Jett let her eyes travel over the body of the sleeping man. "Mirage, if you wish to, go and harass Angel Grove. Take whomever you wish." She looked up, and shook her head. "I cannot go. Not yet."

"You would allow me to lead...?"

"For now." A careless smile curved her lips. "Do not get used to it...brother." Jett trailed a hand down the Green Ranger's bare chest. "This warrior and I shall make an unstoppable team." She met, and held, Mirage's gaze. "And then we who have lived so long in the darkness shall be free again."

Mirage nodded, and bowed slightly before backing out of the doorway.

Jett turned her attention again to the man sleeping fitfully. "And you, Thomas Oliver, shall be free with us."

Amber-gold eyes gleamed in the darkness. They were always watching him, following his every move. Every waking moment, every dream...they were there.

The warrior in green faced the eyes, sending a tendril of angry thought at it. *Who are you? What do you want?*

An ominous, rumbling growl was his answer.

Calling the ebony blade to his hand, the warrior glared at the beast. *WHAT DO YOU WANT?!*

A rasping, growling tone snapped, *What is mine, and wrongfully taken from me!*

He took a step back, startled by the response. *W...who are you?*

*Who....* The amber eyes narrowed. *The correct question, young one, is WHAT am I?* It stalked forward, eyes flashing angrily as it snarled. *Do you see?*

The warrior cringed away, whirled and ran into the inky blackness of the shadows surrounding him. In a few seconds, he was lost to sight.

The Panther sighed and sat.

Watching...and waiting.

Olivia threw a rock into the lake and sniffled. She watched the ripples spread out in concentric circles. It was cold. Colder than usual for a November morning in Southern California.

_Usually it's still warm enough to...._ A tear trickled down her cheek, and she blinked others back. Thanksgiving day. Usually she and Corry went together with their families to the big parade downtown.

Downtown Angel Grove was a mess thanks to Jett and her stupid induced earthquakes. No parade this year.

And Corry.... Olivia sniffled again at the thought of her best friend. She had no idea where the girl was, or how she was. _How is she spending Thanksgiving? Is she okay? Are there people there who are friends?_

Lobbing another rock, Olivia refused to think that Corry might actually be a wraith. _Jett hates her so much, she'd rather kill her than possess her. Could she actually be....?_

Rubbing her eyes, Olivia shook her head. _No. She wasn't dead. The White Powers hadn't returned -- although since the Power Chamber was gone, maybe they couldn't? Maybe she's lost in limbo of some sort?_

Wrapping her arms around her legs, Olivia rested her forehead against her knees and tried not to cry again. She'd cried so much in the past weeks, trying to keep hoping as time marched on.

A warm arm wrapped around her shoulders and she looked up to see her father kneeling next to her. "I thought you'd come here." He wiped the tears off her face, giving her a gentle smile.

"Daddy...do you think she's all right?"

Adam smiled lovingly at his daughter. She didn't call him daddy much any more. Nodding, he stood and answered, "I think so, 'Livy."

Scrambling to her feet, Olivia threw herself at her father, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'm scared," she confessed. "For Corry, and for all of us."

"It's okay to be scared, Ollie." Adam rarely called his oh-so-mature daughter by that pet name anymore, but he was glad he had as she looked at him with a water-soaked half-smile. "We've all been scared at times. More than once." He gently pinched her chin. "Just don't let that fear rule you. It's there to warn you of danger, but you have to get past it." He kissed her forehead. "You're never in any situation alone, Ollie. Even when you're not with your mom or me, or one of your friends, you know God won't ever desert you."

"I know." Olivia nodded. "And the angels." She looked out at the lake. "Do you think the angels are with Corry, Dad?"

Adam smiled and kissed the top of her head. "More sure of it than anything."

Olivia nodded, satisfied with that answer. "Then Wolf will be too." She took her father's hand. "Does Mom need help with fixing dinner?"

"I'm sure she won't mind." Adam winked. "Race you back?"

With a shriek of laughter, Olivia took off, Adam right on her heels.

Chelsea Oliver sighed and sat on the porch swing. Thanksgiving was over.

It had been an unusually bleak celebration in the Oliver family. They had invited Katherine and David Trueheart to join them, hoping to lift their spirits a little. The couple was still in shock from having found all three of their children were missing.

Predictably, David had been ready to go out and fight the Wraiths. Katherine, ever gentle, ever happy Katherine, had been so quiet..... Chelsea sighed, and pushed back with her feet, to get the swing going. The gentle rhythm was soothing.

Teddy was missing also.

Two of the Rangers were gone. Either missing or possessed. Chelsea closed her eyes. They just had Thomas back in their lives, and now....

It wasn't fair. Life as a Ranger, or as the family member of a Ranger, rarely was. Every ten-cent baddie who saw Earth as ripe pickings was gunning for them, and every being on Earth looked to the Rangers to save them.

Chelsea had never been the kind to sit back and just let things happen, but this time, she didn't see a clear course of action. It had been quiet in the weeks following the destruction of a large part of downtown Angel Grove. The Rangers were like zombies, walking through their lives in a daze.

It was a lot for them to absorb. Suddenly, in the course of one night, everything in their lives had changed. Whole families had disappeared. The Little Angels Shelter was closed temporarily -- all of the children had been taken at the V.R.Arcade. Schoolmates had vanished overnight.

Worst of all, two of their own had been taken.

Earth was no longer the safe place it had been in their childhood.

_Jett sure rammed that home to them...._ Chelsea scowled. _If only we had the Zeo Crystal...._

It, along with the Power Chamber, had disappeared. She only hoped Zordon had a reason for evacuating without warning. The alternative was that the Wraiths had somehow banished Zordon.

It wasn't good. Even Trey, easy-going, level-headed Trey, had been exceptionally on-edge lately.

_Hopefully we won't get any universal s.o.s.'s while this is all going down._

The door opened, then closed with a soft click. Chelsea looked up, expecting to see Trey.

"Mind if I join you?"

Katherine's softly accented voice was a welcome contrast to the chaos of her thoughts. "Sure." Chelsea moved over, patting the spot next to her.

For a long time, they just swung in silence. The moon was out, slowly rising in the star-laden sky. It was a chilly, but gorgeous, evening.

"Sarah is trying so hard to be cheerful." Katherine sighed. "I've tried to be thankful today, Chelsea, but...." Tears clogged her throat, cutting off her voice.

"Kat....." Chelsea turned and wrapped her arms around the woman. "You don't have to try and be so brave, you know. It's okay to cry, Kat."

Katherine had held back her feelings, hoping for the best, encouraging David to be positive, staying upbeat..... The dam burst, and she sobbed on Chelsea's shoulder. "My babies, Chelse.... Oh God...my little babies!"

Chelsea just held her, offering silent comfort.

"And ....and Corry...and all the little ones from the Shelter....." Katherine's crying slowed, and she straightened, wiping her face. "Chelsea-"

"Don't you DARE apologize, Katherine Trueheart." Chelsea smiled to soften her words. They had become closer ever since Tommy had died, bonding in the grief that had followed. After Katherine had married David, the bond had become one of family, since the Olivers chose to see David as a surrogate son. Their three children were as much nephews and niece to Chelsea as would any children Ted ever had. _Or Thomas...if ......_

Sighing, Chelsea kicked the swing into moving again. "We'll get them all back, Kat." She looked up at the moon. "And teach that wraith witch not to mess with our families ever again."

"I wonder if they can hear us?" Katherine sighed. "Where do you think they are?"

"I don't know, Kat." Chelsea felt the woman's cold hand touch hers and grasped it, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "It doesn't matter because the Rangers always protect their own." She nodded. "Just pray for them like you never have before."

_They're going to need it....._

"Out here." Eugene Skullovich guided Gavin outside to sit on the steps of the porch. "We'll just let your mom feed Leah in peace."

"Okay." Gavin sat, glancing sideways to see if he could figure out what was on his father's mind. He had a hunch it was about the vague things he and Nisha had told him the night all hell had broken loose in Angel Grove.

"So," Eugene said nonchalantly. "Want to explain a little more about this project of yours?"

"Uh..." Gavin brushed his hair back nervously. "You mean the one Nisha and I mentioned?"

Laughing, the man nodded. "Yeah, Gav." He ruffled his son's hair. "'Fess up, kiddo. I ain't that dumb."

Gavin shrugged, looking at his feet. "I'm sorry, Dad." He looked at his father, a worried frown creasing his forehead. "I would've told you.... You know I didn't want to lie to you, right?"

"Gav." Eugene sighed. "You still haven't come out and said anything. You beat around the bush, and inferred a whole lot, but...."

Taking a deep breath, Gavin turned to face him. "Dad, I'm a Power Ranger. I have been since right after those first people disappeared, including Corry's and Olivia's parents." He swallowed hard, voice quiet. "I couldn't tell you."

Skull threw his arm around the boy's shoulders and pulled him close for a brief, hard hug. Kissing his hair, he pushed him back and grinned. "I know."

"You..." Gavin stared at his father, speechless. "But-"

"Have since that polar bear showed up in the living room." Skull shook his head at the memory. "Scared the bejeebers outta me. I've seen a lotta weird things, living here, but that one takes the cake!" He looked at Gavin. "So...which one are you?"

Gavin shrugged, and looked at his feet, unaccountably bashful at telling his father. "Yellow."

"No kidding?" Skull beamed, nodding. "My son, the Yellow Ranger." He sighed. "I remember when your Uncle Bulk and I were your age. We tried to find out who the original team was."

"Is that how you got into detective work?" Gavin only knew that at one point, his father had been a detective. He played piano in the Angel Grove Philharmonic Symphony now.

"Yeah. Me and Bulkie were pretty strange back then." He shook his head. "We had some wild schemes that never panned out."

"Did you ever find out who the Rangers were?" Gavin was fascinated at this new information.

Eugene's lopsided grin curved his mouth. "Yeah. But we pretended not to know. It was fun to watch Jason, Kat and the others come up with oddball excuses for having to leave all the time." He chuckled. "They came up with some pretty lame reasons."

Seeing he had his father on an interesting track, Gavin prodded him for more. "What did you and Uncle Bulk do to find them?"

"Well, there was the time..."

The two walked in silence, each deep in their own thoughts.

Raph DeSantos looked up and sighed. They were heading for the old quarry. Lately, he and his dad had taken a lot of walks. They talked, joked...got to know each other better.

"What's up, sport?" Rocky nudged his son. "That was a heavy sigh." Rocky knew he had to make up for the years after his wife, Marissa, had left and taken their daughter, Bailey, with her. Years he had wasted, sunk in despair and depression.

He had no intentions of losing his son also.

"Yeah." Raph shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Just got a lot on my mind."

"Raph." Rocky stopped the boy, and put his hands on his shoulders. Turning Raph to face him, Rocky said, "I know with Thomas missing you're in charge of the team, but you are not in this alone." He squeezed his shoulders. "You have your team and all of us ex-Rangers on your side, and we don't plan on being sidelined anymore."

Raph's somber expression lightened. "I know, Dad." He reached up to grasp his father's arm. "That means a lot to me."

Pulling him into a tight embrace, Rocky clenched his eyes shut. _Please, God. I've screwed up so many times, and I know I'm not the greatest dad in the world.... Help me be the man and father he needs me to be._

Raph turned away as Rocky let him go, not wanting his father to see the tears in his eyes. "Dad...can we talk about Christmas?"

The rapid switch of subjects threw Rocky for a moment. "Uh...sure." He shrugged. "What about it?"

Turning to face his dad, Raph met his gaze. "Will you think about a trip to Sedona?" Seeing the frown settle on his father's face, Raph rapidly added, "Dad, please. I want us to be a family again."

Rocky closed his eyes. It was asking a lot of him. Marissa and Bailey lived in Sedona, Arizona. Had for the past six years. They had only spoken over the phone a few, brief times, to arrange visits for the kids.

What Raph was asking him to do took more courage than anything he'd ever done -- even as a Ranger. Rocky ran a hand over his close-cropped hair, down to rub the back of his neck. _I did ask to be the person he needs....._ He sighed. "Okay, Raph. I'll..I'll call your mom and see what she says."

The smile that lit Raph's face strengthened his resolve.

"Thanks, Dad!" Raph threw his arms around him in a brief hug. "Let's go see if you still have a good throwing arm. Bet I can throw a rock further across the quarry than you!"

"No way," Rocky scoffed. "Kiddo, you're on!"

Jason and Trini watched Jared pound the punching bag furiously.

"I don't think that bag is going to hold out much longer," Trini observed wryly. She winced as her son kicked the bag brutally.

"I'll go talk to him." Jason shook his head. "He reminds me of me when I'd lose it."

"Then you'll know what to tell him." Trini smiled and kissed him before walking back into the living quarters behind the dojo.

Waiting until Jared paused to catch his breath, Jason joined him. "Want to talk about it?"

Jared grimaced, leaning against the bag. "What I really want to do is grind those Wraiths into dust!" He wiped his face on his shirt sleeve. "Man!" Jared drew back and hit the bag hard.

Jason held the bag as Jared continued to pummel it brutally. The punches were hard enough to rattle his teeth.

Suddenly he stopped and looked at his father. "How can this happen? How can two of our teammates just...." Jared shrugged, gesturing. "Go over to the enemy so easily? How can they do that to us?"

Before Jason could say anything, Jared continued.

"Or is Jett really that powerful?" He kicked the bag, and followed up with two solid punches. "No way I believe evil is stronger than good." Jared smacked the bag hard enough to make his father take a step back. "NO way."

"Mom said that wasn't really Corry you guys saw." Jared frowned, looking at his gloves. He shook his head. "Corry hates the Wraiths. She can even tell when they're around. I just can't see how she could ...switch sides. You know?"

Jason nodded, as another kick rattled his teeth.

"And Thomas!" Jared punched the bag once, then paused. "He told us how being Rita's Ranger and then being the Wizard's puppet messed with his mind." He shook his head. "Damn! We were right there watching it all! We couldn't even make him hear us!" Jared hit the bag hard several times.

"I guess he thought Jett would spare us if he agreed to serve her." Spinning, he kicked the bag, knocking the air out of Jason. "As soon as he's back, I'm gonna straighten him out on that score!" He bounced on his toes, eyes sparkling. "We have a score to settle with that demoness. One I think we won't be alone in, huh Dad?"

Jason nodded. "You won't be able to keep us away," he promised.

"Yeah." Jared nodded. He looked like there was nothing he'd rather do than take on all the Wraiths then and there. "And something tells me Panther is gonna have a grudge to settle too." A wicked grin curved his mouth. "Payback's gonna be hell."

"Don't let your mother hear you talking like that." Jason cuffed his son's shoulder.

"I won't." Jared gripped his father's forearm. "Dad, thanks for talking to me. It helped." Pulling him into a sweaty hug, Jared released him with a grin. "I'd stay and spar, but I promised Nisha I'd help her with her homework at 4:00."

"Uh-huh." Jason crossed his arms, a knowing smile tilting his lips. "Don't tell me. Human Bio?"

Jared's grin widened. "Something like that."

"Go on," Jason chuckled. "Get outta here and shower or you'll be late." Watching him walk off, Jason shook his head. He couldn't imagine life without his son.

The thought sobered him, as his mind went to Kim and Will. They were holding up well, but everyone was very concerned about them, especially Kim. _Time to go see what's going on with those two._

Zack found Nisha in her room, laying on her stomach on her bed, staring at a scrapbook. "Hey, princess. Can I come in?"

She shrugged one shoulder, but moved over, making room for him to sit next to her on the bed.

Joining her, Zack casually glanced at the scrapbook. It was from Nisha's twelfth birthday party. The picture in the center of the page was a close-up of Nisha and Corry, arms around one another. Both had cake smeared all over their grinning faces.

"Remember that, Dad?" Nisha pointed to the picture. "Mom couldn't believe I got in a cake fight in one of my best dresses."

"It was one of the rare times we got you in a dress." Zack smiled, reaching out to straighten the long braids cascading down her back. "Your mom always wanted you to be more feminine." He winked. "I guess it didn't help with me encouraging you to take martial arts instead of ballet."

"Or showing me how to do Hip Hop Kido." Nisha loved the times her father had spent teaching her his own trademark brand of fighting. "I guess I'm a disappointment to Mom, though."

"What?" Zack pulled the scrapbook gently away and took her chin in his hand. "Listen to me Nisha Taylor. Your mother is proud of you. She's always telling anyone who will listen what a leader, an athlete and academian our daughter is." He flipped the scrapbook forward. "And look here. Isn't this where you won an award for best design?" Zack smiled. "How can you say you're not feminine when you created a knock-out prom gown like that?"

Nisha nodded. "You're right, Dad." Her smile faded a little. "Dad,...." She reached out and traced her fingers over the photo. Corry had modeled the navy blue gown that had won the award. The photo was of Nisha proudly holding her award, Aisha on one side, Corry on the other. "Do you think we'll find her?"

"The Rangers have never let one of their own go, Nisha." Zack's dark eyes were thoughtful. "We always brought them home." He sighed. "Tommy was the only one we ever even lost in a battle."

Nodding, Nisha smiled. "We're not gonna break that record now." She closed the scrapbook and glanced at the clock. "Jay's coming over at 4:00."

"In other words," Zack stood. "Get out, Dad, I gotta get ready?" He gave a mock sigh. "Whatever happened to 'daddy, read me a story?'"

Giggling, Nisha hopped up and gave him a kiss. "You always added things, and changed them too!"

"Of course!" Zack winked. "You try reading the same story night after night and see if you don't do it too!" He walked to the door, a mischievous smile making his dark eyes twinkle. "I thought you and Jared were just friends?"

Nisha rolled her eyes. "Daaaad!" Picking up one of the pillows on a chair, she lobbed it at him.

Zack laughed as he ducked and scooted out of the room. He almost ran into Aisha, who had been standing out in the hall.

Shaking her head, Aisha kissed him. Hooking her arm around his, she led him away from Nisha's room. "Sometimes I swear I have two kids."

Sam Trueheart loved early morning...and not only because he was grateful to see another sunrise. No, it had more to do with the way the light slanted down on the gold-red rock, giving the desert a surrealistic look. The sky was a pure blue, untouched by clouds or the jetstreams of planes.

Slowly climbing up the windswept lines of a low mountain, Sam hummed to himself. The songs of his ancestors had been safely passed on to the next generation in David, his son, but Sam worried about his grandchildren. They were so far away most of the time. Even with the convenience of modern travel, Sam wished they all lived with him.

_Here,_ he thought. _In the land the Creator made for His people._ Sam raised his face, closing his eyes, as a gentle morning breeze caressed his leathered, bronzed face. _The air is clean, untainted by city fumes, the birds sing and call to us...._ He smiled as he heard the cry of a falcon.

Sam made it to the top of the mountain, and sat. His patient gaze stayed on the falcon circling high above, riding the invisible currents of air. A lizard popped up on a nearby rock to sun itself. Quietly, Sam began to sing, a song of praise to the Creator for all the good things in his life.

"True of Heart."

With a start, Sam opened his eyes. They widened as he saw the shining being standing before him. "I-I am Sam Trueheart. My ancestor of long ago was named True of Heart." He wondered briefly if he should kneel or bow his head....

"You do indeed resemble him, Sam Trueheart." The man smiled, his blue eyes almost glowing. His hair was blonde, and tied back in a long ponytail. He wore a white tunic, belted by a silken blue cord, and white pants. His boots were pale leather. "There is no need to bow before me."

"Who are you?" Sam's hand briefly went up to the pouch that hung around his neck. It was an unconscious move, but it made the being smile wider.

"I have not come to harm you." The man sat lightly on a boulder not far from Sam. "There is a debt owed to your line from long ago. I have come to make sure you know of it."

"A debt?" Sam shook his head. "The differences between The People and White men have been resolved for many years, stranger. Please, do not stir up old wounds."

Throwing back his head, the man laughed loudly. "Oh, no, Trueheart!" His eyes twinkled as he gazed at the old Indian. "This goes back even farther than that. I speak of a time when the Shining Ones roamed the Earth with The People."

"Th...." Sam stared. His father had passed down the stories of the Shining Ones -- Great Warriors of purity and bravery who fought only on the side of the righteous. They had not been seen for countless generations. Even when The People were being rounded up and forced onto Reservations after walking countless hundreds of miles on death marches...the Shining Ones had not appeared to help.

Sam had long ago concluded they had ceased to care, or were merely legend. "Why? Why now?"

A look of compassion filled the man's face. "The promise was not made to The People. Only to True of Heart, and to his descendents."

"Then why are you here now?"

The being sat forward. "Listen to me carefully, Trueheart. What I tell you now will make the difference for you and your family."

David Trueheart put the windshield wipers on, sighing. He had gone out the night after everything had happened to try and tell his father.

He had ended up sobbing the entire story out, as the wise, old man held him and murmured soothing words. _I don't know what I'll do when Dad goes...._ His father was so strong. Sam Trueheart had a faith in the unseen that was unshakable. He had even smiled, and told David it would all work for the best. "Wait and see," he had said.

Well, weeks had passed, and the kids were still missing. Looking at the rain, David sighed. "Even Earth is crying...."

Katherine was still so upset, David hated leaving her. Kim and Will were going through the same thing though and they were doing a better job of comforting her at the moment.

All he felt was shock. Anger, then numbness, had set in. How could this happen to his kids? How could this happen again? Everything had been so quiet.....

Stopping the jeep, David climbed out. The jeep would be safe here, just inside the Reservation. He decided to walk the distance to his father's home. It was something he always did. It helped him make the transition from the bustle of the modern world to the serenity of the Reservation. As he walked, David sloughed off his "modern" ways, dropping easily back into the slower, more traditional habits of his father.

An hour later he raised his hand to knock on the door, but stopped when it opened suddenly.

"David! Good." Sam pulled him in, smiling. "I have news about the children!"

"Where are we?"

Ted Oliver looked around the forest and shrugged. "Heck if I know, kid." It was a thick, wooded forest. A huge boulder dominated the small clearing they had appeared in.

Lon leaned against the boulder and grimaced. "I don't think I can go too far, Uncle Ted."

"Let me take a look at that." He knelt and gingerly pulled aside the slashed edges of his nephew's jeans. "Ouch." Ted winced. There were two deep gashes where the Wraiths' razor sharp claws had easily sliced through the skin. They were still bleeding, seeping into the jeans, and dripping onto the ground. "Let's get that bleeding stopped."

Ted led the boy over to a large tree and helped him sit. "Here." He propped Lon's leg up on a fallen log. "Elevation." He grinned as he knelt. The kid was looking a little pasty under his normally tan skin. "Hang on, Lon." Ted squeezed his shoulder gently. "Your mom'll kill me if I don't bring you back in one piece."

Lon laughed, wincing as Ted ripped the hole in his jeans a bit more. "What do you think happened to Mady and Ben?"

"Don't know." Ted ripped the jeans down to Lon's shoe, tearing a strip off to use as a tie. "Okay, Lon. This is gonna hurt." He tied the strip of jean around the injured leg, then used a stick to create a tourniquet. As he finished tying it off, he checked his watch. "In ten minutes we'll loosen that for a minute, then it goes back on."

The teen's lips were white as he nodded.

Taking off his jacket, Ted draped over Lon, tucking it around his shoulders. "Just hang in there, kiddo." Smiling gently, he pushed back the boy's long dark hair. "Don't worry about your brother and sister. If I know Angel Grove, the Rangers probably showed up to teach those Wraiths a thing or two."

"Mom said you were an awesome Green Ranger, Uncle Ted." Lon used some of the calming techniques his grandfather had taught him, blunting the pain he was feeling. "What is it like to be a Ranger?"

Ted shook his head, a lopsided grin curving his lips as he sat. "Nothing like it in the world, Lon." He checked his watch again. "Did you folks ever tell you about the time we took on Rita and Zedd, the Machine Empire, Divatox and all their lackeys?"

Two mornings later, David Trueheart retraced his steps in the morning sunlight. The red-gold, windswept rocks of the Reservation were beautiful, and somehow oddly comforting in their solidness. Even in chaos, there was stability.

"I'm not very comfortable with this, David." Olivia fidgeted, shifting her feet. She had her hair tied back in a ponytail to keep it from whipping around.

The man stopped walking, and faced the girl. "You'll be welcomed, Olivia. My Father is still very active, and was teaching Lon the old ways of healing." Pain lanced across his sharp features. "He said he had an insight into this problem and to bring the Ranger of heart to him."

Olivia shook her head. "But what does that mean?" She looked up as David gently gripped her shoulders.

She was about the same age as Mady, his middle child, and only daughter. There was a gentle spirit in this petite girl though, where Mady was fiercely independent. "Pink Rangers have always been the heart of the team, Olivia. You're no different, just a little younger than the others." He smiled. "Aren't you the one who worries about how the others feel? The one who tries to cheer them up and make things brighter, even when they're dark?"

Shrugging, Olivia looked away. "I guess." She sighed. "Owl said in time I would have wisdom..." She looked up, dark eyes solemn. "But all I feel like is a stupid kid sometimes."

David chuckled. "Olivia, we all feel like that sometimes. Even those of us over thirty." He winked. "It's all a part of being human." He looked towards a valley and pointed. "See where the valley narrows? Dad's house is just beyond that." He held out a hand, smiling encouragingly.

Sighing, Olivia put her hand in his. "I hope Mr. Trueheart doesn't regret this."

"He won't." David chuckled. "You might, though, after he gives you some of the concoction he fondly calls tea."

"Can't be any worse than Grandma Jo'ng-hu'i's." Olivia grimaced. "She says it's a recipe from Korea, but it tastes like cabbage."

David nodded. "Then you'll know what you're in for."

The small house David ushered Olivia into was simple by modern standards, but there was a peacefulness about it that made her feel immediately welcome. She looked shyly at the man sitting next to the fireplace. His long white hair was loose around his denim shirt, and his bronze face was lined with wrinkles. He looked like he was at least a hundred years old, and for a minute Olivia hesitated. Then he smiled, and she saw how bright the dark brown eyes were. They reminded her of her grandfather, and an immediate answering smile curved her mouth.

"Father." David bent to hug his father, kissing the wrinkled cheek. Kneeling next to the old man's chair, he smiled at Olivia. "This is Olivia Park, Father. She's the current Pink Ranger. Olivia," David gestured her to come closer. "This is my father, Sam Trueheart."

Dark eyes twinkling, Sam Trueheart gazed at the petite girl. "So you are the one the Owl has chosen to guide."

Eyes wide, Olivia looked at David. He grinned and shrugged. "You want me to fix something to drink?"

"There is tea in the kitchen." Sam smiled fondly at his son. "You could bring it out."

"Here, Olivia." David pulled a chair closer to the fire, facing his father's. "Have a seat." He left the two to talk.

"H-how did you know about Owl?" Olivia sat, still staring.

Sam solemnly said, "I am very old and have seen many things." A mischievous grin crept up his face, and he gestured to a corner. "I also have a television and have seen the Rangers. Your armor has an Owl on the coin and your helmet."

"Oh!" Olivia smiled sheepishly. She relaxed slightly, seeing he wasn't going to bombard her with questions. "Um...David said you wanted to talk to me?"

Picking up an object on the table next to him, Sam set it in his lap. "How familiar are you with Native American legends, Olivia?"

Shaking her head, the girl answered, "Hardly at all. My father is Korean and Mom is African American, so...." Olivia shrugged.

"That's all right." Sam smiled. His gaze drifted to the fire, and for a moment he was quiet. "When the world was young and The People few, we lived in harmony with nature and one another. We weren't perfect...." His dark eyes looked at the girl, who sat listening with a rapt expression. "For only the Creator is perfect. The People thought the world was theirs to share with the animals. We believed we were His only people."

Sam continued as David entered quietly and joined them, gently setting a tray and cups on a nearby table. "Then strangers came. They were unlike any of The People we had ever seen. Our skin was the color of the manzanita; our hair dark as raven's wings; our eyes the rich color of the Earth. The strangers' had skin the color of milk, eyes the color of the sky, and hair the color of corn. They did not dress as we did in the leathers of animals, but in strange materials The People had never seen. Their language was musical, lilting." Pausing, Sam shook his head. "It became clear to us we weren't the Creators only people. It unsettled us."

When he was silent for a long space of time, Olivia leaned forward slightly. "What happened?"

Smiling, Sam again gazed at the fire. "The strangers walked with a glow about them. They became known as The Shining Ones to us, and for a time dwelt in peace with The People." He shook his head. "But they were restless, wanting to see more of the Creator's world. They decided to move on, and leave The People. One of my ancestors, True of Heart, volunteered to guide them across the open plains to the great waters. Winter was coming and he knew they would never make it across the mountains without a guide." Sam smiled at Olivia. "True of Heart had many adventures with the Shining Ones, even saving their lives once, but eventually, he walked with them upon the shores of the great waters."

Chewing on her lip, Olivia asked, "Was it the Pacific Ocean?"

Sam nodded. "That's right. True of Heart came to love the land very much. So much, he eventually brought The People here to where we live to this very day."

"Wow," Olivia sighed. "I wish I could see what it looked like back then." Her attention was caught by Sam holding up an object in a deerskin covering. "What's that?"

"This is what the Shining Ones gave True of Heart as a sign of appreciation for what he had done." Sam held the object reverently. "This has been in my family for many generations, Olivia. It was passed down from True of Heart to his son, and down to his son, until I now hold it."

Looking at David, Olivia's eyes were wide. "Are you going to give it to David now?"

Sam smiled warmly. He liked the girls' warm, generous spirit. She had the gentle heart he had so prized in his wife. "Not yet." Sam smiled at David. "Before I do, there is a task that must be done." Carefully, he unwrapped the object.

Olivia and David both leaned forward to get a good look at what Sam was uncovering.

It was a miniature tapestry. Intricate knots and animals were woven in intertwining designs and deep, rich colors of burgundy, royal blue, hunter green, sunflower yellow, seashell pink and silver-white on a background of pure black. Sam pointed to the animals as he spoke. "The fish symbolizes clairvoyance; the serpent divine wisdom; the hare good fortune; the birds the spirit of prophecy; the horse sovereignty; the dragon the guardian spirit."

Gently undoing the tapestry, Sam pulled a small dagger out. Its hilt was made from the antler of a deer, but the blade itself had a blue-silver glow that pulsed slightly. "This is what the Shining Ones gave True of Heart. He was told that there would be day, sometime in the distant future, when True of Heart's children would have a great need." Sam smiled gently at Olivia and held the dagger nestled in the tapestry out to her. "I entrust this to you, and give you the charge laid upon me at the time it was passed into my care. Use this only in times of most desperate need -- when darkness threatens to overwhelm all held dear."

Almost as if compelled, Olivia held out her hands, palms up. Her eyes were huge as she stared at Sam. "But...I'm not one of the line of True of Heart."

"Pink Ranger, you are the one who represents the heart of your team." Sam gently placed it on her hands. "Use this to call upon the Shining Warriors. They will aide only those fighting for the Light. They will not win the battle for you, Olivia." Sam sat back, sighing. "But they will turn the tide, and allow you to win back all that has been lost to you."

Tears filled the girl's eyes as his words sank in. "Mr. Trueheart...." Her voice choked up and she bit her lip. Olivia looked at the objects in her trembling hands with awe.

"Sheath the dagger only in the tapestry, Olivia." Sam smiled wearily. "It will hide it from the sight of the evil ones."

Olivia carefully re-sheathed the dagger, folding it completely into the tapestry, which seemed to almost bind to the blade. She put it back in the deerskin. Quietly she whispered, "Thank you." Standing, she bent forward and kissed Sam's leathery cheek. "We'll get every single one of them back, don't worry."

Seeing the fierce light of determination in the young girls' eyes, Sam smiled and nodded. "I am certain of it, young Owl." He sighed. "Forgive me, but I am tired." He squeezed her hand gently. "Fly well, and fly free, young one."

"Come on, Olivia." David took hold of her arm, guiding her towards the door as Sam's eyes shut. "I'll take you back now."

"Will he be okay?"

David nodded, smiling. "He's just resting. Don't worry." He guided her out the door, shutting it quietly. "Knowing my father, he'll be right there when you use the dagger to summon the Shining Ones." He shook his head. "That's a once in a millennium sight none of us will want to miss!"

"I can't wait to tell the others!" Olivia's steps were lighter than they had been for weeks. "Let's go!"

Sirens suddenly screamed to life as black forms stepped out of the deep shadows of city hall.

In the lead was a young woman. Long honey blonde hair flowed down her back, cascading over the gleaming black armor covering her body. In her hand was an ebony blade, topped with a snarling wolf's head. Corry Cranston casually surveyed the plaza, and a smirk curved her mouth.

She shook her head. "No, this has been done too often." Turning to the Wraiths gathered in an ebony mass behind her, she raised an eyebrow. "Let's go stir up suburbia."

Light flared in the plaza next to the fountain, solidifying into the Blue and Yellow Rangers. They stanced as the Wraiths suddenly disappeared back into the shadows.

"Cor-" Gavin bit his lip to keep from calling out to his lost teammate.

" Ah, Crap," Jared growled. He lifted his wrist to his helmet. "You have a lock on where they went?"

"Getting it right now." Will's voice was terse.

"Where -" The Mayor came running out of City Hall. "Why did they sirens go off?" He looked around, only seeing two Power Rangers. "Jim, shut those damn sirens off!"

"I'm telelporting you to their location...now."

"Rangers, wait!" Mayor Velasquez ran down the steps even as blue and yellow light swept the Rangers up and away. He stopped and shook his head. "Blast it! I really wanted to ask them some questions." Looking around the plaza he sighed. "Oh well, at least nothing was ripped apart this time."

"Ah, suburbia." Corry surveyed the neat lawns, the manicured shrubs and flowers bordering yards. In the twilight, the Wraiths were just barely visible as bodiless masses of muscle. A breeze blew leaves down the empty street. Somewhere in the distance, a dog howled. She turned to the Wraiths. "Liven the place up a bit, will you?"

The black horde dispersed, silently spreading out.

The Rangers teleported in, momentarily bathing the neighborhood in a rainbow wash of color. For a breathless moment, they faced the woman in the black armor without moving.

She smiled and twirled the ebony sword, bringing it up to face them. "Long time no see, guys."

Back in the makeshift Command Center, Will gripped the console. It looked like the Rangers were just going to stand there and gawk. "Come on, Rangers! Talk to her!" _Find out if it really is Corry...._

Red Ranger stepped forward. "If you are Corry, then you won't fight us."

An amused smile quirked the woman's mouth. "Really?''

"Yes, really!" Pink Ranger yelled. Olivia forgot any trepidation she had about the Wraiths as she glared at the woman. "Corry would never hurt her friends!"

Regarding the black wolf on the hilt of the sword, the woman shrugged. "You know the old saying." Her eyes flashed gold as she looked up and thrust the sword forward. "You always hurt the ones you love!"

Beams of black lightning shot out of the wolf's eyes, slamming into each Ranger. They flew backwards, hitting the ground hard.

Blue Ranger rolled to his feet, and ran over to make sure his teammates were all right.

"I'm fine," Black growled. Raph stood and stared. She was just standing there, watching them, smirking. He stalked towards her, stopping only when the point of the ebony sword was almost touching his armor. She watched him warily, but still looked amused.

Raph stared at her, trying to see if there was any trace of the girl he'd known in the gold eyes.

All he saw was a bottomless pit of darkness so deep, he took a step back.

"What's the matter, Raph?"

He blinked. It was her voice, as friendly and cheerful sounding as ever. Raph shook his head, and took another step back.

An idea came to Gavin. He knew exactly what would irritate her. "How's Thomas, Corry?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Fine." Glancing at him, she shrugged. "Why?"

_That's it, Gavin!_ Black Ranger kept his voice nonchalant. "Oh, just wondering how you feel about him and Jett teaming up." Raph smiled, knowing she could see his face. "I guess that's fine since you're all one big miserable Wraith family now, huh?"

Nothing. No spark of emotion, no frown. Just the same smirk. "You'll know misery, Ranger. Very soon."

"Doesn't it bother you? Jett...and Thomas...together?" Gavin taunted.

Still no reaction.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Don't be juvenile, Gavin." She pressed the ebony blade against Black Ranger's chest plate, slowly reaching her other hand up to stroke his helmet. "Do you have nightmares of Jett caressing your beating heart, Raph?"

As Black Ranger staggered back, obviously shocked by the reference, Nisha moved. "That's it!" Red Ranger charged the woman.

Before Nisha got halfway there, she was blasted back by the dark lightning again. She hit the curb, and rolled into the street. Jared helped her stand. "Someone's cranky today!"

"She needs an attitude adjustment," Nisha growled.

Black Ranger held up his hand as the other two started to attack. "No!" He backed away until he was standing just in front of the Rangers. "That's not Corry." Disgust laced his voice.

"What?" Jared shook his head. "Black..."

"Corry wouldn't hurt us." Pink Ranger's hands were fisted as she glared at the woman. "And she would NEVER say what that...that...thing said to Raph."

"Mixing Corry and Jett is like combining oil and water." Yellow shook his head. "They separate no matter how long and hard you try to blend them."

"Where is she?" Red growled. "What have you done to her?"

"You tried to fool us." Raph shook his head. "Game's over, Wraith. We're going to find our White Ranger." He pointed. "Then YOU had better be ready. Because as sure as the sun rises, she's gonna be pissed."

"She won't like that you tried to fool us by using her image." Yellow walked over to stand next to Raph.

"AND stole Thomas," Pink added. She stood next to Gavin.

"You're gonna be sorry you messed with us." Red Ranger stood on Raph's other side

"Mess with one Ranger, and you mess with us all." Jared walked over to stand next to Nisha.

Raph let a satisfied smile curve his mouth. "You can go now," He said, waving her off. "Go, and take that message to Jett."

The woman blinked, frowning slightly. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go! "Wraiths!" Glaring at the Rangers, she disappeared in a black wash of light, followed by the shadow forms that had come with her.

Beth Summers and Tara Lawson, two of the defenders of the planet Earth, looked at the image in the Viewing Screen. "Omicron?" Tara asked.

"I don't know who she is, but... she registers as a Ranger."

"More dimensional travelers?" Beth asked.

"Probably," Omicron said with a shrug. "She looks kind of disoriented."

"She's wearing summer clothes in the middle of winter," Tara said. "We need to get her here; she'll freeze out there!"

"Let's don't risk a blind teleport," Beth said. "Why don't we morph and go out there? If she's a Ranger... then, she'll relate to us. Right?"

"If not, we can wipe her," Omicron said. "Do it."

"It's morphin time!" both girls cried in unison.

"Kangaroo!" Beth shouted.

"Fox!" Tara added. Pink and yellow light flared up around them, and they promptly morphed into the shiny armor of the Pink and Yellow Rangers. Beth, as Pink Ranger, bore the image of a Pterodactyl on her helmet and a Kangaroo on the silver Power Coin in her morpher and the larger coin on her chest. Tara, as Yellow, wore the standard Saber-Tooth Tiger armor, holding a Fox in her silver coins.

"Let's go!" Beth yelled.

"Do you realize we yell a lot when we're morphed?" Tara asked.

"It's the adrenaline," Beth said before they melted into two sparkling streams of yellow and pink.

"You aren't Gavin," Corry muttered as she saw a Yellow Ranger teleport in not more than fifty feet away. Besides the obvious gender and height differences, this Yellow Ranger had a different helmet design. _Saber-tooth Tiger?_ Corry asked herself. _And Pterodactyl. Am I in the past?_

Climbing to her feet, using the tree to steady herself, she cleared her throat and shouted, "Mo-... Kimberly!? Trini? Aisha?"

"Did you hear that?" Tara asked. "She just asked if I was Trini or Aisha." Neither Ranger said anything, but they immediately shifted into a line-of-site teleport. Turning into an amorphous cloud of appropriately colored light, they darted over to the young woman clad in white.

"Uhm, hi," Corry stammered as the two Rangers rematerialized before her. "My name is Corry Cranston."

"Cranston?" Beth asked, turning to look at Tara.

"Are you Kimberly Hart?" Corry asked hopefully, looking at the Pink Ranger.

"No," Beth said. She reached up to her helmet and quickly broke the seal. She removed the helmet and placed it in the crook of her left arm. Extending her right hand, she said, "My name is Beth Summers."

"Beth Summers?" Corry asked. _I don't remember a Beth Summers..._

"And Tara Lawson," Tara said as she removed her own helmet. "You aren't from here, are you?"

"I- I don't know," Corry said. "I might be. I don't really know what happened."

"Why don't you come with us?" Beth suggested. "To our headquarters."

"Sure," Corry relented. "Anything to get some answers." She reached for her white communicator and then realized it was missing.

"Hold on," Tara said as she reached out and touched Corry's arm. Using a mental command, the trio melted away in a triple bar of pink, yellow, and white.

Beep beep beepbeep beep beep. "Jeremy here," the Blue Ranger answered. "Allison, too. Is there a problem?"

"We've got a dimensional traveller," Omicron answered.

"More?" Purple Ranger Allison asked her friend.

He shrugged and said, "All right, we're on our way." The two friends quickly hurried to a side passageway in the mall.

"We're clear," Allison said before they disappeared in streams of blue and purple light.

"She's not lying, Omicron," Crystal said.

"Why would I lie?" Corry asked. "I'm just- Oh, I'm so confused."

"You're from the year 2018," Crystal told her. "You used to be the White Ranger, but a villain named Jett stole your powers and you ended up here."

"You forgot about the part with my totem," Corry said sadly. "The Wolf left me."

"Is it possible that powers can be stolen that easily?" Dana asked.

"Anything is possible in other dimensions," Nadia told them. "Some Ranger powers are very, very different than the ones we have here. Some are barely bonded to the person holding them, almost to the point that losing a coin could cause one to lose their powers."

"Ours were stronger than that," Corry sighed. "It's just- I don't know why it happened."

"I'm going to do what I can to get a lock on your dimension and time," Omicron assured her. "But..."

"I'm gonna be here for a while."

"Probably," Omicron said softly. "You're free to stay here. I can fix you up a bedroom, and..."

"I don't want to be an imposition," Corry said, horribly shaken at the news she was about as far away from home as she could ever be.

"You are welcome with us as long as you are here," Sigma assured her.

Several hours later, Corry found herself lying on her back in a suitable bedroom. It was friendly and comfortable enough. She even had a television, although it wasn't voice activated. _Don't forget you're in the past, kid._

"Corry?" a soft voice asked.

"Yeah?" she returned, sitting up in bed. She saw her current dimension's Green Ranger standing in the door. "Come on in... Dana?"

"Yeah," she said. She brushed her silken blonde hair over her shoulders as she joined Corry on the bed. "Do you feel like talking?"

"Eh," Corry said with a shrug. "I just... I feel pretty wooden, you know?"

"Not really, but I can imagine," Dana told her. "Omicron is looking, and she's got some really powerful means of searching. We have three of the most powerful Swords in our known universe out there, powering this entire Power Core."

"Swords?"

"Yeah, that's our power source," Dana explained. "Everything comes from those Swords. Our armor, our A.V.'s, our coins, the Power Core, everything. Anyway, Beth and I were gonna go to Mickey D's, and we were wondering if you wanted to come with."

"Mickey D's?"

"McDonald's," Dana reiterated. "My bad, I forget everyone isn't from here."

"My b-?"

"Sorry."

"Yeah, but what does it mean?"

"It means sorry," Dana told her with a grin. "Or, to be more proper, my mistake."

"Oh," Corry said with a laugh. "Uhm, you do eat cheeseburgers at... Mickey D's, right?"

"Cheeseburgers, french fries, milk shakes, the works," she answered. "And tonight, we're going to go see _Titanic_ again."

"The movie?"

"Yeah, do you have _Titanic_ at your home?"

"It's like a classic, but yeah," Corry said excitedly, her interest piqued. "I have seen the holos, but I've never seen it in... Do you have the old-fashioned theaters? Oh, you don't know what those are. The kind... like a box?"

"Like a box?"

"There's a screen on the wall, and everybody only sits on one side of the screen, all in the same direction," Corry said, trying to express her point with her hands.

"Uhm, yeah," Dana answered. "That's what they all look like here. What do they look like in your world?"

"They're round," she said, standing up. "Sort of like a..."

"Coliseum?"

"Sort of," Corry agreed. "I'd love to go." She looked at her closet, full of freshly synthesized clothing. _Anything to get my mind off of everything._ "Just give me a sec to get dressed."

"All right," Dana said. "I'll be waiting in the Power Core." In a flash of green light, Dana disappeared.

"We have to get out and do something before the storm hits," Beth said, standing by the door of her electric green Geo Storm.

"Storm?" Corry asked, looking around worriedly. After what had happened in the last storm, she wasn't too eager to get caught in another one.

"We're gonna have another foot of snow on the ground tomorrow morning," Dana told her as she got in the backseat.

"I wasn't aware you had such good weather prediction methods in the late 20th century," Corry commented.

"We don't, but Omicron does," Beth said. "It's always nice to know someone on the inside."

"I've never ridden in a car that rolls on the ground before," Corry said, a bit warily. "This is safe, right?"

"The car is perfectly safe," Dana said. "Beth drives like a hoodlum, but that's another story."

"I do not drive like a hoodlum!" Beth protested. "I drive defensively."

"You'd be justified if we were in a war zone," Dana shot back.

"Maybe I should drive," Corry joked.

"Want to?" Beth asked, flashing her the keys. "You know, give it the country try?"

"Oh no," Corry said. "I freak out in HoverCars, and those things have preventive crash measures. I'll just sit back here and watch."

"See that girl," Jeremy said to his friend. "She's from the future and a different dimension."

"You're kidding?" Michael asked. "Another 'un?"

"We're like Power Rangers Central around here," Jeremy muttered. "But, she's friendly enough. Want me to introduce you?"

"Yeah, but I'm going to scare Beth first," Michael said, lifting his eyebrows. It was partly the two boys' mutual attraction for Beth Summers that had made them friends in the first place. Seeing as they both knew neither had a chance with the stunning beauty, they got along great.

Michael ran up behind Beth and grabbed her by the ribs. Squealing, she spun around, shouting, "Michael Scott! That gets less funny each time you do it!"

"If you like, we could start this again," Jeremy said.

"Stimulus," Michael teased as they tickled her in the ribs. When she erupted into a full-body laughter and wriggle, they both shouted, "Response!"

"Oh, Corry," Jeremy said, still laughing, "I forgot my manners. This is my friend, Mike Scott. Mike, this is Corry Cranston."

"'Tis a pleasure to make acquaintance with such a stunning beauty," Michael said, dropping to one knee and taking her hand to gently kiss it.

Laughing, Corry drew her hand back and said, "The pleasure is all mine, I'm sure."

"What movie are you gonna see?" Dana asked. "We're seeing _Titanic_ for the fiftieth time."

"_Scream 2,_" Jeremy answered, "for the fifty-first time." Suddenly, Purple Ranger Allison popped behind them in full Ghostface costume.

"Allison?" Beth asked.

"I lost a bet," Allison muttered. She lifted the screaming white mask enough to reveal her face beneath. "Just don't tell anyone it's me."

"Hey everybody!" Michael shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the theater lobby. "Allison Simpson is the fool in the costume!"

As some turned back to their previous attentions scowling angrily, others shouted out her name and a good deal laughed. "Is it always like this around here?" Corry asked.

"It is if Michael Scott is involved," Jeremy answered. "Which movie did you say you were gonna see?"

"_Titanic,_" Corry said. "I'd rather dehydrate than scream myself loopy."

"Chicks," Michael muttered. "C'mon, Screamer."

"Gladly," Allison agreed, ready to get away from the stares of the entire theater.

"I'll catch y'all later," Jeremy said as he hurried off to join his friends.

"What is it with men and horror movies?" Dana asked.

"I like horror movies," Beth said.

"Given what happened during the last horror holo I was in," Corry started as they walked to their cinema, "I have no desire to try again. With my luck, I'll end up at Woodstock next time."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Dana asked Corry as they walked back to their car.

"Yeah," Corry sniffled, rubbing her cheeks with the backside of her hand. "It's just- When you're at the holo, you feel a theatrical version of what the characters feel. So whenever I watched it, I was always freezing cold at the end, and you didn't really care that much for the characters 'cause you were freezing cold, too, but in that theater, where you were all warm and comfortable, and you knew that Jack and Rose weren't..."

Suddenly, silver and gold light flashed all about them. Gargoyles dropped to the ground, flexing their arms and flashing their razor-sharp claws. "What are those?" Corry asked as Dana put herself in front of her.

"Gargoyles," Beth answered. "Worthless henchmen." She pressed her thumb and index finger together and pulled her hand up to her mouth. "Omicron, we got beasts."

"Corry, I'm getting you back to the Power Core," Omicron announced. Corry disappeared in a sparkling stream of silver-white light, much brighter than the teleport streams of non-Rangers.

A quartet of blue, red, purple, and yellow light streaked through the sky, forming the remaining Power Rangers. "Let's kick some Gargoyle!" Red Ranger Crystal shouted.

"Right!" the others agreed.

"Lion!" Jeremy shouted.

"Kangaroo!" Beth yelled.

"Squirrel!" Crystal cried.

"Frog!" Allison bellowed.

"Sparrow!" Dana added.

"Fox!" Tara finished. In a bright, multi-colored flash of light, the six young adults morphed into the Power Rangers. Each wore shiny, gleaming armor. The Blue Ranger bore a helmet with a Triceratops on it, Pink Ranger had a Pterodactyl, Red Ranger had a Tyrannosaurus, Purple Ranger was the Mastodon, Green Ranger had a unique Brachiosaurus, and Yellow Ranger was the Saber-Tooth Tiger.

"Attack!" Beth yelled, just as a vicious fight let loose.

Draanov and Raphael appeared in their customary teleportation signals of black light. Raphael immediately threw himself in Beth's direction, while Draanov raised his club and darted for the closest Ranger.

However, rather than hit Dana across her back, he stopped right beside her. Startled, Dana spun around, summoning her Brachiosaurus Trident as she did so. "What are you doing?" she snarled, holding the Trident over her shoulder like a javelin.

"You smell different," Draanov commented, sniffing with his rat-like snout. "You smell like... a wolf."

"I smell like a wolf?" Dana asked, not dropping form. "Thank you SO much."

"What's your friend's name?"

"Leave her OUT of this," Dana snapped. "She's not a Ranger."

"Well," Draanov sighed, shrugging, "whatever you want to think."

"Are they talking about me?" Corry asked, looking at the large video screen.

"Seems like," Omicron muttered. Her fingers danced across the console, bringing up vital information on all aspects of the fight. However, at the moment, her efforts were centered on the rat-like henchman Draanov. "Corry? Well, he might not be telling the truth, but..."

"But what?"

"He at least thinks he is," Omicron said. "He's not actually lying."

"What does that tell us?" Corry asked, looking over Omicron's shoulder at the Viewing Screen.

"He thinks you are still a Power Ranger," Omicron answered.

Red and purple light flared up beside a massive snow bank near the theater parking lot. Sheila, current main villainess set after planet Earth, was left standing in old, knee-deep snow. She wore remarkably little clothing. She wore red body armor that looked more like a swimsuit from the twenties than it did protective clothing. It covered her entire torso and extended to halfway down her thighs and biceps. The rest of her was left bare. Her fingernails were painted an outrageous shade of purple, along with her toenails which were currently hidden beneath the snow drift. However, she didn't seem to mind the horribly intrusive cold.

Sheila watched intently as her Gargoyles fought with the six brightly colored Power Rangers. As usual, the Rangers eventually turned the tables. The pattern got rather boring, actually. Send down Gargoyles, fight until the Gargoyles are nearly all defeated, produce a random monster, send after the Rangers, fight for a while longer, make the monster grow big, the Rangers call their Assault Vehicles, and then, big surprise, fight until the Rangers win. Repeat at least once a week.

"Of course, Nadia did no better," Sheila mused. "I need a new tactic."

Her eyes flared up bright red as a thought occurred to her. She stuck out her right hand and produced a gleaming red dagger in her hand. The hilt was of a Gargoyle holding a crystalline orb above its head. The orb flashed purple, and a spur-of-the-moment monster appeared in the parking lot. Sheila quickly dubbed it the IceMaker. Not particularly creative, but an apt name nonetheless. The IceMaker was a blue humanoid machine, covered with sharp angles that gleamed and glinted in the halogen lights surrounding the parking lot. Of course, his prime defense mechanism was ice.

"Do your best, IceMaker," Sheila purred. The snow near her caved into the ground as the magical passageway to her abode opened up. She descended the stone staircase that led into a gaping, fire-filled hole in the ground. Even as she entered the Earth, her mind was coming up with a diabolical plan.

"Back off, Frosty!" Beth shouted as she ran up to the IceMaker. Already, he had set down a sheet of ice in a thirty-foot circle around him. Even with her enhanced abilities and the grips on her boots, the Pink Ranger still had a bit of trouble stopping exactly when she had intended to.

The IceMaker stretched his hand above his head and formed a long spear of ice in his grasp. However, before he could throw it at Beth, a blue whip shot out at him and wrapped around his forearm. With a grunt, IceMaker's gaze jerked away from the Pink Ranger and traveled down the blue whip lashed around his arm. It ended with the Blue Ranger, a good thirty feet away.

"Try picking on somebody of your own gender, IceMaker!" Jeremy taunted.

"You know good and well Tara is gonna kick your butt for that later!" Beth shouted.

"Durn right!" Tara yelled through their helmet comms.

"Fear not, Yellow Ranger!" IceMaker growled. "I'll take care of Little Boy Blue."

"I ain't little!" Jeremy shouted. Suddenly, blue light flashed and a thick covering of ice traveled down the whip, encasing it in a good six inches of crystalline ice. Rather than stop at the cylinder of the Triceratops Whip, however, the ice traveled up the Blue Ranger's arm, locking him in ice up to the shoulder.

"Uh oh," Jeremy muttered. He instantly put the Triceratops Whip away, although the ice remained behind. "I can't move!" he yelled.

Before anyone could assist him, however, IceMaker lifted the Blue Ranger off of the ground. IceMaker began to spin in a circle with the Blue Ranger still attached to him by a thirty-foot shard of ice. The yelling Blue Ranger was lifted higher and higher into the air as he was being spun in a wide circle around IceMaker.

"Let him go, Creepazoid!" Tara yelled. "Saber-Toothed Tiger Bow and Arrow!" In a glimmer of yellow, her bow appeared in her hand. However, she fired an arrow from it, only to have it bounce off of the heavy shaft of ice that IceMaker continued to use to spin the Blue Ranger around above his head.

"We could really use those laser pistol things!" Allison shouted as she sent her Mastodon Machete whirling toward several enthused Gargoyles.

"We gotta put 'em together!" Dana shouted as she slid to a halt beside her friend. Her Brachiosaurus Trident was gleaming in her hands.

"Right!" Tara agreed.

The two girls faced each other, each holding their weapons at an angle across their chest. In perfect unison, they shouted, "Brachiosaurus Saber-Toothed Tiger Trident Arrows!" As their weapons began to glow brightly, the Trident green and the Bow yellow, they pushed them together. The two weapons disappeared in a combined flash of green and yellow, but a new weapon appeared a second later. It was a giant crossbow. Dana dropped to her knees and Tara moved the crossbow onto her shoulders. The bow itself was about six feet wide. Tara pulled back on the string, and a giant arrow, shaped just like Dana's Trident, appeared in the bow. "FIRE!" Tara yelled to herself as she let the string go. The green "arrow" soared through the air and hit the shard of ice, sending IceMaker flying backwards and Jeremy to the ground with a thump.

"Thanks guys," he mumbled as Tara helped him to his feet.

Suddenly, red and purple light welled up around IceMaker, and he shot up into the air, looming several hundred feet above the Rangers. "Let's do it guys!" Beth shouted.

Corry watched only half-heartedly as the Rangers called on their Assault Vehicles. Aside from the obvious differences in armor, and coloring, given the absence of Black and the addition of Purple, it really bothered her not to be able to go join the fight. Glancing around her, she assumed the morphin stance and shouted, "White Ranger Power!" As she had expected, nothing happened. Sighing heavily, she turned away from the Video Monitor and returned to her bedroom.

Mirage stared at her as Jett laughed as if he'd just told her some hilarious joke. "Jett...." He frowned his disapproval. "They mocked me!"

"Of course." Jett patted his cheek as she walked past, still chuckling. "Mirage, you have so much to learn."

Completely bewildered by her reaction, Mirage followed the woman down the corridor. "They threatened you too."

She shrugged. "Threats are a dime a dozen, brother. Any petty mind can think up a suitable taunt." Jett stopped at the entrance to her quarters and turned to face him. Her eyes gleamed brilliant green in the dim light. "However to carry it out...." She grinned, showing her white teeth. "That takes some doing."

"You have a plan?"

Jett looked at him as if he was the village idiot. "Mirage, do you think before you open your mouth?" Rolling her eyes, she turned and entered her quarters.

He opened his mouth in a soundless protest, then shut it with a snap. Scowling, he followed her in. "Would you care to include me?"

Sitting on the bed next to the prone form of Thomas, Jett smirked, looking as though she would comment, then shook her head. "No, too easy." She looked at Thomas who was watching her with glazed, black eyes. "The sleeping Dragon awakens." She stroked his forehead.

Mirage crossed his arms and glowered at the pair. The way she fawned over the human made him sick. "Just what is so special about him?" It came out more petulant than he expected. The Wraith winced as Jett turned, her eyes narrowed, to look at him.

"If you can't ask an intelligent question, Mirage, stay silent!" She sighed, shaking her head. "We discussed this. I would have succeeded the first time if the White Ranger hadn't interfered."

Stung by her rebukes, Mirage straightened. "He has been here quite some time, Jett, and still he resists you. Why won't you consider another plan?"

"She is no longer in the picture, and he is coming to, Mirage." Jett smiled sensuously. "He won't resist any longer." She turned her attention back to Thomas.

Mirage's expression darkened, and he bowed curtly before turning and leaving the room.

Draanov scurried down the torch-lit passages of Sheila's underground Queendom. He eventually made it to his personal chamber and shut the door behind him. He could still feel the reeking odor that was emanating from the Rangers. It was so wolf-like, so... so pure and filled with light that it was almost overpowering.

The rat-man looked at his mirror. For the briefest of moments, his eyes changed from black beads into human eyes, with a rich, brown iris. Bellowing in anger, he slammed his club into the mirror, sending shards of glass raining down to the earthen floor.

The Mega Dragon A.V., in quadropedal mode, retracted all of its claws and tried to dig into the ground as it slid on a sheet of IceMaker's ice. "Fire mode!" Tara shouted, slamming her hand down on a red button on her console. Dragon A.V.'s mouth opened, and a plume of fire shot out, melting the ice and snow all around.

"Bipedal!" Allison yelled as she executed the command that lifted Dragon onto its hind legs.

"Let's get our sword and take this guy out!" Beth cried.

"If we super heat it," Crystal suggested.

"Then we can annihilate this guy with one swipe!" Dana agreed.

"Sword, Now!" Jeremy shouted as he and Beth quickly entered the command sequence. Seconds later, a glistening silver sword appeared in Dragon A.V.'s hands. It also appeared in the holographic display in the center of the cockpit. The Mega Dragon A.V. didn't work on the same principle as the other A.V.'s. Rather than have the Rangers placed in front of a "Zord windshield," they were situated in the belly of the fighting machine with a holographic view of the fight they relied on as guidance.

Flames belched out of Dragon A.V.'s nostrils and fired the sword up until it was burning red. "ATTACK!" all six Rangers shouted at once. In one fluid movement, the Dragon A.V. sent its fire-hot sword into the body of IceMaker, instantly melting it.

"Let's head back, guys," Tara recommended. In a visual swirl of colors, the Rangers and their Assault Vehicle disappeared.

The six colored teleportation booths flashed as the six Rangers materialized. They hurried down the stairs, practically in a single-file line, removing their helmets in the process. "Did we get him?" Crystal asked, sitting her Tyrannosaurus helmet on a nearby console.

"IceMaker is totally gone," Omicron said. "You can go ahead and go home. I don't think we'll have a recurrence tonight."

"Is Corry here?" Dana asked as the air around her was lit up with different teleports.

"She went to bed," Omicron told her. "Kinda... frazzled."

"I imagine so," Dana agreed. "Have her call me tomorrow, okay?"

"You bet." In an emerald green teleport, Dana disappeared.

Sunday was a busy day for Corry. She went to church with Dana in an attempt to settle her nerves. It helped. She was slowly finding herself calming down, even though home was an immeasurable distance and twenty years away. Watching the predicted snowfall helped her greatly. Snow was just something that Angel Grove didn't have. It was nice to see it falling in person.

In an attempt to find something to do with all of the time Corry suddenly realized she had, Omicron pulled a few magical strings and enrolled her in Western Kentucky University, as well as Lindsey Wilson. As Corry saw it, the only other thing she could do with her time is sit in Mammoth Cave and stagnate.

"This could be fun," Corry sighed. "Let's see... at nine fifteen, I'll have History with you, right?"

"Right," Dana said.

"And at eleven forty-five, Urban Folklore with me," Jeremy added.

"At one o'clock, you'll be in Sophomore Lit with me," Beth told her.

"I'm in that, too," Dana smiled.

"On Tuesdays at ten thirty," Tara tried, "you'll be with me in Abnormal Psych."

"After that, at twelve forty-five, you'll hop over to LW and take Pottery with me," Allison finished. "That'll be a full fifteen hour load."

"I travel through space and time to go to college," Corry sighed. "And to think Mom and Dad are already worried about me moving into a dorm."

"I can't believe you told Dr. Collins THAT Urban Legend!" Jeremy laughed. Corry had created quite a ruckus in class when she innocently mentioned the story commonly referred to as the Dance Club Cucumber. Dr. Collins, perpetually unflappable, didn't break form for even a moment.

"Well, the class seemed to enjoy it," Corry muttered. "Do you mind if I ride home with you? I'd kinda like to ride for once rather than just teleport."

"What about Lit with Beth?"

"Cancelled," Corry answered. "Professor freaked out over the predicted snowstorm."

"After what we had this weekend, the little flurry we're going to get today is a joke," Jeremy assured her.

"Can we play in the snow?" Corry asked, motioning toward a giant snowdrift near the sidewalk.

"I don't think we're supposed to," Jeremy commented.

"Those frat guys are," Corry said, pointing to a trio of jocks up to their waists in snow.

"Neither of us are frat guys."

"Cheap excuse," she said with a grin before she shoved him into the snow bank and leapt in herself.

He felt as though he had dove deep into the ocean, down below the sun's reach, and was looking back up. The sun-dappled surface was so far away.... A heaviness pulled him down further, into cooler waters. Blinking, he focused on emerald green eyes. Slowly the features of a woman became clear. He flinched as she reached out to touch his forehead with a cool hand.

Her lips moved, though all he heard was muted sounds. _Do I know her?_ She looked familiar, but trying to think was like swimming against a riptide. She was leaning towards him now, smiling. His eyes widened slightly as the front of her gown gaped, giving him a free view of her chest. Long ebony hair fell in curtains around either side of her face as she stared deep into his eyes.

He inhaled deeply, drinking in the seductive perfume that wafted from her. His pulse sped up, as she stroked his face and neck. One of her hands combed through his hair, and he closed his eyes as shivers raced down his spine.

Opening his eyes, he saw her lips moving again, and strained to make out words. _Dragon? What....?_ It was getting harder to think. Her hands were everywhere, caressing and teasing. Wave upon wave of sensation crashed over his mind, swamping whatever rational thought had been forming.

Just for one moment he had a flash of an image -- a group of people standing together, smiling -- then his mind was overwhelmed by his body's urgings.

With a groan, he reached up to pull her to him.

"We don't have snow in Angel Grove," Corry chuckled, still pulling clumps of the white substance out of her long hair.

"We don't get it here all that often," Jeremy commented. A steady ringing filled the air as the white and red safety rails lowered. "Ugh, a train."

"A train?" Corry asked, whipping her gaze up. "Like on rails?"

"Train tracks," he said, pointing in front of his truck. "See."

"Amazing," Corry sighed. She unrolled the car window and stuck her head out for a better look. "It still blows my mind that there are modes of transportation that ROLL on the ground."

"You have Zords that walk on the ground."

"Walking is a totally different concept," she quipped as the train got ever closer. "Hey look. There's a train on those tracks way over there."

Squinting, Jeremy stared at the train flying over the bridge above a river about half a mile off. "Wait a minute," he realized. The truck suddenly shook as the first train began to roar past them. "Corry, that bridge is abandoned! Nobody uses it anymore!"

"Then how did the train get there?" she asked, poking her head back into the truck.

Jeremy pressed his thumb and index finger together, producing a shining sphere of blue light glowing from the digits. "Omicron, lock on our location. There is an extra train here that shouldn't be there!"

Corry jumped out of the truck and melted into a glowing cloud of white light. With a whoosh, she disappeared, teleporting the short distance to the other train tracks.

"Corry!" Jeremy yelled. He quickly drove his truck up onto the sidewalk, parking it there, and teleported over to her. As soon as he landed, he lifted his hand to his mouth and shouted, "Guys, we might need your help!"

Corry stopped right at the edge of the train tracks. Traffic continued to drive past her, oblivious to the train flying down the tracks. Just as she was about to stop traffic as best she could, golden and silver flashes of light appeared all around the road. "What-?" Mechanical reptilian creatures, made of gold or silver metal, resulted from the teleportation sequences.

"Gargoyles!" Jeremy shouted from far off.

A semi-truck, rolling steadily for the tracks, suddenly had a Gargoyle leap in front of it. The truck driver turned hard, and instantly lost control. Corry threw herself out of the road as the truck jack-knifed, sliding to a far-too-inconvenient stop directly in the path of the train.

"GET OUT!" Corry yelled. She ran up to the cab and threw herself up to the door, beating on the window. The startled driver turned to her with a look of disbelief on his face. "There's a train coming!" she shouted, pointing at it.

The driver, finally realizing he was in mortal danger, opened the door. Corry jumped down, giving the man room to escape. "Come on!" Corry cried, grabbing the man's arm as he landed on the pavement. The two ran off not more than a split second before the train collided with the truck. Shouting in alarm, Corry spun around and ducked down, shielding her face with her arms as bits of metal and glass showered down around her.

She opened her eyes just in time to see the man disappear in a streak of white light. "What the-?" she asked. She watched in awe as every human being in the place teleported away. Looking up, she saw that the other six Rangers were already morphed and fighting the Gargoyles.

Just as she was about to contact Omicron, she heard a short bark, not unlike that of a dog. However, she knew it wasn't a dog. It was the Wolf.

Looking up, she saw the Wolf standing in snow nearly up to its shoulder. It looked perfectly natural there. *Come with me,* it said before running off.

"No, wait!" Corry cried, bolting for her guardian animal. She bounded up the hill it had been standing on and followed its footsteps. As she reached the top of the hill, she found herself standing at the edge of a preternatural forest. It glowed within with a bright white light. Looking back, she saw the fight still going on in the street. Physically, it was just a short distance away, but it felt to be much further than that.

*I had some time finding you, Cub,* Wolf turned to face her. *Jett sent you far away this time, didn't she?*

"Why can't I morph?" Corry asked, hurrying up to his side. "How did Jett take my powers?"

*Did she?*

"What do you mean by that? Of course she did," Corry said quickly. "I can't call on my powers."

*Does that mean she took them? Cub, I made sure you came to this time and place for a reason,* Wolf snapped. He was obviously frustrated with her.

"You sent me here?"

*I guided you here. I sent you nowhere,* Wolf insisted. *These Rangers have no fear of losing their power. You have noticed that, right?*

"Of course they aren't afraid," Corry sighed. "They've got Sigma with that Sword of his. Even if they were taken, he could just whip up new powers for them."

*That is not their only reason,* Wolf shook its head. *They have had these powers for two and a half years with but one change in their power.*

"This is a different dimension with a totally different set of rules," Corry said. "They've kept their power for thirty months! It's practically an impossibility for someone to stay a Ranger in Angel Grove for thirty months! Only Dad and Tommy were Rangers for that long!"

*You just don't get it, do you, Cub?*

"Did you come here to take me home or to insult me?" Corry snapped.

*Have confidence in yourself, Cub! I'm rather insulted that you even believe I left you!* The animal's ice blue eyes narrowed.

"You did leave me!" Corry yelled.

*Did I?* Wolf asked, walking toward the woods. *Remember, Cub. The Power never willingly leaves you. You willingly leave the Power.*

Corry tried to let that sink in, still a bit perplexed. *You can follow me to get home, Cub,* Wolf stopped and looked at her over its shoulder. *Or, you can stay here and help your friends.*

With a trembling hand, Corry twisted her hand. She gasped as her morpher appeared with a burst of pent-up energy. "Jett just made me think I had lost my powers," Corry realized.

*Very good, Cub, and it only took me spelling it out for fifteen minutes for you to learn,* Wolf smarted.

Corry frowned at the magical animal as she looked at her gleaming white morpher. "You said I could stay and help them?" Corry asked. "But why? They don't need me."

*If you truly believe that, then just follow me home,* Wolf said, starting for the woods.

"Wait!" Corry cried. "You say that like they do need my help."

*What would I do? This isn't my realm,* Wolf told her.

"What will happen if I go, and they do need me?" Corry asked. "But... I can just follow you and get home right now? Will I get a chance to go home after the fight?" She looked back at the Rangers fighting the Gargoyles on the street. "It's just a fight!" Corry cried. "What good could one more Ranger do?!"

*Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon... and for the rest of your life,* Wolf quoted.

"What?" Corry asked.

*You are so young,* Wolf sighed.

"I'm going home," Corry insisted. She started to take a step for the woods, when a series of strange, unbidden thoughts occurred to her.

** "This isn't who you are!" Corry pleaded. She stepped up to the rat creature, delicately taking his black club from his hands. "This isn't you..." **

** "Oh my goodness," Jeremy sighed.

"What is that thing?" Allison asked, shining the headlights from her helmet around the large cavernous room.

"The Power Chamber," Corry realized. **

** "Sheila!" Corry yelled. "This time, it's for keeps!" **

** "Dana, no!" shouted Corry. She ran for her friend, the dry leaves beneath her keeping her from getting any traction. "DANA!!!" **

** "I've heard of this," Corry said, looking at Tara. She picked up the spiked object, glowing a soft grey color. "It's called the Crystal of Nightmares." **

** "You aren't real!" Corry screamed. "You're just a dream!" **

"I'm going home soon, Wolf," Corry said firmly.

*I knew you would make the right decision, Cub,* Wolf said. It took little imagination for Corry to see the smile on the canine's face. *I will see you soon enough.* He turned and ran into the woods. The entire area flared up brightly, and Corry shielded her face. When the light faded, the heavily wooded area was gone, replaced with a few trees overlooking a river.

"I'm going home soon," Corry repeated. She looked at her morpher again before holding it up before her. "WHITE RANGER POWER!!!"

"How ya feeling kid?" Ted felt the boy's forehead. The kid was burning up. Ted took his jacket off his nephew and checked his tourniquet.

"Mum?" Lon's glazed eyes swept the area, settling on Ted. "Da!" He grinned. "Are we gonna go for a swim later then?" The boy spoke with a thick Australian accent -- something he hadn't done since he was a very small child.

"Uh...no, it's not warm enough yet, Lon." Ted smoothed the boy's hair back.

"Oh." With a crestfallen look, Lon nodded. "O..okay, Da."

"We'll go another time." _If we survive this!_ Ted began to silently pray. His nephew looked bad -- worse than anyone Ted had ever seen wounded. _God, please, don't take Lon! He's so young, so full of light and love._ Tears burned the man's eyes as the boy muttered incoherently. He began to thrash around, and Ted had to restrain him, to keep him from hurting himself. _I don't know what to do, and I'm at my wits' end. Please.... "

Brilliant white light flashed, making Ted wince and turn his head. Even through closed eyes, he had seen that! As it died down, he turned, fully ready to attack whatever it was that threatened his nephew.

Ted sat with a thump as he saw the creature standing before him. He swallowed hard, eyes wide. "You. Haven't seen you..."

*Long time no see, kit* Gold eyes full of laughter and mischief, the huge Coyote grinned at Ted. Its red-brown coat was thick, the ends of the fur touched with a burnished gold color. It's bushy tail waved back and forth, almost like a dog's tail, wagging.

"Why...? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but...." Ted was stunned. He hadn't seen Coyote since he had been the Green Ranger, fighting Rita, Zedd and the others.

*You haven't needed me.* If the Coyote could've shrugged, its tone indicated it would've. It tilted its head. *However, you seem to be in a tight spot here.* its tone was full of amusement. *Some things never change.*

"Ha, ha," Ted growled. He hadn't forgotten what a smart-ass the guardian animal was. "Can you help the boy?" He gestured to Lon.

Sobering, the Coyote padded silently over, pausing only to touch Ted's cheek with its cold nose. *I missed you too, kit.*

Ted smiled, reaching up to grip the thick fur on the animal's scruff. He gave the guardian a brief hug, then pulled back, eyes suspiciously wet. "He's not doing so good, is he?"

Coyote gently nuzzled the boy, sniffing at him slightly. *He is dying.* The animal turned to its human charge and gazed at him with somber eyes. *This place is not helping. It is an evil place, kit.*

"Yeah," Ted sighed, raking fingers through his hair. "That's my fault. We got in a jam, and I reacted by using this to bring us here." He pulled the arrowhead out from under his shirt. "Lon took a hit from one of the Wraiths."

The Coyote brightened seeing what Ted held. *You have the whole arrowhead!* It snuffled the artifact. *Good, it is not tainted by this place.*

"But, what does that have to do with Lon?" Ted shook his head. "He's-"

*You can use it to leave here, kit.* Coyote sighed, and shook its head. *It is too long and complicated to explain now, but you must trust me on this.* Gold eyes gazed at the man.

Ted didn't hesitate. "I trust you implicitly."

*Good.* Coyote's mental tone became impatient. *You'll have to pick him up and hold him for this to work.* As Ted bent to gently cradle his nephew in his arms, Coyote kicked and scratched dirt to cover up the blood that was on the ground. *The less of a trail they have to follow, the better. Come now, kit.* Coyote leaned against Ted's leg. The top of its head was at his waist. *You have the arrowhead?*

"Here." Ted had it in his left hand.

*Clear your mind. Allow me to picture the site we go to. You must channel the energy of the arrowhead, however.* Coyote watched the man concentrate, and nodded. *Good. Hold on, kit.*

The last thing Ted saw was the mischievous gleam in the Coyote's eyes, then the world flashed to white and disappeared.

Lightning bolted across the sky, lighting up the city streets. Several tendrils reached out to snake down and hit the bunjee jumping platform at the Amusement Park. The night's darkness intensified for a moment around the platform as three figures appeared.

Two were dressed all in black, form-fitting clothes. One stood as still as a statue -- looking like a being carved from jade, embellished with gold.

"Why here?" Mirage frowned as he surveyed the acres of rides and funhouses. "Where is everyone?"

"We're only hunting five individuals, Mirage," Jett replied calmly. "Not the entire population of the city." She looked out at the park and gestured.

The rides came to life, as lights flashed on, and music began to play. A rollercoaster car began it's ascent to the top of "The MegaZord", one of the Park's main attractions.

Jett nodded. "That should get their attention."

She turned to the silent figure in green armor. "Dragon, go do same damage. Attract as much attention as possible." Jett caressed his helmet. "When the five Rangers show up...kill them." She looked into the visor as he nodded. "Take your sword and go."

An ebony blade, complete with a fierce green dragon on the hilt, appeared in his hand. Green Ranger raised it to his helmet in a salute, then disappeared in a wash of black flames.

"And what do we do?" Mirage crossed his arms, a petulant scowl marring his handsome features.

"Watch," Jett said with a shrug, "and enjoy the show."

"Unh?" Raph groped for the nightstand next to his bed as he heard an odd squawking tone. His fingers found his communicator and he fumbled for the right button. "Raphere." It all came out in one, fuzzed word.

"Raph, get here quick. We've got trouble." Will's voice was all business.

That snapped him awake. "On my way." He swung his legs out of bed, and stood. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a shirt, he teleported out in a flash of intense black light.

"Okay, Mom." Gavin clutched his pillow. "Five more minutes and I promise...." His eyes snapped open as he realized it wasn't his mother's voice he was hearing. Grabbing his communicator he said, "Will? What's going on?"

"Trouble."

"Okay." Deciding haste was necessary, Gavin didn't get dressed. _Pajamas are acceptable in this situation...._

Yellow light briefly filled the room as he 'ported out.

Nisha almost fell out of bed, reaching for her communicator. Grumbling about how late it was, she hit the button. "Yeah?"

"We need you here right away." Will paused for a moment, and she could hear someone else talking. "Nisha, will you stop by the Scott home and wake Jared up? He's not responding."

"That lunk-head could sleep through the end of the world." She yawned. "Yeah. I'll get him." Pulling on a pair of shorts and a shirt, Nisha strapped on her communicator. Picturing the Scott's living room, she disappeared in a brilliant flare of red light.

Seconds later, red light lit the Scott's family room. Quietly, Nisha crept down the hall to Jared's room. The door was open, so she went in.

Jared was sprawled on his back, lightly snoring. He looked so peaceful and serene, Nisha smiled and shook her head. Still, this was someone you didn't sneak up on. "Jared," she hissed.

Nothing.

Creeping closer, Nisha bent over. "Jared!"

He smiled in his sleep. "Nish."

The warmth in his sigh made her face warm slightly. "Wake up!"

"You'll have to shake him awake."

Nisha whirled, almost falling. Jason was leaning against the doorframe. He smiled wearily. "I saw the red light as you 'ported in." He rubbed his eyes. "I wasn't sleeping any way."

"Oh...uh..."

"Here." Jason strode over to the bed and reached out to gently shake his son's shoulder. "Jay...wake up, kiddo." He winced as Jared grabbed his wrists at the same moment he came aware. "I'm not a Wraith, son."

"Dad?" Jared blinked, still not quite awake.

"Come on, Jared." Nisha crossed her arms. "Will called about five minutes ago. We've gotta go!"

Seeing her standing there, Jared's face went scarlet. He looked at his father, seeing only amusement written in his face. "Uh...okay, but give me a minute to get dressed."

"Jared," Nisha sighed. "I won't laugh at your boxers."

Jason's muffled snort of laughter made his son's embarrassment even more acute. "Nish, I sleep au natural, okay?"

"Oh." Nisha's face flamed, but she grinned. "Then I'll turn my back."

As she turned away, Jason handed his son his shorts. "She's a keeper, kiddo."

"Thanks, Dad," Jared grumbled. He pulled his shorts on and grabbed a shirt. He scooped up his communicator. "Let's go."

Jason chuckled as the room was filled with a royal blue, and ruby red light. "What a pair." Running a hand over his hair, he headed back to bed.

Olivia showed up just before Nisha and Jared, and glared at Gavin who raised both eyebrows as the brilliant pink light died down. "Just be quiet, okay?"

Her long dark hair stuck out at all angles, making it look as though she'd gone through a wind storm.

Gavin held up both his hands, and turned away to grin.

Red and blue light signaled the last of the team to arrive, and Will gathered them together. "Okay, guys." There were dark circles under his eyes, and a haggard expression on his face that spoke of sleepless nights. "We knew this was coming, but I'm going to warn you now." He took a deep breath and toggled the switch that activated the holo. "Jett has sent Green Ranger down to the Boardwalk."

The five teens stared as their former teammate leaped from the top of the Ferris wheel to land lightly on the ground. Pointing the ebony sword in his hand, he unleashed a bolt of obsidian lightning that blew up one of the small game stands. He turned and started down the row of booths, blowing up one after another.

"Oh no...." Olivia covered her mouth.

Raph put a steadying arm around her shoulders. "Okay. We have to stop him." He smiled grimly at Olivia. "Stop doesn't mean kill, 'Livy."

"This is our chance to try and get him back," Gavin said quietly. He didn't sound very confident.

"Let's go!" Nisha said impatiently. "He's heading for my favorite ride!"

Jared shot her an odd look, and shook his head. You just never knew with that girl.

"Stay alert and watch each other's backs, gang." Will sighed. "Remember, Green Ranger is not the Thomas you knew." He held Olivia's gaze. "You can't trust him. Don't forget that."

"It's morphin time!"

Will felt a hand touch his back as the light from the Ranger's transformations filled the room with a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors. He turned to find Kimberly next to him, and put an arm around her shoulders.

"God speed," she whispered as the five armored figures teleported out.

"This place is weird without crowds of people to walk through." Pink Ranger nervously looked around.

"Let's go this way." Black Ranger pointed towards the section of the park that housed several older rides still in use.

Spreading out in a line as they walked down the midway, the five Rangers were silent. This enemy knew each of their weaknesses, each of their fighting techniques. He was one of their own, a fact none of them could easily forget.

Blue Ranger fisted his hands as he scanned using nightvision. He was hoping Jett would show. _Fat chance, but I can hope!_

Just as they were paralleling the Zipper, music blared out of the speakers and the cages began to whirl around.

"There!" Yellow Ranger pointed to the top of the ride.

"SCATTER!" Black Ranger dove to one side as he saw Green Ranger raise the ebony blade.

Black lightning rained down on the Rangers as they dove for cover. Pink stared a moment too long, and was thrown back as a bolt of dark lightning blasted against her armor. She skidded on the grass, plowing a slight furrow as chunks of sod were blasted up from more of the black bolts. Dirt and grass rained down all over her as she shook her head, feeling a little dizzy.

"He's playing hard ball!" Red growled.

"Head's up!"

Pink Ranger looked up just as the Green Ranger leaped down not two feet in front of her. She scrambled to her feet and took a step back. "T-Thomas..." For every step she took back, he advanced. She put her hands up, shaking her head. "Stay away from me!"

A red blur somersaulted over the Pink Ranger and barreled feet first into the figure in Green. Rolling to her feet, and stancing, Red Ranger growled, "She said back off!"

Silently, Green Ranger stood and regarded her for a moment. Bringing his sword up, he swung it through a complicated kata. The blade was missing his armor by millimeters, nothing more than a black blur in the grey-gloved hands.

"What is he doing?" Yellow murmured.

"Distracting us," Black retorted quietly. They stealthily moved to encircle the Green Ranger.

Blue Ranger shook his head as Red backed Pink away from the sword-wielding Ranger. "Two can play at that game, buddy." He pulled his sword as he stalked closer and closer.

"Thomas!" Pink yelled. "Where's Corry? What did they do to her?"

"'Livy!" Red Ranger hissed in irritation. _Why'd she have to go attract his attention again?_

He froze, sword mid-swing, and slowly turned to face the petite figure in Pink. The ebony sword came up again, but Green Ranger just shook his head, silently.

As he took a step towards the girls, Blue Ranger stepped forward to block him. "You wanna pick a fight, pal? Pick on me." Blue knocked the ebony blade aside with his sword. The blades clanged as Green Ranger slammed his blade against the silver sword.

"That blasted hot-head," Black Ranger said, scowling.

Blue and Green just stared for a long moment, visor to visor. Neither one backing down, or giving way. Blue was more muscular, but Green wasn't even straining to hold the ebony blade in place as the Ranger tried to shove him back.

Jared's eyes narrowed. "Back off!"

He almost fell forward as Green Ranger did just that, standing still as a statue before him.

"What is he doing?" Jett chewed absently on the tip of her index finger as she watched the group confront her warrior.

"A whole lot of nothing," Mirage groused.

Ignoring the comment, Jett sighed. "Perhaps I was hasty in bringing him out to fight them."

"Maybe he's afraid."

"Mirage..." Jett turned to him and shook her head. "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." She shoved him hard and watched impassively as he stumbled off the platform and fell. "I wonder if he remembers he...." She nodded as the man morphed into a raven and flapped away. "At least he did that right."

She turned back to the scene playing out below. "Come on, Dragon...do something!"

Sheila, villainness out to conquer Earth, walked past the quarters of her second-best henchman, Draanov. He had been slacking lately, and Raphael had moved up in her eyes. She had a sneaking suspicion that Draanov was up to something. She just didn't know what.

Walking up to his door, she looked inside. He lay sleeping on his bed. She saw no need to wake him, as she didn't even know what she would have asked him if he was awake.

All Sheila knew, and all Sheila had to know, was that something was up, and Draanov was directly involved.

Whether he knew it or not.

"Sheila!" one of her henchmen, or henchwomen, in this case, cried. "I have found the book!"

"Book?" Sheila asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, you requested I bring you this piece of fiction when the White Ranger arrived," the henchwoman said. In her cat-like paws, she held a children's book called "The Bad Dream Machine."

"Ah, yes," Sheila recalled. The book in question was a junior novelization of an episode from the television show "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." In that episode, an artifact known as the Crystal of Nightmares was used. Waving her hand over the book, she summoned her Gargoyle Dagger. "Thank you. You may go."

As the henchwoman left, Sheila hurried to her own quarters. Upon entering her room, a series of purple and red curtains swung into placing, forming an impenetrable door. Those curtains closed and opened only for her.

The evil woman was bound and determined to do away with the Rangers in some form or another. While it wasn't quite as exciting as destroying them in an actual battle would be, what she had in mind would certainly get the job done. "I don't know where you came from or why you are here, White Ranger," Sheila muttered, "but I don't like it. And I will not put up with you."

Sheila sat on the edge of her purple heart-shaped bed. Holding her dagger in her right hand, she extended her left arm. Humming softly, she pressed the sharp edge of the blade against the soft flesh of her forearm. Still humming, she thrust forward, cutting into her arm. Purple blood spilled out of her self-inflicted wound. It trailed down her arm and pooled into her hand. The wound promptly closed shut, just as the purple pool of blood in her hand began to boil and bubble. Instantly, the blood began to crystallize, forming itself into a sphere with a halo of seven spikes around it. "Sweet dreams, Corry."

Much to everyone's surprise, Corry had quickly become acclimated to her new home. She didn't fear that she would never find her way home. In fact, the one thing she was sure of was that home was an inevitably. True to her mother's character, she was determined to make the best of an inconvenient situation. And, as her temporary fellow Rangers had suggested, the best way was to submerge herself in 20th century culture.

"Keep your foot on the clutch," Jeremy said.

"I am scared to death," Corry moaned. She pressed both fists against her forehead.

"You're doing fine, Corry," Jeremy assured her. "Now..."

"Foot on the clutch, stick thingie in f-"

"Gearshift."

"Gearshift in first gear," Corry said. "Hands on wheel at...?"

"Ten and two."

"Ten and two," Corry repeated, taking a death grip on the steering wheel.

"Too tight," Jeremy told her. "Loosen up your grip."

"What if we crash and burn?" Corry asked. "Unless I'm mistaken, this truck does not have auto-preventive crash measures."

"If we crash and burn, we crash and burn," Jeremy said. "Now relax... You know what to do... Do it."

Taking a deep breath, Corry slowly eased off of the clutch as she pressed the accelerator. The truck lurched as she let the clutch go, but it continued its slow movement forward. "You're doing it," Jeremy said, much to Corry's delight.

"I just keep going straight?" Corry asked. Just as he was about to tell her to shift into second, she did it on her own.

"See, I told you it came naturally!" he cried happily.

"Am I steering okay?"

"You're doing great," he said. "I haven't ever taught someone this easily. You must be a natural."

As she shifted into third, Corry realized, "I can go home and brag about this to everybody!" Laughing happily, she shifted into fourth as the speed crept past forty-five. "I don't know of anyone who actually learned to drive a car on a...- stick... c-"

"Stick shift. Or straight shift."

"This is just too cool!" she cried. As the needle approached fifty-five, Corry put it in fifth gear, giving a happy whoop as she did so. "This is amazing! You can actually feel the car beneath you! So much power! I know what I'm going to do when I get home."

"What's that?"

"I'm gonna get me a junker 20th century car and fix it up!" Corry shouted happily.

"A natural mechanic," Jeremy grinned.

Far underground, Draanov lurked just outside his Queen's chambers. He knew she was about to yell for him, and he didn't want Sheila to be upset with him. That meant being there as soon as she thought she needed him.

"Draanov!" Sheila cried.

In a rush, the black-armored rat entered her room. "Yes, my Queen," he asked.

"Crystal of Nightmares," Sheila said. "One by one, I'm going to destroy the Rangers from the inside out..."

"Why one by one?" Draanov asked without thinking. "Wouldn't it make more sense to destroy them all at once?"

"No," Sheila growled, flashing him a dirty look. "When one falls, the team will fall quickly behind her. And this way, I can dedicate the Crystal of Nightmares' power to just one person. Take an army of Gargoyles, and infect one of the Rangers."

"Which one?"

"Beth, preferably. Anyone, however, except Corry. She is of no use to me. In fact, I would like to dispose of her. If you wish, you may keep her for your own use." Sheila grinned at the twinkle in Draanov's eyes. "I've seen you lust after her. Feel free to do with her what you will. Now go."

"What do I do?" Corry asked, frightened.

"Just pull over," Jeremy said. Again, the alarm sounded. Beep beep beepbeep beep beep. "This isn't the first time we've been paged while driving. I read you, Omicron."

"Rangers, Sheila has sent Draanov and an army of Gargoyles to a forested region of the Park," Omicron answered. "Morph and teleport out there."

"What is wrong with you things today?!" Beth cried. With a loud battle cry, she planted her foot in a Gargoyle's chest and backflipped away. Draanov, brandishing the Crystal of Nightmares, ran at Beth.

Suddenly, white and blue light streaked through the air, producing the final two Power Rangers. As soon as Corry materialized, she saw Draanov running for the Pink Ranger. "Hey!" Corry yelled. She ran at the rat beast and leapt into the air, sailing toward him.

"Beth, watch out!" Red Ranger Crystal cried. Turning, Beth saw Draanov hurtling toward her. With a shout, Beth sailed up into the air, landing in the tree branches high above her.

Corry's feet collided with Draanov's back a split second later. Both Ranger and villain fell to the ground. As Corry sat back up, she realized she was holding a crystal in her hands. It flashed a bright white once, before returning to a simple, grey glow.

"NO!" Draanov yelled. Before Corry could say anything in reply, she was teleported away in a shower of white.

With an angry bellow, Draanov pointed his club out before him. Black strings of light leapt out of the end and sank into the ground. Draanov then disappeared in a flash of purple fire.

"What was that all about?" Allison asked, stepping forward with her purple machete hanging loosely in her hand. Before anyone could answer her, however, the ground shook violently. Trees were uprooted as a gargantuan, metallic spider jumped out of the ground. Hissing, it slammed its head into Allison, knocking the Purple Ranger back into a nearby tree.

"Whoa!" Tara cried, hurrying over to Allison. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Allison mumbled as Tara pulled her to safety.

"Let's do it, guys!" Beth shouted. "We need Assault Vehicle power, now!"

Corry placed the crystal down on a console before Omicron. "I need to go back," Corry said.

"They're already in their Assault Vehicles," Nadia told her.

"Unless...," Omicron mused.

"Unless what?" Corry asked.

"I've been working on designs for a White Assault Vehicle," Sigma said. "It's technically finished. If you like, we can create it for you."

"Do it," Corry said without a moment's hesitation.

Sigma's Sword flashed brightly. "Done," Sigma announced. "It's a White Crane Assault Vehicle."

"Crane?" Corry asked. "Is it one of those airplane-like things my mom used to fly?"

"More like a MegaZord," Omicron told her. "Screen on."

Corry smiled as she took in the image. "I like it," Corry said with a nod. Putting her hands on her morpher, she teleported away in a white flash.

"Ungh!" Crystal shouted. Icarus A.V., the dual assault vehicle for the Red and Purple Rangers, tumbled to the ground. The Spider had lashed out with one leg, bringing the bipedal fighting machine to the ground.

Aries A.V., piloted by Blue and Pink Rangers, leapt over to Icarus and pulled it to its feet. Aphrodite A.V. for Green and Yellow was close behind. "We gotta bring 'em together!" Dana cried.

In unison, the six Rangers shouted, "Dragon Assault Vehicle, Power Up!"

However, before they could do anything, the Spider leapt at them. All eight legs wrapped around the silver dragon, bringing it down.

Red lights flashed in the Dragon's cockpit. "He's squeezing us!" Tara yelled.

"Losing internal stability!" Allison announced.

"Arming weapons," Beth muttered.

"We gotta get rid of this guy!" Crystal cried.

"Don't worry guys," Corry said through the radio system. "I'm on my way."

"Does she have even have an A.V.?" Dana asked.

High above the earth, a gleaming, white crane was hovering effortlessly. It had long, lean legs, an equally long neck, and a small body. Corry, perched precariously in the Crane's head, armed her missiles. "On my way!" Corry promised. Pushing down on her control level, she darted for the ground.

"I've got her on my scanners!" Dana realized.

"Get ready to roll out of the way guys!" Corry shouted. Her eyes were steady as she watched the ground rush up to her. "Heat seeker, aimed, and launched!" A compartment opened on the chest of the crane, and a shining, white missile dripped out. Instantly, fins popped out of the missile, and it flew off. "Banking out..." Corry pulled back up into the atmosphere as the missile made a target out of the Spider.

"Brace yourselves, guys!" Tara shouted.

"Be ready to roll with it!" Beth agreed.

The white missile made contact with the Spider. It promptly exploded, pushing the Dragon as well. The six Rangers pushed the Dragon through its paces, making it somersault away. "She did it!" Crystal cried.

"Back to the Power Core, guys," Beth agreed. In a bright silver flash, the Dragon disappeared

"Is that hangar for me, too?" Corry asked as she ran into the Power Core with her helmet under her arm.

"Hangar?" Beth asked. "We don't have a hangar."

"We do now," Nadia said.

"Corry's Assault Vehicle is real at all times," Omicron told her.

"As opposed to ours that are imaginary some of the time?" Crystal asked sarcastically.

"Well, yeah," Omicron snorted.

"Your A.V.'s are stored in the same type of energy waves that your armor and weapons are stored in," Nadia explained. "Corry stills draws her armor from her Morphin Grid, so there is no way we could make her A.V. based on the same type of energy. Ergo, it's real."

"On a different note, I've been running scans on this crystal," Omicron said. "It's neither good nor evil in nature."

"It reminds me of something," Corry muttered. "I don't know what though."

Tara stepped up to Corry's side and looked at the crystal over her shoulder. "Does it have a name, Omicron?" Tara asked.

"I've heard of something like this," Corry mused, looking at Tara. She picked up the spiked object, glowing a soft grey color. "It was called the Crystal of Nightmares." Pausing, she fingered the spikes. "Back when my parents were Rangers, Goldar used a crystal like this. I've read about it in the Power Chamber Archives... It made the Rangers insecure and, well, worthless." Corry wrinkled her nose. "It can't be the same one, though...can it?"

"Probably not. This one works on a slightly different principle," Omicron said. "It's targeted one Ranger, and it isn't going to make you insecure or worthless."

"Who's 'you?'" Corry asked.

"The only Ranger that has touched the Crystal," Omicron told her. "It's going to make you have nightmares."

"Nightmares?" Corry asked. "That's it? Just nightmares?"

"Give her something to keep her from dreaming," Tara suggested. "She'll be fine."

"Maybe I should start watching horror movies, so any nightmare I might have will seem tame by comparison," Corry suggested with a smirk. It was obvious she wasn't taking the threat of bad dreams seriously.

Of course, if she knew what would happen the very next time she fell asleep, she would have.

Blue Ranger almost dropped his sword as Green suddenly came to life, swinging the ebony blade with bone-jarring force against his. "Crap!" Taking a tight two-fisted grip, Blue retaliated, and the night air was filled with the clash of metal upon metal.

"No...." Pink took a step forward, only to be halted by Red Ranger.

Black watched the two one-time teammates, torn between admiration for the skill they exhibited, and horror for what had happened to his friend.

"Thomas!" Yellow stepped forward the moment there was a slight break in the fight. "Why are you letting Jett do this to you?" He yelped and jumped back as Green Ranger pulled the Dragon Dagger from thin air, and slashed at him. The blade whistled past his visor, almost nicking it.

Blue stepped over to roughly shove Yellow aside and block another strike of the ebony blade. Grunting from the strain of holding the blade back, Blue growled, "You sure took her side easy!"

Green swung the Dragon Dagger up, slamming the hilt against Blue's helmet. Jared staggered back, slightly dazed by the concussive blow.

Yellow ducked as Green suddenly vaulted backwards, lightly landing on one of the Ferris Wheel buckets. Crossing the blades, Green Ranger let the black energy build into a glowing ball for a split second, then launched it at Blue Ranger. The impact blasted Blue into the air, sending him crashing against the Tilt O'Wheel. The ride groaned as one side caved in from the impact.

Green pointed the ebony sword, raining down more bolts at the Rangers. One of the bolts hit Yellow who staggered back, then dove for cover.

"Jared!" Red ran over and knelt next to her teammate who wasn't moving. "Dammit, say something!" She pulled him from the caved-in side of the ride.

Groaning, Blue coughed, "Ouch."

"He's okay!" Red stayed next to him, shielding him from Green Ranger. "You," Nisha pointed, "are toast!"

Black Ranger ran over to Yellow. "You okay?"

Gavin nodded, examining his armor for scorch marks. "Just kinda surprised me."

"Pink! Stay down!" Black stood and glared at his ex-teammate. "Thomas, you're still in there. Listen to me." He slowly walked forward.

"I'm in on this!" Red joined him, Blue right by her side. Yellow came up on Raph's other side. Tentatively Pink walked over to join them.

"We are your teammates. You don't want to hurt us, do you?" Raph felt his heart pounding a mile a minute.

All the Rangers jumped back, stancing as the figure in Green armor jumped lightly down to join them. He held the sword down at his side.

"Thomas, we can help you," Pink said quietly.

"Will and I can find a way to bring you back." Yellow's voice cracked, betraying his nervousness. He didn't flinch though as the dark visor turned his direction.

Slowly Black Ranger moved the team until they had encircled the Green Ranger. He knew Will was monitoring them, but until Thomas gave up the sword, they couldn't risk bringing him in. "Give us the sword, Thomas." The sword had been what held the other Green Ranger in Rita's control. Raph wondered if it was the same -- he hoped so.

Black held out his hand. "Give me the sword. Come back to us."

"Careful, " Blue growled as Green slowly raised the sword.

Red tensed as Green Ranger raised the sword to above his waist, pointing it up. What new trick was this?

With a flick of his wrist, Green sent the sword to its interdimensional pocket. He looked at Black and shrugged.

_Not exactly what I wanted...._ Raph sighed. He'd hoped to destroy the sword.

"Will you come with us?" Pink asked.

Raph glanced over at Blue as the Green Ranger turned to face Pink Ranger. Before he could even think of tackling Thomas while his back was to him, the Green Ranger kicked out, hitting him right in the chest and sending him reeling back.

Green spun, and lashed out, catching Blue in a brutal roundhouse that would've taken off his head if he weren't in armor. Before Red could move to react, he caught her with the second roundhouse.

Olivia had seen Thomas spar enough to know there was a third one coming. She ducked and dove back.

As Green touched down, he spun, turning towards Yellow. Yellow stanced and blocked the flurry of punches. He was panting, as Green kept advancing on him. "Uh...guys?!" In a second of inattention, Yellow felt his arm caught and twisted, as he was lifted. "Whoa!" He flew through the air, slamming into one of the rides. "Ugh...."

Pink ran over to Red who was shaking her head still. "Nisha!" She looked up to see Green going at it again, fighting Black Ranger at the same time as Blue.

It was like fighting a madman. His fists moved too fast to block, he spun and dodged before they could land a blow and he anticipated their moves. Blue waded in, ignoring the blows, letting his anger carry him.

Green ducked a tornado kick, and swept Blue's legs out from under him. He pulled back and brutally punched the coin set on Blue's chest.

"UNGH!"

Black tackled Green Ranger, and the two rolled past Blue, wrestling for a hold on one another. Green managed to get his foot under, and kicked Black Ranger back. As Black staggered to his feet, Green spun and kicked, catching him right under the chin.

Black went down as Red popped up, nunchukus swinging. "Back...off." The cold tone in her voice spoke of deadly intent. She didn't want to hurt her former teammate, but it looked like he wasn't holding back.

Pink hands shook as she pulled the Power Bow. "Leave us alone, Thomas."

Yellow slowly stood, hearing the tears in her voice. He staggered over to Blue. "You okay?

"I feel like crap." Blue slowly sat up, with help from Yellow. "He's not screwing around."

"No." Yellow felt a lump rise in his throat as he said it. It was like sounding the death knell on their friendship with Thomas.

Green Ranger stood straight, taking the time to look over each and every one of his former teammates. He gave a mocking bow and began to laugh as green and black flames consumed him.

"Damn," Black Ranger sighed. The mocking laughter echoed in his ears. "Let's get back to Will."

It was a shaken group that gathered together. Five brilliant beams of color flared to life and sped off towards the heart of Angel Grove.

Corry hurried into the Power Core, the doors sliding shut behind her. "Omicron, what's with the alarm?"

The green teleportation booth flashed as Dana arrived. "You beckoned?" Dana asked. A purple flash close behind her heralded Allison's arrival.

"Brace yourselves!" Omicron warned. The entire room suddenly shook violently.

"What was that?!" Allison cried, holding tightly to the neon banister of the stairwell. She continued down to the main floor of the Power Core.

Blue and yellow booms of light in quick succession produced Jeremy and Tara.

"Earthquake?" Corry asked.

"Possibly," Omicron surmised as she turned the alarms off. "Dana-"

"I'm on it," Dana volunteered. She wasn't at the console for more than a few seconds before announcing, "New Madrid fault is perfectly stable."

"I'll scan for any abnormalities in the Cave itself," Tara volunteered.

"Here comes another one," Omicron said, reading the energy display set into the wall.

"I'll track it," Allison said hurriedly, bolting over to a nearby console. Her fingers flew across the memorized console. Just then, the room began to rock.

"If the Power Core's a rockin'," Nadia teased as she shimmered into being.

"Funny, angel girl," Allison smarted. "Did you see anything?"

"There is some rock movement due east," Sigma told them as he appeared.

"Scanning for it, now," Jeremy said.

"Jeremy, follow these coordinates," Allison started. "Eight, ninety-six, twelve, twelve, seven."

"Gotcha," he agreed. "Tara, help me with this."

"I've got a visual, but... it's too dark to see anything," Tara announced.

"Switch to infrared," Corry suggested.

"Switching... now." Tara looked up from the console, brushing her brown hair out of her face.

"Full screen," Omicron ordered. Sections of the wall slid back and formed a much larger video screen. The image was mostly black, with a faint tinge of reddish light right around the perimeter of the screen.

"Sonic testing, now," Dana said.

"Do you think it's an empty room?" Omicron asked.

Dana waited a few seconds for the results to come back before announcing, "I know it's an empty room..."

"This is bizarre," Tara said, reading over Dana's shoulder. "There are four walls, a roof, and a ceiling. No way in, no way out."

"Just like the Power Core," Allison realized.

"Let's go check it out," Corry said.

"It's Morphin Time!" Dana shouted.

"Lion!" Jeremy cried, morphing into the Blue Ranger.

Purple Ranger Allison shouted, "Frog!"

"Sparrow!" Green Ranger Dana yelled.

"Fox!" Tara, Yellow Ranger, bellowed.

"White Ranger Power!" Corry finished. In five streaks of light, the Rangers disappeared.

By the time the Rangers had completely reformed inside the strange cavern, the light from their teleportation was gone. "This is the darkest I believe I have ever seen," Corry announced.

"Mastodon Power Beams!" Allison cried. The purple Mastodon atop her helmet lifted up slightly, its eyes opening wide. Bright halogen lights shone out, providing a welcome reprieve from the darkness.

"Whoa!" Tara shouted. As Allison swept her light beams past them, a tan colored wall was just a few feet away from them. "What is this?!"

"Oh my goodness," Jeremy sighed.

"What is that thing?" Allison asked, shining the headlights from her helmet around the large cavernous room.

"The Power Chamber," Corry realized.

Both the Blue and Yellow Ranger simultaneously stretched out to touch the wall. "It's solid," Jeremy announced.

"Like granite," Tara agreed.

"Sorta pebbly," Jeremy said, nodding his head.

"Brachiosaurus Power Vision!" Dana shouted. The two tiny eyes in the Brachiosaurus head attached to the neck that stretched down through her visor blinked green. As if alive, the neck raised up into the air, separating itself from the visor. Green-tinged light shone from the dinosaur's eyes, landing on the stone wall. A perfect circle of green light rested there for a moment.

"What-?" Corry started.

Then, the wall that was touched by the green light became transparent. Looking through the circle in the wall, they saw a dimly lit room with silver walls. "It's a building," Dana realized.

"Activating audio enhancers!" Tara cried. The tiny ears on her yellow helmet perked up and pointed forward. She was silent for a moment, before asking, with a smile in her voice, "Does anyone know a Zordon?"

"Zordon?!" Corry cried. She ran up to the wall and reached out to touch it.

"Not yet," Allison said, pulling her back. "It's just a visual."

"Reality alterer!" Dana shouted. A burst of white shot out of the Brachiosaurus head and hit the wall. A crackle of electricity passed through it. "Hurry through," Dana said, ushering Corry to the entrance.

"Zordon!" Corry shouted, jumping through the wall. The other Rangers were close behind. As soon as they entered the silver room, the lights immediately flashed on. "This is the outer room!" Corry cried. She ran up to a pair of blue and silver sliding doors.

"How do we get in?" Allison asked.

Corry removed her helmet, walking up to the sliding doors. "Corriane Cranston, White Ranger. Perform retina scan."

With that, the doors slid open with a whoosh. A frantic "ay-yi-yi" followed. "Alpha!" Corry shouted, darting through the doors.

"Corry?!" Alpha cried, turning to look at her.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Corry cried happily. Running over to the automaton, she threw her arms around him in a big hug.

"It is good to know that you are alive and well, Corriane," Zordon said. "Where, exactly, are we?"

"April, 1998. Totally different dimension," Corry explained. "How did you end up here?"

"I attempted to bring the energy of the Zeo Crystal into my private dimension," Zordon explained. "In doing so, we somehow ended up here."

"Before we completely lost contact with the outside world, I did find readings from another dimension in the energy flux field around the Power Chamber," Alpha said. "I- who are you friends?"

"Oh, come on in, guys. These are four of the Rangers from this dimension."

"This is the most incredible thing ever," Jeremy sighed. "I mean... it's Zordon of Eltare!"

"You're on a television show, here," Corry told him, grinning.

"My name is Tara," Tara said, introducing herself. "Green Ranger is Dana, Purple Ranger is Allison, and that guy is Jeremy. It's very nice to meet you."

"It is nice to meet you as well," Zordon said.

"Do you have a way home?" Corry asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, we don't," Alpha said.

"Why don't we get you guys in the Power Core?" Allison suggested.

"Yeah," Corry agreed. "That would be wonderful. I mean, we might as well..." Looking to Jeremy and Tara, she tried a new rural saying. "Put all our chickens in one basket."

"Um, Corry," Tara tried not to laugh as Jeremy began to snicker. She elbowed him.

"That's eggs in one basket," Dana supplied with a grin.

"Oops." Corry shrugged and grinned. "Chickens, eggs...." She started giggling with the others. "I was close!"

"Keep trying, " Tara advised with a smile. "For a city kid, you're doing okay."

"Let's go," Jeremy said, still laughing. "We'll work on the sayings. Maybe the accent too."

"What's wrong with my accent?" Corry stopped, and stared at him.

"You don't have one, " Dana told her, putting an arm around her shoulder. "You have to speak slower and draw the words out more."

"If I talk any slower I'll be in tomorrow!" She laughed as Jeremy nodded.

"I'll remember that, Cranston!" Jeremy shook his head at Tara. "She could be an auctioneer the way she rattles stuff off."

Corry stuck her tongue out. "You should hear Chelsea." With that, she teleported out.

"I don't think I want to go to California," Jeremy sighed. "We'll just let all of them come visit us, right?"

"Right." Tara grinned. "Come on."

"Are you comfortable with this arrangement?" Sigma asked.

"Quite," Zordon boomed. Sigma had used his Sword to create a six-foot tall tube, set against one wall, for Zordon to project his image through. Alpha was currently hobbling about, trying to get the feel of his new temporary home as Omicron showed him the quirks of their new system.

"Zordon, earlier, you said that you were trying to take the energy of the Zeo Crystal into your dimension, right?" Dana asked.

"That is correct."

"And we're currently registering it on our scanners," Dana continued. "But that's nowhere near enough energy to come all the way here. Assuming you knew how to harness it correctly, you could use it to leave one dimension, but..."

"The odds of us coming to the same dimension Corriane came to are astronmical," Zordon finished.

"The readings from another dimension were obviously this one," Tara realized.

"Right," Dana said. "Do you have those recordings in your datafile?"

"I know how to access them," Corry said hurriedly. Running over to the nearest console, she sat her white Wolf helmet on the back of it. Her gloved fingers flew across the controls for a few moments, before she announced, "Found 'em."

Energy crackled as Nadia appeared at the top of the stairwell. "Cross reference villains," she ordered. The computers instantly followed her command.

Omicron and Alpha turned to look, as did everyone else in the Power Core. A few seconds later, the computer beeped. "Match found," Corry said softly.

"Who is it?" Sigma asked.

"No name, but a reference," Corry said.

"Calling it up, now," Jeremy announced. One section of the wall to the left of the room opened up, revealing a video screen. Immediately, a computer-generated image appeared.

"Draanov," Corry whispered.

"He pulled you here?" Tara asked.

"More specifically than that," Sigma started, "Draanov's Club... Cross reference Diamond, Pink Garnet, and Sapphire Swords."

The three Swords in the bed of crystals on the top level all flashed in unison. "Oh my goodness," Nadia sighed as it occurred to her.

"Could you fill in the rest of us?" Allison asked.

"Draanov's Club," Omicron muttered. "It's the missing Onyx Sword... He's one of the SwordKeepers."

"Popcorn!" Corry called as she walked into the living area with a humongous bowl of popcorn. They were in a well-furnished room next to Corry's bedroom in the labyrinthine expanse that was the Power Core. One wouldn't have ever guessed that the remarkably normal room was several thousand feet below the surface of the Earth.

"And I've got drinks," Beth said, holding a tray with seven glasses on it.

"I finally figured out WHO you remind me of," Tara said.

"Oh?" Corry asked.

"Keri Russell," Tara told her. "She was in _Honey, I Blew Up the Kid_ and the New Mickey Mouse Club. You're identical. Well, you look a little younger, and your hair isn't as curly, but other than that, identical."

"Is she in any of these movies?" Corry asked, pointing to the stack of movies sitting in front of Beth.

"Most of these movies are too old," Beth said. "We've got Friday the 13th, Part Four, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Nightmare on Elm Street, the remake of Night of the Living Dead, and my personal favorite, Scream."

"So help me, if I have nightmares, I am going to come sleep with somebody," Corry muttered nervously.

"O- ow!" Jeremy cried, just as Allison smacked him for a smart-alec comment he was a second from making.

"We don't have time to watch more than three tonight," Beth said. "How about Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th?"

Corry took her seat on the couch and got a pillow ready to shield her face. Allison was close by her side with a similar pillow. "The chickens are ready," Allison answered for the both of them.

"Pop it in," Corry said, grabbing a nervous handful of popcorn before settling back into the couch.

"You will be okay, right?" Beth asked.

"You can come stay in our guest room, if you like," Jeremy offered.

"No, I'll be fine," Corry said. "If I have to, I'll go make friendly with Omicron tonight."

"Well, good night," Jeremy and Beth said in eerie unison before they teleported away in streams of blue and pink, leaving Corry alone in the living area.

"Horror movies aren't so bad," Corry decided, going back to her room.

Stretching her neck, she sat down on the edge of her bed. She had sat still for far too long. "I think I will read before bed, though," she said aloud. "And I guess I should also stop talking to myself."

Just as she reached for a book on her nightstand, the old-fashioned phone sitting by her bed rang. The number was private, and it was relayed through the Power Core. Wrong numbers were an impossibility, and the only people who had it were the Rangers. Of course, Omicron also used it to contact her if it wasn't actual Ranger business. That's probably what it was.

"Hello?" Corry asked, sweeping her hair over one shoulder as she nestled the white and gold handset against her neck.

"Hello."

"Hi," Corry said again. The voice was male. "Sigma?"

"No, not Sigma."

"Jeremy?"

"Not him either."

"Ah, it's Beth then. So you got one of those voice changers like they had in the movie?"

"Do you want to die tonight, Corry?"

Frowning, Corry hung up the phone with a thump. She immediately had a flash from her guilty conscious. It was Beth playing a harmful prank on her, and she had just slammed the phone in her ear. She quickly picked up the receiver and pushed the auto-dial button for Beth.

"Hello?" Beth asked in a confused voice.

"Sorry about hanging up on you like that," Corry apologized, laughing nervously. "I guess those movies startled me more than I thought."

"What are you talking about?" Beth asked.

"Didn't you just call me?" Corry asked.

"No, I just got through talking with my dad. I just this second stepped into my bedroom. Are you okay?"

"I just got a prank call like in the movie," Corry said. "I thought it was you."

"Not me," Beth told her sympathetically. "I wouldn't put it past Jeremy. Heck, I wouldn't put it past Omicron. That girl has got a wicked sense of humor."

"Just me being paranoid," Corry said, smiling. "Sorry I bothered you. Good night."

"G'night."

Corry sat the phone down again, shaking her head. _Way to go, Cranston._ She had no more than stretched out on the bed when the phone rang again.

"Hello?" she asked again, trying to sound just as sweet as before.

"Hi," the same male voice said. "Who is this?"

"This is Corry," she said. "Who is this?"

"Guess."

"Jeremy?"

"Maybe."

"Omicron?"

"Perhaps?"

"Or are you my worst nightmare?" Corry giggled. "You're gonna have to do better than that if you intend to scare me, Lawson."

"Have you checked on the children, Corry?"

"Why no, I haven't, Mr. Killer, sir. Did you kill them?"

"Not yet... I've got a knife with your name on it, Corry... I can't wait to hear you scream..."

"This isn't funny," Corry snarled.

"It's not supposed to be funny. It's supposed to be scary."

Scowling, Corry slammed the phone down hard. "Omic-!" she started to call out, only to be interrupted by the ringing phone.

She waited nervously as the phone continued to ring. Finally, swallowing hard, she picked up the phone and shouted, "What?!"

The voice was singing this time. "One, two, I'm comin' for you... Three, four, better lock your door..."

Corry instantly hit the receiver and pushed the button for Omicron.

"Corry?" Omicron's cheerful voice said. The White Ranger instantly felt relief.

"Omicron, something's wrong with the phone," Corry said. _That's an understatement._ "I mean, I'm getting menacing phone calls."

"Corry, that's not possible," Omicron told her. "No one has your number except us and the Rangers."

"Would you check, just in (beep, beep) case. Call waiting..."

"Keep whoever it is on the line, and I'll scan the call, okay?" Omicron suggested. "It's possible you're just getting radio signals or anything on it."

"Okay," Corry said. "Thanks Omicron." Corry waited a second before switching to the other line. "Hello?"

"Why did you hang up on me?" the voice asked.

Corry walked over to her closet, the cord stretching out behind her. She was careful not to knock things over with it, as she had done when she first started using phones with cords. "Because I didn't like what you were saying." _Weak, Cranston. Weak._

Corry slid the closet door open. She loved the spacious closet Omicron had prepared for her. It was humongous. "DO you want to die tonight?"

"That's a stupid question," Corry said. "Of course not."

She heard a click, and Omicron was promptly on the line. "Corry, get out of your room!" Omicron cried.

"What?" Corry asked.

"The calls are coming from in your closet!"

"Omicron, that's ridiculous," Corry chastised. "I'm in my closet right- (click)." The phone line went dead instantly. "Omicron?" Pulling the phone away from her ear, Corry immediately saw that the cord had been cut. It had been sliced, while she was talking on it. Her eyes widened as she took in that realization. "LIGHTS ON!" Corry screamed. The lights had no more than turned on when a black shrouded figure, standing just a few inches from her, turned around, revealing a white, masked face. Corry let loose with an ear-shattering scream, ducking just as a gleaming dagger was swung at her face.

She hurled herself from the closet, spinning around as she ran away. The killer, dressed as the murderer from _Scream,_ was close behind her. "Door open!" Corry shouted. She bolted out of her living quarters and ran down the small hallway connecting her to the Power Core. She rounded the right cornered curve of the hallway, running to the end of the corridor that either lead her into the Power Core or her Zord's hangar. Corry was horrified to find it closed tight. "OMICRON! Let me in!" She beat both hands the sliding doors. "Alpha! Zordon! Sigma! PLEASE!!!"

At the corner of the hallway, the masked man appeared, still holding his dagger. "White Ranger Power!" Corry shouted, realizing at that moment that her powers were temporarily blocked again. With a chortled cry, she pushed open the swinging door that led to the Zord hangar.

"Sigma!" she shouted. The hangar wasn't as nice as the Power Core. With the exception of catwalks stretched everywhere, the room was nothing more than a hollowed out cavern of the cave. Lights were positioned at the very top of the hangar, but the room still had a dark feeling to it. Corry's White CraneZord sat, silently, in the center. Catwalks and scaffolding surrounded the mammoth vehicle, giving Omicron or Alpha easy access to the Zord's wiring.

Corry waited on the scaffolding, unsure of what to do. The doors were standing still; whoever that was could easily push through them. _Maybe he's not coming in here._ However, just as soon as she began to think about safety, the doors flew open with lightning force, slamming into the walls on each side of them. Gasping, Corry threw herself down the closest stairwell, her feet scrambling over the steps, taking them two and even three at a time.

As Corry rounded the corner, she looked up behind her. The cloaked figure was methodically stalking her. He wasn't running in the same blind panic she was; he definitely had the upper hand. Corry stopped at the side of the scaffolding and placed her right foot on the utmost ladder rung. Holding tight to the railing, she swung her left leg over the rail. Balanced there precariously but just for a moment, she hurriedly got her right leg over the railing as well and back on the rung. Climbing down quickly, she descended a good forty feet before the ladder ran out.

She let go and dropped, gingerly, to a metal walkway beneath her. She was still hundreds of feet above the floor of the cavern. The Crane's head was the only part of the massive Zord that loomed above her.

Suddenly, Corry was struck with terror. She didn't know where the cloaked killer was. She had lost sight of him during her descent down the ladder. At the moment, she stood on a square of metal. There were no railings anywhere, and no way off she could see, except for a rickety set of stairs. However, when she realized that the killer was still somewhere around, she headed for the rickety stairs.

They swayed rhythmically with her weight. She clutched desperately at the hand railing until she reached the next landing that was considerably more stable. She could hear the shrouded figure moving around above her; she just couldn't see him. However, she didn't have to see him to know that he was too close for comfort.

She continued running down the stairs, unsure of what she would do when she reached the bottom. Then, she caught sight of the service elevator. That could take her back up to the Power Core and give her enough time to figure out something. There was no way that person could run up stairs as fast as an elevator.

Finally, she stepped off of the last step. She looked up above her to see if she could spot the masked assailant. His image not forthcoming, she ran for the elevator. She repeatedly tapped the up button, and realized unhappily that the elevator was at the Power Core. "Come on," she pleaded, tapping the button faster and more forcefully. "Please..."

Something compelled her to turn around, and when she did, she saw the shrouded figure step off of the stairs. _NO!_ Whimpering, Corry began to tap the button frantically. The stalker began to slowly walk toward her, his knife held out before him.

Thankfully, the elevator chimed and the door slid open. Corry forced her way in as soon as the door parted. The stalker immediately began to speed up. Before the doors were even closed, Corry had pressed the button for the Power Core. Then, she pushed herself back into the furthest corner of the elevator, praying that the doors would just hurry up and close.

The killer ran up to the doors just as they slid closed, and it was all Corry could do to keep from sliding to the floor. However, she forced herself to stand up straight. She had to be quick. Sheila was behind this, and she had to stay on her toes.

Several long seconds later, the door opened. Corry cautiously walked out of the elevator, glancing around her for the killer. Seeing that the small hallway was clear, she walked toward the Power Core. "Please open this time," Corry pleaded. As she walked near the sliding doors to the Power Core, she saw that they were open.

Inside, she was greeted to a horrifying sight. None of the lights were working, save for the emergency overhead lights. Zordon's tube was cracked, Alpha lay on his back on the ground, deactivated, and all three Swords were missing from the pedestal at the top of the room.

"Omicron!" Corry cried. She hurried to the back of the Power Core and into the small room that served as Omicron's bedroom. There was one lamp that was turned on, but everything else was trashed. A dark circle of liquid surrounded the bed which housed a lump under a bloody cover. _Oh God no..._

"Omicron?" Corry whimpered. She crept near the bed, whimpering and cowering as the toes of her sneakers touched what she assumed to be a pool of blood. Praying as hard as she could, she reached out and touched the bedcovers. "Please, not Omicron," she pleaded. Then, she yanked hard.

Immediately, the black cloaked stalker leapt up from beneath the covers, still holding his gleaming dagger. Corry screamed and tried to run, but her feet slid in the blood around her ankles. Her tailbone connected, hard, with the floor, and the killer began to move toward her. She heard the door to the bedroom slide shut behind her. "No," she choked out in a weak voice, reaching out to touch it.

The killer stopped, and then knocked the only lamp to the ground. As the light extinguished, Corry found herself trapped in the darkest place she had ever seen in her life. "LIGHTS ON!" she screamed.

Shrieking in terror, she sat up, the bedsheets tangled all around her. As the lights in her room came on, she realized that she had been dreaming. She pressed her hand to her chest, feeling her heart rumbling frantically. "Omicron!" she was finally able to cry.

Rocky looked over at his son, who had been quiet the whole evening. "Raph?"

"Hmm?" Chin in his hand, elbow on the table, the teen stared morosely at the notepad in front of him.

"You've been staring at that same problem for over thirty minutes, son. Are you okay?"

Sighing, Raph turned in his chair to face his father. "If we're going to Sedona for Christmas, why are we decorating?" He gestured to the tree and the wreath Rocky was struggling with.

"That's not for three more weeks." Rocky set the wreath down and regarded his son seriously. "I haven't forgotten, Raph. I just want to...." He shrugged, and looked down, tugging on the pine branches. "We didn't do much for Christmas the past couple of years."

A hopeful light sparked Raph's dark eyes. "So...we are still going to Sedona?"

"I promised you, Raph. I'm not gonna go back on that." Rocky's mouth twisted into a goofy grin as he looked up. "Now go down and get those boxes of Christmas decorations, will ya?" He tossed a sprig of pine at his son.

Swatting it back at him, Raph stood, an equally silly grin on his face. "Sure." He walked into the kitchen and flipped the switch to the lights in the basement. The door swung shut behind him as he descended the wood stairs.

Rubbing his arms, Raph looked around the large area. It had been the first dojo his dad and mom had opened -- years ago. Now it was dusty, full of storage containers and equipment they stored from the dojo. With a sigh, Raph pushed away his sad feelings and began searching for the containers marked with a pine tree. His mother had been meticulous, and had known where every single thing was kept down here.

_Dad and I haven't exactly kept that up...._ Raph waved a cobweb away from his face, coughing slightly at the dust he was stirring up.

With a flicker, the light died, dropping the basement into complete darkness.

"Oh...great," Raph muttered. He whirled as something skittered past him. Touching the container behind him to keep his direction, Raph turned. _Just a rat....or something._ He shivered as the room's temperature dropped suddenly, and more scratching noises came from behind him. Something ran across his hand, and he pulled it back, taking a step back.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs and he whirled to face that direction. "Dad?" His voice sounded a little too hopeful, even to his ears. _Get a grip!_

The lock on the door clicked with a thunk.

Raph tried not to shiver, but it was cold, and memories of what Jett had done to him still haunted his nightmares. He brought a hand up to his chest and backed away until his back touched the wall. "Who's there?" He growled. _No way she's doing that to me again!_

Green light flared in the center of the room, and Raph winced away from the sudden intrusion of brightness. Once his eyes had adjusted, he looked again.

And froze.

Thomas stood, staring at him. The eerie green light was coming from him somehow. He glowed in the darkness, his eyes a deep, unnatural gleaming green.

Raph swallowed hard and began to inch his way towards the stairs.

The glowing figure smiled chillingly. "Leaving so soon, Raph?"

Forgetting all about being macho, Raph turned and ran for the stairs. He stopped after two strides.

The stairs had vanished.

Whirling, Raph ran. The green glare from Thomas only affected the immediate area, leaving the rest of the basement in complete darkness. Panicked, Raph ran headlong into one of the shelves, toppling it over with a horrendous crash. He turned, seeing a green glow.

Thomas leaped up on top on the shelf and stalked towards him, looking like a jungle cat on the prowl as he slunk forward on his hands and knees. His eyes glowed green.

Trapped in the corner, and getting angry, Raph stood his ground, hands fisted. "What the hell do you want?"

Thomas shrugged, the wicked grin growing. "To see how the new...leader...of the Rangers is doing." He leaped gracefully down, then stopped as if examining his nails. Green light danced in whirls over his body. "So...." He looked up, dark eyes as cold as the void of space. "How are you holding up? Dreaming a lot lately?"

"Go to hell!" Raph stanced as the man took another step closer. The cold seemed to be radiating from his ex-teammate.

Shrugging carelessly, Thomas stopped. "Trust me, Raph. I won't be alone." Flashing a smile that showed white teeth, the man came closer. "Before long, all of you will join me here." He raised a dark eyebrow. "We'll have a Power Ranger reunion. Should be one...hell...of a party."

Raph couldn't help but cringe away as Thomas laughed. It was a laugh so full of darkness, so full of cold, it scared him. "Stay back!"

A flash of light hit right in front of Raph, and when it cleared the Jaguar crouched, ready to pounce on Thomas. *You will not touch this one!* It dug wickedly sharp claws into the cement floor as it tensed its muscles.

"Fine," Thomas said in a flat voice. Taking a step back, he smirked at Raph. "Sweet dreams, Raphael." Green-black light consumed him in a rush of flames.

The light came on as suddenly as it had gone out, and Raph sagged down to sit against the stairs. His heart was beating hard enough to bruise his ribs. "I'm too young for this kinda stress," he muttered.

"Hey, Raph!" Rocky's voice carried down the stairs. "What's the holdup? You okay?"

*Stay on the alert, Cub,* The Jaguar warned. *They will keep trying to wear you down.* Nudging the boy with its head, the animal disappeared in a grey-white flash.

"I'll remember," Raph assured it grimly. "I'm okay, Dad!" Pulling himself up, Raph again went on search of the elusive Christmas decorations.

Nisha decided to do some Christmas shopping after school. "Southdale," she decided. It wasn't as crowded as the Galleria, and she really wasn't in the mood for crowds.

Walking towards the bus stop, Nisha tried not to feel left out. Jared and Raph were teaching their usual Karate class, Olivia was in the class and Gavin was doing something with Will. _I'm just used to hanging out with Corry,_ she told herself. Thanksgiving had been a bummer. It just wasn't the same without all of them together.

_This was supposed to be Thomas' first Thanksgiving with all of us too._ Thoughts of their newest friend depressed Nisha, and she sighed. _How could so much have happened in so short a time? We've been Rangers....four months?_

Wind blew against the girl and she pulled her coat tighter. She always had thought that being a Ranger like her parents would give her the feeling of invulnerability.

It didn't. Far from it. _I was happier ignorant._ Nisha sighed. _Well, the rush is great, but the downside of losing friends sucks._

She couldn't shake the feeling they might never see Corry or Thomas again.

The bus pulled up with a quiet whoosh. Lost in her own musings, Nisha didn't pay much attention as she swiped her card through the payunit. She trudged back to the last seat and sat. As the bus pulled away from the stop, Nisha realized what she wasn't hearing.

Other passengers.

She looked up, startled to see the entire bus empty.

The driver was the only other passenger.

_During Christmas season?_ Nisha shook her head. _Unheard of!_ Her anxiety increased as she got a better look at the route they were taking.

They were heading out of town, not Southdale.

Nisha stood. "Excuse me, but we're going the wrong direction."

"Are we?"

Frowning, Nisha grabbed her bag and walked forward several seats. "Yeah. Southdale is the other direction!" She tried to get a look at the driver, but the hat hid his face. "Who are you? Doesn't Glen usually have this route?"

A low chuckle was her response. It sent chills down her spine. Nisha grabbed the seat to keep from falling as the bus suddenly swerved, jumping the center divider, and heading into the oncoming traffic. Eyes wide, the girl sat, clutching the seat back. "Are you crazy?!"

Her nails dug into the soft padding as the driver let go of the steering wheel, stood, and slowly turned to face her. Glowing green eyes peered out of a shadowed face, and the temperature on the bus suddenly dropped. "I thought you liked challenges, Nisha."

The bus was all over the place, swerving from one lane to the next, always barely missing the oncoming car. Horns blared, as the angry drivers avoided sure death. The bus continued on its wrong-way route.

Crossing his arms, the driver leaned nonchalantly against the pole. No matter how hard the bus swerved, nothing upset his balance. "But, then, you like to be in the driver's seat, don't you?"

"Damn you, Thomas!" Nisha pulled herself to her feet, reaching behind her.

"Ah-aah!" Thomas made a gesture and Nisha's hand met only thin air.

Narrowing her eyes, the girl realized she wasn't going to be allowed to morph. Her gaze was caught by the massive bulk of an oncoming truck. Deciding living was better than arguing, Nisha gestured wildly. "Thomas! The truck!"

"Hmm?" With languid grace, he half turned, and shrugged. "I see it."

"Oh....God...." Nisha thought briefly of her family and friends as the huge semi barreled towards them, unable to move in time to avoid a collision. Air horn blaring, the truck tried to change lanes, but was trapped by traffic. Murmuring a quick prayer, Nisha braced herself.

It all went into slow motion as the semi rushed towards them, grill glinting silver in the afternoon sunlight, airhorn blasting. Nisha could see the driver's horrified expression as he threw his arms up in front of his face. Winds strong as cyclones began to blow around the bus, whipping Nisha's long braids around. With a rush of cold air, strongly tainted by the smell of garlic, the semi met the bus head-on....

Nisha felt the hair on her arms prickle as a ghostly image of the semi rushed at her, then through her. She felt as though she was on fire for a moment, and green light filled the interior of the bus, dancing over the image of the semi. Her ears were filled with the sounds of crackling energy, the air horn and the rushing of wind.....

Then...silence.

Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her fingers, dug deeply into the foam of the cushion in front of her, trembled. Slowly, almost afraid to see what would greet her, Nisha opened her eyes.

"Boo."

Screaming at the sight of the glowing green face right in front of her, Nisha scrambled out of the seat and fell into the aisle. Fear turned to anger as Thomas laughed mockingly at her. Shakily climbing to her feet, Nisha glared at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Nothing frightens you, Nisha. I wanted to see if I could find...something that would." He smirked at her. "Looks like I did." The bus driver uniform shimmered and became black clothing.

Fisting her hands, she shook with reaction and anger. "You...."

Raising a dark eyebrow, Thomas shook a finger at her. "Be careful what you say, Nisha." He gestured out the window. "You might end up here...."

She glanced out the windows and took a step back.

They were at Angel's Rest Cemetery.

"Or maybe you already are, and none of this is real...."

"No...," Nisha whispered. She stumbled past Thomas, down the stairs and staggered over to the headstone. Dropping to her knees, she traced the letters carved into the white marble. Nisha Kethri Taylor. Died, 2018. Beloved daughter, now with the angels. She shook her head. "NO!"

Mocking laughter filled her ears as she covered her face with her hands.

"Nisha?"

Nisha jumped, and stared wildly at the man in front of her. "What? Where....?" She was on the bus, in front of the mall. Several other passengers gave her curious looks. Nisha looked blankly at the driver. "Glen?"

"Yeah." A kind smile tugged at the portly man's mouth. His green eyes twinkled. "You fell asleep, kid. This is where you wanted to go, right?"

Gripping his hand in a tight hold, Nisha nodded. "Thank you!" She jumped up, grabbed her bag, and bolted off the bus, heading for the women's bathroom.

Glen just shook his head, and walked back up to sit at the wheel. "Next stop, downtown Angel Grove."

"Why couldn't any of the others have come?" Corry asked as she and Dana started down the old hiking trail. It had been on the Warders' property for as long as Dana could remember.

"They've all been here before," Dana said. "Plus they're lazy."

"How long is this trail?" Corry asked. The path, worn into the ground, extended from the forest. They hadn't gone more than twenty feet, and already, they were in deep shade. It was beautiful, however.

"I dunno, but you can walk it in about two hours," Dana answered. "This is the one place Sheila has never attacked us. Dunno why."

"Maybe her Gargoyles are afraid of the dark?" Corry joked.

Suddenly, the sound of breaking twigs split through the air. Corry gasped and spun around, dropping her bottle of water. "What was that?"

"Probably just an animal," Dana said.

"A big animal," Corry muttered.

"Like a deer?" Dana asked, quirking her eyebrows.

However, before Corry could say anything in reply, metal flashed before her. She screamed and jumped back as a machete embedded itself in a nearby tree. The machete wobbled from the force, stuck deep in the flesh of the tree. "A deer with a machete?!" Corry cried.

Dana screamed, pointing off of the trail. A large hulk of a man stood there, wearing a pair of worn blue overalls and a flannel shirt beneath them. His face was covered with a dirty hockey mask. "Run!" Dana cried, grabbing Corry's hand and pulling her along.

"I can't get my morpher!" Corry yelled. The two girls ran down the path as fast as their legs would carry them, oblivious to the branches and twigs slapping them.

"Sheila must be blocking us!" Dana panted. "Just run!"

Corry looked behind her, expecting to see their masked killer, taken straight from the movie they had seen the previous night, but she saw nothing. However, she had already experienced one dream far too realistic to be fooled, and she didn't stop running. But then, just as she turned around, she ran into a solid body so hard she fell backwards, sprawled out on the ground. She hit the ground painfully, but at the moment, her only concern was the masked man standing before her. She slowly crawled backwards on her hands and knees, too scared to even scream, as the man lifted a machete up to chest level.

"Leave 'er alone!" Dana screamed. The man, posing as Jason Voorhees, turned around in the trail just in time to get the brunt of a large wooden tree limb. "Run Corry, run!" Dana threw the limb into his arms and turned to run. Corry jumped to her feet and ran off of the trail, circling around the disoriented assailant.

Corry suddenly caught sight of a small, old cabin, resting in a hollow of the ground. "Dana!" Corry cried, pointing at the cabin. She was already off of the trail and running for it. "There!"

"Corry no!" Dana cried, but it was too late. The White Ranger was almost there already. "That's not supposed to be there!"

Corry pushed the door to the cabin open. As she looked in, she realized it was nothing more than a shack. The walls were made of sheet metal, as was the roof, and the floor was dirt. The windows were just holes cut in the back wall, plus one smaller one in the front, nothing more. She slowly stepped into the one-room building, looking around her in a mixture of horror and awe.

"This isn't on our property!" Dana cried, grabbing hold of the door frame. "It's part of the trap!"

"Ugh," Corry complained, starting for the door. However, rather than bolt out, she screamed and grabbed Dana by the arm. With a hard yank, she pulled the Green Ranger inside. She slammed the door to and put her shoulder against it, just as the man pushed against it. Dana gave a cry of alarm as she pushed herself against the door as well, trying to keep him out.

"Hold it shut!" Dana entreated. There was a large piece of wood attached to the wall that could swing down to barricade the door shut. Dana moved for it, leaving Corry to hold the door by herself.

Suddenly, metal scraped against metal as the machete plunged into the door. Corry screamed as the end of the machete rushed for her, only to stop a few inches before her face. "Hurry Dana, hurry!" As the machete pulled out of the door, Dana pushed the piece of wood into place, locking the door as best they could manage.

"What now?!" Dana cried, trying to think. She ran her hands through her long, blonde hair, wracking her mind for a way out.

The door shook as the man slammed into it, trying to get in. Corry and Dana both backed into the middle of the room. "I'm sorry," Corry apologized, looking around for a way out.

"The back windows," Dana realized. "C'mon, I'll boost you out."

They crossed over to the back windows. Dana looked out. "It's clear," she said. Bracing herself against the wall, she locked her hands in a stirrup and said, "Let's go."

"How will you get out?" Corry asked as she stepped into Dana's hand.

"I'll figure something out," Dana told her. She boosted Corry out of the window, head first. "Careful not to cut yourself." Corry was halfway out the window when Dana made a horrible realization.

The door had stopped shaking.

Corry suddenly let loose with an ear-shattering scream as she dropped out of the window. "Corry!" Dana cried. She ran at the door, throwing the barricade open and racing out. "Corry!"

She ran around the shack and saw that Corry was currently racing up the nearest hill as though the hounds of hell were after her. Dana looked around her, wondering where the Jason wannabe was. "Corry!" Dana shouted. "Where is he?"

Corry stopped running. Turning around, she realized that the man wasn't behind her. "I don't know!" she shouted back. She twisted her hand, producing her morpher in a sparkle of silver and white light. "I can morph!" she cried. Pointing it out before her, she yelled, "White Ranger Power!"

Dana pressed her thumb and index finger together, attempting to open a communications channel with the Power Core. If it had worked, she would have been rewarded with a green glow around her fingers. Instead, nothing happened. _He's still around._ The reason she couldn't morph had to be related to the man in the hockey mask.

"Do you see him, Corry?" Dana asked. The woods were suddenly deathly silent.

Silently, Corry switched to infrared. She scanned the area around Dana, who appeared as nothing more than a red silhouette. "You know, a thought just occurred to me," Dana said slowly. "If this thing is like the Jason from the movies, then he's dead. And that means he wouldn't have-" Suddenly, an ear-splitting scream echoed through the woods. Corry watched as Dana's red silhouette doubled over and was pulled backwards.

_Dead people don't put off heat!_ Corry realized as she shut her infrared off. As her normal vision returned to her, she saw Dana being pulled away by the shoulders. "Dana!" She started to leap to her, when the ground collapsed beneath her feet. The White Ranger fell into a bed of dry leaves, desperately trying to climb to her feet but sinking deeper and deeper into them. "DANA! Dana, no!" shouted Corry. She ran for her friend, the dry leaves beneath her keeping her from getting any traction. "DANA!!!"

"Corry!" Dana pleaded. The man raised his machete high above his head as he held Dana still.

"DANA! NO!"

With a scream, Corry snapped awake, throwing her covers aside. In a panic, she screamed, "Lights on!"

The light flooded the room, and Corry stopped thrashing. _Just a dream..._ Then, she realized that lying with her beneath the covers were dozens and dozens of dry leaves.

Jared groggily groped for the covers, frowning when his hand met only some scratchy surface. _...left the fan on...._ His sleep-fogged brain hadn't quite caught up to his body, as he sat up. "Fan, low."

He blinked, scowling at the green comforter surrounding him. _My bed isn't green!_ Another sound penetrated his mind. Jared Scott snapped awake, looking around in startled dismay.

It only took a moment to identify where he was. McKenna's Leap. The ocean surf pounded against the cliff base far below, and he could see the lights of Angels Grove in the distance.

"How the heck did I get here?!" Jared scrambled to his feet and looked down at himself. He was dressed only in shorts and blue tank top. _At least I'm dressed....._ "Nisha...if this is your idea of joke....."

Turning in the waist high grass, Jared saw he was alone on the Leap. The moon was already on its downside trip across the night sky scattered with stars. Shivering as a cold breeze stirred the grass, Jared reached for his communicator.

It wasn't on his wrist. _Duh, you took it off when you went to bed!_ Sighing, Jared started walking toward the road. _Someone might still be up here._ He rolled his eyes. Anyone still up at the Leap would not be very welcoming of anyone interrupting them, asking for a ride back to the city.

The Leap was deserted. _Figures. Long walk back home._ Jared winced as his bare foot hit a sharp rock hidden in the grass. He finally reached the dirt road, and started walking at a fair pace.

Light split the night, as a car headed noiselessly towards him. It was going back towards town.

"All right!" Standing to one side, Jared waved his arms, flagging the car down. It came closer, still not slowing. "Crap!" Jared dove to one side as the car blasted past, stirring up the dirt from the speed of it's passing. "Idiot!" Jared yelled. He stood up, brushing himself off.

Twin beams hit him again, and the teen froze. The car had turned around, and was now coming back.

"This is just not my night." Jared crossed his arms, knowing it made him look intimidating. He squinted as the lights came closer. The headlights died, and the car coasted closer, soundlessly rolling over the road. It rolled to a halt just in front of Jared.

_What a minute... Rolling?_ The teen frowned as he realized it was an old fashioned black hearse.

As the car door opened, the temperature on McKenna's Leap dropped to just above freezing, and green light spilled out of the interior.

Jared shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. His teeth were beginning to chatter as the hair on his arms stood on end.

"Fancy meeting you, way out here." Thomas stood and closed the door. He was silhouetted in a glowing outline of green.

Jared reached behind him, grabbing for his morpher. His hand met only air.

Waggling a finger, Thomas grinned wickedly. "None of that." He strolled a little closer. "It's just you and me, Jared. No powers, no armor. Just our muscles and our wits." Dressed in black, form-fitting jeans, a black denim shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and dark sunglasses, Thomas didn't seen affected by the low temperature at all. His shoulder-length mahogany hair blew loose in the chilling breeze.

Jumping up and down now to keep warm, Jared glared at him. "F-fine."

Throwing his head back, Thomas laughed. "That's classic! You're freezing even as we speak, Jared." Pulling the sunglasses off, Thomas smirked at the young man. "No way you can fight."

Jared took an involuntary step back, seeing the glowing green eyes of his one-time teammate. "T-try m-me!" Still freezing, Jared was tired of the taunts. He stanced, trying to ignore the quivering of his limbs and chattering teeth.

Thomas shrugged. "If you insist." Floating up, he rose to the height of the hearses' roof and sat there. The headlights came on, glowing the same eerie green as his eyes. "Run, Ranger. Run!"

Jared whirled and ran, heedless of where he was going. He heard the engine of the hearse revving like a race car, and pushed himself to run faster. The waist high grass slapped against his legs as he stumbled on an unseen rock. His muscles were refusing to move, as he pushed himself forward. He skidded to a halt as the grass ended, watching several pebbles tumble off the edge of the Leap to disappear into the darkness.

Jared turned.

The hearse was gliding through the grass like a shark, slowly and silently continuing towards him. Thomas stood up on the roof, a mocking smile twisting his lips. "Now what, Jared?"

Closing his eyes, Jared steeled himself for the impact.

Nothing happened.

He opened one eye, and the other snapped open in surprise. The bumper of the hearse was only millimeters from his shins. His gaze snapped up to Thomas.

"Ever wanted to find out what flying feels like?" Without waiting for a response, Thomas launched himself at Jared.

"NO!" Jared yelled, but it was too late. Thomas wrapped his arms around Jared's burly chest. His feet were pulled up and away from the ground, as Thomas' momentum sent them airborne and tumbling off the edge of the Leap.

Jared screamed, clutching Thomas' arms in a vice-like grip as they free-fell towards the rocky shore below them. "Exhilarating, isn't it?!" Thomas yelled.

With eyes clenched shut, Jared braced himself for the impact. But then, it was over. He wasn't flying through the air, parallel to the earth. He was standing upright on his own two feet. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was still clutching tightly to Thomas' arms.

"You gonna kiss me or something?" Thomas taunted. He chuckled a pitying laugh as Jared's legs gave out, and he dropped to the ground with a thud.

"We'll meet again, Blue." Thomas grinned mockingly. "Surf's up." He disappeared in a flare of green-black flames.

"Crap." Jared rested his head against his knees, feeling dizzy. He ignored the fact that he was getting wetter and wetter as the tide rolled in. His daze was finally interrupted by a familiar vibrating on his wrist. Lifting his head, he was surprised to see his communicator. His hand shook a little as he reached over and hit the button. "Yeah." His tone was gruff.

"Jared...." Will sounded odd, like he couldn't figure out how or why one of the Rangers was sitting at the base of McKenna's Leap, in the middle of the night, with the tide rising rapidly. "I'm teleporting you to the Lab."

"Yeah? Good." Jared fell back bonelessly into the water, feeling the sand under him. He stared up at the night sky and waited. A brilliant beam of blue covered the youth and swept him up.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Dana asked, rubbing Corry's arm supportively.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Corry sighed. "I just... I'm not used to watching horror movies."

"I'm really sorry about that," Beth apologized. "Jeremy feels bad for it, too. If we had any idea you would have had nightmares that bad..."

Biting back a yawn, Corry nodded and said, "S'okay, really."

"All right, class," Dr. Green said as she entered the room. "If you'll kindly take your seats, we'll begin." The trio of girls moved to take their seats next to the door as Dr. Green began a lecture on "The Raven."

Corry smiled. Dr. Green was really getting into her reading of the poem. "'Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked, upstarting-

"'Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!" Dr. Green read the words with true emotion, practically yelling at the class. "Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hate spoken!

"'Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!

"'TAKE the beak FROM OUT MY HEART, and take THY FORM from OFF MY DOOR!'

Then, in a subdued whisper, "Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'"

"Nevermore," a calm, male voice said from outside the door. Corry whipped her gaze to the hallway, but she saw nothing. Shrugging, she turned her attention back to Dr. Green.

"And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting-"

"Corry," the voice whispered again. She looked at Dr. Green, who was oblivious to the almost imperceptible interruption. Had she just heard someone whisper her name?

"On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;"

"Corry..."

"And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming..."

"Please," the voice whimpered. "Help me..."

Corry stiffened in her seat. She looked at Dana before her and Beth to her left. Neither girl seemed to hear the interrupting voice.

"And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;"

"Help me..." This time, Corry saw his shadow lying just beyond the threshold of the door. It was a man, but who? The shadow immediately disappeared and footsteps sounded down the hall. Perplexed, she got out of her seat as silently as she could manage. Dr. Green continued reading "The Raven" in a calm voice; college students were always leaving class, so she paid Corry no mind.

"And my soul from out that shadow-"

As Corry stepped into the hallway, she saw several black, greasy footprints. They glistened, black and oily, against the marbled tiles. "Oh my God," she sighed. Looking into the room one final time, she began to follow the path. What WAS going on? Behind her, she could still hear Dr. Green reading.

"-that lies floating on the floor,

"Shall be lifted- nevermore..."

Finally a safe distance from the classroom, Corry cried out, "Where are you?!" The footsteps turned the corner and extended down the stairs that led to the bottom floor of Cherry Hall. More English classes were always going on down there. "How do you know my name?"

She turned around, only to be standing face to chest with a man in a suit. She gave a short cry and jumped back, only to realize that it was an English professor. "Sorry," he apologized. He was holding a cigarette in his hand. Taking a final draw from it, he flicked the butt into a nearby ashtray.

She continued following the footsteps until, suddenly, they just stopped. In mid-print, the footsteps ended. Corry wrapped her arms around herself nervously, looking at the final footprint. "Hello?" she asked cautiously.

Immediately, a very distinct, painful sound came to her ear. It was the sound of something sharp scraping against metal. Following that, a breathy, ragged voice whispered, almost tauntingly, "Corry."

The basement was much darker than it had ever seemed before. For a reason she couldn't quite fathom, she found herself walking deeper into the darkness. No longer were the walls around her comforting white marble. Now, they were grungy brick, just like the walls would be in a furnace room.

"What do you want?" she asked again. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she couldn't bring herself to turn away. She wanted to desperately. She wanted to just spin around and run as fast as her legs would carry her. But instead, she continued walking slowly onward, going deeper and deeper into the bizarre basement.

As she reached the end of the hallway, she was faced with a ninety degree turn to the left. As she stepped out onto it, she realized that she was on a concrete floor. Now, there were furnaces all about her, each hot and burning. She suddenly heard that voice again. It was so... familiar, yet alien at the same time. "Corry..."

"Who are you?" she asked. Suddenly, a male form stepped out from between two furnaces at the end of the corridor. He was average in his physique, but she immediately knew that he was no normal man. He wore a brown fedora on his head, and on his right hand was a leather glove with four sharp, gleaming blades, one for each finger. "Freddy," she muttered, her mouth suddenly dry.

His blades clicked together as he stretched his right arm out and pointed at Corry. "Corrrrryyyy," he said softly. She swallowed hard, wishing she could muster up enough saliva to wet her painfully dry lips.

_RUN!_ she screamed at herself, yet her feet seemed planted to the spot. However, he suddenly ran for her, his razored right hand out before him. Emitting a sharp cry, Corry finally found herself able to run. She turned tail on the spot and ran down the hallway. The furnace room slowly turned back into the white marbled basement of Cherry Hall, but Freddy Krueger was still running for her.

As Corry reached the stairs, she caught sight of the heavy, pedestal ash tray resting beside it. She promptly picked it up and threw it at him. It struck him in the chest, and he instinctually wrapped his arms around it, stumbling backwards in the process.

Corry took advantage of the few seconds she had just gained and vaulted up to the first landing. As she turned to head up to the first floor, Freddy's left arm darted out from between the spindles of the banister, latching onto her leg. He pulled her down, but Corry was quicker to react. Before he could get his deadly claw up to her, she thrust her other leg through the banister and slammed it into his forehead. With an angry, pained groan, he let her go. She pulled back through and crawled up the rest of the stairs.

Clutching the wall for support, she pulled herself into a standing position. There was sunlight now, white marble walls, and brightly colored papers on the bulletin board just opposite her. However, she cast a glance back down in the stairwell, and she saw that Freddy was still coming after her. "NO! You aren't real!" Corry screamed. "You're just a dream!"

Suddenly, he came at her from the side, bypassing the stairs completely. His body slammed into her, and she felt a sharp pain shoot up her left arm. Screaming in rage and fear combined, she let into him with everything she had. He was apparently startled at having someone fight back against him, and he took several steps back, letting her go. As soon as his arms were no longer around her, Corry was running.

But then, she felt a heavy object collide with her. She barely recognized that it was the same ashtray she had thrown at him until she fell to the floor with cigarettes and debris scattered around her. As soon as she was sprawled out on the ground, Freddy was upon her. He latched a burned, scarred hand around one foot and yanked her toward him. Corry, screaming, tried to writhe out of his grip. Freddy was chuckling deep in his throat as he extended one of his razor blades and began to flick it across the legs of her jeans.

A desperate, last-chance thought came to her as she felt a bit of heat against her right elbow. Spying the cigarette butt that the English professor had just put in the ashtray a few seconds before, she reached for it, grabbing it tightly between two fingers. Freddy loomed above her, pulling her closer. Biting down on her lip hard, Corry pressed the still-burning cigarette butt into her open palm, and-

-woke up screaming. Beth gave a shout of her own and jumped out of her desk, spinning around. Dr. Green, along with the rest of the class, jerked to sudden, frightened attention as Corry screamed louder than several would have thought possible. Still fighting her nightmare assailant, she spilled out of her desk, knocking it into the wall.

"Corry!" Dana cried, jumping out of her seat and dropping to her knees beside her. She took Corry in her arms, speaking her name repeatedly.

As quickly as she woke up, Corry came to her senses. She could hear her heart beating in her chest, and she whipped her gaze to the left and right frantically. Letting out a heavy sigh, she sagged against the skewed desk behind her tiredly. "Oh God," she moaned, covering her face in her hands. Still quivering, she managed to say, "Dr. Green, I am SO sorry..."

"Come on, Corry," Dana said, helping her to her feet. The rest of the class was still watching intently, unsure of what to do next. To Beth, Dana mouthed, "Get our books." Then, she escorted a shaking Corry out of the classroom.

Beth gathered up all of their books and belongings as quickly as she could. Flashing an apologetic smile at Dr. Green, she hurried after her friends.

"Well," Dr. Green finally managed. "Uhm... Okay. Where were we?"

"What happened in there?" Dana asked as she guided Corry onto a bench in the lobby.

"Another nightmare," Corry muttered. She started to run her hands through her hair, only to be stopped by Dana.

"Your hair," she said, running her hands through Corry's wavy, thick locks. "Some of it's grey..." Her dark golden blonde hair was highlighted with several faint but nonetheless visible grey streaks.

"Grey?" Corry asked, frowning. She was about to pull some of her hair down to look at it, but she stopped when she saw her right forearm smeared with blood. Four shallow but long slash marks were in her flesh. "Dana," she whimpered, holding her arm out. "He cut me like this in my dream!" She then turned her right palm over, seeing a small red spot where she had burned herself with the cigarette butt.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked as she hurried up to them with three bookbags in her arms.

"No," Corry groaned, exhaling a shaky breath.

"Come on," Dana encouraged, pulling her to her feet. "Let's get to the Power Core." Looking around them quickly to ensure privacy, the trio teleported away in a triplet streak of pink, green, and white.

Yellow and red light flashed as Tara and Crystal arrived. "We just heard," Tara said, running down the stairs. "Are you okay?"

"Getting there," Corry groaned. "I'm never sleeping again, though."

Omicron pulled her Pink Garnet Sword from the pedestal on the top level of the Power Core. "This should fix you right up," she said as she turned to go back down.

"How is it even possible for your hair to turn grey?" Corry grumped, flicking a grey strand out of her eyes.

"Well," Tara started, "melanin is always going through the hair follicle, and-" After Corry flashed her a somewhat cold stare, Tara finished, "Rhetorical, right..."

Running her hands up and down the length of her Sword, she gathered a pink sparkle of energy. Then, she flicked it at Corry's hair. As the pink electricity danced across her hair, the grey was instantly turned back to its normal gold-blonde. Then, Omicron began the more delicate process of healing her wounds.

"We have to do something," Beth said, looking over at Zordon in the corner. "This is Corry's third nightmare, and this time, she woke up injured. Next time..."

"I could be killed," Corry finished for her. "Isn't there someway you can make me stop dreaming?"

"Not possible," Nadia announced. "If you stop dreaming, you lose your mind. That simple. You'd be dead in a month."

"What am I going to do in the mean time?" Corry asked as Omicron continued to work on her. "I mean... is it possible to not sleep?"

"For seventy-two hours, rather easily," Sigma said as he appeared beside the remaining Swords. "After that... it'll become more difficult. After eleven days, well... No one has ever stayed awake longer than eleven days."

"Unless they were morphed," Beth suggested warily.

"I have The Lion King, Aladdin, Hocus Pocus, The Flintstones, Ghost, and Independence Day," Jeremy said. He, Tara, and Dana had volunteered to stay up with Corry for the night. All four were morphed, minus their helmets.

"Happy movies," Corry smiled. "We should've watched these in the first place."

Suddenly, Nadia appeared in the living area. "You guys, Alpha just found something," was all she said before disappearing.

They all shared a quick glance before teleporting to the Power Core.

"What did you find, Alpha?" Corry asked.

"This," he said, motioning to the crystal sitting on a nearby table.

"Corry?" Tara asked as they all walked over to it. "Isn't that the crystal you got off Draanov?"

"The crystal...." Corry said quietly, nodding at Tara. She picked up the spiked object, glowing a soft grey color. "The Crystal of Nightmares... This...this really is it, Zordon? The same one Mom and Dad dealt with?"

"Yes it is, Corry," Zordon said. "However, we do have some bad news."

"What's that?" Corry asked, a grimace on her face.

"It can't be destroyed, because it is linked to you," Omicron said. "Now we could remove the link, that wouldn't be hard. But it isn't JUST linked to you."

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked, his face furrowed with confusion.

"It's also linked to Draanov," Omicron finished with a sigh. "He and Corry are diametric opposites. She's white energy, he's black energy, and they totally cancel each other out. If we break Corry's link, Draanov will gain every drop of her power. And we can't break Draanov's link without his permission. And assuming we did, it would end up sucking Corry into the claws of evil."

"How can our links be broken?" Corry asked, her face pale. "There is a way... right?"

"Of course, remarkably few things are permanent," Omicron said. However, her voice was monotone as though she held little hope. "We..."

"Please tell me," Corry pleaded.

"We have to get Draanov to be white energy as well," Omicron said. "Essentially, we have to get Draanov to make a complete 180 and turn good. If he turns white, it'll be like putting two like poles of a magnet together. The link won't just break, it'll fly apart. But it has to be of his own volition. You can't put good spells people; it just doesn't work that way. He'll have to want to change."

Dana put her gloved hands over her mouth in horror. Corry, however, didn't appear too distressed. "I've got an idea," she said. "Power Down!" Her white armor fell away in a shower of white light. "Omicron, Alpha, could you all tell me when Draanov is sleeping? Assuming he does sleep."

"He's typically asleep around midnight to six a.m.," Omicron said. "Why? What are you thinking?"

"I have an idea," she told them. "But it means I have to have at least one more nightmare. But this time, Draanov is gonna be involved."

"Lucid dreaming?" Tara asked in disbelief. "Corry, that's-"

"My ONLY chance!" she cried. "I can't go through the rest of my life having nightmares like these. And what's to keep them from happening when I get home. I want to do it as soon as I can."

At midnight, Corry was lying on a newly synthesized bed in the Power Core. The other six Rangers, Sigma, Nadia, Alpha, and Zordon all looked on as Omicron hooked her up to various computers. "We're going to be measuring every aspect of your physiology," Omicron said. "If you get even the slightest injury, no matter how small, I'm waking you up."

"I don't intend to get injured," Corry said firmly. Omicron placed two final electrodes on the White Ranger's temples.

"Are you ready?" Omicron asked.

Corry cast one final glance around the Power Core, hoping to see the Wolf appear. When he didn't, she laid her head back down and said, "I'm ready."

"Count backwards from ten," Omicron ordered. An incessant beeping suddenly sounded.

"Heart rate," Alpha announced to everyone's unanswered question.

"Ten," Corry said. She already felt her eyelids growing heavy. "Nine... Eight..."

"Be careful, Corry," Dana called out.

"Seeevvveeennn...."

"I don't like this," Crystal said firmly. "This is-"

"Siiiiiiixxxx..."

"Her only chance," Beth told her.

"Fff...iii-" And with that, Corry fell asleep.

"Sweetie!" Tanya knocked on the door of the bathroom. "Dad and I are leaving now."

"'kay, Mom!" Olivia yelled through the toothpaste in her mouth. "..ove ou bot!" She almost spit toothpaste all over the mirror.

"Have a great day, Ollie!" Adam's voice was full of laughter.

"Daaaad!" Olivia rolled her eyes, and scrubbed at her teeth. Hearing the front door shut, she reached over and turned the comm unit up. _Now I can blast the music!_ Spitting the toothpaste out she rinsed her mouth and then sang with the chorus of the song.

Slam it to the left
If you're having a good time
Shake it to the right
If you know that you feel fine

Grinning at her image in the mirror, Olivia brushed her hair out. The Spice Girls were all middle-age mothers now, but she still loved their light-hearted music. Adding some pink gloss to her lips, Olivia decided

she was probably presentable now. She stepped back to regard her outfit with a critical eye. _Yep. It'll do._

"Too bad we can't get this on Candid Holo."

Shrieking, Olivia whirled, throwing herself back up against the sink. A figure silhouetted on the shower door made her heart start thumping faster. She grabbed her brush, and held it like a weapon. "What do you want?!"

The door slid aside revealing Thomas dressed in black and wearing a black bomber jacket. "Spice Girls, huh?" He grimaced and gestured to the comm. The music changed suddenly, blasting out the plaintive voices of R.E.M. "Now there is a real group."

That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it

Olivia inched towards the door. "I don't like that song!"

"Eh," Thomas shrugged. "No accounting for taste." He removed his sunglasses and winked at the girl with glowing green eyes.

It was too much for her. Olivia yanked the door open and ran pell-mell down the hallway, heading for the front door. _I have to get outta here!_ Sliding on a throw rug as she came around the kitchen, she ran into the door, and grabbed it to keep her balance. She fumbled at the handle, finally wrenching it open.

Olivia's eyes grew huge. She was staring into her room instead of the front yard.

"I've always loved a good amusement park funhouse." Thomas strolled casually into the kitchen, and leaned against the counter. "You just never know what you'll find waiting for you." He slowly smiled, chilling Olivia, who had turned to stare at him.

'Leave me alone!" Deciding forward was the only route open, Olivia dashed through the door, slamming it shut behind her. She looked wildly around her room, and ran to the window. Second story, or not, she wanted to get out of the house. "Locks off!" She fumbled with the window before finally getting a purchase. Throwing the pane up, Olivia groaned. "Nooo......."

The window led to the living room, on the bottom floor of the house.

"This can't be!" Olivia shook her head. She looked up to see Thomas slowly stalking towards her from the kitchen. His whole body glowed green, lighting up the living room. For a moment, he looked as though he was on fire, engulfed in black-emerald flames. As the fire died down, he swept a cape back over his shoulder and smiled at Olivia who was watching in stunned silence.

Thomas was now dressed in a black tuxedo, with a white mask covering his eyes. A top hat balanced on his head, and he carried a cane. He bowed, sweeping the red inside of the cape aside to produce a glowing green flower. "M'lady," he drawled mockingly.

Olivia backed away from the window, shaking her head. Tears filled her eyes as he kept coming towards her, simply walking through the window as if it didn't exist. "NO! You're not Tuxedo Mask!" Picking up a stuffed bear, Olivia hurled it at him, turned, and ran for her bedroom door. She yanked it open and ran down the hallway.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, as she glanced behind her to see if he was following.

The hall was empty.

Taking a ragged breath, Olivia decided to go to her father's office. She ran for the door, and then hesitated. Nothing else had been what it should, why should this one? Gathering the scattered remnants of her courage, Olivia opened the door.

"Wha....?" It was the utility room.

Olivia leaned against the doorframe, feeling dizzy. Pushing herself away, she stumbled to the door of her parent's room and yanked it open.

The garage.

She slammed the door shut, starting to feel angry as well as scared. Lips quivering, Olivia marched to the next door, and hesitated. She held back a sob, and looked down the hall.

Thomas was leaning against the wall, watching her with an amused smile. "Enjoying my little trick?"

"It isn't Halloween!" Olivia cried. "Why are you doing this?" Without waiting to hear his reply, she opened the door.

The front yard! Freedom.....

Olivia shot a last look at Thomas. He was walking towards her, almost in slow motion. The cane in his hand burst into green flames and became a glowing emerald sword.

"O-li-via....," Thomas said in a sing-song voice. His mouth twisted into a hideous grin, as his eyes flashed green.

"NO!" Olivia dove through the door, and fell from the second story, hitting the ground hard enough to drive the breath out of her. She lay moaning, unable to move, as her paralyzed lungs fought to regain the rhythm lost from the jolt of impact. All she could do was watch, as Thomas leaped from the roof to land lightly on the lawn.

"Poor little Pink Ranger," he taunted. "No hero to save you this time." He raised the flaming sword over his head.

In a flash of brilliant pink light, a huge white owl appeared, and ripped across the young man's face with its sharp talons. It swooped back around and landed in front of the incapacitated girl. *You will NOT harm this one!* The Owl mantled, and snapped it's beak, it's yellow eyes bright with anger.

Thomas stumbled back, and dropped the sword to clutch at his face with a scream.

There was a rush of cold air, and another figure appeared next to him, wreathed in black flames. "And YOU shall not hurt this one!" Jett snapped. She touched Thomas' hands still covering his face, and grey light briefly covered his entire head. "There, Dragon," Jett cooed soothingly. "Let me see."

Thomas was breathing roughly as he lowered his hands to glare at Olivia and the Owl. His face was unmarred, but the fury burning in his gaze spoke of retribution to come.

Olivia cowered back, sobbing.

"You are unharmed, Dragon." Jett turned to face the Owl. She ignored Olivia entirely. "We will meet again, Guardian. Be sure of it." Sweeping her arm as if drawing a cloak about her, Jett and Thomas disappeared in a rush of black-green flames.

*Easy, Fledgling,* the Owl said gently. *You are safe.* Moving closer, the Owl brushed it's downy head against the girls wet face.

Olivia was amazed at the peace that fell on her with the Owl's touch. She took a few last deep breaths and nodded. "Th-thank you."

*You will be late for school if you do not leave soon, Fledgling.* Amusement laced the Owl's mental tone.

"Oh my gosh!" Olivia jumped to her feet and started for the house. She screeched to a halt and turned. "Will I -"

The Owl was gone.

Shaking her head, Olivia hurried back into the house. "No one's gonna believe why I'm late this time!!"

Gavin sighed heavily, pushing his hair out of his face. It had been a bad day.

First Jared had practically bit his head off when he had made some flippant comment about his rumpled looking hair, and unshaved face. Then Nisha had slammed her locker shut and left without a word to him when he asked if she wanted to go Christmas shopping after school. Raph was quieter than normal, with a haunted look in his eyes that Gavin didn't like.

The worst had been Olivia. She had been waiting for him after school, and attached herself to his arm like she would never let go again. She had a crazed look in her eyes that made him think of the time they had all lost it mentally, thanks to the Wraiths' possession. The Guardians had been responsible for them being whole and healthy again.

He'd walked her home, listening with growing concern as she told him about her encounter with Thomas and Jett that morning. He hadn't told her about the others behavior. There was no reason to alarm her any more than she already was.

Not for the first time, he wished Corry was there. _She always knows what to say or do for Olivia._ Gavin sighed. _I just don't have a clue._

He'd told her everything would be all right.... But why would she believe that, when he didn't? She'd seen it in his eyes too. The doubt, and fear.

Rubbing his face, Gavin headed for the Chem lab. He'd promised the substitute teacher taking Mr. Stewart's place he'd clean up after his last class.

Gavin was jumpy as he worked. _Everyone else has probably met with Thomas._ He glanced out the windows, seeing that nightfall was only a short time away. He began to work faster, unwilling to risk an encounter with the team's new nemesis.

_It was great when he was on OUR side,_ he mentally grumbled. _But having him as an enemy sucks._

Gavin froze, as a crash echoed in the hallway outside. He closed his eyes. _No...please. I'm not ready for this._ Tensing, he listened for more sounds. _I could just teleport outta here, forget this whole thing._

But he knew Thomas could, and would find him, just like he had the others.

"Okay," Gavin muttered. "Get a grip, Gav." Taking a deep breath, he tiptoed over to the lights and dimmed them. Putting a hand up to his pounding heart, he peered out the small square window on the lab's door.

His view was limited, but what he could see was just deserted hall and lockers. Same old Angel Grove High he saw every day.

Gavin eased the door open, and slowly opened it to prevent it creaking. He steeled himself and stepped out.

Nothing. Just empty halls.

_I heard something!_ Gavin frowned. _Playing cat and mouse, are we? Well this mousie has teeth._ He reached behind him, intending to grab his morpher....

When he was suddenly...not where he had been before.

"What the -" Gavin looked around. He was in the Resource Center. He shook his head. _What...just happened?_

Low laughter echoed through the halls, raising the goosebumps on Gavin's arms. He scrambled away from the entrance, heart pounding hard enough to beat through his chest. _Gotta morph!_

Nothing was there. No morpher, no weapon....

He looked around the room. Books, computers, desks, chairs.... Nothing he could conceivably use as a weapon. His eyes fell on the larger desk at the front of the room. Creeping over to the desk, he rummaged around, finding what he was hoping would be there. It wasn't much of a weapon, but it would do.

Now armed, Gavin steeled himself for the coming confrontation, and stepped out into the hallway.

"Eh?" Ben, the old janitor, who had been at the school since dirt, gave the teen an odd look. "What you doing with that stapler, kid?"

"Um...." Gavin quickly stuck it behind his back. "Just finishing up a project, sir." He backed away, smiling sheepishly.

"Project, huh?" The man shook his head, grizzled hair flopping from side to side, as he went back to work. "Kids here get weirder every year."

Gavin walked away quickly, before the janitor could ask him another question. _It was just old Ben,_ he assured himself. _That's all you heard._

"Hey kid!"

Whirling, Gavin half-expected the old man to become some sort of monster. He stared, with huge eyes. "Sir?"

"Don't forget I lock up and turn on the alarm at 6 p.m."

Relief filled Gavin. He smiled. "Thank you, sir!" Feeling much more jaunty, Gavin whistled as he headed back to the lab. As he walked past the boy's bathroom though, he heard the low laugh again. "Oh man!"

Gavin bolted, careening around the corner, intent on reaching the lab....

...and smashed full-force into an immovable object. Gavin hit the floor with an audible "oof" and stared up.

Thomas stood there smirking at him. A glowing, green Thomas dressed like some tough out of a movie, in all black. Dark sunglasses added to the look.

"You really should watch where you're going, Gavin." Thomas brushed his leather jacket off. "You might hurt yourself."

Gavin raised the stapler up, aiming for Thomas. "Stay back!"

"Ooooh!" Thomas raised his hands in mock terror. "Don't shoot!"

Scowling at the mocking laughter, Gavin clenched his teeth. "I've been harassed by worse than you, Thomas." He pocketed the stapler.

"Really?" Casually, Thomas reached up and removed his sunglasses. His glowing emerald eyes flared. "But could they do this?"

Gavin was lifted into the air by an invisible force, and launched into the lockers. He hit so hard one of the locker doors popped open. A mirror glinted in the hall's lights. Grabbing it with one hand, Gavin smashed it on the edge of the locker. He ignored the pain the shards caused his hand, and gathered them up. "Try some of your own medicine!" He hurled the glass at Thomas' face.

The shards stopped inches from the young man's face. "Oh no." Thomas' expression became deadly. "No more messing up my face." He reached out and grabbed Gavin, easily pulling the teen until they were just inches apart. "Any last words, Gavin?"

Gavin grabbed at the hands grasping his shirt, and reached for the stapler. "Put me down!" He shoved the stapler up against Thomas' neck and hit the button that activated the power.

"AGH!" Thomas dropped Gavin, grabbing for his neck.

Rolling to his feet, Gavin scrambled away, running like he had never run before.

"I'LL GET YOU, YOU LITTLE WEASEL!"

Green light erupted in the hallway, as Gavin dashed down the hall. He heard a roar, and ran faster. The floor shook, as something huge lumbered after him. _OH MAN! I could really use some help right now!_ Gavin skidded around the corner and almost ran Ben down. "Ben, run!"

"What in the blazes?" Ben looked up as the kid dashed by him, and gaped.

A glowing, emerald, Chinese-style dragon writhed down the hall, it's eyes flashing. "GAAAVVVIIIINNN!"

Ben dropped his mop, eyes wide, and ran. "Forget it! Ain't no pension plan worth this!"

The dragon followed as the humans dashed outside. In the twilight, the emerald animal looked even more surreal than ever. Gavin skidded to a halt as Ben careened around the corner and disappeared. "Boy, he runs good for an old guy. WILL!" Gavin bellowed into his communicator. "HELP!"

The green dragon, writhed towards Gavin even as he pulled his morpher.

"YELLOW RANGER POWER!" Yellow light engulfed Gavin, making the dragon wince away. Gavin stanced. "And I'm a MONGOOSE, not a weasel! Let's see how you like playing with a beast that hunts snakes like you!" With a flick of his wrist, his stingers appeared on his forearms. The bands wrapped around his hand, almost like another glove, but on top of his hand was what looked like a miniature cross-bow. Three quills were locked in, cocked to fire.

Two more flashes signaled the arrival of a couple of his teammates. "Crap!" Blue Ranger ran up next to Yellow. This day just gets worse and worse!"

"Let's see how it likes the taste of these!" Red Ranger bolted at the emerald dragon, nunchukus swinging. The faster they swung, the more they glowed, powering up.

The dragon roared in defiance and swatted at the Red Ranger.

Red ducked and delivered a stinging blow to the creature's leg.

Bellowing in pain, the dragon whipped around and smacked her with it's tail, sending her smashing into the wall of a building.

"That's it!" Jared pulled a gleaming silver-blue sword out of thin air and charged the dragon. He ducked under the tail, and slashed at the glowing hide of the beast.

"NO!" Yellow ran forward as the dragon grabbed Blue in it's massive, taloned grip. "Thomas, stop!!"

"That's Thomas?" Blue grunted in pain, as the dragon increased its grip on him. If not for the armor, he knew he'd have been pate. "Shoot, Yellow!"

Yellow gritted his teeth and raised his arms for the beasts' head. Three gold bolts of pure energy shot out, burying themselves in the dragon's muzzle.

It screamed and dropped Blue, writhing around the street in agony. The Rangers ran for cover as the dragon mindlessly crashed into buildings, parked cars, streetlights...anything in it's path. Its muzzle was glowing yellow, but the energy from the bolts wasn't consuming its target like it usually did.

"You okay?" Blue dropped down on one knee to help Red up.

"I'll live. Just give me some aspirin." Red saw the bellowing dragon and looked at Yellow. "What did you do?"

"Just shot it." Yellow shrugged.

"Look!" Blue gestured.

The dragon was slowly shrinking, flickering from a human to dragon, and back again. Finally, Thomas stood there glaring at them. He seemed unharmed, but his eyes flashed angrily. "You'll regret that, Rangers. I know your weaknesses." Black-green flames consumed him, and the night around the high school suddenly became unnaturally silent.

"Kids!" Will's voice came through their internal comms. "Get back here, NOW!"

Hearing Will's frantic voice the teens didn't hesitate. "On our way."

Three beams of brightly colored light flared then shot up over the night sky of Angel Grove.

"...at this time, all we can tell you is a huge dragon has appeared downtown, and is ripping up what is left of part of downtown that collapsed in the earthquakes."

The camera panned to show the emerald green creature ripping up whole chunks of skyscrapers and crushing them to powder in its taloned claws. The emergency sirens wail almost drowned out what the reporter was saying. The fog was getting so thick it was hard to see even the huge, glowing beast.

The CNN reporter had her camera pointed in the opposite direction. "There are armies of shadow-like creatures roaming the streets, creating as much havoc as they can here in Angel Grove. Once again, it appears that all hell has broken loose in this once peaceful city...."

"...reported seeing gangs of children with yellow eyes running through the streets. All citizens are urged to stay inside, behind locked doors." The reporter yelped and dove for cover as a chunk of building crashed to the ground beside him, digging into the hard surface as if it were butter. "Crap!"

"...I don't know!" Mayor Velasquez ran a hand through his black hair, mussing it. "But all I can say is PLEASE remain calm. The Power Rangers will be here soon, I'm sure of it!" As the camera cut the shoot, he turned. "Where the hell are they?" Worry etched lines into his forehead, as the fog continued to get thicker and thicker.

A flash of light caught their eyes, as five beams of colored light touched down in the street. The fog diffused the light show their teleportation caused, spreading the colored light throughout the foggy street.

"SPREAD OUT!" Black Ranger commanded. "STAY SHARP."

Four Rangers ran off before any of the reporters could grab them. Mayor Velasquez took a step forward, away from the reporter he had been speaking with. Black Ranger turned suddenly, twisting his wrists. A shiny, circular, silver bladed weapon appeared instantly on each hand. "Uh....." the Mayor stuttered, backing away. He had become so excited at seeing most of the Rangers there, he had forgotten how dampening fog could be for sounds.

"Sorry, sir." Black Ranger apologized. He lowered his hands. "It would be best if you would go into the shelter everyone." With another flick of his wrists, the weapons were gone. He took the Mayor's elbow. "Please, sir. We don't want anyone to get hurt." Raph ushered the reporters and the Mayor into the shelter, quelling his impatience to be out with his teammates. "Please. Remain in here until the sirens stop." Black Ranger turned, only to stop as a hand grabbed his elbow.

Mayor Velasquez took the Ranger's gloved hand and shook it. "You're our only hope. God speed, son."

Raph felt his throat constrict slightly. So much depended on the Ranger's actions. "Thank you, Mayor." With a brief salute, Black Ranger pivoted and disappeared into the foggy streets.

"Four... Three... two... one...," Corry whispered. Yawning, she turned over, finding herself still in soft, warm bed. She smiled as she pulled the covers down around her body, tighter.

And then, she remembered, sitting straight up. She glanced down at herself and saw that she was clad in a pair of white pajamas, trimmed in green.

"Where am I?" Corry asked, looking around. No longer was she in the Power Core. She was still in the bed, although it was sitting in the middle of a series of book shelves. She was on the 9th floor of campus' library. The scene was not at all horrific; sunlight was even streaming in through the windows on the far walls.

As she got out of bed, she called out, "Is anyone out there?!" She began to slowly pad around the room, looking up and down the aisles of books. "Hello?"

"She doesn't seem to be having a nightmare," Beth mused. Corry was sleeping calmly, a look of complete neutrality on her face.

"Wait a minute," Omicron interrupted. "Her heart rate is rising."

"Fast!" Alpha cried.

Immediately, Corry began to thrash on the bed. "And she's having a nightmare," Omicron announced.

"Who's there?!" Corry asked, spinning around. She heard movement at the far end of aisle of books. In bare feet, she ran to the end, looking around both ways. Much to her anger, although she wasn't surprised, she didn't see anything. Wrapping her arms around herself, a series of goosebumps rose up all over her body. The sun disappeared, and a dark gloom settled onto the library.

Unbeknownst to her, a malicious form was rising up behind her from the shadows.

"Something bad is about to happen!" Nadia cried.

"I'm waking her up," Omicron stated.

"Not yet!" Beth shouted. "We just need to help her! Somebody, knock me out!"

"What?!" Crystal cried.

"Freddy's Dead, the Final Nightmare!" Jeremy shouted triumphantly, leaping to his feet.

"Right," Beth said, demorphing in a pink sparkle of light. "Come over here and we'll crack heads!"

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Dana protested. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"Corry could die if we don't!" Beth growled as Jeremy demorphed in blue.

"Ready?" he asked, walking up to her.

"Ready," she said.

"This may be the saddest thing I've ever seen happen in my life," Nadia muttered to Sigma.

"Should we stop them?" he asked. Nadia shrugged in reply.

"One," Beth said, taking Jeremy by the biceps.

"Two," he continued, doing the same.

"Three!" Then, in front of the horror of everyone, the two Rangers slammed their foreheads together, producing a wooden thud that made everyone, even Alpha, wince.

"Ow, ow, ow," Jeremy groaned, dropping to one knee.

"I do feel kind of woozy," Beth agreed, holding her head in both hands. Fortunately, before the two slammed foreheads again, two bolts of energy shot from Sigma's Sword, sending them both to the ground in an unconscious heap.

"At least now we know the speed of stupid," Tara muttered.

"I can honestly say that was the dumbest and bravest thing I've ever seen in my life," Allison sighed.

"We're here," Jeremy muttered, looking at his arms. "This feels so weird."

"Lucid dreaming," Beth agreed. She turned around, seeing Corry at the far end of the room. Behind her- "CORRY!" Beth screamed. "Behind you!" With a loud battle cry, Beth leapt into the air, promptly disappearing in a shower of pink light.

At the other end of the room, the light reappeared. Beth, now morphed as the Pink Ranger, flew out of the light. Her foot slammed into the black form rising up behind Corry. It promptly disintegrated into the darkness.

"What are you doing here?" Corry asked. Jeremy came jogging up to them a moment later.

"We thought you could use some help," Jeremy said.

"Idea came from Nightmare on Elm Street 6," Beth told her. "Have you found Draanov yet?"

"I just got here," Corry admitted.

Suddenly, four faint showers of sparkling light lit up in the air before them. The other four Rangers appeared calmly. "How did you guys get here?" Beth asked.

"If you had waited a minute," Tara started, "Sigma could have zapped you asleep with his Sword."

Allison shook her head, dislodging a few stray purple sparks of light from her hair. "Your unconscious bodies are still sprawled out in the floor," she chided.

"You do realize we're going to make fun of you for this for forever, right?" Crystal asked.

"Way to go, Beth," Jeremy griped.

"Nobody made you go along with it," she shot back.

"Guys!" Corry interrupted. As the six Rangers turned to look at her, she said, "I need to find Draanov."

"Nice P.J.'s," Dana grinned.

"It's so dark in here," Allison complained. However, before anyone could reply, a grey glow appeared at the Rangers' feet.

"It's a Lucid Dream!" Tara shouted. The ground suddenly began to undulate, shocking a scream out of several of them. The book shelves began to sway back and forth, creaking frighteningly. One somewhere in the room tipped over, and a thunderous, domino effect started.

"NO!" Corry yelled angrily. Clamping her eyes shut, she bellowed, "This is JUST A DREAM!!!!"

Suddenly, the entire room seemed to explode. Shelves and books flew everywhere. And then, with that, everything was silent.

"Is everybody okay?" Beth asked.

"I'm okay," Corry answered. "I think I did that. Sorry 'bout that."

Before anyone could reply, black and grey light flashed everywhere. Draanov, wearing his gleaming black armor, stepped into the room as Gargoyles appeared all around the Rangers. In a simultaneous, six-way flash, all morphed except Corry.

"We'll keep them off of you!" Crystal cried.

Corry turned back around, looking at Draanov. He stood at the entrance of the stairwell, not more than thirty feet from her. The fight going on behind her sounded miles away. She briefly wondered what she would have done had her friends not joined her in her lucid dream.

_MY lucid dream..._

"Draanov, we end this, right now," Corry said in the strongest voice she could manage. She slowly began to walk toward him, painfully conscious of her bare feet and lack of protective clothing.

As she neared him, he produced his black club, holding it out before him protectively. "Don't think I won't kill you," he threatened.

"I know you could," Corry said. She turned her head to look at the fight taking place behind her. "But you're not going to."

"You're a smug little pup, you know that?"

As she turned back to him, her eyes landed on the black bead eyes in his rat-face. "I'm confident," she said boldly. "There's a difference." Suddenly, Draanov rushed at her.

Corry immediately moved through the motions of her dream, flipping away with a grace that would have made her mother proud. As soon as she landed, a white club of her own appeared in her hands. Draanov turned around and slammed his club into hers, pushing her back.

The two began to spar with their clubs with an ethereal grace. Each and every strike, no matter who delivered it, was met seemingly effortlessly by the other. _This isn't me,_ Corry thought to herself. _Swordplay is Thomas' game._

That's when she realized what was happening. Every aspect of her friends was within her; every experience she had ever felt or seen in a loved one was for her taking. She had her mother's agility, her father's intelligence, Thomas' uncanny ability to wield a weapon..

"My father's intelligence," she whispered to herself. As Draanov brought his club in again, she lashed out with the club, striking him on the forearm. Dispensing her own club, she threw herself into Draanov's arms, hugging him tightly.

"What are you doing?!" he screamed angrily, trying to stagger away from her. Corry, however, held on tight.

"It's Morphin Time!" she yelled.

"No!" Draanov bellowed.

Summoning her morpher, she shouted, "WHITE RANGER POWER!!!" As the white light welled up around them, Draanov let loose with a primal, painful scream. His own black energy whirled up to counter the sudden influx of pure white. Corry suddenly realized her own scream mingled with his. She could feel his dark energy seeping into her, crawling around her mind like an evil snake. Twisted talons dug into her brain, and she was suddenly wondering if this was such a good idea after all.

However, a second later, an explosion of white light occurred between them, and Corry felt herself get carried up and away into the light.

With a gasp, Corry sat up in bed. "Draanov?!" she cried, looking around. "Where is he?!"

"Corry?" Omicron asked, hurrying over to the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Where is Draanov?!" she yelled, looking around the bed. She glanced down and saw that she was wearing what she had on before. She was neither morphed nor wearing her dream pajamas. "Am I awake?"

"You just woke up," Sigma said.

Corry slowly turned to look around. Sitting on a bench in the corner of the Power Core were four of the Rangers, still asleep and leaning against each other. Sprawled out at their feet were a much more disheveled Beth and Jeremy. The four sitting up began to slowly wake up, looking very disoriented.

"Hey, you guys?" Nadia called. "Check this out." She pointed to the pedestal of Swords. Nestled amongst the Diamond, Sapphire, and Pink Garnet was a Sword made of Onyx.

Suddenly, the Crystal of Nightmares exploded, sending a cloud of crystalline dust across the rust. Finally, a massive burst of white light shot out of the central teleport booth. Sigma and Nadia, both standing on the top level, turned in unison as a form in shiny, black armor stepped out of it. It was a tall, bald black man, and he smiled a friendly grin.

"Draanov?" Omicron asked. "Draanov!" Shrieking happily, she bolted up the stairs and threw her arms around him, grabbing him in a tight hug.

"Welcome home, Draanov," Sigma said warmly.

"That's Draanov?" Crystal asked, stretching as she stood up. "He's cute."

"He's one of my big brothers," Omicron grinned.

"You guys, these two are still asleep," Dana said, pushing the toe of her shoe into Beth's ribs.

"They hit their heads together pretty hard," Sigma mused.

"Are my nightmares over?" Corry asked hopefully.

"Both our nightmares are over," Draanov told her with a smile.

"I never knew lucid dreaming could be so boring," Jeremy protested. He and Beth had yet to wake up, so they were trying to keep themselves entertained.

"Let me try... this," Beth said, thrusting her arm out. With a great amount of effort, she managed to produce a deck of cards. "Great! Wanna play 'Go Fish?'"

"We could at least be on a beach or something," Jeremy griped. Closing his eyes, he tried to change the setting to that of a tropical paradise.

"Didn't work," Beth told him as she began to deal the cards.

"This is your fault," he said.

"I didn't make you slam your head into mine," she shot back. "Now, let's quit fighting and play cards."

As Jeremy took the cards from her, he cocked his head. "You know... since we're here, all alone, and we're JUST dreaming..."

"So help me God, if you finish that thought, I will make you live to regret it."

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

"I blame you for breathing," she snarled with a hidden grin. "So... Go fish?"

"Go fish."

Raph wasn't thrilled at the idea of working by himself, but with only five Rangers, he chose to be odd-man-out. He walked silently through the streets, scanning on infra-red. If there was anything out there, he wasn't going to be able to see it through the thick fog.

His heart pounded as he heard a noise, and whirled.

"Hello, Raph."

Falling back a step, Black Ranger stared. "M-Mom?" He knew, in the logical recesses of his mind, this was NOT his mother. His eyes were telling another story. The same wavy dark auburn hair, same hazel eyes, same athletic build. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I heard about all the trouble, and came to make sure you're all right."

"No....." Raph shook his head. "My real mother doesn't know I'm a Ranger." With a snarl, Black Ranger's talons appeared on his hands. "You picked the wrong guy to pull this stunt on, Wraith!"

The image of his mother melted and reformed into Corry. "Raph! I'm...I'm sorry." Tears formed in the crystal blue eyes. "Raph...please....help me! I can't break free!" Holding out a hand, the girl took a step forward as the Ranger in black armor stepped back. "They're making me do these things!"

"Stay back!" Raph wasn't so sure about this, but he wasn't going to let another Wraith get up-close and personal, like Jett had. He slashed with the talons, making her jump back. Guilt racked him as tears pooled in the girl's eyes.

"Raph...."

"I don't believe you're really Corry!" Raph wished he had half the computer skills Gavin did at that moment. He had no doubts the young genius could tell if it was Corry. Olivia would know too. She had an instinct for truth, second only to Corry herself.

The girl fell to her knees, sobbing. She looked so pitiful....

Raph steeled himself. This is what got him in trouble all the other times. Following what his eyes showed him, instead of his instincts. Taking a deep breath, Raph closed his eyes. "Corry?"

"Raph...please!" She was crying....

Crying like Raph hadn't heard Corry cry for years. Not since they had been in grade school. She had come to school sobbing that day. He remembered being shocked that his sunny friend was so distraught.

Her dog had died.

_So is this genuine?_ Raph struggled to recall the childhood memory.

His eyes snapped open, and he leaped forward, slashing.

"NOOOOOO!!!!" Corry threw up her arms and the talons ripped across her forearms. She stared up at Raph with a shocked look. "Raph....."

"You aren't my friend." Raph's voice was firm. He saw black oozing out from the wounds and nodded. "But you were a better imitation than the other one." With a thought, he sent the talons back to their dimensional pocket.

With a banshee wail, the Wraith form dissipated into the fog.

Black Ranger leaned against the building, resting his head on his arm. "Oh, Lord...." Slashing at his friend like that made him feel sick -- even though he knew it hadn't been her. "If they keep this up-" He stopped abruptly. "The others!"

A figure in black armor bolted towards where he hoped his teammates had gone.

"I can't believe I actually came out with a 3.4 g.p.a.!" Corry cried happily. "Do you think my credits are transferable twenty years into the future at a different university in a different dimension?"

"I doubt it," Dana said with a grin.

"Man, I've been here for an entire semester," Corry suddenly realized. "That's five months!"

"You'll be going home soon," Tara said. "I'm sure of it. All right, check this out." As Dana and Corry turned to look at her, Tara high-kicked the air before her and stepped back into a defensive stance. "Well?"

"You need the tattoos," Corry decided. "Then it'll be perfect."

"I'll be back," Tara said as she hurried out.

"How do I look?" Crystal asked, stepping into Corry's bedroom.

"Nice cones!" Dana cried with laughter.

"I thought so," Crystal smiled.

"All I have to do," Beth said as soon as she teleported into the room, "is try my best not to smile all night long."

"Okay, how about now?" Tara asked as she hurried back into the room. "Hey Beth, nice wig. You, too, Corry."

"I rather like being a redhead," Corry grinned, primping in an exaggerated manner in the mirror.

"I'm going to break my ankles on these shoes," Dana groaned. "And if I fall, I'm flashing half of Hart County."

"Come on, let's go get an outside opinion," Crystal decided.

"You're going as the Scream Stalker again?" Jeremy asked.

"Hey, I still have the costume," Allison said, defending herself. "And besides, being a vampire isn't all that original."

"Vampire and pirate," Jeremy told her. "That's all I've ever been able to pull off. Actually, I did manage to be a ghost once, but I was only six years old."

"And how do we look?" Corry asked.

"Wow," Jeremy decided. "Dana, you look great!"

"Partial?" Allison snorted, lifting an eyebrow. "Hmm... Corry, I think you need bigger boobs."

"Told you," Tara chided.

"Crystal?" Zordon asked, his voice rich with curiosity. "Are you trying to look like Rita Repulsa?"

"No," Crystal said, striking a pose. "I'm Scary Spice!"

"They're the Spice Girls!" Alpha realized.

"I'm Baby," Dana said.

"You need a lollipop," Jeremy told her.

"And I'm just too Posh," Beth said in a chilly voice. She tugged at her already too short dress. Her long brownish-blonde hair was pulled up beneath a shoulder-length brunette wig. Tara, meanwhile, was wearing a tanktop, gym pants, and tattoos on both biceps. She, too, bore a wig, although she had her's in a ponytail. Crystal, aside from the cones, wore an outrageous white outfit, covered with leopard spots. Her stomach was exposed, and a long train extended down her back to reach her knees. Corry was wearing a short Union Jack dress, as well as a red and blonde wig that brushed her shoulders.

"She's right," Nadia agreed. "You do need bigger boobs."

"Alpha, why don't you come?!" Allison suddenly realized. "You've got the perfect costume for it!"

"Can I Zordon?" Alpha asked hopefully, turning around to look at his mentor.

"I see no harm since we are not in our own dimension," Zordon said.

"How about you, Draanov?" Dana asked.

The new angel, turned back to the side of good by only about a month, emerged from his quarters. "I don't know," he said slowly. "I haven't an idea of what to go as."

"Go as a guy in black armor," Allison suggested.

"Would someone please make me bigger boobs?" Corry requested.

"Penny for your thoughts, Ginger?" Dana asked, sitting down beside Corry.

"Just thinking about home," she answered. "In Angel Grove, we've never had an outdoor dance. I don't know why, either. We have the perfect weather for it."

"We're always looking for an opportunity to dance outside in Hart County," Dana answered with a grin.

"As much as I like it here," Corry said, "and believe me, I REALLY do like it here..."

"It's just not home."

"No, it's not."

"We heard that plenty of times last summer," Dana said. "They got to go home. So will you."

"THEY just had to travel through space," Corry sighed. "I have to overcome space AND time. That last one's a real sticker."

Dana put an arm around Corry's shoulders and said, "You'll get home somehow. I promise."

"It has been five entire months," Corry told her. "I gotta be honest with you... I don't think I am going home."

"Didn't the Wolf say you would be going home?"

"No... Wolf said I would be safe. He never told me I would go home."

"You have Zordon and Alpha with you," Dana said. Looking up, she finished, "The latter of which is dancing with HCH's head cheerleader. You will all get to go home." She kissed Corry on the cheek and finished, "I promise, and I never break a promise."

"Picture to remember the night?" a photographer asked. "Five dollars?"

"We're not on a date," Corry smiled.

"Group picture!" Dana cried. "Come on! You Spice Girls, get your butts over here!"

"Gladly!" Beth shouted, rushing over to them. "Some guy named Mason in a Blue Dragon suit has been following me all night long."

"Come on, you two, too," Dana said, waving Allison and Jeremy over. Crystal and Tara were close behind.

As soon as the septet grouped, the photographer said, "Say Girl Power!"

"Girl Power!" everyone shouted.

"Girl Power?" Jeremy asked, just as the camera flashed.

A few moments later, the photographer handed Corry the picture. As the six girls gathered around the photo, the photographer approached Jeremy with his hand outstretched.

"THIS is the main problem with having nothing but female friends," he griped as he pulled out his wallet.

"Hey, it turned out really good!" Corry cried.

"Jeremy, you actually have a decent smile on your face!" Beth joked.

"You're kidding me! That makes my lifetime tally of decent pictures four!"

"Can I have this, please?" Corry asked. Smiling at Dana, she added, "For when I get to go home?"

*

*

*

"My dear," Jeremy gushed as he approached Corry, "would you like the honor of dancing with the most handsome man here?"

"Oh, absolutely," Corry said nodding. She took his hand, walked a short distance, and then pointed across the courtyard. "That's him right there. Would you ask him for me please?"

"Cruel," he shot back with a smile. "And for that, I'm making you dance with me."

However, before the pair could make it to the designated dance floor, a six-toned beep sounded. Corry lifted her hand up and said, "Corry here."

"Yeah, it's Crystal. Uhm, Tara and I just found something back here we think you should see. We're behind the court house."

"All right, we'll be there in a second," Corry said.

"This way."

*

*

*

As Corry and Jeremy ran to the back of the courthouse, she saw Tara standing in front of a large pile of dirt. "What is it?" Corry asked, hurrying up to Crystal's side.

"We found that," Tara answered quickly. She pointed to the ground beside the dirt pile.

Gasping, Corry placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God."

There was a grave dug there. At the head of the grave, there was a white marble tombstone : Corriane Noel Cranston
Born December 25, 2002
Died May 23, 1998

"It's obviously from Sheila," Tara said.

"What movie is this from?" Corry asked of Jeremy.

He shrugged and said, "Take your pick. Horror movie staple."

"I'm not dreaming," Corry said calmly. "I'm just being stalked."

"I'll go talk to Omicron," Tara offered before teleporting away in a streak of canary yellow.

"This isn't gonna work, Sheila!" Corry yelled. "If you want me, YOU come and get me! But my grave stays empty!"

Suddenly, a giant ball of fire shot out of the grave. Sheila was close behind, landing beside Corry. "I'm here," she greeted.

"White Ranger Power!" Corry yelled. White light flared up around her, encasing her in armor.

Instantly, Sheila launched at Corry. Corry flipped backward as Sheila's leg sweeped where she had been standing. As Sheila lashed out with her dagger, Corry blocked her with her arms. She inverted her grip, grabbed Sheila by her forearms, and flipped her, sending the villain spinning into the ground.

"It's Morphin Time!" Crystal cried. "Squirrel!" Ruby red light washed over her as she morphed into her red Tyrannosaurus armor.

"Lion!" Jeremy shouted, instantly clad in royal blue Triceratops armor.

Before the two could go to assist Corry, however, an army of Gargoyles dropped out of the sky and descended on them.

"We need help!" Crystal yelled into her wrist.

With a grunt that sounded more angry that forced, Sheila launched into Corry with a flying high kick. Corry landed on her back in her grave, more angry than stunned. Gargoyles instantly surrounded the grave, and all began to push dirt on top of her.

Yelling like a banshee, Corry leapt out of the pit, knocking the fighters everywhere. "NO!" She put some space between her and the pit.

"We take this hard core!" Sheila yelled, thrusting her Gargoyle dagger into the sky. Red lightning shot down from the sky and struck it, producing more and more Gargoyles.

Yellow light streaked through the air, producing the already morphed Tara in her Saber-Tooth Tiger armor. With a duo of 'ki-yah's, Dana and Allison, green Brachiosaurus and purple Mastodon respectively, flipped off of the roof of the Court House and landed in the melee.

A tall black man, brandishing a club, was suddenly in the middle of the fight. Gargoyles were destroyed left and right, each landing as an assortment of metallic parts only before black light swept across and made them vanish.

"What do you want from me?!" Corry yelled as she successfully blocked another jab from Sheila.

"I want you dead!" Sheila shrieked. "You-"

"You threaten the Underworld!" Draanov suddenly realized.

Sheila whipped her gaze at her former henchman. "That is not a possibility!" Sheila yelled. She turned back to Corry, both of her eyes glowing like red embers. In a cold, low voice, she growled, "We take this massive."

As she thrust her arms into the sky, she began to glow a flaming red. Tendrils of light leapt off of her body and streaked into the night sky. High above them, the silhouette of a giant fighting machine appeared. Sheila completely disappeared from the ground. A few final strings of light drifted up to the fighting machine, now shaped like an eagle. "Meet your doom, White Ranger." Sheila's voice echoed all around them.

"White Crane Assault Vehicle, Power Up!" Corry yelled. She thrust her fist, glowing a bright white, into the sky. The Power took over, and Corry lifted off of the ground, streaking higher into the atmosphere where she intercepted her A.V.

The atmosphere was barely a flash of color as Corry streaked into space. However, before she followed Sheila in her eagle, she stopped cold. Fighting machines of all types were flying through space, headed for Earth. "Oh my God," Corry sighed, covering her mouth with her hands.

"It's a bitch, ain't it?" Sheila taunted.

Corry spun around in her chair, looking out a side panel in her cockpit. The fighters were everywhere, coming from all directions. There were so many, they choked out the appearance of the stars.

"I need some help up here!" Corry cried.

"I'm on my way, Corry!" Dana shouted back. She swung her Trident in a wide swath around her, taking down the closest Gargoyles. "Sparrow Assault Vehicle, On-line!" In a flash of green light, Dana had streaked up into the sky and intercepted her green A.V.

"You guys, there are too many!" Crystal cried out. For every Gargoyle she dismantled with her talons, two more arrived to take its place.

"And there are more on the way!" Dana called through the com units. "Outer space is lousy with these things!"

"Rangers, come back to the Power Core," Omicron ordered suddenly. "Rangers regroup, NOW."

"There are too many for us to fight," Beth snarled. "I didn't think Sheila had this much power to dump this all at once."

"She shouldn't," Sigma announced.

"She doesn't," Nadia said as she appeared in the Power Core. "Sheila doesn't have nearly this much power on her own. So she went higher. She's just unleashed the forces of hell on Earth."

"We can't defeat the entire underworld!" Allison cried.

"I don't believe it's even possible," Omicron theorized. "Is it?"

"Of course not," Nadia said hurriedly. "Even if we had the firepower to defeat an army that size, to do so would destroy this universe as well. Good and evil can't exist without each other. It's the contrast that makes them exi-"

"Lesson, later," Beth growled. "What do we do?"

"They're tearing apart the entire town!" Tara cried, pointing at a viewing screen. "We can't let the Gargoyles do that. I'm going back."

"No Ranger goes alone!" Sigma ordered.

"I'll go with her," Jeremy volunteered. The two Rangers disappeared in twin streaks of blue and yellow.

"If we can't defeat them," Nadia said, "then we'll drive them back."

"How?" Corry asked. Everyone's patience was already stretched to the breaking point.

"Sheila called the army here through some energy conveyor," Nadia said. "Something of magic origin. We find that, and we destroy that, and they get taken back. Worse than that, they get pulled back with an astounding force..."

"What is the energy conveyor?" Crystal asked.

"I know what it is," Draanov said slowly. "Her dagger... That's the only thing it could be."

"She keeps it on her," Sigma sighed.

"I've got an idea," Corry said. "Alpha, can you make me a replica of Sheila's Gargoyle Dagger?"

"I believe so."

"Then make one," Corry said as she teleported away.

"Back to Action!" Beth shouted.

The White Crane A.V. streaked over Main Street. A powerful wind followed, sending Gargoyles and the two lone fighting Rangers to the ground. "She's in a rush!" Tara cried as she climbed back to her feet.

Corry, however, had no time to offer a witty reply. She banked sharply, slicing through the atmosphere at an eighty degree angle. The atmosphere screamed past her, and suddenly, all was quiet. "Firing all secondary weapons!" Corry ordered. A maelstrom of lasers, bullets, and worse roared out of various parts of her Assault Vehicle.

Any fighter that ventured too close was annihilated. Corry plowed mercilessly through them, trying to locate Sheila in her eagle. Suddenly, the massive black ship loomed before her. "Launching rockets!" Corry shouted. Twin white rockets fired from the chest of her A.V., streaking through the emptiness of space to strike Sheila's vehicle. Corry aimed all of her lasers to follow the rockets. She couldn't afford for a kamikaze fighter to save Sheila.

"Impact!" Corry cried triumphantly a split second before two silent, white fireclouds lifted off of the metallic hide of Sheila's eagle. The sullen A.V. turned to face her. Two red eyes on its face flared up, and it was suddenly after her.

Relying on her lightning fast reflexes, Corry jerked the control lever backwards. As she dropped out of the melee of fighters, she was already turning around to flight to Earth. Sheila's massive eagle roared through the cloud, causing many to explode against her hull.

As soon as Corry entered the atmosphere of Earth, a sharp whistling sounded outside her A.V. A quick glance at the monitor below her revealed the eagle still on her tail. _Perfect._

She banked out of her sharp decline just as she approached massive Nolin lake, next door to the small, country town of Munfordville. The water rippled violently as she soared over it. However, as soon as the drastically larger eagle took on her path, the lake actually split. The water fell to the sides, displaced by the incredible speed of the object. The water was pulled along behind the eagle.

Corry flew over Nolin River Dam, and a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Sigma, how long will it take Green River to crest if Nolin Dam breaks?"

"If the dam simply breaks, it won't."

"How about if a wave of water the likes of which Moses would have a hard time making crashes through it?"

"Good night!" Nadia suddenly cried.

"Munfordville is on high ground," Omicron decided.

"With a wave that big, it doesn't matter," Nadia said. "You've got ten minutes, tops. After that, our fair city will be under twelve feet of water."

"How long will it take to recede?" Corry asked.

"Some time tomorrow," Nadia answered.

"All right, then we have to work fast. Corry out."

She silently bid her A.V. back to its "garage," and she dropped out of the cockpit. As soon as she touched the pavement, thunder crashed behind her as a gargantuan wave of water tore the bridge stretching over Green River asunder. Water immediately began to crawl up the street, rapidly approaching the fight.

Gargoyles were instantly all around her. "No!" Corry cried. "I don't have time for you things!" She instantly lit into the beasts, fighting them as best she could without Saba by her side. Wolf had shown her a few tricks and she employed them now. Cupping her hands together, she gathered a ball of white energy and hurled it at a group of Gargoyles. "White Pulse!" It hit several of the beasts, blowing them up, but there were still too many surrounding her. The water was gurgling up the street at a frightening pace, quickly slamming into her ankles and climbing up her legs.

"Corry, duck!" Allison shouted. Corry dropped into a split into the murky water without asking why. Purple metal flashed over her, and the Gargoyles circled around her were destroyed. She leapt back to her feet, just as the Mastodon Machete flew back into Allison's grasp.

"SHEILA!!!" Corry cried.

The eagle was suddenly hovering above them. Sheila appeared before Corry with her arms across her chest. "Destroy a team of Rangers and an entire city in the same day," Sheila purred. "Pretty impressive, ain't it?"

The water in the streets had already reached Corry. The other Rangers were still battling Gargoyles, despite the rapidly flooding street. "Alpha, now," Corry whispered. Extending her hand, she said, "Looking for this, Sheila?" Red light coalesced in Corry's grip, forming an exact replica of the Gargoyle Dagger.

Sheila's eyes opened wide. She thrust her own left arm out. Red fire traveled down her limb, and the real Dagger appeared in her hand. "What are you trying to pull, Cranston?" Sheila snarled.

"Fire!" Tara shouted. Sheila whipped her gaze to the right, just as the Yellow Ranger fired an arrow from her Saber Tooth Tiger Bow and Arrow. The yellow projectile flew at the Dagger, and the sharp point collided with the crystalline orb perched at the top.

Sheila opened her mouth to let out a scream of rage, but before any sound could come out, red and purple light exploded out of the orb in a dazzling, psychedelic display.

Wave after wave of light, alternately colored ruby red and royal purple, washed across the planet and out into the cosmos. The fighters flying toward Earth exploded upon contact, and the debris was swept away into nothingness.

And then, just as quickly as it had happened, it was over. The streets were no longer flooded with water. Although Corry was still morphed, the other six Rangers were in their costumes from the party. The Gargoyles they had been fighting were gone, leaving no remains.

"Sheila?" Corry asked cautiously.

The woman's physical appearance was still the same. However, instead of red armor, she was now wearing a flowing, silver gown. A warm smile stretched across her face as she looked at Corry. She actually giggled, waved at Corry, and then melted away in silver and white light, giggling all the while.

Omicron, Sigma, and Nadia suddenly appeared in the street, each holding their respective Sword. Draanov with his Onyx Sword was close behind.

"Sigma?" Beth asked. "Nadia? You're..."

"Flesh and blood," Sigma answered with a warm smile. "For the first time in many, many years."

"What's going on?" Dana asked.

"The fight is over," Omicron answered. "We won."

"Over?" Crystal echoed. "You mean, like over, for tonight, right?"

"You surely don't mean-," Allison tried, unable to express herself.

"Evil has been beaten back," Nadia said proudly. "Sheila is back where she belongs."

"The Earth is safe," Sigma continued. "The universe is safe."

*You've done well, Cub,* a calm voice called. Corry turned her gaze to see her Guardian slowly approaching her.

"Wolf!" she cried happily running to the Guardian.

*It is time for us to go home,* Wolf said solemnly.

"Crane A.V. is yours," Sigma told her. "Use her well."

"You're going home?" Dana asked. "Just like that?"

Corry removed her helmet and let it drop to the ground. "I'm really going to miss you guys." She swallowed hard as she looked at the four angels. "You did so much for me...."

"I'm going with her," Draanov announced.

Wolf simply nodded, not seeming surprised at the announcement at all.

"Draanov, are you sure?" Omicron asked.

"I'm sure," he said with a smile. "It feels right."

Omicron walked up to Draanov and gave him a hug. "See you on the other side sometime, Big Brother."

"Count on it," he promised.

"It's... weird," Corry said as she approached the six Rangers. "I don't want to go, but I've never been more excited about anything in my life." She wasn't sure how to say thank you to the people who had sheltered her and made her so welcome. They had welcomed a complete stranger as if it was no big deal, taken her into their team and given their friendship as well.

"This isn't your home," Crystal told her. "You need to be with your friends and family."

"You guys are my friends, too," Corry said, eyes misting with tears. "After all you did for me.... I'll never forget you if you never forget me."

*Cub!* Wolf called. *We must go now! Travel through time and space is not like taking a bus! Our return home grows more uncertain by the second!*

Hurriedly, Corry went through the line of Rangers, hugging each one in turn. As she came to Dana, she gave her a kiss on the cheek and a gently fierce hug. "Thank you for everything." Bidding one final wave, she hurried to the side of the Wolf. "Thanks for the picture!" she called out. She picked her helmet back up.

*Ready, Draanov?* Wolf asked.

"Ready." And then, the White Crane A.V. off in the distance, Draanov, Wolf, and Corry all disappeared in a sparkling rain of white light, leaving nothing behind.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Beth said, "Now what happens?"

"The fight is over," Nadia said.

"You're free," Omicron told them with a smile. "The world doesn't need Power Rangers anymore."

"We don't want to be free," Crystal said, speaking everyone's mind.

"The fight is over for now," Sigma recanted. "Evil will never be completely beaten. The universe is purged for now, but something may crawl out of the woodworks again and come hunt me down. If the fight returns, then you'll be the first six Rangers we come for."

"You know that won't happen," Dana said softly. "Without your Sword around, nobody cares about the Earth. We're just some still-water planet in the bad part of the Galaxy."

"Keep your Power Coins, just in case," Omicron announced.

"We'll miss you," Jeremy said sincerely.

"It's been a wild three years," Tara said with a slow nod of her head.

"It's been too wild," Dana smiled. "Maybe retiring will do us all some good."

"We could've lost at any time, really," Allison theorized.

"The safety of the Earth is more important," Beth agreed. "But it was a lot of fun."

"We have... appointments... elsewhere," Omicron said. "We need to be going. But we'll never forget any of you. Ever. I promise."

"It's been a pleasure," Sigma said. And then, the three angels disappeared in triplet flickers of white, blue, and pink.

Reality roared past the Rangers for a moment, and then, the night was completely restored. The dance could still be heard from the courtyard, a short distance off.

"I don't guess I ever expected it to end," Crystal sighed as she sat down on the curb.

"We're undefeated," Dana said with a bittersweet smile. She plopped down beside Crystal as the other Rangers grouped around them.

Allison, sitting on the street by Jeremy, flipped a stone in her hand. "It really has been fun."

Tara summoned her Power Coin in a flicker of yellow light. "Our coins are gold, again. They aren't silver anymore..." She held up her coin for inspection. Instead of a silver coin bearing the image of a fox, she held her original golden coin with the Saber-Tooth Tiger.

Beth did likewise with her coin. It, too, was a Pterodactyl again. "Have you guys ever given any thought to law enforcement?" Beth asked.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked.

"We would be like the best police officers ever," Beth said. "Like once a month, we could go to some big city and just kick some criminal butt!"

"Yeah!" Crystal agreed happily. "And with Dana's computer expertise, when she's morphed, anyhow, we could make some kind of Command Center in somebody's basement."

"I wonder if we can still teleport," Tara mused.

"'Fraid not," Dana said. "Without the Power Core to provide the equipment, teleportation isn't an option. But we should still have our Power Boards and A.V.'s. That shouldn't be a real problem."

"But how are we going to explain ourselves?" Jeremy asked. "This isn't Gotham City. We can't pull a Batman."

"We can run faster than the speed of light when we're morphed," Dana said, warming up to Beth's idea. "We wouldn't have to let anyone even know we exist. We could go kick some criminal butt, tell the cops, and leave 'em tied up somewhere to be found. And with the access to the Grid, which should be simple enough to do since we're connected every time we morph, we can make some flashy things like they had in _Men in Black._ I'm in!"

"Me too," Jeremy and Allison said in unison.

"Definitely," Tara agreed.

"Wait a minute, you guys," Crystal said suddenly. "This is assuming we can even morph... I mean, sure, we have our Power Coins, but..."

"Let's try," Beth suggested. "I don't want to get my hopes up any higher, if we can't..."

The six Rangers stood up, all looking both hopeful and worried at the same time. "It's Morphin Time!" Crystal shouted.

In unison, all six Rangers shouted their morphin calls.

"Triceratops!" Jeremy yelled.

"Pterodactyl!" Beth cried.

"Tyrannosaurus!" Crystal bellowed.

"Mastodon!" Allison shouted.

"Brachiosaurus!" Dana invoked.

"Saber-Tooth Tiger!" Tara shouted.

In a powerful, sudden morph, the six found themselves in their armor. "It worked!" Beth cried happily.

"Look," Dana said, pointing to a white sheet of paper flittering to the ground in the center of their group.

Crystal reached out and grabbed the sheet of paper. Even with her helmet on, (and a lack of actual physical face beneath her helmet notwithstanding), the other Rangers could sense a smile from her. "Dearest Rangers," she read, "we expected you wouldn't be content to return to a normal, boring, collegiate life. And we think your 'law enforcement' idea is a great idea. We've left you the Power Core for your headquarters. Just stay out of trouble, don't do anything stupid, and stay on the lighter side of life. Love, Sigma, Omicron, and Nadia."

The six Rangers looked at one another for a few moments longer before they removed their helmets. The silence was interrupted when Jeremy eagerly said, "We can even have cool nicknames, like all good superheroes do! I can be the Terrifying Triceratops!"

"The Bloated Brachiosaurus!" Beth joked, pointing a gloved finger at Dana.

"Real funny," Dana shot back, smiling just the same.

"How about Blue Ranger?" Allison suggested, cocking an eyebrow. "Although Mighty Mastodon does have a nice ring to it..."

"So, should we get started tonight, or what?" Tara asked. "I mean, this is the start of summer vacation."

"We have all summer to fight crime," Crystal said. "Let's go to the dance and celebrate."

"Without a Ginger Spice, I'm not going as a Spice Girl," Beth announced. "I'm going as the Pink Power Ranger."

"There wasn't a Purple Power Ranger," Allison complained as the sextet began to walk down the blocked-off street.

"Like anybody will know?" Jeremy asked. "Besides, if anybody asks who you are, just tell them you're the Mighty Mastodon!"

"You too," Beth said slowly, "Bloated Brachiosaurus." With that, she took off running.

"I'm gonna kill you for that!" Dana yelled, laughing. She tore off down the street after here. "And that's Ms. Bloated Brachiosaurus to you!"

Jeremy and Allison stretched their arms across each others shoulders as they slowly walked down the street after Crystal and Tara. The Red and Yellow Rangers looked at each other for a moment longer before running after Dana and Beth, both shrieking with laughter that floated all up and down Main Street.

"I think this qualifies as a happy ending," Allison decided.

"Definitely," Jeremy agreed.

"Black Ranger!"

_Not again!_ Raph skidded to a halt and whirled, stancing. His eyes widened at this vision. It was, and wasn't the friend he'd known. With a twist of his wrists, he summoned his talons and advanced on the form. "You just never give up, do you?" he growled.

"Raph?" She raised her hands and backed away a step. "What in the blazes is wrong with you? It's me! Corry!" Glancing down at her outfit, she bit her lip. "Okay, so I'm Ginger Spice, but-"

"Right," he snarled, "and I'm Dr. Pepper." He slashed the talons against one another making a rasping noise like that of a blade being sharpened.

"Oh geez...nothing the easy way....." The girl backed against the building wall.

Black Ranger paused as she whipped an object from behind her back. "What the -"

"WHITE RANGER POWER!" Silver-white energy engulfed the girl in a maelstrom that lit the dark street momentarily. When it cleared another Ranger stood before him, this one dressed in gleaming white armor, with the emblem of a wolf blazoned on the coin on her chestplate.

Black Ranger took a step back, staggered by surprise. "Corry?" he whispered. "Is it...."

The armored figure nodded and opened her arms wide. "Catastrophe Corry is back," she said laughing.

"Madre de Dios!" Raph sent the talons away with the flick of a wrist and bounded over to engulf his long-lost teammate in a hug. "We thought you were gone for good!"

An ear-splitting roar rattled the near-by windows and echoed off the buildings.

"What in tarnation is that?!" Corry looked around.

"Tarnation?" Raph paused to look at his companion, bemused by an expression he'd never heard.

"The creek's rising fast and we're trapped on the riser." There was something giving off huge energy readings not too far ahead of them. She paused a moment. "Hey, I got the saying right!"

He decided to ask her about all the colorful speech later. "Cor?" Raph gripped her arm. "I don't know how to tell you this, so I'm just going to tell you." He guided her around the corner of the building and pointed to the huge glowing green dragon that was smashing buildings. "That made the noise, and....." He took a deep breath. "It's Thomas."

White Ranger stiffened visibly. "What?" She shook her head. "No...." Raph was so certain, but....

"Jett possessed him and all the kids who went to the V.R. Arcade grand opening-"

"Becca and Alex?" Corry felt sick all of a sudden, thinking of all that had gone on while she was gone.

Black Ranger nodded. "Afraid so. Lon, Madie, Ben and Ted also."

Leaning against the building, Corry let that sink in, feeling like someone had punched her in the stomach. "Oh....oh no." Pushing herself upright, she took a deep breath. "Okay. So how do we stop him?"

Raph recognized the tone of voice from when they had first lost their parents to the Wraiths. She was in analytical mode for the time being, until the trouble passed. "I think we should regroup and hit as one." He gripped her arm. "Seeing that you're back will boost all of our spirits, and we can use that."

"Let's call 'em in." Corry nodded, and turned her attention back to the readings on her visor. _There has to be a weak spot!_ A cold determination filled her as she watched the dragon take out another building. _No WAY I'm letting Jett do this and get away with it....._

"We're meeting two blocks over." Raph's voice broke into her thoughts. "Let's go."

The amount of destruction in the city numbed Corry as she jogged with Raph. Streets were split in half, buildings collapsed, buses and cars crushed and overturned, and trees uprooted and strewn all over. The city was a mess.

"Oh man...." Corry bit her lip. This was worse than she had imagined. And according to the data on her visor, she'd been gone almost two months. _Two months! Mom and Dad must be going ballistic!_

As they came around the corner, they saw the Pink and Yellow Rangers waiting. Both turned and stopped dead when they spotted the White Ranger. "Oh...my...gosh...," Olivia intoned. "C-Corry?"

She had barely got a nod out when both the others tackled her, almost knocking her down in their enthusiasm.

"Corry!" Olivia was sobbing as she embraced her friend in a fierce hug.

"Cranston," Gavin sounded shaken, but happy, "you've got some nerve scaring us like that."

Hugging them both at the same time, Corry could only laugh happily. "I missed you so much!"

"NO WAY!" A voice boomed out.

Before she could turn, Corry was swept up in a bear hug, as blue armored arms wrapped around her, swinging her around. "Jared!" His hug drove the air from her lungs.

Red Ranger just stood stock-still, facing the group. She slowly shook her head.

Corry was still laughing as Jared set her down, and she turned to face Nisha. Her smile faded slightly. "Nish?"

Shaking her head, the Red Ranger quietly said, "Corry.... I- I thought...."

Hearing her friend's voice choke up, Corry took the few steps needed to reach her friend's side, and threw her arms around the Red Ranger. "Nisha, you silly! I'm fine!" Her ribs almost creaked as her friend fiercely hugged her.

"Don't EVER scare us like that again!" Nisha said, pushing her away. She squeezed her arm. "I'm glad you're back, girl."

"Sorry to break this up," Raph sighed, "but we need to stop this creature before he wrecks all of downtown. Any ideas?"

"Energy seemed to affect him," Gavin said after a moment's reflection. "It brought him back to normal when I hit him with my stingers."

"Wish we had the Zords," Jared sighed.

"We do," Corry said, grinning. "The Power Chamber ended up with me, and should be here by now."

"Well at least you brought back what you took with you," Nisha said, elbowing her. "Next time, warn us, will ya?"

"Hey, if I'd had time, I would've." Corry shook her head at the memory of that rooftop encounter with Jett.

"Let's call 'em," Jared said, slapping Raph's shoulder.

"WE NEED NINJAZORD POWER, NOW!"

White Ranger stepped away from the group, getting ready to teleport. "I'll join you in a sec, gang. I have a surprise from where I went."

"Geez, you went somewhere and got souvenirs too?" Jared teased. "WolverineZord power up!" He teleported in a blue streak.

"Don't take too long," Olivia warned. "OwlZord, power up!" A pink blaze of light shot towards a banking pink-grey Zord.

Red Ranger shook her head. "Always showboating, aren't you?" Clapping her friend's shoulder to show she was joking, Nisha yelled, "BearZord, power up!" Red light shot off as she teleported away.

"What are you planning?" Raph sighed. Of all the team, he worried about Corry and Gavin, and their madcap ideas, the most. "Nothing involving more time travel, I hope?"

"No way!" Corry laughed. "Go! I'll be fine." She shooed Gavin and Raph.

"JaguarZord, power up!" Raph disappeared in a flash of black.

"Should I be worried?" Gavin asked somberly. "That is Thomas, after all."

Corry gripped his arm. "Don't worry. I swear, I'll join you in a sec. Okay?"

Gavin nodded. "Promise?" He sighed as she nodded and squeezed his hand. "If you don't, I'll come looking. MongooseZord, power up!" He flashed off in a beam of yellow.

Corry touched the wolf emblem on the coin on her chest. "Old friend, for this one time, I think the ladybird will be a better choice." She took a deep breath. "Hope this works here." Raising her hand, she shouted, "White Crane Assault Vehicle, power up!" Closing her eyes, she waited....and was suddenly swept up in a dazzling white beam of light as she shot upwards.

* * *

It was proving to be another cruddy night for Will. He scowled as he tried to get the holoprojectors to give a visual. "Lupine, try again. I've got to know what's going on!"

"Working," the computer informed him. A dim, reddish holo of the city skyline formed before blanking again. "The holoprojectors are working, Will. There is an unnatural fog that is making visual surveillance impossible."

"What...? Lupine," Will frowned and leaned forward as half the lights on his console lit up suddenly, "what's going on?"

"Communications with the Power Chamber have been restored," the computer said in its quiet monotone.

"Restored....." A grin spread across his face. "Lupine, teleport me to the Power Chamber." In a flash of royal blue, Will disappeared from his lab.

He reappeared moments later inside the Power Chamber. "Zordon?" Will looked around, seeing the very familiar surroundings, but no sentient beings. "Alpha?"

"WILLIAM." Zordon's projected image suddenly appeared in his tube. A smile curved his lips. "IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN."

For once, Will just stared. A million questions queued in his mind, each one vying to be asked first, leaving him effectively speechless. He shook his head. "You're back." It was the only thing he could get out.

"Will!" Alpha came toddling out from an alcove. "Welcome back!" The robot paused, the red lights on its visor blinking rapidly. "Oh...but we were the ones who left, not you. Heh heh...." Alpha gave the equivalent of a robotic "silly me" laugh.

"Alpha...." Will walked over to pat the automaton's shoulder. "It's wonderful to have you back." He smiled at both of the beings. "But, where-" He broke off as a deep rumbling rattled the entire structure. "The Zords...," he breathed.

He beat Alpha to the console and brought up the visual as the Zords launched, teleporting once they had cleared their bays. "How did they know they could use them?" He noticed WolfZord didn't move.

"CORRIANE IS BACK ALSO, WILLIAM."

Will sat with a thump on a stool behind him, a happy grin curving his face. "You found her?"

"Well..." Alpha tilted his head, "we found one another."

* * *

The OwlZord banked between two buildings, silently floating through the foggy sky like an otherworldly being. "I can't see anything," Olivia complained. It scared her to be the only one in the air when her companions were miles below her. "Maybe we should just form the NinjaMegaZord and fight him that way."

"We need to hit him on all sides, 'Livy," Raph's calm voice answered her.

"Just use your scanners, Olivia." Gavin watched her as MongooseZord scampered towards the battle. "Relax and let your instincts take over. You do great in simulations."

"Yeah, but I KNOW those aren't real." Olivia frowned. She just hated working alone.

"Mind some company?"

Olivia looked to her right and saw the silver-white gleam of a craft off her wing. "White Ranger?"

The craft had long, lean legs, a very long neck and a small body. The cockpit was perched on the head. "Yep. Courtesy of ....well, I'll tell you later. Let's go show that beast not to mess with OUR city!"

"All right!" Olivia fisted her hand, following the Crane A.V. as it banked gracefully around a building.

* * *

The glowing emerald dragon grabbed the top of one building in its talons and ripped it off easily. With almost casual indifference, it chomped the spire to bits, spitting out the remains. Debris rained to the ground.

"Hey!" BearZord reared up on its hind legs and roared a challenge. "That was one of my favorite restaurants!" Red Ranger snorted. "What, is he out to ruin everything that I like?"

"Thank God they evacuated the city," Blue Ranger commented as WolverineZord shuffled up at the opposite corner of the building.

"Element of surprise, people!" Black Ranger commanded, "Hit him now!" Black beams of concentrated energy shot out of the Zord's eyes, slamming into the side of the green dragon.

From behind the creature, MongooseZord ran up to the dragon's leg. "Here goes," Yellow Ranger whispered. He pictured what he wanted and the Zord shot forward, latching sharp teeth into the dragon's leg. Yellow energy began to pour through the link, making the leg look first a lighter green, then increasingly yellow.

The dragon bellowed in pain and released the building. Before it could slew around to smack the offending things causing it pain, twin pink lasers hit dead center of its head. The lasers burned tracks up the creature's head as OwlZord swooped past.

Shrieking, the dragon grabbed for the Zord.

"Oh no you don't!" Twin white heat-seeking missiles shot towards the dragon. One impacted on its shoulder, the other right into its neck. White lightning danced across the surface for a moment before the energy of the missiles went internal. White began to overcome the green, and the dragon groaned, forgetting about taking out the OwlZord.

"My turn!" Red Ranger aimed her BearZord's lasers for the creature's belly and added red energy to the mix, turning the creature a more sickly shade of green.

"That's doing the trick, guys!" Blue Ranger brought WolverineZord closer and crouched. It sprang at the dragon's uninjured leg, and dug wicked silver claws into the green surface. As it slid towards the ground, it left furrows of blue-green energy that slowly became brighter and brighter blue.

JaguarZord hit it again, this time in the center of the dragon's back.

Corry bit her lip, fighting the tears welling in her eyes as the dragon screamed in agony. _Forget it's him...._ The dragon was no longer a glowing emerald, but a sickly grey color. It moaned piteously, thrashing its head as the combined assaults continued to burn across its skin.

The dragon began to shrink, becoming smaller and smaller as it's color faded.

"It's working!" Red Ranger whooped.

"Let's back off," Raph cautioned. "Wounded animals are the most dangerous."

The team re-grouped, all of them ready to pounce at a second's notice. OwlZord circled above the scene as the White Crane A.V. settled down on a nearby rooftop. White Ranger hopped out and ran to the edge, unable to keep from thinking that the creature they had attacked was actually a teammate...and friend. "Thomas...," she whispered.

Shrieking defiantly, the dragon suddenly shrank to a human form that collapsed to the ground.

"Thomas!" Raph vaulted out of his Zord and was running, almost as soon as his ex-teammate hit the ground.

"NO!" Thomas pushed himself upright and gestured. Black and emerald flames sprang up to surround him. "Stay away....."

Corry started to step out to the edge of the building when something held her back. She whirled around and stopped. Wolf stood there, slowly shaking his head. "But....why?!" Corry pointed down to the street where the Rangers were slowly approaching Thomas. "We can get him back!"

Wolf shook his head, iceblue eyes solemn. *No. Not now.*

"WHAT?" Yanking off her helmet, Corry threw it down and stepped closer to demand, "Why? Why does he have to suffer and stay with them?!"

*Panther is not here, is he?* The tone of the giant wolf was surprisingly patient.

Throwing up her hands, Corry made an exasperated sound. "What does that have-"

*Do you see, Cub?*

The way the guardian said it made the girl pause. She frowned, struggling to regain her lost composure. "No," she said sharply. "No. I don't see."

*Look again.* Wolf nudged the girl around with his head, standing next to her.

Corry unconsciously put her arm around the animal's neck, her hand clenching at the thick ruff around the Wolf's neck. Thomas seemed to shimmer before her eyes, becoming someone familiar.... "Mirage," Corry snarled.

*Indeed. You caught on fast that time.* Wolf padded over and picked up Corry's helmet in its mouth. *Tell them it is a trap, but you must stay with me.*

Corry took the helmet, "But-"

*Do it!* Wolf snapped

Clenching her fists, the girl forced her rebellion down and hit all-call. "It's a trap, Rangers! That isn't Thomas -- it's Mirage!"

"What?" Red Ranger looked around.

"Heads up!" Pink Ranger yelled. She put the OwlZord into a steep dive, heading straight for the inky figures heading for her friend's backs. Pink lasers shot out, nailing two of the Wraiths. They disappeared with a scream.

"Crap!" Blue Ranger whirled, pulling his sword as five Wraiths descended upon him. He slashed at one, cutting it in half, and ducked under the swipe of another's claws. "Bonsai!" He charged at the remaining Wraiths, slashing like a beserker.

"Yow!" Yellow Ranger back-pedaled, summoning his stingers. The weapons shimmered into existence a split second later and he shot them off at the two hulking shadows reaching for him. The Wraiths barely had time to moan before they were eaten up by the yellow energy. Gavin blew on his stinger as if blowing the smoke off the barrel of a gun. "Old dead-eye strikes again."

Black Ranger back-flipped away, looking for fighting space. He came out of it feet first, and hit a Wraith dead center, knocking it down. With a twist of his wrists, his talons appeared. "An ambush, huh? Not nice. We're gonna have to show you what we think of that!" Leaping up, he slashed down, cutting a Wraith to ribbons.

Taking a trick from her boyfriend, Red Ranger summoned the power to her fist and drove it into the abdomen of the nearest Wraith. "You'll need some serious Antacid to take care of that stomach upset!" Whirling, she backhanded another Wraith attempting to sneak up on her.

"Uh-oh." Pink saw a rift opening and watched in dismay as more and more Wraiths poured out of it heading towards her friends. "Incoming!" The OwlZord flexed it's talons and dove towards the army of ebony shadows, shrieking defiantly as it raked a swathe clear.

* * *

Watching silently from her rooftop perch, White Ranger felt nothing less than a traitor for not getting involved. She knelt in front of the Wolf. "Please...isn't there ANY way I can help? They're getting pounded!"

The Guardian sighed. It knew this one well; knew the passions and beliefs that held her heart and mind. *There is one way...,* it agreed, reluctantly. The blue eyes regarded her. *Close your eyes, Cub. Concentrate on the sound of my voice in your mind. Reach past your conscious self and find the many parts that comprise the whole.*

Corry struggled to do what Wolf said, but the urgency she felt was making it difficult. She reached out as she swayed suddenly, steadying herself with a hand on the Wolf's shoulder. Peace flooded her, and she did as she was told. "I...I see colors....." It almost was like being in the lucid dream again. She could almost feel the presence of her friends there with her. Pink, Blue, Black, Yellow, Green and Red filled her mind.

*Take parts of those and create a single new image.* Wolf looked over to where the battle was going on, then back to his charge. *Fix it firmly in your mind.*

"I have it....." Corry could almost see the iridescent figure in her mind it was so vivid.

*Good.* Wolf was a little surprised at how quickly she picked it up, but moved swiftly. *Now. Stand. Power down, then morph once more, with this image in your mind.*

Corry's eyes snapped open as realization dawned. "Change the form I morph into?"

*Indeed.* Wolf nodded, a hint of a smile in his tone.

Standing, she didn't hesitate. "Power down." As soon as the white glow had faded Corry pulled her morpher and closed her eyes. She called forth the image she had seen. A new command came to her. "White Ranger Chromatic!" Brilliant rainbow color light flared around her. When it died down, a shifting, iridescent armored form stood before the Wolf.

*Go now!* Wolf urged.

Not hesitating, Corry whirled and leaped off the building.

* * *

Thomas sat in the center of the flames watching, a smirk on his face. He stood slowly, staggering slightly, and grimacing. Seeing the Rangers all occupied, he lowered the flames.

"Enjoying the show?"

Whirling, Thomas' eyes grew huge as he saw a ghostly figure emerge from the shadows. His eyes flickered to the fighting forms then back to the armored form standing before him. "Well...they didn't wait long to get a replacement for White Ranger, did they?"

The armored form walked closer. "Call the Wraiths off...." Her voice was cold, full of repressed fury. "...Mirage."

The man started back. "Wha-?"

"Call them off!" The Ranger lunged forward, grabbing his arm and yanking him out of the circle of flames. She grabbed his throat with her left hand. "Or by all that's Holy and Pure, I'll send you to a realm where there is NOTHING but sunshine and musicals!"

The form of Thomas wavered, then fell away, revealing it to be Mirage. The Wraith stared at his own image in the dark visor of the Ranger and swallowed hard. There was something unyielding about this Ranger that told him not to try any of his tricks. "Wraiths," he croaked.

The dark forms battling the Rangers didn't seem to hear as they continued to try to overwhelm the colorful figures.

"Try harder, Wraith," the Ranger snapped, tightening her grip around his throat.

"WRAITHS! DISENGAGE!" Mirage bellowed.

The shadow warriors stopped where they were and shimmered out of existence. The rift closed silently, sealing the Wraiths from Angel Grove.

"What the sam hill is going on?" Blue Ranger looked around and spotted Mirage and a Ranger he didn't recognize. "Guys, check it out!"

"Who is that?" Red Ranger dismissed her nunchukus and came over to stand next to Blue.

"Guys," Olivia said, worry evident in her tone. "I can't see Corry anywhere!" OwlZord soared over the building where the Crane A.V. was perched.

"Bio readings are...." Yellow stopped and shook his head. "In flux. Whoever it is, they're...phasing from one form to another."

"Whoever it is, they have Mirage!" Black gestured. "Come on!"

"Leave. Now, Wraith." The Ranger shoved Mirage back, away from her. Her hands fisted as she watched the man give her a withering frown before disappearing in a rush of cold air and darkness.

"Wait!" Black Ranger skidded to a halt as the Wraith departed. He looked at the Ranger, shaking his head. "Why did you let him go?"

"Who are you?" Yellow stopped next to Black Ranger, highly intrigued by this new Ranger. All of the Ranger colors washed over the girl's armor in a constant state of change. No one color stayed long enough before the next emerged to flash across the armor. There was no design on the helmet, just a darkened visor. It reminded Gavin of the colors on a soap bubble -- seemingly colorless then iridescent with all the shades of the rainbow.

Blue and Red Rangers ran up, approaching more warily than their teammates.

"Guys," a very familiar voice chuckled. "It's me!" Reaching up, Corry removed her helmet. The colors of her armor immediately vanished, once again becoming just plain white.

"How-" Gavin let out a long breath. "It stopped." He shook his head. All of his readings now indicated it was Corry. "What the heck was that?"

"I'll explain back at the Power Chamber." She linked her arm through Gavin's. "How about we go say howdy to Zordon?"

"Howdy?" Red shook her head. "Girl, you have GOT to tell us where you went!"

"I will," Corry promised. "And I'll explain about this too. Let's go." She looked up to where OwlZord hovered above them. "Let's take it to homecourt, 'Livy!"

"See ya there!" The OwlZord shrieked once before shooting off into the sky.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," Raph sighed as he stood next to Corry. "Let's go."

A brilliant flash lit up the area as a rainbow leaped off the ground and shot off over the city skyline, heading for the desert.

* * *

Will swallowed hard as the Power Chamber shook again, announcing the return of the Zords. Pushing a control on the panel, he paged Kimberly, then turned to face the Chamber door, hope and fear both vying for space in his expression.

Light flashed into the room, materializing into six forms. They were laughing, all pounding one another on the backs....

He blinked, as much to ensure his eyes were working as to keep them from misting up.

"DADDY!" With a whoop loud enough to rattle the building, White Ranger bounded towards Will. "Power down!" She threw herself at him as he reached out to pull her close.

"Corry!" Will was knocked backwards by the force of her enthusiasm, but didn't loosen his embrace one bit. Half-laughing, half-crying, he held his daughter tightly, as if she would disappear again if he didn't. "Corry...."

Pink light flashed into the room and Kimberly Hart-Cranston looked around in confusion. "Will, what....?" Her eyes grew huge as she saw her husband embracing what looked like one of the Spice Girls. Kim blinked, thoroughly confused. "Zordon! You're back!"

"MOM!"

Kimberly stared in shock as the Spice Girl turned and ran at her. "C-Corry?" It was all she got out before she was engulfed in a fierce embrace. Still shocked, Kim put her arms around her daughter, then pulled her back to stare at her. "Is it really you?" She peered past the heavy make-up and wig, seeing the crystal blue eyes bright with joy and tears. "Corry....baby..." Tears rolled down Kim's cheeks as she pulled her daughter to her in a fierce hug.

Will walked over and put his arms around the two, feeling considerably more happy than he had in several months. Part of the hole that had been a gaping wound in his heart was healing with the return of one of his children.

"Zordon," Raph removed his helmet and walked forward, a smile of joy lighting his dark eyes. "I have never been so glad to see you in my entire life!"

Olivia, already powered down, wiped tears off her face as she watched the Cranston reunion. She felt an arm go around her shoulders and smiled up at Gavin, also powered down. "You okay, 'Livy?"

She nodded, sniffling. "Better than in a long time, Gav!" Spotting Alpha, Olivia grinned. "Alpha!" She ran over and gave the robot a hug.

"Rangers!" Alpha sounded suspiciously tearful for an automaton as he awkwardly returned the girl's hug.

"Welcome back, Alpha!" Gavin grinned and patted the robot's back.

"Nice of you to decide to join us again," Nisha said, winking at Zordon.

"If you think we didn't appreciate you, trust me," Jared grinned widely. "We do!"

"IT IS GOOD TO BE BACK, RANGERS." Zordon smiled at the teens, feeling a sense of satisfaction. He was proud of the way they had held together in the face of overwhelming odds.

Gavin suddenly got a good look at the way Corry was dressed and let out a whistle. "Look at you, Cranston!"

Standing between her parents, Corry blushed, and looked down at her form-fitting, very short dress. "I was...uh...at a costume party." She kicked off her platform shoes, once again her normal height.

"That's quite the outfit." Jared waggled his eyebrows, a grin curving his mouth.

"You gained some weight," Nisha remarked, staring pointedly at the girl's cleavage.

Corry looked startled, opening her mouth to protest, when she realized what her friend meant. Color suffused her cheeks as she realized she still had the padding to fill out the dress. "Uh...."

Olivia started to giggle, covering her mouth. Her dark eyes were full of mirth as her friend tugged at the bottom of the dress that only went to the top of her thighs. "Were you all Spice Girls?"

"Yeah." Corry grinned happily at the memory of her other dimension friends. She sighed, seeing Gavin still looking at her. "Would you stop staring?"

"Nope." He grinned unrepentantly. "This is a once in a lifetime view of you, Cranston!" He reached behind him to the console, winking. "And I got it all recorded."

"Gavin," Corry gasped. "Aw geez...." She leaned into her parent's embrace as the team laughed with her. "I'll get you for this, Skullovich."

Seeing her smile, Gavin wasn't too worried. "You can try." He winked.

"Why don't we go back to our house?" Kim suggested. "I'm sure you kids are hungry?"

"Famished!" Jared agreed readily. "Power down!"

Nisha and Raph powered down simultaneously and joined the group.

Will hesitated, looking to Zordon and Alpha. "Or we could come back here?" he suggested. It felt almost rude to leave the two out.

"GO AND ENJOY YOURSELVES," Zordon replied with a smile. "ALPHA AND I HAVE MUCH TO CATCH UP ON."

"But thank you," Alpha added.

Arm still around her daughter, Kimberly pulled her close to kiss her temple. "Want to teleport your father and me home?"

"Home," Corry sighed happily. "You don't know how good that sounds." With a grin she linked arms with her parents then hit her comm. The three left in a brightly colored wash of pink, white and blue.

"Let's go!" Jared offered his arm to Nisha who threaded her arm through his with a smile. The two disappeared in a flash of royal blue and ruby red.

"Right behind ya!" Raph gave a jaunty salute to Zordon and left in a burst of intense ebony.

"Did you really record that?" Olivia tilted her head and narrowed her eyes as she looked at Gavin.

"You betcha!" Gavin waggled his eyebrows. "And just wait until we get Thomas back. He's gonna be SO jealous!" Ducking the girl's swipe at him, Gavin left in a flash of sunshine yellow, still laughing.

"Boys," Olivia remarked, sighing. She grinned at Zordon and Alpha. "We're really glad you're back." Not wanting to be left out of the fun, she waved. "Laters." A burst of pink lit the Chamber as she 'ported out.

Zordon nodded as he smiled at Alpha. "IT IS VERY GOOD TO BE HOME."

"Ay yi yi, Zordon!" Alpha sighed happily. "I agree!"

* * *

Later, after they had laughed, stuffed themselves silly and filled each other in on what had happened in their times apart, the teens gathered outside. Kimberly and Will stayed inside, knowing the team needed some time without them for talking things over.

Corry had changed into jeans and a warm, white sweater, washed the makeup off and ditched the wig. She sat betwen Gavin and Olivia in the circle they had formed outside on the grass. She was currently passing the photo around she had brought back with her from the other dimension. "That's Tara as Sporty Spice, Dana as Baby, me as Ginger, Beth as Posh, Crystal as Scary, Allison is Father Death from "Scream", and Jeremy was a vampire." She touched the faces on the photo gently as Olivia handed it back to her. "That was a lot of fun." Looking up, she grinned. "We'll have to try an outside dance sometime."

"Sometime when these storms let up," Nisha snorted.

"Just one guy with all those girls?" Jared shook his head, grinning. He looked over at Nisha who had her eyebrow up in a question, and put his arm around her. "Just kidding." She smiled and leaned into his side.

"Man," Corry sighed happily. "You don't know how good it is to be back here with all of you!" She reached out to take Olivia's and Gavin's hands. Right now she just wanted physical touch to assure herself this was real and not another dream. "Not that I wasn't welcomed there, but...." She felt tears burn her eyes as she looked at her childhood friends. "As wonderful as they were, they weren't you."

Olivia scooted closer and leaned against Corry's shoulder, letting a content feeling wash over her. "I missed you," she sighed. "Thanksgiving was really weird."

"Okay, I've been patient and waited all evening." Gavin half-turned to face the girl. He squeezed her hand. "Tell me how you did that change thing today."

"It was Wolf's idea." Corry shrugged. She explained what the Guardian had told her. "I really think it has more to do with white reflecting all colors in the spectrum than any given ability I have," she concluded. "I imagine Raph could do the same, given black absorbs all the colors."

"Because they really aren't colors, but shades," Gavin said, nodding. He mulled it over for a moment. "I wonder what else we haven't discovered yet?"

Nisha snorted. "I imagine there are loads of things Zordon and the Guardians haven't shared with any Rangers."

"They are pretty secretive," Jared agreed with a shrug.

"We've been Rangers less than five months," Raph pointed out. "You can't expect them to tell us everything at once."

After a slight pause, Corry added, "It was really weird. I almost felt like I wasn't me, but a combination of all of us while I was in that form." She looked at her friends with a shrug. "I really get the feeling this might just be the tip of a huge iceberg."

"Then let's hope we aren't The Titanic," Nisha quipped.

Corry stared at her, remembering her movie experience. "Oh God, no!" She shuddered.

"I was joking," Nisha told her. She was a little perplexed at the strong reaction, but guessed at the reason. Leaning over, Nisha squeezed her shoulder. "We'll get Thomas back, Corry."

"And Becca and Alex," Gavin added.

"Not to mention everyone else." Raph sighed. "I don't know how, but we ....." He shook his head. "We have to."

"We will." Jared said it confidently, without bravado. It was as certain in his mind as the fact Christmas was quickly approaching. He gazed at his friends, a sure confidence lighting his dark eyes. Holding out his hand, he smiled.

One by one, the team added their hands to the pile. "We swore this when you and Thomas disappeared, Corry," Jared told her. "Until we're seven again."

Corry smiled, warmed by the love of her oldest friends. "Until we're as one again," she agreed.

Gavin recognized the ref and chuckled. "All for one...," he prompted.

"AND ONE FOR ALL!" They responded in unison. The group leaned forward into a hug.

Corry yawned, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, but I'm on Southern time still. Back there it's three a.m."

"Time for our beauty sleep?" Jared teased. He grunted as Nisha's elbow hit his ribs.

"He who sleeps like the dead shouldn't talk," she said, shaking her head.

"Oh?" Corry's eyebrows rose. "I think more went on when I was gone than you told me!" She winked at the pair.

"We had a middle of the night bonding experience," Jared agreed with a nod. He grinned at Nisha. "Nothing like being woke out of a sound sleep to go get your butt kicked by a former teammate." He grimaced even before Nisha slapped his arm. "Sorry, Cor...."

The girl smiled sadly. "It's okay, Jay." She looked up at the sky. "Just another episode to chalk up against Jett."

Olivia looked at her friend, startled by the venom in her voice. Raph caught her eye and shook his head. He stood. "Well, I, for one, am pooped." He smiled and offered Olivia a hand up. "Why don't we let the Cranstons have some time together?"

They stood up and trooped back into the house to help clean up and say farewell. When they were ready to go, and at the door, there was one last, long group hug.

"Thank you, guys." Corry blinked her misty eyes. "You're just the best."

"Don't forget it." Nisha winked as she linked her arm through Jared's. "Walk me home?"

"Yep." Jared winked at Corry. "Welcome back, kiddo."

Gavin hugged Corry tightly, kissing her cheek. "I missed you," he whispered.

Corry reached up to touch his face, smiling warmly. "I missed you too." She kissed his cheek and smoothed the stray hairs off his forehead that always fell there.

"Come on, 'Livy. Raph and me'll walk you home." Gavin's voice was a bit gruff as he turned away.

Olivia gave her friend a big hug and grin. "Call me in the morning."

"I will," Corry promised, kissing her cheek. "Sweet dreams, 'Livy."

"Go ahead," Raph told them. "I'll catch up." He waited until they had walked off a ways to turn to Corry. His dark eyes swept over her face, concern evident in his expression. "You really okay?"

"Yes," she laughed and reached out to hug him. "I really am." She toyed with a button on his jacket before meeting his gaze. "I'm not gonna fall apart, Raph." Corry knew how much he worried about all of them, and felt responsible for their well-being. "Yes, I'm worried about Thomas, but...." She shook her head. "I'm not going to let that stop me from being happy." Leaning forward, she kissed his cheek. "Thank you for always looking out for me."

Raph shrugged, coloring slightly. "Well," he said, looking away, "someone has to watch out for you." He grinned, a goofy kind of smile that tugged one side of his mouth up. "You're always getting into trouble." Gently pinching her nose, he stepped back. "Get some sleep. Talk to you tomorrow."

Corry waved as the trio disappeared up the street. She closed the door and leaned against it, sighing happily. No, life wasn't perfect, but it was getting better. Hearing her mother's voice and her father's laugh, Corry closed her eyes, feeling content.

There really was no place like home.

* * *

Corry sighed. This was the slowest elevator she'd ever been on. She watched the numbers slowly tick off as the creaky old thing rose. This was not her favorite building -- the elevators were mid-20th century make, and not exactly up to safety standards. Why it was still in use, was beyond her.

Still. Olivia had been insistent they meet there. Her favorite toy store in the world -- FAO Schwartz -- was housed in the building.

She winced as the cables groaned. Suddenly, the car rocked and the lights died. Corry threw out her hands, bracing herself against the walls. "Oh, no...." Closing her eyes, she waited -- half-expecting to feel the car begin to drop. _If it does, I'm teleporting, and Zordon can just like it!_

Something brushed against her face and she recoiled, yelping.

"I thought girls liked romantic situations."

Corry's breath caught in her throat, partly from fear, part from surprise. She could sense him there, but it was too dark to see anything.

"Action adventure. Didn't you say that was your favorite type of holo?"

_How did he find me!_ Fighting to control her fear, Corry gulped air in, hearing her heart pound like a jackhammer. "Holos are one thing, real life is another!" Her voice shook, betraying how scared she was.

"What happened to your sense of fun?" His breath tickled her ear as he brushed behind her.

Corry shivered, already scared out of her wits. "Turn on the lights," she pleaded.

"You don't like the dark?"

His laugh did nothing to reassure her. It was low, and tinged with a wicked enjoyment of her discomfort. "No." Corry shook her head. "Not...not in a creepy old elevator." She tried to think, tried to move, and found she was frozen. "Let me go...please!"

Green light flared and she blinked against the sudden intrusion of light. Corry's eyes widened as she saw him.

Thomas held a burning sphere of light in his hand. It looked like ball lightning, only it was a green color. A cruel smile curved his lips. "Better?"

He was dressed all in black -- black leather jacket and sunglasses finished off the look. His dark hair was slicked back, and tied in a severe ponytail.

In contrast, Corry's white shirt was almost a glowing green in the eerie light.

"No," she whispered. It wasn't better. Now she could see what the others had told her.

Moving closer, until she was pushed up against the elevator wall, Thomas put his arms on either side of her head. "Are you scared of me, Corry?"

She was. Terrified of what this person had become. Unable to move, Corry closed her eyes. "What do you want?"

"You."

Corry looked up, eyes huge. Reason was beginning to reassert itself over the fear gripping her and she knew there was only one chance to get free. _I hope I can do this!_ "W-what?" She shook her head. "Let me go!"

"Tell you what." The cruel smile mocked her. "You answer my question correctly and I'll think about it."

"W-what's the question?" He was so close now, his breath fanned her face. Corry swallowed hard, and fought to push her fear down.

"Category is music. 1989. Album was named Pump." Thomas' smile became a leer. "Aerosmith was the group. What song fits this situation?"

_1989!_ Corry blanked. Not that she would have come up with the correct answer, but the look on his face and the situation was too much. She shook her head. "I don't know." She shivered as a predatory smile curved his mouth.

"Oh...not even a guess?" He tsk'd. "Answer?"

Corry shut her eyes, clenched her hands together, took a deep breath.....

"Love in an Elevator."

As he leaned closer she concentrated on summoning the White Power to her hands. As soon as she felt her palms tingling she opened her eyes.

"What?" Thomas straightened, eyes narrowing as he saw her expression.

"White pulse!" Corry threw the ball of crackling light at Thomas.

Thomas barely managed to get his hands up as the white sphere impacted against him. It dispersed across his body, looking almost like white lightning dancing over him. Grimacing, he dropped to one knee. His sunglasses hit the floor as he cradled one hand.

Corry backed away, her finger on the teleport button of her wrist comm. She bit her lip. _I can't just leave, not knowing if he's okay....._

"You've learned some new tricks," he grated out, glaring up at her.

The hate in the obsidian eyes made her flinch. "Are you still going back to her?" Corry couldn't help the anger that filled her voice.

Smirking, Thomas slowly stood. Without a word, he disappeared in green-black flames. Blackness filled the elevator only for a moment, before the lights came back up and the hum of the engine online again filled the car. Jolting slightly, the car began to climb again.

Leaning against the wall, Corry let her breath out in a long sigh. _Oh, God...,_ she silently prayed. _Will this ever end?_

The elevator stopped and the ping announced she had arrived on her floor. The doors slid open to reveal Olivia. "Hey! You made it. I - " Olivia's smile dropped seeing how pale her friend was. "What happened?" She scowled. "Thomas or Jett?"

"Thomas," Corry croaked. She felt suddenly ill. Pushing herself upright, she ran out of the elevator towards the restrooms.

Olivia followed, offering silent comfort as her friend retched. She got some paper towels and wetted them, holding them out to Corry who was rinsing her mouth out with water.

"Thanks." Corry sat on the couch in the lounge and held the cool cloths to her face. "Sorry, 'Livy."

"Don't be." Olivia sat next to her. "I'm just sorry they keep hurting all of us." She put an arm around her friend's shoulder, leaning her head against Corry's. "There has to be something we can do....." The two best friends were silent for a long moment.

Corry sat up, forcing a smile to her face. No sense ruining Olivia's day. "We can Christmas shop." She tossed the towel in the waste bin and hugged Olivia. "You're the best, 'Livy."

"I know." Olivia grinned, winking. "Let's go see what damage we can do to this place!"

"Think they'll let us do kareoke again?" Corry combed fingers through her hair, untangling it. "We didn't do too bad with the Christmas carols last year."

"Let's go try!" Grabbing her hand, Olivia pulled Corry after her.

* * *

"I have something to show you." Olivia stood, then turned. "I haven't shown the others yet." Biting her lip, she hesitated.

Corry looked up, from one of the bags she was looking through. "Someone's Christmas present?"

Olivia shook her head. "No....." She reached into the dimensional pocket that held their morphers and weapons -- and now her secret.

"What?" With a smile, Corry set the bag aside. Her curiosity was piqued as Olivia faced her with a bundle in her hands.

Briefly Olivia told her about the trip out to the Reservation, and what Sam Trueheart had said. "He gave me this." Carefully, the girl unwrapped the deerskin, revealing the woven tapestry.

"Wow," Corry breathed. "That looks really old." It looked like a museum piece, but the colors were still bright. The animals looked real enough to leap off the woven fabric into the room.

"It is." Olivia's hands shook slightly as she unwrapped the blade. "Mr. Trueheart said to use this to summon the Shining Ones."

Eyes wide, Corry stared at the blade. It seemed to gleam with an inner silver luminescence, making it almost look like crystal. "That...." She shook her head. "I've never seen anything like it."

"He said the tapestry is what shields it from the Wraiths." Olivia quickly and carefully re-wrapped the knife and sent it back to its hiding place.

"So...how do you know when to use it?" Corry tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I don't know." Olivia shrugged. "Mr. Trueheart said when things seemed darkest, and hope was all but gone....." Shaking her head, she sat. "That was when all this first happened." Her dark eyes were troubled. "Do you think this means things will get worse?"

Corry looked at her hands, as she clasped them. "I don't know, 'Livy. I guess it's possible." Sighing, the girl stood. "It's almost time to meet with the others." They had made plans to do something about getting Thomas back that night -- before Jett had time to notice White Ranger's return. "I have one thing to do, then I'll meet you there, okay?"

"Cor?" Olivia reached out to grasp her friend's arm. "Are you-"

"I'm fine." Corry hugged the younger girl, flashing a smile. They walked to the door of the Park's home and Corry waved. "See you in a little bit!"

Olivia nodded and watched her jog off. Something was bothering her, but she clearly wasn't ready to discuss it yet. With a sigh, Olivia turned and went to find her father. Talking to him always helped when she was worried.

* * *

Corry slightly opened the huge door and peeked in. No one. Just light streaming in from the stained-glass windows, tinting the empty pews.

Slipping inside, Corry walked silently up the middle aisle. She looked around, half-afraid someone was going to pop out and yell at her for trespassing. When she reached the third pew from the front, she sat.

It was a simple, beautiful altar. A see-through podium for the Pastor to put his notes on was in the center, towards the front. To the left was a piano that looked as though many hands had played the yellowed ivory keys. Many players had sat on the worn bench. There was a large dark brown table to the right, with one large white candle atop it. The words, "Do this in remembrance of me," were carved into the side of the table.

Corry clasped her hands, and bit her lip as she leaned forward on the pew in front of her. She could feel the peace of the place. It was the same permeating sense of gentle power she sensed whenever Wolf had come to guide her. Closing her eyes, Corry was silent, just letting the peace seep into her.

_It's been...so long...since I've been here. I don't even know ...._ Corry sighed. It had all been so simple as a child. She had knelt at her bed and said prayers like her parents had taught her. They still went to church, but it had almost just become routine for her.

The wonder and awe from her earliest memories was missing.

Why was it so hard now?

Images of all she'd gone through came to mind. _The darkness had touched her. She still felt insecure about that. Somehow it had never occurred to her that being a Ranger would touch your soul somehow. And yet, that is what Jett seemed to be able to do. Reach in and twist your insides, your thoughts.....

Your confidence.

Tonight was when they were planning to try and call Thomas out. _I don't know if I can face him again...._

Hearing someone pulling open the huge door, Corry ducked down. For some reason she just didn't feel like facing anyone at the time. She had too many questions, too many emotions tangled up inside of her, to voice what she was feeling.

Muted footsteps echoed as someone walked up the aisle, just like she had. Corry peeked up in time to glimpse an older man. His hair was dark, but grey streaked the temples. Light blue eyes were set in a lined face that spoke of hours in the sun. She had seen smile lines around his mouth though, so he wasn't entirely somber.

He walked up the stairs, to the altar, and Corry heard him moving around up there. She almost jumped when he started to sing in a beautiful tenor.

I've seen the darkness
And it saw me
But here in the light
Where the dark can't see
There is a sweet glow of mercy that covers me
Now I am found
But once was lost
And there in the gutter
Where the wheels came off
There was a sweet glow of mercy that covered me

Stunned at the words, Corry sat listening. She had expected a somber hymn or some song about repentance perhaps. This.... This she could relate to.

It picked me up
And set me right
Brought me day
And killed my night
Mercy's there at every turn
Mercy gives what I can't earn
Gonna let that sweet glow of mercy
Yeah, that sweet glow of mercy
Gonna let that sweet glow of mercy cover me

He was moving around as he sang, probably dusting, or cleaning.

Sitting between the pews, Corry hung on the words. They applied to her, and the others, almost frighteningly well. _I never knew they had songs like this...in church!_

I've been known to run
But I can't hide
I can't get away
>From the light inside
There is a sweet glow of mercy that covers me
I have fun
I go fast
But when the pull
Of this life has passed
There will be a sweet glow of mercy that covers me

It'll pick me up
And set me right
Bring me day
And kill my night
Mercy's there at every turn
Mercy gives what I can't earn
Gonna let that sweet glow of mercy
Yeah, that sweet glow of mercy
Gonna let that sweet glow of mercy cover me

It was almost too much.

Scrambling to her feet, Corry sprang up, and the man stopped singing when he saw her.

"Hello," he said softly. His voice was deep, friendly. The light blue eyes had a twinkle in them.

"Did you know I was there?" Corry gripped the pew in front of her tightly, almost afraid of his answer.

"I didn't see you." He walked over to sit on the first step. He was dressed in brown slacks, and a white sweater.

"Are you the Pastor?"

"No." He shook his head. "The acoustics are quite good, aren't they?" The man looked around. "I love the way the light shines through those windows."

Bewildered by his answer, Corry looked at the windows. "They're beautiful," she admitted. Feeling his gaze on her, she looked at him. "Are you a member of the congregation?"

"Yes." He smiled, then looked to the windows again. "You know, there was a time, this old church was almost condemned. It was empty, and no one seemed to care. Those beautiful windows were covered in soot and grime." He shook his head. "You couldn't even tell they were a work of art."

Curious despite herself, Corry edged out into the aisle. "What happened?"

"There were a few people who remembered what a treasure the church was, and began to rally others to support them." The man looked around. "To look at it now, you would never know it had once been so, would you?"

"No." Corry backed away. "Um...I was just curious what it looked like." She offered a half-smile. "I'm sorry to intrude."

"You didn't." The man slowly stood. "Did you find what you came searching for?"

"What?" She stopped, blinking. "I...." It had been on the tip of her tongue to say no, when she realized she had, indeed found answers. Corry nodded slowly. "I think I did." Her comm began to vibrate and she grabbed her wrist, eyes wide. "Um....I have to go. Thank you for telling me about this place. It's beautiful!" She turned and ran, pausing at the door, to give him one last look. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

As the door slowly shut with a heavy thunk, light began to glow around the man. His form became a bright silver-white tinged with blue as it shifted to another form.

When the light died down, a huge grey and white wolf stood in his place. Light blue eyes twinkled merrily as it looked around the church. Pacing forward, it stepped into one of the pools of light streaming down from the windows. Brilliant colors and patterns hit the silver-grey coat of the wolf as it lifted its face to the beam of light.

Wolf slowly disappeared, leaving only the peaceful serenity of the church, and the brilliant patterns of light still shining down into the aisle.

* * *

It reminded her the night she and Gavin had stood in the same plaza, waiting to be attacked by the Wraiths. _But we had Thomas with us then._ Corry shivered as the wind blew against her. The cold might not touch her in her armored form, but the memories could. The sky was clouding over, as another storm rolled in.

The memory of standing on a rooftop, in weather much like this, was fresh in her mind. _Jett isn't going to fool me this time!_ As if to reassure herself, Corry touched the gold coin set on the center of her armored shield. Even through the gloves she could feel the image of the wolf blazoned there. Thinking of Wolf gave her strength.

"Cor?" Gavin's voice over her internal comm broke into her thoughts.

"Here."

"You okay? Your vital signs are pretty elevated."

She smiled wryly, scanning the plaza for any sign of Wraiths or the Green Ranger. "I'm nervous, Gav. That's all."

His quiet snort of disbelief said volumes. "You're getting to be as much of an adrenaline junkie as Jared!"

"Hardly." She was excited...but, also, scared to death.

"Be careful."

Knowing they were monitoring her, Corry nodded. The plaza's streetlights came on as dusk passed into darkness. Corry moved away from the light so she could see better.

The smallest whisper of movement was her only warning, as her vision was suddenly filled with green. Reacting instinctively, she dove to one side. Rolling to her feet, she saw him standing, watching.

Just watching.

Corry fought to steady her racing heart. Even thought she had been expecting him, his stealthy arrival caught her off-guard. She took a step back then stopped, lifting her chin as she looked right at him. "Hello, Thomas." She was proud of how steady her voice sounded.

The Green armored figure didn't move.

Remembering what the others told her about Jett trying to trick them with the empty armor, Corry took a step sideways. He still didn't move. She took another step, then another, beginning to circle him.

His move was so sudden, so swift, he was standing right before her before she could blink. Corry belatedly reacted, and stopped as he held her in place. She looked down at her arm in shock. "Let go." She began to feel the cold edge of panic as he just stared at her. _Where are the others?!_ Forcing herself to be calm, Corry put an edge on her voice. "Let..me..go."

"Power down."

"W-what...?" Corry watched in shock as the armor dematerialized from him. For a moment she'd thought the command had been directed to her.

His eyes were darker than before, almost pure black. He smiled. It was the same devil-may-care smile. "Feel safer? He released her arm, but didn't move away, staying close to her. "Now you're all covered in power and armor and I'm..." He held out his arms and shrugged. Dressed all in black, he looked as dangerous as his guardian animal, the Panther.

Corry wasn't fooled, but she didn't like the challenging gleam in his eyes either. Throwing caution to the wind, she took a deep breath. "Power down." She raised her chin defiantly as the white armor melted from her. "So. Now what?" She brushed back a wisp of hair the wind blew in her face.

He smiled innocently. "You tell me."

Corry narrowed her eyes, feeling totally lost all of a sudden. _This isn't the way it was supposed to go!_

Thomas took a small step closer, and tilted his head. One dark eyebrow rose in a question.

Her eyes widened a little. He was less than a foot away from her, and smiling a very charming, warm smile.

His eyes were still obsidian though.

That chilled Corry, and she frowned. "Are you here as Jett's pet lapdog, Thomas?"

Something flickered deep in his eyes, and the smile faded. "That wasn't very nice."

"No," Corry agreed coolly. "It wasn't. But your mistress tried to fry me with lightning and then sent me to Never Never Land. Her plan was to leave me there." She shoved a finger at his chest, pushing him back slightly. "If it wasn't for the Wolf, I'd still be there!"

Thomas blinked, an uncertain expression filtering through the cold, controlled look. "You saw the Wolf?"

She nodded. "He helped me get to a place where I could gather my scattered wits and regroup." Her eyes glittered icily. "No thanks to your...mistress."

A smile tilted the corners of his mouth. "You sound jealous."

Corry felt her cool evaporate, as her temper flared. "Listen to me, you thick-skulled, jolt-headed oaf! You're a puppet again! Jett's boy toy! How does it feel to be controlled again, Thomas?" She moved closer, so their faces were only inches apart, even though she still had to look up slightly. "Are you happy now?"

Uncertainty warred with anger in his expression. "You have no right to talk about Jett like that."

That was the last straw. Corry snarled, drew back her arm, fisted her hand and put her entire weight behind her punch.

Thomas reeled back, covering his eye with one hand. "You hit me!" He looked at her in disbelief.

"You had it coming!" Corry shook her hand, wincing. That had hurt! "Maybe it'll bring some sense into that ponytailed head of yours!"

"I can't believe you hit me." He stared at her in complete shock.

Corry shook her hand, wincing slightly as it ached. "Be happy I wasn't morphed, mister!" It never looked that painful in the holos! Watching him warily, she noticed his eyes were brown instead of black. "Thomas?" She bit her lip, afraid to trust him -- to get too close.

Blue eyes met brown for a timeless moment as they stared at each other.

"Corry?" He sounded dazed, confused. Wincing, Thomas closed his eyes. "I feel...strange."

She had a hunch -- a flash of insight -- and decided to toss logic out and go with her instinct. "Draanov? Are you listening?"

In a flash of black light, the man appeared. Wearing his black armor, and frowning slightly, the dark-skinned man might have frightened the girl if she didn't know him for what he truly was -- an angel. His frown grew as he looked at Thomas. "There is a darkness surrounding this one, Corriane." His sword materialized in his hand.

"No!" Corry threw out her arms, blocking any advance he had intended to make towards Thomas. "I need your help." She looked up at Draanov, reaching out to touch his arms. "Please. Thomas is our Green Ranger. Jett stole him away."

Thomas' eyes had widened as soon as he caught sight of Draanov. There was an unmistakable aura of power and Light around this man -- despite his tough appearance. Being in the presence of both the White Ranger and this being was clearing his mind faster than he had hoped. "That's not...quite...true."

Taking a deep breath, Thomas took a wary step closer. "I was given a choice."

Corry bit her bottom lip hard as she turned to face him. The Rangers hadn't told her about this. "What?"

"Jett gave me a choice." Thomas met her gaze squarely. "Join her or watch the Rangers die." His gaze went to the man standing behind the girl. "I chose to ...to join her."

"No..." Corry shook her head. Hearing those words hurt her more than she wanted to admit.

"It was my own free will." Thomas couldn't lie. Not to her, and not in the face of this being.

"Not quite, Green Ranger." Draanov's voice was laced with dry humor. "Having a threat hung over you as you chose is not what I call free will." He laid a hand on Corry's shoulder, sensing the girl's distress, and sobered. "But now, you do chose freely. Will you return to the Wraiths or come with those who care for you?"

"How....?" Thomas shook his head. "There are still..things..inside of me. Jett...," he hesitated, looking at Corry again.

The girl's hands fisted as her chin came up. "I know what Jett wanted, Thomas." She reached up to touch Draanov's hand, seeking reassurance. "What do YOU want?" Looking up, she pinned him with her gaze.

"To be free." It was barely a whisper, but Thomas had never wanted anything so much in his entire life.

Draanov nodded. "And so shall you be, Green Ranger. But," the angel shook his head, "for the time being you must remain as you are."

"What?" Corry whirled to face the man, completely dismayed. "But why?"

"He's right." Thomas sighed wearily. It wasn't what he wanted, but he could see what the man was getting at. As Corry turned to protest, he cut her off, shaking his head. "If I was changed now Jett would know." He took a step closer, dredging up a slight smile. "We can use this to our advantage."

Looking from Draanov to Thomas, Corry shook her head. "No.... I still don't see-"

"Corry." Thomas gently grasped her arms, squeezing them. "I can help you get to the Wraith's dimension. We can fight this on their home turf instead of ripping up Angel Grove." He looked at Draanov who nodded. "Think of me as an ace in the pocket."

"What?" She shook her head impatiently. "How?" Corry scowled at him. "How can you be the creep you were on the elevator, and still be...." She looked up at him, feeling very uncertain. "You?" The memory of that encounter was still fresh in her memory. His touch had made her skin crawl and sent alarms off in her head.

That wasn't happening now, but..... She wondered if it was only because Draanov was present. Still, she almost felt as though she just...knew. Corry shook off her musings as the angel spoke.

"I believe that is where I come in." Draanov smiled slightly.

"Exactly." Thomas slid his hands down Corry's arms to take her hands in his. "As long as Draanov is with me, I'm not under Jett's influence."

"And when he's not?" Corry scowled and shook her head. "You'll know what our plan is! You'll tell the Wraiths...and her."

"Then he'll have to be with me all the time." Thomas looked at Draanov, who nodded. He grinned lopsidedly at Corry, throwing every ounce of charm into convincing the stubborn girl. "This is our chance to get the kids from the shelter, Becca and Alex back, Cor."

After a long moment, Corry reluctantly nodded. She scowled at him. "But if you so much as breathe a word of this to that witch, Thomas -"

"I'll have another shiner to match the one I have?"

She nodded, a sober expression on her face. "Count on it." A reluctant smile curved her mouth as he reached up to brush his knuckle across her cheek, and nodded, equally somber.

"I won't." The sincerity in his expression and voice did a lot to melt her resistance. Seeing her eyes soften, Thomas pulled her into his arms and hugged her. "Thank you," he whispered into her hair.

This was their Thomas -- not the tormentor Jett had created. Corry hugged him tightly, and felt tears burn her eyes. Their Ranger, but she could sense the darkness still in him. Reluctantly she pulled away to look up at him. His eyes were still a warm brown and no arrogant expression marred his features. But....

"What?" Thomas wondered what was going on inside her head as she stared at him for a long moment. Her blue eyes were clear -- and for a second he got the impression she could almost see to his soul.

Slowly Corry reached up to brush her fingers through his hair that had come lose of its elastic holder. She gently touched the brow above the eye she'd punched and winced. "You're gonna have a shiner."

"My badge of honor." Thomas winked with his good eye, and took her hand in his. "Nice left hook, by the way."

Corry blushed slightly. "You asked for it," she demurred.

"Forgive me for interrupting," Draanov was smiling as he stepped over to the pair. "But we really must move quickly to gain this advantage."

As if on cue, Corry's wrist comm vibrated. "Gav?"

"What's going on?" His voice was full of concern. "We saw you morph back to civilian and lost the signal!"

"We have Thomas." Corry looked at him. "Draanov and I are bringing him in."

"Is he....?"

The girl hesitated for a long moment. Taking a deep breath, she said, "We'll teleport to the infirmary, Gav. See you there." She cut the comm off and looked at Draanov. "Let's go."

Three teleportation beams lit up the plaza in one beam of pure silver-white, one darkest ebony, and one brilliant green, then flashed off towards the desert, leaving the downtown area once again dark and deserted.

* * *

"You punched him." Gavin stared at Corry in total shock. "I thought you were opposed to physical violence?"

"I am. Usually." Corry winced as her hand throbbed again. "He had it coming, Gav."

"Agreed." Gavin grinned. "I'm not saying it wasn't appropriate-"

"Pow!" Nisha winked at Corry. "The big man goes down!"

"Nisha...."

"I'm proud of ya, girl." Nisha hugged her. "Didn't think you had it in you."

"How is he?" Olivia asked. The whole situation had her upset, but things were at least beginning to go right again.

"Will's checking him over." Raph squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"What did they teach you in that other dimension?" Jared nudged Corry with his elbow. "Guess all the theories of how violent the late twentieth century were are true, huh?"

Corry stuck her tongue out at him. "They were totally welcoming!" She sobered. "If it wasn't for them I would still think Jett had stripped me of the White power." Smiling at Olivia who came over to stand next to her, Corry hugged the girl. "It's great to be home though."

The door to the infirmary opened and Will walked out. He smiled at the six faces watching him. "Go ahead." Will gestured the group towards the door and stepped out of the way to let them in.

Thomas was sitting on the diagnostic bed, and looked up as they entered.

Nisha giggled a little seeing one eye was still swollen shut. She stopped when Corry elbowed her, contenting herself with a grin.

Raph broke the slightly strained silence. "Welcome back, Thomas." He held out his hand.

Thomas stood and shook the younger boy's hand. "Man," he sighed in a heartfelt voice, "is it good to see you guys again." His smile faltered a little as he looked to the others.

Corry walked over to stand next to Draanov who stood directly behind Thomas. She looked up at the angel who smiled in reassurance.

"Is he really...okay?" Gavin couldn't help feel a tiny bit of apprehension as he looked at Thomas. The guy had threatened to kill him, and almost carried it out. That was a little hard to forget.

"He isn't gonna go psycho on us again, is he?" Nisha had the same doubts. No one had ever frightened her as badly as Thomas had. Ever. She wasn't about to trust him that quickly.

Jared stepped forward to offer his hand to Thomas. "No hard feelings?" He met the young man's eyes steadily. His parents had told him what had happened to Tommy Oliver and his unique way of joining the team. If they had been able to forgive Tommy and welcome him.... In fact his father and Tommy had been the best of friends. All but brothers.

Surprise lit Thomas' dark eyes. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He firmly shook Jared's hand. Gavin and Nisha's hesitation hadn't been lost on him. Neither was the way Olivia hung back, as if afraid to approach.

Corry shoved aside her own feelings of apprehension and moved to thread her arm through Thomas'. She caught and held each of her teammates' gaze one by one. "We're seven again," she reminded them quietly.

"Yeah, but...." Nisha frowned slightly. "I can't just forget like that." She snapped her fingers.

"Then don't," Corry responded sharper than she had intended. She sighed as Draanov gently squeezed her shoulder. "We need to be united on this," she said in a calmer voice. "Or the Wraiths will rip us up and spit us out."

"She's right." Jared turned to look at his girlfriend. "If you can't forget, then at least forgive. It wasn't his fault, Nish."

"Any more than it was our parent's fault when they attacked us." Raph stepped into the chasm between the two groups. "We were all possessed at one point. I think we all know how we felt when we came out of that. And I don't need to, but I will remind you, Thomas helped get our parents, and us, back."

Nisha looked down, her face reddening slightly. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I can't help feeling cautious."

Olivia walked forward and held out a slightly shaking hand. "Thomas, welcome back." She looked up tentatively, smile growing as he gently took her hand and squeezed it.

"Thank you, 'Livy." Thomas felt horrible for what he had done to this gentle girl. "I'm sorry-"

"I know." She smiled shyly. "You'll make it up if I know you." Ducking her head, she darted over to stand next to Corry.

Gavin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, I can forgive you. Just...," he smiled wryly. "Please don't ever come after me again." He looked up and saw the sincerity in the man's dark eyes. "Because you just never know what a Skullovich can do." With a grin he held out his hand and shook Thomas' firmly.

"That's the truth," Corry muttered. She winked at him.

"Okay." Nisha took a deep breath and walked over to face Thomas. "I have never been afraid to admit I was wrong, or face anyone, or anything." She met his gaze and held it for a long moment. "You scared the crap outta me, Thomas. I don't think I can forget that, but...." A reluctant smile curved her mouth. "I can learn to live with it." She held out her hand and shook his, nodding. "Welcome back."

"RANGERS," Zordon's voice interrupted on their comm's. "PLEASE ASSEMBLE IN THE POWER CHAMBER."

"Uh oh," Jared muttered. "Sounds serious."

"Let's go." Raph gestured for everyone to move.

Will followed, curious to know what was going on. He almost ran into Thomas who had stopped suddenly at the entrance to the Power Chamber. "What....?"

Draanov raised one eyebrow. "The Panther is here."

The Rangers parted to allow Thomas to go first. Draanov stayed back with the rest of the team, watching with an easy smile.

Corry bit her lip and gave Raph a worried look. He shook his head and shrugged. Slowly, the rest of the team and Will filed in to stand behind Thomas.

The big black cat stood, its tail slowly moving back and forth. Its amber eyes were on the young man approaching. *Thomas...* it acknowledged, pacing forward until it stood right before him. Its gaze went to Draanov and the Panther nodded.

Draanov nodded solemnly.

"Have you come to...to...disown me?" Thomas' voice was barely a whisper.

*Cub,* rebuked the Panther. *Have I not told you I will NEVER leave you?* The cat sighed and sat, twitching one ear. *I have come to make sure you all realize where you now stand.*

"I can hear it," Gavin realized. Usually he could only hear his individual Guardian.

A feral smile curved the cat's mouth, showing white teeth. *Indeed, Gavin. I speak for all the Guardians tonight.* Its gaze swept over the assembled group. *You stand at a cross-roads, younglings. The turning point is at hand.*

"Turning point?" Raph echoed. "Because we're back together?"

*Partly.* Panther stood and glanced at Zordon. *There is more to all of this than has been revealed to you, young ones.* It walked past Raph and Jared. *Up to now it has been a fight for survival and learning. You have learned to be a team, to find your strengths. You have discovered your weaknesses.* It glanced at Nisha and nodded. *You have been tested as any warrior must be.* Passing Gavin and Olivia it stopped. *You have found there can be compassion in the midst of battle, and indeed, there must be. Or you risk becoming that which you battle against.* It walked over to Corry. *You have tested the boundaries and found there is more than you dreamed waiting for you. And,* Panther ended back up standing in front of Thomas. *You have strayed away, and been found again, to be brought back into the fold.* The big cat nodded. *We are all proud of you, young ones. But now....* Panther's gaze swept over all of them. "Now, you must go beyond what you are comfortable with. A new level.* Its tone was gentle. *Life is a journey, not a destination you reach. To live is to grow.*

"Where are we going?" Jared, as usual, cut to the chase in a no-nonsense way. He shrugged as his teammates looked at him in dismay. "What?"

"Mr. Tactful," Gavin muttered.

Corry pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. It didn't work. Before long, they were all laughing. The tension that had built was eased a bit by the team's laughter.

*You must take the battle to the enemy.* Panther walked to stand in front of Zordon's column. *Know that wherever you go, no matter how far, you are never where we cannot reach you. We are always with you.* The big cat nodded to them. *Go in the Light, and do not fear, young ones.*

The teens and Will had to look away as the Panther's form began to glow a brilliant green. When they could look again, the big cat was gone.

"What the heck did that cat mean?" Nisha shook her head, sighing. "Just once...I wish they'd say something plainly!"

"RANGERS," Zordon's voice drew every eye in the room to him. "THOMAS AND I DISCUSSED THIS. HE HAS AGREED TO HELP YOU INFILTRATE THE WRAITHS DIMENSION."

"Take the battle...." Raph's eyes widened. "You mean that literally!"

Thomas nodded. "I'll go back." Quickly he added, "With Draanov's help I won't be totally zombified again. Zordon suggested a way to get all of you there also."

Nisha shot a disbelieving look first at Thomas then Corry. "You're for this?"

"Yes." Corry crossed her arms and gazed evenly at her friend. "You have a better idea?"

"This is as bad as the very first plan you had!" Nisha said, scowling. She walked over to stand right before Corry. "Going back in time to get Thomas was bad enough. This is...."

"Nisha," Corry's voice was that of a person pushed to the limit. "Do you think I like this? I don't. However," she straightened, eyes glittering. "I don't see an alternative plan. If you have one, please...tell us."

Taken aback by her friend's tone, Nisha blinked. "No. But-"

"Then I suggest we listen." Crossing her arms again, Corry sighed. "The Panther said to take the battle to the enemy, Nish." She walked over to lean against the glass cases housing the previous team's uniforms, separating herself a little from the team.

"Us...against all those Wraiths?" Nisha shook her head. "We'll be annihilated!"

"YOU WILL NOT BE ALONE." Zordon assured her. "WE HAVE ALREADY CONTACTED ALLIES WHO ARE PREPARED TO AIDE YOU IN THIS ENDEAVOUR."

"Does that mean other Rangers?" Jared asked hopefully. "You mean, Trey?"

Zordon shook his head. "THERE ARE OTHERS. BEHOLD."

In the center of the Power Chamber, a hologram of five uniformed Rangers appeared. They wore armor much like the team's, but where Earth's defenders had their animals emblazoned on their coins, this team had a narrow strip bearing all the colors of their team.

"Who are they?" Gavin asked curiously. He walked around the hologram. "They're human?"

"YES." Zordon smiled. "IN FACT ALL BUT TWO OF THEM ARE FROM EARTH."

"Earth?" Raph shook his head. "Why haven't we ever heard of them?"

"ONLY WILLIAM KNOWS OF THEIR EXISTENCE," Zordon explained. He looked at the man who nodded.

Will picked up the tale. "They came to us before any of you were born. Their world, KO-35 came under attack and they were forced to leave. All but two of their Rangers died in the conflict, and one was placed in stasis to heal from near fatal wounds." He sighed. "We had just fought the battle that drove all the evil from Earth not months before. Zordon and I made the decision to not tell any of the other Rangers and let everyone live in peace for ...." Will shrugged. "However long it lasted. At that point we had no idea it would be this long." He looked at the holo-image and smiled. "Their leader is named Andros, Red Astro Ranger. He's one of the Kerovans on the team. When he first came here, all he sought was time to heal so he could go and get revenge for his homeworld." Pushing a couple of controls, Will brought up an image of Andros over that of the Red Astro Ranger. "What he ended up with is four Earthers who became members of his team." He brought up the unmorphed images of the rest of the Astro Rangers. "Cassie Chan was Pink, Carlos Vega was Black, TJ Andrews was Blue and Ashley Hammond is still the Yellow Astro Ranger."

"That's Vanessa's mom!" Olivia pointed to the Pink Astro Ranger. "Vanessa Bulkmeier is two years behind me!"

"No way!" Gavin's jaw dropped open. "I've known the Bulkmeiers...forever. How could they....?" He looked at Will, obviously confused.

"Vanessa is too young to take up her position yet, but she is the heir to the Yellow Astro powers." Will shrugged. "Farkas and Cassie spend time both here, and on KO-35, so that Vanessa will be trained properly."

"How do they keep this secret?!" Nisha was surprised, but not as much as the others. She had always known Zordon held back much of what he knew. "Why didn't anyone know?"

"They just...go to this place and no one questions it?" Jared scratched the back of his neck.

"Do they ever wonder when all of you disappear?" Will smiled gently.

"True." The youth grinned wryly.

"Who is the current team?" Raph studied the armor, noting slight differences. The Astro's armor was more streamlined, more form-fitting than their own.

"Andros is still the Red Astro Ranger. His wife, Ashley, is Yellow. Monika, their daughter, is the team's Black Astro Ranger." Will gestured to Carlos. "Dante, the son of Carlos and Emily Vargas is the Blue Astro Ranger. The Pink Ranger is Rhea." He smiled and brought up two last holograms. "Rhea is the daughter of Zhane and Karone. Zhane is the team's Silver Astro Ranger and Karone is Andros' sister."

"Holy smokes." Gavin sat with a thump on one of the stools next to a console. "This is gettin' to be a family thing."

"ON KO-35 RANGERING IS HERIDITARY," Zordon explained. "THAT CONTINUATION WAS BROKEN WITH THE COLONIES DESTRUCTION, BUT THE CURRENT TEAM IS REVIVING THE KEROVAN TRADITIONS."

"With some help from Earth," Raph added with a smile.

"So, these are the people that will help us?" Nisha studied the images of the team.

"Yes." Will smiled as he nodded. "They were more than happy to offer their help. Their team is a little more mixed as far as ages than ours, but I don't think that will be a problem."

"Why can't we work with you?" Olivia asked. "After all, you and all of our parents have a stake in this too."

Will shook his head. "We'll stay to defend Earth, 'Livy." He sighed. "Besides, the Astro Rangers have full Ranger abilities that we Morphin Warriors don't."

"Do they know about what has been going on here?" Thomas had been silent until then realizing they truly were moving on to a much bigger step.

"WE HAVE KEPT IN CONTACT WITH THE ASTRO RANGERS FOR SOME TIME NOW."

"Why couldn't they help us when you were missing?" Corry asked her father. She remembered how frantically they'd searched for allies -- and how no one had answered.

"No signals were going in or out from Earth at that time," Will pointed out. "Trey had a hard time getting through, and that was with Pyramidas." He sighed. "They would have helped if they had known, Corry."

"Another episode to chalk up to the Wraiths," Gavin muttered.

"How are we going to go then?" Jared shook his head. "Is Trey helping us?"

"We'll establish a tight-link beam with them and teleport you." Will nodded to Draanov. "Draanov is actually providing the bulk of the power for it with his sword."

"And Thomas and Draanov will go back...wherever it is Wraiths go?" Raph didn't like splitting up again, but it was beginning to look necessary.

Will nodded. "Once you're on KO-35, Thomas will contact you there."

Nisha straightened. "When do we go?"

"IT WILL BE BEST TO GO RIGHT AWAY, RANGERS." Zordon didn't miss the dismay on their faces. "I WILL EXPLAIN TO YOUR PARENTS. WE MUST MOVE BEFORE JETT DOES."

"I'll distract her," Thomas said with a sigh. "Keep her focus off you." The thought was not appealing to him at all. He saw Corry turn abruptly, almost running out of the Chamber and winced. This wasn't going to be easy on any of them.

Almost as one, Raph, Olivia, Jared, Nisha and Gavin turned to look at Thomas. He blinked at them, seeing their expectant expressions. He nodded. "Guess I'll go talk to her." Taking several steps, he stopped to glance at Draanov.

"I will remain here," the big man told him. "You will be within the sphere of my protection as long as you are within this building."

With a curt nod, Thomas took off after Corry.

"He CAN be taught," Gavin muttered acerbically.

Raph shot him a quelling look. "Go easy on him, Gav. Those two have a rough road ahead of them." He sighed. "And we can't afford to have them at odds." He knew things wouldn't go back to what they had been before all this started, but all Raph wanted was the team to be strong and whole. Rifts between friends were weaknesses an enemy could exploit.

With so much on the line, they couldn't afford that.

* * *

He found her in DragonZord's aqua bay, leaning back against the ancient Zord's head. She watched him with an unreadable expression as he approached.

"Draanov said I'd be okay within the building," he offered in way of explanation for the angel's absence.

Corry nodded, and looked away.

"I'm surprised you came here." Thomas reached out to touch the green metal. He was always surprised at the sense of awareness he got from the Zord.

"It's ancient." Corry said, shrugging. "There's a sense of calmness around it. Probably from all those eons of sitting in the ocean, waiting." She looked directly at him, eyes a clear crystal blue. "I needed some of that."

"This isn't going to be easy for either of us," Thomas agreed quietly. He met her gaze. "I won't lie to you about what happened, or what my part in it is. And, I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to have much to do with me...." His throat tightened, but he pushed on, determined to get it out in the open between them. He didn't want them to go into this with unspoken words between them. "I know you and I only went on a couple dates, " Thomas gave a wry smile. "And, the second ended badly. We never even have more than just a couple of minutes to talk it seems." He took a deep breath and reached out to take her hands in his. "I don't want to lose you over this, Corry. Two dates might not be much, and several months knowing each other even less, but I know what I feel for you doesn't come along every day." As her eyes widened, he added, "You don't have to answer. I just...." Thomas let his eyes wander over her face, memorizing it. "I wanted to say it while..while the words could be said."

Her grip tightened on his hands as he started to let go and he looked at her questioningly. "Are you through?" she asked evenly.

Not knowing quite how to reply, Thomas just nodded.

Corry nodded once. "Then let me say this." She stepped closer, looking up at him. "I have no intentions of letting you be a martyr, or of letting Jett win. Nothing would convince me to leave you there with her, so you can just put that thought out of your mind." She shook her head. "I got you back twice from her so far, Thomas. What in the world makes you think I'll give up on you now?" A wistful smile curved her mouth.

His eyes warmed seeing the smile, and he slipped his arms around her waist, gently pulling her closer. "I forgot how stubborn you are," he murmured.

Taking hold of his jacket, Corry's smile widened, cheeks warming slightly. She looked up, eyes softening. "Thomas-"

"Shh...." He leaned forward, gently capturing her lips in a kiss. He had intended it only to be a sweet first kiss, but Corry slid her arms around his neck and pulled him deeper into it. When they broke apart, both were breathless, hearts pounding. His eyebrows rose of their own volition, showing his surprise.

A mischievous smile curved Corry's mouth, something in her eyes showing a wisdom beyond that of her true age. "That," she told him, gently brushing his hair back from his forehead, "was to jog your faulty memory."

He smiled appreciatively. "That, I'll remember."

A tingling on her wrist told her it was time to go. Corry slipped her arms under his jacket, pressing her face against his chest as they held each other tightly. The steady beating of his heart, and the warmth of his breath on her hair was so comforting, so right, she didn't ever want to leave. They both had responsibilities beyond those of their wishes though, and Corry drew away first. She mustered a smile, and met his eyes.

Taking her hand, he gently pressed something into her palm and closed her fingers around it. Raising her fist, he kissed it. "Don't look now," Thomas instructed her softly. "See you on the other side." He slowly let go of her hand, eyes meeting hers.

Corry nodded, tightened her fist and turned sharply, walking swiftly out of the bay.

As the door slid shut behind her, Thomas let out his breath and leaned back against DragonZord. He closed his eyes, and hid the memory of their time together deep in his mind.

It was time to go back.

* * *

Gavin turned as the door opened sighed in relief. "There you are. We were just about to send out the Calvary."

She walked over to join the others, standing next to her father. "Dad...." Tears filled her eyes. She'd just come home and now she had to leave again.

"We'll be in contact." Will hugged her hard, whispering, "I love you." Tears misted his eyes as he let her go.

"We'll be back before you know it." Corry held out her hand, a shaky smile trembling on her lips. Her father looped his pinkie around hers and nodded, then stepped back.

"Where's Thomas?" Olivia took hold of Corry's hand, moving closer to her as much to comfort her as to help fight her own nervousness. She was scared to death and wanted nothing more than to teleport home.

"He said he'll see us there." Corry squeezed Olivia's hand and forced herself to smile. "It's okay, 'Livy." Looking to the rest she asked, "Are we ready then?"

Gavin walked over to stand on the other side of Corry and took her hand. Raph stood between Olivia and Nisha. Jared was on Nisha's other side. They linked hands, forming a circle, as Draanov began to glow.

"Tell our parents we love them," Raph called to Will. His face was somber as the older man nodded. The weight of responsibility rested heavy on the teen as he stood preparing to leave his homeworld.

"We'll send a postcard," Jared joked. He tightened his grip on Nisha's hand, smiling to cover his nervousness.

"And bring back a t-shirt." Nisha hid her trembling lips with a smile.

Olivia closed her eyes as tears blurred her vision. She felt both hands on either side tighten their grip and clung to them tightly.

"Don't do anything we wouldn't!" Gavin called. His eyes burned too, even as he smiled.

"That leaves a lot open," Corry commented wryly. She met her father's gaze and mouthed the words 'I love you' to him.

Will nodded and smiled. The door slid open behind him, and Thomas walked in to the Chamber, now glowing with white light.

"We'll be home for Christmas!" Corry yelled as their forms began to blur into their respective Ranger colors.

Will and Thomas shielded their eyes as the Rangers became brightly colored columns of energy, each glowing the purest colors they'd ever seen. The columns grew too bright to look at, then seemed to leap upwards, disappearing through the top of the Power Chamber.

Draanov, eyes closed, his sword held before him, continued to glow brightly for a bit longer. After a breathless moment, he smiled and opened his eyes as the white light began to decrease. "They have arrived," he announced, nodding.

"Then it's time for us to go." Thomas turned to say good-bye to Will, only to be engulfed in an embrace.

"Be careful," Will told him. He stepped back.

Thomas nodded, and looked over to Draanov. "Ready?"

The angel walked over to stand next to him. "No one will see me from here on except you, Thomas."

With a nod, Thomas closed his eyes. He reached inside to a place he had avoided all night, the part of him that harboured the darkness Jett had planted. He loathed the festering dark power, but now reached out to touch it. It sprang at him, ravenous to consume, but was held at bay by the power Draanov exuded. Thomas called forth a circle of ebony and green fire and felt the same dark light burn in his eyes. It seared through his veins, seeking to purge the Light from him, but, again, was held back. Opening his eyes, he nodded to the angel. The emerald flames rose like a curtain, obscuring them from view.

When it died down, they were gone.

"God speed, Thomas," Will sighed. "Bring them back."

* * *

Light dazzled them, and even with their eyes closed, they still were blinded by the beauty and purity of the colors that danced around them.

There was a moment of disorientation, one familiar to Corry. It was the same floating, timeless feeling she'd had when Jett had sent her away. She gripped her friend's hands to reassure herself, and felt her own hands squeezed tightly in response.

Then...they were standing on a hill overlooking an area green with grass and trees.

"Looks almost like home," Jared commented, looking around. He took in a deep breath of the fresh air. "KO-35."

"KO-35." Nisha snorted. "Can't even give the planet a real name...."

"What I wouldn't give to explore," Gavin said, looking around.

Corry walked several steps away and pulled the object Thomas had given her out of her pocket. It was a leather pouch. She frowned slightly and pulled the pouch open -- and stared. "Oh no....."

"What's wrong?" Olivia joined her and her eyes widened. "How....?"

"What?" Nisha asked impatiently.

Swallowing hard, Corry turned to face the group and slowly opened her hand.

The Kerovan sunlight caught the metal gleam of the object resting on her palm and it flashed green.

"The dragon coin," Olivia breathed.

"Corry," Raph's expression was somber. "How did you get that?"

She looked up at her friends and shook her head. "He gave it to me."

"Thomas?" Jared almost reached out to touch the coin, then drew his hand back. "Why?"

"This is not good," Gavin sighed. "He's not going to be able to morph now."

"He's giving us an edge," Nisha realized. She nodded. "Think about it. Why else would he give it away?"

"As a sign of his faith in us." Olivia's quiet statement stopped all the speculation as they all looked at her. "He gave it to Corry to keep it safe for him." Her gaze went to her friend as Corry nodded slowly, a worried frown creasing her brow.

"Someone's approaching," Gavin warned as he spotted two people coming towards them.

Corry quickly put the coin in its pouch and shoved it in her pocket. Her eyes met Olivia's as the younger girl put her arm through hers, squeezing it reassuringly.

As one, the group turned to face the pair walking up to them.

"Rangers of Earth?" the man asked cautiously. Only when they nodded did he add, "My name is Andros. This is Ashley."

The woman smiled warmly, taking a step towards them. "Welcome to KO-35."

The End... for now