Please note: Kanara's name has been changed to Kemora. For more information, please see my profile page.

Updated 7/8/07 KSuzie

Kemora has taken Kim hostage and is planning on killing her. The Rangers have the key to finding them, the question is if they can get there in time.

All things Power Rangers belong to Saban and Disney. All things Carri belong to KJ, with many thanks.. Demonking belongs solely to Daniel White and Teeg and Rexo belong to KS. The premise of the Coin Series has been borrowed from a story written by Terry, Chris, Daniel, Brice, Katey and myself.

It should be noted that all events in The Coin Series take place in an alternate dimension

Power Rangers: The Coin Seires
Evil Is As Evil Does

All eyes turned to Tommy after his declaration.

“Are you sure?” Jason asked. He wanted desperately to believe him, but there was no denying his own link to Kim was completely gone.

“I’m positive.” Tommy said firmly.

The communications signal beeped eerily out of place from the main control board. Billy gently disengaged Trini and walked over to answer the call. A strangely familiar figure with glowing red eyes, dressed in black leather, filled the new screen he had just installed.

“Kim?” Trini asked incredulously.

“Oooo, I’m afraid not.” The figure teased and then laughed manically… evilly. The woman was insane, that much was obvious, but, except for her strange glowing red eyes with diamond like black slits, she looked and sounded exactly like Kimberly.

“Kemora.” Jason growled, eyes full of hatred. He knew that laugh, knew those eerie looking eyes; he’d never forget. This was the creature who had tried to kill him, to steal his powers. The woman who had tried countless times to kill Kimberly. The others turned to him as he slowly rose from the console. “What the hell have you done?”

“Feeling a bit unsure now that your security blanket is gone J?” The woman teased, “Oh poor, poor baby. Whatever will you do now that your stronger half has been decimated?”

“Who are you and what have you done with Kimberly?” Tommy demanded, walking into the screen’s view. The woman took notice of him, squinting a bit, then gave him an evilly seductive look.

“How sweet,” She drolled, “The resident Tommy.”

“What do you want Kemora?” Jason demanded. The woman toyed a bit with her hair, twisting it around her finger, face alternating between a self-satisfied smirk and borderline hysteria. Her eyes glowed as she turned a look of pure evil into the screen.

“Thomas.” She hissed. “Send him to me. The coordinates have been sent to your computer.”

“I have no way of contacting him.” Jason said evenly. “Kimberly keeps the two of us separated.”

Thomas, Jason thought sadly, his gut sinking, was as insane as the woman before him. He knew Kimberly kept a working relationship with him. How she could stand him after what he’d done to her, he just didn’t know. He assumed it was their mutual desire to see Kemora destroyed.

“Then you’d better find a way.” Kemora snapped. Her voice had taken on an unnatural snake like quality. Her eyes would brighten and dim as if following the rhythm of her heart. “I’ve taken her from you J.” She crooned, a hysterical edge sharpening her words. “I’ve cut her off as cleanly as I cut my Jason.” An evil laugher bubbled up from her chest and then she sighed as if taking great pleasure from the memory. “I’m sure dearest K told you what happened to him. The slow, excruciatingly painful death he suffered as I stole his power and allowed his body to rot.” Her voice had begun to grow louder and she spat the last word as if she were physically twisting a knife in his gut. She giggled then, insanity grabbing her mind. “You have less than twelve hours before her body begins to decompose. I suggest you figure it out.” The transmission ended and the screen blanked.

“Who was that?” Rocky asked.

“Kemora.” Jason answered. “She’s Kim, just a Kim from a different dimension.”

“Let me guess,” Tommy said, “In that dimension the Turbo Rangers didn’t change her back to the good side on Muirantias.”

“The Turbo Rangers had nothing to do with it.” Jason said honestly, turning to face him. “Lerigot was too weak to harness the friendship of the Rangers. He used the love you still had for Kim to turn her around.” He didn’t care that Tommy winced at his comment; it was true. “That’s why I didn’t turn at the same time. Lerigot had to wait for Kim’s heart to be reopened, then he and Yara used the cosmic key to focus Kim’s Muirantian power and link we share to change me over. Kemora’s Tommy didn’t love her, he was in love with Katherine. That one fact changed everything.”

Friendship alone hadn’t been enough to turn Kimberly. Sweet as she was, Kimberly had an extremely competitive nature and an incredible capacity for vengeance. She had been full of jealous rage when word came of Tommy’s growing relationship with Katherine; rage that was put to good use by Maligore.

The difference between their world and Kemora’s was that Kemora’s Tommy had been truly in love with Katherine, not her. The love of friendship the Ranger’s offered had been too little for her to overcome the jealous hatred boiling in their Kimberly’s heart… and without Kimberly, Jason couldn’t be turned either.

Once born, Kemora had slaughtered the Rangers and Lerigot, her evil power growing as she drained the life-force from each of them. When they were gone, everything that had been Kimberly simply melted away. The taste for blood growing and her jealous hatred not nearly quenched, she’d turned on her Jason, killing him and stealing his powers, just as Dark Specter had turned on Maligore centuries before.

Kemora had all Kimberly’s abilities and absolutely none of her will power. She traveled from alternate dimension to alternate dimension, taking her revenge out on any Kim, Tommy, or Katherine she happened to meet. She had developed a pattern of sorts. She would travel through time and space, finding a place where a Kimberly was at just about the same point in her life that Kemora had her heart broken. She would murder the Kim, in Kemora’s mind putting her out of her misery, steal her identity, and slip back into Angel Grove. Once she had rejoined the Ranger’s circle of friends, she would brutally murder the Katherine, leaving the Tommy heartbroken to suffer the rest of his natural life.

But dimensions developed differently. About half the time she’d come across a dimension where Kimberly had never left for Florida, but stayed with her Tommy. It would have been rational to believe that Kemora would leave this couple be. It was supposedly her jealousy of Katherine that fueled her murderous desires. But these couples were more brutally destroyed than the others. Kemora was hardly a sane demon. In her mind it was far more unfair that another Kimberly should spend a happy life with Tommy when she herself had been denied that happiness. These Kimberly’s were brutally tortured, their Tommy’s often forced to watch in helpless horror. This had been the case with Thomas.

In Thomas’s dimension, his Kimberly had become pregnant in the junior year of high school. Although Katherine did substitute her position as the pink Ranger, that Kimberly never left Angel Grove. She and Tommy had married, and she had given birth to a son. Kemora had lashed out at this Kimberly, brutally tearing apart the baby and torturing Kimberly to death. Thomas had been unable to save them and held his Kimberly in his arms as she died. The experience had warped him. He was nearly as insane as Kemora.

He turned his back on his world and the Rangers, allowing the Machine Empire and later other villains to conquer it. Eventually, he also found a way to track Kemora and hunted her across time and space. Somehow, Jason wasn’t exactly sure how, Thomas had stumbled across the Kimberly in their dimension. She was Muirantian, like Kemora, but a version devoted to good. Thomas had convinced her to help him and the two had begun to track the demon together, trying to stop her before she altered too many dimensional timelines.

“That’s the strangest story I’ve ever heard.” Karone said as Jason finished. “And I know a lot of strange stories.”

“How does Kim contact Thomas?” Tommy asked.

“I don’t know.” Jason said honestly, “She just does. I’ve only been around Kim a few times when he’s showed up. There’s a buzzing noise. Once you’ve heard it you don’t forget it. Kim is able to latch on to it and find him.”

“Fascinating.” Billy said. “Kimberly is able to transport herself across time and dimensional barriers?”

“That’s the least of what they use her for.” Jason said. At Tommy’s questioning look, he hurried on, “Don’t ask. If Kemora has Kimberly, she’ll kill her.” Jason closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “She’ll do it slowly, so we have time, but we have to figure out how to call Thomas into our dimension.”

“Did I hear my name?” A figure asked, slowly moving from the shadows in the archway behind them.

“Well, well,” Kemora sneered. “How the tables have turned.”

Kimberly didn’t respond. Responding would prove nothing. The force field bound her tightly and drained her powers; She was trapped. It was the same trap Kim and Thomas had used on her nearly a year ago. She wasn’t as helpless as Kemora thought, she and Thomas had prepared for this possibility.

She had contacted him after Tommy’s encounter with the ghost. He would arrive soon; she just had to hang on. Oddly, Thomas had been to see her less than a week before to say Kemora was on the move.

Kim stared blankly at the walls of the dimension where she was held, if they could be called walls. She wondered if they were really moving flows of lava or if her eyesight was just shot. She shifted positions and focused on Kemora. The image was sharp and well defined, so it was the walls moving and not her perception of them. Exhausted, she allowed her eyes to flutter closed.

“Wake up!” Kemora screeched, slapping her painfully across the face. One slap turned into two, which turned into nearly a minute of frenzied beatings. Kemora staggered away, breathing heavily and cackling insanely. “I want you to remember every second of this.” She croaked hoarsely. She giggled again, the giggles turning into the maniacal laughter.

Kim spat blood from her mouth. Her vision blurred and Kemora seemed to double and twist up and down. She felt awful. It wasn’t the physical pounding she’d just endured. She had been beaten before. Those kind of injuries would heal in time.

“Poor K…or what is it Dulcea calls you? Kaycea?” Kemora crooned. “That’s right…you’re not Kimberly anymore are you? You’re demon spawn like me…and soon you won’t be that anymore.”

Kim felt oddly disconnected, weak, like a piece of paper that would simply blow away in the slightest breeze. She felt…human. It was an odd sensation, one she had craved for many years, but now that it was here, she didn’t like it very much. She realized she was dying. Kemora had cut her off from Muirantias and she couldn’t regenerate her power. She would have to conserve it, wait for Thomas to find her. She hoped he was not very far behind.

“How the hell did you get in here?” Jason snapped, whirling on Thomas.

“Most Command Centers only bother scanning for the biological signatures of the resident Tommy.” Thomas said, regarding Jason coolly. It was odd to see him standing there. No matter how many dimensions he traveled to, it was always unnerving to see a living and breathing Jason again. “It wasn’t that difficult to locate the energy barrier surrounding this place and break in.”

Tommy shifted his gaze from Thomas to Jason and back to Thomas again. It wasn’t the first time he’d encountered another version of himself. It was like meeting a twin, someone who looked just like you, but who had developed a bit differently.

Thomas was much older than he was or, at least, appeared to be much older than he was. He had long graying hair and kept it tied back at the base of his neck. He was far more muscular than Tommy was, as if he’d enhanced himself somehow, and he had a cold and distant look in his eyes. Jason obviously had something against Thomas. He watched him cautiously, as if waiting for an attack. Jason had told Kemora that Kim kept them separated, Tommy wondered briefly why.

“Kemora has Kimberly.” Tommy said plainly, belying the depth of the panic he felt in his chest. Thomas shifted his gaze to Tommy, slowly looking him up and down, gauging his physical strengths and weaknesses. When their eyes met, Tommy noticed something different about him; he was struggling. The movements were tiny and well concealed, but it was an effort for him to maintain an aura of calm. There was an oddness to his eyes, an echo of a broken soul. Jason was right, Thomas was insane.

Thomas broke his eye contact sharply and surveyed the room and its occupants, stopping briefly on Karone and noticing her yellow shirt. He’d been through a few other dimensions with a Karone. That she was here with this team, was an odd twist to an otherwise fairly stable dimensional outline. Trini was also back, he noted mentally. That was another stable pattern. Where Karone was a Ranger, Billy got his Trini back, where she stayed Astronima, Billy died on Aquitar. A lifetime ago, that thought would have made him smile, but now there was nothing.

Thomas hadn’t felt many emotions outside of the desire to murder Kemora for a very long time. That wasn’t quite true, he admitted to himself. K had become his friend. He couldn’t quite bring himself to call her Kimberly, the very thought of that name threatened to unleash the overwhelming pain that had all but destroyed him. He couldn’t think of her, couldn’t remember her, and couldn’t even hear her name. It was too difficult; the void would claim him again.

Kaycea, or K, was merely another form of Kemora. A weapon to be used. He didn’t think of her as another form of his Kimberly. His Kimberly had been sweet and kind and very much a little valley girl. She’d never developed the way K had. She’d never had the chance. She’d died when she was only eighteen years old…it seemed a millennia ago.

He’d chased Kemora forever. With K, at least he had a chance to destroy her once and for all. He no longer wanted to torture Kemora the way she had tortured his wife and son. Torture only allowed her the chance to escape. K had taught him that. He had a way to contain her now. When he caught up to her, it would be fast and efficient, with no wiggle room.

“She’s been cut off from her power source.” Jason said coldly and Thomas nodded. He had no doubt Kemora would use the same trap they had set for her before. It took a long time, which made it pretty much useless, but it also gave him time to go after K.

“K will be fine.” He said simply. “We were prepared for this contingency.”

“Contingency?” Jason barked, a touch of hysteria lining his voice. “Contingency? Is that all you’re capable of feeling for her? You cold-hearted bastard, her link to Muirantias has been cut off. She’s going to die a slow, painful death without a power source. She can’t regenerate.”

Thomas regarded him coolly. His words stung, but he buried the feeling. He and K had been prepared for an attack like this from Kemora. She might be a powerful demon, but Kemora was not very original. Revenge lined every aspect of her thought. In that respect, she and Thomas were very much alike. When Kemora’s spirit escaped their trap, he and K both knew that she would very likely turn around and try to put K back in it. It was always an eye for an eye with Kemora. The only surprise was that it had taken her so long.

“What do you mean, regenerate?” Trini asked.

“Maybe the two of you should fill us in.” Tommy suggested, taking a seat and indicating with his eyes that one of the two of them should begin. Thomas leaned against the wall of the Command Center archway and raised one eyebrow towards Jason. Jason struggled for a few moments, trying to gather his thoughts and decide where to begin.

“Kim and I are human,” he began, “But a little different…”

When Kim and Jason had been lowered into the Pit of Eternal Fire by Divatox, their bodies had been melted away. It was a fast process, consisting of only a few seconds, but it had been excruciating painful. Every second seemed to drag on for an eternity and they had remained conscious throughout. The pit itself was not evil; it was simply a power source. However, Maligore had been trapped there for centuries by Dark Specter and he was in control over how the power was utilized.

When the last of the ash from their bodies had dissipated, Maligore used the power in the pit to regenerate them. He used their DNA as building blocks, selectively choosing which genes to replicate and which to throw away, often sharing back and forth between the two. This effectively recreated their bodies in the same forms, but just a little different. The regeneration process had been more excruciating than the destruction phase, lasting nearly a minute, but when it was done, they were stronger and healthier than ever before.

To the casual or even slightly scrutinizing observer, there was very little differentiation between their old bodies and their new ones, except for one, very critical anomaly. There is a tiny organism called mitochondria, which energizes normal, human cells. It’s the powerhouse, the tiny battery that gives each cell the energy it needs to perform. Kim and Jason didn’t have mitochondria. It was a different organism, one that drew its power directly from the Pit of Eternal Fire. It connected them, gave them their strength, and allowed them to draw power directly from the pit itself. If Kim was cut off from it, she was cut off from the energy she needed for her cells to function. The cells would run out of energy and begin to die.

“I don’t know how much time she has.” Jason finished, emotion heavy in his voice. “I can’t feel her, I don’t know how bad it is.”

Thomas regarded him coolly. It was a bit touching how much this Jason felt for K. He honestly couldn’t remember if his Kimberly and Jason had been very close. He and his Jason had been rivals. They had developed an odd sort of friendship until his wife had been killed. After that, the two had remained distant. Thomas hadn’t blinked twice at his Jason’s death at the hands of Mondo. That was not necessarily the norm on other worlds. In most dimensions the two were nearly as close as brothers.

“All right.” Tommy said slowly, turning toward Thomas. “Your turn.”

Thomas eyed his double cautiously. Tommy was not nearly as ambivalent about K’s disappearance as he assumed he would be. He knew the history between the two very well.

He’d been surprised when this Tommy had given up his relationship with Katherine. It didn’t happen very often. Most worlds were fairly equally divided. Tommy either chose Katherine or he chose Kimberly, growing old with either one or the other. It was a very rare occurrence for him to end up with someone else, although he had encountered it.

This Tommy was obviously still struggling with his feelings toward K. This was contrary to what she had told him. K had confided in him that her Tommy wanted nothing to do with her and he accepted this information because her Tommy’s behavior was consistent with other dimensions.

She had supposedly tried to get him to take her back on more than one occasion, but he had sent her packing each time. She’d been devastated and he honestly held a soft spot in his heart for her because of it. He understood the denial of that love. Thomas had traveled across time and dimensional boundaries for hundreds of years. He had been honest with her that it was very unlikely her Tommy would change his mind. In the dimensions where Tommy left both Kim and Katherine, the Tommy would grow into a solitary figure, rebuffing the universe around him. Not too unlike the creature he himself had become.

This Tommy surprised him though, and that didn’t happen very often. He maintained an outward calm, but there was a part of him that was definitely in crisis over K’s capture. He knew that panic all too well. He hadn’t been able to save her either. He’d held her, sobbing and begging for her to stay with him, but she’d been far too weak. She hadn’t been able to speak. She just stared at him, willing him to know how much she loved him. He banished the memory forcefully. It would do him no good to re-live it now.

He honestly felt sorry for this Tommy. K was powerful, she had a chance of surviving this, but if she didn’t, this Tommy was going to lose her. It was going to break him, just as it had broken Thomas. But the reality was that the universe would be far better off if K’s body died. K was demon spawn like Kemora and, like Kemora, she’d be far more powerful without her mortal body.

“About a year ago, I discovered a way to trap Kemora.” Thomas began, skipping much of the information he knew they wanted to hear. It wasn’t relevant, and he had no desire to share it.

Thomas had discovered a type of force field that would hold a creature in-between space and dimensional barriers, yet allow them to physically age. This was not a natural phenomenon, but it was an important one. It would cut Kemora off from her power source and drain her energies, causing her body to die. In theory, both Maligore and Dark Specter had been destroyed, despite their connections to the Pit of Fire, so they were confident that Kemora would also meet her end.

They were wrong. Kemora was not Dark Specter by any stretch of the imagination, but she was demon born and a very powerful inter-dimensional sorceress. That changed the equation considerably. Her spirit had lived and traveled through time and space until she found another parallel world. Her spirit took over the body of the resident Kimberly and the killing began all over again. But there was a problem with Kemora’s new body; it wasn’t Muirantian. Kemora’s energy wore it out fairly quickly and she’d had to find another one.

Most Kimberlys who endured the Pit of Fire on Muirantias didn’t survive. They were killed either by the Rangers or they were destroyed battling their Jasons. Kemora and K were the only examples of survivors he’d ever found. It was his opinion that Kemora had set out to find another Muirantian Kimberly and steal her body. The problem was that she’d have to do it within seconds of that Kimberly emerging from the pit; otherwise the resident Kimberly would be too strong for her. It was a highly unlikely scenario and Thomas didn’t believe this had happened yet, but he couldn’t ignore the possibility.

As far as he knew, Kemora had worn out two, possibly three human Kimberlys in her search. He did know that she had recently killed because his readings indicated she was strong. It was his opinion that Kemora’s attention span just wasn’t long enough to find another Muirantian body. She needed her revenge against K now and refused to wait until she was stronger.

But either scenario really didn’t matter, they simply needed to find the dimension K was being held in, release her, and contain Kemora’s spirit. It wasn’t as dire as they seemed to think. K was also demon born, if her body was already irretrievable, at least they knew her spirit would live. The primary objective was to contain Kemora’s spirit before she could find another Muirantian body and, after a long search, he was now able to do that.

Tommy stared at Thomas, bile rising in his throat. The man had talked casually, as if his story were no more than an chapter in a book he’d recently read. He showed no emotion what so ever when he spoke of Kim, or K, as he called her. His primary concern seemed only to be that Kemora didn’t escape.

“What are the contingencies you spoke of ?” Tommy asked. Thomas shifted a bit, but then resumed his casual tone.

“She found an alternate power source.” He said simply. “A battery, if you will. If won’t keep her alive forever, but it will stabilize her body longer than Kemora is expecting. And afterward…” He shrugged, but didn’t elaborate.”

“How long?” Jason asked.

Thomas shrugged again, looking bored with them. “Maybe an extra hour or two, maybe a little more. Kemora’s body disintegrated in just under twelve hours.”

“Will you help us get Kim back safely?” Tommy asked.

Thomas smiled, if that’s what you could call it. It was evil and deadly looking. “I’ll help you capture Kemora.” He said truthfully.

Carri gasped for air as the water rushed past her on the way down the drain. It filled her lungs, icy and cold. Breathing the oxygenated water of Aquitar had been an unnerving experience. It was like suffocating and then suddenly you realized you weren’t dead at all, merely held in suspension.

“That is enough for today.” Cestria declared. Her voice sounded strange to Carri, as if she were talking underwater. All of the Aquitians sounded like that. “Return to your quarters and regenerate during the dark hours.”

“Did you have to drain that tank so fast?” Carri gasped, still adjusting to the cold air in her lungs. She shivered violently and Cestria’s assistant cautiously handed her towel like sheet. It didn’t help that she’d been dumped naked into the tank. Everyone coming in and out of the lab had stared at her; it was mortifying. Carri wrapped the sheet tightly around her scarred body and glared at Cestria’s back.

The Aquitians were an odd-looking race. They looked a lot like humans, but had obviously taken a different evolutionary path. Their heads were larger and seemed not to have a have an upper skull at all, just a thin layer of soft skin, and they had extra ridges above the eyes made of cartilage that circled back around the entire head.

While their bodies seemed almost to swim through the air in fluid movements, their heads bobbed in small jerky motions and when they twisted their necks in certain directions, Carri could see gill like flaps of skin open and close. It seemed like only the females had hair, which jutted out of the back of their ridges and females seemed to be the dominant gender.

This part of Aquitar seemed far more serine and quiet than Angel Grove. Most of the planet itself was completely covered by water, although there were a few mountain ranges that sustained a dryer environment. It had been recently conquered twice, that Carri knew of, first by something called a Hydro Hog and later by Divatox; who was the same villain that had dumped Kim and Jason into the Pit of Eternal Fire.

Carri was too new to the planet to determine if that’s why the Aquitians were so anti social to strangers. She didn’t expect a friendly greeting from Billy’s ex wife, but she thought the others might be a little more amiable.

“Did you hear me?” Carri asked shaking with the cold. Her lips and fingers were blue, but it was barely noticeable beneath the ugly purple scars.

“What do you mean?” Cestria asked absently, busying herself with other tasks around the lab and refusing to look at her.

“The tank filled and drained fast. It hurt going both ways.” Carri said, clutching the towel and willing the shivers to stop.

Cestria had filled the tank quickly with ice-cold water and Carri had panicked, thinking she was about to drown. She had drained it just as quickly, and Carri had dropped unceremoniously to the bottom of the tank, bruising her legs and arm. “The water was also painfully cold.” She added, teeth chattering. “Humans are warm blooded creatures… at least Earth humans are.”

Cestria turned and regarded her as if she were no more than an unwanted ant crawling across her laboratory. “The treatment is what it is. You will adjust.” She said plainly, head bobbing to one side.

How Billy could have had a relationship with this creature was beyond her. The woman was a bitch, by any standards. Carri understood now where some of Billy’s cold attitude came from. He had spent too many years in this place, she thought sadly. The door opened and Carri was escorted back to her assigned quarters. She was beyond exhausted and wondered briefly if it was the treatment or if Cestria had drugged her.

Teeth chattering, and still naked under the thin cloth, she slid into the narrow plastic bunk and turned the heating element up as high as it would go. She wanted to go home. She didn’t care if she was disfigured for life or even if the metal poisoning her body killed her. She wanted to go back to her own world…but that wouldn’t solve anything.

Carri had never considered herself vain, but the loss of physical beauty had been far harder for her than she’d realized possible. The sad truth was that Billy’s treatments at home would only change the color of the scars, the raised, angry looking tissue was permanent unless she underwent the aquatic treatments here.

Billy had gently explained to her that the skin itself was beyond damaged. It could be repaired, but it would never be normal again. Even with extreme intervention, it would never entirely smooth out and she would never tan evenly. She would have to avoid the sunlight for the rest of her life. As a former beach worshiper and someone who enjoyed nearly all outdoor activities, that was going to be a difficult transition.

She not only had to deal with the external aspects of her condition, but the internal ones as well. Carri’s immune system was still in overdrive and she was also suffering from metal poisoning. Billy had put her through several chelating procedures, but massive amounts of metal, particularly aluminum, still poisoned the cells of her body. As the hives seemed to be the source of that aluminum, they had to be removed as quickly as possible; which was going to be an enormous task.

Billy had been willing to use his influence to send her to Aquitar, had been willing to civilly communicate with his ex wife again to help her. She needed to grit her teeth and see this through. The Aquitian Rangers were out on an assignment, perhaps things would be better when they returned and she wasn’t left solely at the mercy of Cestria and her flunkies.

Her thoughts drifted back to her condo and Rocky and she burst into tears. She was beyond homesick. She didn’t care if she had to stay; she still wanted to go home.

“Try again.” Elemi said, frustration seeping through his normally calm voice. This wasn’t right. They had been trying to contact Kimberly for several hours and still no response. They had located another Power Coin. Kimberly had agreed that she would return as soon as she was needed to procure the coins. Without her help, they were stuck.

Elemi knew the basics of coin retrieval, but without Kimberly, it would be a long and arduous process. They didn’t have that long. Teeg’s spies were sure to clue in to their movements sooner or later. They needed to get in and get out as soon as possible.

He had ordered the ship to a dead halt several systems short of their target, just in case anyone was watching. Kimberly should have answered by now. He’d been a Ranger too long to ignore the unsettling feeling he had.

“Perhaps we should try a different approach.” He said slowly, staring at the stars outside the ship’s view screen. “Contact Jason.”

“Yes sir.” Kee said as she changed frequencies. She risked a tentative look at Garan. He met her gaze and returned her unsettled look.

Kim was beginning to feel the effects of the force field. There was a buzzing in her head and aches in all her muscles. She felt incredibly tired, as if she had a terrible case of the flu. It was an odd sensation. She hadn’t been sick in years. She had spent the last decade bemoaning the fact that she was no longer really human, but now that mortality was once again raising its ugly head, she began to think living another few thousand years wasn’t such a bad problem to have.

Kemora, however, was bored and restlessly shifted from one side of the small chamber to the other. Not nearly enough time had passed, but she was already fed up with waiting. “What’s keeping him?” she muttered, she needed something to smash. Her eyes fell on the glowing straps holding Kim in place and a wicked grin spread across her face. She sauntered over and meticulously turned up the power.

Kim twisted and moaned in pain as the bands grew hotter, pulling more and more energy out of her. Every cell in her body felt as if it was on fire.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Kemora crooned. “I’ve kept the power low, so you’d last longer, but you two didn’t show me the same consideration, did you?” She snarled, turning the power up higher. “I want you to suffer K. I want you to suffer like I did before you lose your body and your spirit floats helplessly and alone until you figure out just what the hell happened to you. It’s so lonely out there…you have no idea.”

Kim didn’t answer, she bit her lip until it bloodied and then she howled in pain. Kemora smiled in pleasure at the sound. Kim started to lose consciousness and she turned the power down a bit.

“That won’t do at all.” She crooned as if talking to a very small child. “You have to stay awake until Thomas gets here. He cares about you. Despite his best efforts to regard you merely as a piece of machinery... he’s let you get to him.” She cackled and twisted her hair around her finger. “Yes dearest, I’m afraid you have to stay awake until he can see you die, just like his little wifey. It’ll push him over the edge to see her dying all over again. He’ll make a mistake…and then I’ll destroy him.”

“You can’t trust him bro.” Jason said earnestly, pulling Tommy out of earshot from the others. He didn’t like this plan, he didn’t like it one bit.

“We can trust him to keep Kemora busy.” Tommy said softly, eyes scanning Thomas’s movements around the Command Center. Billy had sent Trini back to the lab for her own safety and Tommy silently wished he could send Karone away too. He didn’t like the way Thomas kept eyeing her and he’d called her Astronima more than once. She’d held her own though, silently ignoring him.

Thomas had made it his business to study each of them and the new Command Center in general. Everything about Thomas made him uneasy, but he knew Kemora and they didn’t. Jason had admitted to running into her twice, but Kim had done her best to keep the demon well away from him. The result was that he’d never really fought her, just participated in a minor skirmish or two.

“Why does Kim keep you separated from Thomas?” Tommy asked.

“You have to ask?” Jason replied sarcastically. He knew full well Tommy was aware of Thomas’s oddness. “I don’t know why Kim’s kept up her contact with him. Hell, I don’t know half the stuff she does let alone the whys. Ever since she fell in with Mother Rita, she’s stopped confiding in me.”

“Is there anything else you can tell me about him?” Tommy asked.

Jason made a frustrated sound. “Kim swore me to secrecy on most of it.” He said. He was beginning to agree with Tommy, the Rangers had too many secrets. “I can tell you he betrayed her.”

Tommy’s eyebrow rose a bit in surprise. “You want to elaborate?”

“She forgave him.” Jason said disgustedly. “All I can tell you is that he uses her. She’s no better than a tool to him and she’s got some crazy idea she can save him and turn him back around… The guy turned his back on his world, it was conquered and the all the Rangers died. As far as I know that entire dimension turned to evil …and she still wants to save him from himself.”

Tommy digested what Jason had to say and considered his options. There weren’t many of them and Kim was out of time. He fought the constriction in his chest when he thought of Kim. He’d been too late the last time she needed him on Muirantias, he wasn’t about to fail her a second time. “We don’t have a choice, we have to use his experience.”

Both of them turned their eyes to Thomas, who was staring calmly back at them. “The deactivation keys are ready. Are you ready to assemble your team?” he asked. He had little faith in this dimension’s Rangers. How it had spawned something as powerful as K, he wasn’t sure. These Rangers were still using the Zeo crystals against Rita and Zedd of all creatures. He didn’t need them, he had Kemora exactly where he wanted her, but the truth of the matter was that he honestly wanted K to live. For that, he needed them.

It was the weak link in the plan. He knew that if he was serious about destroying Kemora, he should let K die. Her spirit would live on anyway, it was just the shell that would disappear. But he liked the idea of K growing up and growing old. His beautiful little girl hadn’t had the chance and he’d seen far too many Kimberlys die young.

“Call Rocky back.” Tommy said to Billy. “Let’s move.”

“So what do you think?” Rocky asked.

“I think you’re insane.” Adam answered plainly. Rocky had been the last person he expected to show up on his doorstep. He had spent the last hour filling him in on Carri’s condition and Kim’s disappearance. “Does Tommy even know you’re here?”

“No.” Rocky admitted, “I wanted to ask you first. This whole idea isn’t worth anything if you’re not willing.”

“You want me to temporarily take your powers.” Adam said, half not believing what he’d just heard.

“You’re the only one I know that would give them back.” Rocky answered truthfully and Adam laughed. It was an insane idea and Tommy would never go for it.

“Come on Adam, I can’t let Carri do this by herself. She’s all alone and she’s in pain. We all know the horror stories Billy came back with.”

Adam sighed heavily. Hindsight was always twenty-twenty. They had all thought it strange that Billy didn’t want to return from Aquitar, but Billy had always been a bit odd. They had genuinely wished him well. Katherine had even gone so far as to say she was happy that he’d fallen in love. None of them had ever suspected Cestria had orchestrated the whole thing or that Billy was being kept against his will.

“You said the Aquitian Rangers were watching out for her. I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Adam I have to go… what if it were Tanya?”

“Then I would never have let her go by herself.” Adam admitted. “All right. If Tommy agrees to it, I’ll fill in until you get back from Aquitar… I can’t believe I just said that.”

Rocky grinned. “I really appreciate it, you have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

“Let’s just hope Tonya doesn’t strangle me for not talking to her about it first.” Tanya was on tour in Alabama. He was supposed to join her in a few days after he wrapped up his production work in New York. He honestly didn’t think she’d mind, but he knew he should talk to her about it. Rocky’s communicator beeped and they both jumped at the sound.

“That’s the signal to re-group at the Command Center.” Rocky said. “They must have a plan for rescuing Kim. You ready?”

“Now?” Adam asked incredulously. “You’re serious?”

“Well we can’t make the transfer mid rescue.”

“You’ve lost it.” Adam said, standing up. “Tommy’s going to skin you alive if you pull this kind of stunt on him, especially if Kim’s in danger. We should take a few seconds and figure this out a little better.”

“We’ll figure it out at the Command Center.” Rocky said, grabbing his arm and transporting them both back to the west coast.

“Carri?” A voice called softly and Carri woke with a start, all but jumping off the narrow plastic bed. Her eyes focused on the Aquitian woman kneeling in front of her and she relaxed, remembering where she was.

“I am Delphine. I apologize that I was not able to greet you earlier.” The woman said in the strange bubble like voice all Aquitians seemed to have.

“It’s all right. Ranger duties come first.” Carri said, sitting up and wrapping the cloth more tightly around her. She’d been curled up tight in a fetal position under it, but the damp towel had chilled more than warmed.

“I am no longer a morphing Ranger.” Delphine admitted. “But my duties now are no less.”

Carri smiled at her warmly and then remembered the greeting Billy had taught her. She placed her fingers in a triangular pattern and repeated the words as accurately as she could. Delphine gave her a smile and warmly returned the greeting. She was taller than the other Aquitian females Carri had seen. She had the same protruding head and large pink and bluish ridges around her eyes, but she also had a long mane of light brown hair that hung silkily down her back. The eyes that regarded Carri softly were kind and Carri was very grateful to see a friendly face.

“You have already undergone you first treatment.” Delphine stated. At least, Carri didn’t think she asked a question. “How- did- it -go?” Delphine formed the words carefully, with some difficulty, and Carri realized that she was purposely trying to be less formal and use the type of slang she thought would be comforting.

“All right, I guess.” Carri said, clutching the sheet a little closer and playing nervously with the edge. Delphine noticed the movements and sensed Carri’s uncertainty.

“Are you in pain?” Delphine asked and Carri gave a halfhearted snort. She was perpetually in pain. The scar tissue was overly tight and it had burned uncomfortably since the first treatment. The chill from the water had also settled into her and she felt nauseous. She was miserable, both physically and mentally.

“Everything seems to hurt worse than before,” She admitted. At Delphine’s puzzled look she said, “The water was frigid. I guess humans are different than Aquitians. I don’t like cold water; I can still feel the chill all the way in my bones. I ache and I’m really tired.”

“If you are cold, would you… perhaps… find some benefit in clothing?” Delphine suggested diplomatically. All of the Earth humans she had been exposed to appeared to prefer clothing, but she had heard of some that had vowed never to wear it. She didn’t know exactly where this human stood on such issues. Aquitians were a prudish race; nudity was unacceptable to them. They took great pains to cover themselves at all times.

“I would if I knew what happened to my clothes.” Carri said and Delphine empathically felt a surge of insecurity emanate from the girl.

“What do you mean?” She asked, an uneasy feeling overcoming her. She knew she should not have left Billy’s friend alone with Cestria, but the emergency could not have been helped.

The political parties on her planet were in the process of changing hands. Delphine had to make sure her institution weathered that change and retained its funding. She was a former Ranger, which made it easier for her than for others, but the new head of state was not a fan of the research they did here or the politics it stood for.

“I was stripped naked as soon as I arrived and dumped in a clear tank for everyone to gawk at.” Carri said indignantly, tears spilling down her cheeks. She didn’t care at this point if she looked like an idiot in front of Delphine. She was miserable and needed desperately to confide in someone. “When Cestria took me out of the tank, one of the techs handed me this sheet and then I was sent here. There’s no clothing anywhere; I looked.”

Delphine stood up slowly and Carri sensed more than saw the anger in her. “This is unacceptable. This is not the appropriate way to treat a distinguished visitor and friend. I apologize Carri, yellow Zeo Ranger.”

“Maybe she didn’t understand I would be offended.” Carri offered lamely. She hadn’t meant for Delphine to get angry, she just needed to vent a little.

“We do not believe in public displays of nudity, it is offensive in our culture.” Delphine replied. “Cestria acted out of vengeance to her former mate. Not even the worst prisoners are treated so cruelly. I assure you that such an indignity will not be suffered by you again.”

Delphine knelt back down so that she was below eye level with Carri. It was a supplicant position and one she hoped the girl would find comforting. She needed to re-assure the girl first and then deal with her own anger later. Clearing her mind, she continued in a firm, but more gentle tone. “I will send someone for your clothing and have you fitted for thermal suits which are appropriate to wear during our cold season. I will also have you examined for hypothermia. I know enough of your race to know you require warm water…as does Cestria. I apologize Yellow Zeo Ranger. Cestria’s behavior warrants chastisement. I will see that your needs are better accommodated.”

“That’s fine.” Carri said, shrugging it off. “Reprimanding her will only make her strike out harder next time. For the time being I’m at her mercy. Please don’t make a big deal out of it. If she thinks she got the better of me, then she wins. I would prefer it if you said nothing… but I would still appreciate the clothes.”

“You are very wise for one so young.” Delphine said softly, head bobbing slightly in the jerky movements that the Aquitians made.

“Hey, I’m not exactly a spring chicken.” Carri quipped. “I’ve dealt with more than one vengeful ex.” Carri thought briefly of Marie, but that just brought up more thoughts of Rocky, and the tears spilled down her cheeks all over again.

“A...spring…” Delphine’s head began to jerk more rapidly and Carri held up her hand.

“I’m not that young. I’m pretty much the same age as Billy.” She said.

Delphine seemed to consider this for a moment. “Your species appears to mature faster than our own. Forgive me, I intended no offense.”

“None taken.” Carri said lightly, thinking to herself that Delphine seemed less than convinced she wasn’t a child.

“Do you require nourishment?”

“Am I hungry?” Carri asked. “Yes, but I have to be careful what I eat…my immune system...”

Delphine appeared to nod. “I have been made aware of your requirements.” She said simply. Then added, “Billy enjoyed my company when he needed to replenish his caloric intake. Would you like me to return and sit with you?”

“I’d like that very much.” Carri said, homesickness returning full force.

“Then continue your rest.” She said. “ I will arrange for clothing and food to be sent to you and I will return within the hour.”

Delphine’s head ached painfully, but she remained calm for the sake of Billy’s friend. Carri was a female Power Ranger, a revered being on Aquitar. No matter what Cestria’s feelings for her former mate, this had been unacceptable behavior. The girl was ill, because of an injury suffered in the defense of her planet no less. It would have been beyond a political nightmare if she had died on her first night here.

The Aquitians worshiped heroes. They held them up as high standards of moral goodness and righteousness. The Rangers were viewed as almost godlike defenders of peace and security in the galaxy. Cestria had stripped an actively morphing Ranger naked and displayed her scarred body publicly; it was horrific. Delphine couldn’t be sure, but she was also concerned the cold water might have affected her as well. The girl had leaked water from her eyes; that couldn’t be a good sign. Delphine had never seen a human cry before and was seriously concerned for her health. It was not difficult to warm water, Cestria was more than familiar with an Earth human’s requirements. By all the Power’s goodness, she had a nightmare on her hands if word of her actions ever leaked publicly. The first thing she needed to do was to discover just how many had seen Carri in that tank and swear them to silence.

As soon as she saw to the girl’s needs she would physically strangle Cestria. She was certainly angry enough. This facility was already in trouble for the wayward scientist’s actions toward Billy a few years before. He had dropped all criminal charges against his ex wife and remained quiet for the sake of the Rangers, but Delphine didn’t believe friendship would be enough of a deterrent if Billy found out his friend had been harmed. The fact that he was willing to trust them again with the care of his comrade was a huge coup for Delphine politically. All she needed now was for Cestria to harm another Ranger. It would shame them forever, they would be ruined and their lives and careers worth nothing.

“Thank you Delphine.” Carri said earnestly, bringing her attention into the present. She smiled warmly at the girl as the she backed to the door and made a polite gesture of goodbye.

As the door slid shut, Carri laid back down on the bed. So Cestria had already played her first card by striping her naked, she thought bitterly. Well, she wasn’t all that surprised. The Aquitians weren’t at all what she’d been expecting. They were known throughout the galaxy for being overly polite and docile. Carri was beginning to suspect that they weren’t such a meek race after all. She’d have to think long and hard about getting Billy’s ex back. How, she wasn’t sure. She needed to wait and bide her time.

Once she learned the rules of this game, Cestria was in for a huge surprise. That bitch had chosen the wrong female to pick a fight with.

“Adam.” Billy said in surprise, as Rocky transported them both into the Command Center. “What are you doing here?”

Tommy turned around and silently asked the same question. At least Adam thought it was Tommy. He turned around and saw Karone, nodded briefly to her, and then spotted the one Rocky had called Thomas. His friend was right, the guy was weird, even for a Tommy.

“Adam’s going to be filling in for me.” Rocky said, taking off his communicator and handing it, along with his crystal and morpher to Adam.

“Wait.” Adam said, pushing them back at Rocky. “I said if Tommy agreed. You haven’t explained it yet.”

“All right.” Tommy said in a hard, even tone, coming face to face with Rocky. “Explain.” He didn’t like using that tone with Rocky. Rocky was his friend and another former red, but his patience was extinguished and he was worried sick over Kim. He didn’t have time for this. Rocky backed up a step, but held his ground.

“The whole time we thought Kim was dead, all I could think about was that it could have been Carri. Tommy, I let her go to Aquitar alone. What kind of a man am I? She’s alone and she’s in pain and the truth is we still don’t know if she’s going to survive this. She needs me and I need to be there with her. You certainly don’t need me here on the team when my heart and my mind aren’t with you… I can’t focus and I’m a liability to the team.”

Tommy closed his eyes and forcibly willed patience. That little speech was obviously well rehearsed. He had an angry retort for his friend about responsibility and a jibe about abandoning a teammate when they were in trouble, but he couldn’t make himself form the words. The truth was, he could honestly empathize with Rocky, but he didn’t like it. Kim was in serious trouble and this was wasting precious time. He was too tired and worried to care if perhaps Rocky was going through the same thing over Carri. He leveled a cold look on Adam. “Suit up.” He said, turning his back on them.

Rocky breathed a huge sigh of relief. He knew he should stay and go after Kim, but he had also been honest with Tommy. He was not mentally focused on the team and that could prove deadly for Kim. He gave Adam a look of relief mixed with uncertainty, but Adam just stared back as if Rocky had completely lost it. This was not a good situation to be coming into and Tommy was obviously not happy.

The other members of the team looked uncomfortable too. Jason gave them both a tolerant look, but he was obviously not pleased either. He tossed the disk he’d been studying on the consol and turned to follow Tommy. Billy shook his head, but said nothing and Karone just shifted uncomfortably and wondered what she’d gotten herself into. Silence ruled the Command Center while Tommy collected his thoughts and rearranged his strategy to suit Adam’s strengths instead of Rocky’s.

Thomas eyed the situation evenly. This was an odd universe to be caught up in. They let their feelings dictate too much. True, Rocky’s love interest was apparently very ill, but there was no way he would have allowed a teammate to back out minutes before a mission.

He wasn’t sure what had become of his Rocky. He didn’t think he had shifted to the Turbo Powers with the others, but he knew the boy had never been in love. He had seen a Carri version in other universes. He knew she was Katherine’s cousin, but in most dimensions she was a mousy little thing. He had only encountered a few variations where she became a Ranger, but in those she was securely paired off with Rocky. He made another mental note of this timeline’s differences.

That this Carri had been sent to Aquitar was certainly new, she must have been badly injured. He shook his head mentally, how differently they all developed. It was probably a good thing Carri and Rocky were out of the equation. If Kemora knew there was a Ranger version of Katherine’s cousin running around in this dimension, she might change her strategy. It was going to be difficult enough to get K out undamaged. If it was even still possible, he thought ruefully. Kemora never played by the rules, who knew what settings she would use for that force field. If K pissed her off too much, she might already be gone.

“We have time to go over this once.” Tommy growled, looking very much like Thomas. “So listen up.”

“Sir…” Kee said softly, coming up behind Elemi’s command chair.

“What is it Kee?” He answered.

“Jason’s not responding either.”

Elemi swiveled the chair around to face her. “You’ve tried all frequencies?”

“Yes sir.”

Kee watched the play of emotions across Elemi’s face. She was no longer afraid of him, as she had been before taking the pink Nova powers, but she was still cautious. Being thrust into a position of second in command had been difficult for her, but it had also been liberating. She was no longer the little mouse everyone ignored. People nodded and saluted her when she walked down the corridors.

She discovered she had a talent for strategy, but Elemi struggled with the tolerance needed for her to develop it. She felt, correctly, that he didn’t enjoy the task of training her. Garan had far more patience with her. Her eyes shifted over to where he stood by Elemi’s chair and he nodded slightly, filling the silence created by their commander and allowing her to relax a little while she waited for a response.

Elemi was struggling for composure. Something wasn’t right. Not only was Kimberly not responding, but Jason had ignored his communication request as well. Teeg was no longer on Earth. Intelligence reports indicated she had recently returned to her armada. What could possibly have happened on Kim’s home world? Bile rose in his throat and he struggled to remain calm. Something was definitely wrong.

“Change course.” Elemi said suddenly, startling Kee. “We go to Earth.”

“Yes sir.” Kee said, heart fluttering a little. She turned to the crew, lowering her shoulders and her voice into a firm command in the way Garan had taught her. “Shift hyper drive sequences and prepare to recalibrate jump coordinates.”

“What’s going on…” Teeg mused softly. The Enzway had simply stopped and sat dead in space. Scans indicated there was nothing wrong with the ship. Something wasn’t right.

“You have a communication from Earth.” Rexo’s deep voice rumbled behind her. She turned and regarded him with irritation.

Spines protracted and retracted beneath the surface of his blue skin in disgusting fluid motions. His center, dragon’s head, regarded her calmly back while the two bald lions on each of his shoulders growled softly at one another. The three heads were constantly bickering back and forth and fighting for dominance. When the dragon was in charge, Rexo was actually a decent companion, but when it grew tired and the lions took control, he was beyond annoying.

“Not now.” Teeg hissed. Elemi would move soon. She could feel it. She wouldn’t lose him.

“Your emissary reports that the coins have moved and are now located in the same position on the planet’s surface.” Rexo’s center head rumbled softly.

Teeg hissed and spat, but remained seated in her chair. This was unexpected, to say the least. Kimberly would never be that stupid. Putting two coins on one planet was moronic enough, but to put them together in one place at the same time?”

“He also regrets to inform you that the Ranger known as Kimberly has been terminated.”

“What?” Teeg screeched, jumping from her chair and coming to a halt just centimeters from Rexo’s center head. She ignored the lion’s heads hissing beside her.

“Perhaps I did not hear you correctly.” She snarled. Kimberly dead? Impossible. Kimberly was one of the Muirantian twins, demon spawned; they didn’t die. The body sometimes did, but the spirit itself lived on. A disembodied Kimberly would make little difference in the short run, but she would not be an easy foe to defeat when it came time to release her master. How in the name of every hell in the universe had those bumbling idiots managed to kill her?

“The Ranger Kimberly has been terminated.” Rexo repeated, voice devoid of emotions. It amused him to watch panic spread over Teeg’s face. The witch was far too arrogant. It was a pleasure to see her thwarted occasionally.

“My queen, the Enzway has changed course and entered hyperspace once again.” The viratron reported, keeping what it hoped was a safe distance from its master.

“Do we have its coordinates?” She hissed. If the fools had lost that ship she’d gut them all. Then she’d make a new crop, beginning with Rita and Zedd.

“Systems indicate they have set a course for Earth.”

Teeg’s head cocked to one side. Of course, she thought. Elemi must have heard the news that Kimberly was dead and panicked. Rumor had it he was still enthralled by his young lover… he must be crushed, she mused. Her ears lay back in irritation as another idea formulated. With Kimberly gone, no one would be on Earth to protect the coins.

“He’s going after those coins.” She hissed, her voice low and raspy. A growl rumbled up from her chest and she emitted a loud cat’s hiss. It was deep and deadly, like a panther and the viratrons at the controls of the ship shifted nervously. Hers was the much faster ship, she could still outrun him.

“Change course.” She rasped. “Get me to Earth before Elemi reaches it or I will turn the lot of you to ash.”

Kemora knew the moment Thomas entered the dimensional cell. “You fool!” She screeched. “You actually showed up.”

Thomas scanned the area briefly, noting K’s lifeless form held by the pulsing constrictor bands he’d created for Kemora. He felt a brief surge of despair, but buried it deep. K was not his Kimberly.

He circled Kemora warily. There was no need to measure each other. They had fought for centuries. They knew each other’s strengths, their weaknesses, even the pattern of attack one or the other would use.

“It’s over Kemora.” Thomas growled. “It ends here.” He backed her away from where K was restrained. As he suspected, Kemora lost all interest in her the moment he’d appeared. True to his word, he sent the signal to the others. A few seconds later, he attacked; hopefully buying them the time they needed to slip in and steal her away.

Tommy and the others appeared, fully morphed, an instant later and immediately set about deactivating the bands that held Kim. Her beaten body was lifeless on the small table and Tommy’s heart sank as he noticed the grayness to her skin and the blue color of her lips and nails. She was supposed to have had a backup power source. Either it had failed or they had seriously underestimated Kemora’s capacity for revenge.

As Tommy keyed the last deactivation sequence, Jason grabbed her and lifted her from the table. She was listless, her arms and head hanging limply. He quickly removed his helmet and gloves and placed his hands on each side of her head, just as he’d done the night of the reunion, and allowed red energy to flow freely from him into her. Her eyes fluttered briefly, and he relaxed a bit, but the relief was short lived. He couldn’t renew the connection. She could absorb his energy, but the link they shared wouldn’t re-activate.

“I don’t think so.” Kemora howled, when she noticed the Rangers. She sprang on Tommy attacking with a viciousness that surprised him, and tossed him through the air behind Jason and Kim. The others formed a protective barrier and Jason called for Billy to transport them out.

They were seconds from getting her back to the Command Center, but Kemora was one step ahead of them. She laughed the same, hysterical laughter they had heard before as red lightning bolts sprang from her fingertips. The bolts became red clay putties, which attacked almost immediately.

The Rangers re-grouped, Jason shielding Kim with his body. Kemora continued to laugh and generate more putties until the Rangers were forced back, circling Kim and Jason in a last ring of defense. Hundreds of putties filed in around them, taking up any and all usable space to move. The crush was suffocating. All the while Kemora laughed. “Stupid Rangers.” She cackled. “I’ve destroyed you in countless dimensions. Did you honestly believe you had any hope of thwarting me? I know every move, every variation, and every weakness. I’ve succeeded countless times.”

Behind the crush, Tommy saw Thomas’s vapid form silently regard them. As far as he could tell, Kemora had forgotten about him. Yet, he appeared to do nothing.

Anger rose up from his gut and Tommy wished with all his might he could strangle his alternate. Just as he was about to curse Thomas aloud, his hand came up, unseen by Kemora. Inside his palm was a clear glass orb. Thomas chanted something and the orb grew bright white. When the light hit her, Kemora arched back, fingers and arms spread wide, as if she’d been hit by a large current of electricity. Her face betrayed her surprise and she howled with indignity. “Nooooo!” She screeched.

As the light encompassed her, it twisted and turned her image in a grotesque caricature of light and sound and the putties evaporated in a cloud of red and black smoke. There was one last surge of energy that appeared to explode from the center of Kemora and mushroom outward. Then the energy retreated back into the globe and after one final pulse of light, the globe darkened.

Thomas said nothing, simply walked forward and caught Kemora’s body before it dropped to the ground. It seemed to shrink, growing thinner and more frail. The long hair shortened and streaked with blonde and when her eyes fluttered open they were no longer glowing red with the black diamond slits, but had resumed the soft brown eyes of Kimberly. Thomas knelt down then, gently cradling the girl.

“Where am I?” She whispered softly.

“In an alternate dimension.” Thomas answered in a sympathetic tone. The girl hadn’t asked to be taken over by Kemora.

“You’re not Tommy.” She said weakly.

Thomas shook his head no. “I’m merely a reflection of him sweetheart.” He said gently. How many Kimberlys had Kemora killed? He honestly didn’t know. This one was painfully young. Despite the layers of ice surrounding his heart, Thomas felt for her. Why this girl’s death should touch him when so many others hadn’t, he didn’t know.

“What’s going on?” Tommy asked, moving forward and removing his helmet. The girl had heard his voice, but continued to stare up at Thomas. As he approached, he realized that she was very young, perhaps only fifteen or sixteen. The black leather suit was gone and the girl was dressed in the kind of pink tank top and biker shorts Kim would have worn in high school. It was a living reflection of the Kim he had known so long ago. The girl seemed no more than a baby, yet a silver, old-fashioned communicator encircled her wrist.

“Kemora hadn’t drained all of her life force yet.” Thomas said blankly. “The girl lives, but I don’t know for how long.”

“And Kemora?” Tommy asked.

“Contained.” Thomas growled, but his features softened a bit when he realized he had frightened the girl.

“Can you get her back where she belongs?” Tommy asked.

“I have no idea where to even start.” Thomas said, almost helplessly.

“Tommy?” Adam said, hesitant to interrupt him. “We have a problem.”

“Kim?” Tommy asked, concern edging his voice.

“Jason still can’t make the connection.” Adam said. “He’s really worried.”

“We need to get her back to the Command Center.” Tommy said, pushing past Adam and walking over to Kimberly. She looked a bit better. The awful blue color in her lips had softened and she seemed a little less like a limp rag doll.

“That’s the other problem.” Adam said from behind him.

“Someone’s blocking the transporter.” Karone said and Tommy turned to face her. “How?” He asked.

“Someone apparently traced our last transport to the point of origin and has sealed it off. Billy can get us out of here, but he can’t get us anywhere near NASADA.”

“That’s not all.” Jason said, holding Kim tight and rubbing her arms as if to warm her up and get the circulation going again. “We’ve got at least five monsters out in the desert approaching the UAOH base where the zords are stored.”

“Can Billy get us out there?” Tommy asked.

“Yes, but we’ll have to take Kim with us.”

“Then we bring her.”

“She’s really weak.” Jason hesitated.

“Do we have a choice?” Tommy asked.

Thomas walked over to them, carrying the younger version of Kim. “This is where I leave you.” He said plainly.

“Kimberly needs help.” Tommy said, standing up and facing him. “ You know how that force field cut off her power source, how do we reconnect it?”

“You don’t.” Thomas said plainly.

“I don’t have time to argue this.” Tommy growled shifting his body into a fighting stance.

“Neither do I.” Thomas countered, shifting the weight of the girl in his arms. “The girl might have a chance to survive this, K doesn’t. I’m sorry Tommy, I honestly am. The phoenix crystal has already activated and will absorb the last of her power. It’s too late for K. I’m going to try and help the girl.”

“What’s the phoenix crystal?” Tommy asked.

“I’m sorry Tommy.” Thomas repeated and, turning, vanished in a surge of white light and the buzzing zacada sound.

“Damn him,” Jason spat.

“What’s the phoenix crystal?” Tommy asked.

“I have no idea.” Jason said, frustration edging his words.

“Give her to me.” Tommy said. Jason looked like he was going to argue the matter and Tommy shot him a hard look before putting his helmet back on. Jason reluctantly handed her over and replaced his own helmet and gloves.

“All right Billy,” Tommy called, the others standing in formation around him. “Take us a safe distance from those monsters.”

Billy sent the group to a site just outside the zord compound where they quickly regained their bearings and spread out. It was up in the hills, very close to where the original Power Chamber had stood. On any other day, Tommy would have enjoyed being up there, but today was very different. He gently laid Kimberly down behind a large grouping of rocks, easing her back against the slope so that her head was elevated. She blinked at the bright sunlight, but showed no other awareness that she knew where she was. “I’ll get you back to the Command Center just as soon as Billy gets whatever’s interfering with the transport system shut down.” He promised. He caressed her hair gently and she surprised him by turning toward his hand. “ Can you hear me?” He asked hopefully.

She looked up at him, a small frown on her face, and smiled softly as his helmet came into focus. If she had managed to say anything, he couldn’t hear it, the speakers in his helmet were full of demands from the others to come join the fight. “I promise I’ll get you help just as soon as I can.” He hugged her gently and rejoined the others.

Kimberly settled back against the rocks. It was too late for help, she realized sadly. Perhaps if Kemora hadn’t turned up the power so forcefully she would have had a chance, but she’d known for a while now that it was over. The phoenix crystal had long since activated. It was the last card she had to play against Teeg and the Demonking.

The phoenix crystal would protect her from the field only until the point of no return, when her body was beyond healing. If anything should happen to her, there was no guarantee that her spirit would remain in this dimension. Even if it did, she didn’t know if she would have any power to help them. Kim wasn’t immortal, but she had been regenerated as demon spawn. Technically, her spirit would be able to live outside her mortal shell, like Kemora, but Kim had renounced Maligore’s legacy and devoted her life to good. She simply didn’t know what exactly would happen to her spirit; no one did.

The crystal would absorb the remainder of her powers, giving the next user the her ability to teleport and, more importantly, collect the coins and reassemble them back into one of the cosmic keys that had sealed Demonking away. It was her legacy; a last gift to her friends.

She was a little sad that it was actually over, although it had been a good run, she mused. There was no pain anymore, just an overwhelming fatigue. Life had gone by far too quickly, she thought wistfully. She only had a few regrets, but soon those wouldn’t matter anymore. The ground vibrated slightly and she smiled, wishing she could join the fight one more time.

“Sir, scanners indicate a large battle being fought outside the city limits.” Kee reported. “We show four morphed Rangers, one of which we’ve identified as Jason.”

“And Kimberly?” He asked.

“We’ve detected a faint, unmorphed life sign for her located just outside the battle area.”

“She’s hurt then?” He asked, a hint of emotion betraying his normally calm voice.

“Unknown sir.”

“On screen.” He demanded.

Elemi set his jaw in a tight line, one cheek muscle twitching slightly. She was injured, that was the only way she and Jason would both have ignored his call. The main viewer showed a battle out in the desert, not far from the city itself. Four morphed Rangers fighting five monsters and several squadrons of claybots was hardly a fair fight. As he watched, the blue Ranger took a particularly hard blow and de-morphed. As his comrades tried to get near him, the claybot attack intensified and he saw Teeg herself transport to the surface.

“Assemble the Rangers.” He ordered, standing up and striding off the bridge area toward the main docking bay. “Initiate pulsar sequences on my mark.”

Adam was down and Tommy couldn’t get to him. He had yelled for Billy to transport him out, take him anywhere but the battle sight, but Billy’s garbled transmission had come back that all transport systems were down. Everything was jammed. They couldn’t get in or out of the Command Center and the zords couldn’t break free of the shield around the UAOH base where they were stored. To make matters worse, a small army of viratrons looked to be stringing a massive chain of detonation devices around the entire perimeter of the base. How the hell Teeg had managed to get this much information on them and cripple them this quickly both shocked and infuriated him.

The monster in front of him looked and smelt like a bad mixture of old sushi and the others were just as bad. Putrid ooze gushed forward from the things and he slipped and slid on the wet sand below his feet. Viratrons and claybots were everywhere and he howled his frustration as he kicked and punched the latest five to block his way.

He hadn’t noticed Teeg’s approach until a few seconds ago and he was nearly powerless to do anything about it. Jason had also noticed Teeg and was edging diagonally toward her. Tommy calculated his trajectory and altered his method of attack to intersect him. Things just seemed to go from bad to worse. For the first time in a long while, he was seriously concerned about the outcome. Kim wasn’t the only one in danger anymore. They all were.

“Well, what have we here?” Teeg purred as she casually prodded Adam with the toe of her boot. She wasn’t concerned with the battle raging around her. Four morphed Rangers were hardly a threat without their zords. She hadn’t wanted to play so many of her cards this early, but with Kimberly gone and the coins about to be moved, she was forced to act. “Small little thing aren’t you?”

Adam tried to focus on the woman in front of him, but his eyes wouldn’t obey him. Everything was blurred and bloodied and seemed twisted to one side. Why the monsters would go after him with such veracity baffled him. He vaguely thought maybe the woman in front of him had something against Rocky. More likely, she had something against Carri and thought she was going after her boyfriend. Of all times so switch uniform colors, he thought bitterly.

“You haven’t killed me.” He said with a bit of effort, turning and spitting the blood out of his mouth. “So I assume you want something.”

“Perceptive of you.” Teeg crooned giving him a crocodile smile.

“What do you want?” Adam asked, hoping he could buy enough time for the others to reach him. His ribs cracked and popped painfully with each breath and his right leg refused to work. He hadn’t been beaten up this bad in a long time. That was the downside to being a Ranger, he mused silently, you just never knew when you were going to get the crap kicked out of you. He said a silent prayer that he could pull himself back together before his wife found out and tore him apart herself. If he lived, he was never going to hear the end of it.

Teeg knelt down and grabbed a fist full of his shirt and collar. With one hand, she jerked him painfully into a standing position and held him there. He refused to scream, but the pain in his chest and legs was agonizing. Teeg’s physical strength was amazing and he realized that the Zeos had probably seriously underestimated her tactical strength as well. Kimberly had supposedly fought her before, wouldn’t she have warned Tommy? Then again, Tommy would have had to listen to her and, from what he’d heard, the two had bickered as much as they’d agreed.

“I want the coin.” Teeg purred dangerously and Adam’s mind whirled.

“What coin?” He asked honestly confused.

Teeg’s ears flattened against her scalp and the pupils in her yellow eyes narrowed to dangerously tiny slits. Adam both felt and heard the growl that boiled from her chest as she threw him a good twenty feet down the desert hill. He came to rough stop, arms and legs flailing in contorted positions. He thought briefly of Tanya and how he was going to explain this to her before world went completely blank.

Jason didn’t like the way things were going. He had seen Tommy switch gears and head in his direction, but he’s also seen Teeg pick Adam up and toss him over the edge of the ridge. He hoped fervently that edge was simple a rolling hill and not a sharp drop. A few seconds later he breathed a short sigh of relief to see her glide downward in Adam’s direction and assumed she’d simply rolled him and not killed him outright. He tried to get a good look at Tommy to see if he’d seen it too, but the crush of claybots was too great.

Claybots had to be taken out in a series of three motions. This was fairly easy if you worked in pairs, nearly impossible on your own. The crush was just to great, he couldn’t maneuver fast enough to keep the things from regenerating. It was then that he heard the rumble of engines and looked up to see six multi colored craft heading toward them at high speed.

It was obvious that they were Rangers, but which group eluded him. There were several out there now. It wasn’t like the old days where it was just them against the forces of evil. They’d gotten Tommy’s attention too and in-between kicks and punches Jason could see him try and identify the newcomers.

To his astonishment, the six aircraft morphed fluidly just seconds from the scene and Jason could clearly identify six armored Rangers. For an instant, they looked like toy soldiers before fluidly morphing again to form ground vehicles not all too dissimilar from the three-wheeler’s they’d ridden as kids. As they hit the ground, each Ranger’s body lifted into place from below and grabbed the handlebars.

Under other circumstances, he might say that was one of the coolest morphs he’d ever seen. Each Ranger was apparently his own zord and fully capable of transitioning between air, soldier, and ground modes. There was no churning or cranking of gears. The transformation was smooth and fluid and the metal simply melted and shifted from one form to the other.

The six ground vehicles took the monsters head on and explosions and acrid smoke filled the air. Energy renewed, Jason tore into the crowd of claybots around him. Thank God for the cavalry he thought. They might actually have a chance of pulling this one off now.

Billy pounded against the consol in frustration. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the circuitry; it just didn’t work. He’d modified, he’d circumvented, he’d jury-rigged, and absolutely nothing worked. At the sound of footsteps running through the back room, he sprang up and grabbed a hand weapon. There had been no intruder alert, but at this point he refused to be surprised by that fact.

He relaxed a little as Kat Manx, followed closely by Trini rushed through the archway into the main control room, both carrying large cases and packs.

“How did you two get in here?” He asked half astonished and half annoyed. He’d sent Trini back to the lab early this morning with distinct orders to stay away until he called her and those cases looked far too heavy for someone in her condition to be carrying.

“There’s an emergency hatch.” Manx said, handing him one of the cases.

“I’m aware of that.” He said with an edge in his voice. “I wasn’t aware you were.”

“I asked for her help.” Trini interjected. “She’s worked with the Rangers before and, more importantly, she’s seen this kind of shield before.”

Billy turned back to Manx, “You know what it is?”

“It’s called a Retts Webbing.” She said, opening her case and taking out several pieces of equipment. “It was used on my home world to quickly take out our defense and communications systems. It’s almost impossible to deactivate from the ground, but it can be destabilized. It operates on a fairly narrow band arc, once you weaken a series of conductors and terminals the whole thing overloads.” She paused and grinned at him wickedly. “And if you do it in the right order, it’ll snap around and rebound on its source; effectively netting whoever’s done this in their own trap.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” Billy said gratefully.

“We brought as much of the equipment as we could carry, but we still have to assemble it and get it into position on foot.” Trini added. “Dr. Manx has already contacted Carter at Lightspeed and he’s got a few others ready to get her devices into position on the outside perimeter of the web, but we still have to get this stuff ready on the inside or it’ll never work.

Billy shook his head and pushed Trini gently down in a chair. “You aren’t going anywhere.” He said firmly.

“Billy there’s too much for three people to do let alone two.” She protested.

“You may be a Ranger,” Billy argued, “But that baby isn’t.” He punched a few buttons on the control board and the Ranger’s fight against the monsters snapped into view on the main screen. “You can’t take her into that.” He said firmly.

“Who’s the other team?” Manx asked and Billy’s head snapped around. The view screen had only been off for a few seconds while he recalibrated the board again.

“I have no idea.” He said, baffled, “How did they get through the web?”

“It’s an old system.” Manx offered. “They must have the technology to circumvent it. Whoever they are, it looks like the tide’s turning.”

“I’m needed.” Trini said firmly, standing up and meeting Billy’s eyes with determination. “You two can’t do this by yourselves.”

“We’ll assign her the easiest spots which are furthest from the fray.” Manx said, snapping two pieces together and digging through the other cases for more parts.

“Two against one.” Trini said firmly.

Teeg approached Adam at a casual pace. The others were still well occupied. Behind her Sirius slipped and slid down the embankment. She didn’t think the human was dead, but she really didn’t care one way or another. She produced a small box and methodically scanned his body up and down, narrowing in on his hip area. She located a buttoned pocket on the side of his pants leg and ripped it open.

Inside was an ancient looking morpher and held within the center was a gold power coin. Teeg dislodged the coin and tossed the morpher away as if it were nothing. She held the coin up briefly to see the markings before sliding it inside the box, eyes growing wide with triumph as the readings confirmed it to be one of Zordon’s power coins.

“Fool.” She spat, roughly kicking Adam over. “Kimberly chose a poor guardian for such a precious treasure.”

She turned to Sirius and noticed he was staring up the hill at a new group of Rangers who had joined the battle. She cursed, recognizing the Nova’s and transported them both back to the Lunar Palace. There would be time to collect the coin Jason carried later.

With the addition of the Nova Rangers, the battle turned and one by one the monsters exploded in a disgusting rain of slime and tissue, but the claybots and viratrons refused to retreat as they normally did. The Zeos still had their hands full and Tommy hadn’t had much time to watch the new comers or get a good feel for the way they fought.

Within seconds of the last explosion, all five monster grew to city wrecking size. The Nova’s didn’t miss a beat, fluidly transforming back to soldier mode, then shooting upward in formation where the six armored Rangers combined into a megazord; growing just as tall as the monsters. Tommy was impressed, there was no modularization, no cranking of gears, fitting of slot A into slot B. The armor of the six simply melted into the others, forming one giant version of the smaller armored Rangers. In the center of the megazord was a spiral symbol Tommy recognized from Kim’s descriptions; this was definitely the Nova team. How they knew they were needed on Earth, Tommy didn’t know, but he was grateful for their help.

“Billy, we need those zords released.” Tommy called. Why the whole base hadn’t blown up by now, he didn’t know, but he didn’t want to push his luck for very long.

“Working on it.” Billy panted. He sounded seriously out of breath and Tommy wondered briefly what he was up to. “We should have web release in about three minutes.”

“We need it in one.” Jason called back. The claybots were fierce and not giving any ground. The last little adrenaline surge he’d felt at the Nova’s entrance was fading fast. All the Rangers were tiring, but for now the monsters seemed more interested in the Nova’s megazord and the claybots at least were thinning.

Billy allowed the sweat to drip off his face unheeded as he snapped the last of the conduit into place and secured the circuit board.

“That’s it.” He called, hastily retreating down the steep slope and ignoring the tearing of his shirt against the rocks.

“Engage sequencing timers.” Carter’s voice called through their headsets. As various Rangers from the Assembly called in, he was impressed with how quickly they had all managed to drop their assignments and come running. It had taken less than half an hour to get everyone in position. This was a serious fight, but it was Angel Grove’s security in question, not the planet’s. The reds ability to pull together so quickly boded well for the day they might have to extend operations to a planetary or even galactic operation.

“Sequences initiated.” Manx called as Billy ran towards her and Trini.

“Let’s hope this works.” Trini said. Her face and clothing were covered in the brown dust of the desert and her loose hair blew wildly in the wind.

“Are you all right?” Billy asked, coming along side her. He placed one arm around her tightly, the hand of his other extended protectively over her stomach.”

Trini covered the hand over her belly with her own, fingers interlocking with his, and gave him an amused smile. “We haven’t felt this good in weeks.” She assured him.

They listened as one by one their friends confirmed the firing of the magnetic conductors. There was a large explosion from the area Billy had just retreated from and he was glad he’d moved quickly away.

“That’s it!” Manx exclaimed. “Readings indicate we’ve successfully re-routed the webbing. We should achieve the snapback in five…four…three.” Static electricity crackled around them and their hair drifted upward. “…two…one.” Manx called.

There was nothing for a long moment and Trini looked up at Billy uncertainly. Then a series of loud sonic booms rolled past them and the ground shook with the force of a mild Earthquake.

“Mission accomplished.” Manx called into the headphones. “Scanner’s show the Lunar Palace and a good portion of the moon’s surface and orbit area completely incased in the webbing.”

Carter confirmed the success and gave the signal for the others to return home. “Time for the Zeos to go do their job.” He said wryly, hoping Tommy could hear the friendly jibe.

“Tommy,” Billy called. “The UAOH base is clear, so is the Command Center.”

“Lock on to Kim and Adam’s signals and get them out of here.” He answered back. “Think you can get two out of five zords docked by remote?”

“We’ll manage.” Billy answered, grabbing Trini’s hand firmly and transporting back to the Command Center.

“Let’s try and even the odds for the Nova’s guys.” Tommy called. “We need Zeo Megazord power…”

“You’re fortunate this day has proven so productive and that I am in a forgiving mood.” Teeg hissed. She had not been at all pleased to be trapped in the Lunar Palace with Zedd and Rita, but the webbing had finally been disabled and she was now free to return to her ship. Zedd had been obnoxious in his apologies over Kimberly, but Teeg could honestly care less at this point.

She had one, if not both coins and she knew that Jason had possession of the other. She seriously doubted that he would let go of it now that Kimberly was lost to him and she knew where to find him when the time came. She fully expected him to take up the search himself out of some twisted sense of duty or honor of her memory. “I will leave you to do as you wish to the planet.” She said casually.

“My queen,” Rita demurred as she pushed in front of Zedd, ignoring his warning to be still. “I have present for you.” She said glibly. “Consider it a farewell gift from a loyal servant.” She sauntered forward and held out a clear glass ball in her palm.

Teeg regarded the ball dubiously. Rita had no love for her and, except for the fact that she needed Rita’s staff to turn the coins evil, she was ready to wash her hands of the witch. She could see billowing clouds of red and black smoke within the glass and realized with a twinge of excitement that it was a containment orb. Only the most seriously depraved and evilest of creatures were sentenced so cruelly. Her own master had been sentenced to one once.

“You have my attention.” Teeg said easily, calming her motions and betraying no hint of desire for the object. “Explain.”

“It’s a containment orb.” Rita said.

“Obviously.” Teeg purred, head tilting downward slowly.

“It contains an evil version of Kimberly.” Rita added, eyebrows popping up and head nodding as if asking for acknowledgement that she’d done well. She knew the kitty wanted it, the question was how bad. Rita wasn’t as stupid as she played. There was no way she could control Kemora, but Teeg might be able to get some use out of her and handing her over might just build a little good will where none currently existed.

Teeg glided forward, interest in the orb overcoming the desire to remain outwardly neutral. “Explain just how this evil Kimberly came into your possession.” She said silkily. An evil version of Kimberly? Well why not? Kimberly had been artificially created. For every action there was an equal and opposite reaction, that was the law of good and evil; the balance must be maintained. It only stood to reason an opposite would have to exist in tandem somewhere.

“She came to me and asked to use one of my evil dimensions, what do I care right? So before she can set up shop, this old guy barges in and sucks her into the orb, just her spirit, the body dropped like a little fly. That means this little demon can possess things... Apparently the old guy was more interested in the body she left behind than in the orb, ‘cause he took off and didn’t even noticed I’d lifted it off him.”

“And just what were you doing there?” Teeg purred, openly measuring Rita. She’d underestimated her. Only the dimensional guardians used such weapons against the forces of evil. One rarely encountered them, they moved in shadows. This evil Kimberly must have seriously upset the balance to draw their attention.

“Trying to figure out why someone who looked so much like Kimberly was trying to kill the Rangers.” Rita said sweetly… a little too sweetly. Teeg didn’t believe her for a second.

“And now you want to give this gift to me?” Teeg asked lazily.

“Consider it a token of goodwill.” Rita drolled. “Better to hand her over to you and get on your good side than be stupid enough to try and use her myself.”

Teeg laughed. She hadn’t sincerely laughed in years. Rita was too much. It had been an honest answer, something Teeg was growing unfamiliar with. The witch continued to hold the orb up with her palm and Teeg reached out and took it from her. Rita then turned back to Zedd and gave him a smug look. She may not have been able to produce a coin, but an evil version of Kimberly would have to count for something; especially since the good version was apparently dead.

“How positively fascinating.” Teeg commented as the disembodied Kemora pounded against the glass orb in her hand. “An evil Kimberly.”

“Let me out!” Kemora screeched, pounding against the inside or the glass orb. This was worse than death. She would have preferred death to encasement inside the orb. Red and black smoke billowed around her and she squinted to see through the haze.

“All in good time.” Teeg purred, allowing herself the luxury of a smile. “Perhaps I have a job for you.”

“I work for no one!” Kemora hissed.

“We shall see.” Teeg demurred evilly, tossing the orb up casually and catching it again in her hand. “We shall see.”

Kimberly wasn’t sure how she’d gotten wherever she was, but she could see Billy’s face clear enough through the haze. It was very dark and she was very cold. She wasn’t sure at all what was going on. She remembered seeing Zeo five’s helmet and the warm sunshine. There was nothing warm here. She was frigidly cold and so very tired…

“Kimberly stay with me.” Billy said as if very far away. How very odd she thought. Why in the name of the Great Power would she want to stay here? She was exhausted and sleep sounded like such a wonderful idea…

The End

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