Disclaimer: The characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss Whedon.
Author’s Note: Part of this story came from a comment made by KSuzie. This story was originally going to be focused as a Buffy crossover, but as I got into it I started playing with it so it’s not as much about Buffy. But I had a lot of fun with parts of it so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Power Rangers
“Managing Losses”
Buffy Summers sat at her kitchen table pouting. She didn’t have much explanation, except she was bored. Ever since they blew up the school there wasn’t exactly much going on. Except, of course, slaying. But even that got old after a while.
“What’s wrong?”, Willow Rosenberg asked as she observed her best friend’s less than stellar mood
Buffy thought for a moment. “I think I want to go to LA.”
“No, Buffy, bad idea. He hasn’t even been gone for a month and you have to get over him.”, Willow said. The last thing Buffy needed to do was go chase after her ex boyfriend.
“Huh?”, Buffy questioned not understanding what she was referencing
“Angel? I mean that’s the only reason you want to go to LA right?” Willow asked as Buffy shook her head no. “Oh so you’re going to visit your dad?”, she asked. Buffy shook her head again. “You can’t run away again. Just because school’s gone and Angel’s gone doesn’t mean you have to take off.”
“No.”, Buffy said smiling at Willow. “I’m tired of sitting around here and slaying. I want to take a vacation. Visit with Carri for a while.”
Willow made a face. “So let me get this straight. You don’t want to slay vampires so you’re going to go hang out with the Power Rangers who are probably fighting the forces of evil as we speak.”
“Yeah why not. Besides it never hurts to have another hero around.”, Buffy pointed out
“Yes but you’re leaving fighting to fight.”, Willow tried to make her point again
Buffy shrugged and smiled. “Vampires have gotten boring. Besides who says I have to fight if I go to LA.”
“What about that Dark Scepter guy? The one that’s trying to rule the universe? I would imagine he has fights everyday. Like the ones we see on the news.”, Willow reminded her
Most of what they saw on the news was the zord battles. It was hard to catch the rangers fighting in the street, but when the monsters grew they weren’t too hard to find. “Little things I may chip in on. But have you seen those monsters on tv? What am I going to do, slay their toes?”, Buffy questioned
Willow nodded. “Yeah I guess your right.”
The front door to the Summer’s household opened up. Xander Harris wandered into the kitchen and smiled and waved at the two girls. “Hey guys what’s up?”
“Buffy’s going to LA.”, Willow informed him
“For?”, Xander questioned raising an eyebrow. His concerns were the same as Willow’s initial concerns.
“For Carri.”, Willow replied
“Oh, great, you’re gonna go hang out with our favorite spandex wearing super heros.”, Xander replied with a smile, relieved that she wasn’t jumping to go find Angel.
“I think it will be fun. It will get me out of Sunnydale for a while.”, Buffy replied as she stood up and walked out of the kitchen
“Where you going?”, Xander asked as he watched her walk off
“To find Carri’s number.”, she replied. Xander and Willow looked at each other and shrugged as Buffy went off to call an old friend.
Kimberly Heart walked into her apartment, grocery bags in hand. As she headed to set them down, she saw the hall door open and Carri and Rocky walk out. She smiled at them as she heaved her bags up on the counter. “Hey.”, she called out
“Hey.”, Carri replied as she headed into the kitchen, with Rocky right behind her. “What’s up?”, she asked as she leaned on the counter
“I thought I’d restock the fridge.”, Kim replied. Carri noticed all the bags and moved to help her. Groceries was one of the seemingly thousands of items permanently on the to-do list. Mainly because the to-do list hardly got done, thanks to weeks worth of non-stop fighting. When they actually had time that they weren’t fighting, they wanted to relax and have fun, not worry about the to-do list.
“Hey babe, I gotta get out of here if I’m going to make work on time.”, Rocky said as he walked over to her. She squealed as he lifted her up off the ground and planted a kiss on her lips. “Have fun this weekend.”, he said. He was working this afternoon, then on both Saturday and Sunday, and with the exception of a fight wouldn’t see his girlfriend again until at least Monday. But it was alright, as she was staying in LA with Kim, and Buffy was coming to visit.
“You too.”, she replied as she gave him a hug
“Bye.”, he said to her giving her one more kiss. He looked up and over at Kim. “See ya later.”
“See ya.”, Kim replied giving him a wave as he walked out the door. “Sorry if I interrupted.”, she said after the door had shut
Carri waved her off. “He was getting ready to leave anyway.”
“So what time are you picking Buffy up?”, Kim asked. Buffy was taking a bus from Sunnydale, and Carri was supposed to pick her up at the downtown hub.
“In about forty-five minutes. You wanna come?”, she asked looking over at her friend
Kim shrugged. “Sure.”, she said. She only kind of knew Buffy so it probably wouldn’t make any difference to the slayer if she greeted her or not. But, it beat sitting around the apartment waiting for her to come back.
The two girls finished putting the grocery’s away then headed out. Although they weren’t that far away, some days getting downtown could take forever. After a ride that lasted at least twice as long as it was supposed to, they finally got to their destination. The girls got out and walked around until they found where Buffy’s bus was going to be, and they took a seat on the bench.
“So Buffy blew up her high school?”, Kim questioned trying to remember everything that Carri had told her before
“Kinda. She blew up the big giant worm mayor monster thing that was in the high school.”, Carri clarified
Kim smiled. “So she blew up the high school.”
“Yeah pretty much.”, Carri replied. “They’ve already talked about trying to rebuild, but it’s going to take a few years to clear the rubble out and get it up again.”
“You know we were lucky.”, Kim commented as she thought about it. “All those years as rangers and we never lost the high school.”
Carri giggled. “Let’s hope nobody heard you say that one.”
“They’ll take it as let’s create the Highschoolinator monster, not blow up the school.”, Kim replied
Carri burst out laughing. That would be a Rita and Zedd thing to do. As the laughter stop, a bus pulled up. Kim and Carri watched as people started to unload, until finally Buffy appeared on the bus steps.
“Buffy!”, Carri called out to get her attention
The slayer’s head snapped in their direction. She waved as she stepped down to the pavement and headed over to them. “Hey.”, Buffy greeted as Carri stood up and gave her friend a hug. Kim stood up and smiled at Buffy. “It’s nice to see you again.”, Buffy said as she smiled back at her
“Shall we get going?”, Carri asked
“Sounds good to me.”, Buffy replied as she picked up her bag and let Carri lead them off. They got to the car and climbed in, then proceeded to make the excruciatingly long drive back to the apartment.
Carri and Kim led Buffy upstairs and to the apartment. They headed in and to the girls surprise, found Jason sitting on the couch flipping through tv channels. “Hey. What are you doing here?”, Kim asked
Jason turned to see his roommates and Buffy standing at the door. “Emily’s busy all weekend so I thought I’d come hang out. I forgot we were having company.”
“It’s ok.”, Buffy said as the girls approached the couch. “The more to party with the better.”
Carri stopped behind Jason and watched the tv scroll through channels. “Wait!”, she suddenly exclaimed. “Go back, go back.”, she rushed him
Jason clicked a few channels back and landed on the Astros - Angels game. Carri glanced at the screen long enough to see that Houston was winning, then gestured for Jason to continue.
Buffy looked at Carri, rather amused over her excitement at a potential Houston victory. “Tell me, how is it that a girl from a state with like a half dozen teams ends up favoring a team from Texas?”
Carri turned around and leaned against the back of the couch, smiling at Buffy. “Well if you must know. My father and brother had gotten me into baseball when I was really young. Their favorite team was the Dodgers, and we would always go to the games. For the longest time I didn’t swear any allegiance to any team, I just enjoyed going.”
She paused as Jason snickered. He knew where this story was going as Buffy hadn’t been the only one to ask that question. Carri swatted at the back of his head before continuing.
“Anyway, one summer we went up to LA to see a Dodgers - Astros game. The Astros were doing well that season, and the Dodgers were the defending National League West champs. Josh sat in the stands and went on and on about how the Astros sucked and the Dodgers were going to take them that day then take the title that season. Considering I was maybe seven or eight at the time, I loved getting on Josh’s nerves. So in the middle of all his ranting about how he hated the Astros, I spat out that they were my favorite team. He and my dad were surprised, and Josh never let me hear the end of it.”
Buffy burst out laughing. “Let me get this straight. You picked your favorite team to piss your brother off?”
She smiled and shrugged. “It started that way. But they won the west that year, and dad started buying me all sorts of Astros stuff, and I really started following them and getting into the team. The rest as they say is history.”
“I still think it’s wild that you picked them for the sole purpose of making Josh mad.”, Buffy replied
Carri shrugged again as Jason commented. “And how well do you know Carri?”, he asked getting another swat from her as she stood straight up and motioned for Buffy to follow her into the bedroom. Buffy didn’t mind sleeping on the couch, but Carri insisted that she was more than happy to share her queen sized bed with her.
As they headed off, Kim walked around the couch and sat down next to Jason. “I didn’t mean to interrupt all your girl plans.”, he said with a smile
“I don’t think we really had any girl plans.”, Kim replied smiling back. “Except maybe the mall.”, she added getting a laugh out of Jason. That was, of course, assuming Buffy shopped. Kim didn’t know much about the slayer, and she’d only seen her two other times. The first time Buffy was trying to rescue her. The second time they got to talk some, but spent most of their outing fending off vampires.
When Carri told her Buffy was coming to LA, Kim thought it would be cool to have another female superhero around. They had the two Astro Rangers, but life had been hell for them lately and they hardly got a chance to say two words to them, let alone hang out. Now she was going to get the chance to hang out and get to know Buffy, who from what Carri said was a pretty nice person.
Kim thought that they probably had a lot in common. Like her, Buffy’s hero lifestyle had led to more than it’s share of ups and downs. They were both about the same age when they were tapped to save the world. The biggest difference between the two was that Kim chose to walk away once. Buffy could never walk away.
“Well if you go to the mall, count me out.”, Jason said pulling Kim back into the present
“I’m sure we’ll do much more than the mall. Like mani’s and pedi’s and”
Jason’s laughter stopped Kim dead in her tracks as the pink ranger smiled. “Maybe I should have stayed in Angel Grove.”
“You know you’re welcome to hang out with us this weekend. And I promise it won’t be all girly things.”, Kim assured him
“Well that’s comforting.”, Jason said with a goofy smile on his face as he looked over at Kim
Carri and Buffy came back out into the livingroom. “Buffy wants to see the campus. You guys want to help be tour guides?”, she asked looking over at Kim and Jason
With nothing better to do, they both agreed and followed Carri and Buffy outside. They walked away from their apartment complex and Jason heard someone calling his name. He turned to see Stephanie and Jessica McClintock approaching them. “Hey. What are you guys doing here?”, he asked as they approached
“We just wanted to come visit.”, Stephanie said with a smile
Carri rolled her eyes. “Rocky’s not here so you can leave now.”
“Rude much.”, Jessica snapped before turning to smile at Kim. “Hey Kim.”, she greeted
Kim smiled at her and said nothing. God knows she did not need to pretend to be friendly in front of Carri, her friend would never let her hear the end of it.
Buffy looked at the two girls and recognized them both. One was a year older than her and had graduated from Sunnydale High. The other was only a freshman, and she remembered her mostly from her interactions with Rocky the previous fall in Sunnydale. Judging by Carri’s reaction, that was probably what all this was about.
Stephanie eyed Buffy down as the slayer stood beside Carri. “I didn’t know you were friends with her.”, she said putting the emphasis on the her as she sat there with a look of disgust on her face. Buffy had been known as a troublemaker in high school, and she knew she got into a lot of fights. Some of her friends who were cheerleaders had heard awful things about Buffy when she first moved to Sunnydale. Now a rumor had gotten back to her from those same friends who were at UC-Sunnydale. They said that Buffy didn’t graduate and got pissed and blew up the school.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”, Buffy asked eyeing her down as well
“Mean bitches stick together.”, Jessica said looking at them both with her arms crossed in front of her chest
Lucky for Jessica, Jason had fast reflexes and grabbed Carri, pulling her out of the way before she could hurt the girl. “I know you hate me because of Rocky, which is fine, but don’t insult my friends.”, she growled trying hard to get past Jason but with no luck
“It’s alright.”, Buffy said eyeing them both. Stephanie had been a part of an older generation at Sunnydale High, one that didn’t recognize Buffy’s saving their lives everyday and only thought of her as a troublemaker. Jessica hadn’t been on campus long enough to think of Buffy as a hero, and had probably formulated her opinion based on that of her sister’s. Of course, Buffy’s rudeness towards her in the gymnasium last fall probably didn’t help. “Let’s just go.”, Buffy said as she started walking away
Kim and Jason said hurried goodbyes as Jason got behind Carri and pushed her forward. Once Carri had calmed down and was willing to walk on her own, she spoke. “She’s fifteen I don’t know why I let her get under my skin like that.” It was one thing to go after someone her age and above, it was another to go after this kid.
“Trust me she’s trying her hardest to get under your skin. She completely knows what she’s doing. She wants you to explode and Rocky to hate you.”, Kim said as she stood next to her friend
“I’m trying not to give her that satisfaction. But it’s hard.”, Carri said. Not that Rocky actually would hate her for going after Jessica, because he knows how much she pushes. But every time that girl gets the satisfaction that she pissed Carri off, Carri hates it. She caught that smug look on her face when she thought Carri was going to attack her. Of course if she was older, this would have been over a long time ago and she would have left Rocky alone. But she wasn’t, and Carri had tried to restrain herself against her. She was actually quite proud of herself. All the times their paths crossed she could honestly say that this was only the second time she really thought she was going to kill her, not counting when she was evil.
“Let’s not let them get us down. I want to see this campus of yours.”, Buffy said, ushering for them to follow along. Eventually the three rangers took the lead and showed Buffy around USC.
Tommy stood in the Youth Center that evening waiting for Rocky to join him. The two boys were planning on sparring some before Tommy took off to spend time with his brother. He wanted to go to Los Angeles, as he hadn’t seen Kim in a few days. But they were having girl time so he figured he’d leave them be. Besides they had a nice, quiet few days together planned for the following weekend.
Of course when he called Jason to see if he wanted to spar, the black ranger was with the girls in LA having forgotten that Buffy was going to be in town for the weekend. He didn’t know exactly where Jason fit in with girls time, but that was alright. Jason had treated Kim like his little sister for years. When Jason came back and Kim was gone, Carri filled that void. When Kim returned she became Carri’s best friend, and both girls were like sisters to Jason and they all three were good friends. So it was fitting that he was in on girls time. Well some of girls time. You would never catch Jason dead doing anything that was labeled “girly” such as shopping.
It was weird to know that there was another man out there spending time with his girlfriend. It never really bothered him much though, as he knew that they had a friendship long before Tommy was ever in the picture. Jason was Tommy’s best friend, and had assured him that there never was and never would be anything between them. He knew it sometimes made Rocky uncomfortable that his girlfriend was that close with another man that wasn’t family. He also knew that Rocky has always trusted Carri, and after a while started to trust Jason. Because of that he knew he had no reason to worry, but sometimes he couldn’t help it.
Rocky walked into the Youth Center and headed over to Tommy’s table. “Hey.”, he greeted as he stood beside his friend
“Hey.”, Tommy replied looking up at him. “You ready to go?”
“Let me get changed.”, he said pointing a finger to his duffel bag. Tommy watched as Rocky disappeared, and a few seconds later returned ready to spar.
They both approached the mat and started. Win or loose, they always enjoyed sparring. They had tried to go spar once a week, but with everyone’s crazy schedule’s it never worked out like that. It almost made them miss their high school days, when sparring after school was a given. Lazy afternoons at the Youth Center was on the list of things everyone missed about Angel Grove, regardless of how much fun they were having in LA.
They both spent close to an hour on the sparring mats before they were ready for a break. As they went toward the counter to get water, they heard someone yell at them. They stopped and turned, and saw Katherine Hillard sitting at a table with a girl they didn’t know.
“Hey guys how are you.”, Kat greeted
“Fine.”, Tommy replied. Running into Kat was not one of the things he missed about Angel Grove.
“Guys this is my friend Linda.. We had classes together last semester.”, she said introducing them to the brunette sitting with her. “And Linda meet Tommy and Rocky.”
Linda looked the two boys over before flashing them a huge smile. “It’s so nice to meet you.”, she greeted
“Nice meeting you too.”, Rocky replied
Tommy glanced over at Rocky. “We’re grabbing some water then it’s back to the mats. But it was nice seeing you.”
“Are Kim and Carri here?”, Kat questioned
Tommy shook his head no. “They’re home.”
“We’ll tell them I said hello.”, Kat replied as she leaned in to say something to Linda. Linda’s response made them both giggle, as the two male rangers walked over to the counter and asked for bottled waters.
Rocky sighed. “Great.”, he said as he rolled his eyes
Tommy took a gulp of water. “Yeah Kim’s gonna love this. I saw my ex, with her friend, who was checking us out.”
“Kim’s not the one you have to worry about.”, Rocky joked. Although it was just harmless on Linda’s part, and Rocky knew it would take a lot more than that to get his girlfriend riled up.
Tommy laughed at Rocky’s comment. At least in Rocky’s case he didn’t have an ex-girlfriend to run into constantly in Angel Grove. Not that Kim was jealous of Kat, whenever she had asked Tommy had been completely open about their relationship. But that didn’t make it any less weird or uncomfortable to run into Kat around Angel Grove.
Ernie placed to waters in front of them. Rocky cracked open the bottle and took a huge gulp. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Kat and Linda still staring at them. He concentrated on his water and pretended not to notice. He knew Tommy was trying even harder to ignore the attention the two girls were giving him. Rocky smiled at him and put his water down. “You ready to go back over to the mats?”
“Sure thing.”, Tommy said. They noticed as the girls eyes followed them from the counter.
“You two going to spar some more?”, Kat asked as they walked by the table
Tommy pretended not to hear as Rocky answered. “For a while. Are you two going to be here?”
“For a while.”, Kat replied with a smile. She and Linda were sipping on their smoothies as they watched them walk over to the mats. Kat didn’t bring her friend to the Youth Center with the intention of finding Rocky and Tommy there. She had brought her for the smoothies, but they noticed the boys sparring when they sat. Linda had mentioned how they were cute, and Kat immediately told her that one was her cousin’s boyfriend and the other was a friend’s boyfriend, to which Linda replied looking never hurt. Now she planned on sipping on that smoothie as long as they were sparring.
“Any chance either will break up any time soon?”, Linda asked wishfully
Kat shook her head as she smiled. “Probably not.”
“Any chance I can sway them?”
Kat couldn’t help but laugh. “You could try but they probably wouldn’t go for it. And if they did you’d have to suffer the wrath of my cousin.” If she tried to make advances on Rocky and Carri got wind of it, watch out. Carri will come back on you hard and fast. And she wouldn’t be too happy with someone trying to sway Tommy either. Then you’d have Kim to deal with. Although Kim has never shown a side like Carri’s, someone trying to steal your boyfriend would be enough to bring it out. And Kat figured Kim would be upset if Linda went after Rocky too.
“She can’t be that bad.”, Linda said as she made a face and looked over at Kat
Kat put on a serious expression and looked at her friend. “My cousin is one of the sweetest people. But if you are planning on crossing her, you’d better have all your affairs in order.” Kat flashed her a genuine smile when she was finished, and Linda laughed. She sat back and smiled, looking over at the two boys. She sighed, resigning herself to watching from a distance as the boys continued sparring.
That night, Zedd and Rita were sitting in their throne room working on a new plan. “The end will be here soon.”, Zedd said referencing the transmission that they had just received from Ecliptor, telling them that Zordon’s tube was almost completely full
“Now we have to make sure those brats stay occupied.”, Rita said. Those had been their continuing orders. Keep the rangers occupied, that soon they would be ready for the final battle.
“Let’s create a monster, shall we?”, Zedd asked
Rita looked over at him. “Do you have any ideas?”
Zedd thought for a moment as he glanced down to the surface to see what the rangers were doing. Rocky was with his family, and Tommy was with his brother. The rest of the team was going through campus talking to another girl. The more he looked at the girl the more he recognized her. “I have an idea.”
“What?”, she questioned
“If we can send down a monster and capture the rangers little friend, they won’t have time to even think about helping the Astro Rangers.”, Zedd said with an evil laugh
“And what kind of monster do you want to send down Zeddie?”, asked Rita
“Get Goldar, Rito and some hybrids. I’m going to create my own slayer, with powers to stake something much better than vampires.”, he said, making a Slayer monster out of a tree near the rangers apartment.
“Thanks for showing me around.”, Buffy said as they headed back to the apartment later that night. The rangers had shown her the campus, taken her for dinner, then they had all gone to the bowling alley to throw a few games. They were heading back to the apartment to spend the rest of the night at home.
“Not a problem. I hope you enjoyed it.”, Kim said
Buffy nodded. “I’d say I had an excellent time.”
“That’s good and if,” Jason stopped short as a tree in front of them electrified. Suddenly it transformed into what looked like a giant stake.
“Rangers nice to see you.”, the monster greeted. “I”m the Slayer and I’m here to bring you down.”
“I think that’s supposed to be my line.”, Buffy said as they all jumped into a defensive stance
Figures came teleporting down, as hybrids and Rito and Goldar joined Slayer. “Could this night get any better?”, Carri asked as she glared them down
“You guys do your thing. I’ll hold them back.”, Buffy said as she ran head on into the fight
Jason did not waste the opportunity. “It’s morphin time!”, he yelled as he and the two girls quickly morphed into action. Jason went after Slayer, while Carri attacked Goldar and Kim attacked Rito. Buffy found the hybrids no to be too difficult with her slayer strength.
The fight was fierce as they waited for the rest of the team to arrive. Jason called on his axe and fired on Slayer, who quickly knocked him back and fired an energy beam at him. Slayer turned and fired an energy beam toward Buffy, and the slayer hit the ground.
Carri saw her friend hit the floor, and saw how woozy she was getting up. “Buffy!”, she called as she kicked Goldar in the stomach, grabbing her daggers and leaping through the air to attack the hybrids.
Slayer looked around at the rangers. The black ranger could block a stake as his eyes were squarely on him, and he didn’t have a clear shot at the pink ranger. But the yellow ranger flying through the air, now that could be interesting. “It’s time to stake my first ranger.”, Slayer announced as he through one at the yellow ranger
The stake hit her square in the chest as she fell to the ground, powering down. “Carri!”, Jason called but had no time to go check on her. Slayer fired a stake at him, which Jason caught out of the corner of his eye and deflected with his axe.
“I won’t miss again.”, Slayer threatened
Goldar saw the yellow ranger down, and the slayer covered in hybrids. He took the opportunity to go and grab the slayer, teleporting her back to Rita and Zedd. Just as he left, the two remaining rangers teleported down on the scene.
“What happened?”, Rocky questioned running to defend his girlfriend who still hadn’t moved, and was getting ready to be attacked by hybrids.
“Don’t let the stakes hit you!”, Jason warned
Tommy took Jason’s advice to heart as he called for his sword and ran to help with the attack. They weren’t sure what the stakes did yet, but if one hit Carri it obviously wasn’t good. Rocky finished slinging the tengas away from her before teleporting her to Billy, then joining Kim in her fight.
Goldar arrived in the Lunar Palace with Buffy in his hands. He shoved her in front of Lord Zedd and Rita. “Goldar it looks like you were actually capable of doing something right.”, Zedd congratulated as he walked over to Buffy
“In case you haven’t noticed I’m not a ranger.”, Buffy pointed out, just starting to get her bearings back after being hit
“We know who you are, or have you forgotten our encounter with your vampire friends?”, Rita question
Buffy laughed. “You obviously don’t know who I am if you’re referring to blood sucking demons as my friends.”
“Silence! Of course we know who you are slayer. Why do you think we brought you here?”, Zedd said tired of playing games with her. “Now Rita why don’t you send our guest off.”
“You know I’m not packed to stay I should probably just”
Rita cut Buffy off by zapping her with her staff, sending her hurdling into one of their dark dimensions. “Finally she was starting to give me a headache.”
Kim and Rocky made easy work out of Rito and the rest of the hybrids. Suddenly Slayer had a clear shot at everyone, but all eyes were on him so there was no way he could get to them. He would have to attack them one at a time if he was going to stake them. After some pointless banter was exchanged, Slayer took off and the rangers teleported to the Command Chamber.
They went into the infirmary, where Carri lay motionless on the bed. “Carri.”, Rocky said rushing over to her
“Rocky I...”, Billy’s voice trailed off as it was too late to stop him
Carri’s eyes fluttered open and she looked at the man hovering above her. “Thank God you’re ok.”, Rocky said as he had been worried by her collapse on the field
She focused in on him for a second, as a look of sheer terror came over her face. Moving wildly she fell off the bed, not stopping to acknowledge the knee she banged until her back was against the wall. She looked around the room at the five people and all the strange equipment. “Stay away from me!”, she warned as tears started to roll down her face
“That’s what I was trying to tell you. The stake was magical, it blocked her memory leaving her no idea of who she is.”, Billy explained as he looked around at the others
“So what do we do?”, Tommy asked as he looked over at his teammate, whose crying was increasing by the minute
“I think we can destroy the monster and save her memory, but I’m not positive.”, Billy replied
“Think?”, Rocky questioned. “That’s not good enough.” The thought that the woman he loved may not remember the last three years of her life, remember him and their time together, pained him to no end.
“I’m running some tests now. I’ll know more in the morning.”, Billy assured him before skipping over to the next topic at had. “Perhaps a more pressing issue is the fact that the slayer is being held captive by Lord Zedd and Rita.”
“Can we find her?”, Jason asked, his thoughts starting to become drowned out by Carri’s tears
“I’ll search the dark dimensions. But I need something to base the search on. Maybe you can contact one of her friends and see if they know anything about Buffy that would help.”, Billy suggested. He closed his eyes and sighed as Carri was starting to give him a headache. “And we probably need to get her home for now.”
“Let me give this a try.”, Kim said as she glanced over at the male rangers before walking toward Carri. “Hey.”, she said in almost a whisper, noticing that her friend had slunk down to the wall and pulled her knees to her chest
Carri looked up as her tears were still coming. “I said stay away.”, she said with much less force than before
Kim approached her and leaned down, and noticed as Carri tensed up and tried to get closer to the wall. “I know you don’t remember, but your name is Carri. I’m Kim, we’re best friends, we live together.”
“Really?”, Carri asked as the tears started to subside
“Yeah. You’ve been in an accident, that’s why you can’t remember anything.”, Kim said as Carri looked at her and nodded. “I’d like to take you home now so you can rest.”, she said as she extended her hand
Carri nodded again and put her hand in Kim’s. Kim stood up, pulling Carri up with them. Carri noticed the men in the room and quickly looked away from them as Kim teleported the duo to the apartment.
“Shit she’s a mess.”, Jason said with a sigh
“You’re going to be one ranger down until I can find the definite solution to her problem.”, Billy pointed out
“Why can’t we let her morph?”, Tommy questioned. Now of all times was not the time for the team to be down one. They needed to be at full strength to take on Rita and Zedd’s forces, and there was always the possibility that Divatox was going to jump in and add her own evil to the mix.
“You guys are holding these powers and are doing well with these powers because of your mastery of your ninjetti skills and your previously held powers. If she morphed, she wouldn’t remember what to do and she’d likely get herself killed.”, Billy explained. He agreed, they needed the full team. And it wasn’t like they didn’t risk their lives everyday, but they knew that’s what they were doing. He couldn’t in good conscious send her out into the battlefield knowing she had no clue what was going on and that she would probably perish because of it.
“Then we’ll leave her behind.”, Rocky said with authority before Tommy could even make another point
“Fine.”, Tommy said not in any mood to argue
Kim teleported back in and looked at the others, sighing heavily. The others looked at her for an explanation. “The teleportation freaked her out. But I’ve got her sitting on the couch. I told her to hang tight, that I’d be back. And,” she said holding something up, “I borrowed her phone.” The pink ranger took the phone and started to flip through the contacts, looking for any one of Buffy’s Sunnydale friends. The only person she found for certain from Sunnydale was Buffy, so she dialed information to try and get Willow’s number.
While they were waiting for Kim to be finished, the boys continued talking. A few minutes later Kim’s phone conversation ended and she turned back to everyone. “Willow said she could help.”, Kim explained
“That’s great, how?”, Tommy asked
“She’s going to cast a spell and send a magical orb to Buffy. If you can scan for the orb, you can find Buffy.”, Kim explained. She thought it was fascinating what they could do with magic. This kind of magic the rangers really didn’t have much exposure to so it was almost fun when they had to get Willow or Giles involved to see what they could do.
“I can set the scanners to search for a magical orb.” Billy said with a hint of excitement in his voice. “How long is it going to take her?”
“She said give it about a half an hour then it should be ready.”, Kim replied
“Alright. I’ll get everything ready. In the meantime you guys can just head back home.”, Billy said heading off toward the main control room
“I want to go to the apartment.”, Rocky said. He wasn’t going to stay long, but he had to see Carri before he went home.
“I’m going to go for a bit too.”, Tommy added. The white ranger was concerned with his teammate’s condition. Not just as a ranger but as a friend too. As close as they had all gotten over the years, he hated to see her like this.
“Then let’s go.”, Kim said as they teleported out
Carri sat on the couch of her livingroom. At least Kim said it was her livingroom. She wasn’t sure, she remembered absolutely nothing and it frightened her more than she would have thought possible. She had no clue who she was, who her friends were, what she liked and didn’t like... everything was blank. A tear slid down her cheek as multicolored lights came flying in, causing her to jump.
“I told you we’d be right back.”, Kim said with a smile
Carri nodded. “And you said that teleporting stuff was secret right?”, she questioned trying to confirm what Kim had told her earlier
“Yes. So was the place we were in.”, Kim replied. She didn’t want her running off and talking to random people about how they teleported and were in some strange room. Suddenly Carri’s phone went off in Kim’s hand. She looked down and saw Kat’s name across the caller ID. Hitting ignore, she turned back to her friend. “So how are you?”
“I don’t know. I can’t remember anything.”, she said as she started to cry
Rocky resisted the urge to run over to her as her outburst slowed and the tears stopped falling. “You don’t remember any of us?”, he asked as she shook her head no
Kim extended her hand to Carri. “Come with me.”, she said. Carri reluctantly grabbed her hand and let her lead her down the hallway. Kim stopped in front of Carri’s room, opening the door and turning the light on.
Carri looked around. “This is my room?”, she questioned as Kim said yes
Carri tried to take everything in. The room was so foreign to her. She looked around and found a framed picture of her and the guy in who she had seen when she first woke up. She found a board on the wall with tons of stuff tacked to it. There was a plain white envelope with the word tickets written on it tacked up, several sticky notes on the board as reminders to herself, and a lot of the space was taken with pictures. She found a lot of her with the same guy from the other picture, there were some with her and Kim, and some with the other two guys who were standing behind her. There were also plenty of people she didn’t recognize in the photos. She strained to remember but couldn’t.
She turned and saw the three guys standing behind her. “So are you and I dating or something?”, she asked pointing to the one in red
He nodded and stepped toward her. “I’m Rocky. We’ve been together for a few years now.”
As he inched forward, Carri inched back. “I’m sorry I just don’t remember.”, she said not wanting Rocky to come as close as he wanted. Rocky got the hint and took a few steps back. Carri looked at the other two men. “And we’re... friends?”
“I’m Tommy, this is Jason. I’m Kim’s boyfriend. You and I have been friends since high school.”, Tommy explained
“So we’re out of high school now?”, she asked for clarification
“You’re a junior at the University of Southern California.”, Kim answered pointing to a pennant that had been tacked to Carri’s wall
“This is just a lot to take in.”, Carri said as she stumbled back and flopped on her bed
“Maybe you guys should go home, give her a chance to rest.”, Kim suggested looking over at the male rangers
Tommy nodded. Rocky looked hurt, but he nodded as well. Them standing there wasn’t going to open the flood gates to her memory. Rocky figured if tomorrow didn’t bring any answers, he could always come back by after work. The two teleported out, leaving Jason and Kim in the room with Carri. They both went and sat on the bed next to their friend.
“What are you still doing here?”, Carri asked looking at Jason and shifting uncomfortably
“I live here too.”, he replied trying to give her what he hoped was a reassuring smile
“We live with a boy?”, she whispered a little loudly to Kim
Kim couldn’t help but giggle. “Yeah we live with two of them. The other one, Billy, is in that place we were just in.”
“And they’re nice to us?”, she asked a bit confused
Jason tried hard not to laugh, as her total confusion should be more sad than funny. But he couldn’t help but be amused by the questions she was asking.
“Yeah they’re like our best girl friends. Jason even goes shopping with us.”, Kim said trying hard not to laugh herself
Jason shot her a look that was murderous. Carri turned to him and he smiled at her. “Yeah, we’re really close.”
She nodded. “If you guys don’t mind, I think I want to rest by myself for a while.”
“Not a problem.”, Kim said as she and Jason exited the room, shutting the door behind them
“I shop with you?”, Jason questioned as they walked out into the living room
Kim started to laugh. “Hey I got a kick out of it. Besides, when she’s herself again she won’t remember that I said it.”
“Yeah and if she does you two will never let me hear the end of it.”, Jason pointed out
“Nope. Probably not.”, Kim said grinning at him as they both sat down on the couch, trying to do a little relaxing of their own
Kim woke up early the next morning to a phone call. Tommy had called her and invited her to come to Angel Grove to have lunch with him, which she had agreed to. She climbed out of bed and headed out into the living room. To her surprise, she found Jason and Carri sitting there on the couch watching TV. Not that they didn’t watch TV, but she usually never saw Carri out there at nine in the morning.
“Good morning.”, Kim greeted
“Morning.”, Carri said as she jumped up, coffee cup in hand, and headed over to the coffee pot.
“Need a second cup already?”, Kim joked
She shook her head no. “Third.”, she replied
Kim raised an eyebrow and shot Jason a look. It wasn’t that it wasn’t normal for Carri to have two cups of coffee. It’s just that it wasn’t normal for her to have already had two by nine. In fact it wasn’t normal for her to be out of bed before ten, especially on a Saturday.
“She’s been up since eight.”, Jason said his voice low. Kim giggled and he smiled at him.
Carri put her cup in the sink. “You know, I think I’m good on coffee for now.”
“So what are everyone’s plans for the day?”, Kim asked
Carri shrugged and Jason replied. “I’m going to the gym for a while.”
“I’m going to Angel Grove.”, Kim told him as she looked over at her friend. “Are you going to be ok by yourself for a while?”
Smiling over at Kim, Carri responded. “I’ll be fine.”
Kim nodded. She wasn’t sure if she really wanted to leave her here alone. But how much trouble could she get into in the apartment? As long as she locked herself in, she’d be fine. Kim got up and went to get her own cup of coffee, then joined Jason and Carri on the couch for a bit before going back to her room to get ready for the day.
Kat walked out of the locker rooms at the Angel Grove Youth Center. She had just finished teaching her morning class and her friend Linda was going to come meet her there for lunch. She wasn’t coming to look for either of the ranger boys, but Kat had promised her that Ernie’s burgers were the best in town and that she had to try one. After the smoothies yesterday, Linda could believe it.
She walked out and scanned the Youth Center for her friend. She didn’t find her, but she did see someone else. “Kim!”, she called out smiling and waving
Kim gave her a little wave back. “Hey Kat.”, she said as she went and sat down
Kat walked over and approached Kim’s table, standing behind one of the chairs and leaning on it. “What are you doing up here?”
“Meeting Tommy for lunch.”, she replied
“That’s nice.”, Kat said. Linda was going to love the fact that Tommy was going to be there again today. “Is my cousin here?”, she asked as Kim shook her head no. Kat sighed. “Is she mad at me or something? I called her a couple of times yesterday and she never called me back.”
“No she’s not mad at you.”, Kim promised. The first time Kat called they were bowling with Buffy and she didn’t feel like talking to her at the moment. She was going to call her back eventually. The second time Kat called they were in battle, and the last two times she called was after Carri’s memories were gone. Kim hit ignore on both of those calls because she didn’t want to talk to her and there was no point giving her to Carri. “Look I’ll have Carri call you as soon as she’s... better.”
“Better? What is she sick or something?”, Kat questioned
“Not quite. She got hit yesterday. Her memory was magically wiped. So she wouldn’t remember you. She doesn’t remember any of us.”, Kim explained
“That’s awful.”, Kat said. It seemed like every time she turned around one of her friends was getting hurt as a result of the never ending battle between good and evil. In her years as a ranger she had been attacked and hurt several times so she knew exactly how it was, and how easily it could happen.
“Hey Kat.”, another woman called out as she approached the duo
“Hey.”, Kat greeted. “Linda this is my friend Kim, Kim this is Linda. We went to school together.”
“Nice to meet you.”, she said with a smile
“You too.”, Linda replied. She looked closely at Kim for a moment. Kim looked so familiar and she couldn’t quite put a finger on it. Finally it hit her. “You were in the Pan Global’s a few years ago weren’t you?”
“Yeah I was.”, Kim replied with a smile. Gymnastics weren’t exactly the number one sport in America, and the Pan Global’s weren’t exactly the Olympics. She didn’t get recognized much, but she enjoyed when she did. It always reminds her that it was worth it to go compete in the games.
“You were awesome.”, Linda assured her. “I thought you were going to the Olympics.”
Kim shrugged. “I reevaluated my priorities, decided I wanted to come home.”
“I can’t wait to tell my friends that I met Kimberly Heart.”, Linda said with a smile. “Can I get an autograph or something?”
“Sure not a problem.”, Kim said
“Great.”, Linda replied. She shuffled through her purse until she found a pen and a piece of paper. She handed it to Kim, who put her signature on it before handing it back.
“You ready to go eat lunch?”, Kat asked as she gestured to one of the tables
“Sure.”, she said with a smile as she and Kat went to sit to eat
As Kat and Linda were sitting, Tommy walked into the Youth Center. He saw the two of them and tried his hardest to walk past without being noticed, heading straight for his girlfriend. “Hey beautiful.”, he greeted leaning in from behind to give her a kiss
“Hey Tommy.”, she replied as her boyfriend walked around and sat at the table. “How’s David?”
“He’s good. He said to tell everyone hello.”, Tommy replied. Kim nodded and smiled and Tommy continued. “I talked to Billy this morning.”
“And?”, Kim questioned. She hoped it was good news because a little bit of good news would do them a world of good right now.
“And we can cure Carri by destroying Slayer. He’s searching for Buffy but there’s nothing yet. He’s hoping to get results soon.”, Tommy explained
“Well at least that’s one less thing to worry about.”, Kim said with a smile. She hated seeing her friend like this. She could tell every time she and Jason talked that Carri tried to remember, and she knew she was getting frustrated not being able to.
“How’s everything going?”, Tommy asked
“As good as can be expected.”, Kim replied. From behind her she heard Kat and Linda giggle about something. Tommy gave her a nervous smile and Kim made a face. “What’s that all about?”
“Rocky and I met Linda yesterday. She spent most of the afternoon checking us out.”, he replied. He certainly wasn’t going to lie to Kim about something like that. She only checked him out from afar, she never tried to make an advance.
Kim giggled. That was not the response Tommy thought she was going to have. “Well can you blame her. You male rangers are sexy.”, she said with a smile. “I mean the in thing to do is to be with a ranger.”
Tommy looked at her as she smiled at him, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Too bad there’s only three and we’re all taken.”
“You forgot about five more.”, Kim pointed out adding in the Astro team and Billy. “Although Billy’s with Trini, and Andros and Ashley can’t get enough of each other.”, she said with a smile. Shortly after the Psycho’s were destroyed, both teams of rangers had gotten together. Andros and Ashley spent most of the time attached at the hip. They would laugh and share secrets and play around. It was actually fun to watch as it reminded Kim of what it was like when you first fell in love with someone.
“I certainly didn’t mean to leave the Astro Rangers out.”, Tommy said with a smile
Kim giggled. “You ready to eat?”, she asked. He nodded over at her and they got Ernie’s attention, placing an order for their nice lunch out.
Once the apartment had been emptied, Carri had gotten dressed and ignored Kim’s suggestion to stay inside. After a fun time out, she found herself prancing through the park. She spun around a tree and ran smack into someone, falling backwards. “Oh I’m sorry sir.”, she said with a huge smile
“Hey.”, Chris Black greeted as he looked her over. It was definitely his girlfriend’s cousin, but something was weird about her. “Are you alright.”
“Oh I’m just fine.”, she said as she looked the guy standing in front of her over. She smiled at him and batted her eyelashes. He looked at her strangely then extended a hand to help her up.
She put a hand to his arm and smiled. “Thank you so much.”, she said
“Um... you’re welcome.”, he said with uncertainty. He didn’t know what she thought she was doing with the batting of the eyelashes and the soft touches. Maybe she got mad at Kat and was trying to seduce her boyfriend. Which didn’t make sense considering she had one of her own. “It, uh, was nice seeing you but I, uh, have to go.”, he stuttered trying to think of a good excuse to leave
“So soon?”, she questioned leaning her back against the tree and pushing her chest out
“Uh... yeah. I’ll, uh, talk to you later, ok?”, he said. She flashed him a huge smile and he smiled back before talking off.
Carri frowned. He had been cute, and she had tried, but he hadn’t seemed the least bit interested. Besides, she supposedly had a boyfriend. She sighed as she continued her walk through the park. Well it wasn’t as much of a walk as it was half dancing, half walking.
“Carri?”, a voice called somewhat concerned
Carri spun in the direction she heard her name called from. She smiled at the man walking toward her. “Hello. Who are you?”
Matt Drake looked at her curiously for a second. She looked like... well he didn’t know what she looked like but it wasn’t herself. “I’m your best friend remember?”, he joked with a smile
She looked at him with a blank expression as she kept walking. “I thought Kim was my best friend.”
He started walking so that he was walking beside her. “Yeah but I’ll be she doesn’t know what you were for Halloween in the third grade.”, he pointed out
“What was I?”, she asked
The seriousness of the question scared him. They would joke about this stuff all the time. “You were Wonder Woman and I was Superman. And we argued about which was cooler, flying or the invisible jet. Remember?”
“No I’m sorry I don’t remember.”, she said as she smiled over at him
“Are you feeling ok?”, he expressed the question that had been floating through his mind since he saw her.
“Why yes. I’m fine. Why do you ask?”, she said as she smiled at him. “Ooooh look, flowers.”, she said excitedly as she walked over to the daisy’s, picking one and bringing it to her nose to smell it.
“You know what, you stay right there. I’ll be right back ok?”, Matt asked. She nodded and smiled at him and he took off.
That afternoon Kim made her way back home. She enjoyed her lunch with Tommy. It had been relaxing, and a good way to let her mind drift away from their latest situation. Of course she had Kat and Linda to think about there, but they didn’t stay long and she tried not to let them bother her.
Kim pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex. She headed out of the car and into the building, making her way up the stairs and to her apartment. As she opened the door, she saw Jason sitting on the couch. “Hey.”, she greeted
“Hey.”, he replied turning to smile at her
“Where’s Carri?”, she asked
“She’s not with you?”, Jason questioned. He had left for the gym before Kim left for Angel Grove. When he returned both girls were gone, and he had just assumed that Carri had gone with her.
“No she was here getting dressed when I left.”, Kim explained
Jason sighed. “This can’t be good.”, he pointed out. They sent a girl with no memory of anything out into the world. She wasn’t herself, and if she had gotten into trouble she wouldn’t know what to do.
“Well maybe we can get Billy to find her and bring her back.”, Kim said. She was thinking the same thing Jason was. She had no idea what would have possessed her friend to leave the apartment.
“Yeah that’s a good idea.”, Jason replied as they heard a knock at the door
Kim looked over at him and he shrugged, so she went to answer it. Standing there was Carri’s friend Matt. “Hey. If you’re looking for Carri, she’s not here.”, Kim said with a smile. She would be the only reason he would have stopped by their apartment.
“Actually I know exactly where she is. I thought I would come get you guys because I don’t think she’s ok. She looks different and she’s acting really strange.”, Matt explained. That girl in the park was not Carri, and he didn’t want to just leave her there. Before he dragged her home he wanted to find out what was going on.
“Carri’s been in an accident.”, Kim said trying to quickly come up with a cover. “She has temporary memory loss. She doesn’t really know who she is. The doctor’s say it will all come back though.”
“You want to take us to her?”, Jason said as he appeared in the doorway beside Kim
“Yeah. You guys might want to bring her home before she does something she’ll regret.”, Matt said. Not like she wasn’t already going to regret walking out in public like she was.
Kim and Jason nodded then headed out of the apartment. Matt walked them through the park and stopped when they got close, pointing to her. “Oh... my....”, Kim said as her jaw dropped and she tried hard not to laugh
Carri was wearing a long white skirt, with huge ruffles at the bottom and a pink bow around the waist. Her top was pink, and on her feet was a pair of white heels. Her hair had been drawn into a tight bun and had a few daisies sticking out of it.
“Carri!”, Kim called watching as her friend spun around and skipped toward her
Carri flashed them a huge smile as she had a fist full of daisies. She took one and placed it behind Matt’s ear, put one behind Jason’s ear, then put one behind Kim’s ear before stepping back and smiling at them. “Hey everyone.”
Kim looked her over and took a deep breath before she hit the floor laughing in front of her friend. She though she was composed until she noticed the Barbie pink on her fingers and toes. “What did you do to your nails?”, she asked
“Oh I found this nice little place that I could get a mani and a pedi. Aren’t they pretty?”, she asked
Kim flashed her a smile, not sure of how much longer she could hold in her laughter. “Very pretty.”, Kim said. Carri was going to die when she got her memories back. Not that she didn’t get her nails done, but she never had them in pink. In fact Kim never really saw color on them. Carri had a place that her mom had taken her to when she was little that was back in Angel Grove. She paid a good bit of money to keep up her french manicure, and she hardly worried about her toes.
“Why don’t we go back to the apartment?”, Jason suggested
“Yes that would be nice.”, Carri replied smiling at him. “Are you coming too?”, she questioned looking over at Matt
“No actually I’m playing soccer in a bit.”, he replied
“Oh. Sports.”, she said, a sad tone in her voice as she made a face. “Well you have fun with your sports then.”
“Yeah, I will.”, he said smiling. Much like Kim he was hoping that he wasn’t going to bust out laughing. “I’ll see you later.”, he said as he waved and took off
“Shall we go home?”, she asked
“Yeah let’s get back.”, Kim said as she led her off. She wished she had a video camera so she could record this. She hoped that Carri would remember what happened. It wouldn’t be as much fun laughing at her if she didn’t.
Jason looked over at Carri as she stood in the middle of them and linked each of their arms. Carri started to skip, pulling Jason and Kim along with them. Jason laughed and she looked over at him. “Just having fun.”, he said with a smile trying his hardest not to laugh again
Finally they arrived at the apartment building, and headed up and into their place. As Carri made herself comfortable on the couch, their communicators went off. “Go ahead.”, Jason said
“I’ve found Buffy.”, Billy’s voice came through
“We’re on our way.”, Jason replied looking over at Carri. “You think you can stay here and wait for us?”
“Of course. I’ll be right here when you get back.”, she promised flashing them a smile
Jason and Kim teleported up to the Command Chamber, and noticed they were the first two rangers there. They looked at each other and smiled, before busting out laughing as the other two teleported in. Tears started to roll down Kim’s face she was laughing so hard.
“Did we miss a joke or something?”, Rocky asked
“It’s just,” Kim started trying to calm down, “your girlfriend, I mean, you just have to see for yourself.”
Rocky looked at Tommy who shrugged. Before he could say anything Billy spoke up, getting down to the reason he brought them there in the first place. “I’ve found the dimension they’re holding Buffy in.”
“I assume we can’t just teleport her out.”, Tommy said with a frown. It was never that easy.
“I can’t get a lock on her but I can send you in through a portal. The only problem is she’s being held in some sort of long underground tunnel and I can only get you in at the beginning of it. You’ll have to get to the end, get Buffy, and head back.”, Billy explained
“Well hopefully that won’t be too difficult.”, Rocky said. Of course knowing Rita and Zedd, they weren’t going to let them rescue her that easily.
“When are we going?”, Jason asked
“We need to get down to the park so I can set up a portal, then we’ll get you in. Trini will be here in a few minutes, she’s going to monitor everything from this end while I guard the portal.”, Billy explained
“Then let’s get moving.”, Tommy said
The rangers helped Billy gather all his equipment. As they were leaving, Trini teleported in and got herself settled. The rangers and Billy teleported down to the surface, and the blue Ninjetti got to work. A few moments later the two parts of his machine electrified, and a portal appeared between them.
“Good luck guys.”, Billy said as he looked at them
They nodded and one by one they entered the portal. They hit the ground and looked around. Billy was right, it wasn’t more than a huge underground tunnel. Fortunately for them, there were torches along the wall. As they turned a corner in the tunnel, several figures materialized in front of them.
“You didn’t think we’d make this easy for you?”, Goldar questioned looking over the rangers
“Of course not.”, Tommy said as they quickly prepared to morph. “It’s morphing time!”
The four rangers stood in front of Goldar, Rito and the hybrids and started the fight. They were trying to defeat them quickly so that they could make their way to Buffy and get her out. They were so involved in what they were doing that none of them noticed Slayer teleport in behind them.
Slayer surveyed the battlefield. Most of the rangers were covered in hybrids, but the white ranger was fighting Goldar one on one and was separated from the others. He would make an easy target as his back was turned to him. Quickly Slayer though a stake at the white ranger, and watched as he powered down and fell down.
“Tommy!”, Kim called as she watched her boyfriend hit the ground. She ran towards him and saw Slayer out of the corner of her eye. “Guys watch out! Slayer’s back!”
Jason and Rocky looked around and found Slayer, who was busy throwing stakes at both of them. They rolled out of the way and the stakes hit the hybrids. They called on their weapons and stood facing the monster. “I’ve got a score to settle with you.”, Rocky said as he ran at him, lance in hand
“You can’t stop the Slayer.”, the monster warned as Rocky hit him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards
Kim was desperately trying to protect Tommy and fight as Jason and Rocky attacked Slayer. These odds were getting worse by the minute. Kim was flinging arrows faster than she ever thought possible. The arrows were damaging the hybrids, but Rito and Goldar were just knocking them out of the way.
In the middle of all the confusion, Tommy started to wake up. He looked around, startled by everything that was going on. “What’s happening? Where am I? Who am I?”
“Just stay by me you’ll be safe.”, Kim promised as she continued to shoot arrows
Tommy was scared of the pink figure who had a weapon in hand, and had now idea why he should trust her. “How do I know you don’t want to kill me?”, he asked taking a step back
“Tommy look out!”
Kim’s frantic warning was too late as Goldar grabbed him from behind. “She doesn’t want to kill you, but I do.”
Tommy felt frustrated, as he couldn’t remember why this thing was or why it wanted him dead. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“This is going to be too easy.”, Goldar growled
Kim leaped on top of Goldar and Tommy, dragging them both to the ground. She tried to separate Tommy from his grip as Goldar jumped up and stared at her. “I’ll have to take you out first.”, he said
“I could use some help!”, Kim called out as she pushed Tommy against the wall and stood protectively in front of him, firing arrows off at Goldar and Rito, who were both advancing toward her along with a dozen or so hybrids
“Got any ideas?”, Jason asked. Neither he nor Rocky could afford to take their attention away from Slayer. If they did, they risked losing their memories and they would be in even more trouble than they were now.
Rocky thought for a second. “Let’s hit him back.”, he said. He was forming a plan, and it was pretty good too. The red and black rangers jumped up and hit Slayer hard with their axe and lance. Slayer fell back and hit the ground. Rocky stood beside Jason. “We need the Zeo Power Cannon, now!”, he called
The cannon fell into their hands and they wasted no time firing. The blast blew Slayer into thousands of tiny little wooden pieces. “Who’s slaying who?”, Rocky questioned satisfied that his idea worked. He didn’t have much time to enjoy the victory as they had to turn and help Kim.
Kim’s arrows could only hold off the advancing enemies for so long. Eventually Rito and Goldar got to her and threw her out of the way and into the arms of the hybrids, leaving Tommy defenseless. Goldar grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him off the ground. The white ranger looked like he had lost consciousness. Goldar figured that would be the easiest way to get rid of him, so he lifted his sword up. “Goodbye white ranger.”, he said as Tommy opened his eyes
“Not so fast.”, Tommy replied as he gave him a quick kick in the stomach, and sent him flying back. “It’s morphin time!”
Tommy turned and saw Jason and Rocky going to help Kim. He couldn’t remember anything that happened in the last few minutes, including how he ended up powered down and in Goldar’s grasp. That didn’t matter as dozens more hybrids came to join the fight. All that mattered now is that they could figure out a way to get through them all and get to Buffy.
Carri’s eyes fluttered open. She looked around and realized she was in her apartment. The last thing she remembered was trying to help Buffy. She must have been hit in the fight. She looked down and surprised herself. She saw the hideous ruffles, the heels, the pink nails on her feet. She about made herself sick when she realized the pink was on her hands too. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d switched bodies with Kim. Although Kim had better taste than that.
Standing up, Carri headed into her bathroom and took a peek in the full length mirror. She must have switched bodies with a Carri in another dimension. That would be the only explanation for her appearance because she would not be caught dead looking like that. She wanted to contact the Command Chamber, but her communicator wasn’t on her wrist. Looking around she saw it on her dresser. She fastened it to her wrist and teleported herself up.
Trini looked startled as Carri teleported in. As she saw her she wasn’t sure what was more startling, her presence or her appearance. “What are you doing here?”, she asked. As far as she knew, Carri didn’t know who she was and was in no condition to fight.
“I’m a power ranger.”, she said slowly, looking at Trini curiously. Her luck she got hit in the fight and ended up in biazrro world. “This is the Command Chamber, right?”
“You remember?”, Trini questioned
“Why wouldn’t I?”, Carri asked
“You got hit in the last battle by Slayer, who erased your memories. The others must have destroyed him so now you’ve got your memories back.”, Trini explained
Carri looked down at herself. That certainly explained the outfit. Hard to have a fashion sense if you didn’t know what fashion was. “Where are the others?”
“Going to rescue Buffy. You should teleport to Billy, see if they need help.”, Trini suggested
“I’m on it.”, Carri replied, hitting a button and teleporting to the surface
The battle raged on in the dark dimension. The rangers were tiring quickly as they fought through the seemingly never ending supply of hybrids. Tommy was trying to fight his battle with Goldar, but even that was getting tiring after a while. A few of the hybrids interfered with his fight, and Tommy and Goldar ended up separated. As he cleared the hybrids away, Goldar came flying at him face forward and hit the ground.
“Beating up on Goldie always feels good.”, Carri said as she twirled the daggers in her hands
“It’s nice to have you back.”, Tommy said
She smiled at him. “You know I never miss a good fight.”, she replied running in to join the action
A fifth ranger was just what the others needed to rejuvenate them. They all saw Carri fly in, overflowing with energy as she attacked everything that moved. At one point Carri ran over and helped Kim out of a jam. The pink ranger smiled at her friend. “Thanks but I hope you know just because you helped me doesn’t mean you get to be the pink ranger.”
“Ha ha funny.”, Carri said as Kim laughed at her and continued fighting
After a while, the number of hybrids started dwindling. Eventually they were down to the five rangers against Goldar and Rito. The rangers regrouped and stood in front of the duo. “You guys want some action?”, Carri asked
“Next time rangers.”, Goldar replied as he disappeared
“Let’s get Buffy and get out of here.”, Jason said as the rangers took off running
After what seemed like miles of tunnel, the found the end which held a cage carved out of the wall that Buffy was trapped in. “It’s about time you guys got here.”, she said looking at them
“You’re not an easy person to find.”, Tommy replied. He used his pistol to slice through the metal bars of the cage. Buffy slipped out and they led her back to the other end, through the portal, and into Angel Grove park.
“You made it.”, Billy greeted
“Of course we did.”, Kim said with a smile. The rangers all helped Billy get his stuff together before the entire group teleported back to the Command Chamber and the rangers powered down.
One look at Carri was all it took for Buffy to bust out laughing. “What the hell happened to you?”
“I lost my memory and apparently reinvented myself as Barbie.”, she said harshly. She could hear Rocky and Tommy snicker from the background. This was the first time either of them had seen her.
Carri crossed her arms as her friends were snickering in all directions. Rocky walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “So do you feel ok?”, he asked
“I feel a lot better than I look.”, she replied
He threw his hands up. “I never said a thing.”, he pointed out as she shot him a look. He couldn’t help but laugh at her again. “Look, I’ve got to get back to work, but I’ll call you later ok?”
“Sure.”, she replied. He gave her a kiss before teleporting out.
“I’m going to get back to David.”, Tommy said. He gave his girlfriend a kiss as well before teleporting out.
“And I’m going home to get the hell out of these clothes.”, Carri said as she teleported off
Jason, Kim and Buffy looked at each other and laughed. “Should we go back to the apartment?”, Kim asked
“Why not.”, Buffy replied as all three teleported out
Buffy and Kim sat on the couch watching TV as Carri emerged from her room looking a lot better. She sat down in between her two friends and sighed. “Please tell me noone else saw me like that.”
“No.”, Kim said as she smiled at her. “Just Matt. And probably a handful of other people in the park.” Carri moaned and bent down, putting her face in her hands. “We told Matt you had an accident, that it was temporary memory loss.”
Carri nodded as Buffy reached over and picked a daisy out of her hair. She showed it to Kim and tried not to laugh as Carri sat up. “Where did you get that from?”, Carri asked Buffy
“Your hair.”, the slayer replied twirling the flower around in her fingers
“No.”, Carri said her eyes wide
“Yes.”, Kim replied as she reached back and picked another one out
“Oh God.”, Carri said reaching back and picking out more flowers. She hadn’t thought about her hair before, which is why she didn’t notice the flowers or the bun. She pulled the bun out and shook her hair, pieces of daisy flying out.
Buffy flicked a piece of flower off of her shirt. “So what are you going to do about your nails?”
“I have an emergency appointment Monday morning.”, Carri replied with a smile. She looked at the two girls. “If I ever forget who I am again, just lock me up in a cell until I remember.”
Jason emerged from his bedroom and headed out into the livingroom. Kim looked at him as he walked in. “Are you ready to go shopping?”, she asked. He immediately spun and went back into his room. Kim giggled. “What about you girls?”
“Sounds good to me.”, Buffy said
Carri eyed her friend. “Do you really have to ask that question?”
Kim smiled. “Then what are you waiting for. Let’s go.”, she said as the three girls left the apartment, giving Jason some time to himself
Astronema and Ecliptor arrived in the throne room of the Lunar Palace to find Rita and Zedd there, along with Divatox. She smiled at them. “Perfect you’re all here.”, she said looking them over. “It won’t be long now before Zordon will be ready.”
“Let me guess. Keep the rangers distracted.”, Rita said rolling her eyes
“No.”, Astronema said sharply, angered by the tone she used with her. “Divatox, I want you to get in position around Aquitar. Rita and Zedd, leave some of your troops here. I want you to take the rest of them and get in position by Eltar. Your father is nearing Triforia waiting for orders, and I am sending some of my forces to KO-35. Soon we will attack and soon the universe will belong to Dark Specter.”, Astronema said as she and Ecliptor left
The others looked around at each other before hurrying off to follow orders.
The End