Disclaimer: Power Rangers……all the seasons are not ours. Please don't sue us. We are just doing this for fun and not for money. It is strictly for enjoyment.

Timeline: Oh God….is this going to be a joke throughout the entire fic. Anyway, the fic takes place just as the episode "House of Cards" in DinoThunder is ending. If you haven't seen that episode, do so now. From there, well…..try sorting out the mess.

Authors' notes: TM: I had an interesting idea for a fic and after trying to explain to TiC about it, we decided to go for it. This is fic is based off the PR universe, but as you read, well……you will see what happens. TiC: This fic was very hard to get a handle on to start with but once it was clearly explained to me I was totally on board. I couldn't write at such a high level without TM's careful planning and laying of the groundwork. I'm so proud of how much ground this fic is going to cover. It's quite a ride.

Impending Past

By Tommy's Mistress and TommyIsCancer

Chapter 1: Reverse Rift

Anton Mercer disappeared the invisa-portal that appeared above him leaving behind his adopted son Trent to look back at his fellow DinoThunder Rangers. He looked down, refusing to meet their cold and condemning gaze. Conner, the team leader whose trust he had betrayed, and Dr. Oliver, he teacher and mentor had lost their faith in him. Tommy shook his head in disappointment. Trent hung his head in shame.

"Guys," Trent said, an empty feeling in his gut felt like his stomach was eating itself just to survive. "I can explain."

"I have had it with you and secrets, Trent!" Conner yelled.

"I've had enough of this, I just... I gotta go..." Tommy said very sternly, trying to hold back his bottled up rage. Tommy grabbed his things and bumped Conner as he stormed out of the room. The other four Rangers stared in disbelief as their usually cool headed teacher left in a fit of frustration, the classroom door slamming behind him.

"Why did you hide this from us?" Ethan said as his eyes stared like daggers, turning his anger back at Trent.

"See what you did!" Conner yelled accusingly at Trent.

"Oh god!" Ethan said. "I have never seen him so pissed off like that before."

"Conner! Ethan! Stop!" Kira yelled. "This is getting us no where! We need to give Trent a chance to explain himself. We– YOU owe him that much"

Conner shook his head, not hearing any of it and hauled back, landing a shot with his fist clear on Trent's jaw, buckling his knees and sending him to the floor.

"I knew we never should have trusted you. How many times do you think you can lie to us and get away with it? You're no better than one of your daddy's freakshow monsters."

"Damnit Conner!" Kira stuck her arm out and moved Ethan to the side before letting loose one of her Ptera Screams. Conner covered his ears as the sound overtook him. "Now," she regained her composure, "I think we all need to cool off for a while."

"Fine, whatever," Ethan said. "As long as I don't see Trent for a while." Conner regained his footing. He and Ethan walked angrily out of the room. Trent looked at Kira who in return shook her head at him.

"I'm sorry Trent. You know I care for you and will always give you the benefit of the doubt but right now even I can't trust you." She followed behind the other two out of the room, refusing to look back.

Trent sat alone on the floor for what seemed like an hour, contemplating the events of the last few months. Had he made the right decision in withholding his father's identity? The rangers had no obligation to take him in as one of their own. Anton Mercer had given him the world though. Who did he owe more to? He slowly picked himself up and left the classroom, walking towards Hayley's Cyberspace to try to make heads or tails of everything and find someone with a sound mind that would be willing to hear him out.

Conner instinctively wandered down to the soccer field and began to practice taking some penalty shots. Ethan and Kira halfheartedly watched from the sidelines. Ethan took out his computer and began to amerce himself into his latest game with frustrating results while Kira sat down and pulled out her guitar and strummed a bit, mumbling words as she went.

Tommy sat inside of his jeep, peering over his things. The stack of papers that had to be graded were inconsequential. He sighed, turned the key in the ignition and drove off. On the way home, he took deep breaths, trying to clear his head. At his house, Tommy climbed down the stairs into the basement, expecting Trent to be there sulking or trying to plead his case, but no one, not even Hayley, was there. He went to his chair, sank into it and put his hands to his temples in frustration.

"What is going on?" Tommy murmured to himself. "Anton is Mesogog? How is that possible? And Trent was harboring this information all along? God, why didn't he at least come to me?" He threw himself back into the chair and stared blankly at the ceiling in deep contemplation. "Damn it! I know what it's like not to have your real parents. I thought I had gotten through to him. Maybe I don't really know him at all." Tommy closed his eyes and thought about his experiences as an evil ranger and how his friends brought him back from the edge. Maybe it's us. Maybe it's me. Are we really a team? The guys were friends before they became rangers. These kids on the other hand, were picked from all different walks of life and forced to be a team. But then again, what have I done to really teach them about being a team?" He opened his eyes and sat up in the chair and looked at his desk. "I am sick of this. Sick of the fighting!" He got up and walked over to his lab table. "Maybe if I…"

Trent collapsed into one of the stools at the bar of the Cybercafé. He looked around and as expected, Hayley came over to him.

"Trent? "Are you okay?"She noticed the dried blood from the corner of his mouth and a big red mark on the corner of his jaw.

"No," Trent snapped. He had tears in his eyes. "Dr. Oliver and the others won't trust me ever again!"

"What? What happened?" Trent looked around the café cautiously indicating to her that it was Ranger business. "Okay, in the back. Now." She told one of the other workers to cover the front for her as the two went into the very cluttered backroom. They went to the back corner of the room "What happened?"

"Hayley, my dad….he…" Trent was choking on tears as he tried to get what he wanted to say out. "My father….is….Mesogog…"

"What?" Hayley said in shock. "Are you sure? How did you find this…"

"Hayley." Trent said as he interrupted her. "I knew…from the time…I regained control of the dino gem. My dad is the one that broke the evil hold it had on me. He told me to help the others and to stop Mesogog."

"What?" she said with a hint of anger. "Why didn't you tell us before now?"

"How could I tell them? What? 'My own father is Mesogog!' Conner hit me, Ethan trusted me, even Kira walked out on me and Dr. O doesn't trust me anymore. I couldn't say anything! My father is good…it's just…I was afraid they would…kill him…" She looked at him sternly, but with general concern in her eyes. She hugged Trent closely and whispered words of encouragement.

"Trent, it will be okay," she said. "They are just mad and they have a right to be. You shouldn't have kept this from them. Conner always had issues with trust and Ethan and Kira are just disappointed that you didn't come to them. Tommy understands…but I think he is the most disappointed in you than anything."

"I know," Trent said as he looked at her. "You should have seen his face."

"It's understandable Trent," Hayley said as she pushed him back and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Wait a little while. They need time to cool off. After that, go to the lab and speak to Tommy. He will listen. He just needs time to vent. Now, I have a café to run."

"I hope so, Hayley," Trent said as the two exited the backroom. "I hope so." Trent left the café and started heading for his house. He tried desperately to think about what to do as he walked inside and down to the pond in the backyard. He sat on the bench there and remembered all the things that had happened since he became the White DinoThunder Ranger. The ups and downs, how horrible it felt to be controlled and how freeing it was to regain control and be able to make his own choice on what to do with the power that he had been given. Or was it a curse? Trent picked up his sketchbook and pencil and started drawing the scenery of the pond, trying to wash the pain away. He stopped when he realized that his mind was wandering and the sketch began to include his friends. The Rangers. The team he thought he could call his friends. "Maybe I should have never become a ranger in the first place. It has caused too much pain. I don't deserve their trust," Trent sighed heavily. "I have to do something. I have to make amends."

An amalgamated mass of machinery and building ruins began to stir like an unruly child. Deep from inside a figure made his way through the rumble to get to the heart of it. He looked around to try to gain his bearings. An energy reader in his hand confirmed that he had reached his destination.

"Interesting place," Zeltrax cued as he eyed the location. "I wonder what this trash heap use to be." He kicked a piece of metal with his foot. He was surprised to find part of a console under it. Under the console, Zeltrax could see CDs spilling out from an ajar compartment. He grabbed them up greedily. "Hmmm... Amazing that they survived the blast."

Zeltrax took out a data reader he had in his bag. He put one of the CDs in it and scanned it, revealing a video file. He watched in amazement as he saw the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers on the screen of the scanner and then clenched his free hand in fury as it reminded him of his current problem with DinoThunder Rangers and their mentor, Dr. Oliver. He went on to another file and saw the evil Green Ranger destroying the Command Center.

"Interesting. Looks like the first rangers had their own problems with an unruly member among their ranks. These ruins, they must be the remains of their old headquarters." He enjoyed watching the rangers suffer as the green one created chaos amongst the others. The cries of desperation made his ears perk up with glee. When the green one was revealed to be Tommy when Jason defeated him, Zeltrax was disgusted with the video and threw it to the ground, stepping on it. Seeing Tommy angered him immensely, not to mention the revelation of Dr. Oliver's dark roots. "Damn you Oliver! Is there anything you can't do or isn't handed to you on a silver platter! If I had my druthers, I would grind you out of existence! I'd save everyone from your insufferable interference!" He kicked the reader, creating a clanking noise as it hit a piece of metallic debris. The metal fell over, exposing machinery behind it. "What is this?" Zeltrax paced over, cautiously gaining a handle on exposed instruments. If he had a mouth, a sly grin would have formed on it. He said nothing in his acknowledgment of what it was. "Perhaps my goals are within closer reach than I could have dreamed."

Anton Mercer was fighting a losing battle. No matter how hard he fought, Mesogog always won. His nails grew as his fingers compounded, the large fangs filled his mouth as the rage consumed him. Mercer clutched to the throne in Mesogog's personal chambers, trying desperately to fight of the transformation. The battle was soon lost as Mesogog gained control, leaving Anton as a distant memory. Mesogog peered around, triumphant, taking his place calmly on his throne. He gave a low growl of anger.

"Elsssssa is going to pay dearly for thisssss! That traitorousssss wench!" Mesogog hissed in frustration and slammed his fist into the chair, cracking off the arm of it. He let out another bellow. "I've lossssst my leverage againssssst Mercer's brat! Those infernal rangersssss are to blame! I mussssst remedy this sssssetback. I mussssst eliminate them now." Mesogog's mind began to work at a pace that proved Mercer was still very much a useful part of him. "Ssssspeaking of eliminating…."

The other three rangers were still toiling away at their respective hobbies, using those vices to work through frustration. They didn't speak a word to each other. They all had the same thing on their minds: Trent. An hour had past since the incident although none of them were privy to it. Ethan grew tense watching Conner miss the goal time after time. After the fifth kick in a row feel to the side of the net, he couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop!" Ethan said. "It physically hurts me now just to watch you miss." Conner shot his head around, glaring at him. He picked up the ball, slamming it into his palm. He walked over and slumped down between Kira and Ethan. They hadn't been this tense around each other since happenstance first brought them together.

Kira shook her head in frustration, stuck on the same line of the song she was righting that she had been for the passed twenty minutes. "So now what do we do?"

"There's nothing to do Kira," Conner snipped. "Let Dr. O have his hide. Feed him to the wolves for all I care."

"You're not being fair!" Kira yelled back, refusing to back down.

"We can't trust him. That's the bottom line Kira," Conner abruptly added. "What's next? Maybe he's having an affair with Elsa."

"Eww, Conner!" Kira yelled in disgust. "That's so wrong. I don't want that imagery in my head!"

"You know what he means, as bluntly as he put it," Ethan interjected. "We don't even know where we stand with that guy anymore. How many times does he have to screw you over for you to realize that he's not trustworthy?"

"What's wrong with you Kira?" Conner cried out. "I know you like him but be realistic. You can't actually be defending him still!" He slammed the soccer ball to the ground. "I'm going home. I can't deal with this right now. I always told you guys that we couldn't trust him. But nobody listens to me. I've got the red suit but I guess being the dumb joke trumps that fact." He packed up his book bag while shaking his head. Kira sighed. Conner was hard to talk to when he was mad but he was right. She glanced at Ethan who was putting away his computer.

"Don't look at me, K," Ethan said defensively. "I ain't taking sides here."

Kira rolled her eyes. "Show some backbone Ethan. And Conner? Calm down for once and give people a chance. What is wrong with you two?"

"Me," Conner snapped, "We could have stopped Mesogog months ago! We could have gotten him time and time again while he was Anton but Trent was too concerned about his dad. He's not concerned for us. What if Ethan, Dr. O or I got killed in battle? Would you give Trent the benefit of the doubt THEN?"

Kira recoiled. Usually she would never back down from Conner but his words were like a net, holding her down.

"We stick together! We are a team!" he continued. "Obviously, rich boy doesn't get that because he has been babbling secrets to his dear old dad! I know you still have feelings for him Kira, but you have to face facts! He's a liar!"

Kira slowly moved over to her bag, slung it over her shoulder and grabbed her guitar case. She had to get away from the scathing commentary.

"What? Where are you going? If you're going to Trent, try not to let out anymore secrets. It could get us killed tomorrow!"

Kira spun around towards Conner, freezing him cold. Tears were streaming down her face, running her mascara, cascading it like a rain of bile. She fought the words out of her throat. "I don't know what to believe anymore Conner. My feelings for Trent don't matter. I care about you all. There's no one I'd rather trust my life too then you four guys. To know that any of you would put the rest of us at risk? I'm scared, Conner. Damnit, I'm scared!"

She let out the last cry as her voice trailed off. Conner hung his head in shame. Both of them flinched and then feel in together as Ethan put his arms around both of them.

"Guys," Ethan stammered, "We can't turn on each other. Not now. We need to go to Dr. O's house and talk to him about Trent and if he is there…"

"We'll let him tell his side of the story," Conner gave a sickening look, but then smiled at Kira. "After all," he continued, "Dr. O was there for me when I wanted to quit being a ranger before. I still can't trust Trent, Kira... but he's saved us in the past. He deserves a chance to explain himself."

Kira nodded and smiled, wiping back the tears.

KRA-KOOM!

The earth began to shake beneath the teens. Kira's hands snapped out before her as she was thrown to ground. Conner leaned down to help her up. An explosion echoed around them. The sound came from the other side of town. The rangers looked up, noticing a huge white dome that was spreading over the city rapidly, creating what appeared to be a colossal snow globe.

"What the heck is that?" Kira cried out. The dome was approaching their location.

"Oh shit!" Conner screamed, knowing it was too late. They were powerless to stop it. The dome engulfed them. Darkness.

-------

The sound of his alarm clock buzzed in the back of Conner's head. He groaned, rolling over in his bed, slamming the button with his fist. "6 a.m. Damn." He crawled out of the messy sheets, leaving it for later as he stumbled downstairs, careful to avoid the broken out step, and made his way through the hallway in his worn boxers and into his family's kitchen. He pulled up a seat at the table were his twin brother, Eric, was half asleep chomping on some stale cereal. Conner sighed and dragged himself to the cupboard, grabbing a cracked bowl from the broken down shelves and made his way back to the table.

"Mom and Dad go already?" Conner mumbled. He grabbed the cereal box that Eric had sat next to his glass of orange juice.

"Yeah," Eric said. "Mesogog summoned them early for some sort of special project. You know how he has it when someone is late. I saw bruises on dad's arms and back when he came home late the other night."

"Seriously?" Conner choked our. "Dad didn't tell me that."

"He didn't want either of us to see it and worry. Apparently he brought Mesogog the wrong purple liquid for something and he got thrown across the room."

"Oh, God," Conner winced. He carefully took another bite of his food.

"Yeah," Eric said, getting worked up,. "And the bastard White Ranger has been running random patrols of the area, keeping all of us in line! I hate it. It's like a damned prison."

"Shhhh!" Conner whispered loudly with a horrified look on his face. "You can't say stuff like that! Do you want the neighbors to hear?"

"Sorry," Eric remembered. "I'm just so sick of it."

"I know, me too," Conner nodded. "Me too."

Conner and Eric finished their breakfast, sitting their poor cracked dishes in the sink.

"Let's go," Eric sighed, "Dr. Payne is going to kill us for being late as it is."