A/N: Here we go! Here is the first chapter of my new fic titled Beautifully Broken. This fic will only be about seven or eight chapters. It's something I've been mulling over for a while now and I needed to get it out of my system. I promise that if you think you know where this is heading, you are completely wrong. This is going to be VERY dark and I will give a hefty warning once we come across the chapter that makes this an M rated fic.

As always, thanks for reading! I'm working on a new one-shot you might see uploaded in a couple days. Keep tossing me suggestions as well!

Disclaimer: I own nothing Power Rangers but an obsession. I promise you it's only a tad bit unhealthy.

Beautifully Broken

Chapter One

Just A Dream

"Great work, guys! C'mon. One more round. Andrew, get that knee up, okay?" I called out, walking around the perimeter of the room. The red green and white mat under my feet sank each time my bare foot pressed into it, making the soles of my feet sigh with relief. They were still killing me from the work I had down yesterday, calluses on my hand matching them. I crossed my arms behind my back as I walked, viewing the students in front of me. As they went through their kata, they would let out yells that matched the movements. I couldn't help but to smile as I observed them, seeing what prograss most of them had made over the last couple of weeks. They were the beginners class that started towards the end of June. Mostly kids whose parents wanted them to do something besides cause trouble throughout the summer. The Angel Grove Martial Arts School was more than willing to provide that for them and more.

"And that's a wrap!" Rocky DeSantos called from the other side of the room. The thirty four year old smiled out at the class as they came to a stop. "Bow to me." He said, the students bending their heads towards him. "Bow to Sensei Oliver." The kids turned to bow at me, something that still felt strange to me. As the class broke up, they grouped off to talk to one another as they headed towards the locker rooms to change. Shaking my head, I walked over to Rocky who was high fiving the younger kids as they passed by him. "Good class today, man." He said, smiling at me. His brown hair was cut short to his scalp, a desperate attempt to fight the receding hairline that was becoming more apparent with each passing year.

"It was. I still wish that a couple of them would practice more at home. You can tell they aren't." I said, eyeing students as they walked by. Rocky nodded.

"I know. I keep telling the Jeffreys twins they need to put more effort into it but they seem to think they are perfect as they are right now. It is what it is. As long as their parents pay their monthly membership, they get what they want out of it I suppose." He frowned, shaking his head. "Karate doesn't mean as much now as it did when we were kids."

"I know. Everything is on a video game now, that's why." I muttered, feeling ninety instead of thirty five. "I'm gonna head up to the office. I'll be down in time for the next class."

"Sure thing, Tommy." He said, smiling at me. I patted him on the back before walking towards the back of the large training room. It led to the area where our locker rooms were, white walls continuing on. I took a right in the hall, finding a flight of stairs. Jogging up them, I pushed open the door at the top and walked into my office. It was painted a dark green color with black trim, an oak desk in the middle set on dark hardwood floors. There was a mountain of paperwork on top of it nestled between my computer and phone. Sighing, I walked over and sat in the office chair. I had no real desire to do any of the work that was there but I knew I needed to. If I wanted the lights to stay on here, it had to be done.

I had decided to open up my own dojo about a year ago. At the time, I was working as a high school science teacher in Reefside, California. It's about a four hour drive from here, smack dab in the middle of some mountains and nothing. I was also freshly divorced and owned my own home. It was an okay gig but just didn't fancy what I wanted to do in life any more. With some persuasion from Rocky and my best friend, Jason Lee Scott, I made the decision to move back here to Angel Grove and to open up my own dojo. It wasn't easy at first, not really knowing what to expect. Kids these days really don't see karate as a big deal anymore like Rocky said. I plunged anyway, opening up. Classes were slow at first and I wasn't sure we were going to make it but here we are. After doing some open houses and a free show at the elementary and high schools, I was able to get enough kids signed up that I had to hire Rocky on as an extra teacher.

Leaning forward, I ruffled through some of the papers until I found a stack of invoices. These were paid memberships for the month that needed to be filed in the filing cabinet in the corner. I tossed the pile on the floor, moving on. I found some of my utility bills and I tucked them under the keyboard so I could deal with them after. The rest of the papers were unpaid invoices that had to be sent out and flyers for our upcoming showcase that was next week. The kids were getting excited about it. Rocky and I had managed to reserve the auditorium in the school for it, giving the kids a chance to show off what they've learned and maybe get some more kids interested and involved. It also showed their parents they weren't just here pretending to be ninjas as it had been previously suggested to me in the past.

As I moved some papers, the picture frame on my desk caught my eye. It was a group photo in a black frame, the glass reflecting the fluorescent lights over my head. In the photo, I spotted myself and Rocky, him standing in the back. Next to him stood Jason, his dark hair combed back neatly. His girlfriend was next to him, his arm around Trini Kwan in an affectionate manner. The young Asian woman smiled at the camera, her long black hair braided down her shoulder. On Rocky's other side stood our friend, Billy Cranston. The dark blond man smiled at the camera as well, his glasses reflecting the sunlight that had been shining. In front of the two of them was Rocky's wife, Aisha Campbell. She was shorter than them, the African American woman only coming up to five feet. She stood next to Trini and I was on the other side of Billy. Knelt down on the ground was Adam Parks and Zack Taylor. Adam was knelt down in front of Aisha, his black hair longer and hanging in his face slightly. Zack was on the other side, the black man smiling with so much charisma at the camera that any girl would swoon at the sight of him (at least that's what he was probably thinking.)

My eyes lingered on the woman who was tucked into the space between Billy and I, her arm around my waist in the picture. Her long chestnut brown hair was clipped back on the top of her head and a broad smile was on her lips. My attention wasn't on the person taking the photo. It was on Kimberly Hart who was smiling right back at me, nothing else matters around us. Picking up the picture in my hand, I leaned back in my chair and sighed. Kimberly. The biggest mystery of my life than came with more than one chapter it seemed. This photo was taken two years ago after Aisha and Rocky's engagement party. It would be the first time I had seen Kim in almost ten years and the last time I would see her too.

"Where did you go?" I whispered, running a finger down the side of the picture. Saying that Kimberly and I had history was robbing our past justice. We met when I moved to Angel Grove during the ninth grade. My adopted family was a military family, meaning we moved more than anyone else I knew. When my dad decided to retire, they settled for Angel Grove because it was quiet. Or at least, that's what they thought. The very moment I saw Kim, I knew there was something special about her. I wasn't sure if it was her smile or the way she said my name but I just knew I needed to see and hear more of it.

This is the part of the story that's going to seem a bit odd unless you're from around here. On my second day of school, I ended up being kidnapped by an evil sorceress by the name of Rita Repulsa. She was located on the moon and was the arch nemesis of the Power Rangers, a team of colorfully clad warriors who were created to protect the world from the likes of Rita. She kidnapped me to become the evil Green Ranger, a force so powerful that she hoped to use me to wipe out the rest of the Rangers.

I told you. It's odd. I promise it's true though.

Rita placed me under a spell and I became the evil Green Ranger. I learned then that Jason, Trini, Billy, Zack, and Kimberly were the other Power Rangers. The spell made me want to destroy them, ending their reign on Earth so that Rita could rule anew. And, I almost succeeded. I had them on the ropes a few time, my powers proving to be stronger than anything they had ever faced. Thankfully, they were able to come up with a way to save the day and end the spell. That's when they asked me to join their team and become the sixth Power Ranger. I did, joining their ranks to defend Earth from Rita. Jason was the red Ranger and the leader, Zack was his second command as the black ranger, Trini was yellow and assisted Billy, the blue Ranger, with the engineering aspect of the job, and Kimberly was the pink Ranger. Her role was to be compassionate during their missions and to keep the group together, something she did beautifully. Even when I was under the spell, she still did her best to make sure I was okay and try to break the spell by talking to me. It was a wonder I didn't kill her then. It had been what I had been trained to do but for some reason, I didn't.

My feelings for Kimberly grew more as we worked together. We spent a great deal of time together from class projects to learning the ropes around the Command Center, the space where the Power Rangers trained and reported to their mentor, Zordon. He was an intergalactic being whose only connection to Earth and our dimension was through a giant tube. He also had a talking robot sidekick. Kim made sure that I was welcomed with open arms, even when some of the other Rangers were lery of me due to my past with Rita.

Rita managed to drain me of my powers, using an enchanted candle to suck me dry. After that, I was fearful that my budding whatever I had with Kim was going to fade. I decided to take my shot one day and kissed her. To my surprise, it was a feeling she had as well. It was and still is one of the best moments of my life that I will never forget. From that moment, we were together. I ended up back on the team as the Green Ranger again for a while and then the White Ranger, a power developed by Zordon and Alpha (the talking robot.) Life was great. I didn't mind the ranger stuff as long as Kim was by my side. We were and unstoppable match and I saw our future together,

Apparently, that wasn't meant to be though. Some unforeseen circumstances came along; Rita and another spell that bewitched a girl named Katherine Hibbard. It led to Kimberly having a near fatal incident with her powers. At the same time, she was offered the chance to join a world renowned gymnastics team in Florida to train for the Pan Global Games and then the Olympics. She was uncertain about what to do, her loyalty to not only me but also the Rangers making her want to stay here. I knew if she didn't go through with it, she would regret it. It had been her dream since she was a little girl to go and I couldn't let her give it up because of me. She was reluctant but agree. We made a plan on how it would work out with the distance and off she went.

Plans in high school don't work out the greatest. It's a hard lesson everyone learns as they mature into adults. I received a letter from Kim a couple months after she had left, saying she had found another guy and was breaking things off with me. That hurt like a knife to the gut over and over again. I nearly lost it, unsure of how to process life without her in it. It's something I can still feel to this day. Kimberly was the love of my life and she was suddenly gone because she didn't want to be with me. If that wasn't heartbreaking, I didn't know what was.

I pushed through the pain, still having a team to run. At the time, Aisha, Adam, and Rocky had taken Jason, Trini and Zack's places and Kat had taken Kimberly's place. I'm not proud of my actions after the break up but now, I can see why it happened. I knew Katherine liked me but I didn't really have feelings for her. I was on autopilot though, going through the motions. We ended up together and somehow, it landed us married. Kat and I were married for about five years before she threw in the towel. It took her that long to realize I was still strung up on Kimberly to the point I would never be able to feel the same way about her as I did Kim. I gave her more credit than she ever got while we were together. She's living in Australia now, teaching dance classes at a private college.

After our divorce, I received an invite to Aisha and Rocky's engagement party. I dragged me feeting coming, not wanting to be at a party about love when I was feeling lousy as it was. To my surprise, however, Kimberly was the first person I ran into at the party. It had been the first time I had seen her in close to ten years and she hadn't changed a bit. She was still the beautiful woman who had left me brokenhearted all those years ago. I had thought there would be a bitterness between us but it was quite the opposite. Instead, we ended up sitting together for most of the night and the next morning just talking about everything under the sun. We had so much to catch up on and she wanted to hear everything, including everything with Kat. She told me about her time in Florida and at the Olympic games. It was as if the break up had never occured and I was sitting with an old friend.

Over the course of the next year, Kim and I kept in contact. She was still in Florida while I was in Reefside. She had been one of the leading forces behind me getting out of teaching school and getting my own dojo. She supported the idea and told me it was my dream so I should go for it. We would talk on the phone every night and text during the day. I had my heart set on getting back together. It seemed like it was going to happen. I even told Jason and Trini about it, the two of the excited at the prospect. Kimberly planned a vacation out here to see the place the dojo would be going and asked me to pick her up at the airport. I bought flowers and planned on asking her to be with me again as soon as she landed.

Only, she didn't. I waited for hours there, thinking her flight had been delayed. Then a flight attendant had told me her plane had come and went without her on it. I tried calling her but she didn't answer her phone. This went on for hours and then days. Fear gripped my chest at the thought that something had happened to her. I would call and call and call and she wouldn't answer. Not even a text message. I was moments from ordering a plane ticket down there when Trini told me she had heard from Kim. Trini told me that Kim was fine. I kept trying to call her but she never answered. Finally, I called one day and the number had been disconnected.

I was heartbroken all over again.

I havent seen or spoken to Kim since then, making it six months a couple weeks ago. I gave up trying shortly after her phone was disconnected. Since then, I've thrown all my focus into the dojo and keeping the doors open. Some day, I'm hoping I can show her so she will know that I followed my dreams. It saddens me that I still think of her a lot and wonder what she would think about things as I go throughout my day. A part of me feels like she died and that's why I can't speak to her anymore. Sometimes, that makes it easier to deal with. Other times, I get blind rage when I think about her and how she didn't think I was good enough for her again. It's a constant inner struggle I deal with but I'm hoping some day it'll get better.

I jumped when the phone on the desk rang, startling me. I set the picture off to the side of the desk, picking up the receiver of the black phone. "Angel Grove Martial Arts. Tommy speaking." I said.

"I'll never get over how professional that shit sounds." Jason's voice said on the other end. I laughed leaning back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my face.

"Very funny, asshole. What do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?"

"I gotta cancel our plans for tonight." He replied and I heard a beeping noise on his end, like he was sitting in his car with the door open. We had plans on watching the game tonight, the Warriors taking on the Raptors tonight in the fourth game of the finals. He had been talking about it all week, excited about the idea of the Warriors taking it all the way.

"Everything alright, man?" I asked.

"Yeah. Trini just isn't feeling well and I think I"m just gonna make sure she's alright. Hate to do this to you so last minute, Tommy." He sounded sincere and I could picture his face.

"It's alright. I was just telling myself that sitting at home by myself on a friday night is the ideal way a divorce guy should spend his time." I replied, chuckling. "You're fine, Jase. Give Trini my best. I know something has been going around here. Maybe she picked something up from work."

"Maybe. Who knows. All I know is that I better not catch it. I prefer not to spend the weekend throwing up unless a bottle of tequila is involved."

"Dude, we're edging towards forty. Tequila might kill us at this point." I said flatly. Jason laughed, the sound echoing around his car.

"Alright. But it would be one hell of a way to go out, right?"

"I'd rather face Rita." I answered, both of us laughing.

"And you're supposed to be our fearless leader." There was shuffling in the background. "Shit, I gotta go. I gotta pick up some meds for Trini. I'll call you tomorrow though. We can get food and talk about the game."

"Sure. Talk to you later." I hung up the phone, standing up from the desk. Since Jason wasn't coming over for the game, I now felt myself feeling a bit lonely. It was common. Being the only single guy out of all your friends, you'll realize how much it sucks being the third or fifth wheel to everything. You get used to it though dodging suggestions from your friends about people you should meet or blind dates. I've given up on that, something that Aisha doesn't like to hear. She loves trying to set me up with her work friends. None of them ever really caught my eye and one actually left halfway through the date. So much of a first impression.

Grabbing my duffel bag, I scooped my keys up from the desk and headed out the office door. Jogging down the stairs, I saw that there were only a couple students left who were waiting for their parents by the front door. Rocky was wiping down the mats with the sanitizer and the mop we keep. He looked up at me as I approached him. "Heading out?" He asked, leaning against the mop handle. I nodded.

"Yeah. I'll be in first thing for the morning classes. You coming in?" I asked, heading towards the front door.

"I should be here. I'm surprised you're coming in." He said, going back to mopping. "Why didn't you tell me that Kimberly was coming back to town?" I froze, my hand on the handle of the door. "I thought for sure you would have said something about it. I didn't find out until Aisha told me this morning."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, turning to face him. He stopped, glancing at me again. The former red ranger looked confused.

"Trini and Jason picked Kim up from the airport a couple days ago. I guess she moved back here. You didn't know?"

"Rocky, are you sure about this?" I asked, stepping closer to him. My heart was pounding in my chest.

"Yeah! Aisha said she ran into them at the doctor's office yesterday. She didn't get to talk to Kim but Trini said that she had been back a couple days. She's staying at Trini's with her."

"I gotta go." I said, gripping the strap of my bag tightly in my hand. Without another word, I bursted out of the front door. Taking a left, I headed to the parking lot on the side of the building where my jeep was parked. I pulled my cell from my pocket as I did. I dialed Jason's number quickly, bringing it to my ear. It rang twice before he picked up.

"Hey, Tommy." Jason said, the sound of air moving around him in the background.

"Is it true?" I asked, tossing my bag into the back of the jeep.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. I swore.

"Is Kim back in town?" There was silence on his end, the wind still there, telling me he was still on the other end. "What the actual fuck, Jason!" I exclaimed.

"Look, man. I wanted to tell you. Really. But Trini made me swear I wouldn't. Not until Kim was ready for you to know."

"Where is she?" I asked, flinging my driver side door open.

"Tommy-." He started.

"Where the fuck is she?" I asked again, cutting him off.

"She's at Trini's." He replied.

"Thanks for nothing." I snapped, hanging up the phone and tossing it into the passenger seat. I started my jeep, roaring out the parking lot.