Author's notes - Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay. I try to write one of these guys every two months (and it's helpful, 'cause I can usually keep them nice and short. That's not really an excuse, though. Zedd's POV story was twice as long as normal, and I still knocked that one out in two months), but I've been having a really tough year, and it was hard getting through this one. I'm pleased with the end result, but one particular plot-point took me a month to figure out. Still, this continues the run of sending the Rangers to lovely locations around the world. This story matches Teresa's and Jason's POV stories (three stories that use all twelve Rangers) which features four Rangers with preexisting close relationships. So here we have Kim and Tommy, with the best friends Ian and Brendan along for the ride (with Jason's story, it was the cousins Pete and Sarah, plus Jason and Billy. With Teresa's story, it was the twins Teresa and Scott, with Zac and Trini). I still have five POV stories to go, and I've got some good ideas for Zac and Scott, but give me a few more months, it's slow-going at the moment.

Anyway, in my series, the Rangers are faced with similar decisions, but (because the actors here aren't deciding to leave) the Rangers stick around. This story takes place in the Christmas holidays after the Rangers have graduated high school (because in my series they're Australian), and a few months after Kimberly had the option of leaving to train with Coach Schmidt. As I said, she made a decision here, and this story has her coming to terms with that decision. I looked forward to telling Kim's story, so I hope everyone enjoys it. Feedback is always welcome :).

Chapter One

Hey! My friends call me Kim. It's great to finally meet you.

I think we should get the really crazy stuff out of the way first. I'm a superhero, and I'm not gonna lie. It's totally awesome.

Most of the time. 'Cause sometimes, it's about making really hard decisions. And not always because of the bad guys.

When I was fifteen, my best friends and I were chosen by an ancient wizard named Zordon to become the Power Rangers. I know, right? With incredible weapons, cool outfits and giant robots, we got to kick butt and save the world every day. And you know what? We were pretty good at it. But this year, my biggest challenge wasn't from a giant monster eating downtown. I've always enjoyed gymnastics, and earlier in the year, a talented coach offered to train me so that I could reach the Pan Global games. According to him, I had a real shot. But of course, there was a catch. I'd have to move away and leave the Power Rangers behind me. It was a tough choice, and I crossed the Universe trying to figure out what to do. Literally.

And ultimately, I made the decision to stay.

I couldn't imagine what my life would be like not being the Pink Ranger anymore. And the things I would've missed, if I'd left? Two months ago, the Rangers and I were on the other side of the galaxy, searching for a lost fleet of Megazords on an alien world and actually choosing a team of Rangers to pilot them. I got to pilot a Megazord all by myself for the first time ever, which was scary but kind of cool. And just this month, we had to fight off a full-scale alien invasion by little green men who certainly didn't come in peace. The only reason we won was because of help from none other than Rita and Zedd, newly back from their honeymoon (and don't think about that one too much. I made that mistake myself, once. I'm still scarred).

Luckily for the team, evil has always tended to take it easy over the Christmas holidays, so for the last week, it's been a long line of aunts, cousins and grandparents, all asking me, "How goes the gymnastics?" followed by an awkward smile and, "Oh, well, I'm sure you made the right decision." I know they meant well, but it had been getting pretty tough listening to this all week when it's not like I could tell anyone my reasons why. I was almost grateful tonight when my communicator beeped, and Zordon told me to pack for the weekend, choose three of my team-mates and call up the Phoenix Thunder zord for a mission on the other side of the world.

With the blue Aegean Sea thousands of feet below us, I glanced back to the three Rangers sitting in the cabin behind the cockpit of my zord. "Hey guys," I called. "Hold tight. We're just about there."

"This is so cool," said Ian the Grey Ranger. "I've never been to Greece before!"

Tommy climbed out of his seat. "C'mon," the White Ranger said, reaching for the backpacks at their feet. "Let's get organised."

Brendan the Aqua Ranger turned to me. "So you want our seats and tray tables in their upright and locked positions?"

I laughed. Those were my boys. Tommy and I have had our rough patches, but we share a deep bond and we get each other. I've always felt like I can just be myself around him. Ian has a great sense of adventure, and a really down-to-Earth attitude. We always work well together when things get scary. And as for Brendan? He's the zany little brother I never had, but I like his spirit. He's a lot of fun.

"Where are we heading anyway?" Brendan asked.

"The little town of Kakia Thalassa," I replied, turning back to the controls. "That's all Zordon told me. He said we should call him for the rest of the mission once we've checked into the hotel." As the Phoenix cruised lower through the twilight sky, I looked ahead. "Check it out boys," I said, and the three guys gathered around me. "We're here."

Directly ahead of us was Kakia Thalassa. Built onto the side of a craggy mountain, the town was made up of white stone buildings, perched over narrow streets and alleyways that zigzagged down the side of the hill until they reached the sea. The beach was a stretch of beautifully white sand, while the waves lapping against the shore were a striking crystal blue. The town sat before a sheltered bay, with a small wooded island further out to sea. As we watched, a fleet of fishing boats were making their way back to shore after a day out on the water.

Keeping the Phoenix high and out of sight, I set the zord down on the other side of the mountain in an empty valley. Zordon had said the terrain was rugged and unpopular amongst local hikers, so the zord should stay undiscovered. Once we'd stepped out of the zord and demorphed, I hit the cloaking gadget Alpha had given me before we'd left, and the zord shimmered and vanished before our eyes. After that, it was a short climb over the hill, made far more difficult by the backpacks we were all lugging, and we were soon making our way down through the shadowy streets. Looking ahead, I spotted a sign advertising a small hotel, and reached for the reservations that Alpha had printed out.

"This looks like the place," I said, and indicated the hotel.

The four of us soon stepped into the building. A noticeboard advertising local attractions stood by the door. Brendan and Ian stopped to grab some brochures, while Tommy and I made our way over to the front desk. The hotel clerk was a cheerful woman with curly dark hair, and she turned to us with a beaming smile as we approached.

"I'm Eleni," she said. "Welcome to Kakia Thalassa!"

"We're happy to be here," I said, and handed her the paperwork. "We have a reservation for a room upstairs."

"This all looks good," Eleni said, and stood up. "I'll just get your keys. Will you be staying until the new year?"

"We'd love to," I replied, "but we've gotta get moving by Monday."

"Ah, a shame," Eleni replied. "Still, happy New Year."

"Thank you," Tommy smiled.

Eleni stepped back to the desk. "To all the choices you made this year," she began, and handed me the keys, "and all the ones you'll make next year."

I froze, thinking back a few months. Tommy turned to me as my expression fell.

"Kim, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," I said, and looked back to the two younger Rangers. "C'mon boys, we've got our room."

The four of us headed upstairs and found our room. It was open and airy, with a small kitchenette behind a round dining table. There were three bedrooms and a wide terrace overlooking the street. We dropped our backpacks by the door, and I stepped out onto the terrace. A table and chairs were sitting under an old wooden trellis that was overgrown with leafy vines. It was a cool, clear evening, and I could see all the way down the hill to the beach and the island in the bay. Inside, Tommy took one bedroom while Ian and Brendan were happy to share the second, leaving me with the third.

Once we'd settled in, the four of us gathered out on the balcony and sat around the table under the trellis. Tommy checked that we were alone, and once he was sure nobody was eavesdropping, I raised my communicator and tapped the top button.

"Zordon," I began, "it's Kimberly. We're here in Greece."

"Excellent," crackled Zordon's voice. "How is the city?"

"It's really nice," Ian said. "I honestly thought it would be a lot colder."

"It's been an unseasonably warm winter in the Mediterranean this year," Zordon explained. "So the temperature should be quite pleasant, particularly coming from an Australian summer. This actually works in our favour, since you may need to spend some time in the water."

"The town's pretty quiet from the looks of it," Tommy said.

"That's also in our favour," Zordon replied. "The peak tourist period tends to fall in the middle of the year, and not over Christmas."

"Which means there'll be a lot less people around if things go south," Ian added.

"Exactly," Zordon agreed. "I apologise for taking the entire weekend away from you, Rangers. But I didn't want you teleporting back and forth between the Command Centre and Greece all weekend. That would've attracted a great deal of unwanted attention. Given what's at stake, this was the much better option, and I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience."

Brendan gazed out over the city to the moon reflected in the Aegean Sea. "We'll forgive you this time, Zordon," he said. "But don't make a habit of it."

We all laughed, and Zordon chuckled. "Excellent to hear," he said. "Now, the mission. Thousands of years ago, a great city sat on an island facing you from across the bay. In one corner of the city stood a tower, the home of a dark wizard with terrible powers. The key to the wizard's power was his spell book, an ancient tome of powerful black magic. The wizard's crest was a shield with two duelling dragons. Like all of them, the wizard plotted to overthrow the ancient Greek nation states and conquer the known world."

"Sounds like a real charmer," I said. "Whatever happened to him?"

"And what happened to the island?" Ian asked. "The only island in the bay is way too small for a city."

"Fate intervened in the story," Zordon continued. "Two thousand years ago, the entire region was devastated by a massive earthquake. The island sank into the bay and the city was destroyed, including the wizard's citadel. The island you can see there today is all that's left. But several weeks ago, runoff from severe storms affected the tidal currents in the bay and exposed the ruins underwater. Local archaeologists began exploring the ruins, and found a stone crest carved with two duelling dragons."

"The wizard's castle," Tommy said.

"Indeed," Zordon replied. "After the city fell, the wizard was never seen again. But I'm far more concerned about the whereabouts of his spell book. Any number of forces on Earth would do anything to get their hands on that book, including Zedd and Rita. We must find it first."

"Are you sure the book's even still here?" asked Brendan.

"Yes," Zordon replied. "According to legend, the book was so powerful it had to be kept in a specially-constructed chest to dampen its power. The sensors here in the Command Centre are detecting the faintest energy signal from somewhere in that town, but that's the closest we can get you. The chest is obviously still protecting the book, so you'll have to look for it the old fashioned way, I'm afraid. And I suspect that Rita or Goldar will be there sooner rather than later."

Tommy swept his gaze out over the bay. "Talk about a needle in a haystack," he breathed. "It could be anywhere. It could still be underwater…"

"… or someone else could've already brought it ashore," added Brendan.

"Either way, we have to find it," Ian said. "And we will. I know we will."

"I'm with Ian," I said. "We can totally do this."

"If you need back-up, call Alpha and I, and we'll send the other Rangers," Zordon continued. "Alpha stocked the Phoenix zord with supplies before you left. You should have enough of the local currency to get you by. The rest is up to you. Good luck Rangers. We are here if you need us," and the communicator fell silent.

The four of us gazed around the table.

"Phew," said Brendan softly. "Where the heck do we even start?"

I stood up and stepped over to the balcony, resting my arms on the railing. The town below us was lit up in the evening shadows. There were couples on dates heading into trendy cafes, and families with children out enjoying the night. A cool breeze was drifting up off the water, while music from the town's restaurants and clubs filled the night air. Tommy, Ian and Brendan soon joined me.

"We should start looking tonight," Tommy said.

"I think it's too late to really do anything, particularly if we don't know our way around," I said. "How about we settle in, have some dinner, and we can figure out where to start tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds like a plan," Ian nodded. "Brendan and I can head back to the Phoenix and grab some of the food that Alpha packed. And maybe print out some maps of the local area, just to give us somewhere to start?"

"Now that sounds like a plan," Brendan agreed. "I'm starving."

Ian laughed. "We'll be back soon," and they turned and left.

Tommy stood taking in the view for a few more seconds. "Another adventure," the White Ranger mused. "Where else in the world would you want to be?"

"Where else," I murmured, then caught myself and turned back to start unpacking.

To be continued.