Corinth City, May 7th, 2000's

Garfield pushed the Fitness Center's door open, and walked inside. He moved very slowly, keeping one hand on the wall, but still bumped into a few benches. Each impact made him wince; he'd gotten a colorful collection of bruises from the walk back to the Garage yesterday. For some reason, nobody had really paid attention to him, even when he'd gone straight to bed after Doctor K's meeting and slept the rest of the day. The Gyro Morpher hadn't run out yet.

He followed his nose to the lockers, finding Alicia just closing hers. She still reeked of violets. Everything pointed to her being the Akra this particular timeline centered around, but Garfield had no idea what to do. Maybe once he'd gotten walking down, he'd try out a few of his weapons while nobody was around.

"Hi," the girl said, giving her combination lock a spin. "Ready to be knocked down properly this time?"

"Oh, I'm not so sure that's going to happen," Garfield replied, far more cockily than he felt, and leaned on the locker. "Seeing as I'm the trained Ranger, I may do a bit of knocking down myself." The Scottish accent still sounded weird coming out of his mouth.

"We'll see. Come on." Alicia took Garfield by the arm and led him through the loose group of people onto a mat. Garfield slipped off his shoes as he got there, and wondered just how badly he was about to get beaten up. He seemed to be able to navigate better around Alicia; would that affect his fighting ability?

Then he was facing Alicia, sliding into a fighting stance. The Akra lunged for him, and Garfield ducked a high kick. Springing back up, he wrapped his arm around her knee and flipped her off balance. Her hands and feet thudded on the mat as she landed. Before Garfield could do anything, Alicia's foot shot out and caught him by the ankle, flipping him onto his back.

Then Alicia was on top of him, trying to pin him to the mat. Fortunately, she was rather smaller than Garfield, even if he had been himself instead of Flynn, and he managed to flip over, trapping her instead. She struggled a little, and they both panted for a minute.

"Not bad," Garfield said, grinning.

"Not bad at all. You can get off, now."

"Oh, I kind of like us where we are." Garfield actually tried to stop the words coming out, but only slurred them a little. He shuddered a little.

"Wait until the third date at least, tiger," Alicia replied. She was smiling, though.

"Then we'd better get started on the first one, I think. Also I'm a lion." Garfield.

"Roar." Then Alicia caught Garfield by the shoulder and flipped him to the ground, pinning him with one arm. With a choked laugh, Garfield tried to get up, but that skinny girl kept him down. Okay, definitely an Akra. He wondered where Xanthe was.

"Thanks, Flynn," Alicia said, as Garfield closed the hood of her car. He tried to wipe the grease stain off his cheek, but only made it worse.

"No trouble at all."

"I knew you had to be good at something useful—because you really stink at fighting," Alicia added, grinning wickedly. Garfield raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" He made a grab for her, but she ducked under it, caught him by the wrist and pinned him to the hood of her car.

"Yes, really!" Alicia's grip was tight enough to hurt, but Garfield ignored it.

"Point made—let me up now?" He asked. Alicia giggled—and somewhere nearby, Summer echoed the noise. Garfield rolled his eyes—there was something wrong with that woman, and it mainly seemed to come out when Alicia was around.

"What's the magic word?" The Akra's voice was teasing. Garfield growled.

"Please?" Alicia cocked her head to one side. Pins and needles started working through Garfield's fingers.

"Hmm, how about 'please let me up, I'm just a simple mechanic who will never best you, Alicia'?"

"You've got to be kidding!" Alicia gave his arm a wrench, and Garfield nearly bit his tongue stifling his yelp. Why did she keep doing things like this to him? Did she think causing pain was flirty?

"All right, all right! Please let me up, I'm a simple mechanic who will never best you, Alicia!"

"Just a simple mechanic," Alicia corrected him. With an exasperated sigh, Garfield repeated the entire thing again, and at last, Alicia let him up, singing out a thank you.

"You're welcome," Garfield muttered, rubbing his wrist and flexing his bloodless fingers. Summer and Scott laughed again, and Garfield glared in their direction, sending the Rangers scurrying away. "Could you be more careful with that super strength of yours? I think you cut off my circulation."

"Aw, does poor widdle Fwynn's hand huwt?" Alicia asked sweetly.

"That was meant as a compliment, actually," Garfield said, though he would have preferred "is there a name for what's wrong with you?" Grabbing a hankerchief, Alicia wiped the grease stain off his face.

"Well, thank you, then. Same time tomorrow?"

"Same time." Garfield walked away. He rounded a few corners, and felt a small surge of energy coming from his Gyro Morpher. His disguise was wearing out again. Speeding up a little, he decided to let it lapse again; he wanted to go check on something.

Nobody saw the blue flash as Garfield transformed back into himself. The first time he'd done this, he'd reverted to his old uniform and his half-healed scars—but he'd prepared for that. New clothes, medical supplies and eventually sunglasses, and he was just another wounded veteran in Corinth City.

Garfield made his way to the city archives, and quickly found a quiet computer alcove. One one of his earlier trips during the last three weeks, he'd been shown the voice command setting, and now he typed in the command code and entered.

Garfield scooted his chair in a little closer. The place smelled like some sea-scented air freshener, and there were a few other people moving around quietly in the halls and rooms around his. He cleared his throat.

"Computer, check latest census for Elizabeth Brooks, point of origin London, England, approximately forty-seven years old." The computer hummed to work, and feeling a little nervous, Garfield slid his wheelie chair closer. It was a sunny but mild midafternoon, and a weekend, but even the few people in the archives made him nervous.

"No such person located," the computer said. Garfield bit his lip.

"Search other lists," Garfield replied. The computer went back to work. Garfield almost wished Alicia were here—the Akra influence made suddenly difficult tasks like walking or getting the right change easier. It was a sort of instinct.

"Elizabeth 'Liz' Brooks," the computer began, startling Garfield back into the real world, "Reported aboard the evacuation ship Constantine, presumed still aboard when it sank."

Garfield let his head drop forward until it thunked against the computer desk. He didn't say anything, didn't do anything, for a long time. He'd suspected it, but hey, a guy could hope, couldn't he? He let out a long sigh.

"Computer, locate Makoto Hsien," he said at last. He sat back in the chair, and ran a hand over his face.

"Makoto Hsien. Current residence: 16, Skye Apartments, resides with infant daughter Marcia." Garfield shook his head, smiling sadly.

"Why couldn't you have been the one to get out, Rory?" Giving his chair a spin, he went back to the computer. "Locate Jodie Harper."


Xanthe had to admit, being a villain was rather fun—though she hadn't actually done anything evil since her arrival nearly a month ago. The false Tenaya 7 stood in the shadows of a Corinth City alley, scanning the area for any Rangers. Glancing around, she gestured for the Grinders to follow her. Somehow, she guessed that it was time for her to act at last.

Coming up to a wall, she heard loud laughter, and paused. One quick peek around the corner confirmed her suspcions: Flynn, Blue Ranger, was coming down the road. On his arm was a pretty auburn in an orange silk dress whom Xanthe didn't recognize. However, the familiar wave of Akra influence emanating from her made it clear. Xanthe smirked, and backed up, gesturing for the Grinders to fan out and hide in ambush.

"But seriously, Alicia, I still don't understand how you can be so strong," Flynn was saying.

"It's just a gift—I've always had it."

"Your 'gift' is driving Doctor K crazy. She's been begging me to let her run some tests on you to find out what's causing it."

"Poor thing." Alicia didn't sound sympathetic at all. This drew another laugh from Flynn, but Xanthe detected a strained look in his eyes. She guessed she'd found Garfield. He seemed to have adjusted to his blindness quite well.

"Apparently there are people in the world who think Scottish accents are hot; I thought they were all extinct," Xanthe said, stepping out into the street behind the pair. The Grinders leaped out of their hiding places, surrounding the two. "Flynn" quickly shoved Alicia behind him, but she moved past him, glaring at Xanthe.

"You're interrupting my date. Big, big mistake, robo-girl." Taking a deep breath, Alicia whirled around and blew a gust of gale-force breath at the Grinders, sending them in every direction. Xanthe's eyes widened, and Flynn stared in disbelief.

"What?" Xanthe cried.

"Don't just stand there, morph!" The Akra host exclaimed, jabbing "Flynn" in the side. Then Xanthe felt a familiar surge of energy coming from her pocket. Quickly, she yanked out her Gyro Morpher—the last few grains of sand were falling into the bottom half of the hourglass.

"Xanthe?" "Flynn" asked. Alicia glanced at him in bewilderment.

"Garfield?" Xanthe asked, as she changed back into herself with a green flash. "I suggest we obey Alicia." She Raised the Gyro Morpher beside her head with her left hand.

"What are you doing?" Alicia cried.

"Sands of Time," Xanthe began, flicking the hourglass with her thumb and setting it into a spin, "Rise Up!" She raised it over her head.

Xanthe poses inside a clock tower, surrounded by bronzed cogs and wheels. The hourglass in her right hand shines green, and the sand bursts out. It covers her, forming her suit, and the image of the hourglass forms her helmet.

"Viridian Hourglass Ranger!"

"Monkey see, monkey do," Garfield said, taking his own Gyro Morpher out from under his jacket.

Garfield stands before a huge, dripping water clock. The hourglass in his hand glows blue, and the sand explodes around him in a blue storm. Swirling wildly, it forms his Ranger suit.

"Cerulean Hourglass Ranger!"

"No!" Alicia screamed, recoiling from the two Hourglass Rangers. Their suits were jewel-toned, with white chest panels lined with gold buttons, white gloves and boots. The helmets were black with opaque visors shaped like hourglasses, reminiscent of Time Force's clock hands; Xanthe's was squarish, Garfield's diamond-shaped.

"Yes," Garfield said, shrugging widely. Ailcia dropped into a fighting stance—though the silk dress rather ruined the effect. Her hair was straggling out of its bun as well, but only in an attractive way. Akra influence worked in strange ways sometimes.

"What have you done with Flynn?"

"Just swapped places with him," Garfield said. "You've never actually met him, sorry." Alicia's expression darkened, and she made a grab for Garfield's throat. The Cerulean Ranger swung back to avoid it.

"Hourglass Revolver!" He shouted, and a brassy flintlock appeared in his hand, and he fired. Blue gas exploded from the barrel, but Alicia quickly blew it back in Garfield's face. As his suit shielded him from the gas, he ignored it and lunged for Alicia, wrapping his hands around her throat. She choked, caught him by the wrists and yanked his hands away. With a fierce snarl, she bent both of his hands back until he cried out in pain.

"Tranquilizer Mode!" Xanthe exclaimed, drawing her own Hourglass Revolver. She snapped the pommel up and twisted it, and a needle extended from the butt. Charging forward, she seized Alicia in a headlock, but got headbutted in the jaw. Releasing Garfield, Alicia caught ahold of Xanthe, threw her over her shoulder in a judo hold, and backflipped out of reach.

"You've ruined everything!" The girl screamed. Then her head snapped back, and yellow veins grew visible on her face. They extended from her back, covering her bare shoulders and wrapping around her arms. The Akra was panicking.

"Neural Net!" Xanthe shouted, and whirled the green net over her head. As Alicia screamed in agony, clutching at the back of her neck, the Aquitian threw. The net wrapped around Alicia, knocking her down, and all of the little electrodes woven into it flashed. Stunned, Alicia crumpled on her side.

"You okay?" Garfield asked, standing and rolling his hands around. Breathless, Xanthe ran to the unconscious Alicia. She demorphed into herself—her disguise automatically deactivated after morphing—and pulled out her pocket dimension.

"We have to get the Akra off her back. That way Time Force will be able to detect it, take it into custody and undo the timeline. The host will be returned to her normal time as well. Containment Jar!" Xanthe pulled a glass jar full of a thick, clear liquid out, setting it on the ground, and rolled Alicia over onto her stomach.

"I don't understand," Garfield said, crouching beside them and putting a hand on Alicia's back. The Akra twitched, and he recoiled. "Okay, now I do. It just comes off?"

"It leaves a welt, but yes, once it's unconscious it can be pulled off." Garfield nodded, and demorphed himself. His disguise had turned itself off as well. With a little trouble, he began pulling the Neural Net aside.

But as the two pulled the net aside, Alicia woke up. Her eyes widened, and she sprang up, knocking Garfield flat on his back. Her eyes blazed yellow, and she gestured at the ground. Yellow tendrils shot down her arm and into the ground, quickly forming a yellow portal. She dove headlong through it, slipping through Xanthe's grip like a fish, and it snapped shut.

Garfield pulled himself up, and he and Xanthe just panted for a moment. The few Grinders began picking themselves up, looking around in bewilderment. The Containment Jar had been knocked over, and fluid was spilling all over the concrete.

"She got away?" He asked, touching his now-bleeding lip.

"Yes." Xanthe picked up the jar, put the lid on, and it sealed with a hiss.

"Well, nothing like a good start to build confidence. Should we leave now?"

"Yes. This timeline should abort itself with the Akra gone, once we've left." Xanthe put the jar back in her pocket dimension, which she folded up. "Honestly, I'm surprised the Monitors didn't show up." Garfield shrugged.


I wish I could say that the location/date titles were chosen because I thought they were the most fitting, that they worked with the story concept, but honestly I just couldn't think of any clever titles for the chapters.