A/N: Thanks to everyone who's read so far. The song in this chapter was "Just Words" by Emma Lahana [Kira Ford's actress].

Chapter Four

A week passed in relative silence as the rangers dealt with their grief. The rangers scarcely communicated with each other, and it seemed even evil was taking a break for a while.

Ethan spent most of his waking hours at the Cyber Café, playing video games only to scowl sadly at the screen whenever the new barista and server would deliver his next drink. Even Hayley talking about MIT was not enough to distract him.

Connor lounged around, tinkered with his car, and practiced soccer for hours on end. His ultimate goal was to avoid his home, or perhaps more accurately, avoid his mother berating him for going into college without any idea of a major.

Meanwhile Kira carried her guitar with her nearly everywhere, save for work, and often found herself playing in the park. She channeled all of her sorrow into coming up with new songs, and now she was left with an infuriatingly unfinished song stuck in her head.

Whisper to me in the voice

The one that's only heard by me

Tell me all the things you only told me in your dreams

Quietly she sighed, leaned against the bar, and tried to shake the fragmented lyrics from her head. Instead she focused on the crowds of people as some stumbled while others played pool and gambled money they didn't have. Others yelled at the news anchor on the small television above her head.

Absently she grabbed a bus rag and started wiping down the bar where one of her regulars had just left her a twenty. She grabbed the money and pocketed it before placing the empty glass in the rack to be cleaned later. So far there were only a few other empty glasses there, reminding Kira just how dead it was for a Friday night.

"Hey Sweetie, wanna mix up another of those tequila sunrises?"

Kira glanced at the older woman with knotted, silver hair and bloodshot green eyes that she thought would probably be pretty if the woman were sober. Despite the woman's nightly appearance over the past four weeks, Kira was yet to discover the woman's name, which led to her nickname Silver. All she knew was that the woman's husband died a couple months ago and she was still grieving.

Against her better judgement Kira shot the woman a kind smile and prepared her favorite poison. Whenever she set the glass in front of Silver, she caught a whiff of vanilla cigar smoke. Repressing the urge to wrinkle her nose, she leaned closer and pitched her voice low, "I get off in a couple hours, let me walk home with you."

"That'll be fine, Sweetie," Silver slurred, patting Kira's hand lightly.

Content that Silver would stay per usual, Kira turned and tended to another regular, a middle aged man wearing a tuxedo with a new hickey on his neck that he barely attempted to cover. Without even needing to ask, Kira prepared his next Manhattan and placed it in front of him with a small smile. The brief interaction brought her close enough to smell lavender perfume practically exuding from him—courtesy of his most recent affair, if she were to guess.

As she started to address another customer, she was halted by one of her coworkers grabbing her arm. Instinctively she started to pull her arm free, and then she relaxed whenever she realized the massive fingers belonged to Dave, the bar's favorite bouncer. He had greying black hair and scars lining his arms and peaking beneath his shirt collar, courtesy of his time in the infantry, but he was known to be fair.

He was also known to be incredibly protective of Kira. "There's a man wanting to talk to you; should I send him away?" Dave released her arm and let her help another customer while he waited patiently.

Whenever she turned away from an older gentleman she tilted her head slightly and scowled. "Who is it?" she asked. No one that she was close to knew she worked here, and she tried to keep it that way. A fake I.D. was only as good as the anonymity, and the owner of the bar wouldn't take too kindly to finding out he'd hired an eighteen year old to bartend for him.

"Says his name is Tommy Oliver."

Her heart lunged for her sternum and she bit her lower lip. Crap, why is he here? She glanced at the entrance to the bar but did not see the dark haired ranger. Dave must have made him stay outside. "I know him," she said slowly, still puzzling over how Tommy may have found out about her working there. "Is he outside?"

Dave nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Could you take over the bar for a minute, I'll run out and talk to him."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked.

Kira smiled. "Yup, thanks for watching out for me, Dave."

The military veteran looked none too pleased but patted her arm lightly and consented.

Kira shot a brief glance at the bar, noting that it would probably be five or ten minutes before anyone wanted more, and then she disappeared into the throng of people. It was a short walk to the entrance of the bar, where she discovered Tommy leaning against the brick wall, arms crossed with a deep furrow between his brows.

His honey brown gaze drilled into her and his lips twisted into a frown. "Kira, how've you been?"

For half a moment Kira considered his peculiar tone, but then she chose to ignore it and gestured for them to walk a short distance to the side of the bar. She had a gut feeling this was going to be a long conversation. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, Tommy."

"Why are you working at a bar?" he asked immediately. "You're not twenty-one," he hissed.

"It's good pay and the tips are under the counter. I moved into my apartment this week and needed a job."

Tommy arched a brow. "You worked here while in high school, didn't you?"

Her lips quirked into a small smile, but she neither agreed nor declined. "What are you doing here, Tommy?"

The dark haired man studied her before sighing and crossing his arms over his chest. "I've been trying to catch you for days, but you're never home. I asked Connor and Ethan, but they haven't heard from you either. Then I went out looking, and someone told me I could find a 'cutie named Kira' here." He seemed displeased by someone calling her "cutie," but Kira paid little attention to his aggravation.

"Sorry, I've been out a lot lately."

"So I've heard," Tommy muttered, and Kira felt herself grow defensive.

"What's that tone for?" she asked sharply, very aware that Dave was not a great bartender and would likely be swamped in a matter of minutes.

"Well that someone told me more than I bargained for."

Kira frowned and placed her hands on her hips. "And just what did they tell you?"

Anger flashed in his eyes and then it was gone as he looked away, jaw clenched. "They asked if I was looking to get in your pants, because you were pretty easy."

Words escaped her as she stared at her fellow ranger, shock and anger coursing her veins. She parted her lips to speak, then closed them again with a shake of her head. A part of her wanted to yell, another part of her wanted to ask if he really thought so little of her, and then there was the part of her that just felt sad. "I thought you would know me better than that," she murmured and quickly blinked away the tears. "Didn't think for one second the guy could be lying, did you?"

Uncertainty flashed in the black ranger's eyes, followed by regret, but it was too late. "Kira—"

"I've got work to do," she said quietly, so as to avoid an unnecessary ptera scream. The miniscule flecks of green and blue in her hazel gaze seemed to flare with her anger moments before she closed her eyes and sighed. "And I don't think you came here to start a fight. What'd you need to tell me?"

Tommy hesitated, then shoved his guilt deeper and said, "Mesagog and Zeltrax are gone, and I kept wondering why we still have our powers…well I think I figured out why."

Despite her hurt, Kira felt her curiosity spark. "Why?"

"The dino gems shouldn't have bound to our DNA unless there was a signature of evil within the area; once that signature is gone, then the abilities should have left too: they didn't."

"So you think there's another baddie in the area?"

Tommy nodded. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Have you told the guys yet?"

A scream cut through the air.

Kira felt the hairs on her arms stand on end as she and Tommy exchanged a wide eyed look. The sound came from inside, and without a word, both of them were sprinting for the entrance. Hurt feelings aside, they fell into sync as they stood side by side, taking in the surroundings.

What they found sent a shiver down Kira's spine.

It was a masculine figure with leather skin and too large purple eyes. Its limbs were scaled while its chest was bare, and it held a laser gun in its hand. The sickening odor of burnt flesh and hair filled Kira's nostrils and she looked around to figure out who was hurt.

"Rangers," the creature spoke in a muddled English tongue, "Step forward or I will massacre this place."

Kira barely heard it as her gaze locked onto Silver, face down at the bar with a pool of blood under her head.

Her stomach tightened as she looked away and met Tommy's gaze. His gaze shimmered with confliction before he nodded ever so slightly and they both stepped forward.

As they were the only ones standing rather than cowering, there was no doubt what that slight movement meant, and Kira was vaguely aware of gasps throughout the bar.

"Rangers, you've made a wise choice," and in a split moment they were engulfed in darkness.