AN: Saban/Disney owns the characters you know. I own the ones you don't.

CHAPTER SIX

COMMUNICATION IS KEY

Three high-pitched simultaneous beeps could be heard from the computer as groaning could be heard from a muzzled voice under the covers. You could tell whoever was under there didn't want to get out of bed. The beeps continued to go off from the computer. Finally a head popped out from under the sheets, only to reveal a grumpy brown-haired woman. She whined some before getting up to see who was contacting her online. She sat down at her computer and waited for it to come out of sleep mode. The screen became visible allowing her to see that someone was trying to contact her.

"Incoming call from Zachary Taylor."

The woman accepted and was greeted by two familiar male faces.

"Kimberly, hey!" William Cranston's voice could be heard first.

"Billy?" She questioned. She hadn't heard his voice in some time. "I can't believe it... It's been so long!"

"Years!" Zachary Taylor responded quite amazed.

"You're calling awfully early, aren't you?" Kim asked groggily as she checked the clock on the wall to her right. It was 7:43 AM.

"I just wanted to see if you guys were going is all." Zach said as gave his grey and white terrier a treat in the background.

"To the reunion? Of course, silly!" Kim playfully replied before rubbing her right eye. "I am so excited!"

"I am too." Billy added. "It will be a wonderful get together. I have missed everyone!"

Kimberly and Zach both nodded in agreement. "I have been trying to call you for about a week now, Billy. What's the deal?" Kim inquired.

"I have misplaced my phone. I apologize for not contacting you in a more timely fashion."

"Oh, it's fine!" She told him. "I am just glad to be hearing from you now."

"So have either of you heard from the others?" Zach piped up.

"Not at all." Kim said with a bit of disappointment in her tone. "I have been meaning to call Jason and ask him if I can crash at his place. I know everyone will mostly be staying on the Megaship but I just want a place to retreat to. Work has been kind of nuts lately and it would be nice to feel like I am on vacation." She paused. "To be honest… I am kind of nervous to see Tommy again too."

"It's perfectly acceptable for you to feel that way, Kimberly." Billy replied.

"Yeah…" Zach started "But it'll be awesome Kim, you'll see. You won't even want to retreat anywhere."

Kimberly nodded with a smirk. "Well, I think I'll probably show up around five that evening. What time do you guys think you'll get there?"

"Five is fine for me. Billy?" Zach asked as he looked at Billy's screen.

Billy nodded. "Five it is… I am going to make some breakfast."

"Sounds good man. See ya, Kim."

"Bye guys!" Kim responded before ending the call.

'Should I go back to sleep?' She pondered, still looking down at the keyboard. 'Or should I make some coffee and sit out back?'

She then turned to look in the mirror mounted on her closet door.

"Oh God, look at me…" She said in disgust. "Coffee… definitely."

She walked down the spiral staircase in her loft and was greeted by her feline friend.

"Alpha… come here boy." Kim picked up the grey, longhaired cat and placed him up on the table. She then poured some milk into a small dish and set it down in front of him.

After she grabbed her laptop, she began to walk out to her side patio but stopped halfway after looking at a photo that sat on top of her fireplace in the living room. Sitting on the mantle was a photo of the six of them, the original team. Kim became lost in her thoughts as her mind drifted to memories of her times with all five of those people. A big smile came onto her face.

"This reunion is going to be amazing."

"Well Mesogog?" What's the plan here?" The signature squeal that came from deep within Rita Repulsa echoed throughout the throne room.

"Don't rush him, you vile, high-pitched creature." Lord Zedd responded.

"Shut your trap Zeddy, you're lucky I haven't filed for divorce!"

"Oh, Blah, blah, blah. Can you two shut your lids for one minute? You're ruining my unusually good mood." Divatox hollered while she looked down at her nails. "Oh my Goodness! They are just so gorgeous! My hands should be famous for their genuine beauty."

"Yes, well… no one cares about your perfect nails or your beauty." Gasket snidely retorted. "I think you should take another look at yourself too because I see neither."

"How dare you! I am gorgeous!" Divatox yelled as she stood to face him.

"Shut up, you fools!" Mesagog interrupted in his drawn-out dialect. "All of you… are just… pathetic."

Their eyes all landed on Mesogog. "The Rangers' little celebration is in two days… and I want to give them all a surprise they will… never… forget." He paused so that he could turn around to face them. "They will pay… for ruining us all."

The creatures of evil all rallied in laughter. "Now… let's begin." He said as they all left and walked down a hall following him. Trakeena was the last to leave the room. She had been quiet during the meeting, her mind too focused on how she would react to seeing Leo again. Thoughts of how she would defeat the red Galaxy Ranger consumed her mind and had been since her father's death at his hands. She felt like she had no control over what she would do upon seeing him but something inside of her was telling her it was unacceptable to think about these things. And whatever it was, it definitely wasn't there the first time she faced the Rangers.

Her thoughts moved back to the present. Still following the group to their destination, she thought about what awaited the man sitting in the cell they were walking to. She could care less about Tommy Oliver but again that unexplainable part of her came into play, this time making her feel kind of bad for the veteran Ranger. She didn't want to harm the guy but then she didn't care if she did or not. She wondered then if it was the human whose life force she was using breaking through her.

"What is going on with me?" She asked herself out loud. With Rita and Zedd's chatter going on, only Gasket heard her.

"What are you talking about?" Prince Gasket asked her.

"Nothing. Mind your own business." She rudely responded.

"Hmmph." He turned back around, walking over to the other side of Mesogog."

The six of them walked into the small, dimly lit room that held a single cell. Four Tyranodrones followed closely behind, the door shutting behind the last one to enter the room.

"Have you come back to taunt me some more?" Tommy asked in an uncaring tone as he walked closer to the bars.

"That and more, Tommy boy."

He looked over at Divatox and then back at Mesogog.

"How about some food first? I see you guys like to starve your prisoners... you know that's just cruel, right?"

"Enough." Mesogog replied irritably.

Tommy was suddenly blinded by a bright green light. He heard a scuffle of footsteps coming toward him. The Tyranodrones grabbed him, pulled him out of his cell and into the groups' reach. He grunted as his knees slammed into the concrete floor. A moment later they let go of him entirely.

As the light faded he fell backward. He felt the sole of Divatox's boot against his chest. He struggled against her. She was so strong it seemed, stronger than he had ever remembered her to be. He was struggling to breathe now, his grip tightening around her leg as he desperately tried to get her off. Right as he thought he was about to lose consciousness she let up completely. He coughed and attempted to catch his breath as he tried to regain awareness of his surroundings.

He turned over onto his side, his left hand supporting his chest. His moment of relief was soon ruined as he felt something hard hit him in the back. It completely knocked the wind out of him as he grunted from the pain. 'That had to have been either Zedd or Rita's staff.' He thought as he flinched from another hit to his back. Tommy simply never had enough time to recover as the blows just kept coming. Six versus one wasn't really all that fair to begin with but he was at even more of a disadvantage. He was still feeling disoriented from whatever they had used to drug him and the worst wasn't even occurring yet. Gasket's sword was the next thing to make contact with Tommy as it sliced through the skin on his upper left arm. He grunted again, louder this time. Mesogog finished the beating with what can only be described as a horribly debilitating migraine, his psionic energy making direct contact with the back of Tommy's head. He could feel it down his spine, the pain excruciating. It felt as if someone had placed hot coals along his back.

"Your friends are watching this." Was all Mesogog said.

MEANWHILE…

"Andros! Look at this!" Ashley yelled over at her boyfriend.

A visual of Tommy and the whole situation could now be seen from another screen on the main deck.

The two of them watched in horror as their predecessor was repeatedly beaten.

"I have to go help him."

"Andros! Are you crazy? Look at what they're doing to him! They're too strong… we have to put together a team!"

"There is no time Ashley! They're going to kill him at the rate this is going, don't you see that?" That was the loudest Ashley had ever heard Andros raise his voice.

She stood speechless as she watched Andros run out the automatic sliding doors. Her attention was redirected almost instantly back at the screen though and just in time to see Trakeena continually hit Tommy in the face as the Tyranodrones held him up. His face was clearly swollen, blood coming from his mouth and hairline. Andros reappeared and walked toward Ashley as he slipped his morpher on.

"Andros!" She began. "Don't do this alone!"

"I'm going, Ashley!" What else could she say? His mind was made up. "Let's Rock it!" He called as he morphed into the red uniform he hadn't worn in years.

Ashley was still, her eyes told him she was in absolute disbelief. "This is a mistake!"

"Call Jason." He replied. "I love you, Ash... don't worry, I'll be back."

She didn't respond as her eyes followed him out of the room. She scurried over to one of the windows as she watched him disappear on his galaxy glider up into the clouds.

She looked back at the screen. Tommy was lying on the ground unconscious now. Two Tyranodrones picked him up by the arms as they dragged him back into his cell. Ashley continued to watch but lost the feed once the group left Tommy's room. The other screen was telling her there was no use of energy or power being used at that moment either.

'So he's okay for now.' She thought with a lot of uncertainty.

She walked over to another table toward the back of the room and picked up the paper Andros had written Jason's communicator frequency on. She stared at the number as she silently thought about what she would say.

Her cell phone was ringing now. She stopped washing dishes and dried her hands quickly.

"Hello?" She asked before switching the phone to her other ear.

"Tanya?"

There was a period of silence.

Tanya gasped when she realized who it was, the light Australian accent unmistakable. "Kat? Is that you?"

"Yes!" Kat replied as she laughed. "How have you been?"

"I've been good girl! Just working a lot…. Devon is keeping me busy as always."

Devon was Tanya's only son. She had tried to make it work with Devon's father but they couldn't live together and decided to never marry. It worked out for Tanya though. Since she had become a lawyer she barely had enough time to spend with her son let alone get involved in a relationship.

"That's good. How old is he now?" The last time Kat had seen Devon was right before his second birthday.

"Almost nine. Can you believe it?"

"That's incredible. I'm so happy for you, Tanya." Kat replied sincerely.

Tanya smiled and pulled away from the phone, placing her hand on the receiver.

"Devon, go get your homework done first, then you can play your games, alright baby?"

The young boy gave her a look of displeasure and walked into the other room.

"So how have you and Daniel been doing?" She asked as she got back on the phone.

"We're not together anymore." Kat replied with a bit of disappointment. "We split maybe a year ago."

"Oh, Kat… I'm so sorry."

Kat had been seeing an American man for almost four years. Her and Daniel had seemed like the perfect match but Kat was the one to pull away.

"It's fine, really it is Tanya. I loved Daniel… I just wasn't in love with him and it took me some time to realize that." She paused for a moment. "I actually wanted to talk to you about the reunion."

"I am so excited!" Tanya replied, happy to change the topic. "It has been so long since we were all together." She turned the water back on and continued the dishes.

"I am too!" Kat responded excitedly. "I hope everyone is able to come."

"Me too. It won't be a reunion without the full gang." Tanya paused. "Have you heard from anyone so far?"

"Yeah…" Kat replied. "I have spoken to Rocky and Adam and they're both coming."

"That's great! What about Justin? …Man it will be so weird to see him all grown up!"

Kat laughed. "Yeah, it will. I bet he's grown into a dapper young man though. I should give him a call actually."

"Alright… well it was great to hear your voice, Kat!" Tanya replied. "I'll be at the reunion close to six after I drop Devon off with his dad. See you there!"

"I can't wait! Bye Tanya!" Kat's smile continued on past the phone call. Her thoughts were now on all of her long-time friends. 'It'll be fun to see how everyone has turned out.' She thought to herself before sitting down to look through her address book for Justin's number.

It was 3:18 PM in the city of Angel Grove, two days before the big reunion. Jason was sitting in the living room looking again through the contents of the chest he had opened days prior.

'Maybe Hayley or Billy could recharge this somehow.' He thought as he looked down at Tommy's old Dino morpher. His eyes veered up through his living room window at Jamie. She was outside in the front, practicing a Kata on the astroturf. Tommy had begun teaching her karate after she had turned ten. She was already pretty good from what Jason could see.

*Beep, beep, beepbeep, beep, beep*

With his gaze still on Jamie he raised his communicator to his lips.

"Jason here."

"Jason… this is Ashley."

"Hey Ashley." He replied with immediate concern, the anxiety in her tone very evident. "What's going on?"

There was a clear pause as Jason patiently waited for her answer. "You need to come to the Megaship as soon as possible."

"Tell me what happened." He quickly replied.

"I think you just… need to come." She hesitated again. "I don't want to have to explain this."

Ashley ended the call as Jason looked up from his communicator. Something was really wrong, he could feel it. He got up from the sofa, grabbed his wallet, phone and keys and made his way for the front door.

"Jamie!" Jason called out to his goddaughter. She was out on his balcony listening to her music. "Come on! We have to leave!"

She was about to question him but he didn't give her any time to. She ran after him, shutting his front door behind her as she ran toward the car.

The two drove off before she could even put her seatbelt on. At the speed Jason was going, they would be in Angel Grove National Forest in fifteen minutes flat.

"What's going on Jason?" She asked anxiously.

"I'm not sure."

Nothing else was said after that.

"Hey… what's going on?" T.J. asked as he and Cassie casually walked into the control room.

"Yeah, what are you doing up so late?" Cassie added.

Ashley thought about whether or not to share what was going on. As she looked into their eyes she knew she couldn't withhold it. "I think you guys should see this."

She walked over to the computer screen and replayed the video her and Andros had viewed half an hour ago.

Cassie softly gasped as she placed a hand over her mouth and continued to watch.

T.J. was clearly stunned by the footage. "Is that Tommy?" He asked, his mouth ajar. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that six of their once defeated enemies were alive and seemingly stronger than before.

The video continued as the three of them stood watching it in silence. Cassie almost turned away, not wanting to watch as a nearly unconscious Tommy was repeatedly hit in the face by Trakeena.

No one on the mega deck had realized at this point that two visitors had just entered the room.

Their attention momentarily withdrew from the video as their eyes landed on the man that had just walked up to join them.

The anger boiling inside of him did not go unnoticed as he continued to stare at the screen. Since he was closer now he was able to really see everyone present in the video. "Where is this coming from?" Jason asked as he too tried to overcome the shock of seeing who it was that had his best friend.

"Jason…" Ashley began. "Andros received the coordinates and just took off. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen."

Jason's eyes were still glued to the screen. "I need to go in there." He began. "I have to…"

"You're powerless Jason." T.J. said in a stern yet sympathetic tone. "You can't take any of them on without that."

"T.J.'s right, Jason." Cassie added. "We have to believe Andros can do this."

"Dad…"

They all looked over at where the quiet, fragile voice had come from. For a second there, Jamie had almost been forgotten.

"Hey…" Jason said as he looked over at her. She had been watching the footage too. Jamie's face was still, tears came nowhere near her cheeks. In fact she looked like she had no emotion at all really. "Turn that off." Jason's stated in a soft, yet stern tone.

Cassie went over and switched off the monitor.

Jason walked over to Jamie, bending over to wrap her into him. It took her a moment but she returned the gesture, closing her eyes as he held her.

The group was somber as they looked at each other with anxious, worried eyes.

It was all up to Andros now.