Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: Hehe, my mistake. Sorry for the prolonged update. Something in my head told me I already posted this chapter and, well... I didn't. Whoops. But here it is so y'all don't have to chop my head off. I definitely had to get it up today; it's my birthday and I would've killed myself if I didn't get it posted. Figuratively, of course. ;)

Thelionessrules: I'm glad you've enjoyed everything. I've always loved the same pairings, and don't worry, there will be a lot more on Kimberly in the next chapter. I don't know if you'll like it, but it would explain a lot. As for their powers and the messed up timeline, they will all be explained much later on. You'll have to wait quite some time but I promise you, it will all be explained. That's just how my wacky mind is working right now.

Star Fata, TrueRomantic, and lilacsecrets: Glad you enjoyed them. Here's an update!

Ashley Hammond Astro Yellow: Yay, I have a fanatastically loyal reviewer! Does crazy dance Okay.
I know! I had to make him sorry, otherwise it would mess up the rest of the story for Ashley. That, and I couldn't stand writing him as angry at her any longer. I'm too much of an A/A romantic. :) But yes, most of the world is right for now. You'll remember the cleaners after this chapter.

Firenze: Um... I really have no idea what you're getting at but I'll try my best. Here, there are only two cleaners, as there were in the show. I think the two Elders and two demons you're referring to is the Higher Council that held the trial between the Charmed Ones and Barbas in the show. Cleaners are just cleaners, neither demons or Elders. They're kind of like the Higher Council, though, since they're objective and work to protect the identity of both witches and demons. Hope that explained everything.

Enjoy!


Chapter 9:

Just when the girls were finally getting to where they wanted to be, the cleaners had to show up to ruin everything. All three knew what this was about and they were apprehensive about how they were supposed to approach this. Not to mention that their friends had no idea what the cleaners were.

"Cleaners?" Billy asked.

"I hope they have no connection with the dry cleaners," Rocky said almost absentmindedly. "Unless they can get my blue dress shirt back from three weeks ago." He turned to Zack to add, "I still haven't gotten that damn thing back yet." A slap on the arm and glare from Aisha told him to be quiet.

Excruciatingly again, uncomfortable silence took over, the retired rangers looking back at forth between the new Charmed Ones and these 'cleaners', who were apparently not breaking their stares from each other. When the wait was becoming exasperating, one the white-clad men finally spoke.

"You know what we're here for."

"Well, then you came all this way for nothing," Taylor snapped.

"That's what you think," the other cleaner replied.

"You know the procedure," his companion stated. "You have revealed too much to too many. It is our job to stop any information from spreading. This divulgement about magic is dangerous, and you three know that."

"That doesn't give you the right to come up here and make a judgment call that big," Ashley argued.

"We're not letting you take them away," Kimberly urged.

The cleaners traded momentary looks before returning their attention to the girls. "And you don't have a choice in the matter."

"Wanna bet?" Taylor said, conjuring up a fireball in her left hand.

"Any resistance is futile, and it will only damage your standing with the Elders further."

"Screw the Elders," Kimberly stated, shocking a lot of people with her near-cursing. It seemed the old, sweet-as-sugar, pleasing, and adorable Kimberly Hart had matured with a more crass vocabulary. "We're not going to stand here and let you guys do your pathetic jobs. If you were smarter, you should've come here much earlier and cleaned off those demons that kept popping up."

"You vanquished them before we were informed," one cleaner argued.

"Then you guys are doing a crappy job," Taylor countered.

By the look on their faces, the cleaners appeared infuriated with Taylor's insult. They seemed determined to finish their job. "That does not change anything."

"You can't just come here and wipe off twenty people from history," Ashley fought. "Too much has happened with them that you'd literally be screwing up the balance between good and evil."

"They have a point," a voice came from beyond the current crowd. Everyone looked over to Wyatt standing beside his brother not so far off from the group. "You can't erase that much history. Otherwise, the world would be stuck in evil one you two finish your job."

"Besides," Chris began, "the girls would figure out a way to outsmart you guys, anyways."

A cleaner sent them an upset glare. "And what makes you think that?"

Wyatt gave an unbelieving scoff that was close to mocking. "You don't remember what my mother and aunts did when you guys took me away because I projected that dragon to life? The Charmed Ones were the first to beat you then and they can still beat you now. You're fighting a losing fight."

"We can't just leave things as they are."

"Yes, you can," Chris replied. "If you leave now, we won't have to vanquish you."

"That would put you into too much trouble with the Elders and only grant you with a trial in front of the Council."

"But at least you wouldn't be there to argue," Taylor pointed out.

"So what's it going to be," Kimberly asked expectantly with her arms crossed, her sisters following her right after.

The cleaners silently discussed their options and current circumstances. They knew they had almost no choice here. Yes, they were supposed to take these innocents away and erase their history, but the Charmed Ones and the Halliwell brothers brought up too great a point: they'd be shifting the world to an inevitable evil takeover. Plus, the threat from the five wasn't helping them continue their job.

"Very well," one stated. "You shall have your way. But it will not go this way if something like this happens again." With that said, the two blinked away from the group and off to god knows where to continue their job.

Barely a second passed before Taylor spoke first. "How could we forget about the cleaners?"

"Guessed it slipped our minds," Ashley offered.

"It doesn't matter," Wyatt stated. "They're gone now. And like Chris said, you three would've figured out a way eventually."

"But just in case," Chris said, "you should make sure this doesn't happen again."

The girls looked over to their friends to see their reaction. The expressions were almost as bad as when all of this had begun this afternoon. Great, Taylor thought, more explaining.

"Don't worry," Kimberly assured. "We'll explain it to them. You guys should get back."

"Yeah, you're right," Wyatt agreed. "We were working on vanquishing a demon before we felt the cleaners coming to you guys."

"What did you guys do with the demon to come back here?"

"I did what our Aunt Phoebe did once to an inspector from the police," Chris answered, bringing apprehension to the group.

"What did you do," Ashley asked slowly, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Nothing big," Wyatt answered for his younger brother. "He just sent the demon off to Timbuktu."

The Charmed Ones exchanged glances, not knowing whether or not to laugh at the guys' actions. "All right, whatever," Kimberly said. "Just get back to it."

Within seconds, the guys disappeared again, leaving the girls to continue their enlightenment of their world to their friends. Their explanation of what the cleaners were and their jobs were clear enough for everyone to understand, but they only got some of the reason as to why the cleaners showed up.

"Cleaners come whenever a witch, warlock, demon, any magical creature reveals their identity and the magical world to too many people," Kimberly explained again.

Ashley continued the details. "Usually, it's because with so many people, there's too much risk in people knowing about the magical fight between good and evil, which puts too many innocents on the line."

"Innocents," several inquired.

"Anyone who doesn't have magical abilities," Taylor answered. "Since they can't protect themselves from either side, witches have a duty to protect them. Back to the cleaners, they come to take away either the people who revealed the magical world or whoever learned of it."

"They didn't take us because we're the Charmed Ones," Kimberly took up her turn again, "and that would throw all the power to evil. So they were going to take you guys and basically erase your history and you from any innocents' memory."

"But thankfully," Ashley began, "there's always the point that there's too many of you guys to erase from history without shifting all the power to evil. Another benefit of being a Power Ranger, I guess; you're never forgotten for saving the world."

Taylor had the job of issuing the warning to the group. "But the cleaners won't be so lenient if many more people find out because of us. That means when we go back to the reunion, we basically can't talk about what we're discussing right now. That goes for you guys, too. We could probably get away with telling two or three people, but if all those rangers out there find out exactly what's happening, we're all screwed."

"Gee, that's comforting," Jason said sardonically, finally breaking the continuous circle of explanations made by the girls. A few others chuckled in cynical agreement but the subsequent look from the Charmed Ones made them think otherwise.

"You guys, we're serious," Kimberly stated. "All of them out there saw our fight with the demons but they don't know the half of it. If too many of them find out about everything or hear what we've told you, I don't know how many of us are going to disappear from history. Seriously."

At her concerned gaze of gravity, the rangers took what the girls said to heart. They were stern in their warning and seeing as how they knew more about this spoken magical world and those cleaner creatures, the girls had more merit than any that the other ex-rangers could muster up. Through their words of caution, the girls showed their affection and concern for their old friends. Things were falling into the long forgotten ways from before for them all.

After moments of obvious contemplation from their audience, Taylor asked for their word to stay quiet. "So can we count on you guys to keep quiet about all of this to all of them out there?"

A simultaneous thought stating that the girls didn't need to ask them that crossed practically everyone's minds. All of them nodded in response.

"Did you even have to ask," Cassie voiced her rhetorical question, earning a familiar giggle from Ashley.

"Never hurts to be safe," she responded.

Everyone allowed for a few more minutes of general lightheartedness and conversation before anyone reminded them of a little responsibility in the form of the Power Ranger reunion still going on.

"Ready to face the world, guys," Ashley asked with genuine smile, her anxiety showing through.

"We're Power Rangers," Carlos said. "We can face anything."

"We were rangers," TJ corrected his long-time friend. "And there are several things in this world I don't ever want to face again."

"Like me and Ash kicking you and Andros's butts at basketball," Carlos countered.

"Excuse me, but the last time I checked, Andros and I beat you guys."

"No way, you guys were cheating with that little trick…" and the two continued with their difference of opinion while walking out of the covered grove and back toward the party. Eventually, the rest followed, readying themselves for questions and looks they wouldn't be able to answer. The Charmed Ones were the last to leave, trading a few more sisterly glimpses with one another.

"So far, so good?" Kimberly asked the other two, honestly wondering what they were thinking since she felt a little overwhelmed by their disclosure of their recent pasts to use her sensing power.

Both Taylor and Ashley shrugged in unsure indifference at the moment. "Nothing horrible so far," Ashley answered.

"Yeah," Taylor added, the sarcasm obvious in her imminent words. "Demons just popped up with everybody watching us, Kim nearly dies and everyone still has a hundred questions to throw at us. Not bad at all."

"At least they're not running after us with torches and pitchforks," Kimberly pointed out with optimistic irony.

"Like that would be much worse than that darklighter's arrow," Taylor said while continuing her way back to the others.

"Better than dancing and singing onstage again for three commands we'll probably never give," Ashley returned slightly louder than usual for Taylor to hear, following her alongside Kimberly.


"Ah, a fluffy bed! I love staying in great hotels like this one," Kimberly exclaimed as she threw herself on a bed in the hotel room she and Taylor paid to stay in during what they hoped would be a short stay in Angel Grove. They weren't ready to leave their friends yet, and as they eventually found out, everyone took off a couple more days from their jobs to stick around in Angel Grove as well to hang out with the other older rangers.

"Yeah, yeah," Taylor commented with disinterest. "Beds are beds, Kim. You're supposed to sleep in them, not revel in how fluffy they are."

Kimberly turned over so that she could look at her sister from her laying down position. "Too many years in the army got to you, Tay. Besides, I'm sure you've done something else than just sleep in your bed," she finished with an impish smile accompanied by a too familiar teasing glint in her eyes.

Taylor couldn't believe her sister, and the shake of her head showed it. Grabbing one of the pillows, she threw it at Kimberly while saying with a laugh, "Shut it, Kim."

The two actually fell into a small fight of throwing pillows before Taylor suddenly stopped and her face turned all too serious. Kimberly caught her sister's trail of thought and found the mistake in what she said. "Oh. I'm sorry, Tay, I just kind of… forgot. I'm sorry-"

"Don't," Taylor cut her off. "It's all right." Her face said otherwise. Kimberly went over to hug Taylor for what she said. She could never stay away from comforting her sister, even if it got her in trouble with Taylor for not doing as she asked. Taylor patted Kimberly's arm to reassure her sister of her stability. "I'm fine, Kim."

Kimberly could see in Taylor's eyes that even Taylor didn't believe that, but she knew better than to say anything that would most likely make things worse. She decided on the safer alternative and changed the subject. "Hey," she jumped up, "how about we go down and check up on Ash? We could both give you a tour of all our favorite places in Angel Grove."

"Not a bad idea," Taylor mused. "Maybe I'll see why you're both mall-crazy."

"Oh, whatever," Kimberly replied while grabbing one of the pillows that ended up on the floor to swat her sister with.

Actually, Taylor found where her sisters' affinity for shopping began; she didn't find the Angel Grove mall a bad place to be, but she still didn't see what her sisters saw in the diversion. She felt like she was at the carnival with Max and Kite all over again when she had to basically drag Kimberly and Ashley from the mall to Ashley's car in the parking lot.

"Why do I feel like such a guy right now," she wondered aloud.

"Probably 'cause you still can't stand the idea of being in a dress," Ashley commented lightheartedly.

"All right, you two, knock it off before you accidentally blow up or set something on fire. Don't forget, we're home but we're not exactly home. You can't use your powers here."

"Don't worry, we're not dense, Kim," Ashley assured. "Maybe we should get back before everyone decides to leave us at the hotel," she suggested, reminding the others' decision to meet up in the hotel lobby before going off to a new club at the edge of Angel Grove to hang out.

Taylor reiterated her decision to stay behind in the hotel. "Y'all can get back if you want, but I'm going to stay back at the hotel anyways. I'll hang out with the other old rangers some other time."

"Sure you don't want to come with us tonight?"

"I'm sure."

Instead, Taylor found herself playing pool alone in the gameroom of the hotel, no one else in the room. She hadn't played a game of billiards in quite some time which didn't sit too well with her since she liked it so much; she blamed Ashley for both those circumstances. Ashley took it upon herself to teach Taylor how to improve her pool-playing skills and she did a good job; she was rewarded with losing too many games to Taylor. Eventually, Ashley stopped playing it, saying the game reminded her of something to much. Something about Andros, as Taylor recalled. She wondered what a pool game had to do with them.

"I thought pool was always a game unfit for a single player," a female voice remarked somewhere behind Taylor. She turned around to see the speaker, finding Trini Kwan leaning on the foosball table a few feet away. "Unless you're practicing, of course."

"Well, it's been quite some time since I've played. Trini, right?"

"Yes. So what are you doing down here, Taylor?"

"Didn't feel like going out," she answered, "and there's nothing else to do really. Why aren't you out at that club everyone went to? I thought all the original rangers would've loved to spend as much time as they could with each other on this little trip."

"I would," Trini replied while walking toward the pool table where Taylor continued her practice, "but I was never much of a club person. Didn't Kim ever tell you?"

"She told me that besides Billy, you were basically the most intelligent person here who was the only one that understood his techie explanations. She also added you were one of the kindest people ever to grace the earth," Taylor finished with a smile, shooting another ball into a corner pocket.

"Sounds like something Kim would say."

"You know, I was always eager to meet the original Yellow Power Ranger ever since I found out Kimberly was part of the original rangers. She never had a bad thing to say about you and I thought that was too good to be true, but I'm glad I was wrong. It's really great to meet you."

"Likewise, Taylor. So how has Kim been these last few years, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Pretty good," Taylor shrugged, finishing her practice with the 8-ball. "But then again, I've only known her for two years; I didn't grow up with her so I don't know how you'd guys think she's been. But she's been a great older sister."

"Sister?"

"Well, Kimberly, Ashley, and I have become so close over the last two years and we know it sounds weird but it's come to a point where we feel like we're practically sisters, so sometimes we forget and refer to each other as sisters."

Taylor knew her explanation may have accidentally triggered a feeling of hurt to Trini at hearing that Kimberly had become close with two virtual strangers instead of someone from the original team, but after everything Kimberly told her and Ashley about Trini, Taylor doubted Trini would take it completely personally. Just the softest of hurt showed, but Taylor could see what Kimberly was talking about when she said Trini was the most serene and composed person she knew. Trini merely nodded at first, seemingly contemplating Taylor's words. The guise in her eyes let Taylor see that she didn't take offense at what she heard.

"I'm glad she could open up again. And thank you for looking after her. She's like my little sister." The smile Trini gave didn't appear at all smug with her last sentence; it made Taylor feel like she was sharing something personal with the original Yellow Power Ranger. It was comforting.

"I'd give my life for Kim and Ash." Taylor said it casually but she knew that Trini could see more than just that. The one statement revealed just how close the three had become, and the magnitude of the ordeals they faced together that made them so.

"Like a real sister," Trini supplied softly. She traded a soft smile with Taylor and the quiet that followed became calming. Neither said a word for so many minutes that Taylor nearly jumped and missed her shot when Trini asked her a question, despite how soothing her voice was. "So how long do you guys plan on staying in Angel Grove? From what we saw this afternoon, it appears that you have a lot to return to."

Taylor had to take a moment to think the estimated time for their mini-vacation. "Well, like Kim said, most likely as long as it takes for all of you guys to believe us."

"If it's any comfort, I believe all three of you. It's hard to not accept anything Kimberly has to say when you can see how sincere she is when she was telling us all of that."

"Really," Taylor smirked. "I thought it was because you had an eerie way of knowing whether or not someone was telling the truth about anything. Kim said you had an almost magical power of discernment."

"Well, maybe because of that, too," Trini said laughing lightly.

"Maybe that's where Kim gets it…" Taylor mused aloud, knowing it would raise curiosity in Trini.

"What?"

"Her sensing, or rather her telepathy if you ask me," Taylor revealed. For a quick moment, she panicked at the possibility of a camera somewhere in the room that could've picked up on their conversation but she hadn't spotted one. And besides, despite that they could hear each other quite well, she and Trini were speaking with pretty low voices. "Her powers are half-whitelighter, as Wyatt and Chris refer to them, and one of them is sensing. It's kind of like radar and she can find anyone's location in a short while when she has to. With people who are close to her though, she should be able to sense a bit of what they're feeling and their thoughts. But sometimes, it's like she can read our minds. Mind you, Ashley is the one with empathy so Kim still shocks me a little when she can tell most of what I'm thinking."

"And this has to do with me… how?"

"Our powers evolve and advance not only on how long we've had them but also because of everyone's influence on us, past and present. What the people closest to us do and say can influence our powers in the weirdest ways. I'm thinking your odd sense of knowing what people think and what's going on caused her sensing to develop into pseudo-telepathy."

"Oh," Trini said softly, not grasping the whole concept but hoping she would in the near future. "I forgot to ask, do you guys fight, what do you call them… demons, all the time?"

"Yeah."

"Then shouldn't you guys get back to san Francisco before they rain hell on the town?"

"We're more than sure that Wyatt and Chris can handle them. They're experienced and strong enough to vanquish almost any demon without the power of three. Quite honestly, I think they just let us vanquish some demons as a form of practice. They probably could've obliterated basically every demon we killed without us."

"That's one way to boost egos," Trini remarked, bringing a little humor back into their conversation. "Half the time, I think our battles with monsters as Power Rangers was like that. Each of us knew that whenever one of us defeated a monster single-handedly in their normal form, any single one of us could've finished them of by ourselves. But the battles seemed chosen for us, partially by ourselves, our friends, sometimes even Zordon. I assume they did tell you about Zordon?" At Taylor's nod, Trini continued. "Each battle fought together helped us mature as individuals as well as a team, but the battles we fought independently helped develop our confidence and self-esteem, which in itself helped the team as a whole."

"Which helps everything and everyone else," Taylor finished the thought.

"So you guys are basically out to save two different worlds?" Trini asked after a while.

"That's basically it," Taylor nodded, not knowing where Trini was going with this.

For quite some time, Trini looked on as Taylor continued her billiards practice. Taylor easily felt Trini's eyes on her and a small discomfort grew inside her but she continued. It was obvious to her that Trini was mulling over what she should say next. Trini had to say what she needed to say but she was wondering exactly what that was. When Taylor stopped playing and looked straight at her, Trini raised her gaze and stared head-on.

"Take care of her," she said at last.

Studying the oldest yellow ranger's face, Taylor could see something behind her eyes. It was a soft pain, as if Trini was letting a part of her hold on Kimberly go with her words. She wasn't giving up on Kimberly or their friendship; she could never do that. But she was letting go of her place beside her longest best friend's side while she fought for the fate of the world. Trini was acknowledging someone else was closest to Kimberly now, though that could never replace Trini's past and friendship with her. She was also admitting that what Kimberly was fighting for could be the end of her and that Trini, and the rest of Kimberly's friends, might never see her again because of it. She was putting her faith in Taylor and Ashley to look after Kimberly, giving them something that she rarely gave to anyone she hadn't known for years: her trust.

Taylor silently thanked Trini for entrusting watching after Kimberly in a fight to her and Ashley; she knew it couldn't have been easy since Kimberly and Trini knew each other from the sandbox days. "I will," she said with conviction.

"I know you will," Trini said with a gracious smile. She stayed for only a minute longer before bidding goodbye and leaving to see to the others that stayed in for the night.

The minutes after Trini left were spent with Taylor mulling over everything Trini said to her. She knew that the first yellow Power Ranger of Earth didn't have to saying all that she had, but it felt great to hear it from someone like her, and Taylor had a feeling that Trini knew that. It triggered a different train of thought in Taylor's mind: were all the other rangers from her team, Kimberly's and Ashley's doing the same thing? Trusting one another's welfare in this fight because they could no longer fight by any of the girls' sides? Did they all think the girls would ever let one another die in a fight?

There was no doubt in Taylor's mind that she would do everything to protect Ashley and Kimberly. All three of them knew the silent promise was made without question. Taylor knew if both of her sisters, or just one of them, lost their lives, it would be catastrophic not just for the world, but for her own sanity. She knew she would hate going on without them. But after everything Trini said, she realized she never gave much thought to how any of their deaths would affect their friends. Then again, none of their friends entered their lives for the past few years they were missing. Why would they ever cross her mind?

Now she saw a little of how much it would distress their friends if anything happened to them in their fight against evil. They wouldn't be this scared if they hadn't put their faith in the girls to look out for the other two once they left Angel Grove. Taylor knew she couldn't let any of Ashley's and Kimberly's friends down. She also knew she couldn't be more thankful for her sisters; no one but those two would've protected her all this time knowing what her friends might've done to them for not looking after her.

She gave a quick smile before making the final shot to finish her practice. Her fireball power going crazy on her and getting on that plane two years ago was definitely one of the best things that ever happened to her.