Chapter 10

Where do your loyalties lie?

Rita laughed gleefully as she backed away from the telescope. She had been watching Earth again, in particularly, watching the rangers, waiting to see if there was going to be a good time to attack them and she had gotten an epiphany. If she and Zedd continued to attack as much as they could and the orange ranger continued to hesitate on where her true loyalties lied, then things were going to go their way for once. They only needed a few more attacks and they could finally set their plan in motion…

..

.

Kimberly opened the bathroom door, a plume of steam pouring out into the hallway, twisting and curling before dissipating. She smiled to herself, running a comb through her long, dark hair as she used her other hand to slip into a fluffy, terry-cloth robe. She took a couple more swipes through her hair before she started to toss it back and forth across her shoulders. She looked at the bruise that was on her arm, thinking back to the fight against Arieselle. That monster had clearly taken them all by surprise, not even their combined weapons could do anything to stop it. Kimberly frowned as she thought about it.

The monster continued to come back over and over, smashing into them with as much force as it could muster. Then it had that final blast with energy stormed from its horns. Kimberly shuddered and shook her head, remembering the feeling of the energy coursing through her body and then the overwhelming feeling of loss power when she demorphed. Rita and Zedd really have their work cut out for them. We're going to need to talk to Zordon and Alpha about this.

Kimberly's moments slowed through her hair as she stared at her reflection. It was hard, now, to remember a time where she wasn't a ranger. Where she didn't have to constantly look over her shoulder, wonder if she was going to be attacked by putties, or hope that her parents weren't put in danger. Having a boyfriend and her best friends on the team really helped, but sometimes she wondered if it was worth it. Having to be so secretive…it was enough to make her go crazy sometimes. Nothing that a quick shopping spree couldn't help, but it wasn't he magic cure. She was well aware that nothing was going to make them all feel better unless Rita and Zedd were stopped for good.

She was broken out of her thoughts by her cell phone starting to ring. Kimberly glanced over at her pink phone for a moment before drying off her hands and reaching over to pick it up. Seeing Trini's name come up on the Caller ID, she grinned and picked it up. Bringing it to her ear, she heard Trini's cheerful greeting.

"Hey!" Kimberly replied. "So I just tried on my dress for the homecoming dance to make sure that it, like, still fit," Kimberly said. She wiped off the rest of the mirror and slung her towel over her shoulder. Taking one last look at her reflection, she turned and flicked off the lights, walking back to her room. She flipped on the overhead lights to her pink room and went over to her closet. A peaceful smile slid onto her face as she ran her fingers over the fabric of the dress. "Trini, wait until you see it all together, it's perfect. It has a sweetheart neckline and it's really cute."

"You have to bring it over to my place so you can model it for me," Trini said. "I got mine, too. I just need to get the heels that go with it, the other ones that we looked at before just didn't work."

"Are you thinking of wedges or flats or what?" Kimberly went over to her dresser and started to look through her jewelry case. Her fingers moved over diamonds and earrings and brooches and bracelets, and necklaces stared back at her. However, the one that she was looking for, that completed the whole look that she was going for, wasn't to be found. Frowning, Kimberly moved over to her other jewelry box and started to search through the contents of that as well, coming up empty. "That's funny."

"What's wrong?" Trini asked.

"There was a pearl necklace that my mother gave me that I wanted to wear with my dress," Kimberly said slowly. She cradled her phone against her ear and continued to look through the jewelry. Still nothing. Her heart dropped a little. "But I can't find it." Running a hand through her hair, she suddenly realized something else. "You know…it's funny." She started to pace. "A couple of weeks ago, my mom lost her gold necklace too. She thought that she had just misplaced it, but now that my pearl necklace is gone…"

"Do you think you lost them?" Trini asked. Kimberly could hear the worry in her voice, in the calm, serene way that Trini did. That was something that Kimberly really loved about her best friend, she could be anxious or worried, but her calm exterior extended outward, exuding confidence. Kimberly was the polar opposite, whatever she was feeling; she showed it as soon as she felt it. Together, the two of them made a great team.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Trini," Kimberly reassured her. "We probably sent them out to be shined or something. But I'll call you later, ok?"

"Alright, see you, Kim." Trini said and hung up the phone.

Kimberly lowered the phone from her ear and punched in Tommy's number. She waited a few moments before her boyfriend picked up the phone. "Hey, Kim, how are you?" She could hear the smile in his voice and that instantly relaxed her.

"Not much," she replied slowly. "I was just talking to Trini about the dance and-"

"About that," Tommy interrupted. "What kind of flowers do you want for your corsage? I was thinking of pink roses, but Zack says that might be a little too obvious. And according to Angela, having pink roses has a specific meaning compared to red roses and I don't-"

"Tommy!" Kimberly laughed. "No matter what you do, I'm sure I'm going to love it." She laid back on her head, starting to twirl her hair around her finger. "But what I'm wondering now, is what the corsage will look like. And your tuxedo. Will it match my dress somehow? It has to match."

Tommy let out a light groan, causing Kimberly to giggle. "Does everything have to match?"

"You boys are so clueless!" Kimberly teased. She started to run her fingers across her neck, then sat up, remembering the reason that she had called. "That reminds me. I had a pearl necklace that I was going to wear with my dress, but I can't find it."

"I'm sure you just misplaced it, Kim," Tommy reassured her.

"But Mom's gold necklace went missing a couple of weeks ago, too," Kimberly said. "And she would never misplace that." Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Trust me, since she and Dad split up, she's been very careful of where she puts her things and show she looks."

"Don't worry about it, Kim," Tommy continued. "There's probably a logical explanation for it. You'll find it in time for the dance. And even if you don't, it doesn't matter, because you look good in everything."

Kimberly giggled once more. "You're cute,"

Avalon could barely keep her eyes open as she walked back to the apartment. She had no idea what was going to greet her when she got back. Her mind always raced with a million thoughts whenever she would leave Bailey alone. Would she come back to an empty apartment with a rival gang having taken her? Would social services find out what happened at take her? The apartment could be on fire with her trapped inside. She really needed to find out what to do with her whenever she went out with Chase and the others. Her sanity would still be intact and he was sure that Bailey would be safe. Even if a monster attack happened while she was out, she would feel better knowing Bailey was out of harm's way.

Avalon yawned, raising a hand to her mouth. She yawned so hard that tears sprang to her eyes. An once they started, they didn't stop. Surprised, Avalon raised a hand to her face as the tears silently fell, one by one. I must be cracking up, this is the second time I've cried in a long time. She knew what the real problem was…the stress was starting to get to her.

Avalon wiped her face, wanting to get rid of the tell-tale signs of her sadness, and unlocked the door. She expected to see Bailey lying on the couch, dutifully waiting for her as she always did. However, this time, her bedroom door was closed and all of the lights in the apartment was off. Avalon bent over slightly, seeing Bailey's bedroom light on under her door.

Avalon heaved a heavy sigh and went over to Bailey's room and knocked gently on it. "Bay, can we talk?"

The door opened a second later and Bailey stuck her head out, pushing her glasses up her nose. Behind the lenses, her dark brown eyes were narrowed in a glare and her freckled nose was scrunched up in a look of scorn. "I don't know, Av, what could you say that's any different from the other times you tried to make me feel better about what you're doing?"

Avalon crossed her arms over her chest. She was not in the mood for the way that Bailey was speaking to her. In the back of her mind, she knew she couldn't fault Bailey for it. She was a innocent bystander, blindly following everything her big sister told her. "Don't cop and attitude with me, Bay," Avalon said sternly.

The anger slid out of Bailey's face. She never was one that stood up to Avalon very well, always backing down whenever he was told to. Bailey's shoulders slumped. "Sorry," she muttered. "But you're not mum, you can't always tell me what to do."

"Look…" Avalon pinched the bride of her nose. "You have to see this from my point of view," she said slowly. "I'm trying hard…to keep life normal for us. And I know that you're not happy with the way that I'm doing it, but how am I supposed to get us money if I can't get a job?"

"Uh, find one." Bailey rolled her eyes. "It's called 'the wanted ads." Avalon waited for her to finish. "Why don't you apply to work at Ernie's or something? You're there all the time working on that project that you have to do. Or just doing homework or something. And the other guys can watch me while you're there!"

"So how am I supposed to do that with no prior job experience?" Avalon rubbed her forehead. "It's not as simple as you make things seem, Bailey."

"I know that, I'm not stupid," Bailey huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "People lie on their resumes you know." Avalon bobbed her head back and forth. Bailey turned and walked into her room, leaving the door open behind her as a open invitation for Avalon to come in as well. Bailey jumped onto her bed, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I'll make one for you. You can get a job as a babysitter." She ducked her head, shrugging her shoulders. "You do a good job of taking care of me."

Avalon raised an eyebrow.

"I know I don't say it a lot, but you do," Bailey admitted. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Avalon slowly started to smile. She reached out and ruffled Bailey's hair before sitting on the bed beside her. Even though they fought a lot, got on each other's nerves, teased each other relentlessly and disagreed a lot, they knew that, at the moment, they only had each other and wouldn't know what to do without each other.

"I was thinking that I could…get someone to watch you if I ever needed to go out with the guys," Avalon said slowly. "How does that sound to you?"

Bailey's face screwed up as she thought about it. "A babysitter?"

"No," Avalon said quickly. "You don't need a babysitter. The last time we tried to get you a babysitter, you set her on fire." Bailey gave a sheepish smile. "It was a cool experiment you were trying to show her, but I'm not having that happen again. Not when it brings the good chance of people finding out about us." She tapped her chin. "I was thinking of asking one of the other rangers to look after you."

"What'll your story be?" Bailey demanded. "You know, when you have to leave? What if a monster attacks?"

"If a monster attacks, you're going to probably be taken to the command center, so that doesn't make a difference." Avalon winced a little, thinking about what Zordon and Alpha had said to her earlier. A overwhelming feeling of wanting to burst into sobs created a thick lump in her throat. The guilt was starting to get to her. "Otherwise, I'll tell them I'm looking for a job and I can't take you with me."

Bailey shrugged. "You can try," she said slowly. "But…I don't know if they want me around. Why would they want an eleven year old kid to look after when they have their own stuff to think about?"

"At least let me try," Avalon insisted. She yawned again and leaned back until her head was resting on the pillow behind her.

Closing her eyes, in moments she was lost to sleep.

"Billy, come on, you have to do it!" Kimberly started to poke Billy on the arm. Billy tried to slap her hands away, but laughed and smiled as she continued to poke him.. Her eyes shifted from him to Trini, who was across the room, getting smoothies for them at the juice bar. When she turned her full attention back over to Billy, a bright smile on her face. "She'll say, 'yes', you know she will."

"I don't know…" Frowning, Billy rested his chin in his hand, angling his gaze down to his notebook. He was supposed to be doing homework, but nothing was written on the page. He started to tap the pen in his free hand against the paper. Ask Trini to a dance? It seemed a lot harder than most people made it look. What if she said no? He started to increase his tapping, hoping that if he stalled for time, Kimberly would give up and leave him alone. However, he knew that when it came to matters of the heart, a sale, or shopping in general, she wouldn't leave it alone. "Dances aren't really my thing…"

"Oh come on, we spent such a long time on this, Billy!" Kimberly continued to plead. She clasped her hands together, in a prayer position. "And it's next weekend, it's going to be really good." She then pouted. "I'm not going to have a good time if all of my friends aren't going."

"Would Billy's not going really keep you from being happy?" Zack laughed incredulously. He had finally taken his headphones off of his ears, tuning into what Kimberly had been saying. They had gone to the juice bar to get some more work done on their project, but as it happened, they got off track very quickly. When Kimberly started to pressure Billy to ask Trini to the dance, he had tuned out, knowing how long Kimberly could go with these things.

"Yes!" Kimberly snapped at him. Zack's eyes widened in surprise, but laughed a little, shaking his head. He was used to Kimberly's antics at that point. She turned back to Billy, poking him again. This time, she dug her nail into the skin of his arm, causing him to let out a sound of pain and pull his arm away. "You two are already friends, so you're going to have fun. Just do it."

"I say, go for it, Billy," Tommy added. Like Zack, he was sitting quietly, watching the exchange, knowing how intense his girlfriend could be. "It's like Kim said, you guys are friends, and you'll have fun together. And you don't always have to dance at dances." Kimberly smacked him on the arm and glared, causing Zack to laugh. "I mean, you do! You do!"

"Do what?" Bailey asked as she and Avalon walked into the youth center and over to their table.

Avalon held up the peace sign with her fingers and dropped down in a chair. She rested her arms on her legs. Her right foot was planted on the ground, but she was resting her left foot on the ground of the ball of her foot. Her leg was moving up and down so fast, as if it was a motor revving. She ran a hand over her forehead before dropping her head and staring hard at the floor, her leg moving even faster than before. Dark circles were under her eyes and her hair, which normally hung loose around her face, was pulled back into a tight ponytail.

"Hey, Av, are you ok?" Zak asked, looking over at her. He noticed her appearance. She looked sick.

"It's Avalon." Avalon lifted her head and gave a weak smile. "I'm good, just a lot of stuff is going on..." She reached into her pocket and pulled out some money, handing it over to Bailey. "Here, get whatever you want," she said dismissively.

"Thanks!" Bailey went up to the counter. She said something to Trini, causing the older girl to smile, and wait as Bailey got herself something to eat and drink.

"So what are we talking about?" Avalon asked, hoping to change the subject.

"I'm trying to convince Billy to ask Trini to the homecoming dance," Kimberly explained.

"Looks like convince is the key word there mate," Avalon commented, her eyes scanning Billy's face. Kimberly nodded. Avalon looked a Billy a moment longer, causing him to look over at her. As soon as he did, she sucked in a short breath and turned her attention to Tommy and Zack. "You guys got dates?"

"Yep." Tommy nodded. "I'm going with Kim and Zack is going with Angela." He placed a hand on Zack's shoulder and lightly shook him. "Though I'm still wondering how he was able to convince her to go with him." He laughed.

"Hey man, at least I got her to agree to go with me," Zack reminded him.

"True."

Avalon rested her chin in her hands. "The way I see it," she said to Billy. "You're just afraid that you're one of the only ones that won't have a date to the dance, if she turns you down, right?" She asked. Billy looked at her, astonished. "I see I hit the nail on the head." Leaning back, she stretched her arms. "The only way that you won't have a date is if you don't go ahead and ask her." She grabbed onto Billy's arm and stood him up. "I've seen you fight against Rita's and Zedd's monsters, doing this can't be that much more difficult. Just channel your inner ranger or whatever, yeah?"

She pushed him over towards Trini and sat back down.

"Ok, now that we have Billy and Trini figured out…" Kimberly smiled sweetly as she laced her fingers together. "Why don't you and Jason go to the dance together?" She asked Avalon. "He still doesn't have a date and I'm sure that you guys would have a lot of fun together."

"Dances aren't my thing," Avalon said, dead-pan. "And unlike using it as an excuse, I'm being completely serious. Being stuck in a gym, or whatever, for hours on end, listening to bad music, having to dress up in stuff I don't like." She shook her head. "No thanks." She leaned forward and placed her hands on the edge of the table. "Now, help me move this table so we can eavesdrop on Billy and Trini."

Tommy and Zack laughed before doing as they were told. With Kimberly's help, Tommy, Zack, and Avalon lifted their table and slowly shuffled it over towards Trini and Billy, so they could hear what they were saying. Bailey, who had gotten her food, turned and gave the older teenagers a funny look when she saw them moving the table over. Tommy signaled for her to be quiet and, giggling, she put a hand over her mouth and sat down in the chair he pulled out for her. The others quickly sat down and leaned forward, listening to Billy and Trini.

Billy lightly tapped Trini on the shoulder to get her attention. "Um...Trini?"

Trini turned around with a bright smile. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Oh hey Billy! What's up? Did you come here to help me get all of this stuff?" She motioned to the growing pile of drinks that Ernie was setting on the counter.

"Oh, yeah," Billy said quickly. "That is…if you don't mind." He looked at his feet before looking up at her again. She still had that sweet smile on her face.

"Of course it is," she said.

Billy smiled and looked over his shoulder, around the Youth Center, nervously rubbing his neck. When he saw that the other rangers and Bailey were listening to their every word, his nose scrunched up and he started to fumble with his glasses, dropping them a few times. He adjusted them before turning back to Trini. "Actually the real reason I came over to talk to you was to ask if you would like to go to the Homecoming Dance with me."

Kimberly let out a squeal as quietly as she could. Avalon and Bailey made faces at each other, Tommy smiled and laughed, and Zack rolled his eyes.

Trini's smile widened. "I'd love to, Billy." She nodded. "I'm sure it's going to be really fun." She tilted her head back towards the smoothies. "You mind helping me with these?" Billy reached out and grabbed a few of the smoothies that were on the counter and Trini grabbed the other. The two turned and stopped when they saw that the other rangers were now all smiling at them, though Avalon was smirking, and Bailey was looking at her hands.

"Way to go, Billy!" Zack cheered.

Billy blushed as they sat down at the table.

"Ok, now all we need to do is get Avalon to go to the dance," Kimberly said.

Avalon sighed loudly, tilting her head back so she was looking at the ceiling. "Seriously, you're not going to let that go are you?" She asked, running her hands over her face.

"No!" Kimberly insisted. "I want all of my friends-"

"Well, you don't have to worry about that. Yeah?" Avalon interrupted her. "Because we're not friends. Not really anyway." She ignored the looks that were being sent her away. Bailey elbowed her sharply in the side, shooting her a look as well. "And, like I said, I don't do dances." She shrugged, trying to think of a different excuse that wouldn't reveal her real problems. She didn't want to leave Bailey home by herself all night. "And it's not like I can find a date in zero-point-five seconds. I don't know anyone here."

"You can come with us!" Bulk suggested as he and Skull walked over to their table. He rested his hands on the back of Avalon's chair and leaned over her, speaking to everyone. "I mean would you rather go with these losers or hang out with us?" Avalon chuckled, shaking her head.

"She doesn't want to go to the dance with you, Bulk," Trini said, her upper lip curling.

"I wasn't talking about me," Bulk said. He pulled back, so that he wasn't crowding Avalon so much, and gave a proud smile. "I already have a date." He blew on his fingers and buffed them on his chest, the smug smile widening at the momentary silence accompanying his statement.

"Your mom doesn't count as a date," Zack pointed out.

Bulk frowned at the accompanying laughter from the rangers. Avalon was the only one that didn't laugh. "It's not my mom, and watch what you say about her!" He warned. He then turned and smacked Skull on the back. Skull gave a small smile and a nod, though he didn't look as convinced as Bulk did. "And I wasn't talking about me; I was talking about Skull here."

"Sorry." Kimberly jumped in. "She's going with Jason."

"I didn't even say that I'd go," Avalon pointed out. She reached up and rubbed her temples. All of a sudden, she had a headache. Her head was pounding so hard that every slight sound from Ernie's back room, clanging of pots and pans, made a lightning bolt of pain shoot through her head and body, making her visibly wince.

"You're going," Kimberly insisted, pointing at Avalon, who removed her hands from her temples and raised them defensively. "And you're going with Jason."

Avalon twisted in her chair and looked over at Skull, who had been quiet the whole time. He looked like he would rather be anywhere but there at the moment, which was odd, as he normally had something to say whenever he and Bulk were around. She could see now that she wasn't going to be able to get out of this. "I'll meet you there; I'll save a dance for you, or whatever."

"Ya see?" Skull's face lit up and he turned to Bulk with a superior smile on his face. But Bulk quickly shot that down with his comment. "I told you that some girl would say yes to you!" He put his arm around Skull's shoulders and led him away.

"Wow, Av, I didn't think I'd ever see the day where you actually decided that you'd go to a dance," Bailey teased. "Seeing you in a dress is going to be a highlight of my life." She placed a hand on her chest. "It's a good thing I have a camera so I can at least prove it if someone else wants to know."

"Shut up," Avalon replied. She ran a hand through her hair. "Can we please change the subject?"

"Hey guys," Jason greeted as he walked over to the group. He dropped his backpack to the ground and sat down in the last empty chair at the table. "Sorry I'm late, I had to stay after and talk to…" he trailed off, looking around. "What'd I just miss?"

"You and Avalon are going to the homecoming dance together," Bailey said. She leaned forward and gave him a sympathetic look. "Congratulations."

Jason gave her a funny look, shifting his weight on the chair that he was sitting on. "When'd this happen?" He held up a hand when Trini went to answer, effectively cutting her off. "No need to explain, I can smell that Kim was behind this."

"Excuse me for not wanting you to be alone, Jase," Kimberly said. She stuck her nose in the air. "I'm just looking out for a friend."

"Don't worry Kim, all of us are going to have a good time," Trini reassured her. She grabbed onto her wrist, gently squeezing it. "We worked hard on it and it's going to be amazing." She smiled at the faces around the table. "It'll be one that can't be topped."

"Keep hope alive there," Avalon deadpanned. She glanced over at Bailey and cleared her throat as he pager went off. "Actually, I came by so I could ask you guys something." She twisted her fingers together. "I was going to go out and start looking for a job and I need someone to watch Bailey for a couple of hours."

"Not as a babysitter," Bailey clarified. "I'm too old for a babysitter."

"I can do it," Tommy offered. He shrugged. "How hard could it be?"

Avalon gave a half smile as she got to her feet. "You have no idea, Tommo," she replied. She noticed the somewhat evil smile on Bailey's face and snapped before pointing at her. The other rangers turned to Bailey, who instantly replaced her evil smile with a winning one. "You have no idea." Avalon then turned to Jason. "You don't have any problems with going to the dance with me? It seems that we don't have much of a choice, so if you don't want to-"

"Nah, its fine." Jason smiled at her. "It sounds like it's going to be fun."

Avalon looked like she was going to reply, but closed her mouth when her pager went off again. She flashed everyone the peace sign before leaving the juice bar. She started to run at a light jog, then stopped, her head exploding with each footfall. Cursing under her breath, Avalon rubbed her temples as she headed towards their headquarters; an abandoned warehouse at the outskirts of the city. It was rundown; holes lining the walls, the structure was a few years away from potentially falling down on itself. However, it was a place that a few of them called home and where Craig insisted that they meet up whenever they got the chance. If he was asking for them to go there today, something big was going down.

Hopefully it has nothing to do with the High Flyers, Avalon thought. I don't think I can handle that so soon. She ran a hand over her face before slapping herself on the cheeks. Wake up, Av. You could handle this before, you can do it now.

When Avalon arrived at the warehouse, the rest of the gang was already there. They all turned away from Craig, who was explaining something as she closed the door behind her. Avalon didn't care about any of what they thought except Chase. Being the leader, he was the one that had personally asked her to join them, promising a family and money in return for her services. She had to go through a lot to get into the gang and she still wasn't sure if she had his respect and trust. It was something so hard to obtain….Chase didn't trust anybody.

"You're late!" He barked at her.

"Yeah…" Avalon shrugged, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. "What's going on? What'd I miss?" She used her shoulder to wipe her hair from her face.

Blueprints. We're going over a massive hit. We want to get at least five or six houses. Pawn it off, then get the weapons and ammo that we need to defend our turf against the High Flyers. They're starting to inch in on our territory as each day goes by and we need to show them that we mean business.

Avalon closed her eyes.

"Blueprints." Chase watched her. "We're going over-"

"Yeah, yeah," Avalon said. She opened her eyes. "I got it." She let out a mixture of a yawn and a sigh, rubbing her neck. Her communicator went off and she stiffened for a second. All eyes returned to her once more. She wasn't able to ignore it this time.

Chase whipped his head towards her. "Do you have somewhere you need to be?" She could hear the underlying threat in his voice.

Avalon slowly lowered her wrist, then shook her head. "No," she replied. "I don't."

A/N: Ooh, Avalon's ignoring a fight! That's not going to end well. Is the pacing still ok? After the dance, the story really begins. Do you guys want to see more romance?

The Poll is becoming really interesting. I already know who I'm going to have her with, but I'm wondering what your guys' reasoning is to want her with Jason. Or if you chose Billy, why you want her with him.

-Avalon