DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Power Rangers but I do own the characters of Katie Oliver, Belstan, Gahaleigh, Andie Pridgen, Denlione, and the Tinneanites.
Sunset in Angel Grove, there is no better time of day than that for anyone that had ever experienced it. Katie knew it was not in her best interest to be sitting outside alone with the recent attack on her home, but she desperately needed sometime to think about everything she had seen when she had gone back there. This was not the type of life that she thought she would live with Tommy.
She had had her family destroyed twice in her life and her home was now destroyed as well. She couldn't deal with it. She needed her brother to be here with her, to help her understand this mess that she had found herself in. No one seemed to be able to understand her as well as him and all she needed was a little bit of understanding, so she would be able to get through this. She was not sure that she could be able to handle this at all.
"Hey," Conner said as he walked outside and saw that she was holding her knees to her body, trying to shield herself it seemed from some invisible predator. He had known she would be upset, but he had never thought it would be this bad, but he hadn't seen her house yet, either. He had the feeling he was not going to like what he saw there.
"Oh, hi Conner," Katie said as he sat down on the ground and looked up at her with a slight bit of concern showing on his face. She really wondered how long he had been there and if he had been watching her for a long time. She knew he was concerned, but it was still uncomfortable to have him there. "How long have you been out here?"
"I just came outside to check on you. You've been out here for awhile, Kate," Conner said and he heard her sigh. That was not what he really wanted to hear from her right now, but there was not much that he could do about the impression that she had gotten of her house. "How bad was it?"
"It was awful. I've never seen a house look like that before. I didn't know that it was possible to have something like that happen to you when it's not done by a burglar," Katie said quietly and Conner could feel that she was trying to get him to go away, but he couldn't do that to her. He was sure that she didn't need to be left alone right now or it would only get worse.
"Don't shut down, it took Tommy this long to get you to open up to anyone, especially any that might care about you," Conner pleaded and she finally looked him in the eyes.
He was right, but she couldn't deal with this sort of disaster after the last few months. Her home was basically destroyed and her security had been shattered again. She didn't know if it was worth living a life that was constantly being shattered by one thing or the next.
"Conner, how could these people continue to do this? How could they?" Katie asked desperate to grasp the concept of what was happening around her. He seemed to understand it so much better than she did and she could only hope he would enlighten her, somehow.
"These aren't the same people as before. For some reason, these things like to pick on Tommy. Listen this is not the first time it's happened and your brother was prepared for it to happen again. He just didn't want it to, none of us wanted this to happen. It's nothing that we're proud to say that we're involved with," Conner said as Katie slipped down from her perch and placed her head on his shoulder, which honestly surprised him. He had not expected her to really want to be near to him anymore. Not after the huge secret he had been keeping from her the whole time that he knew her, but she had come to terms with the secrets rather quickly. She just didn't completely understand that life that she would be living.
"Why didn't I know?" Katie asked and Conner sighed, he could only hope that he was able to dig Tommy out of this hole that he had landed himself in by being a ranger in the past.
"He hoped no one would come after Mesogogg. He didn't want you to worry about his past, he didn't think that it would come back again. I would have bet my soccer career that he would not be attacked again, but it happened. He's the only Power Ranger to have been on more than three teams. That should tell you something about him and why this continues to happen. He's the only threat that most evils percieve anymore," Conner said and Katie let out a tiny sob and Conner was not sure what he had said to make her cry, but he knew that he wanted it to stop.
"So he lives like this? He's always in fear that something else will come after him?" Katie asked and Conner merely nodded his head as he gave her a tight hug. He couldn't think of anything else to do to try to comfort her and there was no use in lying. Katie was going to find out the truth now, no matter what anyone else wanted. "Conner, you don't have to be nice to me."
"If I was being nice to you, I would have left you out here by yourself to imagine what was going on. You needed to get some of this out; Tommy is going to expect you to step up now. You know that he doesn't want those his age to deal with this at all. He prefers teens, the older rangers don't heal as well after they have been hurt by these things as we do," Conner said, as Katie nodded.
It didn't bother her to fight evil, it just bothered her to have her life so interrupted again. She didn't know how many more times she could take this sort of thing without having a mental breakdown and she now understood Tommy's paranoia. She would be paranoid too if she had demented creatures after her.
"Conner, so I'll probably be a Power Ranger? I'll be living all of this too?" Katie asked tentatively and Conner nodded his head while Tommy and Kim walked out onto the desert.
They were surprised to see the two of them sitting down next to the boulder, but they smiled. At least the two of them were being able to use the boulder that they had propped up against themselves when they were younger. It always seemed to be the place that they could let themselves grieve over something and they couldn't help but wonder if Zordon himself had placed it there for that exact purpose.
"Hey! You two, come on!" Tommy said loudly, as Katie jerked her head up and looked at Tommy. He had a smile on his face, but she was sure that would change soon as she told him about the one picture that she knew was missing. He was not going to be happy with her at all.
"Why?" Katie asked, just to be argumentative. There was really no other thing that could make her happier than to see him get riled up over nothing.
"Powers, come on, Katie. It's not safe for anyone to be out here, especially considering how you've been reacting to things," Tommy said with a serious tone in his voice and she stood up to follow them inside with Conner close behind her.
He was still not sure that Dr. O would not jump on him for being out there alone with Katie, but she needed it and that was enough to make him stop worrying about Dr. O getting mad. That was until he showed up, he still struck a little bit of horror in Conner's heart, considering the fact that he had threatened him with several things in the past.
"Okay, we have these three remaining orbs of energy. We don't really know whom they will go to, but we do have a story to tell you once everyone has received their powers. Denlione was pretty insistent on us telling each power holder what their predecessor had done in their life. It seems our lives generally will mirror theirs in many ways, although that doesn't really give me a clue who will get the powers," Tommy said, as the three orbs buzzed around the room, before singling out, Kim, Katie, and Conner.
The three of them were knocked off their feet and landed on the steel floor with a thud and a severe headache. They should have warned them about that type of reaction, but they had not been standing up in order to be thrown anywhere and they didn't know that would happen. They were sure, however, that Kim, Conner, and Katie would not believe that.
"This is weird," Kim said as she looked down at her clothes and they were still the same as before. Usually they would be morphed after they had received powers, but that didn't happen this time.
"Yeah, we thought the same thing. We still don't know what color we are either," Jason said, as Billy handed out the morphers. He could tell that several of them were going to be shocked by their new color, but he was not going to tell them that until they saw themselves.
"Power up should suffice to activate the morphing sequence this time," Billy said, as they looked at him and nodded. Then they said those two words, which caused streaks of light to appear in the Command Center, before they were able to focus on each other.
"Oh my," Kim said, as she looked down at herself and held out her black clad hands. She had never thought that she would be the black ranger, but she still had to hear the story that led to her being picked for these colors. She would understand it all then.
"How do I take this off?" Katie asked, as she placed her hands on the pink helmet and started tugging at it in every way that she could imagine, but it would not come off. She was getting pretty desperate, as she had the feeling that she would be stuck in this thing forever.
"Katie, don't hurt yourself honey," Tommy said, as he walked over and unclipped the sides of the helmet and placed it in her hands. That was when she first saw that she was in pink and that her helmet had to have the oddest visor shape she had ever seen. It was merely a two inch wide black band that was wrapped around the entire helmet and she could tell that none of the others had seen that either. They were all in for some changes in uniform.
"Wow," Conner said, as he looked at everyone around the room and his eyes landed on Katie last, which caused him to actually say something.
"Down boy," Tommy said, threateningly, as Katie glared up at him, while several of the others laughed. Tommy always seemed to be very protective of anyone that he loved and they were sure that he would say something to Conner if he had said something to Kim as well.
"What's the story behind all this?" Kim asked, as she was holding her black helmet under her arm and Tommy and Jason exchanged a glance. This truly was the oddest story they had ever heard before, but it now made sense who had gotten which powers.
"I'll explain," Jason said, as Tommy seemed to sigh. He did not want to be the one to explain how each one of these people related to their color warrior from eons before. He was very grateful that Jason took it upon himself to explain it all to the rangers. "Denlione has held these powers since the first warriors, the Tinneanites died eons ago. There were five of them, Kendar, Quar, Vige, Nivine, and Candite. Candite was the white ranger, Quar was the red ranger, Kendar was the blue ranger, Nivine was the black ranger, and Vige was the pink ranger. He sent this tape with us, listen to it well."
"The white ranger, Candite, suffered a severe emotional loss at a young age. He had the power to be strong, yet loving although many said he should have never had that sort of life after his heartbreak. He should have never been able to love the one that hurt him so much. He, however, had the strength to forgive and the strength to find himself again. He could have turned over his powers many times, but he chose to work through his horrid problems and stay as a ranger. The white ranger will find that he or she has suffered many of the same problems as Candite. Tell them this."
"That makes sense now, doesn't it, Tommy?" Kim asked with a smile as he couldn't help but laugh as well. They both could think of the 'severe emotional loss' that he had suffered.
"The red ranger, Quar, was the leader of the pack. He held them together when everything seemed to be going wrong. He was Candite's shoulder to cry on and the one who helped Candite to realize what he would lose if he just gave up. His life was dedicated to leading and helping his fellow warriors. He died before all the rest with very little left to give. He gave everything he had in every battle they fought and often times came back here with less injuries than the rest, but more stress placed on his shoulders. Do not allow your red ranger to become far too stressed or he will take the same road that Quar walked down eons ago. He or she will have already felt this pressure before and it will be a constant reminder that Quar sacrificed almost everything for the team. Tell them this."
"Be quiet, you got your old color," Aisha said, as Jason had started to say something and they all couldn't help but laugh a little bit at her comment. There was no yellow ranger this time and that was certainly odd to them.
"The blue ranger, Kendar, was not necessarily the most agile or most experienced in the fighting that needed to be done. He, however, used the ruthlessness that had been instilled in him at a young age by his family. He had been taught that anything worth doing was worth doing as well as he could manage. He was the one that joked. He was the one that laughed and he was the one that mourned more than the others. He had high, highs and low, lows, but he was the inspiration for many of the warriors. He held them up when they needed it most and he helped Quar when he was far too serious. Your blue ranger will be a jokester, I can feel it, but he will be capable of loving hard and easily that was Kendar's greatest attribute. Tell them this."
"I'm supposed to be ruthless?" Conner asked, as Katie looked up at him and just shook her head. He was ruthless all right, he just didn't know about it yet.
"The black ranger, Nivine, was agile, graceful, and most importantly deceiving to evil's eye. She walked the line closer to evil than the rest of them would even imagine, but she ultimately pushed Candite down more than anyone else. That was Candite's broken heart and Candite's only love. He found a way to love her again that no one quite understands, but they were inseparable and they were stronger than any two put together. They were the warriors most feared by all evil and they were the warriors most scared to leave their powers behind. They loved their job and Nivine ultimately helped Candite realize that he must let it go. They lived a long life and Nivine continued her work, at a level lower than most believed, but she was unlucky about it and left Candite alone. Remember this, do not allow your black ranger to do this or they might suffer the same fate. Your black ranger will have greatly betrayed someone and is hoping to find peace in his or her sights. Tell them this."
"Holy shit," Kim said, as Tommy looked over at her and their eyes met. It was what the both of them had been praying would happen for ten years, so why in the world didn't they just go for it sooner?
"Real mature, Kim," Jason said with a smile, as she stuck her tongue out at him.
"The pink ranger, Vige, suffered personal losses, but not from some love affair. She lost all of her family, not once, but twice in her life. She was the hardest to break and she found it the hardest to trust those around her. Kendar was her saving grace. He helped her more than anyone else did. She was the warrior that was quiet, yet precise. She was the warrior who found themselves in difficult positions, but somehow always managed to slip through the evil's grasp. She was the rock, the steady one, when no one, not even Quar could be steady. Your pink ranger will have dealt with these things. Tell them this," Denlione's voice boomed over the intercom system as they all looked at Jason and Tommy, this seemed to be the oddest thing they had ever had happen.
"So that explains a lot," Kim said, as she looked over at Tommy in his white suit and he looked at her in her black suit. It was certainly the first time they had ever thought of things in that way while in the same room in a long time.
"Yeah," Tommy said as Kim walked over to him and he really looked at her for the first time and realized exactly what her being in that color meant, even without listening to Denlione's advice. It meant something else to him, something that hadn't occurred when he had first seen her in the black uniform. "Black?"
"Yeah, black, Tommy. Listen I need you to help me with something," Kim said and the other rangers looked at the both of them. Black and white, together as rangers was unheard of in their history. They had usually gone, pink-white, pink-red, and yellow-red; something like that, but from the way it sounded the black and white rangers would be together soon, as well as the pink and blue rangers. They were not sure that that had sunk in with Tommy, but they were sure they would find out when it did.
"What's that?" Tommy asked, as Kim held up her cell phone and he could only shake his head. He had to do this, not for her, but for the both of them. He just hoped that Andie would understand it. In an ideal world, this was not the way that he really wanted to break up with her.
"Call Andie and I'll call Mike," Kim said and Tommy nodded. It seemed like they both were going to get something that they deserved, although this was not going to be pleasant for either of them. Andie was going to be hurt by all of this, but he could not bear to drag it out any longer. It would only make things worse.
"Are you kidding?" Katie asked, as Kim had not been exactly discreet about what she was saying to Tommy.
"Katie," Tommy said warningly, as he knew the temper she could have on some touchy subjects and he was not sure whether he wanted Kim and Katie to go at it, yet. He knew that was going to be a fight where he would have to pick sides and Katie was not very likely to like the side that he would pick.
"Tommy," Katie said in the same tone of voice, while she placed her hands on her hips and glared up at him. "Look, you've really thought this out right?"
"Yes, now do you have any more objections before I call Andie?" Tommy asked and Katie shook her head no and smiled. "Why the smile?"
"I'm just glad you are finally doing something that you said you were going to do. We'd be miserable if the two of you never got along, especially with what you seem to want out of this," Katie said with a purposeful smile and Tommy nearly tackled her to the ground before he remembered that she was not Jason. Then he quickly caught her in a hug, to try to cover it up.
"Katie, how'd you know that?" Tommy asked, as Katie refused to look at him. "How'd you know, Katie?"
"Phone call," Katie whispered and Tommy actually smiled. He knew she had been worried about him, but he had not imagined her being worried enough to listen in to one of this telephone calls with Jason. She knew how those phone calls when some times, but she had been desperated enough to try it, just this once.
"Well, I should have known," Tommy said and he flipped open his phone and walked away from Katie. He was going to have to do this away from the others and Kim seemed to have the same idea.
"Hello," Andie said, as she answered her home telephone. Tommy hadn't called to tell her that he had made it all right, but she took that as forgetfulness on Tommy's part. She would eventually receive a call from him, it had always been like this when he went away.
"Andie," Tommy said and he could tell this was going to be one of the hardest phone calls he had ever had to make. She was going to be happy to hear from him and he was going to have to break down that happiness as quickly as he could.
"Tommy," Andie said cheerfully. "How's it going in Angel Grove?"
"Good, but Andie, we need to talk about something," Tommy said uncomfortably as he could tell Andie had caught his shift in mood. This was not going to be very pleasant, from what she could tell, on either of them.
"What is it, Tommy?" Andie asked in all seriousness and Tommy knew that he was about to hurt her badly, but he didn't think he could wait any longer and he was also being selfish.
"Us," Tommy said plainly and Andie sighed. Tommy had been distant for a long time. She had just hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but she had seen it coming and at least Tommy was finally ready to admit that he was not happy.
"You want to break up, don't you?" Andie asked and Tommy stood there, dumbfounded. She had beaten him to the punch that he had been planning to give her. "Don't worry, Tommy, I'll be fine. Now go and have good time and I'll see you on Monday."
"Andie, I probably won't be there on Monday, something has come up down here," Tommy said and Andie then hung up the phone, so she would be able to cry in peace.
"That easy?" Katie asked skeptically and Tommy shook his head no. "Well why in the world did it not take you so long?"
"She did the breaking up," Tommy said and they could hear Kim yelling at her phone. It was not going as easy on her, at all.
"Mike, I am not going to stay in Florida! I have something I have to do here! And yes I am breaking up with you!" Kim yelled and she slammed shut her phone with as much force as she could manage. She wanted to throw the phone, but she could not afford to buy a new one right now. She had just managed to quit her job as well.
"The two of you might want to demorph," Billy suggested, as Kim and Tommy looked down at their clothes and sighed. They had to remember all of these things, as they had forgotten a lot of the formalities because of their absence in the ranger world.
"Thanks," Kim said as she demorphed and Tommy suddenly thought of something he should have mentioned to Kim earlier.
"Well, we've never had a female black ranger before," Tommy said, as Kim swatted at him and he laughed at her.
"Well at least I have not been all the normal Christmas colors, Tommy," Kim retorted and Tommy looked over at her. He knew that she was not thinking of black as a normal Christmas color by any means. She didn't know that he had been the black ranger as well, so he might as well break it to her now.
"You forgot that I have been black," Tommy said while Kim stared at him. He had been the black Power Ranger as well? Why didn't he just take pink and yellow to top it all off?
"Well, I guess I can share that color with you, but pink is all mine, mister," Kim said and Tommy laughed again. That was what they needed to relieve the stress that they always seemed to be under in these odd situations. There was far too much that needed to be done for them to worry about it.
"Listen, we should really ride down to Tommy's and do a thorough assessment of the damage. Kim and Katie were not able to do that because some being showed up," Billy said, as Tommy nodded his head.
He guessed he needed to do that, just because Billy believed there was much more wrong there than they had known. He just didn't want to see the damage to his house at all. He could only imagine the emotional damage it had done to Katie already this afternoon and he was sure it would hit him just as hard.
"Tommy, there's only one thing I know that is missing for sure," Katie said, as Tommy looked at her. What could be missing that would make her look at him like that?
"What is it, Katie?" Tommy asked, as Billy began to press in the teleportation sequence that would send them back to Jason's house, where most of their vehicles were.
"A picture of the original rangers," Katie said as Billy finished the code.
Tommy knew of the picture she must be talking about and he felt his insides jerk, but it was not from the unfamiliarity of teleportation. It was something that he had tried to forget so many times before, whenever the evil had left them alone. He was afraid that they would use that picture, in order to try to destroy those closest to him. They had tried it before and he was sure this evil would try it as well.
AN: I hope that you have enjoyed this chapter and I will have the next one out within a week.