In the end, the Elders relented. As grumbly and grumpy as they were about it, they had little choice. They just couldn't pass up a candidate with Tommy's talents.

So they escorted him back into the Stronghold, to a secret room that must have been in the very center of the complex, told him to sit at the large table that occupied most of the room, and laid out the contract in front of him. They didn't force him to sign or anything, but they handed him an old fashioned pen and waited expectantly until he had signed his name on the line.

He felt surprisingly nervous about it; he had understood very little of what the contract said. But like it or not, he was a Ranger now. Or at least a trainee-Ranger. He had thought he would feel more excited about it once it was all official, but he didn't. Instead, he felt like he'd just signed a deal with the devil.

He had hoped that he would have a chance to talk with Kimberly and Jason after he signed his contract, but the elders had a different plan in mind: his training was to begin as soon as possible. And since he had nothing to bring in or unpack, except the clothes he was wearing, that meant now.

First he was given a key and given a guide, a boy he didn't recognize. The boy showed him to a door, and told him that by order of the elders this was the room he would call home for the duration of his stay at the Stronghold. As his guide whisked him off even further into the 'Hold, he was suddenly certain he would never remember where to find that room again and cursed his terrible memory. Never one to be easily deterred, he put the key in a pocket anyway and followed dutifully after his guide.

Thus began Tommy's tour of the Angel's Grove Stronghold. His guide took him through it from top to bottom, showing him where to find the cafeteria and infirmary, the different wings of dormitory-style rooms where the Rangers lived, where to find the various training facilities, where the exits - both on ground level and on top of the building - were.

His head was spinning as he tried to remember all of this, and it was just beginning. He was passed off to another guide, who appeared to be somewhat older than the first, and soon found himself in a new area of the Stronghold, which he had not seen before.

"The armory," his new guide explained.

Here he was outfitted with a saber (which pleased him more than he was willing to admit), then tested for aptitude and grudgingly given a strange gun like the one Trini had been pointing at him when he first woke up in the middle of the desert. The man who was doling out weaponry, who seemed to be in charge of the armory, also gave Tommy a bow and quiver before sending him off to an empty locker to store his things.

After he had stowed his new gear and made sure to memorize the number and location of his locker, as his guide was leading him out of the armory, the man gave him a warning: "Your training starts tomorrow, bright and early. Don't be late."

The next stop was the tailor. The tailor was a bubbly, middle-aged woman, completely the opposite of the icy, harsh man from the armory. She gave Tommy several new sets of clothes, and took his measurements so she could begin work on a patrol uniform for him as soon as possible.

By the time he thought to wonder what time it was, as his watch had stopped working and there were no windows or clocks that he could see within the 'Hold, his guide only told him that it was past dinner time. But luckily the tailor seemed to be their last stop of the day, because Tommy soon found himself standing in the entry to the cafeteria and waving good-bye to his guide.

The cafeteria was an enormous room with very high ceilings. It was kind of spooky now, when it was mostly empty. A few tables toward the back had people around his age, other Rangers, he assumed, sitting at them and talking quietly. Nearby, the large double doors to the kitchens were open, so that those that had missed dinner might fend for themselves.

"Hey," a voice called from his left.

Tommy turned. It was Kimberly, of course.

"They're finally done with you?" she asked.

Wandering over to the small alcove where she was sitting, Tommy noticed that she had food. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until just now. "Yeah, I guess so," he agreed, sitting opposite her.

"I figured they'd take their time," she said. "So I saved some food for you."

It wasn't what he was used to. In fact, he wasn't even quite sure what it was, but he was hungry enough not to care. Kimberly said it was food, so that meant it was edible and he was going to eat it.

She smiled as she watched him chow down. "Slow down, it's not going anywhere," she promised.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, but he made an effort to make himself look more like a gentleman and less like a pig.

When he had demolished the last of the food, she took a few moments to move the dirty dishes out of the way before finally getting to what she was actually after. "So, where'd they put you?"

It took him a bit to realize she was talking about the room he'd been assigned. Naturally, he couldn't remember where that was... but he did remember getting a key. "I don't remember," he admitted, digging in his pocket for the key. Kimberly gave him a curious look until he planted the key on the table. "But they did give me this key. Does that help?"

Kimberly picked up the key, looked it over for a second, and sighed. "Oh."

That did not sound good. Tommy gingerly accepted the key when she handed it back. "What is it?"

She gave him a wry look. "This explains why they kept me busy all day. They didn't want me to notice that they're bunking you with Jason." Her expression suggested she would have much preferred to have him share a room with her.

Tommy groaned. He had not realized he was going to have a roommate. He probably should have thought to ask about that. "He's going to kill me in my sleep, isn't he?"

Kimberly giggled. "Let's hope not. Come on, I'll show you the way."