Disclaimer: The characters from USA High belong to Peter Engle Productions and Callisto and Theodorus belong to Universal. The characters from the known PR universe belong to Saban (as of last week). All other characters are mine.
Author's Note: For anyone who watched USA High, you might remember that Nicholas Guest played Ashley's father on the show. He also had a role in Time Force as one of Mr. Collins employees. Long lost twins maybe? Best explanation I will attempt to come up with lol.
Also, this fic was originally written right after Callisto as a goddess was killed by a hind's blood dagger in Xena. So for the sake of the fic, the assumption is her arc in the show after that (most of it I haven't seen) did not take place.

Ranger Scrolls
"New Enemy"

Bobby Lazzarini sat in the living room of the apartment that he shared with his closest friends. "Where are we going on vacation?" he asked as he looked around the group.

"I don't care, as long as it's somewhere warm." Winnie Barnes commented. She was not going to spend her vacation in some crazy frozen tundra. She wanted the sun, and preferably the beach.

"Some place where I can work on my tan." Lauren Fontaine added in, in complete agreement with Winnie.

"Since this is our first vacation as a group we should do something fun." Ashley Elliott pointed out as she grinned. "Like a cruise to the Bahamas."

Winnie simply rolled her eyes. A cruise sounded nice, but there was one major problem with that. "And where do you suppose we get the money for this cruise?"

"The money. Right." Ashley said with a frown. "I hadn't thought of that." She said as Lauren laughed. "Never mind then." Ashley finished.

"I don't care where we go," Christian Muller started as he put an arm around Winnie, "as long as I'm with you."

"Aw Christian, how sweet." Winnie said as she leaned in and gave him a kiss.

Suddenly the door burst open and Jackson Green came running into the room. "Guys, I've got it." He said as he approached. "We can go to Angel Grove, California."

"Angel Grove?" Laz questioned as he raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"My dad has a business acquaintance there," Jackson paused as he unsuccessfully tried to retrieve the name, "something Hillard. His daughter Katherine and her cousin," he paused again, unable to remember that name either, "would show us around, make sure we have everything we need."

Laz frowned. "I thought you said all the girls your dad knows are dogs."

"They are." Jackson replied as he grinned at his friend. "But think about it. They'll take us to the beach and we'll meet all sorts of hot California girls."

"I'm liking it." Laz said as his imagination began to run wild. "I'm in."

A smile spread across Christian's face, but ended abruptly when Winnie elbowed him. "What was that for?"

"You know good and well what that was for." Winnie snapped as she gave him a look. She knew what he was thinking about.

"Winnie you know I would never cheat on you." Christian assured her. He would be scared of her wrath if he were to cheat on her.

"I believe you." Winnie replied her evil look dissipating as she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll go to California." Lauren said with a smile. "I can work on my tan, and just think about all the cute beach boys I'll meet."

Ashley thought about it for a moment. "I think I'd like California."

"Then it's settled." Jackson replied with a smile. "I'll go call my dad and let him know. By this time Saturday, we'll be in sunny California."

The next Saturday the group from France had been walking for what felt like hours. "How much farther is it?" Winnie asked as she made a face. "Because if it's much farther, my feet are just going to stop."

"It can't be too far." Jackson said as he recalled his directions. "We just passed the school; it's supposedly close to that."

Winnie groaned as Laz turned toward Jackson. "So what's the name of this place?"

"They called it the Youth Center." Jackson said with a shrug. "I don't know, I think it's some sort of after school hang out."

"Like Café USA?" Lauren questioned, referencing the place she waitressed at that all of her friends hung out at.

"I don't know." Jackson replied. At this point, their guess was as good as his. "I guess so."

The group continued walking toward what they hoped was their destination. Finally they spotted a building off in the distance that appeared to be crawling with teens. "Is that it?" Laz asked as he squinted to get a good look at it.

"I hope so." Winnie said as she glanced briefly toward her aching feet.

Jackson led the group closer to the front of the building. "Let's take a look."

"Angel Grove Youth Center." Lauren read the sign on the door aloud. "This is the place."

Jackson moved to the front and pushed the door open, leading his group into the Youth Center. Laz was quick to come up and stand beside him as they surveyed the scene. Across the room, they saw two of the girls from the high school that was not what either boy would consider pretty.

Laz groaned when he looked at them. "That's probably them." He said.

Jackson nodded. "You're probably right." He said as he turned and caught a glimpse of the blonde-haired woman and the brunette sitting at a table. "But let's go ask them just to be sure." He said with a grin.

Laz glanced over toward the girls Jackson had spotted. "I'm with you buddy." He said with a huge grin as he and Jackson headed their way. They spent the few feet it took to get to the table checking the two girls out. The brunette had her hair loosely pinned back and was wearing a yellow tank top, jean shorts, and Rainbow flip flops. The blonde had her hair down and was wearing a light pink shirt and a white skirt and a nice pair of white sandals.

"Excuse me." Jackson said as he walked up to the girls and flashed them a winning smile. "Could you tell me where I might be able to find Katherine Hillard and her cousin?"

"I'm Katherine." The blonde said, much to Jackson and Laz's delight. "But please call me Kat. And this is my cousin Carri." As she finished, Carri smiled and gave them a slight wave.

"Woof woof." Laz said absentmindedly as he stared at the two girls. These two were not the dogs he was expecting.

"Excuse me?" Carri questioned. She thought it was a bad idea for them to play tour guide to son of a man that worked with her uncle and his friends. If this was how the trip was going to start, she knew it was about to go south quickly.

Jackson let out a slight laugh before hitting Laz. "Ignore my friend. He's not all there."

Kat glanced at Carri who simply rolled her eyes. With a sigh, Kat turned back to the boy that had approached them. "You must be Jackson Green."

"I am." Jackson replied as he turned toward the others. "And these are my friends, Laz, Winnie, Lauren, Christian and Ashley."

"Nice to meet you." Lauren said as the others echoed her sentiments.

Before anyone could say anything else, Emily approached the table. "Can I get you guys anything?" she asked. She headed their way the moment she noticed the huge group walk in.

Carri chuckled. "I see you've stopped staring long enough to come serve the customers." She joked. They had all been staring as their boys took the mat.

"Well I do need to do my job." Emily replied with a shrug before grinning at Carri. "Besides, Jase understands." Having the boys spar there was one of her favorite job benefits. However, as long as Ernie employed her work came first.

Laz watched the two girls grin at each other. Once it appeared as though they talking, Laz decided it was time to get some food. "Do you have any meat?"

Emily looked down at Carri oddly, and she simply shrugged. "We have hamburgers and hotdogs." She replied. Nobody asked if they had meat, they usually just asked what was on the menu. That was an odd way to put it.

"Ok good." Laz said as he thought about it for a moment. "Get me a soda. And… two burgers, one hotdog." He was debating getting two hotdogs but it was still early in the day and who knew what he was going to find in this town later.

Carri nearly choked on her drink as Kat and Emily both tried not to giggle. "Remind me never to say anything to Rocky again." She said.

"Are you making fun of me?" Laz questioned. He did not think he had ordered anything to odd.

Carri glanced toward Kat and Emily, and they all threw their hands up defensively. Emily grinned before moving on to the rest of the table. "Anybody else want anything?"

The rest of the group ordered, Jackson being the only other one who ordered more than just a drink. When they were finished, Emily walked away, and the group from France continued to stand around the table. Kat watched them stand there awkwardly for a second before she spoke. "Go ahead and have a seat."

Jackson was the first to move for a seat, grabbing a chair and wedging himself in between Kat and Carri. Laz took the seat on the other side of Kat, somewhat upset that he had not managed to sit in between the two, and the rest of the group filled in around the table. Jackson immediately put his arms on the shoulders of the two rangers, who simply rolled their eyes and looked away.

Lauren shook her head. "Don't mind him." She said. It was obvious that they were not interested, obvious to her anyway, but Jackson left his arms in place and started to flirt with them.

"So are you two ready for a week of fun?" Jackson asked. He watched as they responded with less enthusiasm than he would like. He would get them to notice him. "Just think, me, you, and you," he turned to look at both of them, "on the beaches of California."

Laz cleared his throat and glared at Jackson, who smiled in response. "You can come to, of course."

"That's right. I will be there. On the beach, with all the hot women." Laz said with a grin.

Winnie couldn't help but snicker. "And you think you'll find one who'll actually date you?"

"It will happen." Laz assured her. "You watch."

Winnie rolled her eyes as Jackson pulled the girls in toward him. "Back to our conversation. When shall we go to the beach?"

Carri was contemplating a range of answers, from simple words to physical action, none of which would end well for Jackson, when Rocky and Tommy approached the table with Adam and Jason not far behind. Both boys shot Jackson a look, and he ignored both of them. Tommy was trying not to be rude, but Rocky did not care as he leaned down and gave Carri a kiss.

To Jackson's credit, he removed his arm from the yellow ranger once he realized she had a boyfriend. Carri smirked. He was lucky Rocky interrupted. Scooting away from Jackson, she glanced up at her boyfriend and made a face. "Aren't you going to shower first?"

"What, no hellos?" Rocky questioned, mock pouting. "I come over here to see you and you go straight to commenting on my need for a shower." He continued.

"Sorry." Carri said as she rolled her eyes. "Hey Rocky. Now go take a shower." She said, grinning wickedly at him.

"We were heading that way. We just wanted to come meet your friends here." Rocky replied as he placed his hands on her shoulders. They really wanted to come over here first once they saw how cozy this new guy was getting with the girls. It was not as if they did not trust their girlfriends, but they wanted to make sure he knew they were off limits.

"Hey Kat." Tommy greeted, wondering how to get the message across to Jackson without physically mauling him. "What did you think?"

"Of your moves?" Kat questioned, thinking about her answer as Tommy nodded. "As good as ever sweetie."

Jackson removed his arm from Kat's shoulder and the rangers snickered. Kat had never called Tommy sweetie. Although it worked, in this case as the message was quickly received.

"Strike three." Lauren said as she grinned at Jackson, who by this point was looking rather down.

Before Jackson could say anything, Emily returned with their order, placing three plates in front of Laz. "You're going to eat all that!" Rocky exclaimed as he looked over the food selection. The other rangers looked over at him. It was odd to hear him say that.

"Yeah. I am." Laz replied as he glared at the newcomer. "You got a problem with that?"

"Not at all." Rocky replied as he grinned goofily. "And people say I eat too much."

"Now we've found someone who beats even you." Adam joked. Honestly, he never thought he would see someone that ate more than Rocky.

Emily smiled and turned to leave as Jason grabbed her. "Come on Jase, you know I'm working." Emily protested, although she had allowed Jason to pull her in.

"Just one kiss." Jason said as he leaned down and brought his lips to hers. Emily obliged and as the brief exchanged finished, Jason let her go and she grinned at him before leaving.

Ashley watched the duo with interest. She was somewhat disappointed that the cute guy was taken. She sighed as she realized she did not even know his name. "Excuse me." She said as the others glanced at her. "We don't know any of you nice people." She pointed out.

"Sorry." Kat apologized. Introductions were her responsibility. Quickly she went around the table, identifying the group from France before naming the remaining rangers.

Once everyone said their hellos, Carri looked up at her boyfriend and smiled. "Now don't you guys have somewhere to be?" she asked. Rocky made a face before leaning down and sneaking a kiss and taking off, the other male rangers in tow.

"We'll be back." Adam called out, as they were halfway to the locker room.

"I know what we can do while they're gone." Ashley said as the boys disappeared. The others looked at her curiously. "Introduce ourselves."

Carri shrugged. "Why not." She replied. It might be good information to know. "I was born in Australia but moved to Angel Grove when I was a baby because my dad's business was here. I lived here until my parents moved us to New York for three of my high school years before I was able to come back senior year. I love shopping, the beach, and baseball, the Astros are my boys and I can pitch."

Once Carri was finished, Jackson took that as his cue to go next. "I was born and raised in San Diego, and then I went to Paris for the academy. I love surfing; it's one of my favorite things to do next to dating."

Kat giggled and Carri rolled her eyes. Kat figured it was her turn next so she continued. "I was born in Australia and I basically grew up there. My dad got a new job and we moved to the States for my junior year in high school. I used to dive; I almost went to the Pan Globals. I also dance. Right now I'm teaching children's classes."

Laz realized he was next and he swallowed his food before speaking. "I'm from New York, and I was sent to Paris for the academy," he paused as he took another bite of his burger, "and I love meat." He said as pieces of food came flying out of his mouth.

"Laz!" Lauren exclaimed, making a face. "Disgusting!"

Carri raised her eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Kat. "Never again do we say anything to Rocky." Kat vowed. Carri chuckled while everyone tried to forget about Laz's moment as the introductions continued.

Zedd sat in his throne, deep in thought. "We have to find some way to get rid of those rangers."

"Well you know if we beat them that will get rid of them." Rito gave what he thought was a helpful comment.

"Silence!" Zedd yelled. The last thing he needed was that dolt's opinion.

"But it's true." Rito replied with a frown.

Rita ignored her brother as she turned toward her husband. "For years we've sent down monster after monster, but all of them have failed. We need a new plan."

Goldar reached for his sword and stepped forward. "I will go down there and ensure the destruction of the power rangers."

"If only I had a penny for every time you said that." Zedd said with a sigh as he shook his head.

"I am working on some new ideas for monsters that I believe would be quite sufficient in the destruction of the power rangers." Finster said as he stepped up and added his opinion.

"Perhaps I could help." Said a voice.

Everyone turned to see a woman standing there. She was tall, with long blond hair and wearing a leather outfit. "You?" Zedd questioned as he realized who she was. "I thought you were dead."

"Bad hind's blood." She said simply, offering no further explanation. It was a long time ago; she was not inclined to get into it. She strolled past Goldar and Rito and walked straight up to Zedd.

"Hey Goldie, look," Rito started, just as surprised as everyone else, "it's Callisto, warrior princess."

Callisto did not like his comment and she turned, lifting her hand up to fling Rito across the room. She let him hit the wall but held him there. "Warrior princess is reserved for Xena. I am the warrior queen. Understood?"

"Got it Calli." Rito replied. He was relieved as Callisto let him drop, but a second later a fireball was in her hand and flying toward him. He had to scramble to get out of the way.

"My name is Callisto." She hissed before turning back toward Zedd, who was amused with her attack against Rito.

Zedd looked her over curiously. "Where have you been the last few centuries?" He had heard of her tirade on Earth two thousand years ago. She was the first warrior to come from that planet that he had thought about putting in his army. After he heard the goddess was killed, he dropped the idea.

"Touring the galaxy." Callisto said with a shrug. "Keeping myself amused." She finished, tossing in a smile at the end.

Zedd thought this was odd. He could not imagine how she was running free this long in the galaxy and he did not know about it. Free and keeping herself away from this planet. She had to be back for a reason. "What brings you to Earth?"

"I heard from my dear friend Astronema about the power rangers." Callisto replied. She had an odd friendship with Astronema. The woman was pure evil and she liked that about her. She was one of the few people she could trust. Plus it gave her an in with Dark Specter, which allowed her to operate under his radar.

Rito walked up to the group, rubbing his neck. "Why would you care about the power rangers?"

"The two people in this world I want revenge on the most are dead." Callisto said sharply as she snapped her head in his direction. "Now their ancestors will have to pay for their mistakes."

"Hercules and Xena were your two greatest enemies." Goldar pointed out. That bit was common knowledge. "Who are their ancestors?"

"Your red and yellow zeo rangers." Callisto said with a snarl.

Rita looked at her in disbelief. "Tommy and Carri?" she questioned.

"Yes." Callisto said as a look of pure murder flashed in her eyes.

"What about Katherine?" Rita questioned. If Carri was related to one of Callisto's enemies, that would make the girl she once turned evil related to them as well.

"Katherine is related to me. The girls relationships are formed through maternal lineage." She gave a brief explanation to the rangers history. It was too bad Katherine was a ranger, she could make a good ally. However, she was aligned with her enemies, her fate would be the same as her friends. "Katherine's relationship is of no importance to me. I am here because of Tommy and Carri. And I want them dead."

"So then, what's the plan?" Rito questioned.

"The plan, which you'll have nothing to do with," Callisto paused to glare at Rito, whose incompetence was well known throughout the galaxy, "is to administer a love potion to the girls."

Zedd could not help the laughter that followed. "A love potion? What good do you think that will do?"

Callisto shot him a look. "The love part is nothing but a side effect. While they're trying to figure out how to cure the love potion, the real potion will take effect."

"Which is?" Rita questioned.

"It's designed to tear apart their bodies." Callisto said with a smile. "Once the initial stages run their course, they'll collapse as their bodies head for the final stages. It will end with their deaths."

"Brilliant." Zedd replied. He had been looking for a good plan, and here it was. There was only one problem. "Please tell me there's no antidote."

"Oh there is." Callisto replied. To her, this part was just as exciting as the other was. "There are only two ways to get it, from me personally or going into hell and back." She said as she let out a small laugh. "Many have tried, all have failed. And if any of the rangers stay behind, I'll simply kill them personally."

"So then all the rangers will be dead?" Goldar questioned. It was somewhat disappointing. He had wanted to rip Tommy to shreds with his bare hands.

Callisto nodded her head yes as Zedd laughed. "Brilliant! I can't wait to see the look on Zordon's face when his precious power punks are finally destroyed!" Zedd looked down at Callisto, who laughed before taking off as quickly as she had arrived.

A little while later, the boys returned from their showers. "We're back." Rocky announced as they approached the table.

Kat grinned as they all gathered around. She watched as Tommy's eyes caught hers and he grinned back before she turned toward the rest of the table. "Since you guys are our guests, what do you want to do?"

The pink ranger was greeted with six different answers. Carri put two fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle. They silenced and she spoke. "There are six of us and six of you. Why don't we just split up and show you all what you want to see."

"Sounds like a plan." Jackson said as he leaned back and grinned at the two females.

"We'll number off and you guys just choose a number. Whoever you pick will take you where you want to go." Tommy said. He figured that would be the quickest way to decide.

"Sounds good." Lauren replied. She and the others waited for them to number off. But the Zeo team had no need, they were all fairly confident in what their numbers should be.

"Alright." Jackson said once it was obvious that they were not sharing their numbers aloud. "I'll take number two."

"That's me." Carri replied. She watched as Jackson grinned at her before rolling her eyes. She hoped she was not going to have to hit him.

"How about… four." Winnie said with a grin, watching as Adam raised his hand.

"Number five." Laz spoke quickly. He heard Tommy speak up and claim five, and then Laz crossed his arms and slouched. "Aw man, why can't I get the blonde?"

Laz totally missed the look Tommy gave him, which was probably a good thing. Before Tommy could speak, Ashley chose. "I'll take three."

"I'm three." Rocky replied. He was not sure if he liked this idea. His girlfriend was going to be spending this afternoon with the guy who was trying to hit on her. He trusted her, it was Jackson he worried about.

"I'll go with six." Lauren said as she glanced at the two remaining candidates.

"That's me." Jason said as he glanced over at Christian. "That leaves you with Kat." He said, nodding in Kat's direction.

"Let's head out then." Carri said. She was the first to stand, pausing briefly to kiss her boyfriend before heading out toward the door. Jackson quickly followed her, and the others trickled out behind them.

Carri and Jackson found themselves walking along the shoreline. Carri was pleased that this was the spot he wanted to check out. The beach was one of her favorite places to go.

She noticed Jackson looking out over the water. He caught her looking at him and he grinned at her briefly before speaking. "The beaches of California," Jackson said as he took a deep breath in, "it's been too long since I've been out here."

Carri silently agreed with Jackson's unspoken statement. She knew what it was like to go to school elsewhere and miss your California hometown and the beaches associated with it. It was always good to be back.

"You're the one who's a surfer right?" she asked.

"That's me." Jackson replied with a grin. "I need to try to bring my board out here before we head home."

"Maybe we can head out there before you leave." Carri commented. It had been a while since she had gone surfing. Most of the time when she came to the beach she either hung out with the other rangers or tanned.

Jackson glanced over at her. "Do you surf?"

Carri could not help but snort. "I've been living by the beach practically my entire life. What do you think?"

"Looks like we have something in common." Jackson said, as he looked her over. The thought of her out there surfing was kind of sexy. "That's the basis of a good relationship."

Carri rolled her eyes. She was not sure if he was ever going to get the hint. "Let me just call Rocky and see if he's cool with me having a boyfriend on the side."

"I meant relationship as in friendship." Jackson lied. He would love for it to be more than that, but she obviously was not leaving her boyfriend any time soon. "I'm sorry that you took it the wrong way."

"Ha." Carri replied as she glanced over and made eye contact with Jackson, who did his best to look innocent. She simply shook her head and continued. "Well since you're obviously looking for a vacation hook up, take your pick." She said as she gestured to the assortment of girls out on the beach.

"I get to pick?" Jackson question as he checked out his options. "Let's see here, I want," Jackson was prepared to point to a blonde girl laying on a beach towel. Before he had the chance, an invisible Callisto appeared in front of them and sprayed them both with her potion. As the potion set in, Jackson turned toward Carri. "You."

"Good answer." She replied as she threw her arms around him and planted her lips on his.

Kat and Christian were walking through the park. Christian had been interested in the local basketball courts. He was hoping to find someone to shoot hoops with.

The duo was in the middle of a discussion on the sport when the courts came into view. "I'm a good basketball player." Christian said.

"I can shoot and dribble." Kat replied with a frown. She loved playing with her friends but it was not her thing. "That's about it."

"At least you have some skill." Christian replied with a smile.

Kat chuckled. "Just some."

Christian glanced at her. He was here with one of the residents of Angel Grove. There was a question he just had to ask. "You know what I really want to know about?" he said, watching as Kat cocked her head slightly and looked at him curiously. "The power rangers." He finished.

He noticed Kat chuckle and he continued. "It may seem silly, but ever since I saw a story on them I've wanted to follow them."

"It's not silly at all. Most of Angel Grove is fascinated by the power rangers." Kat replied sincerely. The chuckle had nothing to do with the fact that he was interested in the power rangers and everything to do with the fact that he had just met the entire team and had no clue.

"My favorite is the pink ranger." Christian admitted. He supposed it should be red, all the guys wanted to be the red ranger. However, there was something cute and mysterious about the female pink ranger.

Kat blushed but turned quickly so that he could not see her. If only he knew. She turned back toward him and continued. "Mine is the red ranger." She said.

Christian nodded. He supposed all the girls would love the red ranger. "So what do you know about the power rangers?"

"Currently there are five of them, pink, yellow, blue, green and red." Kat started, wondering what she should tell him. "Nobody knows where they come from, but we do know they're here whenever Angel Grove needs them."

"I would love to meet the power rangers." Christian said wishfully. "Especially the pink one."

Callisto appeared in front of the duo, invisible, and sprayed them with the potion. Kat got an odd feeling when she appeared but she never got to follow it through as the potion kicked in. She leaned into Christian and whispered into his ear. "Guess what." She said seductively. "I'm the pink ranger."

"No you're not." Christian said with a grin. "But if you're saying that to get me, it worked." He said, putting an arm around her and leading her off.

Callisto reappeared in the Lunar Palace and immediately went to sit in Zedd's throne. Zedd declined to say anything. Besides the fact that she was destroying the rangers, she was a goddess and he did not want to piss her off.

"What happens next?" Goldar questioned. He wanted the opportunity to battle the red ranger.

"Now we wait." Callisto replied with a smile.

"Aw! I don't want to wait!" Rito whined.

Callisto snapped her head in his direction, debating whether or not she should let him live. "Do you dare question my methods?"

The look the goddess gave him sent Rito running. "Ed, save me." He said as he hid behind his brother-in-law.

Zedd pushed Rito out from behind him. The last thing on his agenda was saving Rito. "How long before the potion takes effect?"

"By tomorrow afternoon, their systems will be completely shut down." Callisto said as a sly smile crossed her face. "They'll be dying and their friends will be close behind them."

"What if they don't go for the cure?" Rita questioned. She was not sure if Callisto was giving those power punks the proper amount of credit. If they were that predictable, they would have defeated them long ago.

Callisto laughed aloud. "An ancestor of Hercules not tries to save someone?" she asked as though it was the most absurd thing she had ever heard.

Zedd could not help but let out a little laugh of his own. "By this time tomorrow, the world will be ours!"

Later that evening all the teens returned to the Youth Center, however they did not return quite as they left. Carri and Jackson, as well as Kat and Christian came in holding hands. Rocky did not even notice as he walked up and grabbed Carri's arm. "Let's go." He said with a grin. They were heading out that night.

Carri glared at him and immediately pulled herself out of his grasp. "Don't touch me." She snapped.

Rocky looked at her wide-eyed. Sure if he had done something wrong, she would get mad at him. However, he had not done anything. This was odd behavior, even for her.

Carri ignored the hurt look on Rocky's face. "Now if you'll excuse us, Jackson and I have a date to go on." It was crap for them to go back to the Youth Center to begin with. She turned and headed for the door, Jackson in tow.

"Homerun." Jackson whispered to Lauren as he passed her on the way out.

"Well what do you know." Winnie said with a frown. "Not everybody has as good a relationship as me and Christian." She said as she went to take her boyfriend's arm.

Kat put her hand on Winnie's chest and gave her a little shove back. "Don't touch my man." She warned her.

"You're man?" Winnie questioned, eyeing her down. "Honey I think you're confused."

"I'm not the one who's confused." Kat assured her. She and Christian is an item, Winnie was going to have to get over it.

"Please." Winnie said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I suggest you stay away from my man or else." She threatened.

"Your man?" Christian repeated as he rolled his eyes. "I don't remember saying I'd be your man." The only woman for him was the blonde Aussie he was with. "Come on Kat, let's go." Christian said as he led her out.

As Kat and Christian took off, Winnie burst into tears and ran out of the Youth Center. Lauren frowned as she left. "We need to go comfort her."

"Yes." Ashley agreed as she glanced over at the ranger boys. "She was madly in love with Christian." Ashley frowned as she looked toward Lauren. Both girls swiftly headed for the Youth Center's exit, Laz following behind them.

Jason sighed. This had evil plot written all over it. "Let's see what's wrong with this picture."

"They were fine when they left the Youth Center." Rocky pointed out. Fine in the sense that they were all with the people they were supposed to be with.

"The returned madly in love with guys not their boyfriends like it was no big deal." Tommy finished with a frown. He really wanted to deck Christian, but he had a good feeling it was not his fault.

The four boys all turned to look at each other. "Zedd." They said practically simultaneously. Moving swiftly, they went to find a place to teleport.

The boys surprised Alpha as they teleported into the Power Chamber. "Aye ai ai!" Alpha exclaimed, worried by the rangers sudden appearance. "Is something wrong?"

"We think there is." Tommy replied with a frown. "Scan the girls."

Alpha headed over to one of the consoles and hit a few buttons. A few seconds later the scan was complete. The little robot let out what could be considered a sigh. "They've been hit with a love potion."

"Seriously?" Rocky questioned. He did not know what Rita and Zedd were thinking, or why they thought they would not figure it out. "Will they ever learn?"

"Can you create an antidote?" Adam questioned. He agreed that the love potion was somewhat silly. However, they needed the girls back to normal before Rita and Zedd attacked.

Alpha nodded. "By this time tomorrow I should have them back to normal." He assured them. From the scan the potion seemed fairly simply, an antidote should be easy.

"Thanks Alpha." Tommy said. Then he and the others teleported out, completely unaware of the danger their friends were really in.

Later that night, the ranger boys found themselves sitting around the kitchen table at Tommy's house playing monopoly. Rocky sighed as he picked up a card. "I hate waiting." He said as he flipped the card over and read it. "And now I get to wait in jail."

Adam watched Rocky toss his peace across the board. "Have fun." He said as he picked up the dice.

"By tomorrow evening everything will be good." Tommy replied. "Again." He could not help but add. They would foil another one of their evil plans. Then he could go out with his girlfriend to make up for the date they were missing out on tonight.

"I can't believe they thought we'd fall for a love potion." Jason said as he watched Adam land on his property. "You owe me two hundred dollars." He said before going back to the topic at hand. "Have they ever heard the phrase been there done that?" The former gold ranger looked at the money Adam placed in his hand. "You're a hundred dollars short."

Adam reluctantly handed over another bill. "I'm close to broke." He grumbled, sighing before going back to the topic at hand. "And this is Rita and Zedd we're talking about. They never learn."

"They've had a few good ideas over the years." Tommy pointed out. As much as he hated to think about his tenure as an evil ranger, he had to admit that it was smart on Rita's part to choose him to be her green ranger.

"Maybe." Jason agreed. "But they've still always failed." He pointed out.

"They came close to winning when Master Vile came to town." Adam reminded them. During his tenure as a ranger, that period was the only time when he really worried that they would not make it.

"True." Rocky said as Tommy landed on the go to jail square. He watched as Tommy stuck his piece in jail along with Rocky's. "Hello Tommy. Welcome to jail."

"This is getting boring." Tommy said with a frown. He was still upset that his original plans for the night had been ruined.

Jason could not help the roaring laugh that escaped his lips. "Now that you're in jail, the game's no fun."

"That's not why." Tommy protested. He was not going to get into the fact that his mind was on Kat with Jason.

"Fine. We'll quit." Jason said as he stood up. "I have a date to get to anyway."

Rocky sighed. "I want to have a date." He said as he thought about his girlfriend. Who, now, was most likely on a date with another guy, and he couldn't get angry about it. Part of the strange life of a power ranger.

"Me too." Tommy chimed in. He hated thinking of Kat out with Christian instead of out with him. He knew there was nothing he could do about it now, but that did not mean he was going to like it.

"Me three." Adam added. He watched as the red and blue rangers shot him a look. "What? I can't have a date either. My girlfriend is on the other side of the country."

"Yes but if Tanya was here you two could go out." Tommy pointed out. It was not the same thing as his and Rocky's current dilemma. "Our girlfriends are under spells and out with other guys."

"Sucks for you guys." Jason said with a grin as he looked at the table of disappointed male rangers. He was going to enjoy his evening out with Emily tonight. "I'll be thinking about you while I'm on my date." Jason said emphasis on the word date. "Then again, I probably won't. I'll be too busy focusing on my girlfriend, who my date is with."

"Get out." Tommy said a slight hint of anger in his voice. Jason glared at his best friend, who eventually cracked a smile, before Jason laughed and headed out the front door.

Rocky sighed. "You guys want to go see a movie?" he questioned. He was ready to do anything to take his mind off the fact that his girlfriend was out with someone else, even if it was spell related.

"Sure." Adam replied. He did not have anything better to do.

Tommy nodded in agreement as well. "Let's get this game cleaned up and then we'll go." He said standing and picking pieces up. The others jumped into help and it was not long before they were heading out the door.

Winnie sat on the couch of their luxury hotel room, crying. "I should have known better than to let him leave the room with that tall blonde." She said in between tears. She always thought she could trust Christian, but that simply was not the case.

"It will be ok Winnie." Lauren tried to comfort her as she rubbed her hand on her back.

Ashley smiled at Winnie. "I'm sure he was thinking of you while he was on his date with Katherine." She said, thinking that her words would make Winnie feel better.

Winnie cried even louder. "But he's not supposed to be on a date with her, he's supposed to be with me!"

Laz entered the room, a turkey sub in one hand, "You know," he said, pausing to take a bit bite of the sandwich, "something's not right here." He said as he chewed. Once he swallowed, he continued. "Everybody but Jackson was perfectly happy in their own relationships. Now all of the sudden they come back and they're dating each other?"

"You know, for once Laz is right." Lauren said as she thought it over. "They showed no interest in each other before they left. Kat and Carri were really happy with their boyfriends, you could tell when Jackson tried to hit on them. It doesn't make sense."

"Something fishy is definitely going on here." Ashley said, tilting her head down and lowering her eyebrows. "I think its aliens."

Lauren could not help but laugh. "Aliens?" she repeated.

Ashley frowned and crossed her arms. "Laugh all you want to. But you wait and see."

"Yes, little green men are running around Angel Grove ruining people's relationships." Lauren said sarcastically. Although the sad thing was, that made as much sense to Lauren as the four of them simply hooking up with each other.

Ashley stood up. "Fine. Don't believe me. But when you get picked up by their space ship, then I'll be the one laughing." She said before turning and heading off toward the girls adjourning bedroom.

As Ashley exited, the door opened and Jackson walked in, a huge grin on his face. "Laruen you've got nothing compared to Carri. Why I ever went after you is beyond me."

"What happened?" Laz questioned, turkey sandwich temporarily ignored as he waited to hear the details.

Jackson threw an arm around his friend. "There is much to tell." He said as he led him off, leaving the girls alone.

Lauren sunk into the couch. "Aliens would explain everything." She said with a sigh. She did not know how she felt about Jackson. He had pursued her for a long time and they had dated some, but it had not worked. Even though they were not together, to hear him say that made her feel bad.

Winnie, whose tears had finally stopped with the start of the alien conversation, started crying again. "Why did my Christian do this to me? I don't." She stopped short as the door opened.

"Hello." Christian greeted as he entered the room. "I haven't been in this good a mood in a long time. Who needs bossy women when you can have a blonde goddess?" He watched as Winnie stood and fled the room. "What's wrong with her?"

"What nerve!" Lauren exclaimed as she jumped up and followed Winnie out.

Christian simply shrugged in response before heading off to find the guys.

Jason, along with the three male Zeo rangers, headed to the Youth Center the next day where they found the three girls from Paris along with Laz there already. It was obvious that Winnie had been crying all night, she was a mess.

"I feel so bad for them. They have no idea what's going on." Adam whispered. It was hard to see the other teens this upset. Hopefully all would be back to normal soon.

Lauren watched as the four guys took a seat. She frowned, as they all seemed in relatively good moods, even Tommy and Rocky. "You guys seem awfully happy considering your girlfriends ran off with other guys." She commented.

"Today's a new day." Tommy spoke quickly. They had nothing to be upset about; Alpha was going to fix this mess. However, he could not explain that to them. "Anything could happen." He added.

"Nothing is important unless my Christian comes back to me." Winnie said, trying hard not to start crying again.

Ashley looked around suspiciously, as she leaned in across the table. "I know why they're all cheating on each other." She whispered as the boys looked at her curiously. "It's aliens."

The ranger boys looked at each other in shock, unsure of what she knew. Ashley noted their surprise and continued. "I suspect its little green men here to destroy the world."

Jason was the first of the group to laugh, and the others were not far behind. It was actually a good guess, one that probably be made by most of the residents of Angel Grove, but it was obvious that Ashley had no clue as to what the bigger picture was.

Lauren smiled at them. "That was my reaction too."

"Alright, fine." Ashley said as she leaned back into her seat. "Nobody has to listen to me."

As she finished speaking, Emily came by and set a plate of food down in front of Laz. Jason looked over at his girlfriend and grinned. "Can I get a minute of your time?" he asked.

"You can." Emily replied as she pulled a chair up beside him. She had seen him come in, and she knew once she filled Laz's order she could have a few minutes to sit down.

"Good." Jason said as he leaned over and gave Emily a kiss.

"You make me sick." Winnie said as she glared at Jason and Emily. "All couples make me sick."

"Winnie!" Lauren exclaimed. She knew her friend was heartbroken, but that was no reason to take it out on them. "You know you don't mean that."

"It's alright. Jason told me what happened. I'm sorry." Emily said as she turned toward Tommy and Rocky. What happened yesterday made about as much sense as, well, half the things that happened in Angel Grove. It was really hard to say for sure what was going on. "Would you like me to talk some sense into your girlfriends?"

"Thanks for the offer but I think we'll be fine." Rocky replied as Tommy nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright, but if you want someone to talk to them, I'm here." Emily assured them as a chirping sound came from the three boys.

"What was that?" Lauren asked. It was a really odd sound that seemed to be coming from Adam, Rocky and Tommy.

"Our pager. It must be our baseball coach." Rocky said the first thing that came to his mind. They really did not have time to think of something good, they had to answer their communicators. Hopefully it was Alpha with good news.

"We'll be right back." Tommy assured them as the three rangers hopped up and took off.

"It takes three people to answer one page?" Lauren questioned. It was odd to say the least.

"If it's their coach it does." Jason replied. This was one of the only instances he was glad he was not a ranger. He was able to help cover for his friends. They could hear the monster alarm going off in the distance and Jason turned to see three streaks of light flying through the air from the Youth Center.

"Should we be concerned with the alarm?" Ashley questioned. As far as she knew, alarms like that only warned of impending disaster.

"It doesn't sound like its city wide." Emily pointed out as she glanced at the television. Usually if one side of town was getting attacked, the alarms would only go off on that side of town unless it became apparent that the attack was going to spread out. Sure enough, the news images were coming up from several miles away. "It looks like we'll be fine."

"Is this normal?" Laz asked as he glanced at the news footage of the current monster battle.

"It has been the norm around here the last few years." Jason replied as he thought about how he wished he was out there with them. "There are always monster attacks around the city. At least this one isn't at the Youth Center."

Lauren threw her hands up. "Great." She said. She should have paid more attention to the stuff that was being said about Angel Grove. "Well we are sure having a blast on this vacation. Whose idea was it to come here anyway?"

"Mine." Jackson said proudly as he approached the table from the other side of the room, along with Kat, Carri and Christian. The four of them had been on a double date.

"Look who's here." Emily said as she rolled her eyes.

Carri rolled her eyes back in response. "Well someone doesn't sound too excited to see us."

"Boy she's quick." Lauren snapped as she eyed Jackson down. "Where did you find such a smart one?"

Jackson simply shook his head, not getting a chance to respond as Winnie spoke. "Hello Christian." She said, trying not to cry. It was hard to hold the tears in, seeing him there with Kat.

"Oh, it's you." Christian said with a sigh. "Hello."

Kat put her arm around Christian and looked up at him. "I'm not feeling too welcome here."

"Gee I wonder why." Laz replied, not trying to hide the sarcasm.

"Let's get out of here." Jackson said, turning Carri around and leading her toward the door, the others following. About halfway there, he and Carri stopped suddenly.

"I feel so light." Carri's words stopped abruptly as she lost consciousness, her knees buckling underneath her as she fell to the floor. Jackson was not far behind her.

"What's wrong with them?" Kat questioned, looking her cousin over. She did not have time to worry about them though as seconds later, she and Christian joined them on the floor.

"What the hell?" Jason questioned as he sprung out of his chair and ran toward them. "What's happening?"

Emily got up and followed her boyfriend to check on the others. No matter what they had done, they did not deserve this. "What's going on?"

"I… I don't know." Jason replied as the group from Paris joined them. This was only a love spell; it could not be causing this kind of reaction. Something was seriously wrong.

Ernie rushed over toward the group. "I've got an ambulance on the way." He said. Although he could not be certain this wasn't ranger related. Just in case, he had called nine one one.

"There's no need for an ambulance." Tommy's morphed and altered voice came through his helmet as he and the others teleported in. "We have reason to believe that Lord Zedd is responsible for what has happened to your friends."

"Who's Lord Zedd?" Ashley questioned as she glanced at the three morphed rangers.

"An alien out for world conquest." Rocky replied. He had chosen his words carefully; he wanted Ashley to feel somewhat validated. After all the crap they went through, it was the least they could do.

"An alien!" Ashley exclaimed, quite excited. "I knew it!"

"We need to take the bodies to our base so we can create an antidote." Adam said as he and the other rangers surrounded the four fallen teenagers.

Ernie nodded as Tommy lifted his communicator to his mouth. "We're ready." Seconds later, streaks of multicolored light flew out of the Youth Center. Only Ernie and Jason noticed that the unconscious girls' teleportation streaks were pink and yellow while the boys were white. Everyone else was too focused on whether or not their friends would be saved.

The three morphed rangers' teleported into the Power Chamber. The boys powered down as Alpha started running tests on the others. "Alpha what happened?" Rocky immediately questioned the little robot.

Alpha was silent as the results of his scans came back. "Aye ai ai! It looks like we have a serious problem."

"From the love spell?" Adam questioned as Jason teleported in.

"The spell was initially meant to be read as a love spell." Alpha said as he ran the data into the computers, hoping for some sort of solution. "The real danger of the potion is in its secondary effects. It is tearing their bodies apart."

"Which means?" Tommy questioned. He had a good idea, but he wanted to hear Alpha confirm it.

"They're dying rangers." Alpha replied, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Rocky immediately noticed Alpha's tone and he did not like it. "Can't we cure them?"

"Rangers, I am afraid the spell they have been placed under is more serious than anything we've ever seen." Zordon informed them. "I have only heard of this spell. It is said that there is only one person in the universe that knows how to reverse it." If what he had heard was correct, this one person wouldn't be interested in helping them.

The alarms triggered and a voice spoke. "And that's me." Callisto said, her appearance in the Power Chamber surprising Zordon.

"Intruder alert!" Alpha exclaimed as he went to stop the alarms from wailing.

"Who are you?" Jason asked as the alarms quieted and the room grew silent.

"I am Callisto, warrior goddess. That sounds so much better than warrior queen does. And I can certainly do the job much better than Aries. He did get what he deserved, along with those other fools on Olympus." Callisto commented as she walked over to the medical tables. She glanced briefly down at Carri. "And now you are getting what you deserve."

"Why are you here?" Tommy spoke with authority, causing the goddess's head to snap in his direction.

Callisto grinned, her eyes brightening and her laugh suggesting she was well past crazy. She moved a bit closer toward the rangers as she spoke. "That's simple. I'm going to give you a chance to save them."

"You can save them, which means you did this to them." Rocky pointed out. He did not know that they could trust her. He did not know that he would trust her; he wanted nothing more than to rip her apart.

"Yes and I'm very proud of myself." Callisto replied. This plan was going better than expected.

"Then why do you want to help us?" Adam asked.

"Help you?" Callisto questioned, letting out another one of her crazy laughs. "Don't be mistaken ranger; I want to kill you all. And sending you for the antidote is the quickest way to do it."

The four rangers huddled together. Tommy looked at them. "Let's do it." He said simply as Rocky nodded in agreement. He did not care how dangerous it was, it was the only way to save them.

"I'll stay back." Adam volunteered. Someone was going to have to stay close to Earth in case Rita and Zedd attacked. And if the unthinkable happened, they needed at least one ranger left alive.

The rangers turned to face Callisto. "Where do we go?" Tommy asked as he and Rocky stepped forward.

"I was hoping you'd ask that." Callisto replied, quite satisfied with their decision. She lifted her hand up and threw it forward, using her powers to open a portal.

"May the power protect you." Zordon said as his two rangers jumped through the portal and into the unknown. As the portal closed, Callisto disappeared.

"I hope they hurry." Alpha said as he headed to the console. He was going to have to program their defenses to keep the goddess out. She had gotten in easily because they never had a specific need to keep a goddess out; most of the Olympian gods were obsolete. Zordon was a minimalist, never wanting to set up the security system for more than what was necessary.

"Why?" Jason questioned, following the robot. He knew the obvious reasons. His friends were dying. However, Alpha made it sound worse than what he thought it was.

Alpha glanced up toward them. "Their bodies are working toward a complete shutdown faster every minute. If they do not return soon, we will lose them."

Rocky and Tommy landed on the ground with a thud. "We have to hurry." Rocky said as they stood. The others lives were in danger.

"Right." Tommy agreed as they walked up toward a metal gate.

Rocky glanced up and noticed the sign above the gate. "Abandon all hope ye who enter here." He read aloud.

Tommy sighed. "Great. My kind of place." He said sarcastically. He noticed Rocky looking around and he made a face. "What are you looking for?" He questioned. He thought maybe that the blue ranger was searching for a key.

"I was kind of hoping Virgil would show." Rocky joked, referencing the epic poem they had read in English class last year.

Tommy chuckled. "I'm afraid we'll have to do this on our own."

As he spoke, the gates swung open. Rocky and Tommy looked at each other, both giving the other a slight nod. They were as ready as they were going to be. They walked through the gates, continuing forward to their quest for the antidote as the gates slammed shut behind them.

"It won't be long now." Callisto promised as she materialized in the Lunar Palace.

"As soon as the last of the rangers are gone, Earth will be ours for the taking." Zedd said triumphantly. Finally, all their work was going to pay off.

"Hey Ed," Rito said, ignoring the ugly look Zedd was giving him, "let me lead the tengas in the takeover."

Zedd elected not to yell at him. This was going to be their greatest victory ever; he was not going to let his idiot brother-in-law spoil his mood. "There will be no need for a takeover." Zedd replied. "Without the power rangers, there will be no one to stop us. You can lead the tengas as they carry us down the streets of Angel Grove."

"Aw, ok." Rito said, looking somewhat dejected. He brightened up as another thought occurred to him. "Hey Ed, can I have the boot country? I've always liked its shape."

Zedd could not help but laugh. "You couldn't run a lemonade stand, much less an entire country." Although it would be amusing to watch him fail.

"The first thing I want to do is visit England." Rita spoke up, putting an end to the conversation between Rito and Zedd. "The royal jewels would look fabulous on me."

"I want to terrorize citizens." Goldar chimed in. He was somewhat excited. They were finally getting Earth. There was some disappointment there. He had wanted to have a hand in the destruction of the rangers. However, Jason was no longer a ranger perhaps that could be the first citizen he attacked.

"Soon we will all get what we want." Zedd assured them. All except Rito, but he was another story entirely. "What about you Callisto, what do you want?"

"Tommy and Carri dead." She said simply. That was the entire reason she returned to this wretched planet. She would have been happy never returning, most of her memories of this place were nothing she wanted to relive. However she had unfinished business.

"And after that?" Zedd questioned. There had to be more than she wanted. He could not imagine that after avoiding the planet this long, she would come back for just Tommy and Carri.

Callisto shrugged as she created a small flame on her fingers. She allowed the flame to grow as she stared at it. "I've always been fascinated by fire. With one simple spark you can burn down an entire city. But I've never been one for starting with sparks; I always have to start with a big show."

"Burning down a city?" Rito questioned. "Sounds like fun."

"I never said I was going to be burning down any cities." Callisto replied as she continued to stare at the flame. "Then again, it might be fun." She finished as she allowed the flame to burn out.

Zedd stared at the goddess. The rumors that Callisto was a bit off center were not exaggerated. He was a bit agitated that she never really answered his question. Then again, he supposed it did not matter. They would all get what they wanted soon enough. The rangers would be dead and the world would be theirs.

Rocky and Tommy walked into a cave, the center of which was a giant lava pit. Both sides had a path, and both paths looked to be about even. "Which way?" Rocky questioned.

Tommy looked back and forth. It really was a tossup. "Left." He finally decided.

"Left it is then." Rocky said as he headed out ahead of Tommy. He barely got out onto the path when the lava in the pit started moving. The lava started taking shape and seconds later, there were lava creatures blocking their way.

"It's morphin time!" Tommy quickly yelled as he and Rocky thrusts their hands to their sides. Much to their surprise, nothing happened.

"Our powers must not work in here." Rocky pointed out. That was a disappointment; they needed them right about now.

"Guess we're going to have to do this the old fashioned way." Tommy replied as he and Rocky ran full force toward the lava creatures.

They quickly discovered that these were a more difficult foe than anything they were used to dealing with, or at least anything that they had tried to fight without powers. Rocky ducked a punch from one of them. "Missed me." He said, kicking it and waiting for it to fly back into its friends. Instead of flying back, it stood there, not budging at all.

Tommy punched one of them, and his results were the same as Rocky's. "This doesn't look good." He pointed out.

The lava creatures pushed the two male rangers backwards. They had to work hard to stay on the path and not fall into the pit. Once they were securely on the ground and at a safe distance from the creatures, they turned toward each other. "We need a new plan." Rocky pointed out.

Tommy nodded in agreement. "Got any ideas?" he asked. Now, Tommy could not think of one.

"What if we knock them back into the lava?" Rocky suggested. He knew when he spoke the words that it would be easier said than done.

"That might work." Tommy replied as he thought it over. "We're not moving them though; we're going to have to come up with a way to get them back in."

"We'll have to think on that." Rocky replied as the lava creatures moved into attack. Both boys worked on a series of blocks and punches, although neither of them were getting anywhere. They knew that at this rate, they were going to lose. Changing tactics, they decided to run while they worked on a plan.

After changing direction for what felt like the thousandth time, Rocky noticed something. The lava creatures followed them around like trained dogs. He turned to Tommy and grinned. "You feeling adventurous?" he questioned. He watched as Tommy raised an eyebrow and he continued. "Follow me."

Rocky headed to the ledge and jumped down into the pit, making sure to stay in close enough to the wall that he could quickly grab the jagged edge. Tommy looked on in disbelief. He did not think this was a good idea. However, they were out of sane ideas, and against his better judgment, he followed him.

It was no surprise to the blue ranger when the lava creatures followed them. Only the creatures did not try to hang on to the wall, they simply tumbled back into the lava below. The rangers watched as the lava swallowed them up.

"Now what?" Tommy questioned as he glanced toward Rocky.

"You any good at rock climbing?" Rocky questioned. Tommy chuckled in response as both boys started to pull themselves back to the top.

It did not take long before they were back on the path. They followed it to the end without any more trouble. The exit to the lava pit led into a damper, darker portion of the cave. "This looks fairly safe." Rocky commented as they stepped in.

As they broke the threshold, they triggered the cave's defense system. Suddenly all sorts of sharp objects started flying back and forth. Tommy groaned. "You just had to say something didn't you." He said, glancing over at Rocky who sighed in response. Now they had to figure out a way to make it through the treacherous cave.

Up on the moon, a spying goddess was furious. Callisto slammed her fist down on the armrest of Zedd's throne. "Nobody has ever made it past the lava patrol before." She hissed.

"But you've never sent a couple of rangers in there before, have you Calli?" Rito questioned. He thought his point would make the goddess feel better; instead, he just pissed her off.

Callisto lifted her hand and threw Rito against the wall. Goldar snickered. Besides the fact that it did not matter that they were rangers, nobody called her Calli. "No matter." She said, trying to refocus herself. "Even if they do manage to make it to the antidote, I have a surprise for them."

"And that would be?" Zedd prompted as he glanced over at the goddess.

Callisto shot him a look. "If I told you, it would no longer be a surprise now would it?"

Rito stood and looked around. "That hurt." He complained. He did not like the fact that she had the ability to toss him around like that without moving a muscle.

"Stop whining." Callisto said, quickly glaring at him as a fireball appeared in her hand.

Rito stood straight up at the sight of the fire. "Got it. No more whining." He said, watching as the fireball extinguished.

"I love the power you have over him." Zedd said. He wished Rito would listen to him like that. Instead, his brother-in-law ignored everything he told him.

"If you were the ultimate goddess, you would possess that kind of power too." Callisto said simply. It was easy. She could make anyone bow down to her.

"As soon as the rangers are out of the way, I will have that power over all the earthlings." Zedd commented as he turned and continued to watch the rangers' quest.

The group from Paris was sitting around a table in the Youth Center, dazed and confused. "Is this normal for Angel Grove?" Laz questioned.

Emily shrugged. "You never know what's going to happen when you've got aliens trying to take over the world constantly." She replied. This seemed to have been the norm since she had been here.

"So where did your friends run off to?" Lauren questioned. She thought it was weird that the guys took off and she felt bad that they didn't get to see the rangers and know what happened.

"Who knows." Emily said with a sigh. Running off had been the group theme ever since she knew them. "They always seem to be running off somewhere." She added.

"Do you think Christian will be ok?" Winnie asked. If it was an alien that caused this, then maybe he did not really leave her, maybe he is still her Christian.

"What is this, twenty questions?" Emily snapped, immediately feeling guilty. She understood that they were not from here, that they had never had to deal with this sort of thing. However, she was worried too, and their questions were not helping the situation. She let out a sigh before answering the question. "If he's in the hands of the power rangers, he'll be fine."

Ernie made his way toward the table. He knew they were all upset. He understood, he had been there since the beginning; he had seen a lot of bad things happen to good people. He also knew the power rangers, knew that they were really good at making things right again. "Every time we turn around something new and not necessarily good happens. That has been part of living in Angel Grove for almost four years. But I wouldn't worry about it, the power rangers haven't let us down yet."

Emily looked up at Ernie and nodded her head in agreement. She had not lived there nearly as long as he had, but she definitely agreed with his statement.

"Come on," Ernie said, placing a hand on Emily's shoulder, "let's keep things running here." He knew Carri and Kat were her friends, but he had to try to keep some sort of sense of normalcy in the Youth Center.

"You're right." Emily agreed as she stood. She waved a quick goodbye to the others before following Ernie off.

Ashley watched them go before turning toward the others and smiling. "I can't believe that I was right about the aliens." What had happened was horrible, but still, she was right.

Lauren could not help but laugh. "Yes Ashley, you were right."

"Now it's my turn to be right." Laz pointed out.

Winnie and Lauren exchanged glances. "It will never happen." Winnie assured him.

Laz made a frustrated sound before standing. "Come on guys, let's get out of here."

Ashley glanced up at him curiously. "And where exactly will we be going?" They did not know Angel Grove that well; she did not want to venture too far away.

"For a walk." Laz replied. "It's too depressing here." He added. Sitting around this table, they were going to do nothing but mope and focus on the fact that something happened to their friends that they could not control.

"I agree." Lauren said as she stood and grabbed Winnie, pulling her friend up with her.

"Oh alright." Ashley gave in, standing as well. Seconds later the group from Paris headed out the front door.

After quite a bit of work, Tommy and Rocky made it safely through the cave and into a room that was made of ice. "Oh man." Tommy commented as he glanced down at the icy floor.

"We can do this." Rocky said with more confidence than he felt. They had to do it they had no choice. Besides, it seemed like it would be ok. "The ice looks stable enough."

"We have to do this." Tommy said as he looked across the sheet of ice and noticed the room on the other side. Once they made it across the ice, the only thing standing in their way was the bars of a gate. Beyond that, he could see the pillar that the antidote was nestled on top of.

Rocky followed Tommy's gaze. A smile crept across his face as they realized that they were almost there, that they almost had what they needed to save the others. "Come on, let's go."

Cautiously, the ranger boys stepped out onto the ice. They tested it slowly at first. Once they felt that the floor was secure enough, they picked up the pace. They were almost halfway across the room when they heard a crack.

"What was that?" Tommy asked as they both turned around.

The ice from the spot that they entered was starting to collapse, and the falling ice was moving forward at an alarming rate. "I think we had better speed it up a notch." Rocky said as they turned and ran.

To their surprise, the ice on the other side of the floor started to collapse and move in toward them. Before they knew it, they were standing on a piece of ice a foot wide, with only seconds to make a decision.

"Jump!" Tommy called out, although he had not needed to, it was Rocky's thought as well.

Both boys jumped through the air. Tommy, who had been closer to the other side when they jumped, easily grabbed onto the ledge. Rocky had been farther away, and could not quite catch the edge. "Rocky!" Tommy yelled, watching as the blue ranger fell from his view.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pulling himself over the ledge and onto solid ground. Once he was safe, he peered over the ledge, hoping to see something to indicate that Rocky was all right. Instead, he saw nothing, not even the ground below, as there was a dense layer of fog blocking his view. "Shit." He swore as he leaned back. "We were so close."

Tommy stayed at the edge, observing a moment of silence for a fallen teammate. The others were going to be devastated, especially Carri. He felt like a failure as a leader. He let out a small sigh. It was going to be even worse if he did not keep going. He was going to lose two more teammates.

As he stood, something reached out and grabbed his foot. Startled at first, Tommy looked down and saw the hand with the blue lined communicator on its wrist. "Rocky?" he asked in disbelief.

"Are you going to stare or are you going to help me up?" Rocky questioned as he grabbed the ledge with his other hand.

Tommy immediately leaned down and grabbed a hold of his friend, pulling him up to the surface. "Man I thought you were."

"Don't think." Rocky interrupted. Honestly, he thought he was too. Fortunately, for him, the surface was not smooth all the way down and he was able to grab a piece of ice that stuck out. "It's dangerous." He added with a smile.

Once Tommy pulled Rocky to his feet, the duo turned around. They started walking toward the cave when they heard a growl. Rocky glanced toward Tommy. "Any guesses?"

"Yes." Tommy said with a frown. "But I don't think you'll want to hear them."

Suddenly a three-headed dog appeared out of nowhere and was standing in their way. "I'm no mythology buff, but isn't the only three headed dog the one that belongs to Hades?" Rocky questioned.

"Yes." Tommy replied with a sigh. Now would be a great time to have access to their Zeo powers. "Down Cerberus."

Cerberus started heading toward them and the boys backed up to the ledge. "Here's the plan." Tommy said as he thought quickly. Rocky turned toward him and he continued. "We wait until he lunges toward us. Then we jump over him."

Rocky shook his head. It wasn't the best idea. However, Tommy did go along with his crazy idea earlier, he figured it was the least he could do to go along with this one. "Let's do it."

For a few moments, Cerberus simply stared the rangers down, trying to figure out what their next move would be. When they declined to make one, the dog decided he would and he pushed forward to grab them. Rocky and Tommy jumped over him as planned, and Cerberus was unable to stop himself in time. Seconds later, he went flying over the edge.

Tommy and Rocky turned around and watched as the dog disappeared from view. "That's a long way down." Tommy commented.

"At least you didn't attempt to see how far." Rocky pointed out as they stood up straight and turned to face the gate.

"True." Tommy said with a smile as he glanced at the antidote. They were almost there. Only the gate stood in their way and then they would be able to rescue the others.

"My look at them. They've made it all the way to the gate." Callisto commented, trying to restrain her anger. She still had a plan; this was not all a loss. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "No matter. Once the gate is open I have a little surprise for them." She said with an evil laugh.

"Hey Calli…sto." Rito had started to use his nickname for her but quickly changed his mind once he saw the glare she gave him. "The green ranger is all alone. Whatcha gonna do about it?"

Callisto looked around. "You're right." She said as she thought about it. "I haven't paid Earth a visit yet."

"Can I be in charge while you're gone?" Rito asked hopefully. He noticed her look of skepticism and he continued. "Can I? Please?" he begged.

"I would choose to put a ranger in charge over you." Callisto replied with disgust. "Besides, last I checked this was Zedd's palace, not yours." She pointed out. Grinning wickedly, she created a small flame on her finger. "Time to go have some fun." She said before leaving.

"You idot." Zedd growled as he shot Rito a look. "Can I be in charge? Of course not!" he yelled as he stepped up and took his throne back.

"I hope she has something good up her sleeve." Rita said as she looked up from her telescope. "Because beyond that gate is the antidote."

"I'm sure she does." Zedd replied. Callisto seemed very excited about whatever it was that she had planned for the rangers. "Now let's watch those rangers squirm." Zedd said with a laugh as he turned his attention back to the end of their quest.

The two rangers had been searching for some sort of way through the gate, but they e had not been able to find any means of creating an entry point that they could find. They both knew that they were running out of time, and the blue ranger was frustrated.

"Damn gate!" Rocky cursed as he looked at it. "Why won't you open already? What are you waiting for, an open sesame?"

Much to their surprise, the gate slowly began to open. Despite the seriousness of their situation, Tommy could not help but laugh. Eventually, Rocky gave in to the laughter as well. As the gate swung fully open, Tommy turned toward his friend. "Let's get the antidote and get back."

The minute they stepped through the gate, three figures appeared before them. "Welcome." A leather clad warrior spoke. "I am Theodorus, and these are my men. And we're the last faces you'll ever see."

Theodorus drew his sword and his men followed suit. He was a loyal warrior of Callisto's. It was why she allowed him to choose his two best soldiers to join him in this task. She had used her powers to save him from the depths of hell. Although she could not bring him to the surface world, guarding the antidote for her was good enough.

"I believe we're screwed." Rocky commented. The lava patrol was dumb as dirt, and Cerberus was nothing more than a dog. However, these were smart human soldiers wielding weapons. He definitely wished they could morph now.

"One rule here." Tommy said as he glanced over toward him. "Don't die." They had come this far, he was not going to let anything stop them now.

"No problem." Rocky replied, although he felt as though this was going to be easier said than done. He turned to look at Tommy, who nodded at him. Then the two of them separated and went to fight the trio in front of them.

Tommy found himself fighting Theodorus's two soldiers. He engaged in battle with them, but they seemed to have some sort of return from the dead strength. They were giving him some trouble. Trouble in the sense that he kept getting thrown across the room more often than he would like to admit.

Elsewhere, Rocky had come up against Theodorus. The soldier looked at him and smiled. "You and your friend have met your match."

Rocky smirked. "Why is it that everyone likes to say that to us?" He questioned as he kicked Theodorus, watching as the surprised warrior stumbled backwards.

Theodorus got his bearings back and glared at the ranger. "You'll pay for that." He promised. Moving swiftly, he threw Rocky across the room and into the column that held the antidote.

Callisto's prized warrior walked over and pinned Rocky with his sword, at the same time Tommy was being pinned as well. Rocky struggled to free himself, and in his struggle, the solid column he was forced up against was starting to move.

Much to their surprise, a few seconds later the column tipped over. Theodorus thought it was steadier than that, and when it fell he lost his grip on the blue ranger and the ranger tumbled backward with the column. He saw Rocky grab the antidote but he was not going to let him get anywhere with it. Leaping on top of him, he held his sword up high and prepared to finish the ranger off. Before he got the chance, a bright light engulfed both rangers and teleported them away.

Callisto found herself in the middle of Angel Grove Park. "It's beautiful here. So peaceful and calm." Callisto said as she looked around. "That's all about to change." She said, grinning wickedly as she looked at the flame that still burned on her finger.

"Look at her! She looks stupid!" called a kid from his perch in a nearby tree.

Callisto glared up at him and saw him with his friend laughing at her. She knew exactly what to burn down first. She allowed the flame to transform into a fireball then she hurled it at the tree. The fire spread up quickly and she smiled as the children's screams filled the air. When their mothers rushed in for an attempted rescue, she threw fireballs at them as well, burning them instantly.

"What a wonderful day." Callisto commented as she walked off, leaving her victims behind her. She was wondering whom to kill next when she found a middle-aged woman trying to help an older man get out of the way.

"Please don't hurt us." The woman begged as Callisto approached.

The goddess noticed the way the woman was pulling the older man protectively close to her. "Is this your father?" She watched as the woman shook her head yes. Callisto smiled. "In that case I'll burn him first so you can watch."

The horrified expression that crossed the woman's face made Callisto giddy. "Don't worry. You will burn so fast you won't feel any pain. The worst part is going to be listening to your fathers screams as the fire engulfs him." She knew that pain better than anyone did.

"Stop right there!" a voice yelled from behind her.

Callisto turned to find the green ranger staring at her. "Well, what do we have here?" Callisto asked, leaving the father and daughter alone and moving closer to Adam. "One lone power ranger?"

"Just because there is only one of me doesn't mean you'll win." Adam said, more determined than ever. She had already caused too much damage. She did not show up on their scanners until it was too late, until lives had already been lost.

Callisto smiled. "We'll see about that." She said as Adam came running at her. With a flip of her wrist, she sent him flying back. He stood and advanced again, and again she sent him backwards with minimal effort.

"This is getting boring." Callisto said with a sigh. She reached back and grabbed her sword. It was time to have a little fun.

Adam looked up just in time to see the goddess charge him, sword out. He called for his Zeo sword and stood firm, waiting for the attack.

"You're no match for me." Callisto hissed as she struck his sword with hers and the hand-to-hand combat began.

Two figures materialized in the Power Chamber. "You're back!" Jason exclaimed as he jumped up to greet them.

"Here's the antidote." Rocky said as he handed the vile over to Alpha. They were not sure how they made it back but they were grateful to be here in one piece with the cure.

Alpha took the vile and immediately went to work. "Oh rangers, I hope it isn't too late." He fretted as he started to administer the antidote.

Tommy glanced at the four figures unconscious on the medical beds. "How are they?"

"Not good." Jason said as he shook his head. "Not good at all I'm afraid."

Jason saw the worried glances from his friends but none of them had the opportunity to comment as the alarm went off. "Rangers, Adam is in need of your assistance in the park." Zordon informed them.

"Right." Tommy said as he and Rocky moved into position. "It's morphin time!"

"Zeo ranger three, blue!"

"Zeo ranger five, red!"

"Zeo five, power weapon!" Tommy yelled the moment he and Rocky hit the ground. He wasted no time running to attack Callisto, with Rocky right behind him. Both boys were angry with her for what she did to the others, and for what she put them through.

"You're back!" Adam exclaimed as the goddess was attacked from the sides and pushed back.

"Looks like we made it just in time." Tommy said as he and Rocky fell into line with Adam.

"Oh goodie." Callisto said as she swung her sword in her hands. She could not believe they survived. Theodorus would pay for this. First, she had to take care of these rangers. "More rangers for me to play with."

"Play with this." Rocky said as he and Tommy both attacked her with their weapons.

The red and blue Zeo rangers started a fierce battle with Callisto, one that Adam quickly joined in on. They had to bring the goddess down before she got the chance to do any more damage.

Jason paced around the Power Chamber, anxiously waiting for any news of his friends' conditions. "Is it working?" he asked as he stopped and glanced at Alpha.

"It appears to be working but I cannot say for sure." Alpha replied as he glanced at their vitals. "If there is no change in their condition soon, we may have lost them forever."

Jason thrust his fist angrily down on a console. "That will not happen." He said with a growl. "And if it does, I'll find Callisto and tear her from limb from limb myself, powers or no powers." Kat was a friend and Carri was like his sister. If they did not pull through, there was no way he would let Callisto get away with this.

"Jason do not get carried away." Zordon warned. He could understand his anger. However, this was still a goddess they were talking about and they needed to treat the situation appropriately. There would be no revenge, but they would have to stop her.

The former ranger crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not getting carried away." He assured his mentor. He was just stating facts. Callisto would pay for this.

He watched the foursome intently, his eyes focused mostly on the two rangers. Finally Carri and Jackson both started to stir. "Thank God." Jason said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"It would be wise for you to leave before they awaken." Zordon said as he glanced down at the first red ranger.

"Right." Jason agreed. He wanted to stay here and make sure everything was all right, but Jackson and Christian did not need to see him here. They had to get them to believe their explanation as it was.

Carri sat up just as Jason was teleporting out. "Jason! Hey Jase don't leave." Carri grumbled. She felt like she got hit by a Mack truck and one of her best friends just took off on her. "Never mind." She said with a sigh. "He can't hear me now."

"As in your friend Jason?" Jackson questioned as he sat up as well and looked around. "I think you were hallucinating. He wouldn't be here, wherever here is."

Carri looked around, the fact that she was in the Power Chamber with non-rangers finally sinking in. She glanced over and gave Jackson a smile. "You're right."

As Alpha, started looking over Carri and Jackson, Kat and Christian woke up as well. Christian looked around and was startled by his surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Welcome to the Power Chamber, home of the power rangers." Zordon's booming voice greeted the two newcomers.

"What happened?" Kat questioned as she glanced up at her mentor.

"I remember walking on the beach with Jackson and that's it until now." Carri said as the others chimed in with similar stories. "Did something hit us?" Carri assumed it was Rita and Zedd's hand that did this to them.

Before Zordon could answer, the alarms started going off. Alpha turned toward the viewing screen. "Aye ai ai! The rangers aren't doing so well." He said

Kat and Carri exchanged glances before looking toward Zordon. They needed to get the others out of there. Zordon was aware of that and he spoke quickly. "With the battle at hand, we must cut this short, however I can tell you that Callisto poisoned you and tried to kill you. If it weren't for the rangers, she would have succeeded."

Kat gasped. Fortunately, the others thought it was because she almost died. However, that was not the case. It was because the culprit was Callisto. The last thing she remembered was the odd feeling, the presence she could not put a finger on then. She knew what it was now. It was the goddess, the one who she is descended from.

"It appears as though you are recovered. Due to the battle, it is necessary for me to teleport you four back home." Alpha said. He watched as all four nodded in agreement before he teleported Christian and Jackson back to their hotel.

The minute the coast was clear, Kat and Carri jumped down from the med beds. "It's morphin time!" Carri called out. She was not going to waste any time going after Callisto.

"Zeo ranger one, pink!"

"Zeo ranger two, yellow!"

The boys flew backwards and landed on the ground. "This isn't working." Adam commented. Her fighting skills were better than theirs were, she had the advantage.

"You want me to go call Superman?" Rocky joked as he glared at Callisto.

"Come on guys, we can do this." Tommy said as he gripped his weapon tighter. They could not; they would not give up no matter what the odds were.

"What about." Adam's words were interrupted when two new battle cries cut through the air.

The two female rangers hit an unsuspecting Callisto from behind. She fell forward and stood, immediately turning to face her attackers. "You're alive." She hissed as she glared at Kat and Carri. "No matter I will kill you myself."

The male rangers circled around Callisto, thrilled to see the girls up and moving again. They were going to make her pay for what she put them through."Nobody messes with the power rangers." Tommy said as they all moved in to attack the goddess.

"But me." Callisto said with a snarl as she flung all five of them out of her way.

Carri stood, her fist clinched. "Zeo two, power sword!" she called out. As the weapon fell into her hands, she walked slowly toward the goddess. "You tried to kill me. You tried to kill my cousin and our friends from Paris. You put everyone else through hell. I won't let you get away with this."

Callisto let out somewhat of a laugh as she glared at the yellow ranger. "I hurt your friends and now you want me dead." She recapped Carri's statement. "You sound just like her." She spat. "That's why you must die."

The other four rangers jumped up, but stopped when Carri put a hand up, indicating that this was not their fight. "But Carri." Rocky started to protest.

"Let's do this." Carri said, her words cutting Rocky off as she charged at the goddess.

Callisto headed toward her, and as the duo met, their swords clashed loudly, a sound that vibrated through all of Angel Grove. Callisto held her position and glared at the ranger. "You were destined to fight me." She said with an evil grin.

"I was destined to kill you." Carri said with a snarl as she pushed her back.

Callisto let out a laugh. "You don't have the guts." She pointed out. "Even if you did, you can't kill me. I'm a goddess."

"You being a goddess has nothing to do with our fight." Carri pointed out before she attacked once more and the two locked weapons. With a swift kick from the yellow ranger, the duo was separated again.

As Carri tried to hit Callisto with her weapon, Callisto held her hand up and flung Carri across the battlefield, shooting a jolt of energy through her as she did so. "Now it does." She said with a maniacal laugh.

The yellow ranger flew through the air until she smacked into a tree, powering down as she fell to the ground. The other rangers took that moment to rush back into the fight. Kat was the first one to attack the goddess. "I can't believe I'm related to you in any way."

"Well believe it." Callisto said with a grin as she threw all four incoming rangers in different directions. The others were spread out far from the center of the action. Callisto smiled as she watched them fall hard in various locations.

Satisfied with a job well done, she headed over toward the yellow ranger. "Well what do we have here?" Callisto questioned, watching as Carri was starting to stir. She stepped to the side of her and looked around at the other rangers, a twisted smile on her face as she shoved the tree over on top of their friend.

Laughing, she walked away. "Did I do that?" she asked, glancing at the other rangers who were struggling to stand.

"Zeo two, power kick!" Carri yelled as she hit Callisto from behind. She had seen her coming toward her and she heard the tree start to crack as Callisto gave it a shove. The goddess had not watched to make sure she followed through. Carri teleported herself up just in time, morphing and teleporting herself back down before Callisto knew what was going on.

Callisto stood and glared at Carri, hissing. It was Carri's turn to laugh. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

The other rangers gathered around Carri. She was ready to go after the Zeo Cannon. Before she got the chance, Callisto lifted a hand up and teleported herself away.

"Where is she going?" Zedd bellowed as she disappeared.

"Finster!" Rita screeched, watching as he scurried in. "Send a monster down now!"

"Your highness, I don't have any molds prepared at the moment." Finster said. He watched as Rita huffed and stormed off.

Zedd glared at the morphed rangers, who were celebrating and teleporting away. He was going to get them if it was the last thing he did. "Next time rangers."

Jackson, Christian, Carri and Kat headed into the Youth Center and made their way toward the table that held the rest of their friends. As they approached, they exchanged hellos briefly before Carri spoke.

"We were hoping you guys could fill us in a bit here." Carri said as she glanced at the others. An entire day was missing, one that the others said she spent with Jackson, and she would like to know what happened.

Rocky went over and wrapped his arms around her. "I think this is one thing we all want to put behind us." He replied. She almost died, and he almost died trying to rescue her. He wanted to forget about that and move on. Plus she went out with Jackson, and he had no idea what happened there. As jealous as he was, he thought it was best that way. He smiled at her before taking her hand and guiding her out of the Youth Center for some alone time, pausing briefly to wave goodbye to the others.

"Winnie it's so good to see you." Christian said as he walked over and gave his girlfriend a hug. He knew he went out with Kat. Winnie must have been devastated.

Winnie eagerly returned the hug. "It's good to see you too." She replied. She was glad he was in her arms now, and that it really wasn't him who cheated on her.

"Do you want to go out?" Christian asked. He would like to take his girlfriend somewhere nice.

"Of course." Winnie replied with a smile as she let Christian lead her away.

They were not the only two couples who were missing each other. As they left, the pink ranger turned to her boyfriend. "Do you want to go somewhere?"

Tommy stood and grabbed Kat's hand. "Of course." He replied as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. He was glad that she was alive, that he and Rocky made it to the antidote in time.

As Tommy and Kat left, Jackson sat down with the others. "How's it going?" he asked, trying to have some sort of normal conversation after their abnormal day.

"Fine." Laz said. He thought about it for a moment before standing. He did not want to sit around the table and make weird small talk. "Let's go sightseeing."

Ashley and Lauren jumped up as well. "It will be fun." Ashley said as she thought about it. "Even though it won't be as exciting as Paris."

"We'll need a guide." Lauren pointed out as she looked at the two remaining males.

Adam glanced over at Jason. "That's our cue." He said with a grin.

The two boys stood, Jason saying a quick goodbye to Emily, before they led the remainder of the group from Paris out of the Youth Center and on a tour of Angel Grove.

Around eleven that night, two figures met up on the beach and started walking down the shoreline. One glanced over at the other, who obviously had a lot on her mind. "What's wrong?" Jason asked. She had called him when she got home, saying that she wanted to chat.

Carri sighed. "It was all wrong."

"It?" Jason questioned, raising an eyebrow. "What it?"

"The whole evening with Rocky." Carri replied, making a face. He was babying her and acting off and it bothered her. It was the only time she was glad one of their dates was over, it was weird.

Jason looked alarmed. As long as he has known her, she had never complained about a date with Rocky. "What happened?"

"I don't know. It's just," Carri paused for a moment as she thought about how she wanted to say it, "he was all over me." She stopped when Jason snickered. Rolling her eyes, she continued. "Not like that. As if I was a porcelain doll he had to protect. Then when he was not hovering over me, he was somewhat distant. Something wasn't right."

Jason nodded. It was not that much of a surprise to him. "I think you deserve to know what happened." He said.

"And that will make tonight make sense?" Carri questioned as she looked up at him.

"Yes. However, you have to promise not to tell anyone I told you. We made a pact as a group to put this behind us and not fill you in." The Paris teens did not want to talk about it, especially Winnie who never wanted to speak of Christians' dating Kat again. Tommy and Rocky thought that they were better off not knowing what happened, not knowing how close to death they were and what they had to do to rescue them. Which is why when the Paris teens wanted not to really say much to the others, they agreed. However, Jason and Carri were close, and they did not keep secrets. He felt like he owed it to her to tell her.

"Jase you know me." Carri said with a grin. "Have I ever gone around blabbing what we talk about?" They talked about a lot. They were both good at keeping each other's secrets.

Jason grinned. "Nah. You make a pretty good friend."

"Unlike some other people I know." Carri teased.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "You're not talking about me are you?" When she nodded her head yes, he gave her a playful shove.

She laughed and turned toward him. "I have been talking to Kim you know." She replied. Kim had told her that although Jason was good at keeping big secrets, sometimes he would let the little things slip.

Jason opened his mouth to defend himself but he could not think of anything to say. He knew he had repeated some of the things Kim said to him. It was never anything serious and she had repaid the favor out of spite once or twice. He simply shut his mouth and turned away. Real secrets he was good at keeping and she knew that, but he knew that she would not let him win this argument. And although he usually did not fall back on an argument with Carri, there were more important things to discuss.

"Yeah. That's what I'm talking about." Carri said with a satisfied grin. "You know I'm right."

Jason groaned. He hated letting her be right. She laughed briefly before Jason got serious again. "Back to the topic at hand."

"Why don't you start from the top." Carri suggested.

"You and Jackson came into the Youth Center, blew off Rocky and left. Kat and Christian came in with you guys, blew off Tommy and Winnie, and left. Us guys, being as intelligent as we are, figured it was a spell so we went to Alpha to confirm." He started the tale.

"Let me guess, another love spell?" Carri questioned as she groaned and rolled her eyes.

"That's what we thought, and for the first day it seemed that way. Then the real potion kicked in and it was killing you all quickly." Jason paused as he glanced over at her. "Rocky and Tommy went into Callisto's hell to get the antidote. They were lucky they made it back, they almost died."

He watched as Carri absorbed that bit before he continued. "You almost died. We weren't sure if the antidote had worked. Alpha thought they hadn't made it in time, that there was still a chance we had lost you all." Jason did not know what he would have done, what the others would have done if they died. He sighed and continued. "Anyway, you almost died, he almost died, add that to the fact that you spent a day with Jackson doing God knows what…"

"And it would leave Rocky feeling somewhat jealous and way overprotective." Carri said with a sigh. He had to squash the jealous tendencies Carri knew he had, plus she was as good as dead and he almost died to save her. All and all, a crappy day. "It makes sense now."

Jason nodded slightly. "Feeling better now?"

"Much. Thank you." Carri replied. She was glad that Jason was free to talk to her. He was one of the few people she could really talk to. She knew that her cousin found it odd that she could hang out with Jason and talk about almost anything. Kat did not even know half the stuff that she shared with Jason. She loved her cousin to death, but moving in with her showed that they were more different than she thought. There were many topics the pink ranger didn't care to talk about, and serious boyfriend conversations were avoided all together. On the other hand, she clicked with Jason when they first met and she found it easy to talk to him. Having him around was like having another brother.

"Not a problem." Jason replied as he looked up and noticed the empty Beach Club coming into view. "Let's go sit over there." Jason said, gesturing toward one of the tables.

He led Carri to the closest table and they pulled the seats out and made themselves comfortable. They were both leaning back and looking at the night sky while listening to the waves. It was peaceful until Jason spoke. "You think if I sit here long enough Emily will show up?"

Carri chuckled as she looked over toward him. "Yeah but don't expect me to sit here with you." She replied. She paused for a moment before continuing. "Speaking of Emily, how are things going?"

Jason looked over at her and grinned before filling her in. That was the start of several conversations between the duo, conversations that lasted until they both fell asleep under the stars.

The next day, Winnie and Christian were sitting in the Youth Center, practically in each other's laps as they whispered back and forth to each other, laughing and enjoying being together. On their right sat Lauren and Ashley, who were having their own conversation, while Jason and Carri were carrying on to their left.

Although they sat together as a group, nobody was paying any attention to anyone else in the group, which is why Carri leaned over and whispered something in Jason's ear. Jason laughed and whispered something back, just as Emily came up behind him and put her arms around him.

"How's it going?" Emily asked as she glanced over at Carri. She was glad to see her friend was up and moving and seemingly back to herself.

"Good." Carri replied with a grin. "Today is a new day and I intend on taking advantage of it." After her discussion with Jason the night before she decided that her new goal was to get everyone to move past the incident with Callisto.

"Glad to hear it." Emily said as she leaned in closer to Jason. "Guess what?"

"What?" Jason asked as he turned and looked up at his girlfriend.

"Ernie gave me today off." Emily replied with a grin. She had put in many hours lately he said she deserved it.

"That's great." Jason said as he pulled her closer and kissed her. "Now we can spend some time together."

Before Emily got to reply, Kat, Rocky and Tommy made their way to the table, Kat immediately heading up to her cousin. "Where were you last night?" she asked in as friendly of a voice as possible. She did not think it was right for her cousin to spend the night out like that. Plus it was weird seeing as how Rocky had no idea where she was either. If she was not with Rocky, Kat assumed that left her spending the night with Jason, which to her was more than a little odd. She did not share her theory with her parents, who for the most part glossed over Carri's absence. Carri had been relatively well behaved in the year she lived with them, contrary to what Aunt Becky thought would happen, and since she was eighteen and starting college in a few months, they were willing to let it slide.

"Who me?" Carri asked, watching as Kat nodded. She knew Kat thought her relationship with Jason was strange. She doubted Kat would approve if it had been her out there with her boyfriend last night, let alone with a guy she had no romantic feelings for. "I was out. I made it in really early, showered and took off." She worked hard to head back out before anyone could catch her and lecture her.

"But," Rocky started to protest. She was his girlfriend and she was spending the night out with someone that was not him. Like Kat, he suspected that someone was Jason and he could not help but feel a little jealous. However, neither of them had given any indication that they cared for each other romantically and he trusted his girlfriend.

Carri jumped up and grabbed Rocky's shoulders before he could continue. "It's a new day babe. Let us put yesterday behind us. Out with the old, in with the new." She said as she put her arms around his neck and leaned up to give him a kiss. "What do you say?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Rocky replied. Whatever Jason said it seemed to revitalize her. He supposed he owed the former ranger a thank you. Last night was weird. He knew he was off because of everything that happened and she seemed to be too. He was thrilled to scratch all that out and move forward.

Adam slipped into the Youth Center and walked over to say hello to everyone. Laz and Jackson, who were enthusiastic when they came to the table, quickly followed him. "Are you guys ready to hit the beach today?" Jackson asked.

"Beach?" Ashley questioned. "You never said anything about the beach."

"Well we're saying it now." Laz replied with a grin. "Hot girls here we come."

Lauren smiled as she followed Laz's train of thought. "Shirtless guys relaxing on the beach? I'm in."

"It should be fun." Kat added. If they really were going to forget the mess that was the last day and a half, it would be good.

"We can play volleyball." Tommy suggested. That was one of their favorite beach activities.

"Yeah." Emily agreed, her eyes lighting up as she glanced toward Carri. "Girls versus boys."

Carri grinned wickedly as Jason turned toward his girlfriend and made a face. "But that's not fair." He said with a smirk.

Emily raised an eyebrow as she removed her hands from him and placed them firmly on her hips. "Jason Scott, are you suggesting we'd lose?"

"You sure do pick up on things fast." Jason teased.

As one, Emily and Carri smacked him. Emily then huffed and grabbed Carri's arm, pulling her away from Rocky. "Come on girls. We have to discuss strategy." She said as the other females stood and followed her out of the Youth Center.

Rocky watched them leave. "You don't honestly think that?" he stopped mid question.

Tommy glanced over toward him. "No. How could they."

"You know how they think." Jason replied. His girlfriend and Carri had often ganged up to argue that they could take on the guys in any sport.

"But don't they know by now?" Adam questioned with a grin.

"This ought to be interesting." Jackson said. Taken or not, it would be fun to watch the girls jump around in bikini's chasing volleyballs while they creamed them.

"I just hope we don't embarrass them too badly." Laz said.

"Guys, what are we waiting for?" Christian asked. He just wanted to get out on the beach with Winnie.

The seven guys exchanged glances. Then they all moved at once and headed for the door. Yesterday was in the past. Callisto was gone and everyone was happy and healthy. Today was their day to enjoy themselves. It was time to get changed and head out for a relaxing afternoon on the beach.