Chapter 11: Harmony Destroyed

"I agree with Kim," Conner mentioned as he sat down to do his homework. Kim and Tommy both looked over at the teenager. He wasn't looking up at them, but he had the feeling that Kim was smirking and while no one could see Tommy's expression, he knew the older Ranger was glaring at him.

"Conner, you don't even know what we're arguing about," Tommy snapped and the boy shrugged.

"Nope, but she's usually right so I agree with her," he said, grinning. Kim's smirk increased and Tommy scowled.

"Why are you here?" He asked, emphasizing the annoyance that his face couldn't show at the moment. Conner shrugged.

"Because I wanted a nice quiet place to study my science and since your being absent resulted in Senior Psychopath being in charge of my class, I figured that you could be the one to help me with my homework," he said calmly. "You bad. Mercer much, much worse."

"Thank you, Conner," Tommy said dryly. Conner shrugged and went back to preparing his homework. "Can't you do that anywhere else?"

Conner sighed and spoke slowly as if he were talking to a five-year-old. "I-need-a-quiet-place-and-your-help-because-your-absence-made-my-science-class-hell."

Tommy immediately turned on Kim who was just laughing by this point. "He gets it from you, you know. I thought that he might be like Jason or me but no. Oh no. He has to be like my sarcastic girlfriend."

Kim grinned. "I know. Don't you love surprises?" She asked and headed over to Conner, leaving her boyfriend to steam. "What's it on?"

"Geology. Rocks and stuff," he answered, already sounding bored. Kim laughed as she looked at the book.

"Well, this looks like earthquakes, really. The seismic plates moving and everything. Like San Andreas fault," she said calmly and he looked at her in surprise.

"You know this stuff?" He asked and she just groaned in an exaggerated manner.

"Unfortunately. Though, I had Billy. Anything I didn't know, he'd help me understand," she told him, sitting down next to him. Tommy groaned which she returned with a curious, "What?"

"We're trying to figure things out, remember?" He asked. "My suit? White Ranger? End to all mankind?"

"Science homework can be just as important," she told him, forcing herself to look completely serious. "You never know when he'll need to know where all of the seismic plates in California are and how they work."

"Probably never in his Ranger career," Tommy growled. Kim smiled sweetly at him.

"Then, you can work on that and I'll help Conner…" she began, but Conner nudged her and pointed to the door where the other two rangers stood sheepishly. "And Ethan and Kira with their homework. No arguing now. You have homework of your own."

Tommy stormed off and Conner looked at him. "What's up with Doctor O?" He asked and Kim laughed.

"You don't want to know, Conner," she warned him. His face became a pout and all three kept asking. She grinned. "He's just upset that being in the suit means that any relationship touching is out the window."

"Yep, you were right," Conner said, looking at his homework as the other two followed to hide their disgust. "I didn't want to know."


"Hey Kira!" Conner called out, catching up with his teammate. She slowed down a little, though she didn't stop or turn around. Conner winced at that considering she normally would have done one or the other. Well, before Trent and after they got the gems she would have anyway. He matched her step once he caught up and looked at her. "Kira, seriously, I didn't mean to make you angry."

"Then what did you expect, Conner? For me to be happy about you trying to attack Trent at the rock? For me to be happy that you didn't seem the least bit upset that we couldn't use the rock to fix him?" She snapped and he sighed.

"Kira! Wait!" He called out as she began to walk faster than him. "It's not that I don't want Trent better, but he tried to kill me, he nearly killed Doctor O, and he's obviously not on our side!"

"You don't know that!" She snapped, completely stopped so that he passed her by a few steps before heading back to her. "He was fighting it!"

"He managed not to kill you. That's great. It really is. But he ran, Kira! We offered him help and he ran!" Conner argued. "I care more about you, Ethan, Kim, Doctor O, Hayley and if it came between any of you and Trent, guess who I'd be fighting for."

"Why can't you fight for both?" She asked. "Why does it have to be a one or the other?"

"Because it is!" Conner finally snapped. "Face it, Kira, he's at least partially evil and he might not stop next time. I certainly don't want to take off my helmet to take that chance only to have him cut my head off!"

"We'll find a different way through to him then!" She argued. "We can save him."

Conner looked at her and sighed. "Maybe we can, Kira, and I hope we can, but ask yourself: Are losing five, possibly six, people worth possibly saving one? Like I said, if it comes down to him or us, I'm choosing us."

"And yet you didn't want to make me angry," she reminded him coldly. "Guess what? I'm angry."

She stormed off after that leaving Conner sighing and shaking his head. He wanted so much for her to understand that they had to be careful, but she seemed determined not to listen. Worse, Doctor O was encouraging it by reminding them that he was evil at one point as well. True, it had turned into a fight between the two mentors once again, but Kira tended to use it against him that Doctor O had been evil as well.

"Fighting in the ranks?" A voice asked, dragging him out of his thoughts. He hadn't followed when Kira stormed off, but when he glanced around no one was there. If he thought someone had been, he wouldn't have argued with her, let alone let his guard down. Trent came out from the wall, surprising Conner who backpedaled a little bit before taking a defensive stance. "You don't think you were the only one who got a power, did you?"

"Nope, but I'm glad I got a cool one instead of a rehash of Doctor O's. Come on, chameleon powers? You have to be near something for that to work. Doctor O can be anywhere," Conner said flippantly. "Makes sense, I guess. White and Black having similar powers. Too bad you got the lamer one, huh?"

"Big words, Jock," Trent answered, less cocky and more annoyed at Conner's words. "A lot of thinking for someone like you, hmm?"

"I'll pretend like I didn't hear that and leave now," Conner said. Trent smirked.

"You're not going to stay and fight?" At that, Conner laughed.

"Hell no! You kicked my ass last time. I'm going to leave, get help, and come back to kick your ass," Conner answered, starting to walk off.

"Yes, because Kira seemed so willing to help you," Trent mentioned, standing exactly where he had come out. "Though, it is nice to know that she'll stop if I sweeten my voice a bit."

Conner stopped in his tracks. He didn't want to think that Kira would do something like that, but she hadn't been acting reasonable as of late. Ethan had been trying to stay out of it the best he could, but he more leaned toward Conner's side most of the time and Doctor O was completely with Kira. If Trent pretended to be good, then he would completely lose half of his team to thinking that they could trust him and Ethan might even head that way. Still, he couldn't let Trent know that. "Yeah, well, let's see if you feel the same way after we beat the shit out of you."

Trent's morpher came out after that and Conner knew that if he was going to leave, now would be the best time. He turned on the speed and ran, heading back toward the lair, or at least the forest. He reached over and pressed the communication button, but didn't say too much other than "Need help, forest, white ranger, follow." Considering his speed, it would take Hayley a minute or two to slow his words on the computer and make it sound normal and understandable. He saw a laser blast, an arrow, hit beside him and he knew that the white Ranger was right on his tail. He headed close enough to the house that they could get there quickly, yet far enough away that he didn't accidentally lead Trent back to the lair. Mesagog knew where it was, but Trent hopefully didn't.

Conner winced as Trent, having caught up, threw him hard and far. Fortunately, that also gave Conner time to morph, which he did. He pulled out his staff and attacked back without completely waiting for the others to show up. If he didn't, he'd end up dead anyway. He heard voices and footsteps coming toward him and relaxed a bit as the others arrived.

They sprang into action, working together to knock Trent back. It was hard and fast, but it still hadn't become a zord fight yet, which the Rangers had to be thankful for. The bigger the fight, the larger the destruction and they hated it when that happened. Ethan charged, but was thrown to the side. A quick glance told Conner that his friend was alright when he stood back up and joined Conner in a partnered attack. Kira and Tommy joined them and did the same working together. Hitting him from both sides seemed to work as he went barreling away from them into the bushes and trees. Ethan, breathing heavily, looked over at his three teammates. "Did we do it?"

Conner looked over, motioning the others to stay back in case it was a trick. He glanced over to see Trent unconscious and lying on the ground, his helmet toss from his head. He checked to make sure that the white Ranger had no serious injuries and was relieved to see that there wasn't any blood or anything that looked serious. Kira, Ethan, and Tommy raced over to join him as he was checking Trent over. "Is he okay?" Kira asked and Conner shrugged.

"Physically, I'd say yes, but… get back!" Conner yelled as the suit began to convulse. Sparks flew from it and the white gem glowed before going back to normal. Trent's eyes flashed open, wide and he looked over at the four Rangers.

"Oh god! Are you three okay?" He asked, trying to pick himself up. Conner reached over and firmly held him back down, still suited up. Tommy's looked at the young red Ranger.

"Conner?" He asked, in a curious tone, and Conner shook his head.

"I'm not letting him up until I know we can trust him," Conner stated. He reached over with one hand and took off his own helmet. Trent looked a little confused until he looked into Conner's eyes and saw the anger in them. A warning. "If you're tricking us, Trent…"

If there was a threat that Conner was going to add, it was cut off when Kira pulled him off. "Conner, knock it off!" She snapped. She turned to look at Trent and gave a small smile. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Trent promised her, taking her hand as she helped him up. She had, by this point, abandoned her own helmet as well. "I'm just a little dizzy."

"Kira! Get away from him!" Conner growled, trying to protect her. Kira glared at him. Conner inwardly groaned at that. Kim was right: Hormones were a bitch to reason with.

"He's Trent, Conner," she snapped and looked back the white Ranger. "Don't mind him."

"No, maybe he's right," Trent said, pulling away from her. He shook his head vehemently. "What if this is temporary?"

"We'll deal with it then, Trent," Tommy answered, picking up Trent's helmet and handing it to him. "Let's get him back."

"What? No!" Conner yelled, clenching his fists. His face was just in shock, surprised at how they were going so quick about this. "We need to make sure…"

"We can do it there, Conner," Tommy argued. Conner turned to Ethan for any help in the situation he could get, but Ethan just shrugged. The only thing that made Conner feel better with Ethan was that he still had his helmet on which meant that he didn't trust Trent at the very least and that mattered a lot right now for Conner. He just wanted someone on his side.

"I just don't trust him," Conner muttered as he followed them. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Ethan's now unmasked face giving him a supportive smile. Conner leaned over. "I thought you weren't going to take off your helmet?"

"Wasn't. But you did, so…" Ethan whispered back. "Besides, it's easier to watch him without it."

Conner nodded and smiled back at his friend before they turned their attention to the others. Kira was still helping Trent and Tommy was following behind. Conner's smile faded as he remembered Trent's words: "Though, it is nice to know that she'll stop if I sweeten my voice a bit."


Kim surveyed the room as Hayley continued to try to figure out if the evil was gone or not and for how long. Kira was talking to Trent, who was smiling at her and nodding as a response. Tommy was watching them, well she was pretty sure he was as his helmet was facing their direction, thought it wasn't in a stern way. Like Kira, Tommy had admitted that he thought Trent was back to normal and he seemed to be acting in a correct manner. Still, he had been one of the first people to insist on the tests. Conner had been the very first and had proceeded to the back of the room soon after to work off some of the anger that was radiating around him. Ethan had joined him to spar, which looking back on it, hadn't been the blue Ranger's best idea. Kim was just glad that Ethan's skin could become hard.

She glanced over at Hayley. "Anything?" She asked and the computer whiz shook her head.

"Afraid not. That gem has our computer running around in circles with all these readings. I'm not sure what those shocks did, but they certainly messed with something," she answered. She shrugged and hit the table, not too loud as to make a noticeable noise, but enough to relieve her stress. Kim nodded understandingly.

"You might want to come up with a fake job for Ethan, by the way. I think he's getting tired of Conner's onslaught," Kim mentioned casually.

"Why doesn't he just say enough then?" Hayley asked with a slight groan and Kim laughed.

"Misplaced sense of loyalty," she joked and shrugged. "Well, we wanted them to be friends, right? They are. Best friends. Look at them."

Hayley did and while it was clear that Ethan was getting tired of the match, neither one was hurting the other and both pulled back their punches. Moreover, Ethan had volunteered and Conner had gratefully taken it which wasn't something they would have done before. They would have verbally and possibly physically fought, but they wouldn't have sparred like this unless told to by either Tommy or Kim.

"Hey Conner?" Ethan said nervously as Conner kicked for his head again. "Conner, man, come on! You trying to kill me here?"

Conner's fury died and he immediately looked over Etha from where he was standing, relieved that he hadn't done any actual damage. "Sorry, Ethan. I guess I got little preoccupied."

"A little? Man, you better not give me anymore grief for not getting to you and Trent fast enough anymore," Ethan said, rubbing his arms. Harder skin or not, they still were aching a little. Conner gave him a half-smile.

"But I still have months of jokes left! Don't take away my hobby," he teased and Ethan joined him in laughter. Conner had to admit that it felt good. He sat down and Ethan sat down next to him, smile fading.

"So, what's wrong?" Ethan asked. "I mean, I'm not sure if we can trust him either, but I'm not angry over it like you."

"I'm just… worried, you know? I want to trust him. I want to say he's better now, but I can't. And worse, Kira is angry at me because I can't," he said. He grabbed a couple of the towels and handed one to Ethan so that they could dry off as they talked. "It's all just… too easy."

"What if…" Ethan started. Conner opened his mouth, but Ethan put his hand over it. "What if he is back to normal? What if everything is normal again and Trent's back for good?"

Conner looked over at Trent and Kira as they were talking and laughing. He sighed and looked at Ethan who recognized the look in his friend's eyes. "Then I've lost her."


Over the next couple of days, Trent went out of his way to try to prove himself to the others. He had given Tommy the plans to build a Dino ATV which Tommy had promptly given to Hayley. He had offered to work for Hayley as a volunteer until they had all of this figure out. He had bought Ethan several new computer programs to try to make up with him and he'd bought Kira some new picks for her guitar. He'd gotten some gymnastic equipment for Kim, nothing huge, to try to make it up to her and had offered to help Conner train. Still, the results from the computer were still scattered on whether or not Trent was still evil or not.

"Hayley, this isn't getting us anywhere," Tommy told her as she was trying once again. "Just… leave it. There's no sense in us wasting time on this. We'll just have to watch him."

"What happened to 'we don't know if we can trust him'?" Hayley asked, folding her arms as she turned to look at him. He just folded his arms and looked back at her. Both of them had the same amount of determination in their eyes and probably would have stayed that way for a while if Kim hadn't sighed.

"We don't, Hayley," Kim said softly, pulling their attention away from each other. "But why does it matter if we can't even get it to work. Tommy's right. We're just going to have to keep an eye on him."

Hayley nodded and shut it down. There wasn't any point to something that didn't work anyway. She turned to the other two once she was done. "So, what do you two think?"

"Well," Kim answered. "We're not really sure. I mean, he seems good enough, but he could be faking it. He's been helping us in battle and we thought that if it was a ruse, he'd have betrayed us by now…"

"But we're worried that it could be a long term plan," Tommy finished. "So, our official stance is undecided."

"And your personal stances?" Hayley asked.

"Tommy thinks he's fine. I'm not so sure. Which actually works out for us since Conner and Kira have both taken similar stances. And for once, they're fighting. Not us," Kim answered. She reached out and took Tommy's gloved hand. "It's nice."

"I bet. So, talking finally worked things out for the two of you, huh?" Hayley asked and Tommy nodded.

"Yeah, amazing how communication will do that," he answered. Both women laughed. Tommy started to add something when his communicator went off.

"Doctor O? It's Kira. I need to talk to you," he heard on the other end. He glanced over at the two women who mouthed for him to go.

"Where are you, Kira?" He asked.

"About a mile from where you are. Near where we train," she answered.

"I'll be right there," he promised and headed out the door.

Hayley looked over at Kim soon after. "I need to get going. Between the café and trying to figure this out… I need sleep."

Kim laughed and pointed toward the door. "Go home. I'll keep an eye on things. Shoo!"

Hayley dragged herself out the door and Kim turned to the screen making sure that nothing horrible and new poked its head up. She was pleasantly surprised when nothing did.


"He's coming," Ethan stated from beside Kira and she stood up as she saw her teacher. She missed the human version of her teacher since she couldn't see his expression to tell what he was thinking. His arms weren't crossed though, so he wasn't too angry at her for calling him. That helped her nerves a bit. She wasn't too sure about this herself and she needed to try to convince him or at least make sure that he thought about it. She wanted his real opinion on what they had discovered. He stopped when he reached her. "What's wrong, Kira?"

"Nothing is wrong," she started, looking a bit nervous. She glanced over at Ethan who smiled and nodded for her to continue. "Trent was talking to us earlier and he mentioned that the machine that fossilized you. It had a… uh…"

"Sister machine?" Ethan offered and Kira grasped it.

"Yeah. You know, something that defossilizes things. So, we were thinking that it might, you know, help you with the suit problem," Kira answered. Ethan nodded.

"We were thinking that maybe part of what's wrong with you is that you're still partially fossilized," Ethan added. "That while the suit save you, it also engrained part of the amber, trapping you."

"And how are we going to find it?" Tommy asked. Ethan and Kira looked at each other and then back at their mentor.

"Trent told us where he saw it," she told him. "We could at least check it out."

"What's Conner have to say about this?" Tommy asked and Kira handed over a note. Tommy opened it.

Doctor O,

Had practice. Heard the idea. Your choice.

-Conner

Kira shrugged. "We caught him right before practice. Still, both he and Trent agreed that Trent shouldn't come since we don't want to accidentally start a relapse."

Tommy nodded. While they had taken Trent with them on the last attack, they were trying to keep him from anything that the gem might connect with and make him evil again. Even Kira, who insisted that Trent was good, wasn't sure if the effects were permanent. "Alright, then. Let's go check. Should we get Conner?"

"Conner says to call him if we have trouble, but that someone should stay here in case of city trouble. I offered to stay with him, but if it is a trap…" Ethan started and Tommy nodded. If it was a trap, they'd need all the help they could get.

"Fair enough. Let's go, Guys," Tommy said and they followed him as he headed off. It didn't take them too long to get there. The building was deserted, which didn't surprise them, and Tommy glanced around before entering inside. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

Kira and Ethan powered up and all three headed into the building to look around. Not much light got in and the electricity had been shut down a long time ago when the previous owners couldn't pay for it. Still, it was possible for them to look around and try to see what they were looking for. They split up and started to look for the machine. Ethan glanced to the left, Kira to the right, and Tommy straight on. It was Ethan who found something else. The real reason they were there: a bomb. "Kira! Doctor O! It's a trap!"

The doors they had entered from slammed shut and they heard it lock.


Trent headed down the stairs of the Lair and looked around. He didn't see the raptors anywhere, but Kim was sitting at the computer watching with boredom. She didn't even look up when he walked in. "Hello, Trent."

"Hey Kim," he answered. Three and a half grueling days of pretending to be good were finally ending. He'd planned this perfectly so that even if the Rangers did manage to make it out of the trap he'd laid for them, they wouldn't have anything to come home to. Mesagog had told him how Zeltrax had failed, but he wasn't Zeltrax. Kim was still healing from last time and he'd found a different way in. They had let him in with open arms. He wished he could do this a different way, with his sword, but the knife in his hand would work well enough. "Any problems?"

"Nope, nothing out there other than the normal boring daily stuff," she answered cheerfully. He finished coming down the stairs and walked toward her slowly. She continued to look at the screen as he edged toward her. Her chair spun around quickly and he felt something enter into his shoulder. He dropped the knife and his eyes widened as he saw an arrow sticking out. He glanced up at her to see her serious expression and a bow in her hand as she reached for another arrow. "Now, in here, that's another story."

"How did you…?" He asked, still in shock and Kim sat patiently in her chair looking back at him. She'd expected questions. When he was finished, she had some of her own anyway.

"There are cameras in here. I could see the knife. That play on Conner's emotions earlier. Very nice. Probably something I would do if I was evil," she answered. She raised the bow and arrow up again. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not."

"Too bad, Kim. It's more exciting on this side you know. You don't have to worry about pesky citizens getting in the way. You don't have to worry that the city will turn on you if something goes terribly wrong," he suggested to her. She just smiled.

"And I bet that they have great dental. Nice try, Trent. Now, I have a question for you. How did you manage to do the outfit and gem shock?" She asked, knowing he'd answer. All evil was egotistical and besides, the jig was up no matter what. There wasn't any point to him keeping it secret and they both knew it.

"A pulse to the gem. It worked beautifully. It destabilized the suit a bit with the electricity because the gem was affected. It also messed with Hayley's computer work so she wouldn't be able to move past it. Hayley was a surprise. I didn't actually think she was involved, but was more of an innocent bystander with a bad choice in friends," he told her. Kim inwardly winced as she realized that letting Trent in here had put Hayley in as much danger as the rest of them. Fortunately, he still didn't know about the café's hook-ups to the Lair's computer.

"Yes, well, we are full of surprises, aren't we? Get out, Trent," she told him calmly, the arrow still pointed at him. He had already, painfully, taken out the other though had stood still besides that. Kim wasn't going to shoot him for taking it out, but she would if he had moved toward that knife right after.

Trent shook his head. "You know, this is why you keep losing. You don't know when to finish things."

"I was finishing things when you were in grade school," she answered coolly. The bow remained steady.

"Monsters, yes. But how many died because you didn't kill the green Ranger? Because you wouldn't kill some one you loved?" He asked her. Her face managed to stay impassive, but the bow shook a bit as the comment reached her. He took the opportunity to get to her and thrust the bow from her hands, grabbing her and pulling her up out of the chair. She winced as the wounds she'd gotten from before ached in protest at the quick movement. He leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. "How many did you let die?"

She kneed him, hard in the stomach causing him to lose his grip and she thrust herself away, leaping toward the knife. Her hand was on in, but he stomped his foot down on her wrist. She didn't seem to notice as she used her leg to trip his causing him to stumble, but he managed to stay upright. In the stumble, Kim managed to get her hand free with the knife. He just shrugged at her triumphed smile and morphed. Kim winced. She'd forgotten he could do that. He reached down and picked her up by the neck. "How many did you let die… for love?"

This time, he didn't cause her to lose her cool. Instead of trying to pull the hand away, she tore his helmet off and thrust with the knife. She missed his face, but she did slice off the tip of his ear. He howled in pain and dropped her. Wounds may heal, but nothing grows back. He let her go and grabbed his helmet. Kim pulled herself up calling into her communicator. "Conner! Now!"

Trent's helmet was hardly back on his head when the red Ranger's blast hit him. He heard chirping and the four raptors had followed Conner in. Trent wasn't a fool. He couldn't take all of them on. Still, he wasn't leaving without causing some damage. He picked up his sword, used quicker speeds and headed straight for the computer before they could stop him. The raptors leapt at him, quick, but they weren't fast enough. Sparks flew as the sword tore the computer in half. Trent moved on to destroy anything else he could before they started to be able to catch him. Kim fled, knowing that this wasn't a battle that she could really help with and was grateful for Conner's plan. Five versus one was definitely a better plan than only her. When Conner had mentioned it to her earlier that day after he'd talked with the others, she quickly accepted it. She headed up the stairs and crashed, literally, into a woman. She winced again as the newly aggravated wounds hurt, but her Ranger programming was at full swing which meant that she needed to get others away from the fight. "Hayley, we have… oh shit."

"Oh shit is right," the woman told her. It wasn't Hayley. Kim's eyes widened at Elsa's appearance and realized that they had planned this too well.

"What are you doing here?" She managed to spit out. The last time she'd checked, Trent wasn't working for Mesagog.

"Mesagog thought that the white Ranger could use a little help," she answered and Kim tried to move past her. Elsa rolled her eyes and back-handed Kim, who fell back down the stairs into a crumbled mess. Elsa followed her slowly downstairs and looked at Trent who was backed into a corner. "Want some help?"

"It would be appreciated," Trent answered, motioning for her to join him. She used her own abilities and the raptors went flying away from Trent. Conner looked over at Kim and saw that she was out. He hoped she just wasn't dead. The computer was down and he wasn't sure if he could call the others. His mind worked quickly as the raptors came back at Elsa and Trent. While they were busy, he rushed over to Kim to make sure she was alive and under the ruse of taking her pulse, which Elsa and Trent would expect him to do, he pressed the emergency button on Kim's communicator.

They headed toward him and he could feel them coming. He held his staff ready and stood in front of his fallen teacher. Red and the others stood beside him. Their last stand. Trent took him straight on while Elsa took on the raptors. Unfortunately, the battle headed in favor of Elsa and Trent which Conner had guessed would happen. Trent slashed him again and Conner winced as he fell to the ground. Trent looked over at Elsa, knowing that Conner wasn't going anywhere.

"Where's Zeltrax?" He asked and Elsa snickered.

"Finishing the other part of your plan," she answered. "He'll just have to miss out on this part. Mesagog ordered him back when he was finished."

"Pity for him," Trent answered.

Conner glanced around. Kim wasn't getting up, Black was down, Yellow and Blue were faltering. The only two who were still half-way able were Red and him who kept it up, but even they were backed into a corner. Worse, he felt his powers fading as he lost energy.

"Is she alive?" Trent asked looking over at Kimberly as Red stood in front of her, growling at Elsa who shrugged.

"Probably not. Even if she is, she'll probably die soon anyway. Finish off the boy so we can go," Elsa told him. Even though she couldn't see it, she knew that Trent was grinning.

"With pleasure," he said and headed over to Conner, picking him up. Conner completely powered down and looked Trent directly on, even if he didn't say anything. He managed to keep the fear that had entered back so that Trent couldn't see it. "Like I said, make my voice sweet and they'll all come to me. Except for her, but you failed her anyway. Or she failed you. Both probably. You weren't able to save each other."

Conner wanted to argue back. He wanted to say hundred of different comebacks to the white Ranger, but his body wouldn't cooperate. Finally, he only tried to keep himself awake, but Trent threw him against the wall next to Kimberly and darkness took him.


Ethan had long since powered down in order to use his armoured skin as he threw himself against the door once again, but it didn't seem to budge. "Nothing. Kira? You still hoarse?"

The yellow Ranger just nodded and Tommy put his hand on her shoulder. He looked at Ethan. "We'll have to think of something else."

Ethan nodded and looked around until he saw the light peeking in. "Hey Doctor O? You think you can pole vault?"

"Yeah, why?" He asked and Ethan pointed to the remnants of a window.

"Because you should be able to jump through the window then," he answered. "Get on the other side, break the door, and get us out of here. There isn't any glass left thanks to Kira."

Tommy nodded without hesitation. "Brachiostaff!" The other two stood back and he got a running start, managing to vault out the window. All three were just relieved that he hadn't hit the wall.

Tommy proceeded to run around the building to find the lock, which was simple enough to break. He used the Brachiostaff to do so and they rushed from the building three minutes before it was going to explode. They didn't stop running until that three minutes was up. They stopped after they heard the explosion and rested for a minute. Tommy looked at the two of them. "I think it's fair to say that Trent is definitely evil."

"I'll agree," Ethan said. "I really agree."

Kira was quiet, but she gave a nod as well. The evidence was clearly against Trent as much as she would have liked for it not to have been. She promised herself that she'd apologize to Conner later. Ethan sat up and both looked over at him.

"Here's what I don't get," he said slowly. "Why isn't anyone trying to kill us?"

Kira blinked a few times before she responded. "In case your short term memory really is that bad, Ethan, they did. Remember? The bomb?"

"Yeah, but we survived it. So, why aren't they trying to kill us now?" He asked and Tommy was up.

"Because they weren't just after us," he said, starting to move. The others got up behind him to follow. "If we died in there, that would be great, but they know we're luckier than that."

"Hayley," Ethan whispered.

"Conner!" Kira yelled.

"Kim," Tommy finished grimly. They ran.


Conner felt something pushing him and groaned, trying to push it away as his head was ringing from being forced awake. It pushed again and he tried to get it away again, but whatever it was, it was just as persistent as he was. It nudged him again and this time he opened his eyes to see Red's robotic face looking down at him. "Red…" he moaned. The raptor, sure he was awake backed off a bit and Conner was able to pull himself up into a sitting position. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't obey. He looked to see that they were covered in rubble. Everything was as if the Lair had caved in on itself, though it wasn't as bad as it could have been. It had collapsed in certain areas, but not others. Both entrances were long buried, but he and Kim weren't and they were near the computer now instead of by the stairs. The area around them wasn't caving in more and there was a little room to move around. More if he could have gotten up. All four raptors were with them. Still, being trapped under rubble, with your legs trapped and a knowledge that there was only so much energy took its toll on Conner. Panicking, he tried to get up and became frustrated when he couldn't. Red nuzzled him a bit and he managed to calm down a little. He'd made it this far.

He turned his head to look for Kim and saw her sitting next to him. She was in slightly better condition than he was, but all that meant was she could walk. Plus, while his injuries would heal quicker, hers would take time. "Good morning," she told him and moved closer to him since he couldn't get up. "I tried to call Hayley, but I don't think it went through."

"Do you think she's okay?" He asked and Kim nodded.

"I'm sure she's fine. The others will be back soon. They'll get us out," Kim added. Conner nodded. He wasn't quite sure, but neither of them wanted to think about the others not showing up to save them. "Blue and Yellow have been trying to dig us out of here. It seems to be working, but we couldn't move the beam without you being up. I figured it was best to let them do it since they don't need to breathe."

They were quiet for a moment before Conner spoke up again. "They broke everything."

"I think that Billy needed to come here for a bit anyway. Perfect opportunity," she answered. "I'm hoping that my emergency signal reached Jason anyway."

"I pressed it before I went under. Hey Kim? Sorry I failed," he told her, starting to suffer from the guilt that all Reds seemed to carry around. He was surprised when he was rewarded with a slap to the back of his head. "Hey!"

"Stop listening to Trent," she told him. "It's bad for your health."

Conner rubbed the back of his head. "So, what do we do 'til they get here?" He asked, changing the subject so she didn't hit him again.

"How about I tell you stories from when I was a Ranger?" She asked. He nodded, liking that idea. "Do you have preference?"

"How about when Doctor O was evil?" He asked and she laughed.

"Which time?"

"What do you mean 'which time?!' There was more than once?" He asked and she nodded.

"I was only around for two though. Would you like to hear about one of those times?" She asked and he thought for a moment before shaking his head no.

"Changed my mind. I really don't want to know about all the different ways Doctor O is capable of killing me when I tick him off too bad. Can I hear about that mission that the Reds went on? Please?" He asked and she nodded.

"Sure. I'll even tell you the story about the aftermath."


Hayley was already there by the time the others arrived. They swarmed her, making sure she was alright, before getting to work on helping to dig through the rubble. While they refused to give up, they all felt a little disheartened that it didn't seem like they were getting anywhere. Pieces of what used to be Tommy's house went every which way and Hayley was able to tell that support beams has been broken. They were broken away from their work when a weird light appeared about an hour later as they looked to see what it brought. Tommy's eyes widened at the sight and at first he didn't say anything while Ethan and Kira were muttering how awesome it was. Tommy felt a little bad that they'd never seen a transporting light before. Billy walked toward him, enveloped him in a hug and smiled. "Guess what I invented?"

"How did you find them all?" Tommy asked and Billy shrugged.

"That is what took the hour to get here," he answered. They smiled at each other until Zack looked up, his business suit dirty by this point and mock-frowned at his old friend.

"Hey! I don't think it's my student and girlfriend that we're saving, so shut up and start digging," he scolded Tommy with a customary Zack smile on his face. It would be even wider once they found Conner and Kim. After all, Conner was a fellow Ranger at the very least and Kim was one of Zack's oldest friends. Tommy quickly obeyed and began to dig as much as he could in order to find them quicker or at least give them oxygen.

It was a sight to behold. Just as they'd managed for the mission to the moon when all of the red (minus Rocky) showed up, this time they'd managed to bring all of the Rangers together. Both generations of the Mighty Morphin', Zeo, Turbo, Space, Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed, Time Force, Wild Force, Ninja Storm, and even the Alien Rangers were all there digging with the Dino Thunder Rangers to find two people who most of them had never met, but that they all felt a connection to. They ripped into the ground to try to get them out.

Finally, they heard a chirping noise as Yellow and Blue had continued to dig from the other side. Most of the Rangers near it stepped back, not sure what it was but Tommy dug closer as Blue made her way toward him. She poked her head out, looked around, and yanked it back in, chirping.

"What'd she say?" A male voice could be heard from above.

"I don't speak raptor, Conner," a female voice answered dryly.

"Well, why not? That would be handy, Kim," he answered. He was far more calm that he had been before she'd spent who knew how long telling him stories.

"You know, Conner. I can move. Far, far away and… Conner! Let go of my arm!" She called out. By now, the majority of the Rangers were trying not to laugh. Tommy was holding his head and Jason, who hadn't stopped himself from laughing quietly, patted his shoulder.

"Not until you promise not to leave me," he answered turning his voice to make it sound like a little kid's just to annoy his mentor a bit. That was the final straw. All of the Rangers burst out laughing at that point and to make matters worse, they heard Conner say one more thing. "Hey Kim? I think I know what Blue was chirping now."

"Gee, thanks Conner," she said just as dryly as before. "Hey! Stop laughing and get us out of here!"

They worked together using the raptors to get into and out of the remains of the Lair. All four raptors, Conner, and Kim were out of there in no time. Tommy rushed to Kim, picking her up and holding her to him. She clung to him just as hard, though she felt a little sick and dizzy from her injuries. Tommy felt someone gently pull her and looked to see Billy looking at them both. "They could have been injured," he reminded them. "It's necessary for us to make sure they are not going to die."

"I'll second that," Conner said quickly, still on Red's back. He still couldn't walk on his legs at the moment since they were still healing. The raptor was being as gentle as possible. "I like living. Hey Kira. Hey Ethan."

Both of his teammates had caught up with him almost as quickly as Tommy had caught up to Kim. Ethan folded his arms. "You're not going to make jokes about how I wasn't here, are you?"

"Maybe later. I'm just glad you guys are okay!" He said and grinned at them. "And that I'm okay. That's a plus."

"Conner…" Kira started, shaking her head. Conner started to shrug, but Kira had managed to fling herself up onto Red's back and was hugging Conner from behind. "I am so sorry!"

"Uh… it's okay?" He offered and looked at Ethan, whispering down toward him. "What am I supposed to say? I'm not used to people apologizing to me. Especially girls."

"You, uh, hold on, I'll go ask," Ethan answered and raced off as he realized he had no experience with women whatsoever. The look on Conner's face was as if Ethan had betrayed him to Trent instead of just leaving him with Kira.

"Ethan?" He asked quietly with an edge of panic to his voice as Kira continued to apologize and quietly cry. He reached around and awkwardly held her back, but he wasn't sure what to do more than that.

"Kira, come on. It's no big deal," he told her, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. He just held her to him and looked around for Ethan who was coming back with several of the guys and pointing. He didn't recognize any of them, but they all gave him a thumbs up, so he figured he was doing something right. He turned his attention back to Kira who had started to calm down.

"So, you're not mad?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Not really. See, I'm going to make lots of mistakes which you'll forgive me for. You made one. I think we're even," he told her. She nodded.

"Yeah," she told him. "That's true."

"Well you didn't have to agree that fast," he said, slightly annoyed. She put her hands on her hips.

"Well then don't be right," she snapped back.

"You know, I wasn't that right this time," he argued.

"Yes, you were. You make lots of mistakes. I think I hear your name more than my own most of the time!" She brought up. He rolled her eyes. "Hey! Don't you roll your eyes at me!"

"Why not? You earned it," he told her.

"God! You're such a jock!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded.

"Stuck up, self-involved…" She didn't get to finish as Conner pulled her into a kiss. He gently pulled away and she managed to finish talking. "Great kisser."

Conner couldn't help but to grin at that. "Great, huh?"

"Yeah, well," she said with a shrug. "Didn't see it coming."

"Well, maybe I wouldn't have been such a jerk about the whole Trent thing if I'd made sure you knew," he said. "Couldn't have hurt anyway."

"Conner, I…" she started to say, but stopped when Billy came over to check him over, letting him know that he'd be fine. Conner patted Red on the side once Billy was finished. Kira smiled at him. "Attached? He's not going to run off, you know."

"Hey, he's not making me get off and it beats laying on the ground. I think he deserves a little appreciation," he answered. Red bobbed his head. Kim and Tommy made their way over and Conner put his hands up. "I will be perfectly fine, oh Great Ones."

Tommy rolled his eyes while Kim just laughed and reached over to pat Red as well. "Thanks for all the help, Boy," she told him. The raptor bobbed his head again and then opened his mouth dropping something onto the ground in front of Kimberly. Kim's eyes widened. "Uh, is that a hand?"

Tommy made a face. "Yes, it is. I don't think we'll have to worry about Elsa for a while."

"Oh," Kim answered. "Eww."

"Conner, on the other hand, pat the raptor with even more enthusiasm. "So that's why they didn't make sure we were completely dead! Good job, Red!"

Red chirped and strutted around proudly for a bit, not really noticing Kim's disgust. Tommy looked at her. "So, we lost the lair and she lost a hand."

"And Trent lost part of his ear," she added. Conner's eyes widened.

"You cut off his ear?!" He asked and Kim shrugged.

"Well, I was aiming for his face but I missed…" she said.

"You are the coolest mentor ever!" He exclaimed as Kira got off shaking her head and stood beside Ethan who was just laughing. "Hold on, I have to go brag. Come on, Red."

Tommy looked at her and she shrugged. "Well, I –did- take on the white Ranger with no Ranger powers and took something of him down with me. I would like to think that I'm pretty morphinomenal."

"I never meant to say you weren't, Kim," he said and she grinned at him.

"You're just jealous that someone doesn't think you're the best thing since sliced bread," she teased. He put his hands on his hips.

"Give me more credit than that! I'm jealous that one of our students doesn't think I'm the best thing since sliced bread. This is because you make me be the disciplinarian," he joked. She just leaned into him before they went to talk to the other Rangers who weren't going to be able to stay for much longer. After all, an impromptu reunion was still a reunion.


Author's Note: Trent. Trent, Trent, Trent. I'm not big on the "I am evil. Fear me" attitude that they give evil rangers. I like the more subtle evil as well. It's about words and using them to hurt your opponent in a way that they can't heal easily and manipulation. That's what I gave Trent: Manipulation. It's also doing what Trent did. He was able to play on their feelings of good intent toward him in order to be let in. The worst of enemies are those that are hidden to you.

I was leery about attacking the Lair again, but it seemed logical. Hayley's was my other option and while Trent knows that she's involved, he doesn't know that she has anything in the café, so why bother with it? Other than to be obnoxious, but the Trent that I created would rather do more damage than simply be annoying.

Thank you for all of the reviews once again! I always enjoy getting them.