Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

Chapter 25 – The Zeo Quest

"So we go after them." Said Jason with a tone of finality. "And hope we're worthy."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Zack jumped in, ever upbeat as always.

"How about a way to get there?" Trini retorted, shooting him down.

"Well then let's find a way to get there! We need those Shards!"

"Easy, Zack. We'll get there, don't worry." Jason promised him.

"Alpha and I shall start running an interdimensional locator to try and find the Shards. Having a way to get there means nothing if we don't know where we're even going." Billy said.

"Alright, then the rest of us will head home and pack, and tell our parents we'll be gone for awhile." Jason instructed. "Billy, your dad is out of town right?"

"Affirmative. He's in New York for a conference."

"Then I'll grab a bag for you, give you more time to try and find the Shards." Billy nodded his thanks, knowing that with his dad gone, there was no point for him to go home himself when he could be of more use here. With an agreement to return in an hour or less, the others returned home. As per their routine, Tommy and Kim bypassed their parents and headed right upstairs to check on Kira. Their baby was sleeping soundly, it being well passed nightfall and all, but the two knew they'd have to wake her to bring her to the Command Centre. They had silently agreed that while they traveled through time and space they'd both feel a lot better about Kira being at the Command Centre, protected against everyone without a Power Coin. And as everyone with a Power Coin would be gone, they were as secure in their daughter's safety as they could ever be. The two packed their bags as well as Kira's, bringing a lot more of Kira's stuff as they didn't know how long she'd be at the Command Centre, before heading back downstairs to face their parents. It was convenient that one of their parents' habits after their identities had been revealed had been to converge on the whichever house their granddaughter was at, or if she elsewhere, at the house Tommy and Kim were staying at that week, as they awaited their children's return. They had breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing them enter the house looking completely unharmed, but their anxiety grew seeing them return with luggage.

"You guys going somewhere?" Vivian asked. Tommy and Kim nodded.

"We have to go away for awhile. It's one of those 'fate of the world' things." Tommy said.

"Go where?" Caroline asked.

"We don't actually know, Billy's working on that one." Kim replied.

"Go away for what?" asked Mark, looking to his son.

"We have to retrieve a powerful object before Master Vile gets it. Master Vile is the new villain who showed up today, he's Rita and Rito's father." Tommy explained.

"They have a father?" Pierre breathed in disbelief.

"I still don't understand how Rita and Rito are related." Added Andrew.

"Yeah, we asked the same thing, but we've kind of just accepted that nothing about our enemies makes sense." Kim said to her father.

"So how long will you be gone?" Vivian ventured.

"We don't know that either. However long it takes to retrieve the object."

"And you're taking Kira?" Caroline asked, gesturing to the bags obviously filled with baby stuff.

"Not to retrieve the object, but we're taking her to the Command Centre. We don't know where we're going or how long we'll be gone and we both feel better knowing she's in the securest place on Earth, and arguably one of the safest places in the universe. We don't know what Rita, Zedd and Vile are gonna do when we're gone."

"And there's no way we can talk you out of it?" Andrew asked, earning a shake of their heads.

"We'll be as careful as we can be and we'll be back as soon as possible." Kim promised as she gave each of them a hug in turn before taking Kira from Tommy while he did the same. Although the goodbye was rushed, it could be nothing less as they raced against time to beat Vile to the Shards. With one final goodbye, Tommy and Kim teleported to the Command Centre, immediately going to calm their now wailing baby.

"Billy, have you figured anything out yet?" Tommy asked once Kira quieted, though by the haggard look on the Blue Ranger's face, and the hovering of the others who had already returned, this wasn't the first time he'd been asked that question.

"We've found the energy signatures of the Zeo Shards, but are unable to pinpoint their exact location." He responded.

"And we can't go after them until you do." Tommy gathered.

"Oh, you could go after them." Billy said. "We can go after their energy signatures, but without an exact location, we have no way of getting you back. We'd have to hope that the Shards alone possess enough power to bring you back."

"Any movement from Vile?" Kim asked. "Do we have time to wait for an exact location? Or should we be going on hope?"

"There is movement on the Moon, but Master Vile hasn't gone after the shards just yet." Alpha informed them.

"In other words, he's preparing to go after them, just like we are."

"We can't wait too long." Jason decided. "Billy, Alpha, if you haven't found their exact location in thirty minutes, we're going after them even without a way back." No one disagreed with him, knowing there really wasn't another option; they could not, under any circumstances, let Vile get his hands on the Shards. It was a long thirty minutes, and everyone was disappointed, if not exactly surprised, when Billy and Alpha had yet to locate the Shards' exact location.

"Alright let's gear up." Jason instructed.

"Wait!" Called Billy. The others turned to face him, wondering if he'd found something. "We've determined that there are only five Shards. I think it will be more productive if the five of you go and I remain here to continue looking for a way to bring you back."

"You sure, Billy?" Trini asked.

"I can be of more use here. Besides, we don't know how the magic protecting the Shards will react to two people; it may cause problems."

"Alright." Jason agreed, not wanting to waste any more time. "We'll see you soon, Billy." He emphasized, promising his friend they'd return, whether or not he found a way to bring them home.

"It's Morphin' Time!"

"White Ranger Power!"

"Black Ranger Power!"

"Pink Ranger Power!"

"Yellow Ranger Power!"

"Red Ranger Power!"

The Rangers teleported out, the coordinates to the locations of the Shards programmed in. This time, the feeling of teleportation felt different, the Rangers attributed it to the fact that they weren't just traveling from point A to point B, but through time and space.

-T/K-

The black beam of teleportation dissipated to reveal Zack in a very familiar location, home to many of their battles. The place in time was even familiar, for Zack had already lived it, but something was distinctly off.

"Make way for the Power Rangers!" Mayor Carrington called from the stage with the large banner proclaiming it was Power Rangers Day. Zack felt his legs start to move forward and looked down, unable to remember telling them to move, but his brain stopped working when he saw his black pants and sneakers, not the spandex and boots. It was through a haze that Zack watched himself and the others go up on stage in their civilian forms, a pregnant Kim even joining them this time, as they received the praise of the city with their identities revealed. The others were smiling brightly, clearly enjoying the attention. After the mayor's speech, the Rangers left the stage and mingled with the people, instead of teleporting off as they did in his memory.

"Zack!" someone called, causing him to turn just in time to catch a body as it crashed into him.

"Angela…" he breathed, unable to believe his dream girl was clinging to him, and kissing him.

"That was amazing, Zack. The way you saved everyone and protected the city was awesome!"

"Uh…thanks…" he said unsure what else to say.

"So you still coming over tonight? My parents are so excited to see you again, and my family's excited to meet their favourite Power Ranger."

"Uh…yeah. I just gotta…we just gotta go debrief first, you know, post battle debrief and all. But I'll be there for 7pm?"

"Sounds perfect! Now, go be a hero!" she gushed, earning a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. Turning to his friends, Zack grabbed them by the arm and pulled them away from their adoring fans.

"Zack, what are you doing?" Jason asked.

"Guys, we need to go to the Command Centre." He said in a rush, getting seriously freaked out by that was going on. "Now!" He added when they didn't move a muscle.

"Alright, alright!" they grumbled, smiling back at their fans before hitting their teleportation buttons.

"What's going on? How come people know our identities?" he asked the minute they were in the privacy of their…Command Centre?

"Why are we in Billy's garage?" he backtracked, looking around.

"What?" Tommy laughed as he joined the others in looking at him like he had two heads.

"Why are we in Billy's garage? How come people know our identities?" he asked again.

"We're in Billy's garage cause it's our command centre. And they've always known our identities." Jason answered.

"What about Zordon, and Alpha?" Again the others looked at him weirdly.

"We haven't seen them since they gave us our powers. What's the sudden interest in them?" Asked Trini.

"Why…?" Zack knew he must look entirely crazy to his friends, but he really needed to know what was going on. "Humour me." Deciding to just go along with it, Billy did just that.

"We haven't seen him in awhile, since we decided to reveal our identities."

"And we didn't lose the protection of The Power like he said we would?"

"He needed us to save Earth, he didn't really have much choice except to agree."

"That doesn't make it right."
"You were the one who wanted to. The one who convinced us it would be ok." Said Jason.

"Are you ok, Zack?" Kim asked. "You're acting really weird." Zack smiled, feeling it was just better to go along with it.

"Yeah, yeah I'm cool. I think that monster just got to me a bit. But everything's cool! Now, I've got a date with Angela, so I'll see you all tomorrow!" With one final smile, Zack teleported out back home to his room. Only the room he landed in he could have sworn belonged to his parents, if all his stuff wasn't in it.

"Mom, Dad!" he called, running down the stairs.

"In the kitchen, Zack!" his mother called back.

"Mom, why is my stuff-"

"Oh, honey. We're so proud of you!" His mother rushed to his side, pulling him into a hug. "Saving us like that, was just so brave!" Michael stood beside his wife, smiling his agreement.

"Yeah…uh…why's my stuff in your room?"

"What are you talking about son?" Michael asked.

"My stuff…it's in the master bedroom."

"Well of course it is, sweetie." Tianna said. "Our son the Power Ranger needs more space then that closet you lived in before." Completely starting to freak out, Zack nodded and ran back upstairs.

"Ok…so obviously this is an alternate dimension." He reasoned as he began pacing in his new room. "The Zeo Shard is supposed to challenge me on something…but what? What does having known identities test me on?" Zack tried to work that out for the rest of the evening as he got dressed up and headed to Angela's house, making small talk with her adoring family. The pattern continued for two more days. Everywhere he went, everyone fawned over him, people gave him things, teachers gave him answers to tests or told him not to worry about an assignment, there was at least double the people there usually was attending his dance classes at the Youth Centre, Angela clung to him and followed him around like a lost puppy, and his friends basked in the attention the people of Angel Grove gave them. But what was worst of all, the other Rangers seemed to be more concerned with their image then anything else. They'd delay attending a battle until the press had showed up, everything they did for the city was done publicly, and they reaped in the rewards that were showered upon them. Two days after he arrived in this alternate dimension, Zack found a rare moment to himself and went to the park, hiding by the lake, behind some bushes so as not to be disturbed.

"This is completely out of wack." He muttered. "This isn't how it's supposed to be. This isn't how it really is."

"How do you know?" said a voice. Zack jumped up and turned to towards the voice, coming face to face with Adam Park.

"Adam? What are you doing here?"

"This is a parallel universe made up of a combination of the Shard's power and your own imagination. You tell me why I'm here." He replied, taking a seat.

"Wait…my imagination? I'm creating this world?" Zack asked, retaking his own seat.

"Partially at any rate. On more than one occasion you've wanted to reveal your identity, for no other reason than to get the girl, and for other reasons of personal gain."

"So I've had those thoughts occasionally. I'm human. And what, this is an imaginary world of what would happen had we revealed our identities? There's a lot that's off here. Firstly my friends, they'd never put people in danger just to get a close-up. And our parents, they know our identities in the real world, have for months, and my parents would sooner force me to have mind-altering surgery before they'd give me their bedroom."

"You don't know that. This supposedly happened all before Power Rangers Day. That was a couple years ago, and people change."

"Not that much."

"You don't know that." Adam said again.

"Yeah I do." Zack insisted, turning to look Adam in the eyes. "I know my friends."

"Do you know yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"You wouldn't be in this particular world if there wasn't a part of you that didn't want your identity revealed to the world, if you didn't want the rewards that would follow. Like Angela." Zack sighed but didn't hesitate in his answer.

"Like I said, I'm human. There's always going to be something we want that we can't have. And something we think we want which we probably don't. If Angela only wants me because I'm a Ranger then I don't want her. I want someone who will love me for me, not cause I'm a Power Ranger. And I'd never betray Zordon like that and use The Power for personal gain. Even if I didn't think it was wrong, which I do, my love and respect for Zordon would stop me." Adam smiled and stood up, holding his hands out in front of him, palm up.

"Good." Zack jumped up and stared as a wave a green energy cackled around Adam's hands and a long, skinny crystal appeared.

"The Zeo Shard." Zack said.

"It's yours." Adam handed the Shard over and stepped back. The moment Zack's hands closed around the Shard, the parallel dimension began to fade and Zack found himself sucked back into teleportation, a beam of black light taking him home.

-T/K-

Jason was unsure what to think when his teleportation beam disappeared to reveal he was in some apartment. He was obviously in the bedroom, as evident by the double bed squished against the wall, though who's bedroom he had no idea. Cautiously, Jason opened the door and looked down the hall. There were two doors, one leading to what was apparently a little girl's room, and the other was to the bathroom. He made his way down the hall, stopping when he heard a sound coming the other end of the hall.

"Hello?" He called out, keeping one hand on his Morpher in case this was a trap, which, in all truthfulness, he was expecting. However, instead of the arrival of a monster, the sound of a thump greeted him followed by little feet running. He had twenty seconds until the source of those feet crashed into him.

"Daddy!" After all the times Kira had greeted him this way, though without the cry of daddy, Jason instinctively reached down and lifted the little girl up. She appeared to be about five years old, had long light brown hair, and a pair of chocolate eyes that were very familiar to him.

"Kira…?" he breathed absolutely confused as to what she was doing here and why she was calling him daddy; though he had no doubt as to the child's identity.

"Oh, good, you're home." Came his mother's voice as she exited the kitchen. "She's all yours. Bye sweetie."

"Bye Grandma!" Kira called before turning back to Jason.

"Daddy, when's Mommy getting home?" Jason stared at Kira, his confusion only ever rising.

"I don't know when Mommy's coming home." He answered finally. The little girl shrugged before turning her sights on her next target.

"Can we go to the park?" His brain beginning to function, Jason made a counter offer.

"Why don't we go see Zordon and Alpha?" He desperately needed answers and there would be no one better to give them to him than those two. His plans, however, were stopped in their tracks by a slight cock of Kira's head.

"Who's Zordon and Alpha?" she asked. Jason's eyes widened, unable to believe what he was hearing. Thankfully, he was saved by the door opening and a familiar dark haired woman walking in.

"Mommy!" Kira cried, jumping out of Jason's arms and into Trini's.

"Hey you!" Trini said enthusiastically.

"Mommy, who's Zordon and Alpha?" Kira asked innocently. Trini's eyes widened, not so much out of surprise, but rather complete and utter shock and horror.

"W-what?" Trini managed to get out.

"Daddy asked me if I wanted to go see them, but I don't know who they are." Trini's eyes shot to Jason and he got the distinct impression he had said something he wasn't supposed to.

"They're no one, sweetie." Trini said when Jason kept his mouth shut. "Why don't you go watch TV? Your dad and I will be in in a minute."

"Ok!" Kira cried happily as she ran off. When the TV began blaring, Trini turned to Jason, fury in her eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" She demanded. "How could you bring them up? We've spent five years protecting her from all this and-"

"Woah, woah, hold on. Protecting her from what? And why is she calling us mom and dad? Where are Tommy and Kim?" Trini stared at him, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"What are you talking about? You know what happened, you were there."

"Pretend for a minute that I wasn't.." he said, his desperation growing. "Explain it to me. Please!" he begged when she still looked at him like he was crazy.

"They're dead, Jason." She said, a calm sorrow washing over her, while Jason felt his world fall apart. "They died in the last battle with Rita and Zedd shortly after Kira was born. They were too powerful for us. You saved me at the last minute, but the others lost their lives. With only two of us we didn't stand a chance so Zordon sacrificed himself to save us all." Her words did not bring any kind of calm or relief, instead it was as if she'd stabbed him in the heart and was twisting the knife.

"H-how." He croaked. "How did Rita and Zedd get the drop on us."

"It was a bunch of different things." She answered. "You made a few decisions as leader that didn't work out and from there, things just spiralled out of control."

"And Kira?"

"She's our goddaughter. We took her in, split the time between my place and yours, then after graduation we moved in here. She was not even two months old when Tommy and Kimberly died. We're the only parents she'll ever know."

"And we're protecting her from this? She has no idea?"

"She's five, Jase, of course she has no idea. And we'll always protect her. There are other Rangers now, but the evil forces are still after her. We don't know why, but they are." Jason nodded, knowing exactly what she was getting at, though she had no idea. Obviously Rita and Zedd had destroyed them before Ooze was released, if Ooze never was released, they would have never become Ninjetti, never found out about the prophecy. He wondered how the evil forces found out of it, but there was no other explanation for them going after the daughter of two former Rangers who were dead.

"Do you really not remember any of this?" she asked. Jason sighed, but got a really strong feeling that he shouldn't confirm anything.

"It's coming back to me. It's just, I had a really vivid dream last night and…got a bit disoriented." He didn't give her a chance to say anything else and instead headed into the living room to join Kira. The following day, Jason took Kira to the park as he'd promised. He was glad that she was old enough to run around the playground by herself with him sitting on a nearby bench, watching over her. As his 'daughter' played, Jason wondered exactly what had happened to make the world end up like this.

'Trini said it started with a few decisions I made as leader.' He thought. His fear of screwing up as leader was always present, but right now it reared its ugly head, demanding to be heard. 'But what decisions? How did I screw up? Not that it would be hard…'

"Harder than you think." Said a voice from beside him. Jason turned to face the newcomer and froze at who he saw.

"Rocky?" he asked.

"Yep."

"What are you doing here? And, did you just read my mind?"

"Yep."

"That still doesn't explain what you're going here."

"We're inside your head, Jason." Throughout the entire conversation, Rocky had been staring at the playground, never looking at the man beside him. Jason followed Rocky's gaze, turning also to check on Kira, only to find them all frozen.

"What the hell?!" Jason cried jumping up.

"Relax, nothing will happen to them. Like I said, this is all inside you're head. We're living your worst fears, the biggest challenge you must overcome to move forward from here."

"You mean this is the challenge for the Zeo Shard?" he asked, realization dawning on him. Rocky nodded.

"So what do I have to do?" Jason asked, sitting back down. "What do I have to do to get the Shard?"

"Prove you are worthy. Prove to The Power that you will not use the Zeo Crystal for evil."

"When have I ever used my powers for evil?" Jason countered.

"In your head."

"So what, this is one of those 'what if' scenarios? Where anything can happen and it'll never end cause there's always more 'what ifs?' "

"Oh there's an end, Jason. You just have to find it."

"What do you want me to say?!" He demanded, starting to get really frustrated. "That yes I worry all the time if my choices as leader will kill my friends, my family, or the world? That yes, sometimes I wonder if I could just use The Power to end this, to destroy Rita and Zedd for good, even if that means taking the battle to them, going against Zordon's rules about not escalating unless we have to? That I wonder, if this was actually my life, if I had lost my friends, lost my sister and was raising her child that I wouldn't want to change things or maybe even get revenge? If we're really in my head then you know I've thought of all those things." Jason paused wondering if Rocky would say anything. When he didn't, Jason took a deep breath and continued. "But you'll also know I'd never actually act on any of them. Yes, I question my choices as leader, wonder if I'm a good leader, and wonder what I'd do if my leadership ever cause irreparable damage. But I trust in my friends. By a weird twist of fate I ended up being the one in Red, the leader. But we're a team. This isn't a dictatorship where they follow my lead or else. They give input constantly, they tell me when I'm completely crazy and that my plan won't work, and they are very blunt about it. I'm the leader, they look to me for strength and guidance, not for me to order them around. And I can't tell you what I'd do if things turned sour because I don't know. That's a 'what if' scenario I hope never happens. And I don't know what else you want me to say." Jason went silent, really having nothing else to say, and so he waited. Eventually, he felt a hand clasp him on the shoulder and turned to face Rocky.

"You've said it all. You needed to realize that being leader does not mean you have all the answers or that you will never screw up. And that's why you have teammates, and great friends. With recent events, Kim almost losing her life, Tommy going Green again, finally admitting your love for Trini…you began to truly question yourself in a way you do when major events like this happen. But this time, to be able to move forward, you had to work it out, come to peace with the fact that Earth may fall while under your leadership."

"But not without a fight." Jason added, seeing what he was getting at. "We fight, we do our best, and we've known from the beginning it may still not be enough. But I've never really come to peace with that fact." With a small smile, Rocky stood up and held his hands out. A beam of blue energy surged around him and disappeared to reveal a piece of crystal.

"I believe this is what you came for." Jason, too, stood and took the crystal from him, smiling slightly himself.

"Thank you." He said, receiving a mere nod in return, though it spoke volumes, and was the last thing he saw before a beam of red light engulfed him, taking him home.

-T/K-

Trini's yellow beam dissipated to reveal the Youth Centre, with absolutely nothing different or out of the ordinary. She was surrounded by her friends, Kat included, who were all sitting at their favourite table, with everyone laughing and having a good time. They were discussing the upcoming summer, and the beginning of senior year that followed. The only one missing was Jason who arrived a few minutes later with Kira.

"I think someone missed her godmother." He said. Trini smiled brightly and began to raise her arms to receive the little girl but stopped short hearing her call out for someone else.

"Kat!" Kira cried, reaching out for the other woman. Trini's face fell, now something was wrong.

"Hello, Kira. And how are you today?" The blonde smiled as the little girl happily settled into her arms, a sentiment that was not reciprocated by the dark haired woman across the table.

"Trini are you ok?" Kim asked, seeing her friend's crestfallen expression.

"Y-yeah…of course." Trini breathed, Kim smiled and turned her attention back to Kira.

"Hey, uh, Kim?" Trini asked a couple minutes later. "Didn't you ask me to be Kira's godmother?" She tried to sound casual, as if it was just any other question, even though inside she was freaking out.

"Of course. But you didn't want to." Kim said, not at all seeing anything bigger in her question.

"So you asked Kat? Haven't we only known her for a couple months."

"You were my only female friend until Kat came along. And what do you mean a couple months? Kat came to Angel Grove just after Zedd did over a year ago. Are you sure you're ok, Trini?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." With one last hesitant look, Kim once again turned to her daughter. Trini sat back in her chair and took in a deep breath, her thoughts spiralling out of control. Kat arrived just after Zedd? And most importantly, she said no to being Kira's godmother? How was that possible? Of course it wasn't possible, she knew she was Kira's godmother and that Kat had only arrived in Angel Grove a couple months ago. The only explanation was that this was where her quest for the Zeo Shard had taken her, though time and space and into an alternate dimension. But to what end? This was supposed to be a challenge to determine if she was worthy of the Zeo Shard, how was Kat arriving earlier and being Kira's godmother supposed to test her worthiness? That would be the question and what she'd have to figure out before she could claim the Shard and go back to her own dimension. Things became clearer over the next few days. It was like the others expected her to never be able to make a decision, or have any responsibilities. She was still a Ranger, but the bare minimum. She never went into battle alone, always had someone close by, was never turned to for plans or advice but rather pushed to the background. The thing that struck Trini was that it didn't seem like they were doing this on purpose. It wasn't like she did something to make them not trust her. It was more like this was just the way things were and had always been. It bugged her, she had to admit, and it was what she kept thinking on as time wore on. After four days, Trini grew frustrated and decided it had been far too long looking for an answer, so she went out to the park on her own, determined that by the end of a day she'd have her answer and she'd have the Zeo Shard.

"The change must have come from me." She decided as she walked through the grass to stay away from prying eyes and ears. "They're not doing something deliberate. It's like, I'm different, and they've adapted to this new me. But what? I haven't done anything as far as I can tell…"

"Well maybe that's it." A voice said from her left as a woman, about Kim's height, came up beside her.

"Aisha?" Trini asked, stopping in her tracks.

"Hey girl."

"What are you doing here? How do you know what I'm thinking."

"Well besides the fact that you were talking out loud…this dimension was made from your thoughts and fears. You'd have to tell me why I'm here."

"So are you like, a guide or something? Just taking on Aisha's form?"

"I guess. Like I said, it's your world, I'm just in it."

"But why would I create a world where I'm…dismissed? Where it's like I don't know what I'm doing?"

"A world where you haven't done anything. And not just anything bad, but nothing good either."

"Hey, I'm still a Ranger!"

"Ok, so not 'nothing good,' more like nothing good within your circle of friends. No going the extra mile."

"But why?"

"Girl, I can't give you all the answers, or really any answers. This is your world, in your mind, you have the answers."

"Then why are you here?" Trini demanded.

"To give you someone to argue with, bounce ideas off of." Trini sighed in frustration and ran her hands through her hair. Looking around, she saw a nearby tree and headed over, sitting under it and waiting until Aisha sat beside her.

"So not doing anything. My inactivity is what caused this universe. But why?"

"That's something you gotta work through." Aisha answered. "The only thing I can say is the stereotypical and cheesy 'look deep inside your heart and you'll find the answer.' " Trini sighed again, but knew Aisha was right. And maybe it wasn't as cheesy as she thought. When they had gained their Animal Spirits, Dulcea had told them to look deep inside and find the power. This was the same thing, only she was looking for answers. As she replayed the last four days, as well as the last few years, one thing stuck out: her desire to do something in desperate situations, and her feelings of inadequacy when she couldn't.

"I couldn't help them." Said whispered as tears came to her eyes, every desperate situation they had gotten into playing through her mind. Most predominantly Kim's capture and time on the Moon, and Kira's fate. "Kim suffered and I did nothing, Kira…she's just a baby and her future's laid out for her and it may not be a good one."

"And you think it's your fault?"

"I don't know, I just…my best friend suffered, my goddaughter might suffer, they've all gone through things and I couldn't help them."

"Could you have helped them?"

"I don't know. I wanted to, I wanted to help them so badly. When I couldn't, I felt…useless. What good am I, what kind of Power Ranger am I if I can't protect my family?"

"Well Earth hasn't fallen yet, I'd say you've protected them pretty damn well."

"So what is this universe?" Trini asked, changing the subject. "A 'nothing ventured nothing gained' one? All my insecurities and worries multiplied to the point where I'll do what I have to, put beyond that I live by the rule that if I don't put myself out there I can't get hurt?" Aisha said nothing and allowed Trini to work this out on her own. "But that's not me. I try my best, no matter what, and I do everything I can to protect my friends and family. Just sometimes it's not enough, and sometimes there's nothing I can do."

"You went with the others to save Kim, you didn't just sit by and wait for her to rescue herself when you knew she was in danger."

"Yeah. And Tommy was determined to have her, he made it so we couldn't take her away again. There was nothing else we could have done."

"But did you stop looking?" Trini shook her head.

"No, of course not. We came up with a million plans and were sorting through them to find one that would work when we got the call that she was back and Tommy was free."

"So what does that tell us?" Aisha asked in a condescending tone, a smirk playing on her face. Trini laughed but answered her none the less.

"That I'm not a wallflower and will never be one."

"And…"

"And that I may not be able to protect my family all the time, but I'll try. Even in impossible situations, I don't give up."

"Now was that so hard girl?" Aisha quipped as she held her hands out, summoning a long crystal in a flash of yellow.

"The Zeo Shard…" Trini whispered, taking the proffered crystal into her hands. "That's it? That was my challenge?"

"Not every challenge is fighting monsters of epic proportions, nor do they always seem difficult. But it's those challenges that are often the hardest. Admitting to yourself your fears and shortcomings, and yes, even admitting your strengths. Sometimes that one can be even harder."

"Thanks, Aisha." Trini said, standing up and preparing to leave.

"You're welcome. Now go, girl!" With a smile, Trini felt the familiar pull of teleportation and eagerly gave into it, ready to go home.

-T/K-

Jason and Zack were waiting with Billy in the Command Centre when she arrived and she quickly found herself enveloped in her boyfriend's embrace.

"Thank god you're alright." He murmured into her hair.

"You too." She said back, holding him just as tightly. When they let go of each other, Billy and Zack greeted her, and she couldn't be happier to be home. Her friends were still her friends in the other dimension, but it wasn't the same.

"Did you get it?" Billy asked, though he already knew the answer. Trini simply smiled and held up the Shard. It glowed yellow for a moment, and Trini's eyes were drawn to the other two Shards, which glowed a green and blue respectively, as if welcoming another piece to their whole. Trini placed her Shard next to the others before turning back to Jason, Zack, and Billy.

"Tommy and Kim aren't back yet?"

"No. But hopefully it won't be long." Billy said. Jason, Zack, and Trini shared a look.

"Was your test some kind of alternate universe, self-reflection thing?" Trini asked. They both nodded and she sighed in worry and frustration. "Those two have gone through so much, I'm a bit scared what they'll have to go through. I can't even imagine what must be going through their heads."

"Don't worry." Jason said as he wrapped an arm around her. "They're Tommy and Kim. They always pull through." Trini nodded, knowing he was right. Any other musings were cut off by the sound of her goddaughter crying. A smile formed on her face, though she tried to school it, as a baby crying shouldn't really be cause for a smile, as she walked over to the playpen and picked the little girl up.

"I don't know what your alternate universes were like, but I certainly missed this." Even with a crying baby on her hands, it was definitely good to be home. She just hoped the other two made it back safely as well.

A/N - Part 1 of 2. Well 3 if you count 'A Zeo Beginning.' I tried not to make this whole self-reflection, learn a lesson thing too cheesy, but it's not entirely avoidable, and of course their challenge had to be something along these lines and not just a battle to defeat a monster. That would be too easy and a lot less fun to write. Kim and Tommy's challenge is next!

Review please!