Chapter 35

Secret Revealed

Aka

About Face

Aisha stretched her arms over her head—they were still incredibly sore from the fight with Sagittaria—before turning to the little puppy that sat quietly on the examining table in front of her. Moving forward, she ran her fingers over its cheeks and eras, murmuring loving words to it. The puppy gently stuck out its tongue and started to lick her hand.

"Aww." Aisha laughed and continued to scratch the dog before she moved out of the way so the vet could do its routine checkup. "How's it looking? I really want this dog to get adopted today! He really deserves it." She looked up at Dr. Newhouse, waiting for her response.

Dr. Newhouse made a 'tsk' sound and lowered the stethoscope from her ears before reaching out to pet the puppy as well. She then looked over at Aisha and gave the yellow ranger a sly smile. "You're only saying that because you want to take this dog yourself."

"If I'm allowed," Aisha admitted. She reached out and continued to run her hands over the puppy. She couldn't help the smile that wormed its way over her face. "I don't like to leave animals in places like this. They all deserve a nice home. And if I can do that…then I want to be able to do the best for them."

Her smile widening, Dr. Newhouse reached over to the counter beside her and picked up a leash. "That's what the animal shelter in Stone Canyon said," she said. The yellow ranger looked at her in confusion. "I called to ask for a reference when you applied to work here in the first place," She admitted. Turning back, the doctor handed the leash over to Aisha. "Why don't you take him out for a walk in the park? He could use the exercise and I know you're dying to spend as much time as you can with this puppy before he's taken to a good home."

"Yeah, hopefully mine," Aisha agreed. She thought about it for a moment before taking the leash and attaching it to the collar. "I'd love to take it for a walk! My friends are at the park anyway; maybe I can get one of them to adopt the dog if I can't have it." She reached out and gently lifted the puppy off the bench and placed him on the floor. "I'll have him back soon. See you later!" With a wave, she led the puppy out the door and headed towards the park.

Tilting her head back, the yellow ranger sucked in a deep breath and watched the colorful sky of Angel Grove as the clouds slid by the yellow disc in the sky. She hadn't moved that far away from her home in Stone Canyon and yet things were strangely different. Not only had she become one of the heroes of the city, she had been pleasantly surprised by the lengths the people of Angel Grove were grateful to them. In fact, while she had been in Stone Canyon, she, Rocky, and Adam talked about what the power rangers were doing and why it was Angel Grove that was constantly being attacked.

Of course that then sent Rocky into some sort of a paranoid tailspin and he started to research even more into the power rangers and the patterns of the monsters that were set in. Aisha and Adam had only laughed when he started to talk about them more and more because of it. They knew that Rocky was worried about taking care of his brothers and sisters but was too proud to really admit it.

With a sigh of content, Aisha moved the leash to her other hand and gently tugged at it to move the puppy along as it had stopped to smell a bunch of flowers. It moved away and trotted along beside her, looking more animated then than it had before. Kind of like her and her two best friends. Having to make the decision, as well as to convince their parents to move to the "monster capital of the world" as Adam called it, had been hard and even she had been skeptical about it. But as long as the trio was together she knew she would be OK.

And now she had Tommy, Kimberly, Billy, Avalon, and Bailey as friends to show them the ropes as well as to be good friends to them. She knew they had been hesitant when they first came around, having replaced their friends and while there were still tensions here and there, mostly in battles, they were at least getting better.

Reaching the park, Aisha led the dog over to her friends where she could see that they were playing a game of football. She laughed, watching as Bailey caught the ball that Billy had thrown to her and was starting to run around Adam. Tommy, who appeared to be on her team as well, ran up behind her, picked her up, and ran her into the end zone and placed her down. The two cheered and Bailey spiked the ball into the ground before they started to do a funny dance, causing the rangers and Fred to burst out laughing.

"That's not fair!" Kimberly protested, although she was laughing as well. "That shouldn't count as a touchdown!" Her arm, which had been badly sprained in the fall from the Thunder Megazord, was bandaged, though she didn't appear harmed otherwise.

"Ah, you're just being a sore loser that I got that sneak attack on you," Fred said with a wave of a hand. "Just when you were about to get that touchdown too." He laughed when the pink ranger stuck her nose in the air and turned away from him.

"Don't worry about it, Kim." Rocky reached out and gently knocked her on the shoulder. "You, Adam, and I are still ahead. We can beat them." He turned and noticed Aisha walking towards them and then grinned and waved towards her. "'Sha! Come play with us! We're losing badly!"

"Like that's a shock!" Tommy shot back. He flexed his muscles. "You're looking at the quarter back of the football team." He then motioned over to Billy who had jogged over as Aisha neared the group. "And the best running back you've ever seen."

"Please don't try to talk me up, man," Billy said with a half smile. "Next thing I know I'm going to be proving that on the field and I'll get run over by a mack truck." He laughed along with his friends before turning to Aisha and stooping down to pet the Labrador puppy that had reared up on its hind legs and started to lick his shin. "Who's this little guy?"

"Puppy!" Bailey squealed, dropping to her knees and starting to pet it as well. She ran her hands over his back, giggling as it turned its head and licked her palms, tail wagging harder than ever.

"Aww, it's so cute!" Kimberly squatted down and started to pet it as well. She flipped her hair up over her shoulder and smiled up at the yellow ranger. "Where'd you get him, Aisha? Is he yours?"

Aisha rolled her eyes. "I wish," she admitted. "No, I was working at the animal shelter and this little guy is looking for a home. I'm taking him for a walk before bringing him back for his bath to be sure it'll get adopted by a good family."

"Anyone would be lucky to have this little fella," Tommy agreed.

Rocky let out a slight groaning sound and tilted his head back as he started to laugh, running his hands over his face. He turned his bright smile over to the yellow ranger once more. "I can already see where this is going," he said.

With attitude, the yellow ranger crossed her arms over her chest. "And where, Rockwell is this going?"

"You and animals are joint at the hip, Aisha," Rocky pointed out. "Even when we were kids you were always crying to me or Adam about some kitten or puppy or turtle or frog you've found that your parents wouldn't let you keep." He reached out and gently nudged Adam's arm. "Remember how your mother freaked out because she found that snake that Aisha made you hide in your room for her?"

Adam laughed and nodded. "I remember," he agreed. "My Mom thought it got in through some crack in the wall or something and we weren't allowed to have the front door or back door open for more than a few seconds before she started to hyperventilate."

"How was I supposed to know she was deathly terrified of snakes?" Aisha defended herself. "I said I was sorry."

"And yet she still freaks herself out, thinking she sees something moving when nothing's there," Adam reminded her. The group started laughing one more and he shook Aisha's shoulder as she rolled her eyes once more. "I know you're going to find a great home for him, Aisha. If not your own home."

"Thanks guys." Aisha beamed and bent down, starting to pet the puppy as well. She started to speak as well, but a loud, sing-song voice sounded behind them.

"Hey, you guyyyyys!"

The rangers and Fred turned to see Avalon practically skipping over to them as she headed their way. The orange flannel shirt that was tied around her waist fluttered behind them as she ran over. Aisha stood up and watched as Avalon came to a stop beside them, eyes bright and wide with excitement. Neither Aisha, nor the other rangers had seen her that happy. Even Bailey hadn't seen the smile on her sister's face in years and was pleasantly surprised to see her sister so happy.

"Hey Av, what's going on?" Kimberly asked her.

"Yeah, you look like your face is about to split wide open," Tommy agreed. He placed his hands on his hips as he looked down at the shortest ranger, not including her sister. "What's got you so happy?"

"I got a job!" Avalon exclaimed. "Finally." She practically bounced on her toes as she pulled her long, thick hair behind her shoulders. "I'm working at the bookstore a couple of blocks away from Ernie's. I just finished my interview and they gave me a job right on the spot."

"You?" Bailey looked skeptical. "Selling books? You know you have to actually be nice to people right?" Avalon reached out and wrapped her arms around her sister's neck, pulling her into her body and rocking her back and forth. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I'm happy for you, Av." She brought up her arms and gave her sister a hug.

"Congratulations," Billy added. "You've been looking for a job for a while."

"I know," Avalon agreed. "I was actually starting to give up hope." She scratched the back of her neck. "Now I have time to make sure I don't get caught up in things again."

"What things?" Adam asked her.

Avalon fell silent and shrugged. Tommy, Kimberly, Billy, Bailey, and Fred stayed silent as well. Aisha exchanged a glance with Rocky and Adam. Once again, they were being left out of something and they didn't have any idea what. What was it going to take for them to b brought into the loop? To be completely trusted so that they could fight alongside the rangers and to have each other's backs.

Will they ever really trust us? Aisha thought.

Kimberly broke the silence by clasping her hands together and glancing around at the group. "Why don't we go to the Youth Center and have smoothies to celebrate Av's job? My treat."

"You shouldn't have said that," Avalon and Bailey harmonized, giving similar smiles.

"Why?"

"Because these two eat like crazy," Billy commented, pointing over to the orange and purple rangers. "Mom and Dad are constantly going to the store because there's something we're always running out of."

"Is it our fault that we're healthy and growing?" Bailey shot back.

"Hey, if it's food and I'm not paying, I'm in," Rocky agreed.

"I'll meet you guys there," Aisha said. She gently tugged o the leash and pulled the puppy back from Billy's leg as it continued to lick him. "I have to finish taking this guy for a walk and take him back to the shelter." She waved to the rangers and walked the dog off in the opposite direction as her friends gathered their things and headed off towards the Youth Center.

Aisha and the puppy did a quick lap around the park and had started to do a second one when the puppy pulled on the leash and started to bark loudly. Frowning, Aisha pulled back on the leash, but the puppy continued to pull harder and harder until the yellow ranger lost her grip and the puppy started to race towards a lone girl that sat on a blanket in the middle of the park. Aisha ran after the puppy as fast as she could, watching as the puppy jumped into the girls' lap, causing her to let out a startled shriek.

"No! Down! Bad dog!" Aisha skidded to a stop beside the girl and reached out, immediately taking the puppy from her. "I'm so sorry. He got away from me, I didn't realize—"she paused and looked at the girl, immediately recognizing her. "Oh! Sabrina! Hey!"

"Hi." Sabrina smiled shyly before standing up and brushing off the seat of her pants. "Is this your dog?"

"Not really," Aisha said. She juggled the puppy in her arms as he continued to glare at the Asian teenage girl. "I'm just taking him for a walk." She jumped, startled, as the puppy started to growl. "I'm sorry; I don't know what's gotten into him. He's usually kind of quiet."

"That's alright," Sabrina replied. "He's really cute. You said he's from the animal shelter?" She raised her eyes from the puppy to Aisha. Aisha returned her gaze then did a double take.

Had she seen a red flash in the girl's eyes?

I've seen that before, Aisha thought. The same day they had introduced themselves to the class, Aisha had seen that same sort of red flash in the girl's eyes. Not only was it not normal, but she couldn't shake that feeling that there was something seriously wrong. And her gut was never wrong.

"Yeah," Aisha said slowly. "He's been there for a while; we're trying to find him a good home."A slight smile tugged at Sabrina's lips and she reached her hand out to pet the puppy. The puppy barked loudly and started to bare its teeth, causing Sabrina to quickly pull her hand away, her eyes a bit sad. "I'm sorry. Like I said…he's normally so well behaved." Sabrina merely smiled and crossed her arms. Aisha continued to bounce the puppy like it was a newborn before addressing Sabrina once more. "So…when those monsters attack the school…what happened? You got away so quickly."

Sabrina hesitated for a minute. "I got out of there as quickly as I could," she said, her voice quieting. "I'm sorry…I didn't know what to do to help."

"But you practice martial arts!"

"I got scared."

There was something about Sabrina's voice when she had admitted that she was scared that resonated with Aisha. It was pure fear. Anyone that would see monsters like Goldar and Scorpina in real life would be downright terrified, but this was different. She didn't know how, but Aisha knew there was something else going on. Her fear had to be warranted by something else other than having seen the monsters in person for the first time. No one could move to Angel Grove without being given some sort of instructions or warning about what to do when there was a monster attack. It was bound to happen.

All of a sudden the barking of the dog was directed behind Aisha and she turned as putties suddenly surrounded her and Sabrina. The two girls gasped loudly and instinctively moved closer together as the circle of putties moved closer to them. Glancing over at the other teenage girl, Aisha tightened her grip on the puppy and lashed out a foot, smacking the putty right in the center of the chest. It immediately crumbled apart in front of them.

"Aim for the 'Z'," she explained to Sabrina. "It's the only way they'll go away!"

Sabrina nodded and fell into a fighting stance; much like the one Adam had seen when he first met her. She immediately sprang into action, using a series of high jumps and spins to strike the putties that came near her. Aisha, still holding not onto the puppy, mainly used her elbows and knees to fight the putties that converged upon her. Throughout the fight, the puppy continued to bark loudly and growl nipping at whatever putty came their way.

On the last few putties, Aisha and Sabrina tag-teamed, mimicking each other's movements as they continued to fight. Finally, the last of the putties crumbled and disappeared from their sight. Aisha turned to Sabrina, who pulled her long hair from her face. There was a fresh bruise on her cheekbone, where she had been struck by a putty, otherwise, she looked OK.

"Are you all right?" Aisha asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah," Sabrina replied. "I'm fine." All of a sudden she brought her hands up and grabbed onto her head. With a loud cry, she fell to her knees. "No! No! Not again!" She whimpered, lowering her forehead to the ground. "Stop! Please!" She screamed loudly, bringing her hands tighter on her head.

Aisha set the puppy on the ground and moved over to Sabrina, grabbing onto her shaking shoulders. "Sabrina? What's going on? Are you OK?" She leaned down and tried to see Sabrina's face, but her long, silky hair covered it completely. "Sabrina!"

"Please, don't let her take me again," Sabrina started to say.

"Who? Who's her? Where's she taking you?" Aisha started to shake the teenage girl. "Sabrina! Sabrina, answer me!" The yellow ranger continued to shake the girl until she rolled over onto her side. Aisha blinked blankly then let out a shriek of fear, scrambling backwards. Sabrina's eyes were now glowing red and she had a look of pure evil on her face.

Sabrina continued to look up at Aisha before she slowly started to laugh and as the seconds passed, Aisha could see she was transforming into something. Her jeans and t-shirt slowly melted away as gold armor covered her body. The laughter increased in volume and malice as she pushed herself up onto her knees and continued to stare hard at Aisha. The yellow ranger's eyes widened as Sabrina's face was covered in the same gold plating.

"Sc…Scorpina?" Aisha breathed.

Scorpina continued to laugh as she disappeared in a burst of flames.

Aisha scrambled to her feet; chest heaving as she stared at the spot Sabrina/Scorpina had just been sitting. "No way," she breathed. She reached over and picked up the puppy, hugging her tight in her arms. She teleported to the animal shelter and quickly brought the puppy inside before teleporting to the Youth Center locker room. She peered around the corner to be sure no one had seen her before hurrying out of the locker room and to her friends, who were gathered around a large table.

"Guys," she said as she hurried over to them.

"Hey Aisha," Kimberly greeted her. "Did you find a home for the puppy yet?"

Aisha shook her head. "Not yet. But I need to talk to you guys about something." Her eyes shifted over to Fred and she hesitated. "It has something to do with…Environment Club," she finished lamely. Receiving confused looks, Aisha widened her eyes slightly before giving the rangers a pointed look.

Billy was the first one to catch on to what she was referring to. He cleared his throat. "Well, this sounds really important," he said. "Is everything OK?"

"No." The yellow ranger shook her head, surprised to find she was still trying to catch her breath. "I just found out something really important. You guys all need to know." Her eyes shifted for a moment. "We should probably get back to the school so I can show you."

"Looks like you guys have something important to work on, "Fred said. He got up from his seat and picked up his backpack before turning to Bailey. "I can walk you home," he offered.

"Sounds good." She shrugged into her own backpack before turning to address her friends. "I'll see you guys later," she said, giving them a look a second longer—silently telling them she'll teleport to the Command Center when she got away from Fred—and followed her friend out of the Youth Center. Once they were gone, Adam turned to his best friend with concern.

"What's going on?" He asked her in a low voice.

"Not here. We need to go to the Command Center."

"Let's go!" Tommy took the lead, pushing back his chair and the rangers stood up and headed towards a secluded area of the Youth Center, leaving their drinks not he table. Tommy glanced around for a moment and the rangers teleported to the Command Center, startling Alpha, who had been running diagnostics on the control panels.

"Rangers! Yikes! Don't scare me like that!" He cried.

"Sorry, Alpha, but this is important, "Aisha apologized to him. She turned to Zordon, who had appeared in his encompassing tube. "Zordon, were you able to get anything on the Viewing Globe from the past twenty minutes?"

Zordon looked down at her with his ever present stern expression. "I apologize, Aisha, but we had been offline for most of the day. What is it that's troubling you?"

Aisha ran her hands over her face and turned to face her friends, who were now watching her, exchanging a glance every now and then. "I know this is going to sound crazy," she started out. "But I promise what I'm telling you is the truth." Her eyes moved around her friends before landing on Adam. "But…Sabrina…"

"Is she OK?" Adam asked, anxiety creeping into his tone.

"She's fine considering," Aisha replied. There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone and she took a deep breath before continuing. "…she's Scorpina."

Avalon was the first to react. She laughed loudly, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're kidding, right?" She waved a hand. "I don't think you noticed, but she's a human. Not a gold plated murderous monster."

"I thought the same thing," Aisha protested. "But she's really Scorpina. I saw her transform right in front of me. Before I went back to the animal shelter and before I came to find you guys in the Youth Center." She slapped her hands down against her sides. "I'm telling you the truth, I swear!"

"Her body language suggests that she is telling the truth," Billy pointed out. He brought a hand up to his chin and started to pace back and forth. "There are a few signs that would make sense as to how she would be Scorpina. How else was she able to disappear so quickly when Scorpina arrived at school the first time?"

"Maybe she ran away," Rocky suggested. "If I wasn't a ranger and I had seen those things come around, I would've run away too."

Aisha stared hard at him, crushed. He was one of her best friends, why wouldn't he believe her? And Adam didn't believe her either! Why would she make something like this up? She could hardly get over the intense feeling of betrayal to explain herself.

Tommy and Kimberly exchanged a glance before they looked at Aisha with equal degrees of worry. "I think she's telling the truth," Kimberly agreed. She moved over to Aisha's side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulders. "And if Sabrina is Scorpina…what does that mean for school?"

Aisha quickly jumped in. "It doesn't look like she can control her change," she explained. "When she started, she was begging and screaming, and crying for that side of her not to take her over. I don't think she wants to be Scorpina. Maybe Rita and Zedd have forced her to transform."

"I wouldn't put it past them," Billy commented. "Not only are they doing their best to make sure that we're destroyed, but I wouldn't put it past them to have someone infiltrate the school. Not only would they be able to bring someone close to us and follow our every move, but it's a great way for them to get information on us when we're the most vulnerable."

"She wouldn't do that," Adam protested.

"Under the influence of evil, she might," Avalon said. She rubbed the side of her neck. "Back during the homecoming dance ages ago, Rita and Zedd talked to me about joining their side. I didn't think about it, but the darkness and evil that surrounded them…if anyone gets caught in it, it'll be hard to get out of."

"I've experienced it firsthand," Tommy agreed. "It really is hard to get out of." He put his arm around Kimberly, holding her tightly to his side. His eyes lowered to the floor. "If it weren't for these guys, I wouldn't be here today. In fact, I might still be working for Rita and Zedd."

"So what are we going to do?" Rocky turned to Alpha and Zordon. "Is there anything that we can do to stop the transformation? Something we can do to revert her back to normal?"

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do," Zordon said grimly. "There isn't any candle or thing other than Rita's magic and Zedd's evil that's holding her. The only way to get rid of the spell is to have Rita and Zedd break the spell on her which is a feat that is harder than one could imagine."

"I can help her," Adam said firmly. Other than a few outbursts from having heard the news, he had been quiet. Aisha looked over at her friend. He really did appear to want to help her, she noted. But maybe he was putting too much of his feelings in the way. He barely knew her, had only talked to her a few times, and now he was threatening everything they knew for something they didn't know would work. "I can try to talk to her, to reach Sabrina if she's still inside Scorpina."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Billy contradicted. "Not when we have so little information on the subject as it is." He ran a hand through his hair. "If there was any way that I could get a sample of her hair and could test on it, I'd at least have an idea on the molecular level as to what's going on and how her magic has made it so that he could turn into a monster. Even when Tommy was evil he was still human."

All of a sudden there was a purple beam of light and as Bailey teleported into the Command Center. "What'd I miss?" She asked.

"I found out that Sabrina is Scorpina." Aisha relayed the information as quickly as possible. "Now we're trying to figure out what to do."

Bailey's eyes widened as she processed the information. "Wow, to be honest, I'm surprise it took them this long to do that. I mean, what better way to learn about your enemies than to watch their every move, yeah?"

"I thought they did that from the Lunar Palace," Avalon remarked. "It would make sense as to how they always know what we're doing or when to strike. They must've planned this for a while."

"But we fought Scorpina before Tommy became the white ranger," Kimberly protested. "In fact, she was fighting with him when he was the green ranger. So she's always been a monster." She gasped. "Rita and Zedd must've put her soul into Sabrina or something."

"So what can we do to help?" Adam asked again.

"Maybe something with the Healiodore?" Bailey suggested to Billy. "It's supposed to have great power and from what we've seen with Goldar, it does a lot. If it can dish out that much power when someone who is evil has control over it, maybe we can do something with it?"

Billy snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "You're on to something." He turned and hurried out of the main area of the Command Center, taking a right when the doors opened for him.

As they waited for the blue ranger to return, Aisha went to the red and black rangers, frowning at them. "I can't believe you guys didn't stand up for me," she said to them. "If not at least listen to what I had to say."

Adam turned away from her.

"You have to admit, 'Sha, it sounds a bit crazy," Rocky said to her. "We're not saying we don't believe what you have to say. It's just…weird." He ran a hand over the back of his head and turned to the black ranger. "Adam, we're going to do all we can to help her, don't worry." Adam let out a sigh and looked at Aisha for a long moment. She held his gaze and his face softened for a moment before he nodded at the two of them. "See? Everything's going to be alright."

"I hope so."

Rocky, Adam, and Aisha went over to the rangers as Billy came back, carefully holding onto the Azurite Healiodore in a piece of cloth. It shone a bright blue for a moment before returning to its green color.

"So what are we supposed to do with it?" Avalon asked, studying the gem with interest. "How are we supposed to get the power from it?"

"Goldar seemed to have gotten the power directly from touch," Billy replied.

"But you touched it already and it didn't really do anything," Bailey pointed out to him.

"It's just a theory we won't know what'll happen if we don't' try. Besides, I'm afraid of chipping part of it off to look at it under a microscope and all of the scanners that we have here don't give us any readings over than it holding immense power."

"We should try it," Tommy said after a minute. "We won't figure anything out if we don't at least try. Right?" He brought out his hand, hesitantly holding it over the Azurite Healiodore. The other rangers glanced at each other before doing the same. On Tommy's nod, they all placed their hands on top of the gem. There was a bright white glow and when it faded, the rangers found themselves lying on the ground, the Healiodore gently lying on the floor.

Billy scrambled over to it and picked it up, inspecting it for damage. Certain that the gem hadn't sustained any cracks or fissures, he covered it back up. His eyebrows furrowed together when he noticed it was now glowing all of the colors of the rainbow, like the Power Cube had done before it fell apart.

"What happened?" Rocky rubbed the back of his head. "That was the worst I've ever passed out."

"Rangers are you OK?" Alpha warbled.

"We're fine, Alpha," Bailey reassured her friend. She sat up, looking over at their mentor. "Zordon, what was that?"

"I believe the Healiodore may have taken on some of your powers, rangers," Zordon said. "It is reacting the same way the Power Cube had done before you got your extra abilities. Goldar excessive use of it before it fell into your hands may have made it susceptible to its destruction so it needed your power to rejuvenate itself."

At his words, Kimberly and Avalon both held out their hands, trying to conjure their powers or wind and fire, but nothing happened. No matter how hard they concentrated they couldn't conjure up a flame or tiny wind, their hands didn't even glow.

"That's what happened to me after I picked it up," Billy noted. "Remember when I had tried to use my water powers in the fight with Sagittaria?" Eyebrows twitching, he turned to Avalon. "And I'll bet that you lost your second ranger abilities."

Second ranger? Aisha questioned. What does that mean?

With that, all eyes turned to the orange ranger, who looked startled. She started to run towards the doors to the Command Center, but only moved at a jog. "Great," she sighed. "Now I actually have to work out to still be strong." She scowled. "Why did Jason have to be right?"

"This little piece of rock took part of our powers?" Rocky asked. "Does that mean we're not as strong as we used to be? What if Goldar and Scorpina attack again? What'll happen then?"

"We're going to have to wait until they do to see," Billy admitted. "Right now, we need to keep our guard up around everyone who knows what they could be hiding."

You mean, who knows what you're hiding from us, Aisha thought. Seeing there wasn't anything else they could do, the rangers teleported from the Command Center and headed their separate ways. "Do you guys want to come over and do some homework?" Aisha asked Rocky and Adam. "I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind if you guys stick around for dinner."

"Count me in!" Rocky immediately agreed.

With a smile, Aisha turned towards the black ranger. "What about you, Adam?"

He smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes. "No, I think I'm just going to head home. I'll see you guys later." He turned on his heel and walked off down the sidewalk. Aisha sighed as she watched his retreating back.

"If I knew he was going to be this upset, I wouldn't have said anything," Aisha said.

"Don't worry Aisha, he'll come around," Rocky reassured her.

"I hope so."

Kimberly sighed in content and leaned into Tommy as he gently brushed the strap to her tank top off her shoulder and rested his warm hand on the bare skin. His other hand was in her hair as he gently kissed her.

This was more like it.

There was no better way than spending time with her boyfriend that she felt could erase the frustration and worry. Finally being able to spend some time alone was what she really needed. Especially after the countless hours of gymnastics practices she had been putting in lately. And he was busy with his school work—remembering it anyway—and his own martial arts classes along with their ranger duties that they were spending less and less time together. After the news they had heard that day, of Sabrina and Scorpina and having had their extra abilities taken away, they really deserved a break.

And since her mother was going to be gone for a while, there was no better time for them to be alone. It had been innocent at first; they were just going to be working on their homework together like they had always done. But then Tommy had lifted the bottom of his shirt to be sure that his bandages, which had been wrapped around his ribs since the fight with Sagittaria, were holding in place. The pink ranger had only gotten a glimpse of his tight chest and hard abs, but she found herself staring at him long enough for him to lower his shirt, lift his head, and notice.

"See something you like?" He teased her.

"Definitely," Kimberly had replied. "Being able to see how muscular you are is always fun for me." She threw in a wink and a giggle for added affect and Tommy grinned. Then she was swept up in his arms and they were kissing each other, enjoying each other's company.

Tommy bent his head down and started to kiss Kimberly's neck, trailing light kisses along the skin and gently nipping at it. The tickling sensation made tiny giggles escape Kimberly's lips. She could feel him start to smile against her neck as he continued to kiss her. He kissed down her shoulder, down her arm, and into her palm before squeezing her hand in his, bringing it to be held against his cheek.

Kimberly looked deep into his eyes and he looked back at her. She knew what he was feeling, she felt the same way. They didn't have to say anything. Smiling lovingly at the white ranger, the pink ranger leaned in and gave him a long kiss, gently sliding down onto her back against the pillows on her bed, pulling Tommy on top of her as she went.

They continued to kiss, completely entranced with each other. Kimberly was shaking in anticipation, but she loved Tommy and knew he loved her and she wasn't making a mistake. She grasped the bottom of his shirt in her hand and gently tugged at it.

The distant sound of the door opening caught her attention only moments before she heard her mother's outraged cry of, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Tommy and Kimberly immediately sat up, moving so fast that Tommy was launched off of the bed and crash landed onto the floor. Kimberly adjusted the strap to her tank top and looked at her mother, eyes wide. "Mom! We were just…I mean…we were…"

"We were just studying, Mrs. Hart," Tommy said, popping up to his knees. He shuffled over to his books and started to gather them together. "I'm sorry."

"Tommy, you don't have to go," Kimberly protested.

"Yes, Kimberly, I believe he does." The icy tone of Kimberly's mother wasn't lost on the rangers. Tommy moved faster to get his things. He zipped up his backpack and checked to be sure he had everything before turning to Kimberly. He hesitated before giving her a small wave and ducked his head, scurrying by the pink ranger's mother before hurrying out of the room.

Kimberly watched him leave, her heat hammering against her chest. How could her mother embarrass her like that? She said as much. "Mom, you totally embarrassed me!"

"What's embarrassing is coming home and finding my daughter in bed with her boyfriend when I'm not here," Mrs. Hart replied. She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at her daughter. "What would've happened if I didn't come home right now? Would I be a grandmother in nine months?" Kimberly's mouth dropped open.

"You don't understand!"

"You don't understand, Kimmie. It's easy to get caught up in the moment and emotions like that, but you're not ready for this sort of thing."

Kimberly continued to gape at her mother. She could feel her cheeks flush. How could her mother do this? How could she keep treating her like a child and then embarrass her like that? She truly didn't understand. She was in love with Tommy and if they had decided to take that step, there wasn't anything her mother could do about it. "Mom, I love him," she protested.

Mrs. Hart chuckled. "Sweetie, you're not old enough to know what love is."

"Yes, I do! Mom, I love Tommy. I love being around him, I love being there for him, I love how he's there for me! I don't know what I'd do without him." She grabbed her cushions in her hands, gently tugging at them. "Don't you understand? Haven't you been in love before? You're dating now, don't you want to fall in love with someone."

"We're not talking about my dating habits right now, Kim, we're talking about yours." Mrs. Hart rubbed her forehead then gave her daughter a long look. "I'm sorry, but I think you and Tommy need to have a break from each other. To have some time to yourselves. You're getting too serious, too fast. And I don't like it."

Kimberly's eyes widened in horror. No. "You can't do that!"

"Yes, I can. You need to focus on something other than your boyfriend. All you ever do now is go out with him and you're always coming back late and with no explanation for what you've been doing."

How can I explain to her about being a power ranger? Kimberly thought, frustrated. It was so much easier to say she was with Tommy, because she was. It was an easy excuse. "But Mom, you don't—"

"That's final, Kimberly," Mrs. Hart said. She strode from the room, closing the door behind her.

Kimberly picked up her pillow and threw it at the door.

Avalon followed Billy and Bailey into their house, kicking off their shoes and piling them by the front door. "I hope you're not planning on locking yourself in your lab to obsessively work on the Healiodore," she said to the blue ranger, who glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "Zordon and Alpha don't even know how the thing works."

The blue ranger regarded her with a smirk. "Actually, I was going to suggest to my parents that we have whatever you want for dinner. Y'know, considering the fact that we had to cut short your celebration at the Youth Center."

Avalon's eyes narrowed and she exchanged a suspicious glance with her sister. "You're up to something, aren't you?" The purple ranger asked.

"It's like Ava said, I don't want to be a hermit," Billy said. He shrugged. "And admittedly, none of us know what's going on with the Healiodore. There's no point in obsessing over it." Avalon and Bailey exchanged another suspicious glance. "What?"

"Nothing," they said finally.

"You're just…not acting like yourself," Bailey admitted. "Is something wrong?"

"I can't be nice?" Billy protested with an easy going smile.

"I mean, you're a nice person, Smurf," Avalon cocked her head.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Hardly. I like that you're so nice, but still. Skipping a day of work in your lab?"

"After everything that's been going on lately, I think we need to focus on the positive things that happen," he explained himself. The three walked out of the foyer and further into the house. Billy stopped by the kitchen counter and picked up the stack of mail that had been left there. He flipped through it before handing a letter over to Avalon, who had pulled herself up onto the counter and started into an apple she pulled from the fruit bowl.

Eyebrows rising in surprise, she turned the envelope over in her hand and started to open it.

"So what do you want for dinner, Av?" Bailey asked, spreading out her homework along the counter. "Spaghetti? Chooks and Mashed Potatoes? Brekkie?"

"Chooks?" Billy repeated. He squinted an eye. "Chicken?"

"You got it!" The purple ranger beamed. Realizing she hadn't gotten a response from her sister, she turned to her and watched as the orange ranger folded up the paper and placed it on the counter beside her. "Is everything alright Av?"

"Yep."

"Who's the letter from?"

Avalon took a large bite of her apple. "No one."

A/N: Now a chapter that has a bit more with Aisha. I'm trying to figure out what her main plot is apart from her friendship with Adam being strained over the news of Scorpina. But I kinda like that plot and may not change it. Kimberly and her mother are getting into fights and Av got a letter from someone and isn't telling from whom.

Things are continuously getting harder for the rangers. It's getting really close to a plot I really want you all to see. Not many chapters left until that part.

Thanks to I love power rangers7135, DragonKing19, XoxMountainGirlxoX, sweetredranger, heartpunker123, Son of Whitebeard, Rose Specktor, ZoeyBoey224, Ashley, brankel1, A.J. Grey, and TerraHart for reviewing. And thanks to JapanRules555 for reviewing some earlier chapters.

~Avalon

PS - If you haven't already, if you could answer my poll it'd help me out a lot. And just so you know, this weekend I'm changing my twitter handle and my pen-name on FFN to AvalonBay; so It'll encompass both of my characters. But I'll still have the same profile picture.