Reunions 3: The Aftermath
Disclaimer: Power Rangers belong to Saban, as does their universe, their likeness, and everything else. Don't sue. Please. Really. I'm very poor.
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"Wow. It's like a male ex-Ranger convention in here." Rowina smiled at the voice.
"Not quite. We don't have Zack or Billy. Besides, you, TJ, Justin, Carlos and Andros are Male Ex-Rangers."
"Nu-huh. Not ex-Rangers."
"Not?" She turned from what she was doing, finally, and hugged Zhane.
"No, we're not."
"How come? There's no more evil, remember? What are you Rangering?"
"Tell you later-how's everything here?"
"It's really good. The dojo's really starting to take off. We're working very hard-speaking of..." She draped an apron over his head. "You can help me clear these tables while we talk."
"Wow, déjà vu." he remarked. "A little while after I woke up, I pulled a trick on the others...and when they found out they made me clean the whole Megaship. Top to bottom." Rowina laughed at the picture.
"I bet you enjoyed that. You always did hate cleaning."
"Yeah, well. They took pity on me about half-way through. Is this all you do all day?"
"No. Usually I work the till, and serve the food. But our floor-clearing girl is out sick today, and we have someone else trained on the till, so I said I'd do the floor. Although I am starting to regret it." As she spoke, she lifted a piece of tissue from the table and dropped it in the bin with a shudder. "Yuck. That's really gross." Zhane laughed. Just then Rocky came over.
"Rowie, what are you doing? We don't normally make our guests work."
"Zhane's not a guest, Rock. He's just...Zhane. M'I up for lunch?"
"Yeah, Caro's going to clear the tables for you. Don't be too long, though, she has to leave at three."
"I won't. Zhane, you wanna go walk in the park?"
"Sure. See you later, Rocky."
"Yeah, later."
For a long time they walked in silence, enjoying the quiet and each other's company. Eventually, Rowina sat down under a tree and Zhane joined her.
"So what are you Rangering, now that everything's gone?"
"This is a secret, Ro-I'm not supposed to tell anyone. Not even you."
"Alright, I'll be good."
"Not all the evil is gone. Any evil being Zordon knew personally, or ever interacted with, they're all gone. But even Zordon never met all the AOE. So some of them are still out there."
"Earth?"
"No, Earth's safe for now. No evil being in his right mind would attack Earth-look what's happened to everyone who ever tried! Rita got locked in a dumpster, Zedd was banished, Astronema's dead, Dark Spectre got blown up-Earth has a great track record." She looked down for a minute, then spoke very softly.
"What about KO35?"
"We don't know yet. Nothing's happened...we wouldn't know about any of this if the Phantom Ranger hadn't warned us."
"Good ol' Krisa. What did Cassie say?"
"She fainted. Then she yelled at him for a while. Now I think they're going out. It's sort of confusing."
"Yeah. Fainted? Typical Pink Ranger reaction, then." Seeing his confusion, she explained, "When Tommy was made the White Ranger, Kimberly fainted. Seems like it's a Pink thing."
"Maybe you should watch out. Purple's not so far from Pink." They sat in silence for a few more minutes.
"How's Karone?" Rowina suddenly asked.
"Karone?" Zhane looked at her oddly. At Karone's request, he hadn't told Rowina about her. Karone wanted to try and get used to her new life before she met anyone else.
"Yes, Karone. I live in Angel Grove, remember? I was there when Andros took her off the Fortress."
"How'd you know it was Karone?"
"Who else would he cry for?" she answered simply. "One of you guys, or Karone. That's about it." Zhane sighed.
"She's...alright. It's been tough for her. Astronema did some pretty awful things."
"Yes, but not Karone."
"That's what we keep telling her."
"Give her time. After all, she has to get used to a brother, a group of friends who aren't going to stick a knife in her back, and a whole new way of life. It'll take a while."
"When did you grow up?"
"A year ago." He winced; of course she'd grown up. Going through what she'd been through would age anyone.
"Damn. Sorry." She shook her head quickly.
"That's not what I meant. Apart from the friends wanting to knife me in the back, I went through just the same thing."
"You and I were never apart up here." He touched his forehead. She didn't miss the slight emphasis he placed on 'were'; they'd never re-formed the mental link between them, although he'd tried a few times.
"That's true. But Andros knew Karone was alive; she must have known he was alive."
"She did, the first time around...but not afterwards."
"What do you mean?" Zhane quickly recounted Karone's discovering who she was, joining the Rangers, getting recaptured, being programmed, dying, and coming back as Karone.
"Wow. Now I get why she was more brutal."
"What?"
"A few months ago, there was this pause of almost two weeks with no attacks. Then they started up again...but it was different. They were more vicious. There were those Psycho Rangers...then there was the Countdown. And after that...well, you know."
"Yeah." His communicator beeped just then. Rowina's chimed as well. "I have to go...why did yours beep?"
"Just keeping tabs on you. Go on, you'll be late. And so will I, actually, I've got to go back to work. I'll see you later." She got up and ran back the way they'd come.
"Yeah. See you later." Zhane replied to her back. Then he teleported up to the ship.
"What's going on?"
"Trouble." Ashley responded tersely.
"I thought we decided we weren't going to have any more trouble."
"Tell that to these guys." She brought up an image on the main screen. A huge fleet of ships was flying towards Earth. "They won't respond to comm. signals. Why are you laughing?"
"Ash, what's the scale on the screen?" Ashley checked her scale.
"How big are those ships?"
"Not at all. Those are Ningha. They're tiny. And also peace-loving. My guess is they've come to mourn Zordon. That's only a guess, though."
"Why would they come here and not to Eltar?"
"Zordon was born there, but he didn't stay very long. He spent more time on Earth than any other single place, as far as anyone can tell."
"What's going on?" Andros asked, rushing onto the bridge with Karone trailing behind.
"False alarm. Ashley saw the Ningha and over-reacted."
"Ningha? What're they doing here?"
"Mourning? Just a guess." He added swiftly. He knew Andros was still feeling responsible for killing Zordon. From the looks both Ashley and Karone were sending him, they knew it too.
"Yeah, maybe...Ashley, adjust the radio down two bandwidths. That should get through to them." Ashley made the adjustment.
"They're hailing us. Audio only."
"Put it on." Andros answered.
"Power Rangers, do not attack. We do not wish harm. We have come to mourn the loss of life in your recent conflict."
"Acknowledged, Ningha fleet. We will not attack. A word of advice? Don't land on the planet. The humans here are just as grossly over-tall as all the others, and they could easily harm you without meaning to."
"Acknowledged, Megaship. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Megaship out." Ashley flipped off the switch.
"Ok, sometime soon you're telling me about every alien race you know so I don't do that again. Excuse me while I tell the others it's ok." Andros grinned at her and turned to Zhane.
"How's Roena?"
"Ok, I guess. She's very-I don't know. She's Rowina now, though. She works in Rocky's Dojo."
"I thought it was Tommy's." Ashley said.
"Tommy, Jason, Adam and Rocky run it together. They all own it. Rowina works in the café part."
"We should go see her."
"Now?" Andros asked, looking uncertainly at Karone.
"Yes, now. You have to face the world sometime, Karone."
"I suppose. Alright, as long as we don't stay too long." Karone agreed.
"Your call." Ashley promised her. Andros spoke in Kerovian.
Zhane? Did Roena let you set up the link again?
"No. And don't call her Roena. She wants to be Rowina." The four teleported down to Earth.
"Rowina?" She rushed past them.
"Yes, hi, nice to see you, very busy, here's a table, have to..." she dashed off again. Tommy came up to them.
"She'll relax in a minute. She does this sometimes. Just give her a sec."
"How's she been?" Zhane asked.
"She won't talk about it. At all. And she never uses her powers. Apart from that she's fine."
"That's not fine." Zhane muttered.
"She never used to use them before either." Tommy pointed out. "What's the difference?"
"She didn't use them then because she wasn't allowed. Now it's like she doesn't know how. There's no difference between her and any other Earth human."
"I don't get it." Tommy said.
"There's a difference between the way you think and the way we think." Andros explained. "The difference is slight, but any Kerovian can pick up on it. Right now, Rowina reads as human. Earth human, I mean."
"Why?" Tommy asked. Rowina stopped just beside them.
"Why what?" she asked. "Hi, guys."
"Why are you rushing around and not stopping to greet our guests?"
"Rocky didn't get this earlier, either. They're not guests, they're just....them. Would you like anything, guys?" They all ordered various foods, and she hurried off to get them.
"Why does she read Human?" Ashley asked softly, once she was far enough away. Andros shrugged helplessly.
"I think I know." Karone said quietly.
"Really? Why?" Zhane asked.
"I think she's wrapped herself up in being Rowina so tightly that Roena's been buried. Completely."
"Why do you think that?" Andros asked. She shrugged slightly.
"Something Eclipter told me. It's not important."
"What do we do about it?" Tommy asked. "The guys have all noticed."
"I'm not sure there's anything we can do. If she wants to be Roena, she'll be Roena, but we can't force her to be." Karone answered. "Just let her work through it. Andros, I'd like to go back now."
"Sure. We'll see you later, ok?" Andros and Karone got up and left the room.
"It sounds kind of far-fetched." Tommy said dubiously.
"Karrie knows what she's talking about." Zhane assured him. "Come on, Rowie, we're starving to death out here!" She threw him a surprised look and brought over their food.
"Sorry. A certain part-owner of the club who's sitting at this table apparently forgot that he's supposed to be helping me out, since some of our staff is out sick."
"Darn. Sorry, Rowina."
"No problem. Just clear that table, will you? I have people waiting."
"Um, sure." He got up and looked helplessly at the table.
"Oh, honestly, Tommy! Didn't you ever help out at home?"
"Not by clearing the table, no. Is it obvious?" She pointed him back towards the table.
"Sit down. I'll do it." She rapidly cleared the debris onto a tray and carried it into the kitchen. She reappeared, spoke briefly to two people standing at the counter, came back over, wiped the table with a cloth, and vanished again.
"She's making me kind of dizzy." Carlos joked.
It fell slightly flat.
"Karone? How did you know that about Roena?" Andros was hesitant. He thought he knew, and if he did, he was stirring up bad memories for her.
"Because that's what my implant did. Karone was wrapped up tightly and shoved off to one side, and Astronema was in charge. The only difference between me and Roena is that she did it to herself."
"What do you mean, she did it to herself?" Karone sat up straight, trying to get her thoughts in order.
"What she went through scared her. A lot. Most people would just have to deal with it, but she had an option. She already had someone else in her head, and that was Rowina. When she thought like Rowina, or did something Rowina would do, that pain and fear would go away. And the more she thought like Rowina, the less Roena raised her head. I'm guessing, but I'd say it would be an effort for her to be Roena right now."
"But she is Roena."
"No she's not. Roena and Rowina are two completely different people. Ask Tommy, or Rocky, or Adam. They've all met both. Ask Rocky if she was the same up here for those few months as she was down there for eight years. He'll tell you. Roena and Rowina are two very different people. They're from different planets, after all."
"No they're...what?" Karone sighed.
"You haven't been listening, Andros. Roena's Kerovian, but Rowina's Earth Human. If you spoke to her in Kerovian, she wouldn't know what you were talking about." Andros shook his head.
"It just doesn't make sense to me." Karone stood up.
"Give it time." She advised him. "Roena needs time to deal with what happened. That's all." She turned and left the room quietly.
"Tell that to Zhane." Andros muttered.
"Oh no. That's your department."
Much later that night, Rowina was clearing up the dojo when a young man walked in.
"I'm sorry, we're closed." she called over to him. Hearing her, Rocky came out from the back office. The guy ignored him and came across to Rowina.
"What time do you open tomorrow?"
"What's tomorrow, Wednesday. Nine o'clock."
"Oh. Ok." He started to turn away, then he whirled back, pulling out a gun. "Where's the money?"
"It's already gone to the night safe." Rowina stared at him.
"You're lying, you're lying! Where is it?"
"Rowie?" Rocky called.
"Run Rocky he's got a...umph!" She collapsed as the guy back-handed her before spinning around towards Rocky. Rocky was already dodging, but not fast enough, and a bullet caught him in the arm.
"Where the hell is the money!" the guy yelled again. Tommy came from nowhere to tackle him, but not fast enough. The guy dropped to one knee and pressed the gun against Rowina's forehead.
"One more step, muscle man...where is it?"
"It's gone to the might safe. We don't keep anything here."
"There's an apartment upstairs. There must be something up there."
"We don't live there." Rowina murmured muzily. Tommy caught her eye and made a face. She shook her head very slightly. The guy caught it.
"Shut up! Come on, man, just give me the money. I don't want to hurt her."
"Walk away." Tommy advised him. "Rocky's already hit the alarm. But you can walk away now. We won't stop you." Rowina gasped as he pressed the gun even harder against her. Sirens blared, coming closer.
"You liar!" the guy yelled, shoving Rowina aside. Time seemed to slow down as she fell, so she had lots of time to see the gun coming up, pointing straight for Tommy. There was no way he could dodge in time...
"No!" she screamed, and mentally yanked at the gun. She was out of practise, so she couldn't get it away, but she did distract him long enough for Tommy to jump him. When she could see Tommy had him under control, she got up and raced for the counter. Rocky was lying on the other side of it, pale and bleeding profusely.
"Rocky." she murmured, kneeling next to him.
"Rowie." he gasped. She shook her head.
"Roena. Lie still." She placed her hand flat over his arm, and under her fingers the bleeding stopped. Rocky struggled to sit up. "Lie still, I can't stop the bleeding if you don't." Giving up, he sank back down. Just then the police boiled in, and some paramedics arrived, and in all the confusion, Roena slipped away.
It was Tommy who came to find her. She was sitting on a rock by the lake, and as he approached he could see tear streaks down her face. He sat down next to her and looked out for a few minutes.
"Is Rocky ok?" she asked finally.
"He lost a lot of blood. The doctors couldn't find a bullet, though; they think it probably just grazed him. He's going to be fine. Rowie..." She shook her head.
"Roena. I know who I am now." She turned slightly to face him. "I told you once that I am two different people. After-what happened-Roena didn't want to wake up. So Rowina took over for a while. But the more Roena slept, the more she was afraid of waking up...is this making sense?"
"Sort of. In an Earth human, that'd be catatonia."
"Right. But I had no choice back there. Rowina couldn't have helped. Only Roena could. And now I'm very scared..." Tommy wrapped his arms around her and let her cry.
A long time later, Zhane came to find her.
"Ro?" he called softly. Tommy glanced up. When Zhane was close enough, Tommy eased away gently, letting Zhane take his place.
"She showed me what happened." Zhane murmured to him. "Is Rocky ok?"
"He'll be fine. Will she?" Zhane glanced at Roena, who appeared to be asleep.
"I hope so."
"Zhane?"
Zhane woke out of his doze to find Roena sitting up.
"Roena. You ok?"
"Where are we?"
"Megaship. Why?" he asked, puzzled.
"The Megaship." She shuddered slightly.
"You had to come back eventually. There's nothing here, Ro."
"An echo..." she tilted her head, as though trying to listen.
"No. You're imaging that. There's no echo. Dhurcas is gone." She looked at him curiously.
"It wasn't your fault, Zhane. Not when I was six, not three months ago. I told you that. You did more than anyone could."
"But not enough." She slid off the bed and planted herself right in front of him.
"Hear me now, remember me always, understand me forever." He gaped; the words were the beginning of KO35's most important myth, and any Kerovian hearing them would automatically memorise the next words. "It wasn't your fault. There was nothing more you could have done. You saved me, you figured it out." She shook her head. "If there's any blame, it's mine. I gave in to him. He hurt people, and I didn't stop him. Me, Zhane, all me. Not you."
"It wasn't your fault." Zhane said softly. "No-one can live constantly with that kind of fear. You did very well to manage as long as you did."
"I hurt Justin." There were tears in her eyes. "Did you know he avoids me now? He hates me."
"He doesn't hate you, and you didn't hurt him. It was Dhurcas, Ro, not you. He knows that."
"Then why won't he talk to me?" The tears spilled over and she buried her head against his chest. He rocked her gently back and forth.
"Because he's scared. Every time he sees you, a little voice says, wait. What if Dhurcas is back? And he knows it's stupid and he knows it's not true, but he can't help it." She sat up, sniffling.
"How do you know?"
"Because the same little voice keeps saying the same things to me," he admitted quietly.
"Then why do you stay with me?"
"Because I believe in you. Last time, you kept him from hurting me. If, which is very unlikely, he comes back, I believe you can stop him again." She smiled gently.
"I would never let him hurt you."
"I know." He pulled her back down and began rocking again. "I know."
Almost a week later, Roena returned to the dojo. It wasn't open, which was odd, as it was the middle of the day. A notice on the door apologised and promised that they'd re-open soon. She let herself in the back and searched until she found someone.
"How come you're not open?" she asked curiously, sitting down opposite Rocky. He looked up, not really registering her.
"We're waiting-hey, you're back."
"Yeah. Are you alright?" He shrugged.
"I've been better. I miss my quick-healing power."
"That was handy, wasn't it? Let me see." She came around to him and leaned over his arm.
"You're Roena, aren't you." It wasn't a question, but she answered anyway.
"I was always Roena, I just - forgot, for a while."
"What happened to Rowina?"
"Rowina was never real. I made her up so I could belong here. I was too young, then. Now I can be Roena, and still fit in."
"Rowina was real. I knew her."
"No, Rocky. Rowina was just another part of me. She got away from me, for a while, so I could only be one or the other. Now I'm both." She smiled. "Be happy for me. Please?"
"Are you leaving?"
"Not right away. Maybe, later. Who knows?" He nodded slowly.
"You don't belong here anymore."
"I don't know where I belong anymore. KO35 is gone, so I can't live there-but this is not Roena's home, and she's not happy here." He nodded again.
"You're going back to the ship."
"Not straight away. Later, probably, yeah. I will. I feel safe there, Rocky! That's something I don't feel here anymore. What's so funny?" He was laughing, very slightly.
"I just think it's funny that you can feel safe in a space-ship that's under constant attack-and not feel safe here in your home."
"Staring down the wrong end of a gun'll do that to you. Rocky, I don't want to go and leave you mad. I hoped you'd understand. This has nothing to with you, or Mama, or anyone else. This is for me. Obedience is not always a virtue. Pleasing everyone but myself is not the way I want to live my life."
"I understand, hermana, I'm just going to miss you."
"I'll be back for visits...I don't have to go yet."
"Yes you do. Call Zhane and go."
"Are you mad?"
"No, but if you don't go soon..."
"I won't be able to go." Roena finished, remembering another occasion when he'd said nearly the same thing. He nodded.
"Tu es todavía miedo." She nodded, crying slightly. Reaching over, she gave him a big hug, before letting go and backing away.
"I love you, mi hermano. Be well." She touched her communicator. " 'Dros? Take me home." Rocky sat and watched her vanish before murmuring, "I love you too, hermanita. Take care."
THE END
I don't speak Spanish. I got all the Spanish I used in this out of a dictionary. Corrections gratefully accepted.
Spanish used in this fic:
Mi Hermana: Sister
Tu es todavia miedo: You're still afraid (I hope!)
Mi hermano: Brother
Hermanita: Little sister
Disclaimer: Power Rangers belong to Saban, as does their universe, their likeness, and everything else. Don't sue. Please. Really. I'm very poor.
Where's my feedback! Good, bad or indifferent, let me know! :)
"Wow. It's like a male ex-Ranger convention in here." Rowina smiled at the voice.
"Not quite. We don't have Zack or Billy. Besides, you, TJ, Justin, Carlos and Andros are Male Ex-Rangers."
"Nu-huh. Not ex-Rangers."
"Not?" She turned from what she was doing, finally, and hugged Zhane.
"No, we're not."
"How come? There's no more evil, remember? What are you Rangering?"
"Tell you later-how's everything here?"
"It's really good. The dojo's really starting to take off. We're working very hard-speaking of..." She draped an apron over his head. "You can help me clear these tables while we talk."
"Wow, déjà vu." he remarked. "A little while after I woke up, I pulled a trick on the others...and when they found out they made me clean the whole Megaship. Top to bottom." Rowina laughed at the picture.
"I bet you enjoyed that. You always did hate cleaning."
"Yeah, well. They took pity on me about half-way through. Is this all you do all day?"
"No. Usually I work the till, and serve the food. But our floor-clearing girl is out sick today, and we have someone else trained on the till, so I said I'd do the floor. Although I am starting to regret it." As she spoke, she lifted a piece of tissue from the table and dropped it in the bin with a shudder. "Yuck. That's really gross." Zhane laughed. Just then Rocky came over.
"Rowie, what are you doing? We don't normally make our guests work."
"Zhane's not a guest, Rock. He's just...Zhane. M'I up for lunch?"
"Yeah, Caro's going to clear the tables for you. Don't be too long, though, she has to leave at three."
"I won't. Zhane, you wanna go walk in the park?"
"Sure. See you later, Rocky."
"Yeah, later."
For a long time they walked in silence, enjoying the quiet and each other's company. Eventually, Rowina sat down under a tree and Zhane joined her.
"So what are you Rangering, now that everything's gone?"
"This is a secret, Ro-I'm not supposed to tell anyone. Not even you."
"Alright, I'll be good."
"Not all the evil is gone. Any evil being Zordon knew personally, or ever interacted with, they're all gone. But even Zordon never met all the AOE. So some of them are still out there."
"Earth?"
"No, Earth's safe for now. No evil being in his right mind would attack Earth-look what's happened to everyone who ever tried! Rita got locked in a dumpster, Zedd was banished, Astronema's dead, Dark Spectre got blown up-Earth has a great track record." She looked down for a minute, then spoke very softly.
"What about KO35?"
"We don't know yet. Nothing's happened...we wouldn't know about any of this if the Phantom Ranger hadn't warned us."
"Good ol' Krisa. What did Cassie say?"
"She fainted. Then she yelled at him for a while. Now I think they're going out. It's sort of confusing."
"Yeah. Fainted? Typical Pink Ranger reaction, then." Seeing his confusion, she explained, "When Tommy was made the White Ranger, Kimberly fainted. Seems like it's a Pink thing."
"Maybe you should watch out. Purple's not so far from Pink." They sat in silence for a few more minutes.
"How's Karone?" Rowina suddenly asked.
"Karone?" Zhane looked at her oddly. At Karone's request, he hadn't told Rowina about her. Karone wanted to try and get used to her new life before she met anyone else.
"Yes, Karone. I live in Angel Grove, remember? I was there when Andros took her off the Fortress."
"How'd you know it was Karone?"
"Who else would he cry for?" she answered simply. "One of you guys, or Karone. That's about it." Zhane sighed.
"She's...alright. It's been tough for her. Astronema did some pretty awful things."
"Yes, but not Karone."
"That's what we keep telling her."
"Give her time. After all, she has to get used to a brother, a group of friends who aren't going to stick a knife in her back, and a whole new way of life. It'll take a while."
"When did you grow up?"
"A year ago." He winced; of course she'd grown up. Going through what she'd been through would age anyone.
"Damn. Sorry." She shook her head quickly.
"That's not what I meant. Apart from the friends wanting to knife me in the back, I went through just the same thing."
"You and I were never apart up here." He touched his forehead. She didn't miss the slight emphasis he placed on 'were'; they'd never re-formed the mental link between them, although he'd tried a few times.
"That's true. But Andros knew Karone was alive; she must have known he was alive."
"She did, the first time around...but not afterwards."
"What do you mean?" Zhane quickly recounted Karone's discovering who she was, joining the Rangers, getting recaptured, being programmed, dying, and coming back as Karone.
"Wow. Now I get why she was more brutal."
"What?"
"A few months ago, there was this pause of almost two weeks with no attacks. Then they started up again...but it was different. They were more vicious. There were those Psycho Rangers...then there was the Countdown. And after that...well, you know."
"Yeah." His communicator beeped just then. Rowina's chimed as well. "I have to go...why did yours beep?"
"Just keeping tabs on you. Go on, you'll be late. And so will I, actually, I've got to go back to work. I'll see you later." She got up and ran back the way they'd come.
"Yeah. See you later." Zhane replied to her back. Then he teleported up to the ship.
"What's going on?"
"Trouble." Ashley responded tersely.
"I thought we decided we weren't going to have any more trouble."
"Tell that to these guys." She brought up an image on the main screen. A huge fleet of ships was flying towards Earth. "They won't respond to comm. signals. Why are you laughing?"
"Ash, what's the scale on the screen?" Ashley checked her scale.
"How big are those ships?"
"Not at all. Those are Ningha. They're tiny. And also peace-loving. My guess is they've come to mourn Zordon. That's only a guess, though."
"Why would they come here and not to Eltar?"
"Zordon was born there, but he didn't stay very long. He spent more time on Earth than any other single place, as far as anyone can tell."
"What's going on?" Andros asked, rushing onto the bridge with Karone trailing behind.
"False alarm. Ashley saw the Ningha and over-reacted."
"Ningha? What're they doing here?"
"Mourning? Just a guess." He added swiftly. He knew Andros was still feeling responsible for killing Zordon. From the looks both Ashley and Karone were sending him, they knew it too.
"Yeah, maybe...Ashley, adjust the radio down two bandwidths. That should get through to them." Ashley made the adjustment.
"They're hailing us. Audio only."
"Put it on." Andros answered.
"Power Rangers, do not attack. We do not wish harm. We have come to mourn the loss of life in your recent conflict."
"Acknowledged, Ningha fleet. We will not attack. A word of advice? Don't land on the planet. The humans here are just as grossly over-tall as all the others, and they could easily harm you without meaning to."
"Acknowledged, Megaship. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Megaship out." Ashley flipped off the switch.
"Ok, sometime soon you're telling me about every alien race you know so I don't do that again. Excuse me while I tell the others it's ok." Andros grinned at her and turned to Zhane.
"How's Roena?"
"Ok, I guess. She's very-I don't know. She's Rowina now, though. She works in Rocky's Dojo."
"I thought it was Tommy's." Ashley said.
"Tommy, Jason, Adam and Rocky run it together. They all own it. Rowina works in the café part."
"We should go see her."
"Now?" Andros asked, looking uncertainly at Karone.
"Yes, now. You have to face the world sometime, Karone."
"I suppose. Alright, as long as we don't stay too long." Karone agreed.
"Your call." Ashley promised her. Andros spoke in Kerovian.
Zhane? Did Roena let you set up the link again?
"No. And don't call her Roena. She wants to be Rowina." The four teleported down to Earth.
"Rowina?" She rushed past them.
"Yes, hi, nice to see you, very busy, here's a table, have to..." she dashed off again. Tommy came up to them.
"She'll relax in a minute. She does this sometimes. Just give her a sec."
"How's she been?" Zhane asked.
"She won't talk about it. At all. And she never uses her powers. Apart from that she's fine."
"That's not fine." Zhane muttered.
"She never used to use them before either." Tommy pointed out. "What's the difference?"
"She didn't use them then because she wasn't allowed. Now it's like she doesn't know how. There's no difference between her and any other Earth human."
"I don't get it." Tommy said.
"There's a difference between the way you think and the way we think." Andros explained. "The difference is slight, but any Kerovian can pick up on it. Right now, Rowina reads as human. Earth human, I mean."
"Why?" Tommy asked. Rowina stopped just beside them.
"Why what?" she asked. "Hi, guys."
"Why are you rushing around and not stopping to greet our guests?"
"Rocky didn't get this earlier, either. They're not guests, they're just....them. Would you like anything, guys?" They all ordered various foods, and she hurried off to get them.
"Why does she read Human?" Ashley asked softly, once she was far enough away. Andros shrugged helplessly.
"I think I know." Karone said quietly.
"Really? Why?" Zhane asked.
"I think she's wrapped herself up in being Rowina so tightly that Roena's been buried. Completely."
"Why do you think that?" Andros asked. She shrugged slightly.
"Something Eclipter told me. It's not important."
"What do we do about it?" Tommy asked. "The guys have all noticed."
"I'm not sure there's anything we can do. If she wants to be Roena, she'll be Roena, but we can't force her to be." Karone answered. "Just let her work through it. Andros, I'd like to go back now."
"Sure. We'll see you later, ok?" Andros and Karone got up and left the room.
"It sounds kind of far-fetched." Tommy said dubiously.
"Karrie knows what she's talking about." Zhane assured him. "Come on, Rowie, we're starving to death out here!" She threw him a surprised look and brought over their food.
"Sorry. A certain part-owner of the club who's sitting at this table apparently forgot that he's supposed to be helping me out, since some of our staff is out sick."
"Darn. Sorry, Rowina."
"No problem. Just clear that table, will you? I have people waiting."
"Um, sure." He got up and looked helplessly at the table.
"Oh, honestly, Tommy! Didn't you ever help out at home?"
"Not by clearing the table, no. Is it obvious?" She pointed him back towards the table.
"Sit down. I'll do it." She rapidly cleared the debris onto a tray and carried it into the kitchen. She reappeared, spoke briefly to two people standing at the counter, came back over, wiped the table with a cloth, and vanished again.
"She's making me kind of dizzy." Carlos joked.
It fell slightly flat.
"Karone? How did you know that about Roena?" Andros was hesitant. He thought he knew, and if he did, he was stirring up bad memories for her.
"Because that's what my implant did. Karone was wrapped up tightly and shoved off to one side, and Astronema was in charge. The only difference between me and Roena is that she did it to herself."
"What do you mean, she did it to herself?" Karone sat up straight, trying to get her thoughts in order.
"What she went through scared her. A lot. Most people would just have to deal with it, but she had an option. She already had someone else in her head, and that was Rowina. When she thought like Rowina, or did something Rowina would do, that pain and fear would go away. And the more she thought like Rowina, the less Roena raised her head. I'm guessing, but I'd say it would be an effort for her to be Roena right now."
"But she is Roena."
"No she's not. Roena and Rowina are two completely different people. Ask Tommy, or Rocky, or Adam. They've all met both. Ask Rocky if she was the same up here for those few months as she was down there for eight years. He'll tell you. Roena and Rowina are two very different people. They're from different planets, after all."
"No they're...what?" Karone sighed.
"You haven't been listening, Andros. Roena's Kerovian, but Rowina's Earth Human. If you spoke to her in Kerovian, she wouldn't know what you were talking about." Andros shook his head.
"It just doesn't make sense to me." Karone stood up.
"Give it time." She advised him. "Roena needs time to deal with what happened. That's all." She turned and left the room quietly.
"Tell that to Zhane." Andros muttered.
"Oh no. That's your department."
Much later that night, Rowina was clearing up the dojo when a young man walked in.
"I'm sorry, we're closed." she called over to him. Hearing her, Rocky came out from the back office. The guy ignored him and came across to Rowina.
"What time do you open tomorrow?"
"What's tomorrow, Wednesday. Nine o'clock."
"Oh. Ok." He started to turn away, then he whirled back, pulling out a gun. "Where's the money?"
"It's already gone to the night safe." Rowina stared at him.
"You're lying, you're lying! Where is it?"
"Rowie?" Rocky called.
"Run Rocky he's got a...umph!" She collapsed as the guy back-handed her before spinning around towards Rocky. Rocky was already dodging, but not fast enough, and a bullet caught him in the arm.
"Where the hell is the money!" the guy yelled again. Tommy came from nowhere to tackle him, but not fast enough. The guy dropped to one knee and pressed the gun against Rowina's forehead.
"One more step, muscle man...where is it?"
"It's gone to the might safe. We don't keep anything here."
"There's an apartment upstairs. There must be something up there."
"We don't live there." Rowina murmured muzily. Tommy caught her eye and made a face. She shook her head very slightly. The guy caught it.
"Shut up! Come on, man, just give me the money. I don't want to hurt her."
"Walk away." Tommy advised him. "Rocky's already hit the alarm. But you can walk away now. We won't stop you." Rowina gasped as he pressed the gun even harder against her. Sirens blared, coming closer.
"You liar!" the guy yelled, shoving Rowina aside. Time seemed to slow down as she fell, so she had lots of time to see the gun coming up, pointing straight for Tommy. There was no way he could dodge in time...
"No!" she screamed, and mentally yanked at the gun. She was out of practise, so she couldn't get it away, but she did distract him long enough for Tommy to jump him. When she could see Tommy had him under control, she got up and raced for the counter. Rocky was lying on the other side of it, pale and bleeding profusely.
"Rocky." she murmured, kneeling next to him.
"Rowie." he gasped. She shook her head.
"Roena. Lie still." She placed her hand flat over his arm, and under her fingers the bleeding stopped. Rocky struggled to sit up. "Lie still, I can't stop the bleeding if you don't." Giving up, he sank back down. Just then the police boiled in, and some paramedics arrived, and in all the confusion, Roena slipped away.
It was Tommy who came to find her. She was sitting on a rock by the lake, and as he approached he could see tear streaks down her face. He sat down next to her and looked out for a few minutes.
"Is Rocky ok?" she asked finally.
"He lost a lot of blood. The doctors couldn't find a bullet, though; they think it probably just grazed him. He's going to be fine. Rowie..." She shook her head.
"Roena. I know who I am now." She turned slightly to face him. "I told you once that I am two different people. After-what happened-Roena didn't want to wake up. So Rowina took over for a while. But the more Roena slept, the more she was afraid of waking up...is this making sense?"
"Sort of. In an Earth human, that'd be catatonia."
"Right. But I had no choice back there. Rowina couldn't have helped. Only Roena could. And now I'm very scared..." Tommy wrapped his arms around her and let her cry.
A long time later, Zhane came to find her.
"Ro?" he called softly. Tommy glanced up. When Zhane was close enough, Tommy eased away gently, letting Zhane take his place.
"She showed me what happened." Zhane murmured to him. "Is Rocky ok?"
"He'll be fine. Will she?" Zhane glanced at Roena, who appeared to be asleep.
"I hope so."
"Zhane?"
Zhane woke out of his doze to find Roena sitting up.
"Roena. You ok?"
"Where are we?"
"Megaship. Why?" he asked, puzzled.
"The Megaship." She shuddered slightly.
"You had to come back eventually. There's nothing here, Ro."
"An echo..." she tilted her head, as though trying to listen.
"No. You're imaging that. There's no echo. Dhurcas is gone." She looked at him curiously.
"It wasn't your fault, Zhane. Not when I was six, not three months ago. I told you that. You did more than anyone could."
"But not enough." She slid off the bed and planted herself right in front of him.
"Hear me now, remember me always, understand me forever." He gaped; the words were the beginning of KO35's most important myth, and any Kerovian hearing them would automatically memorise the next words. "It wasn't your fault. There was nothing more you could have done. You saved me, you figured it out." She shook her head. "If there's any blame, it's mine. I gave in to him. He hurt people, and I didn't stop him. Me, Zhane, all me. Not you."
"It wasn't your fault." Zhane said softly. "No-one can live constantly with that kind of fear. You did very well to manage as long as you did."
"I hurt Justin." There were tears in her eyes. "Did you know he avoids me now? He hates me."
"He doesn't hate you, and you didn't hurt him. It was Dhurcas, Ro, not you. He knows that."
"Then why won't he talk to me?" The tears spilled over and she buried her head against his chest. He rocked her gently back and forth.
"Because he's scared. Every time he sees you, a little voice says, wait. What if Dhurcas is back? And he knows it's stupid and he knows it's not true, but he can't help it." She sat up, sniffling.
"How do you know?"
"Because the same little voice keeps saying the same things to me," he admitted quietly.
"Then why do you stay with me?"
"Because I believe in you. Last time, you kept him from hurting me. If, which is very unlikely, he comes back, I believe you can stop him again." She smiled gently.
"I would never let him hurt you."
"I know." He pulled her back down and began rocking again. "I know."
Almost a week later, Roena returned to the dojo. It wasn't open, which was odd, as it was the middle of the day. A notice on the door apologised and promised that they'd re-open soon. She let herself in the back and searched until she found someone.
"How come you're not open?" she asked curiously, sitting down opposite Rocky. He looked up, not really registering her.
"We're waiting-hey, you're back."
"Yeah. Are you alright?" He shrugged.
"I've been better. I miss my quick-healing power."
"That was handy, wasn't it? Let me see." She came around to him and leaned over his arm.
"You're Roena, aren't you." It wasn't a question, but she answered anyway.
"I was always Roena, I just - forgot, for a while."
"What happened to Rowina?"
"Rowina was never real. I made her up so I could belong here. I was too young, then. Now I can be Roena, and still fit in."
"Rowina was real. I knew her."
"No, Rocky. Rowina was just another part of me. She got away from me, for a while, so I could only be one or the other. Now I'm both." She smiled. "Be happy for me. Please?"
"Are you leaving?"
"Not right away. Maybe, later. Who knows?" He nodded slowly.
"You don't belong here anymore."
"I don't know where I belong anymore. KO35 is gone, so I can't live there-but this is not Roena's home, and she's not happy here." He nodded again.
"You're going back to the ship."
"Not straight away. Later, probably, yeah. I will. I feel safe there, Rocky! That's something I don't feel here anymore. What's so funny?" He was laughing, very slightly.
"I just think it's funny that you can feel safe in a space-ship that's under constant attack-and not feel safe here in your home."
"Staring down the wrong end of a gun'll do that to you. Rocky, I don't want to go and leave you mad. I hoped you'd understand. This has nothing to with you, or Mama, or anyone else. This is for me. Obedience is not always a virtue. Pleasing everyone but myself is not the way I want to live my life."
"I understand, hermana, I'm just going to miss you."
"I'll be back for visits...I don't have to go yet."
"Yes you do. Call Zhane and go."
"Are you mad?"
"No, but if you don't go soon..."
"I won't be able to go." Roena finished, remembering another occasion when he'd said nearly the same thing. He nodded.
"Tu es todavía miedo." She nodded, crying slightly. Reaching over, she gave him a big hug, before letting go and backing away.
"I love you, mi hermano. Be well." She touched her communicator. " 'Dros? Take me home." Rocky sat and watched her vanish before murmuring, "I love you too, hermanita. Take care."
THE END
I don't speak Spanish. I got all the Spanish I used in this out of a dictionary. Corrections gratefully accepted.
Spanish used in this fic:
Mi Hermana: Sister
Tu es todavia miedo: You're still afraid (I hope!)
Mi hermano: Brother
Hermanita: Little sister