By N. E. Shaw
date misplaced (between '95 and '97)
Kat dashed towards the tree as fast as her legs would take her. She knew she had to conceal herself before It arrived. It was a sunny, slightly breezy day in Angel Grove Park, and the sky was a radiant blue...but there were other, more urgent things on Kat's mind.
When she got to the thick, elderly oak, she swung around it and flattened her back against the bark, leaning out to peek back the way she came.
No sign of It.
There was still time for the others.
A few meters away, Kat saw Adam run up to a large, low, bush and scramble under it. He lay perfectly still and tried to control his loud, rapid breathing.
Tanya was next to bolt onto the scene. She headed for a tree with slender, strong branches only eight feet from the ground. She never stopped running, and leapt up to grasp a branch and swing herself into the concealing greenery.
Kat checked to make sure neither of her friends were visible, and nodded to herself, satisfied that they were safe. Then she saw Rocky standing out in the open. He was turning in a circle, frantically searching for a place to hide.
"Rocky!" Kat hissed. "Hurry up, It's coming!"
The muscular teenager was about to panic, when he saw a bank of porta-potties set up for the upcoming Outdoor Summer Dance. With a powerful sprint and a flying leap, he dove behind the toilets and lay as still as he could.
The small section of the park grew silent. No one moved. No one breathed. No one dared peek out of their hiding places.
Then....they heard It coming.
"Ready or not...!" Tommy cried. "...here I come!"
Kat grinned to herself. She knew this wasn't the best of hiding spots, but she owed Adam a favor, and had promised to be bait so that he could get home-free without too much trouble. She listened to the soft sound of Tommy's footsteps as he approached her tree.
Home Free was the big stone fountain a hundred feet back in the direction they had all come from. It was a beautiful black stone monument, with a wide, glittering pool filled with water and spare change....and right now it was the only goal on Kat's mind.
Tommy advanced.
A little bit further...come on, Luv....keep coming... she thought. Her heart beat faster as he came closer. She could have sworn she could smell him.
Then, when she had judged him to be just close enough, she let out a giggle and bolted out from behind the tree, heading for Home. Startled, Tommy grinned and bolted after her.
They raced across the grass in a mad dash for the fountain. Laughing euphorically, Kat glanced behind her as they gained speed. He had an advantage because he wasn't already tired, and he closed the gap quickly, reaching out his hand. Kat was just leaping onto the wide concrete platform surrounding the fountain, when she felt his hand clamp onto her shoulder. He yanked her backwards.
As she stumbled with the loss of speed, he caught her up in his arms and laughed. They never stopped moving though, and with a heavy slosh of water, the pair tumbled into the pool.
Tanya, Rocky, and Adam poked their heads out and looked in the direction of all the noise. Adam rolled his eyes and Rocky shook his head as Tommy and Kat wrestled and splashed in the fountain. As the three dry Rangers walked up to the fountain, they were still laughing hysterically in the water.
Tanya folded her arms and looked down at her friends.
"Well, 'It'..." she huffed, glaring at Tommy. "..are you two quite finished? The rest of us are feeling a little left out up here."
Kat magically produced a dripping quarter from Tommy's ear.
Tommy put on a straight face. "Well guys, you know you're welcome to join us anytime."
Now Kat splashed him and he dunked her, starting more laughter. Rocky stifled an amused snort. As the three standing rangers turned to leave, Adam called back "Oh by the way, Kat...thanks for the favor!"
The Pink and Red Rangers were still damp as the five sat down under a tree a little while later. They were exhausted from two more rounds of Hide-and-Seek and a game of Manhunt, and all were ready for a lazy afternoon of basking under the California sun. Rocky pulled out a large bag of Skittles and spilled them out on a hanky in the center of their circle.
"Oo! Candy!" Tanya sing-songed.
"Everybody help yourselves." Rocky said, gesturing for them all to take a handful. "It's on me."
Kat took a few and popped them into her mouth. "That's nice, Rocky. You didn't have to do that."
"Ah, no problem," he replied, smoothing out the bag in his hands and staring at it. "I thought I'd make my last day a little better than it would have been." Tanya smiled softly at him and they all accepted his answer. They fell silent and enjoyed his treat--and the beginning of their last afternoon together.
Rocky put a few tart, chewy grape Skittles into his mouth and sighed quietly in contentment. This was the perfect way to spend this afternoon. He was in his favorite place, with his best friends, under a perfect sky, eating his favorite snack. The breeze played with their hair and rustled the trees above. The sun warmed their backs and dried out Tommy and Kat once and for all. At a moment like this, they were too close to need words to express their friendship. Looking at them all, Rocky wondered if he would ever have something so special as this again.
Before he knew it, a tear escaped his heart and rolled down his cheek. "Rocky...?" Kat saw the tear before he could brush it away. She was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Tommy, directly opposite Rocky, but now she sat up and looked at Zeo Ranger Three with concern. Adam was fighting a lump in his throat too, and he conspicuously tried to swallow it.
They found themselves all choking up and sniffling.
"Wow...." Tommy gave a short laugh and palmed his eyes. "...that didn't take much, did it?"
They shook their heads in agreement.
"Rocky started it." Tanya mock-complained through her tears, and they laughed a little more. Then there was another pause.
"Oh what the hell..." she said and scooted over to him, wrapping her arms around him carefully. "We're all gonna miss you Rocky. There's nobody in the world like you." she said, her voice wavering. He hugged back silently, and squeezed his eyes shut against the tears. Adam hugged him next, whispering, "You're one in a million pal. Thanks for bein' my friend." The Green Ranger clapped Rocky on the back once and pulled away. Then Kat got up and put her arms around his neck, kissing him gently on the cheek. Neither said a word, and she took an unsteady breath as she released him, managing a smile.
Now Tommy and Rocky caught eyes across the circle. Tommy bit his lip and nodded slightly as his brown eyes glistened. "No one'll ever forget you Rocko..." he used his friend's fond nickname. "..you've saved lives more times than I can count. Including all of ours." The others nodded or smiled. Tommy went on, "Thanks for all your help."
Both boys got to their knees and met in the middle of the circle, exchanging a brisk embrace.
"Promise you'll take care of yourself..." Tommy said.
"I will, man." Rocky replied, and they separated with a smile.
Tommy sat back down with Kat resting her head against his shoulder. Tanya and Adam moved back to their places and Rocky returned to his spot, sighing and wiping his eyes.
"What now?" Kat giggled softly.
"You scattered the Skittles, people..." lamented Tanya, leaning forward to carefully pick them up, and they laughed a little more.
"I'll tell you what now..." Rocky said. "..we all go get ready for the dance. It's in two hours."
He was right. It was five o'clock. Technicians were arriving in the big clearing across the park with truckloads of equipment. Speakers and floodlights were being unloaded and cables were being strung around.
They all got to their feet.
"Wait until you see the shoes I bought for this dance." Kat said. "They match that skirt I showed you Tanya."
Tommy raised his eyebrows in interest.
"I'm gonna wear that crazy '80's jacket we found at the Value Village." said Tanya. Adam raised his eyebrows as well. Then, remembering, Tanya held out the hanky full of Skittles to Rocky, but he shook his head. "Keep 'em." he said.
"You sure?"
"Positive. Now let's get out of here."
They glanced at each other and smiles spread all around as they trooped out of the park.
That night, within a wide circle of boulder-sized speakers, music pounded and hundreds of teenagers danced. Sure enough, the circle of five was there, dressed in their hottest clothes. Rocky was making sure he slow-danced with every girl he knew and said a proper goodbye to each.
Then he spotted someone he didn't know. Walking alone, among the party-goers, was a tall, slender girl with long, platinum hair and almost unnaturally blue eyes. She wore a form-fitting black dress that showed off her model-like figure. Her face was pretty, but solemn and cold. She didn't look like his type.
Rocky watched her a moment as she headed for the drink table, and decided not to approach her. He still had to dance with Jamie, Judy, Susan, Kaye, Faye, Karen, Delna, Victoria, Tierra, Megan...
As he turned to look for his next dance partner, the girl lifted her head in his direction. They caught each other's eyes for a moment but Rocky broke the glance before it became anything meaningful. Then he left.
The girl's eyes lingered on him a moment. Then, with a swift hand, she proceeded to remove a big whiskey bottle from her bag and dump its contents into the punch bowl. No one saw her, and she immediately hid herself in the crowd to watch.
A few hours later, outside the "dance floor", the Rangers met again.
"What a blast!" Tanya declared. She and Kat were pumped from all the excitement, and the two were giggling uncontrollably.
Adam, Tommy and Rocky looked at them suspiciously. They were almost delirious, laughing and stumbling around. There were other people nearby acting the same, or worse.
"What's with everybody all of a sudden." Adam wondered out loud. Tommy shook his head. The dance's previous friendly atmosphere was beginning to deteriorate. People were getting loud and obnoxious, and as the guys watched, a fight nearly broke out between three girls nearby. It was intercepted quickly though.
"This is weird." Tommy was shaking his head.
Then Tanya became all seriousness, pulling Kat close. "Hey Kat," she said mysteriously. "the password....is..."
She whispered something and Kat snorted with laughter, tripping on a clump of grass. Tommy caught her and tried to set her on her feet but she didn't cooperate. He lowered her down and watched the two girls fall into a fit of hysterics.
"I don't like this one bit." he said.
"Neither do I." Rocky agreed, staring in amused wonderment.
Adam spoke up then. He was on his toes, peering back toward the dance floor. "I think I know what's going on." he said. "How long of these two been hanging out at the drink table?"
The answer hit all of them at the same moment.
"Somebody spiked the punch."
Kat and Tanya jumped up at that moment. They slurred something about needing another drink and made to leave, but Tommy gently grabbed them and held them back.
"Whoa, ladies! I think we've had plenty of punch for today...."
But Kat pulled out of his grip. "Lighten up!" she purred. "I'm a big girl..." and she slapped him on the behind and ran off with Tanya in tow.
Tommy stared after them, speechless. Adam and Rocky glanced at each other in surprise, and then stifled a mutual snicker.
Tommy blushed beet red.
They didn't see the girls for the rest of the night. Rocky finished checking names off his list, and they all kept an eye on the drink table, but there was no sign of Kat or Tanya. There was no further sign of the blonde girl Rocky had told them about either, even though all three guys were on the lookout for her now.
The next morning, they found the Pink and Yellow Rangers in the MedLab at the Power Chamber, suffering from killer hangovers.
Kat lay curled on the bed, still in her party clothes, hugging her middle. She had her eyes closed against the nausea. Tommy approached her and leaned on the edge of the mattress.
"Mornin', Wild Woman." he said, smiling sympathetically.
She only whimpered at him.
He pulled up a stool and sat down. "They sure make good punch for these dances, huh?"
She mumbled, "I feel like shit."
"No kidding, you were plastered."
She opened her eyes to glare at him. "Quit rubbing it in, Mr. Clean."
Alpha approached finally, shuffling on his big feet, with a hypo-syringe in his hand. "Here you are, Katherine..." he said in his precise, tinny, pleasant voice. "This should do the trick."
Kat sat up with some difficulty, and tried to focus her glazed eyes on the syringe. Tommy kept her from drooping back to the bed as Alpha injected the grey serum into her upper arm.
"Owch." She mumbled miserably, rubbing the spot.
"What is that stuff, Alpha?" Tommy inquired. The robot handed him the syringe to look at.
"It's a mixture of Jubiliune Lilac extract and alcohol. In simple terms, the alcohol provides a sample of the enemy molecules, and the Lilac attacks, soothing the symptoms. The broken-down particles leave the bloodstream within hours."
Tanya had already received her injection and was delighted to feel the stomach-sickness fading. She sat on the bed with her legs dangling over and Adam and Rocky standing nearby, teasing her about her first hangover. She was too relieved to pay any attention.
Then Zordon's voice echoed over the speaker. "Rangers, if you are able, please report to the main Chamber."
Kat glared at the speaker, positive he had sounded amused.
They all left the lab and entered the main room where Zordon's shimmering energy column was housed.
"As you know," boomed their mentor. "today is Rocky's last day here in Angel Grove." Everyone looked at the Blue Ranger.
"I hope you have taken the past few days to say your goodbyes before his departure."
"We have, Zordon." Adam assured him. Tanya patted her shirt pocket and rattled the Skittles inside.
"That is good. Rocky, please step forward and face me."
Rocky obliged.
"Blue Ranger, you have served this planet exceptionally during your time with as a member of the team. From the day so long ago when you were still a normal civillian, and helped the rangers save an innocent toddler, to the day you adopted the Blue Zeo Powers, you have been consistently loyal, willing and reliable. You've never strayed consciously from the Rangers' Code of Conduct, and hundreds of beings are alive today solely because of your diligence."
Rocky listened quietly, head lifted at a proud angle. His hands were clasped in front his body and he was aware of his friends' eyes on him.
Zordon continued. "I am exceptionally proud of you, Rocky. You will be remembered here with honor for all time. Please hold out your hands."
The Blue Ranger did so, extending his open hands before him. A bolt of electricity streaked out from Zordon's column and connected with Rocky's palm. It didn't hurt a bit, only tingled and set his hair on end. After a moment, a large, multi-faceted crystal appeared in his hands.
"This is not a Zeo Crystal, merely a memento of sorts." Zordon explained. "If you examine it, you will see it bears the Tyrannosaurus icon, the Red Dragon icon, the Ninjetti Ape icon, the Zeo Ranger III Triangle, and the Zeo Sphinx Zord icon on its facets."
Turning the glistening crystal in his hands, Rocky found it to be true. All the icons he had ever held were frosted into the crystal's many facets. He was dazzled and delighted by the gift.
"..thanks, Zordon..." was all he could think of to say. The other Rangers surrounded him to look at the impressive gift.
"You are most welcome. All the other departed Rangers--Zack, Trini, Aisha, Kimberly, Jason, and Billy--have each received similar items as keepsakes, commemorating their service to this world."
The Rangers marveled at the shimmering thing. "Wow."
"..and now, Rocky." Zordon boomed. "Prepare to release to me the Power of Zeo Ranger III...!"
The Rangers jumped back as a larger bolt of electricity struck Rocky's chest. He gasped and closed his eyes as he felt the Blue Power flowing from him.
Adam watched with wide eyes as the Power was absorbed into Zordon's energy column. The noise was deafening and stray threads of power flitted everywhere. He shared a sad glance with the others. This was the end of their friend's adventures with them.
But at that moment, things went terribly wrong.
In a flash of strangely black light, a Ranger appeared nose to nose with the oblivious Rocky. This was like no Black Ranger they had ever seen, and she seemed to emanate evil in her purple-eyed, unidentifiable helmet.
"What the..." Tommy broke away from the other three Rangers and shouted, "Rocky, look out...!" but he wasn't fast enough. The Black Ranger thrust a hand into the stream of energy and clenched her gloved fist. At the motion, Rocky spasmed and threw his head back as the energy flow turned dangerously high.
Tommy charged up to knock them apart, but was thrown backward by the powerful energy coursing through Rocky's body. He hit the computer bank behind him with a painful impact.
The energy stream was fluttering unsteadily. Zordon could do nothing to assist because now the strange Black Ranger was controlling the flow. Then she reached up with the other hand, made another fist, and jerked them apart in a severing motion.
The beam vanished and Rocky dropped, unconscious.
The Black Ranger scanned the room for the first time, gazing at each of the unmorphed Rangers faces. And then, she disappeared. All was quiet for a moment. Then Tanya, Adam and Kat rushed forward to where Rocky lay. Adam and Tanya knelt, calling his name.
"Rocky! Hey Rocko, speak to me!" Tanya shouted.
"Is he alive?" Adam asked as she leaned over his body, putting her ear over his mouth. "..he's breathing." she said finally.
Kat watched them in horror. She had forgotten all about her hangover. Then she heard Tommy groan behind her. She turned and saw him propped against the computer bank, trying, with painful difficulty, to sit up.
She moved over to him and knelt. "Where are you hurt?" she asked, helping him get upright.
He wasn't able to respond. His body was still stunned. He sat panting shallowly with his eyes closed and Kat looked over her shoulder at the others.
One question burned in her mind as she thought of her two hurting friends.
Why?