This chapter timeline-revision at 22-Oct-2005

1. Yeah, I know I'm late. This should have been up yesterday. It happens. I updated after all, right?

2. While we're at it: I had another fanfic running (different fandome). I had to choose between this story, and that one. I picked this. Why? Because it got reviews, and the other one didn't. Now, ever since I ditched that other story, I got like some 20 reviews from people saying "No, we read this, why did you quite?" and maybe one review here. So, now: I confess to liking this story better, so I won't ditch it so easily… But I will. Review, people! Even if it's blank… Just so I'll know someone's reading this.

7. History

"If all the history is true

She's gonna end up just like you

You made it to the other side

But tell me who will be my guide?"

"Northern Star", Mel C.

"Carlos, honey, it's for you!"

"Who is it, mom? I'll be late for school!"

He shoved the last of his books into his bag. He spent half the night awake, browsing through endless records of spells that might have been used on Shiera. He was coming very close to missing his school bus.

"He says his name is Rocky, dear!"

"I'm getting it!" yelled Carlos downstairs. He snatched the phone. "Hello?"

"I know it's a bad time, I didn't know when I can catch you at home"

"Anything urgent?"

"When do you finish school today?"

"Four in the afternoon"

"You know Orchard lane?"

"It's left of the school"

"Be there at 16:15"

"What…"

"Unless school bus hours changed since I graduated, you're going to miss your buss. Just be there. Bye"

The former Ranger hanged up. Carlos stared at the receiver for a good several seconds before he putting it down and racing down the stairs, thanking the lord that the bus station was right outside his house.

"What are you doing here?" fired Zhane. "Ecliptor ruined the entire school when I wasn't paying attention?"

"Math teacher got the flue. Free double term" said Carlos shortly before sitting down and grabbing the nearest stack of pads. "How far did you get?"

"The spells list is down to 3,760. Andros finished indexing the profiles some time ago, but I thought you'll want to do that". He pushed a different stack towards the black Ranger.

"Right, thanks. How many profiles have we got?"

"Some 70,000 before filtering. 10,000 after ruling out all the cases involving the spells we rejected. Oh, and I don't think we'll be excused from team lunch today"

"What? We need this time!"

"Told that to Andros. He said we can pick any other Ranger we want to help us here, but we're showing for lunch"

"Have you tried telling him that one more Ranger on this means one less Ranger looking for Zordon?"

"He said that right now, resolving the Shiera affair has a higher priority; and he's right"

"I guess a third pair of eyes will speed up the process", sighed Carlos. "Let it be TJ than. We need to get him started this afternoon, because I've got a mystery meeting"

"What?"

Carlos told him of Rocky's call. Zhane frowned.

"I don't like the sound of this"

"He's an ex-Ranger. I don't think he'll deliberately put me in harm's way"

"So we'll let TJ know during lunch?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. Now let's get back to narrowing lists"

"Need some help with the marinade?"

"No, not really" answered Cassie.

"Are you sure?". Zhane's tone was his casual, playful one, but his eyes told a different story.

"Oh well, you can stir this". She handed him the bowl of thick sauce and looked around, checking on their teammates: TJ kept Ashley by the grill with him, Carlos was getting his frustration out on the vegetables he was chopping and Andros was battling the tablecloth he insisted on bringing. They were all out of earshot.

"Who talked Andros into forcing Carlos to come to lunch today?"

"I did, though I'm surprised he managed it"

"He used bribe. Said Carlos and I can pick another Ranger to help us with the research"

"If I was the chosen one, you wouldn't be keeping this conversation quiet"

"Carlos picked TJ"

"Is that a problem?"

"You know both guys. Think"

"I'm sure that no matter how nasty Carlos will turn, TJ will manage to remain friendly. I see no problem here"

"Being friendly is the surest way of raising Carlos's temper"

"You're friendly with him" accused Cassie, before relenting. "I'll talk to TJ. I messed it up, I'll fix it. Now hand me back this marinade. You've spilled enough of it"

It was a windy sort of weather when Carlos left the school and turned to Orchard lane. He fastened his jacket about him, and prayed that whomever he was supposed to meet would be early. It was less than a five-minutes walk from the school to the lane, and he was going to be there well before 16:15.

He turned into the lane. There was nobody there. He sighed, and begun looking for a sheltered spot, when a man came out of a battered, dusty truck.

"Carlos"

"Tommy"

"I would have said how glad I am to meet you, but under the circumstances…"

Carlos nodded. "Understood"

"I had a race yesterday. This is as fast as I could come". He sighed deeply. "Come on, get in the car. There's some stuff you need to know"

"Where are we going?" asked Carlos when Tommy started the engine.

"You'll understand" answered Tommy very shortly. "I'm about to tell you some things I only told one person before"

"About why you were afraid of Shiera?" tossed Carlos, hoping Rocky's information was correct.

"Yes. So listen closely. I don't think I can say any of this twice"

The business district of the Angel Grove downtown was deserted. It was a chilly, windy day for the season, but it wasn't the weather that drove people away. It was the worst threat the city ever encountered, a threat, it seemed, too hard even for the Power Rangers to handle: it was the evil green Ranger.

He was standing on top of one of the building, smiling behind his helmet as the other Rangers skidded to a halt below him. The colored figures were surrounded by rubble, hardly visible. This made the grin Ranger's smile even wider. The rubble was his own doing, the debris left after he set his Dragon Zord on the city center's proud buildings. See the message here, Rangers? You'll be crushed, just like those pitiful heaps of cement and glass around you. He surveyed his handiwork proudly. Empress Rita should be pleased.

Something was moving in the remnants of an office building not too far from him. A child, he realized. No more thaneleven ortwelve years old. She was moving cement blocks that were far too big for her. Trying to uncover something. But what? The child moved another block of cement, and the green Ranger saw what she was trying to rescue. The sight hit him together with the red Ranger's words.

"Tommy, no! Listen to me! You don't have to do this!"

"It was very much like a curtain drawn in my head, letting the sunshine in. Up until that moment, I was caught like in a dream, never realizing what was really happening. Than suddenly, my head was very clear. All the colors were sharper than I've ever seen them, every small sound was a mighty roar. I looked down at the dagger I was holding, and than it hit me: this was I. I was the one standing there, laughing coldly, and spreading destruction so carelessly. Looking at the red Ranger, I remembered how I liked the guy as soon as I saw him, and I realized I almost killed him several times"

"I'm sorry, Jason…"

"As soon as I spoke those words, I could feel that something was wrong. Something was stirring inside of me, trying to snatch the clarity I've only just regained"

"…but this is what Rita says…"

"Just a few seconds prior to that, looking at the dagger, I though that this was as bad as I'm ever going to feel. I was proven wrong quickly, far too quickly. The spell was bound to the Sword of Darkness, and could not be broken for as long as the sword existed. My self-control was shattered. I was shunned to a corner of my mind, a helpless spectator, as someone else, who shared all of my memories and skills but none of my character, finished my sentence for me"

"…and she is my Empress!"

"The one who had control of my body reached for his blaster. I knew what he was about to do, and I couldn't let him do it. I was weak from days of enchantment, but I gathered all the will that was left in me, every single fiber of independence and defiance, and I won. Just barely. I was weakened further, but at least I knew I was not completely helpless. I could resist. I could slow him down, give the other Rangers a chance to beat him. And it worked. Jason destroyed the sword, and that part of the nightmare was over"

"It was never really over, though", sighed Tommy as he parked the car. "We'll walk the rest of the distance; it's not far"

"The girl was Shiera, wasn't she?"

"Yes. Of all the people hurt by my actions as the evil Ranger, she was the only one I ever came to know…"

"What are you watching, Tommy?" asked Ernie, leaning over the bar.

"That girl"

"Yes, she's quite something, isn't she?"

"I don't remember seeing her here before"

"That's because she's new. Only registered to the dojo a couple of weeks ago"

"She must be really talented than. She looks like she's been practicing martial arts for months, in the least"

"Thinking about tutoring her?"

"I don't know. I feel like I've seen her before, but I can't put my finger on it"

"Maybe you saw her on the news"

"The news?"

"Yes, they made a big deal of her a month ago. She was in one of the buildings the green Power Ranger destroyed in his last attack as an Evil Ranger. She made it without a scratch, but…". Ernie looked at Tommy's suddenly white face. "I see you remember"

"Yes, I do", answered Tommy bitterly. "I don't think I could ever forget…"

"In my dreams, he's reaching for the blaster, like he did in real life. Only in my dreams, I can't stop him. He aims the blaster and he shoots the kid, almost lazily. He doesn't really care, but he's somewhat mad that she got away when he wrecked that building. Killing her is his answer to the red Ranger's attempt. And then all that is left for me to do is scream, as he continues to the man who is closer than a brother to me, and to the woman who was my first love…"

"So what's the deal, Tommy?" inquired Jason quietly. He and his best friend were sitting at the juice bar, watching Rocky and Adam struggling with the strong-minded prodigy they were tutoring. "This isn't really about yoututoring too many kids already, right?"

"Seeing right through me, aren't you?"

"Come one, it doesn't take a genius to figure this out. Even Rocky got it"

"He's not as thick as he acts sometimes"

"True, but don't change the subject".

Tommy stirred his smoothie, and then spoke, never raising his eyes: "I once told you of a girl, and made you swear you'll tell no one"

"So that's the girl of your nightmares". Jason turned for a better look at her. "If she's so tiny now, I don't get how she was possibly strong enough to move large cement blocks three years ago"

"She's a tough one. So what will you tell Rocky and Adam?"

"Not the truth, obviously". Jason turned his full attention back to his friend. "At least, not the whole truth. I'll have to tell them something they'll believe: Adam is a damn lie detector"

"So what will you say?"

"That she scares you. I just won't tell them why. If they'll push, I'll say I don't know. Is that okay with you?"

"I guess it'll have to do"

"Angel Grove Memorial Hospital?", asked Carlos, looking up at the building. "What's here?"

"The answer to the question I so far refused to answer"

"What was Shiera trying to salvage?"

"Oh yes. Keep quite now. We can't speak freely in the corridors"

"Who's she?" asked Carlos, looking at the sleeping child, lying in the hospital bed.

"Look at her face" shrugged Tommy.

"She can't be…" whispered Carlos.

"She is. She's Shiera's sister. Her name is Emma. She's been comatose ever since". Tommy's face writhed in anguish and blame. "Shiera's family won't let go, and there's nothing that the doctors can do for her. Only a miracle can help her"

"She looks so young"

"She's twelve. Younger than Shiera was". Tommy slumped into a chair. "A few days ago, Kat and I sensed that something was wrong. You see, we've been both touched by very powerful spells, spells that leave marks for a lifetime. I couldn't bring myself to talk to anyone save Jason, so it was Kat who alerted the rest of the old gang. Rocky realized we sensed the spell cast over Shiera, and so he called me"

"So I'll know the truth"

"I'll bet you anything this Astronema witch learned Shiera's background before abducting her. If you're to have any chance of breaking the spell she put over your girl, any chance at all…"

"…knowing Shiera is the only way" completed Carlos. Something that was knotted within him loosened during the former Ranger's long speech. Carlos found himself breathing easier. "You've just gave me my a first real spark of hope since she was taken. If you made it through, she can make it , too"

"She'll need all the help you can give her"

"I'm not alone on this", said Carlos. Suddenly, he realized it was true. I'm not alone.

A loud crashing sound made both guys run to the window.

Carlos reached for his morpher automatically, but he didn't morph. He looked at Tommy.

"Go", said the ex-Ranger, "And make history repeat itself"

The grim blessing made Carlos smile, as it was supposed to. "Thanks", he said simply. Then, he returned his attention to the crisis at hand: "Let's Rocket!"

Next time: "I never thought it could be bad news"