Hey guys, here's the next installment of Destiny's Folly. I realize that the tone of this chapter is probably drastically different, but as one of my reviewers pointed out, accepting a situation like this gracefully isn't likely to happen. The Rangers are worried about their friend, they have someone who is invading their lives albeit unintentionally, and there's still the question of what's going to happen when Rita and Zedd inevitably attack.

The reason I developed Chapter One the way I did was because something like this might not sink in right away, and it makes more of an impact on all involved if the tension explodes after a relatively peaceful beginning. This chapter is the first indication that things are not always what they seem…

Disclaimer: Sara/Alex are mine, Power Rangers is Disney's.

Chapter Two: The Thunder Rolls

I woke up from a sound, deep sleep and realized that I had kept Adam captive all night. I blushed lightly as I realized that his arms felt good around me. I sensed someone watching me and looked up to see Kimberly standing in the doorway. She smiled nervously at me and I cocked my head to the side questioningly.

"What is it Kim?" I asked softly, as to not wake Adam up.

The petite girl smiled tightly and moved to sit on the bed next to mine. "Um…can I ask you something?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course."

"Jason…he's okay right? I mean, he didn't get killed or anything right?"

I winced, but answered her question carefully. "No, he didn't die."

"But he came close to though, didn't he?" her soft question was more of a statement.

"Yes. I won't lie to you Kim, he was very, very sick. The Gold powers weren't meant for a human body. If Tommy and the others hadn't succeeded in reuniting Trey's halves, Jason would have died from them."

Tears filled Kimberly's eyes and she sat there for a moment, speechless. Then she surprised me by exploding.

"How dare you say a thing like that?"

I blinked in surprise and confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Tommy would never have asked Jason to take the powers if he knew that they would hurt him."

I drew back away from her anger instinctively; ending up scrambling over a wide-awake and majorly confused Adam.

"I didn't say he did Kimberly. No one knew that the Gold Ranger powers would be that hard on his system."

"And this Trey just happened to not mention the danger?"

I struggled for words. "Kimberly, nothing like this had ever happened to him before. How was he to know that Earthling physiology wasn't compatible with a Triforian power source? I mean, look at you all. Your powers sure didn't come from Earth, did they? And you're fine."

"And another thing. Why would you imply that Billy lied to us? Billy would never lie, especially to us."

"Kimberly, negative protons are an oxymoron. Protons are defined as positive particles of energy. It's impossible for them to be negative. If they were, they would be electrons." I said as calmly as I could, trying to lower the tension.

"So that automatically means that Billy lied? How do you know they didn't substitute that instead of a more scientific explanation so the children wouldn't be confused? Huh?"

"I-I don't. As I said in the beginning, I don't know if it's actually going to happen or not. You asked me what I knew and I told you. It's not my fault it isn't pleasant."

"Do you get some kind of sick pleasure at telling us things that can't possibly be true? Take what you said about the Pan Globals. Sure, it's a nice fantasy, but I would never abandon my duty to the others and to the Earth to go frolicking across the country like that. Is that the kind of person you think I am?"

I was beginning to lose my temper. "I didn't think you were the kind of person to send your extremely faithful boyfriend a 'Dear John' letter either, but apparently you were." I shot back.

Kimberly froze and for a few small seconds I thought she was going to stop breathing completely. Then she was off that bed and lunging at me. Before I knew what was happening, I felt the sharp sting of her hand across my face and it was my turn to freeze in disbelief.

"Get out." She shrieked as Adam got between us. "You have no right to be here. Get out!"

At that point, getting the hell out of that room was fine by me. I jumped off the bed and fumbled for the clasp of the communicator on my wrist, throwing it on the bed. A quick flick of my wrist turned up a morpher and I threw it down too, then sprinted out of the room. I ran right into Tommy, who was probably running to see what the yelling was about and pushed past him without a word.

"Sara?" he asked in confusion.

"Talk to your girlfriend." I snapped back without stopping. I ran into the control room, ignoring the startled looks of the other three Rangers. "Alpha, teleport me out of here."

Even Alpha sounded startled. "Where do you wish to go?"

"I don't care. Anywhere but here."

"Sara?" Billy questioned. "What's wrong?"

I snorted. "Don't worry about it. Get me out of here Alpha. Send me to the Park, send me to the Youth Center, or send me to the school. Wherever. Just do it."

Rocky started toward me, but I held up a hand. "Don't bother. Track me down when you find me a way home. Until then, I'm going to do everyone a favor and stay gone. Damn it Alpha, will you just do it?"

"I can't."

"Fine. I'll do this the old-fashioned way." I growled, crossing the control room.

"Sara, don't do this." Rocky pleaded. "Rita will jump at the chance to capture you again."

"So what? Kimberly and Adam have Alex's morpher. All I'll be to Rita is a potential spy and she'll see soon enough that none of you trust me any more than you do her." I retorted, pushing past him and sprinting down the hall.

I shoved open the door at the end and raced out into brilliant sunlight. I didn't stop until I was out of breath and only then did I let the tears fall. What a fool I had been to think that they could ever accept me. I should have known not to trust impressions made under the influence of painkillers. The only reason they asked me to tell their future was to give me enough rope to hang myself.

What really hurt was that I had believed them. If the kindest and most friendly Ranger hated me because I looked like her friend and told of things that weren't pleasant, then I could only imagine how Tommy and the others felt. I felt sick, thinking of how foolish I had been to expect them to handle a total stranger in their midst with a smile and a wave.

It was clear that Kimberly wanted nothing to do with me. After she told the others about our conversation, I doubted the others would either. I looked around at my surroundings and let out a half laugh-half sob at the pure irony of it. There was nothing but sand, rocks, and scarce brush as far as I could see. I shivered despite the midday heat. I could be in the middle of a mall and it would be the same. The only people I knew in this world didn't want anything to do with me. What was I going to do now?

* * *

(Adam's POV)

What the hell just happened? I'd never seen Kimberly so angry. And I sure as hell had never expected her to slap someone. Tommy looked just as confused as I felt as he skidded into the room.

"What happened? Sara looked upset."

"Good." The Pink Ranger said coldly before storming out.

Only having seen what I had kept my jaw from joining Tommy's on the floor. It wasn't like Kimberly to be so vindictive.

"What happened?" Tommy repeated, looking to me for answers.

"You're asking me? One minute I was blissfully asleep, and the next Sara had scrambled over me to get away from Kimberly, who was yelling at her for accusing you of asking Jason to take the Gold Ranger powers knowing that they would end up almost killing him."

Tommy frowned. "Sara said that?"

"I don't know if she did originally, but her answer was that she didn't. That no one knew that the powers were going to affect him like that. Kim returned with why Trey didn't tell you and Sara said that Trey hadn't known either, assuming that since our powers didn't harm us, there was no danger. Then Kimberly attacked her for implying that Billy lied about why he couldn't take the Gold Powers."

My friend and leader looked even more confused and concerned. "But if he mentioned negative protons, then he did. Even I know that there's no such thing."

"That's what Sara said. And Kimberly shot back with how she could be so sure that the writers of the show didn't originally have a more logical explanation but decided to drop that for the simple one involving negative protons knowing that the children wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Sara defended herself by saying that we had asked her for what she knew and she had told us. That it wasn't her fault it turned out that way. Then Kim accused her of making up everything she told us for our futures. Accused her of making it seem that she didn't care about her duty as a Ranger. Sara must have lost her temper then, because she snapped back that she didn't think Kim was the kind of person to send her boyfriend a Dear John letter either, but apparently she was. Then Kim slapped her and yelled for her to get out. You know the rest."

Tommy ran a hand through his long hair. "Oh man. No wonder Sara looked as if she had been punched in the gut. You don't have any idea what set Kim off?"

I shrugged. "I assume it had to have been the news that Jason nearly died. Add that to the fact that her best friend is now an entire dimension away, and I'm not surprised that she lost it. I just can't believe she was that vindictive. That isn't Kimberly."

Tommy nodded with a grim look. "Me neither. The only time I've ever seen her act that cold was during Club Week and Zedd replaced one of her cactus plants with one of his creations. It pricked her and caused her to be extremely jealous of Trini, overreacting to the smallest perceived insult. I thought for a few moments that their friendship was going to be destroyed forever."

I frowned thoughtfully. "Do you think something like that could have happened again?"

"I don't know man. I hope so. Sara…when she stopped just to tell me the one thing I needed to hear the most…she didn't have to do that. Why would she reassure me about my powers and lie about the rest of it? It doesn't make sense."

"I don't think she lied either. If she was dishonest at all, it was when she tried to hide how terrified she was from me. I could tell that her pride smarted from having to admit that she didn't want to be alone here."

We both jumped when we heard yelling coming from the control room and exchanged a worried glance before racing out to investigate. I stopped short when I saw Rocky's face, a shiver running down my spine. I had never seen his eyes so cold.

"What's going on?" Tommy demanded, stepping between his girlfriend and the Red Ranger.

"Sara's gone, that's what's going on." Rocky growled.

I frowned. "What do you mean gone?"

I had figured that she just needed time to calm down and hid herself somewhere in the Command Center.

"She came running in here and asked Alpha to teleport her out of here." Billy said quietly. "When he refused, she left by the side entrance."

I frowned in concern. "She's out in the desert alone?"

Aisha nodded grimly. "We tried going after her, but by the time we got to the door she was out of sight. We came back in here to try to locate her in the computer, but Kim told us not to bother."

I winced. No wonder Rocky looked ready to kill. Big brother instincts died hard. "Okay, everyone just chill for a moment. Alpha, can you locate Sara?"

"I can try Adam, but without her power coin…"

"Alex's power coin." Kimberly snapped.

Alpha revised his response. "Without a power coin, the computers may not be able to get a lock on her as quickly."

"Try. Uncomfortable situation or not, she could either die out there or get captured by Rita by mistake."

"She doesn't care. According to her, she isn't even worth the effort since we wouldn't trust her enough to let her get close." Rocky said with a glare to Kimberly.

She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why should she? She knows her little plan has failed."

Billy's jaw actually dropped. "Kimberly, you have to see the lack of logic in what you're saying. We all know that Alex was here when she fell asleep in the MedBay. There is no possible way Rita could kidnap Alex from this Command Center and replace her with one of her lackeys without us knowing."

"What is going on with you Kim?" Aisha asked gently. "Why would you accuse Sara of something like that?"

Kim turned away without a word, but not before I saw a flash of what looked suspiciously like guilt in her eyes. She hadn't really believed what she said either. She was just angry and hurt and wanted to lash out at someone. Tommy looked at his girlfriend thoughtfully.

"She never accused me of intentionally getting Jason hurt, did she?" he stated quietly.

She stiffened. "She implied that you were the one who asked him to take the powers."

"But she didn't say it was my fault, did she?" Tommy persisted.

"No." Kim admitted grudgingly.

It was my turn. "She didn't accuse Billy of lying, did she? All she said was that negative protons was a scientific impossibility."

"Same thing."

"But she didn't mean anything by it, did she?"

"I guess not."

Tommy finished. "Kim, did Sara actually say that you abandoned your duty as a Ranger?"

"Okay, enough. I get it. I overreacted." Kim snapped.

"Kimberly, why are you so angry?" Rocky asked quietly.

"She lied."

"But you just admitted…"

"Not about that." She interrupted in annoyance. "About Jason barely surviving. It's not possible. Our powers would never turn on us like that."

Tommy glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. I smirked a little. So I had been right. Jason's illness had been what set her off.

"What did she say about your powers Rangers?"

We all jumped a little. Zordon had been silent through the entire situation. "She said that Trey's powers weren't compatible with Earthling physiology." I answered. "Apparently Jason got so sick that he nearly died."

Zordon frowned in concern. "I see. It is entirely possible that a power source could be safe only for the race of the planet who created it."

"Then why don't our powers hurt us?" Kim demanded.

"Eltarian and Earthling physiology are very similar. If I remember correctly, Sara told us that Prince Trey was from Triforia. Triforians have a vastly different physiology, hence the three halves. If Trey had not had cause to transfer his powers before, it's possible that he could not have known that they would put that kind of strain on Jason's body."

Tommy reached out slowly to take his girlfriend into his arms gently. "Kim, I know you don't want to think of something happening to Jason, especially something like a power source failing, but that isn't Sara's fault. She only told us what she knew. It doesn't mean that it's going to happen."

Kimberly sighed. "I know that. I know it's not her fault. I know she couldn't help changing places with Alex. But I can't help it. I want Alex back. And as long as she's here, Alex isn't going to come back."

"But honey, you can't punish her for something she can't help." Aisha pointed out gently.

She groaned. "I know. I acted like a bitch, didn't I?"

"Sort of." Billy said timidly.

"But I think it was mostly stress." I offered. "I'm sure she'd understand if you explained everything."

Kim smiled a small smile. "We have to find her first. If someone did that to me, I know I'd hide somewhere no one could find me until my wounds healed."

Fate was not on our side today. The alarms blared loudly, warning us of alien activity. Billy crossed over to the computers and typed a minute, then looked up with a grim face.

"We've found her. Unfortunately, so has Rita and Zedd."

===============

I realize that I may have made Kimberly quite OOC, but my theory is that with the right catalyst, even the nicest, friendliest, sweetest person in the world can lose it on someone. You might remember the episode Bloom of Doom, which had Kimberly acting like a total bitch under a spell from Zedd. My idea is that like it or not, she may have the ability to be vindictive and cold deep inside and that Zedd's spell only unleashed it on her friends.

We see further evidence in There's No Business Like Snow Business, when she sent the infamous Letter to break up with Tommy. It just didn't seem like something the Kimberly they've always cultivated would do. I feel that they could have developed her character more, and that this small pattern suggests that she isn't the perfect goddess they nearly always portrayed her to be, but a human being like everyone else--mistakes, irrationality, and all.