Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. Someone else does. I don't know whom because it keeps changing. Please don't get offended if I insult your favorite character. Some pairings are easy to write a story for while others are really tough. So please realize that some of my stories will be better than others. Hi to all my fellow AFPR's including my fellow female Psychos :). And I really appreciate the reviews :).

Story number 50!!!! Whoohoo! Ok, two things. First, the next group of stories will be reader requests. So let me know what pair of Rangers you want to meet (no Aquatians, Triforians, or Phantoms, please) by July 31. One request per person, please. So far, these are the requested pairs: Kira and Kat, Jason and Jen, Cam and Ethan, Ethan and Carter, Jason and Shane, Hunter and Justin, Wes and Eric, Andros and Dustin, and Kat and Billy. If I missed your request, please let me know, thanks. :)

Second, the next 50 stories (well, that's my goal) will be under a new heading because, well I figured When Rangers Meet is long enough with 50 stories under it.

Karone and Trini

By

Eileen (Psycho Tangerine)

"Ah, finally," moaned Karone happily as she settled back in her lounge chair on the beach. Ever since she had been released from Dark Specter's control five years ago, neither Andros nor Zhane had left her alone for more than five minutes. They even stood outside the bathroom whenever she was in it. And it had been completely inconvenient dragging Andros along on her and Zhane's honeymoon.

So, she had considered it a brilliant stroke on her part to record her voice calling for help and plant it in the cellar. As soon as the guys had gone down to look for her, she had slammed the door shut and locked them in. Karone smiled. With the extra bathroom and a year's supply of food stored down there, they could conceivably stay there for about two weeks. The amount of time she had rented out her beach bungalow.

"Heeeeeeeyaaaaaahhhh!!"

Karone was sipping on some papaya juice when her glass was suddenly kicked out of her hand. "Hey!" she cried, "my drink!" She looked up. There hovering over her was an Asian-looking woman with a scowl on her face. "What's the big idea? Who are you, anyway?"

"I am Trini Kwan, former Yellow Ranger. I am here to take you down, Astronema." Trini posed threateningly.

Karone stared at her in disbelief. "Uh, hello? I'm Karone. Astronema doesn't exist anymore. Zordon's wave destroyed Dark Specter's hold over me. And I believe you owe me for this bikini you just spilt juice all over."

"Wave? What wave?" Trini pushed a button on her old communicator. "Zordon? Are you there? Since when do you have waves? Could I go surfing on them sometime? Zordon? Hello, Zordon? Why won't you ever answer?"

Of course, there was no reply.

"Ok, Astronema, I don't know what you did to Zordon. But your reign of evil ends right here." With that, Trini kicked at the lounge chair, causing it to flip over and dump Karone on the sand.

Karone spat sand out of her mouth. The she jumped up and took on a defensive pose. "Are you completely nuts? Where have you been the past five years?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I was living in a Buddhist Monastery in Tibet. I thought the isolation would help me further develop my skills in meditation and martial arts." Trini began to sing, "no phone, no boat, no motor car, not a single luxury…"

Karone covered her ears. "Owww! You are definitely NOT Star Search material."

Trini sobered at this. "Yeah, it's not fair. Last I heard, Kim, Aisha, Kat, and Tanya had formed their own group, 'The Ex-Ranger Girls.' But I never got invited to join them."

"Thank God," mumbled Karone.

"Shut up, you evil Princess! Heeeyyyyaaaaahhh!!" This time Trini aimed for Karone's head and missed as Karone ducked. "Now answer me! What did you do to Zordon?"

"Stop doing that!" cried Karone. "And I didn't do anything with him. My brother, Andros, the Red Space Ranger destroyed him at his request. The resulting golden wave took away my brainwashing. It also destroyed all of the monsters, robots, and other evil creatures. And it turned Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, and Divatox into harmless humans."

Trini stared unbelievingly at her. "Uh, yeah, you're related to the Red Space Ranger. Zedd and Rita are now good. Zordon committed suicide. Please, I'm not that gullible. Now, prepare to be destroyed!" With that, she swept her foot, causing Karone to fall on her bottom.

"Hey! I said to cut it out!" She stood back up and smirked at Trini. "Would you believe that I got to be the Pink Galaxy Ranger for a while?"

"LIAR!" screamed Trini as she dove in for yet another attack. She missed as Karone sidestepped her and landed face first in the middle of a strange couple's picnic. "Sorry about that," she said sheepishly as she jumped up, cherry pie dripping from her face. "Now, where were we?" she asked as she posed threateningly yet again.

"Hey, wait a second. I thought it was against the rules for you to escalate a fight. I mean, I'm not attacking you, am I?" Karone was getting desperate. This crazed woman, hell-bent on vengeance, was ruining her vacation. After this, Andros and Zhane were bound to plant a tracking device on her.

"Ah, but I no longer have my powers. Therefore, I'm no longer bound by that stupid rule." Trini picked up Karone's discarded towel and snapped it at her.

"Yeeeoouch! That smarts!" hollered Karone. "But what about this famous 'honor' of yours? According to the Ranger files, you would have considered it dishonorable to attack a defenseless person."

Trini's eyes narrowed. "Defenseless person? You? Don't make me laugh, Astronema. I heard all about the chaos you caused."

"Whoa!" called Karone as she fended off the other woman's next attack. "Do you see a weapon on me?"

"No."

"A wrath staff?

"No."

"Have I displayed any magical powers at all since you began attacking me?"

"No…wait," Trini paused in thought. "That, that means you ARE defenseless. Noooo! My honor! It's been besmirched!" She bowed low to the ground in front of Karone. "I am not worthy."

"Oh, please," yawned Karone, "let's just forget this whole mess. Do you want to check out those surfer guys over there?" She certainly didn't equate being married with being dead.

"Sure thing!" Trini immediately stood up and brushed the sand off herself. "Hey," she said as she and Karone headed off together. "What did you do with that cool leather outfit anyway?"

"Oh, that. I burned it."

Trini stopped walking and stared at Karone in disbelief. "Burned it? What would you do that for?"

"Uh, because it was a reminder of my years as the evil Astronema." Karone decided to leave off that it had also begun to get a tiny bit tight on her. Her eyes narrowed. "Wait, why the sudden interest in the apparel of someone you just tried to destroy?"

"Oh, well, I was just making conversation. No real reason," giggled Trini nervously as she began to walk again.

Karone gasped. "I get it now. You didn't want to destroy Astronema because she's evil. You wanted to destroy her in order to get her leather outfit."

Trini stopped again and looked at Karone with tears in her eyes. "It's so true! I just wanted to get you leather outfit! I have no honor!" Once again she bowed down to the ground.

"Oh get up already, everyone's staring at us." Karone tried to block her face in embarrassment. "Besides, what do you need a used leather outfit anyway? Haven't you ever heard of the mall?"

Trini, having stood back up, stared at her. "Are you kidding? I've been in a Buddhist Monastery the past five years. Where would I get the money?" She sighed. "I just wanted something to get Billy's attention."

"Billy Cranston?" asked Karone. "Isn't he that Ranger genius guy who swore off all women after a horrible experience with some alien fish girlfriend?"

"Yes," cried Trini. "That Cestria bitch never bothered to tell him that mating with her would cause him to begin to mutate into a flounder. Luckily, he caught on before he had grown gills and fins. It was even luckier that he had found Zordon on Eltar who was able to cure him and get rid of the green scales."

Karone blinked. "And you say my story about Zordon's wave and my being a Power Ranger is unbelievable."

Trini continued as if she hadn't heard her. "Do you know how angry I was when he had left for that planet?"

"No, how angry?"

Trini's fists clenched. "He had promised me that he would be waiting for me when I got back from the peace conference, the jerk!"

"Yes," said Karone calmly. "He decided that an alien girl was better than you, didn't he?"

"How dare he!" cried Trini. "He didn't even have the decency to break off with me. Hell, I didn't even get a letter like Tommy got from Kim. That blue bastard just ran off from me!"

"Well, he's just not good enough for you. Is he?" Karone began waving and smiling at some of the cute surfers.

"No, no he's not." Trini dried her eyes and squared her shoulders. Then she smiled at the surfers as well. "I guess I could look elsewhere for a boyfriend." With that, she headed towards them.

"You go do that." Karone held back for a minute. Then she waved her hand over herself and transformed into her 'Astronema' look complete with purple wig and black leather outfit. She had purposely neglected to mention to Trini that, even though she was no longer evil, she could still do that. Karone aimed her wrath staff at Trini. "Try to destroy me, will you?" With that, she zapped her in the butt then teleported away.

"Yeeeeeoooochhh!" screeched Trini who turned and stared at where Karone had just been.