No matter how a story will unfold
You know I always will
Have part of you here
In this souvenir
This sweet spanish doll

Poe

Surprisingly it was easier to get a hold of Kimberly than he had thought it would be. She seemed to be lurking everywhere, ready to fight at a moment's notice. The moment was bittersweet for Jason. He wanted everything to be over with and Kimberly safe and good, yet he wished that the day had never come. He was her older brother! He couldn't fight her knowing that this could be the end for her. Or him. The former ranger had learned the hard way not to underestimate the powers of the dark side. Tommy hadn't either. He had even insisted that Jason borrow his brachio staff.

"Just in case." His good friend had told him, his eyes downcast.

"You and Tommy are both the same." Kimberly snarled. "Wait until the opponent attacks."

"If it's always been a successful plan, why change?" Jason challenged as she paced a circle around him.

"Because this opponent knows all your moves, Jase." She threw him a look of disdain. He wished she would wipe that awful glare off her beautiful features. He wanted to remember her smile, but it had been so long since she had graced them all with it. Now that he thought about it, the last time she had actually smiled the genuine and contagious grin he was used to seeing was when he had bid her goodbye at the airport after the Muranthias incident.

Fed up with all his evasion, Kimberly leapt at him. Instinctively, his arms blocked her from firing a fierce punch at his collarbone. Quickly after the first blow, a second one followed, then a third. Being on the defense gave him an important advantage. If he could keep it long enough, she would eventually tire while he had harbored energy left.

Kimberly swiveled around to deliver a high kick, but he ducked just in time to avoid contact. Immediately after her foot hit the ground, he swung his leg around and swiped her foot of the ground. She fell on to her back and cried out in pain. He winced when he heard her bones colliding with the ground. However, instead of rushing to her aid like Tommy had done, he stood up and patiently waited for her to recover.

Kimberly flipped to her feet and charged at him again. She attacked him at a more rapid pace this time, throwing punches left and right and kicks in the middle. Every once in a while, she would actually make contact with his torso or face, but not enough to do very much damage. She growled in frustration, knowledgeable of what he was doing.

After an attempted snap kick, Jason found an opening on her right side and prepared for a roundhouse punch. In spite of this, she managed to recover before he could reach her and grabbed his arm. Immediately after the pull, he felt himself flying above her head and crashing onto the ground. Jason grunted and flipped to his feet prepared for another assault.

She was coming at him at a tremendous speed, and it became conscious to him that he would need to use the brachio staff to counter this attack. With speed that defied the laws of human ability, he whipped the staff out and swung.

"Aaah!" Kimberly cried out in pain and fell to her knees. Her hands pressed against her eyebrow. Jason looked away, unable to see her in excruciating pain. Pain that he had caused. Her shoulders drooped, and she cautiously removed her hand from her forehead. The metal plate was gone. It lay on the ground beside Jason's foot. Jason winced seeing her hand covered in blood that raced down her arm. Blood still trickled down the side of her face.

Kimberly, in her vulnerable state, looked up into his eyes. Slowly, she stood up, shoulders back. He had always admired her persistence, but now he wished she would give up. Jason realized that he had her against a wall of a building and closed the distance between them.

"How did this happen to you?" Jason exclaimed throwing his hands down aggressively. "This isn't who you are, no matter what you think."

"You don't know who I am anymore." She scoffed, chuckling bitterly to herself. "I barely recognize myself."

"How could you just give in?" He stared intently at his younger "sister" determined to find a way to end this in his favor.

Kimberly looked down before returning an equally indomitable gaze. "You want to know how "Little Miss Perfect" turned into something her friends can't stand now? Do you know what betrayal can do to a person? The feeling of being betrayed, or even let down, by your closest friends can eat away at a person's heart for only so long before there is nothing left. Because of this, I was able to see the world in a different light. One that wasn't in my sheltered cheerleader world and even the Power Ranger world. There is a much broader line between evil and good, but we never learned that. Sometimes, there are people, like Astronema, who are trained to be evil their whole lives. To people like her, that is all they know; it's not bad. The other side is bad. I can tell you that the world we live in is so corrupt. Millions of people die alone, everyday, just wanting to be loved; people are driven insane, not just psychologically like schizophrenia, but in the heart. They have no soul, and it is because of the actions of other people. What do you have to say to that? Could you be the same person knowing that, Jason?"

Inside Jason's mind was in turmoil, not that he didn't understand what she was saying, but how to reason with her. He did know the corruption she was speaking of; he dealt with it everyday while living in Switzerland. He had changed tremendously since leaving Angel Grove for the first time, but he was able to cope with the tragedies by doing his best to stop the issues. After a few moments of contemplation, he breathed in deeply.

"You, Kim of all people, were the last that I expected to be affected by the power of evil."

Her eyes squinted as the glare that decorated her typically delicate features increased. Jason tensed as she pressed her body against his. "I am not under the influence of power. Power and pride are the reasons behind the majority of the matters I am talking about."

Jason's gaze traveled from her furious one to the three slices above her eyebrow. They would scar, leaving a mark of this time and place. She could never look in the mirror without remembering these days. Before he could stop himself, he found his hand tracing the cuts, and surprisingly she did not recoil from his touch. After his fingers memorized the slashes, he cupped her face with the same hand. Her brown eyes were filled with confusion and to his surprise, tears. "I am sorry that I failed you. Please, come back to me."

A single tear fell from the corner of her eye, but she quickly wiped it away, erasing its existence. Using full body strength, she pushed him off of her. "You're too late."

Jason stumbled backwards slightly startled by the sudden force. He shook his head to clear the disorder in his mind and prepared to fight. The warrior knew he was going to have to fight her, but he also realized that he could not forget that this was Kimberly. He could not forget that and destroy her, or he would be worse than she was behaving.

"You asked if I could be the same person knowing what a corrupt world we have, and you're right: I couldn't. I can't. I already know the corruption in the world because I have observed it, lived it, and fought against it!" Jason paused to take a deep breath. Kimberly was heaving deep breaths as well, but despite her exhausted panting, her glare remained constant and controlled. "Kimberly, what you are doing is evil! How can you justify these actions? Getting rid of the human race will fix nothing!"

"From my point of view, I'm not the evil one." Kimberly's fists balled as they prepared for battle. "I was hoping I might have an ally in you- that you would understand."

"This is a path that I cannot follow." Jason shook his head as he spoke. She couldn't possibly expect him to agree with this. The woman before him was truthfully not his Kimberly anymore.

"I wasn't asking for a sidekick, Jason. Sidekicks only cause problems. I'm a loner." She stepped forward. "Surprising isn't it? No one would ever have expected that I would become more powerful than all of you."

The petite girl seemed much taller now. Pride and power consumed her whether she would admit it or not. Jason looked down into her eyes as she continued to step closer. A deep laugh escaped passed her cherry lips. "The pitiful pink ranger has surpassed the big bad red ranger."

"You haven't even fought me yet." Jason's eyebrows narrowed with anger. She was trying to goad his pride into taking over his thoughts and actions. "Kimberly, stop. It won't work."

"I don't need to fight you to know that you are weak now. You don't use your full power. You've always held back. What, Jason? Are you afraid of what you might accomplish?" Kimberly scoffed placing her hands on her hips. Jason's eyes left hers and gazed upon the setting sun. It was ironic that such a horrible deed was to be done in such a beautiful setting.

"No, Kim, I know what I could accomplish. I choose not to demonstrate that, however. Life is all about choices and consequences. You make a choice, and you better be ready to suffer the consequence." Jason's stare returned to hers. She nodded in understanding and raised her saber. Jason followed suit holding back tears that he knew he could not shed.

While Tommy and Kat were searching the upstairs level, Billy and Karone found themselves exploring the bottom. They had not sensed evil beings when entering the large building, so they felt that splitting up was the best decision. From the looks of things, they needed to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Billy hoped that Jason could distract Kimberly long enough for them to be successful.

"I remember her mentioning something about a book." Karone said as she followed Billy through an intricately decorated hallway of the castle.

"Well, if she still has it, it should be located here." He said over his shoulder. The decorations really were fabulous. As he observed the paintings, the history they told, he wondered how long this castle had been standing. "Karone, where would she have kept it stored?"

Karone bit her lip. "I'm not sure. I distinctly remember her reading it in her room once. It might be there?"

Billy nodded. "Let's make contact with Tommy and Kat."

"What's this?" He whispered curiously to himself. Behind him, he could hear Kat searching through a large closet. It looked massive, about a thousand pages longer than any book Kim would enjoy reading.

"What is what?" The blonde appeared beside him. She took a closer look as Tommy fingered the binding and gasped. "Oh…wow!"

Tommy opened the first page. There seemed to be an address of some sort. As he read, he concluded that the book was to be kept in the family.

No one, save one,
My heir,
The purest of heart
The strongest of mind,
Will inherit the powers of the Moon and Sun,
Beware! Do not use them as I did
And find your fate with hell!

"Woah, what is Kimberly doing with this?" Kat's eyes were wide as she read over his shoulder. "Powers of the Moon and Sun?"

"Yes, and it seems that she's been using the book…so that must mean that…" Tommy left his statement open ended. Both he and Kat knew what he was about to say. Kimberly was the heiress to this great wizard. However, the address did say to use the powers for good or there would be consequences. What could that possibly mean?

"I can't believe Kim is a witch." Kat said suddenly.

"She's been using spells to enhance her battles, but she never once used this." Tommy informed the second Pink Ranger.

"It just seems so unlike her. I mean she must have gotten this before she turned, so why would she take something with so much power?" Kat bit her lip and sat on the bed.

"I guess she needed more reassurance that she could take care of herself. She told me herself that she gave up on us finding her, and it must have made her feel weak that she couldn't save herself. I know how much she hated that she was always the target for kidnapping." Tommy explained. "Zedd and Rita really screwed her up, always making her out to be the weakest of the group. I guess Divatox managing to do it twice sent her emotions skydiving."

"Tommy," Kat broke in after he took a moment to breathe and collect his thoughts. "I have a question, and I don't want you to take it the wrong way." She paused and gave him a meaningful look, her blue eyes searching his brown. When he didn't answer, she continued her thought, "Do you still love her?"

Outwardly, Tommy's eyes dropped but he maintained tranquility and indifference. On the inside, however, a different story was being written. He hadn't had much time to think about his emotions, let alone love. And, Lord, did everyone know how much he needed and cherished those moments of meditation. Her question did seem random, but it was appropriate in a way. Tommy did seem overeager to find a "cure" for Kimberly; he knew that, but he wasn't sure if it had to be because he was still in love with the woman he once thought he would spend the rest of his life with.

He hardly knew her now. He barely knew who she was. She had changed drastically, even before she had crossed sides. Could he still love her, even though he was unable to announce her favorite TV show or her favorite junk food? He guessed it was so, but he was still wary of the idea. He didn't know whether he was ready to settle down into that type of commitment again if it were true. Then again, who was to say that she still loved him?

"Tommy?" Kat prodded again. Her face expressed worry, and Tommy realized he had drifted into his own dimension again.

"I don't know…" He finally answered. "I don't think it would be right to say that right now."

Kat nodded in understanding. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again." She said softly. "The worst might happen within the next few days." She placed a hand on his and gave him a sympathetic smile.

At that moment, Billy and Karone entered the room. Billy donned a strained look on his face, but it softened when he saw the anguish in Tommy's eyes.

"Oh, you found it!" Karone cried out, breaking the silence. "She said that there were all types of spells in there."

"I expect that there is at least one that can stop this!" Billy declared. He would not allow them to come so close to saving Kimberly and fail.

"But who will cast the spell? Don't you have to be a sorcerer or something?" Kat reminded them.

"I'm sure we could find someone." Karone added with a mischievous look in her eye. The others stared as a slight smirk grew on her pretty features. "What? I know people. I'm not the only one who wants to make up for my past." She stated simply. "Think."

Billy's eyes were the first to lighten. Then again, he was also a genius. "Oh come on, you guys. It doesn't take a genius to figure this one out." Karone crossed her arms and popped her hip. She shot Billy a look that rivaled her Astronema days ordering him to keep quiet. He nodded slightly and gulped the answer down. He covered his mouth as he leaned against the door frame.

Finally, Tommy remembered one woman who had caused more destruction to the universe than anyone before. She had been the worst of the worst for centuries until Zordon and his team had entrapped her in a capsule. She was the reason he had become a Power Ranger. It was sad to say that he owed her a thanks for choosing him to be her accomplice to destroy the rangers, knowing the outcome. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't be here. By the look on Kat's face, he could tell she was thinking the exact same thing.

"The question is, how do we get a hold of her?" He asked, and Karone just smiled.

"I have my ways. The only reason I became a ranger is because I kept my foot in the door of the "evil villain" world. I was able to find that saber for a reason, you know."

"All right…" Kat joined in. "Next question, how long will it take?"

Karone bit her lip, but Billy spoke for her. "She is on earth. Zordon gave me a device to track her and Zedd when we were rangers…just a general one that can tell me what planet they are on. She hasn't left earth since the transformation."

"Great! Then it's settled! You two transfer the book back to a safe place!" Karone clapped her hands excitedly. "And Billy and I will call Rita!"

Kimberly slammed into the wall. A loud yelp forced out of her lungs. Her former leader had certainly kept his abilities regardless of the many years passed. Seeing that she was trapped, Kimberly used her remaining strength to flip over the tall man's head. Fortunately for her, he had not been expecting this maneuver and allowed her to do so with no counterattack. Immediately after landing, she swung her saber across his abdomen with the force of at least two grown men.

Jason, despite being in great shape, was not strong enough to withstand this attack, and since he had not been preparing for such a blow, he found himself flying through the air. It was only after he hit an obstacle that his body hit the ground. Kimberly marched closer to his fallen body with a cocky sway. "You see, Jason, you cannot beat me!"

Jason groaned and tried to use the strength he had left to push himself off the ground, but she kicked him down before he could do so. "I don't think so."

Her grin faltered, and her hand instantaneously flew to her chest. She grabbed at the wall that Jason had collided with. Jason blinked, unsure of the nature of her actions. Kimberly regained her composure, still leaning against the wall, and opened her eyes. Her dark brown eyes found the moon, and for a moment, she felt at peace. Then the feeling of trepidation returned, and she understood what it meant.

"Someone has taken my book." She threw a look down at Jason, who had not moved since the brutal landing. She noticed how pathetic he looked with his head propped against the wall and his body immobile. She crouched down to be nearer to his face and spat out, "I bet you have something to do with this."

Jason tried to shake his head but couldn't. Was he paralyzed? He gazed at his hand that seemed so far away and commanded his finger to move. He sighed with relief when it moved obediently.

Meanwhile Kimberly was currently scolding herself. "How could I have been so stupid! Of course this was a set up. You act as a decoy, while everyone else finds my "secret lair"." She used air quotes to emphasize the last two words.

"A book?" Jason managed to gasp out. His head drooped onto his shoulder as he focused on her secretive stare. He couldn't tell what her next move would be- kill him or get her book. "What book?"

Kimberly snorted and stood up. Jason noticed that despite her petite body, she still towered over his. "I can't believe it. Do you think I'm like all the others? I'm not going to tell you."

Kimberly continued to stare down at him until finally she threw her arms down frustrated with the circumstances. She commanded in a deep tone, "Get up, Scott." Immediately after her words, a golden light flew from her outstretched hands towards his body.

He felt strength immediately fill his bones. He slowly made his way up to a standing position, wondering the whole time what she had done to him. She shrugged. "I did nothing other than give you a boost of energy. It was pathetic, how easily I was able to beat you."

"Jason!" Both of the opponent's heads snapped to their right as they heard an intruding voice. It was the Dino Rangers clad in their suits.

Kimberly's gaze returned to Jason, this time with a baleful glare. "Rangers to the rescue? I didn't realize you were that weak, Jason. And endangering the younglings?"

Before he could call out to the others to back off, they had charged at her. They didn't understand that she had actually helped him. He finally had proof that there was still good in here! Unfortunately, Conner, Kira, Ethan, and Trent were too busy attacking Kimberly to listen to him.

"Guys! Stop!" Jason called out in vain. After a few moments, he rushed in the middle of a jaw breaking punch from Ethan and blocked it from breaking Kimberly's nose.

Ethan, with amazing reflexes, shouted in pain as he abruptly maneuvered to avoid hitting the former ranger. Using his supersonic speed, Conner caught Ethan before he hit the ground. Kimberly seemed to be eyeing him questionably as well. Her forehead was creased in a puzzled expression. With hands on her hips, Kira questioned Jason's motive. "What's up?"

Jason turned to Kira, his mouth slightly agape, and thought of something quick. Truth be told, he didn't really know why he had stopped the fighting. He knew that there was good in her, but that didn't mean that Kimberly had realized it as well. She would continue fighting until she had either killed them all or she herself was killed. He couldn't bear to lose her when they were this close to saving her. "This fight is between Kimberly and me. No one else should interfere."

"But you almost died!" Trent shouted out fervently.

"Almost doesn't count." Jason knew that if he had been able to see the faces of the young rangers, their protest would be evident. Other than Trent's outburst, they did nothing to stop him.

"We understand." Kira replied softly.

Conner nodded. "But we're staying close by. Just in case."

"You never cease to surprise me, Scott." Kimberly spoke after the four rangers backed away. "You were always such a team player."

"Not if it involved killing the rest of the team." Jason countered. "You know I would have done the same for you. Besides, five against one is hardly a fair fight, right?"

"You don't need to protect me." Kimberly griped. "I can handle whatever you throw at me."

Jason shook his head boldly. "Kim…"

Tommy was amazed at how quickly Rita- no, Elaine now- had agreed to helping them. Karone was right that she wasn't the only ex-villain that wished to be redeemed for all past mistakes. He hoped that Jason was holding out. Already, night had fallen.

He found it ironic that his former nemesis was sitting in his living room drinking a beer. Not only was she sitting there drinking a beer, but the former Lord Zedd- now Richard- was sitting beside him. Him. Less than a decade ago, they were at each other's throats prepared to kill each other.

"Do we need to teleport to Kimberly's location?" Billy glanced shyly at Rita—Elaine, he meant. It felt weird to be calling her such a normal name. Tommy shook the conflict away from his head. He would just call her Rita for now.

Rita shook her head. "No, it's not necessary. Do we have everything?"

"Right here." Kat entered the room and set a large brown paper bag down on the coffee table. "Karone and I had a hard time finding the amethyst."

Tommy found himself behind Rita as she pulled each element out of the bag.

One piece of paper.
One blue pen.
One red pen.
One amethyst stone for clear vision.
Lavender dust harmony.

From over her shoulder, he peered at the spell she had discovered in the book. When they had first revealed the book to her, she had reeled back in shock. Apparently, the book had been considered destroyed to all the wizards and witches. Otherwise there would have been a major hunt for the powerful manuscript.

"Shut off the lights." Rita commanded. At once everyone rushed to turn off all the lights. After doing so, they returned to their position behind Rita. However, Tommy remained by the wall to the right of everyone. He felt his resolve crumbling as the nerves overtook his mind. The moon created an eery blue glow to the room. He stared at the silhouettes of everyone, unable to make out their emotions.

Tommy had memorized the spell while Karone and Kat searched for the essentials they needed. It seemed to be a subconscious thing because he had not realized he had done it until just now. He watched Rita intently as she wrote Kimberly's name on the paper with the blue pen. Over the name she drew a pentacle. The former witch seemed very determined not to mess anything up, despite the simplicity of the spell. Steadily she turned the sheet over and took the red pen in her hand to write four words:

COMPASSION MERCY

KINDNESS FORGIVENESS

Carefully, she drew a heart around them and sprinkled a few pinches of lavender dust onto the paper. Tommy observed as she folded the paper four times and sprinkled more dust around and on top of the paper. Finally, Rita opened her mouth and uttered the words as if she was in a deep trance.

May these gifts fill your heart, Kimberly
And when you are given the chance
To sentence someone, may you find
Forgiveness and mercy
Force this evil from your heart
Flee rotten spirit
Leave her own to roam free
As she once was, let her be.

Something felt wrong. Tommy knew that Jason was in trouble, and needed his help as soon as possible. When she opened her eyes, Tommy knew she was finished. He immediately stepped forward. "Billy, teleport me now."

Kimberly ducked as Jason threw a jab at her and kicked him in the back of the knees. He groaned when he hit the ground and again when she stomped her foot on his middle. "I told you that you couldn't win!"

"What good will it do," Jason paused to catch his breath. "Killing me?"

Kimberly kicked his side forcing him to roll onto his stomach. "You'll finally get the punishment you deserve. All of you."

"Stop!"

Kimberly rolled her eyes and sighed. "What now?"

Slowly she turned around expecting to see the four rangers charging at her. Instead she found herself staring at someone whom she believed was dead. "Tommy?"

Kimberly turned back around to see Jason steadying himself. He was staring at her attentively. She snapped her head back at Tommy who was now running towards her. Frustration, anger, and humiliation bubbled inside of her. Not only had he tricked her, he now had the advantage.

Kimberly raised her arms to the sky and called upon the moon to give her strength. She could feel the blue energy seeping into her fingertips as she gathered all the energy. If she was going to die, she would take out the two men she hated most along with her. Finally, she lowered her arms to be perpendicular to her body and released the energy at the two who were now running at her.

She watched in horror as the energy bolts were blocked by the two of them using some power source unknown to her. The energy reflected off of the shield and made its way back towards its source.

She couldn't even scream when the two bolts struck her- one in the side and the other on her neck. All she could do was allow herself to collapse. Her knees buckled and the ground rushed at her.

Let go.

I can tell you why
people go insane
I can show you how
you could do the same
I can tell you why
the end will never come
I can tell you on
the shadow on the sun

Audioslave

Sorry that took so long. I think my subconscious wasn't letting me update this because I'm so close to being done. Hopefully you like this chapter!

Wow. One more to go and it's done!

Thank you for the reviews, I'll make a big reply to each of you for the last chapter! (to make up for all the times I've been lazy! Haha)