Author's Note: I should remind readers that although the Rangers are Zeo Rangers (and thereby, should be battling Mondo's Cogs), they will be fighting Zedd and Rita's Putties instead, since Zedd and Rita are the ones who practically destroyed Angel Grove.

Chapter 4: Accidents

Two hours later…

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth!" An accented voice exclaimed. Elizabeth turned around and watched as Kat hurried towards her, her blonde hair whipping her face in a flickering sheet of gold.

"Hey Kat," Elizabeth beamed as her Australian friend caught up with her, panting. The Pink Ranger was dressed for the blistering weather- a pink camisole and blue denim shorts- but she still appeared weary and damp with heat.

"Hi, I've been trying to catch up with you for blocks!" Kat said, regaining her breath. She smoothed out her pink hair band, patting down her blonde locks.

"I'm sorry Kat. I was just thinking," Elizabeth replied, falling in step with the Pink Ranger, shoulders aligned.

Kat glanced at Elizabeth, studying her friend. Elizabeth was wearing a similar ensemble to Kat's- a green laced camisole and blue denim shorts- and her hair was piled on top of her head to allow the cool air to hit her, although in Kat's opinion, there was hardly a breath of cool air in Angel Grove. Kat noticed that despite the typical, usual outfit Elizabeth had donned and its similarity to Kat's clothes, the way Elizabeth wore it made her seem much more relaxed and chic than Kat could pull off. There was certain sophistication that Elizabeth possessed that Kat knew she didn't own. Few girls could own that refinement.

As the two rounded a rather deserted block, Kat noted two boys walking towards them. The boys seemed just a few years younger than themselves. As the boys passed Kat and Elizabeth, they stopped and examined both girls, though Kat was quite aware that they were staring intently at Elizabeth longer, and then they whistled loudly, hooting and shouting.

Kat looked back at the two boys, thinking: What idiots, and glimpsed at Elizabeth, who was rolling her eyes.

"Boys," Elizabeth murmured under her breath.

Kat giggled, "Oh come on, Elizabeth. You've spent your entire life with two boys. Clearly, this can't be new to you."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked, puzzled.

"Well, I'm sure Adam or Rocky have mentioned before how boys just flock to your side, wanting a peck on the cheek." Kat embellished, smiling widely.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at her friend and grinned mischievously. "You think that Adam or Rocky would say something like that?"

The two girls burst into laughter. Kat smiled at the amusement they had tangled themselves into. It was refreshing to hear the sounds of laughter rather than the screams of the innocent trying to free themselves from the pain and torture of Zedd and Rita's monsters.

"But seriously, Elizabeth, you are a boy magnet." Kat emphasized.

Elizabeth shrugged, "I never considered myself a boy magnet. Adam and Rocky have mentioned that I do attract a fair amount of onlookers, but I never thought twice of it. I mean, I've spent twelve years with Rocky and Adam, and I guess I just never realized my effect on boys. I always thought I was one of them."

"But you're not," Kat retorted firmly, "You're a girl, and an attractive one too. I'm surprised you didn't notice Rocky or Adam make passes at you before."

Elizabeth smirked, "Adam? Rocky? The two most immature boys of the century make a pass at me? I doubt it."

"Oh come on," Kat replied, "Surely, you must notice the way Adam's eyes always light up whenever you come into a room, or the way Rocky trips over stools or benches whenever you walk by."

"That's just because they're impractical. They're not serious when they're 'flirting' with me. Okay, so I confess that Adam and I have kissed and been a couple, but for a majority of our relationship, we were in elementary school. And Rocky and I have always been close, but only like brothers and sisters."

Kat sighed and patted Elizabeth on the shoulder sympathetically. "One day, you're going to realize that your two best friends are both in love with you."

Two days later…

"Where're you going?" Rocky asked as he watched Elizabeth brush back her long black hair and plaited it into a single braid down her back. She was wearing a light green tank top, short denim shorts, and black flip-flops. In her right hand, she was carrying a bottle half filled with water.

"There's a cleanup conservation project in the park that I'm heading. Volunteers can signup to help replant flowers and trees that were destroyed by the monsters. I thought it would be helpful if people take a break from all this construction and help make Angel Grove beautiful again. It can revive people's minds and let them breathe in some fresh air while they're helping out." Elizabeth explained, tossing water bottles into a cardboard box.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Rocky exclaimed excitedly. He knew that Elizabeth was a devoted conservationist, but he had no idea that she pulled off a major project amidst reconstruction and rebuilding. And she was right- it would give everyone a sense of relief to get away from the dust and filth of rebuilding stores and hauling away rocks and debris. A few days ago, Rocky was given the job of removing the dead corpses of victims from the piles of debris, and it was not an experience he'd enjoyed. Moving the shattered bones and limbs of the innocent victims who had been burned to death, trampled by monsters, or trapped under falling buildings forced Rocky to relive the horrifying two weeks.

Elizabeth beamed happily, "Thanks Rocky. If you want, you can come and help. I know that you're still in construction right now with the others, but I'd really appreciate it if you could help out for a few hours."

"No problem, Elizabeth. I'll help out all day if you need me to." Rocky replied enthusiastically.

Elizabeth smiled, "Trying to get out of construction?"

"Well," Rocky frowned, "I'm not exactly in the construction lining of business right now, so, technically no."

"Oh yeah, I heard that you had to move the corpses," Elizabeth grimaced, "I'm sorry about that, Rocky. It must have been hard."

"It was difficult to see the faces of people who we could have saved, but I tried not to think about it too much." Rocky replied half-heartedly.

Elizabeth touched his shoulder sympathetically. "That's really brave of you. I know I could never have the courage to move the corpses. It'd be too painful."

Rocky nodded wordlessly. For a few minutes, there was silence between the two friends, but then, Rocky coughed and tried to smile at his best friend. "So, I'll help you carry these boxes to the park then." He bent down and lifted one of the cardboard boxes, trying his best to lift the somber mood.

Elizabeth immediately took action and grabbed another box. "Thanks so much, Rocky. This is great. After we're finished planting in the park, I organized a small celebration, you know, to thank everyone for volunteering and to relieve some of this stress that's been put upon us. Everyone's been dealing so well with the destruction and helping out with rebuilding Angel Grove and Stone Canyon, so that I thought I could treat everyone to a dance party."

Rocky beamed, wrapping Elizabeth into an embrace. "That sounds terrific Elizabeth. Honestly, you always have the best ideas." Elizabeth flushed as she and Rocky made their way towards the park, their arms loaded with various items. They continued chatting as they made their way to the park, discussing the party and making necessary arrangements, enjoying each other's company.

Suddenly, a bright white column of light flashed in front of them, and they were surrounded by Putties. Rocky and Elizabeth dropped their boxes simultaneously, taking fighting stances as they surveyed their enemies, back-to-back. Rocky glared at the Putties with obvious dislike. "Come on, Elizabeth. Let's show these brainless soldiers what we're made of!"

"Right!" Elizabeth grinned as she felt Rocky take off from behind her. Instantly, she charged forward, knocking down several Putties with one flying kick. She then somersaulted backwards until she touched the trunk of a tree, and flew up, executing a perfect backwards flip, and causing several Putties to charge headfirst into the tree. Smiling, she continued fighting Zedd's soldiers, gaining the upper hand. After awhile, she looked around to make sure Rocky was alright, and found, to her absolute horror, that the remaining Putties had decided to gang up on Rocky and he was severely outnumbered. She watched as one of the Putties kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying into a tree. Enraged, she quickly rushed over to where he was lying, and kneeled beside him.

"Rocky!" She screamed, terrified that he was hurt. "Rocky, are you okay?"

Before he could respond, a crowd of Putties lunged for her. She spun away expertly, hitting them square in the chest and watching them vanish in dissolving smoke. She continued to fight the Putties until they decided to resign and disappeared and she was left alone in the park with Rocky once again.

Running a quick scan around her, she kneeled back down and surveyed Rocky with anxious eyes. The Blue Ranger muttered incoherently and Elizabeth was concerned that he had received a mild concussion to the head. She checked his body for injuries, finding a bruise on his stomach where the Putties had attacked him, several on his arms and legs, and one on his forehead.

"Rocky, Rocky, can you hear me?" She murmured, holding him in her arms. She felt Rocky stir beneath her, and she watched with baited breath as he struggled to open his eyes. Elizabeth breathed in a desperate sigh of relief as his brown eyes met hers.

"Elizabeth?" He croaked, obviously in pain.

"Oh thank God," She muttered, holding his face in her hands and kissing his forehead wound. He winced, but smiled lightly, his eyes closed.

"I'm okay." He said, though he hardly felt like it.

"Bullshit," Elizabeth whispered, "You look like nine shades of hell, Rocky. You almost received a concussion too."

"But I didn't," Rocky argued, opening his eyes again. "I'm alright, really. I just wasn't too lucky at the end."

"Those bastards," Elizabeth mumbled furiously, "those cheating bastards. They knew fairly fighting us both was not going to improve their chances of winning, so they decided to gang up on you. And now, you're hurt."

"I'm not, Elizabeth." Rocky replied firmly, sitting up. He winced once, but swallowed past his pain. Elizabeth regarded him with a wary glance.

"We better take you to the Power Chamber. Alpha can run some tests on you to make sure you're okay." Elizabeth advised.

Rocky was about to argue against this idea, but stopped when he saw the determined look on Elizabeth's face. He sighed, knowing that Elizabeth was not going to back down. She was forthrightly stubborn and firm when it came to certain ideas and proposals.

"Alright, let's go. But I don't see the need to. I'm only doing this because you're one persistent, too-goddamn-caring-for-your-own-good woman."

Elizabeth smiled wryly, "I know," And teleported them both out in shades of green and blue light.