************************* Juice bar*****************************

The sticky sweet sickly smell of wet iron hung heavy in the air as Kimberly, Skull and Bulk stayed close to the shadows while sneaking closer to the doors of the community center. The remains of several bodies laid torn all around. Kimberly swallowed down the vomit that burned the back of her throat at the sight and tried not to step in any pools of blood.

No one was left alive. She had expected to see putties or Goldar but so far, nothing but Billy seemed to be around. With as violent as he was being, she wasn't surprised Goldar would keep a good distant. In all the monsters past, all she had seen. Nothing had been this savage.

Her heart ached for her best friend. Even if they got through to him. If he ever remembered doing this, he would fall apart. He might even try and take his own life, like he wanted to before... when they were kids...

And this time she wouldn't be there to save him.

"So do we have a plan?" Skull asked, in barely more than a whisper.

Kimberly shook her head no. "Not really. I'm just hoping somehow we can reach Billy. He's just got to be in there some place."

Bulk looked around the corner before turning back. "And if he isn't?"

Kimberly turned her eyes to the ground, and the gore and carnage splattered all around. "Then we get out of here and let the rangers handle it."

Bulk simply nodded. He knew that thought must be killing Kimberly... didn't feel to good to him either.

"Looks clear." Bulk said, as the group moved out and into the community center. There was Billy... well the monster that formally was Billy. Sucking the blood from the neck of a mangled human corpse. The darkness of the community center seemed to push away from his form. Horn and eyes glowing unnaturally blue. Thick fur, darker then the space behind stars, seemed to pulsate with life and death. If Kimberly hadn't be prepared for it, he would have scared her so badly she would be able to even try to talk to him. He went still at there entrance, sensing for them more then seeing them. At least at first.

Kimberly swallowed hard and stepped out from the shadows. "Billy?" She called. "Billy? It's me, Kimberly."

The beast turned and sniffed the air strongly. He didn't growl or roar so Kimberly took a few small, hesitant steps closer. "Come on Billy. It's gonna be okay...We can fix this. Let's go back to the command chamber. Okay?" She was close enough she could almost reach out and touch him.

Suddenly the mood changed and the beast screamed at her. Such an unholy sound that it made her legs quake in fear. Drool mixed with blood flew from its mouth as the beast moved to strike her.

"Kim!" She heard her name shouted and the blow aimed for her never came as Skull was back handed into the closest wall, slumping down into an unmoving heap.

"Skull!" She screamed going over to him. She only had a moment, as Billy's shadow loomed over them. Ready to strike once more.

She didn't even get a chance to plead with Billy to stop because Bulk was between them in a heartbeat, locking eyes with the monster. "Billy! Stop it! You may be a monster now but you're in there someplace dork. I know you are. So fight back already! Fight!"

The Nightmare growled... then sniffed the air, breathing hard... He paced closer to Bulk who did not move. He merely said. "Kim get Skull out of here." In a whisper. Without seeing anything, he heard the whoosh of teleportation. Bulk did his best to prepare for a fight but this was it. He was going to die. "Billy... if you can hear me. I'm sorry for everything. I never did apologize..." Bulk closed his eyes.

And felt a warm, wet tongue lick his face. Carefully he opened his eyes, feeling the beast muzzle upon his neck and face but there was no biting. A few nibbles and licks but nothing that caused Bulk pain. Wait, was Billy purring?

"There's my pet! Having a midnight snack I see." A new voice spoke and the Nightmare pulled away with a whinny.

Ivan Ooze, Bulk surmised, as the purple man continued. "He seems to like you human. How very strange. Curious really. Goldar why don't we..." But Ivan didn't finish as Bulk vanished in a teleport. "Damn... just how many brats does Zordon have? Never mind. We are done here... for now."

With that the villains chained Billy, who fought wildly against being roped, and vanished. Ernie waited a long time before coming out of hiding. Billy? That thing was Billy? He'd known Kimberly's voice anywhere. Same with Bulk and Skull. Ernie let out a deep sigh, taking in the death and destruction around him. Had this been before the moon, he would have been driven insane by the terror... but now he could only sigh once more... "Kids, what have you gotten yourselves into?"

****************************Medical************************

Lerigot's quiet recovery alone in medical did not last long as a sudden flourish of activity hit all at the same time. From Dulcea, master warrior, being practically carried in by Tommy, to Kimberly teleporting in on the floor, cradling Skull's head and neck carefully to her chest.

Dulcea took one look at the swan, holding the... well well well... that was new. "Tend to the boy first Alpha."

"But Dulcea..." Ninjor worried, he had never seen her so very...old. So very... frail.

"I am not dying yet. Have no fear of that." She replied but took the offered chair Rocky had brought for her. Tommy had already left her side going to Kimberly to help in carefully moving Skull to the medical table.

"Is he...?" Kimberly asked Alpha who was running a scanner over Skull. She thought Skull was breathing but he had yet to open his eyes.

"He has a bad concussion. AiYiYi! Hand me the mental focus disks."

"These?" Justin asked, fetching the tiny little silver disks that had been used before to run scans on the rangers.

"Thank you Justin." Alpha took them and with great care placed them on skulls head. "He will be alright soon."

Tommy took a moment to take in Kimberly. She seemed pale...stressed...scared and wait...was she shorter? He opened her mouth to speak with her when...

"Tommy... Zordon is waiting for a report." Ninjor interrupted.

"But..."

Rocky put his arm over Tommy's shoulder. They both hurt like hell but would live. The ninjetti suits had protected them from the worst of it. "Come on. I'll give you a hand explaining things."

Kimberly watched them go before turning her eyes back to Skull. She was vaguely aware that Alpha was tending to Dulcea now and the other rangers were talking but... it washed over her without really hearing anything.

A gentle hand touched her shoulder. "Kim? You okay?"

She didn't even turn, she knew that kind voice. "Adam. Yeah, I'm okay."

He didn't believe her but gave her shoulder a soft squeeze. He could see the haunted look in her eyes. "Come on, you can't do anything else right now. Skull will be okay."

She sighed and finally looked at him. "You're right but I should tell you what happened..." she glanced at the other rangers in the room and spoke a bit louder. "You all, need to know what happened..."

*********************** Nightmare's mind*******************************

"Oh thank you god, thank you, thank you..." Billy slumped down into the dark, knees to his chest. That had been too close. For all the evil and death he was viewing, that he was technically doing, Kimberly had been spared. She had teleported away. Billy knew, logically, he would have been driven mad if he had killed his best friend.

He was already on the brink of insanity as it was...

Having 0 control of one's body while trapped in the mind will do that to a person. Even the smartest of beings.

Still... at least he was back in the hold of the submarine. He couldn't do any killing if he was alone.

His thoughts drifted back to the juice bar... why had... or more importantly, why hadn't the Nightmare hurt Bulk? The beast tore through other humans like a kid tearing open presents on Christmas morning so why not Bulk?

Billy blinked as a thought came to him... no that theory was too impossible to be true. But from what he knew about unicorns, after all Kimberly had a unicorn phase, if Unicorns were attracted to innocent virgins... then maybe the Nightmare was attracted to those it knew... in the sexual sense of the word.

It made sense theoretically, since the Nightmare was Billy and Billy had been intimate with Bulk on the moon. Of course that had been to remove Zedd's residual 'horny' magic saving Billy's life but still...

It had been Billy's first time... Maybe, magically speaking, that meant something to the Nightmare.

Or maybe Billy was closer to crazy then he thought...

********************* Zordon's chamber*******************

Bulk had just finished reporting to Zordon everything that had happened when the door opened. Bulk turned and met the glare Tommy gave him the moment he saw the former bully.

Bulk snorted, always got to be the tough guy, huh Oliver? He thought silently. But for once Tommy surprised Bulk, staying silent and only speaking to Zordon. "Zordon I..." but his voice trailed off. Where did he even begin to explain?

Rocky saw and felt the distress, it was time for the red ranger to step up. "Zordon, Ooze is free. We could barely hold our own against his minions. What do we do?"

Zordon was quiet for a long moment. "Rocky, I'm afraid I have no answer at this time. I am sorry... I know you wish for words of hope but at this moment. I have no plan."

"There must be something we can do. Someone who can help us?" Tommy asked.

"How did you defeat him the first time?" Bulk suddenly asked. "I mean, guy is out to get you Zordon so that makes me think you had a hand in capturing him."

Zordon sighed. "Let me tell you a story... one that doesn't have a happy ending..."

********************** Medical*********************

"Oh my..." Katherine mumbled quietly. Kimberly had finished her story and had not left anything out. It was almost more than the current pink ranger could handle. The blood, the death... made there little encounter with Ooze seem like kids on the play ground.

And the former power ranger had been brave enough to face Billy alone? Without powers? Katherine had to respect that.

Justin had gone very quiet, clutching silently to Adam who wrapped and arm around the frightened boy. Everyone with the same thought on there face. What do we do now? Have we already lost? Is it game over?

It was Ninjor who next spoke. "You had quite the first encounter with Ooze. Why don't you go rest young rangers?" While it wasn't said as a command... but it was felt as a strong suggestion.

Kimberly was the last out of the room. Pausing as if she wished to argue but Adam called for her softly and she moved on. Once alone Ninjor looked to Dulcea and the weak but awake Lerigot. "So... anyone have any ideas?"

*********************** Submarine********************************

Goldar wretched again into the bucket losing what little he had eaten. Seeing the violence of a Nightmare up close had pulled up memories he had spent thousands of years trying to push away.

This... couldn't be allowed to happen. Billy had to be stopped but he had no weapon that could kill a Nightmare. No golden bridal to over power him. No blue roses to numb and slow him.

And giving Billy the cure would cost Goldar his life. Ooze would view losing his pet as the ultimate betrayal.

Goldar spat. Billy was no pet. No Nightmare could ever be fully tamed. Controlled with magic and cold, thick chains sure, but tamed? Never.

What could he do? His options were limited. Give Billy the cure himself... or work with the rangers and give them the cure...

That thought made him sick once more.