Author's Notes: The usual. Life busy. Left this too long. Scraped a few hours together to write. Cheers!

Reviewer thanks: Psycho Tangerine (I will definitely be able to continue), Mirajane92 (Definitely.), thenight613 (Merry Christmas to you too… in March!), Willz (Then HAAAVVVVEEEE it!), Justanotherlostboy (Thanks for the review! Unfortunately, after binge-reading this will go quite a bit slower, but thanks for the encouraging review!), Willz again (Hmm… I have a couple of ideas for Saba… I always hated that character, btw.), iwstahle (Thanks!), GothamPowerKaiju (Goldar's had a code of honor from the beginning, of course… that's my favorite thing about him. And I have plenty of plans for Bulk and Skull), falcon242 (Thanks! You're going to have to get used to the typos. I write this, I have one beta, who can't possibly catch every error, and I still even catch typos from chapters in my oldest fics that have already gone through two sets of revisions. It just really can't be helped right now. Editing, especially when it's not your primary job, is difficult.), brakel1 (Families dead! j/k), bleedredstars (Thanks!), Ghostwriter (Thanks!), Willz as Guest yet again (You made an account! Yay!), KLR1 (Thanks! Let's just say… Goldar is in WAY over his head, and the monster might be tired of being graffitied by the children in the park! Lol, I dunno. Didn't think through that one completely), togapika (Here's another present!), Son of Whitebeard (Why won't Tommy survive? I'm not quite sure what you're referring to…), alias093001 (I don't think they "know." Bulk has a theory, and Skull isn't entirely convinced.), and grannybe (Thanks!).


Brighter Paths

Book 1: New Light

Chapter 5: Pink

Kimberly and Billy teleported into the midst of a squadron of Putties. They barely had time to prepare before they were facing three attacks at once.

Kimberly breathed slowly as she tried to keep up with the attacks. Their power upgrade had given them more of an edge in fighting these souped-up Putties, but it was still hard, exhausting work. They still had to endure sharp pain and a drain of power every single time they hit the chest Z and incapacitated one... by which time there was usually another to take its place.

In the meantime, the cave was completely inaccessible, and for all Kimberly knew the snake could have already turned one of them. Her new friends had little chance of escape without her help.

Taking a chance, she launched herself in the air. She had always been able to outjump the other Rangers, her years of gymnastics adding agility to her Ranger powers.

The problem was, the Putties were high jumpers as well, and one met her in the air, pulling her down to the ground. So... no bypassing. They would have to hack their way forward.

"Billy!" She used the in-helmet communication system to keep her words from the Putties. She didn't know how intelligent the Putties were, but these were usually better able to understand their shouted plans than Rita's had been. "Use your lances and see if you can cut your way through to the cave entrance. I'll try to thin the Putties around you with my bow."

"Affirmative, Kim," Billy said. His voice sounded almost mechanical, something Kimberly always noticed happened when Billy was concentrating hard. He brought the same concentration and methodical energy to fighting as he did to working on his inventions and projects.

Kimberly's own style of fighting, she knew, was much more haphazard... but with infinitely more style. She grinned and drew her bow. "All right, Putties... time for some archery practice. You guys be the dummies."

Even though the situation was desperate, Kimberly dimly realized she was happier than she'd been in a long time. Almost feeling like herself.


The hilltop was crackling with an energy that was decidedly not natural.

Other than that, it was completely silent. Trini could see the footsteps in the dirt that marked the recent presence of Putties: the feet with no markings and without the tread of shoes. Just smooth imprints.

There was no sign of Putties, though she, Jason, and Zack were at alert for them. Only an electronic buzz and crackle in the air that seemed to intensify as they reached the zenith of the hill.

"Well, this is ominous," Zack said. "Shouldn't there be a castle and bolts of lightning streaking across the sky?"

"That's the last time we let Billy pick movie night," Trini said.

"There is a castle... and lightning... on the moon," Jason said. "Let's get this shut down before our personal Frankenstein decides to get involved."

"So you still think it's Goldar doing this?" Zack said. "Why do you think he's doing all this? Why would Zedd let him?"

"Dunno," Jason said. "Still officially don't care. Goldar's clearly lost control of the situation. I don't think he's the type to order child sacrifice."

Trini, not paying attention to the rather pointless conversation, finally spotted what she'd been looking for: where the Putty tracks vanished. She expected the Putties would not want to get close to whatever this was. "There, guys. I'm going to try to get closer. See if I can disable it."

"Or I could just shoot it." Zack already had his axe out, ready to switch it to cannon mode.

"Zack, there's too much energy being thrown around here, and we have no idea what that will do, and will you stop trying to just blow up everything?" Trini said patiently.

"I thought you loved that about me?" Zack smirked.

"Is this what it's going to be like in Switzerland?" Jason said, suddenly aware that his future plans included his friends, who were now very much a couple. "Trini, do your thing. Zack... be ready to shoot just in case."

Trini edged toward the device. It was tiny, barely a black glint against the grassy hilltop. Yet the grass around it was starting to sizzle and brown. It was obviously quickly becoming unstable.

She crouched beside it, allowing her helmet to access the scanning equipment in the Command Center. Confirming Jason's theory, the device had all the markings of Finster's design: three buttons, with no indication of how to operate the buttons, and one dial that could either adjust the intensity... or just blow them all to hell.

Bypassing the buttons, she found the catch that led to the inner workings of the device. It was that crazy combination of magic and technology that she'd worked with ever since becoming a Power Ranger... but she still never could quite get used to it. The magic made the technology inexplicable. The problem was, magic made technology redundant. Magic did everything, the technology was there for human… or alien, she considered… interface. She wasn't even sure how to shut the magic down, as shutting down the tech would just deprive her of that interface.

"Maybe if I can redirect it…" she said, and started to work.


People were starting to filter out of City Hall. They were headed off to pull their children from their beds, from their babysitters, from their spouses who had stayed at home, from various other activities and gatherings... all to bring them back. For sacrifice.

Sylvia watched them go, ice forming in her stomach. They had to do something. She was picturing her own students brought forth kicking and screaming to the monster's clutches. She'd seen little Tyree's mother leave already. Tyree, who acted tough, but had cried when he'd left his permission form to go on the field trip, and his mother had left work to bring it to him.

"It'll take them a while to hunt down their children," Mr. Scott muttered under his breath. "Until then... what the hell do we do?"

They all clasped their weapons, and Sylvia felt the device she'd taken from Billy's lab heavy in her purse. They knew that if there was a time to attack, it was before the children got there. They couldn't risk any harm coming to them.

"I can't still pass for a kid, can I?" Kristen suggested. "Try to turn me in to get in close?"

"You're 19, Kristen," Mrs. Scott said fondly. "No, you can't pass as a kid anymore."

"Can we get in close without drawing attention to ourselves?" Frank said.

"Maybe we should draw attention to ourselves," Mrs. Kwan said. "Give them something to focus on other than child sacrifice."

"Dr. Taylor," a loud voice interrupted their whispered conversation.

The group turned, casting side-long glances at Dr. Taylor, who had crossed her arms defensively while trying not to show her nerves.

"Yes," she said curtly, taking in the name badge, "Lieutenant Stone. Can I help you?"

Lieutenant Stone's eyes held that slightly-glazed look that everyone else seemed to have. He didn't quite blink as often as he should, though his eyes were narrowed in slight suspicion.

"I was just wondering why you were still here... or has your husband gone to get them."

Sylvia gasped, and Judy, Kimberly's mother, clung to Frank spasmodically in sudden realization. Dr. Taylor, however, still looked confused and more than affronted at being approached like this.

"And just what is my husband supposed to get?" she said icily.

"You have four boys, don't you?" Lieutenant Stone said. "Zack can't be a sacrifice, as one of the ambassadors, but Marcus, Jamie, and Byron are eligible." He glanced over at Frank and Judy. "Mr. and Mrs. Harris, you need to bring Kevin along as well." His eyes narrowed even more. "Or are you not loyal to Lord Zedd?"

The parents froze. Dr. Taylor's eyes were wide in shock and anger. They had been so focused on helping their older children, they hadn't even thought of the danger their younger children were in.

There were people gathering around, murmuring. The monster at the head of the room was starting to take notice of the situation.

"Sergeant," Stone barked at another officer, "take the Harris's and Dr. Taylor into custody, and radio backup to track down their..."

Lieutenant Stone didn't have a chance to finish his orders, as the muzzle of something that didn't look like a gun, but looked just as dangerous, was pointed straight at him.

"Sorry, officer," Sylvia said, "but you're not taking anyone into custody."

She motioned with her head to the others, who all pulled out their own weapons and started backing out of City Hall slowly.

"Doesn't seem like the plan's going too well," Mrs. Scott said tightly under her breath.

"We run to my house," Dr. Taylor said. "Protect the children. Kristen, back-up.

They all shot her looks, then nodded. They needed to lead the mob away from the children, who were currently at Sylvia's house, while seeming to lead the mob straight to them. Kristen clutched the communicator. Just as they'd decided, she would try to slip away and call for help.

After clearing the steps, they ran, two policemen and several men in hot pursuit.


It wasn't until Billy's helmet switched over to night vision that he realized he'd broken through the gauntlet of Putties and made his way into the cave. He could hear Kimberly still outside, battling the Putties and keeping them from charging in after him. She would be exhausted after this. He would have to work quickly.

He picked his way through the cave, the rocky entrance tunnel forming its own defense. He could hear muffled yells toward the back of the cave. They were in danger...

He ran until he saw light again, from a candle stand in the middle of an open room, and a glowing forcefield now holding three former freedom fighters and one increasingly agitated snake.

The three were trying to dodge the snake, distracting it each in turn. Their moves were impressive... but they were beginning to slow and tire.

Billy hesitated to say anything, as he didn't want to distract them and thus slow them down anymore, but one of them-Adam-spotted him first.

"It's a Power Ranger!" he yelled at the rest, mid-dodge.

"It's about damn time!" Rocky said.

"Get us out of here!" Aisha said.

Billy wasted no time on words. Making a quick assessment of the forcefield, he determined that its weak point lay at the base near the candle stand... the only possible power source for the field. He wavered between attacking the field or the power source... The loss of power would solve the problem quickly, but it might also cause a feedback of power. Disrupting the connection between the field and the power source sounded much safer.

"As soon as I get the field down, run to the entrance," he said, "but don't completely leave until I follow or the Pink Ranger gives you the okay. If I'm not out in five minutes, tell the Pink Ranger to come after me."

The snake would follow them. Of course it would. He would have to give it another target.

He drew his blade blaster, locked it into blaster mode, and carefully shot three short bursts in quick succession at the base of the forcefield directly across from the candle stand.

The forcefield shimmered and sparked, then flickered, then finally died.

"GO NOW!"

The three teenagers launched themselves toward the cave entrance, Aisha's ankle barely missing one of the snake's lunges. Billy aimed his blaster and fired... and missed. And missed again. The snake seemed preternaturally able to avoid the blasts. Or maybe it was just fast.

It was keeping pace with the teenagers. Billy would have to intervene.

Ignoring his better sense, Billy launched himself at the snake.


Trini didn't realize how tense she was until a hand gripped her shoulder. Her body was so tense she was trembling, and she realized the litany of curses she'd thought been in her own mind she'd actually been vocalizing.

"That bad, huh?" Zack said softly.

A deep shiver went through Trini's body, and she realized that part of her problem was she was being affected by the negative energy surrounding the machine. It wasn't just electric; it was emotion. Anger, paranoia, hatred... the air was thick with it.

"I can't shut it down," Trini said softly. "It's self-perpetuating by now. The machine is affecting the people's emotions, which is in turn powering the machine... sort of like that machine that powered Cyclopsis. Only now..." she gestured around vaguely. "It's everywhere. And the monster ties the whole thing together. A vicious cycle."

"So what do we do?" Zack said.

Trini threw her arms in the air. "Hell if I know."

She realized Zack was leading her away from the machine. She gritted her teeth. She hadn't been able to shut it down. She was the last hope, and she'd failed. But she knew hovering over the machine wouldn't do her any good.

"You know," Zack said, "maybe we should just go fight the monster. It's easier when we have something to punch. Get it away from the civilians. It's not like there's much more it can do against us now."

"Only three of us. I don't like the odds," Trini said. "We haven't heard back from Billy and Kimberly, so we have to assume they're still rescuing the freedom fighters. But, still, it may be our only plan."

Jason had been silent, and the other two suddenly realized that. They looked at him. He was staring at Angel Grove from their vantage point on the hill.

"Jas?" Zack said.

"Maybe... in some ways... they're right," Jason said, more to himself than to the others.

"Uh... Jas?" Zack said. "We might need to get you away from this machine. It looks like it's turning you bananas, too."

Jason shook his head sharply. "No... Not losing my mind. It's just, I think we've been going at this the wrong way. We've spent the past few months just learning that words... that diplomacy... must always come before violence. Never strike if you can talk. Never force if you can reason."

"That's fine for debating social issues," Trini said. "But... this is..."

"We're not fighting monsters here," Jason said, his voice becoming surer. "We're dealing with people. People who need to be reminded that they're people... and one person who needs to be reminded that he has a choice."

"So... we're going to... talk?" Zack said.

"Not as Power Rangers," Jason said. He demorphed, his face showing hope and determination. "As ambassadors."


As the children and teens started milling out, Skull knew he had to keep everyone in there. He was sure that they would eventually be saved by the Power Rangers… but how eventually that was he had no idea. In the meantime… well, he just had to do something.

"Hey… HEY!" He started yelling at the top of his lungs, hoping they would pay attention to him and not to their own insane hypnotic suggestions or whatever it was forcing them forward into the jaws of death.

Skull reminded himself to write that down later. That sounded cool.

"Skull, shut up!" Bulk said. "I dunno what's gotten into you, but we're all ready to sacrifice ourselves, so there's no use yelling."

"Oh, YOU shut up for once, Bulk!"

That got people's attention, at least from people who knew Bulk and Skull. No one had ever heard Skull talk like that to Bulk.

Bulk definitely hadn't been expecting it. His eyes lost a bit of their glazed look as he stared at Skull in surprise. "You got something to say to me? Say it."

"OKAY!" Skull shouted desperately. "Maybe if you stopped to THINK for a second, you'd know this whole thing is STUPID! But NO! The great Farcas Bulkmeyer knows all, doesn't he?"

Bulk's face started to turn red with anger, but it was a different kind of anger from when he'd attacked Skull before. This anger seemed more… real. Skull was starting to wonder if some of his own words were real, beyond just his desperate attempts at a distraction.

"The hell do you mean, Skull?" Bulk said slowly, dangerously.

People had stopped leaving. They were not all staring at Bulk and Skull, and even the ones who didn't know the two could sense that something significant was happening.

"I mean," Skull said, finally deciding on a tactic other than lashing out, "that Lord Zedd wants children. How the hell are we children? Like, how are they defining children?"

"We're still minors," Bulk said.

"He didn't say 'minors,'" Skull said. "He said 'children.' Not teenagers, with driver's licenses and less than two years to go before being able to vote. We're sixteen… practically adults."

"We're still in school, though," Bulk said.

"Not compulsory," a girl in glasses, one Skull had seen hanging around Billy and the other science nerds. "I would never think of doing it, but we can quit school by now."

"Well, where's the cut-off, then?" a younger boy said. "I mean, I'm fourteen. I'm a teenager and I'm in high school. Would they even accept me?"

"Oh, come on, anyone under 18 is a minor," came a shout from the crowd.

"In this country," someone else said. "Not in all countries… and this is an alien from space. Who knows who he thinks are children?"

Bulk had started arguing with the 14-year-old, and Skull took the opportunity to edge away from him. He'd never spoken to Bulk like that before, and he didn't know how his friend would react. He saw, with satisfaction, that everyone seemed more interested in arguing over who was eligible to sacrifice themselves than in actually sacrificing themselves.

That would maybe keep them… until the monsters came to take them anyway.

"C'mon, Power Rangers," he said under his breath. "Whoever you are. We don't have much time."


The Command Center was dead silent. Zordon and Alpha were nowhere to be seen, and completely cut off from the chaos happening in Angel Grove. Unable to answer Kristen's distress call.

"Alpha!" Kristen called into the communicator desperately. She could see the mob searching for her and the rest of the families. Their plan to lead the mob to the Taylors' house had fallen through when they'd all gotten scattered in the dark.

"Alpha, please, come in!" Kristen said. "Big scary head guy... anyone up there! We're in danger. Look, we know we shouldn't have, but we tried to fight when the Rangers couldn't, and it didn't turn out so well. We need a teleport out... or something!"

Only static greeted her desperate pleas.

She almost threw the communicator down in frustration. "Look, the families of the Power Rangers are in danger. The least you can do is..."

She couldn't finish her statement. As soon as the computer picked up the key words "families," "Power Rangers," and "danger," it acted automatically, teleporting them all, based on life signatures, to the safest, most heavily guarded house on Earth: Billy's house.

Kristen blinked as she and the parents found themselves crowded into Sylvia's living room. Mr. Taylor, Zack's brothers, and Kevin looked up from their game of Clue.

"I take it things didn't go so well?" Mr. Taylor said. "Do we need to run?"

The others looked at each other, non-plussed... but before they could answer, there was an enormous grinding, clanking sound, and the walls vibrated.

Sylvia hesitantly peeked behind her front window curtain, half-expecting to be surrounded by a mob. Instead, all she saw was a giant metal wall, one that curved up and over the house and went around as far as she could see.

"Well," she said, "it seems my son decided to install a giant metal dome as a security measure around this house, because he just doesn't know how to do things by halves."

"I think we just got benched," Mr. Scott said.

Sylvia carefully shouldered her bag, ready to put the weapon back in the lab where she found it. "That seems a good enough description of what happened. Who wants tea?"


Kimberly had almost limped her way to the mouth of the cave, the scores of Putties thinned to a manageable few, when Rocky, Adam, and Aisha burst through the darkness.

"Are you all okay?" she said, kicking a Putty in the Z as she did. It exploded into pieces and disappeared.

The three stared at where the Putty disappeared. "Do they have self-destruct buttons on their chests?" Rocky asked. "Doesn't seem very smart."

Kimberly shook the tingles out of her leg where the energy had hit her. "It hurts like hell to do that. It's meant to wear adversaries down, and there's always plenty more Putties to replace them. So… it seems you guys are all right. Where's the Blue Ranger?"

Aisha's eyes widened. "He's back there... with the snake. You'll probably need to help him."

"On it," Kimberly said. She handed Adam her communicator. "Get back the clearing around the cave, and press the middle button to teleport out of here. I'll come for the communicator later." With that she disappeared into the cave.

Adam looked down at the communicator. "That's weird... this looks kind of familiar."

Rocky wasn't paying attention. Instead, he was eyeing the Putties. "Once we disappear, those things are going to go after the Rangers. We can outrun them... but it sounds like the Rangers are going to have their hands full without Putties in the mix."

Adam and Aisha were already in fighting stances. "So let's return the favor and completely ignore everything the Pink Ranger said," Aisha said.

Rocky grinned and crouched into his own fighting stance as the Putties drew nearer. "The Putties don't get past this door until the Rangers come out."


Kimberly sprinted through the cave, desperate to reach Billy… and she almost missed him. Her stomach dropped. He was lying on the floor, a snake attached to his neck.

Time slowed. She drew her blade blaster and locked it into blaster mode. The snake disintegrated at her carefully-aimed blast.

"Billy?" she said in a small voice.

She dropped to her knees beside Billy. He wasn't moving. Inside the helmet, she couldn't even tell if he was breathing.

She remembered the specs on the snake. It turned people evil. Two possibilities. Either Billy would awaken fully loyal to Lord Zedd… or he had resisted too much, burning out his brain and making him a mindless monster. Both possibilities made her want to scream.

All these thoughts raced through her mind in the few seconds it took to take off his helmet, and then take off her own. In the cold light of the forcefield generator, still glowing from the overturned candelabrum, she see Billy's too-pale, writhing face. Dark lines radiated from the neck wound.

She didn't exactly know what to do. Trini would, she knew. But she knew that the venom was hurting Billy—magical, corrupting venom—and it had to get out of him. She'd seen it on TV, and she didn't have time to ask if it was the right thing to do… She lowered herself onto his neck and began sucking out the venom.

Kimberly worked as quickly and carefully as she could. She knew the venom could affect her as well, especially if she accidentally swallowed it. She carefully spit out each mouthful of venom and blood, too scared and determined to even gag from the taste. After every few pulls, she studied Billy's face, hoping to see the dark lines go away. They were receding, but slowly. First close to his eyes, then retreating past his nose…

When the first vision came, she almost sucked a mouthful of venom down her windpipe, and she spluttered and she spit it out. She was in the cave, and then she was sitting on Lord Zedd's bed, leaning in to his waiting arms.

Then she was shooting an arrow at Zack, laughing at his scream of pain.

Then she was staring coldly at Skull from a clothing store in the mall as he tried to convince her that she was good.

Then she was shooting her bow, and listening to a death-scream behind her as it was deflected.

She knew it was all in her head. All memories of some of the worst things she'd done while under Lord Zedd's spell… with the exception of the last one. That was before the spell, when she thought Tommy had… when she thought she'd killed…

"Kimberly!"

She felt herself being shaken, and she realized she'd closed her eyes. She opened them, and Billy—face still pale, but black lines gone—was hovering over her. She smiled weakly, and then turned her head to vomit. Nothing came out. As she gasped, Billy holding her hair back, her eyes focused on two syringes.

"You… you gave us Trini's serum?" Kimberly said after she regained some of her breath.

"I always carry some with me," Billy said. "We were both pretty weak. You…" He cleared his throat, and Kimberly smelled the tang of vomit, showing that he'd done more than dry heaved. "You saw…"

"I saw," Kimberly said. She wondered what Billy had seen, what visions had paralyzed him.

Billy laughed weakly and scrubbed his face with his hands. "I must admit, I was offended before when Trini, Zack, and Jason spoke of the dangers of ethical corruption. I suppose their fears were not so greatly exaggerated."

He was diving head-first into Billy-speak, Kimberly noticed. Pretty sure sign he was freaking out. "Billy, we're not evil." She started to get to her feet, but thought better of it. "We're not going to become evil. Zedd and whoever else can throw as many potions as they want to, we've overcome every one." She smiled. "We're what we choose, not what we're forced into."

She shook her head slowly. "That's… that's something that took me a while to deal with. I… I thought, out of all of us, I was the one that chose evil. Tommy got put under a spell: he was forced, and he didn't even know what he was dealing with. Billy, you got put under a spell, too, by Rita… even if it was only temporary. None of you made choices, but I did. I chose to take the spell. I chose to become Zedd's servant."

"But you didn't," Billy said.

Kimberly smiled. "I know… I guess, I've come to know that. I mean, I was manipulated right from the beginning. Zedd kidnapped my brother. Zedd made sure I thought I killed Tommy. He let me think I was calling the shots…" She swallowed back some bile. "He called it building a relationship."

"Then what happened?" Billy said tentatively.

Kimberly smiled. Everyone had given her space, not asked her about her time serving Zedd. It was really nice of them… and enabled her to wallow in her own guilt and pity.

"He tried to make me into something I wasn't." She laughed. "I guess that's what he was doing the whole time, but that time he went too far." She remembered him presenting her with the voluminous pink dress of Rita Repulsa and shuddered. "But… that's something even I can't bring myself to share. I don't serve him anymore, but that's something that I think would be better as his secret."

Billy nodded, seeming to be thinking of things other than Lord Zedd's secret. "For me… You're wrong, Kimberly. At least with me. I chose evil, but it was so much worse. It wasn't a spell or a manipulation. It was my choice. I chose to make a monster."

He started shivering, and Kimberly knew then what Billy had seen in those visions. So much had happened since Billy's clone Will had terrorized them all, and she'd been so preoccupied with her own worries and guilt, that she had almost forgotten. She had not quite forgotten, however, the terrorized looks in Tommy's and Trini's eyes after they'd been freed from their clone torturer, who they had thought was Billy.

"Billy, mistakes aren't evil. They're mistakes," said Kimberly. "I know that clone got in your head… but he didn't have your head, as much as he liked to claim he did. The clone was cruel and selfish and destructive and everything that you're not."

Kimberly squeezed Billy's hand, and they shared a moment of silence. She wasn't sure if he believed her, but he wasn't shivering anymore. The cave was quiet, and even the echoes of the visions were retreating. Kimberly was starting to believe her own words, words that people had been saying to her for weeks, but she hadn't been listening.

When the chance had come, they had all resisted evil. They had all made the hard choices, and had come out better for it. They had gone through the fire, and they hadn't been burned up; they had been forged anew.

After a few moments, Billy seemed to come to his own conclusions… or at least put them off for now. "I suppose we'll need to join the others. The hostages are safe?"

"I sent them with my communicator and told them to run away." Kimberly and Billy shared a look. "So I guess we need to see how they're faring on the Putties."

There was a clatter of running footsteps, and Kimberly and Billy looked at each other in panic. Their helmets were across the room where Kimberly had shoved them, just out of reach. They scrambled for them… but not before the footsteps came to a halt at the mouth of the cave.

"Rangers! Are you o... ohhhhhhh," Rocky trailed off, staring at the two Rangers who had definitely not gotten their masks on in time.

"Um…" Aisha said, "The Putties are all gone. I mean, they disappeared. We fought a little, but you were right about hitting the Z's."

"We… probably won't need this, then," Adam said, awkwardly handing Kimberly back her communicator.

"So… Kim…" Rocky said. "You're a Power Ranger."

Kimberly closed her eyes, her brain throbbing right at the temples. She looked over at Billy. "You notice we really suck at secret identities lately?"


Goldar held onto the balcony, feeling like he was going to fall to the ground any second.

That might have been a good idea. Just jump off the balcony. If he fell right, he might be able to achieve a fatal injury… or at least get knocked out for the next few months.

Anything to get out of facing what he knew would happen. It was getting out of hand. Lord Zedd was sure to come through those doors any second.

He'd finally noticed the hostages… just as the Blue and Pink Rangers had saved them, and he hadn't even been able to corrupt either of those Rangers with the snake, which had died rather pathetically at the Pink Ranger's blast.

In the meantime, the rest of the Rangers had decided to give up on the device (which was beyond his own control, as was the monster), and instead of fighting… they'd decided to talk.

To talk. To spout some peaceful mumbo-jumbo. As if that would do shit all.

He watched as Jason, Trini, and Zack—not the Red, Yellow, and Black Rangers, as they weren't even morphed—fanned out to the various rally sites. Jason took City Hall, Trini took the one at the ocean boardwalk, and Zack took the one at Addams Park. The one at the Youth Center, Goldar noted, was currently being protected by one of those foolish leather-clad classmates of the Rangers, and Goldar couldn't even begin to understand why that one—Head? Brain?—was not being affected by the spell.

One more thing that was going wrong.

Goldar ground his teeth. Instead of doing what they did best—fighting the effing monster—the Rangers had decided to pretend at peaceful conflict resolution.

"They're all doomed," Goldar muttered. "And it's not even fun anymore."

He realized he now had two more choices, since he couldn't rely on the Power Rangers: he could inform Lord Zedd, or he could fight the monster himself. He cursed under his breath. Perhaps Finster had something he could use.

Turning toward Finster's lab, he stopped dead. Lord Zedd was standing there, staff in hand, a light red aura surrounding him and permeating the rest of the room.

"Don't leave," Lord Zedd said with a deceptively light tone. "I want you to hear this."

Goldar started to stammer out… something. An apology? A justification? Pleas for mercy? Nothing seemed right.

But Lord Zedd held up a clawed hand. "Silence. Turn around… I will make watching easier for you. You will not have to use your screen."

With a click of his staff, Lord Zedd projected three screens, one for each rally point currently being addressed by a Power Ranger. At each point, the crowd had gone deadly silent. Then all three began talking, and Goldar could understand each one, probably owing to Lord Zedd's magical intervention.

"I want you to watch, Goldar. Watch and understand how ill-suited you are to conquering worlds. For these Rangers… they are about to defeat you with words alone." His voice dropped. "Watch… and then you will have a choice."

Goldar shook, but he did as he was told. He watched, and listened.


Trini climbed onto a platform at the board walk, currently surrounded by people. The crowd was silent. They'd turned their attention to her immediately, recognizing her as one of the ambassadors, and were obviously expecting their next set of orders… or at least some directly. After all, there seemed to be no children here, which was either fortunate… or ominous.

Trini focused on breathing, trying not to think of how far-fetched this plan was.

The crowd was mainly young adults, slightly older than her. Young couples, entertainers that frequented the board walk, people who worked in the heart of the city who came to unwind in the bars in the little entertainment district… In other words, they were young, idealistic, progressive.

"I'm here to talk to you about peace," Trini began.

A man in an artfully ripped t-shirt ran up to her with a microphone and a mic stand, and Trini realized this platform was usually a stage for a band. She nodded at him gratefully and continued.

"I'm here to talk to you about peace," Trini repeated. "We've been using that word a lot today. Trying to achieve a peace treaty with Lord Zedd. Seeing the Power Rangers as the enemy of peace. Holding rallies for peace… and sacrificing children, all for peace.

"We've been thinking of peace as this ideal, as something intangible that we can reach if we just want it hard enough. If we just demand it. At the same time, we think of peace as an absence. An absence of war, of violence, of conflict."

There were several nodding heads in the audience. Trini took a breath. She's said the easy part. Now for the turn.

"I thought that myself. I've been seeing peace as the absence of fighting. I've come to think of any fighting as a corruption… and I've been dead wrong."

There was some murmuring, but no one interrupted her. Taking a quick breath, she forged on.

"If any of you know me, you'll know I'm a martial artist. I've been one ever since I was a small child. In learning martial arts, I have not learned the art of fighting… as the name implies… for the art of peace. Of control. Of understanding and discipline. I've learned that withholding the fist can hold more power than acting on violence… but I've also learned to use what force is necessary.

"That's the problem. Peace is not intangible. It's not an absence. Peace is something we do. It's how we treat each other. It's allowing for the freedom of conflict, and the opportunity to cooperate. The peace that has been proposed with the treaty with Lord Zedd will not bring peace. Oh, it might end conflict… at a dear cost. If we ally ourselves with Lord Zedd, we only bring tyranny, an oppressive dictatorship. There will be no conflict… but there will be no peace.

"And we've already had violence visited upon us in the interest of peace. The children, ripped from us, sacrificed to an intangible concept. An idea with no substance."

Trini sighed. "I can do little to change your mind. I can only urge you… allow the Power Rangers to fight for you. To retrieve the children. To preserve peace."

Trini looked out at the crowd. Their eyes had turned cloudy and confused. Trini wondered if she'd had any effect on them.


Zack didn't have a mic. He didn't need one.

"I'm not here to talk about peace," Zack began.

He regarded the confused looks around him. Addams Park was in the poor part of town, and the people surrounding him were mostly people from this neighborhood. He remembered living here, before his mother had gotten the tenure-track position and while his father was out of work. The area had gotten cleaned up since then, but back then it was dangerous to go out at night, and when the police came it was only to give someone a hard time. Yes, things had changed… but that mistrust was still there.

"You all may talk about peace… or, really, hear other people talking about peace, but you know in your bones they're not talking about real peace.

"You know what kind of peace they're talking about? The kind of peace that means that no one stands up for themselves. The kind of peace in which everyone just… maintains. The kind of peace that means that you all send your kids to City Hall." He paused, glaring around him. "Yeah, that kind of peace."

"It's all for the greater good!" someone from the crowd shouted.

Zack rolled his eyes and laughed. "Yeah, and I've heard that before. We all have. But you know what happens when something is for the greater good? Someone has to pay the price. And guess who usually pays the price."

He paused for effect. "Take a look around if, if you want to see what kind of peace you're buying with your children. Take a look at Addams Park here. This used to be the center for the community. I remember going to barbeques here… before the community center was torn down and never rebuilt. Yeah, it got run down, but it was still here. Part of this place. This is, until Putties decided to burn it down. The woods that used to be here? Gone. And if it weren't for the Power Rangers, there wouldn't be anything left.

"But trees are growing now. Those trees didn't come from Lord Zedd, City Hall, or even the Power Rangers. They came from you. They came from a desire for you to build a place where you children could play… because no one else is going to give a damn about this place… about those children… but you.

"So, go ahead… buy your peace. But peace like this—peace from a dictatorship—that's not peace for the likes of us. We're the first who have to pay, and we're the first who have to go. Peace for us… only comes when we can fight for it."

There had been some yelling at first, but then everyone had gone quiet, their eyes cloudy. Zack stared at them, unsure of what to do, but not wanting to leave them just in case Zedd decided to cut the mind games and actually attack.


"I'm here to talk to you about choice," Jason said.

The mumbling immediately silenced. Jason stared out at the room around him. He didn't know what the others were dealing with, but all his instincts told him to immediately morph and start fighting. The room was packed with people. The monster was there in the corner, immediately behind him. He could hear the voices of children in another room, and he was relieved they hadn't been taken to the Moon Palace… or worse.

"It's funny, this whole thing started this morning not about peace, but about choice. About the choice that was taken away from Angel Grove more than a year ago. The choice of how to respond to Rita Repulsa.

"You remember, of course, what it was like then. Earthquakes, monster attacks, Putties attacking everyone… Rita never gave us a choice to maintain peace. She came on a peaceful day and destroyed all of that… until five people made a choice."

He paused, still feeling the monster's eyes boring into him. He would have to tread carefully here.

"Five people—the Power Rangers—who are so obviously people of Angel Grove. Who saw their home threatened and decided to do something about it. Who continually choose to put on that uniform and face the threats that no one else can. Who sacrifice their own safety, and who knows what else, for the safety of everyone… for Angel Grove… for the world. Rita wanted… and now Zedd wants… the world, but they all started with Angel Grove. Not because of the Power Rangers, but because… well, we don't know. But they started here. It's maybe been too long, but we all have to remember… the monsters came first.

"And now we have a choice. You think you've made one… you think you've made the right one… but allying with Zedd, and I use the term alliance loosely, because let's face it, what we're really talking about is enslavement. It's all about giving up the ability to choose.

Their eyes clouded over. Jason heard the monster shift. It could turn ugly soon. It was time to switch tactics.

"But right now none of you can choose a thing. When I said I was going to talk about choices, I wasn't talking to the people of Angel Grove. I wasn't even talking to Zedd. I was talking to the one who caused all this… who now has a choice."


Goldar stumbled backward at Jason's words. The three had stopped speaking at the same time, and he had heard all of it. While Goldar didn't give much stock in words… somehow those speeches seemed to have disrupted the effect of the device over the people in Angel Grove.

He could feel Lord Zedd behind him, watching him, as Jason continued.

"Look, I know what you were doing, and it was a good plan," Jason said. The people around him were oblivious, completely spaced out, so Jason seemed to be ignoring them, ignoring the monster even, and addressing Goldar directly. "But it's obvious this whole thing spun out of control. You're a great warrior, you're a frankly terrifying foe… but you're no child murderer. It…" Jason seemed to search for the words, "lacks honor. And I know you're an honorable man. So now's the time to give up. Stop the device, before you do something you can't walk away from."

"So that's the choice, Goldar," Lord Zedd said, his voice calm, but Goldar knew that could change in an instant. "Continue on this path, and I will give you my support. We'll turn the children, or kill the ones we don't need, and we'll salvage this plan. Or… you could relinquish control. As the Red Ranger implied, there are some things you can't walk away from. At least…" Zedd chuckled deep in his throat, "not whole."

Goldar closed his eyes, the seconds stretching to eternity. So this was what it was like. This was what Empress Rita and Lord Zedd went through when they tried to conquer... when they were bested by circumstances beyond their control.

Except it wasn't. They would already be figuring out a way to use this to their advantage. Goldar, on the other hand, couldn't think. He liked simple plans, quick results. He'd tried to think like Rita, and he'd failed.

He couldn't go this far. He'd killed before, many times, and he'd thought of himself for so long as a destructive force. But...

He couldn't take responsibility. It had been so long since he'd been the one to make a decision. He worked for others.

He worked for Lord Zedd.

That was all well and good... but he still didn't know how to shut the whole thing down. Everyone thought it was a matter of him just pulling the plug, but he'd long lost control of both monster and device. The spell was self-perpetuating now. The Yellow Ranger had shown that the device no longer responded to manipulation. The only thing that seemed to make a bit of difference was those speeches from the Rangers, and that was...

Damn. Emergency vocal shut-down. Standard in all of Finster's designs. He should have remembered earlier.

"Device shut-down protocol: activate," Goldar said in a dull voice.

The effect was instantaneous. The people on the screens broke out of their trance as the device deactivated. The monster in City Hall, separated from his power source of the emotions and single-mindedness of the people of Angel Grove, sagged in the corner. The device on the hill sparked once and died.

Goldar barely registered any of that, though. He closed his eyes and slumped to the floor as his body was wracked with pain, lightning from the Z-Staff hitting him over and over. Goldar welcomed it.

And, as suddenly, it was over. "Get to your feet," he heard behind him.

Goldar got to his feet unsteadily, using the railing to haul himself up. He couldn't look at Lord Zedd. He'd made his choice... and now he had no idea what the consequences would be.


Kimberly, Billy, and the three former hostages teleported into a deserted Command Center.

"Okay..." Rocky said, "this is officially the weirdest thing I've seen all day."

Aisha gave him a look. "We've seen a whole town suddenly lose its mind, a big golden monkey take us hostage, and a snake that was going to turn us evil. And you're weirded out by a room full of computers?"

"A deserted room full of computers," Adam commented.

Kimberly sighed. "Not sure what Zordon's doing, but I want you guys to hang tight. We can't put you anywhere in Angel Grove... or anywhere else... until we know no one's going to come after you. It's not safe in Angel Grove as it is. Billy, can you tell what's going on? Where's Zordon and Alpha?"

Billy had been tapping away at a computer console as soon as they had teleported in. "It seems that Zordon and Alpha are in another part of the Command Center... some sort of hidden lab." He squinted at the read-outs. "It's a place I've never seen, and I've studied the schematics of this place quite thoroughly." He sounded vaguely insulted.

Kimberly was at another console, pulling up the external security and focusing it on Angel Grove. "Looks like the monster's still down there, but it's depowered... no Putties..." she looked up with a smile. "The spell seems to be broken. Everything's gone back to normal. The others did it."

"Affirmative," Billy said, still distracted by the read-outs from the hidden lab.

Kimberly rolled her eyes and hit her communicator. "Kimberly to Jason, come in."

There was a few seconds of silence, and then Jason's voice came through the speaker. "Jason here. Glad to hear your voice, Kim. Hostages safe?"

Kimberly glanced over at Rocky, Adam, and Aisha, who were looking avidly around and trying to be quiet. "Yeah... they're safe. We've got to talk about something when you get up here, though. How's everyone else?"

She pulled Jason up on the Viewing Globe. He was demorphed and at what Kimberly recognized as City Hall, in a dark corner. "Spell's broken, as you can probably tell," he said. "We each took a rally site and sort of talked everyone into confusion, and then I think I talked Goldar into giving up the plan. I got off the stage and mixed in with the crowd as soon as everyone started waking up." He looked around. "Looks like we're dealing with widespread memory loss. At least, confusion. I think people are too horrified that they were ready to sacrifice their children, so they're purposefully forgetting."

"Ah, the famous Angel Grove defense mechanism," Billy interjected.

"Looks like," Jason said. "I'm not sure, but I don't think that there's anything else to do, so I'm tele..."

He stopped, his eyes grown wide. The Viewing Globe refocused to the middle of the room. People were starting to point and scream as Lord Zedd's face materialized into thin air.

"There is to be no peace," he began. "That is true. I am here to conquer... to destroy. And so you all don't come away with false notions of me..."

"Dammit," Jason said into his communicator. "He's taken control of the damn monster."

The alarms began flashing in the background, the siren blaring throughout the Command Center. The three freedom fighters jumped and clapped their hands over their ears, but Billy and Kimberly kept working: Kimberly monitoring the security, Billy trying to figure out how to contact Zordon.

"That's not all," Kimberly said. "We've got Putties at the three other rally sites... including the one at the Youth Center, which is currently unprotected and full of teens."

"I've got children to worry about here, too," Jason said. "We'll try to round up civilians. We'll need to do the mass teleport we did last time."

"We'll need Alpha for that," Billy said.

"It'll get done, Jas," Kimberly said, not wanting Jason to worry about the absence of Zordon and Alpha. "We're spread pretty thin right now. I'll get to the Youth Center, and we'll try to regroup as soon as possible.

Jason didn't answer. Kimberly saw on the Viewing Globe he was already morphed and fighting off Putties from attacking civilians.

"Billy, if you can't reach Alpha, you're going to have to start teleporting people. Start with small groups, and see if you can narrow down to only humans." She pulled out her power coin. "I'll take care of the Youth Center, but be sure to get the small children out of City Hall first."

"I should be fighting," Billy pointed out.

"Fighting will do no good if we lose people. Protecting people is our number one priority, especially since that who Zedd is targeting."

Billy nodded, and Kimberly moved to morph into action... only to be blocked by Rocky.

"You need fighters?" he said. "We can help."

Kimberly scraped her hair out of her face with one hand. "No... I'm sorry... but you can't. You guys need to stay up here."

"That's ridiculous," Aisha said flatly. "You already said you're spread thin, and you're right. You need extra help."

"We've already been fighting," Adam said quietly.

"And almost died. Or got turned evil," Kimberly said. "If you went down there right now, you'd all immediately be targets, and we can't save you again. Also, you're not strong enough to fight the Putties. We are. Leave the fighting to us."

Before they could object, she morphed out of there, leaving Rocky spluttering in indignation, Aisha furious, and Adam sullen.

"And don't start in on me," Billy said. "I've been benched as well." He huffed in frustration. "Maybe this will..."

Suddenly, a white door opened up. Startled and suddenly off-balance, as the door opened literally at his feet, Billy fell in, and the door closed.

Rocky, Adam, and Aisha looked at each other. "Was... was that supposed to make sense?" Rocky ventured.


Goldar looked at the screens in distaste. Now four screens, the new one showing the chaos at the Youth Center. This wasn't a plan. This wasn't conquering. This... was punishment.

"Goldar, as you seem to be impatient for action of late," Lord Zedd said, "I wish you to lead the attack on the Youth Center. Hurt... even kill... as many people as you like."

Goldar looked up in shock. He'd been waiting for the additional lecture, for more pain, for punishment... even to be fired... but this was not what he expected.

"My lord," he said, "I... those..."

"Are children, yes," Lord Zedd finished for him. "You've spent more than a year fighting children. You seem to have forgotten how young the Power Rangers truly are. Since you seem to have developed a reluctance for wholesale destruction, we'll have to break you of that. So do as you're told."

Goldar set himself. Was this about him going soft? Or about testing him on his convictions? Or... more probably... pure sadism? "My lord, I would gladly attack the Power Rangers. I would join the fight with the monster... and I would even attack any of the rally sites. But I can't attack those children. You can torture me with your staff as much as you want."

The room grew redder, and Lord Zedd seemed to grow more dangerous. "Oh, but it will not be you who will do the suffering. As the Red Ranger said... you are an honorable man." He turned away. "Finster, report to the throne room!"

Goldar's eyes went wide. "My lord... you can't mean..."

"I believe the old scientist aided you in your scheme. He must share in your punishment. I believe you mentioned... torture from my staff." The Z-Staff crackled with lightning.

Goldar glanced at the door to the throne room, but Finster's lab was far off. The doddering old scientist would take quite a while to get there. He was slow... old...

"He was acting under my orders... under my threats," Goldar said. "He really had no choice. It was all me. My responsibility. Punish me, if you're going to punish anyone... my lord," Goldar ended carefully.

Lord Zedd laughed once in derision. "I am not going to facilitate your noble self-sacrifice." The room flashed even redder. "You are not noble. You are not honorable. You are a soldier... a tool, but for me to use or discard as I wish. Since you had the presumption to do more than you were worth, I am merely reminding you of your place." He raised his Z-Staff. "I believe I hear the old man's steps coming closer. Shall it be a minute of pain? Five? Twenty?"

Cursing, Goldar teleported away. Seconds later, Finster emerged through the doorway. "You summoned me, my lord?" Finster said in a steady voice. He seemed to know what might happen to him, but he showed no fear.

Lord Zedd waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing, now. Though if you ever conspire without my knowledge again, I shall make sure you suffer beyond your wildest imagination."

"Understood, my lord," Finster said, and began shuffling away.


Billy touched down on a glowing white floor. The air around him seemed to vibrate.

"I must have accidentally accessed..."

His voice echoed harshly in the silence, startling him.

"...the hidden lab," he finished in a whisper.

"Vitals are remaining steady," a voice drifted from below, and Billy recognized Alpha's voice. "The bonding is almost complete, though the mental connection is still in process."

"We must wait for him to wake up on his own," Zordon said. "Any interruption could be disastrous... though I would prefer if he'd hurry. Lord Zedd has taken control of the fight, and the Rangers are desperately outnumbered.

Billy could see a vent in the floor, and he bent over it. Below him, through the slats, he could see Zordon on the far wall, Alpha scooting between two consoles, and...

It was a Power Ranger.

Billy gaped. It was hard to see in the brightness, as every surface seemed to glow white, but he could see the gold markings on the helmet, and a black and gold breastplate. The Ranger was lying motionless on the table.

Suddenly, something clicked in Billy's mind. His breath catching, he launched himself on his feet and ran for the stairwell to the lab. If this was who he thought it was... and it had to be... he wanted to be the first to see him.


Tommy was in that odd space where he was trying not to scream, and wished he could scream.

There wasn't pain. Not really pain in any sense that he had ever felt it. It was as if he had lost all sense of himself, but at the same time he was painfully aware of his own body, every inch of it. He could feel blood pulsing through his veins, electricity in his skull

I sing the body electric... he could hear his father's words, as he's read his favorite poem aloud. His father... he'd had a dream about him the previous night. They were in a hospital room, playing cards like they usually did in the afternoons, and his father's voice had joked, but he couldn't quite remember the voice, couldn't quite remember what he'd said. But then he'd wandered off, and he'd lost track of him, and oh, god, he missed him so much it hurt sometimes...

He remembered waking up tied to a chair in the Moon Palace throne room, fighting against the panic and fear and confusion, not knowing what he was fighting against, but understanding that everything around him was draped in significance that he could not quite know yet, with voices telling him whom he should serve...

He remembered waking up in a cell, raging at being denied the presence of his empress, the need to be near her burning through his system like a drug, pushing him to strike back at the people keep him from her, those people who were now his friends...

He remembered dying, or something like it, being sent to hell and hopping through dimensions in a time that never was, could never be again, as he fought his way back home and used power that his body could not possibly process...

He could remember those times. Those times were significant. Had left their scars across his mind, his soul... scars that left ghostly pains that were usually pushed down, now literalized in this white world in which he was trapped. He opened up his mouth, but nothing happened.

He could remember the pain, but had forgotten how to exist. He felt like he was losing himself, losing his mind... If he lost the ability to recall, what was he?

I can't do this, he thought. I'm broken... scarred... damaged... I can't... can't...

Just when it felt too much, just as the white threatened to suffocate him... he suddenly breathed cool air.

He remembered why he was there. Why it was important. What he had agreed to.

He remembered the words his father had said.

I sing the body electric,

The armies of those I love engirth me and I engirth them,

They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them,

And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the soul.

It was time. Opening his eyes, he stepped into the light.