Author's notes: Hi, everyone! I know you all thought I had disappeared. In a sense… I got a full time job, bought a house, got sick with the flu… Lots of exciting things that meant I couldn't write. In fact, I kept writing pages and then throwing them out, because I couldn't concentrate. Until I got inspired… *cue evil laughter*

Thanks for all my reviewers: Nerdman3000 (Ah…. We don't find out in this chapter… but no.), Ghostwriter, Destin of the blue flame (The Dragonzord still exists, so I don't think it will decay?), KLR1 (Thanks! Action rad bug was my favorite lol), brankel1, crying mink (I might depart for a while, but I'll always be back and I never forget you guys.), The-Knight2000 (I've actually always loved the show's version better than the movie, mainly for Rito's sake. I'm never happy when Zedd and Rita are pointlessly sidelined. Like, they create a whole new costume for Zedd and then relegate him to a snow globe? Booo!), Lord Jaric (I've enjoyed watching you catch up! But then I always feel bad because I update so infrequently, so I know I'm setting people up for long waits. *cries*), and secretangel106 (Thanks! This chapter has some… moments… that you might either love or hate *sweats*).

Brighter Paths

Book 8: Quest for Power

Chapter 30: Fractured Future

Rocky woke up from an odd dream, one that slipped from his mind even as he stretched in the clean, cool sheets of his bed. There had been a desert? Dinosaur bones?

The speaker beside his bed chimed, and Rocky tapped it, the rest of the dream disappearing, leaving only a vague sense of unease. "I'm awake," he mumbled.

"Mr. De Santos," a voice came from the speaker, "they're waiting for you now. Should I tell them that you'll be delayed?"

Rocky scrubbed his face and pushed the covers aside. "No, I'm up. Give me 20 minutes, and I'll meet them on the observation deck."

"Acknowledged," the voice said, and the speaker clicked off.

Rocky scrubbed up as quickly as he could and threw on a suit. This meeting would be recorded, and highlights would play on the intergalactic media. He'd have to look good. The coverage would be useful for drumming up support, and they needed all they could get.

As he walked down the hallway, his wrist communicator beeped. It was the old 6-note tune of his clunky communicator from high school, only now crystal tones were emitting from a sleek wristband. He tapped it, and a hologram popped up in front of him.

"You're going to take the deal, aren't you?"

Rocky gritted his teeth. "I don't see much of a way around it, Tommy. We're losing ground every day, and we need all the allies we can get."

"It's not going to help," Tommy said. He looked exhausted. Rocky wondered if he was getting any sleep. The scars over his left eye looked even more pronounced than usual. "You're better off going with…"

Rocky waved him off irritably. "We're not doing it, Tommy." He paused. "How are the recruits doing?"

Tommy frowned, but didn't press the issue. "They'll be ready. I just want to know what they'll be ready for. Tommy out."

Rocky sighed. "Me, too."

The observation deck was already buzzing with conversation, as the media was already getting set up. A few soldiers snapped to attention, but Rocky waved them down. He spotted Adam near the window overlooking the Pacific shoreline and made a beeline to him.

"Remember when Aaron got possessed here?" Adam's voice was quiet, so as not to draw attention from the rest of the throng. "During our first big trip as a team?"

"He wasn't possessed, he was put under a spell," Rocky pointed out. He was surprised. Adam never talked about the old days anymore, and he definitely never mentioned Aaron since he died in the battle that destroyed Angel Grove.

"I've heard from Aquitar," Adam continued, as if he hadn't just been reminiscing about the comparatively good old days. "The Rangers themselves are coming, so that's a good sign."

"That or they want to stage a coup," Rocky joked weakly, knowing that was entirely possible.

Adam frowned. "Not so loud. I saw that reporter from World News skulking around; they'd be thrilled to report those kinds of rumors."

Rocky was about to respond, when a sudden hush announced the arrival of the Aquitian Rangers. It was showtime.

Five Aquitian Rangers, morphed but helmetless, strode into the room, and cameras started flashing. The Rangers waved aside questions and immediately made their way to Rocky and Adam. Rocky's mouth quirked up in a smile; Adam had positioned them in the best space in the room. They looked great, and the Aquitians could plainly see the water, which would put them at ease.

Aurico gave an Aquitian salute, the other Rangers following, and Rocky and Adam returned it. Rocky and Aurico followed up by shaking hands, though Aurico winced at the contact. Rocky didn't recognize the rest of the Rangers. Dead or replaced, just like everything else.

"We are pleased that you agreed to this meeting, Red Ranger," Aurico said stiffly. "The Aquitian Empire could use your support."

"As the Earth Alliance could use yours," Rocky said. He felt hot in his suit, and suddenly wished he and Adam had morphed. Though, without a full team, the effect might not have been as impressive.

The meeting was both confirmation and formality; all the details had already been established. Earth could provide fighters and access to Zord technology, while the Aquitians could provide air support and border protections. Adam had all the details written down in his office; this was just to play up to the media and formalize the agreement.

"I was not able to ask before," Aurico said, his voice low. "How is Billy? From what I heard…"

"He's fine," Rocky said quickly.

However, Adam said in the same moment, "We don't actually know."

Rocky shot him a look, but it was too late. He winced. "We were helping him get better… but then a group of rebels grabbed him in transit from a hospital."

"We're looking for him," Adam added, chagrined.

Aurico frowned. "That's… not good news. Considering what Billy's done, and if the wrong hands got control of a mind like that…"

"His mind's gone," Rocky said. "What happened… it made him not who he was." He didn't like using the word 'insane,' though none of the other words the doctors used were to his liking either. "The trauma…"

"Be that as it may," Aurico interrupted, "he needs to be found. And quickly. I don't think your rebels would use him for ill purposes, necessarily, but I doubt they have the resources to truly protect him."

Rocky grinned toothily. "Thanks for the suggestion. I'll take it under advisement."

They would have said more, but they needed to give one last address, to reassure the good people of Earth and the surrounding galaxy that they had everything in hand.


Aisha turned away from the globe in disgust. "They took the deal. That's going to complicate things."

Kimberly was still glaring at the globe, so her response came slowly. "Plan still holds. We've worked too hard, and it's too late to change now. If I know the Aquitians, they'll try to avoid getting mixed up in an internal conflict."

Aisha rolled her eyes. "They lost their backbone when they lost Delphine."

Kimberly glanced back at the empty tube at the center of the room. "Yeah, well, we're ones to talk," she said quietly.

Behind them, a few repair crews worked at restoring what was left of the Command Center. The ragtag rebellion, headed by Kimberly and Aisha, had been chased out of the last five hiding places. It was a risk coming here, but they needed access to the Morphing Grid, and this was the last place not under Rocky and Tommy's control.

And maybe, just maybe, Zordon would speak to them. It had been a long time, and the last time he'd spoken they'd been a whole team, but Kimberly just couldn't fully give up hope.

Kimberly ran her fingers through her hair, and then remembered that she'd shaved it close after most of it had been burned away in the last fight. Tommy had thrown the grenade that had done it. She remembered looking in his eyes, no longer recognizing the man she'd once loved.

A sudden hush and the snap of salutes signaled the entrance of an officer—too many of the Resistance were ex-military for those practices to die out, as much as it made the Rangers uncomfortable. It made Skull uncomfortable, too, for he was the officer in question. Had been ever since he'd led the charge of the Youth Center in the final battle of Angel Grove. Had been ever since Bulk died. So many had died then. Jason, Trini, and Zack. Sylvia. Adam's brother. Frank…

"You're spiraling," Skull said, smiling softly, and Kimberly realized her eyes had indeed gone out of focus, and she'd begun rocking back and forth. She forced herself to stop and focus.

"Thinking too much," she said.

"Not a good idea," he answered, a glimmer of the old humor about him.

"How's Billy?" Aisha said. "I know you went to check up on him."

"He had a bad night," Skull said. "Screaming and all that, like normal. And then, this morning, he… just kinda stopped."

"Stopped?" Kimberly's head jerked up. "Stopped what? Is he sleeping?"

"Nah." Skull shifted his feet. "He asked me what was going on. Said something about a test. I don't really know what he was going on about, but he almost seemed like he used to."

Kimberly and Aisha looked at each other. Was this a glimmer of sanity? Or just another aspect of his illness. Did he think they were still in high school, needing to study for tests?

"I can talk to him," Aisha volunteered. "I'm getting twitchy sitting here anyway."

Aisha left without another word, and Skull took her place in front of the Viewing Globe. It had gone back to the security defaults from long ago, so it was currently showing the abandoned ruins of Angel Grove. The two stared at the broken buildings, now being retaken by green where the ground hadn't been scorched.

The final battle of Angel Grove. The last stand of the united Power Rangers. She and Tommy had led the attack that had driven the Machine Empire's forces off of Earth, but at the cost of their city. That was when Tommy and Rocky had formed the Earth Alliance with all the world's governments under the protection of the Power Rangers. Billy and Adam had followed, but she and Aisha had formed the rebellion, along with many of the civilian fighters from Angel Grove.

As Kimberly remembered the events that had led her to this broken Command Center, leading a a ragtag group of 20 or so rebels against her friends, who had turned into military dictators, she realized she couldn't remember the details. She could remember the big events and knew there had been vastly terrible decisions, but she couldn't remember the conversations. How one thing had led to another. Was she finally losing it just as much as Billy had?

"Sometimes it doesn't seem real."

Kimberly was startled that Skull's statement mirrored her own thought to much. There was an unreality to the whole situation: their plan, being in the Command Center, fighting a war that she felt sometimes they'd already lost.

"I mean, one minute we were in high school, and the next minute we were swept up in this war," Skull continued. He threw a scrap piece of metal across the floor in disgust. "Alien empires grabbing up power and territory, and they somehow give enough of a shit about Angel Grove that it got destroyed."

Kimberly sighed. "I was already fighting the war, remember? That's why everything changed."

"Oh, yeah," Skull laughed. "You know, Bulky and I were trying to figure out who the Power Rangers were. You weren't really on the list."

"You suspected something," Kimberly pointed out.

Skull's eyes grew sad. "Yeah… maybe I didn't want to know."

Kimberly tried to say something, but then gave it up. Old arguments that didn't matter anymore. She was even beyond guilt for bringing the war to the town in which she lived, just because she lived there. She'd been right to fight, and everything had spiraled out of control. She just had to deal with the here and now.

"Would you go back, if you could?" Skull asked, still staring at the ruins of their home. "Change it all?"

For a crazy minute, she felt sixteen again, and she could almost forget the past few years. Kimberly's eyes stung, and for the first time in ages she felt a tear slip from her eye. "God, yes."


Aisha steeled herself before entering the holding area: a large room that had used to be there gym, but they now outfitted as a cell with a force field. The field was at its lowest setting: they didn't want Billy to accidentally hurt himself. Well, accidentally or otherwise.

She didn't want to see him. She'd seen him briefly during the rescue, and then only through the Viewing Globe. Avoiding him made it feel like he wasn't actually there, or that he was a problem to solve, not the actual Billy that she knew.

Not the one who'd committed genocide.

Aisha rubbed her hands over her face and walked in the room. Billy was as he'd been—unshaven, with long ragged hair and self-inflicted scratches all over—but his eyes were sharp and no longer sunken and red. He started up as she entered, a smile on his face. She stopped warily in her tracks, and the smile slid off his face.

"Aisha, what happened?" Billy said quietly, his voice hoarse from the previous screams, but otherwise still normal. "The last thing I remember is going to sleep at Dulcea's temple, and she was going to put us through some kind of test. Then I woke up here."

Aisha went cold. Dulcea? The name rang a bell, but she couldn't place it. Clearly, though, he'd moved to a stage in his illness where he didn't remember the past few years. It was a coping mechanism, but it still pissed Aisha off. He'd caused so much pain. It was unfair that he'd forget.

Billy's eyes darted around, trying to piece it all together. "Aisha… you look older. Your hair was in braids. I fail to understand what's going on, but I do know that something isn't right. Are we… is this… part of the test?"

"Billy… what year do you think it is?" Aisha said.

"1995," Billy said without hesitation.

Aisha laughed drily. "Of course. Back to when we were teenagers. When everything seemed simpler and we knew who the good guys and the bad guys were." She shrugged. "I guess if that helps you sleep at night…"

"What year do you think it is?" Billy asked, dread creeping into his eyes.

Aisha gritted her teeth. "I know it's the year 2001. I know that you're just trying to forget all your troubles by going back to when we had none…"

"What are you talking about?" Billy was getting angry. "We've just lost our powers and our Zords. We're trying to get more powers from Ninjor. Cestria's been arrested for the murder of the Aquitian Prime Minister. You blew up at Tommy because you were afraid you were going to die without your parents knowing you were a Power Ranger. I don't know what's going on, but surely you remember all that."

Aisha did. That was right before everything had changed. They'd gotten their powers from Ninjor, sure enough, and their subsequent fight against Zedd and Rita had broken their foes' powers for a time. That's when the power vacuum made every two-bit intergalactic hood make a play for Earth, until the Machine Empire had come…

Aisha shook her head against the memories. At Billy's words, the past six years seemed to waver and fade, and it felt like she was sixteen again for a few brief moments.

"Alpha," she called out, "show a view from the cell on the screen."

Billy sat down hard on the bed at the sight of his own reflection. He ran his fingers through his hair, studied the ragged nails that were both chewed down and too long, and pulled at the filthy clothing. They'd been unable to get him to change clothes, and no one had felt particularly inspired to try.

"Here's what you're avoiding with your fairy tales," Aisha said, her voice getting harder. "When we were fighting the Machine Empire, you came up with a computer virus that would sweep through all their safeguards. It attacked AI and forced it to self-destruct." Aisha's eyes narrowed. "The thing was, it ripped through our safeguards as well. The entire Machine Empire was destroyed that day. So were the onboard computers of the KO-35 pilots that helped us. Andros and Zhane and all the others crashed and burned along with the cog drones." She closed her eyes. "And maybe you want to forget watching Alpha tear himself apart, but I sure can't. The only way we could save him was to upload him to the Command Center computer, but any personality he used to have is gone now."

Billy was pale, unnaturally still, as she told the story. She felt like throwing something at him, but she knew it wouldn't help. Maybe even doing this was losing their chance of talking to him while he was coherent, but she couldn't take him talking about the problems of a 16-year-old as if they amounted to anything."

"I went insane, didn't I?" Billy said, shaking his head. "Genocide. Victor all over again." He kept staring at his hands, as if willing them to return to what they'd once been. "But none of that actually happened. This is part of the test Ninjor is giving us." He looked at Aisha with bright, hopeful eyes, a look Aisha hadn't seen in years. "Don't you see? This is Ninjor's nightmare. He's afraid if he gives us power, we'll just escalate the war. He sent us to some kind of… future scenario. Where we got power and did… this. The test must have glitched because I'm not crazy. Maybe it couldn't do that."

Aisha looked at him sadly. She'd spent so long hating him and Tommy for pushing them into killing so many people, but this was just pathetic. Billy was long gone, and in his place was this fantasy.

"Just, get the others in here," Billy said desperately. "Maybe we can start remembering if we…"

"Kimberly is probably watching on the Viewing Globe," Aisha said. "There are no others, at least no others you'd want to talk to. Rocky and Tommy are slowly turning Earth into just another dark force obsessed with power, and Adam stays with them." She smiled sadly. "But they won't be a problem for long."

Billy's eyes went wide. "Aisha, what do you mean? What's going to happen?"

"Alpha," Aisha said, "boost the intensity of the force field by 20%."

The force field hummed and glowed a bit brighter. If Billy was coherent enough to have a conversation, he'd become more of a security risk. He had to be contained.

Aisha felt the door slide behind her, cutting off Billy's increasingly desperate pleas for her to listen. It was stupid to even think that he might be right. The nagging doubts that his words caused, they were just her worrying over the plan… and her part in it. The part that Kimberly didn't know about. For Kimberly still held on desperately to the illusion that they could come out of this unscathed—that they could still be Power Rangers again.

"Too late for that," Aisha said softly. "Too late for a lot of things."

It all had to end, and she knew that once everyone was sufficiently distracted, she could end it all for everyone. Her final gift.


"You're too late on your follow-through," Tommy growled from the corner. "Fight like that on the field, and you're dead in minutes."

The recruit in question winced as Tommy approached the ring, but reluctantly put up his guard. Even with Tommy's missing arm and blind eye, he quickly dismantled the young man's defenses. He was on the floor in minutes, Tommy's foot over his neck.

"I yield!" the recruit strangled out as Tommy put pressure on his windpipe.

Tommy backed up, his eyes hard. "What's your name, soldier?"

"Carlos," the young man said."

"Carlos," Tommy repeated. "There's no yielding on the battlefield. No one takes prisoners anymore, and those that do don't put them in nice safe POW camps. If you lose, you lose everything. Understood?"

"Understood!" Carlos called, along with the others. The other students kept to attention, and no one attempted to help Carlos up. They knew better than that. Any sign of weakness or mercy in Tommy's training got swift reprisals.

A chime played across the speakers, signaling the duty shift. "You're dismissed," Tommy said stiffly, and they all filed out hastily, glad to be done with the training session. They saluted Adam, who had been watching from the entrance. Adam saluted them back and patted Carlos on the shoulder. Tommy caught a smile between the two.

"Yeah, but is there fear in this dojo?" Adam joked.

Tommy scowled at him, feeling his scars pull down with the sides of his mouth. "Not if I can help it. Cobra Kai didn't have to fight a war." He dragged himself painfully to the door, his bum leg half dragging behind him.

Adam frowned. "Not using your crutches?"

Tommy shrugged. "They get in the way. And it's not a good idea to get chummy with the soldiers."

Adam rolled his eyes. "They're human beings. And you were being too hard on Carlos."

"They're gonna get themselves killed," Tommy growled.

"Probably," Adam said. "But that doesn't mean we make them want it."

As they talked, Tommy keyed in the security passes through several sets of doors, until they got to a dark inner lab that required level 5 security clearance, which only Tommy, Rocky, and Adam possessed.

Adam squinted in the darkness. "You need to get some light in here. This can't be the best conditions for experimentation."

Tommy barked out a laugh. "Light gets them all riled up. Unless you want to relive the glory days with an old-fashioned brawl, I suggest you get used to the dark."

Tommy hit a button, and a compartment slid open to reveal the prototype. It lunged forward against its bonds, its scaly skin glistening in the weak light. Adam jumped back, but Tommy only laughed.

"I think we solved our recruitment problem," Tommy smirked at Adam's wide-eyed stare. "They're strong, they follow orders, and they're not human, so it doesn't matter whether they die or not."

"This is what you've been working on?" Adam asked incredulously.

"Like it? It's a mix of dinosaur DNA and… well… random bits of technology. I worked on with Dr. Mercer before he deserted. They're called Tyrannodrones."

Adam's eye twitched. "Tommy, you created Putties. Your army? It's Putties."

Tommy shrugged. "Okay. But they're stronger. Better."

"Expendable," Adam pointed out, staring at the struggling creature.

"More expendable than people," Tommy pointed out. "Or do you want more people to die? Maybe you want to sacrifice Carlos for your ethics."

Adam bristled. "That's not fair. I've stood by you and Rocky, no matter where this war has led. Even after Kimberly and Aisha started the resistance. Even after Billy…"

"Yeah, you stayed here because you believed in what we were doing," Tommy broke in sarcastically. "Sure. And it wasn't that torch you've been carrying for Rocky all these years."

Adam opened his mouth angrily, and then closed it. He shook his head. "I stayed. Doesn't matter why. I think we're doing good here, honestly. But this…" He gestured at the Tyrannodrone. "How many methods are we going to take from the villains before we're actual villains?"

Tommy glared at him. Of all the idiotic… "Do you really still think in terms of heroes and villains? Seriously, what war has ever had heroes and villains? We're fighting a war, and we're fighting for our own people and what we believe. Isn't that enough? Do we have to throw being a hero into the mix?"

Adam glared back. "I can report your progress to Rocky. I honestly think he'll be thrilled."

"I know he will," Tommy said. "Tell him we can have a self-replicating batch within days."

Adam nodded and left, shooting one last angry look at the Tyrannodrone.

Tommy breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess that went about as well as I could hope. Ya did good, Rex," he said to the Tyrannodrone, tossing it a piece of raw meat. The drone caught the meat midair and chewed it noisily.

He checked the surveillance to make sure no one was coming to his lab, and that Adam had indeed left and wasn't doubling back. Adam was nosy and had an unnerving way of appearing when he wasn't expected or wanted. Assured that Adam was on his way to Rocky's penthouse, Tommy carefully keyed in the scrambling sequence, and then established communication.

The familiar view of Rita Repulsa filled the screen. She was older, her face was more lined, though with her age range she wouldn't have aged naturally. It was the war, the magic usage, the stress… Tommy remembered how he himself looked compared to the young sixteen-year-old who had first served her.

"You kept me waiting," she said without preamble. "Making nice with the Aquitians?"

Tommy made a noise of disgust. "Hardly. Rocky and Adam can play at politics, but that little alliance is going to do fuck-all."

"Agreed." Rita smiled and almost looked like her old self. "Our forces are standing by. With the Machine Empire gone, all that's left standing between us and destroying Dark Specter is that little princess Astronema, and she's just not the same since her brother's death. You have Billy to thank for that."

Tommy winced. "She's still a monster, and she's got the Aquitians and most of the rest of the galaxy good and scared. If we take her and Dark Specter down, everyone else will fall."

"My thoughts exactly," Rita said. "You know, I always said we would rule the universe together."

"Funny how that works out," Tommy agreed. "I'll have my army in days, if you can fulfill your part of the plan."

"The Eltarian energy will be ready, as long as you can still channel it. Until next time."

Rita's image blinked out, leaving Tommy alone with his thoughts. It was risky, his plan, but it might end the war, when all Rocky could do was prolong the war. He didn't care if history called him a villain or a monster. As long as no one else had to die, he was fine with it.


"And you're completely okay with having an army of Putties," Adam said, trying to keep his voice neutral.

Rocky got out of the hot tub and toweled off. "Like Tommy probably explained, it's better than sending a lot of soldiers to their death. We promised ground troops in the alliance with the Aquitians. Do you want to keep sending young men and women to their deaths? Or do you want to send Tyrannodrones?"

Adam was averting his eyes. "I… I don't suppose there's a good solution either way. I'm just worried about the optics. If we look like villains, people will think we're villains, no matter what our intentions are."

Rocky had thrown on a robe. He grasped Adam's shoulders comfortingly, and Adam drew himself very straight. "People are going to remember results, not methods. We save lives, we end the war… who gives a shit how we did it?"

"But Billy…"

"Billy killed our allies along with our enemies," Rocky said. "That's what everyone remembers… But they're still glad they don't have to deal with the Machine Empire." Rocky crossed the room and made himself a drink. "Even if it turns out like that… it'll still be worth it. Won't it?"

Those last two words seemed to betray the confidence Rocky was trying to project. They were getting desperate, Adam knew, and the cracks were starting to show. Instead of pushing, Adam smiled reassuringly. "It's okay. You know me. I'm always worrying."

Rocky grinned. "Well, don't. If all works out well, we won't have to worry about the war for much longer."

"In the meantime, if you don't mind, I'm going to worry somewhere else. I think I got a bead on where the rebels are: I want to check it out."

"Let me know if you need backup, okay?" Rocky said, downing his third drink in quick succession.

"Right," Adam said, knowing that Rocky wasn't going to be conscious for long, if he drank as much today as he did yesterday… or the day before…

Adam took the Jeep, loaded with tracking equipment, and enjoyed the desert air after teleporting everything to the Nevada desert. Or, at least, after he'd already teleported to China, Australia, Florida, and Ireland, and THEN the Nevada desert. He didn't need anyone tracking him, after all.

He left the Jeep over a sand dune and set up a dampening field, just in time for a large ORV to crest the dunes from the other direction.

"How's Billy?" Adam asked as Kimberly killed the engine and vaulted onto the ground.

"Surprisingly lucid," Kimberly said. "Expect that he thinks we're all sixteen again. His brain is stuck in the Ninjor Quest, apparently."

Adam cocked his head. "Not exactly the point in time I would go back to. That's when everything went wrong." He remembered back to their first battle with the new powers, how it had ended in blood. But, whose blood? He remembered some kind of tragedy, something that had pushed them all to escalating the war, but he couldn't remember the details. He sighed; maybe the trauma had finally taken a toll on his memory. "We're going to have to push the plan up."

"I'm worried about the Aquitians…"

"Never mind the Aquitians," Adam interrupted. "Tommy's been developing some damn dinosaur Putties as his own personal army."

Kimberly raised her eyebrows. "That's new."

"He says it's to serve as ground troops instead of humans."

"But you think it's to take control away from Rocky," Kimberly said.

"No matter how he uses it, it's going to be bad news," Adam pointed out. "Tommy isn't stable anymore. Neither is Rocky, but for Rocky it's delusion. Tommy's just dangerous."

Kimberly ran her fingers over her buzzed hair. "Yeah, no kidding." She sighed. "You know you're going to have to kill them both. Or at least Rocky, if you can't get to Tommy."

Adam felt himself grow cold, but he held himself straight. "I know. If we just kill one, the other will take over."

Kimberly put her hand on his arm, a sad look coming over her face. "Adam… I know… I mean, you don't have to…"

"It has to be me," Adam said with a small voice. "Even if you and the rebellion take care of Tommy, I'm the only one who can get to Rocky." He looked up, his eyes glistening with tears he refused to shed. "Rocky will pass out soon. I can do it tonight."

Kimberly squeezed his arm. "You just scramble the troops and get us past security, and the rebellion will sweep through the San Francisco complex."

"I finally have the security codes to Tommy's lab," Adam said. "That's where he'll hole up."

Kimberly nodded. "You're right. It's time." She smiled. "See you on the other side," she lied.

"Same to you," he lied back. They both knew the chances of surviving this were slim to none… but what else could they do?

It had been a year since he'd switched sides, since he'd turned double agent. In the beginning, he'd believed Rocky's easy, optimistic words and hand-waving of necessary measures. As time had gone on, those lies had become even harder to swallow. Aisha had been the first to make contact from the rebellion, perhaps sensing that Adam was ready.

Adam frowned at his reflection in the rearview mirror. For a moment the reflection had shifted, his face becoming less lined from the years of constant war. Back to when he was sixteen…

Ninjor Quest…

Adam shook his head violently. The memories of better times were inconvenient, and he couldn't afford the luxury of forgetting. He had a job to do. He'd kill Rocky… and after that he'd kill himself.


Billy had heard enough. He turned off the wrist communicator. He'd been able to listen in on Kimberly and Adam's conversation by tapping into her communicator, and Adam's scrambler had been child's play to bypass. He'd listened while pretending to sleep, facing away from the camera.

He'd have to wait until most of the rebellion left for San Francisco. There were too many people who could overpower him here. Their absence would give him a slim window to escape and find some way to incapacitate his fellow Rangers safely before they all started killing each other.

This was a test. He was sure it was. He sternly told the part of his mind to shut up that agreed with Aisha, that he was a mass killer who had gone crazy and had trauma-induced amnesia.

In the end, he preferred to belief the possible delusion than the cold reality. Enough that he was willing to risk everything. After all, if it was true what he'd done, he had nothing left to lose.


The San Francisco headquarters of the Power Rangers was heavily guarded with the latest of security systems. No one came in or out of the complex without personal, on the spot clearance from one of the Power Rangers: Tommy Oliver, Rocky de Santos… and Adam Park.

Adam looked around at the group of twenty rebels, and his heart sped up. He knew he was going to die, but he hoped it would be for a reason. With so few rebels…

"Don't worry," Kimberly said wryly at Adam's worried expression. "We've got enough people for this mission. After all, you said most of the soldiers were on leave for M Day, right?"

It had seemed in poor taste to celebrate the end of the Machine Empire, but Rocky had insisted… giving them the perfect chance to infiltrate the San Francisco base without too much resistance.

"Where's Aisha?" Adam asked.

Kimberly frowned. "Got held up at the Command Center. Said something about some instabilities in the Morphing Grid. She'll be here for the afterparty," Kimberly grinned. "Now let's do this."

Adam let them in by the cargo elevator. Twenty rebels, most of them armed. Kimberly and Adam did not carry weapons. They would morph, but only at the last possible moment. It would be best not to give their presence away so quickly.

"Like we practiced," Kimberly said. "Adam takes the penthouse, Skull leads group A to the security system, and I'll lead group B to the basement. Tommy and Rocky are our objectives. Stun if you can, but those two we have to kill. Got it?"

Skull looked like he was going to puke. Adam didn't look much better. In fact, neither did the rest of the rebels, but it wasn't like they had a choice.

The elevator opened, and the group quietly sped down the service tunnel to where they would separate.

Unfortunately, their way was blocked. Tommy and Rocky stood side by side, backed up by a squadron of Tyrannodrones.

"Nice of you to drop in!" Rocky called. "I wish you'd given us more notice."

Adam paled at the sight, at their carefully laid plans falling apart right in front of him. "How?"

"You suck at hiding your communications," Tommy said, a smirk on his lips. "We've known for a while." He gave an extra smile to Kimberly. "You look good, Kim."

Kimberly snarled. "Asshole." She nodded to the Tyrannodrones. "These your work?"

"Mostly." He grinned. "They fight like me. Where's Aisha?"

The rebels remained silent.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Fine, we can do this the old-fashioned way." He snapped his fingers, and the Tyrannodrones attacked.


Billy was seething. There had been secondary security measures holding him back, and it had taken so long to get past them. If he was too late, if any of his friends had killed each other…

He ran to the Command Center controls to find where to teleport, when he realized he wasn't alone. Aisha was standing in front of Zordon's empty tube. She'd pulled the protective casing off the bottom of it. Golden light burst from the opening, and all he could see was her silhouette.

"Aisha," he called out a warning, "what are you doing?"

Aisha stood as if entranced by the light. "What does it look like, Billy? I'm… I'm going to make everything better."

The light started to pulse. There was a force behind it, and Billy felt himself pulled forward, by physical or mental compulsion he wasn't sure. He grabbed the console just in case, afraid what would happen if he plunged into the light.

It was a test. Of course it was a test, he kept telling himself. But, then, what was the price of failure?

"Aisha, I… I think that's… but that's impossible," Billy said. "I think that's…"

"It's the Morphing Grid," Aisha said, turning around to face Billy. Her face was disturbingly calm. Her feet were being pulled inexorably back into the light, and she did nothing to halt the slow progress. "Isn't it beautiful? All this power… and we only ever used it as a weapon." She took a deliberate step back. "I'm going to end that."

"Aisha, this is all wrong! You've got to feel that!" Billy called out desperately. "We're stuck in some kind of test, like I told you, and I don't know if you're about to win or lose, but I'm afraid of what might happen if you step into the light."

"We'll lose our powers," she said, her voice still calm. "We never should have had them in the first place. Zordon always kept plans to close it off, and I found them. I can do it, Billy. Let me do it."

Billy wavered. What if he was wrong. He felt the ragged nails, the long hair hanging in tatters around his head. What if they'd all done these things, tearing up all of existence in a mad fight between powers, leaving death and destruction in their wake. Maybe this was the only way. Close it all off, and be done with it.

Aisha took another step to the light, her determination growing as Billy stood undecided.


Immediately the rebels took the defensive in the wake of the Tyrannodrone surge. They ran for what cover they could and began firing their blaster rifles, Skull coordinating the fight expertly, despite being taken by complete surprise.

The Rangers didn't morph as they ran to fight each other. Tommy was too injured to morph—had been for a long time—and Kimberly didn't want to morph when her mission was so bloody. Adam and Rocky, perhaps, felt the same.

"How long?" Rocky asked Adam as they grappled. He grunted as Adam elbowed him in the face, losing his grip, but he recovered to deliver a kick that made Adam stumble back.

"How long have I been working for them?" Adam asked, gasping and trying to find an opening.

"How long have you been lying to me?" Rocky said.

Adam gritted his teeth, pain clouding his eyes. "Too long. Too fucking long. But it's too late now." With a burst of motion, he went on the attack.

Tommy and Kimberly didn't talk at all. They'd said too much, wounds barely healed and badly scarred a silent testament to how much they'd hurt each other over the years.

As they grappled close, reality seemed to bend for a moment, and the scars disappeared. Both had long hair, Tommy's face became whole, and they looked like teenagers again. Reality shifted back, but it was enough for the two to break off in confusion.

"Okay, was that some kind of trick?" Kimberly said. "Something else you have cooking up in the lab?"

"Hey, you're the one who attacked," Tommy pointed out. "All I had planned was the Tyrannodrones."

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Seriously, who came up with that name?"

"I…" Tommy paused, frowning. "Actually, I have no idea." His frown deepened. "Why do I have dinosaur foot soldiers again?"

"I mean, do you remember anything before today?" Kimberly asked. "I mean, other than battle of Angel Grove and the destruction of the Machine Empire?"

"But those things happened," Tommy insisted.

Rocky and Adam had stopped fighting and stared at Tommy and Kimberly, who seemed to be having a calm conversation that was decidedly out of place in the middle of a battle.

Tommy turned to them. "You guys remember, though. The battle of Angel Grove and the destruction of the Machine Empire… and everything else, right?"

The two cocked their heads, and then looked at each other. The battle between the rebels and the Tyrannodrones seemed to fade into the background.

Kimberly closed her eyes. "Billy was right."

Adam bristled. "He was right to destroy…"

"No, of course not," Kimberly said. "But he never did any of that. None of us did any of that… none of this is real." She opened her eyes, and as she said the words the San Francisco complex and the surrounding battle disappeared. They all stood in a cavern. Billy and Aisha stood to the side, facing each other but looking confused, Billy bracing on a boulder for some reason.

"It was a test," Tommy said. He felt his hair and face, moved his legs. They were all as they should, back when he was sixteen… or now that he was still sixteen. "This isn't going to be great for my memory problems."

"Billy was right the whole time?" Aisha said, incredulously. "Who… who would put us through that awful experience for a test?!"

"And did we pass?" Rocky asked.

"Ninjor," Tommy answered, ignoring Rocky. "We're in his cavern."

Billy let go of the boulder. His face was red, his lips pulled back in an uncharacteristic snarl. "Right, Ninjor! We went through your sadistic test, and we managed not to kill each other. Now come out where we can see you!"

A jar in the center of the cavern began to glow, and Aisha, who had been standing near it, backpedalled quickly to join the others. The light filled the cavern and blinded the Rangers, and when they were finally able to see Ninjor stood before them.

"Power Rangers of Earth," he said, "I understand that you have come with a request."

Ninjor was fully clad in blue armor, a visor covering any trace of identity. His armor was very much like a Power Ranger's, only bulkier and made of metal, segmented for movement. His arms were crossed. It was hard to tell his mood, but he looked angry. His visor occasionally flickered, as if flames were within.

"You know our request." Kimberly's arms were crossed, mirroring his body language. "Dulcea must have told you. That's why you made us go through your… what did you call it, Billy?"

"Sadistic test."

"Yeah, that one," Kimberly said, turning back to Ninjor.

"You disapprove of my methods," Ninjor said. "I disapprove of Zordon's. He gives children weapons and expects them to end wars." He looked at Tommy. "You and I have already had words. I see you haven't changed in the least."

Tommy clenched his jaw. "I didn't want to come here, either. Didn't have much of a choice."

"And we wouldn't still be here if we had a choice," Adam pointed out. "Our world is in danger. Can you help us?"

"Yeah, did we pass?" Rocky asked again.

Ninjor cocked his head. "Did you pass? Rocky de Santos, this is what you ask?"

Rocky gulped. "Umm… yeah?"

"Rocky de Santos, former Red Ranger, you reacted to power by consolidating it. You used your privilege to become a dictator, all the while reaping the benefits without truly shouldering the responsibility. You used and manipulated your friends so you could have a penthouse and a spot in front of the camera."

Rocky looked stricken and said nothing.

"That's not fair," Kimberly protested. "We lived one day in your post-apocalyptic hellscape, believing that we'd done everything that had come before us. What exactly did that test, if you already set the scenario?"

"You're mistaken," Ninjor said coldly. "You didn't live one day. You played out that entire scenario, from the moment I granted you those powers to the moment you were all about to destroy everything. You couldn't remember the details because spell was ending. Kimberly Hart, former Pink Ranger and leader of the rebellion, you reacted to power by only reacting. In your mad rush to destroy the power structure, you used worse and worse methods, and your final plan—to kill your fellow Power Ranger—shows that you cannot keep your actions pure, even when your intentions are right."

No one said anything, perhaps afraid to call his judgment on them. Still, they couldn't leave. Not when there was a small chance he could still answer their request.

"Billy Cranston," he continued after a pause, and Billy stiffened, "former Blue Ranger and the one who got back his sense of reality first, as the spell could not sustain your madness. You reacted to power by allowing your genius to cause destruction around you, striking down enemies and allies on a scale that none of your friends could achieve. When you regained your senses and lost your memories of those events, you tried to right everything, but wavered in a moment you could have actually done some good."

The others looked curiously at Billy and Aisha, both of whom suddenly looked guilty.

"And Aisha Campbell, former Yellow Ranger, you reacted to power by trying to end it all." Ninjor chuckled. "While I can appreciate that, you did so irresponsibly, opening the Morphing Grid to shut it away rather than try to make peace with your friends. The Morphing Grid is bigger than anyone, part of the life of the universe. You should know that it's not a weapon. It never should have been made into one."

"Adam Park, former Black Ranger, you reacted to power with treachery. First you denied your own misgivings about the methods of the Power Rangers because of your feelings, and then you turned on your friends, first as spy, and then assassin. You keep your feelings close because you fear them, but that only makes them dangerous."

Adam glared back. "So, you're not going to give us powers, are you? You just want to keep talking about how unworthy we are, when we're the ones who have to fight."

"He's not," Tommy said. "Go ahead… tell me how I failed. I already know. I don't want to be left out."

The fire flickered more in Ninjor's visor. "Tommy Oliver, former White Ranger and leader of the Power Rangers, former Green Ranger and servant of evil, you reacted to power by…"

"I turned cold and bitter," Tommy interrupted. "I became what I fear most: someone who will do anything to win a fight. I used the worst methods, creating disposable soldiers and justifying it by saying I was saving lives. Worst yet, I conspired with Rita behind everyone's backs, making an alliance with her so we could destroy Dark Specter…" he paused, then steeled himself, "by using Zordon's power against him. She had him imprisoned, and I was going to channel his power as he died to bring a final end to the war." He was shaking by the end of his speech, but his eyes remained firmly on Ninjor.

"I have nothing to add to that," Ninjor said. "And you still have the audacity to ask for powers, when you know where it could lead."

"Yes. We do."

It was Billy who spoke. His former anger was still tight in his voice, but controlled as he tried to remain calm. "We ask you for power. There are people who depend on us. We do not have the luxury of leaving the war behind. We have to keep fighting. We're going to make mistakes, grievous ones. We disagree and hurt the ones we love. But we learn from our mistakes, and we try. We're not going to abandon the people of Earth just because terrible things might happen."

"Now that we know what could go wrong," Rocky pointed out, "we can try to avoid doing those things."

"And while we're fighting, we'll keeping trying to find ways not to fight," Aisha added.

"The point is, we're going to keep doing our duty to our planet," Adam said. "No matter what."

"We keep fighting, because we're Power Rangers," Tommy said, "with or without powers."

"And if you can't accept that, you can just sit in your jar for another thousand years so you can fail to help someone else," Kimberly said.

She turned, not waiting for an answer, and the rest followed. They knew Ninjor wouldn't budge. And he watched them leave, remaining silent the entire time.

They reached the outside, to the Desert of Despair. Dulcea was waiting for them, just outside of the mouth of the cave.

"I am sorry," she said. "I am so so sorry."

The Rangers said nothing. They felt they had said their peace, and they wanted to be allowed to face their fate in an unwinnable fight.

"I disagreed with the test," she said. "I urged him to give you the powers, that you had more than earned them."

"It's okay," Tommy said, his voice flat. "It was a longshot anyway. Could you help us get home?"

Dulcea held forth her staff. "I can do more than that." She waved her staff, and the air shook. In an instant, they were back at her temple. The bedrolls were still there. It was only just dawn.

"Power Rangers," Dulcea said, "for truly you have proven yourself to hold the title and duty, even when you don't hold the power, I refuse to send you away with no protection. Such as I have, I can give you. Please, join hands, close your eyes, and concentrate."

The Rangers were eager for any help they could get. They did as she asked, with only a few dubious looks between them.

Dulcea raised her staff again. "I am Dulcea, protector of the power of Ninjetti. For millennia I have protected the power, having no one to bestow it to. I had hoped that Ninjor would create the means for people to wield the power, but that does not mean I cannot give a fraction of what I protect. Feel the power around you. You can use it, become one with it."

At first nothing happened. Then, slowly, light formed around the six Rangers. At first the light was neutral, and then, as the Rangers renewed their concentration, it changed into their six colors.

Dulcea smiled. "Rangers, open your eyes."

They opened their eyes. Instead of their grimy clothes, they were covered from head to toe in their colors, each with a golden animal symbol on the front of their new uniforms. The uniforms were comfortable, but they could tell it offered less protection and power than their previous ones.

"With your ability to use the power of the Morphing Grid, you have tapped into the ambient energy of the temple. Any more, and the power would destroy you, as you don't have artifacts to use the powers. You are worthy of more, but…"

"What are these animals?" Tommy asked, twisting the symbol on his front to examine it.

Dulcea smiled. "They are how your powers chose to manifest. Rather than the power of the ancient dinosaurs, you now carry the power of Earth animals. Rocky, you have the might and strength of the ape. Aisha, as the bear, you are cunning and fierce. Billy, the wolf, silent and sure. Kimberly, the crane, agile and graceful. Adam, the frog, courageous in spirit. And Tommy, the falcon, just and able."

The six stared at each other, and then back at Dulcea.

"Uh, Dulcea, I really don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth… whatever the hell that means," Rocky said, "but all that stuff? That you said? Literally we showed that we weren't any of that in the test. If I was so mighty and strong, I wouldn't have sold everyone out for a penthouse and a drinking habit."

"I wouldn't have been so stupid as to try to destroy the Morphing Grid if I was so cunning," Aisha said.

"I wasn't exactly agile or graceful when I led a group of rebels to their deaths," Kimberly said.

Billy shifted. "My tactics of mass genocide weren't exactly subtle, and I wasn't sure enough to escape the test."

"I'd say being a frog is fair," Adam said. "Definitely not the courageous in spirit part."

Tommy nodded. "Yeah… well… you know. I was maybe able, but I wasn't just."

Dulcea nodded. "And, yet, you are all those things. You have demonstrated those traits, and you have the potential to become the heroes that embodies them. Like Billy said, you're still learning. You'll make mistakes, but you'll become better." She smiled. "And if it counts for anything, I have faith in you."

They wanted to believe. They'd seen the worst of themselves and each other, and they'd just been denied power by the creator the power coins. But now, Dulcea offered them hope. Hope that they desperately needed.

"Thank you," Tommy said. "We have a fighting chance. After all, how bad can it be on Earth?"


The Power Rangers stood before the high school. As Goldar and Rito directed a swarm of bird creatures to the doors of the gymnasium, where they could hear screams from the people hiding inside, a giant demonic-looking monster in a robe rampaged through the city beyond.

"It's bad," Tommy admitted.