Comments: So, you know how depression is a hell of a thing? Yeah, when the pandemic hit, and I'm a teacher so I was working harder than I ever had in my life at about a quarter of the effectiveness, and I was lost in a miasma of an apocalyptic news cycle, living with an increasingly ailing cat (who has since passed away at the age of 16), dealing with family members who thought all sorts of misinformation about Covid, and just a HEAPING helping of anxiety… Was that a sentence? Anyway, I've rewritten this chapter a couple of times, and now I think I'm ready to join real life.
I realize I haven't updated in about as long as Rita was in an interdimensional dumpster, so let's get updated on the status quo:
- Katherine has been put under a spell by Rita after Rito brought her to the Moon Palace after getting attacked by Tengas (and after she'd hung out with him and Goldar at a bowling alley during an attack). Rita is keeping Katherine at arm's length, however.
- Zedd and Rita have just returned from trying to get the help of her father, Master Vile.
- While they were gone, Katherine tried to use a love potion on Tommy, but she ended up dosing way more people. In the ensuing chaos, Kimberly revealed to Skull that she was leaving, Skull revealed that he knew she was a Power Ranger, and Rocky and Adam admitted they were in love with each other.
- Skull knows they are Power Rangers because he can remember the history Tommy erased during the events of Shadows in the Cave (ch. 24-end of Darker Shades). He can do this because Billy gave him some of his power while he was being healed during A Darker Shade of Green.
- Y'all, this is HARD. I'm juggling a lot of plot.
- Cestria is staying in the Command Center. She has been in hiding since she was framed for the murder of the Aquitian Prime Minister. Aquitar has used this as an excuse to go a bit more fascist and put the Aquitian Rangers under surveillance. Up until now Cestria was hiding from everyone except Zordon, Alpha, and Billy, but now the other Rangers know she's there.
- Oh, yeah. And Ninjor showed up in the Command Center at the end of the last arc and passed out. He's still asleep.
I think that's everything…
Thanks to ALL my reviewers. I'll answer a few questions… but not going to address the whole "when are you updating?" thing. Just… it's a lot: KLR (your lovely long reviews are always appreciated), crying mink, beast575 (thanks for the kind words!), StarwindX (I think Tommy has the most established origin in my fic? Not sure what I'd add to it. I think the relationships he's formed with others through his life experiences is far more interesting than how he was born. Also, never quite pictured Tommy and Astronema together… mostly because she's so damaged and traumatized throughout In Space that I couldn't picture her with anyone.), Guest (You had a few questions from ch. 30 and 22. Yes, they completely forgot the Ninja Quest details, and mainly remember the vague experience and feelings. Also… hate Lord Drakkon. With a fiery passion. Will never acknowledge his existence.), Epic Sakura Haruno, Lia (Thanks to Google Translate, I understand your comment mostly! I try to keep things a bit less hot between my characters, but I'm glad I've gained a new fan!), , Aislin Blue, Mike WillZ (Thanks for the kind words!), brankel1, Seth A. Mincberg, The-Knight2000, Bahamut Slayer, bub23453, Ghostwriter, romirola, and janzen222.
Brighter Paths
Book 10: A Darker Shade of Pink
Chapter 36: Decisions
The caves beneath the Moon Palace were cold—still heated by the ambient energy of the Palace above, but only faintly. Here, Katherine could actually believe they were on the moon, as she pulled her jacket closer.
Rito didn't feel the cold. He didn't feel anything, but he noticed Katherine's shivers.
"Hey, kiddo, we can go back."
"No." Katherine rubbed her arms vigorously and tried to stop shivering. "Just a little while longer. I'm not ready to go back yet."
The caves were ancient, older than the Moon Palace. There were runes carved in the cave walls, but they weren't the cave paintings of earth. They looked far more alien, glowing with magic or bioluminescence or some other thing that Katherine couldn't understand.
"Do you know who made these?" Katherine gestured to the runes.
Rito shrugged. "I kinda thought this was my sister's basement, that we'd find something fun she was hiding away. But I don't think this is part of the Moon Palace."
"There's atmosphere," Katherine pointed out. "And light. Is it getting brighter?"
They got to a fork in the caverns, one path illuminated. Katherine launched forward, disregarding Rito's hisses of caution.
Katherine soon had to shield her eyes. Light cascaded around the cavern in a spectrum of colors. At the center of the room was a large crystal on a platform, which seemed to be both generating and splitting the light.
"Something Empress Rita hid away?" Katherine asked in a hushed tone.
Rito yelped when he saw the crystal. "I don't think so. I'm getting a bad feeling off that thing. Like, ancient good magic kind of bad."
"But, if it's ancient good magic, it wouldn't harm us, would it?"
"It's ancient good magic, so it would harm us. Like, I just feel it was made to harm us. Come on…" Rito pulled at Katherine's arm. "It's making me feel all itchy. And I can't actually feel, so that's pretty bad."
"I don't think we could get to it anyway," Katherine said, pointing to the air around the crystal. "There's a force field…"
The air around the force field charged as her finger got nearer, and there was a jolt of what looked like electricity. It threw Katherine back, and Rito caught her before she could fall. He hauled her out of there as quickly as he could.
"You know, some day you're going to mess with something magical and get yourself killed," Rito grumbled. "I thought you were past being suicidal."
"Maybe if the Moon Base wasn't a death trap…" Katherine retorted. She felt strange but tried not to let on. While everyone else at the Moon Palace didn't seem to care she was there, Rito tended to hover, and she didn't want him to worry.
Still, she was glad when they made their way back out of the caves into the Moon Palace proper. For once she was eager to leave so she could recover at home.
"Where the hell have you two been?"
Goldar was standing in the hall near Finster's lab, looking murderous, and Katherine was starting to wonder what she had done to piss Goldar off this time.
"We were just exploring some moon caves," Rito said. "And what crawled up your butt this time?"
Goldar glared harder. "Human, you're to report to Empress Rita in the throne room. Idiot, I'll brief you on our mission."
"They're back?" Katherine said. "Well, I mean, obviously they are, but..."
"Get moving, human," Goldar growled. "The Empress won't be pleased at the delay."
Goldar stalked off. Rito and Katherine shared dubious stares before Rito shooed her away and followed after Goldar.
Katherine approached the throne room with apprehension. This was the first time she'd seen Empress Rita in weeks, and since she'd been gone Katherine had stolen a love potion that had led to a failed attack against the Power Rangers. She'd be angry about that... unless Goldar hadn't told her about it.
Katherine was loyal to Rita, but she was also terrified of her. Rita knew that and approved, so Katherine guessed it was all right... but it made her head hurt. She wished just once Rita would favor her with a kind look, just one moment where she showed she truly cared about her.
There was no real way to sneak into the throne room, with its wide archway and open floor plan. Empress Rita was standing at the balcony, not even looking through her telescope to spy on Earth. Just standing, staring.
Katherine cleared her throat and braced herself. Just one look from Rita and she would feel much better. The spell would be reinforced, and she'd feel whole again.
Rita turned, her eyes narrow. "Katherine... so good of you to come. I've heard you've had some adventures in my absence."
Katherine winced. Of course Goldar had told.
"Empress Rita, I'm so sorry," Katherine started, but then stopped at the wave of Rita's hand.
"That's quite enough," Rita said. "No harm was done, and Goldar was actually able to salvage some information from near disaster. It's enough to set things in motion."
Katherine wasn't sure how to respond, so she just said, "Thank you, Empress Rita."
Rita nodded, and Katherine could also see her counting down the seconds of how long she needed to keep eye contact for spell reinforcement. Sure enough, as soon as the time was over Rita turned back toward the view of Earth.
"Tell me, Katherine," Rita said, "how would you like to get rid of some competition?"
"E... empress?"
"For your dear Tommy's affections, of course," Rita said. "That was the point of the whole love potion debacle. It seems even a love potion cannot free Tommy from the clutches of little Miss Kimberly."
Katherine looked down. Talking about this with Empress Rita felt wrong... though it shouldn't. Shouldn't she be able to tell her empress anything? "Empress, from what I hear, Kimberly is moving away. Soon."
"But that's not truly getting rid of the competition," Rita said silkily. "They'll talk on the phone and write each other letters and visit each other. They might last a year, and then probably break up... but why wait a year? Why console Tommy on his long-distance relationship while he remains fiercely loyal... and he will... when you could console his loss and provide him with a shoulder to cry on."
Katherine's eyes widened. "You're going to kill her?"
Rita shrugged. "I mean to put her in a situation where her death is inevitable. After all, we don't want the Rangers vengeful... believe me. We want them despondent. We'll break them. And," she now faced Katherine with a chilling smile, "if you want Tommy, you'll get to pick up the pieces. He'll be very, very grateful."
Katherine took a breath. "What do I have to do?"
Rita's smile widened, and Katherine tried not to think about how, when Rita looked at her, she felt no better.
Tommy peeked into the lab, where they were keeping Ninjor hooked up to medical equipment. Alpha was monitoring his condition, while Aisha was at a computer workstation in the corner.
"Any change?"
"The healing serum was not as effective on Ninjor," Alpha reported, "but with his link to the Morphing Grid it was able to speed up the healing process. He's just exhausted."
Tommy nodded. "Let him sleep himself out. I don't know what hurt him like this, but if it's that bad, we need him at his best."
Aisha had turned around in her chair, and Tommy took that as an invitation to join her. "What's the news?"
"Nothing," Aisha said, gesturing at a computer screen that Tommy didn't even attempt to read. "Like, literally nothing. No mention of Ninjor's attack on galactic news. You'd think a fight that could injure him so badly would be noticeable."
"Unless it's being kept quiet," Tommy pointed out. "Zordon's making his own inquiries, but even he's having to be careful, especially now that Zedd and Rita are back."
Aisha groaned, rubbing her eyes. "I was kinda hoping they'd find some other planet to pick on. Just for a little bit?"
"No such luck. If there's nothing going on there, want to join me? I'm going to talk to Billy and Cestria about that evidence."
"I do love a good mystery," Aisha said, shutting the computer down. "Just going to be us? I know that Rocky and Adam are going to be busy today, since Rocky is insisting on an official first date."
"And Kimberly's got gymnastics practice," Tommy said. "So it looks like just us."
They made their way deep into the Command Center, in an upper basement near a reservoir where Zordon and Alpha had set up a water tank for Cestria. Cestria was pulling herself out of the tank, her clothes immediately drying.
"Thank you for coming, Tommy, Aisha," Cestria said uncertainly. She looked around. "Billy isn't back yet. I asked him to... to take care of something for me."
"It's no trouble," Tommy said. "Let's take a look at that evidence. I guess we can start with the video."
"Sounds good to me," Aisha said as she set up the projection.
Kimberly balanced on the beam, doing another full turn. She'd been drilling the basics under Gunther Schmidt's watchful eye. He rarely smiled, but she'd figured out how to tell his mood. The practice was going well.
"You're not afraid of the ground, are you?" he said. This was a hint that she was being too cautious.
She completed the practice with some handsprings and finally dismounted, gratefully accepting a bottle of water from Schmidt.
"You know why I'm drilling you in fundamentals," Schmidt said, pointedly not commenting on her performance. He'd only make a comment if she was doing something wrong.
"Because you want me to move to your training center in Florida?" she said brightly. They'd had this conversation several times.
Schmidt sighed. "In part. I confess I will soon have few opportunities to come to California. You also practice distressingly little, from what Ernie has told me."
Kim frowned. So Ernie was snitching on her. "I practice at other places."
"Not on the beam, you don't, and if that's what you want to focus on, you need to put your time here."
"Or in Florida," Kim finished for him. "I really, really appreciate you working with me. I know it's inconvenient."
"I do so because you are gifted, and it offends me to see such talent badly cultivated." Schmidt gathered his bag. "I despise ultimatums, but this week is the last I shall be in California. Training for the Pan Global games must begin in earnest. If I am to keep training you, you must join me for my return trip. I have already purchased you a ticket." He handed her a plane ticket and left, not acknowledging the look of surprise and panic that crossed her face.
Kim looked at the ticket in her hand, and then at the morpher in her bag. "Oh, boy."
Billy tried to think of a way out of knocking on the door. He could just say he did, and that no one was at home. Or even pretend he gave the message and do it later. But… he'd promised Cestria. She was worried, and she would continue to worry if he didn't.
Softly, through the door, he could hear piano music. It was lovely and most certainly not what he expected to hear from this household. Heavy metal, sure, but Mozart?
Steeling himself, he knocked on the door. The piano music abruptly stopped.
"Oh, I've got it, Genie!" a woman's voice called. "You keep practicing."
When the door opened, Skull's mother greeted Billy with a smile. "Genie, you've got a friend from school here! And it's not Farcas!"
This prompted the same heavy boots to scramble to the door. Billy was still trying to process the piano music and the word "practice," and Skull looked like he wanted to melt through the laminated floor.
"Thanks, ma," Skull said in a high-pitched, strangled voice. "I'm just gonna... talk to my friend. Outside."
"Okay, dear, but remember you got that concert coming up..."
"Sure, ma, see ya later!" Skull slammed the door and shooed Billy into the garage before his mother could reveal anything else.
"Well?" Skull said. "Any weird shit going on?"
"Practice?" Billy said. "Concert?"
Skull glared. "You weren't supposed to hear that. No one is."
If there were a locker around to be shoved into, Billy might have been worried. Then again, they both knew Billy was the Blue Ranger, so it wasn't like Skull could shove him into anything anymore.
Billy held up his hands in a calming gesture. "Your secret is safe with me... and, yes, there is weird shit, but nothing that could affect you, I don't think. I just..." he sighed. "I needed to talk to you for a friend of mine, but we can't do it here."
Skull looked like he was about to go back inside, then reconsidered. "But just because I apparently owe you a lot."
They walked the few blocks to Billy's house in silence. It was a quiet Sunday morning, no one around to question why two seeming enemies were suddenly hanging out… at least until Sylvia spotted them heading into the garage.
"Billy?" She paused, probably remembering every time Billy had come home crying from the bullying Bulk and Skull had subjected him to. "Eugene," she said simply.
"It's okay, mom," Billy said as she followed them into the garage. As soon as the door was closed, Billy felt secure enough to reveal more. "He knows."
Sylvia tilted her head in confusion, and then her eyes widened. "He… knows?"
Skull chuckled nervously, looking around at all the strange equipment around him. "Okay, guys, is this leading to some kind of memory wipe thing? Cuz it's starting to feel a little abduction-y."
"I'm sorry," Billy said, "but it was necessary to get you to a secure place. This lab is the most secure place on Earth besides the Command Center. I was pretty sure you didn't want to go there again."
"No, here's good," Skull said, his voice going a bit higher. "And you haven't denied doing a memory wipe."
"The thing is, I'm not entirely sure a memory wipe would work, Skull. You have a very, very small link to the Morphing Grid… but it's enough to prohibit any kind of cognitive manipulation on our part."
"Morphing Grid," Skull said dubiously.
Billy sighed. "It's a long story… It's where we get our power. If you still have some of the Blue power in you, you have a link to the Morphing Grid. It means you remember some of what happened when Lord Zedd took over Angel Grove and forced us to unmask, even after Tommy made everyone forget. It means you weren't affected when that spell made everyone loyal to Lord Zedd. It also means you're in danger."
"You said that last night," Skull squinted at him. "Hey, that thing about having to talk in a safe place. Do they hear us?" He pointed upward.
"Lord Zedd and Empress Rita?" Billy said. "All the time. Except the Command Center, of course. I've put extra security on all the Ranger houses, and I've made the Youth Center and school a bit more secure. Those places are too big and open to make them completely secure."
"What about my house?" Skull asked. "And Bulk's?"
Billy shook his head sadly. "Too noticeable. Our enemies would wonder why we're securing two random other houses, and they're fully aware that we know each other. I'd basically be painting a target on your back whenever you left your house."
Skull sighed. "Figures. But that's not why you brought me here."
Billy gave a sidelong look at his mother, who showed no inclination toward leaving. If he told his mother, Cestria would be pissed off, and his mother would also be pissed off over him keeping it a secret for so long. However, he wouldn't be able to get rid of his mother without her being suspicious. Maybe he should have gone to the Command Center.
There was a knock on the door, and Sylvia left to go get it, still giving suspicious glances behind her. Billy breathed a sigh of relief and opened his mouth, but Skull held up his hand.
"Dude, that was a cop knock."
Billy cocked his head. "What the hell is a 'cop knock'?"
Skull shrugged his shoulders. "You know it when you hear it. Cops knock different. They hammer on the door, like they could knock it down if they wanted. Just listen."
"Can I help you?" Sylvia asked, her voice slightly trembling with surprise.
"You're the mother." The voice had a familiar underwater quality. An Aquitian…
"May I ask what you're doing here?" Sylvia's voice was stronger and sharper. Billy could almost see her crossing her arms.
"We have reason to believe that your son Billy is harboring a fugitive wanted for murder on Aquitar. We have a warrant for the fugitive's arrest as well as one for your son for…"
"My son is not at home, and you have no jurisdiction here," Sylvia said firmly. "If you wish to take this up with Zordon and the rest of the Rangers, you're perfectly free to. But you won't find Billy or anyone else here."
Skull grabbed Billy's arm. "Dude, you're supposed to be a genius. Can't you recognize a hint when you hear one?"
Billy's heart was thumping, and there was a sense of unreality around him. The fact that his mother was arguing with alien cops with a warrant for his arrest just wasn't something he could fit with a quiet Sunday morning.
"They'll be watching the house," he heard himself say.
Skull rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay, whatever, let's just get out of here."
As Sylvia continued to argue with the Aquitians, Billy grabbed Skull's shoulder and teleported up to the Command Center.
Zordon greeted them with a concerned frown. "The Aquitian authorities have entered your house, Billy. Your mother tried to turn on the security, but she wasn't quick enough."
Billy ran to a terminal. "We'll have to cut the connection between my lab and the Command Center. Thankfully I didn't leave any evidence in the lab of Cestria's presence." He looked up at Zordon. "Is mom okay?"
"They have not threatened her," Zordon said. "However, they have begun a search of the house. Do not worry. Your mother is resourceful, and I can intervene before they can harm her. It does mean, however, that you and Eugene Skullovitch should stay here for the time being."
"That's okay… nothing better to do…" Skull muttered.
"Do they really know Cestria is here?" Billy asked.
"I do not see how they could," Zordon said, though his voice was worried. "They are probably following the most likely lead, given your relationship with Cestria. They may be bluffing that they have more proof than they actually do."
"But they have warrants?"
Zordon shook his head. "Impossible to enforce. I'm not quite sure why they bothered with a warrant for you unless it was an intimidation strategy. Your mother is quite right that the local law enforcement will be unlikely to recognize a warrant from an alien planet."
"So… you're harboring a fugitive," Skull laughed. "God, you're worlds away from that goody two-shoes I always thought you were."
Billy winced. "You met her when you were here before, and she was framed, for the record. I actually came to you today to ask you not to talk about her to anyone. She was worried, and you can tell it's for good reason."
Skull laughed. "So, you wanted to talk to me to warn me not to talk about your space girlfriend, and I barely even noticed her when I was last here, but it doesn't even matter because the space cops know she's here and now I'm stuck here? You suck at crime."
"I really do," Billy said. "You want to come meet her, since you're stuck here and all?"
"Of course! Like I said, doesn't seem like I have anything better to do…"
Rocky pulled into the driveway, his hand already hovering over the car horn before he stopped himself. That would be how he let his best friend know he was in the driveway. But his boyfriend? Probably not a good idea.
He let out a breath, weirdly nervous. They were just going out to lunch. They'd done that countless times before, during study sessions or vacations or whatever. The thing is, they usually had Aisha with them. And they weren't dating…
"Time to pony up," Rocky said under his breath.
He knocked on the door, suddenly realizing that he maybe should have brought flowers, when the door opened to Aaron Park's grinning face and outstretched arms. Rocky had no time to run before being grabbed up in a hug.
"Mr. Park? Aaron? Uh…."
"I'm just so happy for the two of you," Aaron said, pulling out of the hug and leading Rocky into the house. "I've been watching the two of you dance around each other for years." He pushed Rocky into a dining room chair and then took his own. "It's frankly been stressing me out."
Rocky's brain was frozen, but from Aaron's pause he knew he was expected to say something. "Uhhhh…" Articulate, Rocky, well done, he thought.
"Aaron, are you done attacking my boyfriend?" Adam came from around the corner, and Rocky's frozen brain turned practically glacial. Adam looked… well, fuck, he looked hot.
Aaron was poking Rocky's arm with a teaspoon. "I think I broke him."
Rocky shook his head vigorously. "I… it's nothing. I kinda thought we were going to tell Aaron together?" he looked pleadingly at Adam.
"It's not my fault. He guessed. But then I told him not to overwhelm you when you showed up today, and he apparently couldn't swing that."
"You do look overwhelmed." Aaron said. "I messed this up."
Rocky laughed. "You really, really didn't. Like," he started laughing harder, and he realized his eyes were starting to water, "my dad could never…"
Yeah. Shit. He wasn't laughing. He was crying at the kitchen table between his boyfriend and his boyfriend's brother who was so accepting and he just…
He felt arms around him, and thankfully this time it was Adam's. Aaron was instead grabbing a tissue box from the living room and giving them a few moments of privacy.
"I know," Adam said quickly. "We've been so scared for so long, and that doesn't just go away. If you don't want to go out today, we can just hang out. Go to the Youth Center or something."
"Not on your life," Rocky said, impatiently wiping at his eyes. "I'm not going to let what my dad might think screw this up for both of us. I don't know how he's going to react, but I'm dead certain he's not going to be happy. And that's his problem."
"Don't feel like you have to tell him," Adam said. "But if you do, and if he reacts badly, it's not your fault. You know that."
"And he'll have to deal with me," Aaron said, putting the tissue box in front of Rocky. "We're family. We don't let anyone mess with our own."
Rocky felt himself welling up again, but then he took several breaths and ground the tissues into his eyes to stop the tears. He probably looked like shit, but looking at Adam and contemplating their date ahead, he decided he didn't care. He was ready to try to stop living in fear.
Kimberly knew she probably needed to go to the Command Center. They were supposed to be going over the evidence against Cestria, and then there was the whole Ninjor situation. She had duties to fulfill.
She also had a plane ticket. And a decision to make.
Without realizing it, Kimberly had wandered over to her favorite set of picnic tables in her favorite park. She could see the lake from here, and it was right next to a basketball hoop. How many warm summer days had she been right here, with her friends, playing basketball or just goofing off. She threw her head back and took in the sun. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend it was one of those days right after she'd first become a Ranger, when the power was exhilarating and she, Jason, Trini, Zack, and Billy were all celebrating their victories. They'd seem hard-won at the time. Back when they had no idea what was facing them.
She looked at the plane ticket. Trini, Zack, and Jason had left to become diplomats. They were going to become world leaders someday, she knew. This was different. She was planning on becoming an athlete. The Pan-Global games, something she once thought she'd never even attempt. Too much pressure. She chuckled, because she now knew what too much pressure was.
Was it selfish? Wanting to quit being a Power Ranger? Become a gymnast when the world was burning around her? Didn't she have duties to fulfill, a moral obligation to protect the Earth and fight in this war? How could she ask someone else to do that for her? How could she abandon her friends?
The morpher in her pocket was feeling heavy, jabbing into her side. She impatiently took it out and looked at it, seeming to weigh it with the plane ticket. It suddenly felt like a chain, holding her in place. For the first time, she was starting to feel like she hated it. Sure, it gave power, but it also painted a target on her back for every physical and psychological attack the monster of the week could unload on her. She'd been chased and beaten, personally attacked, turned evil, kidnapped by space pirates, and nearly been killed in more ways than she could count. And her social life sucked, too.
She laughed, hoping her laugh wouldn't turn into tears.
"Plane ticket? Where do you plan to go?"
Kimberly's eyes flew open and she stashed both the plane ticket and her morpher in her purse on the bench. She hadn't even noticed Katherine's approach.
"Uh… nowhere?" Kimberly said. She grimaced. "Sorry, that was stupid, I just haven't decided…" She stopped. "You want to sit?"
Katherine sat on the table and then, before Kimberly could react, reached into her purse to snag the plane ticket. "Florida? What's in Florida?"
Kim sighed, trying not to be too annoyed at Katherine's flagrant disregard for her privacy. "Um… training? A training center… for the Pan Global games."
Katherine whistled, impressed. "Congratulations. It's hard work, but the games are pretty exhilarating."
"Sounds like that's from experience."
Katherine shrugged. "Diving. Almost took home the gold, too."
Diving… that sounded so familiar, from a while back. Some kind of news story…
And then it clicked. The Australian diver who had hit her head during a dive, costing her the medal and her career.
Kimberly didn't say anything. She couldn't imagine how hard it must have been on the girl. She'd never gotten seriously hurt during a competition, but she knew it could happen, and she'd seen other athletes wash out because of it. It was something that vaguely terrified her, if it weren't for the more immediate terrifying things in her life.
"I think you'll do well," Katherine said. "When do you leave?"
"Friday," Kim said. "I mean… if I do it. It would be stupid no to do it, though. Right? I can't pass up this opportunity." She clammed up, knowing that Katherine herself had her opportunities taken away from her.
"I can't imagine what's keeping you here," Katherine said, and Kim knew she really couldn't.
"I dunno…" Kimberly said, kicking at the grass. "My friends? Tommy?"
Katherine grimaced. "Oh, yeah, long distance is rough. I've seen so many couples crash and burn. It gets ugly."
"Not really comforting," Kimberly said, laughing a little.
Katherine shot her a pitying glance. "It's not just the distance. It's the long hours and the time zone change that's going to get worse when you go to France for the games, and then there's the fact you're having a completely different life. You don't really do anything together anymore, and you've got all these new friends…" Katherine chuckled. "I've helped a few of my friends write Dear John letters myself."
Kimberly shifted uncomfortably. Not only was she not that great friends with Katherine, but she was also very aware of Katherine's not-so-subtle crush on Tommy. Even if she wasn't trying to break them up, she had somewhat of a vested interest in that happening.
She was just trying to think up ways to get out of the conversation when the familiar warbling of Putties made her jump up. They'd secretly surrounded the picnic tables. All doubts vanished as her training took over. Putty attack, no escape routes, no way to contact the Rangers or morph, and a civilian to protect.
"What do they want with us?" Katherine asked, terrified. Instead of getting off the table and trying to run, she'd huddled on top of the table. "Do you think they're mad we escaped that cave?"
Kimberly shook her head. "I dunno. Listen, I'll try to make a path. I've… been taking martial arts classes, I should be fine. You just run when I tell you to."
She didn't wait for a response, but instead launched herself at the nearest Putty and hoped that Katherine wouldn't stay frozen in fear for long, or that the rest of the Rangers were sending back-up soon.
"What's that?" Tommy pointed to papers, which the Command Center computer had translated from Aquitian into English.
Cestria shrugged. "The autopsy report. It seems a bit odd that they conducted an autopsy, since the murder was recorded. Billy and I have been over it several times."
Tommy squinted at it. "Aisha, I'm not going to tell you what I'm thinking. Just look over the autopsy report and we'll see if you notice it. Just to see if I'm just imagining things if there's something really there."
Aisha rolled her eyes and took the paper. "Okay, vague, but I'll see."
"You think we missed something in the autopsy," Cestria said.
Tommy shrugged. "Could be. We've seen before that video evidence can be misleading. I just need a second opinion before I flesh out my theory."
Cestria was about to reply when Billy came shuffling into the room, followed immediately by one Eugene Skullovitch.
"Before you ask," Billy said, catching Tommy's startled look, "there's a reason he's here, and it might be my minor screw-up, but there's also something happening and it's too early to panic."
Aisha looked up from the report. "Did you two learn vagueness from each other?"
"I asked you to talk to your friend and ask for his discretion about my presence on Earth, not bring him here," Cestria said in a worried voice.
Tommy and Aisha snorted at Skull being described as Billy's "friend," but Skull just took it in stride. "He was doing that," Skull said, draping himself over the fold-out lounge chair near the steps to the tank. "But then the alien cops came knocking and we had to skee-daddle."
"Skee-daddle?" Cestria asked, bewildered. And then it clicked. "The… the police? Were they like me? Aquitian?"
Billy held his hands up. "Cestria, it sounds bad… but yes. They were there looking for you. Our relationship is on your file. It's surprising they haven't tried to arrest me before now."
"They tried to arrest you?" Cestria said. She started to wheeze. "I have to get out of here. If they know I'm here, they could call the whole fleet in, and I can't be here, and I'm putting you all in danger."
Billy took her in his arms. "Cestria, calm down. You're panicking and dehydrated, and you're safe in the Command Center." He kissed her and then led her to the steps to her water tank. She still looked scared, but the water seemed to calm her.
In the meantime, Aisha shot a hard look at Skull. "Has literally no one ever taught you tact?"
Skull looked stunned at what just happened, but he tried to shrug it off. "You try to stay tactful when you just found out about all this."
"I thought I did just fine," Aisha said, returning to the report.
Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, let's back this all up and ignore that we have way more non-Power Rangers in the Command Center than normal… What did the Aquitian cops actually say?"
"Just that they had reason to suspect I was harboring a fugitive, and they had warrants for both of our arrests," Billy said. "Now they're in my house with my mom, and…"
Now that he had calmed Cestria, it was apparently Billy's turn to freak out. He couldn't exactly be put in a water tank, either. "Billy, we're going to handle this," Tommy said. "Nothing's going to happen to Sylvia, and it's about time we figured out this whole mess anyway. Aisha, you got some insight?"
She was double-checking the second page. "I'm just trying to figure out why there was a toxicology report included. The Prime Minister was killed with a knife, not poison."
"It's procedure," Cestria said, popping her head out of the water. She looked much calmer, though her eyes were continuing to dart around, like she expected the police to burst into the room at any moment. "All they found were trace amounts of a sleeping potion he'd taken the night before. It wasn't his practice, but it isn't unheard of."
"Still suspicious," Tommy said. "Right now we have video footage, but it's so obviously faked I can't believe it was counted as evidence in the first place."
"Cestria and I came to that conclusion a while back," Billy said. "The film quality and lighting changes dramatically between the scene of the murder—a figure in dark wielding a knife—and Cestria's visit to the office and discovery of the body."
"And the footage of the prime minister is fake as well," Tommy said. The others looked at him in surprise, but he just shrugged. "He went to a party the night before, but here's at the office early in the morning without a whiff of a hangover? He doesn't talk to literally anyone all morning? Seems pretty suspicious."
"But you guys can teleport, right?" Skull piped up, and Tommy realized he'd forgotten Skull was there in the first place. At the confused glances, Skull continued. "Couldn't he have been killed somewhere else and teleported in? Classic mislead."
Skull shrunk a bit at all the eyes on him. "Uh… just a theory? I watch a lot of mysteries with my ma."
"I suddenly feel very, very, VERY dumb," Billy said. "Of course he was killed somewhere else. Probably a short time after the last time he was seen, which was…"
"At the charity banquet the night before," Cestria said immediately. "Billy, have we been investigating the wrong crime scene and time this ENTIRE time?"
"We've got that footage as well," Aisha said, scrolling on their computer screen. It's a few hours of footage from multiple angles, but I think we can divide up the footage to check it. Maybe we can figure out that whole sleeping potion thing… and why his blood alcohol content was so low, if he'd just been at a party."
"That's the thing that was confusing me," Tommy said. "Okay, Ninjor is still asleep. As long as he is, we need to focus on solving Cestria's problem so we can get the cops out of Billy's house and help the Aquitian Rangers. The longer the Aquitians are after Cestria, the more standing the Aquitian Rangers lose." He smiled. "Everyone feel up to solving a mystery?"
The alarms rang in the Command Center. Skull looked wildly around, but the Rangers and Cestria just looked at each other grimly.
"Rangers, there's a Putty attack in Foley Park, one civilian in danger," Zordon said over the communicator. "I will try to contact Rocky and Adam. Kimberly is already at the scene."
"Right, Zordon," Tommy said, and then looked apologetically at Cestria. "We'll pick this back up later, I promise."
Cestria nodded desultorily, and Tommy, Billy, and Aisha morphed out of there. As Cestria pulled herself out of the water tank, ready to go over the footage by herself, she noticed Skull staring at her.
"So, where's the footage?" Skull said.
Cestria laughed tiredly. "I know I accidentally got you involved in this. You don't have to help."
"I was already pretty involved, way more than I thought," Skull said. "And I'm an Angel Grove Junior Police officer, so it might even be my job? I think?" He sighed. "As long as I'm here, I wanna help."
Cestria smiled. "Thank you. It's going to be a lot of watching Aquitian diplomats mingle with other diplomats from off planet."
Skull shrugged. "Hey, if I can last through my cousin Femur's 8-hour magic marathon, I can last through anything."
Rocky had picked the restaurant for their first date, a tiny cafe in a part of town Adam had never gone to. Adam's eyes widened at the prices. These were the lunch prices?
"I'll take care of it. Not every time," Rocky said hastily as Adam slumped behind the menu. "I just thought it'd be nice. First date and all." He looked like he was immediately regretting his decision.
"It's fine... it's great," Adam said. "It's just... we're both new to this, I guess," he muttered.
Adam ordered the cheapest thing on the menu and cut a glance over at Rocky. His eyes were still a little red from earlier, but he definitely wasn't upset anymore. It looked like he was getting into the spirit of the date.
Adam had to remind himself not to look nervously around for people who might know them, or say something, or disapprove. He'd told Rocky they couldn't just get rid of the fear they'd been living with, and he was right. But on top of that, there was the whole money thing. Rocky had it, Adam didn't. Adam thought he'd gotten used to that, but the fact that this was a date turned everything on its head.
The food came, and Adam started to feel less self-conscious. The miracle, the thing he'd been hoping for, for so long, had finally happened, and he was worried about what random strangers would think. They fell to recalling all the moments they'd missed when they'd been hiding from each other.
"Seriously, you tried to ask me to the Sadie Hawkins dance, you asked me to recite poetry for you under the stars…" Adam chuckled. "How could I not see it?"
"I mean, we both missed clues," Rocky said. His face turned red. "Oh my god, you laughed when I said I was a catcher not a pitcher when we went bowling. Is it okay if I die of embarrassment now?"
"You're not getting off the hook that easily," Adam said, clasping Rocky's fingers. "I... I've wanted this for a long time."
Rocky squeezed Adam's hand in return. "It sucks that it took an evil spell to get us here, but I'm definitely not regretting it. We're two repressed idiots who definitely needed the push."
They were holding hands, very obviously romantically. The cafe was nearly empty, but not nearly empty enough.
Adam saw Rocky stiffen, his smile freezing painfully in its place. "Well, shit," he said through his teeth. Adam turned to see a man he'd only seen a few times in his life: Mr. DeSantos, Rocky's dad. He'd just walked into the cafe and, from his face, had been staring at the two of them for quite a few minutes.
Mr. DeSantos walked over to them. Adam tried to pull his hand away, but Rocky held it firm. His face grew dark, smile completely gone. And there was a tremor in his hand. He was terrified, and Adam's mind raced to come up with something to do to make it better. There was nothing. Mr. DeSantos had seen them, and he was walking over with a purpose.
"Rocky," Mr. DeSantos said, "I need to speak with you, please." His tone was formal and commanding, and the 'please' may as well have been an 'or else.'
Rocky gave a smile that did not meet his eyes. "Hi, father dear. So darn good to see you. I would absolutely love to talk with you at your earliest convenience, but as you can see, I'm a bit busy right now having lunch with my friend. Can I call your secretary to make an appointment, or should we bring it up at Christmas?"
Mr. DeSantos's eyes turned hard. "You're making a scene, Rocky… and I'm not sure I would qualify this as 'lunch with a friend.' Now I ask you again, and I suggest you do as I ask while I'm still asking… may we talk in private?" He gestured to the empty outdoor patio.
Rocky sighed and began to get up. Adam knew from Rocky's stories that the question would quickly devolve into threats, mostly involving Rocky's credit cards, so they both knew that this was a losing battle. But Adam still held on to his hand. "You don't have to go. He has no right..."
Mr. DeSantos had already walked to the patio, fully expecting Rocky to be right behind him. Rocky gave a bitter smile. "It's not about rights, and he'll be the one making a scene if I don't go. I'll be right back, don't worry."
"I could come with you," Adam said. "I don't want you to face this alone."
Rocky's bitter smile softened. "I'm not alone. I have you… but he's not going to want to say what he wants to say with you there. I just want to…" He cast a nervous glance at his dad, who was glaring at them with the door half open. "I just need to rip off this particular Band-Aid. Then we can trash-talk him to our hearts' content."
Adam nodded, not happy about it but willing to let Rocky do what he needed to. The cafe staff, seeing the argument coming, disappeared. Mr. DeSantos ushered Rocky into the outdoor patio where Adam could see them but not hear them.
The conversation lasted about ten minutes. Mr. DeSantos looked cold, but there was a vague sense of disgust about the way he looked at Rocky that made Adam want to punch the man. Instead he sipped his water and monitored the situation. While he'd never had proof, Adam had always suspected a history of physical violence in the DeSantos household, and he was going to intervene if it turned to that.
When it was over, Mr. DeSantos left. Rocky stood outside a minute, breathing deeply, and then came back inside and rejoined Adam.
"Does Aaron need to kick his ass?" Adam said. "There might be a line to kick it, actually."
Rocky laughed weakly. He looked pale and shaky, and he took several drinks of water before he answered. "He's not worth it."
"What did he say?" Adam asked. "I know it wasn't good, and you don't have to give me all the gory details, but I would like to know."
Rocky stared down at his food, and then he jabbed at it with a fork. "I know I need to talk about it… but not now? I just want to finish our date."
Adam nodded reluctantly. He knew that Rocky wanted to bottle this up, but he'd just pull away if Adam insisted on him sharing right then. He'd just picked up his fork when their communicators sounded off.
"You head on," Rocky said, looking almost relieved that they now had something different to worry about. "I'll pay the bill and be right behind you."
Adam took off, casting one last worried glance behind him.
The park was thick with Putties, and Tommy spotted a flock of Tengas circling high overhead, looking for all the world like vultures waiting to pick at the dead. The thought made him plunge into the center of the fight, forgetting even to coordinate attacks for the rest of the Rangers.
His fears were justified. Kimberly lay unconscious near a picnic table, Putties hovering over her. Katherine, the civilian in danger, was clutching Kimberly's bag, using it to knock away some Putties' grabbing hands.
"We've got one down!" he yelled. "Blue, prepare for an extraction!"
Billy, using his lances to clear a path through the Putties, ran for the benches alongside Tommy. Tommy chanced a look behind him to see Adam and Aisha fighting to contain the Putties. Rocky had just joined them, and they looked like they were trying to circle the Putties and set off a chain reaction.
He looked ahead just in time to see the Tengas swooping at them. He didn't have time to draw his blade blaster, but he had his sword at the ready, and Saba could do limited ranged attacked. The Tenga cried out as Tommy shot at it with a blast from Saba's eyes, but Tommy was already on the move.
Billy had pulled ahead of him and threw some Putties off Kimberly. As soon as he freed her, he teleported her own. That left Tommy to help Katherine.
Katherine had just knocked a Putty backward with a surprisingly strong swing of Kimberly's bag. It tried to go after her again, but Tommy was able to grab it and throw it backwards. He resisted joining the fight, knowing that he had to get Katherine out of there.
"I'm going to teleport you to safety," Tommy told her. She was so scared-looking that she was ready to start swinging the bag at him, but she relaxed at his words. "This is going to feel weird."
"Doesn't matter, just get me out of here!" Katherine said, launching herself at him in a full-on embrace. Tommy was startled—this usually wasn't how civilians reacted to a rescue—but he didn't have time to worry about that. Instead, he teleported her to outside of the Youth Center.
"This is a good evacuation center just in case there's a full-on monster attack," Tommy said. He glanced at the bag. He knew Kimberly would want it, but he stopped himself from asking for it. He wasn't supposed to know whose bag it was.
Katherine, however, thrust the bag into his hands. "If Kimberly's not here—she was the girl with me—she's probably at the hospital, right? Can you get this back to her? I mean, if you're not too busy…"
Thank goodness for small favors. "I'll make sure she gets it back."
"Please keep it safe," Katherine said. "There's a plane ticket in it, and Kimberly wouldn't want to lose that."
He was already teleporting out as she said it, but he definitely heard the words 'plane ticket' and almost dropped the bag mid-teleport. Instead, he popped back up to the Command Center, fully ready to drop it off and teleport back to the fight, when he was surprised that the rest of the Rangers were there, too.
"Took care of most of the Putties," Rocky volunteered. "The rest of them and the Tengas ran off soon after. Any idea what they were after?"
"No idea," Tommy said, dropping the bag on a terminal. "I got Katherine to the Youth Center. How's Kim?"
"Alive and kicking," Kimberly said groggily. "At least, I'll be okay when I get some serum."
"Right here, Kimberly," Alpha said, breaking through the crowd around her. "That was a close one!"
The words 'plane ticket' were still echoing in Tommy's head, but he pushed the words aside. "Not a great idea to take on a squadron of Putties without morphing," he said, softening the admonishment with a smile.
Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Not much of a choice when Katherine was there and they had us surrounded." She rubbed her head. "Funny, the serum usually clears up any headaches."
"Do you believe that was what they meant to do?" Adam said. "Take you out when you couldn't morph?"
Kimberly looked at Zordon, who was frowning with suspicion. "We do not have enough information for theories as of yet," Zordon said. "The attack seemed to be designed to limit Kimberly's options and force her to fight unmorphed, though they made no effort to hide the attack from us, as they've done in the past."
"So Zedd and Rita are back, then?" Rocky asked. "We're officially done with our vacation?"
"They are back," Zordon said, "though I did not anticipate an attack so soon after their return."
"This complicates things," Tommy said, giving one last glance at the bag on the floor. No, he wouldn't ask her yet. Not when she was feeling bad. "We'll keep an eye on things. In the meantime, we've got a lead on Cestria's case, and we were just about to start working on it. Rocky, Adam… Kim? Feel like hunting for clues through some surveillance footage? Unless you two want to continue your…"
"Sure thing," Rocky said, a little too quickly. "Date was over anyway." There was a brittle quality to his voice that Tommy noted but didn't ask about. Too much to worry about, anyway, and he was sure either Adam or Aisha would take care of that.
Kimberly was holding her head. The serum had healed some scratches and bruises, but it hadn't seemed to give her any energy. "I think I may need a quick nap. I'll crash here and come to help in a bit."
"That's fine. Feel better," Tommy said, forcing himself to smile.
She wandered to the girls' bedroom, not even noticing her bag. Tommy picked it up with a mind to give it to her, but he stopped. The plane ticket was there, sure enough, right on top. Friday. One-way trip to Florida. She hadn't said a thing.
"Tommy?" Zordon said. "Is everything all right? Is there a reason you're looking in Kimberly's purse?" he finished pointedly.
Tommy considered lying, saying that everything was fine. Instead, he pulled the ticket out and held it up. "I think Kimberly's planning to leave," he heard himself say.
Zordon's face darkened. "I'm sure Kimberly would have wanted to tell us in her own time."
"Yeah," Tommy said. He felt his throat closing up, and he knew he needed to get out of there, to focus on other things. "I'm sure she would have."
Katherine turned the corner in the alley behind the Youth Center, a tiny place they'd secured from the Command Center surveillance so she could teleport up. As soon as she knew no one was watching, she did just that.
She'd been expecting to see her empress waiting for her to report in when she appeared in the throne room. Instead, the entire court was there: Lord Zedd and Empress Rita at their thrones, with Goldar, Rito, Finster, Babboo, and Squatt all standing to the side. She realized they were watching a holographic recording, and she quietly joined them in watching.
"And as such, I feel it is my duty to lend my assistance sooner than expected," the creature said. He was entirely alien, with a wide golden head and half-moon spectacles. He was also dressed in fine regalia, and from the look on Rita's face, it looked like she knew him. "I will be there within a few days. Master Vile out."
The hologram shut down, leaving the throne room in stunned silence.
"Dad's coming here?" Rito burst out incredulously. "I didn't know when you went to ask for his help that he would come here."
Rita looked furious, and the room had turned a deep red, echoing Zedd's own fury. Still, they did not rage like they usually would. It was almost as if the news was expected.
"Father sees fit to offer his assistance, and we can do little about it," Rita said, only a tiny tremor in her voice betraying her emotion. "Rito, if you don't want to see him, you can always leave."
Katherine felt a sudden thrill of fear. While Empress Rita was her mistress, Rito was the only one who actually gave a damn about her, and he often came to her defense. She didn't want to lose Rito, not if she could help it.
Rito crossed his arms, his body language screaming worry and defiance. "Oh, I'm not leaving. Not if what dad said was true. This entire area of space is going to be crawling with cog patrols soon enough, and I'm not going to get captured by one."
"The Moon Palace will hardly be safer unless we do something," Lord Zedd snapped. "Rita, I know your father thinks he's protecting you by taking over, and let's face it, that's what he's planning to do. But if he does, we'll no longer have standing as rulers of evil. We must defeat the Rangers before he gets here… and before the Machine Empire decides to take over less kindly than your father will."
Lord Zedd sounded almost scared underneath his usually angry growl, and Katherine was starting to feel scared as well. She didn't know what the Machine Empire was, but if they were enough to rile Empress Rita and her husband up…
Katherine realized she could for once help the situation, so she stepped forward. No one had realized she was there. "Empress, I believe I can cheer you up."
Rita had slumped onto her throne, holding her head. She looked up. "What's that? Oh… Katherine, I…" Then her eyes went wide, remembering the mission.
Katherine smiled and held out her hand. The pink power coin glinted in her palm. She went to her knees, offering it to her empress. Rita took it and gave Katherine a rare smile.
"Good work, my pet," she said, then stared at the power coin hungrily. "Zedd… things are looking up."
