Well here we are again. I guess I'm going to be on a one chapter a week basis for now. Anyway, this chapter has a neat little twist that I thought of last night. Maybe it was because it was midnight, I dunno. Whatever it was, I liked it. Also, all icons have been sent out to all reviewers who left me an email address to send it to. Most of you were already on my mailing list to begin with. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 30 Desires, Dreams, and Toys

Rito couldn't believe his luck. Finster's potion truly worked. Here was the girl of his dreams with her arm linked in his. She had ditched the helmet long ago, tossing it to the side, but kept the spandex suit on. He tilted his head to the side, trying to figure out where his luck had gone right. He was suddenly brought back to Earth again by a gruff voice.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Zedd.

"What's it look like Ed? Got me a woman. What else could it be?"

"You? A woman? Give me a break."

"Yes, but if you'll notice, she's a Power Ranger. You, on the other hand, have my old windbag of a sister," retorted Rito.

"Power Ranger? Ha. You had to choose one of the weak females?"

Katherine spoke up. "Weak? Look at yourself you old man. I don't remember you kicking the Rangers' asses. I think it was the other way around." She gripped Rito's arm tighter. "Let's go somewhere quiet…" she whispered.

Rito nodded. "Right." He waved his hand at Zedd. "Get lost Ed. My Kat and I have some one on one time to take care of. Why don't you take your old butt and go deal with that oh so ugly wife of yours?" Rito and Kat pushed past Zedd.

Zedd's eyes glowed red with anger. He mumbled incoherently and stomped off down the hallway. He shouldn't have let Rito best him like that. Inside he was truly amazed that Rito was able to snag a female Ranger like that. She appeared stuck to his arm. The entire bits of love made Zedd sick, but he still couldn't help but think of what he could do with a female Ranger of his own. Not only could he use her against the Rangers, but also against Rita. He knew Rita wouldn't like it if another female that was prettier and wiser was sharing a home with Zedd. It reminded him of that old Earth story, Snow Red, or Blue Snow or something like that. He wasn't sure of the details and it was an Earth story, so who really cared?

Rito took Katherine down a long winding hallway and finally opened a door that had a menacing skull with snakes coming out of the eye sockets. "I give you my humble home," Rito whispered to Katherine as he watched her admire his door.

A shiver went up Katherine's spine. "It's creepy, but I love it."

"Yeah, I do too. It took me awhile to figure out how to get it just right, but I finally did. Never knew your Rito was an artist, eh?"

"Mmm no. You're very talented," commented Katherine as she kissed his cheek bone.

If Rito would have been covered with flesh, his face would have been a fire engine red. Instead, he tilted his head to the side and smiled. "Thanks, babe."

Rito pushed the door open, and gestured Katherine to move inside. His hand swept across the air. "Welcome to my room, the only place where I am safe from the dingbats."

Katherine laughed. "Truly they can't be that bad."

"You ain't had to live with 'em either." Rito shook his head. "Not a pretty sight at times."

"On the other hand, I have a pretty sight before my eyes," commented Katherine.

Katherine moved deeper into Rito's room. There really wasn't much too it. There was a wooden table in the corner to the left, and a bed sat diagonal from it, hardened stone covered with a blanket and pillow. Beside the table sat a wooden chest, that had some of Rito's personal belongings and keepsakes in it. The only natural light that shown into the room came from a half-moon, barred window that overlooked part of Master Vile's territory. The skull candles that sat on the table provided a shadowy source of artificial light. "I love how you've decorated the place," she said.

Rito placed an arm around her shoulder. "You know, I love it too. It really brings out my features."

Katherine's hand caressed Rito's cheek. "Most definitely," she purred.

Rito laughed nervously. This desire potion was working better than he thought. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He'd always wanted Katherine, but not this way, not as a lover. He wanted more of a companion to talk to and help him conquer the universe. Love was not something he truly wanted. He couldn't remember if he'd been told how to get rid of the Desire potion though.

Katherine sat on his bed, legs folded back. She smirked, somehow knowing she could get Rito if she truly wanted. She began moving her fingers over the fabric of her suit. Rito watched her intently, but not really enjoying himself. Rito gulped. How was he going to get this to end?

Finster's Room, Kimberly's Dream

She sat underneath an oak tree, reading a book. The words were not sinking into her mind, but instead focused elsewhere. Her wheelchair was close by incase she needed it. Her body was covered with scars and bruises that had never gone away since that battle so many years ago. In her mind, it was simply as though it had happened yesterday.

Dream Kimberly's mind flashed back a few years to that terrible fight. The Rangers had lost. After Katherine had disappeared, things took a turn for the worse. Rita had unfrozen Goldar and he had attacked with vengeance. He aimed for Tommy, who was still suffering from his battle with the females. Tommy fell by Goldar's sword, and Kimberly remembered dragging herself to him. The tears had fallen from her face as he lay there dying. She pulled his head into her lap and whispered to him, trying to keep him alive just a little bit longer.

As Tommy's body had grown weaker, he demorphed back into the ragged clothing he'd been wearing in the dungeons. His breathing was raspy and came in short gasps. He reached out a hand to Kimberly, and she took it in her own, gripping it with all her might. The return grip was weak and nothing like Tommy's at all. "Kim, I'm dying," he whispered. The two were oblivious to the battle raging around them.

"Please, Tommy, don't say that. Please don't say that. You will live. You'll fight back."

Tommy shook his head. "I'm afraid it's too late… I wish there were another way…"

Kimberly shook her head, but the tears fell harder. "I'm sorry, Tommy. I'm sorry for what I did to you. I'm sorry for everything I did to you. I never got the chance to tell you the whole story, but all I ask is forgiveness." Kimberly rested her cheek against Tommy's hand.

"I forgive you, Kim. Goodbye," whispered Tommy as he succumbed to the hands of death.

After Tommy had died, Rita had turned his body to ash. Kimberly threw herself upon the remains, hoping that somehow she would keep Rita from further desecrating the remains of Tommy. She had grabbed as much as she could, and placed it into one of her pockets, hoping that somehow it'd still be there once she escaped this hellhole.

Rita had gotten rid of all the Rangers after that. She had simply said her goal had been reached, that Tommy had died and her revenge had been served. She had been pleased, and she wanted no more to do with the Rangers for now. The Rangers had arrived back home, and tried to piece their lives together.

Tommy's funeral had been private. Only close friends and family attended. Kimberly didn't remember very much of the event. Her eyes had been clouded by tears and her brain clouded by his memory. She had been the first to leave, returning home. That night, she had cried herself to sleep.

Time had passed, not stopping for Tommy's death. Kimberly had moved away from Angel Grove to get away from the memories that the little town held for her. She had made a move to a town called Reefside, hoping that the past could be put behind her.

It brought her back to the present, where she sat underneath the oak tree.

Kimberly pulled a medium plastic test tube from her breast pocket on her shirt. Instead were the ash remains of Tommy. She knew it wasn't proper of her to carry him like this, but she wanted to keep him close to her heart always. Originally, she had planned to spread his ashes at the lake in Angel Grove Park, but had decided against it. She had specially purchased the test tube and slipped his remains in there, sealed away forever. It was all she had left of her first love. She smiled sadly at the tube, remembering the good times they'd spent together. Tommy had been the first to go of the original Rangers. Why had life caught up to them so soon? Kimberly closed her eyes

End Dream

The next time Kimberly opened her eyes, she found herself on a wooden table. Her eyes quickly flickered around the room, her breath heavy, body sweaty. That dream… it had seemed so real. Was Tommy dying? Had he already died? Was her dream a foreshadowing of what could happen, how Tommy's life would end? No… it can't be true. It won't happen to him.

Maroon was looking her body over in the small cracked mirror. She had to make sure that she looked like Kimberly in every way possible. One small slip up and the Rangers could find out that she was truly Maroon and not Kimberly Hart. She was the last ditch effort of Rita, if it came to that, and she was not going to willingly screw things up. She had promised to give her life to beat the Rangers. She wasn't going to break that promise now.

As Maroon admired her handiwork, she noticed that Kimberly was awake out of the corner of her eye. She turned to face the girl. "Enjoy knocking yourself out often?" she asked.

Kimberly sat up. "Shut up."

"Hey, I'm not the one who knocked myself out. I was going to put you out, but you did it for me. How was I supposed to know that you humans would pass out simply from hitting your head on something hard?"

"I don't need to hear it from you."

"It's not like you have a choice though, is it? You can't walk so you can't get off that table. You'd simply fall to the floor, and what good would that do? You'd have to drag yourself along anyway."

"That doesn't mean the Rangers won't help me out," spat Kimberly.

"Hmm… maybe. As I recall, they were a bit weak. And word's being passed around that Tommy is near death. While you were out, Finster came and told me. Tommy's gonna die, and Rita's more than pleased. She's still trying to figure out what to do with you, though." Maroon knew she was lying through her teeth, but she was hoping that Kimberly would buy her word. If Kimberly indeed felt that Tommy was going to die, then perhaps she would be more willing to comply with orders. Unfortunately, Maroon didn't know of the dream that Kimberly had had while knocked out. If she had, she truly would have used that to her advantage. Things would have been all too perfect that way.

Kimberly's eyes grew wide with Maroon's words, but she refused to believe Maroon. Maroon was the enemy and the enemy would say whatever would get the prisoner to break down and talk. "You're lying," she stated boldly.

Maroon had figured that this would be the case. "How can you be so sure that I'm not?" she asked.

"I can't be, but as the enemy it's your job to feed me lies."

"Lies are mixed in with the truth. You can't afford to not believe me."

Kimberly knew that Maroon was right, but she had a gut feeling, and she was willing to follow her gut before she'd follow Maroon. "I simply won't believe you," Kimberly said again, this time louder.

Maroon huffed. "Believe whatever you want, but I still speak the truth. Even if Tommy were alive, that wouldn't make things any easier for you. As I recall, you like it when he rescues you in battle, don't you? Sure, you like to be a warrior like the rest of the boys, but deep down you like to be rescued too. You even call the idiot your "white knight" and he feeds on that."

"Leave my memories out of this!" cried Kimberly.

Maroon smirked. So Kimberly didn't like having her memories tossed back at her… "Why should I? Your memories are mine as well, or have you forgotten that? I know everything you do, even your darkest desires. Why do you think I slept with Tommy? Deep down, you had always wanted to, but kept it a fantasy because you'd never really do that. I brought it forth and right in front of you. Oh if you would have seen yourself just then!" Maroon laughed.

"My memories are not your toys!"

"You are my toy, little Kimmy. I can do as I like with you. I could be a good playmate and care for you, or I could be a terrible one and break you, slam you, never giving a damn about any of it. Your memories are simply my other accessories. After all, toys do come with accessories and your memories are simply part of the package."

Kimberly lowered her head. She had no way to keep Maroon from using her memories against her, no method to stop her. Even if she could fight on two legs, she'd have to kill Maroon. Could she kill the splitting image of herself? Maroon may have been a clone, but she did know what she was talking about.

Maroon watched Kimberly with glee. "I know you agree with me," she whispered softly. "You have no choice but to agree with me." Kimberly was silent, not wanting to give Maroon the pleasure of an answer. "Now make sure you stay put," called Maroon as she walked toward the door. "I must let Rita know of my progress. I'm sure she'll be pleased to know that you and I are ready to die." The door slammed shut behind her, and Kimberly could hear a rapid succession of clicking noises. She knew she was trapped.

And thus ends chapter 30. I should have this story finished by the end of summer, hopefully. I've gotten a new idea for a Kim fic, but not certain if it will be a Kim/Tommy one. It does deal with the letter though... that's all I'm saying about that!

Next time on Windmill into the Fall: Rito looks for a way to get rid of Katherine while Rita is plotting her next move. Will the siblings be successful? Find out next time on Windmill into the Fall!