Sorry this took so long, but I wanted this chapter to play out just right, so I took my time in writing it. After all, this talk between Katherine and Kimberly was a delicate one. As far as I've decided, there will be only 2 more chapters left before Windmill officially closes and ends. It's been a long journey, but we're almost to the end of it.

Chapter 44

Not a sound could be heard as Tommy and Kimberly made their way through the twists and turns of the Power Chamber halls. Tommy couldn't even remember if he'd been down this particular passageway before. Everything was beginning to look the same to him. He looked down at Kimberly, who was listening intently for any signs of sounds that weren't made by the normal clicks and clanks of the Power Chamber. They continued on in silence, and Kimberly suddenly thrust her finger out, pointing at some spot. "There," she whispered.

Tommy didn't know how Kimberly knew that Katherine was in that spot, but he was willing to believe her. His eyes scanned the area, searching for whatever Kimberly had seen. Had she really seen anything? Or was it some womanly instinct he knew nothing about? "Are you certain?" he whispered back.

Kimberly nodded. "Yes…you should go, Tommy."

He'd known he was going to have to leave, but he didn't want to leave her alone. She looked up at him and gave him a light glare. He acquiesced and let go of her chair, leaning down to kiss Kimberly's cheek. He turned and began the work back through the maze of hallways. He turned his head slightly; Kimberly was watching him go before she made any move. He continued and made a turn to his left, continuing onward.

Kimberly sighed and took a deep breath. She couldn't explain to Tommy how she knew Katherine was around. He looked confused about the entire thing, but now was not the time to explain. Tommy couldn't be around while she talked to Katherine. Katherine had been through a rough time with Rita, Kimberly could guess that much. She didn't know the whole story, but she hoped that Katherine would be able to confide in her about it. Going through a similar experience might allow Katherine to open up to her. She hoped that at least she could comfort Katherine. She wheeled herself closer to the pile of boxes and scrap metal, slowly, quietly.

Katherine looked up. The voices had spoken. They sounded…familiar. They stopped as suddenly as they'd started. Footsteps retreated. A squeaking noise was all she heard now; it was coming closer to her. Then, it stopped too. "Katherine?" the voice called softly. "Katherine, we need to talk." It was Kimberly. She was concerned. Katherine knew she'd been sent down to find her. She must have had Tommy with her. Tommy had left. He'd been the retreating footsteps and the squeaking had been Kimberly's wheelchair. Katherine shifted uncomfortably. "Leave me alone, Kimberly."

Kimberly winced at Katherine's voice. She was hurt. Kimberly wanted to move closer, but the wheelchair restricted her. She knew she could never maneuver it behind the various pieces of metal and boxes. If she was going to talk to Katherine, she'd have to get to her first. And to do that, she'd have to rid herself of the wheelchair. It was the only way. Slowly she began to lower herself from her wheelchair. It was harder than she thought, and she wished she could reach the brakes to set them. She gasped when the chair moved suddenly, but caught herself. She composed herself before continuing.

Finally, she was out of the chair, and on the floor. She flipped over onto her belly and began to pull herself forward. The hard floor was cold against her elbows, and she shuddered at its touch. She continued forward, making her way slowly. She knew her arms were weaker now that she'd given up her gymnastics. It was harder to pull her own body weight with her, and her breath was catching. She wasn't going to give up though. She began to maneuver her way around the objects in her path. She hadn't realized Katherine had hidden herself so far back in the pile of rubble. She finally peeked her head around a corner, and caught a glimpse of Katherine's blonde hair. "No, I'm not leaving you alone, Kat. You need to let things out."

Katherine couldn't believe that Kimberly was going through such trouble to get to her. She'd thought that the silence meant Kimberly was simply going to sit there until Katherine made a move. Katherine made no move and so Kimberly did it for her. Seeing the petite girl in front of her made her realize how stubborn, yet caring Kimberly really was. She wasn't going to let anything stop her from getting to Kat, not even her wheelchair. Kimberly offered her a small smile. Katherine didn't know whether to feel touched that Kimberly had still come to her, or appalled to see Kimberly in such an undignified position. She chose the former. She watched as Kimberly pulled herself over to the wall and propped herself into a sitting position, using the metal boxes that were next to her.

Out of breath, Kimberly made a mental note not to try that very often, at least not unless she'd built up her arm strength again. It was more work than she'd realized, making it from there to here. She knew she had to do it though. Katherine was battling inner demons. She was her friend. Of course Kimberly would help, in any way possible. That's what friends are for. Right? Especially when she's gone through the same trauma as you. Nothing says bonding like an attack from Rita Repulsa. Kimberly turned her head to face Katherine, resting her hand on Katherine's knee. "You wanna tell me about it?" she asked softly.

Katherine sighed, and shook her head slightly. She really didn't want to talk about it. She still couldn't get over the fact that she had been used and abused. She hated being the target of evil. She couldn't figure out why. Was it because she was a girl, and that kidnapping her would bring the stronger Rangers running? She realized she wasn't entirely kidnapped the second time, but she couldn't help but wonder… Am I a worthless Ranger in Rita's eyes?

"Kat?" Kimberly's voice said again. Her voice was full of concern. Obviously shaking her head wouldn't keep Kimberly from finding out her story. She looked over at Kimberly, who was fiddling with her fingers, waiting for Katherine to respond. Of course she wouldn't give up quickly…she'd crawled on her stomach just to get to Katherine, legs be damned.

Katherine took a deep breath and tried to compose her thoughts. She wanted to at least sound coherent. "It seems silly," she began. "After all, you've been through so much worse than I, but I was targeted in a different way, once by Maroon and again by Rito. I was used as nothing more than a pleasure object." She held up a finger to silence Kimberly, especially when she noticed the look of shock on the girl's face. "It's not like that, Kimberly. It never went…that far…" Katherine shuddered at the thought of Maroon taking things further, or heaven forbid, Rito. She wasn't even sure if he could do that, but she knew she wouldn't want to be any part of it. "When Maroon first attacked us, she went after me. At the time, we were unsure of her powers, but she had one in particular that was very effective when used. She was able to bind a person to the spot, or to an item. I just happened to be the one to find that out first hand." She looked over at Kimberly, who was watching her intently.

Her hands appeared very interesting now, but Kimberly stopped herself and resting a hand on Katherine's knee. She gave her a gentle squeeze and nodded for Katherine to continue. She didn't want to speak up; she was there to be Katherine's listener. She'd speak after Katherine felt she'd recounted the entire story.

Another deep breath. Katherine began again. We were fighting the Tenga warriors. They weren't the ones we'd been used to though. These were stronger. We had to morph. A new enemy was with them, but we didn't know that at the time. We thought it was you turned evil, but it was really just Maroon. Maroon backed me into a tree and then used her binding spell and I was stuck to the tree. I tried to move, but couldn't. Instead of Maroon fighting me, like I expected, she tried to kiss and seduce me." A shiver went down Katherine's spine as the memory came back, clear as day. The sultry voice, the lingering touches…they filled her with dread. She never wanted to think of her friend that way. "The worst part was she looked like you. Everything she did, she looked like you. We all thought she was just you turned evil."

"What did Maroon do?" Kimberly asked softly. "She kissed you, but what else did she do?"

"She….touched me…" whispered Katherine. She said no more. Kimberly nodded, and didn't push farther. She knew it'd been hard enough for Katherine to tell her that. There was no need for it.

"Is that all Maroon did?"

Katherine nodded. "Then there was Rito… I'm not sure what I did with him. One minute I'm trying to do my duty, and the next thing I remember is finding myself in Rito's room, touching my chest. I was ready to kill something then… I was so upset I was angry… if that makes any sense to you." She looked over at Kimberly, who nodded at her. "…And that's my story," she finished up lamely. She didn't know what else to say. After Rito had been dealt with, things worked out in the end. But she still couldn't shake the feeling of what could have happened. How did the spell stop anyway? Then it hit her. "Oh no…"

"What?" asked Kimberly, concerned.

"I know what he did. I know how Rito took control of me."

"How?" questioned Kimberly softly.

"The desire potion…the same one Maroon used on Tommy. I was too upset at the time, but I heard every word said. The desire potion forces someone to act against their will. They think they love a person, but they don't. Rito must have gotten a hold of some of it and used it on me. When I came to my senses though, he was nowhere to be found."

Kimberly gasped sharply and Katherine quickly turned to look at her. "That's what happened to Tommy!" she exclaimed, louder than she meant to. Then she quieted down and began to explain before Katherine's confused look turned into a barrage of questions. Her voice was almost a whisper as she began to recount the memory. "I was locked in a cell in the dungeon area. Nobody ever came down except Maroon. She would always execute her torture on me before leaving me again. Then one time she brought Tommy with her, except this wasn't the Tommy I knew. This Tommy was infatuated with Maroon, and they ended up…" Here she trailed off. "…They had sex in front of me…"

Katherine's hand flew to her mouth. She'd known Maroon was cruel and abusive, but she'd never thought Maroon would resort to such sexual tendencies. She'd known Maroon had been evil, but it never crossed her mind that she'd be that evil. What kind of person resorted to such torture? Then again, Maroon wasn't a person. She was a clone. A clone of one of the kindest people Katherine knew. Maroon had taken Kimberly's best qualities and twisted them with a knife. That was the only way Katherine could describe the stark differences between the two. "Does Tommy know?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

The shaking of Kimberly's head was the only answer Katherine needed. "He doesn't know. When Tommy was himself again, we argued. I told him most of my story, but not that. I was too emotionally drained to do that. I plan to tell him soon, very soon." She looked questioningly at Katherine when the girl shook her head.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Kimberly was confused. Tommy had a right to know that his body had been violated after all. She wasn't going to keep it a secret from him forever.

"After I took you back to the Power Chamber, we still had Maroon and Tommy to deal with. Tommy and Maroon began to battle it out. Maroon was trying to use her words to get at Tommy and get him angry. She got what she wanted. Tommy first ended up crushing the bones in her wrist. She made him really angry when she talked of sexually using the both of us and he had a hold around her neck. Eventually she got him so angry that he snapped her neck. Just like that. He didn't even realize it until he looked at her lifeless corpse. He was so shocked that he teleported away. He couldn't handle the thought that he'd taken a life, evil or not. He finally returned to battle so we could defeat Devil Minion. He's not said anything more about the ordeal. I just don't think it'd be wise to add that on top of what he's already dealing with."

"This battle with Rita has affected the Rangers more than any other battle," noted Kimberly to no one in particular.

"I guess Rita wanted to tear us apart for good."

"She can't tear the Rangers apart. Not even something like this will do that. Once a Ranger, always a Ranger," stated Katherine.

"Agreed." Kimberly again looked over at Katherine. "Are you ready to go back to the Power Chamber? I don't know where the others are."

Katherine nodded her head. "I suppose so." As an after thought she added, "And thank you, Kimberly. For just….talking to me."

"It wasn't a problem, Kat. You needed someone to talk to and trust. I won't tell a soul what we've talked about."

Katherine began to rise to her feet and then looked to Kimberly. "How about I carry you? I don't think you want to crawl out of here again."

Kimberly smiled. "Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could. That's something I never want to try to do again."

Katherine leaned over, placing one arm under the crook of Katherine's knees and the other on the middle of her back. She lifted Kimberly up bridal style, and began to make her way back toward Kimberly's wheelchair, maneuvering around the obstacles with ease, the same ones that had caused Kimberly trouble. She placed Kimberly back in her wheelchair and turned it around before suddenly stopping. "Do you have any idea how to get out of here?" she asked.

Kimberly shook her head. "Tommy and I took so many turns I couldn't tell you which way we came from."

Katherine hesitated again. "So we're lost?"

"Can't you teleport back to the Power Chamber?"

"Oh, right," answered Katherine, feeling foolish. She held up her communicator and pushed a button. A flash of pink appeared and the two were gone.

Billy and Tommy turned around when they heard teleportation. Without looking, they knew it was Katherine and Kimberly. "Welcome back you two," said Alpha. "Are you feeling better, Katherine?"

"Yes, Alpha."

Zordon interjected. "Rangers, it is good that you are all together. Out of everyone in this battle, it was the three of you that suffered the most. Rita showed no mercy with any of you. I am proud that you stand tall now in the after effects of battle. Congratulations, all three of you."

Tommy, Kimberly, and Katherine all looked at each other and exchanged smiles. Rita had failed in the end. She started strong, but the Rangers still conquered her and survived. They all knew they had a lot to be thankful for.

"I know that all three of you are tired. However, I don't think it's a good idea for Kimberly to go out in public."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Kimberly can go back to her apartment. I've located the precise coordinates," spoke up Billy. "She will just have to conceal almost any skin that is showing and return to the building. I am positive that the front desk clerks saw her leave, but not return."

"I'll go with her," added Tommy.

Zordon nodded within the interdimensional tube. "I will trust her in your hands."

"I'm going to head home to sleep," answered Katherine. She couldn't explain it, but she felt left out.

Kimberly noticed the dejected look on Katherine's face. "Katherine you should come with us. There's room for you to crash at my place."

"I don't want to be a third wheel," protested Katherine.

"Nonsense. Come with us."

"If you insist."

"I do."

"Goodbye Rangers. May the Power protect you."

Two flashes of light later and the three teenagers were gone. Alpha watched the space where they had previously been. "Zordon, do you think Rita will attack again?"

"I am not sure, Alpha. Only time will tell."

"Aye-yi-yi…." Muttered Alpha. That was not the answer he had hoped for.

Next time on Windmill into the Fall: Rita reflects on what went wrong. Will she decide to strike back two fold? Find out in the next chapter of Windmill into the Fall!

QUIZ! What mark did Maroon leave on Tommy? Be specific. Prize: an icon made by boredgirl84. It's a Kimberly one.