A.n – This may seem like a fluffy chapter with no real meaning, but trust me on this, it has meaning. Once you get to the end of it, you'll see why I wrote it (besides the fact I'm a fluffy-romance person).

Another a/u: If Karone is somewhat Out Of Character, then remember that she and Andros shifted places. She's been traveling alone for two years, since KO-35 was destroyed and Zhane entered a cryogenic sleep. She's gonna be a mix between the Karone you know and the Andros, or at least, that's what I'm going for.

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Chapter Four – Good, Evil and Everything In Between

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Sunday, Nov. 15, 1998

10.35 pm

Earth Time

Astro Megaship

She was sitting in her room, staring down at the Earth with a forlorn expression. It tore his heart to see her so unhappy, so upset. She should be smiling and dancing, hell, even working out beat this...this...mood.

Sighing, he step foot in the purple and silver room, letting the doors shut behind him as he made his way over to her. She didn't turn her head or react at all as he sat beside her. The only motion that said she knew he was there was the tightening of her hand on his when he took the slim hand in his.

Karone turned after a second to look at him, eyes almost in tears. "I miss his so much." She breathed, shaking.

She was strong, but even the purple ranger needed to let things out once in a while. Reaching out, he took in his arms, her head on his shoulder as she shoot. She didn't cry. She never would; said it was weak, that crying would change nothing. Sometimes, he wished she would. It would prove to him that she was human, that she was the same as him.

A hand swept over her honey blonde hair. "Sh." He whispered in her ear. "We'll get him back. I promised you we would, and have I ever let you down once?"

"No, but..." She turned further into him, arms going around his neck and her forehead pressed against him. "What if we can't bring him back? What if he's evil forever?"

Zhane kissed her, hard, then pulled back and said fiercely, "Don't ever think like that. We will get him back, and he will be your brother again. Okay? Never think of failure, because it just makes it all the more possible."

She nodded, pressing a kiss back to him. "You're right. I'm sorry."

He shook his head at her, smiling faintly. "Don't be sorry. This is me; there's never a need to be sorry."

She smiled back at him, her face lighting up, and the room with her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She chanted teasingly, then gasped as he moved his fingers to her sides, tickling her. "Stop that!" She screeched, trying to wiggle away from his fingers.

"Not until you take it back." He teased, though he didn't let up.

"I take it back, I take it back!" She gasped out, laughing so hard that there were tears in her eyes. "I give up!"

He finally stopped, flopping down on the floor beside her. Somehow they'd moved from the window seat to the middle of her bedroom, and he didn't mind one bit. The plush gray carpet, his color, was nice below them, and better than his own bed.

He turned to his side and dragged his girlfriend into the cage of his arm, his face buried in her hair. "We'll get him back," He whispered to her right before the exhausted girl drifted off into sleep. "I promise you that, love." Then he closed his eyes and joined her, leaving the earthly reality and entering a realm where life was perfect...

Sunday, Nov. 15, 1998

10.00 pm

Angel Grove Hotel

Trini twirled the knife between her fingers, looking down at the salmon on the plate before her. The pink fish looked back at her and she pulled a face. Normally, she loved seafood, but she was currently sick to her stomach, and not from food poisoning.

She was sick with worry. She, Billy and Zack had promised to meet each other in the hotel restaurant and eat dinner. Currently, they were twenty minutes behind, and she was afraid either something had happened to them or they had forgotten her.

They were all very close, which was why the second reason seemed so odd, or so her mind said. Her heart said differently; they had all gone off to different universities, and Jason was the only one who had stayed near Angel Grove. Sure, they had been good about keeping touch with each other through letters, phone calls and email, but it still seemed as if they were drifting apart.

Sighing, she gave up hope that they were coming and took a bite of the fish. It was good, but...

Then her face brightened as she saw Billy in entrance, looking around for her. She raise her hand and waved it, and he smiled when he saw her. Making his way towards the back, he smiled and mouthed 'sorry' at her.

"I'm really, really sorry. I was finishing up a paper and lost track of the time." He explained in a rush as he sat down and opened the menu. "Zack found me a few minutes ago and told me I was running late." He finished before drawing a breath.

"Billy, its okay." Trini laughed softly, "I know its normal for you to be late, and I would have been surprised if you had been on time."

He smiled sheepishly, then opened the menu. "Do you know Zack would like? He's finishing up his own homework and told me to have something sent to him."

Trini laughed softly again. For some reason, she always laughed and smiled more in his presence. "Why don't we just sent up a pasta. I think he would enjoy that."

Billy nodded, "Affirmative." Then he blinked and frowned, focusing back on the menu. "I think I will have the lasagna, personally."

Trini nodded and motioned the waiter over. "Can I get a plate of spaghetti sent to a room?"

The waiter nodded, "Yes ma'am, you can." He yanked out a pen and a piece of paper. "What's the room number?" He asked, pen poised and ready.

"Room 337." Billy pipped up, not even bothering to look up from his menu. "May I order the lasagna with a rootbeer?"

"Thank you, sir." The waiter said, "Hope you have a fine date." He added then vanished into the kitchens before either could say a thing.

Both of the people sitting at the table blushed bright red. "I, uh, that was rather awkward." Billy muttered, ears a bight red even when the blush faded. "I hope you don't feel like this is a date, uh, unless you maybe want it that way."

Trini blushed even harder, which was odd, considering that she rarely was anything except calm. Then she took the plunge, the one that shy Billy probably never would have. "I think it might not be so bad if we considered it one." She crinkled her nose, going for a tension breaker. "If it doesn't work out, we can blame Zack for trying to set us up."

Billy blinked and smiled, "I think, maybe, it might not be so bad to have such nosy friends." He said after a second.

They shared a laugh over that, and reverted back into their old ways of talking, both hoping that there friendship was moving to the next level.

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Sunday, Nov. 15, 1998

11.17 pm

Room 117

Angel Grove Hotel

He ran a hand through his chocolate hair, and sighed. He needed to get it cut and soon. Right now it was brushing his ears, and really, he wasn't a fan of hair even moderately long. It just wasn't hit thing. He went more for the spiked look, at least sometimes.

Leaning down, he spit the mouth wash into the sink and pulled a face. God, he hated the taste of spearmint mouthwash. It tasted too much like the dentist, which he hated. Needles in his mouth? Ha. There was no way.

Jason Scott stumbled out of the bathroom, yawning, and popped open the suit case that sat on the desk of the suite. He pulled a pair of dark red sweatpants and tossed them on the bed. A second later, he folded and put the day's clothes back in his suitcase, on the left side, the one reserved for dirty clothes.

Stepping into the dark red pants, he couldn't help but wonder what everyone else was up to. Zack had told him he was going to cop out of the dinner with Trini and Billy, hoping to get them to admit their 'feelings'. Jason had only rolled his eyes, as he didn't believe in interfering with his team's social and dating life.

Karone and Zhane had declined the offer of a room at the hotel, transporting to their ship instead. He liked the two other rangers, but he was somewhat glad that they choose their spaceship over a hotel room. He was extremely territorial when it came to his town, and even more so when it came to his team. He didn't need two new rangers stepping in and trying to help in fights. They'd only get in the way.

He flopped back on the plain cream comforter, eyes glued to the ceiling. As tired as he was, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, not in a strange place. He'd always been odd when if came to sleeping arrangements. He couldn't sleep in a place that he didn't know, which caused problems until he finally started taking the sleeping pills his doctor had given him.

He was drawn from his thoughts by a tapping on the balcony window. He blinked and turned over on his bed to look out, then smiled. A pure white cat stared back at him with blue eyes, head butting against the window as it sat on the ground, bumping its head on the glass. It stopped and yowled to be let in.

Rolling to his feet, Jason smiled and made his way over to the sliding doors. "Will you be quite?" He hissed with a smile as he opened the door. "You'll wake people up if you keep that up, then where would we be?"

The cat didn't return the greeting, but rather seemed to a glow a light yellow. A second later, Kat stood, shaking her blonde hair out. Her blue eyes were laughing as she reached up and pecked a kiss to his lips. "We, or in this case, you, would be charged extra for the room."

"Oh, shush." He said, deepening the next kiss. "Love the new outfit, by the way."

She let go and twirled around. Her black skirt twirled around her before falling back in place by her knees, and her red tank top matched his pants. Her shoes were absent, but that was expected, given the fact she had been running around as a cat, and when in human form, in a plush palace.

Stroking a hand down her cheek, he frowned. On her shoulder was a hand shaped bruise, one that hadn't been there before and shouldn't be there now. "I know we promised not to talk about what we do, but are you sure you're okay up there?" His fingers feathered over the slightly dark area.

She looked up at him, since she was still a few inches shorter than him, even at five feet and eight inches. "I'm fine. The person who gave me this is now dead, after imprisonment." She said lightly, her hand covering his cheek.

He leaned into her hand and kissed her palm. "As long as you're safe."

They both knew that she wasn't safe, and wouldn't be until she left he Lunar Palace. She didn't know, if only because she felt she owed these new rulers her loyalty. They had destroyed Rita's old palace, and with it, the remainders of the spell. Kat wasn't completely evil anymore, and had free will of her own. It didn't mean she fought the good fight, though, only that she was free to finally be herself and feel the emotions that Rita had locked her away from.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and dragged him down for a kiss a second later. "Enough talk," She whispered in his ear, and the next thing she knew, her back was against the white bed and then nothing else.

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Sunday, Nov. 15, 1998

Midnight

Angel Grove Park

She was sitting by the lake, her arms wrapped around her legs and her legs pressed against her chest. Her light blonde hair was a mess, tangled around her face and brown eyes stared across the still water with tears in them. She shivered once, but was otherwise still and silent, unaffected by the cold even in her gold tank top.

She reached up to swipe her eyes once again, then dried her slightly damn skin on the pale colored jeans. God, how she hated life at moments like these. She lived in Angel Grove, which was famous for its Power Rangers and the monsters they fought and destroyed. Then there were times like these where she was reminded that monsters weren't just the things that the Rangers fought.

She fought the tears again, telling herself these things happened and not just to her. That by crying, she was only giving him what he wanted, and weakening her own self. It didn't help; she still wanted to bust into tears, she still wanted to scream and rage at the world.

Finally, she pushed the thoughts to the edge of her mind and straightened her shoulders, letting her knees fold down and under her. It was while she drying tears from her face that she realized how cold it was. It was midnight and nearing winter, the edge of autumn, so it was around fifty degrees. Normally, that wouldn't have bothered her, but here by the lake, it was even colder.

Standing, she shook her out her golden brown hair and sighed. She didn't want to go home, but what choice was there? Home, despite what her heart told her, was better than wandering the streets at midnight. Taking a step, she pivoted and promptly slammed into someone hard and tall.

She stumbled back and would have fallen if two hands hadn't reached out and grabbed both her wrists, keeping her upright. She blinked and look at his hands, dark and huge against her pale wrists, then gulped and looked at the owner of said hands.

He was all, though not as big as she had thought when she had slammed into him. He was maybe six foot two, nothing compared to people like Jason or T.J. He was muscled, though, so the second part of her first impression was correct. He was broad shouldered and wearing a muscle shirt that high lighted every dip and crevice of his body, showed that indeed he was muscular. His pants were normal black jeans, blending well with the dark crimson muscle shirt. A silver belt buckle gleamed at his trim waist, and the fact that it was in the shape of a skull had her swallowing.

She focused on him the moment she realized he was talking. "I asked, are you alright?" He seemed irked that he had to repeat himself, and his dark voice boomed over the empty park, making her shiver.

"I-I'm fine." She stuttered, finally getting it out then blushing bright red when she realized he was staring at her strangely.

"Good. I'd hate to be arrested for assaulting a young girl." He stated, bending down to pick up his jacket, which she had barely noticed when it had fallen at her feet.

"I'm not a young girl. I'm eighteen, which means I'm an adult," Then she blinked, realizing her indignation and wounded pride had made her say something stupid. "Not to say I live on my own. I don't. I live with my parents. Which means I have to get back soon."

The guy seemed to find her amusing. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kidnap, rape or murder you, little girl."

She lost her caution and glared at him. "Well, I'm just going to take your word on it, because if you were going to do any of those things, you'd tell me." She snorted as she finished her sarcastic comment, "And you'd never lie to get me to lower my guard."

He snorted in amusement. "If I were going to hurt you, I might just tell you and let you run." He stepped closer and she suddenly felt a thrill of fear at having a stranger invade her space. She looked up to meet dark hazel eyes, her heart in her throat. "I might just like the chase."

Her knee shot out as she aimed to hit a very sensitive part of the male anatomy, only to hit his thigh. He had moved faster than should be possible, deflecting the blow and grabbing her wrists in one smooth movement, holding them in one hand. Her head was tilted back with a rough hand, and her eyes met hazel orbs that were darker and more evil than anything she's ever seen in her eighteen years.

"You're tough. Spirited," He said softly, his breath falling on her face. "It would be a shame to ruin such beauty and spirit."At this, his eyes hardened, becoming diamonds of green and brown. "Don't attempt to attack me again."

She nodded, though she didn't really mean it. She would protect herself at any cost, but she was hoping she wouldn't have to. His hold didn't hurt, and though he was rough, he wasn't causing her pain. If he wanted to hurt her, he wouldn't have cared if she were a bit bruised.

He let her go slowly, dragging himself away with a small smile. "Its dangerous to be out here alone." He stated, then stepped farther away. One hand held his jacket, the other was in his jean pocket. "And stupid to be out in the cold without a jacket."

A second later, she felt cool leather drape over her shoulder. Blinking, she watched as he turned and walked away, his movements a predatory lope. Her mind told her to keep her mouth shut and be glad she was alive. Her emotions demanded that she find out why he been so weird. She settled for, "Hey, what am I supposed to do with this jacket?"

He waved a hand behind him, but didn't turn around. "Keep it. I have plenty more." He didn't speak loudly, but she heard him, deep in her bones.

She watched until he was gone, then pulled the jacket on slowly. It hung past her hands and down to mid thigh, but it was warm and kept the chill away. She shuddered anyway as she made her way to her car, wondering how lucky she had been tonight.

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a.n : I need a beta reader. Help?