A shower of sparks flew as Goldar's axe collided with Jason's sword. The Red Ranger shifted his weight and swiftly deflected the monster's attack aside. While the two combatants locked weapons again, Kimberly rushed forward to help. Although she couldn't morph, she hoped her already enhanced strength and speed could make some sort of difference. She gripped the heavy tree branch in her hand and brought it around with a great swing. The blow smashed into the Goldar symbiote's shoulder and shattered into splinters. The monster grunted as it was momentarily staggered, but no major harm was done either. Goldar lashed out with its free arm and backhanded Kimberly aside, knocking her to the dirt as Jason attacked again in fury.

While the Red Ranger continued to clash against Goldar and pushed the monster back, Kimberly rose to her knees and tried to shake off the stunning blow. In the flickering light of the campfire and the darkness, the Pink Ranger tried to orient herself amid the chaotic duel that was now raging around her. As her head cleared, she saw Goldar knock Jason's energy sword away and then move to charge her again. Despite having been disarmed, Jason threw himself forward to stop Goldar with a football style tackle. The two wrestled around on the ground and struggled for a minute before Goldar got a hand free and grabbed Jason's neck. As the monster began pinning the Red Ranger to the dirt, it raised its weapon hand and moved to strike but Jason reached out and caught Goldar's arm just in time. Kimberly could only watch in helpless fear as Jason desperately struggled on the ground to keep Goldar's blade arm from coming down on his head.

She pulled her inert power coin from her pocket and gripped it, praying something would happen. Despite the situation, she knew she had to do something. Jason was in danger and she needed to help him. He had reached out and offered to help her and to be there for her and she hated the idea that she couldn't do anything for him in return. She didn't want him to get hurt, but she also didn't want to hurt Amanda who had been corrupted by the Goldar monster.

As she continued to grip her coin, Kimberly watched in surprise as it began to glow a faint pink color. Maybe Jason was right! Maybe she needed to get over herself and confront these problems head on. She didn't want to be miserable anymore and she didn't want to be scared of Amanda, or anyone at school any more. She was a Ranger now and whether or not she wanted to, she had to move on. People's lives and the lives of her teammates depended on her to do the right thing. In that moment, she decided she would face her monster and do the right thing.

Kimberly charged forward as fast as she could and used her momentum to launch herself into the air. The Goldar symbiote continued to struggle, but it turned and looked just in time to see Kimberly's coin flare with radiant pink energy. In mid-stride, Kimberly's Ranger suit formed around her body and empowered her attack as she leapt high and delivered a powerful flying jump-kick against her foe. Goldar roared as it was sent flying backwards several yards and rolled to a stop.

From where he lay on the ground, Jason watched in surprise as the morphed Pink Ranger stood before him in his defense. "Kim… you did it! You morphed again!"

She turned her head slightly to make sure he was okay before turning back to face the enemy, "It's my turn to protect you Jason. I know what I have to do now."

"You'll pay for that!" Goldar snarled in a distorted version of Amanda's voice as it rushed forward and brandished its bladed battle axe arm.

The Pink Ranger moved like lightning and used her superhuman agility to dodge and weave past the monster's clumsy slashes. She continued to circle around and her patience paid off when Goldar overreached and let its guard down after another clumsy attack. Kimberly swept in low and spun into a roundhouse kick to knock the monster back again and stun it. The Goldar symbiote staggered back allowing Kimberly a chance to rush forward and cartwheel into a flying handspring off her enemy's head so that she landed across the battlefield to where Jason's energy sword lay on the ground.

She swiftly scooped up the sword and activated it, just as the Goldar symbiote recovered and attacked again. The Pink Ranger locked weapons again with her foe and struggled as Goldar used its greater strength to push back against her. Kimberly looked about desperately and noticed that the outline of the gold bracelet was still visible on the feminine monster's wrist. In one last push, Kimberly parried the axe aside and turned Jason's sword inward for a close slash at her enemy's wrist.

Her blade struck true and the energy sword slashed into the monster's bracelet, shattering it into a cloud of golden flakes and droplets. The symbiote gave a pained roar of fury as it recoiled and began to lose cohesion around the body of Amanda. Kimberly stood in shock and confusion as the unstable golden goo began to slough off Amanda and burn away into nothingness. Once the Goldar symbiote had dissolved completely, Amanda Clark was left in its place and she collapsed to the ground in a dazed heap.

Jason immediately rushed to Kimberly's side and looked to her in concern, "Kim, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she nodded as she and Jason powered down and hurried over to check on their fallen classmate.

Despite all the negative things that had happened between her and Amanda, Kimberly didn't seem to care at the moment. What mattered was that she was doing what was right as a Power Ranger and making sure an innocent victim was safe. She rolled her classmate over and propped Amanda's head up while checking her pulse and breathing. So far so good. In the dancing light of the nearby campfire, Amanda blinked her eyes in bleary confusion and tried to focus them on Kimberly. "Kimberly? I... what's going on? Where are we?"

The Pink Ranger glanced to Jason before looking down at her classmate again, "Amanda, are you feeling okay? Do you remember anything that happened?"

The girl frowned and struggled to stay conscious before giving a disoriented yawn, "I don't remember anything... I'm just really sleepy and I..."

Her head lolled back and she passed out from exhaustion. Kimberly looked down at her classmate and gave a sigh of relief before sitting back to take a breath. She felt Jason reach over and put a hand on her shoulder, "Kimberly, we should probably go and get Amanda to a hospital or something... just in case. We can take my truck. It's not far from the campground."

Kimberly nodded before he gave her shoulder a little squeeze and smiled, "Thank you for saving me Kim... it's good to have you back."

She returned the quiet smile as he got up and hurried off to get his truck. While he did, she went to get a blanket from her pack and place it over the sleeping form of Amanda. After she did, she sat back observing the girl whom she had once been at odds with. Sure there were still some hard feelings, but that didn't seem to matter so much anymore. If anything, Kimberly felt more pity at the moment... pity that Amanda had been briefly taken over by that Goldar monster. Maybe Kimberly wanted to hurt her once, but after thinking about how frightening and traumatic the girl's experience with Goldar must have been, she figured her enemy had suffered enough. It made her hopeful that if Kimberly could start burying those feelings of shame and anger... maybe in time her "enemy" could too.

Later that evening, Jason and Kimberly emerged from the emergency room of Angel Grove's Central Hospital. After driving back into town, they had taken Amanda there and told the doctors that they found her passed out in the park. Thankfully they weren't asked too many questions and they stuck to their good Samaritan story. In a way, it was partially true and with no other witnesses, it's not like they could really be accused of lying either. In the midst of all the chaos of the past few days, the two tired Rangers decided to go find a safe place to relax and decompress. They decided on driving a short way and getting some coffee at a late night café near an outdoor shopping plaza. The night was cool and the two needed something to wake themselves up after their exhausting fight.

As Jason and Kimberly sat down on a bench just outside the little café, they could see activity going on in the little plaza. From the looks of it, a fair crowd of local adults had decided to celebrate the town's Homecoming in their own way. Colorful lights and decorations had been strung up while a few food vendors stayed open late and a couple street musicians played some music so that people could do a little dancing if they wanted.

"Well... I'm glad all that is finally over with," Kimberly sighed as she warmed her hands with her coffee cup. "Not only with Amanda, but with getting my powers back too. Jason, I wanted to thank you... for what you said earlier tonight, and for just being there for me. It really meant a lot."

He took a sip of coffee and smiled quietly before shrugging it off, "Don't mention it. I'm just glad I could help. If anything, I should be the one thanking you for the little save back there. Seeing you step up and take on Goldar like that... well, it was pretty amazing."

"It was... wasn't it?" she replied with a self-satisfied grin. She glanced over and gave a sly little wink, "Come to think of it, I imagine it must have looked pretty hot too, huh?"

Jason snorted in amusement, "Sure. Okay... let's go with that."

As the musicians continued to play, the two Rangers watched the people dance before Jason took a breath and glanced over, "Kimberly, back at the campsite you were going to start telling me something... about us."

"Right," she said shifting slightly in her seat. Now it was her turn to feel a little off-balance, "I uh... I just wanted to say that I cared about you too... as a friend and as a Ranger."

"I sense a 'but' coming," Jason said as he studied her face.

Kimberly bit her lip, "But I'm just not sure about this thing between us right now. I know you like me and I guess in a way I feel kinda attracted to you too, but these feelings... well, they're confusing."

"What do you mean?' he asked with a concerned frown.

"I mean I just don't know if these feelings on my part are real, you know? Since we became Rangers, a lot has happened and it's all been so fast. I'm just not sure if these feelings I have right now are because of our recent shared experiences, or because of the adrenaline rush from battle, or if there really is something there between us. I don't want to act on them just yet, especially if they're not real. Does that make any sense?"

Jason grimaced slightly. Those weren't exactly the words he was hoping to hear, but he could understand. Kimberly had been through a lot already and she probably needed time to sort everything out for herself. If time was what she needed right now, then he'd give it to her. She was worth the wait.

"Actually... yeah," he said with a stoic nod, "I understand... and it's okay Kim. I won't be going anywhere."

She gave him an apologetic look and reached out to squeeze his hand, "Thank you Jason. I'm really sorry about everything... you must think I'm a total bitch right now, huh?"

"Well... I don't plan on having any existential crises and losing my will to morph over this," he teased gently with a sigh. He hoped he could try to lighten the mood and deflect away some of the sting of his own disappointment.

Kimberly stared at him for a moment before giving an amused huff and gently shoving him in the shoulder. A companionable silence fell between them as they watched the other people in the plaza mill about while the cover band began its new set. The Pink Ranger glanced at her watch, "It's ten o clock. The Homecoming Dance should be getting out at school right now. I guess we missed it, huh?"

Jason thought for a moment before rising to his feet and holding out his hand to her, "Not necessarily."

She raised an eyebrow, "Jason... what are you doing?"

"Just put down your coffee and come with me," he said while taking her hand and gently pulling her to her feet.

Kimberly did as he said and followed him out into the plaza, mixing in with some of the other dancers as the other musicians sat back and let their lead guitarist perform a cover of Daydream Believer on his acoustic guitar. The tune took on a quieter slower tempo, but still had a gentle easy bounce to it. Jason looked to Kimberly and gave an apologetic smile, "I know how much you really wanted to go tonight, and it's the best I can do. If you don't mind being a little sappy, I thought we could still try to get in one little dance here. What do you say?"

She gave a gentle laugh and nodded while drawing near. He put his arm around her waist and held her close while they began to dance. Sure, it was a little sappy dancing to an oldies song especially around a bunch of other adults there, but that didn't seem to matter right now. It had been a sweet gesture by Jason and admittedly a bit romantic too. She didn't want to rush to any conclusions, but it did help make a case for those "confusing feelings" being genuine ones.

The two friends exchanged a quick smile before Kimberly settled in and rested her cheek against his shoulder. For now, it just felt good to be near someone, to feel safe and cared for. Wasn't that what they were both kind of looking for? After having become outcasts from their old circles at school, maybe they were seeking redemption in a way, but maybe they were just looking for someone else who would understand and care too.

While the two continued to slow dance with each other amid the evening lights and gentle music, Kimberly thought over Jason's words about letting go of the past and confronting the future. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. She had a new group of friends to help her on her way and when she thought about it, the idea of starting over a new life didn't seem so scary anymore. If this was the way Kimberly was going to start things fresh and new, then she was looking forward to whatever the future held in store, as long as the other Rangers, and Jason would be at her side.

A/N:
Thanks again to everyone for reading, following, or reviewing! If anyone has questions, comments, or if you just want to tell me what you thought of this little short story, feel free to sound off! I'm all ears. Until then, let's cross our fingers we get a sequel movie to build on all this great stuff!