Disclaimer: Saban owns Power Rangers and the characters within, not I.

Tommy had somehow expected he'd see her there once he got home. He turned to give Kim a smile and wave in appreciation for the ride home, before shifting his focus to the girl sitting on his front porch steps. Tommy stuffed his hands in his pockets and made his way towards her.

"Hey," Tommy greeted her the only way he could think.

"Hey," Trini replied. She scooted over a little as Tommy plopped down next to her. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments.

"Did you hear that Jason and Billy were attacked?" Trini finally asked. Tommy looked at her, the concern evident on his face.

"No... when?" Tommy asked in response.

"Like an hour ago," Trini answered, she turned and nodded her head to the right. "Just up the road there."

"Up the road..." Tommy digested the news.

"Yeah, I guess Jason had come to visit you but found Zedd and Goldar," Trini explained.

"Oh wow... are they okay?" Tommy questioned.

"Yeah," Trini answered. She turned to Tommy who was looking intently at the ground. "Are you?"

"Huh?" Tommy asked, jarred out of his thoughts about the attack on Jason and himself from earlier.

"Are you okay?" Trini inquired.

"I'm fine," Tommy answered quickly. Too quickly to not show his hand to Trini.

"Really?" Trini pressed. Tommy locked eyes with her and suddenly felt very crummy for the way he was keeping her out of the loop.

"Just thinking about..." Tommy paused. "What Zedd was doing here."

"Yeah... it's weird," Trini responded. "Obviously he was coming for you and Jason just got in the way."

"Yeah..." Tommy agreed, his attention went back to the front yard.

"Why?" Trini questioned. Tommy blinked a few times but did not restore eye contact. "Is he attacking you for a particular reason?"

"I... I don't know," Tommy replied. Trini studied him.

"You have been quiet today... kind of off the grid," Trini stated. Tommy nodded.

"Yeah... I guess I kind of was," Tommy agreed.

"Is it because of us?" Trini asked, addressing the elephant in the room.

"No... no..." Tommy responded. His eyes moved down to Trini's hand that had found its way onto his thigh.

"Are you sure?" Trini asked. Tommy turned back to her.

"Honestly?" Tommy asked.

"Please," Trini responded.

"I mean... I'm not saying I haven't been thinking about it," Tommy confessed. "Things with us have been a little off as you know."

"I'm sorry," Trini reacted.

"Don't be," Tommy countered. "We've been over it... I told you I'm not going anywhere and I meant that."

"I don't mean to make things difficult," Trini said. "I love you for not putting pressure on me."

"I think you are worth that," Tommy said. Trini smiled. Her hand found Tommy's.

"I promise you... I want to be with you..." Trini stated. It was Tommy's turn to smile. He leaned in and they shared a kiss. It was a weight off his shoulders, but he still felt burdened with the secret his was keeping. He pulled away from the kiss and tried to refocus his mind.

(****)

Kim shut her car off and started to reach for the door handle when a shadow in her yard caught her attention and she felt her heart jump. She focused her eyes and calmed down as the person came closer. She smiled as she opened the door and stepped out.

"Did you get done helping your dad?" Kim questioned with a grin. Jason nodded his head and turned and rested his back up against her car.

"About that..." Jason responded as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. Kim shut the car door and moved to stand in front of him.

"Uh-huh," Kim urged him to go on.

"I mean... you knew that wasn't entirely true," Jason stated.

"I did," Kim agreed.

"I actually just went to see Tommy," Jason confessed. Kim furrowed her brow.

"Okay?" Kim questioned, unsure where the confession was going.

"Yeah... he um..." Jason paused. "He's got some stuff going on and I guess I'm the only one who knows and he confided in me and it's... um... a big deal."

"Okay... is he in trouble?" Kim inquired.

"Possibly... not sure," Jason answered. "He asked me not to tell anyone... he wants to do it."

"I see," Kim responded and considered Jason's demeanor and started to understand his earlier actions.

"I just felt bad... keeping things from you," Jason said. "Sorry for all the awkwardness."

"It's okay... I understand," Kim responded.

"You do?" Jason asked.

"I do," Kim answered with a smile. "I don't want you to betray Tommy's trust, I'm just glad to know we are okay."

"Of course," Jason replied with a smile in return.

"Jason?" Kim asked.

"Yeah?" He responded.

"Did you find Tommy?" Kim questioned.

"No... he wasn't home," Jason answered. Kim nodded. "I found Zedd and Goldar though."

"What?" Kim asked, her demeanor suddenly one of worry as she looked Jason up and down.

"I'm fine... Billy showed up and we ran them off," Jason said as he felt Kim's hands on his arms.

"You should have called me," Kim said.

"They left before we had a chance to," Jason answered. "I feel like I can't get away from Zedd today."

"What do you mean?" Kim asked. It was then Jason realized he let something slip he shouldn't have.

"Oh..." Jason hesitated, but the way Kim was looking at him he felt his resolve disappearing. "Earlier... Tommy and I were attacked by Zedd too."

"God Jason... what's going on?" Kim questioned, discerning there was something big about what Jason wasn't divulging.

"It's... I think Zedd is targeting Tommy," Jason replied.

"Why?" Kim asked.

"Not sure," Jason answered.

"I feel like I shouldn't let you out of my sight the rest of the night," Kim said as she ran a hand over his chest. Jason grinned.

"I wouldn't be opposed to that..." Jason responded. "But I don't think you have anything to worry about... like I said I think it's Tommy he is after."

"I saw him... I just left him actually," Kim replied.

"Tommy?" Jason asked for clarification.

"Yep," Kim answered. "I saw him in town and gave him a ride home."

"Wow... I haven't been able to get in touch with him all night," Jason stated.

"Heh... well... that's because someone else had his attention," Kim said.

"Do tell," Jason urged her.

"A girl... her name is Kat, apparently they spent the evening talking," Kim explained. Jason digested the information.

"He's not..." Jason began.

"No... I don't think so... he was adamant about that," Kim cut him off before he could finish the thought. "Just a friend thing... she goes to school with us."

"I can't place her... but I'm glad to hear that," Jason said. "It's odd though..."

"What?" Kim asked.

"That he doesn't answer my calls or even his communicator and you just finding him chatting away with someone," Jason replied.

"I was thinking maybe he was trying to be off the grid," Kim said with a shrug.

"Probably," Jason said.

"What are you thinking?" Kim asked as she studied him.

"Nothing... I mean...with everything going on, I don't know what to think," Jason responded.

(****)

"Any news?" Tommy asked as he made his way around to the control panel that Alpha was tapping away at. He stole a glance up at Zordon before reaching the small robot.

"Possibly," Alpha replied.

"What?" Tommy questioned.

"Well we've analyzed your power coin... and there is nothing wrong with it in and of itself," Alpha answered as he turned and handed the coin back to Tommy.

"However, there is something pulling the energy from it away from the Morphing Grid," Zordon added.

"What does that mean?" Tommy asked.

"That there is an outside force, draining the energy to a very large degree," Zordon responded.

"What... how?" Tommy continued his questions.

"We can't say for sure," Alpha answered. Tommy sighed with frustration.

"We suspect it has something to do with the way the coin was intermingled with magic while Rita held it," Zordon explained.

"But she is gone," Tommy countered.

"She is... but the coin still retains traces of her magic," Zordon responded. "She managed to bond them somehow."

"So... if she did that... how could Zedd be doing this?" Tommy asked.

"Zedd was the source of Rita's magic," Alpha answered. "It appears he is somehow draining the magic, which in turn is also weakening the connection to the Morphing Grid."

"Can we stop it?" Tommy questioned, glancing back and forth between the two.

"The drain is happening slowly..." Alpha began. "So there is a ritual attached to it... and as such a vessel used to represent the coin."

"Look... I'm not sure what all of that means," Tommy replied.

"Simply put, Zedd has an object of some sort representing the drain, if we got it out of his possession, theoretically we could stop the drain," Zordon explained.

"So we need to get to Zedd right?" Tommy asked. "Teleport me there."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Alpha answered. Tommy turned to him.

"Why not?" Tommy asked.

"Due to our battles with him, we don't have sufficient power to pull that off," Alpha answered.

"Not to mention... Zedd has forces blocking that as well," Zordon added.

Tommy cursed loudly, it echoing throughout the ship. Alpha backed a couple of steps back in surprise.

"I'm sorry... but this is frustrating," Tommy replied.

"I know... we will continue to work on a solution Tommy," Zordon responded, his voice soft reflection him being sympathetic to Tommy's frustrations. Tommy nodded before teleporting away.

(****)

Tommy punched the bag in front of him. He continued until his punches reached a fever pitch and the rope holding the bag was threatening to let go. He stepped back to hit it with a side kick that finished it off.

"Woah..." Kat's voice was suddenly breaking through the noise of the crowded gym. Tommy turned to see her standing a few feet away looking fresh from a workout of her own. Tommy turned back to see the bag on the ground and suddenly felt embarrassed for the outburst. "Did the bag insult your mother?"

"Ha... um... I guess I got a little carried away there," Tommy said as he retrieved the bag from the ground and placed it up against the wall.

"That's probably going to be added to your monthly membership fees," Kat said as she reached up and lightly smacked the frayed rope.

"Probably," Tommy agreed as he retrieved his towel and wiped some sweat from his forehead. "You been here awhile, I didn't see you before?"

"For a little while," Kat replied.

"Come here often?" Tommy asked.

"Just a couple of weeks," Kat answered.

"Oh," Tommy replied.

"I promise I'm not stalking you," Kat teased. Tommy chuckled.

"Nah, I wasn't suggesting that," Tommy responded.

"Hey..." Kat began.

"Yeah?" Tommy reacted.

"The girl yesterday... that wasn't your girlfriend right?" Kat asked in reference to Kimberly.

"No, she's just a friend," Tommy replied. "She's actually dating another friend of mine."

"Oh," Kat responded. "I didn't want to get you in trouble."

"You didn't," Tommy responded.

"You do have a girlfriend or no?" Kat asked.

"I do," Tommy answered as he began to gather his things to leave.

"I mean... of course you do," Kat said, prompting Tommy to turn to her with a quizzical look on his face. "You are good looking, and are fun to talk to, it's a no-brainer."

"I appreciate that," Tommy replied. "It was fun talking to you too."

"Hey... I'm gonna hit the showers and then head out for some lunch if you wanna... wanna join?" Kat suggested. Tommy considered her for a moment.

"Thanks but I can't today, I have um... I'm meeting someone," Tommy replied. "Maybe some other time."

"Sure," Kat responded before she started backing away in the direction of the showers. "Catch you around?"

"See you," Tommy replied as he smiled at her until she turned to walk away. He then reached for his phone and sent a quick text to Trini.

(****)

Jason ducked just as a bo staff went over his head. He rolled clear and got to his feet just as the same staff went for his legs. He jumped up and over it and smiled at his opponent.

"Stay still," Trini said smiling back at him as she twirled the bo staff in her hands and stepped back.

"And get hit?" Jason asked. "Nope."

"You are no fun," Trini responded before laughing. She turned to Kim who was seated on a nearby rock enjoying the show. "You want to take a few swings at him?"

"Sure," Kim said as he jumped down and took the staff from Trini. Jason retrieved a staff from the rock wall nearby and grinned at his girlfriend.

"I feel like... this has somehow turned into two against one," Jason commented as Kim approached him with her staff.

"You got it," Trini replied as she sat down and retrieved her phone from a bag on the ground of The Pit.

"Well... at least there are no more false pretenses here," Jason said with a chuckle before he and Kim began to spar with the staffs. Trini watched and grinned.

"Come on Kim... you are holding back," Trini egged her on.

"Hey... I don't wanna hurt him," Kim replied with a smile at Jason. Trini rolled her eyes before focusing her attention on her phone to see she had a new message. She read it as the sounds of Jason and Kimberly's exchange echoed through the cavern. Trini began to smile as he got the lunch invitation from Tommy. She hopped off the rock and shoved the phone into her pocket.

"Hey..." Trini interrupted the sparring session and prompted the two to turn to her. "It appears I got a lunch date so I'm gonna book it on out of her."

"Cool," Jason replied.

"Tell Tommy I said hi," Kim responded.

"You got it," Trini replied before disappearing in a flash of yellow.

"Hey... we late for Sunday training?" Zack's voice came from the top of the stairs, prompting Jason and Kimberly to turn to see he and Billy standing there.

"Just in time..." Jason answered.

"We training with the sticks today?" Zack asked as he retrieved a staff from its spot resting against the wall.

"Yep," Jason responded.

"Each other or holograms?" Zack questioned.

"Since I've been getting beat up, let's move to holograms for awhile," Jason replied with a laugh and wink at Kim.

"Works for me," Zack said as the four lined up to face off with some hologram representations of the Putties.

(****)

Zedd rose from his throne and made his way over to the burning green candle. His gaze moved past the candle to the wax that he had gathered in a container beneath it. He chuckled as he saw how full it was. He heard someone enter the room and turned to see Goldar holding a body. He motioned to a table on the other side of the candle.

"Is she dead?" Zedd asked.

"Yes," Goldar answered as he put the body down and stepped back.

"Oh well," Zedd said.

"Can you bring her back?" Goldar questioned. Zedd moved to stand over the body.

"No..." Zedd answered, he then motioned to the candle. "But it can."