5. You've Got To Have Bears

The clock ticked slowly away at the end of fifth period, and Schuyler bounced with anticipation as she waited for Chemistry to end. Today's class hadn't gone too well; she spilled liquid gallium on her and Tibby – her lab partner – not causing any harm but staining their clothes. Mr. Wilton – being the tyrant that he was – gave out a pop quiz on the periodic table, which she undoubtedly failed. And she hadn't been paying attention when he explained the experiment they would be conducting, which led to Tibby yelling and whining at her for not knowing what to do and making her do all the work. She spent most of the period photographing the chemicals and the classroom, however, so she was one to talk. As such, after all the staining, berating, and the failing, Schuyler couldn't leave the room fast enough. Still, there was a more positive reason she was so eager to leave: the Temporibus staff met during sixth period.

"The issue's gonna be finished by today," Tibby sneered. "You got anything to offer?"

"Actually, I do – I wrote it all yesterday." Schuyler beamed with pride. "It's pretty much a live report on the – you know, you'll find out when I pitch it."

Tibby rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She lifted her camera to her face. "Could you move out of the way for a sec? The way the light is hitting the shades is so inspiring."

Schuyler groaned as she learned forward so Tibby could indulge in her craft, but as she glanced at the clock, there was only a minute left. Mr. Wilton was talking about a project or something of the sort; she simply tuned him out. What she did hear was the sharp, off-key ring of the bell. In her rush to escape, she tripped and fell over a stool, sending several students toppling onto her. They all groaned and cursed as they lifted themselves up, and Mr. Wilton marched over with a stern look on his face,

"I'm appalled at you all – you should know to exercise proper safety precautions!" He barked. "Be prepared for a quiz on lab saftey sometime soon!" He was met with even louder groaning.

Schuyler scrambled to her feet, and fast-walked out of the class and down the hallway. She nearly had a collision with a couple of teachers and a guy carrying a large stack of books; she considered it a miracle that she managed to duck just in time. She finally reached her locker – one on the bottom, nearest to the water fountain – and she sighed in relief as she fell to her knees and twisted the combination. Unfortunately, it refused to open.

"Oh no – oh please, not now," she muttered, pounding her fist on the door. "My article's in there goddammit!" She retried the combination, but once again, it wouldn't budge.

"Well well; g'day geek." Bulk hovered over her, Skull standing behind him and chewing his gum like a cow. "Having some trouble?"

Schuyler glared daggers at them. "I'm a little too busy for your insults, fellas." She pounded harder on the door, releasing her ill feelings toward the pair.

"Insults? We wanna do no such thing!" he said, feigning offense. He looked at her locker, then nodded at Skull once. Skull got on his knees, directly in front of it, and bashed his head against it. Astonishingly, it opened.

"Uh...th-thank you," Schuyler forced herself to say, getting out her grammar textbook for seventh period. As soon as she dug her article out and placed it on top of the book, Bulk swiped it up and practically pressed it against his face. As Skull tried to get a better look, his head injury caused him to lose his balance and fall to the floor. He got back up swiftly and brushed himself off, attempting to look suave.

"Hey!" she yelped, getting up and attempting to snatch it away from them – but they somehow bested her by simply moving it away every time she reached for it. "Give it back. I have to hand that in right now!"

"My little bro was about to be taken out of...blah blah blah, never see him again, blah blah...then suddenly, they were there. The Power-" Skull paused, as both his and Bulk's jaws dropped. "Bulkie, there could be clues in here about who the Power Rangers are!"

"No really, dimwit; don't you know I was thinking that a minute ago?" Bulk clenched the papers in his hands, then sent Schuyler a sharp look. "We open your locker, you give us your article. Fair trade." With that, they ran away, and Schuyler had no choice but to follow them.

She chased them up the stairs, into classrooms, to the outdoor patio, and through nearly every hallway for the passing period and a good ten minutes into class. She hadn't exercised so vigorously in...well, ever; she felt like she was going to pass out, if not sleep for a hundred years. It was a miracle that she caught up with them when the boys reached the library. They were clearly exhausted as well; what had been the point of all this anyway?

"Give. Back. My. Article." Her voice was barely above a whisper. She took off her left sneaker and whacked them with all the strength she had left. They whimpered – both out of pain and her imprinting footprints all over their jackets. They were the first to surrender as they slid down the nearest wall, sprawling out on the dirty linoleum. Bulk released the papers from his grasp, and Schuyler scooped them up triumphantly. She rounded the corner, and leaned against the wall for a rest.

After a few minutes of relaxation, she made the long trek toward the staff headquarters. The door, however, was locked.

"Not again..." she muttered, sparing a knock. Luckily, Lilly poked her head out only a few seconds later.

"Great; you showed up," she said, only slightly sarcastic. She took one long look at Schuyler and grimaced. "You look like hell."

"I've been through hell. Listen, I wrote the-"

"Ah nope – not now! We printed the last of the sports editions today. And you know the rules if you're late on Distribution Day: you have to distribute them to all the slots." She disappeared into the room for a moment, and Schuyler facepalmed.

"Getting all the papers out is gonna take all period. I'm never gonna get to give them my article..." After a minute, the door swung wide open, and Lilly had to catch it with her foot as she came forward holding a stack of newspapers that nearly covered her eyes.

"Good luck, but maybe you'll learn some self-discipline from this!" she said enthusiastically as she handed off the stack. She shut the door, and Schuyler struggled to balance it and keep her own balance. Her first destination was the newspaper rack by the main staircase. The benefit was that she could drop off most of the papers there. The cons were that it was all the way on the other side of the school, and the papers all had to be positioned perfectly – otherwise Melvin would throw a hissy fit. With a sigh, she made her way slowly through the hallways, stalling every time the pile tilted or if she felt she was going to fumble. She even took a wrong turn and was lost for a good while; it seemed the weight was enough to throw off her sense of direction as well.

Relief washed over her when she finally reached the hallway leading to the staircase – coincidentally where her locker was. Perhaps after she got rid of some of the newspapers, she could try banging her head against it. Her frustration peaked when the load teetered dangerously to the side; she nearly fell down with it. By chance, a brightly-dressed group of kids entered the hallway, and they were visibly concerned with what she assumed was her predicament.

"Jeez, lemme help you," the boy dressed in black said, rushing to her aid immediately. He took a good half of the stack into his arms.

"Gosh, thank you so-" She looked up to address him, but she froze completely when she saw his face. He was the most adorable boy she had ever seen. "...much." She spent a few moments drinking in his features, only vaguely hearing his friends yell at him to hurry up.

"Uh..." the boy finally said, looking uncomfortable. "Where are you taking these?"

"Huh?" She was completely out of it, until the voices finally cut through her dreamy haze. "Oh...um...the wooden thing over there." Her gaze was fixed on him all of the twenty seconds it took him to carry the papers over, set them down, and walk away with his friends, smiling at her as he passed.

As she was setting up the newspapers, he was the only thing on her mind. She had even forgotten about her bad day and her article. "Man, do I regret missing school for two days..." she muttered. "He is just...damn. Damn." When she filled the stand, she reclined and laid on the floor for awhile. "He's cute and he helped me...I have no chance. Still...there are more nice people here than there are dicks." Her face lit up for only a moment. "Oh who am I kidding; I'll probably just forget about him by tomorrow. ...Nope; I am a teenager. That is impossible."

After she traveled to all the other empty racks in the school – which were all positioned relatively close together, so it wasn't as much of a pain getting out the rest of the papers. When she was finished, she practically floated back to the classroom, and was met at the door by Melvin.

"Took you long enough." He sniffled. "So you have your article?"

"I do." She waved the papers in front of his face.

"This should be promising." He leered and ushered her in. Lilly stood behind his desk – waiting for the pitch – while the rest of the staff was examining and debating over the issue's mock-up. Melvin took his seat, and Lilly adopted a look of encouragement.

"Go for it, Reeves." She said, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

Schuyler cleared her throat. "So, Melvin, you were so urgent about getting the interview with the delegates the night of the reveal because no other media outlet in town would be able to cover it so fast, right?"

"But of course." He stuck his nose up. "We would have succeeded if you hadn't screwed up."

"I was attacked by nature, okay? How many times do I have to say it?" She took a deep breath. "Anyways, you know what else the news fails to report on live?"

"Bear attacks," Melvin said with a completely straight face. Lilly raised a brow and gave him a judging glance.

"Um, no; there aren't any bears in Angel Grove." Schuyler chuckled nervously.

"Bear attacks can happen anywhere; even a dunce knows that."

"What about in the arctics?" said Lilly, trying to hold in laughter.

"Polar bears. Duh."

Schuyler tapped her foot impatiently. "Melvin, I'm trying to talk about my article, and you start going off on bears; you're being really unprofessional."

He prickled and was quiet once more. "If there is one thing I'm not, it's unprofessional." Still, he did look a little embarrassed.

"Whatever you say. Alright, so, the subject that they fail to report on live is the Power Rangers." Lilly ears perked. "The papers and the nightly news always give a generic after-action report the day after or two days later. Hell, the news uses the same line to lead into their reports. There has been a reason for that; no one's ever seen these confrontations take place, and whatever source they do get a summary of what happened from fails to provide specifics. So the people of Angel Grove are left mostly in the dark about the Rangers; we just know that they're our heroes and they go out and save our lives pretty much every day." She smiled smugly. "No one saw it live – until yesterday." She handed the papers to Melvin. "What I have there is roughly six pages recounting how my brother's teddy got turned into a monster and how the Power Rangers saved him from getting kidnapped. I included everything I could remember – a good ninety-eight percent of what happened, I'd say – and used sensory language to really make the readers feel as if they're watching the fight. At least that's what I hope they'll get out of it." She swiped some moisture off her forehead, relieved she managed to get through all of that without gasping for air.

Lilly's eyes were wide with excitement as she leaned over her seat to read the story; Melvin was skimming it, but he certainly didn't look bored. "It appears your opinion of the Power Rangers has changed already, hrm?" Schuyler just shrugged. "...As much as it pains me to say it, you may have something here, Schuyler." With a huff, he held her sheets out to her. "We'll print it as the main editorial; you're welcome."

She sputtered. "R-really?" She squealed and jumped in place. "Oh, thank you, Melvin! I'm sure this will get more readers; I'm sure!" She ran to the nearest computer and began to retype it.

"That was awfully nice of you, Glauss," said Lilly, getting up and stretching, looking over at Schuyler amusedly. "You are Glauss, right?"

He sighed and put his head in his hands. "If this doesn't get us more readers, I don't know what will." His expression suddenly changed from distress to optimism. "Bears!" He rushed to another computer.

"Yep; still him." With a light chuckle, she tossed some hair over her shoulder and went to oversee the mock-up.

The Cremelle Airport – serving both Angel Grove and Stone Canyon – was bustling on this particular Wednesday. Not that there were many people going or coming in; the locals just wanted to see their chosen delegates off to a safe flight.

The three had been sitting in the waiting area for about an hour now – still two to go. The supportive crowd had dissipated by now, and only a couple of stragglers and Ernie still hung around. "The food's gonna be great in Switzerland," he said, grinning. "And just think of all the culture you'll get to taste in the other countries you'll visit!"

"Yeah...it's gonna be great," said Jason, with only a little bit of enthusiasm. Zack and Trini looked just as half-hearted.

"What's up?" Ernie asked, sitting down next to Zack. "You guys should be happy; this is the opportunity of a lifetime."

"We are," said Trini. "We're just gonna miss Angel Grove a lot."

"Oh nonsense." Ernie smiled at her sympathetically. "All birds have to fly away from the nest some time and explore the world. This is an amazing experience, and it's gonna turn you all into mature young adults. So don't worry about the ol' nest; it'll be waiting for you for when you come back."

Their expressions shifted to sentimentality. "Man, Ernie; you always know what to say," Zack said, clapping his hand on Ernie's shoulder. The bittersweet moment only lasted for a few seconds before a commotion began outside. The trio rushed to the large window looking over the entrance, only to find a monster terrorizing the civilians. Upon closer inspection, they realized it looked awfully familiar.

"Zack...isn't that one of the badges you gave out to your class last night?" Trini questioned, sparing a cautious look at him. "...Weren't you wearing one in?"

He looked down at his chest, and his eyes widened. "Damn! I didn't pin it secure enough!"

"It's too late to worry about that now," Jason urged, pounding his fist in his palm. "We have to get down there."

"Jason, I don't know if that's such a good idea." Trini rubbed her arms. "We can't just stand around and do nothing, but at the same time, we can't do much without our powers."

"We could try," Zack suggested. "I'm responsible, anyway."

Trini sighed. "Alright, let's try." They ran as fast as they could through the terminals, down the escalators, and outside. They slowly approached the giant pentagonal badge, which was wearing a brown Stetson, a tribal poncho, and cowboy boots.

"This town ain't big enough for the four of us," he drawled in what was perhaps the worst Southern accent known to man, "which is why Mister Zedd sent me down to give you buckaroos a mighty fine run outta town."

They saw their steely glares reflected in the oddly-reflective emblem. "If there's anyone who's going to be run out, it's you," said Jason, cocking his fist.

"Oh, I'm rattlin' in my boots," the monster teased, chuckling. "I'd ask ya to draw, but you got no weapons no more." He chuckled even louder, took out his blaster, and shot at them twice. They were hit hard and fell to the ground.

"That hurt almost as much as his double negative," Trini groaned out, clutching her arm as she tried to lift herself up.

"Okay, we're not equipped for this," said Zack, managing to sit up and help her.

"I know this is tough without our powers, but as long as we're the only ones who can defend against this guy, we have to do our best. Standing and getting shot at while some innocent person can get away is good enough." Jason stood. "Do your worst, monster!"

"It's Sheriff Reflector to you, varmint," he yipped, galloping toward him. Zack and Trini stood quickly, and they began to brawl. While their hits weren't that effective on him, they managed to get a few good ones in, and even knocked him to the floor at one point.

When he finally reached for his blaster, Zack beat him to the punch and yanked it away. "Whoops; think fast!" he goaded, and fired. The sheriff was knocked to the ground once again, this time with a crack in his badge. "There's a new man in town now."

"Gettin' wise with me, youngin?" He got up, wabbling a little. "Well gee, it looks like it's your lucky day!" He reached under the poncho and pulled out three horseshoes. He threw them at the trio, and each one of them hit their abdomens like heavy punches, and while they managed to stay on their feet, it took all of their willpower to do so. "That's what happens when ya try to show up the law." He grabbed his blaster and shot it up at the sky.

A chorus of "HIYA"s came from behind him as six pairs of feet kicked him in the back, sending him stumbling forward. "I'm gonna fill up the county jail at this point!" He laughed crazily as he faced the Rangers.

"Don't you know it's dangerous to play with guns like that?" said Tommy, charging at him and striking his wrist with Saba. It fell right off, still holding the gun.

"Hey! That was my craps hand!" He pulled out six more horseshoes and flung them at the Rangers, who all managed to dodge them effortlessly. "Doggonnit, you ain't playin fair like your comrades!"

Kimberly and Billy ran to help the trio. "Are you guys okay?" Kimberly asked, helping Trini straighten up.

"We were wondering when you guys were gonna show up," said Zack, smirking.

"This guy isn't too tough, but he's a pain in the ass," Jason remarked, cracking his neck.

"I find his accent and use of sterotypical Western jargon most offensive," said Billy, releasing his hold on Zack and Jason.

"Well, we're gonna go take him out." Kimberly stopped as she and Billy were running back to the others. "...One last takedown as a team?" She held her hand out to them.

The three looked at each other, then readily took her hand all at once. "Let's do it," said Trini. They joined the fray, and with all nine Rangers laying into him, the sheriff didn't stand a chance. After only a few minutes, he was reduced to dragging himself across the ground to move.

"Let's take him down with our Power Blasters!" Rocky called. The eight of them sans Tommy un-holstered their blasters, Jason, Zack, and Trini placing their hands on Rocky's, Adam's, and Aisha's respectively.

"Power Rangers!" They yelled in perfect unison. "Fire!" And fire they did, Sheriff Reflector being reduced to a cracked badge in an awesome spectacle of smoke and sparks.

"Well, that's one novelty I'm never buying again," said Zack, picking it up and throwing it into the trash bin nearby. With a laugh, the Rangers powered down and walked with them to the waiting area. For another two hours, they sat together and talked about the past, present, and their hopes for the immediate future. Their hearts grew heavy when the woman working the P.A. system announced that their flight was now boarding.

"Well...off we go," Jason said, actually looking a little glassy-eyed. Kimberly noticed this immediately – large crocodile tears already rolling down her face – and initiated a group hug for the original six. Rocky, Adam, and Aisha stood awkwardly off to the side, unsure whether they should let the moment be private or look upon the love, until Kimberly motioned for them to join.

They stood there for a minute that went by far too quick for their liking.

"We'll be back in a couple months, a year at most," Trini said, choking up. She sent an especially forlorn look to Billy, who returned it almost as intensely. "We'll call and write and everything."

"Please do," Kimberly slurred, the lump in her throat preventing her from speaking clearly. "I'd hug you guys again, but I wouldn't let go." Tommy hugged each of them for her – the one with Jason notably being the longest – then wrapped his arms around her, giving her something to hold.

Billy went next, Jason and Zack reminding him to practice and punching him playfully. Trini hugged him with all her might, and – in a move that surprised him everyone – kissed him long on the cheek, causing them both to blush. Kimberly's quiet sobs stopped for just a moment as she processed what she saw. To avoid any more awkward silence, Trini turned to the Stone Canyon trio, with the other two following suit.

"You'll be amazing," Trini said simply. Aisha grinned and pulled her into a hug.

"I wish we had gotten to know you guys better," said Adam, frowning. "We'll be missing out."

"Hey, you guys can write and call us too! We wanna hear how things are going for you, and learn more about you," Zack said eagerly, clasping Adam's hand and pulling him into a brohug. Jason and Rocky looked at each other, shrugged, and hugged as well.

"Go do great things for world peace...and stuff," said Rocky, causing everyone to laugh lightly. "What, I was being serious!"

The P.A. called for final boarding, and the three lifted up their bags and suitcases. Jason held his hand to his forehead in a salute, Zack bowed, and Trini just smiled.

"May the power protect you guys – always," said Tommy, and with one last look, the three were gone. The air was dismal, but the small spark of opportunity and new beginnings managed to give them enough willpower to leave the building and go to the Youth Center for some much-needed pick me ups.

Meanwhile, a mother and her two young sons were arriving at the airport with an excessive amount of luggage. While the mother was trying to haul the bags onto a cart – silently hoping that an attendant would come along and help her – her sons were running around and getting in her way.

"Tyler! Dougie! Please play somewhere else, mommy's trying to carry these heavy bags," she pleaded, but they continued to play. She lost her footing and collided with the garbage bin, causing it to fall and the contents inside to spill out onto the ground. "Boys! See what happens when you don't listen!"

Dougie gasped and crouched down in front of the garbage. "I'm sorry, mommy."

Tyler looked less submissive. "Yeah, sorry," he forced himself to say.

"It's okay." She stopped dragging her things and huffed. "I'm gonna go find an attendant. Stay out of the can, boys!"

Dougie had been leafing through it, but stopped. Until he saw something shiny. "Hey, Tyler, look what I found!" He pulled it out and examined as his brother walked up behind him.

"What is it?" Tyler asked, looking at it in wonder.

"It's a badge! For playing police!" He took off the dirt residue with his thumb, then pouted. "Aw, it's cracked."

"Eh, we'll make it work," Tyler assured him, pulling him up by the arm. Suddenly, the badge began to shimmer and glow, and in a flash of light, the boys were on the ground, unconscious. The badge clattered to the floor, still glowing. In another flash, it disappeared.

A/N: Oh, torturing innocent children for the purposes of exposition; I love it! And with this chapter, the Classic era ends; damn peace conference. Also, a shout-out to my new reviewers; you are beautiful people. As always, please R & R, folks! It calms the rabid plot bunnies!