A/N: The evil Ranger part of the story continues. Final part of this arc. Also includes Tommy and Kim getting a little bit of payback elsewhere and Mama D's charade ends.

A/N 2: I own nothing. Power Rangers once belonged to Saban, then they went to Disney, now they belong to Saban again.

Chapter 27: Red With Evil VII

Saturday, Oct. 9, 2004

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

"Zordon, surely you can't be serious about waiting to tell the Rangers first thing in the morning," Hayley said. "Caroline is just barely hanging on. If she dies tonight and Kim comes down in the morning and finds out, the blood will be on our hands."

"Fear not, Hayley, I have that covered," Zordon said, as he walked over to the older woman, magically called for a cot, and when it appeared, placed Caroline on it, then magically mumbled some incoherent things and suddenly Caroline briefly glowed white, then the glow died down although she was still encased in a white colored field.

"Hold on to that energy, Mrs. Hart-Dumas. You shall not die," Zordon said as he stepped back.

"That is a stasis field and as long as she stays within the boundaries of that field she will be OK until we can get this situation rectified," Zordon said.

"Zordon, I've got something," Jen said as she looked up from her laptop. While Zordon had been busy putting Caroline in stasis, Hayley had decided to call Wes and Jen back in.

"In these files, Adrianna left a note for herself, never thinking that someone else would find it," Jen said.

"And?" Wes looked at his girlfriend.

"It's almost exactly like the Angelique/Contemptra situation," Jen said, her face grimacing as she did so. "Mama D is only able to shape shift into Kimberly's mother because of the bracelet she wears on her left arm. Once that bracelet is destroyed, she can no longer take that form and the real Caroline should regain all mental and physical facilities."

"This is great news indeed," Zordon said. "However, I must run an errand briefly. This is part of why we must wait until the morning to deal with the problem as a team. I must go retrieve Pierre right now and bring him here before Mama D suspects what is going on."

Zordon prepared to teleport, but at that moment the computer beeped.

"Incoming transmission," Hayley said. "Patching it through."

When the transmission came up, Divina's eyes misted over just a bit.

There, on the screen, was the man she once loved with all her heart and soul until it had all been ripped away from her.

Another dream shattered and broken by the one known as Mama D.

"Hello, Zordon," Trey of Triforia said. "I have been watching these battles you have been waging and have been listening to what's been going on with the Crane's mother."

"I am not surprised Mama D did this to her. She loves interfering in relationships and spoiling people's lives...lives for it. It is for that reason I am asking if I can be of assistance to your cause once again."

"You never need to ask to assist us Trey," Zordon said. "What is it that you propose?"

"Let me go get Pierre instead. I can cloak Pyramidas in France until the time is right and then bring him here," Trey said. "You don't need to be putting yourself in harm's way. Besides, it's payback time for what happened to me."

"You haven't forgotten, have you?" Divina said.

At that, Trey visibly flinched inside Pyramidas and underneath the helmet, tears began to prick his eyes.

"No I haven't," Trey said. "We may not be together any longer, but she still ruined what was going to be a special day. I've been waiting for this day for years."

"Very well," Zordon said. "Do what you will, just don't get yourself hurt or put the rest of us in danger."

Sunday, Oct. 10, 2004

7:45 a.m.

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

"An emergency? At this hour of the morning? Zordon has to be crazy, right?" Kimberly said to Tommy before they prepared to head down into the Lair, wondering just what awaited them downstairs.

"Well, we can't ignore the warning," Tommy said. Just at that very moment, the house shook just a bit, and Tommy rushed to the window.

"That's...that's Pyramidas..." Tommy said.

"That means Trey is here for some reason," Kimberly said. "I'm not sure whether I like or dislike it."

"Let's go downstairs in the meantime and see what Zordon wants," Tommy said.

They weren't even all the way down the stairs when Kimberly's face turned from stoic to frightened in a nanosecond.

"Maman!" Kimberly cried in a French accent as she rushed down the stairs the second she saw her mother. It was obvious to Tommy as he walked slowly down the stairs that Kimberly's mother had been through the wringer.

She looked like she hadn't eaten in days, hadn't had any water in a long time either and her clothes had been tattered and torn a long time ago. Tommy still couldn't believe she'd survived this long.

Tommy felt a wave of pity for the older woman; Caroline and Tommy, even before the hijacking, had been up and down the road many times over, but no one deserved this.

As Kimberly fell on her knees in front of her poor mother, tears coming out of her eyes, Tommy fixed Divina with a glance.

"Was it who you thought it was?" Tommy asked.

"Yep, Mama D did it," Divina said. "The same Mama D who wrecked Trey and I's wedding many thousands of years ago."

Now Tommy understood plainly why Trey was on his way here. This wasn't about saving planets anymore, this was personal.

Paybacks were hell.

"Bitch," Tommy said. "She lost in 1997 and she's gonna lose now too."

"I take it you two want to handle that loser?" Jen said with a slight laugh.

"Yep," Kimberly said through tears. "I want to tear that woman limb from limb. She tried to destroy something special...Tommy and I will wreck everything she holds dear."

"Well, save some for me because I want a piece of her too," another voice said, Tommy knew who it was instantly.

Moments later a worn out Trey came in, clutching a sobbing, crying Pierre Dumas.

As Pierre went over to look at how awful a state his real wife was in, Tommy walked over to Trey.

"I assume Pierre knows too?" Tommy said.

"Yeah I visited with him this morning. He suspected something was up but never of this magnitude, as you may expect," Trey said. "He's had it really rough because the fake Caroline's being a real bitch to him."

"I can imagine," Tommy said. "Now the question is, how do we unmask that bitch?"

Jen came up and whispered something in Tommy's ear and Tommy nodded.

"Bracelet on her left arm," Tommy said. "They never were very good about hiding their weaknesses from Rangers."

"It can wait 24 hours," Zordon said. "You two are in no shape to go on such a dangerous mission. You need a day to let the news sink in, then you can go unmask Mama D. Let her be confused as to why Pierre is gone, then you can hit her tomorrow."

Kimberly glumly nodded and so did Tommy. As much as they wanted to pay Mama D back, they knew they were in no shape mentally to fight right now.

Zordon then turned to Pierre, right as he stood up from looking at his wife in such a sad state. Fear and sadness clearly crossed Pierre's face and tears rained from his eyes.

"I am so sorry you had to find out about Kimberly being a Power Ranger through such tragic circumstances," Zordon said sorrowfully. "I am Zordon, Kimberly's mentor since I chose her to defend the Earth in 1993. Please understand that neither she nor the other Rangers could reveal their identities to anyone except for circumstances like this."

"Cherie is a tough young woman to have put up with as much as she has. I can only imagine how tough it is for her and all of you to keep that secret, but I agree of the dangers if something like that ever got out," Pierre remarked. "I heard about what happened at the Scott family funeral and how the person I thought was my wife acted. I wondered what had become of her."

"Thank the high heavens she has that young man," Pierre said sparing a glance at Tommy, who managed a small smile. At least, it seemed he had Pierre's respect. "At this point I'm sure that he and all of your family is the only thing keeping Cherie sane."

"You must understand that we have made enemies far and wide simply because we make a habit of embarrassing them or those close to them," Kimberly said. "It's a low blow to shapeshift into a fake of Maman, but they'll do anything to win. Those who hate us are obsessed with destroying us."

"It doesn't matter though because in 24 hours Mama D won't be able to do that anymore. I'd break her limb from limb now but Caroline needs her full health back and we need my Red Ranger back. Those are the two most important priorities at this point," Tommy said.

"You cut your hair," Pierre remarked at Tommy. "The first time I saw you, you were wearing that ponytail."

"Well, I have a job now," Tommy said. "Gotta, you know, look professional and all. Speaking of which, I need to go grade papers. Maybe that will actually be an escape."

After Tommy left, Kimberly turned to Pierre and said, "He'll come back in an hour and say he hates it, but I love him anyways and he's got a job to do."

That got a laugh out of Pierre and everyone else. But already, the pressure the Rangers had been feeling was lelssening.

As the day went on, everyone began feeling better and better about themselves despite the grimness of the situation. They were also fortunate that Adrianna was still too wrapped up in having fun with her top warrior (well, for now anyways) that she didn't notice the prized cargo that had suddenly gone missing.

The day off was just what the Rangers needed.

The sudden change of scenery and being able to meet the generations of Rangers, in spite of seeing his real wife in such a pitiful state, had lifted Pierre's spirits somewhat too. No way would the real Caroline Hart-Dumas would have sought to split these friends apart as the fake one did.

Everyone also discussed a plan that would successfully, they believed, unmask Mama D for who she really was. There was some debate about whether Pierre should go back but he believed he should stay at the Oliver home for now, because the longer he stayed away, the more it would draw the fake Caroline out.

Which was exactly what the Rangers wanted.

Oct. 11, 2004

4:30 p.m local time

Paris, France

Even though the fake Caroline Hart-Dumas didn't like Pierre, she had to admit, she liked having him answer to her every whim.

It was like an addiction, which was nothing new for the space pirate masquerading as Kimberly's mother. The more power she got, the more she craved. It was fun making Pierre do things he didn't want to do.

That's why, when she woke up Sunday morning and didn't find Pierre, and he didn't turn up that day, she thought, "Maybe if I go to the stupid police department here and put out an APB, surely they will be able to find him in this stupid place."

So that's where she was on this Monday, before going back to take care of the duties that needed to be done at the Dumas brownstone including having her extravagant dinner, she was going to see if she couldn't nip this in the bud.

She was almost there when suddenly, a pink laser blast came from out of nowhere, just missing her and more importantly, the bracelet on her left arm.

"That was close," she thought. In no way could she ever let anything destroy her secret weapon.

Before she could think anymore, another laser blast, this time gold, just missed her again as she ducked her head.

"What the..." she thought.

Before she could think anything more, she was suddenly grabbed and lifted off the ground. She tried to let go, but the restraints that were holding her were pretty tight.

As she got higher and higher into the air, she struggled harder and harder to get free, but found it was no use. Finally looking up, she stared in horror. Her worst nightmare come true.

She was looking up into the eyes of an angry White Falconzord. Seven years later, that damned Thomas Oliver was finally going to have his chance for revenge.

As she looked around while being carried thousands of feet into the air, she saw an even more distressing sight. The Crane Ninjazord flanked by Pyramidas.

The three lives she'd tried to ruin, or had ruined, more than any other, had come to collect their payment.

Hundreds of miles from Paris, on the northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the fake Caroline was finally dumped on the sand, hitting the ground hard...fortunately for her it was a soft landing.

Before she could think to do anything more, Trey appeared before her in a flash of gold, ready to attack.

"Now drop that disguise, faker," Trey said. "It's time for a Gold Rush!"

As Trey fired his blast and the fake Caroline tried to shield herself, she didn't notice Tommy and Kim sneaking in from either side of her, Blade Blasters ready to fire. Those blasts hit the fake Caroline's bracelet, destroying it and her disguise instantly. Moments later, Trey's blast nailed Mama D full on, sending her flying across the sand.

Picking herself up off the sand, Mama D glared at the three Rangers who had come to destroy, and successfully had destroyed, her charade.

"You three," she growled.

"Yeah, us three," Kimberly said. "I must say, Mama D, meeting the real you for the first time, your face is slightly better than Mesogog. Not a compliment, by the way."

"Too kind, dear Crane, too kind," Mama D said. "I suppose, dear Rangers, that you have come to collect the revenge you so desire on me. Too bad I'm not willing to cooperate."

"You will cooperate if we have anything to say about it," another voice said as four more Rangers, Blue, Yellow, Red and Black appeared.

"We've got a situation," Adam whispered to Tommy. "Adrianna realized her cargo went missing and she's taking it out on Reefside. Conner and her whole army."

"Right, let's get this taken care of quickly," Tommy said as the six Ninjas and Trey stood before a hideous enemy who had tried to wreck their lives.

"More of you?" Mama D said. "When I destroy the Ninja Rangers, this will be my greatest feat yet."

"You talk too much and we don't have time to play around with you," Rocky said. "Let's go all 1994 on her ass. Bring em together."

"Power Axe!"

"Power Bow!"

"Power Daggers!"

"Power Lance!"

"Power Sword!"

"Power Rangers!"

"White Falcon energy orb, engage! Full power!"

"It's time for a Gold Rush!"

Mama D tried to back away from the powerful blasts headed her way, but the Rangers aim was true and she was once again sent flying across the beach, and when she got up, her armor showed noticeable cracks and charring from the powerful blasts.

As of now, she knew there was no way she could win. Not today, anyways.

"This isn't over, wretched Rangers!" Mama D promised before vanishing in a flash of purple.

"Good job guys. Man she's just as ugly as she was back then," Tommy said.

"No kidding. Never thought I would see the day that a face would make the old Rita's look good," Aisha said.

"Back to the States. Let's go save Conner," Kim said.

Just before 8 a.m local time

Reefside, CA

It may have been Columbus Day in Reefside, but it was anything but a pleasant holiday for the Rangers themselves.

They had gotten a day break since Caroline's freedom, but hadn't gotten anything more. Adrianna didn't know who set Caroline free; there were many in the palace who were accusing Conner, but Adrianna vehemently denied that, not knowing that for once her soldiers were right.

Still, in retaliation, she decided to launch a full scale attack on Reefside, with, of course, Conner, Dischordia and Croonia leading the charge.

As with the other battles, the Rangers were getting tossed on their asses; Rita, Dulcea and Selena had evened the odds somewhat but against these three powerful adversaries and foot soldiers, it was an uphill fight.

Conner wanted to destroy all the Rangers, but in this fight, he'd specifically targeted Trent. It was no secret that the two had some friction while teammates and Adrianna's hypnotic mind control was taking full advantage of that.

Trent did his best but he was outmatched against someone so utterly possessed by evil and after 20 minutes of fighting, Conner kicked him in the side of the helmet which caused a visible crack.

"You're pretty pathetic, Fernandez. That girl you date probably thinks that too," Conner taunted, looking over at Selena who was doing her best to fight off four Tengas.

"I'm going to be gracious enough to spare your life if you come with me and be our prisoner," Conner said. "Admit it, Fernandez, evil is your true calling. Perhaps my Mistress will be kind enough to make a plaything out of you. It's not as bad as you think."

"Ugh, I have morals. I think I'll take a pass," Trent said as Conner kicked him viciously again.

"Suit yourself," Conner said. "Don't say I didn't warn you because you'll be dead in a few minutes."

As Conner raised his weapon for the final strike, he suddenly stopped and had to cover his ears as a shrill scream penetrated the air.

Kira's Ptera Scream. It forced Conner to back away from his prey as Kira calmly entered the battlefield. Zordon and Hayley had chosen not to send Kira out right away, to only use her as a last resort. This was a last resort.

"You made a big mistake, little girl," Conner said. "You're going to be the one to take Trent's place in the grave."

"You won't kill me if you remember who you really are," Kira said, as she calmly began luring Conner away from the rest of the villains, to where she alone could confront him.

"I know exactly who I am," Conner said. "I'm going to be the one that puts you down for good."

"No you won't, your heart's not in it," Kira said as she lifted off her helmet. "Try it, you won't do it."

"That's where you're wrong," Conner said as he charged Kira. Kira knew he would do this though, and pulled out her secret weapon.

The Red Dino Gem.

She wasn't bonded to it, but she knew that if it had the chance, it would help her do the work to bring Conner back.

"What is this, some sort of rock?" Conner said.

"This is yours, Conner. Take it, you might be surprised at what you find."

The moment Conner reluctantly took the gem, he raised his weapon to strike Kira, but suddenly screamed in pain.

Memories flooded his mind of the first day he'd met Dr. Oliver and his Ranger teammates. Of how Kira and he had grown closer and closer together in their time as Rangers and afterwards. The Shield of Trumph. And the last one...his rescue of Caroline which the gem had played a part in.

"Come on," Kira muttered as she saw the Gem try to eat away at the spell.

"Allow us to help," six new voices said. Kira breathed a sigh of relief.

"Guys, Dr. O!" Kira said. "You guys beat the crap out of Mama D?"

"Yeah, but that's not important right now. What's important is that Conner bats for the right team again. And I know just how we're going to do it," Kim said. "You played your part now it's time to play ours."

"You're sure what we talked about will work, that Conner won't end up in a coma like Dr. O did?"

"Positive, Kira," Kim said. "Zordon says that if we use our Ninjetti powers being that they are the most centered of all Ranger powers that the spell will be broken and there will be no after effects."

"Then go for it," Kira said, stepping back to give the more experienced Ninjetti room to work.

"I am the Ape, mighty and strong!"

"I am the Bear, cunning and fierce!"

"I am the Wolf, silent and sure!"

"I am the Frog, courageous in spirit!"

"I am the Crane, agile and graceful!"

"I am the Falcon, just and able! We call to the Red Dino Gem! Help return Conner McKnight to us!"

As soon as Tommy said these six words, six beams of light flowed towards the Red Dino Gem. The second it connected with the Gem, it filled the Gem, and Conner with a bright, white hot light, so bright that even Dischordia and Croonia were forced to retreat.

"Remember how we loved each other, Jock," Kira said. "Come back to me. Please."

The bright light slowly died down after a couple of minutes, the armor around Conner having dissolved to reveal him in what would have been a more normal outfit for him...a red shirt with flaming black pants.

"Kira, stand back just a moment," Tommy said as he and his Ninjetti team plus Dulcea surrounded Conner. "Close your eyes, try to reach into his soul. Does he have any trace of evil in him?"

"If there is, I don't feel it," Dulcea said. "I think we did it!"

"No, no, no no no NO!" another voice shouted. The Rangers quickly turned and saw Adrianna walking on to the battlefield and she was beyond pissed.

"You stole both my prizes and now I'm REALLY mad!"

"Oh, like you and Mama D tried to steal our dreams as kids? How you constantly try to ruin people's lives?" Tommy said, as he saw Conner regain consciousness and Kira pull him to his feet. "Too bad you're still not going to win because Conner no longer bats for you anymore."

"No, Conner please come back to me," Adrianna pleaded. The thought of losing her top warrior and someone she considered a close confidant was too much for her to bear.

"Well if you haven't heard the news, here it is. I quit," Conner said. "I'm back where I belong. Sucks to be you. By the way, your soldiers were right. The person who freed Caroline...was me. Or rather, it wasn't necessarily me, but it was this right here."

As he said this, he pointed to the red Gem he held in his hand.

"Just know this, you slimy slut," Kimberly said. "When we get in trouble, the Morphin Grid looks after our own. You have proven over and over you can't beat us so you may as well just quit."

Too angry about her misfortunes to decide what to do next, Adrianna decided to wait another time.

"You haven't seen the last of me, Rangers."

With that, she made a hasty retreat, the remaining soldiers going with her.

"Are you OK?" Kim said as she looked at Conner. The look on his face said the whole story.

"Not really, I'm not really that proud of anything I did up there," Conner said. "Unfortunately the only thing I can do is resume my normal life now. I'm telling you guys, that hypnotic love spell she's got is nasty. She did things I don't even want to mention."

"I'm sure and some day we'll get her back for that. What matters is we've got you back safe and sound. Want to morph to make it official again?" Tommy said.

"Absolutely," Conner said. "Dino Thunder, power up!"

Same Time

Adrianna Repulsa's Palace

M-51 Galaxy

It was not a good aftermath in Adrianna's palace.

They had the Rangers on their heels thanks to an evil Conner for two weeks straight and Mama D making life hell for Kimberly and yet the Rangers had slipped through again.

On days like this, the soldiers who served under Mama D and Adrianna knew it was best to leave them be. They were licking their wounds and were angry.

Needless to say, even though Adrianna and Mama D were very good friends, it was not a happy reunion.

"You know, I almost wonder if they're right, that I shouldn't just quit," Adrianna said. "They conquered the Letter problem, they rescued their friends, they got Conner back even after I treated him like a prince, and they got my trump card from me!"

"I just don't know what else there is," Adrianna finished.

"I'm with you but another opportunity will come," Mama D said. "We just have to wait patiently for the next chance."

"We'll get them eventually. They are tough I will give them that, but there are many ways to skin a cat and we know that. Be patient and wait for the next chance."

Adrianna sighed, wondering when the next chance would come.

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