A/N: The aftermath of this battle now begins. A lot of anguish is involved in this chapter.

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

Chapter 28: Sorrow

Oct. 11, 2004

8:45 a.m local time

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

Despite the fact that they'd thwarted another plot...one of Mama D and Adrianna's most nefarious plots by the way, there were a lot of sorrowful faces in the Oliver household 45 minutes after their latest battle.

Despite the fact Kimberly had gotten her mother back, her real mother (who was doing better, by the way), the toll the plot had taken on the Rangers was very obvious.

Not to mention the fresh mental scars that Conner had to heal from thanks to Adrianna's wicked love spell, lust spell, whatever one wished to call it.

There were a lot of sad faces...no victory in many a year felt more hollow. Eventually, they all knew, they'd feel better, but what they needed was time.

The bad guys (or girls) had lost this round, but they'd certainly taken their pound of flesh. Not just recently with Conner, but for the last seven years with the older veterans.

As bad as Conner's situation was, Kimberly's was far worse. She'd had to bear the brunt of a devious, cunning vixen who had disguised herself as Kimberly's mother and had driven a wedge through the team that would be slow to heal. Her real mother was in such a pitiful state too that it made things doubly worse.

Even with Tommy holding her and taking the brunt of her sadness, Kimberly was inconsolable.

"I'm not sure how much more I can take of this," Kimberly sobbed uncontrollably. "Tommy, why can't they just LEAVE US ALONE? What did we ever do to deserve that?"

"I'd give you my standard answer, that being they just hate us for who we are, Kim, but I'm not sure I even have a real good answer for this," Tommy said. "I admit I was fired up because we had business to take care of but now that it's all over and we're going through the aftermath, it sure seems hollow."

"If our eventual kid ends up in the Power Ranger business, I'm going to lose it, Tommy," Kim said. "There's no way any kid of mine could be involved in this cutthroat stuff!"

"I get that, but you know we don't have a choice, Kim," Tommy said. "There's a very good chance if we have a kid that the kid will end up probably being a pretty powerful Ranger. We don't choose who get to be Rangers, the Power does."

All the Rangers in the room were watching the two of them. Even Conner forgot about his situation for the moment and watched Tommy and Kimberly very closely. Tommy was the man who had taught him everything he knew and Kimberly was very likely going to be his wife at a very near date.

He had gone through a bad two weeks there was no doubt about it. Probably would still have more consequences to deal with. But from what he could tell, his mentor(s) had gone through hell for seven years and had still survived.

It didn't make things any better, but it put things into proper perspective. Plus, Kira had an arm wrapped around his shoulder for comfort and protection. As long as he had Kira, who never gave up on him, he felt secure about facing whatever travails may come.

Elsewhere, Jason and Trini were having a private conversation of their own.

"If I went through the same hell that they went through, I'm not sure I could stand it," Trini said.

"I know. All because that three headed snake couldn't get it done against the Ninjetti so his wife and her friend, in a fit of rage, decide to take it out on Tommy and the rest of us," Jason said. "I'm telling you, when this is over, I'm not sure I want to do this again. There are too many cutthroat individuals to deal with for my liking. I've done this for 10 years and I think I've about had it."

"Uh, don't say that around Conner. Look at him," Trini said. Indeed, though he'd been through his own hell, Conner's face was forming more determination than quit. "I think if you said you're ready to hang it up, to his face, he might fight you."

"Kid's got his head on straight, and really doesn't know any better," Jason said. "He went through his own two weeks of hell but he realizes it's nothing compared to what the lovebirds have been through."

"And besides, who's going to stop those cutthroat individuals if we hang it up now?" Trini said. "You remember what Dulcea said; the Ninjetti powers stay forever."

Jason dropped his head in acceptance, even as Trini embraced him lovingly. His wife was right, and he knew it.

Other Rangers throughout the room, old and young, we're having similar conversations. This even extended to the mentors of the team, and even some of the parents. Tommy knew his parents were here, as he spared a quick glance over at where they were talking to Zordon and Hayley. He could tell they weren't happy either. He was right.

"I'm telling you, I've taken self defense classes, was on the San Antonio police force for nearly 15 years, and spent a few years on the police force in Phoenix," Joshua Oliver said to Zordon and Hayley. "I have no love for Caroline Hart, but if someone tried to do to me what they did to her, I'd get my pound of flesh. You can count on that."

"I'd get mine too. They'd do that crap over my dead body," Melissa Oliver added. "Even to Kimberly's mother, that was low and my blood is boiling."

"Eventually, things will heal," Zordon said. "It's going to take time, but things will heal, trust me. There's going to be a lot of anguish in the room."

"There is one bit of good news in all this," David said. "Kim won't have to go to trial for this crap. I talked to her real mother and brought her up to speed. Caroline of course wants the trial dropped and Kim agreed after she got back so I'm making Caroline pay a good chunk of change, and that will be the end of the lawsuit."

"That is very good news, thank you David," Hayley said. "Still, they got their pound of flesh and it will be a while before we heal back together as a whole."

11:30 a.m. local time

Most of the Rangers had gone their separate ways, including Conner and Kira who had chosen to go back to Loyola Marymount to continue their schooling.

This left Kimberly with a lot of time and solitude that was desperately needed.

Time to go see her mother, who was slowly regaining her strength. It had been heartbreaking to see her mother, no matter the friction that had developed between mother and daughter, in such a pitiful state when Conner had brought her back home.

As bad as everyone felt about things, quite possibly no one felt worse than Caroline. The past number of years in her miserable, awful state had taught her a very resounding lesson.

That was, be careful of your actions because you never knew who was watching. Mama D and Adrianna had not only been watching the friction that had developed between Kimberly, her mother, and Tommy but they both had used it to their advantage. Not only that, they'd almost destroyed the planet because of it.

Granted, not all of it was her fault, she couldn't have known that villains hellbent on destroying everything beautiful were watching, but to her, that wasn't an excuse.

The time mother and daughter were spending together was almost like a healing process, in a way.

"I can't tell you how awful I feel right now, Cherie," Caroline said in a broken French accent. "If I'd have known that you all do what you do for the last 10 years or so, then I can guarantee I would take back so many of my actions."

"Unfortunately, htere's no way to do that now," she continued. "Because of my actions, I let myself get sucked into this. What happened to me up there, in such a cold, awful, lonely state for so many years, I feel it's almost karma, if you will."

"The whole what goes around comes around thing?" Kimberly said.

"Exactly. While I couldn't have known that villains were watching us, that's just a cop out in my view. At some point, you have to be held responsible for your actions," Caroline said.

"And because of your actions, you feel you almost cost us everything," Kimberly said. "Years of our lives we'll never get back, almost lost the Earth, etc."

"Correct. Because of me, you were separated from not just Tommy, but your friends as well except for Jason and Trini," Caroline said.

"Yeah and I have a gut feeling the only reason that faker allowed me to see Jason and Trini was because she thought some day she could capture Jason and make him fall under her power like Divatox did," Kimberly said.

"As far as my feelings on Tommy, we've been up and down the road with our animosity for years, but my God, Cherie, what a mistake that was for me to decry him all these years," Caroline said. "The way I see it today, he's the only thing that keep you sane with all the crap you guys have been through."

"He's the only one who still believed in us all these years. That being him, me and the rest of us, that we were so much more than a team that saved the world," Kim said. "We were a family."

Those words cut Caroline like a knife. Almost like salt in the wound.

Perhaps if she had done a better job, maybe Kim wouldn't see Zordon as so much of a surrogate parent. She (and Ken, her previous husband) had done a horrible job as her parents, there was no doubt about that.

"That family made you so much more than you would have been had you not put on that uniform," Caroline said. "It just hurts me to know that because of me, you had to lean on your friends and Zordon to be your family, but now more than ever, I understand."

"I'd like to think there's room for a clean slate, though," Kimberly said. "Let's be real, not all of this is your fault. You have your faults and I get that, but you're still my mother and I still need you."

"Not all of it is my fault, but still I let myself get sucked into this," Caroline said, shaking her head.

"While that may be true, our real problem is Adrianna and Mama D and clearly they are in cahoots, have been since the beginning," Kimberly said. "We'll need to be unified more than ever, which means, I'll need your support if we're going to win."

"And let's face it, bridges can always be rebuilt," Kimberly said.

Both mother and daughter smiled at each other. The strain on their relationship might take a long time to heal, but this was at least a start.

Same time, out in the backyard

Of all those that felt the worst right now in the Ranger camp, Divina of Inquiris felt just as bad for many reasons over.

Not the least of which was the fact that once upon a time, Mama D had stolen something special from her too.

And not only that, had made her into what became the only head villain to ever destroy an Earth Ranger Command Center. Yeah, that was something to be really proud of.

And the fact that she was not only still alive, but had survived the Countdown somehow, and had come between another family as great as this one was like opening old wounds.

The fact that she had to break the news to the Rangers that Mama D may still be alive hurt her more than anything else.

She knew the stakes were high. If Adrianna and Mama D conquered Earth, they would almost certainly find Divina and capture her without an issue. Then it would be back to the miserable life she used to live as a vain pirate diva. And she'd probably stay that way too.

The Rangers had won the last round, but she of all people knew this was far from over.

"Mind if I sit down for a while?" a deep, male voice said. Divina turned around to find Jason 10 feel behind her.

"Sure, I could use the company," Divina said.

The two were silent for a few minutes before Jason broke the ice.

"I heard about your story from Trey. We're going to make them all pay," Jason said. "They took what you held dear and they tried to take what we held dear. They're going down."

"You know what happens if you guys lose this right? The stakes for me are enormous," Divina said.

"Yeah, you don't want to be Divatox again, and I certainly don't want to see Divatox again," Jason said, laughing as he did so, which eased the tension just a bit.

"I have to admit though, you were very good in your alter ego," Jason said.

"Yeah, only villain to destroy an Earth Command Center. That's something to realllly hang on my wall," Divina mumbled.

"Actually, it is. I guess it's OK to say it years after the fact, and since we're still here, but that's a great accomplishment. And you did it with that numbskull Elgar with you."

"Mama D made him into an idiot just for comedic relief," Divina said. "He was an idiot but not all his fault."

"Don't tell anyone this, but if Astronema had conquered Earth, I would have begged to be your slave," Jason said. "I'm happily married as I said but if I had a free pass I'd do unspeakable things to that body of yours."

"And I probably would have taken you up on that offer," Divina said as they both laughed again. "I liked you when I had you as captive with Kim and I probably would have sought you out."

The two were silent for a few minutes more before Jason broke the ice again.

"Have you ever thought of trying to love again? Not with me obviously but with someone else," Jason said. "I'm a married male and I still think you and your body would be the envy of every Earth man there is."

"I don't know Jason, I certainly don't think I could fall in love again until Mama D is dead; she'll almost certainly find out if I do," Divina said.

"You really should think about it," Jason said. "I know what she did to you and Trey really took a lot out of you, but you in your state without a man to help you is like a ship without any direction."

"I just want to focus on healing right now, I still can't believe Mama D can destroy us all," Divina said.

"She won't because we won't let her. You're staying with us and if nothing else, you'll have the happy ending you want, some day," Jason said.

It was going to be tough, but with time, they would all be ready to face Mama D and Adrianna again.

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