[Wednesday, October 6th, 1993 7:38am]

Billy Cranston considered himself smart. Very smart.

In elementary school, he spent his free time correcting grammatical errors in his text books. While other children were busy at recess running around and playing, Billy was in the classroom assisting the teacher grading papers and preparing lesson plans. By middle school he was reading books on a college level and attending lectures about thermodynamics and quantum mechanics.

Other children his age were concerned with sports, or social activities, but Billy wanted to learn as much as he could about the world and how it worked. By the time he reached high school, he was working after school as a tutor for graduate students at a local University. The words prodigy and genius was thrown around quite a bit in conversations where his name came up, but to him, this was simply how he was. He enjoyed learning and wanted to know as much as he could on every subject.

He'd read every book by some of the world's foremost scholars, scientists and physicists, and considered himself well versed on topics most people hadn't even heard of.

Yet, as he stood over A.L.P.H.A. Five with the panel in his back wide open, he found himself as a lose. The circuity was so advanced, so sophisticated that it may as well been written in another language.

Or, at the very least, one of the very few languages Billy hadn't mastered.

"Any luck?" Trini asked him, sitting up against one of the panels in the command center as Trini worked.

Trini introduced Billy to a world that wasn't in a text book, or couldn't be found in a seminar. Life was happening all around him. People, places, nature,social interaction. There were all foreign concepts to Billy, but Trini helped him to see that while the pursuit of knowledge was important, it was equally as important to close a book every now and then and just live life.

Being a power ranger had not only opened his mind to social interaction and being part of a team, he also learned that disciplining his body was just as important as disciplining his mind. He'd tried his hand at Jason's karate class, even taking some of his free time to work out. Granted, he listened to pre recorded lectures as he worked out, but he was getting there.

"I can't make heads or tails of this. I don't know what belongs and what doesn't. His systems are… complex," he admitted.

"We have to get A. .A. back on his feet. He's the only one who can help us get Zordon back," Trini reminded him.

"I know, it's just that…" he paused for a moment, getting a better look at the inner workings. "This looks like a firewall."

"Firewall?"

"Most critical systems have a firewall in place to prevent tampering or corruption of major operating systems," he said.

"So it stops things from getting into the system that can harm or damage it?" she asked.

"Yes. In this case, the firewall was activated when someone or something tried to access his systems, and in defense the firewall shut down all critical function to prevent someone gaining access. This wasn't just random. This was a deliberate attack," Billy said.

"But who? No one can even get in here without a power coin" she brought up.

"Are the internal censors online?"

Trini stood up,walking over to the control panel and checking. "Yes, but there is some sort of interference. There's some sort of energy build up," she told him.

Billy reached into A.L.P.H.A Five, pulling out a cord, handing it to Trini. "Connect this to the port on the right side of the panel. It should allow me to see what new coding was added to him recently that caused the shutdown," he said.

Trini plugged it in, and the panel began to whirl and hum.

"The analysis will take a few moments," he warned.

"So have you thought about what we talked about the other day?"

Billy didn't want to admit it to her but he had thought about it more often then he care to share with her. Trini had served as his emotional guide to the social world. She shown him the very things even more important than charts and diagrams. For the last few weeks she had been encouraging him to make more friends and even suggested that he find someone he was romantically interested in at attempt to start a relationship.

The only problem with that was that his duties as the blue Power Ranger took precedence over any trivial social interaction. He had made great strides by becoming friends with Zack and the others but that wasn't nearly as personal as an intimate one-on-one relationship.

Besides there were things about him that he wasn't necessarily ready to admit to Trini. There were aspects of his life that he was trying to come to terms with. In fact after giving it serious deliberation he was left with the conclusion that he had immersed himself and so many books and lectures because he was running from having to deal with his own personal issues. He thought that if he surrounded himself with knowledge and education no one would see exactly how different he was.

He attempted a relationship with a young lady in his computer science class. While she was a very attractive young lady in his opinion he simply didn't feel anything for her. There was no attraction there and while he knew why, he wasn't ready to express that to Trini or the others. If he didn't fully understand it yet he was convinced the others wouldn't either.

At least not yet.

"I have."

"Do you and Marge still talk?" she asked.

"No, it just didn't work out. I think that…" he was relieved when the panel beeped. "Scan complete. According to this new software was introduced to his systems, but the firewall blocked it," he turned to A.L.P.H.A. Five, opening a panel in his back. "This…" he reached in, pulling out a disc. "This is the problem," he said.

No sooner did he remove the disc did A.L.P.H.A. Fives systems come back online.

"Err… err… system mal… reinitiate… drives… systems back…" there was a slight pause. "Ay yi yi yi yi, I'm so glad to see you guys," A.L.P.H.A. said.

"Billy, you did it!"

"What happened here A.L.P.H.A?" Billy asked.

"Unknown. Malicious software detected. My systems shut down to prevent access to data files," he said.

"Someone got in the command center and trashed it," she said.

"That's impossible. No one gets into the command center without a power coin," he mentioned.

"Well someone did, and we can't locate Zordon," Billy told him. "I managed to repair the panels and restore power, but Zordon is just… lost."

A.L.P.H.A. walked over to the panels. "There is temporal energy rupture forming. Because Zordon is a inter dimensional being, this energy is stopping him from accessing this dimension."

"There are other dimensions?" Trini asked.

"Millions. Billions. Billions of millions. But if we want to get Zordon back, we need to locate the rupture and seal it with…"

"Anti proton bursts," Billy and A.L.P.H.A. said in unison.

"We have a proton acceleration device in the lower levels of the command center. We can modify it to emit an antiproton burst and seal it."

"You two get to the lower levels and find the device, I'll try to narrow down where the rupture is," Trini said.

Billy nodded, following A.L.P.H.A. as the two of them walked away.

[Wednesday, October 6th, 1993 time unknown]

Through the telescope in her throne room, Rita Repulsa watched as Zack and Kimberly walked through the park alone.

Everything was it going according to her plan. After countless centuries of fighting Zordon had been defeated and the Green Ranger had almost single-handedly defeated the Power Rangers. And with Jason trapped in the dark dimension it was only a matter of time before she was in possession of the entire set of power coins.

"Goldar!" she screamed, demanding that he stand before her, but there was no response. This seemed to be the perfect time to eliminate the black and pink ranger, as she intended to send Goldar down to finish them.

"I'm afraid Goldar is… indisposed, my queen," Finister mentioned to her,walking into the throne room.

"What? Where is he?"

Finister was well aware of Goldar's location but also knew that gold are needed a moment to collect his thoughts. The loss of such a respected warrior impacted him more than he would ever admit. Goldar and Scorpina had fought side-by-side for generations and to hear that she was eliminated so pointlessly struck a chord with him.

"Last I saw him, he was engaged in battle with the red ranger in the dark dimension," he told her.

"Very well. Prepare a squadron of putties and send them to the park to intercept the pink and black Ranger. I want them trapped in the dark dimension as well," she ordered.

"As you wish," Finister replied, turning to walk away, heading to his factory.

As soon as he stepped into the corridor he was stopped by Goldar. Goldar was at least a full two feet taller than Finister, forcing Finister the look upwards at him.

Goldar placed his hand on Finister's should slightly. "Thank you," he said in s low voice, not wanting Rita to overhear him.

"I know you and Scorpina were... close," the two of them headed down the corridor on the way to Finister's lab. "I have been doing some research on the Sword of Darkness and I believe there may be a way to save Scorpina," he told him.

"What? How?"

"Because she was destroyed during the trials of Lokar, that means her essence has been trapped within the sword, but because she wasn't destroyed by the sword directly, even if you do manage to free her, she would be incorporeal," he said.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means she would be free, but would have no body. Much like I use my monster matic to provide new bodies for fallen warriors, I can do the same for her," he explained.

"How do we save her?" Goldar asked.

Finister reached in the pocket of his apron, pulling out a small vile, handing it to Goldar. "If the sword is destroyed before the spell takes its hold on the green ranger permanently, her essence should be contained in this. Once it is, I will be able to provide her with a new body."

The thought of scorpina being confined in the body of one of Rita's ridiculous monsters was it Goldar's first choice, but it was better than the oblivion she had been left in.

"How do break the sword?"

"While the sword itself contains unlimited power it is still itself just a sword. Break the blade and Scorpina will be free but it also means the spell on the Green Ranger will be lifted," Finister warned.

Goldar had stood idly by for too long as many of his comrades-in-arms had fallen to the Power Rangers. While it was easy to blame the Rangers for their defeat most of the blame had to make place on Rita herself. Since their arrival in the sector his comrades had been given inferior forms and sit down as a sacrifice all in the name of powering the sword. There may not have been a way to save them but now presented with an opportunity to rescue scorpina from an eternity in limbo goldar knew what he had to do.

If he were to do this admit that score peanut could never show her face to Rita repulsa ever again. Goldar would bring the vile to Finster and he would provide scorpina with a new body. But from there she would have to start a new life. If Rita will ever to discover she had been resurrected it would be obvious that gold are played a part in it. So for Scorpina's safety, and just as importantly Goldar's personal safety, her identity would have to remain a secret. Moreover if Scorpina could be resurrected, when she disappeared Goldar had every intention of disappearing with her.

Rita was simply assume that goldar was destroyed in battle. He and scorpina would simply go to a different sector of the Galaxy and live their lives quietly.

"How long do I have before she is trapped forever?" he asked.

"Less than 8 hours. Remember, even if you succeed there is no way for her to ever have her original body back. It's gone. Whatever you're going to do, you're going to have to not only do it quickly, but do it in a way that doesn't let Rita know you betrayed her."

"Why are you helping me?"

"I'm a doctor. I took an oath to do no harm. If a putty patroller is hurt, it is no matter as they are mindless. But providing fallen warriors with a chance to live again… that's why I help Rita. If resurrecting them gives them an opportunity to live again, even if they do eventually fall to the rangers, it's a chance. Scorpina deserves that same chance," Finister told her.

"Today you have made an ally, Finister," Goldar said proudly, standing up straight and saluting to show respect to Finister.

"Happy to help, but how will you do this without Rita knowing it was you?"

"I have a plan." he paused. "But I'm going to need you to do something for me."