[Wednesday, October 6th, 1993 1:25pm]

Jason and Zack had been leaning up against a tall oak tree directly across the street from the Angel Grove Police Department, waiting for the authorities to finish with Zack and release him.

There were a million different things swarming through Jason's mind, but he found that he was preoccupied with Kimberly's condition. One of the officers mentioned to him that Kim was in critical condition, but that's all he really knew. What did critical actually mean? Was she fighting for her life as doctors scrambled to operate on her, or was she resting peacefully in her hospital bed still unconscious and unaware of what happened to her? Or worse, does she know who did this to her? After everything they'd done to try to break Tommy free of the spell Rita placed him under, the moment they did and the spell was broken…

Maybe the spell wasn't broken. Maybe there's still a chance to save Tommy, he thought to himself, but found himself immediately dismiss the thought. Whether Tommy was under a spell or not, Kim was one of them, and his priority had to be her. The team comes first, he reminded himself.

But now knowing more about the nature of the power coins, knowing that each ranger has to be chosen by the coin itself, he wondered why the green power coin would select someone like Tommy in the first place? Why would the coin willingly serve evil? It didn't make sense to him.

"Hm," Zack grumbled to herself as she folded his arms, leaning back and putting his foot on the tree behind him.

"What is it?" Jason asked, turning his attention to Zack.

Zack motioned towards the police station, where two black vans pulled up in front of it. A group of men in suits got out the back, and within a few seconds, two more men were escorting Trini out of the station. It was obvious that she had been blindfolded, and based on her hands behind her back and there seemed to be a struggle, Zack put together that she must have been handcuffed.

"Where are they taking her?"

"I don't know, but I know that Trini can take care of herself. Right now we need to get back to the Command Center and find out what's going on with Zordon, find Billy and figure out what's going on with Kimberly. Then, we can go after Tommy," Jason said coldly.

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't find Billy or that we shouldn't be worried about Kim, but they're taking Trini away. We need to follow her, find out what's happening," he mentioned, standing up straight and started towards the station.

"And how will do you it, Zack? You're going to morph and then go over there demanding they release Trini? You'll blow our cover," he brought up. He paused, expecting some sort of response from Zack, but Jason turned around only to discover that Zack was gone. He turned back around, facing the police station, and saw Zack climbing onto the top of the van they'd placed Trini in.

Before Jason could make a move, the van was pulling away, and there was nothing he could do.

"Damn it," he groaned to himself. He knew contacting Zack on his communicator would only alert them to Zack's presence, so that was out. He didn't have time to worry about, Zack could handle himself. Instead, he reached for his communicator. "A.L.P.H.A., this is Jason. Do you read me?"

For a moment, there was static, then nothing.

"Zordon, do you read me?" he called out.

"Ay yi yi yi yi. Jason, can you hear me?" a voice answered.

"Loud and clear, A.L.P.H.A, whats going on?"

"You and the other rangers should teleport to the Command Center at once."

Jason didn't know how to tell A.L.P.H.A. he was the last one left, and decided that was a conversation best had in person. "I'm on my way," he said. He made sure no one was around, then tapped a button on his communicator, disappearing into a stream of red and white light.

Jason rematerialized in the Command Center a few moments later, where A.L.P.H.A. Five was scrambling, working on critical systems.

"Ay yi yi yi yi, I'm so glad to see you, Jason. Where are the others?" he asked.

"Kimberly is in the hospital, Trini has been taken by some government agency, Zack went after her and I haven't seen Billy since last night. I was hoping you could tell me something," Jason mentioned.

Just then, one of the panels began to beep, followed by a humming sound as if the equipment was warming up. Finally, it settled in, and Zordon appeared in his tube.

"Good work, A.L.P.H.A." he announced.

"It's good to see you again, Zordon," A.L.P.H.A. told him.

Zordon glanced around, realizing only Jason was there. "Jason, where are the other rangers?" he asked.

"I… I don't know. Kimberly is fighting for her life in the hospital. Trini has been kidnapped and we have no idea where Billy is," he said.

"Kimberly is in the hospital? What has happened?"

"We broke the Sword of Darkness and it was suppose to free Tommy, but instead he stabbed her in the stomach and teleported away. It didn't work. The police came and arrested us, we've been in police custody all night. When they let us go, they took Trini somewhere else. Zack is tracking her," he explained.

"I'm afraid my fears have come to pass," he paused. "When the green ranger damaged the Command Center, he inadvertently caused a rupture in space/time. It was that rift that prevented me from maintaining my connection to this point in time. Now that the rift has been sealed, I am free to return, but I fear that the rift would have had to have been sealed from the other side," Zordon said.

"So you mean that…"

"Yes, Billy traveled through the rift to seal it. He could be anywhere, at any time," he told him.

"So what do we do? How do we get him back?" Jason asked.

"I can try scanning from his bio-chemical field, but it will take time. Time and resources. The Command Center is still running on emergency power, and there is no way to tell how long before main power is back online," A.L.P.H.A. brought up.

"So you're saying that we can't even look for Billy?"

"To do so would drain the little power we have, and it would run the risk of us losing our connection to Zordon again. We can't risk it," he said.

"So Billy is just… gone?" Jason asked.

"I understand your frustration, Jason, but we have concerns that require our immediate attention. With Kimberly hurt, Billy missing and Trini being held against her will, there is no one protecting Angel Grove. If Rita were to…" he was interrupted.

"Rita has been awful quiet during all this. If we're having some issues, maybe she is, too," Jason mentioned.

"What do you mean?"

"If this rift was as powerful as you say it was, maybe it's messing with Rita's magic, too. Maybe it did something to Tommy. Maybe it made him hurt Kimberly," he paused. "It doesn't matter. He'll pay for what he did."

"If Tommy was under the influence of something, he cannot be held accountable for his actions. Until we find out, it would be prudent of us to…" he was cut short as one of the panels began to beep. A.L.P.H.A. hurried over to it, seemingly amazed at what he saw.

"Quick, the viewing globe," he said.

Jason hurried over to the viewing globe, where there was an image of Tommy lying outside the Command Center covered in blood.

"What the…"

"Its Tommy. He's hurt," A.L.P.H.A. said.

"This could be another one of Rita's tricks. It's a trap, I know it," Jason said coldly.

"According to my readings, Tommy has lost a lot of blood and he is not even conscious. I do not think this is a deception," Zordon pointed out.

"Can we teleport him into the Command Center?"

"No. In his injured state it may be too much for him. Jason, you must teleport out there and bring him back inside. Once he is inside, we can tend to his wounds," he said.

Nothing would have given Jason greater pleasure than to live Tommy out there to bleed out, eventually passing away from his injuries. After watching Tommy stab Kimberly without mercy, saving Tommy's life wasn't on Jason's list of priorities, but…

"He's a victim of Rita's magic," Jason sighed.

"If we determine that Tommy was indeed responsible for his own actions, then we will address it when truth comes to light. Until then, he is a civilian, and he needs our help," Zordon told him.

"I'll go get him, but be prepared to restrain him while we treat his wounds. And if I find that he knew what he was doing when he hurt Kim, somebody better be prepared to restrain me," he warned, reaching for his communicator and teleporting away in a stream of red and white light.