Author's Note: I DO NOT own Power Rangers that credit goes to the Gods of Saban but this story is mine, I just borrowed their characters (and the main story line) and added some of my own thoughts to it.

-The Pink Gem

Chapter Nineteen

Later that night….

Anton came into the kitchen and opened the fridge, "Can't sleep?" Erica was sitting at the counter stirring a straw in an empty cup. "Just thinking." "About your talk with Trent?" "I just don't buy it." "Well, I am Mesogog so he wasn't lying about that…" "So he doesn't know that I'm the Pink Ranger on Thursday, proceeds to rat me out, wait until Friday when I'm being punished and then has his discovery that I'm the Pink Ranger?" "He didn't tell you how he found out?" "He just said 'I know you're the Pink Ranger, just so you know I'm the White one.' Then he proceeds to tell me about the other Rangers, which I didn't need to know!" "Because you figured it out?" "I already saw Kira and Ethan! I demorphed McKnight….the only real surprise was Trent and Dr. O…." "Uh-huh…" said Anton as he poured some milk into a pot and turned on the heat." "I've been careful to make sure my identity wouldn't be compromised, so when did Trent really find out?" "On Friday?" "I could've sworn Kira and Ethan were knocked out…" "You sure no one could've caught a glimpse? Do you remember anyone that could've seen you?" "What the hell are you getting at?" "Just answer the question." Something finally clicked because Erica remembered that there was someone there…

"What happened? Two little Rangers weren't enough for you that you go off on some civilian?"

"Someone was there…." "Yeah…" "And yet my identity isn't compromised." "Which mean?" "They don't know me, they didn't have film…." "And yet, your brother found out? How?"

*CRASH*

Trent sprung himself awake, "Jeez, Dad said she'd go off like a time bomb but how many time bombs go off twice in one day?" Erica was standing up, her hand was still extended from throwing her cup across the room. "You're gonna have to get yourself a new cup if you want some of this milk. "No…no damn way it was Him…no way…." "You wanna go ask your brother? I thought he would've told you." "He didn't." "Do you two mind not doing this…it way too late (or early) for this." Trent was walking toward the kitchen when Erica gave him a cold stare that made him freeze. "Who told you?" she asked. "Who told me…what?" replied Trent. "Don't play that game Trent, she is right now ready to kill you," said Anton as he was pouring something into a cup, "And for the record my money is on your sister." Trent shrugged, "Steven." "You're lying." "Hey, he's the one who pulled Conner, Ethan, and Kira outta lunch to tell them about you. Heh, he wanted them to save you." "And their response?" "They'd think about it." "Hmm, figures," said Erica as she back down. "I thought you had this talk before," said Anton. "No, we focus that discussion on how much info I should be giving my boss," said Erica as she looked at Anton, "which is nothing." Erica grabbed the cup of warm milk from Anton and drank it down. Erica left the kitchen and brushed past Trent as she went upstairs. "So you really didn't tell her about Steven?" Anton asked Trent. "No, I figured they would have that talk during their 'date' later today." Erica came down stairs and was leaving through the front door. "Where do you think you're going this time at night?" asked Anton. "I'm going out, Anton," said Erica as she closed the door. Anton made a heavy sigh, "I really hope she waits until tomorrow before confronting him." "Does it make a difference between today and tomorrow?" "Time can sometimes make all the difference Trent. So, what did you two talk about?" "Erica had a feeling you and Mesogog were one in the same, but Erica didn't buy the fact that you're the one who told her to freeze the Yellow Ranger and kill the Red Ranger." "It wasn't like it was my idea." "But you still went along with it. I didn't know you even set up Kira to give Erica a meeting with Mesogog." "That was the mutant….Copy That," "I figured that out, but Erica thought she was the real deal. You didn't even give the Rangers a chance to help her! If they ever approached her, Erica would have probably freaked out seeing the girl that 'tried' to kill her." "That was His plan." "And it worked beautifully; I really hope you're proud of yourself." "I'm not, but He is."

"So Mesogog set you up from the beginning?" "That's what it looks like. I swear I was ready to just push Trent off that cliff, but I just pulled back. I mean he sounded like he was honest; I've seen Kira at school, she doesn't look like a murderer. But, then again, look at me…" "So Mesogog sent a fake Kira after you, Elsa destroys it and you end up on Mesogog's team, and if the Ranger even wanted you on their side…" "I wouldn't joined 'cause the 'Yellow Ranger' tried to kill me." "Are you going to confront Him?" "Mesogog? I just got out of the Punishment Chamber a few hours ago; I'm not looking forward to going back in." "Are you confronting Steven?" "I have to, if He believes Steven to be a threat…" "He'll try to eliminate him. He's a liability." "Unless I can show that he won't be a threat to the cause." "How do you plan on doing that?"

The Next Day….

Steven drove up outside Mercer's house, as he got out the car and shut the door he banged his morpher against the door. "I can't believe I have to wear this stupid thing to unlock that power. Geez, this thing must weigh a couple of pounds…" Steven murmured to himself. He walked up to the front door and knocked three times and Erica came out after a few seconds. As Erica was walking up to the car she asked, "So where are we going?" "It's a secret." "Fine. Be that way," she said. As Steven was driving Erica noticed the 'machine' that was on his arm, "So, what's that bulky thing on your arm?" "Blood Pressure Monitor. Doctor says I need to get my BP down." "Uh-huh, so in the 21st century they don't have anything smaller for checking blood pressure?" asked Erica unconvinced. "I guess not. So, you ran away yesterday?" "No, I just wanted to Not be found." "Ohhh, I would like a heads up the next time you don't want to be found." "Noted. So where are we going?" "There's a new boardwalk amusement park that just opened up, so I figured I'd take you there." "Sounds fun."

At the boardwalk….

"Want some ice cream?" Steven asked. "Sure." "I'll be right back." Erica leaned against the railing on the boardwalk. "I thought he would have mentioned something about now." "Do you think this is an easy topic for him to discuss?" "No, but the suspense is killing me." "Here," he said holding out a blue ice cream cone. "Thanks," said Erica as she took it, "Is this-" Erica took a lick which sent shivers down her spine, "Sea-Salt…" "Uh-huh." "Does this city have any other ice cream flavors than Sea-Salt?" "Sea-Salt is a West Side specialty, if you want the regular flavors like chocolate or vanilla you need to go to the East Side." Erica let out a heavy sigh. "You okay?" "No…the suspense is killing me." Steven leaned back against the railing, "They told you?" "Yeah." "Erica-"

Suddenly a swarm of Tyrannodrones came running towards Steven and Erica. Steven took up a defensive position "Let me handle them!" he said as he was about to tap his morpher. Erica grabbed him by his collar, "Don't bother, let's go." She said as she jumped over the railing onto the beach. Steven let go of his morpher and jumped over the railing behind her. As Steven was following Erica, "Why did you stop me? I could've kicked their asses!" Erica turned around while she was running, "You can barely handle your own with one mutant and you think you can handle a swarm of Tyrannodrones! Ha!" "Fine then, don't believe me. Do you at least have any idea why they are after us?" "They're probably after you." "Oh, why do you say that?" "Because you magically found out your girlfriend's secret and they need to tie up some loose ends." "Oh..." said Steven. He stopped running as soon as he reached the shore, but Erica just ran into the water. He turned around and saw the Tyrannodrones were getting closer, "All right, I'll just hold them off until-" A blast of water was shot out next to him and hit the Tyrannodrones. Steven turned around to see Erica holding a frozen water ball in her hand. "Now step forward and push the water out." A beam of water shot of her hands and Steven saw where the water was coming from, "She's bringing the water together and shooting it out in a condensed blast…" After a minute Erica relinquished the attack, Steven back around to see the Tyrannodrones were frozen solid. "Whoa…" he murmured. "Are you okay?" said Erica holding out her hand. "Yeah…I think so." "Alright, take my hand then." "Why?" "We need to get out of here, now. Take my hand." "Can't I just…follow you?" "Not where we're going." "Okay," said Steven as he took her hand, "I trust you." Suddenly Erica pulled Steven underwater but they were falling so fast he didn't have any time to resist. When they reached the bottom of what Steven assumed to be the ocean floor, he tried to swim upwards but Erica who still held his hand pulled him down again and said, "You don't wanna do that. My Dino Gem is the only thing that preventing gravity from crushing you right now. I really recommend you stay close to me." "So long as I hold your hand…" "You'll be able to breathe down here. Follow," Erica said as she started walking tugging Steven behind her. "This is pretty weird; I don't think I've ever done something like this before." "You think I have, I didn't think this would work on you." "So why you'd try it? You could've gotten me killed!" "And what? Those Tyrannodrones were gonna hand you a bouquet of flowers?" "They could've been after you." "First off, If my boss needed me, He would have contacted me. Second, you are a liability now so my boss is looking for you." "Are you gonna get in trouble for this…helping me get away?" "Maybe." "Sorry." "Don't be. I could've let them have you, I have that choice, and I didn't take it. Alright here we go." In front of them was a gigantic rock about 500 feet tall and twice as long. "So is this a cave or something?" Erica walked up to it and started pounding on it. "Have you tried a password, Open Sesame, maybe?" Suddenly the ground starting shaking in which Erica tighten her grip on Steven, while he was saying, "Ooohh mmmyy Gooodd, Iiii caannn'ttt bbbeliieeve iit workked!" Steven saw the rock opening but along the edges revealed a row of sharp rocks, "Whhhaaatt kkiind ooff rooock iiiss tthhat?" "It's not a rock, you ding-dong; It's Chomper." After the rock completely opened the earthquake subsided. It took Steven a minute to feel his legs again, "So, it didn't need a password?" "Nope," said Erica as he tossed Steven into the opening of the Chomper. "Her name is Chomper and she doesn't like you!"

"That idiot blacked out! I can't believe he thought I needed a password to open up, what am I, some stupid computer that needs a password to open?" "You can't blame him; you did look like a rock in the dark!" "I can't believe you'd risk getting your ass put in the Punishment Chamber for Him! Not 24 hours out and you want back in!" "Oh, shut up!"

Steven opened his eyes and saw some kind of ceiling. He sat up and saw Erica, "Hey." "Hey yourself." "Who were you talking to?" "Chomper." "Uh-huh, your rock right?" "I AM NOT A ROCK!" "What's that roaring it sounds like an engine?" "An engine?" "He can't hear me, the only reason you can hear me is because we're telepathically linked." "So he's just going to hear the sound of an engine everything you go off?" "I guess so." "Okay so are you going to have these one sided conversation all day or what?" "No, now I'll have my talk with you." Erica talked walking to the bow of the ship. Steven stood up and observed his surrounding: just a big empty space with a control panel near the bow, the large window to see outside with near it and a chair in the center of the room. "Spacy, huh?" "I don't need a lot of room." Erica starting typing up something on the control panel, "All right just stay away from the mainland now, I'll let you know when to change course." "So what is Chomper? It's obviously not a rock." "It's a zord." "A zord…" "Yeah, you remember on the beach we saw two giant monsters trying to destroy the city." "I remember the Rangers fighting a monster…" "Well this is what I'm going to use to fight the Rangers with." "Why?" "Because my boss is probably going to give me the order to." "And you're just going to." "Yup." "And you don't have an issue with it." "Not yet." Erica turned around to look at him. Steven was sitting down on the chair giving her a disapproving look. "For a liability you're one to talk." "And how the hell did I become a liability?" "Gee, I wonder. You already betrayed my trust and my identity to the Rangers, what's stopping you from betraying me to Cassidy and Devin." "I wouldn't do that!" "How can I believe you when I can't even trust you?" "Because…." Steven got up from the chair and starting looking around, "Damn it she got me trapped!" "You would've handed me over if you really believed I would betray you!" "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to see your reaction." "What reaction?" "If I thought you were an actual threat I would've handed you over, I didn't. Despite that fact you still don't trust me. You were just looking around for an exit because you thought I was going to do something to you." Steven sat down again, "I'm sorry." "Sure you are…" "I am!" "How sorry are you Steven? Are you sorry enough to take back the fact you went behind my back to tell my enemies my identity, for all you know those guys could've killed me!" "They wouldn't do that!" "Because you knew their identity before you confided in them, right?" "Yeah, that's right." "So, why didn't you tell me their identity, why did you tell them mine?" "I thought…you were on the wrong side." "Right…wrong…there the same thing." "No there're not! You want to destroy the city, they want to save it!" "Do you know why my boss is trying to destroy Reefside? My boss wants the Dino Gems and the Rangers won't hand them over. So, he's going to keep up these attacks until the Rangers hand them over." "That's pretty selfish of him hurting all those innocent people just to get his hand on some rocks." "How selfish are the Rangers? They're willing to let all those innocent people get hurt despite the fact that they can stop it if they give up their Dino Gems." "What is your boss going to do with the Dino Gems?" "Make the world a better place." "For who?" Erica smirked, "I didn't ask." "For all you know the Rangers would be handing over the keys to a nuclear bomb if they give up their Dino Gems!" "Or, it can cure him of an affliction he has." "I'm sure if your boss had a 'good' plan with those Dino Gems the Rangers would hand them over." "No, they wouldn't. They don't want to give up the power they grew accustomed to." "How do you know?" "The real reason I'm working for my boss is because my want my Dino Gem whole again." Erica tossed something at Steven. He caught it and looked at it, "It a piece of rock." "That piece of rock is half my energy source. My boss has the other half. I want to have complete control over my powers and the only way that can happen is if I work for him. Steven tossed it back over, Erica caught it, "Ask you 'new friends', ask them why they won't give up their power if it meant saving the city from my bosses' wrath? They're going to refuse because they're just as addicted to the power as I am."

Erica turned around to the console and started typing up some stuff. "Why did you sign up with him in the first place? I see why you're staying, for the power, by how did you two hook up through?" "He saved my life." "How?" "You remember when we first met how much water I was drinking?" "I remember seeing a lot of water bottles." "And how tired I used to feel?" "Yeah." "My Dino Gem activated when I came to Reefside, problem was that I wasn't strong enough to handle its power and it was weakening me every day." "And Mesogog cured you." "Yeah. Mesogog could've have let me die and could've taken my power, but He didn't." "The Rangers couldn't help you." "Mesogog found me first. If the Rangers really did care about me they would made an effort to find me, considering who they are now, they should've known something was wrong. And they didn't do anything…." "Erica." "The Rangers aren't doing the 'right thing'." "Neither is your boss. Why is your boss holding the other half of your Dino Gem hostage if he's such a 'good guy'?" "I never said he was a good guy all I said was that good and evil are the same thing." "Okay fine, he's neither, but still why is he holding you hostage? He's forcing you to stay. So long as he has the other half of your power you can't leave! I don't think you're obsessed with power, I think it's just a blood oath you're honoring and your boss is abusing it." "Uh-huh. Whatever."

"Do you know why I really didn't tell you first? I got attack by your partner, remember? No offense if I am going to save you I can't do it on my own." "Save me?" "Let's see…there the White Guy, then the twins: guy and girl….and then I guess that leaves your boss…I can safely say I'm outnumbered despite the new powerful weapon I have." "Powerful weapon…I don't need to hear about any of that!" said Erica putting her hands on her ears. "At least with the Ranger help the numbers are a bit more even." "To whose side?" asked Erica putting her hands down, "Now it's…5 plus 1..Six! Against…2,4, Five!" "To my side then!" "God I can't believe you!" Erica got up and started pacing around the ship.

"Erica, answer me honestly. If I did tell you first, would you have told your boss?" "No. It would have been our secret." Steven smirked, "Why?" "Because I want…no, I need someone to confide in." "What about your zord, Chomper?" "Chomper connected to me thru my Dino Gem which means…" "It is connected to your boss too," Steven smirk disappeared and made a heavy sigh, "You wanted someone safe to talk to on neither side." "I wanted to tell you everything. You weren't going to be involved, and I can get everything I want to say out of my system without repercussion." "And you can't do that now because I'm marked on the good guy's side." "Anything I say to you now, means betrayal automatically." Erica sat back down and put her head down in her hands. "Erica, I'm sorry. I only told the Rangers because I saw what your team did; I saw them almost kill our friends. I've seen you go after them! And you wanna know something, that not something you would've done willing. I was trying to save…I am trying to save you." Erica lifted her head up, "I know." Erica morpher suddenly went off, "Yeah?" It was Elsa, "Do you plan on rising back to the surface soon or do I need to send a mutant down there to drag you up." "I'll be back soon, I'm just laying down the groundwork for our future relationship." "You still plan on staying together?" "Off-hours, of course." "Uh-huh, that's either not going to work or fall apart." "And I'm going to prove you wrong." "I'll be the one proving you wrong when I'm tossing the two of you into the Punishment Chamber." "See you later Elsa." Erica cut off communication. "What's the Punishment Chamber?" "Something that would probably kill you and you would do best to avoid at all cost." "I'll keep that in mind, heh, you wanna stay together?" "Who are you going to confide in? Your mom that locks herself in a basement for twenty hours a day or your dad that lives in Kyoto?" "Point taken, I guess I'll confide in you, then. It's not like the Rangers like me any more than your team does." "Your new friends don't like you?" "I think they're more afraid that I might rat them out to Cassidy and Devin." "Right, those two have been looking for the Rangers for their big break." "Yeah. Oh, I forgot to mention, I think the Rangers might talk to you, you know just to, keep me happy." "And quiet. So if Dr. O pulls me out of the room during the exam Monday, I'll know who to thank. …Okay, I don't want to keep Elsa waiting so we better get back." "Before we go, can you fill me in on my new enemies, I want to be on the same page as everyone else."

The Pink Ranger entered the hideout thru the Invisa-Portal and she saw the White Ranger leaned against the wall. "What's wrong? Hiding from Elsa?" "Mesogog chewed out Zeltrax today." "Mesogog always bothers Zeltrax: "You've failed me again!" "What's the difference this time?" "Mesogog told Zeltrax that he should abandon his plan 'bout going after the Black Ranger, do you know anything about it?" "No, I know Zeltrax has some kind of vendetta against the Black Ranger but not specifics." "Mesogog warned Zeltrax that this was the absolute last chance to get his revenge or he'll be forced to abandon it." "One thing Mesogog can't force on us is who we can or cannot take vengeance on." "Slacking off I see?" Elsa walks into the hallway and looks at the White Ranger, "Didn't I assign a job for you to do or are you bucking to get sent to the Punishment Chamber again?" The White Ranger nodded at the Pink Ranger and walked away. As soon as he left, "What were you two talking about?" "Zeltrax better be successful on his next mission or else." "Or else we'll all be in trouble. Let's go." The Pink Ranger followed Elsa into an elevator where they descended deep into the island. As they were going down, the Pink Ranger saw in the cavern there was a big machine being built, "I take it that's Zeltrax's golden ticket." "It's our golden ticket," said Elsa. "How is Zeltrax getting in trouble going to affect us?" "The Ranger's aren't the only ones who believe in teamwork. We'll all in this together. Mesogog attacks one of us, he attacks all of us." "You have a funny way of showing it every time you toss Zeltrax under a bus." "Who is going to protect you in the long run, him or me?" "Touché." When the elevator stopped, The Pink Ranger followed Elsa as she walked to machine. Elsa stood at the bottom and whistled. Suddenly, an elevator descended with Zeltrax on it, "I'm kinda busy here if you haven't noticed!" "Is that any way to treat someone who found you a volunteer? Fine! I'll leave the two of you alone then." Elsa left the Pink Ranger alone with Zeltrax and returned to the elevator. They both look at each other, "Volunteer, huh?" "Yup, Elsa interrupted my date so I could help you, hope you appreciate it." "It wasn't Elsa." "What?" "Mesogog gave the order to destroy him." "Well…that's not surprising…either." "We better get to work."

A few hours later, as Erica came out of the Invisi-portal at home she saw that Trent was waiting for her, "How was your date?" "Pretty much cleared the air. How did you know I'd be coming home this way?" "Dad suggested I should wait here for you, if you wanted to talk." "Well, I don't. See you later." Erica left the study and headed towards the stairs, but he stopped her when she was halfway up, "All right, I wanted to talk, what's your plan with Ethan tomorrow." Erica banged her head on the wall and murmured, "Dammit." "You forgot?" "No Trent, I didn't forget. I just realized that I need to get myself a P.D.A. I suppose I would just go and play it by ear." "You don't think he'll bring back up?" "It wouldn't surprise me if he did. What are they going to do, capture me?" "What are you going to do about it?" "I'll figure something out." Erica continued upstairs, "Trent was probably assuming I would bring back up tomorrow, but I'm not. Initially we were going to study…If he does need help for the test, I should help him despite this line that separates us." Erica went into her room and layed down on the bed, "How can this day get any more exciting?" "What did Elsa want?" Erica sat up to see Anton leaned against the doorway; Erica looked up towards the ceiling, "I said exciting." Erica looked at Anton, "I don't remember." "Is that so? Did you get the job done?" "It's….a working process." "Which means what exactly?" "I can do everything in my power…and it still won't help him." "Then try another approach." "Why? It's not my revenge on the line…" "They didn't tell you?" "They don't tell me anything." "This project needs to be completed." "Says you." "Says Mesogog. And if you value your freedom outside the Punishment Chamber, you'll try harder." Erica put her feet on the floor, "What?" "You heard me." "You're lying. It's Zeltrax' on the line…" "It's everyone's, so I really suggest you put some effort next time you're working with him." "What the hell is He thinking…?" "He's thinking that Zeltrax will get over his obsession with the Black Ranger if there are other people getting hurt with this obsession of his." "Zeltrax isn't gonna stop his obsession just because we're gonna get hurt!" "Well then, I recommend you do a bang up effort to make sure Zeltrax doesn't fail." Anton closed the door behind him as he left the room. Erica got up from the bed and walked to her desk and pulled out a pen and paper and started writing. "Battle Plans?" "I know what Zeltrax is doing, but I don't know what Elsa and the White Rangers' plans are. So if we were to run you do I need to be in the zord physically?" "So long as you give me my orders telepathically I can still function." "Okay then…."

Anton starting walking away, down the stairs when he stopped. "God, do I wish I had your powers when I was your age…" Trent reappeared next to Anton on the stairs, "Very funny…" "I've never heard of Peeping Toms that eavesdropped on conversations…" Anton brushed past Trent and continued down the stairs. "You know, she's not gonna put up with all of this for much longer…" "You lasted pretty long." "Under different circumstances." 'What is she gonna do? Hand in her resignation to Mesogog?" "Run away, maybe?" "Where is she gonna go Trent? Angela Russo is in Kenya if she didn't already leave New York." "I'm just saying…considering the insanity that in this town, anywhere would be better." "I know." Trent followed his dad into the kitchen and sat down at the table, "If, by any chance, she does leave she's not gonna last long outside." "What the hell does that mean?" "Two hypothetical theories: one, she takes her half of the Dino Gem. Mesogog can find her in a snap." "And probably kill her." "No, he's gonn keep her alive. We're not sure if the Dino Gem would continue working after she dies." "What?" "Alright, since the five of you have not been with your Dino Gems for very long. If you died, the Dino Gem will find another subject. With Erica, since she's been bonded to the Dino Gem for a longer period of time, we are not sure if the Gem will find another subject after she dies." "So the power would die with her." "Yeah, that's our theory so He's gonna keep her alive even if she does decide to leave." "Okay, second option?" "Second, Erica smart enough to leave the Dino Gem. Now she's gonna have to adapt to having less energy." "Energy?" "You use energy to get up, go to school, eat." "So?" "Your Dino Gem give you maybe an extra 50, 100 points more energy. Now, you have not been fused to your Dino Gem for very long, right?" "I…think I've been attached for a while…" "Compared to your sister?" "Okay fine, not very long compared to Erica." "If she leaves her Dino Gem, she gonna have to survive with less energy. Energy that she's used to having is not gonna be there anymore." "Okay, so it's gonna be a difficult transition for her." "And never mind the fact that she'll probably be spending the rest of her life on the run from Mesogog." Trent made a heavy a sigh. "Trent, your sister is not an idiot. She knows there no other option for her right now and that she's gonna have to stay here and make the best of it."

End of Chapter 19

FINALLY AN UPDATE! So yeah, I'm sorry this chapter took so long. The term is wrapping up so I should be writing more often now. Thank you for all my LOYAL fans and my NEW fans that are reading this. I think I would have quit writing if it wasn't for your support.