Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. Saban and Nickelodeon own them. I also don't own any song lyrics used.

AN: Here's chapter 29! Enjoy and let me know what you think! Thanks to all the great reviews too and here's notes to those individuals:

RHatch89: Thanks, glad you're enjoying the story.

Harry2: Yep, Ivan isn't going to like Vile's interferrance. Things will be interesting. Glad you're enjoying.

TommyOliverMMPRFan: Thanks, glad you're enjoying the story. Yes, unfortunately, Tori is in for a little heartbreaking news.

Pinkrangerfan: Thanks, glad you enjoyed the chapter. As for the rangers, they will eventually get their lives back, but there is a long road ahead and many battles in store. :)

fallingstar22: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the chapter. Yeah, Kira will be a little miffed if she hears that he slaughtered her song. As for Kat and Billy, slowly but surely. :)

WideOpenSpacesGirl045: Yep, Conner is hilarious. And Hunter finally gets tipsy in this chapter for a while. There is a Billy/Kat moment coming. And yep, Vile is back!

PRfansince93: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter. This chapter is a mix of good and not so good, with probably more not so good on the way. Enjoy!

garnetred: Yep, Vile is alive and things are going to get even more interesting. Glad you're enjoying the story. :)

Lmv16: It's never too late. Glad you like the story. Enjoy this next chapter. :)

Skull RiderSP: Yep, Vile is back. As for Billy and Kat, slowly but surely. Enjoy! :)

Crimson Rising

Chapter 29: Lightning

I've been addicted to you
Since the first hit
Out of control like a surge of electric

Yeah, your skin
The touch, the kiss
The rush, too much
And here it comes

When your lips touch mine
It's the kiss of life
I know
I know that it's a little bit frightening
We might as well be playing
With lightning

We touch like,
Like it's our first time
Oh oh
I know that it's a little bit frightening
We might as well be playing
With lightning now

Song: Lightning

Artist: The Wanted

The Legacy Compound

Fortunately by the time Kat was coming down the stairs, Shane was singing and it was easy on the ears. The red wind ranger wasn't quite drunk yet, but loosened up enough that his usual control was gone. Kat smirked, as she saw the typical sight of Tommy and Jason arm wrestling, while Conner was passed out on the couch already, and many of the others were doing shots. Billy spotted her and his daughter in her arms, immediately coming to her.

"Is she okay?" he asked in concern. Kat nodded.

"She came down and said she had a nightmare. I picked her up and told her we would come find you," Kat told him. Billy nodded and took his sleepy daughter from her, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thanks, I'll take her back upstairs," Billy said. Kat nodded.

"I'll come with you if you don't mind. I need to check on Aiden," Kat stated, as she walked upstairs with him.

"Thanks again for comforting her. She's completely at ease with you, though I shouldn't be surprised," he said.

"Why do you say that?" Kat asked.

"Come on Kat, you're amazing with kids. Trina is very shy and the fact that you were able to comfort her so easily says a lot," Billy replied. Kat smiled shyly.

"Aiden is no stranger to nightmares so it was a familiar scene to me," Kat said.

"That man should have never been allowed to hurt you. He had no right to ever put his hands on you," Billy replied.

"I let him," Kat said quietly. Billy stopped and looked at her.

"No Kat…you didn't let him. No one lets someone do that to them. I think part of you is still letting him chip away at your self-worth though and I wish you could see what the rest of us see in you," Billy said quietly, as he went into the room Trina shared with Olivia and quietly put her back to bed, careful not to wake Olivia and closed the door quietly behind him.

"What exactly is that you see?" Kat asked, having contemplated his words for a few moments.

"You have to ask?" he questioned. She shrugged.

"I guess I do…I've made so many mistakes," Kat said, as she finally broke down. Billy hugged her tightly and let her cry on his shoulder, while he stroked her hair comfortingly.

"When I look at you, I see an incredibly beautiful woman and not just on the outside, but inside as well. I see a wonderful, dedicated mother, who would do absolutely anything for her child, even take multiple types of abuse to protect her son, which makes you the most courageous woman I'm privileged to know," he said, as he looked into her tear filled blue eyes.

"I see a woman so brave and strong that she broke an evil spell on her own and then stood up to those who had wronged her with no ranger powers, knowing very well that they could kill her very easily just to help six people she barely knew," he continued.

"I see a woman that is one of the most talented ballet dancers I've ever seen, but yet she remains humble and true to her heart. A heart that's been ravaged by pain, yet still holds so much love," he added. Kat smiled and hugged him again.

"Thank you…" she sniffed.

"Everything I said is true and I'm just going to keep telling you until I get it through your head," he replied. She nodded.

"I'm pretty wiped out. Can you tell the girls that I decided to turn in for the night?" she asked. He nodded and she left him stunned, as she kissed his cheek and disappeared into her room.

It had taken nearly all night, but they finally had exceeded Hunter's tolerance and he was drunk. Zedd warned them though it would wear off faster than it would on a normal man, so they had hit record on the camera. Most were laughing, including Jason and Tommy, Conner was still passed out, Shane looked like he was enjoying the music, which clearly meant he was drunk too, Trent looked like he wanted to kill something, namely Hunter and Blake, and a plastered Dustin was dancing…badly. And Zedd looked positively mortified; as he witnessed his nephew rap on stage and his nephew by extension contribute to his delinquency by spinning at the turntable for him.

"My God, my nephew is Vanilla Ice," Zedd mumbled, causing Tommy, Jason, Adam, Rocky, and most of the others bust up laughing even more.

"I gotta admit, he's not really that bad and Blake is killing those turntables," Ethan mentioned.

"You better never show that damned tape to Dulcea or I'm toast," Zedd threatened.

"Oh come on, what's the worst she's going to do?" Jason asked.

"Well, one time Zander and I got drunk, in the years before we were at each other's throats, and we embarrassed the life out of her at one of the palace balls her mother was having," Zedd began to tell.

"What did she do?" Ethan asked.

"Well, once we were sober, we faced a very irate princess, Zander groveled for her forgiveness. He slept on the sofa that night, but I spent the night as a toad for being the instigator," Zedd replied. Tommy nearly spit out his drink.

"She seriously turned you into a toad?" he asked in disbelief. He nodded.

"She regretted it the next morning and apologized profusely, but her wrath in the moment is something you don't want to endure," he replied.

"Yeah, she can hand all our asses to us," Tommy agreed.

"Then we save it and embarrass the living hell out of him during his future bachelor party, assuming that he's going to propose to Tori any time soon," Rocky suggested.

"Oh he is," Zedd assured.

"Wow, I'm so thirsty," Hunter said, as he ran sloppily to the bar and steadied himself.

"Oh great, an energetic drunk," Adam quipped. The blonde reached for another drink, but Zedd switched it out with water. Hunter didn't notice and gulped down the liquid.

"That figures…I get tired when I get drunk and he runs ninety miles an hour when he's drunk," Tommy said sarcastically.

"You guys should come sing…it's fun," Hunter said, as he stumbled on his way across the room, knocking into one of the wooden barstool. Most people would have tripped and fallen over the object. But in his drunken state, Hunter rather found the stool now in two pieces.

"Oh…oops…" he said, shrugging, as Zedd shook his head.

"I really hope all that crap wears off soon. I forgot how destructive he might be if he doesn't have the mental capacity to control his strength," Zedd said, as the guys laughed.

"You just can't get more entertaining than this," Jason joked.

"Dude!" Dustin cried, as he Hunter bumped into him and sent him flying to the floor.

"Oh sorry dude, I didn't see you," Hunter said, as he clumsily and quite literally picked Dustin up and set him back on his feet, causing the rest of them to erupt in laughter again.

They heard the laughter from downstairs and they shook their heads, laughing at how boisterous the guys could get when they were allowed to unwind a little.

"Thank God they're relaxing a little. We've all been wound way too tightly lately," Aisha said. They saw Rita's face, as she sat with Madison and Vida, and it was a look of pure guilt.

"This isn't your fault Rita, you know that, right?" Kim asked. The former villain nodded.

"I know, but he is my father and if really is still alive, then things will only get worse. His hunger for vengeance equals, if not exceeds, Ivan Ooze's. And he delights in causing pain and suffering to all. Those he holds a grudge against will never know peace as long as he exists," Rita said sadly, glancing at Tori. The blonde shook her head.

"Kim is right. No matter what Vile does, it's not your fault. Hunter will be fine, I have to believe that," Tori replied, trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

"She's right, enough of the gloom and doom talk. We've eaten ice cream and watched chick flicks, so it's time to cover the third ingredient in that's always covered in girl's night," Aisha said.

"What's that?" Karone asked curiously.

"Talking about the boys, of course," Tanya answered, as they giggled.

"What about them? I don't know about all of you, but the ones on my team are annoying, especially Xander. I mean, he flirts with every girl he sees. And he's always dating these bimbos," Vida complained. The girls erupted in giggles and the pink Mystic glared at them.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Sounds like someone has a little crush," Aisha pointed out.

"On Xander? Yuck, he wishes," Vida spat, as she crossed her arms over her chest in a huff.

"She sounds like you a few years ago when you were still trying to deny your feelings for Hunter," Kira pointed out. Tori shrugged.

"Dancing around each other for a while just made everything more interesting," Tori replied.

"Not to mention it probably made the sex hotter when you finally did the deed," Kira said bluntly, causing Tori to nearly spit out her drink.

"Kira…" she scolded, but the singer just shrugged.

"I don't really have anything to compare it to, but I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be quite that good. I mean…it has to have something to do with being a ranger, right?" Kira asked, looking to the older women in the room.

"The power has something to do with it, if you're looking for a scientific answer. Our reflexes are sharper, our energy levels tend to be higher, our recovery speed is enhanced, and most of us are in peak physical condition," Trini replied, as she sipped at her daiquiri.

"And emotionally, we've all been through some pretty amazing stuff, some good, and some downright shitty. I think we all feel things more deeply and realize what's important faster than those who haven't experienced what we have. We've all stared death and destruction in the face countless times," Aisha added.

"And so when we come together, the experience can be mind-blowing," Kimberly added.

"Speaking from experience?" Tanya asked coyly. Kimberly smiled shyly.

"Well, let's put it this way, I've been with a ranger male and I've been with what could be considered an ordinary man and there's just no comparison," Kimberly said.

"I can attest to that too," Tanya chimed in.

"Aw…did Frog boy rock your world?" Aisha teased.

"It's always the quiet ones. You never expect them to be so passionate and assertive, but let's just say that Adam's shyness went away pretty quickly," Tanya replied with a grin.

"It can be amazing, but it doesn't always end well," Taylor chimed in.

"Well, it could be better if you and Eric weren't so stubborn. Just apologize and make up already," Alyssa pushed.

"Me apologize?" Taylor asked in surprise.

"Does it really matter who did what or who said what? Love is all that matters," Alyssa reasoned. Taylor shook her head.

"Maybe to you Alyssa, but it's not that easy of a fix for us," Taylor replied.

"You let your careers get in the way and now you don't have careers. Seems to me that there's a huge problem you don't have anymore," Alyssa said.

"It wasn't just that. We fought all the time about everything to the point that it was just too exhausting to be together," Taylor replied.

"Suit yourself. What about you, Tori?" Alyssa asked.

"What about me?" Tori asked.

"Oh please, the whole brooding bad boy thing he has going on is so sexy," Ronny chimed in and then blushed when she realized what she had said aloud. The girls giggled.

"It is. I won't deny that. No one but me ever gets to see how sweet and passionate he can be," Tori gushed.

"So in other words, your thunder boy rocks your world or shall we say rumbles your world," Kira teased. Tori smacked her arm, as the others laughed and the blonde smirked.

"Earth shatteringly so," Tori revealed, as she took her glass to the kitchen.

"You're not quitting already, are you?" Carly asked.

"It is almost two in the morning," Tori replied.

"I guess we should clean up and turn in. We still have training tomorrow," Trini reasoned, as they dispersed.

Tommy wrapped his arms around Kimberly from behind, as he came into their bedroom. It was late and they had a lot of fun, but it was definitely time to turn in. Kim smiled and turned in his arms, drawing his lips into a passionate kiss.

"Did you eat a lot of ice cream?" he asked. She giggled.

"We polished off quite a few cartons. How about you though? You're not going to be visiting the porcelain God all night, are you?" she asked. He smiled.

"Nah, I've got a little buzz going on, but I'm not anywhere near drunk. Conner is smashed though," Tommy replied, with a chuckle.

"You guys are so mean. Poor kid," Kimberly said. Tommy chuckled again.

"It's not our fault that Conner can't hold his liquor, though if Kira finds out that he slaughtered one of her hit songs during his little drunken karaoke stint, she might be a little irritated with him," Tommy replied, now laughing.

"Like I said…mean," Kimberly said, as she got into bed.

"Nah, just guy stuff. If we didn't like each other, then we wouldn't give each other so much crap," Tommy reasoned.

"Whatever you say handsome," Kimberly replied, as they settled down under the covers, wrapped thoroughly in each other's arms.

"Are you okay?" Tori asked, as she and Hunter entered their bedroom.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just feel like I might have lost the last two hours. I don't really remember much from tonight," Hunter replied. Tori shook her head.

"So you were drunk?" she asked.

"Well…yeah, but I'm not now. It's weird, because it didn't last very long," he replied.

"Lucky for you. I have a feeling some of the other guys won't be so lucky," she said.

"And don't worry about those lost two hours. I've been told there's video," she added. He groaned.

"Great…" he grumbled. She smirked and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"So what did you tonight? I'm sure it was nothing embarrassing," he replied.

"Well, we ate ice cream, watched chick flicks that you guys would never go near…and talked about boys. You know, the usual girl stuff," she replied.

"Ugh…is that really what goes on when girls get together?" he groaned. She smacked him on the chest.

"Like trying to out drink each other is any better," she retorted.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Wait…talked about boys? What boys?" he asked curiously.

"Is your ego so huge that you think I talk about you to the other girls?" Tori asked coyly.

"Um…well, no I guess not," he said sheepishly, making her giggle.

"Of course I talked about you, silly and it was all very good," she promised, as their lips met in a tender kiss that slowly grew in passionate and intensity.

"You're always telling me that I'm everything to you and you have to know that I feel the same about you," Tori said passionately while gazing into his eyes. He smiled.

"I know and that's why I think we're ready for more," Hunter said, as he led her out onto the terrace outside their room. It was the perfect view with waves crashing on the beach, the familiar smell of ocean air that felt like home, the half-moon shining above them with a wealth of stars blanketing the midnight sky.

"The sky is beautiful, but what are we doing out here? And what do you mean by more?" she asked.

"I need the perfect backdrop and this is just about as perfect as it gets," he replied, indicating their scenery.

"Backdrop for what?" she asked, but could only gasp, as he dropped to one knee. He smiled and took her hand, as she felt tears prick her eyes.

"Victoria Lynn Hanson, will you do make me the luckiest man in the universe and marry me?" he asked passionately, as he held the ring before her. She nodded her head eagerly.

"Yes," Tori said. Hunter smiled and she tackled him with a hug, as he got to his feet. She planted her lips on his in a series of short, but passionate kisses.

"I love you so much," she cried.

"I love you too, more than my own life," he said passionately, as he slid the ring on her finger. Tori looked at it amazement.

"It's my mother's ring," he told her, answering the question he knew was on her mind.

"Your mother's?" she asked in amazement. He nodded.

"She gave it to me for you. It's been passed down in my father's family to the first son in every generation for thousands of years. It's enchanted," Hunter replied.

"Enchanted?" she asked curiously. He nodded.

"On my mother's finger, it was a completely different looking ring. She told me to imagine what I would like the ring to look like when I put it on your finger. This was the result," he explained.

"You did very well, it's perfect," she replied, as she kissed him again.

"It's nice out here…but I think it would be even nicer in bed," she hinted, as their lips met again. Like she weighed nothing, he swept her into his arms and carried her back inside.

Ranger Ops

"It's done," Cam said, as he sat in his place at the Ops screen. Billy and Hayley were with him, as he opened the main file, littering the screen with even more files. It was still very early and they wanted to start sifting through the information.

"Should we get the others?" Hayley asked.

"Not yet. We need to sort through stuff and find the important gems first," Billy answered, as he scanned the file names, as Cam scrolled through them.

"Wait…go back," he interjected. Cam scrolled back to the last file and Billy read the file name out loud.

"95 Thunderzord wreckage…" Billy read in disbelief.

"What would they know about the Thunderzords?" Hayley wondered.

"In 1995, when we got back from the desert of despair, the wreckage was gone. It was always one of those loose ends we could never tie up. The command center had no power to teleport the wreckage back to the zord bay," Billy explained. Cam opened the file and they began to sift through the information.

Conner groaned and cringed at the nasty taste of bile in his mouth. He flushed the even nastier contents away and stumbled to the sink. He fumbled with the toothpaste and managed to get it on the toothbrush, before starting to brush. He felt and looked like death warmed over. He rinsed his mouth out and Kira opened the bathroom door.

"Here…take these," she ordered, as she handed him aspirin and a glass of water.

"Oh, you're an angel," he replied, as he tossed the pills in his mouth and washed them down.

"I swear…I'm never touching another drink again. I feel like shit," Conner complained.

"That's probably a good idea. Ethan told me that you only had a couple drinks," Kira quipped. Conner rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll never hear the end of it," he grumbled.

"Come on jock boy, you need more rest," Kira insisted, as she led him back to the bedroom.

"I don't believe this…" Cam uttered, as they sifted through the information.

"Okay, but maybe we're overreacting. I mean, the Thunderzords were amazing in their time, but we've since advanced tenfold in zord technology. What kind of threat do you think anything they may have built could be to the new zords?" Hayley questioned.

"Earth's technology has also grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade as well. We can't take this lightly. If they've given these scientists and engineers access not only to the best government technology, but zord technology as well, then there's no telling what kind of weapons they've come up with," Billy replied.

"I'm sure this file labeled project GAMA can tell us about exactly what they've been up to," Cam said, as a name of one of the people involved caught his eye.

"What the hell…" Cam said.

"What is it?" Hayley asked.

"This man, Peter Hanson…I know who he is," Cam said, as he opened the file, revealing details about the man's background and expertise.

"He's one of the engineers," Billy stated.

"He's also Tori's father," Cam spat.

"As in…Tori's dead father?" Hayley asked.

"Looks like he's not so dead after all," Cam spat, as he pushed himself away from the computer screen.

"Tori's father disappeared not long before she joined the Academy. He was presumed dead five years ago, but they never found a body or any trace of him whatsoever," Cam explained.

"And now it looks like he wasn't abducted at all. He left voluntarily to work for GAMA," Billy deduced.

"If he's still alive and she finds out that he chose to leave her, especially with an unstable mother, then…" Hayley said.

"It's going to crush to her," Cam finished. Billy sighed and sat back in the chair.

"Call Tommy and Jason down here, along with Hunter, Tori, and Zedd. They need to know about the potential threat and what we've found out. We can relay it to the rest later," Billy ordered.

"We're going to tell her now?" Cam asked.

"Would you rather she find out from someone else? Because I'm sure Gorbin would just love to spring that on her in the middle of the next battle or something sadistic like that. I'm just trying to give her a small audience here," Billy explained. Cam nodded, agreeing that this was best, as he put out the call.

Jason groaned, as he turned over and found Trini gone, but she wasn't far and he saw her flipping through the news channels.

"Wow…I haven't drunk that much in a long time," he said. He wasn't severally hung over, but the room was spinning slightly and he found the sunlight in the room annoyingly intrusive. Trini smiled at her husband.

"There's coffee on your nightstand," she told him.

"Oh…you really are an angel," he replied gratefully, as he gulped down a big mouthful. She climbed back on the bed and pressed herself against his bare back, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. He smiled and turned his head, as he kissed her lips.

"Let's go back to bed," he suggested huskily.

"As much as I would love to, we can't. Billy wants you down in Ops as soon as possible. You have time for a quick shower," she replied. He groaned in annoyance.

"I'm gonna need a cold one now. Why just me?" Jason asked, as he started toward the bathroom.

"You're one of our esteemed leaders. I'm guessing he wants to show you, Tommy, and Hunter something first," Trini replied.

"I hate being leader sometimes," Jason complained. Trini rolled her eyes at how untrue that statement was.

"No you don't," she replied, as he went to clean up.

Steam filled the bathroom, as the shower's hot water poured down on the shower's occupants. The water could have been cold and there would have still been steam, simply created by the two entwined bodies. Tori's wet hair was plastered on the porcelain wall, as Hunter pinned her there.

"Hunter…" she cried out. He sought her lips and kissed her deeply. She combed her fingers through his wet hair. Her legs were locked around his waist and he trailed kisses down her neck. He held her tightly, as he made love to her. She trailed kisses along his neck and shoulder, her tiny mewls of pleasure being music to his ears, as he drove himself closer and closer to completion...

As they slowly came down, she smiled and kissed him tenderly. He held her tightly against him, as they sensually helped each other finish cleaning up, before finally emerging from the bathroom, each wrapped in a towel. As they dressed, Hunter's phone chimed and he read the text.

"Cam wants us down at Ranger Ops after breakfast," Hunter said, as she brushed her wet hair.

"That probably means they've already found something on that flash drive that we need to know about," she deduced, as they finished getting ready and quickly headed downstairs to eat, before they would head down to Ranger Ops.

Ranger Ops

Zedd sighed and shook his head.

"You know, I've done a lot of deplorable things in my life, but I'd like to think I would have never willingly abandoned my child if I had one," Zedd stated. He had arrived before the others and they had informed him ahead of time about what was going on.

"I never did get to ask you about that. What was the deal with Thrax? I mean…he couldn't have been born naturally," Billy said. Zedd smiled thinly.

"He wasn't…he was created with Finster's help in my waning days after the Machine Empire took over. I realized that I didn't have an heir and it was a foolish attempt, for all it accomplished was bringing another soulless monster into this world," Zedd replied regrettably.

"But you have Hunter now," Hayley reminded. Zedd smiled.

"Yes and he is my blood. And Tori will be my family as well," he said.

"This is going to hurt her, but she's strong and we'll all be there for her," Cam assured, as they heard them coming down the stairs with Jason and Tommy behind them.

"Did you find something?" Tommy asked.

"Possibly where it all began and how exactly they discovered our identities," Billy replied.

"This goes back to 1995?" Jason asked, as he started reading over the information.

"They got the Thunderzord wreckage?" Tommy asked in disbelief.

"They used the black box to compare to the voices of every citizen in Angel Grove over the age of fourteen and figured out our identities. Then they recruited the country's best scientists and engineers to work with our zord technology," Billy explained.

"We think that combined with the best technology that the government can offer that they may have come up with weapons that we shouldn't take lightly," Hayley continued.

"There's obviously a lot more information to go through and we may even find the designs for whatever they have built, but we decided to call a few of you down here now, because there's something else that effects someone here very personally," Cam stated.

"What are you talking about?" Hunter asked. Cam sighed and showed them a list of names.

"These are the people that GAMA recruited to work with the stolen zord wreckage. Each person has a signed affidavit on file that details the terms of their employment contract. Each individual had to sacrifice all ties with the outside world for this opportunity," Cam explained.

"What are you getting at Cam?" Hunter asked, as he heard Tori gasp beside him. He looked to her and found her face awe stricken, before looking back at the list of names.

"Peter Hanson?" he asked, as Cam nodded.

"My father…" Tori whispered.

"I'm sorry Tori…but we think your father has been alive all this time and…" Cam started.

"And that he left me by choice," she finished bitterly. She was stunned. In her wildest dreams, she had never thought even for a second that her dad had left her so he could work for the government. The father she knew had loved her too much for that, but she had been deluding herself. She felt Hunter tighten his hold around her and she blinked back tears. She would not cry over this…not now…not like this.

"Why would he work against the rangers when his own daughter is one?" Jason asked.

"She wasn't a ranger then. This was before she even joined the Academy," Cam replied.

"I need some air…" Tori said, as she squeezed Hunter's hand and jogged out of the room. He let her go reluctantly, knowing she would need a few moments.

"Uncle…can you tell Mom that I need to put training on hold for a little while?" Hunter asked. Zedd nodded.

"Training will wait. Just make sure she's okay," Zedd assured him, as he left in the direction she went.

Allison Hanson stumbled from the bathroom and to the kitchen. The California sunlight was like daggers to her eyes and she quickly pulled the blinds shut, before looking at the shameful state that her once beautiful beach house was in.

Long ago, she had once been as beautiful and radiant as her daughter, but years of alcohol abuse had caused her looks to fade prematurely. She wasn't ugly by any means, but she had done non-repairable damage to her body. Early in her marriage to Tori's father, things had been very good, but his long work hours and frequent business trips led to a lot of anxiety, as well as loneliness for her. It led to her beginning to self-medicate with alcohol, thus beginning her downward spiral. She had Tori when she was very young and she wasn't under any delusions about what kind of mother she had been. Terrible at best could describe her, but Peter had always seemed to make up for her faults as a parent. He was a wonderful father to Tori and she was daddy's little girl…until he just disappeared one day. She had lost herself in a bottle then and made one poor decision after another. She exposed Tori to men that should have never come within ten feet of her and she knew she was eternally lucky that her daughter's abilities to defend herself had saved her from one of her drunken, abusive boyfriends.

And now, her daughter was a fugitive…a power ranger of all things and a ninja! She understood now how she had fought off that scumbag Nick that had tried to rape her one night, the last night Tori had ever lived under her roof. She scoffed at the unfairness of it all. She was a free woman, who hadn't made a contribution to society in years, drunk most of the time, and had ignored her beautiful, precious child in her own quest of self-destruction. Her daughter was beautiful, fiery and independent. She was heroin that had helped save the world with her teammates and was still doing so. And yet, she was the fugitive. Who had ever first coined the phrase that life wasn't fair probably didn't realize was a gross understatement that would be. Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by a voice that she hadn't heard in over ten years.

"Jesus Allison, if I didn't know that you drank all these yourself, I'd think you had a crazy party or something," the man's voice said, as he examined all the empty booze bottles.

"Peter…" she whispered in disbelief.

"In the flesh," he replied, as he looked around his old house.

"You really let things go to hell around here," he observed.

"And you just dropped off the face of the earth and shattered our little girl's heart," she retorted.

"Touché, I suppose I deserve that," he replied.

"Do you know that the state declared you dead five years ago? Where the hell have you been?" she screeched.

"I can't really tell you that. I just came by to see Tori," he replied calmly.

"You really think she's going to want to see you? And not that you would know this, since you left, but Tori hasn't lived here since she was sixteen," Allison spat back.

"But she does check on your drunken ass, just to make sure you're not dead from time to time, doesn't she?" he spat in return. She glared at him.

"Yes, but she hasn't been by lately. She…" Allison trailed off.

"She's a ranger? Yeah, I know all about that. I just need to talk to her," Peter replied. Allison shrugged.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you, because I doubt she'll be coming around here anytime soon," Allison replied.

"I have a feeling that she will, so I'll be in the area. You might want to clean this place up if you can stay sober long enough. It's a pit," he said, as he walked out.