Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter twenty-five of "Just Away." This chapter has plenty of Tommy/Kim. Ranger action is coming in the next one. Stay tuned for chapter twenty-six.

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Chapter 25: Anywhere to Go

Master Vile sat in his chair in the Space Skull's throne room. He rubbed the top of his wand. He placed the end on the floor and tapped it three times. Motha and Globbor stood off in the corner. He leaned close to her as she told him about Rito and Scorpina being unable to get along. Goldar and Rito were immersed in a game of checkers while sitting at a table. The former had red while the latter had black.

Rito narrowed his eyes at the board's right side. He wasn't sure about which of his checkers to move. An idea clicked in his mind. He chuckled while pushing a checker forward. Goldar scratched his head. He seemed to be deep in thought. He pushed a checker to the square in front of his. Rito jumped it and took it away. He emitted a loud laugh.

"Take that, Goldie!" Rito announced.

"You made a big mistake saying that, Rito," Goldar said and put his hand on a checker on the board's left side. He double-jumped two of the skeleton's checkers and reached the end. He formed a big smile on his face. "King me."

"What a wise guy you are, Goldie," Rito grumbled as he placed the checker on top of it.

Goldar crossed his arms as he sat tall and proud. "I am proud to be a wise guy."

"I am proud that you are proud," Rito said with a chuckle.

"I am proud that—never mind. It gets confusing when you say stuff like that over and over," Goldar commented and scratched his neck.

"It sure does," Rito agreed. "It boggles my mind how humans are able to keep up with each other in such speech."

"How can it boggle your mind when you do not have one?" Goldar joked with a snicker.

Rito pointed his finger at him. "You do not have much of a mind yourself."

Goldar waved Rito off, getting a laugh from him. He grabbed the box off the floor. He laid it on the table and opened it. He picked up the board to dump the pieces in. He folded it to place it inside. They heard chuckling and glanced toward Vile, who pointed his wand at them.

"I see you are finished with your game of checkers," Vile said and cleared his throat.

"Yeah. It was getting kind of boring," Goldar said, standing up along with Rito. They went over to him. "There is only so much you can do with a checker board."

"If you ask me, checkers should be more than just red and black. They should be all different sorts of colors," Rito suggested.

"That would be nice, but it would create much confusion. You would not be sure if you were jumping your own checker or that of your opponent," Vile pointed out. "You see what I am saying?"

"I think so, Pop," Rito agreed. He opened and closed his hand to flex his fingers. "Still, it would be pretty cool."

"Chess is a bit different from checkers. Each piece can move only a certain way. The rook can move up, down, left, and right. The bishop can move diagonally. The knight can move two spaces up and one over. The pawn can move forward one or two spaces," Goldar explained.

"The queen is the most powerful piece. It can move in any direction and any number of spaces it wants. The king can move in any direction, but it can only move one space at a time. You would think the king would be the most powerful piece," Rito commented.

"It feels very ironic, doesn't it?" Goldar asked.

"Irony is part of the universe," Vile said with a soft chuckle. "You encounter it every day. Sometimes, it is more than once."

"It is ironic that an idiot like Rito came from a mastermind like you, Master Vile," Goldar said, tapping the tip of his sword into the floor.

"That's right—Hey!" Rito yelled annoyingly.

"It's the truth, Rito," Vile admitted and formed a big smirk on his face. "You cannot deny it."

Vile looked toward the screen. He narrowed his eyes at it and waved his wand. Motha and Globbor headed over to him. They clasped their hands together and placed them against their stomachs.

"It is time to take a look at Angel Grove," Vile said and emitted a sharp exhale. Angel Grove Park appeared on the screen. Many people engaged in various activities. He chuckled eagerly. "Look at how peaceful it is now."

"I hate all this peace," Goldar said in great disgust. He curled his lip into a snarl before clenching his teeth. "It makes me want to gag."

"Me too. We need to start causing some destruction. We have waited long enough," Rito said very impatiently.

"That is exactly what we are doing," Vile commented in much happiness. "I want to smell cooked Rangers in the morning."

"Yes, yes!" Motha said and clapped multiple times.

"Please, hurry it up. I am ready to go," Globbor agreed.

Vile waved his wand with a fierce growl. Zedd, Rita, and Dregon appeared on the screen. They were speaking with each other in the Lunar Palace's throne room.

"Zedd, Rita, Count Dregon!" Vile barked.

"Hello, Father!" Rita said as she, Zedd, and Dregon looked toward him. She giggled somewhat nervously. "It is good to see you this morning."

"It is good to see you too," Vile responded.

"Let us guess. You are ready to attack Angel Grove now," Zedd said while rubbing his hands together.

"Yes, I am," Vile admitted and leaned back a bit. "You are to send the Tengas and Cogwarts after the civilians in Angel Grove Park. It is alive with activity this morning."

"We will definitely do that," Dregon added.

"Good," Vile responded, a big smile forming on his face. He pointed his wand at the trio. "Get on it now."

The screen went blank. Vile turned to Motha and Globbor, whom both unclasped their hands and scratched their heads. He tapped his wand on the arm of his chair.

"While the Rangers and Masked Rider are taking a pummeling, Ninjor will come to help them. That is when you two will go after him," Vile commented sternly.

"Of course, sir," Motha said with a nod.

Globbor growled. "I can't wait to tear those heroes apart."

Vile, Goldar, Rito, Motha, and Globbor laughed evilly. Their laughter was so loud that it echoed throughout the Space Skull.

00000

Tommy and Kim were looking over ultrasound pictures in her room at Angel Grove Memorial Hospital. He was seated next to her on the bed. He motioned toward the baby's underside in the picture she was holding. She couldn't help but smile. She put the picture behind the others. She tried to hold back at a laugh, but she could not help herself.

"This picture shows the baby's hand clearly," she said, giving the picture to him.

"It sure does," he agreed. "The other hand appears to be in the form of a fist."

"I was told unborn babies sleep most of the time," Kim commented as she straightened the pictures. "That does not stop them from shifting in their mothers' wombs."

"I am sure this little bugger is sleeping right now," Tommy said while laying his hand on her stomach.

"Most likely," Kim agreed and brought her hand up to his wrist. She gave it a gentle squeeze. She suppressed a yawn. She tried again with another one, but she could not help herself. "This child is a miracle. We may be young, but that does not mean we can't be good parents."

"That is true. It irritates me when teen parents are told they should give up their children for adoption by bystanders. The bystanders think the parents are ruining their children's lives and their own," Tommy explained with a roll of his eyes.

"Being a teen parent is not easy. You have to deal with going to school, working a job, and caring for your children," Kim said and took the picture from him. She placed it with the others and laid them on the table. "If your parents do not want to help, you are totally screwed unless you can get into a halfway house with childcare."

"Even that may not be enough," Tommy commented and pressed his lips together.

"It is just nerve-wracking waiting to tell my parents and my brother about the baby," Kim said, shuddering badly.

"It sure is," Tommy agreed. "The same goes for telling them we are engaged to be married."

"Marriage is a big adjustment, no matter what your age," Kim pointed out matter-of-factly. "The two biggest reasons divorce happens are financial and communication issues."

"Many couples will divorce at the first sign of trouble. That is not right. Every marriage has ups and downs. You have to be willing to work through the downs in order to enjoy the ups," Tommy said and frowned. "Unfortunately, these couple want the perfect relationship."

"Perfect relationships do not exist," Kim said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Couples will fight, regardless of status."

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck with both hands. He folded them and laid them in his lap. He twirled his thumbs while clicking his tongue three times. He emitted a soft snort.

"What is even more nerve-wracking is wondering when Master Vile will launch his first attack," Tommy said and mumbled obscenities in Spanish. "It seems he is biding his time like Lord Zedd and Rita do for now."

"I can't leave the hospital to take refuge in the Command Center. That sucks to no end," Kim mumbled, shaking her head in disbelief.

"The doctors would become suspicious if you disappeared," Tommy replied and ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth. "They'd be looking everywhere for you."

Kim tapped her finger against her temple. "There are places where I could hide."

Tommy let out a sharp exhale. "I'd be willing to hide with you."

He kissed her temple and wrapped his arms around her. She brought her hands up to his arm. She squeezed it so lightly that it seemed she had not done that. She felt him rock her from side to side.

"When I was waiting for news on your condition, I was really scared you had sustained damage of some sort. To hear it was not permanent brought so much joy to my heart," Tommy said, sighing warmly as he pushed her back to look at her.

"Dr. Jacobs said it was best that I tell you about my pregnancy. I agreed," Kim responded.

"Doctors do not want to alarm their patients' families about their conditions, but they do need to inform them about what is going on," Tommy murmured.

"So true," Kim agreed. "If doctors keep families in the dark in which they get the truth from someone else, that can break the trust that was built."

He snorted. "Once trust is broken, it is hard to get back."

She sighed heavily. "Unfortunately."

Suddenly, the communicators beeped loudly. This caused the couple to inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Tommy looked both ways very carefully. He saw the coast was clear and brought his up to his face.

"Zordon, this is Tommy," Tommy said.

"I hate to interrupt your visit with Kimberly, Tommy, but there is trouble in Angel Grove Park. Master Vile has sent the Tengas and the Cogwarts on the attack," Zordon responded urgently.

"Master Vile has finally made his move, huh?" Kim mumbled.

"Alpha will contact the other Rangers and have them meet you and Dex in the park," Zordon said.

"I am on it, Zordon," Tommy said determinedly. "Tommy out."

Tommy put his hand in his lap. He turned to Kim, who grabbed her bear and wrapped her arms around it.

"I will see you in a little while," Tommy said and sniffled.

"Go kick some monster ass," Kim encouraged.

He chuckled. "Thank you."

Tommy kissed Kim's forehead and stood up. He took slow yet even breaths before looking both ways.

"It's Morphin Time!" Tommy shouted. "White Ranger Power!"

Kim watched her fiancée teleport out of the hospital. She flicked one of the bear's ears while whispering inaudible words.