Note: Sigh. I really thought it was three parts, turns out it's four. Oh well, like the others, it's self contained and I hope you'll think it was worth the wait. The charcters still belong to Saban and I'm still not making any money for doing this. Thanks to Dagmar, Cheri and Willow for their invaluable feedback and encouragment (and keeping the bar high). And thanks again to Willow for proofing the last draft with major changes. I revised further so the boo-boos are mine.

The Youth Center felt smaller to Billy. That was most likely because he was used to the enormous student union across from the dorm; it was more than three times the size of the Angel Grove Youth Center.

Ernie looked the same though. He had returned from an extended trip about the same time Mr. Stone (formerly Lieutenant) opened his detective agency. He was delighted to see Billy and concocted a particularly delicious smoothie for his old customer.

After they ordered, the pair settled into one of the more secluded tables and proceeded to catch up. For an hour, Billy hardly spoke at all; Adam was obviously very nearly overwhelmed by everything that had happened. He listened patiently, paying particular attention to items he had already heard from the other Rangers. Adam's take on several things was unique.

Finally, as he ran the last fry around his plate, picking up the crumbs of his meal in the ketchup, Adam said, "God, I haven't stopped talking. What about you? Did you just get back or what?"

"No, I've been on Earth for over two years."

"I wish you had called."

Billy cast his eyes down to the table. "I wish I had also. I'm sorry. Things started to move so quickly..."

"Hey, I'm sure you had a good reason. I've missed you, though. And I really could have used your advice last spring."

"'The Incident'?" Billy inquired.

"Yeah," Adam acknowledged. "Who told you?"

"Tanya gave me the outline, but not many details. Are you still having problems with the perpetrator?"

"Apparently," Adam sighed. "There was paint all over the front window this afternoon. I'm pretty sure it's him, but there's no proof."

Adam was interrupted by a growing vibration moving through the building. Cries of alarm began to echo off the walls and Ernie was calling out, "Stay calm, everyone."

Neither Billy nor Adam moved. Billy grabbed his drink from the edge of the table and observed, "This doesn't feel like an earthquake."

"Divatox," Adam replied. "You noticed the monster landing when we left the dojo, didn't you?" He also caught his glass as it moved across the table.

"Of course," Billy responded, carefully taking a sip. The vibration continued several more seconds. "Is this typical?"

"Actually," Adam said, "This is a little more intense than usual."

"Ah. That explains the general alarm. Should we evacuate?"

"No, the fight's still on the other side of town." The shaking stopped. "There."

The panic in the room subsided along with the shaking.

"Excuse me a minute," Adam said, putting down his glass and rising from the table.

"If you see Ernie, ask him to drop the check by."

"Sure." Adam walked towards the restrooms.

Billy settled back into his chair and took another drought of the smoothie. "I've really got to ask Ernie how he makes these."

He had just returned the glass to the table when he felt a tingling in his stomach. Light swelled around him and he was teleported away.

It was a long transport, and Billy fell, just an inch or two, as he landed. He blinked at the sudden change in light, but thought he recognized his surroundings instantly. "The Command Center..."

"Ai, yi, yi, yi, yi! Billy!" The compact android shuffled over to him, the lightning bolt pattern on his chest flickering with excitement.

"Alpha? Alpha 5?" Billy queried, suddenly realizing he was no longer on Earth. As the little automaton threw his arms around Billy's waist and squeezed, the former Ranger asked. "What's wrong? Why did you bring me to Eltar?"

"The endgame is about to commence, Billy." Zordon's voice reverberated through the chamber. "But Divatox is moving more quickly than I expected. I need your help to prepare in time."

"Zordon..." Billy felt for a moment like he had been called to the principal's office. He had always assumed that if his new teleport interface for the old team had posed any problems to the Grid, Zordon would have advised him and halted the work. By the same token, he had never actually asked for permission to use the system. In all the time he had known the wizard, Billy had never seen him angry. He never wanted to, either.

The topic did not come up, however, as Zordon continued, "In a very short time, it will become necessary for me to transfer much of my energy. Observe the console before you."

Billy glanced at the schematic appearing on the screen. He ran the numbers three times before he spoke; the conclusion was alarming. "Zordon, if you transfer this much energy, there won't be enough left to maintain your presence. You'll vanish from this dimension."

"Correct."

"But, Zordon..."

"Billy, I cannot answer your many questions now. No one must know the details of my plan. Perilous times are fast approaching. If we succeed, your world will be safe for some time to come. If we fail, I fear the galaxy is doomed."

"And this is different how, exactly?" Billy mused under his breath.

"To achieve my goal, I need to create an interactive image of myself which can be placed in the container with the energy. Time is short, Billy. Will you help me, one last time?"

His doubt was fleeting; a scant second he wanted to cry out, "No! Send me back." Then his mind cleared, more focused than it had been in ages. "What are we up against?"

"I need the enemy to believe they have captured me."

"How interactive do you need the simulation to be?"

"Basic only. They will be concerned with draining the energy; the taunting will be secondary."

"Then I suggest we use the holographic technique I developed to place your image in the container and modify Alpha's response subroutine to manage a series of voice samples."

"An excellent plan. Alpha, return Billy to Earth. He has surely been missed by now."

"But, Zordon..." the android objected, "I'm not sure I can complete the work in time."

"You must, Alpha. The plan depends on it."

"Then I'll stay and help." Part of Billy's brain was swearing at him again.

"No, Billy," Zordon warned. "Dark forces are approaching Eltar. Once their attack begins, teleporting you would be very dangerous. They will be disrupting the Morphin' Grid. You could become lost in a pocket dimension."

"Then we should begin at once, so I can depart before the attack." He moved to the console and began copying the schematic for Alpha's response system.

"Billy, it's too big a risk." Alpha clattered over and rested his arm on Billy.

"Alpha, what's the point of saving me if the Earth falls to Divatox? I'll be fine. Start working on this response system please; I need to create a large enough reflector to generate a life-sized image of Zordon."

"Right, Billy!" The android busied himself at the terminal.

"Zordon, the new plasma tube is ready to accept your energy?"

"Yes."

"Then I suggest you begin the transfer at once. I can install the image generator on the fly."

"I knew I could depend on you, Billy."

For a moment, Billy looked up at the ancient wizard and smiled. He knew that Zordon never took him for granted, but it was still a pleasure to hear the words.

Adam's concern at discovering Billy gone shortly became alarm. He had simply vanished, leaving his backpack and computer.

As Adam closed the pack and glanced furtively around the room again, Ernie stopped by and asked, "What happened to Billy? It was sure nice to see him again."

"I don't know. You didn't see him leave?" Adam asked.

"Not in the last few minutes. Did he duck out during the quake?"

"No, we were here till it ended. And he wouldn't leave without this." Adam held up the pack. "Ernie, something's happening. I need to find him." Adam swung the pack over his shoulders. He tried to look at Ernie directly, but he felt the blood rushing into his cheeks. "I hate to ask, but could you... could you add this to my tab? I know it's getting kind of high. I didn't bring any cash with me; we had come down right from the dojo, and..."

"'I'll trust you ten years--not a day over'," Ernie intoned.

Adam's brow knitted and he stared blankly at Ernie.

"It's from a play some of the kids in junior year were reading. It means I know how tough it is running your own business, and I know you're good for it, Adam. I haven't forgotten how you guys always pitched in and helped out around here whenever I was in trouble."

"Ernie, you're the best." Adam pressed the order check into Ernie's hand as he started for the exit. "I'm at the dojo if he comes back..."

"Right. I remember the drill," Ernie chuckled as he cleared the dishes from the table. For a moment, it was just like old times.

Constructing the reflector took almost no time with the equipment in the lab. Installing it into the duplicate of Zordon's energy tube went quickly. The audio components took a bit longer and Billy was concerned that the results were a bit sketchy.

"The sync is still off," he observed, frustrated.

"It will suffice, Billy." Zordon continued over his protest, "It appears so to you only because you have seen so much of me; for the uninitiated, it will be fine. You must go now. The attack is imminent. Remember; tell no one about this deception. Not even your former comrades."

"I understand," Billy said, resigned. Zordon had explained that it would be necessary to deceive even the current team about what had actually happened. The old wizard didn't say why.

"Now I must transfer the rest of my power into the container. Alpha, you know what must be done."

"Right, Zordon. I'm ready."

"We'll see each other when all this is over." Turning to the Blue Ranger he continued, "My thanks for your help, Will. You are the finest example of humanity and of a Power Ranger." Zordon's face flickered as the energy flowed into the container that exactly mirroring his original tube. "The Power will protect you, always." And he was gone.

"I'm glad you're still here, Billy. I need your help too," Alpha said, tapping his arm.

"What is it, Alpha?"

"Pull my active memory chip."

"But, Alpha, that'll damage your system; possibly wreck your speech center."

"I know, Billy. But I can't be in on the plan either. If the enemy gets any hint, it won't work."

"Alpha..." Billy began, the concern in his voice obvious.

"Please, Billy. You've sacrificed so much; I can't do any less. My only regret is I'll forget the last few hours. You've always been a good friend to me, Billy. Keep the rod and if you can, someday, give it back to me." The little red android put his arm around Billy's waist. "Ai, yi, yi, yi! My emotion chip is overloading."

Zordon's voice spoke behind them, "Your evil plan cannot succeed..."

"Something's wrong..." Billy began.

"No, the system is cycling through the phrases Zordon recorded to organize them." The building rocked as an energy bolt hit the outer shield. "Billy, you have to go!" Alpha shuffled to the console and tapped in the transport sequence. "There's a five second delay programmed. When I hit the button, pull the chip."

"Alpha," Billy began, acutely aware of the fondness he felt for his mechanical companion.

"I know, Billy. I love you too. If anyone can do this without hurting me, you can. Ready?"

The floor jerked beneath them.

"On my mark," Billy replied. "Three... two... one... Mark!"

Alpha hit the switch. Billy reached into the back access panel and pulled the active memory rod free as gently as he could. He heard another series of crashing booms as the room faded around him.

He was suspended in transit longer than usual. Eventually, Adam appeared just outside the curtain of light carrying him. He expected to materialize when a sudden blast of force sucked him backwards. The last thing he saw was the former Black Ranger leaping towards him, then darkness enfolded him and his consciousness faded.

Adam's alarm was rapidly becoming worry. He had swung past Billy's house, but seeing Mr. Cranston through the window of his study engrossed in Danielle Steel's latest potboiler convinced him that Billy had not stopped by recently.

At least Rocky picked up the phone when he called the apartment from the dojo, although talking to the former Red Ranger was like talking to a brick wall. As far as he could tell, Billy had seen Rocky earlier in the day, and there was no sign of him since.

Adam was frustrated but not surprised. Rocky was still popping that medication for his neck at night; it generally rendered him incoherent until he slept for a few hours.

It was getting late, the attack Divatox began earlier was apparently still in progress and Billy was nowhere to be found. Looking for a clue, he opened Billy's computer and began searching through the desktop. Leave it to Billy to design a whole new interface, Adam thought. Kind of like the Command Center systems. Adam had just located a folder named "Old Friends" when he heard something strike the front window.

Peering out of the office door, he saw an egg begin to slide down the center of the front window as another struck closer to the door. He recognized the figure under the streetlight. First the psycho mother by the park this afternoon, now the ex-con boyfriend, Jeff Devon, was calling.

Adam charged out the front of the school. Devon dropped the box of eggs and bolted up the street. Adam was on him in a flash and caught up to him without breaking a sweat.

Realizing he couldn't get away, Devon turned and punched wildly at his pursuer. Adam ducked the blow and came up in a defensive stance.

"Okay, little boy," he slurred, "let's see how good you are."

The attack made Bulk's attempts at martial arts look masterful, but he was a head and a half taller than Adam and outweighed him almost two to one.

Adam used the larger man's momentum and threw him to the ground. "I'm not your girlfriend..."

As the fallen figure tried to rise, Adam popped an old-fashioned punch into the center of his face.

"I am certainly not a ten-year old girl..."

The would-be vandal fell back, trying to staunch the flow of blood from his nose.

"And I am really sick of dealing with you."

"Ah! You broke my damn nose."

"No, I didn't."

"It's broken..."

"Quit whining and get up."

"What? So you can hit me again?"

"You wanted to fight; I'm ready. Your choice." Adam leapt back as Devon tried an awkward leg sweep. Although he had expected an attack like that, he landed badly from his dodge and took a moment to regain his balance. His attacker was running away again by the time Adam realized what was happening.

He didn't get far. His foot slipped on the curb and he tumbled over a fire hydrant. Cursing, he ran full tilt into a mailbox and collapsed to the ground as a police cruiser rounded the corner.

It took nearly an hour before the whole operation of getting the injured, drunken man into an ambulance and collecting Adam's statement was complete.

The eggs had hardened by the time Adam returned to the school. Another seeming eternity passed as the vandalism was documented. Adam tried to be helpful, but his patience was frayed by the time the officers packed up. There was still no sign of Billy.

Alone at last, Adam returned to the office and opened the "Old Friends" folder. He expected a file directory or perhaps an address book, instead a fairly large application began to launch.

A familiar white light filled the office. Adam looked up from the notebook as relief washed over him; Billy was teleporting in. His body appeared, bathed in light, then abruptly retreated. A large explosion echoed from the distant hills. Billy reached out his arm and Adam flew across the desk, grasping for him. He landed hard as the last spark of the teleport vanished, leaving no trace of the original Blue Ranger.

Darkness was the first thing Billy became aware of, then he opened his eyes, slowly. The difference was practically negligible.

The next thing he noticed was the chill in the air. On the plus side, there was a breathable atmosphere, stale though it was. Shuddering, he felt his way forward through the mist rolling around him. The first wall he encountered was rock, cool and damp. Billy pulled himself up it until he stood, a bit unsteadily, and began walking with his hand against the rock. He hadn't gone a dozen steps when he encountered a metal rod barring his path. Like the spoke of a wheel, a series of the rods were held in place by a keystone decorated with the head of a beast. As his eyes adjusted, he saw a row of the gated arches curving away around him. He recognized them at once.

"The Dark Dimension..." Billy threw his weight against the cold metal bar and bounced off the still-active force field. "So much for that idea."

He checked his teleport control, but the Grid signal was silent. He was too deep in another plane or the relay was damaged... or Divatox had destroyed the Grid. No, she didn't have that kind of power available.

Billy followed the arch of gateways until it curved back into the rock wall. Trapped in a small pocket dimension. No tools, no communicator and, he thought, feeling the weight of Alpha's memory rod in his pocket, no one even has a clue I'm here.

"I always knew I'd get it in the Dark Dimension," he said aloud, imitating both Bob Hoskins and Humphrey Bogart. Abruptly aware of how tired he felt, he sank down into the mist, wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm.

Stop it! he admonished silently. You're uninjured. You've eaten recently. Preserve your body heat and you can survive here. "For a while," he added softly. Resolved, he took an inventory of his possessions and began considering how he could modify the teleport interface with a penknife.

The ground was shaking again. Divatox was apparently pulling out all the stops this time. As the vibration subsided, Adam stood and quickly scanned for any signs of structural damage. Seeing no obvious cracks, he decided to pick up where he left off before the apparition appeared. He returned to the computer. The top display listed all of the Rangers. Jason's name was bolded. Not sure what to do next, he moved the cursor over the listing, double-clicked and hoped for the best.

A new display box appeared.

"Now really I wing it..." he murmured. In the blank line next to the "send" button he typed, "Jason is that you?" and hit enter.

The black square above the controls echoed the text in small blue letters. After a few seconds, more text appeared in gold below the first line, "Hey, Billy! How'd things go with Adam?"

Instant messaging; "This is Adam. Billy was here earlier but vanished."

"Teleported?"

"I saw him try to teleport back here. He didn't make it. He just disappeared."

"Where are you?"

"At my dojo."

"I'll be right there." A logged off message followed.

"What do you mean..." he asked aloud. The answer came seconds later when a fresh column of light appeared in the foyer. When it faded, Jason rushed into the office.

"Adam, it's good to see you, man."

"How did you..."

"Billy came up with a way for us to access the Grid to see each other. Didn't he tell you?"

"I didn't give him the chance. Jase, something major is happening. Billy vanished out of the Youth Center. There was just the huge attack that shook everything for like the third time tonight, then Billy appeared for a second and vanished."

"Slow down, man. Start at the beginning and let's try to work out what's going on."

"This is a little too much like the old days," Billy murmured to himself. He had managed to free the back of his teleport interface and was in the process of trying to modify the circuitry without destroying the device. Given that he was working in the dark with a Swiss Army knife, he was possessed by the feeling that this would not be his finest effort.

"It's a good thing he's consistent."

"I wish he had written a help file."

"Somehow I don't think he thought anyone else would ever use it."

"He's not on Earth..." Adam pushed back from the desk, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"I think you're right; so, where is he?"

"Aquitar?" Adam ventured.

"I doubt it," Jason walked over to the water cooler and refilled his cup.

"Time hole?"

"I hope not. There's no way we'd find him."

"It was like he teleported again before he materialized."

"We need technical help. I'll be back." So saying, Jason consulted the screen for a moment and vanished.

The teleporter was now useless. Billy had gutted the interface mechanism to create a signal device. As best he could tell, he was successful. He hoped so; the conversion was a one-way street. He'd have to reconstruct a new unit from scratch when he returned to Earth. "Perhaps I'll see if I can fit in a communicator this time," he thought. That done, he surveyed his surroundings again, looking for any means to prolong his survival.

"He's off the Grid," Trini pronounced.

"You're sure?" Jason questioned.

"The program shows he's not on Earth or anywhere else the Grid extends; which by the look of it is pretty much everywhere."

"But I saw him; I'm sure I saw him right here."

"I'm sure you did, Adam. But he's somewhere out of range now."

"Where?"

"Maybe Divatox or Mondo or someone else snatched him," Jason suggested.

"Let me check something..." The young woman entered an a quick set of commands and continued, "Ah-ha! That's how he was able to do it -- this is a uniplane scan."

"Meaning?"

"It only scans in this dimension; it's a lot less complex than the Command Center system..."

"But he never expected to be looking for anyone outside this dimension," Jason finished.

"Why would he? We're all civilians now," Adam echoed. "Can you modify it?"

"Let's find out." She looked up from the computer and spoke to them directly. "Guys, this is going to take a while. You don't have to wait right here."

Adam started to protest, but Jason caught the hint. "All right. Maybe someone up at the Command Center knows what's happening." He consulted the control on his interface. "I can't get a teleport lock on the Center. Adam, do you have a car or something we can take up into the hills?"

"I think I know just the thing..."

Billy felt numbness creeping into his fingers. He began a chi-gung kata to warm himself, careful not to overexert into a sweat; the resulting evaporation would be intensely counterproductive. Completing a third round of the form, he leaned against the nonmetal part of the arch and wrapped his arms around himself. His converted interface hummed softly -- dot, dot, dot, dash, dash, dash, dot, dot, dot.

He had two of his contact cards left in his shirt pocket. To occupy the time, he began composing a final message that would fit onto the limited space available to him.

They saw the smoke rising well before RadBug stopped near the rubble that used to be the Command Center. Jason practically jumped out of the car before they landed.

"No," was all Adam managed to whisper as he surveyed the wreckage.

Dazed, they wandered among the fallen hunks of stone, trying to get a sense of what was left from the attack. At last, Jason took out a small phone and dialed. "Trini, it's Jason; the Command Center's destroyed. It's completely trashed... There's no sign of either of them or Billy... I don't know; it looks like everything is smashed... I'll try." He looked around for Adam.

The former Black Ranger was seated on a piece of rubble near what used to be the main chamber, his head bowed into his hands.

"Adam, we need to find one of the components from the scanner; Trini thinks she can use it to boost the range on Billy's system."

Adam didn't move.

"Come on, man. I know it's tough, but Billy's still lost out there somewhere."

Adam didn't even try to wipe away the lines of tears streaming down his face. "Jason, what about Alpha and Dimitria?"

"I don't know, man, but there are five active Rangers to help out here. We're all Billy's got. Come on, I need your help finding the sensor controls." He paused, biting the inside of his lip. "Billy needs you."

Adam nodded and, with effort, rose to his feet.

Billy shivered. That's bad, he thought. He had no sense of time passing; indeed, he wasn't sure if time flowed at the same rate within the Dark Dimension. He breathed into his hands, trying to warm them. It wasn't freezing, just cold enough to be uncomfortable and eventually deadly. Rubbing his hands, he felt the claddaugh on his ring finger.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he removed the ring from his hand and turned the heart inwards. Picturing Seth in his mind's eye, he slipped the ring back on. The flood of warmth he felt was surely illusionary; it still comforted him greatly as he reached for his pen, determined to commit something to the cards before he began to shake uncontrollably.

Adam desperately wanted to break something. Divatox's neck would have been his first choice, but the dojo mirror was looking very tempting. He was pacing and unfocused and very glad none of his students was around to see him like this.

Jason was in a meditative posture at the end of the room, but he had drifted off to sleep some time ago. Trini was working like a fiend in the office; she was certain she could make the scanner work--the only question was how long it would take.

He picked up the teleporter Trini had found in the pocket of Billy's backpack. Obviously intended for him (it was black with a green border), he held the device tightly. Adam hadn't realized how much he had missed Billy.

Trini's voice called out, "Guys! I've got him."

"Jason! Come on!" Adam shouted as he ran to the office.

Billy debated endlessly over the last line. All the available space was full except for the tiny gap at the edge of the card. Following the format he had used above, the line was committed; it began "Dad-."

"Sorry I didn't stay closer, but I appreciate all your support and I love you," wasn't going to fit. Everyone else's had compacted to a few words easily, perhaps because he had seen them all recently.

The mist coursed more quickly past his legs and he shivered again, dropping the card. Cursing, he reached down, feeling for the fallen paper. He found it at once and, hunching his shoulders, wrote out, "Love you, thanks for every-." The line turned back up the side of the card. "-thing."

The pen slipped from his hand and vanished forever into the fog. He slid the densely coded card back into his shirt pocket and buttoned it closed. Hoping that whatever Zordon's plan had been, it was working, he said aloud jauntily, "Okay, guys. I'm fully prepared to be rescued."

He felt the continued vibration of his makeshift distress beacon in the quiet. "Any time."

Leaning against an arch that seemed a little warmer than the others, he whispered, "Jason... Tommy... Adam; help me."

"What's the problem!" Adam exclaimed, exasperated. "I haven't used my teleporter yet."

"The problem is I can't just click a button and pull you back," Trini replied. "Assuming I can punch an energy beam through to the Dark Dimension, I'd have to manually reverse the polarity to get you back out. That'll take time and I'm not sure it'll work."

"Okay, so I'll dress warm and put on my galoshes. He's sending an SOS; he could be hurt. He's been trapped there for hours."

"Adam, so far as we know you're the only Ranger with an uninitialized teleporter. Jason and mine aren't accepting the transdimensional coordinates; probably because we've used them to travel across the Grid on Earth. If everyone else has already used theirs, we won't get a second chance at this."

"So what!" Adam cried. "It doesn't matter. I've still got to try. Even if there's no back-up, we can't leave him there."

"Trini," Jason said softly, "he's right. It's a risk, but if we've only got one shot we should take it now."

"Jason..." she rose from behind the desk.

"Adam," Jason cut her off, "grab your first-aid kit and some water. If you're going, go prepared."

"Right." He ducked out of the office.

Trini looked disbelievingly at Jason. She waited for him to explain.

He caught her eye and spoke in a low voice, "Humor him."

"Jason! This isn't humoring him; it's risking his life! I wasn't exaggerating; I'm not sure I can pull them back."

"He has to try."

"But if there's no other teleporter we can use..."

"We're exactly where we are now." Ending the discussion, Jason concluded, "Even if we knew for sure this was the only chance, we'd take it and Adam'd insist on going."

Trini tried to disagree, but found she couldn't. "Give me your phone. Let's see if I can fake a communicator with it."

Billy became aware that the cuffs of his jeans were damp. He hated wet clothing. His teammates on the swim squad used to joke about the multiple changes he kept sealed in plastic when they traveled. He always had the last laugh when he was the only one who emerged from the season without a cold.

It occurred to him he could call up his Ninjetti suit. Unfortunately, it was far lighter weight than it appeared. He decided to wait until the moisture in his clothes became uncomfortable rather than inconvenient.

"Ready?" Trini asked.

"Ready," Adam confirmed.

"Remember, if the phone doesn't work, we'll try to pull you back every ten minutes," Jason said.

"Got it," Adam replied. Billy's pack, now filled with the dojo's first-aid kit and most of the contents of Adam's shoulder bag, was slung on his back. "Whenever you're set, Trini." Reading her concerned expression, he continued, "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get us both home."

Smiling as best she could muster, Trini sent the carrier wave into the Dark Dimension. Adam triggered his interface and white, black and green light blazed around him as he vanished.

Mercifully, he didn't hear the smoke detector go off as Trini's cobbled-together circuitry box containing the salvaged sensor from the Command Center burst into sparks and smoke seconds after he left.

Euphoria was setting into Billy. It was an improvement over the fear, but his rational mind was concerned that it did not bode well for his immediate future. Billy was very near past caring. He was fairly sure no one had heard his SOS and he had run out of options. He expected to drift off to sleep soon and not wake back up.

"It's been a good life," he thought aloud. His regrets for a few. Not going dancing with Seth that night last month when he could have. Not seeing his father when he returned from Aquitar. Never getting to fall asleep beside Adam.

His reverie was cut short as a shaft of light cut through the gloom and fog. It landed about five meters away from him. Then he heard a voice calling his name.

"Is the computer all right?" Jason asked, putting down the fire extinguisher.

"Rebooting, but otherwise okay. I hope," Trini replied. Gingerly, she pulled at the top of the box she had attached to one of the ports at the back of the machine. The lid bounced off the desk and clattered to the floor. Fanning aside the residual smoke, she peered into the box.

"How bad?" Jason ventured.

"Not as bad as it looked," she responded. "I think most of what burned out I had to replace for the return anyway."

"Did anything irreplaceable go?"

"You'll be the first one I tell."

"Billy!" Adam shone a flashlight onto the former Blue Ranger's curled up form and rushed over to his friend.

Billy was of the opinion that he had begun hallucinating. He decided there were worse things he could have imagined.

"Billy, are you okay?" Adam asked, as he knelt beside Billy, cupping the former Blue Ranger's neck in his hand, checking for obvious trauma.

"I wish I could have slept in your arms once..."

"You're freezing, buddy," Adam observed, ignoring the remark. "How do you feel?"

"Frigid, saturated, enervated and timorous, but otherwise uninjured."

"You sound normal," Adam smiled.

"You look so handsome..." Billy began.

The ground shook and a massive groaning, crumbling sound reverberated through the air.

"What was that?"

"You're really here?" Billy asked, snapping back to reality.

"Yeah, Trini send me along a morphometric carrier wave, whenever that is."

"Oh," Billy said flatly. "Oh, dear."

A loud groan echoed off of the rocks.

"Billy?"

"Mind you, I'm just guessing, but I think that if she routed the energy beam through the control system in my laptop..."

"She did."

"Then the beam would have been unmodulated at the high-end. Meaning that it may have destabilized the intrinsic cohesion at the dimensional boundary, which would have already been grievously taxed by my arrival through a vortexed inverse funnel." A faint ripple moved across the floor.

"Translation," Adam prompted.

"I believe the Dark Dimension is beginning to collapse in on itself." A shower of dust fell from above, punctuating the sentence.

"How long?"

"Too many variables to be precise, but outside limit --six, maybe seven hours." Rocks cracked somewhere in the darkness. "Or a matter of minutes. It depends on whether the collapse progresses arithmetically or logorhythmically."

"Any good news?" Adam asked.

"If the collapse is precipitous, we'll never know what hit us."

Trini was functioning on caffeine and adrenaline. She had done some of her best work in that state, but would have preferred focused, rested serenity with lives in the balance.

Jason was doing his level best not to pace. It was a lot more work than he expected.

"This isn't working. The signal is distorting too much," she said, shaking her head. "I'm going to need an uninitiated teleporter. Jason, see if you can find someone who hasn't used theirs yet."

"I'm on it."

The tremors had subsided for the moment. That was a relief, but Billy was unsure if it was a good sign overall.

Adam pulled out Jason's cell phone and tried to contact Trini. "Man, I hope Jason doesn't get hit with roaming charges for this call." After a moment, he turned the phone off in frustration. "Nothing. But they'll be trying to pull us out every ten minutes."

"May I?" Billy asked, reaching for the phone.

"Ready to build a radio transmitter out of coconuts, Professor?" Adam joked, handing over the phone.

"We'll see," Billy replied removing his already modified interface and pulling out his penknife. "Hold the light over here, will you?"

Jason appeared in Adam and Rocky's apartment. He wasn't crazy about breaking and entering, but he was in a hurry. Rocky was snoring, sprawled on the armchair, bathed in the light of an infomercial. He saw the red and blue interface strapped to the former Ranger's wrist.

"Rocky," Jason called.

No response was forthcoming.

"Rocky?" he tried again. "Rocky! Wake up!"

"Whaa?" Rocky lolled up and opened his eyes, blinking.

"Sorry to barge in, man, but there's an emergency."

"Jason?"

"Have you used your teleporter yet?"

"That was just a dream..."

"No, it's on your wrist."

"I don't remember..."

"Come on, Rocky," Jason prompted, "Check the interface."

"How do I..."

Frustrated, Jason grabbed his arm and said, "Here." Reading the display he continued, "You've used it twice. Where did you go?"

"I said I don't remember!" He yanked his arm free. "What's the big deal?"

Standing up, Jason replied, "The big deal is Adam and Billy are stuck in another dimension with no way back if I can't find an uninitialized interface. How can you not remember teleporting?"

"I just don't, okay!" He sprang up. "You're not my mother. Back off!"

"What the hell's happened to you, man?"

"I grew up," Rocky spat at him. "Go on, dash off and save them. That's what you do, isn't it?"

Jason glared at Rocky, not believing this was the same person.

"Don't try to help or anything," he replied, programming his teleporter.

"Get out of my house." Rocky turned his back on Jason and walked towards the kitchen.

"Rocky..."

"I said leave." He didn't look back as Jason vanished. "I'll stay here, out of the way." He grabbed an orange vial from the counter and twisted the lid as he pressed down.

"Any luck?" Adam asked.

"I believe so," Billy replied. "It's keyed to the dojo's number?"

Adam nodded.

"Then let's give it a try."

Trini jumped when the phone rang. Scrambling around the remains of her efforts to repair the teleport enhancer, she grabbed the receiver. "Hello?"

"A most prodigious effort, Trini," Billy responded.

"Only problem is, I'm not sure I can repeat it. How are you both holding up?"

"We're fine." Somewhere on the rock face a shower of small boulders cascaded down. "The Dark Dimension, however, has seen better days."

"The boundary's destabilizing?"

"Affirmative."

"Damn, I thought I had compensated for that."

"No point worrying about it now," Billy replied. "What's your current status?"

"I think the transmitter is repaired. Jason's looking for an uninitialized teleporter to route the return signal through. Is there any way to reinitialize my unit?"

Billy considered a moment and replied, "Negative. Not without reconstructing several components --which would require time and an electronics lab."

"Then I guess we wait for Jason."

"We shouldn't keep the line open."

"Further damage to the dimensional boundary?"

"And the phone's battery is draining fast," he added. "Trini, thank you. However this ends, thank you."

"Billy..."

"Talk to you soon." He turned the phone off.

"We'll drive down right after you," Tommy said, following Jason into the main room.

"Okay. Drive careful, Bro."

"I will," Kim answered, coming out of the bedroom, pulling on her sweat jacket. "No arguments, Tommy Oliver. That cage stays on until the doctor takes it off."

"But..." he dropped his head, resigned. "You're right."

"Good luck, Jason." Kim gave his cheek a peck as the former Red Ranger programmed the teleporter. "We'll be down in a few hours."

"See you at the dojo." Jason vanished, both their teleporters in his hand.

"Come here," Adam said, leaning against an arch.

"What?" Billy responded as he clipped the phone to his belt.

"It's cold. We should stay close and share body heat."

Billy smiled and shook his head gently, crossing to Adam and sitting before him.

"I wish I had known things had changed here so much. I would have brought something heavier," Adam commented, pulling Billy close to him. Even wearing the light jacket Adam had packed in, the Blue Ranger was noticeably cool against him.

"You're nice and warm," Billy replied, letting Adam clasp his hands.

"Here, why don't you take my sweatshirt too?" Adam began pulling off the bulky shirt he had donned before leaving.

"No," Billy replied. "It's more efficient for you to stay as warm as you are."

"You sure?"

"Affirmative." Billy pressed his back closer to Adam's torso, appreciating the warmth. They stayed that way for a moment, neither of them speaking until another groan of stressed rock echoed through the cavern.

"You never told me what's been happening with you," Adam said. "Or, I never gave you a chance."

"Does it matter now?"

"It does to me," Adam responded. "Besides, Trini'll get us out of here. We've got to do something to pass the time."

"Nothing nearly so interesting as you," Billy began. "I enrolled in college to try to forget about being a Ranger. Swam varsity for two years; set a school record in breaststroke."

"What science did you major in?"

Billy smiled and replied, "Actually, I majored in English literature."

"What?"

"First semester I signed up for every science course I could and was bored silly. Se... A good friend of mine pointed out that I already had much more science background than an undergraduate program could offer me, and suggested that I save it for graduate school and try a major that would broaden my horizons and challenge me."

"So you spent two years analyzing MOBY DICK?"

"Essentially."

"Maybe I should have gone that route instead of opening a dojo," Adam sighed.

"That bad?" Billy queried, allowing himself to nestle more deeply into their embrace. There were definitely worse ways to die than in Adam's arms.

"I started my own dojo because I wanted to teach martial arts, not to deal with invoices and maintenance and advertising and retention. And Rocky; it's like he's somebody else. I don't know what's going on with him. Then last spring..."

"Tough decision what to do?"

"The decision wasn't tough at all; it was the way it all happened."

"What did happen?" Billy asked. "No one I've spoken to knew exactly."

"They wouldn't. I asked Rocky not to tell anyone." He paused. "What kind of world do we live in, Billy?" Adam took a deep breath and continued, "I had a new group of students, so I asked why they were in class, like I always do. Got the usual answers -- to become a Ninja Turtle, to make my sister stop picking on me..."

"'I want to be a Power Ranger'?"

Adam smiled, "About half of them say that."

"But she said?" Billy prompted.

"Nothing. She wouldn't answer in class and I didn't push it. I gave the speech about martial arts not being about beating people up and only using it for defense. That was the toughest realization that first year; finding out practically everyone was coming into the art for different reasons than Aisha and Rocky and I did.

"Anyway, after class, her mother was late picking her up and April came into the office." Adam's whole body was quaking with rage at the memory. "She said, 'I'm taking martial arts because I'm scared of Mommy's boyfriend'."

"And you called the Child Protection Agency?"

"No," Adam replied. "Not then. I told her she should tell her Mommy about it. She said she had, and her mom called her bad names and told her not to lie about Uncle Jeff."

"So you called..."

"When I saw the welt across her back when she changed out of her gi."

"The boyfriend?"

"Her mother," Adam replied. "God, what a mess. April left with them. I called. The investigator tracked them down. The boyfriend ended up going back to jail on a parole violation, the mother nearly got arrested too when they took him in, and April... She got placed in foster care."

"At least Angel Grove has a good foster system."

"That's a matter of opinion. April came by, specially, a month later to tell me she hates me. Her mother's been screaming at me whenever she sees me, and threatening to sue since I reported her; the only reason she hasn't is because no one will take the case. Plus I'm broke anyway.

"Oh, and the boyfriend stopped by the dojo right before you got teleported here. When we get back I get to decide what charges to press, which means essentially I get to decide whether to send him back to jail." Adam rested his forehead against the back of Billy's neck, trying to joke but not succeeding, "Maybe you could just leave me here when you head back to Earth."

"Come on," Billy said, unconsciously caressing Adam's hands in his. "You've got your school. Your students need you."

Adam snorted and dropped his head back "Yeah, that'll be closing soon too. Maybe I can still teach a group at the Youth Center after my shift at the burger shop."

Billy released his friend's hands and stood up. Adam ran his fingers through his hair and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't jump dimensions to unload on you like that."

"It's all right," Billy moved beside him and sat down against the archway.

"No, I mean..."

"Adam..."

"It's..."

"Adam, be quiet and let me hold you for a while." He pulled the overwrought former Black Ranger against him and surrounded him with his arms. For a moment Adam's body tensed, then Billy felt him relax as small spasms of silent sobs went through him.

"I'm sorry," Adam sniffed at last. "I'm supposed to be saving you."

"That good friend of mine also taught me there are times when everyone just needs to be held for a while."

Adam let the embrace surround him, breathing deeply and letting everything go. "Sounds like she's really something," he said at last.

One of the metal gates in the distance screamed as it distorted and snapped.

"He, actually," Billy stated, tracing the underside of the claddaugh with his thumb. "His name is Seth."

"Can I get you anything at all, Trini?" Jason asked.

The petite Asian woman shook her head, her hair cascading like a jet waterfall over the desktop.

"Still no response on the phone?" she asked.

"No," Jason replied. "He must have turned it off completely. I hate the power switch on that thing; you think it's in standby, but it's totally shut down."

"Or the connection isn't functional from this side. It could be any one of a dozen things. Don't worry about it; they'll call if they need us."

"You must have been awfully close to him."

"Affirmative." Billy wanted to scream. Adam was either being deliberately obtuse or very diplomatic. They were skirting the obvious, but he couldn't bring himself to flat-out tell Adam that Seth was his lover. He hated that even after telling practically every other Ranger and receiving complete support from all of them the reason for his avoidance wasn't any deeper than the fear Adam might reject him.

They huddled together in the growing darkness as the mist rose and the temperature dropped. While the situation was not without a nostalgic appeal, Billy thought he'd better risk the makeshift communicator again.

Jason practically pounced on the phone. "Hello, Billy?"

"Is there a problem, Jason?"

Holding the receiver with both hands, Jason replied, "No, man. Trini's hooking up Tommy's unit now. She'll be ready in..."

"Five," Trini supplied, not looking up.

"Five minutes. Hang in there."

"We'll be here."

"Wait, Billy. Don't sign off..."

"It's unwise to keep an open channel going through an unstable dimension."

"Okay," Jason responded. "But be sure to leave the power turned on so we can call back if we need to."

"See you in a few minutes," Billy replied.

"They're almost ready."

"Are we okay like this?" Adam asked.

"Lets stand up in case we need to chase the transit point."

As they did so, Adam took a firm hold of Billy's hand as the original Blue Ranger shouldered his backpack.

"I'm not losing you," he said. Billy squeezed back in response.

"It won't work," Trini said, her voice cracking in anger and distress.

"It did before," Jason responded.

"Jason, listen to me. The dimensional barrier is thickening as the Dark Dimension is collapsing. Maybe, if I was in the Command Center, I could punch through. This set-up doesn't have enough power. You can't get there from here anymore." She practically collapsed onto the chair, drawing her fist against her mouth.

"It can't end like this!" Jason shouted, kicking in frustration at the metal file cabinet as he paced.

"Could you split the distance?" a figure leaning in the office doorway asked.

"Rocky..." Trini looked up at him.

"I mean, that wasn't the only dimension Rita and Zedd used. What if you send someone to an adjacent dimension, closer in? Could it punch through from there?" the former Red Ranger asked, his voice sounding dry and raw.

"Possibly," Trini replied. "Or everyone could be stuck and we'd have no way to find them again." She began pecking at the keyboard, reviewing the available options.

"Rocky," Jason asked, "are you okay, man?"

"I look pretty bad, don't I?"

"Yeah."

"I feel worse."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing serious, just a little withdrawal." Rocky replied. "Actually, I have you to thank for it."

"Rocky..."

"You know, Jason, after I saw you, I realized something scary; I didn't know what month it was, let alone what day. It was dark out, and I had no idea how I got to the apartment or how long I'd been there. I didn't really remember much of anything since Christmas. And I had one of those yellow painkillers in my mouth. All I had to do was swallow and I wouldn't care anymore. That was a scary thought too, because I also didn't remember the last time I cared about anything. My neck's fine; has been for months. I was taking them not to feel anything."

"I'm guessing you didn't swallow," Jason prompted.

"Spit it out; flushed the rest of the bottle down the toilet. Went to my room, got the bottle I had stashed under my bed and flushed them too."

"Good to have you back, man."

"Guys," Trini interjected. "I can get one of us onto Quagmire's Island. We should be able to break through from there. The system will be done with the calculations in a few minutes."

"Didn't Rita destroy it?" Jason asked.

"Best guess is it re-formed. She must have blown up the island, but not collapsed the dimension. It's so small, there was nowhere for the pieces to go but back together," Trini replied.

"That's the island where Rita brought all your nightmares to life?" Rocky asked, moving behind the desk to read over her shoulder.

"We brought our own along, actually. Lucky for us we had each other to make it through," she replied, leaning back. "And help from Quagmire."

"I'd better get ready," Jason said, picking up Tommy's teleporter.

"Trini," Rocky said calmly. "There's another little bottle of pills in the lower left-hand drawer. Would you mind dumping it for me? I'm not sure I can do it myself right now and I'd like to know they're all gone."

"Sure thing, Rocky." She dug into the drawer and pulled the small container out. "Be right back."

Jason was strapping on Tommy's interface. "That took guts, man."

"Thanks, Jason." The computer chimed. Rocky moved closer and read the screen. "Looks good. Kim's teleporter is primed for the Dark Dimension. Quagmire's Island is up on Tommy's."

"Great."

"Jase, is that band on okay?"

"What?"

"Here, it looks like it's going to fall off..." Rocky moved around the desk and took Jason's hand, tugging at the teleporter.

"Thanks, man..." The words caught in his throat as Rocky delivered a sucker punch to his solar plexus. Caught unprepared, Jason's breath rushed out. Rocky pulled the green and white teleporter free and none-too-gently flipped his predecessor out into the hall.

The office door was closed and locked before Jason recovered his feet. He began pounding on the door as Trini ran back from the bathroom. "Rocky! What the hell are you doing?"

"Sorry, Jason. You've got too much to live for. Nightmares and I have been pals for quite a while now. I'll bring them back."

"Rocky! Don't!" Trini called.

Jason threw himself against the door, which remained firm.

"Come on, guys," Rocky called, picking up Kim's teleporter. "At least wish me luck." He pressed the enter key and held his hand on the computer as the energy built around him.

The door gave way as the vortex lifted him off to a lonely rock suspended in oblivion.

The ringer on what was left of Jason's phone went off.

"I doubt that's good news," Billy said softly, opening the receiver.

"Billy..." Jason's voice sounded very far away.

"I read you, Jason. Just barely."

"...ocky took the teleporters... had to jump... mire... getting denser..."

"Jason..." The sound decayed into static. Billy closed the phone and clipped it to his belt.

The ambient light grew dimmer as more rock cascaded down the cliff nearby. The archways began sparking as the force fields collapsed and the metal rods twisted inward.

Adam turned to face the former Blue Ranger, still holding his hand firmly. "It's over, isn't it?"

"Very nearly, I'm afraid."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you really think I'm handsome?"

The sunlight hurt Rocky's eyes.

"Man, my nightmares aren't usually this bright," he commented, raising his arm to his face to protect his eyes. It took a second for him to realize that the teleport interfaces and the computer had not made the transition. Even his own unit, which had been strapped securely to his wrist, was gone.

"Oh, no!" He looked around the beach where he was standing, desperately searching for the missing equipment. He walked quickly in a widening spiral out from where he had landed. He was so intent upon the sand beneath his feet, he nearly bumped into the burly figure in red who stood by the shore of the water with his arms crossed. "Jason, how did you get here?"

"With you."

"Whatever. Come on, I must have dropped the teleporters when I landed. We've got to find them."

"You mean these?" He uncrossed his arms and held out his hands. Tommy and Kim's interfaces rested in his palms.

"Great!" Rocky exclaimed. "Now all we need is the laptop."

"What do you mean, 'We'?"

Rocky stopped cold. "That's not funny, Jason."

"Who are you to say what's funny and what isn't, you crass buffoon? You're a pathetic joke compared to me. I'm glad I got to take up a new color when I came back to the team; I'd have been ashamed to wear the same uniform you had, after you'd fouled it with the stench of your failures."

A new voice behind Rocky called, "Come on, you had it easy."

"Billy!" Rocky called. "You made it out of the Dark Dimension. Where's Adam?"

"At least you didn't have to watch him trying to fill your boots and falling flat on his face. You didn't have to labor behind the scenes, watching everyone assume that the Blue Ranger was still the technical brains of the operation while the guy wearing the suit could barely tie his shoes."

"Billy?" The figure identical to the former Ranger approached along the shore of the water, the laptop carried under his arm. Rocky's heart was sinking fast. He wanted to run, but his feet were rooted to the ground.

"The pathetic Ranger..."

"The wannabe..."

"Too weak to be a real Red Ranger..."

"Too stupid to be a real Blue Ranger..."

"Always a joke..."

"A bad joke..."

"A pointless joke..."

"A tasteless joke..."

"I'm amazed he survived..."

"He wouldn't have without the team. They pitied him..."

"'Poor Rocky. He's just not as strong as Jason...'"

"'And he's nowhere near as smart as Billy...'"

Rocky brought his hands to his ears, trying to shut out the sound of their voices without success. He felt dizzy, as if he would fall over at any moment. He tried to protest, "That's not true..."

"Isn't it?" they said in unison. Rocky looked at their faces, drawn into evil grins, eyes completely black.

Jason's doppelganger continued, "Do you know why he used his teleporter? Where was so important that he had to get there immediately?"

Billy's double glared at Rocky and responded, "Why, no, Jason. What could possibly have been so urgent?"

"He was too damn lazy to get up out of his chair to take a leak."

Rocky winced, at a loss how Jason could have known, mortified because it was the truth.

"Awww, come on, Jason. I'm sure it seemed awfully important at the time. It's not as if he could have known my life and the life of his best friend would have depended on him being responsible. For once."

"And I'm sure he'd say his judgment was impaired by the drugs. He'd have an excuse. Like always."

Rocky felt like his head was floating away, which actually wasn't too far from the truth. Most of his lower body had vanished into Nightmare Island. He closed his eyes tightly, forcing the tears out and down his cheeks saying, "This isn't real."

"Isn't it?" answered the false Jason.

"Isn't every single thing we said something you thought yourself?" the dark Billy taunted.

"Why are you fighting it..."

"You've never cared before..."

"Just let go and vanish..."

"The world will be a better place..."

"And no one will even notice you're gone..."

Softly, pleadingly, Rocky cried out, "Please, somebody... Quagmire! Help me."

The little man appeared in a puff of smoke. He half-sang,

"There comes a moment in your life
When the past may overwhelm with strife.
Dwell on it and fade away
or decide to go forward from today.
It's up to you and you alone
Quagmire says you're on your own."

And he was gone.

Rocky forced his eyes open and looked squarely at the two figures taunting him. It wasn't Jason or Billy; it was a distorted reflection of himself. What he was, what he had become. The apparitions laughed and merged into one figure, looking for all the world the way he had in his junior school photograph. Then the abuse really started; every hidden embarrassment, every secret shame.

He ignored it. He closed his eyes and pictured his youngest students. There was a reason he loved leading the pee-wee squad; he got to teach the base skills that underlie all martial arts the right way. He knew that once you understood the basics, you could do anything you chose.

He went back to the absolute foundation of his training. Breathing. Centering. Grounding. The fundamentals that made he and Aisha and Adam such a devastatingly effective team.

His body reappeared and he felt the sand beneath him. Another breath. He spread his stance. He drew up his chi in a deep breath, opened his eyes, and launched himself headfirst at his nightmare.

"I never could slip anything past you, could I?" Billy replied.

"No," Adam responded. "Well, do you?"

Billy placed his free hand on the side of Adam's face, caressing the smooth skin and feeling the wavy, black hair with his fingertips. "Yes," he responded. "Very."

Throwing caution to the wind, he kissed Adam with pressing urgency.

The ground jerked beneath them and they fell together against the archway. They remained locked in a fierce embrace. "Adam, I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"That you're trapped here too. For wishing that you'd come in the first place."

"No regrets here," Adam replied, and kissed Billy back.

The rock and metal around them ripped to shreds. A gaping crack opened in the ground, rushing towards them, draining the mist off to the void of interdimensional space.

Irrationally, Billy moved to shield Adam with his body as the collapse accelerated. Definitely logarithmic, he thought, as bits of the ceiling fell around them.

A flash of red and pink light appeared across the growing chasm. It coalesced into a human shape.

"Last train for Earth via Nightmare Island," Rocky shouted to them. In a show of raw athleticism that surprised Billy, Rocky leapt between the fallen boulders, hopped atop a jagged up-thrust of rock and sprang across the gaping wound in the floor. He landed on the ground with a roll a few feet from them. "Come on! It's programmed for auto return in ten seconds."

Adam actually provided the initial shove that got them moving. The pair landed all in a muddle on the floor with the former Red Ranger.

"I really wish you would quit arriving at the last possible minute," Adam called.

"At least I'm not late," Rocky replied. The teleporter light flared around them, weakly. "What's wrong?"

"Density at the boundary is increasing... Adam!" Billy grabbed the former Ranger's arm and turned it until the top of the black interface control touched the pink one on Rocky's wrist. "Don't try this at home, children..." He jammed the units together and triggered them simultaneously.

The floor fell away beneath them.

Trini had collapsed from sheer exhaustion just after Tommy and Kim arrived. Jason was beside himself and Kim knew enough to let Tommy handle him alone. She was by herself in the dojo office when the phone rang. "Hello?"

"Kimberly?"

"Billy!" She jumped up and called through to the dojo, "Guys! It's Billy! They're okay!" Turning to the phone, she continued, "You are all okay, aren't you?"

"Adam and Rocky don't like Nightmare Island any more than we did, and Quagmire says hello."

"What do you need us to do?"

"Stand back; I needed the phone for a firm lock."

Kim dropped the receiver and stepped into the hall. The group materialized in the foyer as Tommy and Jason looked on from the doorway.

Adam and Rocky fell to the floor as they landed, looking like they had been through one too many rounds with an army of Cogs. Billy stood with his laptop, smiling.

Jason ran over and hugged Billy, then helped Adam to his feet. They exchanged high fives as Kim took over where Jason left off with Billy.

Reaching down to help Rocky up, Jason said, "I ought to knock your block off for pulling a stunt like that."

Rocky took his hand and replied, "You already did on Nightmare Island."

Jason pulled him to his feet and gave his back a hearty slap. "You pulled it off, bro. You're a hero."

"For once."

"Still," Jason stated.

Billy passed Kim off to Adam and embraced Tommy. The former White Ranger kissed the center of his forehead saying, "Welcome home again, Billy." Blushing, Billy inquired about Trini. In answer to his question, Kim pointed Billy to the changing room.

He walked softly to where Trini had crashed. Leaning close and kissing her cheek lightly, he whispered, "I am deeply in your debt. Thank you."

"Jean..." Her eyes opened. "Billy!" She threw her arms around his neck.

The sun was coming up as the team said their farewells, promising to get back together soon. Jason and Trini teleported back to school. Tommy and Kim drove back up to the hillside cabin. Rocky left for a morning walk through the park, something he hadn't done in ages.

Billy was sorting through his backpack in the office when Adam came in.

"Quite a night," the young Asian man observed.

"It certainly was," Billy responded.

"I must be getting old; one all-nighter and I'm totally wiped out," Adam commented.

Billy smiled, then asked somberly, "Did I take advantage?"

"No," Adam replied. "I've dreamed about doing that for years," he added quietly.

"Me too."

"So, what now?" Adam asked.

"Wild, passionate sex on the dojo floor?"

"Billy!" Adam blushed.

"I'm sorry," Billy said, leaning onto the desk. "That was my sleep deprivation talking." He rested his head in his hand, rubbing his forehead. "Ha! Sleep. I don't even have anywhere to go to sleep now."

"But your dad..."

"I haven't seen him in years. I haven't communicated with him in months. He's got his own life, and for that matter I've got mine, such as it is. I don't want to see him like this and that house isn't my home anymore."

"I always heard that home is where the heart is." Adam dug the upstairs key out of his pocket.

"Perhaps, but I don't have a clue where that is. And I'm alone. That was the nightmare that visited me: being alone for the rest of my life. I'm completely exhausted, but I'd rather stay awake than sleep by myself."

"Come on," Adam stated. "There's a room upstairs. Let's go sleep together."

"Adam..."

"I'm exhausted too and I'm not letting you disappear again." He took Billy by the shoulder and guided him out towards the apartment door.

"Do you think..." Billy began.

"We can worry about it later."

"But..."

"Later," Adam said with finality.

"Very well," Billy sighed.

The conversation died away as the two young men fell next to each other on the narrow bed, Billy holding onto Adam with a familiarity that surprised him pleasantly. Neither of them was awake long enough to become self-conscious.

To be concluded...

E-mail: kittiec@starpower.net