End
He started to walk alongside the small, one-lane dirt road he found himself at after his roll down the hall. He didn't know where his friends were, he didn't know if they were alive or dead. The next thought was inevitable, and he hated himself for thinking it, but it was true. _Right now, I don't really care._
It had all started so innocently. The retired Rangers got together for a little down-time in Billy's uncle's resort. Billy had come back from Aquitar, he and Trini from Switzerland, Kimberly with a gold medal around her neck, and Jason and Rocky from plain old boring Angel Grove. The only one missing was Aisha, and there was no easy way to contact her.
Suddenly, he saw five children, two boys and three girls up ahead. They were playing, the two boys were drawing in the dirt with their fingers and the three girls were jumping rope. All five were dressed in white, and chanting a very familiar jump-rope song. "Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, get your crucifix." Zack spun around in terror. His still body lay at the foot of the hill. Zack ran to the body, not even able to breathe for fear of screaming like he had never screamed before.
The body was his, and was passed out. Completely unconscious. A fist-sized rock was the culprit. He had landed on it. "No," Zack breathed. He reached out to slap his sleeping body's face, but his hand passed through, unhindered by the flesh. "Why us?" he asked. "We're the good guys. This isn't even real! It's a movie for God's sake!"
Suddenly, a dark shadow stretched across his sleeping body. He looked up in horror. The figure blocked the full moon, so he couldn't have a good luck at his face, but it didn't matter. He knew who it was. He immediately jumped to his feet with the nightmare right on his heels.
Three days earlier....
"Have fun up in the mountains," Tanya said to Billy as she helped him load several over-stuffed duffel bags into the back of Jason's blazer.
"Make sure you come back to Angel Grove before you take off for Aquitar," Katherine said.
Billy swallowed the lump in his throat. _Now is as good a time as any,_ he thought to himself. "Actually," he said aloud, "Cestria dumped me like a cold fish."
Katherine's face dropped with sympathy, but Tanya couldn't help but laugh at Billy's joke. She immediately regretted it when she saw the pained look on his face. It was just that she had never heard Billy make a joke before, and with Cestria being a fish. It was then that Tanya realized Billy was dumped like a cold fish, rather than by a cold fish. "I'm sorry, Billy," Tanya said, "but on the bright side, at least we'll get to see you everyday."
"I am not going back in the Power Chamber, though," he said. "I do not care for Zordon's choice in the Rangers' new mentor."
"She is a bit much at times," Katherine agreed, "but she's really nice."
"Always a question," Tanya agreed. "If not a question, it's a riddle."
"She does make us think for ourselves," Adam said, suddenly appearing from behind the blazer with Justin in tow.
"Is this Billy?" Justin asked.
"Affirmative," Billy said, extending his hand.
Justin eagerly shook his hand. "Wow," Justin said. "I've wanted to meet you ever since I found your journals beneath the Power Chamber. I hope you don't mind, but I've taken the liberty of finishing your 'Top Secret Invention'. But I don't think I've done it right."
"What does it do?" Billy asked.
"Well, do you mind if they hear?" Justin asked. He knew from Billy's journal that the invention was top-secret, and had even checked with Dimitria before starting on it. _Do you believe he would really mind? Would he find it a great honor that the new Blue Ranger has chosen to follow in his footsteps? Would you care if the situation were reversed?_ "You don't mind I've been working on it, do you?" Justin asked cautiously.
"Of course not," Billy said, "but you are right, they shouldn't know." He smiled as he said it. Billy realized sadly that he had never had a friend he could share a secret with. Aside from the big secret. It wasn't that he didn't trust his friends, it was just that they didn't care about Billy's inventions. 'Maybe Trini,' he mused, 'but she never did express an overabundance of interest in science. She was more spiritual and creativity-oriented.' He realized that Justin, six years younger, was more like him than anyone he had ever known. Except possibly Cestro.
"Our little secret, huh?" Justin asked.
"You know it," Billy said.
"Why don't you two go play," Katherine said. "It will be a while before the others get here."
"I have it back at the Power Chamber," Justin said.
"Please tell me it's in my research room," Billy said.
"It is," Justin said.
"Thank goodness," Billy said. He moved over to Justin and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Dimitria can leave the tube, Billy," Tanya said before they teleported away.
Billy moaned as they teleported away in two trails of white and blue light.
The small Dimensional Translator sat on the table, humming softly. "It seems to be in fine working order," Billy commented.
"It does do some things," Justin admitted. "I can get it to read the status and energy signatures of various dimensions, but I can't seem to get it to open a gateway to other dimensions."
"There is a very good reason for that," Billy said.
"What?" Justin asked.
"It's not supposed to," Billy said.
"But," Justin began, "your notes, they said..."
"Yeah, I had intended to," Billy said, "but it just started to seem like a worse and worse idea as I got deeper and deeper in my work. What if this were to fall in the hands of the Machine Empire?"
"Good point," Justin said. "But why did you build it in the first place?"
"Well, you've heard of Rita, right? She had this place called the Dark Dimension. Every so often, she would send one of us to it, and we had a really hard time locating its coordinates. It isn't even used anymore, but there was no reason why it wouldn't happen again. I wanted to find a way to figure the dimensional coordinates out easier."
"Cool," Justin agreed.
A white column of light rose out of the ground in the center of the room. The column unfurled, producing Dimitria. "Justin? Billy?" she asked. "Would it interest you to know that our computers are showing some disturbance in the dimensional walls of this universe?"
"That would explain these readings," Billy said. "It seems, almost..." he paused, looking for the right word.
"Weaker?" Dimitria asked.
"Yeah," Billy agreed. "Weaker. I don't think it's anything to be concerned with, though."
Justin's communicator suddenly emitted a single beep. "Billy," Katherine said, "the others are here."
"Well, gotta go," Billy said. "Give my regards to Alpha Six." He and Justin promptly teleported away.
"I got us some movies," Rocky said, holding up a small white bag with Video Corner printed on it in bright blue type.
"What did you get?" Trini asked.
"Six of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies," he said with a big smile.
"All right!" Zack exclaimed. "My favorite is number four."
"I hate horror movies," Kimberly whined. "Why would anyone in their right mind pay to be scared?"
Diva Tox whirled the periscope's handle around and gave a triumphant laugh. "Every Ranger but two in one place," she said. "Well Miss Kimberly. How about a scare for free. Rygog! Send a school of Pirahnatrons!"
"I wish Tommy were here too see you off," Kat said.
Kimberly blushed and shot Billy a desperate glance. He gave a meager shrug and looked at his feet. Suddenly, the air was filled with ripples of light, each producing several Pirahnatrons. "All right!" Zack shouted. He jumped right into the fight, eagerly punching, hitting, kicking, and generally hi-yaahing the creatures.
Trini and Tanya ran out into the middle of the street. The two girls were virtual strangers, yet completely synchronized in their fighting. After destroying two persistent fighters, the two girls gave each other a vigorous high five and immediately jumped back into battle.
Billy was tackled by two of the fish beasts when he paused to watch Justin fight. He immediately rolled away and crawled to his feet. Billy was suddenly grateful for the long hours he and Aurico had spent training on Aquitar. He had added nearly twenty pounds of muscle to his body and greatly enhanced his fighting skills. Taking only a split second to examine the situation, he tore into the crowd of fighters.
Jason fought with his typical divide and conquer style. Draw a couple away from the group, defeat them, and leap back into battle.
Kimberly and Katherine high-kicked the same Pirahnatron. Kimberly temporarily left the ground, but Kat stayed put. Her long years of kick-boxing had given her a solid, unshakable base. Justin, Adam, and Rocky tag-teamed two Pirahnatrons. The two fighters quickly defeated their assailants. A few minutes later, the battle was over. However, the four communicators on the scene immediately began to beep.
"We should go ahead and leave guys," Jason said.
"You all had better have fun," Katherine said before the four active Rangers teleported away.
"Let's hit the road!" Zack cried, eagerly climbing into the backseat.
"Shotgun!" Kimberly and Billy cried in unison. For a split second, time paused. Then, as if in perfect synch, the two friends darted for the passenger door. Billy had his hands on the door frame, but Kimberly grabbed him in a bear hug and hung on like dead weight. "Let go!" he demanded good-naturedly.
She crossed one of her legs around his, wrapped an arm around his abdomen, and placed her free hand on his face. "I'm riding up front," she said. "I rode in the middle seat in coach between a Hare Krishna and a fat man with a snoring disorder on the flight out here! I am going to be comfortable this time."
"I just came from a place where the mud comes up to your waist in the desert!" he exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter," she grunted, trying desperately to get in front of him. "Geez Billy. Your stomach is as hard as a rock. What did they feed you on Aquitar?"
"You noticed?" he asked, letting his guard down.
She immediately climbed around him and hopped in the front seat. "Ha!" she gloated.
"The seatbelt Kim! The seatbelt!" Rocky encouraged.
Kimberly frantically groped for the seatbelt while Billy slid an arm around her back and tried to pull her out of the Suburban. "Billy," Kimberly threatened, "don't make me tell Rocky and Zack your secret."
Billy instantly froze. "You wouldn't dare," he said.
"Try me," she said.
"Kimberly, that's mean," Trini said.
"Do you know the secret?" Rocky asked Trini.
Billy immediately withdrew his arms. "You win," he said.
"Bill," Jason shouted, tossing him the keys, "you can drive."
"Aw man," Kimberly said. "I should rat you out anyway."
"If you do I'll tell you know who you know what from you know when," he said, striking an obvious chord.
"I'll be good," she said, pretending to be horribly beaten.
"I should tell both of your secrets," Trini said as Billy climbed up behind the wheel.
"If you tell my secret I'll let a certain someone who is not in this van know what you think about them," Kimberly said with a malicious smile.
"And I'll tell about that thing that time at Ernie's," Billy said.
"Man, you three have enough dirt on each other," Jason observed.
"I have dirt on every single person in this blazer," Kimberly said. "Jason, the thing at the party. Zack, the event at the theater. And Rocky, that thing my mom caught you doing in our bathroom."
Zack snorted in shock before laughing out loud. "Kimberly!" he cried. "You have to tell him now!"
"Are you sure?" she asked. "What Zack is thinking probably isn't as bad as what actually happened."
"Unless there was a farm animal involved it is!" Zack howled.
"Tell him Kimberly," Rocky said, turning as bright a red as his previous wardrobe.
"Okay," Kimberly said as the Chevrolet Suburban moved out of the city limits. "It was my sixteenth birthday party. Boy girl party. Rocky's interest was Jill Rickerman, whom he invited without my permission."
"When I left Angel Grove, she was the town -," Zack began.
"She still is," Rocky said. "I was new, I had yet to even have a date, I was desperate."
"Geez Rocky," Trini said.
"I wasn't going to sleep with her," Rocky said. "I just needed a springboard into the dating pool."
"I'll buy that," Jason said truthfully.
"Anyway, it was February, and it actually was really cold that day. Well, as soon as he got there, he spied Jill, glanced down, and headed to the bathroom," Kimberly continued.
"Oh no," Jason sighed. "Little Rocky."
"There is a lady amidst you in Testosterone World back here," Trini said.
"And Kim is here too," Billy said, producing a loud guffaw from everyone but Rocky.
"I am a lady," she said hotly. "Anyway, Rocky forgot to lock the door. My mom went in there to get some soap and she finds Rocky stuffing a big wad of toilet paper in his pants!"
"It was really cold," Rocky whined. "I couldn't let her think I wasn't... all there."
"Okay," Jason said, "that was bad, but we can't let Rocky be the only one with an exposed secret."
"What are you saying?" Trini asked.
"I'm saying we have two and a half hours till we get to the resort, and we are all going to tell a secret about ourselves," he said. "I'll go first. "I was fifteen. Right before Ranger days."
"The age of the rampant hormones," Zack said.
"Well, I was in Miss Appleby's oral com class," he said. "We were giving a speech on the topic of our choice. I had drawn number two. Sabrina Solomon was number one, and she talked about safe sex."
"Who's Sabrina Solomon?" Rocky asked.
"She was a senior with the biggest set of -," Zack began, but was promptly smacked on the back of the head Trini, "blue eyes you would ever see."
"Well," Jason continued, "her combination of... blue eyes and safe sex talk only made me... aroused. She sat down, Miss Appleby called my name, and I had to get up."
"Get up," Rocky snorted.
"Anyway, I had to walk past Sabrina and nearly every other Senior girl in the class. So, here I was, standing in front of the room, in more ways than one, trying my best to talk about the principles of karate. I didn't calm down until the class was nearly over."
"What were you wearing?" Billy asked.
"Red gym shorts," he said, prompting sympathetic groans from Billy, Zack, and Rocky.
"I guess I could go next," Trini said. "I was twelve. My mom bought me this beautiful white dress for the Seventh Grade Spring Fling. My date was Rick Foster, an eighth grader. We walked into the dance, and I felt all weird. I thought it was just butterflies. I hadn't even made it to the refreshment table when I noticed people were staring at me. Rather than try to figure out what was wrong, I just started walking faster."
"Oh my God," Kimberly said, already aware of where the story was going.
"All of a sudden, four Good Samaritan eighth grade girls ran up to me, formed a circle around me, and literally carried me out of the gym. They took me out of the gym, I looked down, and I realized I had just had my first period."
"Aw man!" Zack screamed, curling up into the fetal position and clapping his hands over his ears.
"It's your turn, now," Trini demanded.
Zack paused, suddenly all laughed out. "Okay, but it doesn't leave this vehicle, got it?"
"We got it, Zack," Kimberly said.
"Okay," Zack said. "Hoo boy. Okay. Here goes. I'm thirteen years old. Halfway through puberty. And I was, well, experimenting."
"We follow you so far," Billy said.
_Thank you for not making me say the word,_ he thought silently. "So, I'm experimenting, and Curtis, my cousin, had called my mom and asked to come over, but he also told her not to tell anyone. And, just as I finished, he barged into the room."
"Oh Lord," Rocky said.
"But that was over five years ago," Zack said. "I've matured a lot since then."
The group was silent for a moment. "I'll go next," Kimberly said. "I was training with Coach Schmidt, just two months ago. We were working on the balance beam. I was wearing tight lycra shorts and a training bra like thing. I did a tumble, fell off of the balance beam, and landed on top of Coach Schmidt. I rolled off of him and offered him a hand-up. That's when I realized that some how I had totally worked out of my top. I was standing over him, nude from the waist up. I ran into the locker room and didn't leave for over an hour."
"That would be embarrassing," Trini agreed.
"You're next, Bill," Zack said.
"Okay. This happened about two weeks ago. I was at Cestria's, and we were starting to get a little intimate. She had finally let me kiss her. We were slowly warming up to each other, and she was just so much more open than she had ever been. I thought it might be a good time to move our relationship up a notch," he said.
"Were you going to try to sleep with her?" Zack asked.
"I don't think that, just yet, but perhaps consensual mutual stimulation of our erogenous zones," he said.
"Uuuuh," Rocky droned.
"Petting," Trini translated.
"Precisely," Billy said, turning redder and redder.
"Do you need me to drive?" Kimberly asked.
Billy ignored her and continued his tale. "So, I took off my shirt, and she just started screaming and screaming."
"Why?" Jason asked.
"On Aquitar, men only show their chests right before sexual intercourse, and even then they always ask first. She thought I was going to rape her. By the time I had her calmed down, her neighbors had shown up. It was so humiliating. That just made me realize we weren't compatible, and she dumped me."
"Wow," Zack said.
With the humiliating secrets out of the way, the rest of the ride to the resort was nothing but laughter and jokes.
"Here we are," Billy announced as he pulled the blazer up to their resort.
"Hey, this looks like one of the good cabins," Zack thought out loud.
"It is," Billy said. "A main living area, two bath, and six beds."
"Cool," Jason said. "How long are we here?"
"Four days," Billy said. "There is a cool little path that leads through the woods for a few miles. It's gorgeous."
"Let's go now," Trini said, climbing out of the blazer and stretching her sore muscles.
"Sounds like a good plan," Kimberly said.
"You aren't getting out of watching the movies that easily!" Rocky called as she ran off down the path.
Day two....
They had spent the day wandering around in the woods, wading in the creek, and generally enjoying themselves. By the time night had fallen, they were situated in the cabin, enjoying the blazing fire. "I never knew it got so cold up in the mountains," Trini said, poking in the fire with the iron poker.
"Tomorrow it might be eighty degrees," Billy said, "but it's almost always cold at night."
"What do we do now?" Jason asked.
"We have got to watch my movies eventually," Rocky said.
"Count me out," Kimberly said. "I do not like scary movies."
"These aren't that scary," Zack said.
"Do people get killed?" she asked.
"Continually," Trini told her.
"Too scary for me," Kimberly said.
"You should at least watch the last one," Rocky pleaded. "New Nightmare was more like a drama than horror."
"If I watch one, will you shut up?" Kimberly asked.
"I promise," Rocky said, making a cross over his heart.
"Great!" Zack cried. "Pop it in!"
"If I have nightmares," she threatened.
"You can sleep in my bed with me," Rocky genuinely offered with a big smile.
"Not even if Freddy Krueger himself was after me and you were the only person who could save me," Kimberly said, crushing Rocky's smile but making an even bigger smile spread across Zack's face. The six teenagers made themselves comfortable on the large blue couch and started to watch A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Kimberly screamed and buried her face in Billy's arm. "Geez Kimberly," Rocky said. "Didn't you see it coming?"
"His bed just liquefied him!" she squealed. "Why did you fall asleep Glen? Marie needed you!"
"It's just a movie Kim," Billy said. He attempted to comfort her, but not knowing what to do, just patted her on top of the head. He, too, was terrified, but wasn't about to say anything. He was so scared, in fact, that he barely paid any attention to parts of Kimberly's body literally wrapped around his body. Otherwise, he would have been so red he would have been glowing in the dark.
"What's going to happen to Marie?" Kimberly asked, peeking at the television from behind Billy's shoulder.
"It's not Marie, it's Nancy," Rocky said.
"Who's Marie?" Trini asked.
"Heather Langenkamp played Marie on that ABC series Just the Ten Of Us," Billy said.
"Who's Heather Langenkamp?" Zack asked.
"Nancy," Rocky said. "Now you're about to miss the best part."
"Does Freddy blow up and everybody else come back to life?" Kimberly asked.
"Not in this one," Rocky said.
Kimberly settled into position again beside Billy and tried to watch the movie without screaming. Besides, she really did want to see how the movie ended.
Kimberly watched the television screen with wide-eyes and a pale face. "Was that a good ending?" she asked in a small voice.
"It's not over yet," Rocky said. "It's a series."
"Does it ever end?" Kimberly asked, truly horrified.
"Kimberly," Rocky said, "the last movie in the real series is called Freddy's Dead, the Final Nightmare."
"That makes me feel a little better," she said.
"Put in the second one," Zack said.
"I didn't bring the second one," Rocky said. "That movie didn't even fit with the nightmare plot. But, I did bring the third movie."
Kimberly pressed her face against Billy's shoulder. "I'm ready," she whimpered.
"Will the horror ever end?" Kimberly whined as Rocky rewinded Nightmare #3.
"Will the bad special effects ever end?" Billy asked. "They couldn't even get a blue screen shot right."
"Number four is great," Zack promised.
Kimberly glanced at her watch. _Just barely nine thirty. Far too early to go to sleep. Besides, I'm not going in that bedroom alone now._ "After this, I'm going to bed," Kimberly said.
"Don't worry about it Kimberly," Billy said. "We don't live on Elm Street nor did our parents torch Krueger."
Kimberly smiled at the thought and set up a little straighter.
From their reclined position in front of the couch, Rocky shot Zack a sideways glance. Zack shook his head and whispered, "Let her find out for herself."
"I am not going to look up," Kimberly said.
"Don't call Alice," Billy pleaded. "Don't call Alice."
"Why Kristen? Why?" Kimberly whined.
"Kimberly, have you lost your mind?" Zack asked.
"You're covered with goosebumps," Billy observed.
"She called Alice," Kimberly whined, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.
"There goes Kristen," Trini said calmly.
"Right in the fire," Jason said.
"How can you people be so calm?" Kimberly asked.
"I've watched horror movies my whole life," Trini said. "Doesn't even phase me anymore."
"I'm just not afraid of things I know aren't real," Jason said.
Kimberly shuddered and kept on watching the movie from behind Billy's shoulder.
"I like Alice," Kimberly said at the end of the movie. "And Dan."
"I think that's enough for the night," Zack said. "I'm beat."
"So we just go to sleep now?" Kimberly asked.
"Freddy's dead, Kimberly," Rocky told her. "You'll be okay."
Kimberly frowned at him and stood up. "I know. I'm gonna have nightmares because of this."
"You'll be okay," Zack said. "Trini is in your room and me and Billy are just across the hall."
"My offer still stands," Rocky said.
Kimberly smiled at last. "You wish," she laughed.
"Trini?" Kimberly asked.
"Huh?" Trini murmured. "Kim, what time is it?"
"It's about eleven fifteen," Kimberly answered.
"I've been asleep for five minutes," Trini complained.
"Can I sleep with you?" Kimberly asked.
"What?" Trini asked, sitting up in bed.
"Kimberly, what has happened to you? I've never seen you this scared."
"I don't know what's wrong with me," she said. "But, those movies."
"Kimberly, I love you, but this is a twin bed, and you are not getting in. Go sleep with Rocky."
"Thanks anyway," she said.
She started to head for her bed, but instead crossed the hall. "Billy?" she whispered.
"Kim?" he asked back.
"Can I ask a favor?"
"What's that?" he asked.
"Can I sleep with you?" she asked.
"Whoa!" Zack shouted. "Go for it man!"
"I don't mean like that," Kimberly said angrily. Lowering her voice, she whispered, "Billy, I'm scared to death. Please."
"If a beautiful woman asks to sleep with me, I'm not going to say no," he said. "But it's just a twin. We'll have to sleep close."
_Good,_ she thought. "Thank you," she said aloud. Billy lifted the covers and scooted as far over as he could. She crawled under the covers, pressed against his body, and pulled the covers back down. Once Billy was over the initial shock, he realized he was extremely comfortable. Her body fit against his perfectly. She was so warm. Her hair splayed across his shoulder and chest. And she was suddenly so calm. Billy closed his eyes and drifted off into the warm throes of sleep.
"Good morning Bill-ee, whoa," Jason said. "My bad." He immediately shut the door, embarrassed.
"Why the red face?" Trini asked as she walked out of her room. Her long, silken black hair was full of static electricity, a few strands of it floating around her head.
"I don't think it's any of my business," Jason said, tying his robe shut. It was one thing to be seen in shorts and nothing else at the beach or in the locker room but quite another when you're right out of bed.
"Oh yeah, Kimberly," Trini said with a yawn. "Who did she end up with? Billy or Zack?"
"That would be the Bill-Man," Zack said as he jogged into the cabin. "Man, you guys have gotta go out on that trail sometime real early in the morning. It's beautiful."
"Am I missing something?" Jason asked.
"Would you guys be quiet?" a disgruntled Rocky said from his upstairs bedroom. "It's not even six o'clock. God isn't awake yet."
"It's seven thirty!" Trini shouted.
"Kimberly was so freaked out last night she didn't want to sleep alone," Zack explained, "so she asked Billy if she could sleep with him."
Billy was slowly aware of a pleasant weight resting on his body. He opened his eyes and looked at his sleeping partner. She moaned slightly and shifted. Somehow, the two former Rangers had moved from the spoon position to a sleeping position that surely had no real name. Kimberly lay perfectly atop his body, her head resting on his chest. Their legs were intertwined, and he suddenly realized with a rush of adrenaline that her left hand had a firm press on his right pec and her right hand was resting firmly by his backside. Kimberly's eyes slowly fluttered open, but the rest of her was perfectly still. "Hi," she said softly.
"Morning beautiful," Billy said.
Kimberly smiled and felt a rise come to her cheeks as she realized Billy was flirting with her. Or was he? Maybe he was just being friendly.
"I think Jason just stuck his head in here to wake me up and saw us in this... position," Billy sad.
Kimberly quickly rolled off of Billy. "I'm sorry," she said, sounding truly horrified. "I must have been crushing you."
"Actually, it was rather comfortable," Billy admitted.
Kimberly stood up and stretched. "I did sleep better than I thought I would," she said.
"What are we going to tell everybody?" Billy asked.
"We'll tell them the truth," Kimberly replied. "We didn't do anything wrong. Besides, Zack was ten feet away all night long."
Kimberly left the bedroom, followed immediately by Billy. Out of natural human curiosity, Jason raised his eyebrows questioningly at Billy. "We slept together," Billy said, breaking off from Kim to head toward the bathroom.
"Billy? And Kim?" Jason stammered.
"Let me translate," Trini said. "We engaged in the nocturnal rituals of all mammals that follow a simian circadian rhythm as a means of restoring lost vitality."
"Still sounds like sex to me," Zack said.
"Nope," Trini said. "That would be... We engaged in the consensual act of sexual intercourse, legal within the confines of the law by two consenting persons over the age of eighteen."
"Aah, I got that," Jason said.
"Really," Zack said. "All they did was sleep together."
Rocky finally trudged downstairs in red shorts and a blue tank-top. "Who slept with who?" Rocky asked.
"Three more movies, huh?" Kimberly asked after a hearty breakfast. "Let's go ahead and watch them so I can watch Freddy get killed and enjoy the next few days of my vacation."
"They get better," Trini promised as they all moved to the living room.
"Can't get much worse," Kimberly said.
"I'm getting more used to these," Kimberly said.
"You only screamed twice in that one," Rocky said.
"I'm glad Alice survived," Kimberly said. "I like her. Is she in the next movie?"
"Nope," Zack said.
"Why not?"
"Doesn't really say," Zack said, "but it's pretty obvious when you see the movie."
"Why?" Kimberly growled.
"All the teenagers of Springwood, Ohio are dead," Trini said. "But, when the movie first came out, Wes Craven and Robert Englund were in some kind of documentary about the making of the movie. Anyway, they said that the idea was that Alice and her baby moved out of Springwood, thinking if she left, Freddy couldn't kill anymore. But instead, it gave Freddy free-reign of all of Springwood. And it was out of her hands."
"So Alice isn't dead?" Kimberly asked.
"Nope," Rocky said. "In fact, they're making a Nightmare on Friday the Thirteenth, with both Jason and Freddy in it. And Alice."
"Does the series ever end?" she asked.
"You'll learn about that in New Nightmare," Trini said.
"He's dead, it's called Final Nightmare," Kimberly said, "yet they have another movie. Plus one more on the way?"
"Pretty much," Rocky said. "But the last movie is the best."
"Let's watch it and get it over with," Kimberly said.
"Can that really happen, Billy?" Kimberly asked.
"Of course not," he said.
"No, I meant the part about her hair turning gray."
"Yeah, that can happen," Billy said.
"You're kidding?" Jason asked. "You can be so scared your hair turns gray?"
"Affirmative," Billy said.
"That is so cool," Kimberly said, glad that their horror-fest was almost over.
"Now that was a good ending," Kimberly said.
"That was actually a good plot," Jason said.
"Okay," Kimberly said. "Now that I've seen all the movies, I will never think about Freddy Krueger again." She was proven wrong very soon thereafter.
Kimberly stretched her sore back muscles. "That was much more fun than Freddy," she said. "I'll take a ten mile nature hike over a horror movie any day."
"Are you gonna be okay tonight?" Trini asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Kimberly said truthfully. "I saw Freddy get killed twice."
"Good," Trini said with a smile. "G'night Kim."
"Night Trini."
Rocky heard a soft scratching at the door. "Jase?" Rocky asked softly. Across the dimly lit room, he saw that Jason was, in fact, asleep in bed. Shaking his head, he laid back down to go to sleep.
scratch scratch
Rocky sat back up. It didn't sound menacing. It sounded like a puppy trying to get into the room. His curiosity got the best of him, and he got out of bed. He walked up to the door. Total silence. Summoning up all the courage he could muster, he reached out and yanked the door open. He was almost surprised that nothing was there. Silently cursing himself for being afraid of nothing, he turned to go back to bed. "rocky."
"Who said that?" he asked, stepping out into the hall.
"rocky," a very seductive voice said.
"Kimberly?" he asked.
"do I sound like kimberly?" the voice asked.
"Katherine," he said, recognizing her accent. "Where are you?"
"at the end of the hall," she breathed. "come to me rocky. i can't see you."
"What are you doing here?" he asked, walking toward her.
"i can't help myself, rocky," she said. "i teleported up here. make love to me Rocky. nobody ever has to know."
"I still can't see you," he said, walking down the darkened hall.
She suddenly stepped into view. Clad in a pink nightgown, she slowly began to walk toward him. She had her hands behind her back, providing him with an unobstructed view of her body. "well, rocky?" she breathed. She stopped walking, bathed only in the warm glow of the small night light from the bathroom and the light from the fire downstairs.
"Okay," he said with a bashful grin.
"Come to me," she said softly.
Rocky, smiling from ear to ear, made his way to the end of the hall. Katherine smiled eagerly, waiting his arrival. Rocky reached her, prepared to take her into his arms. She suddenly pulled her right arm from behind her back. A hideous brown glove, complete with a sharp razor on each finger, donned her right hand. With a ferocious growl, she swiped at him. "Kat!" he screamed.
"Katherine's not here anymore," a dark male voice said. He wore a dirty brown hat, a red and green striped sweater, dark work pants, heavy black work boots, and he was horribly burned.
"Freddy," Rocky breathed.
"Make love to me ROCKY!" Freddy screamed with laughter. He simultaneously charged after Rocky. Rocky ran down the hall, headed for the back staircase. Freddy ran after him, laughing maniacally. He reached the top step, tripped, and fell. Freddy stopped at the top step and watched his victim tumble down the steps. "No use tiring them out yet," he said. "I'm gonna have some fun."
Rocky fell out of bed as he should have hit the bottom of the stairs. Breathing hard, he lay where he had fallen for a moment, trying to get his bearings. "What a dream," he said. He felt where Katherine, or Freddy, had slashed at him. Four parallel slashes were in his blue tank-top.
Billy woke with a start as the covers were pulled away from him. "Unhmm," Kimberly moaned.
"Ki-," he began, but she hurriedly put a finger to his lips. "Don't talk," she whispered.
She climbed up into bed and straddled his body. "Don't say anything," she whispered. She bent over and firmly kissed Billy. He realized with a start that she was french kissing him, something Cestria had never ever done. Still kissing him, she began to unbutton his pajama top.
_What do I do?!_ Billy frantically thought to himself. One part of him said to make Kimberly stop; the other part screamed to let her finish. In a matter of seconds, she had his shirt unbuttoned. Running her hands over his hairless, muscular chest, she continued kissing him. She began to kiss a path to his right ear, sending shivers throughout his body and fully arousing him.
"I'll do the work," she giggled. "You just lay still and enjoy me, Dan."
"Dan?" Billy asked.
He suddenly felt her nibble at his ear stop. "Billy?" she asked, scared.
"Kimberly?" he asked back.
With a scream, she jumped out of bed, tripping and hitting the floor in the process.
"Huh?!" Zack shouted, jerked out of a sound sleep.
"What am I doing here?" she asked.
"You called me Dan," Billy said. "You were stimulating my erogenous zones." He silently cursed himself. He always used bigger words than necessary when he was nervous or embarrassed.
"I'm so sorry," Kimberly breathed. "I must have been sleep walking. Oh God. I'm sorry." Red faced and near tears, she fled from the room.
"I will not go back to sleep," Rocky said to himself. "I will not go back to sleep. It was just a dream, but I will not go back to sleep."
"One could also say that you will never wake up again," Freddy said from the foot of his bed. With a scream, Rocky jumped out of bed and darted for the door. He couldn't believe he had fallen for it, the dream within a dream. Freddy flipped over Rocky's head and landed in front of the door. "Not tonight," Freddy growled. He jumped at Rocky, shoving his four razors into Rocky's abdomen.
"Rocky?" Jason asked.
Suddenly, his friend began screaming. Jason jumped out of bed and turned his lamp on. He immediately realized he would have been much happier not knowing. Rocky was floating two feet above the bed, screaming as if he were being murdered. His tanktop was soaked through, and his dark red blood flowed out of his body. Jason immediately realized his own screams were combining with Rocky's. His sleeping comrade was immediately flung to the ceiling, where he continued his dance of death.
Kimberly was halfway across the hall when the screaming began. With a cry of her own, she glanced upstairs. Zack and Billy immediately jumped out of bed. "That sounds like Rocky!" Billy cried. He pushed past Kimberly and ran upstairs. Zack was close behind him.
"What's going on?!" Trini screamed, running out into the hall. She and Kimberly followed the guys upstairs.
Billy slammed into their bedroom door, finding it locked. "OPEN THE DOOR!" he demanded. He threw all of his weight at the door, causing some splintering of the wood. Once more, he hit the door. It gave beneath his force, sending him spilling into the bedroom. For a single split second, the entire world was silent. Jason was collapsed on the floor in shock. Rocky lay on his back, having been thrown against one corner of the room. Blood was literally everywhere. It was smeared along every wall, the ceiling, and the floor. Jason, as well, was covered with Rocky's blood.
"Oh my God," Zack whispered.
"What happened?" Billy asked.
"Freddy happened," Kimberly cried.
"Your parents will be up here soon," the officer told Zack.
"Thank you," Zack said in a voice barely above a whisper.
Billy's uncle sat on the couch. Kimberly was curled up in the fetal position beside him, not in actual shock, but she hadn't spoken since blaming the attack on Freddy.
"Have you contacted the boy's parents?" Mr. Cranston asked the officer.
"Yes," he said. "Both the Scott and DeSantos families."
"How did this happen?" Billy asked anyone who was listening.
"It was Freddy," Kimberly whispered through the tears running down her face.
"You think you might now who did it?" the officer asked.
"I know who did it," Kimberly said, looking directly at him through red eyes.
"Do you know a last name?" he asked, pulling a notepad out of his shirt pocket.
"Krueger," she said.
The officer stopped. "Freddy Krueger?" he asked condescendingly.
"Kim," Trini began.
"No!" Kimberly cried. "You know it was Freddy! You just won't admit it because you know he's after us next!"
Trini started to say something, but instead kept her mouth shut.
The next day was a blur. All Kimberly could really remember was everybody's frightened parents but her own. She was just grateful that the Kwans said she could stay with them until her mother could come in from Paris. "What's going to happen to Jason?" Kimberly asked during the quiet ride home.
"He's been arrested," Trini said softly.
"Jason didn't do it," Kimberly said defiantly.
"Kim," Trini said, keeping her anger in check, "I don't want to believe it was Jason either, but there was no one else in the room."
"Like Tina and Rod," Kimberly muttered.
"Who are Tina and Rod?" Mrs. Kwan asked.
"She was Freddy's first victim in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies," Kimberly said. "Freddy killed Tina, drug her all over the room, and they blamed Rod because he was the only one in the room."
"Stop it," Trini said angrily. "Freddy is not real."
"He is now," Kimberly answered, turning her head to the window.
Jason lay flat on his back in the small cell. He had come to his senses just in time to be arrested. "Hello Jason," a scratchy voice said.
Jason sat up on the small cot. Freddy stood on the other side of the bars, smiling evilly. "Krueger," Jason growled.
The killer smiled his trademark smile. "Heard you took the rap for me."
"What do you want?" Jason asked. He suddenly felt something wrap around his neck and yank him off of the bed.
"Oh crap," the officer said. He looked at the slowly swinging body, hung with a bedsheet. "Looks like we've got a suicide on our hands."
"We're dropping off like flies," Zack said.
"It is most distressing," Billy agreed. "I'm very worried about Kimberly's mental well-being."
"Me and you both," Zack whispered. "Look man, it's pretty late. I'm gonna hit the hay."
"Yeah, me too," Billy said. "Sweet dreams."
"Ooooh," Kimberly gasped. "Where am I?"
She stood in the middle of a large, greasy room. "Freddy's boiler room," she said. "Dear God no."
"Kimberly?" Trini asked. Trini, clad in a yellow night gown, stepped out of the darkness. "What's going on?"
"Uhm, you guys," another voice said.
"Billy?" Kimberly asked.
"And Zack," Zack said from right beside Kimberly. She cried and jumped away, startled.
"What is going on?" Trini asked.
"We're all dreaming," Kimberly said. "We're turning into the people from the movies. Rocky was Tina, Jason was Rod."
"Who brought us all together?" Zack asked.
"Who knows," Trini said. "Could this really be happening?"
"I refuse to accept this utterly ridiculous hypothesis," Billy said. "I, alone, am having this dream due to the heinous murder of Rocky and Jason's suicide."
"Angel Grove's final four," Freddy said from the darkness.
Immediately, the four teenagers crowded together. "What do you mean, Krueger?" Zack shouted. "We aren't the last four."
"Aah, but you are," he said. "The last four non-active Power Rangers. Then, I shall be free. To attack every teenager and child in your world."
"You aren't the same Freddy from the movies, are you?" Trini asked, her voice shaking with fear.
"You must be the smart one," he said.
Suddenly, the floor collapsed beneath them. The four teenagers fell into their own private nightmare. Only Trini woke up in a cold sweat.
The present....
"Oh God," Zack said.
"Not quite," Freddy answered.
"I'm a Power Ranger," Zack said, quickly standing up and taking a defensive stance.
Freddy flicked his gloved hand open, producing a brief shower of sparks. "Let's rock."
Zack took off running. He pushed through the crowd of children, still singing that song. "One, two, Freddy's comin' for you." The small country road suddenly ended. Zack slid to a stop. He was standing in the heart of a gigantic junkyard. "Freddy's graveyard," Zack muttered to himself. He started to walk forward, glancing around nervously. "Come out and fight like a man, Krueger!" Zack shouted.
Freddy was suddenly upon him. He grabbed Zack by the collar of his shirt. "And then there were three!" Freddy screamed, plunging the razors into Zack's stomach.
Billy hit the ground, hard. He soon realized that he had been deposited in Angel Grove High.
"Help me, Billy," a pitiful voice whispered.
"Rocky?" Billy asked. Billy climbed to his feet. Rocky lay at the end of the hall, wearing only a blood-stained body bag. The bag slowly began to move. As if someone were pulling him away by his feet, he disappeared from view. "Rocky?" Billy asked, jogging after him. He turned the corner. Rocky was already gone, but a trail remained. A wide trail of blood led down a corridor Billy was not familiar with. For reasons he didn't understand, he followed the blood into the darkness. Billy reached the end of the dimly lit corridor. The blood trail continued through a pitch black corridor. "Rocky?" he asked again.
"Help me....."
Billy boldly stepped through the door. He walked into a large boiler room. Hot burning pipes made the walls around him; the floor was a steel grating, as was the ceiling. He turned around, but Freddy blocked the doorway. 'Who are you?!" Billy screamed.
"You really don't know?" Freddy asked. Billy's scowl was his only reply. "I'm your worse nightmare!" Freddy screamed with laughter. He immediately jumped at Billy, holding his gloved hand out before him. Recalling the first movie, Billy slammed his bare arm against one of the many hot pipes to his right.
Billy jumped out of bed. "I'm awake," he said. "Boy, what a nightmare." He sat down on the bed and winced in pain. He pulled his right arm up to look at it. A long burn was the only blemish.
"KRUEGER!" Kimberly screamed. She ran through the confusing maze that was his house. "Show yourself you coward!"
"There are only three now," Freddy's voice said from no particular source.
"What did we do to you?!" Kimberly cried.
"Nancy," he growled. "You act as if this were personal."
"I'm not Nancy!" Kimberly screamed.
Freddy suddenly rushed up to her. He put a gloved hand up to her face, careful not to kill her. "Bring me more, Alice. Bring me more." A small whimper escaped from her throat. "Don't be afraid Kimberly," he breathed. "I have wondrous plans for you and your little boyfriend, Billy."
Kimberly elbowed Freddy in the stomach and jumped away from him. "Don't you lay a hand on Billy!"
Freddy chuckled and pointed his index finger at her. "I'll get back to you," he said, "later." With a flourish of his hand, Kimberly awoke with a start.
"I'm sorry I didn't believe you Kim," Trini said.
"It's okay," Kimberly answered. She opened the Folgers instant coffee, got a teaspoonful of the brown powder, and quickly ate it, followed by a big chug of Diet Coke.
"You don't like coffee," Trini said, "yet you'll eat coffee grounds?"
"Freeze dried caffeine," Kimberly answered. "In your dream, did Freddy call you anything?"
"As soon as we fell through the floor, I woke up," Trini said. "Why?"
"He called me Nancy, Alice, and Kimberly," she answered. "And he called Billy my boyfriend. But the weird part is, in my dream, I thought that Billy was my boyfriend."
"You sure tried to get intimate with Billy last night," Trini said.
"I thought he was Dan last night," Kimberly said. "I guess I'm turning into Alice. Or Nancy. Heck, both." Both girls suddenly screamed as rapping came from the window.
"It's just Billy," Trini said, crossing the room to let him in.
"Zack is dead," Billy said simply.
"We know," Kimberly answered mournfully.
"We're next," Billy said.
"We know," Kimberly answered.
"We just have to figure out what he is," Trini said. "We know he isn't the real Freddy. He told us so."
"I would wager that you are 'Kristen'," Billy said to Trini.
"I kind of figured," she said.
"Kristen was the one who could bring the dreamers together into one dream, right?" Kimberly asked. "Wait a minute," Trini said. "I just had a thought. "Remember the last movie, New Nightmare?"
"I get it," Billy said. "We have to continue the story-line!"
"You just lost me," Kimberly said.
"In the last movie, Freddy was fiction. There was an ancient, evil entity that could only be captured by a storyteller," Trini said. "The Nightmare series begin, and the evil ancient entity was trapped in it. 'It' became Freddy. Then, they ended the series. The evil entity was set free. It should have simply moved on, ultimately to get captured by another, different story, but it liked Freddy, and it liked our time. Our world. And the only way to escape the story and be free forever was to kill Heather Langenkamp's family so she was weak and then cross over through her. She killed Freddy, and that was another movie. The evil entity was still trapped in the Nightmare series. But they haven't made another movie since then. It's been three years, and the evil entity is trying to get out."
"Why is it picking us off?" Kimberly said. "We were never in any of the movies. Freddy went after Heather because she played Nancy. What do we have to offer? How will killing us set him free from the movies?"
"Maybe the power drain?" Billy suggested. "He's killed four former Power Rangers. Perhaps as we die, he gets our power residue from our Ranger days. When he's killed the six of us, he'll have enough power to break the barrier of true reality, instead of just our dreams."
"No one knows we were the Power Rangers," Kimberly said. "How did this entity thing find out?"
"That's the one missing piece of the puzzle," Trini said.
"I think we can all agree on one thing," Kimberly said. "Let's end this story."
"We are the Earth's last hope," Billy said. "We can't let that evil entity escape."
"We have to go back to sleep," Trini said. "And then bring him out of the dream. And kill him."
"Just go to sleep?" Kimberly asked.
"Not now," Trini said. "We have to prepare for him."
"What do you mean?" Kimberly asked.
"We have to get some things ready," Billy said. "Knives, sledge hammers, gun powder."
"We can't do that here," Trini said. "My parents won't let us."
"Let's go back to the cabin," Billy said.
"We can probably get everything here that we'll need," Trini offered.
"Let's do it," Kimberly said.
"Slow down, Billy," Kimberly said. "We won't be of much use if we're wrapped around a tree." Billy eased off of the accelerator, dropping from 110 to a more manageable 80. "I think we have everything we need," Kimberly said.
"Who's gonna pull Freddy out?" Trini asked.
"I will," Billy volunteered.
"No," Kimberly said. "It has to be me."
"Why?" Billy and Trini asked in perfect unison.
"Because I'm Nancy and Alice," she answered. "Freddy told me so. Besides, Billy is stronger. He can do the grunt work as soon as Freddy is on our turf."
"I'll have to go with you," Trini said. "If I'm Kristen, I'm the only one who can make you wake up."
Billy pulled up to the resort. Yellow police tape remained, indicative of the murder less than twenty-four hours earlier. "Let's do this and get it over with," Billy said.
"I'm gonna go prep some stuff upstairs," Billy said.
"Don't fall asleep," Trini said with a yawn.
"You neither," he said seriously.
Kimberly walked into the boiler room. "Wha?" she asked. "NO! NO! SOMEBODY WAKE ME UP!"
"Kimberly?" Trini asked. "We're asleep, aren't we?"
"I think so," Kimberly answered. "Wake us up."
"Give me a sec," Trini said. The two girls were standing before a heavy curtain of thick chains. Suddenly, Freddy jumped through the chains. Trini lost her train of concentration and the two were still stuck as deeply in the nightmare as before. Before Trini could even scream in reply, Freddy had her above his head. The furnace doors flew open, and he threw Trini into the fire as though she were a rag doll.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kimberly screamed. Freddy chuckled deep in his throat, nearly a cackle.
"Kimberly!" Trini shouted from within the fire. "You'll need my powers!" She pointed a flaming hand at Kimberly. Yellow light burst from her index finger. It covered the distance between them striking Kimberly, instilling Trini's power within her.
"Two to go," Freddy said. "But I'm saving you for last."
"Do it now," Kimberly said. Screaming like a banshee, Kimberly jumped at Freddy. She grabbed him in a bear hug and immediately called on Trini's power.
Kimberly jerked as she awoke. Freddy was no longer in her grasp. With a thick gasp, she realized that Trini's body was engulfed in flames. She quickly ran to the couch, grabbed the throw that covered its back, and suffocated the fire. "Trini," she whimpered. A scream suddenly came from behind her. She spun around in time to see Freddy jump at her. However, in the waking world, Krueger didn't have an infinite supernatural arsenal of powers to draw from. Kimberly crawled away, getting to her feet and spinning around.
"Heather," Freddy growled.
"Would you make up your mind!" Kimberly bellowed. She circled around behind the couch, putting the piece of furniture between them. Freddy jumped over the couch, giving Kimberly a chance to run to the cardboard box full of various weapons. She grabbed an aluminum baseball bat and put it behind her back. Freddy was nowhere to be seen. She slowly walked into the darkened living room. She spotted his footprints, black oil from the boiler room, in various places around the living room. Her eyes quickly followed them. They circled the couch, and headed straight for the staircase.
"BILLY!" Kimberly screamed. "FREDDY'S COMING FOR YOU!"
Billy heard her screams just as the lights switched off. He turned around and saw Freddy's silhouette in the doorway. "Krueger," Billy said. "So Kimberly and Trini brought you out."
"Not quite," Freddy said, stepping into the room, disappearing from Billy's view. Billy slowly backed up, heading for the window. "Trini got torched."
Billy reached the window and jumped out backwards. He landed on the porch roof. Billy rolled over to the edge and hopped down to the ground below.
_Show yourself, Freddy,_ Kimberly thought. She had followed his footsteps upstairs. They led into Rocky's murder site and disappeared into the darkness. Kimberly walked up to the doorway. Taking a deep breath, she reached around the door frame and hit the light switch. She jumped back from the door and put the bat up before her. "I know you're in there, Freddy," she called, hoping that the nervousness didn't come through in her voice.
She cautiously entered the room, looking all around her. The footsteps snaked around the room and just seemingly ended as if Freddy had vanished. She then realized the truth. The oil had worn off. She turned around just in time to get tackled. The bat flew from her hands. Freddy laughed as he pinned her to the floor. He slowly lifted his gloved hand up, preparing to deliver the final blow.
_Think fast girl, think fast,_ she said to herself. She immediately curled the index and middle fingers of her left hand into a claw. Lightning flash, she flew at his face and buried her fingers into his eye socket. Freddy bellowed in pain, a concept unheard of in the movies or dreams. Kimberly pushed Freddy off of her and bolted for the hallway.
"Kimberly," a male voice said, simultaneously touching her arm. Screaming, she jumped away, hitting the floor in her stumble.
"It's just me," Billy said frantically.
"He's in there," Kimberly said, pointing her right hand at the door and wiping his blood off of her face with her left.
"I've got an idea," Billy said. "You just beat the crap out of Freddy and keep him upstairs. You willing to do that?" He handed her a sledgehammer.
"You got it," she said, standing up.
Freddy slowly staggered out of the room. "I'm going to run up here in just a few minutes," he whispered. "Get ready to run." She nodded in agreement. Billy took one last glance at Kimberly, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and ran down the back stairway.
"Come on Freddy," Kimberly taunted.
"I'm gonna kill you slowly for that," Freddy growled. He suddenly ran at her, taking her by surprise. She swung the sledge-hammer, but too soon. Freddy grabbed it, yanked it from her hands, and threw it aside. Kimberly gave a slight cry, suddenly weaponless. "Looks like the little pink Power Brat is about to lose her first battle," Freddy growled. "Lord Zedd told me you were always his favorite. Now I see why."
"Zedd," Kimberly said, suddenly understanding. Lord Zedd had told the evil entity who to attack to get enough power to break free from the movies. Kimberly, enraged at being violated by her former enemy, high-kicked Freddy. "You think I'm Alice," she said, punching Freddy in the face, "I'll act like Alice." Alice had launched a truly horrific attack on Freddy at the end of A Nightmare on Elm Street 4. That attack, though, had been in the dream world and was utterly useless. This was Kimberly's world, and she was causing intense pain with each kick and punch.
She gave him one final kick, directly on his right hand. His glove flew off of his hand, leaving him defenseless. She and Freddy both paused, looking at the leather glove. She flipped over Freddy before he could react and scooped the glove up. In one smooth motion, she slipped the glove onto her own hand. "You aren't killing, anymore," she said. She ran up to Freddy and shoved the razors into his stomach. She pushed until she could go no further, and then pushed up. Freddy fell to his knees in true agony.
Billy suddenly backed down the hallway. He was carrying a keg of gunpowder; a trail of black powder indicated his path. He stopped by Freddy, no longer capable of standing up under his own weight, and dumped the entire contents of the keg on him. "Let's go," he told Kimberly.
With a smile, the two teens ran down the front stairway. "Don't stop running," Billy ordered her. "I have to light the gunpowder and this house is gonna blow. I turned the gas main on, too."
"What is gas operated?" Kimberly asked.
"The stove in the kitchen," he said. "Just run as far off as you can."
"I'm not leaving your side," she said.
They reached the doorway leading to freedom. The black gunpowder line started at the doorway. "As soon as this gets near the kitchen," Billy said, fishing the matches out of his pocket.
"I know," Kim said solemnly. Billy struck a match and dropped it on the gunpowder. It sputtered, and took off.
"Go!" Kimberly shouted. They both ran through the doorway and into the crisp night air. Ten seconds later, the cabin exploded in a giant red and orange fireball. They were easily one hundred yards away, but the shock wave still knocked them to the ground. They turned around to look at the cabin. "There is no way he survived my attack and that," Kimberly said.
"Freddy's dead," Billy said with a smile.
"Billy," Kimberly said, "I have something to tell you, and I don't want you to interrupt. Last night, when I tried to make love to you, that was the Alice in me talking. But, I realized I felt something for you. And if you're not interested, I fully understand, but.... I was wondering...."
In response, Billy took her into his arms and kissed her like he had never kissed anyone before.
"CUT!" a loud voice shouted.
Immediately, the fire shrank away to nothing. Applause sounded all around them. Billy and Kimberly pulled apart, very confused. "That was great!" the voice yelled. "It's a wrap!"
"What's going on?" Kimberly asked.
"We're finished," somebody who walked past them said. He had a large coil of wire wrapped around his right shoulder.
A man in a beard walked up to them. "I guess you two have some questions," he said.
Billy recognized him as the man who yelled "cut," as well as Wes Craven from the final movie in the series. "Yeah," Billy said. "You could say that."
"Let's go someplace more comfortable," he said. "My trailer is just over there."
"What is going on?" Kimberly asked.
"Freddy is an evil entity," Wes explained. "Just like in New Nightmare, and just like Trini explained to you. It was captured in the movies, and when the movies ended, the evil entity was set free and wanted to cross over. Lord Zedd communicated with the evil entity, and in exchange for the destruction of Diva Tox when freed, he told Freddy who to attack. Since you all used to be Power Rangers, Freddy got your power when he killed one of you. Since you all have just killed Freddy, the power was released, and he has been stopped once more."
"The power was released?" Billy asked.
The door to the trailer suddenly opened. Freddy walked in, followed by Jason, Zack, Trini, and Rocky. Kimberly started to scream when she realized it wasn't Freddy. It was Robert Englund dressed as Freddy. He wasn't even wearing his scarred make-up, just the trademark red and green sweater. "You're alive," Kimberly whispered. She immediately gave a happy squeal and jumped up to hug her friends.
"We just filmed a movie?" Billy asked.
"Sort of," Wes explained. "Billy, you know of the multiple dimensions theory. I come from a dimension where inter-dimensional travel exists. I came here to not only end the series, but to destroy the entity. When Kimberly pulled him out of the dreams, and then you both blew him up, he was destroyed. Your good power destroyed the evil power when it was forced out of his body. The evil entity is destroyed."
"But they're alive?" he asked in awe.
"As soon as we were killed off we ended up here on the movie set," Jason said.
"In a different dimension," Trini added.
"Can we go home?" Kimberly asked.
"Yes," Wes Craven said. "You will go back to your world, and aside from your memories, it will be as if this never happened. "In some dimensions, this movie was made. In others, a fan fic was written. But in all, the evil entity was destroyed," Wes explained, "thanks to your brave actions in your dimension."
"Congratulations," Robert Englund said to them. "You've done all of the worlds a favor."
Billy stood up and joined his five friends in a big group hug.
There was no bright flash of light. The six teenagers were just suddenly standing in sunny Angel Grove. They were standing in Jason's front yard, the same place their adventure had started. "How was your trip?" Karen Scott, Jason's mother, asked from the porch.
Billy and Kimberly looked at each other. He kissed her on the cheek and answered, "Unbelievable."