Disclaimer: Power Rangers are owned by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, not me. I haven't nor will I expect any type of profit off my writings except for a few kind words when I get them. As for those kind words, send them to me here.
Author's Note 1: The character of Skeletor belongs to the creators of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. As does Evil Lynn. I don't know who the creators are, just that the characters belong to the creators of He-Man.
Author's Note 2: The characters Jordan Riley, Torrey Hunter, Jesse Parker, and Kimiko Linkov belong to me. All copyrights of these characters also belong to me. If you would like to borrow said characters, let me know.
Author's Note 3: There is a nasty cussing remark in this story that should be warned about. If you're a holier than now Catholic, you probably should skip this installment. I'll give you a clue as to what the remark is. Holy S—t!
Author's Note 4: As if anyone out there can't tell, I'm not prejudiced against anything, sexual preferences, racism, Jews, anything. Well, maybe Nazis, but I think everyone is, in America anyways. Anyway, starting with the ending of this installment, this series will have a female-female intimate relationship in it. Don't worry, it's not from any of Saban's characters. I'm trying to stay to their characters as much as I can. No, it's two of the four female characters I create for this installment. If your a homophobe, you may want to skip the very last section of this story. But, in that section, there is a quotation that Zordon says that I think every reader should look at. Against or in favor of homosexuality, the message is clear. I hope you enjoy The Zeo Completion.

As the Journey Continues . . .
The Zeo Completion
by The Devious One

October 20

The day was warm and sunny in Angel Grove. The day routine for the citizens went on like any other day. The fact that Angel Grove hadn't had a monster attack by either the Machine Empire or Zedd and Rita. The people were thankful for that and they took advantage of the peaceful days immensely.

Inside the vicinity of one home, activity was flourishing. Five kids were running down the stairs as they went to the dinner table for their breakfast. Placing her family's breakfast on the table, Juanita DeSantos sighed. Her second to oldest son, Rocky, always seemed to be the last of her children to come down the stairs. She knew Rocky took extra care when he dressed for school, and today was no exception. She didn't bother to make a plate for him because she knew in three minutes, he would come down the stairs, with his backpack, and head for the door. She would call to him and he would hollar that he would have something with the guys at the Youth Center. Such was the way things were in the DeSantos Home.

Her youngest son, little Antonio, nicknamed Anty was three years old. He had dark hair and brown eyes. His skin, like the other chidren, was the color of Rocky's skin. Next to Anty was Marie, Rocky's ten year old sister. Marie's twin sister Maria was next to her. Across the table was Rocky's thirteen year old brother Miguel and Rocky's twelve year old sister Mia. All five had already begun eating their meal.

And as Juanita had expected, Rocky DeSantos came walking down the stairs where his bedroom was with his backpack in hand. Rocky was dressed in a blue and light blue flannel shirt tucked into a pair of jeans. His flannel shirt had long sleeves that covered his arms. Rocky, with a smile on his face, walked into the dining room and gave his mother a quick peck on the kiss.

"Bye, mom." Rocky said, walking out the door before his mother could say anything. She was too busy smiling at the unusual behavior her son just exhibited.

Rocky drove his dark navy blue pickup truck his older brother let him have after leaving for college and headed towards the Youth Center, where he was set to meet up with his friends. It was an uneventful trip, parking his truck in the usual spot and leaving his backpack in the truck as he headed into the Center. He found his usual seat, a corner seat on the upper level of the Juice Bar. As Emily, Jason Lee Scott's new girlfriend and the waitress, came over for his order, Rocky smiled.

"Hey Emily." Rocky greeted.

"Rocky, I haven't seen you in a couple days." Emily said, smiling at him.

"Well, been busy with classwork, you know." Rocky said.

"Yeah." Emily smiled, not believing a word of it. Actually, him, Tommy, Kat, Tanya, Adam, and Jason had been absent in the past couple days and the young blonde had a pretty good idea what it was. "What'll ya have?"

"Um, I think I'll have a double cheeseburger, no onions, plenty of cheese, and a smoothie." Rocky made his order.

"Alright. I'll be back with your meal in ten minutes." Emily said, going to the bar to relay the order to Ernie.

Rocky leaned back in his chair and look around him. There weren't that many people in the Youth Center. He knew people would start piling in soon. Especially in about an hour. So, he had that time to relax himself. His face was turned toward the practice mats and he didn't see the teen who walked up to his table. His warm brown eyes looked up into charming green eyes.

"May I sit?" the teenager asked in a russian/soviet union accent.

"Of course." Rocky nodded. He waited for her to sit before saying anything else. "My name's Rocky." he extended his hand.

"Kimiko. Kimiko Linkov. Nice to meet you." the young woman took the proffered hand and shook it with her slender hand. Kimiko Linkov was a young woman with light brown hair and gentle green eyes. She was about five foot six inches tall and today, she wore a pair of tight blue jeans and a black button up t-shirt. The shirt and jeans were situated to show her good figure. Her body was tight with muscles that she worked hard for.

"Kimiko, that's Japanese." Rocky noted, "Linkov is russian. How'd you get that name?"

Kimiko sat at the chair across from Rocky as she answered, "my parents are both russian. But, when I was born, they split up. My mother married a Japanese man before she named me. My stepfather wanted to name after his mother and my mother wanted to keep the family name so, Kimiko Linkov worked out fine."

"Well, it's a nice name." Rocky smiled. "You new here? I don't think I've seen you around."

Emily returned with Rocky's meal and set the tray down before leaving.

"I've been here for a few months. I don't think you'd see me because you hang out with your friends and I hang out with mine. Never intertwine much." she shrugged.

"Yeah, you're right. We're always busy with things, so that leaves us little to no time to socialize with many people." Rocky replied after taking a large chunk out of his burger.

"You always eat burgers that size." Kimiko laughed.

After swallowing down the burger with a sip from his smoothie, Rocky replied, "Hey, I love food. One could say it's one of my charms."

Kimiko laughed again at that. She then looked at him with a silly grin and Rocky raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're chin. There's a smudge of ketchup on it." Kimiko reached a hand out and removed the smudge before wiping it on a napkin. Then, she smiled at him. He smiled back.

The two were so obsorbed with each other that they didn't notice when Tommy, Kat, Adam, and Tanya walked in from the entrance. The four stopped dead when they had seen Kimiko wipe the smudge off Rocky's chin with her finger. It was a total surprise to see Rocky flirting with a girl they had never even met. In a way, Kat and Tanya felt a need to have the girl checked out and made sure she was ok for their friend, but they dismissed that out of their love for their friend.

"Who's that girl?" Kat asked.

"I don't know." Adam answered, "Wait, yeah I have seen her around. She's got a mixed name."

"Mixed name?" Tommy looked at him.

"Yeah, her first name's Japanese, and her last name's Russian. I don't know much about her, just been hearing stuff from different people." Adam clarified.

"Like what?" Tanya asked, still watching them.

"Some people say she's had a tough upbringing and others told me that she's wanted to ask Rocky out for a while, but didn't have the nerve. I guess she had the nerve." Adam smiled.

"Think she's pretty." this said by Kat as she looked at Tommy.

"Yeah, she is. Why do you ask?" Tommy looked at her.

"Um," Kat looked the other way. Tanya shared a similar expression.

"Oh my god!" Adam realized.

"What?" Tommy looked at his friend.

"They're jealous!" Adam laughed at the frown look that came over the girls.

"Jealous of what!" Kat and Tanya said together, incredulously.

"I have Tommy!" Kat cried.

"And I have you!" Tanya pointed at him.

"I'm not talking about that kind of jealous." Adam clarified, "I'm talking about his attention. Ever since he became a ranger, the only girls to talk to Rocky in the mornings were you two, or Kim and Aisha, or Kat and Aisha. Now that he's talking to other girls now, like that one, you're jealous of it."

Kat and Tanya thought about what Adam told them. As much as they hated to admit it, what Adam said was true. It had always been the girls that Rocky spoke to when a new day started and truth by known, they loved talking to Rocky before their boyfriends arrived. Rocky was more open about all topics than Tommy and Adam were and they loved confiding in Rocky. Seeing him with this other girl did make them jealous somewhat.

"Maybe." they said, defeated.

"Well, it's ok. We know Rocky's easier to talk to sometimes." Tommy squeezed Kat's hand.

Before anything else could be said, the six beep sound of the communicator went off. The four rangers looked towards Rocky and noticed he was saying his goodbye to Kimiko and he hurried over.

"Yes Zordon." Tommy said, "This is Tommy."

"Rangers," Zordon said, "please teleport to the Power Chamber."

"We're on our way." Tommy replied as they readied themselves for teleportation. They took a quick look and were relieved when no one was around. They then teleported out.

On the base of operations for the Machine Empire, there was an aura of excitement in the air. King Mondo and Queen Machina had been absent from their Skybase for the past month. While the rangers had been busy with the Emperor on Edenoi, the Machine Empire rulers had traveled to the outlaw planet of Onyx, a planet in which not only resembled that of a old west rerun, but also housed the universe's most sadistic villains. When they were on Onyx, Mondo and Machina had met with a two desert raiders who they had business with.

The raiders had sold them a package. The package was a steel case closed by two long and thick chains. Inside the case, however, was what the Machines had come for. Now, with their new weapons on the Skybase, they had to make four choices. And those choices would decide the fate of the Zeo Rangers or themselves.

Tommy, Kat, Rocky, Tanya, and Adam teleported inside the Power Chamber in their individual streams of colored light. Inside the main chamber, Alpha was looking at Zordon and Zordon waited until they looked up before he spoke.

"Rangers," Zordon began, "I'm afraid I have some distressing news."

"What is it, Zordon?" Adam asked.

"Rangers, I'm afraid I have learned that while you were on Edenoi, King Mondo and Queen Machina took a trip to Onyx, an outlaw planet, and bought a package from the desert raiders there." Zordon informed them.

"Package?" Tommy said.

"Yes, a package. The package was a steel case wrapped in heavy chains. I'm not entirely sure what the case holds, but I have my suspicions."

"What do you think's in the package?" Rocky asked.

"If I'm right, Zeo Shards." Zordon said quietly.

"Zeo Shards?" Katherine said, frowning. "I thought there were only the five shards we have and Trey's Staff."

"Rangers, I need to tell you the story of the Zeo Crystal. It should explain your questions." Zordon started, "When the Zeo Crystal was originally forged, there was the original five crystals you have. But, there were four extra shards forged with it. The original form of the Zeo Crystal was a combination of the nine Zeo Shards.

"When the Crystal was forged, the wizards chose a Zeo Guardian to protect the Crystal and keep it from evil hands. Throughout the ages, each Zeo Guardian would choose someone to become the new Guardian of the Crystal. Then, when the Great War began, the Zeo Guardian of that time perished in the battle and it looked as if evil would finally get the Crystal.

"The wizards arrived out of nowhere and they found the Crystal. But, the interesting part is that the battle had seperated the Crystal into nine parts. Instead of forging the shards together again, the wizards decided to take the Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, and Pink shards and forge them together. The Gold Staff was kept on Triforia to be protected and defended. The remaining four shards were hidden in secret locations by the wizards.

"Throughout the years, I have learned that each shard has either been lost, or stolen from their secret location. It is my belief that the desert raiders of Onyx may have gotten their hands on the shards and sold them to Mondo and Machina." Zordon finished.

"If all that's true, then what will they do with the shards?" Tanya asked.

"Green Ranger ring a bell." Tommy mumbled.

"Zordon, Mondo can't cast spells, right." Kat asked.

"I'm afraid he can rangers. Mondo's spells may not be as strong as the spells Rita uses, but he does have a certain amount of spells. You need to keep an eye out in school until we can get the shards from him." Zordon informed.

"Right."

October 23

Two days passed without much incident. Mondo hadn't produced a monster attack or made any move for humans for the shards he had in his position. The rangers had grown paranoid over the days, always looking over their shoulders for Cogs. They finally were able to just relax and see what Mondo does.

As for Zedd and Rita, they hadn't made any type of attack on the city in weeks and the rangers were beginning to wonder if the two villains had packed up and left. Their wonders had been stopped cold when Zordon had told them that not only were they still there, but he believed the Emperor was there too, from the energy readings Alpha had detected.

And as for their daily life, things were getting more interesting by the day. The annual high school Halloween Dance was coming up and every student were jumping with excitement for it. The dance would be set up at the gym, which would produce the right size for the amount of students there were.

The rangers grew even more interested when they noticed that Rocky spent more and more of his time with Kimiko Linkov. During the two days, Kat and Tanya had learned a few things about Rocky's lady friend. Kimiko was the same age as all of them and lived the first ten years of her life in Russia before her parents decided to leave and move to San Diego. In San Diego, Kimiko had fallen in with the wrong crowd and had caused a lot of problems, that was when her parents moved to Angel Grove after Kimiko had gone to a phychiatrist and gotten care. By the time they did move here, Kimiko was much better and was just getting her life together.

So, all in all, the girls relented to the fact that Kimiko wasn't a total waste. They, with Tommy and Adam, had actually gotten a chance to meet Kimiko after one of Rocky's classes. They were in the hall and Kimiko was talking to Rocky at his locker. They had talked for only a few minutes, but she was a nice, charming, sweet person. They understood why Rocky was so caught on her and they hoped that things could work out for them.

At the moment, the rangers were in the gym, helping Mr. Caplan with the decorations for the Halloween Ball. Kimiko was walking through a back alley on her way to her parents' house to change. She was currently wearing a pair of faded denim jeans and a black button up shirt with a white sports bra underneath. Quite nice. As Rocky had put it. She had told Rocky she'd come back to help them. She was almost to the end of the alley when she found herself surrounded by Cogs.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed. "What the hell are these things?"

"Hello, young one." King Mondo greeted as he formed on the roof of one of the smaller building structures near her.

"Whoa, you're that Mondo dude." Kimiko realized.

"Yes, I am King Mondo, ruler of the Machine Empire. And, you are going to help me." King Mondo said.

"I don't think so." Kimiko snarled at him.

"Oh, I beg to differ. Besides, you have no say in the matter. Attack!" Mondo ordered.

Suddenly, Kimiko found herself being attacked by the small number of seven Cogs, four of which were carrying their staff pikes. Kimiko took a quick look around and saw that just behind her was a broken off broom handle. Being the daughter of a retired Japanese Samuari had it's advantages, especially when said Samuari taught her. She stepped back over the handle and, using the flick of her foot, tossed the handle into her hands.

She knocked the first Cog out with the end of the handle to the side of it's head. She followed that shot off with a double shot to another Cog's midsection before sweeping the legs out from under it. Two down. Kimiko's mind registered. She vaulted into the air and over two other Cogs before swiping her broom handle across the face plates of two other Cogs. The Cogs she jumped over turned around to be knocked down by a split kick in the air: a foot in each face plate. Six down. She quickly noted. That left her with one left. The last Cog was carring a battle pike and she engaged it into a battle of the staff. She held her ground quite nicely, matching the Cog move for move. She finally ended it when the Cog decided to take a swipe at her head. When she moved out of the way, she thrust one end to the Cog's left side and followed that up with a clean savage thrust to the face plate, smashing it. The Cog fell with a thump.

"Not quiet what you were expecting, huh." Kimiko remarked after turning to Mondo.

"On the contrary, my dear, it was exactly what I was hoping for." King Mondo replied before two blue colored volts of energy extended from his sceptor staff and hit Kimiko's body through the eyes. There was a brief scream before the world Kimiko Linkov saw faded away.

"I live to serve you, King Mondo." Kimiko said, expressionless.

"Just as I thought you would." King Mondo cheered. "Here, take this."

Mondo tossed down to her a necklace with gold casing on the background, but a silver pendant embedded into the center. A Z was embedded in the center of the gem.

"You are now my Silver Ranger." King Mondo laughed as both vanished from sight.

A few hours later, the five rangers were assembled into the Power Chamber after their communicators had gone off. They had just teleported in when they heard Zordon's voice.

"Rangers, I'm afraid we are too late. King Mondo has already taken his four users of the Zeo shards." Zordon informed.

"What?" Tommy stepped forward, "But, how?"

"Who?" this from Rocky.

"Mondo found a young woman named Torrey Hunter for his White Zeo Ranger. From the information I have, Torrey Hunter is a martial artist who's been trained by Chuck Norris when she lived in Hollywood. This can definetely fall in Mondo's favor. He found a young woman named Jesse Parker for his Black Zeo Ranger. Ms. Parker knows the ways of Ju Dit Zu and Taekwondo, and we all know those are dangerous arts. Mondo found Jordan Riley for his Midnight Zeo Ranger. Jordan's family sent her to Korea last summer to live with her great uncle. While there, she learned the ancient arts of the Ninja. Not a complete Ninja mind you, but she knows much." Zordon explained, hesitating on the fourth choice of his.

"Wait, there were four shards," Rocky remembered, "who's the fourth?"

Zordon waited a moment, "I'm afraid Mondo took your friend Kimiko Linkov as his Silver Zeo Ranger. I discovered that Kimiko has been taught the ancient arts of the Samuari Warrior while she lived in Russia. Her stepfather taught her."

Rocky had trouble breathing for a moment. The one girl he was falling for was possibly turned evil. "Zordon, do you think when we see them again, they'll be turned evil." Rocky had to know.

"Most likely." Zordon answered.

"What are we gonna do?" Tommy asked.

"There isn't much we can do. Mondo has a teleportation shield over his Skybase. So, until he makes the first move, we have to wait." Zordon sighed, defeated. He noted Rocky's shoulder slump, knowing the Linkov girl obviously meant a lot to him and he wished he could remove the pain from him, but he knew that couldn't happen.

Inside a darkened chamber of the Machine Skybase, four beings kneeled before their new lord, King Mondo. The four beings were morphed into their ranger suits. The first being, the Black Zeo Ranger, wore a suit all black. From the neck down, it was the exact same style as the rangers' suits. The same look on the shoulders. There was a suit overdrapement at the waist like that of the Pink Rangers. The helmet was different. Instead of a star, two parallel bars, an upside down triangle, and oval, or a rectangle, the Black Ranger's helmet adorned a unique shape. First imagine a plus sign. Then place a diagonal line though one side. Then another diagonal line through the other side. That shape adorned the helmet.

The next being was the White Zeo Ranger. The suit, from the neck down, was the exact same, with the same overdrapment of suit at the waist to symbolize female. The helmet of the White Ranger had two small pentagon shapes on it, where the eyes would be. The pentagons were in black color.

Next was the Midnight Zeo Ranger. The Midnight Zeo Ranger's suit was more like the Gold Ranger's suit than the other rangers' suit. The suit wore the gold shield across the chest and back, with the overdrapement of suit at the waist. Black Sais rested on her boots, which were white in color. The helmet adorned the symbol of a small circle. Two bars extended from the center of both sides of the circle to meet with vertical lines on the sides.

And finally was the Silver Zeo Ranger. Unlike any of the Zeo suits, this one was unique, as was the Silver Crystal Shard. On the shoulders were two gold shoulder guards. On the suit, two golden colored lines ten inches thick extended down to the position of where the heart would be. Then, the gold line where the intersect point was went both up to the neck and down to the belt buckle. Sort of like the letter Y with a line through it. The helmet adorned the same symbol that was on the suit. A waist overdrapment adorned this suit as well.

King Mondo nodded at each of his evil Rangers. "Rise." he commanded.

They complied.

"Tell me, are you ready for your first assignment?" King Mondo asked.

"We are." Midnight Ranger answered for them.

"Good. Go to Angel Grove and destroy the Power Rangers." King Mondo ordered before he vanished.

On the moon, inside the Lunar Palace, Lord Zedd had just watched what had happened.

"Emperor, what do you plan to do? This could be of our advantage. You must do something." Zedd said.

"Actually, Zedd," the Emperor said from his seat on Zedd's throne, "this could be to our direct advantage. I think we'll wait and see what happens."

Zedd returned to the balcony to watch as King Mondo's new evil rangers began their attack on Angel Grove, suspicious of his mentor the entire time.

The alarms inside the Power Chamber sounded as the viewing screen came into focus. As the five Zeo Rangers watched, they saw four Zeo Rangers standing on four different buildings in the same block. Each ranger held their Zeo Power Weapon in their hand and began blasting on the buildings throughout the city.

Surges of power blasted outward from Midnight Zeo's two Black Sais. The White Zeo Ranger used her Power Weapon, two double bladed Zeo Katanas that, once connected at the handles, form a double ended Katana Staff. The Black Zeo Ranger used her Power Weapon, a two inch thick in diameter whip that, once extended, could destroy anything in it's path. It also had the power to make the ranger disappear. And, the Silver Ranger held her Power Weapon, a large pack sat on her back. From the pack, metallic arms extended down onto the arms and hands of the ranger with blasting weapons.

All four rangers were destroying everything they could find.

"Rangers," Zordon's voice brought the attention to him, "King Mondo's rangers are attacking the city."

"We can't fight them. They're innocent." Tommy protested.

"Rangers, Alpha and I are going to be working on a way to break Mondo's control." Zordon sighed at their temorary reliefment. "In the meantime, you have to go and face them. You can't let the city be destroyed."

"Right. It's morphin time!" Tommy said.

"Zeo Ranger I, Pink!" Kat called.

"Zeo Ranger II, Yellow!" Tanya called.

"Zeo Ranger III, Blue!" Rocky called.

"Zeo Ranger IV, Green!" Adam called.

"Zeo Ranger V, Red!" Tommy called.

The five Zeo Rangers came running down the streets of downtown Angel Grove and came face to face with the four Zeo Rangers under Mondo's control. The nine rangers immediately engaged each other on the street. Red and Pink Zeo went to battle against Midnight Zeo. Green Zeo fought White Zeo while Yellow Zeo fought with Black Zeo. Blue Zeo cautiously battled with Silver Zeo.

Red and Pink Zeo exchanged martial art blows with Midnight Zeo. All three rangers used their Power Weapons. Midnight Zeo thrust her two Zeo Sais across each chest of the two rangers. She followed her attack up with a double swipe across the chest again, knocking the two down.

Green Zeo and White Zeo blocked and parried with each other, using kicks and hand swipes to thrust at each other. It appeared as though they were even matched. White Zeo attempted a swift kick to Green Zeo's face plate, but missed and Green Zeo took advantage of it by delivering a swift kick to her chest, knocking her down.

Yellow Zeo battled with Black Zeo. Black Zeo was obviously winning this battle. With the knowledge her family taught her of Taekwondo and Ju Dit Zu, she was faster and more swift than Yellow Zeo and knocked the Yellow Ranger down repeatedly.

Lastly, but certainly not least, was Blue Zeo engaging Silver Zeo. The two fought vigorously back and forth. One would get a few lucky shots off, but the other would battle right back with an incredible ferocity. Silver Zeo's Power Pack was in her pocket dimension, but her skills were more than adiquate to deal with Blue Zeo. She battled him back against the wall of a building, using the speed of her movements to repeatedly pummel him.

"Please," Blue Zeo rasped, "Kimiko, you have to remember me." There was nothing identifiable in her responce, just more striking. Blue Zeo had only one shot, and he only hoped he was doing to right thing. He was always told by Zordon that love and friendship were the strongest powers in the universe. Now, he would test that theory. Quickly, when Silver Zeo waited for him to recover, he removed his helmet and used a leg swipe to take her down. After she fell, Rocky quickly removed her helmet. The eyes he saw were blank, no emotion. Before she could react, Rocky pressed his lips to hers in a powerful, emotion filled kiss. He first felt Kimiko's arms grab his shoulders in a grip to remove him, but after a moment, the hands gentled their grip and pulled him closer. Rocky opened a eye to look in Kimiko's and saw that she had closed hers. He hoped he had removed the spell with that.

After a long, incredible moment, the kiss ended and Rocky timidly licked his lips as Kimiko opened her eyes.

"Roc.....Rocky?" Kimiko managed through the conflicting emotions tredding through her soul.

"Kimiko. It's alright." Rocky smiled before bringing his wrist to his face. "Zordon, have you found a way to break the spell?"

"Yes, Rocky. Alpha will teleport Kimiko to the Power Chamber. Rocky, inform the other rangers to lure the other rangers together and Alpha and an ally that has just shown up will teleport them here under a special protection field. We'll explain once you all get back." Zordon replied.

"Right. Kimiko, my friends are going to talk to you. Don't be scared." Rocky said before she was teleported away.

Rocky replaced his helmet around his head and joined in the battle.

"Guys," Blue Zeo called, "we need to get them to stand together. Zordon has an idea."

"You got it Rocko." Red Zeo replied.

The five rangers renewed their defense against the three remaining rangers and were able to fight them into a position where they were standing together. "It's done, Zordon." Red Zeo stated.

"Excellent. Alpha." Zordon nodded to his assistant. In three seams of light, the three rangers vanished. The five Zeo Rangers joined them.

Inside the Machine Skybase, sparks were blowing out of King Mondo's sides as he watched what transpired on Earth.

"Those rangers are ruining my perfect plans, yet again." the Machine King declared. "Klank, I need two monsters, on the double."

"Yes, yer majesty. I have just the monsters." Klank obediently responded.

"We have just the monsters." Orbis corrected.

"Well," Mondo said, impatiently, "don't just stand there. Make the rangers pay for crossing the Royal House of Gadgetry."

"Yes, sire!"

Back inside the Power Chamber, Tommy, Kat, Rocky, Adam, and Tanya visualized in colored light with their helmets in their hands as they walked through the steel doors that led to the main chamber. Inside the main chamber, they noticed, were Jesse Parker, Torrey Hunter, and and Jordan Riley inside stasus tubes. Their forms were unmoving and their eyes held the same lack of emotions as Kimiko's had been. Kimiko Linkov was sitting on the medics table being tested by Alpha. What shocked the rangers the most, though, was that their friend Trey of Triforia was standing at the console talking with Zordon. Unlike his normal Triforian Royal clothing, he was wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and a black shirt.

"Trey?" Tommy said, not believing what his eyes were seeing.

"Hello rangers." Trey greeted his friends.

"What are you doing here?" Kat asked.

"Rangers, I am here in your time of need." Trey informed him.

"You're referring to the Emperor." Adam realized.

"Yes. The Emperor is the most dangerous threat the universe has. The Council asked me to assist you. I would've helped you anyways. The Xianth Empire are ruthless. When you denied him King Lexian, he has vowed to destroy you before he destroys the Circle of the Ancient Order." Trey informed them.

"Zordon, how are we going to break Mondo's control over them?" Tanya asked, motioning to Jesse, Torrey, and Jordon.

"Rangers," Trey answered for the Eltarian, "the Gold Power Staff has the power to undo powerful spells, and fortunately for us, King Mondo's spells are not powerful at all. A simple touch of the staff will end his control."

"Good." Tommy replied.

"But, what's gonna happen to them?" Rocky asked.

"The Zeo shards have bonded with these four because they represented charactaristics that appealed with the shards, if they accept, they join our team." Zordon smiled at the expressions on the rangers' faces.

Alpha and Adam deactivated the stasus tubes holding the three Earthlings and Trey produced his Power Staff as he approached them. First, he went to Jordan Riley. He pressed the golden end of it on Jordon's forehead and a small jolt of energy passed through her before Mondo's control over them was broken. Trey then did the same to Torrey, then Jesse. All three were once again under their own free will.

"Augh." Torrey moaned, rubbing her temple. Torrey Hunter was a blonde woman of nineteen years with sparkling green eyes and long blonde hair. Unmorphed and when she was taken, she, as she was now, was wearing a white button up shirt with the first four buttons undone to show a white sleeveless t-shirt underneath. Both shirts tucked into a pair of white dress shorts.

"What happened?" Jordan Riley closed her eyes as she held her head. Jordan was a blonde haired woman with stunning blue eyes. When she was first taken, and at the moment, she was wearing a black sports bra she used when she exercised and wore a black FUBU spandex pants that she exercised in.

"Yeah, and why do I feel lowsy." Jesse Parker shuddered at how her head was feeling. Jesse was wearing a pair of black dress pants with a white business shirt. At the time of her capture, she had just finished a job interview downtown. She was on her way back home to meet up with her friends at the Youth Center. Jesse was a light brown haired Latino American desented woman with hazel eyes and a charming smile. Of the four, she was the oldest.

"Torrey Hunter, Jordan Riley, Jesse Parker, my assistant Alpha 5 is handing you a pill mixed with water. The pill will reduce your pain considerably. There is no reason to harm me or him." Zordon's voice said above them.

"Whoa, who's the talking head?" Jordan said, looking at Zordon.

"Forget that, who's the walking android?" Jesse replied.

"I am not an android, I'm a robotic creation. Get it straight." Alpha snipped.

"Whatever." Jesse remarked, taking the pill.

"Now, Torrey, Jordan, Jesse. Please step forward." Zordon asked them. Warily, they did as asked.

"My name is Zordon of Eltare. I am the mentor of the Power Rangers."

"No way!" Torrey smiled broadly.

"Really?" Jordan seemed surprised.

"No joke." Jesse added.

"Yes, I am. I have been the Power Rangers' mentor for the years they have been saving the city. King Mondo chose you because the three exemplified the charactaristics necesary to use the Zeo Power. What I'm asking you is would you consider joining the team and become Power Rangers, defenders of the universe."

"Absolutely!" Torrey said without hesitation.

"I'm in." Jordan said. She wasn't as ecstatic as Torrey, but she was serious nonetheless.

"What about you Jesse?" Zordon asked.

"Uh, I don't know." Jesse said, wide eyed. She really didn't know what to think. "I mean, I never really thought about being a Power Ranger."

"I understand what you're feeling Jesse." Tommy said, stepping up to her. "You're asking yourself questions like: why me? what if I'm not good enough? how am I going to do this? Right?"

Jesse swallowed and simply nodded.

"Jesse, you don't have to have any doubts, we all have our doubts. The point is, you're part of a team whether you want to be or not, a team that will stand by you no matter what. If you join us, you won't regret it, that I can promise you." Tommy said, smiling at her.

"Alright. I'm in as well. But, aren't you going to ask Kimiko I think. She was the fourth one I remember seeing up there."

"Kimiko has already agreed to join us." Zordon said.

"You did?" Jordan asked, not believing it.

"Yes. Since I was chosen for this, I'm going to stick through it to the end." Kimiko replied.

The rotating alarms went off behind them as Zordon brought the recent monster attack up on the screen. The rangers watched as the rebuilt Machine called Cogchanger and King Mondo's newest Machine, Slythetox. Slythetox was a robotic version of a two armed, two legged, cobra snake. It was red in color with black spots as the "snake's" skin.

"Rangers, Mondo has sent two monsters to downtown Angel Grove." Zordon informed.

"What about them?" Tommy asked, motioning to the four standing nearby.

"Rangers, I need to speak with them. I will send them into the battle soon. Get going." Zordon said, seriously.

"Right, Back To Action!" Tommy declared.

Red, Pink, Blue, Yellow, and Green Zeo appeared in the downtown district of Angel Grove just behind the two monsters, Cogchanger and Slythetox.

"Alright monsters, we're here!" Red Zeo exclaimed.

The two monsters whirled around at the sound of the rangers' voice.

"Ready to die, rangers." Cogchanger said as he and Slythetox approached them.

"Not as ready as you I bet!" Blue Zeo returned the remark.

Instead of saying anything else, the two Machine Empire monsters began their attack. Cogchanger tangled with Yellow and Green Zeo while the other rangers battled Slythetox. The snake like machine hissed a black oil that could burn through any metal and he shot the venom at the rangers. As the oil contacted their suits, the rangers fell back from the explosions on their suits.

Cogchanger was having worse luck than Slythetox. Yellow and Green Zeo had their Zeo Laser Pistols out in blade mode and were exchanging blade thrusts across the monster's side and chest, causing multiple sparks to erupt on and around the monster.

The five Zeo Rangers fell to stand together as the two monsters retreated a few steps back.

"Cogs! Attack!!" Cogchanger ordered. An army of the Cogs appeared in front of the monsters.

The Cogs advanced and savagely attacked the five Zeo Rangers. Clearly outnumbered, the Zeo Rangers began to take vicious strikes that sent them back several feet.

In the Power Chamber, Kimiko, Jordan, Torrey, and Jesse had just finished making their agreement of the three Power Promises when Zordon told them to join the battle.

"Alright, so, who makes the call?" Jordan asked.

"Let's let Jesse do it. She's the oldest of us." Torrey suggested.

"Ok, It's Morphin Time!"

"Zeo Ranger VI, White!" Torrey called.

"Zeo Ranger VII, Black!" Jesse called.

"Zeo Ranger VIII, Silver!" Kimiko called.

"Midnight Zeo!" Jordan called.

It seemed as though the two machines and the Cogs were going to defeat the rangers. They had the rangers on one knee and grasping for breath. Cogchanger and Slythetox moved in for the final blast when several blasts came from behind the rangers and knocked the monsters back and completely decimated the Cogs, turning them into pieces of metal.

Midnight Zeo, Silver, White, and Black Zeo all ran up to the other Zeo Rangers and helped them to their feet.

"Thought you could use the help." Black Zeo said to the Zeo Rangers' leader.

"You thought right. Let's finish these guys." Red Zeo replied, getting into a defense position.

"Zeo Blaster!" the five main Zeo Rangers called.

The Zeo Blaster formed in the Red Ranger's hands and together, they shot out a blast so powerful that Slythetox was completely destroyed and Cogchanger was out of energy for the battle. The nine Zeo Rangers cheered their victory until Klank and Orbis appeared.

"Get to your feet and destroy them Cogchanger." Klank ordered while twirling Orbis around in the air until Orbis landed next to the machine. With a quick power up, Cogchanger was city destruction size.

"What do we do now?" Midnight Zeo asked.

"We take it up a notch." Blue Zeo replied.

"WE NEED ZEO ZORD POWER NOW!!" the five Zeo Rangers called. The Zeo Zords powered up instantly. Right away, the rangers formed the Zeo Megazord and approached the Cogchanger.

"It's time to be destroyed, rangers." Cogchanger snarled.

"We'll see. Zeo Megazord Sabre, now!" Red Zeo ordered. With the arcing swing, the Zeo Sabre struck Cogchanger. The monstrous machine staggered a bit, but didn't fall.

"Oh man. Didn't fall." Green Zeo exclaimed.

"Red Battlezord, Power Up!" Red Zeo said as he teleported out and into his mind controlled zord.

Red Battlezord's arms extended out as Red Zeo immediately began opening fire on the monster with repeated power blasts. In addition from another sabre strike from the Zeo Megazord, now controlled by Blue Zeo, the combined power was able to destroy Cogchanger for a second time.

Down on the ground, the four new Zeo Rangers watched the zord battle with astonishment and fascination. For two years they had been watching the news reports of the Power Rangers' legendary battles with the forces of evil and now being part of it was almost overwhelming. The five Zeo Rangers returned their zords to the Holding Bay and returned to where the newest rangers were.

"Oh my god," Silver Zeo exclaimed, grabbing Blue Zeo's arm. "that was incredible."

They smiled under their helmet.

"C'mon, let's get to the Power Chamber." Red Zeo suggested. In nine colors of light, the complete team of the Zeo Rangers teleported away.

Up at the Machine Skybase, King Mondo was fuming. He had the perfect plan with his evil rangers. Now, he had no evil rangers and his monsters were destroyed. He was nearing the end of his rope. Every monster he chose to use against the rangers had proven useless. He knew his scientists could always create new monsters, but the fact was that King Mondo knew that one way or another, with nine rangers on Earth, any attempt he made against the Earth would be useless.

"That's it!" King Mondo roared. "I've had it!!"

"What do you mean, dear?" Queen Machina asked, hesitantly.

"Pack things up!" Mondo ordered, "We're leaving. I'm tired of attacking this useless planet. I'm not going to waste my time anymore."

Machina, Sprocket, Orbis, and Klank all stared at their leader in shock before hurrying to do as told. The last time anyone didn't obey the King, they were reduced to scrap heat. The Machine Empire's attacks against the Earth were now over. As far as King Mondo was concerned, the Xianth Empire could have it.

Tommy, Katherine, Rocky, Adam, Tanya, Kimiko, Jordan, Jesse, and Torrey appeared in the Power Chamber in front of Alpha, Trey, and Zordon in nine multicolors of light.

"Congratulations rangers, I have great news to share." Zordon said upon their arrival.

"What's going on?" Jordan asked.

"Rangers, the Machine Empire have left." Trey stated for them.

"WHAT?" five rangers' voices was heard.

"That's right. The sensors indicate that directly following your defeat of Mondo's machines, the Skybase headed out. The Machine Empire is gone." Alpha clarified.

"But, that does not mean that all dangers have passed. No, Zedd and Rita are still around as well as the Emperor. He hasn't made any type of move against us yet, but I believe he will soon." Zordon said, watching them.

"So, what do we do now?" Jesse asked.

"Go on about your lives now as you would any other day. I understand you four are Angel Grove High School students."

"Yes." they all nodded.

"Then, just live your lives as you normally would. When the time comes, you will know what to do." Zordon promised.

"What about Trey?" Kat asked. "Will you return to Triforia now?"

"No, I cannot." Trey said, sadly.

"Why not?" Rocky asked.

"Rangers," Trey started, "long ago, when my father was dying, in fact, on his deathbed, I made a promise to him. A vow if you will. He told me the tales about the Emperor of the Xianth Empire. He told me that if the Xianth ever left their home dimension for conquest of other worlds, to do all in my power as Lord of Triforia to stop him. I cannot risk my people's welfare, so, I have come here to help you destroy the Emperor and his Empire once and for all."

"Well, we're glad to have you with us." Tommy smiled.

"Yeah, and you can stay with me until you can get settled anywhere." Kat offered.

"I do not want to be an inconvenience to any of you." Trey replied.

"Nonsense. Your a friend and I'm offering, so gather whatever you need and come on." Kat said, causing a chuckle throughout the Power Chamber.

The ten rangers all teleported out of the Power Chamber, on their way back to their homes. And, inside the main chamber, Zordon smiled and grimaced at the same moment. On one hand, he was happy because he, after all these years, now reunited the Zeo Crystal together. The Zeo Completion was now done and he was thrilled about that. The grimace was because Zordon knew the coming battles that the ten rangers would have with the Xianth would be anything but peaceful. And, he hoped his rangers would be ready for it.

A few hours later, night settled over Angel Grove and a red two door Jeep drove into the drive of the Oliver Household. Tommy got out of the Jeep as he approached his home. After they had left the Power Chamber, they all felt that a small celebration was necessary after the Machine Empire's decision to leave. They had been celebrating it for a few hours now and Tommy was finally able to get out of there.

Tommy easily went through the living room and the kitchen, to get a soda, as he headed upstairs to his room. As he passed the first door on his right, he opened it a crack to check on his little brother, Julius. His younger sibling was sleeping like a baby. Tommy nodded to himself. After closing that door, he passed a second door and checked that door. His other sibling, a sister just two years younger was sleeping just fine. Tommy nodded again at making sure Amanda was asleep. Finally, Tommy arrived at his room and he closed the door behind him. After he closed the door behind him, he went to turn on the light, but a dark voice interrupted his approach to the light.

"Nice family you got here." the Emperor's voice loomed over the darkness.

Tommy quickly turned on the light and whirled around to see the Emperor lounging on his recliner chair, with his legs crossed, and his staff lying across the arms of the chair. The Emperor laughed at Tommy's immediate defense position.

"Relax, Red Ranger. I'm not here to cause problems for you." Skeletor said.

"Then, what are you doing here?" Tommy asked, standing fully again, but ready if the Emperor tried anything.

"Red Ranger, we need to have a talk. I know a valueble piece of information that I believe you may want to hear." the Emperor said as Tommy reluctantly sat on his wooden chair he had next to his study desk.

"What do you have that I could possibly be interested in?" Tommy asked coldly.

"Oh, I don't know." Skeletor shrugged, "Your heritage." the Emperor chuckled when he saw Tommy's eyes widen.

"I know who my parents are, Emperor. I don't need you to try to stir up trouble." Tommy replied.

"Really. Then, tell me this much. When you were chosen for the Green Ranger powers, why did it take a very complex and powerful spell from Rita Repulsa to gain control of you? Hmm?"

Tommy didn't answer.

"Red Ranger, I have learned many great things in my existance in the universe. One thing I absolutely know for a fact is that the Space Witch Rita Repulsa's spells are so powerful and complex that only a human who has telepathic or telekenetic powers, such as an untrained Sage has, or a being from any world other than Earth would need them. Any other human from this backwater planet could easily be manipulated with Rita's simplest spell, such as what Mondo used."

"Get to the point." Tommy hissed.

"Very well. The fact remains, only a human Sage or a being from a different world could possibly take the spell Rita used when you became the Green Ranger. Which means, either you have the special abilities needed to be a Sage, or, you are of not this world." the Emperor smirked.

Tommy still didn't answer what the Emperor was saying. He was in a shake of stock. Half of him knew this was the truth, the other half thought Skeletor was just trying to cause trouble before he began his attacks.

The Emperor of the Xianth stood from Tommy's recliner. "Well, my job is done. Please, do tell Zordon about what I've told you, won't you." he laughed. "Red Ranger, we'll be seeing each other again. As soon as my Chief General Officer arrives with my new padawan, that's pupil for you, you'll see me on the battlefield. Until then, "live long and prosper"." the Emperor mocked the Star Trek saying before he vanished in sparkles of black energy, leaving a dumbfounded Tommy behind.

October 30

It was a sunny day in the city of Angel Grove. The citizens were astounded when there wasn't a single monster attack in the last seven days. The news reports had said that the Machine Empire were gone. Those reports had began two days after the Zeo Rangers both, defeated two monsters, and welcomed four new members into their team. So, the city was a happy place for the first time in a long time.

For the High School, most of the time of the last seven days was spent getting ready for the annual Halloween Ball/Dance. Some students referred to it as the Dance, while others referred to it as the Ball. Whatever it was known as, it was going to be a blast, that much was clear to everyone.

At the Youth Center, Torrey and Jesse were enjoying two of Ernie's Smoothies as well as a well cooked meal. They had just finished their day of class and were now just relaxing. The school dance for the Halloween holiday was tonight, less than seven hours away in fact and the two were having their lunch before they headed home to get ready. Both were going to the dance by themselves, not knowing that many guys at the school.

"So Torrey," Jesse Parker said, "going solo tonight, huh?"

Jesse's best friend nodded. "Yep, have to, you know." Jesse winked at her. "I wasn't going to go, but, they convinced me."

"Hah, yeah I know what you mean. I'm only going because they told me it would be fun. Maybe it will." Jesse replied, finishing her burger.

"Yeah." Torrey mumbled, munching contently on a french fry.

"Don't worry about it Torr, everything will be fine." Jesse said, squeezing the blonde's hand.

"I know. Let's just work on having a fantastic time tonight, huh." Torrey responded before the two headed out of the Youth Center.

At the Lunar Palace, the Emperor was just walking into the throne room. He walked up to the balcony and viewed the city. Although Skeletor would've loved to interfere in this match, he knew patience was virtue and, since he had waited this long for his chance at Zordon, he could wait a little longer.

"Emperor?" Lord Zedd's voice was behind him.

"Yes Zedd?" the Emperor answered, not looking at Zedd.

"Why aren't you beginning your conquest of Earth yet?"

Skeletor turned around to face his one time pupil. In the Emperor's mind, Lord Zedd had been his most promising pupil. The Xianth ruler had expected great things out of Zedd and some of Zedd's achievements were indeed a reason to be proud, but what's become of Zedd now made the Emperor sick. This is what became of his favorite pupil, well until he began training his current Chief General Officer.

"First of all, Zedd." Skeletor said slowly, "I answer to absolutely no one. Secondly, if you must know, I'm waiting for my CGO and my current apprentice to arrive. When they arrive, things will happen. Is there anything else?"

"No Emperor." Zedd said quietly, knowing when not to press any issues with his master. Zedd left the throne room.

Enjoy yourselves while you can, rangers. Soon, you will all know the lenghts of my power.

"Adam, hurry up! You've got to pick up Tanya in twenty minutes." Mrs. Marley Park called up to her son. The dance was only one and a half hours away and Adam had been in his room getting ready.

"I'm coming!" Adam called back as he steered himself forward and down the stairs. For this Halloween, he decided to go as a pirate. The white and black pirate suit covered his young form with a pirate's hat on his head, perfect with the eye patch on his face, though it wasn't covering his eye.

"Adam, you look," Marley tried to come up with a good word, "piraty." she offered.

"Argh, shiver me timbers." Adam replied in pirate talk.

"Get going." Marley Park playfully shoved him out. Adam got in his green Sadan and headed towards Tanya Sloan's house next as Marley laughed to herself.

Two hours later, the Halloween Dance was in full swing. Inside the huge gym, students were dancing all over the place. Students were dressed in all types of clothing. From Frankensteins to Draculas to wolfmen to pirates to princesses, all types were out on the dance floor enjoying themselves. For many students, including the Zeo Rangers, this would be the final Halloween Dance for them.

Tommy was dressed as a vampire, complete with the hair slicked back with hair gel and fake fangs. He was dancing a storm with his girlfriend Kat. Kat was dressed as a cowboy, which surprised everyone when they saw it. Complete with a belt with a plastic cowboy gun and a cowboy hat she borrowed from her father.

Also on the dance floor was Adam and Tanya, dancing together. Tanya was dressed in fifty's clothing while Adam Park was dressed in the pirate outfit. Rocky and Kimiko were moving with the music as well. Rocky was dressed in a astronaut's suit and Kimiko, as was her heritage, was dressed in a Samuari's outfit. Jordan dressed as a fairy Godsmother and was currently accepting a dance with Skull, who was wearing a Biker's outfit. Torrey and Jesse had told everyone that they had to leave and, when asked, they wouldn't tell why they had to leave, just that they had to leave. And that they would see them tomorrow. The rangers were sorry to see their two friends leave, but they understood. Everyone else were enjoying themselves.

The DJ began a much slower song that the others had been after the current song came to an end. He announced that this was the last dance of the night and that surprised some of the dancers at realizing just how fast the evening had gone.

"So, Kimi." Rocky started, making Kimiko raise her head from it's safe haven on Rocky's chest, "I had a really nice time tonight."

"Yes, tonight has been a great night for me. Thank you for bringing me." Kimiko replied as she slipped her arms around his neck. Rocky's arms went from her shoulders to her waist.

Rocky closed his eyes for a moment before he said, in a rush, the words he had realized himself earlier that day. "Kimi, I'm in love with you."

Kimiko smiled a sweet smile at him. "I should hope so. It was you that broke that spell. And, I'm falling in love with you. I know that much. Now, shut up and kiss me."

Rocky obliged. He leaned down as she leaned up and their lips met and a firey kiss that led little to the imagination from the other dancers as to whom these two belonged to, each other. Kat and Tanya smiled inside as they watched the kiss deepen between the two.

Torrey Hunter had just finished taking a shower to wash off the makeup and paint she had used on her costume, a circus clown. She wore her usual night clothes, a pair of panties with a white t-shirt over her upper body. She entered her bedroom and began combing her blonde locks straight behind her when she felt arms enclose her waist and she leaned back against the welcomed warmth. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt the light kiss against the back of her wet hair. She also closed her eyes because of the emotional pain she was in. She hated lying or hiding things from her newfound friends. But, she knew that Angel Grove was a city that wasn't used to changes.

"Torrey, what's wrong?" Jesse whispered into Torrey's ear.

"I hate this." Torrey whispered back. "I hate hiding our relationship from them. I know we really only met them today, but, I hate keeping 'us' in secret."

"I know." Jesse said sadly. "So do I. But, we can't tell them. Power Rangers or not, I don't think they could handle our relationship. Angel Grove is a fairly one tracked kind of city."

"Then, why did we come here?" Torrey said back, walking out of the embrace and walking over towards their bed.

"Torrey, honey, you know why we left LA. Most of the people there hate homosexuals. All that garbage about not being natural and all that. All that prejudice is why we left and came here." Jesse answered, not walking over to Torrey yet. "We deserve and need a second chance at life, a new life, and that's what we have here. I mean, look, we've only been here a few months, and look at us. We're Power Rangers."

"I know Jess, it's just, hiding the fact that we're Power Rangers is one thing. But, I hate hiding our true relationship." Torrey looked down.

Jesse was going to reply, but the beep of the communicator stopped them. "This is Jesse."

"Jesse, would you and Torrey teleport to the Power Chamber please." Zordon said.

"We're on our way." Jesse said before Torrey went and put on some pajama leggings. That done, the two teleported to the Power Chamber.

They appeared in the main chamber in two streams of colored light. "What is it, Zordon?" Jesse asked.

"A monster attack?" Torrey added a question.

"No, this is not of an emergency of that type. Torrey, Jesse, I want you to know that I understand your secret."

Their eyes widened before Zordon spoke again.

"Do not worry, your secret is safe, if you want to keep it secret. But, I do want to tell you something that may help you in your troubles." Zordon said before continuing, "From the time I first arrived on Earth to now, I've seen many things. I've seen the human race evolve into one of the best races of beings that I've ever seen, yet I've also seen the human race become the worst.

"Prejudice and racism are among to two top evils the human race has yet to evolve through. And, when I chose to pick rangers from Earth to defend the Morphin Grid against the forces of evil, I chose those that I knew held no prejudices against African Americans, Jews, Native Americans, or homosexuality. I knew they were the ones because, being a powerful Sage, I am able to look within their hearts and know them.

"Torrey, Jesse, you must not worry about being rejected, because you won't. But, I want you to know this much. When the rangers see that you have no boyfriends, they will try to match you with some male friends of theirs. That I am sure."

"Especially Kat and Tanya." Jesse said.

"Yes. Trust me, more problems would be caused that way than if you kept your secret in place. I won't break my word and tell them, but I believe you should tell them. For peace of mind. I know Torrey, you feel bad about it." Zordon finished as he smiled at them.

"Torrey and I have to talk about this, Zordon. When we lived in Los Angelos," Jesse said, starting to open up to the Eltarian, "we had to endure prejudice on a daily basis. Our landlord in LA kicked us out when he found out. He was a real Catholic kind of guy. Always said our kind were immoral and we would go to hell for what we are."

"Jesse, where there are Catholics who strongly believe that, that is simply not true. I have been able to read the Bible in my time, and I know where the Catholics come from. But, they always seem to forget that God loves all his children, no matter the race, the gender, or the sexual prejudice. God will judge you when you die, but not because of who you choose to love. He will judge you on the life you live, the people you've touched." Zordon said.

"That's pretty deep." Torrey said, astonished.

Zordon laughed at that. "Yes, well, I've been around a very long time. You two should go back to your place and get some rest. You never can tell when the Emperor will begin his attacks."

They nodded and teleported back to their apartment.

Back at the apartment, Torrey slipped into the covers and watched as Jesse did the usual routine before joining. The routine would take Jesse a few minutes, so Torrey thought about the way their lives had been going recently. When they moved here, they had immediately found themselves steady jobs to hold them. Jesse worked as the Assistant District Attorney for Angel Grove's DA's Office. Jesse had graduated at UCLA just a few months prior. Jesse was in the process of getting a good DA's job when the prefudice had gotten worse to where Torrey had been attacked by a group of bikers on the street. That had been the last straw for Jesse. She would not tolerate attacks on her girlfriend. They had started looking at different cities to live when their landlord had kicked them out.

Torrey, on the other hand, was still attending UCLA when all that had happened. She had been forced to withdraw from classes and getting the refund for her books and tuition. When they came here, Torrey immediately was able to land a job as a Hostess for Angel Grove's premier Cajun restaurant, De La Crouix. For the three months they had been living here, Torrey had saved a good twelve hundred dollars to begin her schooling at Angel Grove University. She already had brochures from the school thanks to Jesse. In addition to the money Jesse had insisted on adding to Torrey's, the young blonde was able to start college at the next semester. Although life was nice for them, Torrey always had a fear that if they ever had friends, and they learned their secret, they would hate them. Zordon was fairly certain that their new friends wouldn't cast them out because of it and Torrey knew that Jesse was apprehensive about telling them because of the pain the prejudice always caused Torrey. Torrey smiled at the fact of knowing that ever since their first meeting at UCLA, Jesse had this intense overprotectiveness when it came to Torrey. Torrey remembered when there was a young black woman at UCLA that wanted to go out with the young blonde. She grimaced at what had happened.

Jesse had come extremely close to assaulting the young woman and if it had not been for Torrey's ability to control Jesse's temper, she would have. Torrey smiled as Jesse walked into the bedroom and eased into the bed next to her. Torrey turned on her right side as she felt Jesse's firm body snuggle into the back of hers. Powerful arms wrapped around her waist as firm, round, breasts pressed against her back. Torrey interlaced her fingers with Jesse's as she closed her eyes at the sensation.

"G'night, Torr." Jesse whispered.

"G'night, Jess." Torrey whispered back as the darkness of the room helped them, along with the cool night air, to fall into a deep and peaceful sleep. The worries of the reactions of their friends' learning of their sexuality would wait until the next day, as now, they merely enjoyed the feeling of the blanket called love that covered them in it's warm haven.

The End . . . For Now