Parallels Again
by Jeremy Ray Logsdon

"That was kinda cool," Skull agreed.

"I thought you were dead," a vicious voice said. Trini looked up to see a Sword pointed not more than three inches from her face.

Suddenly, Putties began to surround them. They burbled to each other incoherently. Before anyone could react, Trini, Tommy, and Skull were bound, hand and feet, and Justin was thrown over the shoulder of a Putty in a fireman's carry.

"Let me go!" Justin shouted.

"Morph Justin!" Tommy shouted.

"MOUNTAIN BLASTER TURBO POWER —- SEAHORSE!!!" Justin cried frantically. The Putty collapsed under Justin's sudden increase in weight. He immediately launched himself at the Putties carrying his bound friends.

However, before he was close enough to inflict any damage, Rito blocked him. Justin took a severe hit to the midsection with Rito's sword. He "oomphed" and staggered back a few feet.

"Wait a minute!" Trini cried. "Rito! Don't you remember me! I'm the Trini from the dimension where we're good!"

Rito suddenly paused and turned to look at Trini. "You're from a different dimension?" Rito asked.

"Yes," Trini said. "Remember our five friends that came here after Zack and I left? They didn't come home, and we're on a search and rescue mission!"

"Put them down," Rito commanded. The Putties immediately did as they were told, while Rito proceeded to cut the ropes that bound them. "I'm sure Jenga would like to see you again."

Before any of them could say anything, they all teleported away.

~*~

"Jenga!" Rito cried. "I've got some people here you might want to meet!"

Jenga emerged from a large green tent. Her hair no longer trailed down her back but instead was cut shorter than Justin's. Rather than have three luxurious blue strands that trailed down her back, she had three blue spots on the back of her head. A nasty cut was stitched shut across her forehead. Her clothing was tattered and torn, and she had a surprisingly dark tan, but it was undeniably Jenga Xett. Her face shifted slightly at seeing the three teens, but she then realized what had happened.

"Trini!" Jenga cried. "What are you doing back here?!" She hurried over to Trini and gave the teen a gentle hug.

"We're on a search and rescue mission for our five friends from earlier this summer," Trini said.

"They didn't go home?" Jenga asked sadly.

"No, but they're okay," Trini assured her. "Oh, you know these guys' names, but they're with me. They're good. Tommy and Skull, of course. And this is Justin. He's Blue Turbo Ranger on our world."

"Nice to meet you all," Jenga said warmly.

The other three didn't say anything, as Trini had warned them of what to expect in the Anti-Earth world, the first world in the slider's cache file. "What happened here?" Trini asked. "Where are we?"

"This pile of ruin is what's left of Angel Grove," Jenga said. "Zordon's Rangers attacked us at the Lunar Palace, and we fought back. They brought it to Earth, and we won, but barely."

"Survivors?" Trini asked warily.

"Everyone is here in Angel Grove, now," Jenga explained. "There aren't many people left. I suppose ten thousand. We're trying to rebuild a good society. We've only been at it for a week. Things are actually going pretty smoothly. What do you think of my new hair?"

"It sure is shorter," Trini said.

"Doesn't it look horrible?" Jenga asked. "Tommy did it with his Sword. Took nearly all of it off, and then gashed me across the forehead." Jenga unconsciously shuddered at the memory. "The Rangers killed as many people as they could. But we finally won. Our survivors, from the Dynasty, aren't as numerous. Myself, Rito, Scorpina, and Finster. The others were killed."

"I'm very sorry," Trini said.

"Thank you," Jenga sighed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Is there anything we can help you with?" Trini asked.

"No, it's pretty dull around here now," Jenga said. "We have clean up crews working on the rubble and debris, but you need to save your strength for sliding."

Trini nodded in agreement and said, "If you don't, then we'll go ahead and go. You take care, okay?"

"Everything is going to be fine around here now," Jenga said. "Evil is dead."

Trini gave Jenga one final hug, and then pulled the slider from her pocket. "You guys ready?"

"It was nice meeting you," Justin said. "Let's hit it Trini. We've got seventy-eight worlds left."

She opened the slider and hit a button on it. A white beam of light shot from it, forming a whirling vortex of light. Justin took one look at his teammates, and then hurled himself into the light.

As soon as he emerged on the other side, he landed in deep mud and began to slide. A serious thunderstorm was raging, and thick mud lay everywhere. He was thoroughly covered in a matter of moments, but that thought didn't occur to him. He was more concerned with the fact that he was sliding down an extremely steep embankment that seemed to be leading him underground.

Suddenly, the embankment just disappeared, and he was airborne. Screaming, he fell into a dark abyss. Justin wasn't too sure of how far he fell, but suddenly, he was underwater. It couldn't have been too far, because it didn't take him more than a few seconds to resurface. He wiped the water and mud from his face just in time to see Trini and Tommy fall into their underwater pool as well.

"Justin, you okay?" Skull asked as soon as he resurfaced.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Justin told him.

Tommy and Trini swam up to Skull and Justin. "It looks like we're in some type of underground cavern," Trini said. Stone walls stretched up all about them. Light from an unseen source lit the area up. The four Rangers began to swim towards a nearby bank to haul themselves out. They saw no way to get out of the cavern as of yet, but getting out of the water would be no problem at all.

"The slider," Tommy panicked. "Is it okay to get wet?"

"It's virtually indestructible," Trini assured him. "We took every precaution we could to protect it."

"The food in our backpacks is ruined," Skull remarked. "Let's try and get out of here."

Tommy was the first to reach the bank. He latched onto the top of it and quickly hauled himself out. He then stretched a hand down to help Trini out.

Suddenly, screams of anger came from all about them. Tommy shot a "Stay down!" at Skull and Justin. Eight people in tattered clothing and masks that looked animal faces ran at Tommy and Trini, carrying crudely made shotguns and rifles. One woman with long chestnut colored hair and a mask that resembled some type of bird ran up to Trini. She took one look at her, and then rammed the butt of her rifle against Trini's ribs. The sudden move took Trini by surprise, and she bent over in pain.

Several men gathered around Tommy. Tommy slowly circled with them, ready to defend himself. Suddenly, one man with long blondish-brown hair, a beard of similar color, and the mask of a wolf kicked Tommy in the ribs. Tommy attempted to defend himself, but the man in the wolf mask was a split second faster. A few seconds later, Tommy lay at the four men's feet in a painful heap.

"Get them out of here!" one of the men shouted. "We save her death for last!"

Skull and Justin waited in terrified silence, pressed against the stone bank, until the only sound was that of water running into the pool. "Think it's safe?" Justin whispered.

"I'll check," Skull volunteered. He slowly raised himself up high enough to look over the bank. "It looks clear," Skull said softly, pulling himself out of the water. He then stretched a hand down to Justin to help him out.

"What are we gonna do, Skull?" Justin asked, picking up Tommy and Trini's discarded backpacks.

"I say we morph and go find them," Skull said. "They didn't look like they would have Ranger technology. It's Morphin Time?"

"It's Morphin Time," Justin agreed.

~*~

"If you expect me to save you, you've got another thing coming," Kimberly snapped. "Tie her down to that table," Kimberly said to the two men who carried Trini into the room by her hands and feet. "I've got some things I'd like to say to her first."

"Kimberly, you don't understand," Trini pleaded. "I'm not even from this dimension."

"Aw geeze," Kimberly said. "If you're trying to save your ass you could at least come up with a better story than that, oh gracious Right Queen."

~*~

Just as she was about to teleport underground, she sensed Tommy as well. She knew that he was dead as well. Something was afoot that she didn't understand, and Dulcea didn't like that.

~*~

"Your voice sounds so familiar," Tommy whispered thoughtfully, more to himself than the Wolf Man.

"Insult to injury, I see," Wolf Man said, obviously hurt. He yanked the mask off, revealing a set of eyes that Tommy would have recognized anywhere. The hair and beard had thrown Tommy off, but it was undeniably him.

"Billy?" Tommy asked in shock.

"Good call," Billy agreed. "Who on the Throne is still alive?"

"Billy, I'm from a different dimension," Tommy told him hurriedly. "I'm not from here."

Billy paused. "Can you prove it?"

"I don't suppose I can," Tommy admitted.

"I'll hold off on you," Billy said. "For now."

~*~

Justin and Skull traded a glance, and then looked at Dulcea. "We aren't >from this dimension," Justin said.

Dulcea looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "Identify yourself anyway."

Justin removed his helmet and immediately morphed down to his shorter height. "Justin Cranston," he answered. "Blue Turbo Ranger from a different dimension."

"Eugene Skullovitch," Skull said, following Justin's lead. "We have two friend with us," Skull continued. "Trini Kwan and Tommy Oliver."

"Also from a different dimension?" Dulcea asked. Justin nodded yes. "Then we must hurry," Dulcea told them gravely. "Your friends, especially Trini, are in grave danger."

~*~

"That's what I've been trying to tell her!" Trini protested.

"How can you be so sure?" Kimberly asked, testing a dagger's tip with her finger.

Dulcea sat a white satchel, the bottom of which was stained red, on a table in the room. "Look for yourself," Dulcea said.

Kimberly walked over to the table and opened the satchel. She looked at the satchel's contents, and then nodded her approval. "Who is this then?"

Dulcea closed the satchel and said, "That's a Trini from a different dimension. Let her go. Skull, come in here and explain to Kimberly what is going on." Kimberly's eyes widened as Skull, clad in the original Green Ranger armor, walked into the room. She proceeded to cut Trini free.

~*~

"How can you be so sure?" Billy asked, frowning angrily.

"Look in Dulcea's satchel," Kimberly said. Dulcea walked toward Billy and opened it. He looked in and nodded in approval.

"I will tell Jason and Katherine," Billy told Kimberly. "They will be happy to know that the Throne is now officially dead."

"Dulcea and I will tell everyone else what has happened," Kimberly said. Her eyes fell on the blood stained satchel, and a smile crept across her face in spite of herself. "I can't believe it's really over."

"I'll go with you," Skull volunteered. "If that's okay."

"Yeah, fine," Kimberly said. She laughed happily and ran out of the room.

~*~

His eyes kept falling on Dulcea's satchel, however. He had a pretty good hunch what was inside, but he had to look for himself. He knew he was going to regret it as soon as he opened it, but he had to see it for himself. Skull slowly walked over to the dirty satchel. His hands paused on the handles, and he then opened it. He looked at the contents for all of about two seconds, and immediately turned away and expelled everything he had eaten that day.

"You looked in the satchel, didn't you?" Kimberly asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah," Skull groaned. "Sorry."

"I think you learned your lesson," Kimberly smiled. "I know its hard to just see something like that and not judge Dulcea harshly, but they were evil people."

"What exactly is going on around here?" Skull asked. "This is confusing."

"You sure aren't like the Skull we had here before the Take Over," Kimberly remarked. "Let's go someplace quiet and we'll talk."

~*~

"True," Skull told her. "She's my girlfriend back home."

"Yeah, you've mentioned that several times," Kimberly chuckled. She would never have dated the Skull of her world, but she had to admit that the Skull sitting before her was remarkably more mature. "Do you know what may have become of Aisha? She disappeared before we did, but we never found her."

"No, I've told you everything I know," Skull said, "which isn't much."

"Well, Jason left us about a year ago. He eventually made his way back on the Throne. Emily was carrying his child, by the way. That's how he got back on. Jason remembered why he left in the first place as soon as he saw how wicked they were, and rejoined us. We weren't too pleased, but Jason proved to be a valuable asset. He knew from his very brief stint on the Throne that the Zeo Crystal had disappeared. We have no idea where it went to, but it gave us the edge we needed. Their armies no longer had the Zeo Crystal to threaten us with."

"And war started?" Skull tried.

"Right. We fought back. And we killed nearly the entire Throne. Tommy, Trini, and Zack escaped to Phaedos to attempt to get the Great Power to destroy us. Dulcea killed them, instead.

"The planet Eltare then sent us Project Genesis. See, we live underground because the entire surface was desolated in the war that drove us all underground. There's nothing left. Project Genesis was launched, and the planet is currently reviving itself."

"That's why it was raining so hard," Skull said thoughtfully.

"Right," Kimberly said. "The oceans are filling back up. Within a month, the rains will be over and vegetation will return. A year from now, we will move to the top. Eltare and Triforia are going to give us some of their animals so that one day, we'll be a real planet again. It's a fresh start for us."

"Do you have a boyfriend here?" Skull asked, obviously interested.

"Well, Billy and I had a fling a while back," Kimberly murmured. "But he's with Kat now. In fact, they're getting pretty serious. Jason and I have been kinda sorta thinking about it lately, but nothing serious."

"Kimberly!" Katherine cried from the doorway.

"Have you heard the news?!" Kimberly shouted as well, jumping to her feet to give her friend a hug.

"Yeah, and that's not all of the good news!" Katherine laughed. "Billy and I are pregnant!"

~*~

"Don't forget the beard," Skull said. "Man, that looks so bizarre."

"What does?" Billy asked. He then proceeded to cut on his beard, also with the scissors, so as to make shaving with a razor later on easier.

"You with a beard," Skull told him. "It's just not what we're used to. At all."

"Billy thought it was a great disguise," Jason said, "so he's been growing it out for a pretty good while now. Hey, Kat told me the news, man. Congrats."

"What news?" Billy asked, trading the scissors for a razor.

"You haven't talked to her yet?" Jason asked.

"Good news?" Billy asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Gentlemen?" Katherine asked from the doorway. "Can I talk to Billy alone?"

"Let's go guys," Tommy said, placing his hands on Justin's shoulders as they left what had formerly been a prison cell's bathroom.

"Billy, I've got good news," Katherine said, rushing up to him. "Ooh, you've cut your hair."

"I know you liked it short," Billy told her as he hurriedly finished shaving. He splashed water on his face, wiped the shaving cream off, and stared at a totally different face in the mirror. "Much better."

"Remember that night about two weeks ago?" Katherine asked.

"The night our war officially ended with the destruction of the Throne?" Billy asked with a grin.

"Well, yeah, but I'm talking about ... later, in that night," Katherine said.

"Oh yeah. I certainly hadn't forgotten about that." He couldn't suppress the smile that followed.

"Well," Katherine said, a bit stunned that Billy still hadn't made the connection, "I think we're going to have a lasting effect from that night." Billy looked at Katherine questioningly. She finally took his hand and placed it against her flat stomach. "Billy, we're pregnant. I'm late, but not really late enough to be sure, but Dulcea told me she could sense a child within me," she told him.

"Pregnant?" Billy asked in disbelief.

"You aren't upset are you?" Katherine asked nervously.

"Oh no," Billy assured her, shaking his head frantically. "I'm just ... amazed. I mean, you got pregnant the first time we made love? This is amazing." He pulled Katherine into his arms and kissed her passionately. He laughed out loud as he said, "I'm gonna be a dad!"

"Oooh," Katherine sighed, "no more facial hair. I really like that."

"Let's get married," Billy said happily.

"How?" Kat asked. "There are only like seven hundred people on the planet. I don't know if we have any preachers or priests."

"Well, we'll look," Billy said, "and..."

"I'll take your name," Katherine told him, "and we'll go ahead and tell people that we're married."

"Good," Billy sighed. "Wanna go on a honeymoon tonight?" Katherine smiled and nodded in agreement.

~*~

"Yeah, I don't suppose so," Skull agreed.

"We need to go to the surface to slide," Justin said. "How do we get up to the top?"

"There are severe storms raging across the entire planet," Kimberly told them. "It's not safe."

"We have no choice," Tommy said. "We have to go up top."

"You could take an old SpideRover," Katherine suggested.

"I'll show you how the controls work," Billy volunteered. "Follow me."

"It was nice meeting you all," Justin shouted as they followed Billy into the distance.

~*~

"Let's do it," Trini said. She pointed the slider at the ground and pressed the button. A split second later, a whirling vortex of light had grown on the ground. "Go Justin!" He leapt from the vehicle and dropped directly into the portal. Skull was close behind.

"Give me the timer!" Tommy shouted over the roar of the wind.

Trini put the timer in his shirt pocket, and then leapt into the portal. Tommy moved the SpideRover as close as he could, and then hurled himself into the portal.

~*~

"This world looks empty," Skull said. "Nobody on the sidewalks."

"Is this Angel Grove?" Justin asked no one in particular.

"Maybe," Tommy muttered, "but I doubt it."

Suddenly, five colored figures on motorcycles flew up the street. The four sliders leaped to the sidewalk as the figures drove off. "Were those Rangers?" Skull asked.

"Looked like Zeo Rangers," Tommy commented.

"Look you guys," Trini said, "we've got a lot of worlds to visit and we're already behind schedule. Let's keep sliding."

"Not so fast," a menacing female voice taunted. They all turned in perfect unison to see a robotic woman, dressed entirely in red, standing on the street.

"Who are you?" Tommy asked.

"Jara," the robot said. "And yourself?"

"We're leaving," Trini told her. "Come on guys." Suddenly, the slider flew from her hands and into Jara's.

"Give it back!" Justin shouted.

"I'm sure that's going to happen!" Jara taunted. "Ta ta!" Before any of the quartet could react, they disappeared with the slider.

"What are we going to do?" Skull asked panicked.

"I suggest we morph and teleport to the Ranger's headquarters," Trini said. "They can help us get the slider back." Simultaneously, the four called on their Powers, and then teleported away.

~*~

A blue man, who looked eerily reminiscent of both Jay Leno and Elvis Presley, walked into the room. Upon seeing the four Rangers, he did an exaggerated comical double take, complete with bulging, flashing eyes.

"What the-?" Tommy asked in disbelief.

"Aisha?" the blue man asked. "What did you do to yourself?"

"We had better explain," Trini said, removing her helmet. "We're from a different dimension, and-"

"Oh, more of you guys," the blue man said, nodding. "My name is Flabber. And you are?" The four Rangers introduced themselves, and then Trini proceeded to give her tale.

Suddenly, blue, pink, green, red, and yellow light flooded the immediate area, producing five Zeo Rangers. "Flabber, what did those goons want?" Yellow Ranger asked while removing her helmet in a voice that was both youthful and old at the same time.

"Trini," Red Ranger, this one female, said coldly. Trini turned to look at Red Ranger, who had by then removed her helmet and revealed the face of Aisha Campbell.

"Aisha?" Trini asked. The Blue, Green, and Pink Zeo Rangers removed their own helmets as well, and immediately shrank into children Justin's age.

"I'm from a different dimension," Trini defended herself quickly.

"So am I," Aisha said coolly. "I'm from a dimension where you were a dictator."

"We just came from that dimension!" Justin cried.

"Not like THAT, though," Trini quickly defended herself. "We're on a search and rescue mission for five friends of ours."

"Billy, Kimberly, Katherine, Rocky, and Jason?" Aisha asked, slowly letting her guard down.

"Yes," Trini assured her. "We've got a slider that's taking us on the exact same route they went."

"They were the ones who saved me," Aisha said. "They brought me and the Zeo Crystal to this world."

"Thanks to you leaving with the Zeo Crystal," Tommy smiled warmly, "the Freedom Force had the ability to overthrow the Throne."

"The Throne is gone?" Aisha asked, awe struck.

"The Throne is gone," Trini promised her. "Billy, Kimberly, Jason, and Katherine are alive and well. They oversaw the destruction of the Throne. Oh, and Billy and Katherine are going to have a baby."

"Oh man," Aisha said, obviously thrilled. "I thought for sure I was the only survivor. Man, this is great!"

"Uhm, Aisha," the older woman in the Yellow Zeo Armor said, "we've got Chromite problems, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Aisha said hurriedly, "I forgot to introduce you to everybody. This old lady in yellow is Nano, my best friend on the entire planet."

"Old lady?" Nano asked, jokingly raising an eyebrow.

"That kid in green is Nano's grandson, Roland," Aisha continued. Roland acknowledge his presence with a slight wave. "Blue boy is Drew, and that girl in pink with all of the hair is Jo."

"Hi," Jo said sweetly, returning her attention to the computer console before her.

"Aisha," Roland interrupted her, "we've got a swarm of Chromites coming into Angel Grove, fast."

"What are Chromites?" Justin asked.

"They're strong, like Tengas, but stupid, like putties. In fact, they look like colored putties," Aisha said. "Look, we'll talk later, but right now, we have to go defend Charterville."

"We'll come with," Tommy volunteered.

"You sure?" Nano asked.

"Absolutely," Skull agreed.

"Back to action!" Aisha cried. Nine streaks of colored light left Hillhurst Mansion.

~*~

"Imagine what Kimberly would have to say about 'em," Skull commented as he went one-on-one with his Dragon Dagger.

Suddenly, the remaining Chromites disappeared, along with the gallons of multi-colored ooze coating the streets. Red light flashed before them, revealing the beast known as Jara. "All right!" Jara cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "How does that blasted device work!?!"

"What device is she talking about?" Drew asked Roland. The taller boy merely shrugged.

"She's talking about our slider," Tommy said, stepping forward. "You may as well give it back, ... you-"

"Jara," Jo told him.

"-'cause it is designed to only work for us."

"Then you'll work for me!" Jara threatened. "Or else!"

"Hah!" Justin cried. "Work for evil? Not a chance!"

"Bash! Flimsha!" Jara cried angrily. "Perhaps after you fight PigSkin you'll feel differently!" With a wave of her hand, she disappeared as a tall pig creature, eerily reminiscent of Pudgy Pig, materialized on the street.

"Aisha, we have to get that slider back!" Tommy told her.

"Go back to Hillhurst," Aisha told him. "All four of you. We'll take care of PigSkin, and you can have Flabber start scanning for the slider."

"Let's go," Trini agreed. They teleported away in a colored rainbow of sparks.

~*~

"AB what?" Skull asked as he removed his helmet. "Blood?"

"What else is there?" Count asked, smelling the air. "It's you, isn't it?"

"Just who are you?" Skull asked.

"I'm hungry," Count said.

"No!" Flabber snapped, running up to his supernatural friend. "No! I've told you before, you couldn't eat BeetleBorgs and you can't eat Rangers! Now get out of here!"

"Aw, you're no fun," Count complained as he walked away with his head hanging.

"Sheesh, these house monsters drive me nuts," Flabber complained. "What are you guys doing back so soon?"

"That red chick," Tommy said, "Jaba? Something, anyway, she sent down a monster."

"We need to get our slider back," Justin told Flabber. "We HAVE to get it back. Aisha said you can scan for it."

"I'll do my best," Flabber said as a white lab coat materialized on his body.

~*~

"Hey you guys!" an unfamiliar voice said. The four Rangers turned to look at a mummy, standing by the window, along with a werewolf, a vampire, a Frankenstein creature, and a short "thing" in a full-bodied brown shawl. The mummy shouted, "They're using the Super Zeo Zords!"

Skull and Justin hurried over to the window to look out with the paranormal quintet. The ground before the house opened up, and the five Super Zeo Zords leapt out and immediately ran off to the Zeo Rangers.

"Hey, how's it goin?" the short creature said to Justin. It was apparently female, and two red orbs glowed where her eyes should have been in the black pit that should have been her face. "My name's Little Ghoul. Who are you?"

"Justin," he told her. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," she said, shaking his hand. "These things are Count, Frankenbeans, (he's kinda slow,) Mums, and Wolfgang."

"Hi guys," Justin said warily.

Count sniffed the air and then looked at Justin. "What's your blood type?"

"COUNT!!!" Flabber yelled from somewhere in the house.

"Aw, come on Flabber!" Count yelled back as he walked away. "I was just playin'!"

Trini, meanwhile, looked intently at the readings that were coming from the large computer console. "Flabber, this is it," Trini told him. "Where is this signal coming from?"

"Hmmm," Flabber said thoughtfully, "that is coming from... Jara's headquarters."

"Where's that?" Tommy asked.

"We have no idea," Flabber told them.

Trini sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair. "Is there any way to get there?" Trini asked.

"I've never tried," Flabber admitted.

"Why did they want it in the first place?" Tommy asked.

"Jara's been itching to send Aisha and the Zeo Crystal back where they came from," Flabber told them, for once talking seriously. "She's probably got some way to scan for any type of unique energy reading, signifying a transdimensional traveler. Ever since the first five Rangers who brought Aisha and the Zeo Crystal through here defeated the Magnavores, she's been pretty ill. Some space demon, what was her name... Tetris? Rubiks Cube? Monopoly? Jeopardy? Man, what was her name?! Wheel of Fortune, no that's not it... Nintendo... Sega? Dang! Maybe it was Jane? Margaret Munger? Theodore!"

"Jenga?" Justin tried warily.

"Yeah! That's it! She came by here about three weeks ago and brought Jara back to life. Jara is going to destroy the Zeo Crystal while Jenga is taking care of things in the M-51 Galaxy. She killed this guy, Mister Vomit, or something, and she's taking over his whole empire. Anyway, as soon as Jara has gotten rid of the Zeo Crystal, they're going to merge dynasties and kill us all. Apparently, Jara plans to use your slider to get rid of the Zeo Rangers. She can't use it, can she?"

"No, we put a safe-guard feature in it," Trini said. "Only those with the Ninja Power can make it work, and that's just us. But she could certainly break it."

"Perhaps if I can isolate the exact energy readings of Jara's HQ, and create a tightly focused energy beam, then I can sneak one of you in without Jara noticing," Flabber said thoughtfully. "Getting you back will be tricky, but it MIGHT work."

"Do it," Trini said. "I'll go and-"

"No," Tommy told her. "I'll go. I have the best fighting ability if I lose my powers, I'm more used to these evil guys, and I don't know much about the slider, so we don't have to worry about sacrificing my intelligence."

"Okay," Trini relented. She hated it when Tommy gave her that look. He had a way of using his eyes to make his point. It was just as effective as Jason's leader voice and Billy's rapid-fire technobabble.

~*~

The Zeo Rangers teleported into Hillhurst and began removing their helmets. "Any luck?" Nano asked.

"Sort of," Flabber said. "It's just going to take time."

"Well, you all can spend your time at Nano's," she volunteered them. "Come on. You guys hungry?"

"I can always eat," Skull said truthfully.

~*~

"Sounds about like Rita," Tommy murmured.

"But man, I love being a Ranger," Nano said. "I haven't had this much fun since I was a teenager."

Tommy chuckled as he shook his head. It seemed slightly odd to have a Ranger be a woman in her sixties, but he supposed it really wasn't any different than having kids on the team. Jo didn't look like she could be any older then ten or eleven, while Drew, Roland, and Justin all hovered around the age of twelve or thirteen. The Power put a person in their ideal fighting condition. It simply took forty years off of Nano's body and enhanced the fighting skills she already had.

The rest of the Rangers were scattered about Nano's living room having an assortment of conversations. "We're already way behind," Trini said. "I was hoping to be through at least ten worlds by now. We've wasted three hours, and we're just on our third world!"

"There's nothing we can do about it, Trini," Aisha assured her. "We'll get the slider back. It's just going to take a few hours."

"Hey Justin," Drew said, "after lunch you should come with us to Zoom Comics."

"Sure," Justin agreed. "Sounds like fun."

"How many Rangers are there on your world?" Jo asked in disbelief.

"Fourteen different people," Skull said, "and we've got a robot named Alpha, a hologram named Catalina, and a big floating head named Zordon."

"A big floating head?" Jo asked in disbelief. "That's weird."

"Not unlike having a vampire, mummy, werewolf, Frankenbeans, Flabber, and Little Ghoul?" Skull countered.

"TouchŽ," Jo admitted.

"Lunch is on!" Nano called.

"Nano is the best cook there is," Roland promised as the potpourri of Rangers made their way into the kitchen.

~*~

"Good thing Rocky wasn't here," Tommy commented.

"That boy could put food away," Nano remembered.

Suddenly, a unique tone, five beeps that slowly lowered in pitch, sounded from five of the communicators in the kitchen. "We're here, Flabber," Nano said into the yellow band on her wrist.

"Rangers, you guys better get your color-coded butts out here now!" Flabber shouted. "Tommy, I can send you to Jara's now!" Nano's dining room was lit up with a multitude of colorful lights as all nine Rangers teleported away.

~*~

"Get in, get the slider, and get out," Flabber told him. "Just return to the coordinates I send you to. As soon as you get the slider, hurry back there and I'll bring you home."

Tommy nodded in agreement. Flabber fired a white ball of light at him, and he promptly disappeared with a large crackle of electricity.

"You guys!" Drew shouted, running into the house with Justin and Roland in tow. "We've got Chromites out there!"

"Jara must know what we're doing," Nano said. "It's Morphin' Time!"

~*~

"I've got an idea!" Drew shouted. "You guys, herd 'em up! Aisha, let's form the Zeo Cannon!"

"Good idea, Drew!" Aisha agreed.

"We're on it!" Skull shouted. As the Zeo Rangers assembled the Zeo Cannon, Skull, Trini, and Justin quickly got the Chromites in a tight group. They leapt away just as the Zeo Cannon fired, obliterating the Chromites.

~*~

A split second later, he materialized in Hillhurst Mansion, still running. "We got it!" Tommy announced triumphantly, holding the slider up in the air.

The Rangers ran into Hillhurst a few minutes later. "We've got the slider," Trini said, "then let's go."

"Thanks for lunch, Nano," Skull said as Tommy held the slider out before him. He hit the button, and nothing happened.

~*~

"The cache file is at least still there," Trini muttered for her own assurance.

"How has it been altered?" Skull asked.

"I think I've figured it out," Trini said. The slider was hooked up to Flabber's computer system. "Jara tried to take it apart. She messed up the energy capacitor."

"Energy what?" Jo asked.

"The energy capacitor is sort of like the slider's battery," Trini explained. "It's designed to draw energy from whatever dimension we are in to open the portal to the next. It was very powerful and allowed us to hop from one dimension to another instantaneously. But no more. It's much weaker, and it's going to have to take some time to charge up in each dimension."

"We can make a read-out that will tell you how long it will take until it's recharged," Flabber said. "According to this, you've got seventeen more hours."

"That's eight o'clock tomorrow morning," Tommy remarked.

"We're way off schedule, now," Trini sighed dejectedly. "It's gonna take us longer to get there than the first group."

~*~

"It sure does," Aisha agreed. The two virtual strangers sat on Nano's roof to look at the nighttime sky. A full moon hung high in the sky, providing a great deal of silvery light.

"The sky even looked a lot like this from Phaedos," Justin said. "Different stars, and a different moon, two of them in fact, but still... All of the universes are basically the same." The two sat in silence for a while, until Justin finally asked, "Do you consider this home?"

"Yes, I do," Aisha said. "I lost everything in the other dimension when Trini and Tanya took over. My parents, everything... This place was a fresh start. I'm technically an adult, but Nano is practically like a parent to me. I've got a new job here that pays very well. It's a good thing, too, because my Ranger responsibilities are keeping me in Charterville. How about you? How is your new family treating you?"

"Well, I've just recently started calling Becky Mom," Justin said. "My real mom wanted me to. And, well, I've always called Dad Dad. I guess because the only Dad I can remember is George Stewart, and he beat me."

"He beat you?" Aisha asked in horror.

"Yeah," Justin said sadly. "Actually, Jenga is the one who killed him. I don't know why she did it, but I can't help but be a little bit thankful. But then that makes me feel guilty."

"No," Aisha told him. "You shouldn't feel guilty. You have no reason to feel guilty."

"I know," Justin sighed. "I don't think about that much, anymore. And Billy is my brother, but except for when he came back for prom, I haven't seen much of him. He's not at the Peace Conference anymore, so I'm really looking forward to him coming home so I can get to know him. I mean, I have a brother now, and I don't really even know him, and I really want to. And Kimberly is sort of like a sister. She was staying with the Cranstons, when the whole sliding thing happened. I got to know Kimberly really well. I just - I miss everybody."

"You'll get there," Aisha assured him. "Everything almost always has a way of working out for the best."

"I hope you're right," Justin said, nodding.

~*~

"It was very nice meeting you all," Tommy finished for her.

The slider emitted a beep and the timer read 0000:00:00, indicating that it was fully charged and capable of opening a dimensional portal. "Let's go," Skull said solemnly.

Trini opened the slider and hit the button. A bright whirlpool of light appeared before them.

* * * 2349 A.D. On the spaceship "Christa", far from Earth

Catalina wandered down the corridors of the Christa through her dimensional double Suzee's projected mind. Suzee always let her consciousness roam free while she slept, so Catalina could have free access to the Christa. During Suzee's waking hours, Catalina could only see what Suzee saw and hear what Suzee heard. While Suzee slept, though, Catalina was on her own.

The only person she ever got to meet by herself, though, was Thelma. The rest of the crew was fast asleep. While Thelma could be fun, she also tended to be a bit repetitive. Ever since Harlan had broken her memory crystal, which occurred before any one else had even got to meet android Thelma, she had been a bit loopy. For that reason, Catalina spent most of her time reading in the Christa's on-line libraries.

Suddenly, a silent red alarm began to flash on a distant console. The purple visage, reminiscent of Suzee but currently carrying Catalina's consciousness, floated out of the chair and hurried over to the console. A single red light blinked on and off.

"What is this?" the young Saturnian asked herself. "This alarm has never gone off before."

She silently wished that she were in a flesh and blood body, but Suzee had taught her how to mentally work the controls. The glowing purple outline of Suzee's hands still moved across the controls, although Suzee's sleeping mind, manipulated by Catalina's active thoughts, actually caused them to move. A few moments later, the confusing results came back to her. An anomaly of both space and time had occurred somewhere in the past, and the energy signature it gave off was in some way affecting the Christa.

"Christa, notify Thelma," Catalina commanded. "Christa, give me the date and place of this disturbance."

"The date of this disturbance is June 24, 1997, 9:53 a.m. The place of this disturbance is the country-side of Stone County, California, United States of America, Earth, Tribeta System, Maxell Belt, Milky Way Galaxy, Goldwyn Cluster K. The cause is unknown."

The silver android hurried up to Suzee's project mental image and said, "Catalina?"

"It's me, Thelma," Catalina told her through Suzee's voice. "Something is happening to the Christa."

Thelma paused for a moment as the Christa relayed the information into Thelma's computer brain. "Oh," Thelma said in response to an unasked question posed by the ship. "It is nothing serious, Catalina."

"Well what's happening?" she asked.

"The Christa is merely being pulled through space and time to the device that caused the dimensional disturbance. The Christa is under the impression that it is being caused by an identical sister ship. As such, She is going to attempt to dock with the ship."

"Thelma!" Catalina cried. "Christa hadn't even been invented in 1997! We're going to Earth. They couldn't even get past their moon!"

"Perhaps the other Christa traveled back in time and crashed," Thelma theorized.

"Then we're going to crash, too!" Catalina shouted.

"Perhaps the other Christa can help save us," Thelma suggested.

"If there is another Christa back there, they are crashed too!"

"Perhaps we can help them."

"Thelma!" Catalina shouted frantically. Catalina immediately flew toward Suzee's body. Standing beside her sleeping friend's body, she opened her mouth and emitted a Sonic Scream, a scream all inhabitants of Titan were capable of producing.

Suzee screamed in pain and clamped her hands over her ears as she sat up. "Cat?" she asked frantically.

"Sorry 'bout that," Catalina said from within Suzee's head. "But the Christa is about to travel through space and time and Thelma isn't going to stop it!"

"Where to?" Suzee asked as she hopped out of bed. The bed immediately retracted into a triangular cubicle on the wall. "Rosie, wake up."

"Earth, late twentieth century," Catalina told her.

"Suzee, what's wrong?" Rosie, her Mercurian roommate, asked groggily.

"The Christa is about to crash," Suzee told her as she put her gray suit on over her gleaming blue nightgown.

"Again?" Rosie asked in disbelief.

"Only this time it's worse," Suzee said frantically. She zipped up her jumpsuit and ran out of the room. Her shoulder length brown, red, purple, and blue hair bounced as she hurried off. "Go wake up the guys!"

~*~

"That is not an option," Thelma told her calmly.

"Why not?" Suzee demanded.

"Suzee, what's wrong?" Harlan asked as he ran into the main control room, wearing only a pair of gray sweatpants. Radu, Bova, and Commander Goddard were close behind.

"We're all going to die!" TJ Davenport cried as she ran into the room with Rosie behind her.

"Calm down, Miss Davenport," the ever-cheerful Rosie told her. "We aren't going to die."

"That is no longer an option because the Christa is making the sub-space/time leap," Thelma said, "now." White light overwhelmed the spaceship, and She disappeared.

* * * June 24, 1997 9:53 a.m. Countryside in Stone County, California

Trini rolled into a kneeling position. It was already Monday morning, and they had told everyone they would have been home Sunday night. Only one world had passed since their encounter with Flabber, Nano, and the alternate Zeo Rangers. "Oh man," Trini complained. "We've got two days to spend on this world! It's gonna take us forever to get home!"

Suddenly, lightning flashed across the morning sky above them. "Storm?" Skull asked. He looked up, but the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. Lightning cracked again, and a sonic boom seemingly shook the entire planet. A gigantic silver and bronze space ship, reminiscent of both a fish and a bird, appeared in the sky. It arched toward the earth and immediately crashed into it. The ship came to a rest, not more than a mile from the Rangers. A gigantic wave of dust and dirt rose up from the collision and began to move toward the teens.

"You guys!" Justin cried.

"Morph!" Tommy commanded, immediately followed by, "ZEO RANGER V, RED —- FALCON!!!"

They had barely morphed into their armor when tons of debris pummeled them. Trini rolled up in a ball and placed the slider against the flat of her stomach. That was currently their only means to both rescue the Rangers and get home. It couldn't be damaged.

Eventually, the debris stopped raining down on them. Trini quickly dug her way out of the tons upon tons of dirt and rocks and was relieved to see that the slider had not been damaged.

"Is everybody okay?!" Tommy shouted.

"I'm okay," Justin called out.

"We're okay," Skull answered.

"Should we check out them?" Justin wondered outloud.

"That ship is awfully big," Skull commented. It seemingly took up most of the horizon.

"What if they're hostile?" Tommy asked.

"You guys," Trini said, "I think it might be our fault they crashed here. It's just too big of a coincidence for a spaceship to crash on Earth at the very same moment we slide through. The slider might have affected their navigational systems. I say we check it out, but stay morphed."

~*~

"We're not dead?" Miss Davenport asked in disbelief.

"What are the odds we would do this twice and survive both times?" Bova asked skeptically. "I say if we crash a third time, we're dead meat."

"Don't be silly, Bova," Rosie told him. "We're alive and well. Let's be thankful for that."

"I'll go check the Protomix," Suzee said nervously.

"Harlan, get dressed," Cmdr. Goddard instructed. "When you get back, you, Radu, and I will go check the damage to the Christa from the outside."

"Good deal," Harlan said, running off.

~*~

"Suzee, we've got a problem," Catalina said inside her head.

"Yeah, no joke," Suzee agreed. She realized, a moment later, that Catalina meant a different problem. "Cat? How did you end up in the past, too?"

"The Christa must have pulled me along," Catalina told her. "Yensid is totally empty! I don't see any people anywhere!"

"My colony didn't have any inhabitants at this date," Suzee said. "Catalina, this is bad. Even if we can get the Christa back to the future..."

"I know, the return trip will probably kill me," Catalina said grimly. "It about beat the Sonic Scream out of me carrying me into the past."

"Well, we'll just have to find some way to bring you here," Suzee said in a determined voice. "That's all there is to it."

~*~

"What are they saying, Radu?" Cmdr. Goddard asked.

~*~

"I hope they're friendly," Tommy wished hopefully.

"That guy looks like Zack!" Trini cried in disbelief.

~*~

"Robots, maybe?" Harlan suggested.

~*~

The black teen looked at the older white man, who slowly nodded. "Nor do we," the older man said. "I am Commander Goddard of Earth, and this is my ship, the Christa. This young man here is Earthling Harlan Band, and the other fellow is an Andromedan, Radu." Radu had long curly hair and very unique ears.

Tommy removed his helmet. "My name is Tommy Oliver." He nodded to his friends, who removed their helmets as well. "These are my teammates, Eugene Skullovitch, Trini Kwan, and Justin Cranston. We are from Earth, but not this Earth. We're dimensional travelers."

A shapely woman, probably not older than 18 or 19, emerged from the ship. She wore a silvered jumpsuit and had hair that reached just past her shoulders. It was mostly dark brown and curly, although occasional red, purple, and blue streaks highlighted it. She was actually quite attractive. "Dimensional travelers?" she asked. "My name is Suzee. I'm from a pocket dimension of this dimension, known as Yensid. Are you from a pocket dimension or a totally separate dimension?"

"Completely separate," Trini told her. "Can I ask what caused your ship to crash here?"

"A dimensional and temporal anomaly pulled us here," Suzee said.

"That was us, I believe," Trini said solemnly. "I'm very sorry. We had no idea that this could happen."

"Well, what's done is done," Suzee said, nodding. "Why don't you four come aboard the ship, and we'll introduce you to the rest of the crew."

Justin and Skull looked to Tommy for approval. He nodded, and the four Rangers walked up the ramp with their helmets under their arms.

~*~

"I believe so," Suzee answered her with her thoughts. "They have different helmets than we do in Yensid, and the basic armor design is slightly different, but otherwise..." Suzee felt a slight twinge of remorse. She had been the Lavender Ranger on Yensid before being yanked out of her pocket dimension into a completely foreign environment. Catalina had taken over for her as the Lavender Ranger, and in about every other aspect of her life.

Fortunately for Catalina, the Yensidians were very understanding of her problem. Unlike Catalina's friends who had always made fun of her for talking to her "imaginary" friend Suzee, Suzee had been believed. Suzee's parents had always believed in Catalina. The only person in Catalina's life who had even come close to accepting Suzee as real before meeting her was Rosie.

"They are dimensional travelers," Suzee told Catalina. "Perhaps I can use their device to bring you here with us."

"That would be great!" Catalina shouted.

~*~

"Who are your friends?" a pink bald female asked. She didn't look like she was any older than Justin, although she certainly wasn't an Earthling.

"You guys," Commander Goddard said, "these are some Earthlings we have just met. Tommy, Trini, Justin, and Eugene."

"Call me Skull," Skull said with a smile.

"My name is Rosie," the pink female said.

"Bova, over here," a tanned boy said. He looked human, but he had a golden wishbone antenna in the center of his forehead.

"He's from Uranus," Rosie giggled. "Oh yeah, I'm from Mercury."

"I hate being from Uranus," Bova groaned to himself, blushing slightly in the process.

"TJ Davenport," Miss Davenport introduced herself.

"I am Thelma," a voice that seemed both robotic and human said at the same time. A woman with maroon circles around her eyes and silver clothing, as well as a silver cap and silverish-maroon curls of hair hurried up to the Rangers. "I am a Techno-Human EmuLating MAchine."

"And you know everyone else," Cmdr. Goddard said.

"How bad is the damage to the outside of the ship?" Rosie asked.

"Very little," Cmdr. Goddard told the crew. "We'll be flight-worthy in a few days."

"We have a more pressing concern," Suzee said. "Catalina was pulled into the past with us. I believe I can get the Christa back into the future, but Catalina won't survive the leap through the future with us."

"We can't kill Catalina!" Rosie cried.

"Darn right," Catalina said, although only Suzee heard her.

"Actually, I have an idea," Suzee said. "Who among you four knows how the slider works?"

"Justin and I do," Trini told her.

"Come with me," Suzee said. "I've got an idea." Trini and Justin demorphed as they left the main control room with the alien.

"Why don't I take you two and explain a bit more about what's going on?" Harlan suggested. "Okay?"

"I'm game," Skull nodded.

"Let's do it," Tommy agreed. Cmdr. Goddard gave the rest of the crew their instructions, and everyone set to work.

~*~

"You know Zack Taylor?" Harlan asked in disbelief. "That's like my great great grandpa! He was one of the original Power Rangers on Earth. Was he one with you all?"

"Yeah, he still is," Skull said. "Black Ranger."

"Wow," Harlan said, shaking his head. "This is amazing. Well, did you know Tanya Sloan? She was his wife, and used to be the Yellow Ranger."

"She's on the team, too," Tommy told her. "Well, where we're from. I mean, you're talking about a different dimension, but still..."

"Why are you all sliding the dimensions?" Harlan asked.

"We're on a search and rescue mission," Tommy answered. "Five friends are lost, and we're trying to find them. Unfortunately, our slider has messed up. That's what caused you to crash, I guess. I'm really sorry about that."

"Eh, nothing can be done for it now," Harlan told him. "Suzee can get us back to the future."

"This might be a stupid question," Skull said, "but everybody except Miss Davenport and Cmdr. Goddard on this ship seem awfully young."

"We're not supposed to be here," Harlan said. "Bova, Rosie, Radu, Catalina, and I snuck aboard the Christa when it docked with the StarCademy. Miss Davenport and Cmdr. Goddard came on here to rescue us, we got pulled into a white hole, got tossed halfway across the universe, and we've been trying to come home since."

"Catalina?" Tommy asked. "We have a friend named Catalina. Who's your Cat?"

"She's from Titan, one of Saturn's moons. She's about our age and has multicolored hair. She was Suzee's dimensional double. The two of them can talk no matter where they are at. About a year ago, Catalina was in a ship explosion, and Suzee saved her life by pulling her into her pocket dimension, but that caused Suzee to get pulled here. They swapped places."

~*~

"I think we can trust you," Trini said. "You're not going to have to ruin it or anything are you?"

"No, of course not," Suzee assured her. "If anything, I might be able to increase the energy capacitor."

"That'd be great," Justin said.

Suzee stared at the slider's innards out before her. "I think this will work," she said. In her mind, she asked, "Cat? You ready?"

"I'm ready," Catalina said.

Suzee held two wires in her hands. "As soon as I touch these together, the energy capacitor will be overloaded, I'm going to channel the energy through my body, and blast Catalina here with us."

"Go for it," Trini said nervously. Suzee touched the wires together, and bright yellow light flashed. Suzee was thrown backwards, and a slender female body dropped from the air where she had been sitting.

"Ow," the new person said. "Oh man, am I dead?"

Justin looked at the figure sitting before her. She was absolutely gorgeous. She didn't have Suzee's curves, for lack of a better way to say it, but she had the most gorgeous smile. Her irises were a pleasing shade of teal, and her hair was the most unbelievable thing Justin had ever seen. It stretched halfway down her back in big curls and was filled with a multitude of colors. A red curl hung over her left shoulder, which was flanked with yellow tips. A green circle of hair rested at the top of her head, followed by varying shades of blue. When she tried to stand up, her hair fell forward over her shoulders, revealing brightly colored sections of orange, pink, lime green, and royal purple.

"Catalina?" Suzee asked hopefully. "Catalina?!"

"Suzee!" Catalina cried. The two girls leapt to their feet and hugged each other tightly, for the first time in both of their lives. While they knew more about each other than anyone else, as they were in each other's minds continually, they had never been physically close.

"You look beautiful," Suzee said. Catalina had been unbelievably self-conscious before, but she was now radiant. Her hair had been kept very trim and off of her shoulders, but it now flowed halfway down her back. Whereas before, Catalina had kept the colors in a specific concentric circle pattern so as to keep attention off of her, the colors now ran completely random, a style often worn by models on Titan.

"I can't believe I'm here," Catalina said happily. "I want to see the guys. Oh, hi, nice to meet you both." With that, Catalina ran off, leaving a more than mildly confused Trini and Justin behind.

"I need to put the slider back together first," Suzee said.

"You can do that later," Trini told her.

"Thank you!" Laughing, Suzee ran after her friend.

~*~

Rosie was the first to realize what had happened. "Cat!" Rosie cried happily. She jumped off of her chair and ran over to her Saturnian friend.

Catalina hugged her tightly, just before Radu, Miss Davenport, Cmdr. Goddard, and even Bova mobbed her. Harlan ran into the Control Room a moment later. "What's going on!?" he cried.

"Catalina's back!" Radu shouted, hugging her tightly.

"Cat," Harlan sighed heavily. Radu stepped aside, revealing the young alien that had grown up considerably since Harlan had last seen her.

"Hi Harlan," Catalina said firmly. She made her way over to him and gave him a hug, although he was too stunned to hug back. This new Catalina was certainly more confident than she had been.

"Thank you," Suzee said to Trini. "Thank you more than you'll ever know."

~*~

~*~

"Yeah, I know," Rosie said. "I learned at the StarCademy that in virtually all dimensions, Earth is the only planet in our solar system with life."

"I have one question," Justin remarked. "Practically everybody here is from a different planet, but everybody speaks English and breathes oxygen."

"It's because of a UBT chip everybody has installed in their bodies at the StarCademy," Rosie told him. "Oxygen is the best gas for talking in, so it is the official gas used throughout the galaxy for space craft, et cetera. The crew of the Christa speaks English because we were training to be under Miss Davenport's wing, and she speaks English, so there you go. The UBT chip, Universal Breathing and Translator chip, is installed in my brain. It makes my body require oxygen, and translates what I say into English. That simple."

"Yeah, simple," Justin laughed.

~*~

"This is Earth," Skull told her. "You have very pretty hair."

Catalina smiled warmly at his compliment and said, "Thank you, so do you." Skull raised his eyebrows at that, but didn't comment on it. "Mmm, I love the smell of the nitroxy mix of the Earth. Wonderful."

"Does not take much at all to make you happy, does it?" Skull asked with a smile.

"I've changed a lot," Catalina sighed. "I used to be very pessimistic and very self-conscious. My whole family died when I was young. I used to be really chipper, but that sort of ... messed me up, I guess you could say. Staying with Suzee's family really helped me out. A lot. I really separated myself from everybody around me. It was so hard to make friends, especially when Suzee was just a thought away."

"I sort of know what you mean," Skull remarked. "My best friend's name is Bulk. We used to be bullies. Neither one of us were very good at making friends, so we bullied people. That was our way of getting attention, and we didn't worry about it since we had each other. You know?"

"You changed?" Catalina asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Skull slowly nodded. "Yeah. I've got better friends now than I ever deserve having. I've got a gorgeous girlfriend who by all rights shouldn't even be expected to spit on me if I'm on fire."

~*~

"I know what you mean," Tommy whispered to her. He suddenly felt slightly sick to his stomach. He had never known that Bulk and Skull were so lonely all throughout the majority of their high school life. He hadn't even really acknowledged their existence until they became policemen, and even then it had just been an acknowledgment. _I was a Power Ranger, for crying out loud. Even if Bulk and Skull were jerks, I should have made the first move. They just wanted friends..._

"Let's go talk to them," Suzee told Tommy. "We can watch the sun set."

"Sounds good," Tommy agreed with a smile.

~*~

"Yeah, be my guest," Trini said. "So long as it's operational for us to leave tomorrow night, I have no problem with anything."

"Well, I'll do that tomorrow," Suzee told her. "Have you explored the rest of the ship yet?"

"Not really," Trini remarked.

"Let's go then," Suzee said with a smile.

~*~

"Yeah, well Catalina's always talking to the wall," Harlan countered, reminding her of how she had talked outloud to Suzee in an attempt to get attention.

"He also leaps before he looks," Suzee said, flashing Harlan a mischievous grin as she and Trini entered the room.

"Suzee's smarter than a million books," Rosie whispered to Justin. "I mean that, too. The girl is like a super genius."

"And I'm going to guess that android Thelma functions wrong," Justin said, pointing to the robot in the background. She was singing to herself and dancing a jig at the time.

"Bova acts like nothing is funny," Radu whispered to Skull. "He's a good kid, but he is so depressing at times."

"That's better than being like Rosie, cheery, bright, and sunny," Bova commented, having overheard Radu's comment. "The girl can give an Andromedan diabetes."

"There's nothing wrong with being optimistic," Rosie said. "Pessimism can't be any fun. I certainly didn't have fun that time Miss Davenport turned me into a Uranian. Or the time Cmdr. Goddard punished me by making me not say anything cheerful for a whole day. That was so not fun, but I guess it was for my own good."

"Well, Davenport and Goddard do the best they can," Harlan remarked.

"This is the song that doesn't end, yes it goes on and on my friend, some people... started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll be singing it forever and ever just becuz this is the song that doesn't end...," Thelma sang as she danced past the round golden couch that teens of varying planets and dimension sat on.

"Why don't we go someplace else?" Bova suggested to Rosie and Justin. "Teenagers can be boring."

"What you got in mind?" Justin asked.

"You can always find new places on the Christa to look at," Rosie commented. "Let's just go exploring. See what we find..."

~*~

"That's all you have to do," Bova said. "Here, I'll go through first." Bova walked up to the jump tube and slid in, feet first.

Shrugging, Justin followed Bova through the jump tube. As soon as his entire body was caught in it, he felt himself yanked through the tube, hard. He couldn't have stopped himself if he tried.

Suddenly, he slid out of the exit jump tube and was dumped on a cushiony pad. "Wow!" he cried. "That was amazing!"

"Get out of the way!" Bova shouted. Before Justin could react, Rosie flew out of the jump tube and landed on top of him.

"Sorry," Rosie said, scrambling away.

"That's okay," Justin laughed.

"We're in the storage bay," Bova remarked.

"It's dark down here," Rosie said.

"I can take care of that," Justin told them. "MOUNTAIN BLASTER TURBO POWER —- SEAHORSE!!!" In a bright blue flash, Justin morphed. Seeing him turn into a Power Ranger didn't stun Bova and Rosie in the least, since they were both from a time when Rangers no longer had to keep their identities secret. "Turbo Headlights!" Justin cried. Bright halogen lights shone >from the twin headlights above his visor. He stepped before Bova and Rosie and lit their way.

"I've never been down here, before," Rosie said. Her voice was immediately caught in the room and it echoed, loudly.

"What's kept down here?" Justin asked. Rows and rows of cabinets stretched out before them.

"Just different stuff," Bova said. "Weapons, parts for the engine, other stuff."

"Pretty boring," Rosie told him. However, a metallic "whish" sounded to their right. Justin turned to look down a long row of silver cabinets. One drawer stood open. A multicolored glow shone from it.

"What's that?" Justin asked, slowly walking toward the door. The three kids hurried up to the open drawer. Many marble sized beads were within it. They were of many different colors and were glowing slightly.

"Bova," Rosie said, picking up a blue marble. "Do you know what I think this is?" Bova shrugged, so Rosie continued, "I think these are Thelma's crystals!"

"Why don't we get Thelma down here and ask her?" Justin suggested.

"That's great!" Bova cried, almost sounding happy.

Justin pulled his wrist up to his face and quickly found the right wavelength for Thelma. "Is someone there?" Thelma's voice asked from his wrist.

"Thelma," Rosie told her, "come down to the Storage Bay. I think we've found some of your crystals!"

"I'll be there in just a moment, Rosie," Thelma promised. A few minutes later, Thelma walked up to the teens, joints squeaking.

"Are these your crystals, Thelma?" Bova asked, pointing to the open drawer.

"They do appear to be," Thelma said.

"Here," Rosie said hurriedly, plucking the cracked chip from the small holder on Thelma's right temple and replacing it with the blue marble. Thelma's irises changed into a pleasing shade of blue, and she slowly stood at full attention.

"Thelma?" Rosie asked.

"Yes," the android said in a very calm voice. "I am Thelma."

"Is your crystal functioning?" Bova tried.

"One hundred percent," Thelma said. "But I do have one question."

"What's that?" Rosie asked.

Thelma suddenly grabbed Rosie and Bova by their collars and slammed them against the row of cabinets. Their feet dangled several feet above the ground. "WHO ARE YOU AND HOW DID YOU BOARD THE CHRISTA?!" Thelma demanded in an angry bass voice.

Rosie and Bova screamed in unison. "Let 'em go!" Justin cried, kicking Thelma in the side. He didn't want to hurt her, but he could let her hurt Rosie and Bova either. The two aliens dropped to the ground as Thelma turned her attention toward Justin, still in morphed mode.

"Who are you?" Thelma asked. Her voice was still angry but no longer sounded male. She looked him up and down, and as soon as her memory banks identified him as a Power Ranger, she stepped back into a defensive position.

"Justin," he answered. "Thelma, we met this morning."

"I've never seen you before in my life!" Thelma retorted. She suddenly cried, "HIIIIIIII-YAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Justin was so startled at hearing her yell like a banshee he didn't move. She then high-kicked him, catching him in the chin with her boot, causing him to flip backwards.

"Justin!" Rosie cried, starting to move toward her.

"Get out of here!" Justin shouted. "I can take care of myself. Go get help!"

He scrambled to his knees just as Thelma took another defensive stance. She immediately began "hi-yaah"ing, launching into a quick display of her computer generated martial arts abilities that would have been hilarious to watch had Justin not been fearful of her strength. She then paused, cried, "Siek-yaaaaaahhhhh!", and ran at Justin.

"Thelma!" Justin shouted, running backwards as she ran toward him. "You don't know what you're doing!"

Her "yaaaaaahhh" stretched out and began to warble slightly as she was starting to get angry. Justin was suddenly backed into a wall. He looked up just as Thelma put all of her weight behind a hard punch. He ducked, narrowly missing her fist which broke through the twelve inches of reinforced steel that made up the wall.

Justin reached out to restrain Thelma, assuming that his Ranger powers would be enough to stop the android. He wrapped his arms around hers, holding her as tightly as he could. She stood still for a moment, and then her head turned one hundred and eighty degrees to stare at Justin behind her. "LET ME GO, YOU BLUE FREAK!" she growled. She wrenched out of his grip and flipped him over her head.

He was slammed into the ground so hard that his vision flashed white. Thelma looked down at him, and then cried out in an overly exaggerated samurai yell and began to beat the Blue Turbo Ranger senseless. Even though Justin was getting pummeled, one part of his mind couldn't stop laughing at the hilarity of Thelma's exaggerated moves and screams.

~*~

"What's wrong?" Suzee asked.

"Thelma's gone nuts!" Bova shouted. "She's trying to kill Justin!"

"What happened to her?" Harlan asked, hopping over the back of the couch.

"We found some of her crystals and changed them," Rosie said hurriedly.

"Rosie!" Catalina protested. "You should have asked Cmdr. Goddard or Miss Davenport before you did that."

"Well, I know that now!" Rosie cried. "She doesn't know who we are and she's kicking Justin's butt all over the Storage Bay."

"Let's go stop her," Radu said.

"Radu, Suzee, and Cat," Harlan commanded, "come with me. Rosie and Bova, go get Cmdr. Goddard and Miss Davenport."

"Is Justin morphed?" Trini asked.

"Yeah, but Thelma is still way too strong!" Bova insisted.

"We'll come too," Tommy volunteered. "Which way?"

"Follow us," Catalina said as everyone ran off in different directions.

~*~

"Thelma!" a loud voice shouted from somewhere in the Storage Bay. Thelma gave Justin one final kick and ran off.

"She just left!" Justin choked out.

"Justin," Trini cried, running up to his side. "Are you okay?"

"Define okay," Justin muttered, taking his helmet off. "She about beat the crap out of me."

"So we've got a homicidal android capable of beating up a Power Ranger loose on the Christa?" Suzee asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Let's go find the others," Harlan said.

"We'll have to form a strategy to make sure no one gets hurt," Radu said as they ran to the jump tubes.

~*~

Thelma looked at her for a second more and then screamed again. "Who are you?!" Thelma demanded.

"Thelma?" Miss Davenport asked. Thelma screamed yet again. "Thelma, what is your problem?" This prompted yet another scream from the android.

"There she is!" Suzee shouted, sliding out of the jump tube. The others were close behind.

"Miss Davenport!" Rosie cried as she and Bova ran in through a side door.

"All right," Thelma growled, "let's end this now." She pawed off on the ground and then took a defensive stance.

"Thelma?" Miss Davenport asked yet again, which in turn, prompted another ear-shattering scream.

"Everybody, cover your ears," Catalina said.

"Oh no," Radu complained, clamping his hands over his ears as tightly as he could.

Catalina opened her mouth wide and emitted a powerful scream. Ripples of reality distortion appeared in the air from the sonic scream, which temporarily deafened everyone present. Thelma began to shake, and during the scream, her homicidal blue crystal cracked.

When the last of Catalina's scream passed, Thelma stood in the center of the room, completely unmoving. "Did you break her?!" Tommy shouted.

"What?!" Trini shouted. "I think I'm deaf!"

"Thelma, stop!" Suzee cried as the android darted for the jump tubes. Thelma jumped in and disappeared. "We just want to help you!"

"All right," Harlan said, taking command of the situation. "Let's split into groups. We have to get that defective crystal out of her head. Let's go."

~*~

"Me too," Tommy agreed. They quickly crept along a long row of cabinets and peered out into the open area of the storage bay. The android was having a very animated conversation with no one in particular, and she did not appear pleased. "I've got an idea," Tommy whispered. "If I restrain her, will you get the crystal out?"

Catalina nodded in agreement. "I'm going to sneak up closer to her," Catalina said. She pointed to a row of cabinets she could hide behind close to Thelma.

"I'll sneak around the other way," Tommy whispered. "Back to action." Red light enveloped his head, and his helmet immediately fitted into place. He quickly vanished into the shadows as Catalina darted over to the next row of cabinets.

Tommy ran, totally silent, down the length of cabinets. He quietly but quickly darted over to Thelma and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I've got her, Catalina!" Tommy cried. The Saturnian suddenly ran out of the shadows up to them. Before she could grab the crystal, Thelma kicked her in the stomach. Fortunately for Catalina, she knew how to fight from being the Lavender Ranger on Yensid. However, she no longer had her morphing abilities and Thelma was able to kick with a surprising ferocity. Catalina had the wind knocked out of her and she fell to her knees.

With a mighty heave, Tommy pulled Thelma in the opposite direction so she wouldn't continue to pummel the alien teen with kicks. Tommy let go of one of her shoulders in an attempt to remove her crystal, but she weaseled out of his arm and kicked him hard in the groin. Even with the armor and power protecting him, it still sent white hot needles of pain streaking through his entire body. He had accidentally bumped himself in the groin before , but that was the first time anyone had actually kicked him there. It was a pain he was not soon going to forget.

"Tommy," Catalina said, rushing up to his side. She took his hand in hers and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Tommy croaked, and realized had it happened to someone else, he would have had to laugh at the almost exaggerated falsetto pitch his voice had taken. "Thelma?"

"She got away," Catalina said. "C'mon. Jump tubes."

~*~

"Why?" Miss Davenport asked hurriedly.

"Thelma," Trini whispered, "and she looks pretty ill." The android was currently stomping around the main control room, carrying on an animated conversation with the Christa. "Do you have any idea why she would be acting like this? I mean, I know it's because of the other crystal, but what might she be thinking?"

"Perhaps she doesn't know us," Miss Davenport suggested. "Maybe the crystal also stores her immediate memory. I'm just theorizing though. Maybe that crystal is just simply a homicidal attitude crystal."

"I'm gonna try and ambush her," Trini whispered. Miss Davenport nodded, and Trini crept into the main control room. Thelma, however, had already disappeared.

~*~

"Three levels down, heading east, and fast," Cmdr. Goddard said.

"There's a Com System," Rosie suggested, motioning toward it. "We can notify anybody close to her."

"That would be Suzee and Skull," Cmdr. Goddard told her quickly. Rosie ran over to the circular piece of silver on the wall and punched in the appropriate controls. "Suzee! Skull! Thelma's right behind you!"

~*~

"How are we gonna stop her?" Skull asked. "She's beating up Power Rangers!"

"There's only one way," Suzee said. "I can put myself in her head. As soon as you see a purple outline of my body flow into her, well, don't let my body get hurt. I'll take care of the rest."

"Huh?" Skull asked. However, before he could ask anything else, Suzee's eyes began to glow purple. A shimmering purple cloud with a brighter purple nucleus floated out of Suzee's body. The cloud looked at Skull, gave him a nod, and then darted toward Thelma. The android's eyes glowed as well, and Suzee's body went completely limp. Skull caught the alien in his arms and picked her up as though she were a child.

"I'm in," Thelma said.

"Thelma?" Skull asked.

"No, it's Suzee," the android answered. "I've put my consciousness in here. The only problem is it's a real pain in the glebnatz getting back out. But we're okay for now. See that silver panel over there. Hit the blue rock, and when it glows pink, talk into it. That transmits over the entire ship. Tell everyone to get to the storage bay."

"Right," Skull said. "What do I do with your body?"

"When you go through the jump tubes, toss me through first," Suzee/Thelma answered. "Got it?"

"Got it."

* * *

A few minutes later, the entire crew plus four Rangers was gathered in the storage bay. "Here's Thelma's crystal," Radu said, picking up the rose colored piece of glass. "Doesn't seem to be any worse for the wear."

"Well let's pop the sucker back in," Harlan ordered.

"No," Suzee/Thelma said. "I'm stuck in here. This isn't exactly an organic brain I'm inhabiting right now. We have to get me out of here, and then switch the crystals in the split second of overlap time you have. If you pull this crystal out with me in here, I'll be killed."

"Okay," Catalina said, taking the crystal from Radu. "Suzee, how do you get out?"

"I have to be called back to my body," Suzee/Thelma said. "I'm trying to detach myself in here now. Skull, try and stand me on my feet."

Skull nodded in agreement and stood the attractive alien up on her feet. Her body was still limp, however, and she just hung from his hands like a rag doll. "Good enough," Suzee/Thelma sighed. "Okay. Catalina, you know what I've got planned."

"Yep," she said. "Everybody..."

"Oh God," Radu moaned, clamping his hands over his overly sensitive ears.

"...cover you ears," Catalina finished. She held her hands just a few centimeters from Thelma's crystals. She then opened her mouth and let a powerful sonic scream fly. As soon as the purple cloud flew from Thelma's body, she yanked the blue crystal out and slammed the rose one in.

"I'm back," Suzee said, patting her body all over.

"Where did you go?" Thelma queried.

"Thelma?" Rosie asked.

"Yes Rosie?" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

~*~

Suzee and Trini were working on the slider. "I think this should do it," Suzee said, making one final adjustment before putting it all within the casing.

"What exactly will your modifications do?" Trini asked.

"Your hang time in dimensions should be greatly reduced," Suzee said. "Maybe to a few minutes each. Now the further you travel, the slower it will get. But you should be able to go through fifty worlds in just a week or so. How many do you have to go?"

"Around seventy-five or so," Trini said, nodding.

"It might get you through them quickly long enough to get through all," Suzee tried. "I'm not sure. But it will certainly be faster going with the modifications."

"Thank you," Trini said, taking the slider into her hands.

"No, thank you," Suzee told her. "This will be of great important when we get home. This will virtually eliminate the self-imposed barrier by the pocket dimension. It's going to completely and totally revolutionize travel."

"Just make sure it doesn't fall into evil hands," Trini warned.

"I shudder to think of what might happen in the Spung were to get this," Suzee sighed. "But we'll just have to be careful. Come on, let's go find the others."

~*~

"Unless you have a better idea," Harlan told him, clambering into his bunk. "I know it doesn't look sturdy, but it is. It'll hold you."

"So long as it doesn't retract into the wall," Skull muttered to himself as he clambered atop his wall cot, "this will be fine."

"What will we do tomorrow?" Bova asked as he pulled his covers up over his body.

"Try and get the Christa flight-worthy," Harlan explained. "Suzee thinks... something that I couldn't follow will enable us to get off of the ground and into the future."

"We'll do what we can to help," Tommy murmured as the room darkened and he settled into his cot, which turned out to be surprisingly comfortable.

~*~

The Rangers said their goodbyes to the crew of the Christa. It was almost astonishing that such deep friendships could be forged over that short a period of time.

"If I can find anyway to get word back to you," Suzee promised.

"We'll be waiting," Trini finished.

"Our timer is at zero," Justin said. "We can leave now. Oh, thanks for all the extra clothes and cash."

"Not a problem," Radu assured him.

"Well, crew," Cmdr. Goddard said, "it's time to hit the skies."

"Can you hear me?" Rosie asked through Justin's communicator.

"Coming through loud and clear, Rosie," Justin answered her.

"Give us three minutes if we lose contact," Catalina told the Rangers. "That'll be enough time for us to be a safe distance away from the solar system."

"Mr. Oliver," Cmdr. Goddard acknowledged with a salute, "keep your Rangers in good shape."

"It's been a pleasure, sir," Tommy agreed, returning the salute. With that, the crew of the Christa walked into the ship which promptly sealed up behind them. The four Rangers ran off, and as soon as they were a safe distance away, the Christa lifted off of the ground.

"There they go," Skull whispered to himself as the Christa flew away.

"Can you still hear us?" Rosie asked.

"We gotcha Rosie," Justin assured her.

"We're almost there," Rosie answered.

"We can jump now, Rosie," Suzee told her. "Tell the sliders to go."

"You guys got that?" Rosie asked.

"We got it," Justin said. "You all take care."

"You too," Rosie said solemnly.

Justin added, "Sliding now," and closed the communications line. He opened the dimensional portal, which simultaneously pushed the Christa into the hyper leap that would hopefully carry them into the future.

"Let's go," Tommy said as he took the slider from Justin.

~*~

~*~

"Out of town for a few days," Sheena sighed, slipping an arm into her husband's.

"So barring King Mondo and any other freak occurrences, it's just the two of us for a while?" Sheena smiled in reply.

Suddenly, a crackling of electricity came from behind them. Sheena gave a slight cry and turned around, as did Billy. "What on Earth-?" Billy asked in awe.

"Dear Goddess," Sheena muttered. Suddenly, a body came flying out of thin air with a sudden spark of yellow electricity. The body collided with Sheena, knocking her to the ground. Before Billy could say or do anything in reply, a red spark of electricity appeared before him and an even larger body collided with his midsection. With a heavy grunt, he collapsed to the ground. A blue spark followed, producing yet another body, and then a green spark, tossing one more person onto the pile.

For a moment, no one moved. Then, everyone began to scramble out of the way.

"What is going on?" Billy demanded. He then realized who had landed on him. "Tommy?"

"Billy?"

"Billy?" Trini asked in awe, casting a glance in the direction of the strangers they had just sent to the ground.

"Not to be rude," Sheena said, "but it would be really nice if somebody would fill us in on what happened."

"Do the words Power Rangers mean anything to you?" a young teen asked, dressed in tattered blue clothing.

"Why?" Billy asked cautiously.

"Because we're the Power Rangers," the fourth party said.

"Skull?" Sheena asked in awe.

"From a different dimension," Trini explained. She pulled a device out of her pocket that looked suspiciously like a flip phone. "We've got thirty-five hours before we can move on."

"Since I seem to be the only person you don't know," the youngest said, "I'll introduce myself. My name is Justin. I'm the Blue Turbo Ranger."

"Like Kahva told us about," Billy said with a smile. "My name is Billy, and this is my wife, Sheena."

"Hi-," Trini said, when her expression immediately dropped off of her face. "You're married?"

"Why don't we go someplace a little more private," Tommy suggested, "and if you're really interested, we can explain everything."

"I, for one, am very interested," Sheena said.

~*~

"Home sweet home," Billy said. "If any of you all need to use the bathroom, or take a shower, or something, it's at the top of the stairs on the left."

Justin and Skull traded one glance, and then darted for the staircase. "Trini," Sheena said, motioning her closer. "Would it be safe to say that you and Billy have a relationship wherever you come from?"

"How'd you know?" Trini asked.

"Lucky guess," Sheena sighed. "I'm not from this dimension, either, but this is my home now."

"We're on a search and rescue mission," Trini said. "Five of our friends got lost in the dimensions a few months ago, and we're trying to find them."

"My friend knew about that," Sheena said. "Kahva. She's ... really sensitive to things like that, and was complaining of there being some kind of dimensional disturbance here a few weeks ago. Early June?"

"About that time," Trini nodded.

"Do you know where you're headed?" Sheena asked.

"Not really," Trini said. "This device is going to take us there, but we have to go through fifty-three more worlds first."

"Oh," Sheena said. "Never mind then." _No use telling them about Kahva's ability if it won't work for them._ "So, why don't you tell me about your home."

~*~

"For over a year now," Billy said. Tommy cast a glance at his best friend's double. This Billy looked more mature than the Billy he knew. He didn't look any older, just much more mature. Not that his Billy was immature, just ... different.

"What's it like?"

"I've never been happier," Billy said. "I've got new powers, a wife..."

"New powers?"

"I'm the Sapphire Ranger."

"We don't have a Sapphire Ranger," Tommy said.

"Silver Ranger?"

"Nope."

"More dimensions are different than they are similar," Tommy mused. "So far, we've been to a world where Tanya and Trini were dictators, a world with BeetleBorgs turned Zeo Rangers." Tommy paused and then asked, "Do you know anything about Turbo Rangers?"

"No. We don't have Turbo powers here. At least not yet anyhow."

~*~

Sheena sighed heavily. She was more than used to the tone of voice people had when she told them her religion, and it never failed to annoy her. "That doesn't make me bad, Trini. It just makes me different. It's a different set of beliefs from yours. That's all."

Trini nodded in agreement. "I know, and I'm sorry. It just kind of shocked me, is all. I don't really know much about it though."

"I meet a lot of people who don't know much about it," Sheena smiled. "It works sort of like this. Dianic witches worship only a Goddess. My particular Goddess is Isis. Others worship Diana, Hera, Aphrodite, Kali, Hecate, I could go on. Some don't call Her by any name in particular. We celebrate the solstices and equinoxes as holy days, as well as full and new moons. We care for the Earth, it's considered the Mother of all life. We're not man-haters, by any means. Men are as important to the cycle of life as women are. We just don't choose to worship a male deity. We respect those who do, however. I can't speak for every witch out there, of course, but I acknowledge the existence of other deities, including the Christian God, I simply choose not to worship them. The prime law that every true witch lives by is "An it harm none, do as you will." We strive to keep a balance in life, in all that we do," she explained.

"Just different?"

"Right."

"What's Billy, here?"

"He's Christian here," Sheena told her.

"I'm sorry I acted ... off. I'm just used to the stereotypical view of witches with the big black pointed hats, crooked noses, and big black iron cauldrons."

"I can honestly say I have never owned a cauldron in my life," Sheena said with a laugh.

"Can I ask you another question?" Trini asked.

"Shoot."

"Well, you're married to Billy, and Billy and I are dating back home, and I was just kind of wondering," Trini began. Sheena smiled warmly, already anticipating the end of her question.

~*~

"Why didn't we see the others when they came through here?" Katherine asked.

"The sliders always get dumped in totally random places," Trini explained. "They might have been a hundred miles from here."

"Sliders?" Sheena asked, taking a sip from Billy's smoothie.

"That's what we call ourselves," Justin explained. "Sliding."

"We say shifting," Billy told them.

"I am so thankful to be on a world where there are no crashing spaceships or even tyrannical Rangers or blue ghosts that look like Elvis," Skull sighed.

"We have to stay here at least one night," Tommy said, staring at the slider in his hand. "Can you guys recommend a good hotel?"

"A cheap hotel," Justin repeated.

"Forget hotels," Sheena said. "You can stay with us."

"Thank you," Trini spat out, taking Sheena's hand in hers. "Thank you soooooo much."

"We haven't been on the go for long, but we imagine we'll be sleeping in some pretty ungodly places before long," Skull told them.

~*~

"Definitely," Tommy agreed, shedding his shirt and pulling the thin sheet up over him. Even though the three male Rangers were currently sleeping on the hard wood floor of the living room, with Trini on the surprisingly uncomfortable couch, they still slept better than they had in several days.

~*~

"How much longer?" Sheena asked.

"Four seconds," Justin told them, ready to push the button that would open the portal to the next world.

"Stop by anytime," Sheena said with a grin. Justin pointed the portal out before them, and a glimmering white and blue portal of light appeared before them.

"Thanks for everything," Tommy said as he leapt into the portal. The others were close behind, and the portal closed in their wake.

~*~

"And it's almost dusk," Justin mumbled unhappily.

"Let's go find out where exactly we are," Tommy suggested. "If we're in Angel Grove, we'll see if they have a cheap motel we can stay in."

"Does anybody else feel kind of tingly?" Skull complained, shaking his hand.

"Tingly?" Justin asked skeptically.

"Yeah, like ... static electricity, or something?"

"Not me," Tommy said as the four teens began to look for the ever familiar Juice Bar.

"Me neither," Justin added.

~*~

* * *

"Hey, there's Ernie's," Tommy said happily as their beloved gym and juice bar came into view.

"I don't think we should go in," Trini objected. "There might be ... us, in there. It'd be okay if they're Rangers, but if they aren't..."

"You guys," Skull said nervously, "I think there's something wrong with me."

"Skull?" Justin asked, turning around. When he saw the condition Skull was in, he was unable to keep back a yell. Red and yellow tendrils of light were shooting off of Skull's fingertips. As soon as they lost contact with his flesh, they fizzled into non-existence.

"Skull!" Trini cried, rushing up to his side. Skull slumped to his knees, his body limp as a rag doll from the intense shock. Trini reached out to touch his hand. The tendrils of light snaked around her fingers and promptly disappeared. "It's like static electricity or something..."

"We have to hope that there are Power Rangers on this world," Tommy said.

"Let's try and teleport to the Command Center," Justin said. "If there are Rangers, then it'll work."

"I'll go," Tommy said. "They might not have Turbo Rangers here yet. I'll be back with help... Zeo Ranger V, Red —- Falcon!" Tommy vanished in a red column of light, indicative that there was a Command Center or Power Chamber somewhere near Angel Grove.

~*~

Tommy removed his helmet and quickly explained, "I am Tommy, but I'm not from this dimension. I'm from a different dimension, and a friend of mine that is with me is having some kind of episode. He's a Power Ranger, too, but... Can you please help us?"

"Scan this young man, Alpha," Zordon instructed.

A few moments later, the results were back. "If he isn't telling the truth," Alpha said, "he at least believes he is."

"Your friend," Zordon continued, "what is his name?"

"Eugene Skullovitch," Tommy said. "He, Trini Kwan, and Justin Cranston were all with me. They're near Ernie's Youth Center."

"Teleporting now," Alpha said. With three columns of colored light, Skull, Trini, and Justin appeared in the Power Chamber.

Tommy paled when he turned to look at Skull. Purple balls of light were clustered around his hand. No matter how hard he and Trini tried, they couldn't get the lights to leave.

"Alpha, please contact Tommy," Zordon instructed. "But before you do, you, young man..."

"Me?" Justin asked.

"Yes, you," Zordon said. "I detect the Power within you. What type of Ranger are you?"

"Blue Turbo Ranger," Justin answered. "Well, I'm actually a Ninja Ranger, but I look like a Turbo."

"You should morph," Zordon told him. "As you are not yet a part of our team, it is possible that you never will be. It is best that none of my Rangers see you unmorphed."

Justin nodded in agreement and cried, "MOUNTAIN BLASTER TURBO POWER —- SEAHORSE!!!"

"Proceed Alpha," Zordon commanded. A few moments later, red light flooded the Power Chamber, coalescing into the form of Tommy.

"Hey Zordon, is there a prob-?" Tommy started. He stopped when he saw a bizarre quartet of teens and Rangers. "What's with the high-tech armor and the guy who looks like me?"

"I am you," Tommy said, "just the you from a different dimension."

"I thought, Tyler might... never mind," Tommy stammered. "Are you guys with the other five?"

"Sort of," Blue Turbo Ranger answered for Tommy. "We're on a search and rescue."

"Skull is the one with the problem," Zordon told Tommy.

Everyone turned their gaze to the Green Ranger. His hands were surrounded by an intense red aura of light. "Man," Tommy whispered to himself. He approached Skull and extended his own hand. A green tendril of light jumped the distance between them. "Magic?" Tommy asked, turning to Zordon for approval.

"That is what it appears to be," Zordon said.

"Magic?" Skull asked, shaking his hands in a desperate attempt to get the light off. Sparks began shooting off of his fingertips, which succeeded in only increasing the light.

"Zordon," Tommy said, "why don't I take these guys to my house. I think I can explain to Skull what's going on. I have a pretty good idea, actually."

Zordon smiled proudly at his student. "Very good, Tommy," Zordon agreed.

~*~

"That's one to say it," Tommy said. "Apparently, this world, for lack of a better way to say it, is just running over with magic."

"Every dimension has a different energy signature," Blue Turbo Ranger, who had yet to demorph, told them, "and every person of that dimension has the same type of energy but with minute differences. Maybe Skull has a unique energy pattern that amplifies the magic of this dimension."

"Not a bad thought," Tommy said.

His traveling double, who had remained silent throughout the entire conversation thus far, asked, "Can he do anything or is he just going to be a nightlight?"

Skull looked at his fingertips, which began to glow a bright blue. "That is so cool," Skull said happily. They slowly dimmed in reply.

"Maybe he can do stuff," Tommy said. "Try something."

The door suddenly swung open and Chelsea stepped in. "Tommy, would you keep it down in he-... Wait a minute."

"Friends," Tommy answered her unasked question. "Close the door." Chelsea, Tommy's sister, stepped into the room. "Dimensional travelers. Power Rangers. They need a place to stay for the night."

"You have short hair," Slider-Tommy asked in disbelief.

"So-?" Chelsea asked, running a hand over her hair.

"Well, it's just that - in my home, you have long hair," Slider-Tommy said. "Really long hair. Like down to your waist."

Chelsea shrugged and sat down. "Sounds like too much trouble," she muttered. "So... do you all know ... a me, or-?"

"Yeah," Trini answered for her. "We know you."

"Okay, now what's with Blue Boy over there? And why does his suit look weird?"

"It's made of a bizarre plastic metal alloy," Blue Ranger explained. "I can't reveal my identity to anyone here."

"Ooh," Chelsea laughed. "Let's get Bulk and Skull in here. They'll figure it out. No offense to you."

"None taken," Skull answered.

"Can we watch t.v.?" Blue Ranger asked, motioning toward the small set in Tommy's bedroom.

"Yeah, no prob," Tommy said. "Remote's by you, Skull."

Skull looked over at the remote control and reached for it. When he did, the remote leapt from its position on the ground to his hand. He screamed and tossed the remote aside. "Wow," Blue Ranger said in awe. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know," Skull said warily, "but I didn't like it."

"Telekinesis," Tommy told him. "Our Skull does stuff like that all the time. Think about moving something, Skull. Maybe that's the trick."

Skull swallowed, and then looked at the remote control in Blue Ranger's hand. It immediately leapt from his grip into Skull's. "Ohhh," Skull panicked, tossing the remote to the ground again and backing away. "That I do NOT like at all."

"Then don't do it," Chelsea smiled as she scooped up the remote.

~*~

"Any idea how to get him down?" Slider-Tommy asked her.

"I don't think you're supposed to wake people up when they sleep walk," Tommy said, sitting up in bed at their conversations. "Wouldn't that apply to people that float in their sleep, too?"

"Dare you to wake him up," Slider-Tommy said with a wry grin.

~*~

"Bathtubs are surprisingly comfortable," Justin answered. He couldn't sleep morphed, but he had to keep his identity secret, so Tommy suggested he lock the bathroom door and sleep on the floor. Justin opted for the bathtub.

"You guys ready?" Tommy asked.

"I am," Slider-Tommy answered.

Skull looked at his hand, which began to glow a soft white in reply. He hadn't been in a very good mood after waking up and falling four feet to the ground. He looked to Tommy and said, "Let's go do anything." The magic that was apparently churning in his body was starting to greatly bother him. He wanted something to get his mind off of it until they were able to slide to the next world.

"I'm gonna go to the Command Center," Blue Ranger said. "Er, Power Chamber. It'll look a little weird if you all are hanging out with a morphed Ranger. Just give me a call when you're ready."

"Bye Justin," Slider-Tommy said before realizing his faux pas.

Tommy quickly played dumb and pretended not to notice. In actuality, hearing that his name was Justin did nothing to clue him in on the Ranger's identity. He knew several Justin's, actually.

The room was temporarily flooded with blue light as Blue Ranger teleported away. "Let's go," Tommy said. "Everybody's looking forward to meeting more of you guys."

~*~

"I hope nobody notices us back here," Slider-Tommy said, pulling one of Tommy's caps farther down his forehead.

Slider-Skull nodded in agreement and reached for his smoothie. As he did, a pink spark of light leapt from his palm to the glass. It slid into his palm, prompting a slight cry of alarm.

"That is amazing," Tanya said.

"I don't like it," Slider-Skull complained. "I don't like it at all."

"I think it's pretty amazing myself," Jamie said with a grin. "To just be able to point your finger and ZAP! Wow."

"You'd be dangerous if you could do that," Jason teased.

"I'm dangerous anyhow," Jamie teased back.

"So, you all are on a search and rescue?" Adam asked.

"For the five guys earlier, right?" Lillian added.

"Right," Trini said with a nod. "They're lost someplace. We have seen some weird stuff, too, and we're not even halfway there."

"Like what?" Kimberly asked. The three sliders began to tell their tales.

~*~

~*~

"We're getting back to normal," Justin sighed, already demorphed. "The slider is slowly recharging."

"Six hours," Tommy said, looking at his watch. "That puts us at one a.m. to leave. I say we wait until morning."

"Let's get out of here," Skull remarked, reshouldering his backpack. "This doesn't look like the best of neighborhoods."

As the four teens hurried off, two pair of eyes watched from the darkness.

~*~

"Hey Trini, check this out," Tommy called. He pointed to a telephone booth.

"What about it?" Trini asked as she hurried over to him.

"Look who owns it," Tommy said, pointing to the emblem at the top.

"United States of Pangaea," Trini read, before realizing what she had just said. "Pangaea? I wonder if this planet has a super-continent?"

"Let's look in the phone book," Tommy suggested. "Maybe that'll tell us something."

~*~

"Hi," Skull answered back, washing his hands. He caught a glance of the man in the mirror. The man looked perfectly normal, and not much older than Skull. Just as Skull turned his attention away from the man, an intense pain radiated from the base of his skull. When he started to turn around in shock, his vision blurred black and he slumped to the ground.

~*~

~*~

"Yeah, okay," Tommy agreed, heading for the ice cream shop. "You be okay out here?"

"I'll be fine, Tommy," Trini said. "I'll be right here when you come out, and I promise I won't take candy from strangers."

"Don't be smart," Tommy warned good-naturedly as he entered the shop.

Trini took the phone book out and continued to flip through it. "I knew it wasn't a super-continent," she said to herself as she finally found a map. It's only purpose was to list the area codes of the entire country, but it still showed to her that this world had the same seven continents her world did. There was, however, one major difference between the dimensions. It seemed the entire planet was a part of the United States of Pangaea. Existing states and countries were further divided into smaller states. "Interesting," Trini muttered to herself as she began to scan the states.

"Trini!" Tommy suddenly cried for her.

"Tommy?!" she called back.

He ran out of the shop and shouted, "Call the police and an ambulance! Justin's missing and Skull's been hurt!"

~*~

"If you cooperate, you won't be hurt," Jada assured her. "Him neither."

"Can you at least untie us?" Justin asked.

Jada leaned over the back seat of the van to look at the tied-up Justin and Gale. "No."

"You do know that kidnapping the Prince is a crime punishable by death?" Gale asked.

"Yeah, but if I kill your ass I won't get much more than a slap on the wrists," Jada snarled. "Now shut the hell up and you won't have anything to worry about."

After things were silent for a while longer, Gale whispered to Justin, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Justin said with a nod. "Scared, but okay."

~*~

"Everything is going to be fine," Jada assured her partner. "You'll be okay."

"I'm only doing this because Derek wants to," Sydney muttered to herself unhappily. She was having serious reservations about the whole kidnapping scheme.

~*~

"This is the Prince," Derek said, pulling the sheet he had wrapped around the body down to expose the face.

"I thought Sydney and Jada were going after the Prince," Randy quipped.

"I thought they were, too," Derek agreed, "but they must have missed. This is the Prince, we've got him, we'll call 'em when we get to the cabin. Now let's get the hell out of here."

"Cool deal."

~*~

"Justin Cranston," Tommy said. "But you have to understand, we're not from here. You won't have this Justin Cranston on any of your records or anything like that."

"Are you from a new state?" the police officer asked.

"What?"

"You don't look or sound like you are from one of the new states."

"Have you heard of the multiple dimensions theory?" Tommy asked. The police officer shook his head. "Then it's best to just say I'm not from here. But our friend is missing and we have to get him back."

"Tommy, we've got trouble," Trini said as she was lead toward him with another police officer.

"No kidding," Tommy agreed.

"Tommy, we're being arrested," Trini remarked. It was then that Tommy noticed Trini had both hands behind her back. "They think we kidnapped Prince Justin Stewart."

~*~

Skull sat up and looked around himself. He was wearing a hospital gown and lying in a hospital bed in a darkened hospital room. It took him a few moments to regather his thoughts. He then remembered being attacked in the restroom at the Ice Cream Shop. Skull considered paging the nurse, and then decided that it probably wouldn't be the best course of action. "I'll just find my clothes, and get out of here to find the others."

~*~

The frustrated teen slowly lifted her heads out of her hands and looked in the direction of the voice. The voice's source was one of the biggest shocks that Trini had received in her entire life. A call girl she was currently sharing a jail cell with was trying to start a conversation. What startled her most was who the prostitute was. "Kimberly?"

"Ginger," she said defensively. "What you in for?"

"They think I kidnapped the Prince," Trini answered. "Was your name ever Kimberly, because you look like a woman I know back home?"

"Maybe," Ginger said. "What's it your concern?"

"Sorry," Trini muttered, turning her attention away from the horrific alternate of her best friend.

"Uhm, my bad," Ginger apologize. "I didn't mean to get smart, or anything. I've just had a bad day."

"That's okay," Trini smiled. "It happens to the best of us."

"The name is Kimberly," Ginger said, "but I'm trying to leave that life behind. How do you know me? You said I look like a woman you know. Could it be me?"

"I don't think so," Trini lied. "I just know someone who looks a lot like you named Kimberly, and for a second, I thought she was you. So, uhm, what are you in for?" As soon as she said it, Trini realized what a stupid question it was.

"You don't really need an answer for that, do you?" Ginger asked, cocking her eyebrow.

"Sorry," Trini mumbled. "I wasn't thinking very clearly." The two sat in an awkward silence for a moment, before Trini finally asked, "Why do you do it?"

"Pardon?"

"Why do you prostitute yourself?" Trini asked.

"It's easy, honest money, honey," Ginger answered. "I'm going to go ahead and assume that you think prostitution should be illegal. But before you say anything, let me tell you a little something. I am nineteen years old. I can have sex with any man on this planet so long as he is of age. I can have sex with any of those men, provided they are willing, as often as I want. Even ten at a time for all the law cares. I can also have sex with strangers if I'm on the set of a adult movie, and get paid for it. But the second it's just me and one guy, and we're alone, and he gives me ANY amount of money, it's illegal. That doesn't make sense. It's not like I'm hurting anybody. The guy wants to be with me. The law should spend their time taking care of murderers and child molesters and leave prostitutes alone." Trini opened her mouth to protest, and realized that Ginger was making sense. "Lecture's over," Ginger said, giving Trini a true Kimberly Hart smile. "So what do you do?"

~*~

"Hey, the kid's waking up," a husky male voice said.

"Where am I?" Justin asked, trying to sit up. As soon as he did, he realized his wrists were tied together, as were his ankles. He twisted his wrists in an attempt to summon his morpher, but it didn't work. It didn't take him more than a second to realize that they had just slid into a world with no magic.

"You're on your way to Old Vermont, Prince," the same voice replied.

"Prince?" Justin asked.

~*~

Suddenly, green light crackled all about him. The morphing process was suddenly completed, but it hit him hard. His feet flew off of the sidewalk as the armor formed around his body with an explosive punch that would have killed him had he not already been morphing. However, the weirdness of that didn't even have time to sink in before he began to teleport.

Green light overwhelmed his body and he darted away in a barely formed teleport streak. Skull realized that somewhere in his half-formed teleport streak/body, he still had vocal chords, and he decided to use them. He screamed frantically as he flew away from the hospital. Without even realizing it, he turned over so that he was looking at the ground rushing by below him. The land suddenly ran out, and he was streaking high above the ocean. Once there, he began to scream even louder, and he began to move faster. The entire Pacific ocean passed beneath him in a few seconds, and he once again began to slow down, although he never stopped screaming. His teleport streak headed toward a large island that he quickly realized was Japan. He flew into the midst of a large city, which Skull assumed to be Tokyo. He darted toward a building, and flew through a confusing labyrinth of hallways and doors before finally plummeting down a long elevator shaft. The green light of his teleport was the only thing that lit up the dark tunnel that was seemingly leading him toward the center of the Earth. He then branched off hard to the right, and found himself teleporting high above a beautiful, glowing island that seemed to be from ancient Greece. He teleported straight to a building that was located in the center of the island, and them re-materialized.

"Oh gosh," Skull complained as he was dumped onto the floor in a painful heap. Still groaning, he slowly pulled himself to his feet. "As God is my witness, I will never teleport again."

Before he even had a chance to examine his surroundings, a Japanese man in a white and yellow outfit, complete with a pale yellow hat with white wings around his temples, ran up to him. "Brai?" the man asked hopefully.

~*~

"Thank you," Tommy said as politely as he could muster. He had been in a mode of double panic after realizing he couldn't morph. That also meant that Justin, wherever he was, couldn't morph either.

~*~

"You too," Trini replied, smiling at her new-made friend.

"Let's go," the bailer said, flashing Ginger a dirty smirk, which she eagerly returned. He quickly lead Trini to Tommy. They were given their backpacks, and released.

~*~

"I know that," the nurse snapped back, "I'm saying that he isn't here because he left."

"Don't get smart with me," Trini snarled, eyes flashing angrily. "I just spent four hours in jail for a crime I didn't commit, a thirteen year old I'm supposed to be taking care of is missing, and now you're giving me a hard time!"

"Calm down, Trini," Tommy said, pulling her away from the desk. "Thank you."

"Thank you," the nurse repeated in a flat voice.

"Tommy, what are we going to do?" Trini asked, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. "We've lost two whole people!"

"Well we can't go to the police, that's for sure," Tommy sighed. "They'll just arrest us for something else."

"Maybe there are Power Rangers on this planet," Trini said.

"We can't morph," Tommy told her.

"WE can't morph," Trini repeated. "There might be some type of magic here. Maybe even science based Rangers. Well... oh God, Tommy, I can't think straight!"

"Toy stores," Tommy said. "Toy stores would be where we could find out if there are Power Rangers."

"What?"

"Teddy has every single type of Power Ranger toy imaginable," Tommy said. "I've got my Ranger toys, even. You don't have a Yellow Ranger toy?"

"I don't guess I do," Trini said. "Ashley was into Barbie dolls and all that girlie stuff. But yeah, I remember them now. But it's almost midnight. Nothing will be open."

"Wal-Mart," Tommy said hurriedly. "Let's go."

~*~

"Who are those people they've got with them?" Derek added.

Randy pulled his car up next to Sydney's van and shouted, "Who the hell are these people?"

"Gale Prescott, Justin's tutor," Sydney said, pointing to the attractive black haired woman who was currently tied up and on her knees.

"Justin Stewart," Jada added, pointing to the young prince who was also tied up and kneeling beside his tutor.

Derek jumped out of the car and pulled a struggling boy out of the backseat. "Justin Stewart," he said, motioning to the Prince's double.

"No away," Prince Stewart cried, looking at the other Justin.

"Uh oh," Justin mumbled.

"Well, which one is which?" Jada asked, yanking her ball cap off to beat Randy with.

"This isn't my fault, woman," Randy complained, yanking the cap from her hands.

"Let's take both of them," Derek said. "We need to get out of here before any suspicion is raised. The police already know that the Prince is missing. They said so on the radio."

"Okay, we all know the plan?" Randy asked.

"We'll take care of the van and be up in the cabin by tomorrow afternoon," Jada affirmed. "Let's go."

The four proceeded to force the two Justin's and Gale Prescott into the small airplane. Sydney and Derek then flew their hostages to the mountains of Vermont, while Jada and Randy proceeded to cover up their trail.

~*~

"How did you find out about our shipment?" the woman asked incredulously. Before Tommy or Trini could say anything, she shook her head and said, "It doesn't matter, anyhow. We're about to put them out on the shelves. Ever since Bandora and the ZyuRangers disappeared three weeks ago, there has been a run on toys and everything else. We even have the Mei figurines in right now. She leaves the shelves as soon as she gets put out. So if you want her, you better go look in those boxes at the ends of the aisle."

"Bandora? ZyuRangers?" Tommy asked himself. "Trini, I don't think she's talking about what we're looking for."

"We had better make sure," Trini said. "Just to be on the safe side." They walked to the end of the aisle until they found several dollies loaded with boxes. They were already opened, although none of the toys had been taken out. "Dear God, please let there be Power Rangers here." She opened the box and cried out happily. "Rangers!" she squealed.

"Yes!" Tommy cried, yanking a black box out. Inside was an armor-clad Red Ranger. On the top of the box was written, "Geki - TyrannoRanger." Tommy turned the box over. "Trini, they've got the actual Ranger on here."

"I know," she said, looking at another black box holding "Mei - PteraRanger. And a picture. Maybe Ranger's don't have secret identities here."

Tommy's eyes scanned the small paragraph telling about the Rangers. "Trini?" Tommy asked. "The Rangers are stationed in Japan. And worse than that, according to this they've been missing for three weeks."

~*~

"My name is Justin Cranston," Justin answered. "I'm not from around here."

"I'm Justin Stewart," Prince Justin said. "This is my tutor, Gale."

"Nice to meet you both," Justin said. "Are you like the Prince of England, or something?"

Gale flashed Justin a strange look, but Prince Justin answered, "I'm Prince of the United States of Pangaea. My Mom and Dad are King and Queen. You haven't heard of us?"

"Well, I'm not from around here," Justin sighed.

"Just where would you be from that hasn't heard of the United States of Pangaea?" Gale asked incredulously. "As of last year, there isn't a single country left. They've all joined the Nation."

"You probably wouldn't believe me," Justin stated.

~*~

The man immediately began speaking in frantic Japanese. Skull quickly interjected, "I can't speak whatever language it is you are speaking. Do you speak English?"

"English," the man said. He suddenly summoned a wooden staff and waved it in front of him. When he put it away, the man said, in perfect English, "Can you understand me now?"

"Yes sir," Skull said, and then realized that he was the one who had changed. He was no longer speaking English, but was instead speaking and understanding perfect Japanese.

"My name is Barza," the man said. "I have been praying for Brai to return for three weeks. Although you are not him, you wear his armor. God must have sent you in his place."

"Who is Brai?" Skull asked, horribly confused.

"Brai is Geki's brother," Barza explained, as though that was the ultimate explanation.

"Who is Geki?"

"Geki is TyrannoRanger," Barza said. "Leader of the force against Bandora, Grifforzer, Lammy, Tottpatt, Bukkbukk, and Priprican." Barza waited for a moment, and then said, "You truly are not from here, nor have you heard of our plight. Correct?"

"Correct," Skull said sadly. "But I am a protector of innocents. I will help you in anyway I can."

"If it is your will," Barza said eagerly, "then you can journey to the Land of Lost Beings, and bring my five Rangers back to me, before Bandora awakes."

"When does Bandora awake?" Skull asked.

"Twenty-four hours," Barza explained. "That will be exactly three weeks >from the time she sent the Rangers away. Her spell backfired, and sent her away as well. However, Priprican had a back-up spell that will bring her back, whereas the ZyuRangers will be gone forever."

"Just tell me what to do," Skull said softly.

~*~

"We have a flight leaving at 11:50 p.m. for Tokyo," the desk clerk said. "Three hundred, twenty seven dollars."

"YES!!!" Trini and Tommy cried in unison, hugging each other happily. They had been hoping beyond all hope that they could get to Tokyo for less than the standard one thousand plus in their own dimension.

"Happy?" the clerk asked, a smile spreading across her face at their enthusiasm.

"We didn't think we'd be able to afford it," Tommy said.

"Prices have been slashed by two thirds since 'The Core' opened," the clerk said. "So, you gonna take it?"

"If we have the money," Tommy said, putting his backpack on the counter. Trini did likewise, and they began to fumble for bills. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder, and once she realized that there was no one there, she calmed down. She didn't want to keep anyone waiting, despite the urgency of their situation.

"Here's a hundred," Tommy said, placing the bill on the counter. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. His money said "United States of America," and they were currently in "United States of Pangaea." "Uhm, will you take this kind of money?"

"Whoa, the old stuff," the clerk said, obviously surprised. "Yeah, I suppose. It's still good, but you don't see it very often." Tommy breathed out an audible sigh of relief as they continued digging for money.

"Here's another hundred," Trini said, "ooh, and a fifty."

"Seventy-seven more," the clerk told them, unable to keep herself from smiling at their desperation.

"I have another twenty-three dollars," Trini said. "That's it." She looked to Tommy in desperation.

"Fifty-four to go?" Tommy asked. "Here's a twenty for thirty-four, and a ten for twenty-four, and six quarters. Dammit."

"I'm sorry," the clerk said, truly sounding apologetic. "You're twenty-two and a half short."

"Trini, stay here with her," Tommy said, thinking as fast as he could. "I've got an idea."

"What's your friend going to do?" the clerk asked, leaning over the counter as he continued running.

"No telling," Trini sighed.

~*~

"Pardon me?" the man asked.

"I need to borrow money," Tommy said. "Well, take money, actually, because I'll probably never see you again to return it. But I am very desperate, and the lives of two of my friends hang in the balance. I have to get to Tokyo, and I lack twenty-two dollars and fifty cents for a ticket."

"Give him the money, Ted," a well dressed woman beside him, presumably his wife, said. "It can be a tax write-off."

"Here's five," the man told him, handing him a bill with blue ink.

"God bless you," Tommy said sincerely, and then went after someone else.

~*~

"Okay," the clerk said. "Here is your ticket, and here is your change, two dollars and fifty cents."

"Thank you so much," Trini said as the two got their backpacks and walked away from the counter.

"Now, who goes?" Tommy asked, motioning to the single ticket. "We could do a paper-rock-scissors thing," he suggested.

"You go," Trini said. "You're the better fighter, and we don't know what we'll be getting into over there."

"Are you sure?" Tommy asked.

"I'm sure," Trini said softly. She gave Tommy a tight hug and whispered, "Be careful."

Tommy nodded and looked at the ticket. "I'll call you, three days from now, at five o'clock in the afternoon, at the Wal-Mart we were at tonight."

"Okay," Trini agreed.

"Final boarding call for Flight 213, Pangaea Capital to Tokyo."

"That's you," Trini smiled. "Be careful, Tommy." The two shared one final hug before Tommy ran to catch his flight. He was going to Tokyo on a long shot, but it was their only hope.

Part 1 | 2 | 3