Parallels Again
by Jeremy Ray Logsdon

"Joy," Justin said sarcastically.

"You're a cute kid," Sydney told him. "Now get up."

"What do you want with all three of us?" Prince Justin asked. "I'm the only one you want."

"Shut up, Justin," Gale said angrily.

"Aw, such a valiant little Prince," Sydney said. "Now look. Here's how it's gonna work. I don't intend to hurt a single hair on any one of your heads. But, if anything funny happens, don't think... I won't hesitate to kill you. I would threaten you and say I'll kill you slowly and painfully, but I won't. I'll just freaking blow your head off. So don't try any hero stuff, and none of you will be hurt. All we want is some money. A ransom note has been delivered to Mom and Pop Stewart, with a request for ten billion dollars." _I sure hope you all believe that._

"What if they don't pay?" Prince Justin asked.

Sydney smiled a sad smile and said, "You had all better hope they do."

~*~

"Ginger," Trini sighed with relief. "Oh man, you scared me."

"What are you doing sleeping in the park? Come on, get out of there."

Ginger helped Trini crawl out from under the wooden footbridge Trini had been sleeping under. "I don't really have any place to stay," Trini said truthfully. "And I don't have any more money to buy a motel room."

"It's the middle of the night, girl," Ginger snapped. "You can't be out here. This park isn't exactly safe for somebody like you."

"What are you doing here?" Trini asked, pulling her backpack on as the two girls slowly walked out of the park.

"There was a big gang fight that filled up the whole jail," Ginger said, smiling. "I was deemed unimportant, so they kicked my sorry butt out. Now come on, you can stay at my place as long as you need to."

"No, I can't impose," Trini rebutted.

"I insist," Ginger told her. "Come on."

~*~

Barza led Skull into a room where the walls were seemingly composed of green and gold light. There was a silver pedestal in the center of the room which was shaped like a giant hand. A gargantuan glass orb, probably four feet in diameter, was held in the hand. Inside the orb was a lush, green island, complete with an ocean lapping at the edges. "The ZyuRangers are lost in there," Barza said. "That is the Land of Lost Souls. Their bodies are here, but the silver cord connecting their souls to their bodies was severed. Barza opened a door on the hand itself, and removed a silver sphere. The top half of the sphere opened, revealing a red velvet interior. Inside sat six small orbs, one for each color of the original five Rangers, and a sixth that was clear. Barza took the clear orb from the sphere, and handed it to Skull. When he did, it began to glow bright green. The radiance from the sphere was too bright to look at it. The other orbs were dull in comparison.

"What is this?" Skull asked.

"That," Barza said, pointing to the glow, "is your consciousness. You are connected to the orb now by a silver cord." Barza took the orb from Skull's palm and placed it back in the silver sphere. Indeed, a thin line of silver light stretched from the center of Skull's chest to the green orb of light.

"Oh wow," Skull breathed. He suddenly felt very light-headed and detached. "Something is happening, Barza."

"You are about to journey to the land of Lost Souls," Barza explained. He closed the silver sphere and put it back in the hand, closing the door behind it. "When you get there, you must find Mei, Boy, Dan, Goushi, and Geki. According to Legends, a Red Star will arrive to help me hold Bandora back before you six return. Please be careful, Skull, and may God protect you."

"Red Star?" Skull asked as he began to slip further and further away from the land of the conscious. "That could be Tommy." Barza never understood him, however, because by that time, Skull's body was already asleep.

~*~

"Shut up," Derek told him. Sydney and Derek marched their three hostages into the overly large cabin. "You got the ropes?" Derek asked Sydney.

"Yep," Sydney said, motioning to the bag she carried.

"You got food?" Justin asked. "I haven't eaten in hours. I'm hungry."

"I don't like that one," Derek said as they corralled the three into an out of the way bedroom.

"Isn't that a coincidence?" Justin remarked.

"Would you shut up?" Gale snapped. "You're gonna get us killed."

"Listen to the woman," Derek said. "All right. Tie 'em up. You can scream all you want, nobody for miles around to here you. No telephones, and not even any electric lines to follow back to civilization. We run off of a generator. Should you escape, you'll freeze to death before you get anywhere. So just save your strength and wait. Got it?"

~*~

"Hellooooo?!" Skull shouted. His voice echoed for a few seconds, but then disappeared. "Is anyone here?!"

He started to walk away down the beach, but then saw a broken bow lying at the edge of a dense forest that stood right beside the beach. He ran up to the bow, which was made of wood and had split into two pieces. It was resting beside a trail that was hidden to him from the beach. "Hope I know what I'm getting into," he said to himself.

Skull honestly didn't know what to expect. He didn't know if he would have to fight monsters, or if he just had to find the missing five Rangers. He continued to walk along the trail, when it ended abruptly. Looking forward, he saw that a great deal of sunlight was streaming in through the trees, suggesting to him that the forest ended beyond them.

As he stepped through the trees, he realized he was right. A large sandy circle greeted him, complete with five palm trees. A teenager was tied to each one. "ZyuRangers?" Skull asked.

"Help us!" the sole girl, dressed in pink, cried.

Skull hurried to the closest Ranger, dressed in red, and quickly untied him. "Are you okay?" Skull asked.

"I am now," he said. "My name is Geki."

"Skull," Skull replied. In just a few moments, all five were freed.

"Just how did you find us here, Skull?" Black ZyuRanger, Goushi, asked.

"Barza sent me," Skull answered. "Bandora is about to awake from her hibernation, and Barza asked me to help you five find your way out to help fight her."

"Do you know how to get out of here?" yellow ZyuRanger, Boy, a male, asked.

"You don't know?" Skull asked.

~*~

"You're tied to a bed, Ninja," Gale told him, who was tied to the bedpost opposite his. "Face it kid. We're not getting out of here. Let's just relax and hope that they're telling us the truth."

"Your name is really Justin?" Prince Justin asked, tied to a third bedpost on the headboard, "and you look just like me?"

"Small world, huh?" Justin laughed.

"Where are you from, really?" Gale asked, bending down to the bedpost so she could scratch a spot on her forehead. When she did bend down, Justin caught a glimpse straight down her blouse, and quickly turned away. He had certainly never had a teacher as attractive as Prince Justin's, and wondered how the Boy Prince got any schoolwork down at all.

"I'm from a different dimension," Justin said truthfully. "Me and three friends came to this dimension just a few hours ago with the intent of staying here only long enough for our slider to recharge. I got kidnapped, supposedly because they think I am you, and I don't know where my friend are at."

"Cool!" Prince Justin cried.

"Don't believe me, do you?" Justin asked Gale. The raven haired tutor said nothing in reply.

~*~

"Perhaps Barza can see us from here," Dan, Blue ZyuRanger, hoped.

As if in an answer to their unspoken prayers, a blue bottle washed up on shore. Geki quickly hurried over to the bottle, uncorked it, and pulled a yellowed parchment out of the bottle.

"It is from Barza!" Geki cried happily. The others crowded around him to read over his shoulders. ZyuRangers,

I am sorry to say that you must go on a difficult journey to escape the land of the Lost Souls. There are three ways out. You must pair up to make the journey.

Dan and Boy, you shall journey together through the desert.

Goushi and Geki, you must travel through the forest.

Skull and Mei, you will go through the tropical waters.

There will be many dangers on your paths. You will have only thirty-six hours to escape. At that time, the land of Lost Souls will cease to exist, and you will be lost forever. - Barza

As soon as Geki finished reading the parchment, six arrows appeared all about them. Red and black arrows pointed into the forest, blue and yellow pointed one direction down the beach, while green and pink pointed the other.

"I suppose this is it," Dan said.

"We may never see each other alive again," Goushi said solemnly.

"Don't talk like that," Mei snapped. "We will survive this. We have to. Bandora is still out there."

"She's right," Geki agreed. "We will survive. But we must go." The six said nothing, but turned away to go on their journeys.

~*~

"Nineteen," Skull answered. The two continued to walk down the beach, following the green and pink arrows that appeared from time to time. So far, the two had seen nothing out of the ordinary.

"I really hate these robes," Mei complained. She was wearing a bizarre pink and purple skirt/robe/tunic outfit.

"Why are you wearing it?" Skull asked.

"This is Bandora's idea of a practical joke," Mei said. "Before she banished us, she told the entire state that we are one hundred and seventy million years old. Can you believe that? She made up this big elaborate tale about how we are warriors from civilization one hundred and seventy million years ago and were brought out of suspended animation to defeat her when she was recently released from her space dumpster on the moon."

"How did you really become Power Rangers?" Skull asked. "I mean ZyuRangers."

"Bandora was released, and Barza needed five teenagers to be the ZyuRangers," Mei said. "And we were picked. Then, Geki's brother, Brai, became the sixth ZyuRanger, but he was killed a while back."

"I wear his armor, now," Skull said sadly. "I'm Green Dragon."

"Really?" Mei asked, smiling a sincere smile. "You won't be staying with us, though, will you?"

"No," Skull answered. "I have other dimensions to go to. Will you find another person to be Green Ranger?"

"I suppose we'll have to," Mei said.

~*~

"Almost," Gale grunted. "Almost." Her bare foot continually brushed against the long nail on a table about five feet from the end of the bed. She suddenly grasped it between two toes. "I got it!" Justin helped push her back onto the bed with his foot.

"Are you okay, Ms. Prescott?" Prince Justin asked.

"I think so," she moaned. "Take the nail."

Justin reached for it, and discovered he couldn't. "Tied. Can you stretch?"

"Give me a second," Gale said, slumping against the wall. Every muscle in her body was screaming at her, and it was all she could do not to keep tears from streaming down her cheeks.

"Take all the time you need," Justin said. "We're probably the only ones awake. So long as we can get freed before morning, we'll be all right."

~*~

"Hey, wait a minute," Skull said, looking up the beach. "I don't see any more arrows." Green and pink arrows had been appearing about twenty feet in front of them for their entire journey.

"I think I see it," Mei remarked. "Look." She pointed into the ocean. It was almost as if she had caused it to happen, because as soon as she pointed, the entire sky darkened. The color changed from pale blue to a deep shade of royal blue. Numerous stars appeared, and though it wasn't exactly night, night was a better description than daytime. A glowing green arrow could be seen off shore.

"We have to swim?" Skull asked.

"Do you know how?" Mei asked.

"Yeah, I can swim," Skull said. The water was glowing green due to the supernatural arrow beneath the surface. Skull waded out into the water. "At least it's warm." He briefly considered taking off his shirt and shoes, but he had nothing to put them in, so he opted to keep them both on.

"I wonder where we're swimming to," Mei remarked as she waded out into the water. Once it reached her chest, she let her feet float off of the bottom and began to swim.

"There's probably an island or something," Skull said. "I hope."

As they swam over the glowing arrow, Skull put his face into the water. The water was crystal clear, and there wasn't an animal of any type anywhere in sight. The arrow was formed of small green pebbles at the ocean floor, some distance beneath them. As they reached the end of the green arrow, a pink one lit up to take its place.

"The arrows are keeping us on a straight course," Mei said.

"I sure hope we aren't attacked out here in the water," Skull commented. "There isn't any way we can fight in water hundreds of feet deep."

~*~

"Ready," Justin said. Gale stretched her leg out, prompting another cramp to hit her hamstring, but she kept still. Justin's fingers quickly plucked the nail from her toes, allowing Gale to pull her leg back.

"You okay?" Prince Justin asked. Gale nodded that she was, the only reply she was capable of making.

"You better be a Ninja," Gale remarked.

"I'm a black belt in Tae Kune Do, and I'm specially trained in the field of Ninjetti Fighting," Justin told her.

"Then how'd you get captured?" Prince Justin asked.

"They put a rag over my mouth with some kind of chemical on it," Justin said. "Ether, I guess. It knocked me out cold. Next time I'm awake, I'm tied up. Now, let's just hope my plan works." By bending his right hand backwards, he was able to scrape at the rope with the sharp nail tip. It was just going to take a while.

~*~

"Huh?" Trini groaned. "What?"

"It's nine o'clock," Ginger told her.

"Oh," Trini said, sitting up. It took her a moment to take in her surroundings, and then everything came flooding back to her. "Oh. Thanks for letting me stay here last night."

"No prob," Ginger told her. "Stay as long as you need to. Would you turn the tube on?"

"Huh? Oh, sure," Trini said. She reached over the end of the couch and hit the Power button on the television.

"-een have agreed to the hostages demands. They have ten billion dollars ready, and are waiting for another contact. We will do all we can to bring Prince Stewart and his tutor home safely."

"What?" Ginger asked, hurrying into the living room to focus her attention on the television.

"For those of you joining us late," the anchorman said, "Prince Justin Stewart has been kidnapped, along with his tutor Gale Prescott."

Trini's heart leapt into her throat when they flashed a picture of the prince on the screen. It was undeniably Justin's double. Gale Prescott's picture followed. She was an attractive young woman with dark black hair that didn't quite reach her shoulders. "Kidnapped?" Trini asked in horror.

~*~

"Mei!" he cried as well. He looked down, and saw a gigantic white octopus beneath them. Mei was in one of its tentacles. "Please work," Skull prayed as he twisted his hand. His morpher appeared, and he cried, "GREEN DRAGON —- RABBIT!!!" Nothing happened.

He looked at his morpher, and realized that it wasn't his morpher. It was a morpher, but not his. The Power Coin in its center was the original green coin. "Green Dragon?" Skull tried hopefully.

Suddenly, the tentacle that held Mei was lifted out of the water. She pushed her hands out before her and summoned her morpher. "DINO-BUCKLER!!!" she screamed. In a pink flash, she was clad in the Pink Armor of the Pterodactyl.

"Dino-buckler?" Skull asked in disbelief for the second time. When he said it, green light flared up all about him, and he was morphed. Glancing down at his chest, he saw that he wasn't a Ninja Ranger. His Rabbit Power Coin wasn't in his chest plate. He suddenly understood why he had felt compelled to use a different Morph Call the first time. He had received the Power from a different dimension. His own Ninja Power still resided somewhere deep inside him, but for a reason he didn't understand, it was pushed deeper so he could hold the other Power. Rather than waste valuable seconds continuing to think about it, however, he turned down into the water and began to swim toward Mei.

~*~

He walked out of the airport, and was pleased to find that the time of day was middle of the morning. He had gotten a good nights sleep on the plane, and was well-rested for a journey to find the Rangers. Or ZyuRangers, as the flight attendant had told him. He had also eaten a good meal for breakfast not too long before, so he would at least have a few more hours before hunger claimed him.

"Red Star!" a voice shouted. "That's him."

Tommy turned, merely out of curiosity, to the voice's source. "Scorpina?" he asked in disbelief. Goldar appeared beside her a few seconds later. Tommy looked all about himself, not sure if he was who they were after.

"Lammy!" a frantic voice suddenly screamed.

"Grifforzer!"

Chaos reigned after that point. People were running everywhere, desperate to get way from the two evil warriors.

Tommy lost sight of the two gold-clad henchmen in the resulting melee. He started to slowly back away, when a strong hand grabbed his upper arm. He spun out of the grip and found himself face to face with Scorpina, or Lammy, as it were.

"You are the Red Star," Lammy threatened, pushing the tip of her scimitar against his chin. "You are to die."

"LAMMY!" a male voice cried from behind them. Lammy spun around in horror, giving Tommy the opportunity to knock her away. With a well-placed kick, he knocked her curved sword out of her grip.

A male voice shouted something in Japanese. Tommy looked up to see a man wearing a cap with wings on it. He pointed a wooden staff at Tommy, and red light began to emanate from Tommy's skin. "Morph!" the man cried. The word "morph" wasn't from the man, but was a translation that Tommy's mind immediately produced. Nodding, he took the morphin stance and cried, "ZEO RANGER V, RED —- FALCON!!!" With a faded red flash, Tommy morphed. The process was slower than usual, and seemed to be strained, but once the process was completed, Tommy felt fully in control of his Ninja Powers.

Tommy immediately began to battle with the angered Lammy and Grifforzer. The pair were identical in both form and fighting style to the Scorpina and Goldar that Tommy knew. "Zeo V Power Sword!" Tommy summoned, evening the odds.

The trio of warriors began fighting in earnest, thrusting, parrying, and effectively blocking any well-aimed hit. After they had fought for no more than thirty seconds, the sky darkened and a giant image of Rita Repulsa, known in that dimension as Bandora, appeared in the sky.

"Lammy! Grifforzer! Return at once!" Bandora shrieked. Her two henchmen disappeared in unison at the order. "This is not over, Red Star," Bandora threatened before she disappeared and the sky returned to its normal shade of blue.

"We must leave," the man with the wings on his hat said to Tommy. "The press will be here soon." Before Tommy could protest, the two disappeared.

~*~

"Slowly," he answered, continuing his slow scraping of the nail tip across the rope. "I'm almost through."

"Can you spread your hands apart any, now?" Gale asked.

"About six inches," Justin said. "Not enough to get over the bed post."

"I've got an idea," Gale told him. "Stretch your hands as far as you can." Justin did as she ordered him to. She then placed the heel of her foot against the worn rope, and pressed down hard. The rope strained, pinching Justin's wrists, and then broke. "Ha!" Gale shouted happily.

"Yes," Justin said, pushing the remnants of the rope off of his wrists. Justin removed his arms from around the bedpost, weaseled out of the remainder of the rope, and collapsed on the bed with a happy sigh.

"The rest of us?" Prince Justin suggested, tugging at his own ropes.

"Yeah," Justin agreed. "Man, we're gonna get out of here, now."

~*~

Skull cut downward as quickly as he could, and then realized he was horribly disoriented. It took him a few minutes to realize that the octopus had squirted black ink everywhere. Just as he was about to plunge his dagger back in, the octopus darted deeper within ocean. Skull held on tight as he was drug into deeper and darker waters.

Suddenly, pink light flashed before his eyes. Bubbles surrounded him, and he felt the octopus fall from beneath him. Mei was suddenly right before him. She had her Power Bow in her hands. She motioned for him to swim to the top, before swimming up herself.

"What happened down there?" Skull asked as soon as they resurfaced.

"When you cut the octopus," Mei said, "its grip lessened. I was able to get free, and I shot it in the eye."

"Let's keep on swimming," Skull told her. However, as soon as he said it, he felt ground beneath his feet.

"Huh?" Mei cried, looking down.

"The island is coming up beneath us!" Skull shouted in disbelief.

~*~

Justin turned the butcher knife upside down and tucked the blade against the flesh of his wrist. In doing so, he caught a glimpse of the now-scarred flesh from his struggles with Jenga. "Wish she were here to protect me," he muttered, although it seemed a bit bizarre to say so since she would kill him if he was in her way. His relationship with Jenga was remarkably bizarre, and he had yet to even come up with a decent theory to explain their bond.

"What are you waiting for?" Prince Justin whispered.

"Just thinking," Justin whispered back. The three hostages crept up to a balcony that overlooked a huge living room.

"They must be couples," Gale mused, very quietly. Sydney was sleeping against Derek on the couch, while Jada and Randy were nuzzled together on yet another couch on the other side of the room.

"Who are you going for?" Gale asked.

"Derek," Justin whispered. "He's the one on that couch, right?"

"Yeah, the cute one," Gale said. Both Justin's turned to Gale in disbelief. "Well, he is cute, even if he is a freaking psychopath."

"Do you know what I've got planned?"

"Yes," Gale and Prince Justin said in unison. "Now be careful," Gale added.

Justin quickly crept along the back stairwell, relying on his Ninja skills to remain totally unnoticed. Justin reached the back of the couch, still unnoticed. He quickly switched the knife to his left hand, and with lightning quick reflexes, pressed the flat of the blade against Derek's exposed throat. With his right hand, he grabbed a handful of hair, which succeeded in waking his kidnapper up.

"What the-?" Derek grunted.

"You're being held hostage, mister," Justin answered. "Hey! Over here, dirt bag!"

Jada and Randy removed themselves from their lovers' embrace and turned their attention toward Derek and Justin.

"Derek!" Sydney cried, jumping off of the couch.

"Calm down, Syd," Derek assured her. "Everything is gonna be okay."

"What the hell are you doing, Prince?" Randy asked, perfectly calm.

"Turning the tables," Justin answered, not bothering to mention that he wasn't the Prince. "Now here's what we're gonna do. Gale and the other Justin are going to tie each of you up, or Derek-boy here gets his throat cut wide open. After we tie you up, we're going to get out of here, somehow, and we'll send someone back for you."

"Wow," Randy said, not moving. "It sure does seem like you've got a well-thought out plan. And it's all gonna work because you have a hostage. Right?"

"Yep," Justin answered, pushing the blade closer against Derek's throat.

"Well," Randy said, reaching into the couch cushions, "I think I'll even up the odds." He pulled out a .45 and pointed it at Derek.

"What the -?" Derek asked in disbelief, but that was all he had time to say. The bullet hit the center of his face, completely obliterating his facial features. Justin dropped the knife in disbelief as Derek's body toppled forward, on top of the screaming Sydney.

Justin's breath caught in his throat as he slowly stepped backwards. "YOU BASTARD!!!" Sydney screeched, tears flowing down her face. "HOW COULD YOU KILL YOUR OWN BROTHER?!!!!"

Jada, who looked only mildly stunned, looked at Sydney with compassion as Randy stood up. "We had talked about this, Sydney," Randy told her. "You knew that this was a possibility. It's not like it was personal. Come on, Jada, we got these three little dip-shits to take care of."

~*~

"I'd like to see you get out of that," Randy told him. "See you at noon for lunch."

"So much for that plan," Gale sighed after Jada and Randy left.

"I'm sorry, guys," Justin said sadly.

"It's not your fault," Prince Justin said. "At least you tried something."

~*~

"Work?" Trini asked skeptically.

"I have a real job, too," Ginger told her. "I'm a ticket girl at the Teleporter. It just doesn't pay real well."

"Teleporter?" Trini asked. "What's that?"

"Funny, Trini," Ginger said warily.

"All right, look," Trini told her, hurrying over to her new-found friend. "I'm not even going to pretend anymore. You know that there is something weird with me, so I'll just tell you. I'm from a different dimension."

"Oh?" Ginger asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"See look," Trini said, running back to the couch to scrounge through her backpack, "this is what me and my friends call a timer. It opens a portal between the dimensions and allows us to slide through. One of my friends is named Justin Cranston. Where I'm from, he's just an ordinary kid. But here, Justin is a prince. The Prince, I presume."

"So you are just totally nuts, huh?"

"What is the Teleporter?" Trini asked. "Just pretend I'm totally ignorant and please tell me what the Teleporter is."

"Well, I don't know how it works, but it's instantaneous travel. Only the rich and stuck-up can afford it, but it has affected the entire planet in other ways. Airplane travel is dirt-cheap now," Ginger said. "Now can I go?"

"I'm coming with you," Trini said, stuffing the slider back in her backpack. "I've got an idea."

"Whatever," Ginger remarked, shutting the door behind them.

~*~

"That's Bandora for you," Mei said. "I wonder where we go now?"

Suddenly, a large hourglass appeared on the beach before them. The sand at the top was white and glowing, while the sand that collected in the bottom half was black. It magically changed colors in switching sides.

"What's this?" Skull asked. "The Test of Patience?"

"Hey, here's another bottle," Mei said, bending down to pick up a bottle which washed up against her foot. Mei and Skull,

You have successfully passed the tests to leave the Land of the Lost. However, you must wait for your four companions to join you. When the hourglass has run empty, the portal to Earth will open, but for only one minute. You can leave only if all six ZyuRangers are present, as it will take the six Dino-bucklers combined to open the portal. Good luck. - Barza

"I hate being a Power Ranger," Skull groaned.

~*~

"You guys," Prince Justin said, "you aren't doing any good."

"Gotta try," Justin rebutted. Looking at Gale, he said, "One... two... three." Both Justin and Gale put their feet against the footboard of the bed and pushed. The bed creaked horribly, but the footboard didn't give.

"Again," Gale said. "One... two... three." Justin pushed as hard as he could, while Gale did likewise at her end of the bed. Suddenly, with a splintering crack, the footboard split on Gale's side. "Yes," she whispered happily. "We've almost got it, Justin."

"Gale," Prince Justin said.

"In a minute, Justin," Gale said. "Again, Justin. One... two.. three."

Straining hard, both pushed their feet against the footboard again. "Gale," Prince Justin said again, a bit more urgently.

With a 'ungh,' Gale and Justin stopped pushing. "What is it, Justin?" Gale asked hotly.

"You can just thread your ropes through the splintered part," Prince Justin told her. "Then you can just lift the rope off of the bedpost."

Shaking her head slowly, Gale did as Prince Justin recommended. "Thanks, kid," Gale sighed as she hobbled off the bed. "Man, my muscles ache."

"Untie us," Prince Justin urged.

"All right, all right," Gale relented. "Impatient."

~*~

"Doesn't take much to impress you, does it?" Ginger laughed.

"I can find my friends now!" Trini said, hopping off of the ground with excitement. "See this yellow watch thing I'm wearing. Well, it has a unique signal in it that we use to teleport in our home dimension. If this teleportation system works any way at all like the system I'm familiar with does, I can lock in one my friend's teleportation signals and find out where they are."

"That went so far over my head," Ginger admitted plainly.

"Let's go," Trini said hurriedly, grabbing Ginger's arm and running for the Teleporter Core.

~*~

"What's what?" Gale asked. She and Prince Justin were still sitting on the bed, apparently tied up.

"Where's the other one?" Jada asked. Suddenly, a foot connected with the back of her head, sending her to the ground in an unconscious slump.

"Yes!" Gale cried happily. She pulled the ropes off of her wrists and knelt beside Jada. "She's out cold."

"I don't think Sydney will give us any trouble," Prince Justin said. "She seemed pretty freaked out after Randy killed Derek."

"So all we've got to deal with is Psycho Boy?" Gale asked, brushing her short hair back with her fingers. "Easier said than done."

"Not for a Ninjetti Warrior," Justin whispered to himself. He crept up to the door, listened for a moment, and then crept out into the hallway. "You all stay here."

"Good luck," Prince Justin whispered to him. Justin smiled his thanks and disappeared down the dark hallway.

Justin made his way to a back stairwell without being noticed. He continued his silent trek down the stairs, emerging in the kitchen.

"Justin," Sydney said. Before Justin could react, she said, "What are you doing here? Randy is gonna do something if you don't stay put."

"Sydney, don't make me hurt you," Justin warned.

That didn't phase her in the least, as she continued, "Look, just go back up to your room and wait there, okay? Let me handle Randy in my own way."

"I'm a trained Ninja, Sydney," Justin admitted warily.

"I did not see you," Sydney told him.

Nodding, Justin asked, "Where is Randy?"

"Living room," she answered. "He's got a gun." Justin said nothing, but left the kitchen and headed for the living room. Just as he reached a small dark hallway that connected the two rooms, he saw that Randy was heading for the kitchen. Fortunately for Justin, he saw Randy before Randy saw him. With a loud hi-yaah, Justin knocked Randy off of his feet and high-kicked him in the chin before his body hit the floor.

Randy shouted angrily, but Justin already had the upper hand. Sydney darted out in the hallway with a length of rope in her hand. "Hold him!" she urged.

"No need," Justin said, helping her tie his hands together behind his back. Randy lay in a stunned heap on the hall floor. "Now let's get him up."

"Jada," Sydney told him. "Jada is still around someplace."

"Knocked out upstairs," Justin said with a smile.

"You're pretty tough for royalty," Sydney smiled. "Come on. Let's get him to his feet."

"I'm not the Prince," Justin said. "I'm just an eerie look-alike who was cursed with the name Justin." Sydney and Justin stood Randy to his feet and walked him into the living room.

"Let him go," an angry female voice said.

"Don't listen, Justin!" Gale cried. "Do what you have to do!"

"Shut up!" Jada screamed, hitting Gale in the back of the gun with the barrel of a .38. Jada had Gale in a kneeling position, a handful of Gale's hair in one hand and a gun in the other. Gale looked terrified, and winced as Jada tightened her grip on her raven locks.

"Jada, don't be a fool," Sydney said calmly.

"Bitch," Jada spat. She pulled the gun away from Gale and pointed it at Sydney. "I'll shoot your ass, too."

"Let Gale go, or I will kill him," Justin said. "I took you and him out with my bare hands. Imagine what I can do if I take my time."

"I'm the one with the gun," Jada threatened, hitting Gale with the barrel again to make her point. "I can fucking kill her and still take you out before you can blink twice. Now let Randy go." Justin and Sydney both made no movement. "Perhaps I'm not making myself clear," Jada said. "This is how serious I am." She raised the gun to shoulder level and fired it at Sydney. Sydney screamed as red ribbons of blood burst from the upper left of her chest, causing her to slump to the floor. Randy fell in the process, leaving Justin, horrified, standing alone. He suddenly found his voice and began screaming.

~*~

"For short periods of time," Barza assured him. "It will be at least twenty-four more hours before the ZyuRangers return. I can make your Powers last that long."

The elevator suddenly dinged, and stopped moving. "Where is this place?" Tommy asked. Barza said nothing as the elevator doors opened, revealing a beautiful island beneath the city of Tokyo.

"Oh man," Tommy breathed in disbelief. "This is your headquarters?"

"In a manner of speaking," Barza told him. He hurried out of the elevator, taking short, quick steps. Tommy followed him, all the while trying to take in his surroundings. "I am able to monitor Bandora's actions from here." He and Tommy walked along a stone walkway that led to a white marble pagoda.

Tommy walked up to a large table in the building. Its surface was solid black. As soon as he looked at it, however, images began to play across its surface. "Putties," Tommy whispered to himself in horror.

"Bandora," Barza said angrily, looking at the images. "Red Star?"

"I'll go," Tommy said. "Back to action."

~*~

"Then go," Trini told her. "I don't want to get you in trouble. Now just point me in the right direction and I promise, if I'm caught, your name will never come up."

Ginger groaned and locked the door. "I must be an idiot," she said. "Come on. This is the main control. You have fifteen minutes before the controllers will be back."

"Very similar," Trini said, removing her communicator. "I can do this. Fifteen minutes, huh? I can do this."

~*~

"Not a chance," Jada grunted as she drug Sydney into the shed as well. "Sorry, Syd. Nothing personal."

"You're leaving me out here with a dead body?" Gale asked, rolling over. She was already tied up, virtually unable to move. "It's freezing out here."

"Not my problem," Jada told her. "Hasta luego, bitch."

~*~

"Yep," Justin answered.

"And a superhero?"

"Pretty weird, huh?"

"You are now the coolest person I've ever met," Prince Justin said, "and I've met a lot of people."

"I think being Prince of the world would be pretty cool myself," Justin remarked.

"No, it sucks."

"It couldn't."

"It does," Prince Justin said. "This is the first time in months I've been on my own. No matter where I want to go or what I want to do, I've got bodyguards all around me."

"Your parents," Justin said softly. "Alicia and Chris?"

"Rick. Why?"

"My parents are dead," Justin told him. "My dad died a real long time ago. I don't even remember him. Then my mom married this dipstick named George, I hate him. Well, I hated him. He's dead now. Jenga killed him for me?"

"The bad guy?"

"Yep. We have some kind of weird supernatural bond that only my dead mom understands."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, when I was on Phaedos, that's a different planet where I got my Ninja Powers, I had a dream, kinda sorta, about her. She told me she knew what the bond was, but that I would find out for myself, or something. I dunno."

"You have lived such an interesting life," Prince Justin sighed.

"Real interesting," Justin moaned. "I save my planet, and then I end up on a different planet without enough magic to sustain my Ranger powers and I get kidnapped. Woo-hoo." Suddenly, white light began to dance across the edge of his vision. "What the-?"

"Justin!" Prince Justin cried, just before their room was flooded with white light.

~*~

"Justin!" Trini shouted happily, hurrying over to her young friend who was still tied up.

"Shit, kid," Ginger cursed, running over to Justin. "Where have you been?"

"Kimberly?" Shaking his head, he pleaded, "You have to send me back! Prince Justin and Gale are still up there!"

"Prince Justin?" Ginger asked in disbelief.

"Yes!" Justin shouted as the two women untied him. "You have to send me back."

"I'm coming with you," Trini said.

"Fine," Justin snapped hurriedly. "But we have to go."

"Well, I'm coming, too," Ginger told them. "I'm gonna be in trouble up to my eyeballs for letting you all do this. If I help bring the Prince home, maybe they won't be so strict. By the way, kid, my name is Ginger. Don't forget to set a return beam for us."

"Got it," Trini said as she reactivated the controls that would send them back to Old Vermont.

~*~

A doorway suddenly rose up from the street. The door swung open, and Bandora stepped out. "You talk brave, Red Star," she said. "Let's see how you handle Cyclopsis!" She laughed wickedly and thrust her wand at the sky. Pink light flooded from its tip, coalescing into the MegaZord sized Cyclopsis.

"Bandora!" Tommy shouted angrily, leaping for her. She just disappeared >from sight. "I don't have Zords! What am I going to do?"

"Red Star," Barza called as he appeared behind Tommy, "take Dragon Caesar." He pushed the Dragon Dagger into Tommy's hands.

"DragonZord," Tommy whispered happily. Despite the fact that he hadn't worn the Green Armor in over three years, he lifted the dagger to the lips on his helmet and played the hauntingly familiar melody that summoned the massive Dragon Assault Vehicle from the sea.

~*~

"We're here to rescue you, your majesty," Ginger said, kneeling before him.

"Come on," Trini said, hurrying over to the young prince. "We don't have time for all of these formalities."

"We have to rescue Gale," Prince Justin said.

"I'll take care of it," Trini volunteered.

"We'll take care of it," Justin clarified. "Ginger, you take Prince Justin back home and get some help up here as soon as you can."

"You've got it," Ginger said. Ginger led Prince Justin over to a white circle of light on the floor.

"Be careful, Justin," the Prince called out as the two of them disappeared.

"All right, Justin," Trini said once the two of them were alone. "What's the situation?"

"There are two insane people in this house who kidnapped me, the Prince, and his tutor, Gale. So far, I've caused two people to get killed. Gale is somewhere in this house, no doubt tied up. We have to get to her before the two insane people realize we're gone." Justin paused, and then asked, "Are Tommy and Skull okay?"

"I have no idea," Trini answered truthfully.

~*~

"They're asleep?" Justin asked.

"Not quite," Trini answered, "but they'll be busy for a while." She shuddered once in an attempt to get the memory of the two romantically tangled on the floor of the kitchen out of her head.

"Oh-kay," Justin drawled. "Now let's find Gale and get out of here."

"We'll split up," Trini said. "They've gotta be around here someplace, but this is a big house."

"I just remembered something," Justin said hurriedly. "I heard Randy mention a shed."

"That would be outside," Trini remarked. "Come on, we'll go together." The two hurried to the front door.

"Snowing," Justin said simply.

"We aren't exactly dressed for it, are we," Trini said.

"Do you have anything worth wearing in your backpack?" Justin asked.

"Nope. C'mon, let's hurry."

~*~

"I swear, I didn't have anything to do with this," Ginger swore.

"We know that," Silverstone said. "We're going to take you into protective custody for now. Besides, I'm sure the King and Queen will want to thank you personally."

Ginger said nothing as she led across the roof of the Teleport Core to a helicopter with the Royal Seal emblazoned across the door.

~*~

Justin reached it first and quickly unchained the door. "Gale?"

"Justin!" Gale cried. "I'm in here!"

"Gale," Justin sighed, hurrying over to her side. "The Prince is back... home."

"How?"

"Teleport," Trini said as she shut and chained the door behind her. "I was able to lock onto Justin's communicator and teleport up here."

"Communicator?" Gale asked.

"I told you I was from a different dimension." Justin pulled hard on the knot at the small of Gale's back, finally undoing it. Together, they shrugged her ropes off.

"HEY!" Randy's voice boomed from the other side of the door.

"Oh God," Gale sobbed. "He's gonna kill us for sure this time!"

"The slider," Justin said quickly, thankful that Trini had rechained the door from the inside. "The slider can get us out of here."

"What?" Trini asked, her voice thick with exasperation.

"The slider!" Justin cried. "We've got a back button on it! We can slide out of here, go into the other world where we'll be safe, travel to someplace safe in that world, and then hit the back button to make us slide back here."

"Are you sure it will work?" Trini asked as she began to dig in her backpack for the slider.

Gale, meanwhile, hurried over to the still body of Sydney. "I knew she wasn't dead!"

"She's not dead?!" Justin cried happily. "C'mon, we'll take her with us."

"Where are we going?" Gale asked.

"I sure do hope it doesn't dump us in the middle of nowhere," Trini sighed as she activated the slider. A glimmering white whirlpool of light and wind appeared in the small shed, lighting it up.

"Oh my God," Gale breathed in disbelief. "We're going to another dimension."

The door suddenly shook violently. "Unless you've got a better idea," Justin said, sliding his arms behind Sydney's shoulders.

"Let's hit the road," Gale said nervously.

"We have to get her help fast. She's bleeding to death," Justin remarked, glancing at the bleeding wound on Sydney's left shoulder.

"You take the slider," Trini told him. To Gale, she said, "Help me with her."

"How does this work?" Gale asked as she picked Sydney up by the feet.

"Just jump in," Trini said. "Help me stand Sydney up, and just jump in." Gale helped balance Sydney against the full height of Trini's body and then looked nervously at the portal. "Fine, I'll go first," Trini said. She hobbled over to the swirling vortex, and then leapt into it sideways, taking Sydney with her.

The door splintered a fraction open, causing both Gale and Justin to scream simultaneously.

"I just jump in?" Gale asked nervously.

"It'll be okay, Gale," Justin said. "Want me to jump with you." Justin closed the slider and put it in his front pocket.

"Yeah," Gale nodded. Justin took her hand, and the two ran toward the vortex and leapt in at the same time. A bright bluish-white flash filled the shed as Randy finally made it inside.

~*~

"Oh man, what a trip," Gale moaned, holding her head.

"We're in the exact same shed," Trini remarked. However, before anyone had a chance to say anything else, another wormhole opened. Unlike the original slider-induced portal, this one was much larger, much brighter, and much louder. A deep roaring came from the portal, and wind began to whip about them. An unseen force flew out of the portal and pulled them into it before anyone had a chance to say or do anything.

A few seconds later, their trip through the second wormhole ended. The first thing Justin noticed was warmth and sunlight. The next thing he noticed was a voice.

"Well, let's see here, Sabrina," the male voice said. "You were trying to zap Valerie here. Instead, you zapped up two Power Rangers, a bleeding Neve Campbell, and a royal tutor."

"Sabrina?" another male voice asked. "You REALLY need to practice more."

Justin forced his head up and saw a black man, a black cat, and a beautiful blonde who was shockingly familiar. "Clarissa?" Justin grunted.

"Sabrina," the blonde answered. She turned to the black man and whined, "Quizmaster, what happened?!"

"Well, for starters, you failed."

"Way to go, Sabrina," the cat said.

"Did that cat just talk?" Gale asked.

"All right, look," Trini interrupted. "This woman here is bleeding to death. We have to get her help."

"Chance to make it an A, Sabrina," Quizmaster said.

"Am I ready?" The man, who was apparently named Quizmaster, shrugged in reply. "All right." Sabrina knelt beside Sydney, and said, "Make this good and make this last, make this woman as ... good as glass?" She pointed her hand with a flourish at Sydney's wound.

"That was truly horrible," Quizmaster remarked. "Try again."

Sabrina looked at the three very confused strangers around her. "I'll try and explain after this, I promise." Clearing her throat, she incanted, "I think this'll work, but I cannot say, let this woman be healed, this very day." She pointed her hand at the wound again. A sparkling trail of light burst from each fingertip and spiraled down into her wound. White light shone from inside Sydney's body, and magically, her flesh knit itself together. When the light subsided, there was still blood on her shirt, but the horrific wound was gone and a single bullet lay on her chest. "It worked!" Sabrina cried happily, leaping to her feet.

"C plus," Quizmaster graded.

"Will you please take that incantation curse off of me now!" Sabrina pleaded.

"You got it, girl," Quizmaster said before disappearing in a burst of fog and lightning.

"So," the cat said, walking over to the still unconscious Sydney, "you're probably wondering what's going on."

"Is this cat talking?" Gale asked.

"Boy, nothing gets by you, does it?" the cat asked. "Name's Salem, by the way." Gale's only response was a dead faint.

"Oh man," Justin complained, covering his face with his hands.

"Sabrina," yet another strange voice said. Two attractive blondes with short hair ran out into the yard. "What on earth happened?"

"Aunt Zelda," Sabrina whined, "I think I've screwed up again."

"By the way," Salem remarked, "what's a Power Ranger?"

~*~

"Wiccan?" one of the women, Zelda, said. "We're not religious witches. Well, we're religious, we're just not Wiccans. We're witches because we were born that way. We're actually Methodist."

"See, Wiccan witches are different than us," the other woman, Hilda, explained. "We're witches because we have magic. Like this." To illustrate her point, Hilda pointed her hand and produced a blue bowling ball which hovered above the table.

"Spelled with a C," Sabrina added, reaching out to take the bowling ball. As soon as she touched it, it turned into a pineapple. "Man, I'm starting to pineapple again."

~*~

"Is she a ... Wiccan?" Justin asked Sabrina.

"No, she's not a witch, but yes, she knows about me," Sabrina smiled.

"I would give anything if I could be a witch," Valerie sighed. "I can't imagine anything cooler than having magical powers."

"Being a Power Ranger is pretty cool," Justin said, very nonchalant.

"What-?" Sydney moaned as she woke up.

"Sydney," Trini said, kneeling by her side. "Are you okay?"

"I feel weak," Sydney complained, trying to sit up.

"Don't sit," Sabrina told her. "You've lost a lot of blood."

"Where am I? Who are you people?"

"Do you remember me?" Justin asked, taking her hand.

"Prince?"

"I'm the other one," Justin told her.

"Yeah, I remember you," Sydney said, forcing a smile. "Where's the Prince?"

"He's safe now," Trini assured her. "So are you, and Gale."

"Good," Sydney sighed, finally allowing her body to relax. "Now where am I?"

"Well," Justin said, "that's a bit harder to answer."

~*~

It was very close.

It was very mad.

And it was going after the embodiment of light. That would raise the darkness up in the Dark One's eyes. Of course, the darkness had to find the most perfect embodiment of light. A virtuous warrior, or one willing to sacrifice all for the benefit of others. Two perfect specimens had just arrived.

~*~

"I'm Zelda," one of the women said, "this is my sister, Hilda, and you are in another dimension."

"Justin was telling the truth," Gale sighed as she sat up. "Justin. Where is he?"

"He and Salem are downstairs," Hilda told Zelda. "Want me to go get him?"

"Please," Gale said.

"Not a problem." Hilda pointed her finger, and with a spiraling line of white light, Justin and Salem materialized beside the bed.

"Hilda, warn us before you do that," Salem complained, jumping up on the bed.

"Justin?" Gale whined. "What-?"

"We're in a different dimension," Justin said. "We're currently staying in a house with some Methodist witches who were nice enough to let us stay here for the forty-three more hours it's going to take for our slider to recharge so we can slide back to your home dimension. Prince Justin is safe in his home dimension. Oh, and Sydney is here with us, and she's doing fine. She's also apologized for kidnapping all of us, if you're concerned about that."

"It has been nothing but trouble since I started tutoring the Prince," Gale complained. "I hate to impose, but... can I get something to eat or drink."

"Absolutely," Zelda told her. "Come downstairs."

"Just remember," Hilda said, "if it glows, talks, and changes shape, then don't eat it."

"I thought that was the meatloaf," Salem said regretfully.

"It was," Hilda added as they left the room.

~*~

"Yellow armor," Trini corrected, "with a Saber-Tooth Tiger on the helmet. When we get back to the house, I can show you."

"And you're a witch," Valerie sighed, nodding in Sabrina's direction. "I feel so ordinary."

"Sometimes, I'd give anything to be ordinary," Trini said.

"Me too," Sabrina agreed. The three girls were at an outdoor mall in Riverdale, California. She suddenly paused, and said, "Did you all feel that?"

"Feel what?" Valerie and Trini asked in unison.

"I'm not sure," Sabrina said, looking about herself.

Valerie's eyes suddenly went wide. "You guys," she said, panicked.

"Valerie?" Sabrina asked.

"Sabrina, get back!" Trini cried when she saw the source of Valerie's fear.

"Oh my God," Sabrina sighed. A black form was rising up from beneath a table. It was quickly taking shape, growing sharp claws, a long tail, and bulging out with tight muscle.

"What is it?" Trini asked.

"I don't know," Sabrina said. The three girls were slowly backing away, Trini and Sabrina standing protectively in front of Valerie.

"You," the black form said, pointing a finger at the girls.

"Who are you?" Sabrina asked.

The black form's only reply was an angry scream. It seemingly ran for them, but as soon as it left the shadow of the table, it disappeared.

"Where'd it go?" Valerie asked.

Suddenly, the black form reappeared beneath another table farther away. "It can only travel in darkness," Trini realized. "Man, I just invite danger."

"Did that come with you?" Sabrina asked.

"I don't know," Trini said honestly.

The black form leapt out from underneath the table, knocking it over in the process. As soon as the sunlight hit it, the black form disappeared. It rematerialized seconds later in the shade of a tent. A young Hispanic woman who was leaning against the tent realized she had a visitor. However, before she could scream, the black form leapt onto her, and disappeared.

"What happened to it?" Valerie asked.

The Hispanic woman looked at the three teens, and smiled. She walked out into the sunlight cautiously. Once she realized she was safe, she hurried over to the three girls. "Hi," she said.

"Who are you?" Trini asked.

"I'm your worst nightmare, Trini," the woman said. "Justin's too. And I may kill the little white witch as well. Valerie isn't good enough for my purposes, but I'm not going to back myself into a corner. I may kill her as well."

"Sabrina? Trini?" Valerie asked nervously.

"Can you get us out of here?" Trini asked.

"Afraid?" the woman asked.

"Cautious," Trini spat, her face set like a stone.

"We're out of here," Sabrina said, pointing her hands with a flourish. Pink sparks of light flew from her ten fingers and spiraled around the group until they were curtained in the pink light. When the light subsided, they were gone.

The dark didn't care. It could always find them later. It began to walk down the boardwalk. It passed a black man, and in doing so, jumped into the black man. The Hispanic woman resumed her normal business, never aware that her body had been a vessel for a source of pure evil.

~*~

"We've got trouble," Sabrina cried.

"What kind of trouble?"

"This black... thing was jumping around in the shadows," Trini answered, "and then it jumped inside this woman."

Zelda suddenly paused, and then said in a voice that sent chills through everyone's spine, "Like it was made of the dark?" Valerie nodded her head frantically. "The Dark is back," Zelda sighed. "Oh God. Hilda?!"

"What's the Dark?" Valerie asked as Zelda ran from the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Hilda?!"

"Zelda, what's wrong?" Hilda asked, meeting her sister in the hallway.

"The Dark is back," Zelda answered.

"What IS the Dark?" Trini asked.

"Pure, unadulterated evil," Zelda said.

"Somehow, I knew she was going to say that," Valerie remarked, although she was ignored.

"Where did it come from?" Sabrina asked.

"The other realm," Hilda answered. "Drell was supposed to be guarding it. It must have escaped."

"Go check on him," Zelda ordered. Hilda said nothing but walked into the linen closet, where she disappeared in a bright flash of light.

"What's going on?" Gale asked as she and Justin walked up to the group that had coalesced at the top of the stairs.

"Why don't me and Trini go try to find this thing?" Sabrina suggested. "We can both defend ourselves."

"I'm coming with you," Valerie announced.

"You don't have any kind of powers, Valerie," Sabrina said. "You would be in danger."

"The thing already threatened me," Valerie rebutted. "I'd rather be with a witch and a warrior than home by myself."

"If the Dark threatened you, then you're right, it's best you be with them," Zelda said. "Salem, go with them."

"You got it," Salem announced, leaping into Sabrina's arms.

Zelda opened her left palm and pointed her right index finger at it. With the standard Spielbergian special effect, a canister of salt appeared. "Salt," Zelda said. "It repels evil. So does circles. Circles of salt are invincible. If you are inside a circle of salt, the Dark can't get to you."

"Let's go track this thing," Sabrina announced as they disappeared in a shower of sparks.

"Justin and Gale, stay with Sydney," Zelda told them. "We're the only witches on this side of town. The Dark may come back here."

~*~

"She doesn't look evil," Valerie noted. "Last time she looked really ticked."

A little girl walked past the three girls, giggled, and said, "I'm not in her, anymore."

"What did you say?" Trini asked, spinning around.

"Her eyes," Valerie said excitedly. "Her irises are black."

"Come back here," Sabrina said. Sabrina ran up to the girl, put her hands on the girl's shoulders, and spun her around.

"What do you want?!" the girl cried. Her voice was childlike again, and her eyes hazel.

"Feel my wrath," a business man chuckled as he walked past them.

"It's jumping from person to person," Salem said, horrified.

"What does it want?" Valerie asked. A second later, Valerie answered, "I want Trini."

"It's in Valerie," Sabrina said as she and Trini hurried away from their friend. Valerie looked at the three of them through black eyes, her face frozen in a bizarre grimace of contempt and amusement. Then, her eyes returned to their lively shade of brown, and the Dark moved on.

"What's wrong?" Valerie asked.

"I bet it's in that man," Salem said, pointing with his gaze to a man hurriedly walking away from the boardwalk. "He looks awful shifty if you ask me."

"I think he's right," Trini agreed, running in the man's direction. Salem leapt from Sabrina's arms and followed her.

"Wait up!" Sabrina cried.

Trini and Salem ran down the stairwell and beneath the boardwalk. The sand was cool beneath it, due to the shadow produced from the boardwalk itself. "Hey!" Trini shouted, running after the man.

"Can I help you?" he asked, turning in her direction.

"Sorry," Trini stammered. "I thought you were someone else."

"His eyes were normal," Salem whispered to her. A realization suddenly hit Salem, and he cried, "Trini! We're in the dark!"

Trini scooped Salem up and ran for the steps. However, Valerie and Sabrina had already stepped off of the bottom step.

"Turn back!" Salem cried. Unfortunately, they were too late. The shadows across the steps became darker, and the steps were suddenly ripped apart by unseen hands. Valerie screamed and back away from the steps.

"Circle of salt, circle of salt!" Salem cried.

"Right!" Sabrina agreed, opening the canister. "Huddle up!" Valerie and Trini stood next to Sabrina, as frantically poured the salt out in a circle around them.

"Such a clever little white witch," the Dark taunted. Four giant paw-prints suddenly appeared in the sand. A darker shadow of a giant cat appeared before them.

"What do you want?" Trini asked.

"I've already answered that," the Dark said. "I want you. And Justin."

"Then why do you want us?" Trini tried.

The Dark laughed and answered, "Embodiment of light, I'm the Dark. Surely you can figure out the rest."

"Then you can let Valerie, Sabrina, and Salem go, and deal with me," Trini snarled.

"Oh I'll deal with you," the Dark said, "just on my own terms." The Dark paused for a moment, and then chanted, "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes..."

"What does that mean?" Sabrina asked.

Valerie cried out, and looked down at her hands. "My thumbs!" she cried. She moved herself over a bit to position her hands under a sliver of sunlight streaming down through the wooden planks of the boardwalk above. A large cross had been cut in each of her thumbs. An abnormally large amount of blood was starting to stream down her palms.

"Don't let it drip on the ground!" Salem cried. "It might obliterate the safety of the circle!"

"I can't stop it!" Valerie shouted. She pulled her hands against her abdomen in an attempt to stop the flow of blood.

"Hold me," Salem ordered, leaping into Sabrina's arms. "Hand me to Valerie. My fur will soak up some of her blood."

Sabrina placed Salem in Valerie's hands, who placed her thumbs against Salem's back. The blood continue to flow out of her body.

"Sabrina, can you zap us home?" Trini asked.

"I've already tried," Sabrina said. "My magic isn't working."

"It's because we're in the dark," Salem told her. "Where in the Dark's world. He makes the rules here."

"I've got an idea," Trini said. "SABER-TOOTH TIGER —- DOVE!!!" With a bright yellow flash, she morphed into her yellow armor. The Dark screamed and backed away, although once it saw that the light was only momentary, it crawled back. "POWER BEAMS!!!" Trini cried. When she did, two bright halogenated lights shone out of the tiger's eyes on her helmet. She pointed it in the Dark's direction, who disappeared with a scream when she did so.

"We have to get out of here," Sabrina said.

"We can't risk running across the dark," Salem told them. "We won't stand a chance."

"TURBO HEADLIGHTS!!!" a loud voice cried.

"Justin!" Trini cried happily.

"Justin, don't come down here!" Sabrina shouted.

"Zelda told me she thought you were in trouble," Justin said.

"Don't step out of the light," Trini told him.

"Justin," Sabrina said, "we have to make circles to get out of here."

"What?"

"The circles are our only way out," Sabrina said. "They're safe."

"Your power blaster!" Trini suggested. "Fuse the sand into circles of glass!"

Justin said nothing, but unholstered his Power Blaster. Pointing it at the ground not far from them, he pulled back on the trigger and guided the blue laser's path in a broad circle.

"My blood!" Valerie cried.

"Jump now!" Salem shouted. Valerie ran to the edge of the circle of salt and leapt into the circle of glass. Just as she did, a single drop of blood hit the circle of sand. Sabrina and Trini hopped to the next circle, just as the circle of salt fell into the Earth, leaving a gaping black maw in its place.

"Hurry Justin!" Valerie pleaded. "I'm bleeding faster."

Justin quickly fused another circle of glass from the sand, and then a fourth circle at the foot of the stairs. He then ran to the top of the stairwell and let his Turbo Headlights cast light down the full length. Trini lifted Valerie and Salem up to Justin as Sabrina climbed out by herself. Trini quickly hopped up into the sunlight, and turned to face her friends.

"It's almost stopped bleeding already," Valerie said, looking at her thumbs.

"The Dark was doing it," Sabrina mused to herself before she zapped them away.

~*~

"Yeah, I'm fine," Valerie answered. "Just... shook up a little is all. Salem, how you doin'?"

"I'm fine," he answered from the kitchen sink. He moaned and sighed, "Oh, that feels good."

Gale smiled as she continued to work the shampoo into Salem's fur. "I still can't get over a talking cat," Gale sighed to herself.

"Must not take much to amuse you," Salem sighed. "Oh man, that feels good."

Hilda was suddenly staggering down the stairs with a large box in her hands. "Okay, I've got Drell's advice," she said. She walked over to the table and sat the box down with a thump.

"What did he say?" Zelda asked.

"It's definitely the Dark," Hilda explained. "It escaped this morning when a dimensional disturbance came through, which messed some things up in the other realm."

"That would be us," Trini theorized.

"Right," Hilda agreed. "The bottle that was storing the Dark broke, and it hopped into our world. We've got some bottles here, and we have to go find and trap it again."

"How do the bottles work?" Justin asked, pulling one from the box. It looked like any ordinary bottle, and it was corked shut.

"When you see the Dark, just open the bottle," Hilda explained. "The magic should just suck the Dark right inside."

"We need to split up into teams to go do this," Zelda said. "I'll go with Sydney and Justin. Trini and Sabrina can go, and then Hilda, Gale, and Valerie go together. Now let's hurry and get this thing back in the bottle before anybody gets hurt."

~*~

"Did it see us?" Valerie whispered.

"I don't think so," Gale answered.

"How do we lure it out?" Valerie asked.

"I've got an idea," Hilda said. "Are you two willing to distract it while I go under there to get it?"

"Are you willing to do that?" Gale asked.

"Somebody has to," Hilda sighed. "Just run straight up the bleachers, make as much noise as possible, and head it in away from me. I'm sneaking in over there, and I'm going to try and come up behind it."

"Be careful," Valerie said as Hilda began to creep toward the end of the bleachers.

"Let's go!" Gale shouted, purposely making as much noise as she could.

"Hey! Dark Boy!" Valerie screamed, jumping up on the bleachers. "Come and get us!"

"Nyah nyah nyah!" Gale teased, running to the far end of the bleachers. "Betcha can't catch me!"

A horrific growling came from beneath the bleachers. Valerie jumped from one seat to the next, stomping her heels on occasion to make noise. The aluminum bleachers greatly amplified the sound, no doubt enraging the Dark beneath them.

Valerie and Gale ran and screamed the full length of the bleachers. When they reached the end, Hilda was standing there waiting for them. "I never could catch it!" Hilda cried, climbing up to them. "It's already disappeared!"

Valerie turned around and looked down at the bleachers. She pulled a pair of sunglasses from her front pocket and put them on over a pair of black eyes. "Too bad," the Dark said in its best imitation of a sincere voice.

* * * Late Afternoon

"Geki! Goushi!" Mei cried.

The red and black ZyuRangers saw Mei and Skull, waving their arms frantically, and changed their course of direction.

"Hey Mei," Boy said from directly behind them.

Skull and Mei cried in alarm and spun around. "Boy, you scared me," Mei laughed, punching him in the arm.

"How'd you guys do?" Skull asked Dan.

"It was a rough trip," Dan answered. "You?"

"Almost got eaten by an octopus and had to swim across the ocean," Skull said.

"Nothing major," Mei added.

~*~

He wasn't worried about Bandora or the other ZyuRangers, anymore. He knew where Skull was at. However, Tommy had a very sinking feeling that Trini and Justin were in extreme danger. The knowledge that he couldn't do anything to help them left him very unsettled.

~*~

"Well, it's certainly not safe out there," Gale mused, looking out of the window.

"But we can't just stay inside and wait until morning," Sabrina said. "People aren't safe with the Dark out there."

"Well, let's get a bunch of good strong flashlights and go look for it," Sydney said, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Has anyone ever told you you look just like Neve Campbell?" Salem asked.

"Hush Salem," Hilda said. "Someone should stay here. A witch should stay here, just in case. Sabrina, you'll stay here tonight."

"Let's split up in two groups," Zelda suggested. "Me, Valerie, and Justin. And Zelda, Trini, and Gale. How does that sound?"

"We'll get some real flashlights and head out," Zelda said.

* * * 8:37 p.m.

BRRRRIIIINNNGGGG.

"Telephone," Salem announced from the back of the couch.

"Thank you, Salem," Sabrina said as she reached for the cordless. "I never would have been able to figure out where that noise was coming from. Hello?"

"Hi."

"Uhm, Hi," Sabrina said. The voice was deep but friendly, and it didn't seem familiar. "Can I help you?"

"Perhaps. Who is this?"

"Who were you trying to reach?"

"What number is this?"

"Well, what number were you trying to reach?"

"478-6932."

"That's me."

"So, you are...?"

"Tell me your name and I'll tell you mine," Sabrina said.

"Sabrina?" Salem asked.

Covering the mouthpiece, Sabrina whispered, "I think it's Harvey trying to scare me."

"You know me."

"I thought so," Sabrina said with a smile. "So, been up to much? How do you make your voice sound like that, Harvey?"

"I'm not Harvey."

"Oh," Sabrina sighed. "I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else."

"That's okay. I am."

"Uhm, well, can I help you?"

"Not directly."

"What's this about?"

"I think you know... Sabrina." Sabrina's only reply was to hang up the phone.

"Sabrina?" Salem asked.

"Nothing, Salem." She set the phone down on the couch and turned her attention back to the television.

BRRRRIIIINNNGGGG.

"Telephone."

"Yeah, I got it," Sabrina muttered. "Hello?"

"Why don't you want to talk to me?"

"I don't even know who you are. Now tell me who you are."

"I'd rather not."

"Then I'm hanging up," Sabrina said.

"You hang up on me and I'll gut your boyfriend Harvey like a fish, understand?"

Sabrina tensed up as an angry grimace crossed her face. "How do you know Harvey?"

"Look out in your side yard."

"Salem," Sabrina whispered, putting her hand over the phone. "We've got trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Salem asked.

Sabrina walked to the window that looked out over the wide side yard, and pulled the curtains back. "I don't see anything."

"Then let me remove the darkness." Magically, the darkness rolled away in the center of the yard, revealing Harvey, Sabrina's boyfriend, tied to a chair and gagged. The spot he was sitting in was as light as day, although the edge separating the darkness and light was very well-defined.

"Harvey!" Sabrina cried. "Let him go!"

"Well, that all depends on you."

"Hang up the phone," Salem urged.

"What do you want?"

"Come outside, with the cat in your arms." Sabrina raised her hand and was about to zap Harvey in the house, when the voice said, "I wouldn't do that. I've got my own circle around him. You zap him and he'll be fried. Got it?"

"Come outside?" Sabrina asked fearfully. "In the dark?"

"Ah good, you know who I am now."

"Didn't exactly take a genius to figure it out," Sabrina snarled.

"Come outside, or he dies."

"We're coming," Sabrina said, pulling Salem into her arms. As she headed toward the front door, she slipped a small pen light from the side table behind Salem.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Salem moaned.

"Me too," Sabrina agreed, opening the door. She turned on the porch light, and walked out into the yard. She walked to the corner of the house, where the porch light still shed light. "Okay, Dark. I'm here."

"Come closer," came from the phone.

Sabrina cautiously stepped further into the side yard. Suddenly, the large black cat appeared before her. It was almost impossible for her to see, but she could vaguely make out its outline.

"I'm out here," Sabrina said in her bravest voice, "let Harvey go."

"Not yet."

"You promised."

"I did no such thing."

Black liquid suddenly began to pour from the receiver on the phone. Sabrina let it tumble from her hands, as Salem slithered out of Sabrina's grip, which she made no move to stop. She had a hunch he had a plan of his own.

"What do you want with me?" Sabrina asked, sliding the pen flashlight into her hand.

Suddenly, Harvey was plunged into darkness again. "Harvey!" Sabrina cried.

"Stay back, Sabrina!" Salem shouted. "Harvey's okay!"

Glass suddenly shattered. Sabrina spun around and saw that the porch light had just been broken, casting the yard in darkness. "SABRINA!!!" Salem shrieked. "He's coming for you!!!"

Sabrina felt a physical body slam into her. She rolled to the ground, losing the pen flashlight in the process. However, she made no move to reach for it and instead crawled to her feet. She had to get in the light. The light of the moon wasn't enough; she had to reach the streetlamp in front of her house. Before she was even standing upright, she was already running toward it. She spared only a split second to look behind her. In doing so, she saw a gigantic black shroud of darkness running toward her. Sabrina reached the front gate and shoved it open, just as the streetlamp exploded in a shower of sparks, darkening the street. Before Sabrina could scream her frustrations, the shroud reached her and wrapped a powerful arm around her shoulders. She caught a glimpse of a blade, forged from the darkness, appear before her. A long scream burst from her as the blade darted toward her chest.

~*~

"Anyone who brings my baby back to me can have anything she wants," Queen Alicia said. "But I never caught your name."

"Ging-," Ginger began, and then she paused. "Kimberly. Kimberly Hart." Queen Alicia smiled, Kimberly curtsied, and the Queen left her in the most expensive room Kimberly had ever seen. And Kimberly had prostituted herself to a lot of high-brow celebrities. "Stop it," she said to herself. "Stop thinking about your past. You made some mistakes, but that's gone now."

She walked over to her bed and sat down on it. Everything from her apartment had already been brought there, including one thing she hadn't seen or thought about in years. "Mama's rosary," Kimberly said in awe as she slid off the bed to her knees. She pulled the rose-colored beads into her hand, and began to pray for the first time since her mother died.

~*~

"Are you okay, miss?" a powerful voice said. Sabrina looked up to see a professional in a red suit.

"I am now," Sabrina said as he helped her to her feet. "What's going on?"

He held his hand up, producing a holographic image of a silver badge in the process. "O.R.D.D.," he said. "Drell sent us."

"O.R.D.D.?"

"Other Realm Dark Department," he explained.

"We got him, Cap'n," another man in a red suit said. He walked by with a bottle filled with a black liquid.

"Will you be okay, ma'am?"

"I'll be fine," she said.

"All right, boys," the man said. "Let's hit the road." The overly bright white light disappeared, leaving Sabrina standing alone in her yard.

"Sabrina?" Harvey asked, stepping around the corner of the house. Salem was in his arms.

"He knows something's up, Sabrina," Salem told her.

"Uh, come on in the house," Sabrina said. "I've got a big secret to tell you."

~*~

"Gale, I'm really sorry," Sydney sighed.

"I know," Gale said softly. "I know you were forced along with it. I don't... feel badly, toward you, or anything like that."

"Thank you," Sydney said. "That means a lot more to me than you'll ever know."

"Justin told me how you tried to help him," Gale said.

"Uhm, do you think that... Justin and Trini would let me come with them?" Sydney asked.

"What?" Gale asked, sitting up on her cot and looked toward Sydney.

"Do you think they would let me go sliding with them?" Sydney asked.

"Why?" Gale asked, horrified. "Why don't you want to go home?"

"I have nothing to go home to," Sydney said. "I have no family, I don't really have many friends, and my boyfriend was murdered. If I do go home, Randy and Jada are probably going to try and kill me. Even if they don't, the King and Queen will probably have me killed. I'm not going back."

"I'm sure they would let you," Gale said with a slow nod of her head. "Is that really what you want to do? Because I can probably put a good word in for you with the king and queen."

"I don't think I want to," Sydney said. "I'd like to live on a world without Neve Campbell. I'm tired of people telling me I look like her."

~*~

"Mastodon!" Goushi shouted.

"Saber-Tooth Tiger!" Boy yelled.

"Triceratops!" Dan invoked.

"Pterodactyl!" Mei added.

"Dragon Caesar!" Skull bellowed. Simultaneously, all six ZyuRangers thrust their Dino-Buckler's forward. White light flashed all about them, and a white portal opened beneath them.

"Let's go!" Geki shouted, jumping into the portal feet first. The other ZyuRangers were close behind.

~*~

"ZyuRangers!" Barza shouted happily.

"We're back!" Mei yelled.

"I've never been more grateful to see Rangers in my life," Tommy complained. "I've been protecting the world by myself for the past twenty-four hours."

"And you are back just in time," Barza said. "Bandora has just attacked with DoraSphinx."

"Again?" Boy asked.

"We can handle it, guys," Geki said. "Skull?"

"Yeah," Skull agreed, standing up beside the five ZyuRangers. "I'm with you."

"DINO-BUCKLER!!!"

~*~

"We'll be back very soon," Justin said.

"We don't really know that," Trini corrected. "We might be back soon, we might not. But we will be back."

"I'll be here waiting," Sydney said. "Thanks for letting me stay again."

"No problem," Hilda smiled.

"We're ready to go," Trini said. "The slider's at zero."

"I guess this is goodbye," Gale sighed.

"This is so weird," Sydney said. "You make friends, and then... you leave them. You'll never see them again."

Gale and Sydney stared at each other for a moment, and then hugged each other tightly. Gale quickly moved on to the Spellmans and Valerie. After Gale said her goodbyes, Zelda zapped the three sliders to Tokyo.

"Ready?" Trini asked, opening the slider and activating it.

"Let's go home," Gale said.

~*~

* * *

"I'll call the Kingdom," Gale said as soon as they arrived, heading for a pay phone.

"We need to start looking for Tommy and Skull," Justin told Trini. "Are you sure Tommy is in Tokyo?"

"He should be," Trini said, glancing at the slider. "Hmm... little more than one day here. Twenty-seven hours."

"Not too bad. We'll be leaving Sunday."

Gale, meanwhile, ran up to a payphone. She began to punch in a seemingly nondescript series of numbers, occasionally pushing two at a time. After she dialed what had to have been the most complex phone number imaginable, the connection was made. "Hi," she said to the operator on the line. "This is Gale Prescott. I'm home."

~*~

Skull and Tommy, who were currently staying with Geki and his parents, spotted Trini and Justin on the television.

"Are you sure?" Tommy asked.

"I'm positive!"

"They're with Gale Prescott," Geki said in awe. "She's practically part of the Royal Family. Barza. Barza can get you there."

"Let's go," Skull said.

~*~

"Barza is looking," Dan said.

"I'll do the same," Skull said with a nod. "I gotta go man, talk to ya' later?"

"Later," Dan agreed.

As Skull hung up the phone, he said, "It's good to speak English again."

"It's good to be back together again," Justin smiled.

"And me," Kimberly added.

"Dragon Caesar," Skull said suddenly.

"Pardon?" Kimberly asked. She was letting the four sliders stay with her until the time was up. She had more than enough bedrooms in her spacious manor on the Royal Property, all as a reward for helping bring Justin home safely.

"Trini said she liked you," Skull remarked, "and I'd trust Trini's judgment of people over the Pope's... so..."

"What are you talking about?" Trini asked.

"You can be the new Green Ranger! Green ZyuRanger," Skull said.

"Skull, I used to be a hooker," Kimberly said. "I may be trying to turn my life around, but I don't think I'm ZyuRanger material."

"Mary Magdalene was a hooker," Justin said.

"Besides, Green ZyuRanger is a guy."

"Was a guy," Skull said.

"I just don't think I'm worthy to follow in Brai's footsteps."

"I'll ask Barza," was Skull's only reply.

~*~

"Don't zap her, though," Geki said to Barza. "She can get by just speaking English."

"I'll make her speak both English and Japanese," Barza said in Japanese. He absolutely refused to speak English.

"Kimberly Hart," she said softly, taking the Dino-Buckler from Skull. "I need a new job. I need a place to live."

"Stay at the Kingdom here in Tokyo," Goushi suggested. "Barza can get you here any time we need you."

"If I stay at the Kingdom, I won't need to work," Kimberly said thoughtfully. "I wonder if they would let me stay at the Tokyo Extension?"

"We gotta go in fifteen minutes," Justin said. "I'd like to say goodbye to the Prince."

"Why don't we go back?" Trini suggested. "It's best we slide in America."

"I'm gonna miss you, Skull," Mei said with a smile. "You were cool."

"So were you," Skull acknowledged, pulling her into a tight hug. Skull said his goodbyes to the rest of the ZyuRangers, while Trini hugged Kimberly for one last time. Barza then sent them back to North America, and they never saw the ZyuRangers again.

~*~

Prince Justin smiled warmly. "I'm glad you came," Prince Justin said. "Thanks to you, I've had more fun in the past three days than I've had in my entire life."

"Gale, I'm really going to miss you," Justin said as he turned to her.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Ninja," Gale sighed as she bent down to hug him.

"There we are," Tommy said. "We're safe to leave now."

"Let's just go and get it over with," Justin muttered.

"You got it," Tommy answered, activating the slider.

Gale slid her arm around the Prince's shoulder as the slider's prepared to leave. "Give my love to everyone!" Gale cried over the roar of the wind.

"If you ever need a place to say, don't be afraid to come here," Prince Justin said.

"You got it," Justin said with a smile. He ran at the portal and dove into it, leaving his two fellow hostages behind him forever.

~*~

"Ow," Skull moaned as he slid down the stairs on his back. "That really hurt."

"Boy, you just flung 'em all over the place, didn't ya?" Hilda remarked, making a nod toward Justin who was lying on his back on the piano.

"Four days," Tommy said as he regathered himself and looked at the timer. "We're here for four days."

"Welcome back," Salem called from his position on the couch.

"That must be Salem," Skull said.

"One and only," Salem answered.

"Are they back?!" Sydney cried, appearing on the balcony.

"Sydney!" Justin shouted.

"So, has anything weird happened since we were gone?" Trini asked, stretching. "Oh, my manners. This is Tommy, that's Skull. Tommy, Skull, that's Salem, Hilda, Zelda, and Sydney."

"Sabrina's out with Harvey and Valerie," Hilda said. "Nothing weirder than usual. Salem ate the rest of the meatloaf."

~*~

"Okay," Sydney said, taking a long sip from milkshake. "I'll go first. My full name is Sydney Seven Weathers. I'm twenty-one this Halloween. I'm an agnostic with no concrete beliefs but I take great offense at being called an atheist, and if you hadn't noticed, I'm a dead ringer for Neve Campbell. Add to that the fact that the movie _Scream_ just came out, my life was made much more interesting. My mother were killed when I was fifteen, and I've been living by myself ever since then. I had no other family, so the courts agreed that I could be my own guardian. That means I had to grow up a lot in a pretty short length of time.

"Before my parents died, I was an army brat. I'm named after the city of Sydney, Australia, but we moved when I was three months old. I lived in Fort Knox for a long time, and then I ended up in California. That's when I decided to go back to school to become a surgical tech. I also got to work in a hospital, but not for long. When the world merged into Pangaea, there were a lot of lay-offs, and I was one of them.

"My boyfriend was Derek; he's dead now. Derek's brother was Randy. Randy and his girlfriend made plans to kidnap Prince Justin, and somehow, Derek got involved. Against my better judgment, I did as well. I regretted from the split second I agreed to help. But, I did what I did, and that's why I left. I would never be forgiven for that back home. I hope you won't hold it against me."

"Justin told me how you helped him," Tommy told her. "I won't."

"Thank you," Sydney said, smiling. "My pet peeves are ignorance and I'm prejudiced against all minorities."

"What?!" Tommy stammered, choking on his milkshake.

"I'm kidding," Sydney smiled. "I also like to do that. My actual pet peeves are people putting clothing on animals, mean people, and people who think they know everything but actually don't. Would you believe I once got in an argument with someone over video tapes? Some doofball I went to school with tried to tell me that it was illegal to record things off of television for your own personal library."

"Weren't video tapes invented for that very reason?" Tommy asked slowly.

"My point exactly!" Sydney cried, emphasizing her point with a flourish of her hand. "But he was really stubborn about it, so I proved it. I actually called my friend's mom, she was a lawyer, the mom not the friend, and she looked it up for me. She said it was only illegal to claim ownership to something that is copyrighted, or to copy a copyrighted tape. Otherwise, no prob.

"Oh, and I don't like people who brag about martial arts. You?"

"Well," Tommy began, "people who brag about being in the martial arts probably aren't in the martial arts. Here's a good rule of thumb my sen...- teacher taught me. If a person painfully forces their practicing of martial arts into the conversation, then they more than likely have never set foot in a dojo."

"Your sen-teacher?" Sydney asked with a grin. "You're into martial arts, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Tommy admitted almost shyly.

"What type?"

"Fourth degree black belt in Toso Kune Do, 1st in a few others, pretty varied. It's ... just ... what I do," Tommy answered, a red flush coming to his cheeks.

"Don't worry Tommy," Sydney said. "I know you aren't bragging. So, tell me about your family."

"Well, my full name is Thomas Tyler Oliver, but I go by Tommy. My birthday is in November, and I also have a sister, Chelsea, who was born on the same day. We call each other twins, but we're not actually. I'm adopted. I was adopted when I was a year old. I actually have an older brother from my biological parents, or at least my biological mother, we aren't sure, named David Trueheart. Then, I have a younger brother who just turned eleven named Teddy. My parents are Daniel and Sarah. My best friend is the smartest person alive since Albert Einstein. He's Billy Cranston. My girlfriend is named Katherine Hillard, we call her Kat. Uhm, I started out as an evil Green Ranger, then I became the good Green Ranger, to the White Ranger, to the White Ninja Ranger, to Zeo Ranger V, Red, and I was Red Turbo Ranger for a while. Now, I'm Ninja Zeo Ranger V, Red, with the power of the Falcon. I'm about a quarter Native American, Cherokee to be specific. My only real pet peeve is drunk drivers. I hate drunk drivers, and when our school had Congress Day, I effectively lobbied and passed a law that gave state troopers the right to assassinate anyone pulled over for drunk driving on the spot."

Sydney lifted her eyebrows at that and smiled. "I take it you feel pretty strongly about drinking and driving."

"I could care less if someone drinks," Tommy said, "but when someone drives drunk, well, that makes it my business. You see, my mother were killed by a drunk driver. My biological mother. Now I have no idea if she was a good person or not, and I'm sure I've turned out better with my mom and dad, but still... it's kind of a sore spot, you know?"

"I guess it is," Sydney agreed, nodding slowly. "Katherine, huh? You close?"

"Pretty close," Tommy said. "If we weren't close, I wouldn't have gone sliding across the dimensions to rescue her. I'd give my life for her."

"I'm happy for you, Tommy, I really am," Sydney said. "I just - I don't know. I wish Derek were still alive, of course, but... he kind of scared me at times, you know? Like he was walking this thin line between normal and abnormal, and I never knew when I would cause him to tip over into the wrong side. And then I have a serious guilt-trip because he just died, he died at the hands of his own brother, and all I can think about is the bad stuff."

"You have no reason to feel guilty," Tommy told her.

"Yeah, right," Sydney muttered, fiddling with her milkshake glass just to have something to do with her hands. "I should be mourning Derek, not somewhat relieved that we've broken up without me pushing him into the realm of the insane."

"That doesn't make you bad," Tommy said. "It makes you normal." The two paused, and then Tommy added, "So does that sum up both of our lives?"

"Well, there is one more thing about myself that I think is pretty ordinary, but most people who believe me find it fascinating," Sydney said flippantly.

"What's that?"

"I'm a synesthete," she answered.

"I have no idea what that is," Tommy said truthfully.

"Just as anesthesia is the removal of sensation, synesthesia is the overabundance of sensation. It's a very real condition that about one person in two hundred and fifty thousand have. Some of the neurons in my brain fire wrong, and it enables me to taste colors, or hear colors, and shapes, I can taste words, and I can see colors in words."

"You're kidding?" Tommy asked.

"Serious as a heart attack," Sydney told him. "I've had it my whole life, so I don't think it as abnormal, but people who aren't synesthetes can't even begin to understand it. It's the way I live. Your name is yellow. My name is purple. This round table tastes sweet. The blue sky hums. Yellow light bulbs whistle. The concept of murder has a distinct blue color around it. Weird, huh?"

"Fascinating," Tommy said.

"You actually believe me."

"Yeah, I do."

"I know," Sydney answered. "I'm a very good judge of reading emotions. I can tell just by the way people talk to me. When people lie or disbelieve, their words have an overlying yellow cast. Your words are white on top, Tommy."

"That's good?"

"That's good," Sydney smiled. She absent-mindedly ran her hands through her hair, and then paused. A realization seemed to hit her, and her face dropped slightly.

"Sydney?" Tommy asked.

"Purple with red," she told him, smiling at the time. "Purple for my name, red highlights for concern. I'm fine. I just remember something. No biggie."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure," Sydney said. She looked in the shiny table top as a mirror. As nonchalantly as she could, she checked her reflection. Satisfied that she hadn't let the time run out on her again and almost give away one of her biggest secrets, she pushed the concern into a corner of her mind with a vow to take care of it again later that afternoon.

"Hey guys," Valerie called as she and Sabrina walked up to them. Trini, Justin, Skull, and Harvey were close behind.

"We're going to the movies, wanna come?" Sabrina asked.

"Colors?" Tommy asked.

"Valerie, black. Sabrina, very pale purplish-pink. Pretty color. Trini, brown. Justin, red. Skull, orange, and Harvey, explosively bright blue."

"What are you all talking about?" Skull asked.

"My freakish tendencies," Sydney told him.

"Do we like, glow, or what?" Tommy asked.

"Oh no, it's just the names that give off those colors," Sydney said. "It's entirely mental. I see it in my mind's eye. When I look at your faces, I might taste something, or perhaps hear something, but not a color. Sounds are usually the only thing that produces colors for me. Now that t-shirt Sabrina is wearing, it sounds like a subdued police siren. Not entirely unpleasant, actually."

"What on earth?" Valerie asked, looking at Sydney skeptically.

"Now those words are silver," Sydney said. "Complete and total disbelief."

"Amazing," Tommy sighed. "That sounds so cool."

"It's just who I am. And sometimes the colors change on me. What is red today might be purple tomorrow," Sydney remarked. "So, what movie you gonna see?"

"Scream 2 just came out," Justin said, expressing an interest to see the sequel of a movie that didn't even exist in his home dimension.

"I look and sound like Neve Campbell," Sydney complained. "I'll get noticed."

Sabrina held out her hand, and with a slight spark of light, produced a ball cap. It was blue with green tiger stripes all over it, complete with the name Sydney written on the front in bright red cursive script. "Oh cool," Sydney said happily, taking the hat from her hand. "Thank you so much."

"Sabrina?" Harvey asked. "Can I have a cap?"

Smiling, Sabrina made Harvey an Orioles ballcap. He expressed his thanks with a kiss on the cheek. "And my sunglasses," Valerie said, removing them from her breast pocket as Sydney put the cap on her head. "You might not be noticed now."

"Then let's go," Sydney and Tommy said in unison.

~*~

"Yes?" Sydney asked in a gruff voice.

"Are you... who I think you are?"

"I hope not," Sydney remarked.

"Neve Campbell?" he asked in disbelief. "I can't believe it's you. I love you to death. I love Party of Five, and I love Scream. Can I have your autograph?"

"Yeah, why not," Sydney said, scribbling 'Lotsa Love, Neve Campbell' on the back of a ticket. "Nice meeting you."

"Thank you so much," he called after her as the crowd of teenagers made their way into the theater.

"That was pretty cool," Justin said. "Maybe we can sell your autographs on the road. You can be a valuable asset."

"If you say so, kid," Sydney remarked, wrapping one arm around Justin's shoulders and giving him a noogie with her free hand.

~*~

"Have you taken care... of what ... we ... talked about?" Sydney stammered nervously.

"It's in there," Hilda said.

"Thanks," Sydney said, smiling nervously. "Can I keep the cap?"

"It's yours," Sabrina told her.

"We've got water, we've got food, and we've got some counterfeit money," Tommy announced.

"And extra clothes," Justin added.

"Is all of this stuff magic independent?" Trini asked. "If we go to a world without magic, will it disappear?"

"Nope, once it's made, it's made for good," Zelda assured.

"We can hit the road at any time, guys," Trini said. "Timer just reached zero."

After some emotional goodbyes, the dimensional travelers went into the Spellman backyard, and slid away.

* * * One week later

The past week had been a rough time for the sliders. Sydney, without even realizing it, had completely and totally integrated herself into the group. They had been through several worlds, and on quite a few of them, she was accused of being Neve Campbell. She had signed more than a few autographs, although she never charged for them as Justin suggested. "I'm not Neve Campbell," was her excuse.

On one world, they had ended up in New York City. They had to spend three days on that world, which was fortunately their longest lay-over, and Sydney had suggested they hop a train to take them across the country. For lack of a better thing to do, the other Rangers had agreed. Trini had hoped that by going away from Angel Grove, they might be able to stay out of trouble.

They were wrong.

~*~

"Somebody is just a wee bit bitchy tonight," Tommy remarked.

"I'm sorry," Sydney apologized. "I just... I don't like cemeteries."

"Nobody likes cemeteries," Skull said as the group made their way out. Although the sky was clear and there was no danger of a sudden rain storm or even lightning, fierce winds blew all about them. The cemetery was huge. No exit was visible.

"Uhm, you guys," Justin said warily. "What is that?"

Trini paused by Justin and looked in the direction he was pointing. "It looks like a body," Trini said, looking at Tommy and Skull for support.

"I'll go check it out," Sydney volunteered. They had long since assessed that Sydney had the strongest stomach among them. She had already investigated one potentially dead body. It had been a drunk. Pulling the same cap Sabrina had made for her down tighter, she crept beside the black form which was definitely a body. "Hey buddy," Sydney said, reaching out to shake his shoulder. "Wake up." However, as soon as she shook him once, she realized he was not well. In a brave move she doubted she would be able to reproduce, she rolled the body over onto its back. "Oh my God," she grunted, scrambling away in a frantic crab walk.

"Sydney?" Tommy asked.

"It's a priest," she answered in horror. "Definitely dead. Looks like a suicide."

"Suicide?" Skull asked, creeping closer.

"Unless somebody else slit his wrists, and it doesn't look like he put up a fight. His face looks calm. Happy even."

"I'm gonna regret this," Justin remarked as he began to move toward the body.

"Don't Justin," Trini said, swiping absently at his backpack. Sydney rejoined him beside the body.

"What do you think?" Sydney asked him.

"His wrists are slit," Justin agreed, "but his face... He looks..."

"Content," Sydney said simply.

"Syd, I just realized something," Justin said. "My knees are wet." Stumbling away, he found that his knees were slick with blood.

Sydney pushed her hand against the ground and found it spongy with the blood that had leaked from the holy man's body. "He hasn't been dead long," she said, for the most part unfazed by kneeling in a literal pool of blood. "I'll look for ID We need to get to the police." Sydney began to rummage through the inner pockets of his robe.

"Do you think he'll have a wallet?" Skull asked.

"I don't know," Sydney said. Suddenly, in a move faster than her eye could follow, the dead priest lashed out at her and grabbed her forearm with his hand.

"Where ya goin', Sydney?" he asked in a deep growl, opening his eyes to reveal two milky orbs.

Screaming, she jumped away, pulling him into a seated position in the process.

A bright red flash came from behind her as Tommy, already morphed, ran up beside her. He summoned his Sword in one fluid motion and pointed it at the dead body. "Who are you?" Tommy demanded.

Graves all around them burst open and spewed forth flames. "Sydney!" Trini cried. Trini, already morphed, ran to her side and guided her away from the reanimated corpse.

"We gotta get out of here!" Skull shouted. The fire that was roaring around them was almost deafening. Just when they thought things couldn't possibly get worse, the ground began to crack beneath their feet. Sydney looked down as a schism opened up between her feet. Red light shone from within it. She sidestepped it as it opened wider, although cracks branched off from it and surrounded her again.

"Come on!" Justin urged, tugging at her arm. "Run!"

Sydney didn't have to be told twice and ran through the cemetery with Trini, Skull, and eventually Tommy behind her. The ground was uneven, as cracks continued to split through it. Every grave in the cemetery was on fire, producing torrents of black smoke and heat. Sweat streamed down Sydney's exposed skin and dampened her shirt. Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest, and she wished not for the first time that she was capable of morphing into the climate controlled armor of a Power Ranger.

Just as they thought safety was in eyeshot, they were proven wrong. The very ground itself separated, and a tall barrier of dirt was pushed from the ground. The ground rumbled as though they were experiencing an earthquake as a slab of dirt lifted out of the ground to block their exit. A few caskets were disrupted due to the moving earth, and those that were trapped in the rising slab didn't rise higher than fifteen or twenty feet before breaking free and tumbling to the ground. When they shattered, the corpses that were suddenly freed from their earthly prison began to move.

After an interminable length of time, the slab of earth had risen to its full height of at least fifty feet and stopped. "Let's go the other way," Sydney suggested as the ground began to crack beneath her feet again.

"Let's jump," Justin said. He wrapped his arms around the five foot seven woman and leapt off of the ground. She said nothing but clutched at his forearms frightfully as the two of them sailed into the air. Skull, Trini, and Tommy were close behind. When Justin landed on top of the slab of earth, Sydney was jarred in his arms so forcefully that she was sure bruises would appear all along her sides the next day.

"We're awfully high," Sydney said warily.

"Wrap your arms around my neck," Justin told her. "It'll make the landing less rough." He scooped her into his arms, and as soon as she had both arms securely around his neck, he jumped off. A few seconds later when Justin touched the ground, Sydney was jarred, although not nearly as painfully as the first time. She was suddenly aware of her condition, and intense pain radiated all throughout her chest. It was painfully obvious that she had bruised her ribs. It also wasn't the first time, and she knew that despite the pain, there was nothing that could be done for it, provided she even had the leisure of doing so.

"Are you okay?" Justin asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm okay," Sydney said, gingerly touching her ribs. "I feel like hell on toast but I'm okay."

"Has anybody else noticed we have a tendency to slide into trouble?" Tommy asked, turning to look at the towering slab of dirt at the cemetery's gate.

"It may be a glitch in the slider's sentient safety program," Trini suggested. "Rather than keeping us safe, it might be trying to kill us."

"Doing a damn good job," Sydney muttered, lifting her cap off of her head for just long enough to run her hands through her now wet with sweat hair.

"Let's get out of here," Skull said. "How much longer we got?"

"I didn't even look," Trini said as she demorphed. Her backpack, which had disappeared along with the rest of her clothing in the morphing process, reappeared. She got the slider out of the pocket where she had placed it, and flipped it open. "Thirty-eight hours, seven minutes."

"Let's get as far away from here as we can," Sydney said. "I'd rather spend the rest of my life not knowing what just happened than try to find the answer."

"Look," Tommy said woodenly. His friends turned around to see that the cemetery was no longer a blazing inferno. It was as calm as it had been when they slid into it.

"Let's get out of here!" Sydney insisted. "You all might be invincible superheroes but I'm not!"

"So you are superheroes," a calm, floating female voice said.

"Who said that?" Trini asked, turning around.

"That would be me," the voice said as she stepped forward.

"Whoa," Justin said simply.

"Are you a turtle?" Sydney asked.

"Are you a hairless primate?" the human-sized turtle asked. She had a feminine body, and a pale blue eyeband with a braided end.

"I suppose I am," Sydney said.

"Then I suppose I am a turtle. The name is Venus de Milo. Please come with me. I can explain all."

~*~

"Oh," Venus said, nodding. "I'm not really a Ninja, just a Teenage Mutant Turtle. I'm a shaman of shenobi magic."

"Cool," Justin smiled.

"Where are exactly are you taking us?" Skull asked. He, Trini, and Justin all had their Ranger headlights on, providing light as the group of six made their way deeper into the sewer system of New York City.

"To my home," Venus answered. "It's right up ahead."

~*~

"Whoa, a giant turtle!" Sydney mocked good-naturedly.

"Boys, I met these superheroes at the cemetery," Venus said. "And I have bad news. The gates of hell have been opened. Rangers, and Sydney, these are the Ninja Turtles. Raphael in red, Leonardo in blue, Michelangelo in orange, and Donatello in purple. And the rodent is Splinter."

"The gates of hell have been opened?" Donatello asked, pushing his way to the forefront of the conversation.

"Apparently so," Venus said, nodding. "I knew I sensed a supreme surge of evil magic."

"The gates of hell?" Skull asked in disbelief. "Man, we can't ever catch a break."

"Whoa, it's like sensory overload," Michelangelo said. "Superheroes, gates of hell, new humans... Too much info."

"Guys, I don't mean to be rude here," Raphael said in his thick New Yorker accent, "but we gotta take care of this before an army of the undead take over the city."

"Too late," Venus remarked.

"Stop the dimension," Sydney said, putting her hands up defensively. "I'm new to this. I've only been around superheroes for about three weeks, I'm not even sure I believe in hell, yet know the doorway to hell is open... it's just too much to absorb. What the hell is going on?"

"A priest, or holy man, committed suicide on sacred ground," Venus said. "According to shenobi legends, the sacred ground will become the gateway to hell. We just have to close it."

"We?" Sydney asked.

"I have to close it," Venus said. "I'm the only one with the training."

"There will undoubtedly be various demons and spirits spewing forth from this gateway, will there not?" Splinter asked.

"I would presume so," Venus answered.

"I'll help," Raphael and Tommy volunteered at the same time.

"Me too"'s sprung up around the group.

"I'll do what I can," Sydney said nervously.

"You have no special powers?" Venus asked.

"None," Sydney admitted.

"Then you cannot help," Venus said. "To help with no abilities would be to commit suicide."

"Maybe you can stay with April until this all blows over," Leonardo suggested.

"And Splinter, too!" Michelangelo suggested eagerly.

"Then we best get out there, asap," Raphael said. "Venus, you know how to close this thing?"

"I just have to make sure that the body that committed suicide receives a proper burial according with his religious beliefs," she said. "That will close the gate."

"Then let's go and get it shut," Donatello said eagerly. "We'll take the bikes."

"I'll take the Splint-man and the Party of Five chick to April's," Michelangelo volunteered.

~*~

"Old rat, defenseless human, off to close the gates of hell. Talk to ya' later, babe," Michelangelo said as he hurried off.

Forcing a chuckle, April O'Neill, reporter and friend of the Ninja Turtles, turned to Sydney and Splinter. "So... Anyone ever tell you you look like Neve Campbell?"

"Not so much, now that I'm older," Splinter remarked humorously as he made his way to April's balcony.

Laughing, Sydney said, "I like that one. Name's Sydney, and yes, I hear it everyday of my life."

~*~

"You guys!" Justin screamed, spinning around. "We've got dead guys out here!"

"Hoo boy," Donatello said, pulling his Bo from his back.

"I need two good Warriors to come with me," Venus said valiantly. "I must find the body."

"I'll go," Leonardo volunteered.

"Me too," Trini said. "I think I remember where the body was."

"The rest of us will stay out here and keep these creeps from getting into the city," Michelangelo affirmed.

"The damn news choppers are already here," Raphael griped.

"Power Beams!" Trini cried. "I'm ready."

Leonardo unsheathed his katana blades in one fluid motion. "Let's go," he agreed. The two turtles and Power Ranger looked at each other, and then ran into the gate of hell.

~*~

"My God," April sighed in disbelief.

"It's like the end of the world or something," Sydney said.

"It may very well be," Splinter remarked. "Venus has been predicting that the evil energy beneath this city would culminate in a disaster of this magnitude for some time."

"I feel so useless cooped up in here," Sydney said.

"Well you can't go outside," April told her. "That'd be like committing suicide. Some of those things they're fighting look like they're on fire."

"I know," Sydney said, getting off of the couch. "I'm gonna go out on the balcony."

~*~

"How about the fire?" a lilting voice said.

With a gasp, Sydney jerked her head toward the voice and scrambled away. "Who are you?" she asked. A bipedal reptile stood between her and the window. His skin was black, although a few red flames licked along his scales.

"No matter," he said. "I'm here for you. You die tonight, Sydney."

Sydney looked to her left, spied the fire escape, and darted for it. Without even looking beneath her, she hopped onto the metal rung ladder. Her weight unlatched it, and the ladder, with her still on it, slid to the street. By the time her feet touched the pavement, the fire demon had leapt from the balcony to the alley below. "Ah ah ah," he taunted, shaking his head no.

"You stay away from me," Sydney said, trying to back away. Flames suddenly appeared at the ground by his feet, and they raced toward her. Sydney didn't scream, but she exhaled an audible sigh of relief when they diverged at her feet and formed a circle of flames around her.

"You have NO power over me, Sydney," the demon threatened. "You have no religion, what god will take care of you?"

"Stop it," Sydney snapped, looking around her for an escape route.

The demon, meanwhile, began to walk closer, stepping through the flames unharmed. "Stop it," Sydney said again, trying her best to keep a brave voice although she was quickly losing her nerve.

_You are a purple belt in White Crane Kung Fu,_ she told herself. _You are a good person. You haven't dismissed God._

"But you haven't claimed him, either," the demon said, obviously picking up on her thoughts. "Prepare to spend eternity in hell."

"No!" Sydney screamed. She was suddenly unable to defend herself, and merely crumpled to her knees as the demon placed his hands on the sides of her face. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as true fear ravaged her body. "Pl-ee-ee-eease," she sobbed.

"Begging is beneath you, Sydney," the demon said. "Accept your damnation with dignity."

Sydney didn't know where the spark came from, but she was suddenly empowered. With an angry yell, Sydney pulled her arms against her chest and rolled. She rolled past the demon and through the flames. The flames licked up her sleeves, but she continued rolling until she was both a safe distance away and the flames were extinguishing. She spared only a second to see where the demon was, and then bolted away.

She didn't know where she was running to, but it suddenly didn't matter. The street collapsed beneath her. With a scream, she tried to backpedal, but it was too late. She caught one arm on the sidewalk as the rest plummeted deep into the earth. Red flames belched out of the sudden chasm where the street had been. Screaming with both anger and fear, Sydney clung to the remaining piece of asphalt for dear life.

"Think you'll escape the grasp of evil intentions, Sydney?" the demon snarled. He spit on the fingers of her right hand. Flames burst across her skin, prompting a painful scream. Sydney snatched her hand away and beat it against her chest, trying to extinguish the flames. That left her hanging above certain doom by only one hand.

The demon unfurled his left hand, revealing several thick, long black claws. "You can join your friends and everyone else, Sydney," the demon said. "Because they're doing it wrong. They're burying the wrong body. A Satanist in a Priest's robe is about to receive a Christian burial. The suicide priest isn't where he should be, and the gate will be forced open. Save me some when you get to hell." Both Sydney and the demon screamed at the same time as he scraped his black claws along the length of the fingers of her left hand. Her grip slipped, and screaming a mournful scream, Sydney fell backwards into the flames of hell.

~*~

Still screaming, Sydney leapt over the end of the couch, taking several seconds to realize she was safe. However, as soon as she ran her hand through her hair, she realized it hadn't been a dream. Blood dripped from her hand as each finger had been sliced through to the bone. In addition to that, her right hand was burned.

"Your hair," April sighed in a horrified tone. She touched a strand of Sydney's hair. Sydney, using her right hand, pulled the strand, beside her right ear, in front of her eyes. It had turned gray.

"They're going to bury the wrong body!" Sydney cried, oblivious to the intense pain in both her ribs and her left hand. "I have to go to the cemetery!"

"Sydney, no!" April cried as Sydney ran out of the apartment.

"I have to!"

"Wait for me then!" April insisted, grabbing a dishtowel for Sydney to wrap around her bleeding hand before running after her.

~*~

"I have to go inside," Sydney told her. Wincing only slightly as she mopped her damp forehead off with the dishcloth tightly wound around her left hand, she took off running for the cemetery.

"NO!" Justin screamed as he tackled her. The two hit the ground with a thump just as Sydney was about to enter the cemetery.

"Let me go!" Sydney screeched, thrashing herself about in his arms.

"You can't go in there!" Justin protested, trying his best to hold her without injuring her.

"LET ME GO!!!" Sydney screeched. "DAMMIT JUSTIN, LET ME GO!!!" She planted her knee firmly in his stomach and stumbled over his chest, pitching herself head-first into the cemetery.

The sound intensified greatly as soon as she broke the metaphysical barrier of smoke separating the Gate of Hell from the rest of the world. Inside, the screams and moans were so loud, she couldn't even hear her own voice as she shrieked in terror. Each and every gravesite was burning wildly, and the few trees that were dotted about the cemetery were raging infernos. Demons and fallen angels were everywhere. Some were physical entities, others were just misty shrouds of black light, but all were evil. Putting her own terror out of her mind, Sydney leapt to her feet and ran through the cemetery.

Fortunately, the demons didn't have a personal vendetta against Sydney. However, if she got too close, they certainly took the time to try and injure her. She spun around with a cry as a clawed hand raked across her right bicep, shredding through her shirt and causing sticky blood to trickle down her arm.

"TRINI!!!!" Sydney screamed. Dodging fire and demons, she continued to run through the cemetery.

~*~

"NO!!!" Sydney screamed, leaping at Venus. She snatched the vial from her hands just as half of it poured onto the man's chest.

"Sydney!" Trini cried.

"This is the wrong man!" Sydney protested. "I had a dream about being attacked by a demon, but it was real! He told me that you were about to give a Christian burial to a Satanist in a priest's robe!"

"That would have kept the gates open for eternity," Venus said in horror.

"I know," Sydney said. "We have to find the right body."

"You fucking bitch," the dead man said, leaping from his grave and wrapping his arms around Sydney's throat. She tried to emit a cry, but his grip around her windpipe was so tight no sound came out.

"Sydney!" Leonardo cried.

"Let her go!" Trini shouted. The dead man stood up to his full height, lifting Sydney completely off of the ground. Although her left hand was injured too badly to grip, her right hand, despite being burned, was clamped around one of the man's wrists in a futile attempt to pull him off. When the dead man didn't respond, Trini unholstered her Blade Blaster and fired a shot at his torso. Rather than hurting him, the yellow laser ignited him, causing his entire body to burst into flames.

Leonardo flipped into the air and landed beside them. Before his momentum was stopped, he swung his katana blades in a sharp down stroke, cleaving the dead man's arms off at the elbow. He then anchored his left foot and spun around in a spin kick, knocking the dead man over with a well-placed foot to the torso. Leonardo quickly pried the dead hands from Sydney's throat and threw them to the ground. "Are you okay?"

Coughing, Sydney tried to answer, but when she realized her voice was gone, only nodded. "...the...body," she croaked, instantly regretting it as sharp pain shot through her throat. Doubling over at the waist, she threw up violently, causing even more pain to radiate through her chest and throat.

"Do you remember where the right body was?" Trini asked Sydney.

Sydney nodded and began to stumble forward, no longer having the energy to run. Trini kept a hand on her back as they made their way through the living hell that had just a few hours prior been a peaceful cemetery. Sydney, with her right hand around her throat in an attempt to massage her vocal chords, pointing down a line of rows. A dead priest lay there.

"I'll take care of the grave," Trini said. She pointed her Blade Blaster out and quickly used it to shoot up a section of the earth. As soon as it was loose, she began to dig the large clumps out. Sydney knelt beside her and helped, despite Trini's protests otherwise. Leonardo and Venus moved the dead man over to the soon hollowed out shallow grave.

"I lost my cross," Venus said, digging through her bag.

"We can make one," Trini said. Sydney sat down on the ground and quickly pulled one of her shoestrings out.

"I've got two twigs," Leonardo announced as he took the shoestring from Sydney. He quickly lashed the two twigs together, make a crude but effective cross.

"...and the Father, rest in peace," Venus finished. She sprinkled the last of the holy water on his body as Leonardo pressed the cross against his chest. Trini pushed the dirt back onto his body, and after he was successfully buried, everything was still. The entire world changed. The fire disappeared, the trees and grass were once again healthy, the demons had vanished, and not a single grave was disturbed. The only real sign that indicated hell had been released in a small section of the Earth was Sydney. She was filthy, a strand of now-dirty hair was permanently scared gray, her right hand was burned, her left hand was cut bad enough to need stitches, and her vocal chords had been temporarily crushed.

"Come on, Sydney," Leonardo said, scooping her form into his arms. Although she could have walked out, she made no move to stop him.

~*~

"There," Venus said, snipping the last of the thread off. She had tried to use magic to fix Sydney's injuries, but the magic that Sabrina had used to save her life had given Sydney a distinctive magic overlay pattern, which repulsed any magic that didn't come directly from Sabrina. Venus was, however, with Donatello's help, able to stitch the wounds on Sydney's left hand shut. It didn't turn out to be as bad as they had thought, as it only took eight stitches, one for pinkie, three for middle, and two for index and ring fingers. It was obvious that she would have horrible scarring along her fingers later in life, but she wasn't too terribly concerned about it. Her right hand ached, although the burns were just barely second degree. April bandaged them up with some aloe salve, giving her enough room to use her hand. Her ribs ached something terrible, but there was absolutely nothing that could be done except give them time to heal. Her vocal chords ached, although she had been drinking several liquids of extreme temperatures that was making them feel much better. Within a day or two, her vocal chords would be perfectly healed.

"I like the gray streak," Sydney said softly for fear of straining her currently cooperating vocal chords.

"I do, too," Justin said. Once she had gotten cleaned up, the gray streak, which was perhaps more aptly described as silver, made her look elegant. With her hair all the same length and hanging free down past her shoulders, the silver really set itself apart from the rest of the dark brown. "I think you're very brave, Sydney."

"Thank you."

"Sorry about tackling you," Justin said sheepishly. "I ... didn't know what you were doing."

"No prob."

"Justin, let Sydney get her rest," Trini said.

"It's okay. I need to talk. I'm too nervous to sit still."

"That really was a brave thing you did," Tommy agreed.

"Totally awesome, babe," Michelangelo added.

"Nothing you wouldn't or didn't do."

Justin was smiling at Sydney warmly when he came to a shocking realization. _I'm in love!_

3 a.m., St. Michael's Chapel
Sydney slowly walked down the aisle of the near-darkened church. She had long-since given up on sleep, as her mind kept returning to the demon's taunts. What scared her was how close they hit to home.

Sniffling, Sydney removed her cap, smoothed her hair down, and then placed the cap on, backwards. She finally made it to the altar, and knelt before it. Propping her elbows up on the polished wooden surface, she folded her hands in prayer and looked up. A large bronze crucifix hung from the wall, although at the moment, she found no solace in the image. "Help me," she said softly before breaking into tears.

"My child," a soft voice said. Sydney gasped and began to wipe at her cheeks furiously. She turned to the voice's direction to see a nun approaching her.

"I'm sorry," Sydney said, gasping for breath as she continued to blot her cheeks. "Am I not supposed to be here?"

"God's church is always open," she said as she knelt beside her. "What has happened to you? You look as if you've had a rough night."

"Have you heard about the gate of hell being opened?" Sydney asked, chuckling as she continued to cry softly.

"I think everyone has," the nun said, smiling sadly. "Such a sad, sad story, but this place will be packed next mass. Something good comes from everything."

"Well, that's why I'm here," Sydney answered. "I don't know if you'll believe me or not, but ... one of the demons came after me. He cut my left hand, burned my right, scared me horribly. But that isn't what bothered me. I can take pain or fear. He taunted me. He threw my beliefs back in my face."

"What are your beliefs?"

"I don't have any."

"And that is what scares you?"

"It does now," Sydney sighed. "I'm not an atheist, but... I don't... I don't claim, either. I celebrate Christmas, and sometimes I even go to church on Easter, but that's it." Sighing dejectedly, she slumped back onto her heels. Tears began to well up again. "I'm so confused."

"Have you tried talking to God?"

"I don't know how," Sydney said softly.

"You just have to say what's in your heart," the nun assured her.

"It doesn't matter what the words are?"

"I think God will know what you're trying to say, no matter what the words are," the nun said with a bright smile. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

"Please," Sydney said. She sniffled again, and then said, or sang, the first thing that came to mind.

Sydney began to sing, "So many nights, I'd sit by my window, waiting for someone, to sing me His song...

"So many dreams, I'd kept deep inside me. Alone in the dark... Now You've come along." Her voice was beautiful and deep, a rich tone that literally filled the church to the very top of the roof. Beside her, the nun smiled and began to sing along in her own beautiful voice.

"Thank you," Sydney said, crying openly now.

"Thank you," the nun said, crying as well. "That was truly beautiful. I'd never thought about the song like that, but... it fit. It fit perfectly. You have quite a voice, young lady."

Sydney smiled and laughed. "I never caught your name."

"Sister Mary Grace," the nun said. "Yours?"

"Sydney. Thank you Sister."

"Thank you," Sister Mary Grace said sincerely. "Do you want me to stay here, or would you like to be alone for a while?"

"You don't have to leave," Sydney answered, already feeling much better. A heaviness that she had never known existed was lifted from her heart, and she was filled with an intense inner peace unlike any she had ever known.

Five Days Later....
April had graciously offered to let the Rangers stay with her until Sydney was well enough to go sliding. In the week that followed the adventure with hell, the Rangers got to know the turtles, as well as Splinter and April. However, as soon as Sydney was able, they made plans to leave. Just like on every previous world where they had made emotional attachments with some good friends, the goodbyes were hard to make. For Sydney, however, the hardest goodbye was with Sister Mary Grace, whom she had gotten to know rather well during their hiatus in that dimension.

They all knew fully well that they would never see any of the Ninja Turtles, or their friends, again. But, after saying their goodbyes, they did the inevitable, and left.

Two Days Later....
"Sydney, are you okay in there?" Trini called.

"Fine!" Sydney answered, turning her attention back to the box in her hands. Ever since she had received a permanent streak of gray, she was having a much more difficult time dying her hair. It was bad enough that she had to sneak and buy hair dye with their scarce funds. But as she saw it, she had no choice. They certainly wouldn't understand why she had to dye her hair; she barely understood it herself, and she had lived with it her entire life. If they were to find out that she did dye her hair, it would have resulted in a major fight between her and Tommy that would have culminated in them finding out a secret that only her dead mother knew.

Part 1 | 2 | 3