Forged in Flames
by Mele (ktutt@earthlink.net)

Jason looked at Kimberly and Zack worriedly. They had waded into the lake to the point where they could still touch the bottom and their heads were above the water, but it didn't look like they were far enough out to be safe from the effects of the fire. They would have to go farther, which meant they would be swimming, then treading water for quite a long time. There were several difficulties they faced: the water was quite cold, and they were already tired, and hungry. They were also worried because they had seen no sign of Billy and/or Trini.

"Guys, we are going to have to go out further into deeper water while the fire passes by this spot. We aren't safe here," Jason announced.

"How deep do we have to go?" Zack asked.

"I'm not sure, but we need to be out of the reach of any falling trees or branches, I would guess," Jason replied. "Are you okay to go out into the deeper water Kimberly?" He looked at Kimberly again in the waning light and realized tears were streaming down her face. "Kim?" he asked tentatively, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Where are they?" she asked in despair. "They need to be here in the water. It's my fault we got separated." She hitched in a breath, trying to get herself under control.

"It's not your fault, Kimberly, it is my fault. I was the one who had to scout ahead. I should never have let us get separated," Jason assured her, guilt written on his expression.

"For what it is worth, I don't think it is either of your faults. I was the one who left them to check on Kimberly, but something had to have happened right after I left them. Billy was already across the bridge, it should only have taken Trini a minute to cross. They should have both been right behind me, but they weren't. When we saw the bear, we could see for quite a way down the path toward the bridge, and they weren't there. So I think our getting separated was at least partly due to something that happened to them after I left," Zack proposed.

Both Jason and Kimberly thought about that, it did make sense. Jason was once again drawn back to the present problem. "We need to start out toward the middle of the lake, just be sure we keep together," he said.

The three of them started swimming toward the middle of the small lake, as the fire loomed at the northern edge.

Mike Nelson and his two assistants were moving quickly along the trail that they figured the kids had taken that morning. He had briefed the younger rangers to be on the lookout for bodies, and while both had looked anything but happy with their assignment they had not complained. As Mike moved through the forest he found himself not only dreading the possibility of finding five dead children, but mourning the forest's loss of life and beauty. It was going to take a long time for it to recover from the fire. But, ultimately, it would recover. Such was the beauty of nature.

He was jarred out of his thoughts by the voice of one of the other rangers. "Boss, better come take a look at this."

He approached where the younger man was standing and saw what had caught his attention. He felt his heart painfully skip a beat.

It was the charred remains of five bikes, chained together, lying there like a marker. Mike could see in his mind's eye five carefree children laughing as they chained them, carefully safeguarding one of the most precious treasures of a child's world. Then setting out on foot without a worry in the world.

"Damn," he said softly.

Billy and Trini had waded out as deep as they could without having to swim. They were watching the fire approach the north end of the lake, and considering their options.

"We need to be far enough out to avoid being struck by falling trees, branches or sparks. Toward that end we will need to swim almost to the middle of this lake. Do you think you can do that, Trini," Billy asked.

"I think so. Can you with your bad ankle?" she responded.

"I think I can swim much better than I can walk at this point," he replied. "Come on, we should get on out there, this fire is moving awful fast." They both began swimming, keeping a close watch on the approaching fire.

The sun had set, and the thick smoke effectively blocked the remaining light, so the only illumination they had was from the fire itself. They were so intent on watching the shoreline, they didn't pay much attention to their destination, so they were unaware of the presence of anyone else until Billy almost swam over Kimberly, who had also been watching the fire.

"Ahhh!" she screamed, thoroughly startling everyone, as she and Billy both sank below the surface. She came up swinging, and managed to nail Billy on the side of the head before she realized who it was.

"Ow! Hey, don't hit me Kimberly, I didn't mean to scare you," he cried out.

"Billy! Trini! You're okay!" Kimberly squealed.

"Well, yeah, if you don't hit me anymore we are," Billy replied with a bemused smile. "We're glad to see you too!"

"What happened? Where have you been?" Jason demanded.

"It took us longer than expected to cross the bridge, then we must have taken a wrong turn. What happened with you guys? We had kind of expected you to come back and check on us," Billy responded, while Trini gave him a grateful look for not revealing her weakness.

"A bear chased us," Zack explained. "That kept us kind of busy for a few minutes, then the fire started to catch up with us."

"Oh," Billy said, "I guess that explains it. Think we're safe enough here?"

"I hope so, it looks like we are in the middle, so it's as safe as it is going to get," Jason replied.

"All we can do now is wait for the fire to pass."

Todd James was not looking forward to talking to the parents of the missing children. He had just heard from Mike Nelson that they had found the kids' bikes, chained together, and charred. It was the first sign they had found of the children; neither of the helicopter pilots had spotted any indication of the children being in that area of the forest.

The fire was moving rapidly now since the winds had kicked up as the evening advanced. They were able to fight the fire with ground crews in only a couple of locations, the rugged terrain and lack of a road system into the area hampered their efforts. The largest part of the fire fighting effort was from the helicopters dumping quantities of water from the air and flying in additional ground crew to the more remote areas. Todd knew the fight would continue well into the next day, but he had hopes they could save most of the forest.

If only he felt as sure about saving the five missing children—he knew their chances diminished with each passing moment.

He forced those thoughts to the back of his mind and settled his features into an expression of hope, and went to talk to the parents.

Jack Scott left Marjorie talking quietly to Wallace Cranston and went to stand on the outskirts of the base camp. He looked southeast toward where the fire was burning. It looked so near, yet it was so far. He felt a chill in his heart knowing his son was out there somewhere, probably scared, possibly hurt, facing incredible danger. How could that be happening to his son within his range of vision? What had he been thinking of, letting those kids go into the forest alone? They were only ten years old, for God's sake! He could see past Todd James' facade of hopefulness. The fact that the kids had not been spotted was ominous. As a police officer he had occasionally had to be falsely optimistic when dealing with distraught parents, and he had always hated it. His personal philosophy was "the truth, or nothing".

Right now, he would have traded his soul for a convincing lie.

Zack had been fascinated watching the approaching fire. He had never seen anything quite as beautiful. It was horrible to admit, but it was truly a magnificent sight. He knew it was destroying that which had taken decades to create, that numerous animals, and possibly five children, could lose their lives because of it, but it was still beautiful. Zack had always been the kind of child that noticed the beauty around him, be it a flower, a sunset, a face or figure, but he had never encountered destructive beauty before. The concept left him very confused.

However, his appreciation of the fire's beauty waned when he looked around the perimeter of the lake and realized the fire now completely surrounded them. The heat was intense, all of them had taken to ducking their heads under water frequently to cool themselves off. The overall temperature of the lake was increasing, though it didn't seem like it would actually get hot.

The five of them were grouped together in a circle, everyone had a hold of at least one other. They weren't speaking much, just watching the fire with dazed eyes, fighting to keep the panic at bay. All of them, to varying degrees, felt an incredible urge to flee once the fire had completely surrounded them. The feeling of being trapped in the small lake was terrifying, the sounds of the fire were overwhelming.

Several trees along the shore fell into the lake in flames, sending water and steam into the air. One particularly tall tree came close to reaching their position in the middle of the lake. Sparks, burning debris, and smoke choked the air. The fire seemed to create its own wind, and the roar of its passing rivaled the sound of a train or jet, it was a like being caught in a swirling, glowing, screaming, burning corner of hell.

So they clung to each other for safety and reassurance as the fire made its way past.

Robert Hart was leaning against a nearby tree, looking at his wife sitting again in the plastic chair. Like most of the others, her gaze kept going toward the southeastern horizon where the fire was still burning out of control. Robert could not remember a time when he had felt worse. His daughter was missing, in incredible danger, and he could not do a thing to stop it. Looking at his wife he felt a stirring in his heart he had not felt in a long time. For the first time in too long, he remembered why he had fallen in love with her, why he had married her. He felt a renewed kinship with his wife, brought on by the intense fear they shared for their little girl. He stepped back up behind her and gently massaged her shoulders.

"We need to try again to make this work," he said softly. "We will get our Kimberly back and make this marriage work. It is too important to lose."

Eileen looked up into his eyes and was startled to see the sincerity there.

Russell and Michelle Kwan, and Sheryl and Clayton Taylor where sitting together around a picnic table quietly talking. They all looked to the fire front occasionally, but tried not to dwell on it. They had discovered they shared a common positive attitude about the difficulties that life threw at them. They accepted Todd James' words at face value, not out of stupidity or naivete, but because they truly believed things would work out the way they were supposed to. The Taylors had a strong Christian belief that Jesus would look out for their son, the Kwans their faith that their daughter would live to see her destiny.

They simply believed it was not their children's time to die.

The fire was now three-quarters of the way past the lake where the kids had taken refuge. They decided it was safe enough to start toward the northern shore, despite the fact that spot fires still burned here and there. The previously clear lake was now clogged with soot and debris, the surrounding landscape a nightmare of glowing red tree skeletons.

The five youngsters swam slowly toward the shore. They were exhausted. First the long hike to get there, then having to tread water for who knew how long, now they were facing the hike out.

They stopped at a point where they could stand with their heads well above the water and surveyed the area. It looked like it was still too hot to start walking out, so they contented themselves by moving close enough to shore to be able to sit down and wait for everything to cool off a bit. The smoke had also cleared a lot, so they could see that they were going to be the beneficiaries of a full moon. It was giving off enough light for them to be able to see to walk.

They would start out as soon as they could.

Wallace Cranston had fallen silent, sitting companionably beside Marjorie Scott on the bench. He was staring at the southeastern skyline without truly seeing it. He had not mentioned the significance of today's date to Marjorie, but he couldn't forget about it. He knew Marjorie truly felt the children had a good chance of making it, but Wallace wasn't so sure. He loved his son more than he could express, but he knew the boy was not as hardy as some others. Additionally, Billy had always seemed to be plagued by bad luck, as he himself had been. The only truly lucky things Wallace believed he had ever been the recipient of were Marie's love and Billy's existence. Then he had lost Marie. The thought that he might lose Billy as well was agony, it simply couldn't happen, neither of them deserved that much bad luck. It was oddly enough that thought that gave him some hope-that Billy dying would be simply too much bad luck for either of them. Wallace could not accept the thought of fate being cruel enough to take his child exactly one year after taking his wife. He felt something crawling on his cheek and reached up to brush it away.

It was a tear.

Jason stood up suddenly. "I'm going to see if the ground is cool enough for us to walk out. We need to get going."

He carefully made his way onto shore and walked around a bit. It seemed like they would be okay to start walking out. "Come on guys, let's go."

Soon he was joined on shore by the other four. They looked at each other with some amusement—they were soaking wet and covered with the black soot that floated thickly on the surface of the lake. The stress and fear of the last couple of hours found voice in a sudden explosion of laughter. It started suddenly and built to a frantic pitch quickly, they were stumbling around holding their sides or stomachs as the laughter raged out of control. It continued until Kimberly's laughter suddenly turned into tears, and she sat down unmindful of the soot, pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her knees. Trini immediately dropped down beside Kimberly to comfort her and promptly burst into tears herself. Zack approached them intending to offer comfort and found himself crying as well, much to his surprise. He went ahead and put his arms around Kimberly and Trini, as much for his comfort as theirs. Billy stumbled toward the group on the ground, finding he was also crying as he added himself to the group hug. Jason felt his own tears building and fought against it. He hated to cry, and didn't want the others to think he was in any way weak. It was a losing battle, he finally gave in and added himself to the group huddled together on the ground.

He found he felt much better.

The two younger rangers working with Mike Nelson had fallen silent since finding the bikes a couple of hours before. Working by the light of the moon and their flashlights they searched the area as thoroughly as possible. Paths that were easy to pick out before the fire, were now nearly impossible to follow. The unnatural silence the fire left behind had them both a little spooked. They exchanged nervous glances, trying to keep their feelings hidden from the veteran ranger.

If he hadn't been so worried about the missing children, Mike would have been amused at the attitude of the two young fellows who were working with him. Not that he didn't understand their feelings. He remembered all too well the first time he had been assigned to the task of looking for bodies in the wake of a wild fire. They had found a family of four burned beyond recognition. He still had nightmares about it, never before or since had he seen anything so pathetic. It had appeared the parents tried to save their children by shielding them from the fire using their own bodies. It hadn't worked, but something inside Mike had saluted those parents' gallant effort, and the feeling only intensified when he had children of his own.

And, since that first search, he especially hated looking for children.

Jason looked over his companions carefully. The tears had finally stopped, and they had slowly started working their way back toward the gorge. The moon provided ample light to walk by if they were careful, so they had no choice but to take is slow. Even if the light and ground conditions had allowed it, they could not have gone much faster. Kimberly was really dragging now, she was the smallest, and it appeared she was simply growing exhausted. Billy was also moving along much more slowly than before. He was limping pretty badly after wrenching his ankle getting to the lake. Trini and Zack were in better condition, but even they were showing obvious signs of reaching the end of their endurance. He wasn't feeling so energetic himself. They hadn't spoken much since their tears had stopped, so Jason didn't know about the others, but emotionally, he felt much better. And he had sensed a "drawing together" among them, the forming of a bond he couldn't explain, but knew existed. He felt it in his soul-they would always be friends, nothing could change that now. They were a part of each other's destinies.

Zack, who had been walking in the lead, suddenly stopped. "We're at the gorge," he announced. "But it looks like the bridge is gone. Which way should we head?"

Billy had already found his map was destroyed, but he remembered most of the important information from it. "We need to go up, to the west, in a couple of miles the gorge ends, and we will be able to get to the other side and head back down," he said wearily.

The others looked at him unhappily. "That far?" Kimberly asked with a sigh. "There is no other way to get across?"

"Not without a bridge, or wings," Billy replied.

"We better get going then," Jason suggested.

They started up the edge of the gorge.

Tony Franco had been a helicopter pilot for over twenty years. He had thousands of hours of experience fighting fires, so he had quickly fallen into a routine as he flew back and forth bringing loads of water to dump on the fire. He still kept a lookout for the missing children, but most of his attention was focused on making the cycle between the water supply and fire as quickly as possible while he and his co-pilot monitored the radio transmissions.

"Base Camp to Firebird One, please come in," Todd James' voice brought Tony back from his thoughts.

"Firebird One here, go ahead Base Camp," Tony replied.

"Any sign of the missing children, Tony?"

"Sorry, Todd, I haven't seen anything, but I will continue to look."

"Thanks," even over the radio Tony could hear the defeat in Todd's voice.

Hope was fading fast.

Todd's call to Tony was strictly procedure, he knew Tony would have called immediately if he had seen any sign of the kids. But he had to follow procedure. He looked over to the area where the parents were gathered. He could not bring himself to tell them there was still no sign. They would know that already simply because no one had told them any different, so there was no reason to drive the point home.

He would wait until he had some definite news, one way or the other.

Trini was not wearing a watch, but she knew they had been walking at least two hours since leaving the lake. She was exhausted, cold, and hungry. And scared-she realized they were still in danger. The temperature had dropped quickly after the sun set, and their clothes were still damp in places. They had no food, nor water, nor did they have a map. In the eerily altered landscape it would be very easy to get lost and wander far from where anyone could find them. And, was anyone looking for them? Or had they decided five children on their own would not survive? She was pretty sure her parents would continue to search until they found her, dead or alive-but would the others who were fighting the fire? She did not like the turn her thoughts were taking.

"Can we stop for a break now?" Kimberly's voice cut through Trini's thoughts. "Please?"

"Yeah, I guess we all need one," Jason replied as they all dropped basically where they had been standing.

"Man, seems like we are never going to reach the end of this gorge!" Zack declared.

"Actually, I think we are getting close. It is not nearly as far across as it was," Billy pointed out from where he was leaning against a boulder.

"Hey, I think you're right! We will be able to head back downhill pretty soon then," Jason added.

"The sooner the better. I'm sick of this uphill stuff," Kim said.

"But once we get across, will we be able to find the original path?" Trini wondered.

"I hope so. We will just have to worry about that when the time comes. Maybe there are people out searching for us. We might get lucky and someone will find us before then," Jason said hopefully.

"I sure hope so," Zack muttered. "This hike has been much longer than I expected it to. My folks must be worried."

"Oh, gosh, my parents! They are probably worried sick! They have enough to worry about without me getting lost," Kimberly said in despair. "I'm not supposed to do anything to make problems for them."

"What do you mean? You aren't making a problem for them, this isn't your fault, or any of our faults. It just happened, they can't blame you for it," Jason said.

Kimberly looked unhappily at Trini, she was the only one who knew about Kimberly's difficulties at home. "My folks are having a lot of problems, they fight a lot. I try to make things easier so they won't fight. They may break up because of me!" she cried, her fear coming to the surface.

Trini put a supporting arm around her upset friend. "Kim, it will be okay. It's not your fault if they break up."

"Yeah, and even of they do, you will still have them both, just not together," Billy added in his quiet way.

Kim looked over at him sadly. "I guess you're right. I just get upset, that's all. I guess it could be worse. Thanks guys, sorry I lost it on you. All of our parents must be upset."

"My dad is probably freaked, it has been a year since Mom died. I had even thought he might make me stay home today, but he said he was going to work and I figured he had forgotten the anniversary. He isn't too good about remembering significant dates outside of the ones he needs to know for work," Billy explained.

"This is the one-year anniversary of the accident?" Kimberly asked in surprise.

"Yes." "Wow, I bet he is freaked. But my parents will be there to help him, they have wanted to meet him for a long time. They like to meet the parents of my friends," Jason said.

"Well, they are probably all acquainted by now. Think they will thank us for this chance to get to know each other?" Zack asked with a grin.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Then we will all get together again in about ten years or so, which is probably the soonest they will let us leave our houses again," Jason replied. "Come on, guys, we need to keep moving." He had noticed they were all showing signs of being cold, sitting too long could cause problems.

They set out with a little renewed energy at the thought they were almost at the end of the gorge. That hope kept them moving at a fairly good clip until they heard Zack call out joyfully, "I see the end!"

"Where? How much further?" Trini asked, she had fallen a ways behind Zack and couldn't see what he was looking at.

"See? There! We are almost to the end, come on guys, it will be downhill all the way now!"

They hurried around the tip of the gorge and started back downhill. Jason noticed there appeared to be a trail slightly away from the edge, which they decided to follow. It looked much easier than following the edge and having to clamber over rocks.

They had no way of knowing the trail led away from where they needed to go.

Alpha and Zordon had continued to observe the lost children. From their viewpoint they could see the children's choice of trail would not lead them to safety, but would lead them further away from the approaching rangers who had been searching for them.

"Alpha, please try to isolate the radio frequency the helicopter carrying water is using."

"Right away Zordon. Are we going to contact them?"

"I will endeavor to do so. Perhaps they can be persuaded to change their course to one that passes over the children's location. They need to be rescued soon. I sense their time is running out."

"Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi! I have the information for you now Zordon, you can transmit when ready."

Tony Franco was scheduled to make only two more cycles between the water source and the fire before another pilot would relieve him. He was considering how good it would feel to have a meal and sleep for a few hours when a strange voice from the radio startled him.

"Pilot! Please alter your course a few degrees north, near the end of the gorge, you will find the missing children there."

Tony looked at his co-pilot, Ron, in surprise, then grabbed the radio. "Who is this? How do you know where those kids are? Is this some sort of sick joke?"

"This is no joke. Please, you must get to those children, they are headed the wrong way."

Tony started to say something, but stopped. The voice had sounded weird, like it was being filtered or something. The change in course the voice requested would take a minute to two longer at most. His gut told him to do it.

His co-pilot looked a bit surprised, but made no protest when Tony changed their course.

"Get the binoculars out and search the area when I pass over it please," Tony requested.

"Gotcha," Ron replied.

They said nothing more as they approached the area the mysterious voice had directed them to. Tony moved in low and slow, giving Ron time to search.

"I don't see anything," Ron said as they swept over the area. "Must have been a hoax. Wait! I think I see something! Move us to the left a little, there, Damn! Tony, it's the kids! I don't believe it! They're alive! Look!" They were now close enough for both the men to see the five children without binoculars.

The five small figures on the ground stopped and turned toward the helicopter, then started waving. Tony reached for the radio.

"Firebird One to Base Camp, do you read me Todd?"

"I read you Firebird One, what's up Tony?"

"Hope you are sitting down, buddy. We have spotted the kids, they are alive."

"Alive? All five? Are you are sure about that?" Todd's voice sounded disbelieving.

"Very sure. I can't pick them up right now, I have to lose the bucket. You have someone on the ground in this area? We are near the end of the gorge."

"Sit tight for just a minute, okay, let me contact Mike Nelson and see where he is, he may be able to reach them. I'll be back in just a second, stay on this frequency."

"Will do."

Todd James adjusted the frequency on the radio to contact Mike. "Mike, you there?"

"Yep. Nothing to report yet, though."

"Where are you in relation to the gorge?"

"Maybe a quarter mile from the end. Why?"

"Firebird One spotted the kids. They are alive, near the end of the gorge. Can you see Firebird from there?"

"Give me a minute, we are in a depressed area, if we get higher we may be able to spot it."

Mike excitedly climbed to a higher spot, with his two younger companions on his heels. As soon as he reached the top he spotted the helicopter.

"I see it! You said the kids are alive?"

"That is what Tony says. How soon can you reach that location?"

"Give us ten minutes, max. We are going now. What frequency is Tony on?"

Todd gave him the information and switched his own radio back to speak to Tony. He heard Mike and Tony already discussing what had to be done. Mike and the other two would stay with the kids while Tony landed and removed the bucket that was attached to the bottom of the helicopter, then he could safely land and pick up the kids. They anticipated having the children to the base camp within an hour.

Tony hovered over the children's location until he saw Mike reach them, then he headed out to get the bucket removed.

He would be back as quickly as possible.

Todd James set down the radio and breathed a silent prayer of thanks. Then he turned to face the parents, still barely able to believe he was giving them good news.

"Folks," he stated fairly loudly to get everyone's attention, "we have news about your children. They have been found, they are all alive, and should be back here within an hour."

He was pleased to see four couples immediately enfold their partners in tight embraces. Mr. Cranston was the lone exception, and Todd was on the verge of at least going over to offer the man a handshake when Marjorie Scott turned from her husband's embrace and enfolded Wallace in a hug.

Todd smiled and went back to work.

Jason, Zack, Trini, Kimberly, and Billy were still waving at the helicopter that hovered over their location when they heard an amplified voice coming from it.

"Sit tight, kids. A couple of forest rangers will be there in a few minutes. And we will be back soon to fly you back to the base, where your parents are waiting for you. You are all going to be okay now!"

The five friends offered up a cheer and turned to each other to embrace happily. They were still hugging each other and chattering excitedly when Mike Nelson arrived on the scene.

"Well! What do you know, five thoroughly filthy kids! Funny the things you find in the wake of a fire," he grinned.

The children stopped suddenly and looked somewhat startled by the sudden arrival. "It's okay, kids, we are here to help. Anyone want something to drink, or maybe eat. And, by the way, what are your names?"

As the children slowly approached the new arrivals Jason introduced them. "I'm Jason Scott, this is Zack Taylor, Kimberly Hart, Billy Cranston and Trini, um, Trini, I don't know her last name," he finished, embarrassed.

"Kwan," Trini supplied with a slight smile.

"Nice to meet you all. Billy, you're limping. Are you hurt, son?"

"I just wrenched my ankle, it isn't serious." Billy replied shyly.

"Well, let's take a look at it anyway. And, let's get you all something to eat and drink. It will be a bit before the helicopter gets back," Mike got his assistants dispensing some energy bars and water to the kids, while he took a look at Billy's ankle.

"You're right, it isn't too bad, but it must hurt. I'm going to go ahead and wrap it, which will make it feel a little better." He quickly bandaged Billy's foot and ankle and turned to the other children. "Any other injuries?" He was a little surprised to see the others all shake their heads in a negative answer.

They had been incredibly lucky.

Zordon watched as the five children boarded the helicopter, accompanied by the forest rangers who had found them. He felt a sense of satisfaction seeing the children safe. Things would be okay for now.

"Alpha, you can turn off the viewing globe now. They will be okay. I'm going to go back to 'sleep', it is not yet time to assemble a new team."

"Zordon, why did you awaken? Was it because of those children? Who are they?"

"They are the future."

Jack Scott was anxious. He had spent the last several hours believing his only child may be dead, and he had felt calm and in control. Once he knew Jason was okay, he felt a nervous wreck. It made no sense at all.

All nine parents were now watching the southeastern skyline, but with impatience and hope instead of fear and dismay. They had been told the helicopter had made it back to the kids' location and was picking them up. They would be here shortly.

Todd James stood slightly off to the side of the parents, also waiting anxiously for the helicopter. Behind them were the other personnel that were at the base. Everyone had known about the missing children, all had been worried, and all were excited about the outcome of the situation.

Finally the helicopter came into view, seeming to approach at a snail's pace. It seemed hours before it landed and the blades began to slow. Todd motioned for the parents to stay where they were, and he ran, bent over, up to the helicopter's door and opened it.

He felt tears in his eyes as he looked in at the five small faces peering out at him. "Come on kids, got some folks here that are mighty anxious to see you." With that he reached in and gently began to lift children out to the ground. Kimberly was first. As soon as her feet hit the ground she was running to where her parents stood, crying as she flung herself into their arms. Jason, Trini, Zack, and Billy, who ran with an awkward hopping gait on his bandaged ankle, followed her.

A cheer sounded from the base personnel at the emotional reunion. Todd, Tony, Mike, Ron and the others stood around tired, but incredibly happy.

They felt as if they had played part in a miracle.

The forest was well on its way to recovering from the fire. Ground cover had grown back within the first couple of years, bushes were well established again, and young trees could be found everywhere. It would be a few more decades before all the damage was repaired, but it would eventually recover completely.

Jason wondered if he would.

He sighed deeply-he missed his friends. He didn't want to admit it, but he needed them now. He had given back the Gold Powers, but the physical difficulties persisted. He had been assured they would fade in time, but for now he was miserable. It had taken all his considerable strength to get up here. He suspected he would end up spending most of the night here, resting, and trying to get his strength back enough to hike out.

As it was he had been sitting here for a couple of hours, lost in his memories of the fire that summer. In Jason's mind that fire was the flame in which his friendship with Zack, Billy, Trini, and Kimberly was forged. It sealed a five-way friendship that summer. To Jason that friendship started in an alley in Angel Grove and was permanently sealed in a lake in the forest. The first time they faced adversity together. The first of many times one or more of them would need the strength provided by that friendship. Memories flashed in his mind's eye like glimpses of a county fair caught from inside a madly whirling carnival ride.

...The following winter when Zack contracted pneumonia, and ended up spending over a week in the hospital. Jason had visited him with his father, and came away haunted by his friend's gray face and desperate struggle to breathe. He and the others kept a hospital vigil, even though they were only rarely allowed in to see him.

...The summer they were all twelve, Kimberly's parents' struggling marriage failed completely. Kimberly spent most of that summer in a haze of guilt and grief. She was convinced it was somehow her fault. Her parents ended up sending her to a therapist for a time to help her work out her feelings. Her friends were there with unconditional support.

...That same summer Trini and her family were involved in a serious car accident. Trini suffered three broken ribs, and a broken left arm. Her father suffered two broken legs, and because he was off work so long they started to have some financial problems. Trini was afraid they would end up moving again, until the company set up an arrangement to assist the Kwans financially until Russell was able to work again. Trini had needed her friends' support to face the uncertainties that summer.

...The following fall and winter Billy spent six months living with the Scotts while his father underwent chemotherapy for kidney cancer. Wallace stayed with his elderly aunt in the city, who didn't have the room or inclination to have Billy there as well. All concerned agreed it would be easier for him if he was able to stay in Angel Grove and the Scotts were glad to take him in. Every other weekend they would take Billy to see his father. Nearly every night Jason would awaken to hear Billy's suppressed sobs. It was one of the most painful things Jason had faced, being unable to do anything to reassure his friend that his father would be okay. Because for a time, none of them had been sure he would be. But after six months Wallace was given a clean bill of health and came home.

...Three months after Billy moved back with his father, Jason was hit by a car while riding his bike. He suffered two broken legs, a dislocated shoulder and internal injuries. He spent a month in the hospital in traction, and two more months in bed at home. During that time all of the others came over daily to keep him up to date on his schoolwork, gossip and news from school, and the outside life in general. They would all spend most of their weekend in his room watching movies, playing board or card games, or just hanging out. When he was finally healed enough to resume his normal activities he found he had no catching up to do thanks to his friends' efforts.

Jason found himself remembering the other times as well, the large and small events that make up any life.

Kimberly finishing second in her first gymnastics competition. Zack's relentless pursuit of Angela, despite her aloofness. Trini teaching Zack and him Kung Fu. Billy's science fair project being selected as third in the National Science Fair, competing against college seniors when he was only twelve. Jason receiving his black belt. The five of them receiving the Morphin Powers. The disastrous first fight against the Putties. Tommy joining the team, and Kimberly falling in love with him at first sight. Zack, Trini and him being chosen to go to Switzerland as diplomats. Turning his powers over to Rocky. Sitting up all night in his dorm room in Switzerland talking with Zack and Trini. Coming back to assume the Gold Powers. Seeing Billy's still young eyes peering out of the face of a man dying of old age. Having to give up the Gold Powers....

Right now he felt older than Billy had looked when he left for Aquitar. Jason sighed again deeply.

"Keep that up and you'll hyperventilate and pass out," advised a familiar voice from behind him.

Jason leapt to his feet and whirled to find Zack standing behind him.

"Zack! How did you find me? What are you doing here?" Jason was overwhelmed by the joy of seeing his friend again. Before Zack could respond, Jason pulled him into a tight hug.

"Guess you're glad to see me," Zack quipped, returning the hug.

"I didn't know how much until I saw you! What are you doing here?"

"Got a call saying you might need a friend, so here I am, with some other company."

Jason looked beyond Zack to see Trini standing there. She had gotten her hair cut shorter and styled to frame her face. The cute girl and pretty teenager was rapidly turning into a beautiful young woman. She smiled warmly and reached out to hug Jason tightly.

"I'm sorry things have turned out this way," she murmured softly.

"Hey! Break it up! My turn!" The voice came from behind Trini, where Kimberly stood waiting her turn.

"Kim, they called you too?" Jason enveloped her in a tight embrace.

"Of course, and when I heard what had happened I couldn't be kept away!" she declared with customary emphasis.

"It feels so good to have us all together, well, almost," Jason started, but was interrupted by yet another voice.

"What's this 'almost' stuff? Looks like we're all here."

"BILLY!" Jason couldn't believe he was here, even after grabbing him in a bear hug.

"It's good to see you, too, Jason. Ease up on the ribs, huh?" Billy's smile lit up his face.

Jason released him and looked him over carefully. "You look okay! It really did work?"

"You thought it didn't?" Billy asked with a gentle irony.

"I just remember how awful you looked when Cestria took you to Aquitar. You looked okay when you contacted us to tell us you were staying there, but it wasn't like seeing you in person. You look great." Jason explained.

Billy did look young and healthy again, and fairly happy as well. Kimberly looked to be in perfect shape, leaner and stronger than ever. Zack had gotten a more sophisticated hairstyle, and his clothes spoke of his emerging mature style. Trini's luminous beauty was perfectly offset by her simple outfit.

The feeling of having his friends there again overwhelmed Jason. He truly had not realized how much he had missed them. He felt as if a part of his soul had been restored. The pain and physical distress that were the remainders of his time possessing the Gold Powers were still with him, but he felt he had the strength to fight back now. He could do anything if his friends were here to help.

The five of them sat down, much as they had nine years before. Their conversation ranged over a variety of topics: gymnastics, foreign policy, alien social structure, karate, school, romance, the future, the past. Though it had been over two years since the five of them had been together, it was as if it had been only yesterday. There was no awkwardness, no hesitation, no holding back.

Kim spoke of her regret at breaking up with Tommy, Billy of his uncertainty regarding his future on Aquitar, Zack of his desire to build a career in show business, Trini of her dream of a career in international diplomacy, Jason of his longing to open his own dojo.

They laughed often, cried occasionally, shared unconditionally. The conversations were just starting to dry up when the sun peeked over the horizon. They had talked the night away.

"Guess we'd better start back," Zack decided, climbing stiffly to his feet.

"Yeah, it is a long hike out, and I'm already hungry," Billy added as the rest of them stood up.

"At least there is no fire this time," Trini noted with a smile. That generated another round of chuckles.

"Guys," Jason started, suspicious moisture visible in his eyes. "I don't know how to tell you all how much your coming here has meant to me. Thank you, more than you can know, thank you."

Kimberly walked over to him and wrapped him in a hug. "We are your friends, we couldn't do anything else," she declared softly.

"You would do the same for any of us," Trini added, joining Kim in hugging Jason.

"Yeah, next time we'll all go to Aquitar and cheer Billy up," Zack added with a laugh, putting his arms around Jason and Trini.

"Time and distance don't matter when friendship is involved," Billy stated, putting his arms around Jason and Kimberly, completing the group hug.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, silent, letting their hearts speak for them, as the sun rose over the mountains behind them.

For now they were together, and nothing else mattered.

End