Disclaimer: We all know I don't own Power Rangers. If I did things would be a lot different from the current situations. Try to sue me but the most valuable thing I own is my five year old stereo system. Anything not recognizable is probably mine, but it could also just be pop culture infiltrating my barriers.
Author's notes: This one is VERY violent. There will be blood and gore represented as well as some rather creative use of four letter words. Please don't read this if you don't like this or if you're too young to cope with this. Oh, yeah it is about the length of a novel at this point, a complete accident (all my fics start out as ten-fifteen page ideas that seem to go into thirty or so... in this case sixty something) All hate mail goes to my e-mail unefemme@onebox.com

Another Place and Time
by Symbolic Agony

"How much further is it?" Rocky sighed as he glanced out the window seeing the same trees repeat themselves with hardly another car to break the monotony.

"I would guess about another half-hour at the most" Jason replied from the drivers' seat. He had to plead with his mom to get the van for the weekend and was not going to risk so much as a ticket while he was in it.

"Billy, toss the Doritos up here, Tommy called from the front passenger seat. He was relieved to be away from the duties demanded by Angel Grove. All the guys decided to go camping near the California/Nevada border. The girls had minimal interest in joining their male counterparts. Tanya even used the term "caveman" in her rejection.

Billy tossed the bag from the back seat, only to have it intercepted by Rocky who took two large handfuls and placed them in his lap before surrendering the remains to Tommy.

"Hey, I asked first for a reason." Tommy joked.

"So, how is life on the outside Billy?" Jason said.

"What?" Billy replied.

"You know, being cooped up in the Power Chamber." Jason explained, "You've barely seen the light of day lately."

"It is quite refreshing to escape the confines," Billy admitted, "But it really doesn't affect me one way or the other."

"I don't know how you and Adam do it." Tommy interjected "I couldn't deal with being by myself all the time. Don't you get depressed?"

Rocky quickly glanced backward toward Billy and noticed Adam completely knocked out beside him. He had curled himself into a ball to avoid crowding Billy on the back seat. His head rested on one arm while the other hung over the seat to the floor. "Speaking of Adam, check him out. Hey, sleeping Beauty, time to wake up." he said, shaking him slightly, only producing a faint moan.

Tommy looked back as well, "He's exhausted."

"Rocky, don't wake him up." Billy pleaded, "His parents have been arguing lately and he told me this morning that he's been sleep deprived."

"How come he didn't tell the rest of us?" Tommy asked.

"He doesn't want everybody to know his personal life." Rocky explained, "It's been like this for years. I'm surprised he spoke up at all."

The group remained silent for a moment with the exception of Rocky munching on his chips and the hum of the engine. It was awkward as they hardly looked at one another as the final destination became closer and home further and further.

"What am I doing here?" Billy muttered quietly.

"Hmm?" The others added.

"I don't belong here. I only came because you guys pestered me into doing it."

"Of course you belong here." Tommy added. "We need lives outside of Ranger duties."

"But I'm not a ranger anymore." Billy sighed. "I'm merely the lost cause in the closet."

Jason noted the tone of resentment in Billy's voice and initially vowed to say nothing. Still, he knew the matter wouldn't blow over easily. "Hardly. Yeah, you got cheated with the Gold Powers. Still, without you we would've all been dead a thousand times over before Tommy even became a ranger."

"That's right." Rocky agreed, "You're still a ranger. We all are and will be long after we leave."

The others snickered at the serious tone Rocky had taken. It was such a rare feat for him to concentrate on anything in particular. "You sounded almost philosophical" Tommy joked.

Billy shook his head in a manner that would have indicated disbelief. "It's not like I can hold my own on the battlefield. Physical combat was never my specialty. If I had inherited the Gold Power, I would have jeopardized all of you."

"Billy, you're being ridiculous." Tommy exclaimed, "You were the first choice for a reason. Thing just didn't work out. Stop being so insecure about yourself. You would've done fine. Your worst flaw is you never give yourself credit."

Billy wanted to protest further but merely took to staring out the window, hoping that once he got to the camp grounds there would be enough room for him to avoid another conversation of this manner. Nobody knew him well enough to tell the truth. They wanted to be kind and not offend him like he had been for so many years. It was easier to retreat than to continue the debate. The others noted that and figured it was best not to push matters further. The silence continued for twenty more minutes until the 'green monster' pulled up to the sparse wooded area they were to set up camp.

~*~

"Hey, Dad, Take a look at the rangers." Sprocket insisted as he spied on the conversation in the vehicle.

"Must I have any interest in what those petty humans are doing?" Mondo replied, "Unless they've been dismantled I don't want to bother with them.

"But this could be good." Sprocket continued, "Billy is doubting his ability as a ranger."

"What else is new?" Mondo said scornfully, turning his attention to a cog that had lost his left leg in battle with the rangers and cautiously replaced it.

"That gives me an idea." Sprocket exclaimed as he watched his father reattach the machine's limb. "We could capture the rangers and use one of them to tear them apart."

"What a horrid idea my son." Mondo dismissed, "It would take much effort to capture them and detain them. Remember what I said that you should never bring your enemy home with you."

"But Dad..." Sprocket urged, "If we could just get them for a few minutes we could place one of them under a spell. We could lock them up and let him take the other rangers out in front of us. They won't be able to fight back against their friend so it wouldn't be so easy for them to escape."

"Still, it is risky. How do we get all of them together and what will we do with their bodies or the one that's left. I don' particularly want a human bothering me, even if he is on our side." Mondo contemplated.

"Hmm..." Sprocket thought, "I know, We only need the male rangers and their all together now along with Billy. The girls will be vulnerable without them and we should have no problem in destroying them. As far as what to do with the humans we could get rid of them once their beaten up badly enough and send them back to Earth so their families could watch them die. The one left would have such a guilty conscience that he would be permanently incapacitated."

"It could work." Mondo considered. "But who would we use for the spell. It would need to be one who's emotionally weakened so once the spell is released they will break down."

"Well, Tommy wouldn't be a good idea; he might just get up again to get back at us. Same thing with Jason, especially if we kill one of his buddies. Rocky might just be too dumb to get what he did and wouldn't suffer as much. Either way, I'd like to see that goofball die."

"So you're suggesting between Adam or Billy." Mondo said.

"Yes, they both are similar in that they lack self confidence and I'm sure either one would fall apart once they realize that they murdered their fellow rangers. Still, Billy is slightly resentful that he doesn't have powers any more. He does have a hidden resentment toward Tommy and would be a perfect tool. He's also bigger than Adam and given the proper training could inflict more permanent damage."

"So be it. You have my approval." Mondo accepted, "But you must not fail. The last thing we need is for five rangers loose in my palace causing chaos. It is entirely up to you to carry it out. You have complete use of the cogs and any battle machine you wish. I just want those pesky humans out of my planet for good."

"No problem Pops." Sprocket confirmed, "I'll be sure Zordon's rangers will be no more."

~*~

"It's about time." Rocky exclaimed as he jumped out of the van "I thought we were never gonna get here."

"It's good to be able to stretch out my legs again" Tommy confirmed.

Billy gently shook Adam who was still sound asleep in the back seat. "Come on, were here Adam. Time to wake up."

Adam groaned slightly and then seemed to return back to sleep. Jason came around to the storage area behind them and made his attempt. "Adam..... Adam. Come on. Are you feeling alright?"

"Hmm... I'm fine.... just tired." Adam muttered.

"We need help setting up camp. Come on, the fresh air will do you good." Billy urged.

Adam grudgingly sat up, rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the light. He wanted to sleep a few hours more but managed to pull himself up and came out the van.

"Look who's awake." Tommy smirked as he began sorting out several poles to one of the tents he had sprawled out in front of him. "Could you give me a hand with these?"

"Sure." Adam said, now being about half-awake.

"It's pretty nice here." Rocky commented, "Still I'm not sure if it was worth the five hour trip."

"Hey," Jason defended, "It gets us away from Angel Grove. We haven't been able to get away for awhile."

"I just hope Mondo will let us have this little vacation time." Rocky replied "I don't want to have to teleport back to deal with some monster." He was immediately given four looks that clearly meant 'Don't jinx us you idiot'. "What?"

"Common sense." Tommy explained, "Every time we wish these guys will leave us alone they are sure to cause trouble. We don't need any of that right now."

"We're going to need firewood." Jason stated, "Who wants to go?"

"I'll go." Billy offered.

"I guess I'll go too." Adam added, "I'm no good at setting up these stupid tents."

"Alright. Have fun." Rocky yelled as the two walked off together into the woods. "If you guys aren't back in two days, we'll get the FBI looking for you."

Both Billy and Adam headed cautiously along the path in the woods, picking up a variety of dry sticks. The trees stood surprisingly tall in the dry sandy soil and shielded them from the majority of the midday summer heat. "It'll take some time to gather the quantity needed for the fire" Billy said.

"It's still better than trying to set up the tents though." Adam replied.

"I suppose." Billy agreed.

Neither of the boys saw nor heard the swarm of cogs that were gathering about a hundred feet further up the trail. They hid just around a curve and waited for their pray to come to them. There were nearly forty all together along with a tall, skinny machine behind them. "Now listen up gear for brains. I'm going to give the order to attack. Once I do I want you to take out the green ranger. Leave the brainy pest to me. Once the others come, rough them up a bit and capture them, but no serious injuries. Gasket wants that pleasure."

The cogs nodded in unison as the two teens came closer and closer to the target area. "Wait.... Wait...." the leader machine said until they were within twenty feet "Now... go attack them!"

"What the hell?" Adam said as the team of cogs made a rush for him.

"How many of them are there?" Billy questioned.

"Too many." Adam answered, "Get out of here, get the others!"

Billy instinctively reached for his communicator and received nothing but static. "Shit... I can't reach Zordon or the others. The frequency is being blocked by something."

"Forget about that! Get the hell out of here." Adam yelled again. He backed up further, coming ever closer to a drop of about ten feet just beyond the trail.

"No way. You can't handle them on your own!" Billy cried out.

Three cogs made their first attempt at attacking Adam, who was unable to deflect all the blows. A decisive kick to the chest sent him tumbling over the edge of the drop and he fell hard on his left leg.

"Adam!" Billy called out, wondering why they weren't attacking him at all or showing any notice to his presence.

"Ahh..." Adam cried out as he attempted to stand. "I think I just broke my leg. Go get the others, please!"

The cogs were quickly making their way down toward the fallen Asian boy who frantically attempted to morph to no avail. "Damn it. I can't morph."

Billy quickly noticed the seriousness of his friend's injuries as he saw him frantically scramble away from the approaching enemy, lashing his right leg out wildly in his attempt to send them back. He considered going in to help but quickly realized that it was like a death sentence for them both if he did. He quickly turned away to run but was almost immediately intercepted by the head machine monster. "Going somewhere?"

"Get away from here!" Billy demanded vainly.

"Oh, you must be naïve to think that I would listen to a petty human." the monster cooed, "You don't know who I am. I am Dranscla and I am feared across most of the galaxy. If you don't struggle I won't hurt you and you shall live, for now."

"I'm not afraid." Billy whispered to himself as he took a fighting stance.

"You should be." Dranscla returned as he tackled Billy and before he could put up a fight was securely restrained and dragged over to the drop where Adam was losing badly to the Cogs. Billy was forced to watch as he saw his friend get kicked and punched numerous times and unable to connect a proper blow. Blood dripped down his forehead as he grew visibly exhausted. One final kick to the head sent him out, and he laid on the ground, unmoving.

"No! Get up!" Billy pleaded as he once again attempted to struggle against Dranscla's iron grip.

Dranscla chuckled at Billy's frantic attempt to save his friend, "Such sentimentalism is making me sick. Don't worry. HE isn't dead. You'll see him soon enough." And the two disappeared in a flash of blood red light.

~*~

A faint rumble could be heard from the camp ground and swarms of birds fled from deep in the woods. It was almost immediately followed by an explosion.

"What's that?" Jason asked aloud.

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good." Tommy said. "We better go check it out."

"Right." Rocky and Jason agreed in unison.

The three took off racing down the path, as fast as their legs could carry them. They continued to hear the chaotic noises as the got nearer until they came face to face with more cogs than had ever been set out on them before. They completely surrounded them with ease, giving no hope of retreat.

"Time to take care of business." Tommy grunted as he sidekicked three of the cogs, only to have them replaced by several more.

"Shit, there's Too many of them!" Jason cried as he was kicked. Another cog quickly added another blow, sending him flying down the same drop. The wind was knocked out of him as he rolled an the ground in pain. When he came to his senses, he noticed the cogs once again approaching him while Tommy and Rocky were being quickly overpowered like never before. He stumbled backward and tripped over something, sending him tumbling toward the ground. He quickly recognized the boy in Green "Adam?" he said, shaking him without response.

The cogs kept approaching him gradually, taking their sweet time as though they knew they had the upper hand. "Come on, Adam? You gotta wake up!" He pleaded. A sudden fear struck him and he frantically Adam's neck for a pulse of some sort. He was relieved to find that his companion wasn't dead but then realized that Billy was nowhere to be found.

"Ahhh... it hurts." Rocky gasped as clutched his right shoulder that had been torn from its socket. "These guys are for real this time."

"I know." Tommy agreed, blood trickling from several wounds throughout his body, "There isn't much we can do. They must've managed to block out the communicators. We're royally fucked."

"I... Don't think I'm going to be able.... to keep this up much longer." Rocky said, between labored breaths.

"We CANNOT give up!" Tommy retorted. A cog came up behind him and delivered a strong kick to the base of Tommy's spine, sending him crashing down in a heap of pain.

"Tommy!" Rocky cried out. He looked around the chaos and noticed he was the only one left standing. Tommy laid barely conscious just in front of him, unable to put up the fight any longer. He saw Jason being dragged limply by two cogs who laid him next to Adam. The only one who wasn't present was Billy. Rocky hoped he had managed to get away, even though he doubted it. He felt his body grow tired, refusing to listen to his orders to continue with the fight. He felt the cold metallic hands grasp him and he was unable to do anything about it.

~*~

"So? Is the guest comfortable?" Sprocket taunted as he stood over Billy, who was restrained by his wrists and ankles onto a steel table. A slew of machinery, mainly consisting of old parts from destroyed monsters and cogs along with some leftovers from Rita and Zedd.

Billy wanted to cry. It was his own fault for him being here. He had to stand there and watch Adam get pummeled. If he had just run right away they all would have had a better chance. "I would hardly consider myself a guest here."

"Oh, but you are going to play the primary role in disposing of the rangers." Sprocket countered, "and you don't even have to thank me."

"Not in this lifetime." Billy replied, attempting to hide the fear and uncertainty he held.

"It's not like you have a choice." Sprocket explained, bringing out a huge syringe filled with a deep red fluid that nearly matched blood. "Once I give you this, the bio-agents will render you a mere puppet to us. I want you to kill your friends and you will. Don't try to fight it; it'll only weaken you against your task."

"No!" Billy shouted again and again as Sprocket injected the fluid into his arm. Almost immediately his head swam and he couldn't focus on anything. "Please don't make me do this!" he pleaded with tears in his eyes as he noticed the lack of control he had over his own body as he drifted off into a deep sleep."

"Soon, Billy it will all make sense. Just enjoy the ride." Sprocket chuckled.

~*~

"Hey girl, what's up?" Tanya said to Kat as she greeted her at the youth center.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just bored." Kat answered.

"Tell me about it." Tanya said in a slightly hushed voice, "We haven't been bothered by the machines for a few weeks. And we don't even have the guys to mess with."

Kat greeted her with a mischievous grin "Or a particular one." she taunted.

"Who?" Tanya defended, "Me and Adam?"

"Who else?" Kat replied, "It's pretty obvious."

"It's not like that" Tanya spelled out, "I wish it were but Adam said that he didn't feel for me quite like that. He's afraid that if we started going out things would get weird between the two of us on the battlefield."

"It isn't like that with Tommy and me at all." Katherine countered.

"I know, but maybe he isn't ready yet. I don't want to push it, besides, it's kinda nice being single again."

Kat nodded in reply. "Yeah, I miss them, but it's nice to get them out of our hair for a few days. We should hang out tonight and rent a bunch of movies. There're a ton that I want to see but Tommy won't because they are 'chick flicks' according to him."

"Hopefully things are going alright for them." Tanya thought aloud, "And I hope you-know-who won't cause any shit."

"Don't worry. They can take care of themselves. Besides, if something were to happen in that matter we would know." Kat ensured, gesturing to the communicator on her wrist.

~*~

"Where the hell are we?" Tommy said as he came to in a dark room where he and the other guys were hanging about a foot or so off the floor by a heavy rope tied around each of their hands.

"Beats me." Rocky responded.

"Is everybody alright?" Tommy asked.

"I don't know." Rocky answered truthfully. "Neither Adam or Jase have woken up yet. They did get pretty beat up back there. No clue as to where Billy is right now. How's your back?"

"Fucking sore as hell right now." Tommy grumbled.

"My arms hurt." Adam said quite groggily as he collected his senses.

"That's 'cause they have us hanging up here like wild game." Rocky replied. "You okay? You got your ass kicked back there."

"I know." Adam replied. "What do they want with us?"

"Wish we knew." Tommy replied. "We don't even know where we are or what time it is right now."

Jason had gradually began coming to and didn't bother saying a word. He knew that nobody had any answers to his questions.

"You think the girls are alright?" Tommy thought aloud.

"I hope so." Adam stated, "Seems like they were concentrating on us for the moment. I think they deployed every single cog they had on us. Anybody know where Billy is?"

"Beats me." Tommy replied, "I would've thought you would know since you were there. He was gone when we got there and you were out."

"He must've disappeared after I blacked out. Funny thing is none of them actually went to attack him at all. They were all busy taking me out. I just hope the fact he isn't here means he got away."

"We really need to be thinking about how we're going to get out of here." Rocky noted, looking around the small cell. "I personally don't want to know what they want to do with us here."

"Great, so what's you plan, Rocky?" Jason cracked, "Bite through these ropes? Oh, I got it... maybe if we ask really nicely they might let us go!"

"We really don't need sarcasm right now bro." Tommy urged, attempting to reduce the chance of a heated argument. "I don't see any way out of here at the moment. They got us tied up pretty good."

Adam attempted to get one of his arms out of the roping. His didn't seem as tight as the others' were and he was quite flexible "I might be able to get my wrist out of here if I can just get it through this loop."

"You sure?" Rocky exclaimed, "We don't need you breaking your arm trying to get out."

"Not like I can help much if they attack anyway." Adam scoffed, "In that cog attack I fell and I think one of my legs are broke. Might as well have an arm to match."

"It won't be so fun when you're in a wheelchair 'cause you won't be able to use the crutches." Tommy joked.

"It's not like we have any other options." Jason added, "If he wants to try let him. Things can't get much worse than it is right now."

~*~

"No.... I said to follow through like this!" Sprocket yelled as he took the sword from Billy and thrust it through the stuffed mannequin, the blade exiting through the other end. "You'll inflict more pain and damage that way, especially when you take it out."

"Yes master." Billy replied soullessly "I shall not disappoint you again. I will make sure the rangers will feel every bit of pain I give them."

"Yes, just remember, there's a force field around them that will keep them alive as long as you don't do anything too extreme like decapitate them. WE want them to go home and let them die where their friends and families will witness their very painful deaths."

"Yes, my Prince, I shall obey your command." Billy droned as he once again took the sword and in a quick flurry of decisive swipes reduced the mannequin to pieces, with cotton stuffing flying out everywhere. "Will that do?"

"Yes!" Sprocket cheered, "You're ready. Time for me to introduce you to your targets."

"I would very much like that." Billy grinned.

Sprocket took the sword from Billy's hand and replaced it with a long, thick bull whip. "Here, this is one of the most painful items to use on human flesh. It would make a good start. Make sure they won't be able to fight after this, especially Tommy."

"Tommy will feel all the pain for what he has done over these years." Billy agreed, "That glamor hog will be the first one to feel my hand around his throat and cry as he starts to die."

~*~

"Yes." Adam whispered.

"What?" Jason replied.

Adam wriggled his right hand to demonstrate what he had done.

"You son of a bitch." Tommy exclaimed, "You actually managed to get your hand out of there."

"At least that's something." Rocky replied "If I hang here for another five minutes, I think my arms will fall off."

All four of the guys heard footsteps approaching just then. They sounded heavy, like they belonged to one of the machines. As the figure came closer they could tell that it was human after all.

"Billy!" Tommy gasped, "What're you doing here we thought...."

"YOU thought I was captured, that I couldn't take care of myself." Billy interrupted, brandishing the whip and swinging it within inches of Tommy's face. "You were so wrong. Now you can't control me. I've been set free. Now its time for all of you to get what you deserve."

"What... are you doing?" Rocky stammered, his eyes focusing on the whip that seemed to be dangerously close and in the wrong person's hands.

"Duh... what does it look like you fucking moron?" Billy screamed, taking the object and demonstrating its use on the blue ranger's abdomen. Rocky yelped in agony as blood began to flow onto his shirt. "That's what a bullwhip is made for."

"Rocky?" Adam cried out. "Are you okay?"

"And look at you" Billy sneered, "I should've told them to be careful of you. Too damn agile for your own good, perhaps even too smart. To say the least you know more than these dumbasses combined!"

"No, you don't want to do this. This isn't you!" Adam protested and was greeted with a whiplash to his chest, but he withheld any sound."

"I'm going to teach you to try to get out of things when your not told." Billy continued, taking out a small dagger from his belt. "I said I wouldn't resort to knives just yet, but since you wouldn't scream for me and was trying to get away..."

"Please don't do it." Adam whimpered as the small dagger came ever closer to to his arm, not sure of what the enraged former ranger would do.

Billy firmly grasped Adam's arm, which struggled frantically as the knife dug into his flesh just above the elbow and traced a line down along the bone until he reached the wrist. He smiled with pure glee as he saw the tears begin to pour not only from Adam's eyes but the others' as well. "Such sentiment you have for one another. It's sickening. I haven't even begun hurting any of you yet."

"Knock this shit off right fucking now!" Jason screamed, deliberately attempting to get his attention away from his badly wounded partner, "You don't want to kill any of us. Stop being a puppet for them!"

"A puppet?" Billy crooned as he turned his attention on the muscular brunette, "Wasn't I that when I was with you? A machine who merely saved the day so you and Tommy could take all the glory?"

"You're gonna hate yourself after this is through." Jason blurted, "Knowing that you killed your friends."

"I shall only cry out of boredom once you're gone and in the dirt." Billy returned.

"Fuck you! Isn't one of us enough?" Jason yelled, looking over at Adam who continued to bleed extensively and seemed almost delirious.

"Don't worry, he won't die, just yet." Billy explained, "We want you to live through the worst attack and then you'll have the pleasure of dying in a hospital on Earth with your parents by your side. At least you'll be granted that honor."

"I hate you!" Jason screamed, prompting Billy to lash the whip several times over Jason's body. Jason also bit back his screams, determined not to grant Billy the pleasure of watching him in agony. When no reaction came Billy continued to whip, faster and harder, not sparing a single region; arms, legs, body and face were all drenched in thick red blood."

"No!" Tommy choked out. "Leave them alone."

Billy then advanced on Tommy once again a look of twisted contempt drawn on his face. His face had traces of blood as well, but obviously not his own. "Trying to be the hero once again? It's too late!"

"Come on, Billy. Try to remember that we aren't your enemy." Tommy pleaded, "We're not the ones you want to go after."

"Listen pretty boy, I'm tired of you influencing me to do what you say. Never again will I stand in your shadow. Nor will I lose what is entitled to me to your best friend. It's over and you cannot stop me." Billy said, dangerously calm examining Tommy's vulnerable body. "Where do I begin with you? I could always start with that face of yours." Billy took the whip and slashed it harder and faster than he had previously directly onto Tommy's left cheek. He lifted it again and marked his forehead in blood. Another time he let it fall directly onto his groin, the last bringing about the only cry of pain he would permit himself.

"That is enough for today." Billy determined, taking his knife and cutting the four battered rangers down from the ceiling. "But don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow to give you all another lesson." And as casually as he came, he left back down the corridor, the energy bars separating the components reappeared. Each of the four boys fought back the urge to cry openly not only because of the pain but also the dreadful idea of who was doing this to them and the fact they may never see their loved ones again.

Rocky was the least injured of the bunch and looked over each of the three others who laid on the ground barely able to move. "God. Guys, just hang in there. We'll find a way out."

"I know we will." Adam croaked very weakly. The bleeding was beginning to slow, which Rocky wasn't sure if it was good or bad. He scrambled to his friend of eleven years and looked into his wound. The bone was visible at places in the cut and not much less deep anywhere else.

"Please, hang in there. Just a little longer." Rocky pleaded.

"Don't worry, I'll be alright." Adam said shakily, holding Rocky's hand with his un-mangled hand which trembled greatly, "We'll make it through this. Then we'll laugh about it later. "

"How can you joke at a time like this?" Rocky said, dismayed. He suddenly realized that it was all his friend could do to keep awake; it was the only thing he had to hold onto. He realized that if he didn't play into it, it was very likely Adam could die in front of him. "Yeah, you'll be fine. You'll probably have a really nasty scar, but maybe the chicks will like it."

Adam chuckled slightly as his eyes began to close. Rocky panicked for a moment, "No, stay awake, whatever you do stay awake." But his words were lost as the smaller Asian boy fell into a deep sleep.

"He went out already?" Jason gasped, clutching his own wounds as best he could to stop the bleeding.

"Yeah." Rocky said, removing his shirt and tying it tightly around Adam's arm, placing his head on his lap. "He probably isn't gonna wake up."

"Didn't Billy say something about we won't die in here though?" Tommy asked.

"We're fucked either way." Jason moaned.

"Don't talk like that!" Tommy exclaimed, "We have to stick together. That's what they want. If we don't we're going to be dead no matter what happens. Once the girls find us they'll get us out of here."

"Is it worth it though?" Jason demanded, "If we're completely crippled. I don't want my folks to see me like that!"

"It's better than being here." Rocky replied. "Don't give up on yourself just yet. We'll make it through this somehow."

"Yeah, bro. Let's just hope that they're right about us not dying in here. At least it'll buy us some time."

"I'm just going to sleep. At least I won't have to think about anything." Jason muttered.

"I'm kinda exhausted too." Rocky agreed. "We need to try to rest."

"We'll figure out what to do tomorrow." Tommy added.

"Goodnight." they all said in near unison.

~*~

"Didn't they say they were going to be home by five?" Kat asked Mrs. Oliver about her son's whereabouts.

"That's what I was told but you know Tommy about as well as I do." Virginia Oliver answered, "They probably got caught up doing something out there and are running a couple hours late."

"Still, it's almost eight now. He would've called, or at least Adam or Billy would've. None of their parents have heard a word from them."

"Don't worry dear. I'll have him call you once he gets in. I'm sure they're all just fine."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Kat said with a great deal of uncertainty. "Bye."

"So, no word from any of them?" Tanya said, having overheard the conversation.

Kat put the phone down and looked over to her best friend. "Funny thing is they haven't called at all. Tommy and Rocky I understand, but the others..."

Tanya put a comforting arm around the tall blonde's shoulder. "We can't do anything. If something machine related happened, we would've been called by Zordon. They might've had the van break down on them or something."

"I just don't like the feeling of this." Kat returned.

Beep-beep beep-beep-beep beep went the girls' communicators as they waited in Kat's living room. "Hey, Zordon, what's up?" Tanya replied.

"Tanya I need you and Katherine here immediately" Zordon's voice boomed, "We have a dilemma at hand involving the other rangers and Billy."

Both of their hearts skipped a beat as they heard the urgency of the message. "We'll be right there."

~*~

"Zordon, what's going on?" Kat exclaimed as she and Tanya teleported into the Power Chamber. "Did something happen to the guys out there?"

"Unfortunately" the floating head boomed, "All of the male rangers and Billy were kidnapped my King Mondo's forces shortly after their arrival."

"What the fuck?" Tanya blurted, "Why didn't they call us? Why didn't you tell us they were under attack?"

"I apologize but a solar flare disrupted communication between us and you over the past two days. We had no means of informing you that any of this was happening."

"Are they alright? Have you found them?" Tanya insisted.

"We believe that they are being held captive on the machine empire's moon base. We've managed to pick up life signals but I'm afraid two of them are significantly weakened." Alpha explained.

"Who?" Kat asked.

"We are unable to depict who owns which life signal. The only indicator that it is them is that no other living beings are on the base at this moment. I fear that the Rangers are in grave danger."

"Then if you found them can't you teleport them back?" Kat asked once more.

"I'm sorry rangers, but we're still trying to override the protective shield that is preventing them from teleporting out."

Tanya went over to one of the computer consoles and began typing into the equipment as quickly as possible. "We gotta find them now!"

~*~

"Anybody else awake?" Tommy called out as he awoke, his face still sore as could be.

"Yeah." Jason groaned. He had weakened over the night visibly as he was sweating profusely.

"You okay bro?" Tommy asked.

"No." Jason admitted, "My whole body hurts and I think I'm getting sick."

Tommy crept over toward him and placed a palm over his forehead. It was warm... too warm. He also heard Jason wheeze slightly with every breath. "You're burning up man. Just take it easy."

"How're Rocky and Adam doing?" Jason inquired.

Tommy glanced over toward the two of them, still laying side by side like they were when he went to sleep. "They're still sound asleep I think."

"We should go check on them." Jason stated and followed with a deep hacking cough that burned his chest and throat.

"You should stay here bro." Tommy urged. "You and Adam got it the worst. I'll go check on them." He went over the couple feet to where both boys laid. Tommy secretly knew Rocky would be fine considering he had only one whip lash administered. He was half-expecting to find that Adam died in his sleep but he still was breathing. He also seemed to have the same wheezing Jason had and a hand to his forehead confirmed that he too was running a very high fever. He cautiously removed the shirt that was tied around his wound. -It's getting infected, really badly- he thought as he saw the white/yellow pus forming in the crevice and the deep discoloration. He then rewrapped the injury and left him to sleep, heading back toward Jason.

"Are they still alive?" Jason asked, wanting it to be a joke but knowing that there was a seriousness and reality to it.

"Yeah." Tommy confirmed. "Rocky seems fine. I think he's been taking care of Adam as best he can. I'm surprised that he even made it through last night. He got whatever you have. Must be 'cause you two got beaten the worst by him."

"Yeah," Jason said, his voice quivering, "sorry about last night. I know I haven't been very pleasant through all this but... it's just... I don't wanna die up here. Not like this.

"I hear you but we have to tough it out." Tommy responded, "None of us are in our prime right now."

"Honestly you look like shit." Jason blurted.

"Yeah," Tommy sighed, "I don't think I ever wanna see myself in a mirror anytime soon. You don't look so hot yourself."

"neither of you were ever were that attractive to me." Rocky interjected.

"Hey," Tommy called, "How you doing?"

"Sore, but a lot better than you guys look." Rocky confessed.

"Did you see Adam's arm yet?" Tommy questioned.

"Yeah, I saw it a few hours ago, while you guys were still sleeping." Rocky replied, "It looks pretty bad."

"Don't be surprised if he goes." Tommy stated. "It looks like he could any minute."

"Hey," a voice whispered, "I'm not dead yet and don't plan on it anytime soon."

"Adam?" Tommy exclaimed in disbelief.

"Are you doing alright?" Jason inquired.

"I'm fine." Adam lied. He felt absolutely horrid at the moment but he knew that he was beaten badly and it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was the primary worry at the moment. "My arm is feeling better."

"Don't lie." Rocky demanded, "We saw." Adam began to sit up, only to be forced back down by Rocky. "You and Jason aren't gonna move. Don't wanna have to haul two dead corpses out of here. Do you understand?"

Adam just nodded his head slightly as he laid on his back staring at the ceiling. "What are we going to do about Billy? He'll be back eventually."

"What can we do?" Jason said bitterly, "We can't fight him. Even if we wanted to I don't think any of us are in that shape right now."

Everyone nodded in conferment. "We just have to hope that we can get out of here before something all of us will regret." Tommy said, looking at the hard metal floor. "I couldn't fight Billy. I never would want to. And it isn't him in there doing this."

"We'll get Mondo back for this!" Rocky swore.

"Then get him for me too." Adam replied softly.

"Don't start talking like that now!" Rocky exclaimed, "You'll get your chance once we get out of here."

Adam laughed slightly, which gradually turned into a painful coughing fit. Once he had finished he answered "I don't think I'm ever gonna fight again. Even if I live through this."

"What?" Tommy exclaimed, "Don't worry. I'm sure we can patch you up in no time. We'll all be back to normal eventually."

"Yeah," Jason added, "You made it this far."

"Thanks guys." Adam responded, "But let's face reality. My arm's shot. It doesn't hurt because I can't feel it. I'm ready to accept that it will probably take me out of commission permanently."

The other three only looked at him and realized how true his statement was. Who was to say any of them would ever be able to fight again after what was done and if Billy were to strike again it could very easily be the end of the Power Rangers. "We'll get him for you, don't worry about that." Rocky said.

"Any clue as to getting out of here?" Jason inquired.

"They're energy bars all over the exit. There's no way to get through them." Tommy noted after taking a quick glance around the barren cell.

"Not to mention we'd still have to get out of this place" Jason added, "I don't think any of us could make a run for it right now."

~*~

"You did well your first time out." Sprocket gave his approval to Billy, "But I want you to go after Tommy. He needs to see the life dripping out of him very slowly and painfully. And you barely touched Rocky, but you at least got his friend quite well. Today I want you to take the sword and make sure that he is defenseless for good. Don't worry about any of the others unless they try to jump in and stop you. They'll have their time."

"Sire, I doubt that they will allow me to strike just one of them." Billy rationed, "Wouldn't it be best if I took all of them out immediately to get things over with now? That way you won't risk losing them if the others come to rescue them."

"The others won't be able to get to them." Sprocket said with a laugh, "They know where they are but there's no way for them to teleport in or out of the cell. Just take your time. If you do too much at once they begin not to feel anything."

"As you wish, master." Came the reply from the tall blonde man with the cold blue eyes.

~*~

"Get anywhere?" Kat asked Tanya and Alpha, who worked through the night attempting to break the force field trapping the five male companions.

"No." Tanya replied, "I've been trying every command and code Billy and Adam have ever shown me. There doesn't seem to be a way to penetrate this thing."

"It might be wise to go home and get some rest." Zordon advised, "You won't be able to help them if you're exhausted."

"What about their parents?" Kat inquired, "They're getting worried since they haven't heard from any of them last night. The police have been called even."

"How do we tell them?" Tanya exclaimed "... Oh, hi just dropping by to say that alien machines picked up your sons and are holding them prisoner on the moon. Why? Oh.. I forgot to tell you they're power Rangers!"

"We have to tell them something, even if it does give their identities away." Kat countered. "We just have to make sure that they won't tell anybody else."

"How?" Tanya demanded, "In case you haven't noticed, the media has been trying to figure out who we are for years now. If it weren't for the change in rangers from time to time, we would've all been found out a long time ago. They still want to know and let's face it people can be bought."

"Zordon." Kat pleaded, "What are we going to do about this? They have the right to know, but Tanya has a point there. Should we give ourselves away?"

Zordon pondered this all for several moments before speaking once again, "This is a difficult situation. Upon becoming rangers you vowed not to reveal you identities, but never had a situation come up where there was a legitimate reason for breaking this vow. There is a risk involved in telling the families, but you are officially released from the vow of silence as of now. The two of you must decide for yourselves what is the best option and be prepared to accept what may occur as a result."

"So, what do you want to do?" Tanya asked Kat.

"I don't know," Kat admitted, "I think we should. At least there would be some type of relief. We know they're all alive."

"We could always try to swear them to secrecy but there wouldn't be any promises." Tanya grumbled, still fairly critical of doing something so drastic so quickly. There has to be another way of doing this.

"Well, what could be so bad if it did happen? I mean, yeah, we'll get bothered by the media for awhile but things would cool down eventually."

"I like having my privacy." Tanya argued, "I don't want anybody following me with every person I date. I don't want people to suddenly like me just because of this. I want to keep a normal like to a certain extent."

"Still, wouldn't your parents be scared half to death if it were you in that situation. Wouldn't you want them to know the fucking truth if it happened. I know I would like them to know that about me."

"I wouldn't put anybody else in the position to decide for me." Tanya yelled. "Just do what you want, but be careful about it. I still don't want the whole planet to know."

"Neither do I, but I think it's the right thing to do right now." Kat answered.

~*~

"What did you want all of us here for?" Mrs. DeSantos asked as she, Mr. And Mrs. Park, Mrs. Oliver, Mr and Ms. Scott and Mr. Cranston all met in the Hillard's living room.

"There's something you need to know. It's about Tommy, Adam, Billy, Rocky and Jason disappearing." Kat began, "Thing is... I know who kidnapped them. It's those machines that keep coming down to Earth and attacking Angel Grove. They took them once they got to the campground. They're being held captive on the moon, and there's no way to get them back. I knw they're all still alive, but I don't know anybody else."

"Why would they take them, though? There are so many kids they could've took." Mr. Cranston

"And how would you know about this?" Mr. Park demanded, "You seem to know more about this than the authorities do."

"Well, you see..." Kat continued, "except for Billy, they're all Power Rangers, and Billy was one until recently but still helps us out. Tanya and I are also."

"What?" Mrs. Scott asked, "You mean all this time..."

"We couldn't tell you... for obvious reasons." Kat explained. "And I am begging you all to keep this secret to yourselves. It would be a disaster for all of us if we ever got found out."

"Of all people, it had to be my son." Mrs. Oliver sighed, "That's why he disappeared all the time and got detentions for ditching class. All this time I thought he was doing drugs or something but could never prove it."

"It answers a lot of questions." Mrs. Park thought aloud, "Like where he was disappearing to all the time and wouldn't tell us anything. Are you sure though? I mean Adam hates to fight."

Kat wanted to say something in reply. None of them liked going into battles but they always did it since they were the only ones who could stop every monster that was sent down. "It's true."

"What are you going to do to get them back?" Mr. Scott asked firmly, "I don't want Tommy to be up there a second longer. Please get him back safely."

"We're trying, but it isn't easy." Kat replied.

~*~

"What time do you think it is?" Rocky asked. "How long have we been in here?"

"Beats me." Jason replied, "I bet we should've been home by now. Damn, our folks are going to be worried as hell about us."

"I don't want to know how long we've been stuck here. I would guess a couple days now." Adam gave his estimate. He once again went into a coughing fit that receded after a few seconds.

"I think I lost track of time once I came in here. It's had to of been at least a day and a half though." Tommy added.

"You're wrong Tommy," a sinister voice interrupted as the owner entered through the energy bars into the cell. "It's just time for you to die."

"Over our dead bodies!" Jason screamed in response.

"If it has to be so it shall. But I can easily dispose of all of you in your weakened condition. All I want is Tommy... this time around." Billy grimaced as he took several long strides over to Tommy, who attempted to scramble away. Within a second Billy had harshly gripped Tommy's long hair and gave it a hard yank.

"Knock this shit off!" Rocky screamed as he leaped and tackled Billy to the ground. The two young men wrestled for a minute until a sharp object pierced Rocky's abdomen, and then he was kicked forcefully in the chest, sending him down in a heap of flesh and blood.

"Don't toy with me, Rocky, I have three times the intellect and twice your strength right now." Billy sneered as he twisted the sword in him, Rocky screaming like he never had before in pain. He then quickly removed the blade as he heard Jason attempting to sneak up on him. "You want to fight me?"

"You're not going to kill any of us. I'll kill you first." Jason threatened.

"This is how you treat a friend?" Billy mocked the Gold ranger.

"You're not Billy anymore." Tommy called, standing directly next to his best friend of several years. "Now what're you going to do."

"What I was meant to do..." Billy said, "Kill you." He lunged at both Rangers who attempted to double team him but were tossed away like rag dolls. Jason fell into the energy bars, which shocked him and sent him convulsing on the ground. Tommy landed on top of Adam, his elbow landing in the ribs. Tommy heard the bones crack and saw the Asian boy's face contort.

"You okay?" Tommy asked, much relieved when he got a slight nod in response. "Damn you. Leave them out of this. You want me."

"Sure, I want you, but it's more pleasurable for you to see, for it to be your fault that your friends are like this." He spat, gesturing to the bodies laying about the cell.

"You're fucking insane!" Tommy hollered. "Stop this right now!"

Billy didn't reply but instead delivered a hard blow to Tommy's head. When he stuck the ground, Billy commenced kicking the body repeatedly, ignoring the bruising and swelling that was occurring or the snapping of his bones. Tommy made a kick in desperation, but Billy took it without flinching and once more took the sword that was already stained with Rocky's blood. "It's all over for you. Why don't you just stop struggling and make it easier for yourself?"

Tommy stared into Billy's hateful eyes and realized that he was going to face the sword. He closed his eyes as he raised it and gasped as it pierced his chest. He shook violently and the blood oozed out of the wound. His chest throbbed as his lungs and heart struggled against the foreign object embedded within him.

Billy saw Rocky begin to stir slightly. He was obviously still stunned by his attack, unable to know what was occurring. Billy grabbed him forcefully and dragged the heavy body like a rag doll and held him over Tommy's mangled body. The fearless leader was now completely helpless and every one of them was at the mercy of their former companion.

"Tommy!" Rocky chocked out, "Please... Billy, don't"

"Don't do what?" Billy replied nonchalantly, "You mean this?" Billy said, placing his foot over Tommy's throat, waiting until his face began to turn colors before removing it just as casually as when one steps on a cockroach.

Rocky couldn't find words for his grief. His lips quivered slightly, the action beyond his control. He prayed inwardly that this was it and he would either stop here or be gracious enough to take all of them out of their misery.

Billy once again took out the small dagger he used in the last attack that sliced Adam's arm, "Let's see, what should you get? This would be an appropriate last vision for you." Billy crooned as he neared it ever closer to Rocky's widened eyes. The blue ranger attempted to struggle against what he knew was next to come, but the gaping wound in his abdomen prevented him from stopping the dagger as it went past his clenched eyelids and everything in front of Rocky became a painful black as he rolled about on the floor, unable to decipher what was once evident to him.

"Stop whining you pathetic idiot." Billy screeched as he delivered a forceful kick to the groin for good measure, guaranteeing a further yelp of an even greater magnitude.

Suddenly there was a charge at Billy as Jason succeeded in knocking him off his feet and delivering several blows while he was on the ground. Billy eventually was able to take the upper hand once more when he kicked Jason headfirst into the steel wall. There was a audible thud. Billy failed to hesitate on his advancement and once again stuck Jason's head into the wall. He repeated it again and again for good measure until blood pored from numerous places, matting his hair instantly and his body hung entirely limp in Billy's hands of death. "You're all going to die for that."

"Why?" a voice cried out. "Why must you do this?"

"After all I put you through you're still alive Adam?"

"You have to fight this." Adam whispered, "It isn't you in there."

"No..." Billy defended, "You never saw the real me. This is who I am. I'm not walking in any of your shadows any more!"

"It isn't you." Adam continued, "Billy wouldn't want to harm anybody. I know him. He's the insecure genius who saved all of our asses so many times I lost count. Don't tell me you're him."

"Shut up!" Billy demanded, his face a brilliant red, a great contrast with the sandy hair.

"Not till I get my friend back." Adam said, attempting to suppress yet another bout of coughing. "Or you kill me."

"Enough of this bull... I'll make sure you die like all the others. Call it your punishment for being too resilient." Billy exclaimed as he kicked Adam square in the jaw several times, until the heard a loud snap. He then took the already critically injured teen and turned his stomach to the ground. Billy pulled his back around his knee, his smile widening with Adam's frantic flailing of his arm. He edged it further and further, very gradually, as to ensure the pain would become unbearable. With one movement, the vertebral column shifted and only then did Billy release him.

"Very good." Sprocket said with glee, "A little too soon, but most entertaining. Especially when they tried to talk you out of hurting them any more. I wish I had a camera for that so I would be able to create a museum of my success in ridding Earth of the Power Rangers.

"Could always use their heads as well." Billy suggested.

"True, but too messy, especially after what you did to some of them. You did your job. Now you can return to your goody two shoes self." Sprocket declared, sprinkling some dust over the blonde man in gray. He then turned around and headed out back to the heart of the palace, leaving Billy trapped with the four dreadful bodies.

"What did I do?" Billy screamed after pondering everything for about ten minutes. "Can any of you hear me?"

"Billy?" he heard Rocky's voice strained, "You're back?"

Billy rushed over to the muscular Latino. There was a horrid stench in the cell, a mixture of dirt, blood and sweat from the four boys who hadn't bathed in several day. He took his hand and placed it firmly over the wound in Rocky's stomach where blood still fell out, a desperation attempt to stop the bleeding. "Hang in there, I'm so sorry."

"How're the others?" Rocky asked, lacking all the strength he usually held.

"You all look absolutely gruesome." Billy sighed, taking a quick glance and figuring that the others had to have died from what he did. He had a full memory to every even and was a firsthand witness to what had just occurred. He tried to peel open Rocky's still clenched eyes. "Can you see anything?"

"No." Rocky confessed, "What happened after his happened?"

"I.... I don't know what I did." Billy cried, "They made me do these things. I killed my best...."

"Shhh......." Rocky attempted to soothe his friend, "It wasn't you. We'll get through this all somehow. Go check on the others and make sure there're still...." there was no need for the last word. They both knew what they were looking for.

Billy made his way by every one of his fallen comrades, each body bringing back even more memories of what exactly happened those past days. His mouth dropped open when every single one of them had a pulse. Jason was fully out of it but both Tommy and Adam showed some sign of awareness. Billy thought about the force field Sprocket said would keep them all alive for the time being and wondered how long they would survive once they exited it."

~*~

"I think I found a way to unlock the force field surrounding the rangers." Alpha cheered, "It should only take several minutes."

"Great!" Kat and Tanya both cried, exchanging a huge hug, something they needed over the past several days.

"Oh, no!" Alpha said suddenly, prompting both girls to end their celebration prematurely.

"What is is Alpha?" Tanya inquired.

"Something's terribly wrong. I managed to get past the force field, but something happened to the rangers. Billy seems to be fine but the other rangers are critically sick or wounded. Their life signal is too weak for them to teleport."

"What?" Kat queried.

"I'm afraid that the machine empire placed Billy under a spell." Zordon explained. "He was entirely under their influence and he was forced to attack the rangers at such an extreme level... it is quite possible that they are all dying. The force field is what is keeping them alive currently. To get them out, you must teleport in and bring them out. They will all need to be immediately brought to a hospital if they are to have any hope of survival."

"No!" Tanya bawled, "After all this we still are going to lose them?"

"Pull yourself together girl," Kat urged, "We have to go and get them. While we're at it we could get back at them."

"How?" Tanya asked.

"You know that explosive Billy came up with a few weeks ago?" Tanya nodded, "We could plant it in the palace and then we won't have to worry about Mondo any more. Only catch is once we plant it we will only have a minute to get out of there."

"It could work, but we'd have to time everything down to the second." Tanya agreed.

"True, and we still don't know exactly what condition the guys are in. It might be difficult for us to move them without killing them."

"Well, I think we should go there and see what can be done. If it happens where we could use the explosive we will, but if we would be pushing our luck in doing so, it can always wait for another day." Tanya rationalized

"Alright." Kat confirmed, "It's morphin' time"

"Zeo Ranger one, Pink!"

"Zeo Ranger two, Yellow!"

"Good luck rangers, bring them all home safely." Alpha pleaded.

"May the Power protect you all." Zordon said as the two girls teleported out of the Command Center.

************* *************

"Rocky?" Billy asked.

"What?"

"I was thinking, when... well, if we ever get out of here do you think any of us will ever go back to fighting monsters?" Billy pondered.

"I don't know." Rocky replied, "If I'm ever able to I would, but I don't think I could like I am."

"Damn!" Billy shouted, "It's my fault."

"No!" Rocky insisted, "Listen, not one of us blames you. If you weren't under a spell we would've kicked your ass in a moment. Whatever is going to happen to us will happen, just make it through, alright?"

Billy saw Tommy stir and both boys heard him whimper. Billy rushed over to him and took his hand and noticed how his friend initially flinched upon seeing him. "It'll be okay. Just don't move at all. You have a bad wound, but I'll all be fine after awhile."

"You're back." Tommy groaned with a slight smile. He then began to cough agonizingly and tears were brought to his eyes. He breathed with much labor and he coughed up small amounts of blood.

"Oh, god." Billy grimaced, knowing very well that meant his sword had penetrated Tommy's lung and it still stuck within him due to the fact that even the multi-skilled Billy could remove it without imposing a greater risk.

Tommy continued for another minute and abruptly became calm again. "Not....T-that bad." he encouraged.

"You're overly resilient, aren't you?" Billy joked. "Just try to stay awake and try not to move. I don't even want to hear you attempt to speak."

Tommy nodded in reply and took a shaky hand and held Billy's softly, his grip hardening occasionally as bursts of pain went through his body.

Kat and Tanya immediately felt like vomiting upon materializing in the center of the cell as they saw the battered bodies and smelled the repugnant odor of blood and sweat. They couldn't tell if any of them besides Billy were still alive. "Guys!" Tanya shouted.

Kat ran up to Billy and Tommy. She carefully looked at Tommy and her gaze immediately fell onto Billy. "It... was me." he confessed. "I couldn't prevent it. They coerced me into.."

"I know what they did." Kat comforted, "You didn't have a choice with this. I need you to help us with them."

"Kat!" Tanya called from across the cell. "We have a problem."

"What's wrong?" Kat replied, a slight tinge of worry forming within her.

"There's no way we can move Jason or Adam. Jason seems to have serious head injuries. I can't even wake him up. Adam might have a broken back; look at how it bends right in the middle. I don't have a good feeling about this."

Kat turned her attention to the other boys and saw what Tanya meant without much examination. There was dried blood over much of Jason's head and face and multiple open wounds, not to mention the bruising she saw over the rest of his body. Adam was awake, although he couldn't seem to focus on anybody in particular, was seriously injured as well. His jaw was swollen and obviously broken. His right arm was slashed and showed all the signs of a severe infection. Then there was the spine.... the way he was bent on the floor just wasn't natural at all. "What happened to them Billy?" she asked.

"I.... I first slashed open Adam's arm with a dagger. I used a whip on the others. Then there was what I did with Jason. He tried to stop me from hurting Tommy any worse so I.... I began bashing his head in the wall." Billy paused to point to an area on the wall streaked with dried blood where he had done the deed. "I attacked Tommy with a sword and then punctured Rocky's eyes. After that Adam tried to talk some sense into me, he couldn't even try to fight back even then, and I bent his spine further and further back.... I didn't stop until I heard something crack."

"You remember all this?" Tanya inquired with amazement. Usually when one of them came off a spell they had little to no memory of what they had done.

"Unlike the other spells, this one makes sure that I remember everything I did to them." Billy explained, "They want me to know that I was the one who did this."

Kat put her arm around Billy. "Listen, we all understand. What we need now is help getting them out of here. We're going to get them back home where they can recover, but we need your help right now."

Billy nodded and first turned to Rocky. "Rocky.... wake up. Time to go home."

"Home?" Rocky mumbled.

"Yeah. Tanya and Katherine are here. They're going to get all of us home." Billy explained. "Can you get up on your own?"

"I...think so." Rocky replied, struggling to steady himself on his feet and Billy coming behind him to offer extra support. "Can you help me figure out where I'm supposed to go?"

Billy though for a moment, "Where should I place Rocky?" he asked.

"Rocky... I want to to sit down over there." Tanya instructed, pointing to a corner of the cell not too far away from both Jason and Adam.

"Um... Could one of you guys help me?" Rocky asked.

Kat looked at Rocky, who appeared to be fine outside of a few cuts and bruises. She wanted to yell at him as he stumbled around with his eyes clenched shut. "It would help if you opened your eyes."

"Believe me." Rocky returned, "If I could I would. Even if I did I don't think it would help my being able to see."

"What?" Tanya exclaimed, taking Rocky by his hands to the spot that was indicated.

"I'm blind! Okay, I just had my eyes slashed open. Is that fine with you Ms. Hillard?"

"Please tell us you're joking." Tanya pleaded as she carefully peeled open Rocky's eyelids, Rocky crying out in anguish at her action. When she saw the deep cuts in both it confirmed the worst. It was barbaric at best what had been done to them all. "Damn. I don't know about you Kat, but I think we should use that damn explosive even if something goes wrong."

"Um... would you mind giving me the details of this?" Billy demanded.

"Oh, we took that new explosive you showed us a few weeks ago. We're going to use it here to get rid of the machine empire. Just call it payback."

"No!" Billy yelled, "We can't use that. Do you have any idea of what that thing could do?"

"We know it can pack a punch." Kat said, "That's why we're going to use it.

"That thing could very easily destroy the moon." Billy reported, "When I developed it, I had no clue that it was scientifically possible to develop such an explosive weapon that lacked all nuclear components. It would be similar to using several hydrogen bombs. I never intended for it to be used."

"That's going to change, I guess." Kat told him.

"Do you understand that there could be a detrimental effect on the planet? We have no idea what could happen if we went through with this."

"In case you haven't noticed, Earth doesn't stand much of a chance if we don't get rid of the machines now." Kat spat back, "There aren't going to be six Power Rangers to save the day. Two of us are left and I don't think I can do it anymore. Look at what has become of the others!"

"It is a kamikaze style mission." Billy told, "Once one of us sets it up, nobody will be able to teleport. For it to be used one of us would have to die."

"But...." Kat stammered, "You never mentioned it to us at all!"

"Like I had previously mentioned, it was never intended to be utilized. It was merely an invention intended to alleviate the boredom since I graduated early and haven't had much to do." Billy explained.

"That settles it." Kat declared, "We're going to just get these guys back and hightail it out of here."

"No." Billy replied. "Just get them out of here. I'll stay."

"What? Are you nuts? " Katherine cried, "You just said..."

"That it is a suicide mission." Billy finished, "I am quite aware of it. However, you are correct that the machine empire is potentially more dangerous than before considering the situation. If anybody is going to die, I'm the best option. Before you tell me I shouldn't just understand that this is my choice entirely. I don't think I could continue to live on knowing what I did. If I had no memory of these events things would be different. Just make sure that you give the guys the best shot.... and tell them.... I love them and I'm sorry."

Kat merely nodded; once Billy's mind was decided, he generally stuck with it. "How's it going Tanya? Can we be getting out of here soon?"

Tanya shook her head in disgust, "This isn't good. Just how bad they're injured and the fact that they all have completely different wounds is a problem. I'm afraid of taking out that sword out of Tommy's chest and I'm afraid if I touch Adam or Jason I'm going to cause more damage to them.... perhaps even kill them."

Kat turned her attention to the boys laying on the ground. She helped Tanya slowly lift Tommy and place him near the others as Billy began setting up the bomb. "Once you leave, I'll initiate the bomb timer."

Tanya only took a quick glance at Billy, "Thanks, for everything. I'll see you in the next life."

Kat tried to position Jason so it would be easy to move him without causing any extra damage. She noticed about a foot away, Adam attempting to say something. "Tanya, get him to rest, alright." she ordered.

Tanya turned from Tommy to Adam to see him painstakingly attempting to move his mouth. She took his good hand in hers and he held it as tightly as he could. "Hey, hon. We're going home. Okay.... You'll be alright. I just need to know something. Can you feel your legs at all?"

Tears quickly began to fall down his bruised cheeks and was enough of a response for Tanya. "Okay. Maybe the doctors can fix it." There was more doubt in her voice than she would have liked to express, but it was all she could manage.

"I think they're as ready as they could be." Kat muttered as she made the final movements with Jason and grasped Rocky gently by the hands. She then placed them around Tommy. "Don't let go of him or else he won't teleport with us."

"Who.... Who do I have?" Rocky stuttered.

"Tommy, why?" Kat replied.

"I was just curious. Let's just get home." Rocky answered.

"Okay, Billy, you're sure about this?" Tanya inquired.

"Just leave this to me. I can handle it." Billy replied.

"It won't be the same without you." Kat finally admitted.

"Don't worry about me. You guys still are going to live your own lives. Don't dwell on this."

He shielded his eyes as the teens all disappeared in a rainbow of light.

"Okay, time to get this thing started. I'm sorry about lying to you guys, but it's all for the better that I go with this place." He said, attaching the last of the wires and sitting down casually. As the timer ticked away, each second an eternity, he contemplated teleporting out himself if the shield was not reinstated. He knew they had let them get away. It was Sprocket's plan to have them suffer longer than necessary. Now it was necessary of him to die with them for his crime, the bomb proving to be an adequate alibi. It was surely less painful and honorable than suicide.

"So, you've left us a gift?" Mondo boomed, startling Billy in his moment of contemplative calm. "Well, I'm flattered, but if you wouldn't mind I've decided to return it."

Billy viewed the time left on the bomb.... thirty-eight seconds. He figured that even he, not a magnificent fighter by any means, could at the very least hold off an oversized robot for that long. "Well, I insist that you do take it with you. Call it my going away present."

"Young man, I'm afraid you're underestimating me. I could dispose of you and your fancy weapon with ease." Mondo replied, a series of cogs gathering behind him. They then began the charge on the former blue ranger.

Billy met them all full on. He attempted to recall every lesson Jason had ever given him, every stance, punch and kick he mastered until sit was perfected. All the hours he had spent in front of the mirror to correct his form. It was all going to boil down to one final battle where he knew death would come even in victory. He sent several cogs to the ground with a skill he had not thought he possessed. His newfound ability in desperation would have been enough to please, perhaps even impress Jason, who calculated every blow, Tommy who had always been a stickler for the rules, Adam who knew how to use his seemingly disadvantages into strengths, Kim and Aisha who wasn't afraid of anybody or anything, and Rocky who was so effective in using his sheer strength in sending any foe to the ground without breaking a sweat. They kept coming at him, one after another, relentlessly. He kept holding them off as he kept one eye aware of the timer ticking down. Then Mondo struck him directly, sending him to the ground, the adrenaline beginning to fade. Five.... four..... With one last effort he kicked the machine in the chest and sent him several feet away, in a daze of his own.

"You'll never defeat me!" Mondo growled.

Two... One.... Billy closed his eyes in preparation as a quick white heat enveloped him and he suddenly felt nothing more. The palace and the moon entire shook violently, not just dismantling but disintegrating entirely. Within several minutes everything had cleared and the moon simply ceased to exist, not a trace remaining to indicate who had triggered such a feat.

~*~

"God, Zordon, you mean there's nothing you can do for any of them here?" Katherine exploded.

"I'm sorry, but they are in far too critical condition for the equipment we have here. Our medical bay is only sufficient in treating minor battle injuries, not fatal wounds."

"Ai-ai-ai" Alpha cried, "Not only are they hurt but they all have pneumonia as well. Talk about a double whammy!"

"Come on, Kat." Tanya stated, "We should be getting them to the hospital ASAP. We're losing them waiting here."

They suddenly heard a loud thundering noise and felt a vibration similar to a mild earthquake. It continued for several seconds and everything was as it was once more.

"Do you think?..." Tanya gasped.

"Billy." Kat whispered, "He did it."

"Oh, no!" Alpha cried, "Tommy's going into cardiac arrest. He's also stopped breathing. You need to get him to a hospital immediately."

"We'll go in uniform so it won't be as suspicious." Tanya stated.

"Okay, I'll take Tommy and you get Jason. Then we'll come back and bring the others." Kat ordered.

Tanya jogged over to the medical table where Jason still slept, completely unaware that he was at home and no longer in the putrid cell that nearly became his deathbed. Kat went in the opposite direction to where Tommy laid motionless. Together they replaced their helmets and teleported out of the Command Center.

~*~

"I need some help here!" the pink ranger shouted as she emerged from nowhere into the trauma unit of the Emergency room at Angel Grove Memorial Hospital. It was a slow night as no serious injuries had come in yet that evening and several nurses merely sat around their pit catching up on their daily logs.

"Good heavens!" One nurse shouted, "What happened to these boys?"

"He and the other boy are two of the boys that were reported missing four days ago." pink ranger said quickly as she carefully laid Tommy on the gurney brought over to her and another one toward the yellow ranger where she laid Jason and were instantaneously were surrounded by swarms of doctors and surgeons.

"We have the other two we need to get over here as well." yellow ranger interjected.

"Get them over here now, especially if they're anywhere near as bad as these two!" The nurse urged.

The two female rangers teleported out and within a minute reappeared with Adam in the yellow ranger's arms and Rocky being steadied by the pink ranger. They too were brought back and immediately attended to by doctors and nurses of every type.

The pink ranger looked over to the first bed where the doctors had succeeded in restarting Tommy's heart. She couldn't help but stare and cry as she saw them run a breathing tube down her boyfriend's mouth and the large crew carefully removing the sword from his chest cavity. She was suddenly quite grateful that she was wearing her helmet at the moment.

"....Yes." she overheard the yellow ranger explain to the nurse, "they were all out camping and they were captured and tortured pretty much. We just were able to find them and get them all out. The one with the long hair is Thomas Oliver, eighteen years old. The one with the head injuries is Jason Scott. I don't know if he's still seventeen or eighteen... pink?"

"Oh, he turned eighteen already as far as I know." the pink ranger replied, still unable to take her eyes off the hectic proceedings being done on her friends.

"Thanks." the yellow ranger returned, "Now, the Asian boy's name is Adam Park. Let me remember.... he's still sixteen... yeah, he's the youngest by about a year. The other one is Rockwell DeSantos. He's seventeen."

The nurse hurried away to assist one of the doctors working on Jason while the two rangers were left as onlookers. "I'll call their parents." the pink ranger said.

"What about Mr. Cranston?" yellow ranger inquired, "How are we going to explain what happened?"

"Tell him the truth." Kat answered, "I intend on leaving out the spell part, but I'll be honest and say that he willingly stayed on that moon base to plant that last bomb."

Yellow ranger nodded as her pink counterpart teleported out of the hospital.

************* ************

"Ow! That hurts!" Rocky yelped as a nurse inserted an IV needle into his left hand.

"Just relax." Another nurse said, her voice like that of a prepubescent girl as she took a pair of scissors and snipped off Rocky's pants, which were stained from blood and urine. "We're going to help you." As she continued to cut, someone slipped a mask over his face for oxygen.

"We're going to open your eyes up for a moment and I'm going to ask you some questions, okay?" An older sounding man asked.

Rocky braced himself as the doctor peeled open his eyelids, screaming as loud as he could despite his best effort to repress his instinct. The misery was beyond anything he ever knew. It by far surpassed even the sword wound in his stomach, which at the moment didn't bother him at all. "Shit.... Owwww...."

"You're going to be okay." the doctor insisted as he took a light and brought it close to Rocky's slashed eyes. "I need you to tell me if you can see this light at all, even if you can't make out anything but shadows."

Rocky knew there was nothing they could do. There was only an impenetrable blackness which the light couldn't overcome. "I can't see anything."

The doctor was silent for a moment,"Your pupils aren't responding at all. Not to mention the infection setting in through here." he gestured to the other nurses and resident doctors, to the darkened area surrounding the incisions. "There is most likely nothing we can do as far as restoring vision, however, we can attempt to reduce the infection."

"Mama..." Rocky cried.

"Don't worry, we'll call her in a little bit." An older sounding nurse assured her patient, "We need to make sure you're fine first."

The doctor then began examining the sword wound in Rocky's abdomen. Rocky groaned slightly but held back much of his vocal outcry. "We have a large puncture wound in the abdominal region. It very likely could have damaged any number of organs of the body cavity. We're going get an MRI of the entire area to see exactly where internal bleeding may occur. I also want some blood-work done on him. I want a palette count as well as blood type, white cell count and check for any signs of blood poisoning. Once we know what we are dealing with I want to send him to the OR."

"What's your name?" Rocky inquired.

"It's Dr. Perez. Why do you want to know?"

"I just... want to thank you."

"Don't start with the thanks until you're back walking around." Dr. Perez replied.

"Rockwell, right?" another nurse asked, this time a male, "I'm going to give you something to make you go to sleep for a little while." Within a moment the nurse had injected him with a sedative. It only took three minutes for it to take effect and send him into a sound sleep.

"Okay, we need to get this done!" Dr. Perez ordered, "I don't want to take any chances with his condition." Several orderlies quickly wheeled him away for tests to determine the extent of damage that had been done.

~*~

"What do you mean that Billy stayed behind?" Mr. Cranston demanded.

"That explosion on the moon..." Kat explained, "He was the one who set it off. There was no other way. It destroyed the moon, but also the machine empire that had been attacking over the past year, but he's... gone!"

"Why?" Mr. Cranston huffed in a bombardment of tears, "Why'd he have to go as well?"

"What about the others? You said that they were all at the hospital." Mrs. Oliver asked.

Kat bit her lip for a moment as she tried to determine the best method for explaining what was happening. She didn't want to overreact, yet she couldn't hide the seriousness of their conditions. "They're all in really bad shape."

"What do you mean?" Mr. Scott fumed, "How bad is 'bad'!"

"Rocky's the best out of them. He has a sword wound to his stomach but... his eyes were slashed and he's completely blind. Jason has really bad head injuries, he was unconscious when we went to retrieve him. Adam.... god? I don't know what's all wrong with him. He was awake but I think his jaw was broken or something 'cause he couldn't speak at all. He might be paralyzed, but how much I don't know. They also slashed open his arm clear through. Then Tommy.... had a sword in his chest. When I brought him in his heart was already beginning to fail, he could already be dead... I wouldn't be surprised if none of them make it through this." The last sentence was said as flat as anything of he normal.

All the parents looked at each other, trying to picture what was being described, "Please, no." Mrs. Park whispered, "It can't be true, it just can't." Her husband put his arm around her, some type of truce for the moment.

"I'm sorry." Kat croaked, "If I could change things I would but...."

"There's nothing you could do." Mrs. DeSantos assured, "At least you brought them home. We'll make it through this somehow."

~*~

"We're losing him!" Dr. Hopkins cried out as he watched the heart monitor lose all sense of rhythm.

"The trauma to the chest is too severe." A nurse rationalized. "I don't know if there's anything we can do for this boy."

"We have to attempt to do something." Dr. Hopkins replied. "We can't wait for the tests to come back. Get a transfusion started on him. Prepare him for surgery, if we can't close the incision it won't matter what we do."

Tommy laid entirely unaware of the proceedings around him. His body was ready to give in to death, who hovered above him, yanking at his heart. The various machines and IV's had no effect on him as he dwindled slowly away. He lost blood as quickly as they could force it into his veins. Oxygen was pumped into is lungs through his mouth. They began wheeling him to the operating room when his heart monitor gave yet another alarm.

"We have cardiac arrest." One nurse exclaimed as a crew came in to attempt to bring the long haired teen back.

"Clear!" They repeated over and over again as they sent jolts of electricity into his heart, hoping to get it to beat just once on it's own. Several minutes pass and they still couldn't lure him back to the realm of the living. With each attempt he instead drifted further away.

"I think that's all we can do. List time of death at 12:42 AM." Dr. Hopkins finally concluded.

~*~

Adam moaned loudly as a nurse began cleaning the deep wound to his right arm. For the most part it was numbed, but the antibacterial liquid they were using caused the pain to ignite again.

"Sorry, hon." A nurse said sympathetically, wanting to grimace at the black areas around the wound but forcing a smile for her patient's sake"We need to clean this out. We'll be done in a minute."

Adam wanted to distract his attention elsewhere, but since he was immobilized entirely with neck and back braces, all he could do was stare with puzzlement at the proceedings around him. He felt tears falling down his face as the pain continued to increase. Unintentionally, he began to flail his other arm, only to have another nurse hold it down. The pain was maddening in that he could do nothing to escape it.

"Hi, Adam?" a young woman with dark auburn hair said. She looked to be in her thirties and seemed a bit shorter than the others around her. "My name is Dr. Angela Davis. I'm the one taking care of you."

It was an awkward moment for Adam as he tried to focus on her and he detested that she was speaking to him like a child.

"I'm going to ask you some questions, yes or no. If it's yes I want you to squeeze my hand if it's no, do nothing. Can you do that for me?" Dr. Davis asked.

Her patient gently squeezed her hand.

"Okay, my arm is on your shoulder. Can you feel that?" Adam squeezed the left hand.

"Now, it's at you stomach. Can you feel it?" No response.

Dr. Davis was somewhat expecting that. She had just gotten several x-rays back that showed two shattered vertebra in the center of his spine. It was now a matter of finding out exactly how far up the young boy was paralyzed. After several minutes of question and answers she realized that Adam had no sensation below the chest.

A few minutes later a technician came in with some test results. "The patient has very low red and white cell counts. In addition to that the infection in his arm is gangrene. There's also a mild infection in the blood and he has a moderate case of pneumonia."

Dr. Davis nodded and looked over the results herself. Over two hours her patient has maintained relatively stable, and had it been any one of these complications she would have felt fairly confident. Still, usually when there was numerous complications arising so quickly it generally meant that a downturn was inevitable.

She retreated to the nurses' station where they had dug up whatever medical histories of the boys that could be obtained. She searched Adam's and cursed to herself when she saw a mention of severe allergic reactions to anesthetics. She knew he would require extensive surgery on his spine and most likely have to amputate the right arm. Even then she couldn't give him a great chance. Now things seemed next to impossible.

As Dr. Davis returned to her patient she announced her plan, even though she wasn't sure if the choice she was about to make was the best option, but there were none left. "We can't operate on him yet. Prepare a full blood transfusion, type AB-. We're unable to give him any sort of anesthetic so we're going to have to use several painkillers and sedatives. The broken jaw is going to have to be readjusted and wired shut. Increase the patient's oxygen levels and make sure he remains stable. I want to get the results from the CT scan to determine if there is any possible internal bleeding. Have his parents been contacted yet?"

"Yes, they're in the waiting room with the other parents." A nurse answered the final question.

Dr. Davis nodded. "Good. I'm going to inform them of our proceedings and have them sign the necessary consents." She then turned to her patient who seemed to stare absently at the ceiling. He knew what was happening and figured it was best to be honest. "You're a very lucky young man. We're going to do our best, but... I can't promise anything. We need to try to put you to sleep and then we are going to have to do surgery on you. Mainly the spine, but you also might lose your arm. It's not going to be easy but hopefully you'll beat the odds. I'm going out to speak with your parents, okay."

~*~

"Mr. and Mrs. Scott?"

"Right here." Mr. Scott called from where the two were seated in the waiting room."

"I'm Dr. Daniel Kim. I tended to your son Jason."

"How is he?" Mrs. Scott asked.

"We can discuss this in a private room right over there." Dr. Kim replied, indicating to a door leading out of the waiting room. The two concerned parents obediently followed him in the room. "Your son Jason is in critical condition. There were numerous fractures to the skull and all the scans we have performed thus far has shown significant brain damage, most likely permanent. He is comatose and on life support and I need to discuss if you want to keep him alive or not at this point. He does have a very limited chance of recovery from what I've seen."

Both parents looked at one another not sure what to make of this situation. He had promised them all that he would be fine going camping so far away. They figured if anything were to happen it would have been a car accident or someone spraining an ankle or the like. They weren't supposed to end up kidnapped and tortures for days only to be sent back to die. "I don't think I could do that." Mrs. Scott finally said.

"Is it possible for us to see him?" Mr. Scott requested.

Dr. Kim thought for a moment. "Not yet. He's still showing some signs of instability. Once we asses the risks for complications we will let you see him."

"How long will that take?" Mr. Scott demanded.

"Depends on how long it takes for the test results to come in. It could be a couple hours or as many as 24. We can't be sure since things have been quite hectic here with so many trauma injuries. I can assure you that we are doing all that we can for your son and we will inform you of any changes."

"Thank you." Mrs. Scott whispered as she cried quietly into her husband's shoulder.

************* ************

"Mrs. DeSantos?"

"Yes?" Came the reply from the short, pudgy mother. Her neck and back was sore from slouching in the hard plastic chair in the waiting room for hours.

"Your son came out of surgery."

"How is he?" she demanded to know.

"As well as can be expected. We are keeping him in the ICU until we can ensure that he is stable, but we think he will make it. However, we need to discuss... some of the issues you and he will have to deal with."

"The blindness..." Mrs. DeSantos thought aloud.

"Yes. Rockwell will need to learn how to do nearly everything over again. He will be able to do many of these things again over time, given the proper therapy. There was also extensive internal damage from the laceration in his abdomen. He will have to be fed intravenously until he fully recovers, which could be anywhere from one to four months. We can't risk a serious infection from this. He also has mild pneumonia, so we'll be treating him with antibiotics until that recedes."

"Can I see him?" she asked flatly.

"Yes. He will more than likely wake up over the next several hours and he would want his mother with him. I should warn you though, that he doesn't look well right now."

Mrs. DeSantos frowned, "As long as he's alive it doesn't matter."

The hospital worker guided Mrs. DeSantos down the sterile hallways of the intensive care unit and came to a stop in front of room 1612. "Are you ready?"

Mrs. DeSantos nodded as she opened the door, revealing a figure in a single bed, surrounded by numerous machines and tubes. His eyes had bandages over them as did several of the deeper cuts on his body. Several IV needles ran into his arms, dripping a variety of fluids into him. Much of his face, arms and legs were bruised in various shades of black, blue, purple, green and brown. The heart monitor charted his heartbeat on a nearby screen.

Rocky didn't respond to his mother coming near his bed, taking his hand in hers. He did nothing to remedy her tears as she took the seat next to him. "Baby... God, why did this happen to you?" she whispered.

~*~

"I called Reverend Smith. He said that we could hold the funeral Tuesday morning." Mrs. Oliver whispered.

"Do you need any help with this?" Mr. Cranston asked, having come over to check up on his friend.

Mrs. Oliver shook her head, "No, thanks though Charles, but he's my son. I'm the one who has to deal with it."

Mr. Cranston took her in his arms, "It's okay Emily. This isn't easy. Believe me, I learned too many times already."

Mrs. Oliver sat down and put her face in her hands, "Why did it have to be them? They're all fucking dying right now, but I didn't even get to see him."

"Did you honestly want to see Tommy like he was? When I went to identify the body he... didn't look anything like Tommy. It was probably for the best that he went quickly."

"You're right." Mrs. Oliver mumbled in agreement, "Still..."

"It hurts." Mr. Cranston finished, "Believe me, I know. When Jenny died, I didn't know what I was going to do, especially since I still had Billy to deal with. Now he's gone too. I know what you're going through."

"And you're taking things better than any of us." Mrs. Oliver replied.

Mr. Cranston frowned, "I just accept what has happened. This is killing me as well, but there's no way I can do anything to change things."

"To think our kids were the Power Rangers and we never figured it out, even after all these years of it." Mrs. Oliver said with a slight chuckle. "It makes sense now... the constant disappearances I thought was drugs. The unexplained bruises he said he got from 'practicing'. And how he never seemed to be around when one of those creeps came, always running into it."

"They were good, that's for sure." Mr. Cranston admitted.

"If it weren't for that though, Tommy would still be alive now." Mrs. Oliver thought bitterly.

"Can't change the past Em, you just can't."

~*~

"You're the one who told him he could go!" Mrs. Park screamed at her husband.

"That's right, it's always MY fucking fault. Ever thought it was because you were so damn overprotective of him that he did this?" Mr. Park argued in response.

"You have no damn right to say anything!" Mrs. Park continued.

"He's OUR son Laura! I have every right to say something about this!"

"No." Mrs. Park countered, "Where the hell are you all the time? All you do is work. Adam barely knows you!"

"Don't begin putting words in Adam's mouth!" Mr. Park contended.

"Don't ever want to hear the truth, do you you good for nothing shithead!" Mrs. Park yelled.

A nurse came up from behind the couple and said softly "We have patients here who need their rest. If both of you don't calm down I'm going to have to make you leave."

"We've been waiting for this doctor for hours now! We want to know what's going on." Mr. Park demanded, turning his attention away from the argument temporarily.

"She should be with you in just a moment,." the nurse replied in her tiny voice and began heading to the nurses' station to finish her duties.

"Mr and Mrs. Park I presume." Dr. Davis called out.

"What's the verdict?" Mr. Park stated glumly.

"Not good. His jaw has been wired shut so the fractures can heal properly and we attempted to stabilize the spine as much as possible without irritating the other wounds. I'm afraid it isn't enough though since Adam will never walk again, even with physical therapy. We were forced to amputate the right arm due to a severe infection. Since we were unable to give him general anesthetics, we sedated him with other drugs. Because the surgery was so long he did become conscious momentarily. We nearly lost him twice during the procedure and I would give him about a thirty percent chance of survival at the most. I'm sorry but there's nothing more we can do, we gave it our best shot."

"What do you mean he woke up in surgery?" Mrs. Park questioned.

"When he arrived he was fully conscious, the reason behind it is beyond all understanding, but he was coherent of what was happening around him. We hesitated operating on him because of this but if we didn't when we did he wouldn't have made it at all. Unfortunately in doing so, there was that risk and it did occur. We did what we could as quickly as possible, we never want a patient to wake up in such a situation." Dr. Davis replied.

"At least he was awake..." Mrs. Park held a hopeful thought. "When will I be able to see him."

Dr. Davis looked at the couple for a moment to decide what was best. "I suppose it would be in Adam's best interest to have both of you with him right now, but I want absolutely no commotion like you just had here. If that does happen I will have both of you tossed out."

"Yes doctor." Mr. Park agreed and the parents were led down a couple hallways and to a hospital room.

"I should tell you what you should expect." Dr. Davis warned, "He is on a lot of machines, life support and monitors. As I mentioned before, we nearly lost him, after he woke up he went into shock and stopped breathing on his own. Hopefully he will come around and begin improving, but I wouldn't get my hopes up right now."

"We understand." Mr. Park said as he opened the door and headed in first.

Part 1 Part 2