Remember Me
By Brooke

Prologue

"Leave me alone!" Kris screamed as foreign hands grabbed her arms roughly and held her still, despite her struggling. She had been screaming for help for what felt like an eternity, but no one had answered her desperate pleas.

"You've seen too much," a harsh voice whispered in her ear.

"I swear, I didn't see a thing!" Kris cried. "Please, I'm telling the truth!"

Laughter echoed all around her from everybody that was present, except one person. It was a young man, about 13 or 14 years old, and he appeared just as scared as Kris was.

"I don't believe you," the voice told her harshly.

"I'm not lying! I don't know what you think I saw ,but I don't know anything!" Kris sobbed, hot tears of fright running down her cheeks in small rivulets, collecting at her chin and dripping onto the hard concrete floor beneath.

"I don't believe you," the voice repeated. Something the person who was speaking was holding glinted in the dim lighting of the abandoned warehouse. A click resonnated throughout the large space, soft though the sound might have been. The young man beside Kris gasped audibly, and Kris's breath caught in her throat. "This is what happens to liars when they mess with the Shock Waves."

"NO!!" the guy beside Kris yelled, kicking and flailing for all he was worth. His captors were unable to keep their grip on him, and he broke free. He then ran towards Kris, and started attacking those who held her. Once Kris had one arm free, she and her friend were able to beat off the remaining captor, and together they began to run towards the door, towards freedom.

Behind them, a loud explosion sounded, and both of them ducked instinctively.

"Get back here!" a voice roared. Multiple sets of heavy footsteps sounded on the concrete floor behind them.

"Run!" the guy shouted to Kris.

"That's what I'm doing!" Kris shouted back dryly. Neither friend's feet were touching the floor as they ran, trying their hardest to escape from the warehouse and out into civilization. The one holding the gun fired again, and this time the bullet grazed Kris's left side. She cried out in pain, and stumbled, but regained her footing and kept on running.

"Are you all right?" the guy asked Kris.

"I'm fine, just keep going!" Kris replied, putting a hand to her wound.

The door was barely fifty feet ahead. Forty. Thirty. Twenty.

"Gotcha," a voice said as someone grabbed Kris's arm.

"Yeah, right, sure," Kris muttered, turning long enough to kick the guy where the sun don't shine. Then she continued to run alongside her friend.

Fifteen feet. Ten. Five.

The two friends passed through the doorway simultaneously, and bolted across the parking lot in a zigzag pattern. More gun shots, but none of these hit their mark. The two managed to avoid getting caught by anyone else, and ran along the deserted city streets. "Man, where's a cop when you need one?"

"It figures; they're always around when we don't want to be seen," the guy grumbled. Behind them, their pursuers were gaining ground. "We have to hide somewhere, and fast. If we get caught…"

"Where?" Kris snapped before he could finish his thought. There wasn't a populated place around for at least a half a mile. In reply, the guy turned sharply to the right, and Kris skidded around the corner to follow her. "Warn me next time."

"Shh," he snapped, bending at the waist and running as close to the ground as he could without losing too much speed. Kris followed suit. Suddenly, the guy ducked into an alleyway with Kris right on his tail. They followed the alley for quite a distance, turning sharp corners several times, until they finally collapsed from exhaustion and a lack of oxygen.

"Do you think we lost them?" Kris asked in a whisper between heaved breaths.

"I think so," her companion replied. "But we should get out amongst people, just in case they try to come after us."

"Where are we going to go?' Kris inquired worriedly as they started to walk towards the city.

"I have no idea," was the blunt response she got.

"I know where you two can go," a third voice broke in from behind the two friends. They whirled quickly.

"Leave us alone!" the guy beside Kris shouted. "We don't know anything!"

"Unfortunately, I can't take your word for that," was the reply. "Grab them."

From behind the two friends, 4 others appeared, and grabbed them roughly.

"This time, you won't get away from me," the leader whispered. He pulled out his gun and aimed it first at Kris, then at the guy. "Now, which one do I kill first?"

"How about me?!" Kris shouted, throwing one of the goons over her shoulder and ramming the other one into the two that were holding onto her friend. The leader fired the gun, and hit one of his own men instead of the friends. "Come on, let's move it!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" her friend replied. They ran past the leader, punching him in the sides at the same time, and out onto the city streets. They heard the others giving chase, but managed to find people before they could be caught.

Downtown, they melted into the crowds, and their pursuers were unable to continue the chase without fear of being caught and questionned.

"What do we do now, boss?" one of the goons asked while the other two helped their fallen comrade to his feet.

"We'll get them soon enough," the leader said, pocketing his gun and walking back through the alley.

~*~

As Kris and her friend wandered through the streets, they realized that they had no place to go. Finally, they found a shelter for homeless teens, and went inside, where they were given a meal and a bed.

When Kris woke up the next morning, she looked over to discover that her friend wasn't in her bed. She saw a piece of paper on her comforter, picked it up and began to read it.

Kris, I know that we've been good friends for the past year now, but I had to leave you. If we're separated, they'll have less of a chance of finding and killing us both. I'm not going to tell you where I'm going, mainly because I don't quite know yet. You should get out of the city while you can, and then lay low for a while so they don't come looking for you. I hope I can see you again someday. Love always, Christian

"I can't believe that he's gone," Kris whispered to no one in particular, crumpling the paper in her hand, tears springing to her eyes. "What am I going to do without him?"

Kris got up quickly, and ran out of the building into the open streets. She ran until she couldn't breathe, and then sat down on the curb to catch her breath.

"Kris, help me!" a familiar male voice shouted. Kris whipped her head around and saw Christian in the clutches of the ones who had been chasing the two of them for the past 24 hours.

"Let him go!" Kris ordered, getting to her feet.

"Oh no," the leader replied, his voice deadly calm. "You're going to watch him die, and then you're going to join her." The leader raised his gun up to Christian's temple. Christian looked at Kris, fear and worry in his eyes.

"NO!!" Kris shouted. She sat bolt upright, and realized that she wasn't on the streets, but in her own bed in the apartment that she shared with her brother. Her body was covered in a thin film of cold sweat, and the salty fluid collected in beads on her forehead. Her pule was racing, and her nightshirt was stuck to her body. Breathing heavily, Kris tried to calm herself, but to no avail. She heard footsteps out in the hallway, and immediately tensed up. When she saw the familiar face of her brother, though, she began to relax.

"Kris, are you all right?" Rocky asked, coming to her bed in three long strides. He sat down next to her, a look of severe concern on his face.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine," Kris said, though the shakiness of her voice betrayed her words.

"You sounded like you were having a nightmare. You want to talk about it?" he offered.

"No, thanks," Kris replied quickly. "I'll be fine, really. It must have been that seventh slice of pizza I had before going to bed."

"You're a DeSantos, food is a part of your culture," Rocky told her with a grin. Kris smiled back, but it was a weak smile.

"I know, I've realized that," she replied wryly. "Now, I think I'm going to try to get some more sleep."

"No can do, it's already noon, and we were supposed to meet the others at the Youth Centre at 11:30," Rocky told her.

"What?!" Kris exclaimed. "Why did you let me sleep so long?"

"You looked like you needed it, especially after what happened to you during that hurricane," Rocky explained as Kris threw back her covers and made a mad dash toward the bathroom.

"I'll just be a minute," she called, shutting the door behind her. Rocky shook his head and smiled.

"You're becoming more like me everyday," he called to her.

"I know, and it's positively scary," Kris shouted to him through the door. She hurried and washed her face, then put on some makeup and ran back to her room. Quickly throwing on a pair of blue denim shorts and a grey baby t-shirt that buttoned up the front, and after slipping on her running shoes, she and Rocky left their apartment for the Youth Centre, with all memories of dreams from the past night left behind.

~*~

Part One

Rocky and Kris basically ran from the parking lot into the Youth Centre, where their friends were waiting.

"They're going to kill me," Kris said between breaths.

"No they won't, they'll think it's my fault we're late, no matter what we tell them, Rocky countered wryly, opening the door for Kris and letting her inside. The pair bolted through the corridors of the Youth Centre until they came to the Juice Bar, and skidded inside. They found Tommy and Jason sparring with Adam and Billy waiting on the sidelines to use the mats, while Kat and Tanya were sitting up at a table, talking to one another. When they saw the siblings run in, though, they stopped.

"Hey you guys!" Tanya called to them, smiling and waving. Kris waved back and smiled, then wandered with her brother to sit alongside Adam and Billy.

"Took you guys long enough to get here,"Adam teased as Rocky sat next to him.

"Blame Ms. Rip Van Winkle over there," Rocky said, pointing to his sister. She blushed.

"It's not like I can help it if I need a lot of sleep or anything," Kris said, memories of her dream resurfacing. She shuddered, even though it was plenty warm in the Youth Centre.

By now, Kat and Tanya had joined them on the bleachers. Jason and Tommy came over shortly, and Adam and Billy left to spar together.

"Hey guys," Kris said brightly, shaking off the cobwebs as the two young men came over.

"Hi, Kris," Tommy replied, taking a towel out of his bag and slinging it around his shoulders.

"Hey, Kris. How're you feeling?" Jason asked, grabbing a water bottle from his own bag and chugging half the bottle then and there.

"Pretty good, thanks," Kris replied with a smile. She gazed around the Youth Centre idly. Out of the corner of her eye, Kris thought she saw someone familiar. She gasped and a hand flew to her mouth as she whipped her head around to get a better look at the person. However, it was a stranger, someone she'd never seen before in her life. Kris breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Kris, are you all right?" Jason asked, having noticed Kris's reaction. She jumped, startled by the sound of his voice.

"Yea, I'm fine," she assured him quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, you just got kind of tense and scared all of a sudden," Jason replied with a shrug.

"Trust me, everything's fine," she said again, unsure if she was reassuring him or herself. Jason accepted it, and turned to talk to one of the others. However, Kris was still spooked, though she wouldn't have admitted it to anybody. "Anybody want anything?"

"Strawberry-banana shake for me," Kat said. She dug out the money from her purse and handed it to Kris. Soon, she had orders from all of the others for both food and drink, as well as money to pay for it all.

"I'll come help you carry all of that," Jason offered, standing up and walking with Kris over to the counter. Kris gave Ernie the orders, then leaned back against the bar and watched Adam and Billy spar together idly.

Once the order had been filled, Kris called everybody over while Jason set the food and drinks down on their regular table. Kris, having ordered only a plate of French fries and a small soda, nibbled idly while the others ate and drank to their hearts' content. However, snatches of her dream came back to her every now and then, disrupting her concentration on what the others were saying.

"Kris? Hello, Earth to Kris?" A hand was waving in front of her face, and it was Rocky's voice that she heard. Kris shook her head slightly, snapping back to reality.

"Sorry, I'm here," she said distantly, nibbling on a salt-and-vinegar-coated French fry.

"Are you all right? You've been spaced out the entire day," Tanya commented, sipping her milk shake.

"Sure, I'm fine," Kris told her, putting a smile on her face that she hoped looked convincing enough to fool the others into thinking she had been merely daydreaming. "I, uh, I guess I didn't get enough sleep last night or something."

"How could you not have? You slept longer than me!" Rocky declared, prompting a laugh from everybody at the table. Kris just grinned a little.

"True, but I was up pretty late reading," she told him. "And I woke up a few times during the night, too."

"Were you having nightmares?" Kat asked her.

"I don't remember what they were about," Kris lied, taking a long drink of her soda, hoping that the others would drop the subject.

~*~

Somewhere, in the shadows of Angel Grove, a young man lurked. He was trying to find a long lost friend, someone he hadn't seen in over 2 years. He had discovered that she had come to Angel Grove, but he couldn't get an exact fix on where she lived.

Not only was he trying to find his friend, he was also trying to elude some enemies. Enemies from long ago that would kill both him and his friend without a second thought. And since there were more of them than there were of his friend, he was sure to run into one of his enemies if he wasn't careful. But should he sacrifice care for urgency? He knew that his enemies had tracked the girl down to Angel Grove, as well, which was why they were there. They thought that he was dead, but they knew that she was still alive. All they thought they had to do was kill her, and their problems from long ago would be solved.

Little did the young man's enemies know that their problems wouldn't be solved so easily, or so cleanly.

The young man jogged down alleyways, trying his best to avoid public streets. However, after rounding one corner and narrowly missing one of the very enemies he was trying to avoid, he opted to go out onto the crowded sidewalk, where there were at least a few witnesses, should anything horrible happen.

He spotted a group of teens going down a street, and decided to follow them. He had heard about the local hangout that was popular with teenagers. The Youth Centre, he believed it was called. He hoped that his friend went there, and that that's where these teens were headed as well. But for all he knew, he could be headed in the wrong direction entirely. Thankfully, however, this particular group of teens was indeed going to the Youth Centre. They entered the building while he remained outside, staring at the building for a moment. Then, mustering up his courage, and a mental image, he went inside.

~*~

"Argh! I can't believe it's July already!" Kris exclaimed as she and Adam sat on the bleachers, watching their friends move about on the mats. Tommy was teaching Kat and Tanya some self-defense while Rocky was spotting Jason on the weight machines. "We're going to be going back to school soon!"

"We still have all of July, and most of August," Adam reminded her, taking a drink from his water bottle.

"I guess you're right," Kris told him. "It just seems like the time since school let out for the summer has flown by really quickly." She paused, reflecting on past events. "I guess it's because of all that's happened ever since I got here, right?"

"That's probably it," Adam agreed.

"Time flies," Kris murmured, going deeply into her own thoughts though she was still talking aloud. "It's amazing how quickly entire years can pass by without you really noticing it."

Adam, not knowing what Kris was talking about, just sat there silently. Kris leaned back onto the bleachers, and turned her head to look at the entrance to the Juice Bar to see if anybody interesting was coming in. Adam followed her gaze for a moment, then turned back to watch his friends.

"Hey Adam! Can you come here for a minute?" Rocky called to his friend. Adam nodded, and got up off the bleachers to join Rocky and Jason. Kris sat on the bleachers alone, reveling in the small pocket of silence around her that probably wouldn't last for longer than five minutes.

Indeed, it didn't even last that long, for a battered and bruised Tommy approached the bleachers with Kat and Tanya right behind him, apologizing profusely.

"Tommy, we're sorry," Kat said.

"We didn't know that we could do that if we tried," Tanya added.

"And I'm sure that other guy that we ran you into will be fine," Kat threw in.

Kris laughed.

"What happened?" she asked, grinning.

"Something happened?" Rocky wondered, coming over to the bleachers alongside Adam and Jason. Tommy turned as red as his Ranger suit.

"Er, nothing," he replied, picking up his towel and wiping off his face and neck.

"Tanya and I sort of threw Tommy right into someone who was walking by, and they both hit the ground," Kat explained sheepishly. The others laughed. Tommy hid his face in his towel.

"I'm beat!" Rocky exclaimed, collapsing on the bleachers beside Kris. She laughed.

"You've barely done anything," she told him.

"You haven't exactly been very active, either, you know," he reminded her. Kris shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not a Ranger, I don't have to stay in good shape if I don't want to," she informed him, keeping her voice low so nobody else would hear.

"But what about the Silver Ranger powers that Mondo gave you?" Tanya asked.

"Beats me," Kris replied honestly. "I haven't even tried to call on them since that last…incident."

"Maybe you should try later," Tommy suggested. "We could always use another Ranger."

"Me? A Ranger?" Kris squeaked. Then she remembered where she was and hastily lowered her voice. "Are you insane? I don't even do any martial arts or anything. What good would I be?"

"We've had Rangers that haven't been into the martial arts," Rocky told her. Kris raised an eye brow skeptically. "Well, Tanya and Kat get taught by Tommy. Then there's Billy, who only got into that type of thing recently. And Kimberly was a gymnast." Tommy winced at the sound of Kim's name, and Kat flinched. "Uh, sorry, bro."

"It's all right," Tommy responded quietly

"Well, I guess you're right," Kris conceded. "But I still don't know if I'd be a decent Ranger."

"There's only one way to find out," Adam said.

"The holochambers at the Power Chamber?" Tanya asked. Adam nodded. Kris looked at them both in confusion. "The holochambers can create any type of scenario that's required. Kind of like a holodeck, from Star Trek: The Next Generation."

"Hmm, I may have to try that thing out sometime soon," Kris commented thoughtfully. The others continued to have a conversation over her head, but Kris ignored them. Out of the corner of her eye, something had caught her attention, and Kris turned her head to get a better look. Her heart started pounding, and her pulse began to race. "Oh my God."

Standing there, at the entrance to the Youth Centre, was a young man Kris hadn't seen in ages. He was about 6', with honey-brown hair and was long enough to just touch the tips of his ears, and intense blue eyes reminiscent of sapphires, and with the same sharp edge to them. He was wearing a simple pair of blue jeans that looked like they hadn't been washed in ages, and a semi-tight black T-shirt in the same condition as his jeans. On his feet were simple black canvas running shoes that bore several stains, along with a couple of rips and tears. Kris got up from the bleachers and ran over to him, not saying a word to the others and an incredulous smile lighting up her face.

The young man saw Kris as she was running towards him, and his face lit up as well. He turned toward her, and spread his arms wide. Kris ran directly into them, and they hugged each other tightly. An entire world of memories was brought back in that instant, memories they had tried to forget, memories they had clung to in times of desperation and need.

Kris enjoyed the feel of his arms around her. It was a sensation she hadn't felt in a long time. Too long, she thought. She sniffled as memories from long ago flooded her brain. Memories that were both good and bad. Time froze for Kris as she hugged him even tighter, relishing the feel of his muscular arms encircling her torso in a protective yet happy embrace. The aqua ducts in Kris's eyes had opened, and her tears of joy and relief and amazement were dampening his shirt, though neither of them cared. Her body started to rack with sobs as the emotions overwhelmed her, and Kris heard a familiar voice from her past telling her that everything was OK, that he was here now. He still looked the same as he ever had. His roguish good looks shone through beneath a thin layer of filth and dirt that he probably couldn't get out entirely, considering his lack of indoor plumbing, or plumbing in general. He looked exactly the same as Kris remembered him, but perhaps a little rougher. Kris thought that she'd never see him again, but there he was, standing in the local hangout at Angel Grove, embracing her as though he'd never let go of her. Quite frankly, she didn't care if he didn't.

The young man Kris was embracing couldn't remember a time in his life when he'd been more relieved to see anybody. Kris's reaction when she'd seen him was something he knew he wouldn't forget for as long as he lived. God, she still looks really good, he thought to himself as she ran towards him, her long, light brown hair swishing across her back. Her green eyes were even greener from all the emotion that was coursing through her body. He greeted her with open arms, and wasn't even thrown off balance when she flung herself at him. Quite frankly, he was so happy so see her that he didn't care. He stood there, hugging her as tightly as he dared without fear of hurting her, thoroughly relishing how her slender frame fit perfectly into his arms. When she started to cry, he told her that everything was going to be all right, that he was here for her now, and forever. He rested his cheek of the top of her head, inhaling the scent of the shampoo she had used on her hair that very morning. She had always had a bit of a sweet scent about her, and now that she was off of the streets and in clean clothing and had access to facilities on a daily basis, she looked terrific. Her skin had a healthy glow, untouched by the type of grit and grime it had once seen. He, on the other hand, guessed that he looked exactly the same he did the last time she saw him. It was something he regretted. He'd wanted to make a good impression on her. Apparently, he didn't need to.

By the time they released one another, both of them were crying openly.

"How?" Kris whispered, standing arm's length away from him, tears still rolling down her cheeks. She was shaking her head in disbelief, as though something she could not entirely wrap her mind around was standing before her. Indeed, that was basically the case in this instance.

"I got away before they could shoot me," he replied, not needing to ask what Kris was talking about. Kris whimpered happily, and hugged him again.

"I thought you were dead," she sobbed into his chest.

"Come on, we need to go somewhere and talk," he told her quietly, still holding her close. "We have a serious problem on our hands."

Kris pulled away from him and nodded, looking a tad confused. Together, they walked hand-in-handout of the Youth Centre, leaving 6 very confused teens behind.

"Uh, Rocky? Who was that?" Tanya asked, watching Kris fling herself into the man's arms.

"I can honestly say that I have no idea," Rocky replied, his eyes also glued to the scene. He and the others watched as Kris walked out of the Youth Centre alongside the stranger. Rocky got up and followed them out, and the others remained on the bleachers, talking amongst themselves about the most recent development.

~*~

"I still can't believe you're alive, Christian," Kris whispered as the two of them sat on the grass beneath the shade of a huge oak tree. Kris, nervous now that they were alone, was playing with the blades of grass at her fingertips.

"Hey, you didn't think they could get rid of me that easily, did you?" Christian joked softly. Kris chuckled and shook her head, causing her brown-blonde hair to fall across her shoulders in golden waves.

"Why did you wait all this time to come find me?" she asked him.

"I had to lay low for a while, so the Shock Waves wouldn't find me," Christian explained.

"I wish you hadn't left me alone at that shelter," Kris admitted. "I was so scared when I woke up and you were gone. I thought the Shock Waves had come and killed you, and were coming for me next. At least until I read your note." Kris pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.

"You still have that?" Christian asked, amazed as Kris unfolded the note and placed it on the grass. She nodded. The creases were so well-worn that several small holes had appeared in the paper from constant unfolding and refolding.

"That's not all I've still got," she told him. Kris pulled a silver chain from beneath her grey shirt that had a small silver charm on it, and showed it to Christian.

"I gave this to you for your fifteenth birthday," Christian recalled, fingering the charm that hung around Kris's neck. The figurine glinted and reflected the bright sunlight.

"I remember," Kris said softly. "I've always loved dolphins, and I remember how incredibly shocked I was when you gave this to me. I didn't think you had the money to afford the charm, never mind the chain."

"I still can't believe you hung on to that all this time," Christian marveled.

"Of course I kept it," Kris retorted softly. "You were, are, the best friend I've ever had. When I thought that the Shock Waves had killed you, the note and this necklace were the only things, aside from memories, that I had to remember you by. It hurt me so much when I thought that I'd lost you forever."

"But I'm back now, and that's all that matters," Christian said, finishing that thought.

"So where are you staying?" Kris asked him, changing the subject.

"That's not important, Kris," Christian told her. He hesitated before going forward with the news he had. "They're here."

Kris blood ran cold. Vivid, horrible scenes that she had long ago pushed to the back of her mind resurfaced, and raced before her eyes. Her eyes opened wide, and she stared at her friend in disbelief.

"The Shock Waves are in Angel Grove?" she whispered, barely able to find her voice. Christian nodded, a grim expression on his face. "What are they doing here?"

"I think they came for you," Christian told her bluntly. Kris paled considerably, and looked as though she was going to faint.

"Me?" she asked weakly, finding her voice. Her body swayed a little from side to side, and only the hand that was holding her torso up from behind kept her upright.

"They think I'm dead, and you're the only other witness," Christian explained, looking helpless. "We can run away, though. If we leave now, they'll never find us."

"I…I can't leave, not now," Kris told him, her voice full of regret. "I finally found my brother, and the rest of my family. I have some great friends, I go to school…I've got too many obligations, Christian. I'm sorry." Kris hung her head, ashamed. She didn't want to disappoint Christian, but what she had told him was all true.

"It's all right," Christian assured her. "I'm glad at least one of us found happiness."

"Well, what have you been doing for the past couple of years?" Kris asked him. Christian thought for a minute before responding.

"After I let the shelter, I headed East, and stayed in Canada for a while, believe it or not. Then, I came back to the States, to where I had last seen you, and started trying to find you. Lo and behold, here I am," he explained. He left out a lot, Kris observed, choosing not to comment on that fact for fear of forcing Christian to bring something up he didn't want to discuss at that point in time.

"Come on, you have to meet my brother and my other friends," Kris said suddenly. She pulled Christian to his feet and began to lead him back into the Youth Centre.

"I don't know," Christian said reluctantly. "The fewer people that know I'm still alive, much less here, the better."

"Christian, you can trust them," Kris assured him. Christian looked at her doubtfully for a moment, then sighed.

"You almost always did manage to get your way somehow, even when we were younger," he told her as he allowed himself to be led into the building.

~*~

Rocky had barely managed to get inside before Kris and Christian had entered. He ran over to the bleachers and sat down next to his friends, trying to look as nonchalant as he could. He glanced over and saw Kris and Christian enter the building. She looked around, spotted them, then led the young man over to them.

"Guys, this is Christian. He's been my best friend ever since…" Kris trailed off, unsure how to finish that sentence. "My best friend for a long time. Christian, are you ready for the introductions?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Christian said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. He glanced over his shoulder, then returned his gaze to the strangers before him.

"OK, well, on the far side of the bleachers, we have Billy Cranston, who must have arrived just recently because he wasn't here earlier," Kris said, doing a double take when she saw Billy.

"I needed to get out," Billy told her with a shrug and a small smile. He nodded to Christian, who returned the gesture accompanied by a nervous smile.

"Next to Billy, you've got Jason Lee Scott," Kris said, pointing to the dark-haired teen. Jason gave Christian a guarded nod. "In front of Jason, Tommy Oliver and behind Jason, Tanya Sloan."

"Hi," Tanya said brightly, smiling. Christian smiled back, liking Tanya immediately.

"Next to Tanya is Adam Park, and the girl beside Tommy is Katherine Hillard," Kris continued.

"Call me Kat," Kat broke in.

"You must be Rocky," Christian said, looking directly at Rocky. Rocky's eyes opened wide, and puzzlement showed clear on his face. "You look a lot like Kris, and she's told me so much about you that I feel like I know you already."

"That makes one of us," Rocky muttered beneath his breath. Christian gave Kris a confused look, and Kris glared at her brother.

"Where do you guys know each other from?" Tanya inquired. Christian and Kris looked at one another sharply. Christian's look asked Kris if she had told them about that part of her past, and she shook her head in a silent reply.

"Oh, we met at a friend's house," Kris replied vaguely. Not too far off, I guess, if you could call that abandoned warehouse a house.

"So, Christian, what brought you to Angel Grove?" Kat asked.

"Mainly, I just came to visit Kris," Christian replied honestly. "I haven't her in years, and I missed her." Christian looked over at Kris to see if he had done all right, and she nodded back at him with a small smile on her face and a blush colouring her cheeks.

"Christian, do you want a drink or anything? My treat!" Kris offered suddenly.

"That'd be great, thanks," Christian told her. The two walked over to the Juice Bar.

"He seems nice," Tanya observed, watching them go.

"Does it seem kind of suspicious to anyone else that he just shows up all of a sudden, from out of nowhere, and doesn't give us a real explanation of why he showed up?" Rocky asked quietly.

"Come on, Rocky, you heard what he said," Adam told his friend. "He came to visit Kris."

"But why did he wait all this time to come see her?" Rocky countered.

"He probably had trouble finding her. After all, she was moving around for quite a while, looking for you," Tanya pointed out, turning her attention to Rocky.

"Maybe, but I'm going to keep a close eye on him," Rocky conceded. Tanya laughed.

"You sound like an overprotective father," she told him.

Rocky didn't reply, he just watched Kris and Christian closely as they paid Ernie and walked out of the building. Rocky got up and went after them. Tanya rolled her eyes behind his back as he left.

~*~

"So what's your plan for getting rid of the Shock Waves?" Kris asked Christian as they sat on a bench in the sun outside the Youth Centre.

"I think we should just lay low until they leave Angel Grove," Christian told her. "If they can't find us, then they'll think we've gone someplace else, and they'll leave."

"But that could take days," Kris protested. "Or weeks. Or even months." The prospect was frightening.

"Would you rather go out and have fun and get killed, or stay inside and stay safe?" Christian asked her bluntly. Kris gulped.

"Well, when you put it that way, I think I can stay off the streets for a little while," she replied hastily.

"Not only off the streets, but off the phone, off the Internet, everything," Christian informed her. "Stay away from the windows, don't answer the door, absolutely no contact with outside life whatsoever."

"What am I going to tell Rocky?" Kris asked with a groan, closing her eyes and tilting her head to face the sun. The heat felt good on her skin.

"Why do you have to tell him anything?" Christian countered. "The less you tell the others, the safer they'll be."

"So what do I do, just stay inside for the next few weeks of my life without telling them anything?" Kris retorted.

"Isn't that all you can do?" Christian asked her softly.

"But they can keep a secret," Kris protested weakly. "They have one that nobody else except me knows, and nobody's ever found out about it."

"Is it a life-or-death secret?"

"Well, no," Kris admitted. Christian only looked at her. Kris sighed in defeat. "All right, all right, we'll do this your way. But you're staying with Rocky and me at our apartment."

"That's fine with me," Christian said readily. "I was hoping to stay someplace where I could keep an eye on you."

"You've always been so overprotective of me," Kris chided, smiling at him.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" Christian told her with a grin. She nodded.

"Mostly thanks to you, actually," she confessed. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Kris saw movement. "Rocky, over here!"

Rocky looked at Kris guiltily and headed over, ready to be chewed out for spying on them.

"Hi Kris, Christian," he said quietly.

"Um, Rocky?" Kris began, somewhat nervously. She didn't know how her brother would take her request. He looked at her expectantly. "Would it be all right if Christian stayed with us for a week or so? He really needs a place to stay while he's here, and he can't afford a motel or an apartment." Rocky looked at her, surprised.

"I promise I won't cause you two any trouble," Christian broke in quickly. "I'll even help around the house, if you want me to. I just really need to stay with you guys for a little while until I leave Angel Grove."

"Well, all right," Rocky answered grudgingly. Kris got up quickly and threw her arms around her brother.

"Thanks, Rocky," she said enthusiastically. "Trust me, you won't regret this. Christian's a great guy. I'm sure you and the others will get along great with him while he's here." Kris broke the embrace and looked at Christian. "Come on, let's go get you settled in."

"I'll come with you," Rocky said hurriedly. "Just in case you two need my help with something."

"Rocky, I'm sure we'll be fine on our own," Kris assured him. "You should go back and tell the others where we're going."

"I'll call them later and explain what happened," Rocky replied dismissively. "Come on, let's go."

"All right," Kris said, unsure of what had gotten into her brother. However, all negative thoughts were quickly dispelled as she, her brother and her best friend walked toward the apartment complex.

~*~

At the apartment, new problems arose.

"Rocky, he's been my best friends for years," Kris protested. "I don't know what you think will happen if he sleeps in my room, but nothing will happen, all right?"

"Kris, it's not that I don't trust you, it's that I don't trust him," Rocky told her, gesturing with his thumb towards the bathroom where Christian currently was.

"Rocky, I'd trust him with my life," Kris hissed. "Why can't you trust me on this one? He'd never do anything to hurt me. In fact, he's saved my life on more than one occasion."

Rocky regarded her for a moment.

"All right," he conceded finally. "But if I even suspect that anything is going on, he leaves."

"Rocky, that's not fair, and you know it," Kris said quietly, her emerald eyes flashing with anger. "I'm old enough to be making decisions for myself, and this is one I'll stand behind."

"Kris, I'm just trying to look out for you, you know that," Rocky confessed, slumping his shoulders in a signal of defeat. "I lost you once, and I don't want to lose you again."

"Rocky, this is our home. Surely, you can't lose me here," Kris reasoned. Rocky gave her a guarded look. "OK, OK, fine. Look, any time that Christian and I are here, you're welcome to be here too, all right?"

"I don't want you going anywhere alone with him," Rocky said stubbornly. Kris gave him a warning look that said that she was about to get royally ticked off if his mood didn't improve pronto.

"I know you're trying to protect me, Rocky, but there was a time when you weren't around. I survived, mainly because Christian was there to protect me. Rocky, he's like an older brother to me, nothing more," Kris explained.

"Maybe so, but I still worry about what he could do to you if he got you alone," Rocky said with a frown.

"Rocky, please try to understand," Kris pleaded. "During the time that I was without my family and on the streets, I grew up a lot faster than anybody has any right to. I know how to take care of myself. When I got myself into a tough spot, though, I thought that I was a goner, until Christian showed up. He not only got me through that tough time in my life, but he helped me through all of the rough times that came after it."

"Kris, if it means this much to you, then it's all right with me," Rocky said after a long pause. Kris smiled widely and hugged her brother tightly.

"Am I interrupting something?" Christian asked hesitantly, emerging from the bathroom.

"No, not at all," Kris assured him. "Come on, I'll show you to our room."

"I'm bunking with you?" Christian asked, surprised.

"Sure, why not? We've slept in the same room before," Kris said reasonably. Rocky shot her a look, which she ignored. Christian simply shrugged. and followed Kris into her room.

"Wow, you sure hit the jackpot," Christian murmured upon entering the room. He glanced at her walls. "Nice."

Kris blushed. She had received much more teasing from Rocky when she had gone out and bought the posters that were now hanging on her walls. There was one of the Backstreet Boys, one of Brian Littrell, one from the Armageddon movie, and typed up lyrics from several songs from the three C.D.'s; I'll Never Break Your Heart, Just To Be Close To You, I Wanna Be With You, As Long As You Love Me, All I Have To Give, 10,000 Promises, Anywhere For You, If I Don't Have You, which were all by the Backstreet Boys, as well as, I Don't Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith, and Kris's personal favourite, which was printed on pastel purple paper and had black lettering, was Remember Me, by Journey. It and the one by Aerosmith were from the Armageddon movie, which she had seen 3 times already, and wanted to go see again.

"It's nothing much, really," Kris said demurely, her cheeks returning to their normal colour.

"Kris, compared to where I live, this place is a castle," Christian informed her.

"Where have you been staying, anyway," Kris asked him as she began to set up a cot beside her bed for Christian.

"Well, you remember that abandonned warehouse that we found when we were still in Nebraska?" Christian asked her.

"You mean, you stayed there for two years?" Kris asked incredulously. Christian nodded. "But the winters there must have been terrible for you! How did you manage to stay alive?"

"Oh, I had my ways," Christian said vaguely.

"Christian, come on, this is me you're talking to," Kris chided him gently. "You know you can tell me anything."

"OK, well, I ended up stealing a blanket or two from a store, and the rest I just scrounged up from shelters and stuff," Christian admitted.

"Well, at least you don't have to do any of that anymore," Kris said brightly. "Once the Shock Waves leave, you can stay here in Angel Grove."

"Kris, I don't have a job, I could never afford an apartment here," Christian protested.

"You could stay here," Kris pointed out.

"Kris, your brother doesn't even like that I'm staying here right now. He'd never let me stay here any longer than I had to," Christian said bluntly.

"You heard what we were saying?" Kris asked, reddening. Christian nodded. "It figures. You always did have better hearing than I did."

"Look, Christian, I'll admit that I had my doubts, but if you really need a place to stay, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you need to," Rocky said from the doorway to Kris's bedroom. He caused both of them to jump for he hadn't made a single sound to make his presence known.

"I don't want to impose," Christian protested quickly. He winced when Kris threw an elbow into his ribs.

"Shut up and accept the man's offer," she told him, grinning.

"Thanks, Rocky, I can't tell you how much I appreciate that," Christian said, extending his hand to Rocky's. They shook hands, smiling, and Kris couldn't have been happier. Now if only we could get rid of the Shock Waves, everything would be perfect, she thought, a frown crossing her face.

"Something wrong, Kris?" Rocky asked, looking at her. Kris shook her head and smiled ruefully.

"Nah, just thinking about that nightmare I had last night," she answered. Well, that's basically true.

"I'm going to go back to the Youth Centre," Rocky told them. "Are you two coming?"

"Sure," Kris said readily. She looked at Christian for confirmation, and he was looking at her like she had just sprouted another head. He mouthed, "No" to her, and Kris smacked herself mentally. "I mean, maybe some other time. Christian and I have a lot of catching up to do."

"Are you sure? Why don't you come down to the Youth Centre, anyway? You guys can have your privacy, and everything, you don't need to worry about that," Rocky persisted.

"No thanks, Rocky. Christian's probably tired from the trip over here," Kris said.

"Well, all right," Rocky replied, shrugging his shoulders and leaving the apartment. He wasn't too keen on leaving his sister alone with Christian, but if she trusted him, then Rocky would just have to trust her.

~*~

Once they were alone, Kris and Christian finally got to do some serious talking.

"Christian, how long do you think we're going to have to stay in hiding?" Kris asked him as they sat on the couch in the living room.

"Honestly, I don't know," Christian admitted. "It could be anywhere between a week to half a year. You know how persistent Maddox and his thugs are." Kris shivered at unpleasant memories.

"I know," she said quietly. "It's going to be really hard keeping this from Rocky and the others." Kris paused. "Look, I think that Rocky deserves to know. After all, we're putting him in danger by staying here."

"As long as he doesn't tell anybody else what's going on," Christian cautioned.

"He'll keep this secret for us," Kris assured him.

Just then, the phone rang, startling them both. Kris reached over to the table to pick it up, but Christian grabbed Kris's arm.

"It could be Maddox," he warned. Kris looked at the phone as though it were a viper sitting on her table instead of a simple device.

"It's going to be so hard to cut myself off from civilization," she groaned, relaxing against the couch cushions.

"We can do it," Christian told her with a small smile on his lips. "We've gotten through tougher spots, right?"

"That's an understatement," Kris admitted. "I just hope we can get through this one alive."

~*~

Meanwhile, down at the Youth Centre, Rocky was sitting at the circular table that he and his friends normally occupied. They were talking around him, while he sipped a shake, lost in his own thoughts.

"Earth to Rocky," came a voice as a hand was waved in front of his face.

"Huh?" Rocky asked, startled from his reverie. He realized that all of his friends were staring at him.

"Are you all right?" Adam asked his friend, concerned.

"I'm just worried about Kris," Rocky confessed. "I think she and Christian are hiding something from me."

"Rocky, they were friends for a long time. Maybe they had some good times that they want to keep between themselves?" Tanya suggested, then she winced as she realized what she had implied as Rocky glared at her. "I didn't mean it like that, Rocky."

Rocky sighed.

"I know," he told her. "It's just that I thought when Kris came back into my life that we'd be as close as we were before the fire."

"Just because one of her friends from a long time ago came to visit her, that doesn't mean that Kris loves you any less," Adam commented.

"I still think they're hiding something," Rocky said, not really acknowledging Adam's words. "And I'm going to find out what."

"Rocky, are you sure that's wise?" Kat asked. "It might be something that they don't want to share with anybody else."

"Kat, will you talk to her? I'm sure that she'll tell you what's going on between her and Christian," Rocky said suddenly, looking directly at the pretty blonde. Kat looked trapped. She seemed about to protest, but sighed and gave in.

"All right, I'll call her and ask her if anything's wrong. But if she doesn't want to tell me anything, I won't make her," Kat explained hurriedly.

"Thanks, Kat," Rocky said with a small smile. Kat got up.

"I'll go call her now," she said, and left the room.

A minute later, she returned.

"Well?" Rocky asked anxiously.

"Nobody picked up," Kat said, sliding back into her seat at the table between Tommy and Tanya.

"That's weird, Kris didn't say that she and Christian were going to go out anywhere," Rocky said with a frown. A silence fell over the table for a moment.

Rocky pushed back his chair abruptly and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Adam called after his friend.

"I'm going to figure out what's going on," Rocky called back without turning around.

~*~

"Are you sure we should tell him?" Kris asked worriedly, wringing her hands together.

"Kris, you were the one who thought that we should tell Rocky what's going on," Christian chided her gently.

"When have you ever known me to be decisive?" Kris retorted, grinning. Christian chuckled.

"Never," he admitted.

"Exactly!" Kris cried triumphantly, then immediately clapped a hand over her mouth. When she noticed her reaction, she lowered her hand and shook her head. "I'm getting paranoid, and you haven't even been here an entire day, yet."

"By the time this is over, paranoia might just have saved both of our lives from the Shock Waves," Christian commented. "So? Are we going to tell him?"

"I guess we have to tell Rocky the truth," Kris said with a sigh, hoping she'd stick to her decision this time. "He deserves to know."

"What do I deserve to know?" Rocky asked, his voice cold. He stood in the doorway, having just arrived back at the apartment. Christian jumped, and Kris emitted a small shriek of surprise. When she recognized her brother, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Rocky, thank God it's you," she said, letting out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding in a whoosh. "Christian and I have something to tell you."

"Go ahead," Rocky told them, standing next to the easy chair closest to the door.

"OK, well, Christian and I met when we were both in Nebraska," Kris began. "How we met was…through a gang."

"What?!" Rocky exclaimed. An angry look crossed his face.

"Rocky, please, I'm not finished yet. Just let me get through this, OK?" Kris pleaded. "It's really important."

Rocky remained quiet, urging Kris to continue. She took a deep breath before doing so.

"Christian was already in the gang when I hooked up with them. I'd been living on the streets ever since I'd left the hospital after the accident, and I was sick and tired of being alone and defenseless. The gang was called the Shock Waves. Strangely enough, I was the only female member, but that wasn't really ever an issue. Anyway, once I was in the gang, Christian and I became good friends, and we were often sent out on heists and robberies together because we made such a great team."

Rocky looked ill by this time, and Kris knew it wouldn't get any better when she was finished.

"Well, one day, when Christian and I were outside of the warehouse that served as our hide-out, we heard gunfire inside. We ran in, and saw that our gang leader, Cameron Maddox, had killed our rival gang's leader," Kris continued. "We were scared, because nobody from our gang, the Shock Waves, had ever committed a murder before, but we decided it would be safer for us to keep quiet." Kris paused for a moment to let all of that sink in. "After a while, we couldn't stay silent anymore, and we decided to run away from the Shock Waves. Just before we escaped, Maddox and a bunch of his thugs jumped us, and tried to kill us because Maddox knew that we had witnessed the murder. Christian and I managed to get away, but it was really close.

"Maddox once caught Christian, and held a gun to him, but I ran away before I could see the outcome. I heard a gunshot, and…" Kris trailed off as a flood of unpleasant memories returned to her.

"Kris obviously thought that Maddox had killed me, but just before Maddox shot me I managed to wrestle the gun from his hand," Christian continued in Kris's place while she recovered. "The gunshot she heard was the gun discharging. The bullet grazed me in the side, but it didn't really hurt me. I laid down on the ground, however, so Maddox would think I was dead, and it worked. He left me there to die.

"Now, the Shock Waves have come to find Kris, thinking that I was dead and out of the way. I heard about them coming for her, and I decided to come here and warn her."

Rocky looked as though he was going to pass out. He dropped down into the chair heavily, staring straight ahead in disbelief.

"Rocky?" Kris asked quietly, almost fearing his response to the new information he had just learned.

"I don't believe this," Rocky whispered.

"Rocky, it'll be OK," Kris said reassuringly. "As long as Christian and I stay out of sight, the Shock Waves will figure I'm not here and they'll go away."

"How could you lead them here?" Rocky demanded angrily, getting to his feet, placing himself directly in front of Christian.

"Rocky, I didn't bring them here," Christian protested, looking the other boy straight in the eye. "I came to try to protect Kris."

"You probably brought them here to kill Kris," Rocky hissed, glaring at Christian. His fists were clenching and unclenching rapidly, a sure sign that he was in an extremely hostile mood.

"Rocky, you're not thinking straight. This is all a big shock to you, I know. Christian doesn't want to hurt me now, he never did. Like he said, he came to protect me! Please, don't be angry at him," Kris pleaded, stepping between the two boys in an effort to get them both to calm down.

"Why not? He got you into the gang in the first place!" Rocky exclaimed.

"But it wasn't his fault that I wanted into the gang. If anything, you should be blaming me. I'm the reason the Shock Waves are in town, and they won't leave until they've killed me," Kris said quietly.

"Kris, none of this is your fault," Rocky said hurriedly, looking down at his younger sister.

"Just like none of this is Christian's fault, either," Kris countered, looking straight back at him.

A harsh, uncomfortable silence fell over the apartment. The sound of Kris's watch beeping the hour seemed to almost echo throughout the confined space as the three of them stood there, looking at one another uneasily.

When Kris opened her mouth to say something, however, Rocky beat her to it.

"I'm sorry," he said, encompassing the two of them in one look. "This is a lot to digest in one sitting."

"I understand," Kris told him with a smile. "And you can't tell any of the others about any of this. I don't want to put them in any more danger than they're already in."

"Rocky, you're now in this just as deeply as Kris and I are," Christian told the other man. "You can still go out and everything, but you can't let on that you know either of us. If Maddox and his goons find out where we are, they'll kill all three of us, and they might even go after your friends if they think that we told them anything"

"Then don't they deserve to know what's going on if they might be in danger?" Kris asked.

"No, I have a feeling that if anything bad happens, they'll manage to get out of it," Rocky commented, tapping his communicator discreetly. Kris noted his movement and nodded, comprehension dawning on her quickly.

~*~

The next day, Rocky arrived late at the Youth Centre. The entire way there, he had been checking over his shoulder constantly, paranoid that somehow, Maddox had found out that he was Kris's brother and that Maddox was going to kill him. He hadn't even wanted to go out, but Kris had insisted that he go.

"It'll look suspicious if all three of us aren't there," she had told him.

Reluctantly, Rocky had agreed to go, but only after making Kris and Christian promise him that they would keep all the doors and windows locked and the shades drawn, and they wouldn't answer the door or the phone.

Now, he was beginning to regret his decision. Just as he was about to turn around and run as fast as he could back to the apartment building, Jason came jogging up to him.

"You're late?" Rocky asked him, temporarily forgetting his own problems.

"My Jeep broke down," Jason explained, making a sour face. "I was calling your name for a full minute before I caught up with you. Didn't you hear me?"

"I must have been thinking about something. Sorry," Rocky replied. There's no way I could go back to the apartment now, he thought. It'd look too suspicious, and I can't tell anybody what's going on. Not even Jason.

"How're Kris and Christian?" Jason asked him as the two went into the Youth Centre.

"Oh, they're doing fine," Rocky replied vaguely.

"You're not suspicious of him anymore?" Jason said in a slightly teasing voice. Rocky shook his head.

"No, I think I was just being paranoid," he answered, wincing a little as he realized that he had just said.

The two men entered, and joined their friends. While the others talked, however, Rocky remained lost in thought.

"Rocky, your sister and Christian have been kidnaped," said a voice that broke through all of this thoughts.

"What?!" Rocky exclaimed, tensing. He had placed his palms flat on the surface of the table, and nearly knocked his chair over as he stoof halfway up. Tommy and the others nearly fell off their chairs. Never before had they seen Rocky react so seriously before.

"Rocky, relax. We were just trying to see if you were still awake behind