Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all related indicia belong to Saban and are used without permission. This fic is a fic of the Earth Crystals saga. A handful of original characters belong to me, including, regrettably, Zeke Hathaway. This fic does contain several scenes and discussions of a very graphic, violent nature, including rape, so if this thing bothers you, please read with caution. There is also a discourse between two characters that may be portrayed as insensitive to homosexuality (although that was not my intent.) I rate this fic R.
Author's Note: This is another cameo fic. There are a handful of cameos from friends and acquaintances in this fic. All people were used with permission, although these cameos are not necessarily accurate representations of said individuals. I also hope to get the next Earth Crystals fic out in less than a month. My muse has become inspired, and I hope my output level increases as a result.

Miles to Go
By Jeremy Ray Logsdon

Prologue
November 28, 1997
3:15 a.m.

"Are you asleep?" Tommy asked quietly. He glanced briefly over at his blonde girlfriend, ("Fiancée," he corrected himself), huddled up against the passenger side door of his truck.

"Not really," she murmured. "Just resting. Where are we?"

"About fifty miles outside of Vegas," he answered.

Katherine sat up straighter, in the process dislodging the denim jacket he had used to cover her. She peered out the side window of the truck. There was nothing but empty desert and darkness for as far as she could see. She saw no headlights or taillights ahead of them. Complete and utter isolation.

"You don't realize how far it is to Las Vegas until you try to drive there in one night, do you?" Katherine asked.

"About three hundred and fifty miles," Tommy answered. "But I've lived in California my whole life. It's you non-Californians who freak out at the prospect of a six-hour road trip." He looked over at her and smiled. "We'll be there within an hour."

"You're going to be able to support us while I'm in college, right?" Katherine asked, looking at him a bit nervously.

"Of course," he answered reassuringly. "I would never have asked if I thought, even for a minute, that we would be in trouble. But I have a five-year contract, I won nearly three hundred thousand in that last race, and you have a scholarship. We'll be fine. Not only will we be fine, we'll be great."

"I've just heard that it's kind of hard for young adults to go to school and be married at the same time," Katherine continued. "I'm a little nervous."

"Katherine, if you are having any reservations, at all, then we shouldn't do this," Tommy said. "Just because we don't get married tonight doesn't mean-"

"No, I want to get married," she assured him. "I just have a little case of cold feet. Maybe-" She suddenly paused, looking past him and staring out his window.

"What?"

"I just saw something," she said. "Lights."

"Maybe you saw the ring, or some falling stars from it," Tommy suggested, referring to the temporary ring circling the planet. The debris from the Space Base formed a circle around the planet, still glowing different colors and continually shedding itself into the upper atmosphere, producing numerous, brilliant streaks of light at all times of day and night.

And then, suddenly, they were driving down an empty town street. There was no flash of light; the buildings didn't slowly materialize into being. There was nothing, and then, they were driving through a town.

"What the-?" Tommy asked, slamming both feet on the clutch and brake. The tail end of his truck slid to the right, and his truck came to a screeching halt in the middle of the empty street.

Katherine, with her mouth and eyes open in shock, looked out her window. The town that had just appeared around them looked old, as if it hadn't been seen or visited by humans in decades. It all looked very reminiscent of a small American town, circa 1920s.

Tommy quickly put his truck out of gear and pushed in the emergency brake. He intended to leave it running, in case they needed to get away in a hurry.

"Do you have a clue?" he asked as he slowly opened the truck door.

"None," she answered, stepping out of the truck as well.

"You don't see Rod Serling standing around talking to a television audience, do you?" he asked, only a bit sarcastically.

When he looked back over at Katherine, he saw that she was wearing her Zeo armor. Her visor was plated with silver, and she was slowly looking around, giving her Power Scan time to survey everything.

"Anything?" Tommy asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," she answered. "No signs of life, but no signs of attack, either."

"It doesn't look like anyone has been here for eighty years," Tommy remarked, stepping up onto the sidewalk and peering into a store window. The goods inside looked untouched, but they didn't look as though they had been just sitting around for decades, waiting for someone to find them. There was no dust at all. They just looked misplaced in time.

Tommy morphed quickly and silently. Then, touching his belt buckle, he shift-teleported through the glass window, effortlessly appearing on the other side of the glass. "Activate Power Beam," Tommy muttered to himself.

Power Beam, a modification of an old design primarily used by the Yellow Morphin Ranger, shone forth from his helmet. The star-shaped visor on his helmet was glowing white, lighting everything that Tommy turned his gaze toward, yet his vision was not impeded at all.

There was a slight intuitive cackle of static as Katherine spoke to him over their radio system. "Do you see anything in there?" she asked.

"Everything is dusty and old," he said. "Do you think maybe this is a ghost town?"

"In the middle of a major highway?" Katherine asked. "Tommy, let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

Tommy teleported back out to Kat and nodded in agreement. "Let's go," Tommy announced, looking to his truck. "I don't care if we don't know what this place is."

"I'm in for that," Katherine agreed. The two Rangers started toward his still-running vehicle, but they stopped as his truck suddenly exploded. A flaming red and black cloud rose into the air as debris rained down onto the empty street.

Katherine's hand went to her belt buckle, but when she tapped for teleportation, nothing happened. No sparkle, no hiss, nothing.

"Run," Tommy said suddenly. They briefly glanced at each other, and then, in unison, they ran up the street. The row of stores ended just a few hundred feet ahead; neither really knew what was beyond the town anymore than they understood the town or what happened in it. They just knew they didn't want to be there.

And then, in respective purple and maroon flashes of light, Astronema and Divatox appeared before them. Both wore menacing, sultry smiles, and the former had waist-length teal hair, decorated with golden and silver baubles.

"It just seems like forever since we've seen each other!" Divatox cried, laughing.

"This way," Katherine implored, turning on her heel and running the opposite direction. Tommy, casting a cautious look back at the two villainesses, began to jog in her direction. He promptly bumped into Katherine, standing stock still in the middle of the street, staring at Goldar and Rito at the other end of the block.

"Long time, no fight," Goldar growled, pointing his sword at Tommy.

"I'll take you on any day of the week, Goldar," Tommy growled back.

"I think you might want to change your mind," Astronema suggested. Pointing her Wrath Staff, she produced two glowing purple squares, floating above the street. In one lay an image of the sleeping form of Brooke Hillard, and in the other, Teddy Oliver.

"What is this?" Tommy asked angrily.

It was as though they were viewing their sleeping siblings through a camera lens. As soon as Tommy spoke, the "camera" panned back. Sitting on the edge of Teddy's bed, just inches from his sleeping form, was Rita Repulsa, lightly humming to herself as she sharpened the black nail on her left index finger into a razor-sharp edge.

Katherine gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as she spied the gargantuan Lord Zedd, standing over her little sister, with his handful of sharp claws unfurled over her. Separated by hundreds of miles, Zedd nonetheless looked directly at Katherine through the spectral viewing screen. He had no mouth to speak of, but just the same, she could tell he was smiling as he gently stroked Brooke's beautiful red hair with his golden-clawed hand.

"No," Katherine said quickly. "Don't hurt them."

"Then demorph and come with us, now," Astronema ordered. A purple circle of light appeared on the ground in front of Katherine and Tommy. "Step on to it, come with us, and your siblings will live to see another day."

Tommy, seething with rage and staring at them as hard as he could manage, demorphed and stepped onto the circle. Katherine was close behind. Purple light flashed up around them, and it promptly faded, leaving the street void of Rangers.

All four villains laughed as they, too, disappeared. A few moments later, the ghostly town, nothing more than a few elaborate glamour spells, came to an end. Only a barren section of Nevada highway remained, with the burning wreckage of Tommy's truck as proof that they had ever been there. By morning, the truck would also be dealt with by magic, and no one would know that Katherine and Tommy were not in Vegas getting married.


November 29
5:45 p.m.

Somewhere in the Arctic Ocean, the 'UAE Lusitania' was continuing its never-ending journey to nowhere in particular. The process of its continual motion, along with a few minor spells courtesy the ship's inhabitants, kept the ship hidden from the Power Stations' tracking systems. Which, really, was rather ironic, because Zhane, the Silver Space Ranger, had a direct teleportation link to the 'Lusitania.'

As Zhane materialized on the frigid open-air promenade deck of the ship, he was both excited to be there and terrified of the prospect. He realized he was being ignorant. A Power Ranger should not willingly enter the villains' lair. However, Astronema had successfully captured the young warrior's heart, (or lust, anyway), and since he had been given an open invitation, he was going to use it.

He was already dressed for the dance, wearing a metallic silver blazer that created a look few people could successfully pull off. He quickly jogged for the warmth of the ship, eager to leave the frigid air.

When he stepped into the First Class Lounge, his breath caught in his throat. Goldar was casually seated on a chair, reading a book, with his large wings unfurled behind the chair and his feet propped up on an ottoman. Before Zhane could say anything, Goldar looked in his direction, and much to Zhane's surprise, spoke, "Evening."

"Good evening," Zhane returned carefully. "Do you know where Astronema is?"

Goldar shrugged as he returned his attention back to his novel. Zhane kept one eye on Goldar as he crept through the Lounge.

"Looking for me?" Astronema asked as she suddenly appeared before him.

"Yeah," Zhane said happily, his face lighting up. "Uhm, there was a dance, here in a few minutes, and I was hoping you'd maybe like to go with me. Y'know, in a mortal disguise."

"Oh, honey," Astronema chirped, smiling as she reached out to pat his cheek. "I'm busy. We've got new members, and I'm still working with them… Why don't you take her?"

He followed her gaze to Sydney, standing in the doorway to the lounge in a denim skirt, pink blouse, and blue jean jacket. "Very eighties," Astronema remarked.

"The first time I was fifteen, this was still in style," Sydney said.

"That's okay," Zhane said quickly. "I'll just go by myself."

"Nonsense," Astronema replied. "Sydney, take Zhane to the dance tonight."

"But-," Zhane stammered, pointing at Sydney. "I mean-"

"We'll have fun," Sydney said, cozying up to his side and sliding her arm through his. "Or else," she added, her eyes glinting with a touch of red light.

Astronema rolled her eyes and playfully slapped Zhane on the arm. "But you'll come back here, after the dance," she told him. She grabbed him by his black tie and pulled him down to her level, kissing him quickly on the lips. "Deal?"

"Deal," he agreed, smiling. In the back of his head, there was a nagging voice that told him he was doing a horrible, horrible thing, but closer to the forefront of his mind was a vivid memory of the fun the two had shared during their last rendezvous. Zhane was young, and ultimately, lust won out over common sense.

"We're gone," Sydney called, just as they disappeared in dual flashes of villain pink and Ranger silver.

"Who was he?" Trakeena asked, standing with Vypra just outside the lounge.

"Just a pet," Astronema answered. "Where were we, earlier?"

"You had a surprise to show us," Vypra reminded her.

"Right," Astronema remembered, quickly teleporting them to another part of the ship. "This is part of Steerage," she told them, walking down the narrow hallway. "We mostly use it for storage, but we do have one level we've converted into cells."

She pushed one door open and gestured into the room. A transparent force field stretched across the doorframe. On the other side was a small but tidy room. Two bunk beds were set on one wall, a bathroom door could be seen on the left side of the room, and there was a table, on which set two plates of partially eaten food. Sitting by the table, though, were two haggard looking individuals, Tommy Oliver and Katherine Hillard.

"Who are they?" Vypra asked.

"Power Rangers," Astronema answered, standing directly in front of the door.

Suddenly, Tommy lunged at the door. He slammed into the force field, which discharged white and red sparks as he was thrown across the room. "Tommy!" Katherine cried, jumping out of the chair and hurrying to his side.

"He tries that every time I open the door," Astronema said. "They have everything they need. They have a bathroom, they have warmth; we're even feeding them!"

"What are you planning?" Katherine asked, kneeling beside Tommy and helping him into a sitting position. "Aren't you going to make a ransom demand or something?"

Astronema laughed. "We don't need money! All we'd ever be interested in obtaining is a Power Ranger or two, and… well, we have two of those already," she answered.

"Then what are you planning to do?" Katherine asked, leaving Tommy's side and approaching the door. "Are you going to kill us?"

"We already would have if we were going to," Astronema answered.

"Where's Jenga?" Katherine asked. "Is she planning something?"

"Jenga isn't around anymore," Astronema told her. "Look, if you must know, we're keeping you around for… well, we have our reasons."

Astronema reached through the force field to close the door. As soon as she did so, Katherine grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her into the room. She spun Astronema around, latching one hand onto her Wrath Staff. Katherine kicked Astronema in the stomach, knocking the Staff out of her grip. Astronema stumbled away, and Kat pointed the staff at the villainess.

"Let us out," Katherine ordered, casting a quick glance at Vypra and Trakeena. "Let us out or else."

Trakeena and Vypra looked at each other nervously. Just as Vypra was about to enter the room, Astronema called out, "Wait!"

Katherine looked back at Astronema. The teal-haired woman reached out for her Wrath Staff, and magically, it leapt out of Katherine's hand and into her own. Katherine nervously stepped back. Astronema stepped toward Kat, and then, suddenly, punched her square in the jaw. The Pink Ranger turned with the blow, refusing to give Astronema the pleasure of seeing her react in any way.

Astronema stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her and walking away. Trakeena and Vypra followed close behind. "What are you really planning to do with them?" Trakeena asked.

"They're right," Astronema said. "Ransom demand. We want information."

"Are you really going to turn them over?" Vypra asked.

"Of course not," Astronema answered. "We're still evil."


In the still-new Power Station, just a week older than the former Command Center, a group of three was working on a variety of Ranger-related problems. Angela Fairweather, Billy, and Kimberly were situated in a large laboratory, just one room off of the main room of the Power Station. The room was much longer than it was wide, and a table sat in the center, running the length of the room. Various computers and workstations sat all around the perimeter of the room, all hard at work on various tasks.

"All of the Lightspeed Rangers have a basic sword and a blaster," Ms. Fairweather explained. "Nothing else."

"I got the idea from the Galaxy Rangers," Billy commented. "We finally got a video feed from their fight on Mirinoi, and I noticed that their weapons are TransDaggers. What's so unique is that each TransDagger can form six different weapons. Even though each Ranger has a specialized weapon, they can all form any of the other six, if the situation warrants it."

"It just makes good sense for any Ranger to have the capacity to call on any weapon," Ms. Fairweather agreed.

"Back in the old days," Kimberly said, "there were some monsters who could be defeated with just one weapon. There were a few times the Rangers needed my Battle Bow, but for whatever reason, I couldn't be in the fight right then. If any of the Rangers had the ability to call on my weapon, though… The monster could have been destroyed sooner. Less damage, less risk of injury to the civilian population…"

"The computers have been analyzing the data all day," Billy said, "and we've found a set-up that should work out best." He punched a few buttons on a console, and a holographic display appeared above the long table.

"These are all of the weapons available?" Ms. Fairweather asked.

"We're going to let a few Rangers keep their own specialized weapon," Billy explained, "although they, too, will have the ability to call on any of the others. Skull, the Green Morphin Ranger, still has his Dragon Dagger. Aisha, White Thunder, has Saba, the Enchanted Saber. The Green Thunder Ranger has a unique weapon called a Spinning Saw. It's a saw blade on a chain, and she works very well with it. Yellow Thunder Ranger has her Thunder Claws. Andros has a sword, Spiral Saber. And since there is a spiritual connection, the Galaxy Rangers alone will have access to their TransDaggers."

"We've been running data all day long," Kimberly said. "Watching videos of fights, things like that. We've noticed that blasting weapons are seldom used. The Turbo team has a Thunder Cannon, Star Chargers, and Hand Blaster. They're hardly ever called on."

"Why bother, when they keep a Blaster on their hip?" Billy asked rhetorically.

"So we're getting rid of them?" Ms. Fairweather asked.

"They're out," Kimberly said, "along with the Space blaster weapons, Satellite Stunner and Star Slinger. And some of the more unusual weapons are being discarded. Rocky used to be the Red Morphin Ranger, and he called on his Power Sword a lot more than he called on his Arm Blades as the Blue Zeo Ranger."

"We're only keeping a small number of weapons," Billy said. "Even though every Ranger comes with innate knowledge of how to use them, if they have a small arsenal to choose from, advanced knowledge will be gained much quicker."

"Each Ranger will be equipped with a generic Power Blaster and a Power Rapier," Kimberly said. As she spoke, a representation of the Pink Morphin Ranger, a pink Blaster on her hip and a pink-hilted thin-bladed sword in her hand, appeared in the holographic display.

"We also have a broad sword, the Power Sword," Billy explained. "The other weapons are bow and arrows, daggers, an axe, a lance, nunchucks, a whip, and for defensive measures, we're replicating the Zeo Pink Shield."

"When does this take effect?" Ms. Fairweather asked.

Billy answered, "We've already set it up. They should notice the very next time they morph."

"And this'll benefit the Lightspeed Rangers, too?"

"Every Ranger in the Morphin Grid," Billy said.

"I'll be glad when I have as much experience as you two," Ms. Fairweather commented with a smile.

"Billy has way more than me," Kimberly told her.

"I'm also thinking we should do something similar about the Power Vehicles," Billy said. "They don't even all have them, but the ones who do really use them. The Space Rangers have Hover Boards, and the Zeo Rangers have their Jet Cycles. That covers both air and ground. I say we make the Jet Cycles a little less Zeo-specific and arrange it so any Ranger can access any of them-"

"Billy, I hate to interrupt," Alpha spoke suddenly over the intercom, "but we've just developed a situation."

"What is it, Alpha?" Kimberly asked.

"Is there any calamity worse than the kidnapping of a Power Ranger?" Dimitria asked.

"What?" Ms. Fairweather asked.

"Astronema has contacted us with ransom demands," Alpha said. "The UAE has kidnapped Tommy and Katherine."

"Do they want money?" Billy asked.

"No," Alpha said. "She wants to know the location of the Zord Holding Bay."

"Will you please excuse us?" Billy asked of Ms. Fairweather. At her nod, he and Kimberly quickly hurried into the main room.

"Is she still on the line?" Kimberly asked, looking at the main viewing screen.

"No," Alpha Five answered. "We have four hours to answer. If we give her the location, she'll send Rito and Goldar to the Bluffs with Kat and Tommy. If our answer is no, she said she'll teleport us their bodies."

Billy, his face hard, turned to the wall of monitors, each of which contained vital information on one Ranger. On Tommy and Katherine's monitors, the neon tubing around them was flashing bright red.

"I shall leave the decision to you Rangers," Dimitria said softly.

"Contact the other Senior members of the team," Billy said. "We need to have a meeting."


"Have Maggie and Ashley already left?" Molly asked as she stepped into the living room in a dark yellow dress, her hair up in a French braid.

"They got tired of waiting," Ruby, Molly's mother, told her.

"Sorry," Molly apologized to her date.

"It's okay," Rocky said with a smile, standing up. "You look great."

"Thank you," Molly returned flatly. "You too."

"Are you ready?" Rocky asked, resisting the urge to glance at his watch. Molly had been late, but Maggie and Ashley had both told him to expect a wait as they hurried out the door. Apparently, Molly Hammond was the slowpoke of the Hammond brood.

"I'm ready," she answered. The couple said goodbye to her parents and walked outside to Rocky's faded red pickup.

The first few moments of their date were awkward, as they rode across town silently. Then, Molly asked, "So… you went to other dimensions this summer, huh?"

"Yeah," he answered. "It was pretty wild."

"Sounds scary," she agreed. "You're really having a movie made about you?"

"Well, they had a cast, but interest dwindled pretty quickly," he said. "They haven't canned it yet, but it doesn't look like anything will come of it."

The unlikely couple sat in silence a bit more. At the moment, the only thing the two had in common was the same thought running through their heads. "What on Earth am I doing here with someone I have nothing in common with?"


Behind Dimitria's bed of crystals was a small room. The room had a round table, surrounded by six chairs. The chairs were nice and plump, covered in leather. They were each one color, red, blue, yellow, pink, black, or green. The symbolism was pretty easy to see.

Now that the Ranger team was a truly gargantuan organization, there had to be more than one leader. Just one person could not shoulder the responsibility for a major decision. Besides that, there didn't seem to be just one person in charge anymore. Back when there were just five or six Rangers, one leader could handle the team. But with three and a half dozen Rangers, a number that seemed preposterous to say but was quite essential against the unending assault of the UAE, the group of Senior Members had taken the mantle of team leadership.

The six leaders were the first six Rangers. They had all been under Zordon's care the longest. Even though some other Rangers had logged more hours than the first six, the first six were still the ones looked up to. They had defended a world that had never heard of Power Rangers or evil space aliens. They had confronted more problems, just because of that. And it was accepted that the group of six knew what they were doing.

That was why Alpha had created the small conference room. They all knew the time would come when they would have to make a serious decision, and they needed someplace private to talk. It was the only place in the entire Power Station that was monitored by absolutely no one. Complete privacy was assured within the small room.

That night, the conference room was used for the first time. And unfortunately, Tommy, the sixth Ranger to join the team, was not there to sit in his symbolically green seat.

"We have no idea where they are even stationed anymore?" Zack asked.

"Could they maybe still be on the moon?" Jason asked.

"They could be anywhere," Billy answered. "I just can't get any kind of tracing on them. I even tried tracing the source of Astronema's message. It was bounced through so many places before it got to us, I can't even begin to trace it."

"Perhaps we can trick them," Kimberly suggested. "We give them false directions to the Zord Holding Bay, and by the time they realize it, we've already gotten Kat and Tommy back."

"That's a possibility," Jason agreed.

"We could just give them directions to the real Zord Holding Bay," Zack said.

"What?" Trini asked. "Zack, that's-"

"No, it could work," he said. "We'll just have the full arsenal of Rangers around to launch a full attack as soon as they enter it. We beat 'em back, change the security systems as soon as we do…"

"I suggest we put every ounce of our strength and energy into finding where the villains are," Trini said. "They have to be somewhere. Even if they're just in Rita's Dimension of Darkness, they're still around. We find them, we storm them, and we get them back."

Billy pushed a button on the table before his seat and spoke, "Alpha, please utilize everything we have in locating the United Alliance of Evil."

"We have three hours and forty-five minutes more before we have to give an answer," Kimberly said. "That means we have about three and a half hours to find the UAE. If we can even teleport into it, then we only have fifteen minutes to find Tommy and Katherine and break them out."

"Guys, I don't want to say it," Zack said, "but… we're assuming they're still alive."

Silence fell over the group as they all pondered that frightening possibility. "No," Jason said finally. "Astronema isn't that stupid. She knows that they kill any of our numbers, we'll break the Ranger code of Defense and launch a fatal attack on them."

"If it's true that she believes that," Trini commented, "then she must be planning on returning them alive."

"If we can't storm them," Kimberly said, "then let's negotiate. We give them some info, but not all, and they return Tommy and Kat."

"And if she won't negotiate?" Jason asked. "We have to decide which is more important to the team. No, not the team. To the entire universe. Is it more important to have two of our Rangers back, or is it more important to keep all of our Zords and defenses intact?"


"Don't forget to pick up your souvenir glasses when you leave," Miss Appleby called out to David and Marge as they walked away from the sign-in table. On another table rested dozens and dozens of beautiful, but cheap, wine glasses, on which was written the dance's theme and the date, along with a silhouette of a couple dancing on a field of stars.

"You really look nice tonight," Marge said to David as they walked down the short, darkened entranceway to the gym.

"You always look nice," David told her. He could sense her smiling, and he held her arm a bit more snugly.

Upon entering the gym, the first thing they both saw was Molly and Rocky sitting in chairs near each other. Both looked incredibly uncomfortable, and they weren't saying a word to each other.

"I can't believe those two are here together," David commented.

"I don't know what Ashley and Kimberly were thinking," Marge said. "Rocky and Molly don't have a thing in common. I went to the prom with him last year; he needs a very particular type of girl." With a smile, she added, "And it wasn't me, either."

"Let's go sit with them," David suggested.

While David and Marge stole across the gym floor, Zhane and Sydney walked into the gym. Sydney was already rocking to the beat of the song currently playing, dancing a bit by herself. "You know how to dance?" she asked, getting more and more into the pop song.

"I'm a cheerleader," he told her. "I know how to dance."

"Then let's dance," she said, wiggling her eyebrows. With one hand on each of his lapels, she pulled him farther out onto the dance floor. Then, she promptly wrapped one leg around his waist, an arm around his shoulders, and began grinding against him. Zhane, only momentarily startled, began to return the vigorous dance.

And just a few seconds later, Ms. Brittain, a new teacher, hurried up to them. She was affectionately known as Kahva by most of the student population, and due to her young age and overall popularity with the school, she had been chosen to be a dance floor chaperone. Smiling patiently, she said, "Miss Kwan? Mr. Prescott? Might I suggest a little discretion?"

Sydney, standing on one leg and leaning backwards away from Zhane's waist, smiled and stood upright, placing both feet on the floor. "Of course," she answered, and she began to dance a more PG dance with her partner.

"Much better," Kahva said, clapping Zhane once on the shoulder before leaving them alone.

Beside them suddenly appeared Maggie, dancing by herself in an outrageously bright pink dress. "Hey dudes," Maggie commented. "Man, I love this song."

"Where's your man?" Sydney asked.

"Isn't he with me?" Maggie asked, spinning around. She then stopped, planted her hands on her hips, and frowned at Martin, standing by himself off to one side of the gym. She waved her hands and gestured him over, but he only smiled nervously and shook his head no.

"Go get him," Sydney told Zhane. Zhane, already prepared for a night of being bossed around by Sydney, did as asked. Sydney and Maggie, meanwhile, began dancing with each other, a sight that entranced a number of males standing within viewing distance.

While Zhane approached Martin, David and Marge were walking over to Rocky and Molly. Both teens seemed quite pleased to see someone they knew well enough to talk with.

"So, what're you two doing here together?" David asked as he pulled up a chair and straddled it backwards.

"Ashley set us up," Molly answered, looking rather blank. Rocky nodded in agreement.

"Are we having fun yet?" Marge asked with a grin.

"Why don't you two dance?" David asked, clapping Rocky on the knee.

"I'd be okay with that," Rocky said. "Next slow song?"

"Okay," Molly agreed with a subdued nod.

At the same moment, Zhane was using his every power of persuasion to get Martin out onto the dance floor. "Look, man," Zhane said in a soft voice, "Ranger to Ranger, if I don't drag you back out there, Sydney is going to hurt me. By which I mean, she will inflict bodily harm on me."

"Zhane, I can't dance," Martin told him. "Good Lord, this is the first dance I've even been to. And I'm here with Maggie Hammond! I'm way out of my league here."

"Anyone with rhythm can dance," Zhane said. "Do you have rhythm? I mean… can you nod your head to the beat of a song?"

The Silver Space Ranger looked out at the dance floor, watching Maggie and Sydney dance together. By this point, the two had gathered a crowd of onlookers. They were really moving together, not quite touching, but otherwise a coherent unit. Male fantasies notwithstanding, the two were rather impressive to watch. And it gave Zhane an idea.

"Martin, if you don't go dance with Maggie, so help me God, I will dance with you, right here," Zhane told him.

Martin sucked in a breath and whipped his neck around to stare directly at Zhane. "You wouldn't dare," Martin hissed.

And then, much to Martin's horror, Zhane placed one hand on his shoulder and began to dance. In just a few seconds, Zhane was standing behind Martin, one arm wrapped around his chest and grinding against his back. "Oh good God!" Martin cried, jumping away. "I'll dance with Maggie, I'll dance with Maggie!"

"Good boy," Zhane said, striding back out onto the dance floor.

"Martin!" Maggie called out happily as her date joined her. She and Sydney casually separated, much to the disdain of their onlookers, and she moved to Martin's side. "Why didn't you come out here sooner?"

"I don't know how to dance," he admitted, standing stock-still as Maggie used him for a dancing prop.

At that admission, Maggie stopped dancing and smiled at him. "You're too stiff," she said, taking him by the hand and shaking his arms. "Just let go and move with the music. That's it. And don't worry if you look stupid; you will look stupid, but everybody else looks stupid, so it's okay."

"I don't think I have rhythm."

"Then we'll start out with a slow dance," she said.

"So we sit this song out?"

"Nope," she answered, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him closer. "We'll dance slow to a fast song. That's allowed. Dancing is about having fun, not looking good."

"What now?" he asked, swallowing hard. His face was already red and sweat was popping out all over his forehead.

"Relax," she said, "put your hands either on my hips or wrap them around my waist, and then I'll lean into you."

As she expected, he gently placed his hands on her hips, more like he was driving a car than dancing with a woman, but she said nothing and figured she would let him slowly work up his nerve. Then, she stooped down a bit, as he was about an inch shorter than her, and rested her head on his shoulder. "Now," she whispered, "we just slowly rock back and forth, move in a circle, and-"

She stopped talking when she realized he was doing it right, if a bit stiff. "See," she said. "You're dancing, automatically."

"This is nice," he admitted.

"It's more fun with a slow song," she told him with a smile in her voice. And, as thought fate were intervening, the fast song stopped, replaced by Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time."

On the other side of the gym, Rocky stood up and offered his hand to Molly. Smiling, but just barely, she took his hand and they walked out a short distance onto the dance floor. Molly, like Maggie, was just a bit taller than her date, but all the same, Rocky took the lead. She didn't try to do otherwise; she was just going with the flow.

The two danced, physically close but otherwise miles away, before Marge and David practically waltzed up beside them. "May we cut in?" Marge asked. Without waiting for permission, she squeezed in between Rocky and Molly and danced off with him. Molly smiled gratefully and took David's hand, allowing herself to be spun.

"Okay, Rocky," Marge said, "Guinness just called. Congratulations! You and Molly just set the world's record for worst first date ever."

Rocky winced and told her, "We have nothing in common. Absolutely nothing."

"Everyone has something in common," Marge said. "Ask her about her favorite song, her favorite color, something. Just talk. Pretend like this is a girl you don't know at all, and get to know her. I gotta be honest; you two are really bringing me and Dave down."

Rocky allowed a brief smile at that. "All right," he agreed.

"Good," Marge said. And then, in a sudden move, she separated from him, joined up with David, and he found himself facing an equally surprised Molly. The two smiled awkwardly and then moved back together to dance again.

"So," Rocky started.

"So," Molly said.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked.

"Yellow," she answered. "Yours?"

"Blue," he said. "But it used to be red."

"I like blue."

"Yep. Favorite song?"

"Dancing Queen, by Abba," she answered. "You?"

"Mississippi Squirrel Revival, by Ray Stevens."

"It's a funny song. Favorite movie?" she asked.

"You'll make fun of me."

"I didn't make fun of you for liking a Ray Stevens song."

"Okay," he said. He paused for dramatic effect and then answered, "Howard the Duck."

Molly stopped dancing, her mouth gaping open. Before Rocky could ask her what was wrong, she blurted out above the quiet dancing crowd, "Me too!"

"No way!"

"Totally way!" she cried. "When I was little, I had such a crush on Howard!"

"It's about the only George Lucas movie I like," Rocky admitted.

Molly sucked in a breath. "I loathe Star Wars."

"Me too!"

"I thought I was the only one," Molly said as they began dancing, a bit closer and more comfortably.

"My family is obsessed with the movies," Rocky sighed. "They're already all excited about the new one that's coming out in two years."

"Let's make a date," Molly said, "for the day that movie opens. On that day, we'll go watch every other movie playing at the Marquee, except for Star Wars. Y'know, to make a political statement."

"It's a date," Rocky agreed, grinning warmly.


"Can you see anything?" Tommy asked.

"Not really," Katherine said, peering out a porthole set high in the wall. She struggled with it, but it wasn't moving. "But it does give me an idea."

"How's that?"

"This place is blocking us from the Power Station's signals," Katherine theorized. "If we could just bust the glass out, we could set a communicator to signal someone and throw it out the window. They could trace the signal, and if it doesn't take too long, the ship might be close enough to still see."

"It's worth a shot," he agreed as Katherine climbed down from a chair. Tommy promptly picked up a metal food tray and stood atop the chair, preparing to smash it into the window.

Katherine removed the communicator from her wrist, pushing a button on the side. "I've got it set to send out a distress signal," she said. Indeed, the twin lights on the side of her communicator were flashing S.O.S. in pink.

"Do the same to mine," Tommy suggested, pausing long enough to remove his communicator and toss it to her. "Maybe the signal will go out the window even if the communicator isn't. There's no way we could ever squeeze through it; maybe Astronema only put the force field around the door."

"Big lot of maybes, but it's our only chance," Katherine said. "Do it."

Wincing in anticipation, Tommy put his entire weight into the swing and slammed the tray into the porthole. Much to both their delight, the glass splintered and cracked. Smiling happily, he jammed the tray into the shattered glass, breaking it free. Instantly, cool ocean air spun into the room.

Katherine tossed her communicator at the porthole, and it promptly disappeared from sight. "Here's hoping," Tommy muttered, glancing at his communicator, flashing red on the table.


Heather stood up from her seat on a bench as Adam entered the lobby of Angel Grove High. Smiling, she walked over to him. "I thought I had been stood up," she said with a smile.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "I thought Rocky was going to pick me up…"

"Do you really want to go to the dance?" Heather asked. "We aren't exactly high schoolers."

"Not really," Adam admitted. "I was just going because Rocky wanted back-up. Apparently, he forgot about me altogether." Then, he quickly added, "But I'd like to do something with you, tonight. Unless you're busy, or something, or aren't interested, which you probably aren't, since you don't really know me from Adam."

"That's kind of funny," Heather spoke quickly.

"That's okay," Adam interrupted her. "Do you want me to drive you home?"

"Easy," Heather said. "I'd love to do something tonight. What are you up for?"

"I'm up for anything," Adam stammered, smiling nervously. "We could go to the movies, but we won't really get to know each other in a theater. Coffeehouse?"

"I'm not a hippie and I don't drink coffee," Heather said. "You know, my original plans for tonight were to curl up on the sofa with a chick flick and some junk food under a warm blanket. Wanna make it a first date movie and a pizza at my place?"

Red instantly came to Adam's cheeks, but nonetheless, he said, "That would be great."


"Do you mind if I steal your date for this dance?" Carlos asked of Andros, already hooking Ashley's arm.

"It's okay," Ashley assured Andros, who looked more perplexed than anything.

"I don't mind," Andros said as Carlos and Ashley walked off to dance together.

"Don't sweat it, dude," Cassie told Andros as she approached him. "They usually come stag together; it's kind of a tradition for 'em to dance at least once together."

"Oh," Andros said, nodding. "Who did you come with?"

"Carlos and I came stag together," she answered. "That's Carlos-speak for, 'I don't have the guts to ask out a real girl, so I'm asking you.'"

Before Andros could say anything, Cassie's communicator gave out one, single squawk. Both Rangers paused, looking at the pink device on Cassie's wrist.

"Did yours beep?" she asked.

"No," he said, tapping it.

Cassie did a quick scan of the gym, not seeing any of the other Rangers paying any attention to their communicators. "Let's duck out and call Dimitria," Cassie suggested.

The pair quickly disappeared behind the bleachers, looking to see if there were any couples making out in the darkness before they attempted to call anyone. However, just as Cassie was about to press the call button for Dimitria, her communicator began beeping, three long tones, three short, and then three more long tones.

"Is it broken?" Andros asked.

"Save our souls," Cassie murmured.

"What?"

"S.O.S.," she answered. "It's a distress call. I didn't even realize the Rangers used it. Pretty much every call we make on these things is a distress call."

"Why just yours?"

"I don't know." She looked around quickly and then suggested, "Let's go check it out. I'll teleport to the source of the signal, and you just follow me. It's probably something weird at the Power Station, but I'd like to know."

"Let's go," he agreed. In unison, they touched their communicators.

A few students saw pink and red lights shine from behind the bleachers, but the light was too brief and lost in the rest of the decorations to warrant much suspicion.

Thousands of miles away, two streaming trails of pink and red light were flying above the Arctic Ocean. Side by side, they landed atop the mostly still waters of the cold ocean. Then, the lights coalesced into Cassie and Andros. As soon as they were fully formed, they dropped directly into the freezing water.

Seconds later, Cassie popped above the waves, screaming. The cold was cutting into her body like knives, causing her muscles to cramp and making staying above the water a real effort.

Andros resurfaced with a gasp. "Where-where are we?" he stammered.

"Morph," Cassie suddenly realized. In a pink flash, she was clad in her pink Space armor, and she wrapped an arm around Andros, helping him stay above the surface. "Morph!" she shouted.

He, too, transformed into the Red Space Ranger, and the pain left his body. No longer was he cold or in danger of sinking. He was just perplexed.

"As soon as I demorph, I'm going to catch my death of a cold," Cassie groused, floating in the icy water. "I'm calling Alpha and seeing if he knows what's going on."

Just as she was about to place the call, Andros said, "I just got a page. What was that S.O. deal you were telling me about?"

"S.O.S.," Cassie explained. "Three long tones, three short, and three more long. Is that what you're getting?"

"Yeah, but it's really strong," he said, touching his wrist. He then turned in the water and paused. "Look at that. It's coming from there."

Cassie turned one-eighty degrees as well, gasping when she saw what he was talking about. Just a few hundred yards away, a gargantuan ocean-liner was slowly sailing through the ocean. "Holy cow," she muttered.

"Let's teleport onboard," he suggested.

"Andros, we don't know what that is," she said. "For all we know, it's a… I dunno, a mirage inspired by this freezing water."

"We're getting a Ranger-distress signal from inside that ship. We can't just leave it. I'll go, and you can teleport back to the Power Station and get help."

"No," she said quickly. "We'll both go, and call for help if we need it. You teleport, I'll follow you."

Andros nodded, and he reached beneath the water to touch his morpher. Quick as a flash, they were both out of the ocean and standing in an empty hallway of the ship. It was well lit, and all up and down the hallway were nondescript white doors. It was sparsely decorated, but it didn't seem to be dangerous in the least.

"The signal is coming from that way," Andros said, pointing down the hall.

"You take the lead, I'll watch your back," Cassie told him as they began to journey through the ship, the school dance already forgotten.


"I've got the disk made," Billy said gravely, sitting an ordinary looking CD on the table, encased in a jewel case. Within that simple disc contained access information to every single facet of the Holding Bays. Were it to fall in evil hands, the Zords were as good as destroyed.

"What about the Omega Bay?" Jason asked. "Is access to Omega on that disc, too?"

"No," Billy answered. "I've already got Alpha teleporting a few of the Zord teams down, but we're low on room. We have more Zords now, and plus, the Sentient Vehicles live there."

"How many will fit?" Zack asked.

"Four complete MegaZords," Billy answered. "We're moving the TurboZords, DinoZords, SuperZeoZords, and DragonZord. Tommy and Skull are both convinced she's sentient, so I'm not going to risk her being taken by evil again."

"Plus, Zhane has his own Zords that aren't stored in the Holding Bays," Trini said.

"When this is done, we need to concentrate on getting a legitimate set of Zords for the Space team," Billy muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

"Rangers," Alpha spoke suddenly over the intercom, "Andros and Cassie have teleported, morphed, and subsequently disappeared from our system!"

"What?" Jason asked, alarmed.

"They've disappeared!" Alpha wailed. "Just like Tommy and Kat."

"They should have been at the dance," Kimberly said.

"Zack, Kim, you go to the school dance and ask the other Rangers if they know anything," Jason ordered. "Be discrete."

"On it," Zack agreed. He and Kimberly promptly teleported out of the room.

"I'm going to see if I can trace where their signals were last picked up," Billy said.

"If they really are the same place Tommy and Katherine are, then we might find all four," Trini realized. "I'll help; let's hurry."

As Trini and Billy hurried from the room, Jason said to himself, "And I'll try to think of what I'm gonna say to Astronema."


Mr. Kaplan hadn't been as nice about Sydney's risqué dancing as Ms. Brittain had been, and as such, Sydney found herself sitting on the sidelines, banned from the dance floor for fifteen minutes. "Hey Jareth," she said, plopping down in a seat beside a friend from her history class. "I didn't realize Goths came to school dances."

"I just like to make an entrance," Jareth admitted, who was more into Goth clothing than the actual Goth lifestyle. "Y'know, shake up the white hats."

"Entertainment must be found anywhere it can be," Sydney agreed. She was about to say more, when she caught a glimpse of a girl from her Math class, running past the entrance to the gym. It was just a split second, but it was enough time for her to see something was wrong. Sydney would have sworn the girl was crying. "I'll be right back," she said, standing up.

She quickly hurried out of the gym, looking up and down the hall. Now that she was out of the noise of the gym, she could just barely discern a soft crying. She jogged quickly down the hallway, stopping at the entrance to the band room. Inside the room, sitting in the flute section, was Lisa Averson, crying softly and rocking back and forth.

"Lisa?" Sydney asked gently, entering the darkened room.

Lisa looked up quickly, but when she realized it was Sydney, she relaxed and continued rocking. "Please leave me alone, Sydney," she pleaded, wiping at her face with the back of her hands.

"I don't think so," Sydney said defiantly, sitting down beside her. "What's wrong?"

Lisa sniffed loudly, cleared her throat, and choked out, "Nothing." Forcing a smile, she added, "Really, it was n-nothing."

Sydney sighed and looked down at the ground. Whether it was her female intuition, knowledge from her own sordid past, or a magical glimmer from her newfound evil abilities, she strongly suspected what Lisa was hiding. "Who did it to you?" Sydney asked, looking back at Lisa.

Lisa's silence told Sydney more than about anything else could have.

"Lisa, please," Sydney repeated. "I swear to you, I won't tell a soul. Not a teacher, a cop, nothing, if you don't want me too. Just let me know who did it to you. I can help."

"Sydney, please, I just want to be alone," Lisa said softly.

"Please, let me help you."

"It wasn't… really… rape," Lisa sighed, fresh tears coursing down her cheeks. "He didn't try to hurt me…"

"Did you want to have sex?" Sydney asked. At Lisa's headshake, she asked, "Did you say no?"

"Yes," Lisa whimpered.

Sydney said nothing for a moment, finally saying, "Who was it? And I mean it, tell me who it was."

Lisa was silent for a moment, finally saying, "Zeke. Zeke Hathaway."

Sydney took a deep breath. "I see," she hissed under her breath. Putting on a comforting smile, she said to Lisa, "Wait here. I'm going to go to get help." When Lisa started shaking her head 'no,' Sydney said, "Lisa, you didn't do anything wrong. Zeke did. I'm going to get Ms. Brittain, okay? You know Kahva?"

Lisa didn't say anything, but she did manage to nod her head. As soon as permission was given, Sydney calmly walked out of the room, and when she reached the hallway, she ran to the gym.

"Kahva!" she called, sliding to a halt next to the popular teacher. She took her by the elbow and pulled her to the side. "Lisa Averson was raped tonight. She's in the band room, right now. I told her I was going to bring you to her."

"Oh my God," Kahva said heavily. "Band room?"

"Band room," Sydney repeated, but Kahva had already hurried off down the hall. And with that obstacle taken care of, Sydney left the gym, looking for Zeke.


It didn't take Cassie and Andros long to track the signal into the ship. In fact, just four or five minutes after teleporting onboard, they had reached what Andros believed to be near the source of the original signal. As luck would have it, they were standing directly in front of a door.

"Should we knock?" Andros asked.

"I'm not sure," Cassie muttered, pulling her AstroBlaster out. "Power Scan," she added. Her black visor promptly turned silver, and she stared intently at the door. "Magical dampers."

"Can't see?"

"Not a thing," answered Cassie. "I'm kicking the door down; be ready for a big fight."

She quickly looked around her, and then, silently, she executed a powerful front kick. The door flew off the hinges, much more loudly than she would have liked, but she was immediately pleased.

"Cassie!" Katherine cried, hurrying to the doorframe.

"Thank God you're here," Tommy said, standing behind her.

"Force field?" Cassie asked, touching the open space across the doorframe with her open palms.

"Spiral Saber," Andros said, and in a red glimmer, his weapon appeared in his hands. "Stand back." Katherine and Tommy did as requested, and with a powerful yell, Andros brought the sword down against the force field. As though it were made of glass, shards of light flew through the air before quickly dissipating.

Katherine rushed out of the room and threw her arms around Cassie, hugging her gratefully. "We've been in there since Friday morning," Katherine said.

"Teleportation isn't working," Andros remarked.

"I'm not surprised we aren't able to get out," Tommy said. "There's probably an energy field around the entire ship."

A pink flash briefly lit up the hallway, and Katherine said, "But we can morph, at least."

"So we have to get off of the ship," said Cassie.

"We head for the top deck," Tommy suggested. "And we just jump over the railing and teleport as soon as we hit the water."

"There are a lot more ways to get lost here than there were in the Lunar Palace," Katherine murmured, remembering her own brief time on the side of evil.

"Power Scan," Cassie said. As the device was re-activated, she told them, "I'll keep an eye out for evil energy."

"I'll lead," Tommy offered, moving to the front of the group. Cautiously, the four Pink and Red Rangers began to walk down the hall.