Disclaimer: I don’t own Power Rangers.

Chapter 9: A Brother Lost

“Other than the fact they were something other than human,” Conner McKnight replied, “nope.” Kira Ford turned away from the window to look at him with narrowed eyes. Trent Fernandez and Hayley Viktor shared a distressed look.

“Did you just say something other than human?” Ethan James asked surprised.

“Yeah . . . they were pretending to be human . . . but I know better,” Conner replied. “Before I realized what they were, I was already caught in the web.” His passion on the subject giving him more energy he declared, “If I had realized the situation earlier, I would have used my dino ability to Speedy Gonzales my ass to Mexico.”

Trent, Ethan, and Hayley nodded in agreement of the concept of flight instead of fight. “Why would they pretend to be human? And if they were so powerful, why use human weapons against you?” Kira asked approaching the bed with arms folded.

“You can ask them that when they come see you,” Conner replied. He tried to grin when she flipped him off, but with one side of his face swollen and bruised and his bottom lip swollen, he didn’t quite pull it off.

When Thomas "Tommy" Oliver went in the house and forged for beverages, Rocky DeSantos called Penny Coulter and Jason Scott called his house. Tommy came back outside with three bottled waters and strategically loaded his brain with the embarrassing implications of both Jason and Rocky ending their calls with “I love you.”

He looked at them with one questioning eyebrow raised. He kept a blank look carefully on his face. He hoped his brown eyes didn’t give away his inner amusement. Man, this would have been a great weapon of mass destruction back in the day.

Jason and Rocky could find a way to tease him about anyone and anything. Back then, he gave as good as he got, on the teasing front.

“Let me guess,” he said. “New flavor of the week,” he threw a bottle of water to Rocky, who clumsily caught it, “and you were talking to Emily.” He threw Jason the second bottle of water, who effortlessly caught it. He kept the third bottle for himself.

“Wrong,” Rocky answered as he pocketed his phone. “Jason’s embarrassing endearment, courtesy of the fates,” Jason glowered at him, “was goaded out of him by his son. I, on the other hand, was conversing with my fiancée.”

“Fiancée,” Tommy repeated, his face morphing into a look of disbelief.

“Come on . . . it’s not that surprising,” Rocky said offended.

“That’s easy for you to say Rock, you aren’t on the outside looking in,” Jason said smirking.

Rocky was the guy in the group who declared to the world that he would never be shackled into marriage. He was the confirmed bachelor. The Unattainable to marriage minded females. Time had of way of tilting the known world on its axis.

“Congratulations,” Tommy finally managed to say. “Do I know her?”

“Yeah it’s Penny,” Rocky revealed. “You remember her right?”

“Of course,” Tommy replied. Tommy remembered almost every single detail of his life in Angel Grove. The events there helped shaped him into the man he had become.

Penny was a skilled martial artist that Rocky met at the young age of sixteen. She was beautiful with long brown hair and wise brown eyes. Rocky was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Her charm only added to her beauty and grace. The fact that she was blind made the enigma Penny Coulter irresistible to Rocky.

They went out on a couple of dates but Penny left Angel Grove as mysteriously as she had arrived. Her return to Angel Grove started a new chapter in Rocky’s life.

“When is the wedding?” Tommy asked.

“Early next year,” Rocky replied in wonder. Tommy is alive and I am getting married. Will wonders never cease to amaze me?

“I’m happy for ya,” Tommy said, extending his hand. Rocky shook it smiling sheepishly. They released hands and Tommy turned his attention to Jason “How is Emily and your son?”

“You’ve been doing your research,” Jason said surprised. Toss was born after Tommy's disappearance.

“The first couple of years, I kept tabs on you guys,” Tommy admitted. As time went on I decided not to torture myself anymore. “Thanks for naming him after me.”

“That was the least I could do,” Jason replied. “You were my best friend.”

“I know.”

“Did you know?” Jason asked. “Because I don’t think you did. If you did know . . . you sure as Hell didn’t care. You could have told me something, anything. I would have helped you. I could just as easily have pretended that you were dead. You deceived Katherine, David, and me and it was a totally unnecessary move!”

“I told you why-”

“We could have pretended that we thought you were dead and no one would have been the wiser.”

“I did not want you guys to know how bad I screwed up,” Tommy explained. “You would’ve done the same thing in my place.”

“Fiddling around with dinosaur DNA,” Jason said making a face. "I don't think so.”

“I personally would’ve gone to Africa to investigate the sightings of creatures like the Mokele-mbembe, Emela-ntouka, Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu, and the Nguma-monene,” Rocky said thoughtfully. Jason and Tommy both looked at him with twin flabbergasted expressions. “You know, instead of trying to create my own personal Jurassic Park.” He noticed them staring at him. “What?”

“And those are . . ?” Jason asked at a loss.

“Living dinosaurs that has been sighted by the natives deep in the Jungles of Central Africa for decades,” Rocky replied. “I would have put all my energy into finding living specimens instead of trying to resurrect dead ones.”

“It’s a myth,” Tommy explained.

“How do you know that Tommy?” Rocky asked. “It’s not like you went and looked. Aisha has been hearing some stirring evidence about these creatures that is hard to ignore.” He shook his head in despair. “But I guess you are one of those who thinks dinosaurs evolved into birds to become higher on the freaking food chain. Who in the Hell would evolve to a worthless bird to become higher on a food chain that you are already on the freaking top of?”

“I will look into it,” Tommy said.

“Just for reference . . . how did we get on this subject?” Jason asked.

“It steered you guys away from dangerous waters,” Rocky pointed out. “Now your minds are on when and where and Rocky’s life did he have time to look up cryptozoology.”

“That’s not all I’m thinking,” Jason replied honestly. Rocky grinned. “Is that true?”

“Yeah,” Rocky replied. “They, supposedly, see dinosaurs in Africa.”

“Note to self, never go to Africa,” Jason said. Tommy smirked and Rocky laughed.

“The only kind that has been spotted are the plant-eaters,” Rocky replied. “But that is just in Africa. Moral of my tale is, it would’ve been safer for Earth to try to prove or disapprove these animals existence instead of what Tommy and his team ended up doing on the island.”

“He has a point there,” Jason said. “It’s weird but it’s a point.”

“Can we please get back on subject,” Tommy commanded. “How is life in Angel Grove?”

“My Dojo is very popular among the people of Angel Grove. I opened a second one in Stony Canyon last year. For fun I get my Indiana Jones thing going on and it’s always a blast,” Rocky said throwing his bottle of water in the air and catching it.

“Indiana Jones?” Tommy repeated amused.

“Archeology,” Rocky explained. “I look up old civilizations or lost treasures and the guys and I try to find them.”

“He always gets us in the worst scrapes,” Jason muttered. “You remember when Katherine, Kimberly, and Toss had to save you, Adam, and I from the Rat King?”

“I’ve locked it from my memory,” Rocky stubbornly lied.

“Now that’s a story I have to hear one day,” Tommy declared.

“Vacations with Rocky are always a hoot,” Jason admitted, a smile breaking through his somber expression. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He sat his water on the banister, flipped the wallet open, and fished out a photo. He held it out to Tommy. “Toss is four. This was taken a couple of months ago.”

Tommy grabbed the photo, turning it over to study the likeness of his namesake. Thomas Scott looked a lot like Jason. His unruly hair was a dusty blonde. Little Scott’s grin had a touch of wicked mischief, hinting that he was anything but a sweet little angel. Tommy smiled. “I cannot wait to officially meet him.”

“You’ll like him,” Jason said nodding. “He’s already soaking up martial arts like a sponge and he is great at football.”

“You will not be the only Tommy Oliver that will be known as an Angel Grove quarterback legend,” Rocky said grinning.

“I bet Emily is proud of him,” Tommy declared grinning. Still looking a the picture, he missed Rocky’s look of warning.

“I am sure she is,” Jason replied honestly. “We’ve been divorced for over two years. I have not seen her in a long time.”

Divorced, Tommy thought shocked. Jason and Emily didn’t make it? When he saw them last, they were so happy. “I don’t know what to say Scott,” Tommy muttered. “I’m sorry.”

“It was my fault mostly,” Jason muttered gripping his water bottle tightly.

“You were to blame,” Rocky declared. “So was she, but the intergalactic kidnappers didn’t help.”

“Intergalactic what?” Tommy asked frowning.

“Being a Power Ranger’s kid isn’t easy,” Jason admitted. “Especially, when you have abilities.”

“Evil aliens have been coming to Earth trying to kidnap your son?” Tommy asked icily. Jason nodded. “Well that is a reason to destroy an enemy if I have ever heard one. Many apologies for not being there to lend a hand in the destruction.”

“You should feel so lucky that he sacrificed leaving the city to come on a road trip just to kick your sorry ass,” Rocky declared grinning.

“Why didn’t you bring him with you?” Tommy asked curiously.

“Angel Grove is the safest place for him to be,” Jason replied honestly. “Rocky and I could protect him but I did not want to risk him getting hurt or more traumatized than he already is.”

“If anyone comes to Angel Grove trying to nab that kid, it would be suicide,” Rocky declared. “Every Ranger in that city is watching and waiting for a creature cocky enough to do so.”

“It’s not just suicide it’s . . . stupid,” Tommy declared.

“Katherine retired from dancing soon after your funeral,” Jason revealed. “She teaches dance for free to kids who otherwise could never afford it. She supports herself by writing novels and tutoring.”

“Is she okay?” Tommy asked quietly. “I regret how things ended in reference to us.”

“Kat’s fine,” Rocky replied, “but, you would be a fool to think the call did not disturb her. Since you are not a fool, just bordering on a mad scientist, you’re good.”

“It disturbed us all,” Jason admitted. “She didn’t believe that you were dead at first. Neither did I. I used a lot of my resources searching for you to prove that we were right.”

“We thought it best that Jason just let it go,” Rocky muttered. “Every time he went out searching, it just dug wounds deeper that we were all trying to heal.”

“So I let it go,” Jason said. “David made me realize if you were alive you would make your way back to Angel Grove. As the years passed, the truth had to be acknowledged, by us all, that you were not coming back.”

“I am so sorry guys,” Tommy shook his head, snorting in dibelief. “Those words are so cheap. I messed everything up and no amount of apologizing will change that fact.”

“It’s a start,” Rocky declared.

“No it isn’t,” Tommy replied. “I do not deserve forgiveness.”

“It’s not like you were going to get forgiveness from us anyway,” Rocky replied in a good-natured tone.

“Going back to the subject of Katherine, we can only tell you what we saw. We can speculate over what she felt, but that is something you’ll have to ask her,” Jason said grabbing his bottle of water and opening it. He took a long drink and then twisted the top back on in it.

“Yeah,” Rocky agreed. “It’s none of our business.

“Right,” Tommy replied. That advice was funny coming from Jason and Rocky. When he first tried to ask Kat out, failing miserably, these two teased him just as much as Tanya Sloan and Adam Park. Jason even started to call him Casanova. They all made it their missions in life to give him romantic advice.

“Kimberly is back in Angel Grove,” Jason revealed. “She is a gymnastics coach. One of her students appears that she will follow Kimberly's footsteps in being the top gymnast at the Pan Global Games.”

“Good for her,” Tommy said smiling.

“Her other job is playing Mary Poppins to Jason and Toss,” Rocky said smirking, “which is in it self an impossible feat.”

“Tommy smirked an amusement, “Bryant doesn’t mind?”

“She came back to Angel Grove alone, with no desire to go back to Florida, and with no explanation as to where Bryant is,” Jason replied.

“Weird,” Tommy admitted thoughtfully. “She really loved him.”

“Jason and Kim need to go ahead and tie the knot,” Rocky declared, surprising both men. “She loves that little boy like he is her very own, and she handles Jason better than any bull fighter on the face of the Earth.” Both Jason and Tommy laughed over Rocky comparing Jason to a bull.

“We are just friends,” Jason replied.

“Keep telling yourself that Buddy,” Rocky replied. “Kim completes you.”

“Billy is back,” Jason said changing the subject. “Things between him and Cestria apparently did not work out.”

“What,” Tommy replied. “He left his family and friends behind for her. What happened?”

“Not our business to tell,” Rocky replied. “Do we look like we own a gossip column to you?”

“When we were teenagers I didn’t dream our lives would turn out like this in my worst nightmares,” Tommy muttered. “Outside of fighting evil, civilian life seemed almost . . . easy.” He shook his head. “Give me an update on everyone else.”

He found out a lot of useful info on his friends. He was excited to hear about the reunion of Adam and Tanya. They had drifted a part in high school. Tanya was a songwriter who occasionally song her own songs, but mostly sold them to other artists. Adam had a dojo and he still occasionally did some stunt work.

“If I can talk Adam into speeding things up, we can have a double wedding,” Rocky declared smiling.

“I am not surprised to hear that,” Tommy said grinning.

“I am willing to bet that you two will probably retire together and move to Florida to be roomies like the Golden Girls in your twilight years.” Tommy burst out laughing over Jason's reply.

“Funny,” Rocky muttered. “What can I say? He's my best friend.”

“I really missed you guys,” Tommy admitted.

After Ninja Streaking to a safe location deep in the mountains, Eric McKnight and Sensei Cameron Watanabe took a much-needed breather. “For what it is worth, I get the Terminator reference now,” Sensei Watanabe muttered hanging on to a low tree limb, with his left hand, to keep him from falling face first in the dirt.

“I am sorry I got you involved in all this,” Eric muttered. “Now that you know that I am alive and well, in a manner of speaking, you can go back to the Wind Academy.” He sat by a river, watching the water flow downstream.

“I am not leaving you,” replied Sensei Watanabe. “I better contact Tori and see if she is available for assistance.”

“Do you think it is wise to place her in the middle of this?” Eric asked frowning. He did not want anyone else hurt because of his actions.

“It is up to Tori to decide whether or not she wants to get involved,” Sensei Watanabe replied. “If she does decide to come and you try something perverted, I will kick your ass until the middle of next week.”

“Like I can think of anything but saving my ass at a time like this,” Eric muttered insulted. “She's hott but not that hott.”

Insulted, for Tori's sake, Sensei Watanabe glared at the idiot's back. His thoughts soon focused on the enemy and what exactly to do about them. No matter how many they defeated, the androids just kept coming. Something big was going to happen soon. Sensei Watanabe hoped that they would be ready for it.

Kira looked down at the now sleeping Conner. His efforts to fight off death, in the form of his Ranger self, finally proved to much for him.

Her original plans had been to wait for him to recover and then head back on the road to finish her tour. Conner's description of his attack and of the creatures that attacked him, gave her pause.

The creeps that attacked him looked like humans. He did not realize they were machines until it was to late to retreat. He had fought bravely but being caught in their web, it wasn't long before they got the best of him.

Were the culprits waiting, even now, to catch him unawares? Maybe the creatures were hunting them all. Could they be waiting for their chance to finish Conner off?

Not in this lifetime, Kira thought looking at the former Red Ranger with eyes narrowed. She had an ace up her sleeve and she would use it against the enemy.

Trent watched her from across the private hospital room. “Kira what do you think is going on?” he asked. “I thought that, with the destruction of Mesagog, we were off the hook.”

“I wish I knew,” she admitted raising her head to look at him. “Bad luck, being in true asshole form, had to let this happen at a time when our Dino Gems are about as useful as glow in the dark night lights.” She averted her gaze as she mentioned the Dino Gems.

“It's a good thing you decided to let Dustin join your band,” Trent declared quickly. “The presence of the Wind Ninja is much appreciated.” The guard was so good, he did not know who were Ninja and who weren't.

“Lets pray that it is enough,” Kira whispered.

From the exchange, it was hard to tell that they once shared a deep attraction to one another. Trent opting not to tell her about her father being Mesagog's vessel slowly evaporated her feelings. If only he had told her from the start. If only he had trusted her not to betray him. Who knows how things could've turned out between them?

They could be married, already married, married and about to divorce, or they could've dated for a year or two and then went their separate ways. Life was indeed a road with many unknown and sometimes unwanted twists and turns.

Trent was her best friend, with no bitter feelings between them.

And who would've thought Kira and Conner would be on the same planet; from an emotional point-of-view.

Before their Rangerdom, she did not care that a Conner McKnight existed. He was just another faceless jock, with the mental capacity of a headless chicken.

Conner probably proclaimed her is that “Weird Hott Rocker Chick,” before they became friends. He was blind to any of her other attributes. She probably used her brain to much for his tastes.

As teenagers absorbed in their own scene, they could not have ever imagined that they would be friends. She would have never imagined, that Conner would recognize the plight of being blacklisted in the musical industry, and come up with the idea of team Dino Thunder using their combined finances and contacts to get her first CD made; her very own website, courtesy of Ethan; and a very uniquely Kira album cover, made by Trent.

Nothing could stop them when Team Dino decided to take on a challenge together.

“Here's hoping Doctor Oliver and his friends can shade some light on this subject,” Trent muttered. “I despise not knowing the enemy.” Ethan, Dustin, and Hayley were on the way to Tommy's house to fill him in on Conner's news.

“Same here.”

Cassidy Cornell entered the room with drinks on a tray. “I brought drinks,” she said, smiling brightly.

“Thanks,” Kira said gratefully. When Cassidy approached her, she grabbed a bottle of orange juice.

“I am not thirsty,” Trent replied before Cassidy could make her way over to him. He knew she used the drinks as a device to maneuver her way inside Conner's room.

“You are so hard to please,” Cassidy declared frowning. “Did you want me to bake you some brownies; or maybe deep fry a turkey?” Kira laughed silently as she opened her juice

“You can stop with the Jedi mind tricks,” Trent declared ignoring her sarcasm. “We are dropping the investigation. It is to dangerous to continue.”

“What!” She exclaimed shoving the tray of drinks into his hands. He clumsily managed to keep them from spilling.

“It is becoming Power Ranger related,” Kira replied honestly, after taking a sip of her orange juice. “You do not want to become anymore involved in this than you already are.”

“Power Ranger related,” Cassidy repeated surprised, twirling to face Kira. “But his wounds fit the ammo of hired thugs.”

“Just trust us and let it go,” Trent commanded. “We'll handle everything from here on out.”

“Has he met me?” Cassidy asked Kira, incredulously.

“No comment,” Kira muttered. She watched Cassidy turn to stalk Trent. She whispered this to the sleeping and battered man in the bed, “Well Conner, we have ringside seats to the next war of the worlds. Lucky us.” She rolled her eyes heavenward.

“Why would you think that I would just let this go?” she asked, getting as close as she dared.

“It's the smart thing to do,” he answered logically. “Looking at Conner, we see what they can do. Do you want that to happen to you?”

“Trent you have been right there by my side since we started this investigation. It is not just a Power Ranger thing,” she said passionately. “The information we have collected so far shows evidence that a cooperation called Z.E.O. is involved in this.”

“Conner told us that machines attacked him,” Trent replied stubbornly.

“Yes and Dustin said that Eric mentioned Z.E.O. to his friend Cam and addition to machines,” Cassidy pointed out. Tori had called Dustin after getting the SOS from Cam. Cassidy happened to listen in as he told one of the Ninja all this information. He had no idea that she had heard his conversation. She was that good at eavesdropping. “That means that there may be an unholy alliance between humans and evil machines. Evil creatures are your forte and evil humans are mine.”

He did not believe for one minute that Dustin told her all that. He would call her on it, but that was a battle for another day. “You don't know what you are getting yourself into,” he said sighing in defeat.

“Neither do you,” she pointed out logically. “Something tells me that our new enemy is not interested in bringing back the reign of the dinosaurs.”

“The question of the hour is; how do we stop them?” Kira muttered.

Tommy, Jason, and Rocky were still sitting on the porch of his home, when Dustin's Durango pulled to a stop in front of the house. “I did not expect them back so early,” Tommy said standing from the rocking chair he had been sitting in.

“Something is wrong,” Jason muttered, as the three occupants, hastily, made their way out of the vehicle. He stood up and Rocky vaulted off the banister and on to the ground.

“Hayley!” Rocky exclaimed when he saw the pretty woman hurrying toward them. “Long time no see!”

Hayley stopped and could not help but smile. “Hello Rocky and Jason.” Rocky caught her in a hug. “How have you been?”

“Mourning the day you shot me down,” he muttered woefully.

“I apologize for causing you so much pain,” she replied rolling her eyes heavenward. Every time she encountered Rocky, which were many times in the past, he made it a point to flirt with and or tease her.

“You are good at keeping secrets Hayley,” Jason declared, putting an end to the playful banter. She eyed the powerful man over Rocky's shoulder.

“It could not be helped old friend,” she replied honestly, as Rocky released her. “I am sorry.”

“You guys can crucify Hayley later,” Ethan declared. “We have news that I am sure you want to hear.”

Ethan and Hayley briefed them on what Conner had said when he awoke. Dustin briefed them on the call he got from Tori.

“Androids,” Tommy muttered troubled.

“Rock, do you think it is Machine Empire related?” Jason asked solemnly.

“I would not put anything passed them,” Rocky replied frowning in displeasure.

“Wait a minute,” Ethan said confused. “I thought you guys destroyed the Machine Empire.”

“We did,” Tommy replied slowly.

“We never found Prince Gasket and his wife Princess Archerina,” Rocky reminded him, “but a few years ago, they found us again.”

“What happened?” Tommy asked. Prince Gasket, the banished son of King Mondo came to Earth many years ago to stand in his father's stead, in destroying the universe. Tommy and the rest of the other Zeo Power Rangers were the only force that could stop them.

The husband and wife duo was the most vicious creatures that the Zeo Power Rangers had ever encountered before and since them. Once, they kidnapped Zeo Ranger V, brainwashed him, and manipulated him into fighting the other Zeo Power Rangers and the Gold Ranger. If it wasn't for Katherine's quick thinking, he hated to think how things could have turned out.

Archerina also had a vendetta against all things pink. Because of Archerina's obsession, they all most lost Katherine.

Gasket and Archerina was very powerful, completely unpredictable, and apparently had a few wires loose. The only reason their reign of terror ended was because King Mondo returned. Prince Gasket and Princess Archerina were never seen again. The Zeo Rangers were relieved to see them go.

“They tried to take my son,” Jason replied. Tommy looked at him in shock. “The Zeo Rangers were able to stop them.” Jason's voice broke. “That is a day I won't soon forget.”

Jason's world was being torn a part, while I was probably grading papers and preparing to watch a new documentary on dinosaurs . . . .

“We should have destroyed them when we had the chance,” Tommy muttered.

“But we didn't have the chance,” Rocky pointed out. “Back then, we weren't skilled enough in harnessing the power of the Zeo crystal to stand a chance against them.”

"But I thought the Machine Empire used Cogs,” Ethan said. “Not androids.”

“It may not be them,” Rocky muttered, “but I have a suspicion that it is.” He growled in annoyance. “And I was just beginning to enjoy my stay. I may have to return to Angel Grove to prepare for war with the other Zeo Rangers.”

“What if it is not them?” Dustin asked. “What if it is something more horrible?”

“Then the Zeo Rangers would not be able to help,” Rocky replied.

“We made a vow to use them only against the Machine Empire,” Tommy replied. “It is what Zordon wished. The Zeo Crystal was not meant to be used for anything else.”

“I cannot believe that I am spending my vacation playing bodyguard to this perverted jerk,” Tori Hanson muttered, eying Eric McKnight, who was asleep in the sleeping bag she had brought along for Cameron.

Cam looked at her and smirked. “I did not force you to come out here.”

“I was not going to let you have all the fun,” she replied smiling at him. “Or miss watching the exciting adventure of you being pulverized by walking trashcans with anger management issues.”

His smirk morphed into a look of seriousness. “This will not be fun. These androids mean business.”

“And I mean business,” Tori declared. “Besides if I am destroyed by these androids, I will haunt you.”

“If you are destroyed, that means I was destroyed too,” he replied thoughtfully. “Oh well, we can always haunt Dustin, Shane, Blake, and Hunter.” Tori laughed.

“I have news from Angel Grove,” Rocky revealed after he hung up, from a call to Angel Grove. “The Machine Empire is on the move in Angel Grove. The Rangers have only encountered standard cogs. They have seen nothing like the androids described by Eric, Conner, and Cam.”

“So we are back to the drawing board,” Dustin muttered unhappily.

Maybe.“There's not only that,” Rocky said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I have to return to Angel Grove. We Zeo Rangers have to stick together when we think Gasket and Archerina are on the move.” He dropped his hand and shook his head. “Being captured by them is not fun.”

“That is to bad,” Hayley said frowning.

“I hate to leave with things as they are but I have to get back to Angel Grove to protect the city and my friends,” Rocky said truly troubled. "The Machine Empire's main objective is to destroy the Zeo Rangers and then maybe take over Earth if it fits into their evil schedule."

“I'll stay,” Jason replied. “Seems like to me, I am the one in our little group with active Ranger powers.”

“We could not ask you to do that,” Tommy said seriously. “No, not after what you told me earlier. You have a family to get home to.”

“It's cool,” Jason replied. “Zack, the Zeo Power Rangers, and the Space Power Rangers will protect them.”

“You know it,” Rocky said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Conner will be safe with me,” Jason said smirking.

“Thank you Jason,” Hayley said truly grateful. “You don't know what this means to us.” He nodded his reply.

“Since we have an active Ranger in our mix, maybe I can call off some of my Ninja guard,” Dustin said thoughtfully.

“I would not do that just yet,” Jason said thoughtfully. “Never underestimate the enemy.”

“That sounds like something Dr. Oliver would say,” Ethan said grinning. He was relieved that there didn't seem to be any hard feelings between Tommy and his friends.

“Of course,” Jason replied. “He got all his advice from the original red ranger's book of quotes.” Tommy laughed along with the others.

“Um, I may be stepping out of bounds by asking this, but shouldn't Doctor Oliver be going to Angel Grove with you?” Dustin asked, after calming down. “He is a Zeo Ranger too, right?” Tommy and Rocky looked startled, Hayley looked concerned, and Ethan and Jason watched Tommy silently.

“Right,” Rocky replied slowly.

“I gave up my position as Zeo Ranger V a long time ago,” Tommy replied. “I do not even have my Zeonizers anymore. I gave them to Adam.”

“The power does not reside in your old Zeonizers anymore,” Rocky revealed. “The power of your shard merged with the shards of us other Zeo Rangers. The power of Zeo Ranger V made us four more powerful. It was like you watching over us from beyond the grave.” He smiled sadly. “Like you were still there with us, through every win and every defeat.”

“I was always with you guys,” Tommy replied sadly. “In spirit.”

“And, obviously, in power,” Jason replied. “That added power boost saved their butts more than a few times.”

“Yeah,” Tommy muttered.

“I want to see Conner before I leave,” Rocky replied trying to lighten the mood. “I gotta officially meet this guy.”

“My heroes have arrived,” Conner said, through a mischievous smile that looked more like a grimace. He awoke as soon as he felt their presence in the building. “I think I shall faint from the excitement.”

“Charming,” Jason muttered with arms folded.

“You alright?” Rocky asked concerned. It was hard to see the man behind the battered face.

“I've been better,” he replied. “Thank you both for helping me out.” His eyes were closed. “I would seriously be dead right now if it weren't for you guys.”

“Don't mention it,” Jason replied.

Conner opened his good eye to look at him. “You're the mean one,” he declared. “Jason.”

“Jason is not mean, he just has zero tolerance for nonsense,” Rocky declared. “Which you were speaking a lot of.”

“And you're Rocky,” Conner replied. “The cool one.”

“How is Rocky the cool one?” Hayley asked.

“He thinks I am cool,” Conner replied to her.

“That's not saying much.” Kira offered her opinion on the subject.

“What brings you two to Reefside?” Conner asked.

"We missed Tommy so we decided to come see him," Rocky replied.

“Oh, I was under the impression that you came to kick his ass," Cassidy replied stars dancing in her eyes. She was a witness to a meeting of Power Ranger reunion, of sorts, and the reporter inside her was itching to write the story. Dustin could not help but laugh, setting off a chain reaction where everybody was laughing except for Cassidy and Conner.

"What?" Cassidy and Conner asked blankly.

In the early morning hours, a few hours before the sun decided to make its grand entrance, Cam awoke from a deep slumber. He made to move to signal that he was awake. Something was close. The roar of the river was the only sound heard. There were no animal calls, and no insects’ symphonies. He felt the presence of the enemy more so than hearing them.

He remained still. His eyes were opened, scanning the area around them for the enemy. They were surrounded. He sensed Tori's presence nearby. He assumed she amplified the roar of the river to awaken them. He sensed that Eric was awake too. Eric had the good sense to remain motionless.

There was nowhere to run. The fact that the androids got this close without Tori sensing them was startling. It also was startling how the androids were able to track them so quickly. They had left trails leading to nowhere and some leading to a completely different side of the mountain. There was not trail leading to where they actually camped, but the androids still found them.

A trickle of sweat ran down Eric's forehead, as the enemy got closer. He was impatiently waiting on the word from either Cam or Tori to attack. His heart was beating loudly. It wasn't from fear. It was from anticipation of the battle ahead. A battle that he would probaly not walk away from. He was tired of running.

The androids made the first move. As soon as she felt some stepping into the river, Tori, in her Ninja form, rose from the depths of river. She stopped her ascent, hovering just above the water. She turned her attention to the androids blocking their escape. “Power of Water!” Three clones made of water rose beside her. They hurried toward the enemy. Tori stayed on the river guiding them like puppets as they attacked the androids.

Cam rolled to the side just as an android's whip would've sliced him in half. Already in Ninja Form, he tumbled to his feet, punching an android in the face. He turned his back on the android and hit it in the face with the back of his fist. He then turned, bent, and swept kicked its legs out from under it. He quickly moved to the next opponent. He used a shield of sand to block a powerful kick from an android. He reached through the shield, grabbed the androids ankle, brought in downward, and then came down on its knee with his other elbow. Still holding on the android's leg he spent, gaining momentum, and then swung it at three other androids coming in his direction. The all crumpled to the ground. He made his way toward Eric, who was making his way toward the river.

Eric was using Kenpo to keep the androids out of his face. Being an ex-air ninja, he used air based attacks to slice through arms and legs of the androids. The infuriating appendages would just keep growing back. Their only chance was escape and their escape was in the hands of Tori.

The Blue Wind Ninja used the river to amplify her power. She had anticipated the enemy coming in from the other side of the river; she just had no idea that it would be so many. Instead of escaping to the other side of the river, maybe it would be better to grab the guys and perform a daring underwater escape.

One of her water clones was sliced in half by an android, causing Tori to take the battle to the next level. "Ninja Storm Ranger Form!" She called as she activated her Wind Morpher. Eric watched her in surprised shock, as he still battled the androids. Since when does she have powers? "Power of Water!" She morphed into the Blue Wind Ranger. Her clones also changed into Ranger form. Other Blue Wind Ranger clones rose from the debts and rushed to take over the battle from Eric and Cam.

Unbeknownst to her, something had moved in position underneath the water over which she hovered.

"Cam! Eric take a di-" before she could finish her exclamation, something reached up from the water, wrapped around her legs and started draining her energy as at electrocuted her. Her yell of anguish, made both Cam and Eric fight harder to get to her. Her cries were cut short as the complete energy drain, caused her to demorph. As quick as a wink, she was pulled under water by the metallic rod that drained her energy. Her clones became harmless puddles of water.

"Tori!" Cam exclaimed.

"Sensei!" Eric exclaimed at the same time as Cam.

Both guys fought their way to the river and then took a flying dive. An android's arm reached outwards, like a yoyo, and caught Eric by his ankle before he hit the water. It pulled him backwards to land, crushing his ankle in the process. He grunted in pain as he landed roughly back on his sleeping bag.

"This is your curtain call." He heard a voice from somewhere among the trees. Sorry Conner . . . .

As a Samurai pulled a Mermaid from the grasp of death, a brother woke up from a nightmare that was all to real, with an anguished yell that awoke his mother. "Eric!" The yell of his brother's name seemed to go on and on endlessly.

A/N: Oh my god, I am sorry for the long wait. The scene with Eric, Tori, and Cam took a lot out of me. I didn't know it would be so hard to write. It's not even that long and it gave me the most trouble. Who is the enemy? Is it someone new? Or is it Gasket and Archerina? What could this “unknown” enemy's ultimate goal be?

I didn't get a chance to see all of “Once A Ranger,” so if the Rangers did not get a chance to keep their powers, in this story, they did. Since Bridge, a ranger from the future was on the team, who is to say that Tori and one of the other Rangers were not pulled from the past? For the purposes of this story, two Rangers were pulled from the past. It is quite obvious which two it was.

Zeo Ranger V fans, put down the tomatoes. His powers will be his once more. It's coming...

If only I had that Zeo sound effect.