Author's Note: First and foremost, if you haven't read the books (specifically, the Shattered Grid event from last year), you might be confused and, in my opinion, are really missing out. I'd highly recommend reading those if you're interested in this story by going to your local comic book shop or getting the issues digitally from Comixology.

This is a three-part series based on the characters Ranger Slayer (Kimberly Hart) and Lord Drakkon (Tommy Oliver) in the BOOM! Studios comics series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Go Go Power Rangers. They are the older versions of Kimberly and Tommy from an alternate timeline where the Green Ranger stayed with Rita Repulsa after the spell was broken and became a fascist dictator of their world. Like with other versions of Tommy and Kimberly, they are connected to one another, despite the grim circumstances of their universe. Their relationship is never fully explored in the comics, so this series will examine some key moments in their relationship as I see them happening.

As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Hope you like it!

Snakewood Forest

40 miles east of Angel Grove, CA

2:13 PM

"AAGHH!"

Kimberly didn't even flinch when the man's body hit the ground with a sickening thud. He writhed on the floor, clutching frantically at the arrow in his throat as he choked on his own blood.

A rush she'd never experienced before came over her at the sight of him squirming in agony, his green eyes wide in horror.

And then… he went still.

Seeing the light fade from his eyes snapped the Pink Ranger out of her daze. She dropped her bow with a gasp, stifling the sob that followed with her gloved hand.

Power Rangers didn't kill.

That was the rule.

So why did she break it without even a second thought?

And why did she sort of… enjoy it?

"It was self-defense," she whispered. "It was self-defense."

It sounded hollow even to her own ears.

He hadn't even seen her when she attacked, her pink arrow flying through the trees to pierce his shoulder. He had turned in alarm at the pain, and the second arrow quickly sliced its way through his throat.

She closed her eyes.

God, there was so much blood.

"Well… what do we have here?"

Her body went on autopilot at the sound of his voice. She picked up the bow and pulled it taut, an arrow appearing at her fingertips.

Tommy Oliver. Green Ranger. White Ranger. Lord Drakkon.

He had many names, but the only one that mattered right now was Asshole.

He stood before her in his green and white hybrid power suit, brown eyes taking in his dead soldier. Drakkon bent down and grabbed the arrow's end, yanking it from the man's throat. He then rolled the dead soldier onto his side with his foot and pulled the other arrow from his shoulder.

Drakkon raised an eyebrow at the bloody tips. "Nicely done."

"Shut up," she hissed. He chuckled when she drew the bow tighter. "What the hell is so funny?"

He narrowed his eyes. "If you really wanted to shoot me, you would've done it by now."

"You think I won't?"

She swallowed thickly when he drew closer, stopping when the arrowhead brushed against his chest plate.

"No, I don't."

The smug expression on his face made her tremble with rage.

"Put it down." He raised his hands at her incredulous expression. "I just want to talk."

"Like you talked to Jason?" she growled.

The mere thought of her former leader and now-dead friend made her blink back tears.

"Jason died because of his arrogance," he said tightly.

"Jason died because you killed him, and you killed him because you're a sick bastard," she snarled. She lifted the arrow to his face. "You think I'm gonna just let my guard down around you?"

The flash of annoyance she saw made her smirk.

"What do you want?"

His eyes narrowed. "You know what I want," he said huskily. "It's what I've always wanted."

She hated the small thrill that raced through her at his words.

"Join me, Kimberly. Fight with me."

She looked away from him, chest burning from the swirl of emotions building inside of her.

Why was it always like this?

They'd meet on the battlefield, exchanging heated words but never striking a fatal blow.

She'd scowl when he'd smirk in that unnerving way that made goosebumps break out over her flesh. He'd get angry at her victorious grin whenever she got under his skin.

And every time – every single time – she'd walk away – returning alive and uninjured, guiltily avoiding the questioning gazes of her fellow rebels.

The accusations they didn't voice. The questions they didn't dare ask.

What's going on between them?

Why are you so special to him?

Why haven't you ended this?

Truthfully, it was something Kimberly didn't understand herself.

Back before the war, before he joined Rita, before… everything… there had been something between the two of them.

Attraction? Intrigue? She wasn't really sure. All she knew was that from the very first moment they met – that fateful day next to her locker – there was a tension that existed between them that hadn't stopped building.

Initially, it was sexual. Loathe as she was to admit it now, he was gorgeous. And despite her difficulty with intimacy and men, she'd have to be blind not to see that he was just as physically attracted to her.

But before either of them could act on their feelings, Rita stepped in, brainwashing Tommy into being her soldier. When he chose to stay on her side after being freed from her influence, it was not just devastating to the team – it'd broken Kimberly's heart.

She'd asked herself countless times why she took his betrayal so personally. He was never her boyfriend – just a guy that she might have dated had things turned out differently.

Kim had eventually convinced herself she was being silly, fretting over a boy that clearly didn't care for her.

Until one day four months ago, when he showed her that he did.

Kimberly scowled as another airing of Rita's impassioned speech to the world's leaders played on CNN.

"Ernie, can you please turn that off? It's bad for my digestion."

The Youth Center owner chuckled before changing the channel.

The Pink Ranger frowned as she dipped her fries into her ketchup. Rita's forces were gaining momentum at an alarming rate, swaying not only her allies but the public to buy into her agenda. With the threat of her domination now a serious possibility, Kim was faced with the reality of being a ranger full-time after graduation.

"Pour one out for the Pan Globals," she murmured bitterly.

"I don't know about that," a deep voice murmured. "It could still be on the table."

She tensed up, the hairs raising on the back of her neck when she saw Tommy standing off to her left.

"Then again… that would just be a waste of your talents."

She blinked rapidly as she tried to gather her thoughts. His identity as the Green Ranger wasn't public yet, though she imagined it would be soon now that he'd officially disenrolled from Angel Grove High.

"Tommy!" The Green Ranger turned at Ernie's boisterous voice. "Haven't seen you around here in forever! Where've you been?"

"Busy," he said dismissively before turning to Kimberly. "You have a moment?"

"For you?" She munched on another fry. "No."

"I wasn't really asking."

She watched with narrowed eyes as he walked outside and around the corner to the back of the Youth Center. Kimberly glared at his boldness – was he really so arrogant as to think she would just up and follow him because he said so?

"Fuck him," she sneered, eating another fry.

But as the seconds ticked by, she could feel her curiosity growing. The rational part of her screamed this was a trap, but the emotional part – the part that still wanted to try and save the shy boy she met so long ago in the halls of Angel Grove High – that part stupidly won out.

She tilted her head back and sighed as she ate the last of her fries. "God dammit."

Five minutes later, she made her way around to the back of the Youth Center to see him casually leaning against the wall.

"Sure took your time."

"What do you want, Tommy?"

"It's Drakkon."

She snorted. "Yeah, I'm not calling you that… what do you want?"

He rolled his eyes before crossing his arms over his chest. "I've come here to warn you."

"Warn me? Are you planning to be an even bigger dick than usu– "

"We're going to attack the Command Center," he interrupted.

"What?" Her heart leapt into her throat. "When?"

"I can't tell you that," he said. "Only that it's going to happen soon, and when it does… it won't be pretty." He looked at her intently. "We're not holding anything back."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"Meaning we know about the White Light." She struggled to keep her face neutral at the revelation that they knew about their plan with Ninjor to pass the powers of the White Light to Jason. "We won't sit back and let you get that kind of power – you're not taking everything I've worked for without a fight."

"You've worked for?" Her eyes narrowed as she stepped closer to him. "Don't you mean Rita?"

He looked away from her.

She peered curiously up at him. "What are you planning to do, Tommy?"

"What needs to be done to ensure I'm victorious." He locked eyes with her, and his gaze hardened. "That means doing whatever it takes."

The ice in his tone made her stomach twist, and for a moment, she felt like she was truly looking at a stranger.

"You're so desperate for power that you'd actually kill for it." It wasn't a question. "God…"

"I didn't come here for your judgment," he snapped.

"Then why did you come here, huh?" she sneered. "Why even bother telling me this at all?"

"Because I don't want – " He paused. "It doesn't matter."

Her heart clenched at his nervous expression, and against her better judgment, she pressed the issue.

"Don't want what?" she whispered. He stayed quiet. "What, Tommy?"

For a moment, the real Tommy shined through, and she latched onto that glimmer of hope.

"Tommy." She took a chance and cupped his face, and he closed his eyes at her touch. "Please."

He was quiet for a long time. She sighed in frustration and made to release him, but he grabbed her wrists to keep her hands where they were.

"Come with me," he whispered so softly, she thought she'd heard him wrong.

"W-What?"

"Come with me." He opened his eyes. "Leave the rangers. Join me, join Rita – there's a place for you in our empire." He ran his thumbs over the back of her hands. "By my side."

Kimberly blinked hard when she saw he was serious, and a flood of conflicting emotions rushed through her.

She'd spent so long thinking of him as the enemy, as this person who felt nothing and cared for even less. It made it easy to hate him, to push through the discomfort of fighting someone she still cared for. It made it easy for her to think her unresolved feelings for him were just a silly notion.

But now that she could see for herself that he also felt something for her… what the hell was she supposed to do now?

"Tommy…" She swallowed hard and let him go. "I-I can't."

The flash of hurt in his eyes was so quick she almost thought she imagined it.

She was a hero, a Power Ranger. She was responsible for the safety and wellbeing of everyone on this planet against people like Rita – people like him.

To turn her back on that because of… whatever it was between them was insane. Her place was with Zordon and the others.

Wasn't it?

"Then you'll perish with the others," he hissed stepping back from her. "Don't expect mercy when we meet next on the battlefield."

"Tommy, don– "

He disappeared in a flash of green light before she could finish. Kim sighed and rest her head against the Youth Center wall.

And just like that, things between her and Tommy Oliver just got a little more complicated.

"Shit."

Kimberly shook herself of the memory and glared at him.

"Every time, you ask… and every time, I tell you no." She tilted her head. "What makes you think this time will be any different?"

"Because I'm the only one who will accept you for who you really are." He glanced down at the dead soldier by their feet. "You killed him."

"It was self-defense."

"It was murder."

She swallowed the lump in her throat, and the arrow at her fingertips disappeared in a flash of pink light when her concentration broke.

"And they'll shun you for it because they don't understand what it means to fully commit to your cause and do whatever is necessary to win, even taking a life." He smiled darkly. "I do."

She knew he was trying to manipulate her, but damn it all if she didn't see some truth to his words.

Kimberly blinked back tears, bottom lip trembling. Why was Drakkon the only person who understood?

And what the hell did that say about her?

"And…" She blinked when she realized he was still talking. "You'll join me because now the consequences are different."

"You're not going to kill me," she told him confidently.

He stared at her intently before gesturing at her waist. "Join me… or I'll make a Pink Ranger who will."

Brown eyes widened behind her visor.

When she learned he'd taken Jason's power coin after killing him, she had assumed it was meant to be a trophy, a memento from when he bested the leader of the Power Rangers in battle.

Now, she suspected he was collecting them. For what, she wasn't sure – she didn't even know if she cared – all that mattered was she was next.

She didn't have enough time to draw another arrow with him so close. Thinking quickly, she slammed her bow into his face to put distance between them.

"Arghh!"

Kimberly prepared to teleport back to the base, but she was tackled to the ground from behind.

"Get off of me!" she growled, slamming her elbow into his chest.

Drakkon merely grunted and grabbed her arm, twisting it around until she yelped. He hissed when she kicked him in the shin but didn't let go. Kim snarled and threw her head back, slamming it into his helmet and sending him onto his back. Almost immediately, he threw himself on top of her again and pinned her to the ground.

They writhed and twisted against each other, a mass of limbs rolling across the ground. In the back of her mind, Kimberly knew this wasn't necessary on either of their parts. They both had weapons, they both were trained fighters – but they chose to engage in the most animalistic form of domination they could think of when it came to each other.

He'd pin her down, his large form pressing down intimately between her thighs. She'd roll them over, hands pressed against his throat while she ground her weight down on him. He'd flip her over again, the full weight of him against her back, his breaths heavy in her ear while he held tight to squirming hips.

It was as stimulating as it was frustrating.

That only pissed her off more.

They wrestled on the ground for several minutes, ultimately ending with Kimberly on her back with him straddling her waist. He grabbed her wrists when she tried to choke him again, pinning them on the ground above her head.

"NO!" she screamed when he ripped her morpher from her waist, causing her to power down into her pink tank top and black leggings.

She bucked and kicked at him to no avail, tears stinging her eyes as she glared hatefully at his red visor.

"You're a coward," she hissed up at him. "You can't even fucking look me in the eyes when you take my powers from me!"

Drakkon was still for several seconds before she heard him softly murmur, "Power down."

His power suit disappeared, leaving him in form-fitting, all-black Under Armour shirt and pants. His eyes were furious as he gazed down at her.

"The only coward here is you," he growled. "You're so afraid of accepting who you really are and where you belong that you're willing to die on the losing team just to prove a point."

Kimberly forced herself to ignore the stinging truth in his barb.

"My place," she growled, "is not with you. My place is with the Power Rangers. We're a team – always have been, always will be. But you wouldn't know the meaning of that word, would you?"

His nostrils flared.

"And why would I join you, huh? To become just another one of Rita's glorified lackeys?"

"I am no one's lackey!" he snarled. "I'm more powerful than you could possibly understand!"

"You have no power," she sneered, pressing all his buttons. "You're just a little boy doing whatever mommy tells you to do."

Kimberly knew there was one universal truth about a man with an ego – if you bruised his pride enough, he'd eventually lose his cool. Drakkon was no different, and she knew if she could piss him off just enough, she'd be able to use his anger as a distraction.

He quickly tossed her morpher to the side and pressed a hand against her stomach when she tried to buck him off her. She grunted when she couldn't get enough leverage to roll him from on top of her.

"Nice try… but you're not that clever."

They looked down at where they were connected before their gazes locked. Her tank top had risen slightly, putting him in direct contact with her skin. It burned where he touched her, and her stomach trembled slightly under his hand.

And just like that, Kimberly suddenly became all too aware of the position she'd put herself in.

Alone. In the woods. With the man who was both the bane of her existence and someone she regretfully still felt… something for.

Straddling her.

Touching her.

Drakkon furrowed his brow. Cautiously, his hand flexed against her stomach, touching more of her smooth skin. Her stomach trembled again as his hand slid up beneath her shirt, his fingertips brushing against the underside of her breasts.

Kimberly's mind raced a mile a minute. Their gazes remained locked when his hand slid higher, gently cupping her breast. A calloused thumb slid across her nipple curiously, making her jump.

The contact was like a jumpstart to her brain, and she wriggled to get away from his touch.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" she asked, hating how breathless she sounded.

A mix of conflicting emotions that she recognized as her own flashed across his face. He looked at his hand, squeezing her breast again with more confidence before flicking the nipple. Her gasp seemed to bring him back to himself, and he sneered down at her.

"Showing you what real power looks like."

Her eyes fluttered in surprise when his hand snaked down to the waistband of her leggings, slipping beneath and into her underwear. Kimberly gasped when deft fingers found her clit, roughly stroking the sensitive nub. She bit her bottom lip, hands twisting against the ground where he had them pinned.

All at once, years of repressed emotional and sexual feelings clashed violently with anger and adrenaline, leaving her momentarily paralyzed.

"Shit…" she whimpered when she felt herself grow wet.

His gaze was fixed on her face, dark eyes hungrily taking in every twitch and moan in reaction to what he was doing to her. She could see the bulge straining at the front of his pants, and it pissed her off and turned her on in equal parts to know he was getting off on this.

"Get your fucking hands out of my – "

Her breath hitched when he slipped first one then two fingers into her, curling them inside her slick walls.

"I think it's been well-established you won't admit what you want when it comes to me." He twisted his fingers roughly, making her cry out in pleasure. "Allow me to save you the trouble."

Any sarcastic comment that came to mind immediately disappeared when he began fingering her in earnest.

"O-Oh shit," she moaned, toes curling in her shoes from how good it felt.

Her first thought was that his touch felt better than she thought it would.

Her second thought was what the fuck was with that first thought?

But if she were being completely honest with herself, she knew where it came from.

It'd always been there.

The unresolved tension between them had been mounting from day one and being on opposite sides had only intensified it. There was a constant heat between them, simmering over time with each new encounter.

Ego, resentment, and common sense had kept them from ever going there with each other.

But right here, right now… it had finally boiled over.

"Oh f-fuck," she whined when his fingers brushed against a sensitive spot along her walls. He did it again and again, and she clenched her jaw tight, eyes watering from how hard she tried to hold back.

A torrent of emotions whirled inside of her.

Shame that she enjoyed what he was doing. Anger at his audacity to touch her in this way.

Relief to finally be able to succumb to what she'd fought against for so long.

"You're gonna cum..." he hissed. "Cum for me."

Kimberly closed her eyes, mentally willing herself not to give in to him.

But god, it felt so damn good… and she was so damn tired of fighting what she felt.

Would giving in just this one time really be so bad?

He leaned down and sucked on her neck, and the weight of him against her made her want to cry. He snarled and fingered her harder, lips trailing down to suck on her collarbone.

"Oh god," she moaned in his ear, hips rotating in tight circles to meet his thrusts. "Ungh!"

She whimpered when she felt the pressure building in her abdomen. Slim thighs spread wider, welcoming him into her body.

She was so close, she just needed a little more...

Kimberly arched off the ground with a gasp when he ground his palm against her clit. "Unh!"

The added friction was just what she needed, and her eyes fluttered when she came around his pistoning fingers. Her hands flexed beneath his where they were pinned, desperately clawing at the air as she rode his fingers to a breathless orgasm.

"Remember whose name it is you're crying out when you question my power again," he rasped against her throat.

She gasped when he wouldn't stop, face scrunching up in pleasure when she felt another climax chasing behind the first.

Kimberly blinked in surprise when he suddenly removed his fingers from her, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. His eyes were wild, raking over her lithe form. She shivered when he grabbed hold of her leggings and panties, yanking them down past her knees.

For a moment, the look in his eyes was so intense that she wondered…

Was he going to…?

But then he slid down her body, his face level with her hips as he forced her thighs apart. It occurred to her slowly that he'd released her hands, but she was too caught up in what was happening to care. She shuddered when she felt his harsh pants against her sex, her slim fingers sliding into his hair to push him closer to where she desperately wanted him. The first slide of his tongue against her folds sent her reeling, and she used her free hand to fist the dirt and leaves at her side.

Sex was nothing new to Kimberly – the need to connect with someone on a primal level due to the hopelessness of this war had driven many to seek solace in carnal pleasure at some point in time.

But she'd never experienced anything quite like this.

Every nerve ending in her body felt alive, and it twisted her up inside that he was the one to make her feel this way. Drakkon, the man who'd killed so many of her friends and destroyed her home, was eating her out so good that she couldn't even form the words to tell him to go fuck himself. All she could do was whimper and moan, hips rotating to meet his skilled tongue as he slurped ravenously between her thighs.

"Nngh no…" she gasped.

Kim pushed halfheartedly at his head when her thighs began to quiver uncontrollably.

"Oh god… st-stop…" She hated the desperation in her voice. "You're gonna make me cum…"

Her breath hitched and her head rolled back. Her toes curled hard against his back when he suckled her harder.

"Stopstopstop…" She whimpered when his tongue continued to slide roughly across her throbbing clit. "You're gonna make me cum!""

Of course, he didn't do as she asked – and truthfully, she didn't want him to. Less than a minute later, his name - his real name - echoed loudly in the forest when she reached her peak against his tongue, brown eyes rolling back into her head. He brought her to a shuddering orgasm twice more after, his name and God's ringing out in a broken chant that only partially masked the sounds of him hungrily lapping at her weeping sex.

A short while later, Kimberly stared up at the sky with a heavy conscience.

Off to her side, Drakkon stood with his back to her, arm braced against a nearby tree while her morpher was tucked in his back pocket. She heard his low grunts as he stroked himself roughly, some of the bark ripping from the tree when he finally reached his own climax.

"Sh-Shit, Kim…" he moaned desperately as he thrust desperately into his hand.

Hearing her name on his lips so intimately made her flinch.

The muscles in his back relaxed as he sagged against the tree, his pants heavy as he came down from his high. He stood up straight when he was done and tucked himself back into his pants. He walked over to her, and she stared up into his face unseeing.

"We'd be unstoppable together… but for some reason, that scares you."

The events of today confirmed what she always suspected he meant by together.

And he was right – it did scare her.

She didn't like who she became when she was around him. She didn't like how he made her feel.

"I'm giving you one more chance. Join me."

Kimberly blinked and looked away from him. He sighed, though he appeared unsurprised.

"Fine." He morphed back into his power suit. "Goodbye, Kimberly."

She waited until well after he'd teleported away before breaking down in tears.

Eastern Refugee Camp of The Coinless

Angel Grove Mountain Basin

Angel Grove, CA

7:01 PM

The walk back to the base, while incredibly long, proved necessary. It gave her time to gather her thoughts about what happened – and what she would say to her team when she arrived without her power coin.

As she approached, she could see Trini, Billy, and Zack huddled together under one of the tents. They were in their power suits staring down at something on a makeshift table.

The now former Pink Ranger plastered a smile on her face as she approached them. "I'd knock but – "

"Oh, Kimberly, thank God!" The Pink Ranger flinched at the concern in Trini's voice. "We were just about to send a search party."

"I'm fine," she said stiffly.

There was a pause and then Billy spoke. "Why aren't you morphed?"

She kept her gaze fixed on the ground while she answered. "Drakkon and his soldiers. My morpher… he – "

She could still recall the orgasm he wrenched from her with his thick fingers.

Kimberly fought the urge to recoil when Trini pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh, Kim… I'm so sorry."

Over Trini's shoulder, Zack looked at her curiously. "How'd you escape?

"Rita called him back to her before he could use Saba against me." She released Trini. "If that hadn't happened…"

"Did he say or… do anything else?" the Black Ranger asked.

Her mind raced with images of Drakkon on his knees between her legs, feverishly tasting her while she cried tears of ecstasy.

Kimberly shook her head. "That's all."

She caught the glance shared between the three of them and closed her eyes guiltily.

Unlike the other rebel fighters, her teammates had more firsthand knowledge of her relationship with Drakkon. They knew the two had shared an instant attraction and connection from the moment they met, and they knew this connection was a large part of why he wanted her to join him instead of outright killing her like all the others.

Her teammates had always been wary of her taking him on one-on-one, unsure of what he'd pull to have her with him.

Before she'd been annoyed at their overprotectiveness.

Now… it seemed they had cause for concern.

When Kim opened her eyes, she saw Zack staring intently at her, and her heart skipped a beat.

Could he tell?

"I'm just glad you're okay," he said slowly before pulling her into him.

She pulled away after a few seconds, uncomfortable with the contact after lying to him.

"Yeah, I – " She frowned. "I just need to rest. It's been a long day."

"Of course," Trini said. "I'll come check in on you later."

"Thanks."

The former Pink Ranger walked the familiar path to her quarters, relief hitting her once she made it safely inside the confines of her room.

She headed straight for her bathroom, wanting a hot shower to wash away everything from the day.

Kimberly closed her eyes as she stood under the hot spray. Drakkon's words replayed in her head over and over again while the soldier she killed stared back at her with lifeless eyes.

You're so afraid of accepting who you really are and where you belong...

She'd rather die than give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right, but here, alone… she could admit the truth.

He was right.

There was a part of her that thrived on violence and power, that wanted to rebel against the status quo and rage against everything standing in the way of what needed to be done.

This war – that man – that's what did this to her.

Or maybe that was just an excuse. Maybe it was always there inside of her, and now it just finally had the chance to break free.

Maybe he saw what was in her so clearly because he saw the same in himself.

Kimberly frowned, fingers running through her long hair. She stared at the soap bubbles that disappeared down the drain.

"I'm not like him," she whispered. "He's a monster. I'm – "

The face of the soldier she killed earlier came to the forefront of her mind.

Kim shut the faucet off angrily. She then grabbed her towel off the rack and wrapped it around her torso before exiting the shower. Kimberly finished drying off with her towel before heading into her bedroom. She looked out her window down to where the others were huddled together, feverishly discussing their next move.

Anger surged through her as she imagined their conversation.

Diplomacy. Appealing to Rita's better nature. The naïve belief that that good will prevail.

All the things that the Power Rangers stood for.

All the things that were holding them back.

They lived by the ranger code, and that meant always being on the defensive. It meant waiting for things to go wrong before you step in. It meant allowing chaos and death and destruction to fester instead of taking out the problem at the source.

She was the only one who seemed to realize that was no longer acceptable.

Kimberly had told Jason time and time again they needed to break from that kind of thinking and attack Rita, step up and confront her before she got too powerful. The Red Ranger had disagreed, saying it wasn't their place to escalate the situation. Zordon had agreed with him.

Now… they were both dead.

They don't understand what it means to fully commit to your cause… to do whatever is necessary to win, even taking a life...

I do.

Her chest tightened at the sound of his voice in her head.

He understood… why couldn't they?

The events of the day sped through her mind, and a lump formed in her throat as the answer became painfully clear.

"I'm not like him," she said quietly as she stared down at her friends. "I'm not like him."

Kimberly repeated this to herself again and again. And while distancing herself from Drakkon offered some small amount of superficial comfort, brown eyes filled with sorrow as she accepted the sobering truth she could no longer deny.

But I'm not like them either.

Part two will be coming soon. Thanks for reading!