Author’s Note: Thanks go to Dagmar Buse for pointing out the spot in Part V that needed improvement—I changed it and added a perfect subplot!

Highway to Hell
Part VI: Commencement
by MegaSilver

Kimberly brushed a few loose strands of her hair out of her face before donning her cap. In less than half an hour, she would be walking, and then would come the big dance. No way was she going to her graduation after-party looking like a raver. “Thank goodness for French braids,” she smiled to her boyfriend.

Tommy laughed a little. His mind was still muddled with the events of the last few days, and he hardly felt refreshed after taking a senior trip to hell. Fortunately, Rocky’s condition, while serious, was hardly life-threatening, and the school board had approved for the seniors to attempt to go to New Orléans next week in light of extenuating circumstances involving alien forces. Hopefully, he could convince his uncle to let him have another week off.

But that was the least of Tommy’s worries. Right now, he felt as though he’d be lucky if one of his closest friends ever spoke to him again.

Kimberly cut into his thoughts by tapping him on the shoulder. “You okay?”

“Huh? Yeah. I’m fine.”

“You kinda zoned out,” she noticed. “Is something wrong?”

Tommy didn’t answer.

“Tommy, come on. What is it?”

Tommy sighed. “It’s Katherine. I just… I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to talk to her again. I was so… I mean, she’s been through enough as it is, and I just rubbed it in.” He looked across the room at his former teammate and girlfriend, who was looking over her salutatorian speech.

Kimberly nodded. “She’s fine, though. We went out to breakfast together yesterday morning and—”

“She said something?” Tommy’s eyes widened, looking somewhere between hopeful and fearful.

“Actually, we didn’t mention your name at all. I think it was some sort of unspoken agreement.” Try as she might to resist, Kimberly simply couldn’t help but smile at Tommy’s uncomfortable expression. “Look, seriously, though, we did talk about what’s happened—I still wasn’t comfortable with the way she’d given up everything to me, even though she’d reassured me that it was okay. But she admitted that she wasn’t completely comfortable with it, either, even though she felt that it was the right thing.

“But see, both of us were still recovering—me from a shock that I’ve just now dealt with, her from a sudden, voluntary loss, and… I think what happened this week helped us get out of that.”

Tommy looked confused. “Huh?”

“Well, I’d still felt a little down on myself when this week started, and I just couldn’t shake my guilt or my sense of emptiness withdrawal. Then we went to hell, and that only made it worse—because I thought I had eternity to compound it. But when we got out... I realized that I still have so much to live for, so much I can do. And Katherine said she’d felt the same way.

“A lot of things have changed this last month. But I think Katherine and I both took some big steps to moving on this week. I know you didn’t mean to hurt her, but we all make mistakes. I’d be shocked if she didn’t understand that.”

Nodding, Tommy glanced back at Katherine. “I guess I have one step I need to go take care of,” he admitted.

“Definitely,” Kimberly agreed, nodding to encourage him.

Mustering up his courage, Tommy walked over to the former Pink Ranger and cleared his throat. “Hi, Kat,” he said quickly.

Katherine turned her head to see Tommy. “Hi,” she smiled. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Tommy lied. He gestured down at her index cards. “Can’t wait to hear your speech.”

“Oh, thank you,” said Katherine graciously. “It’s not really anything spectacular, but I’m sure it’ll do.”

“Yeah.” Tommy shuffled his feet around. “Listen, Kat… about what I said back in the cockpit—” He stalled to lower his voice. “I didn’t mean it quite the way it came out. I know things haven’t been easy for you, and the last thing I want is to make you feel—”

Katherine held up her hand. “Already forgotten,” she told him. “It hurt, but I know you didn’t mean it. And I know there’s still plenty for me to do even if I’m not a Ranger—I think what happened this week helped me remember that. But thank you for apologizing.” She gave him a hug. “You’ll make a wonderful partner, Tommy. Kim ought to be proud.”

Tommy shook his head. “Not as proud as I am of her.” Okay, it was cheesy, he knew, but it was also true. From the bottom of his heart.

At the Moon Palace, Zedd drummed his fingers impatiently as Rita looked out into space. “Is she coming at all today?” Zedd growled.

“Oh, hold your horses, Zeddy!” Rita rolled her eyes, “She’ll be here any moment. Patience is a virtue, y’know.”

“And I suppose you’d know about that!” Zedd grunted. Rita patient? That’s a laugh, he thought. “I just want to get this over with.”

“Oh, we will, hubby,” Rita smirked. When she looked back at the sky, she saw the SubCraft approaching. “How ’bout that? I guess a watched pot really doesn’t boil!” She trotted down the stairs to the third level. “FINSTER! Prepare the docking bay for the SubCraft’s arrival! No time to lose!”

“Yes, my queen!” agreed Finster, punching some codes into the docking bay locks.

Rita cackled, clutched a small green egg in her right hand as the SubCraft approached the palace and latched on to the dock. Within thirty seconds, the hatch opened and Divatox stepped out.

“Girl friend!” laughed Rita.

Divatox took a deep breath. “Ahh… it’s good to be back in the good ol’—AAAUGH!” As she spoke, Rita thrust out her right hand and used the egg to fire twenty thousand volts into Divatox’s body. Instantly, the space pirate queen was thrust back into her ship.

“Tengas! Seal the door!” ordered Rita. At her command, a swarm of Tenga warriors mobbed the docking bay and shut it off before anyone else could pass through. “Finster, prepare the SubCraft for siphoning program 1.03!”

“Done!” her subject announced. With the tapping of a few keys, the SubCraft began to glow purple, and Zedd came downstairs to stand by his wife.

“It’s working!” the evil red creature laughed. “Finster, you've actually made something that works!”

Rita threw her head back and laughed. “In just a matter of minutes, the SubCraft’s power will be all ours!”

And so it was. When the SubCraft’s glow had completely faded, the green egg Rita held now glowed bright purple, and she was able to suspend it between her staff and Zedd’s. The color slowly faded into a fiery red, then shot power into their staffs in equal portions. When at last the transfer was complete, the egg dropped to the floor but remained intact, having been hard-boiled by the process.

“It’s ours! We did it! WE DID IT!” exclaimed Rita.

“Finster! Get that infernal craft out of my sight!” ordered Zedd.

“Ah... where to?” asked Finster.

“Some place deserted!” suggested Rita.

“Hmm… this scanner indicates complete vacancy on the planet KO-35 in the Kerova system. Shall I—”

“Immediately!” shouted Zedd. With that, the SubCraft was on its way out of the solar system.

“Bye bye, roomie!” Rita waved.

Divatox found herself dashing across a field full of gold. Just a few more feet and she’d be in the arms of her beloved Maligore—no, wait… it was Elgar!

“Auntie D! Rise and shine!” her nephew called to her.

Divatox groaned and opened her eyes to see Elgar standing beside her bed with a tray of tea, potato chips, and lizard dip. “I’m not hungry!” she muttered, throwing off the covers. She rubbed her head. “What the hell am I doing here?” The last thing she remembered, she was entering Zedd and Rita’s palace… what had happened then? And why did the SubCraft feel like it was tilting over at an awkward angle?

Porto tiptoed into the room. “Oh, your highness, you’re awake!” he exclaimed. “I was beginning to worry. You took quite a blow back there.”

Divatox looked completely out-of-it. “Blow?” she murmured.

“Yes, my queen. It seems that Zedd and Rita failed to follow up on Dark Specter’s orders. As soon as we arrived, they knocked you out with a tazer-like weapon and threw our ship to the abandoned KO-35 on the Kerova system.”

It took a moment for Divatox to process all this.

That… that bitch! She tricked me! That filthy gold-digging tramp!

“Well, then let’s haul our patooties to the Cimmarian planet!” Divatox decreed. She hopped out of bed and stormed out of her room. “When I’m through with them, they’ll be lucky if Dark Specter gives them a job cleaning out his colon!”

“Umm… your evilness?” Porto appeared to be trembling.

“What?”

“They drained all our power; that’s why we’re crashed on land. Unless we can find a source of energy, I’m afraid we’re stuck here.”

Divatox took in a puff of air, then let it all out in one gigantic, glass-shattering syllable.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”