"Tommy, did you really think that I would want to see a movie about a gross monster when I have to fight them practically every day?" Kimberly asked her white-clad boyfriend on their way to a weekend movie matinee.
"That's just it, Kim. When we do that, we're fighting them as Rangers. I want to enjoy The Gravedigger as Tommy," he explained.
"Well then, Tommy can enjoy the movie by himself, since this was supposed to be a date. Guess I'll just walk myself home," Kimberly threatened.
"Aw, c'mon, Beautiful, don't be like that. We can watch that boring romance movie you want to see."
"It's not boring, it's layered. And I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do."
"No, really," Tommy said in earnest. "I want to watch it with you."
XXX
Lord Zedd spied on the Power couple making their way to the movie theatre. "So, Tommy wants a little action, eh? I don't keep him busy enough? I'll give him exactly what he's asking for. Gravedigger, come forth!" Zedd commanded, pointing his staff toward Earth.
Gravedigger sprang to life off a movie poster and appeared in front of Lord Zedd in his moon palace. Gravedigger resembled a human except for his corpse-grey skin and dead eyes. He wielded a shovel and didn't walk so much as lope about.
"Gravedigger! I want you to kidnap the pink ranger and eliminate her. Once she's gone, we can destroy Tommy and the rest of those snot-nosed brats!"
"As you wish, my lord," Gravedigger rasped.
As Tommy and Kimberly rounded the corner to the movie theatre, Putties suddenly sprang upon them. "Oh no, Putties!" Kimberly cried as she assumed a defensive position.
"Geez, what is Zedd's obsession with ruining our dates?" Tommy asked.
"I know! If he's that jealous, he should ask out his own girl," Kimberly said as she kicked a Putty away.
Tommy spun around, kicking a Putty in the head, knocking out its comrade. He flipped over another Putty, kicking that one in the chest before running over to Kim to help her defeat her final adversary. Once all the Putty remains disappeared, Kim looked at her boyfriend. "That sure was weird."
"I'll say. We should-" before Tommy could finish his thought, Kimberly was surrounded by six Putties who grabbed her arms and vanished without giving Tommy the chance to fight. Hearing evil laughter, Tommy spun around, facing their latest monster.
"Sorry White Ranger, but Pinky's all mine!" Gravedigger shouted with glee.
"We'll see about that!" Tommy warned as he morphed into his namesake costume. Tommy attacked Gravedigger with a flourish, but was knocked back immediately by Gravedigger's eye blasts. Getting to his knees, he whipped out Saba to help him, but Gravedigger attacked Tommy with his shovel, sending Tommy to the ground again.
"Come now, White Ranger," Gravedigger taunted, "this isn't even a challenge. You're barely trying!"
"He's too strong to fight on my own. I have to get back to the Command Center right away." Tommy teleported in a field of white, momentarily retreating from the battle.
XXX
Kimberly opened her eyes and for a terrifying moment thought she was blind. When she tried to move, her knees grazed against something hard and wooden. Feeling her surroundings, she slowly realized her vision – or supposed lack thereof - was the least of her problems. Grateful for her small stature, she wiggled all around, trying to find any latch or opening that might help. She found none. She pounded against her low ceiling, trying to shift it at all. It wouldn't budge. She checked her left wrist and small of her back and found both bare. Kimberly could only assume she was buried alive. Without her morpher or communicator, she had never been so scared in her short life.
Repeating furiously in her head "You are a Ranger, don't freak out, you are a Ranger, don't freak out!" to keep calm, she tried to think about her options. She wasn't Billy or Trini smart, but Kim knew there was only so much oxygen in her box. Once that ran out, she was a goner. Crying, screaming, or panicking would only bring her demise sooner. She concentrated on slow breaths. It was the only thing she could do.
In the Command Center, the alarms blared moments before Tommy teleported in, panting. "Zordon, he got Kimberly!"
"I KNOW. ALPHA, CONTACT THE RANGERS AT ONCE."
"Ay yi yi yi yi! Poor Kimberly!" Alpha pressed buttons and flipped switches, contacting the remaining Rangers.
"We read you, Zordon," Jason announced.
"RANGERS, KIMBERLY HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED BY LORD ZEDD'S NEWEST MONSTER. TELEPORT TO THE COMMAND CENTER IMMEDIATELY."
"We're on our way, Zordon," Jason promised.
Moments later, Zack, Billy, Trini, and Jason arrived in the Command Center.
Trini stepped forward. "Zordon, who took Kimberly?"
"HIS NAME IS GRAVEDIGGER," Zordon explained." LORD ZEDD CREATED HIM FROM A MOVIE POSTER. HE IS A MOST DEVIOUS MONSTER, WITH A PENCHANT TO BURY HIS VICTIMS."
All five teenagers' faces paled at this. They had faced mean and nasty creatures before, but Lord Zedd seemed to bring a new level of sadism that terrified them in ways Rita never could.
"Have you found Kim yet?" Tommy asked.
"Not yet," Alpha answered. "We can't pinpoint her energy signal yet. It's being blocked somehow."
Predictably, the alarm sounded again. "RANGERS, BEHOLD THE VIEWING GLOBE." The teens turned around. "GRAVEDIGGER IS ATTACKING ANGEL GROVE. BILLY, YOU STAY HERE TO HELP TRACK KIMBERLY. THE REST OF YOU WILL FACE THE MONSTER. GOOD LUCK, AND MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU."
Jason clapped Billy on the shoulder. "Good luck man."
"Yeah, no pressure, but we're counting on you," Zack said.
"No pressure, right," Billy replied with a tight smile.
Tommy, Trini, Jason, and Zack fell into pose. "It's Morpin time!" Tommy led.
"Tiger Zord!"
"Mastodon!"
"Saber tooth Tiger!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
The Power Rangers teleported to downtown Angel Grove, a favorite among harmful monsters. Gravedigger paused in his warpath to focus on the Rangers. "So, White Ranger, finally brought your friends to play?"
"That's right, Gravedigger, and we're going to win," Tommy promised.
Gravedigger shook his bald, greyed head. "We'll see who's going to win, Power Rangers. Putties, attack!"
A dozen Putties materialized and attacked the Rangers. Trini, Jason, and Zack tried to take on four Putties each while Tommy went after Gravedigger again. Gravedigger knocked down Tommy with another optic blast, swinging his shovel to hit Tommy while he was down. Jason was just able to block with his blade blaster, allowing Tommy time to recover. Trini and Zack raced over to protect Tommy.
"Don't worry, Tommy, we've got this," Jason said as he and Zack raced forward to tag team the monster. Both were pushed to the ground by a seismic wave, throwing down Trini and Tommy as well. Another round of laser beams shot from Gravedigger's eyes and the Rangers were thrown back even farther, injured. Gravedigger ran through them, hitting each of them with his shovel as he went.
Tommy tried to attack again but Jason held him back. "This guy's too strong for the four of us," Jason told him. "We need Billy's help." Tommy reluctantly agreed, seeing as the other two Rangers would be teleporting along with Jason.
XXX
Several hours had passed since Kimberly woke up underground. She sniffled quietly, ignoring the tears falling from the outer corners of her eyes. She still took slow, deliberate breaths, refusing to waste oxygen on openly crying when she could bawl freely after being rescued. "Oh Tommy, please come get me," she whispered. "I don't think I have much time left."
Back at the Command Center, the Power Rangers stood in front of their mentor.
"Zordon, he's too strong," Tommy admitted. "Have you found Kimberly yet?"
"WE HAVE NOT YET FOUND HER. DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE, RANGERS, KIMBERLY IS STRONG AND FIERCE. SHE WILL NOT GIVE UP FIGHTING UNTIL THE VERY END."
The alarm blared for a third time. The viewing globe showed Gravedigger as tall as the buildings it dismantled. "BILLY, JOIN THE RANGERS IN THIS FIGHT. THEY WILL NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK TO RUN THE THUNDER MEGAZORD. I BELIEVE ALPHA IS CLOSE TO FINDING KIMBERLY'S LOCATION."
"Right, Zordon. It's Morphin' time!"
Together, the Power Rangers called on their Zords, creating the Thunder Megazord as well as Tommy's Tiger Zord. Zordon chimed in, "RANGERS, MY SUSPICIONS WERE CORRECT. IF YOU DEFEAT GRAVEDIGGER, A PORTAL TO THE CEMETERY DIMENSION WILL APPEAR. THERE, YOU WILL FIND KIMBERLY.
"You got it, Zordon!" Tommy answered. "You heard him, guys. Let's bring this dirtbag down then go rescue Kimberly."
"Right!" the team echoed. The Thunderzord blocked Gravedigger's attacks, then fell to the ground with a swift swing of Gravedigger's favored shovel. Pulling on the controls, the Power Rangers righted their machine, then grabbed the shovel as it swung by them again, throwing it to the ground, stepping on it and breaking it.
"No!" Gravedigger wailed. The Thunder Megazord walked up and swung at Gravedigger, connecting with his head, while the Tiger Zord shot missiles at the monster.
"Thundersaber Power, ready!" the team announced as the Zord pulled out its saber, striking down the Gravedigger. The monster fell with its usual sparks and explosions, disintegrating into dust. A portal opened up where Gravedigger exploded. Tommy leapt up out of his seat and toward the portal without a second thought.
"Tommy, wait!" Jason shouted but Tommy ignored him and disappeared from their sight. The other Rangers had no choice but to follow their leader.
The Rangers landed in the Cemetery Dimension, still morphed. In front of them was an old cemetery, with no visible names or dates on any of the headstones in sight. It was dark, damp, and dreary.
"All right you guys, split up," Tommy instructed. "We'll cover more ground that way." Without waiting for confirmation Tommy sprinted off toward the far end of the cemetery, trying to cover as much ground as possible while looking for any sign of Kimberly. Turning, Tommy saw something gleam in the corner of his eye. Running toward it, he couldn't believe the monster would be so obvious as to leave Kimberly's morpher and communicator where she was buried.
"Guys, I think I found something!" he shouted to his friends as he saw the freshly packed dirt in front of the marked grave. The others arrived in seconds. After five shovels magically appeared – Tommy was still in awe at what the Morphin Grid was capable of during emergencies – and franticly digging a large hole, Zack's shovel hit something solid. Clearing the solid surface of dirt, Tommy flung open the lid to see Kim perfectly still, her lips blue. Tommy gathered Kimberly into his arms as Jason declared, "We have to teleport, now."
At the Command Center Tommy placed Kimberly on the medical table waiting for them. Billy stepped up, helmet already off, quickly attaching machines Tommy had never seen before to Kimberly's body. "Her heart's beating but she's not breathing," Billy announced as he accepted the breathing apparatus Trini handed him. Tommy ignored the burning in his eyes as he wondered how or when Billy and Trini both learned possibly life-saving measures. He wanted to make sure all the Rangers were as capable as these two turned out to be.
Within minutes, Kimberly started to cough violently. Her body instinctively curled up as she took in harsh, uncontrolled breaths. "Kim!" Tommy said, getting behind her on the table and holding her still lest she fall off the table. "You're ok, Beautiful. Take short, slow breaths," he instructed, his experience getting the wind knocked out of him during his early karate classes surfacing. As he spoke, Billy removed the initial apparatus and gently placed a more traditional oxygen mask over Kim's head.
"This should help," Billy said kindly.
Kim weakly tried to sit up. Tommy noticed and helped her up, then felt her fall into his chest, resting her head on his shoulder as her body relaxed, nearly asleep propped against him. Not that he minded in the least. He looked up at his team. "You guys did great out there," he told them. "Go ahead and get some rest. I can take it from here."
"From the looks of things, I don't think you could go anywhere if you wanted to," Zack teased his friend.
"I'll stay here and continue to monitor Kimberly's condition, but I agree with Tommy's sentiments," Billy added. "Gravedigger was a formidable enemy." The remaining Rangers wished Tommy a speedy recovery for Kim and made him promise to call them with any updates or changes. After they teleported, Tommy held onto Kim, closed his eyes, and breathed his own sigh of relief.
Later, after Kimberly woke up and Tommy swore on their behalf that Kim would take it easy for the next 24 hours, he found himself on Kim's front steps, holding her hands. "I don't like the thought of leaving your side, even just for tonight," Tommy quietly confessed.
Kimberly, despite standing a step above him, still had to look up to look into his eyes. "What if you didn't have to?"
Tommy's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"My mom is gone for all of today and tomorrow. She told me I was free to invite Trini over. And, well, your name sorta sounds like hers," she winked at her boyfriend, finally pulling away from him to unlock her front door. "Listen Handsome, do you think you could stand to be apart long enough so I can shower? I've got dirt in places I don't even wanna think about."
"Uh, sure."
"Great. While I'm gone, make sure you call Trini and Jason."
"Jason?"
"Uh, yeah. Where else were you going to tell your parents you were staying tonight?" Kimberly pointed out on her way to her bathroom.
Tommy, not for the first time, felt intimidated around Kim. He might be a fourth degree black belt and leader of the Power Rangers, but Kim had social graces and the ability to think on her feet like he never could. He made brief calls to both Trini and Jason, explained their situation and asked for their assistance, which they readily gave. After he assured Jason nothing indecent would happen that night, and assured his mother he would thank the Scotts for their last-minute hospitality, Tommy finally had a minute to process the day's tumultuous events. In the span of hours he'd playfully argued with the girl of his dreams about what movie they should see, aforementioned girl was taken from him, was buried alive, and was rescued only just in time. Lord Zedd had a malicious side to him that made Tommy's blood run cold.
Tommy looked up from his brooding on the living room couch to see Kim standing in the doorway, dressed in a pink shirt and white shorts, watching him. She smiled and made her way to him but stumbled slightly and put her hand to her head. Tommy was off the couch and by her side to steady her in an instant. "Are you ok, Kim? Maybe we should go back to the Command Center."
"No, I'll be fine. Billy warned me about this. The hot shower combined with low blood sugar and oxygen deprivation might make me lightheaded. It should go away by tomorrow."
Tommy took a moment to wrap his arms around Kim and kiss her forehead. "I was so worried about you, Kim. First you were kidnapped and I couldn't do anything, then I found out this psycho monster had actually buried you alive, and then I did find you, only you weren't breathing…" Tommy tightened his grip on his girlfriend. "I felt so helpless."
"Oh Tommy, that's why we're a team. No one expects you to win every battle, not without the help of your friends. There are six of us fighting together for a reason. Besides," Kim reassured him, "you were the one who actually found where I was. And I hardly thought of anyone else while I was in there the entire time. I knew you'd find me, Tommy," Kimberly whispered. "I never doubted you for a second. You'll always be my knight in white armor."
Tommy kissed Kim on the lips, cradling her face, breaking apart when her stomach growled. "Come on, Princess. You need to eat, and then it's off to bed with you."
"Will you stay with me, Tommy?"
Tommy smiled at Kimberly. "Always, Beautiful."