Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Dino Thunder or any characters used in this story.

Author's note: This takes place after Fighting Spirit.

Distant Friends

Dr. Anton Mercer stood near the lake that took up most of his front lawn. The spot was peaceful and calm, one of his favorite places to think. He often came out here when he needed a break from work or when trying to control Mesogog became too stressful, something which had been happening more and more lately. If he did not find a way to rid himself of the creature soon…

"Hey, Anton," a cheerful voice from behind interrupted his thoughts.

He turned around to look at the approaching figure. "Tommy."

Tommy Oliver, his old employee, smiled warmly. "I heard you took over my class while I was away. I just wanted to come by and thank you."

"You're feeling better I hope?" Anton did not mention the fact that he knew the real reason why his friend had not been at work for so many weeks.

"Yes."

"I'm sure the students are glad to have you back."

Tommy shrugged. Modest as always. Anton admired that about him. "They seemed happy enough. Ethan told me about your homework," the younger man chuckled. "Seriously though, Anton, how did you like teaching?"

Dr. Mercer shook his head and sighed. "The standards are not what they used to be. There were times I only wished the academic system had a grade below an F." His tone was serious, but his face held the smallest hint of a smile.

His friend laughed and patted him on the shoulder as he turned his head towards the lake. "You're too harsh, Anton," he said. "On other people. But most of all on yourself." After several moments of silence, he continued, "I know Trent's been worried about you lately. He wasn't specific, but he said you were under a lot of stress because of a certain project."

Anton's head started to hurt. He could feel Mesogog trying to break through and brought a hand to his forehead in an attempt to fight him off. After a few moments, the pain subsided, and he was in complete control once again. Of course, his companion had noticed something was wrong.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I just need to sit down for a moment." He moved towards a table with two lawn chairs and invited Tommy to join him. "I suppose the stress has been getting to me."

"Have you thought about taking a vacation? Getting out a little more? It might do you some good."

Anton chuckled at the other man's concern. "I'll consider it once my work allows." He knew he should send Tommy away in case his alter ego tried to surface again, but it felt good to have a conversation with an old friend. He did not want it to end so soon. Besides, this was as good a chance as any to discuss his son's current performance in school. "So, how is Trent doing in class?"

"He's been working very hard. His grades are almost back to where they were before those, uh, personal problems arose a few weeks ago."

"That's good," Anton nodded. He could sense Tommy search his face, probably wondering how much he knew or suspected of his son's experience with the evil dino gem and the Power Rangers. His companion would not learn anything however. The scientist's expression remained unreadable.

"I know he wants to make you proud," Tommy continued. Perhaps a trace of guilt had slipped past Anton's firm exterior after all.

Dr. Mercer closed his eyes for a moment. "I've made so many mistakes, Tommy." The words slipped out before he even knew what he was saying, a sure sign that the pressure really was getting to him.

"We all do. And being a parent isn't easy."

"No, it's not. But…"

"But you've always wanted what's best for your son. I know that. Trent knows that. Sometimes you may not have gone about it in the right way, but your intentions were good."

Anton said nothing. He was rather uncomfortable that Tommy had been able to read him so well and that he was even admitting so much of his feelings in the first place. Perhaps he was only slipping because fighting off Mesogog a few minutes ago had drained quite a bit of his energy. Or maybe it was because they had known each other for years.

Dr. Oliver had been too gentle in his judgment of a friend however. Anton could not look back on many of his decisions in the past few months with pride. Taking over Hayley's Cyber Café had been a mistake. He knew that now. So had his attempts to train Trent to take over the company. But Anton Mercer did have the best of intentions. He wanted to prepare his son in case Mesogog took complete control of his body. He wanted to know that Trent would be safe from his father's curse, that he would be alright without him. And if he were honest with himself, he would admit that he wanted Trent to have a respectable career that would honor the family name. Most of all, Anton knew he could never forgive himself if anything happened to his son.

The look of worry returned to Tommy's face. Dr. Mercer knew from experience that his friend was always more concerned about the welfare of others than about himself. He knew what Tommy would say next. "You know that I'm always here if you need my help for anything?"

"Of course. I appreciate it." His companion's sincerity was touching. But how could he tell him? How could he tell him that he was responsible for the evil that now threatened the world? That he was too weak to stop it?

"Anton," Tommy brought him out of his reverie once again. "I can see you have a lot on your mind right now. I hope it all works out for you, but try and take it easy, okay? Even you can't solve all the world's problems on your own."

Dr. Mercer had to smile at that. "I have to try."

"You know, we never did have that talk about some of our old experiments… But now clearly isn't the time for it. There are some things I want to show you. When you're under less stress of course. For now, though, I'd better get going. Lesson plans, you know."

"It was good seeing you, Tommy. I hope we can do this again once I am successful in my current project." Anton got up to shake his colleague's hand and see him off.

He watched Tommy walk away. Guilt once again plagued his mind. Would his friend ever be able to forgive him? He did not have much time to dwell on this as his head began to hurt once again, and the pain became unbearable. A few moments later, Dr. Anton Mercer had disappeared from his property.

The End