Dangerous path

Author's note, this takes place after the rangers met Rocky, Adam, and Aisha, but before the three of them became power rangers.

Zedd's palace

Lord Zedd sat on his throne and stared moodily down at the planet below. Not only had he not been able to demolish the Power Rangers, he could not even get rid of one miserable teen.

Tommy Oliver, the accursed former Green Ranger, had returned as the White Ranger. Zedd wanted nothing more than to be rid of the teen. "Damn Zordon, anyway," Zedd growled "Anyone with half a brain would have gotten rid of him the first time he lost his powers."

"My Lord?" Goldar asked, glancing up from where he sat polishing his sword.

"Be quiet," Zedd snapped back at his henchman, "unless you know how to get rid of that miserable White Ranger."

Goldar lay the sword across his knees and contemplated that for several moments. "Too bad you can't make the other Rangers hate him"

Zedd looked at the winged baboon almost in shock. That might actually be do-able. A spell to make Tommy the object of ridicule from his own friends.

Angel Grove Park

Tommy Oliver couldn't believe his rotten luck. First, he had forgotten to set his alarm the night before, which then led to his being late getting up. He had started his homework only to lose track of time.

He had realized with a start that he was late for the picnic. Tommy's friends had talked about nothing else the entire week. He rushed out the door at a dead run for the park.

Now, however, he was fighting a group of Z-Putties at the edge of the park. Trying desperately to get a chance to call his friends, but not even getting a breather. That was just his rotten luck.

The last of the Putties finally vanquished, Tommy stood for a moment catching his breath. "What was that all about?" he muttered under his breath. Breaking into a run, he hurried to meet his friends.

He took off at a run hoping they wouldn't be too mad at him. He came around a tree and spotted his friends, the five other Rangers. Sometimes Tommy couldn't believe they were his friends; he kept expecting something to happen.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Zedd sent down a bunch of Putties," Tommy said as he jogged up.

"You're such a loser! Late for everything." Jason Lee Scott snapped back. "I can't believe Zordon chose such a lame brain leader over me."

Tommy stared at his best friend unable to comprehend what he was hearing. This was Jason, his friend who had fought so hard to help Tommy keep the Green Ranger powers, and the one who had spent hours talking to him when Tommy had needed a friend.

"We should go someplace else for our picnic," Zack Taylor snarled. "Something smells here."

"Geez, don't you ever take a shower?" Kimberly Hart asked in a snarky tone. Tommy stared at her, his jaw dropping. Kim was his first girlfriend.

"Okay, very funny! You guys tease me for being late!" Tommy laughed and moved to hug Kim. She slapped him across the face so hard that his head actually rocked back. "Kim?" Tommy whispered hurt reflected in his dark eyes.

"Why don't you abscond, Neanderthal?" Billy Cranston snapped.

"Yeah, get lost." Trini Kwan snapped

Tommy stood there confused and hurt while his friends walked off laughing, as if they had just told the biggest joke. Tommy sank to his knees and watched them go. Tears were streaming down his face.

Finally feeling more alone than he ever had, he headed for home, hoping that time would make things better.

Time did not make things better. Three days later, Tommy had tried apologizing. He had tried everything he could, but the other Rangers either ignored him or ridiculed him by turns.

Tommy stood by his locker watching the girl who had shattered his heart talking with Jason. Kim turned and saw Tommy watching her. She turned back to Jason and said something Tommy couldn't hear.

He felt his breath catch in his throat when Jason bent and kissed the petite girl passionately. Kim wrapped her arms around Jason's neck and kissed Jason right back. Tommy slammed his locker so hard it bounced back open and he fled, blinded by the tears streaming down his face. He ran until his legs gave out in the park. He lay sobbing until there were no tears left.

A six note chime made him look up and wipe his tears away. He answered the communicator. "What?"

"Tommy, is anything amiss? The command center's sensors indicated you were in some sort of distress," Zordon's voice said with concern.

Tommy didn't want to rat the other Rangers out, so he lied through his teeth. "I have a toothache so it's been a bad day."

"Do you require anything?"

"No. I'm just going home to tell my parents I need to see a dentist. If that's all, I need to get going," Tommy disconnected and then he headed home. Not to talk to his parents, but to grab some stuff. He could not stay in Angel Grove any longer.

After he had packed a few things, Tommy headed out of town. Stopping on the outskirts of town, he pulled his morpher out. Sobbing so hard he could barely see what he was doing, Tommy wrapped his communicator around the morpher and hit the teleportation button. The whole package would land in the command center. That done, he took off at a run. He didn't watch or pay attention to what direction he was going in. All he wanted was to get away from the spot he had sent the morpher from. It would be the first place Zordon would scan.

He stopped running only when a stitch in his side told him it was time to slow down. Even then, he still kept moving and putting one foot in front of the other while sobs still shook his frame. He was so preoccupied with his grief that he barely noticed the board. Tommy stepped up on to it without a thought and that was when he heard a sound like a gunshot. At first he didn't know what it was, frowning he looked around. Was someone hunting out here? The second crack was unmistakable.

The board broke in two and Tommy cried out in fear as he plummeted straight down. When he hit the bottom of the old well the board had been covering, he broke both legs. Tommy didn't cry out this time, he screamed in agony. The world went white as he grayed out. When he came to, Tommy began to gasp his heart rate shooting through the roof. For several minutes he just sat there hunched against a wall. –Call Zordon– he had brought his wrist to his mouth before remembering he sent his communicator back. "Tell me this isn't happening." He groaned.

The other Rangers had gathered in the youth center after school. "Did you see his face!" Kimberly was saying to Jason, who was nodding with a grin. "I don't think he even showed up to class today. He must have ran off in tears right after that! What a loser!"

A six note chime interrupted the laughter at the table and the five teens with a sigh moved to the locker area of the center. "What's up, Zordon?" Jason asked into his communicator as the others gathered around him.

"Teleport to the command center immediately," the ancient sage's voice came back.

"Tommy isn't here. The idiot's gone off on his own again. Some leader he is," Jason stated. There was a pause from the other end before Zordon responded.

"Jason, I am aware that Tommy isn't with you. The five of you need to teleport to the command center now, please." The five Rangers looked at each other and with a shrug teleported to the command center.

When they arrived in the command center, they found Alpha darting from one computer panel to another letting out a constant "Aye yi yi!" Jason caught the robot by his shoulders.

"Alpha? What's wrong?"

"Rangers," Zordon boomed down before the small robot could answer. "Did Tommy say anything to indicate he was upset?"

The five teens looked at each other and smiles broke out over their faces. Jason snickered, "Has poor Tommy been crying to you? What a freaking baby! Some leader!"

A look of confusion and concern crossed the ancient sage's face, "Tommy is your friend, Jason."

"Yeah, right. Like I would ever be friends with such a crybaby," Jason said with a laugh, yet something was bothering him. A voice in his head was telling him they had been friends. Jason tried to ignore it, but it clamored to be heard. Jason leaned against a console, "Come on, Zordon, you know I wouldn't be Tommy's friend! I mean the guy couldn't even keep his powers."

"If he isn't your friend, how come you risked your life to try and save those powers?" Alpha asked.

A memory surfaced in Jason's mind, fighting Goldar to try and get to the green candle. It was followed by another, memories of fighting alongside Tommy when he had been the Green Ranger, memories of Tommy now in White risking everything for Jason. There were other memories, too. Not Ranger memories, but memories of sparring together. Working on homework and good-naturedly joking with Tommy about his terrible memory.

Jason shuddered, trying to push the memories away. He wasn't friends with a loser. –Yes, you are! Remember!– The part of him that was fighting the spell surged forward. Jason's knees buckled as his hands pressed to his temples. "No!" He growled, "Stop it! Get out of my head!"

Confused, the other Rangers gathered around the Red Ranger. Jason felt Kim touch his arm and it was the crutch he needed. He felt control slip and then finally fade as a rush of light washed over him. Jason stood, whirled around and grabbed the Pink Ranger by her shoulders. "Kim, Tommy's your boyfriend, remember? Think about the times you've spent together. Remember the dance? Remember when he kissed you for the first time? Come on, Kimberly! Think!"

Kimberly blinked, staring at Jason. She put a hand to her head. "I remember that he had just lost the Green Ranger powers for the first time. I was... I…" Her voice faded and her eyes went wild in amazement. "Oh, my god! What did we do?"

Jason whirled then grabbed Billy by his shoulders. "Billy! Think! Think about all the times Tommy helped you against Bulk and Skull! Remember! Think! Tommy is our friend!" Jason didn't stop there. He approached Zack, who took a nervous step back. "Zack, remember when Tommy gave you his shield and took a hit for you? Why would he do that if we hated him? WHY?"

The Blue and Black Rangers looked at each other and horror-struck expressions slowly spread across their faces. "Trini," Kim said to her best friend. "Tommy told me you begged for another way when he offered to sacrifice himself to save the rest of us. Why would you have done that? Remember how he went to get the power coins back? He was nearly killed!"

Trini's mouth opened and closed a couple of times. Light flashed around the room, pulsated and vanished. "What did we do?" Trini whispered echoing Kimberly's words of a few minutes ago. "We practically bullied him."

"Negative. We did bully him," Billy punched one hand into his palm, something they had all seen Tommy do when he was frustrated over something. "We have to find him!"

"And fast," Kimberly said softly, "before he does something permanent."

"Permanent?" Zack shook his head, "Nah, he wouldn't hurt himself would he?"

Kimberly swallowed hard. Jason put a hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing it. "Tommy told me and Kim something in confidence. We promised not to tell anyone, but if he's in real danger..." Jason trailed off.

"Just before the Oliver's moved here, Tommy tried to kill himself. He'd been called horrible names since the start of junior high, then someone murdered his dog. If his uncle hadn't come over when he did, we would have never even met him. The Oliver's moved here in part so Tommy could start over. He thought about doing it again when the spell broke, but then we were there offering friendship. He thought maybe this time things would be different."

"And then we turned on him," Zack whirled towards Zordon. "We have to find him!"

"Unfortunately, he teleported his communicator and morpher back here." Alpha sounded distressed. "The computer can find him, but it will take some time."

Zordon said, "Perhaps the five of you should try and find him. We do know the location he teleported them from, so we will start there. Remember, time is of the essence. We must find the White Ranger before anything happens to him!" The Rangers looked at each other and teleported away, after getting Tommy's last known location.

–

Lord Zedd watched the happenings on Earth with great amusement. He expected Tommy to react badly to his friends suddenly turning on him, but hadn't expected him to run away. It was perfect! Not only had Tommy been ostracized by the Rangers, now he was alone and in danger. Zedd chuckled. Tommy Oliver would soon cease to be a problem for Zedd. As cold as it was getting on Earth, he wouldn't survive the night given the injuries that prevented him from escaping.

–Unless those pesky rangers find him– "Goldar!" Zedd yelled. "Get down there and cover that well up! Make sure it can't be seen!"

"Yes, my Lord," Goldar said then teleported down to Earth.

–

Tommy had lost all track of time. All he knew was night was rapidly approaching and he was beginning to shiver. He tried to climb out, using his broken legs as little as possible. Time and time again, he had fallen back down. Now he was exhausted and his legs throbbed painfully while his hands were covered in welts. Tommy rocked back and forth trying to push the pain away and attempting to think of a plan.

"Green Ranger!" Goldar's voice called down into the well. Tommy slowly looked up. He could see the winged baboon looking down at him. "Zedd sends his regards."

"What do you want," Tommy yelled back defiantly, "You dimwitted excuse for a henchman!"

Goldar laughed. "You know, Tommy. We didn't expect the spell to work this well. We didn't expect you to die, but you're going to anyway. So, good-bye Green Ranger."

Tommy tried to pull himself to his feet, and climb the wall. Even as he did, he saw the planks that Goldar had gathered. The winged baboon begin to place them over the opening. As the last of them was laid down, Tommy did the only thing his panicked mind could think to do: he began to cry, slumping down on to the earth. Goldar was right. He was going to die. With the hole covered, no one would ever find him. "Zordon, please. Find me please."

–

Rocky DeSantos parked his jeep on a rise and turned to his friends. "Exactly why are we out here? It's getting dark."

"Science class," Adam Park reached behind him into the back seat and snagged his jacket. "I didn't expect it to be so cold, though. It's practically freezing! Aisha, are you warm enough?"

The third member of their group, Aisha Campbell didn't even look up. She was looking off to the right of the road with a frown on her face. The boys turned and looked in the direction she was staring in. Instantly they were on the alert. "What's he doing here?" Aisha asked with a scowl. Although not Rangers themselves, the three were the only humans who knew the Rangers' identities.

A minute later, they saw Goldar vanish. "Do you think we should contact Tommy?" Aisha asked with a frown. Goldar could only mean trouble. Rocky shook his head in the negative and got the flashlight he kept in the glove compartment.

"Let's check it out first. Call him when we have something concrete rather than just 'Goldar was standing in a field.'" Together the three of them made their way over to where Goldar had been. There was nothing there except a few weeds, part of what had once been a fence and some random garbage. They spent fifteen minutes walking up and down the area, but none of them could see anything that would interest Zedd's main toady.

"I don't get it," Adam was saying for the hundredth time "Maybe he took whatever it was. In any case, we should call the Rangers."

"Quiet." Aisha said suddenly, her brown eyes going wide. "I thought I heard something."

The boys looked at each other. They hadn't heard anything. After a pause, Rocky spoke, "I don't hear anything."

Aisha held her hand out for silence. "Hello?" She yelled into the night. There was nothing but silence for a minute, then Rocky and Adam heard it too.

A weak voice. "Help. Please. PLEASE!"

The three of them exchanged a look and went back to searching, calling now and then to the unseen person. It was Rocky who eventually found the boards, nearly tripping over them in the dark. He yanked them to one side, knowing the person who was calling under them. Rocky peered into the opening, unable to make anything out but shadows. He held the flashlight over the well. "Oh my god! TOMMY!"

"Rocky." Tommy looked up at the three of them, his face covered in dirt. The only white spots were where the tracks off tears had washed it away. His eyes were red from crying, Rocky could see as much even from so far above him.

"We'll get help," Aisha called down. "We'll get help. You'll be alright."

"T-th-the R-r-an-an-g-gers. S-p-sp-spell. T-te-tell Z-ord-ordon." Tommy's teeth were chattering so hard he could hardly speak. Rocky started to take his jacket off to drop it to their friend. Adam put a hand on Rocky's shoulder stopping him.

Rocky looked at him confused, "Aisha, can you go back to the jeep and get the blanket?"

She ran off and returned a few minutes later with not only the blanket, but the bottled water Rocky had brought with him as well as a couple of candy bars she found in the glove compartment. Carefully Adam dropped each item down into the hole. "Hang on, Tommy! We'll get help."

Zedd watched this development with growing rage. Those three pests were going to ruin his plans! Well, he couldn't have that, could he? A few Putties would take care of them.

Adam took the flashlight from Rocky and shone it down into the well. Tommy didn't look good, but they had no way to get to him. "I'll stay here while you two get some help.

That was when a group of Z-Putties appeared around the hole. The three teens were on their feet in an instant. There was barely time enoughfor Rocky to yell, "Remember to aim for the Z!" before the Putties were on them. The three of them found themselves driven away from the hole, while Tommy could only listen to the fight from below. He was too weak to try and climb out.

The three teens fought with grim determination, but the sheer number of Putties overwhelmed them. Aisha went down on her back with an "Oof!". A hand closed over her arm, pulling her up. "Hey, Aisha," Billy said ducking under a swing from a Putty. "Need some help?"

Aisha looked around and wasn't completely surprised to see the rest of the Power Rangers fighting the Putties. She grinned at the genius and threw herself back into the fray. With eight very pissed off martial artists fighting the Putties, the fight was soon ended. When the last Putty disappeared, they stood for a moment gasping to catch their breaths. "What was that about?" Zack asked looking over at Adam, Rocky and Aisha.

"Probably trying to keep us from getting help for Tommy." Rocky growled, his brown eyes went wide suddenly. "Hey, he said you guys are under a spell!"

"We were under a spell," Kimberly said flatly, "but we broke it. Where's Tommy?"

Quickly they led the Rangers to the well. The White Ranger was huddled in a ball wrapped in a blanket at the bottom.

Tommy was trying desperately not to fall asleep. He had an idea that sleeping now would be very bad. He was so cold, even with the thin blanket his friends had thrown down to him. He could hear the sounds of fighting above him, but it seemed so far away and distant. A voice spoke from near his shoulder and Tommy forced himself to look. A small creature the size of a bee stood there.

It looked like a teddy bear, but it had horns growing out of it. "Tommy, you know they don't care about you." The creature hissed. Tommy blinked at it. This had to be his mind playing tricks on him. "No one wants you. You're useless. No one cares about you, Tommy. The Oliver's only care about their real child. Your friends were never your friends."

"It's a spell," Tommy muttered slowly due to the cold "and Mom and Dad love me."

The bear laughed, throwing back its head. It moved again until it was whispering into Tommy's ear. "You know better than that. No one wants you. You know that, right? Think about it. Why would your friends have turned on you? If they were really your friends to begin with."

"A spell," Tommy whispered, but he began to feel uncertain. There was a doubt in his soul. What if it wasn't a spell? What if they had really turned on him? It wouldn't be the first time he had been asked to be friends with someone only to have it turn out to be a cruel joke. Tears sprang to his eyes. This wasn't happening! He was so cold and so alone! Where were the others?

"Tommy, you know they're not under a spell. Goldar lies remember?" The bear's voice was cajoling, "Just let go. Use this" it said as something was pressed into Tommy's hand. He looked down at the object and wasn't very surprised to see a long sharp dagger. The bear continued talking to him, telling him how easy it would be. Tommy felt himself beginning to waver.

Slowly he put the knife against his wrist. "I promised my parents I wouldn't." He managed to choke out between the sobs that were shaking him. Despite this, he was holding the knife pretty steady.

"Your parents don't care. The Rangers don'-URK!" This last was said as a large rock landed right on the thing's head driving it into the ground. "That," Jason called down, "is quite enough of that!"

Tommy slowly looked up at the opening and felt his heart sink. The Rangers were all gathered around the opening of the well. Tears were flowing freely down his face. Well, soon he wouldn't have to hurt anymore. Soon he wouldn't have to feel anything anymore. He began to drag the knife across his skin.

There was a flash of red light as Jason teleported down into the well. It was a tight fit but he managed it. He yanked the knife out of Tommy's hand and threw it. "Tommy, stop it! We broke Zedd's spell! We love you. All of us. Stop!"

The voice broke through some of Tommy's hurt and confusion. He was shuddering from head to toe. "You told me I was worthless." He tried to push away from the arms that were now encircling him, twisting against Jason's chest. Jason pulled his friend tight against him.

"I know, Tommy. I know, bro. You're not worthless, though. You're strong and a great listener and worth every bit of my time. You're my best friend and I need you. Kimberly needs you. Please, bro!" Tommy could feel Jason's tears wetting his hair. That more than anything convinced Tommy that Jason was genuinely sorry for what had been done. Tommy relaxed slowly, leaning back against the Red Ranger. "Let's go home, Tommy."

"Home." Tommy whispered. "Yeah, home."

A week later.

Alpha had taken care of Tommy's broken ankles with very little trouble and Tommy's friends had taken turns making sure he was never alone for very long. He spent most of the day after his rescue sleeping on a cot in the Command Center. He woke occasionally with a bad dream, but found Kimberly there to comfort him. When he had gone home, his parents had been there. They were worried and upset about Tommy's disappearance, which made Tommy feel better.

Jason had gone to the Oliver's fully morphed and told Tommy's parents that he had been helping the Power Rangers. That kept Tommy from being grounded for a month. Tommy also had a long talk with his parents, telling them for the first time how afraid he was that now that his mom was pregnant that they wouldn't want their adopted child. They didn't tell him his fears were stupid or had belittled him in any way. They had listened, contrary to what Tommy's fears of what would happen.

"Tommy, we uchose/u you," Jack Oliver had stated, while wrapping Tommy in a hug. "You are my son not by blood, but where it counts the most: in my heart. It doesn't matter that you're adopted. All that matters is we love you and we always will."

Now Tommy was sitting alone on Lookout Point staring down over the edge. He was thinking that it was quite a drop down, but was surprised to find that his next thought wasn't about jumping off of it. He thought it might be fun to learn how to base jump and come up here with a parachute at some point. He smiled at the thought and wondered if the other Rangers would think he was still suicidal if he suggested it.

"Tommy!" Jason's voice made him look up. Jason and Kimberly both hurried up to him looking worried. "Don't!"

"Don't what?" Tommy got to his feet and went to meet his friends. Kimberly flung herself at him, "Hey, beautiful. Don't worry. I'm not thinking about jumping or anything!"

He led them over to where he had been sitting and sat back down. He pointed out to the view and the other two could see how beautiful it was. Tommy smiled, looking from one to the other. He heard the sound of teleportation and the rest of the Rangers slowly sat down beside them. Tommy sighed, not a mournful sigh now, but one of simple happiness. For the first time in his life he really believed he had friends.

The end