"Wrongs are often forgiven, but contempt never is. Our pride remembers it forever." — Lord Chesterfield
"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible," — Voltaire
"I say a murder is abstract. You pull the trigger and after that you do not understand anything that happens." — Jean-Paul Sartre
--
Oltre a Vita e Morte
Chapter 2 – "And So It Begins"
Original Posting Date: July 19, 2008
The smile on Pravus' face grew greedy as he looked at the sixteen Rangers standing before him, no one in the group with even the slightest clue as to what was in store for them. Saying nothing he paced back and forth in front of them, his tunic billowing in the wind. The Rangers were forced to watch on helplessly, waiting for Pravus to inevitably make his move. It came moments later when he finally stopped, his back turned to the Rangers as he gazed up at the night sky with his arms held high above his head.
Swirling rapidly around them, the wind began to gain more and more speed; if Tommy hadn't had his arm secured firmly around Kimberly's waist, she would have been knocked over easily. As it was, even the heaviest of the male Rangers were finding it difficult to maintain their footing in the ever stiffening wind. Those with significant others held onto them for dear life as the eyes of Pravus slowly rolled to the back of his head.
"Prepare yourselves, Rangers!" Pravus shouted, the wind presenting no competition to his booming voice. Methodically, he turned around to face them. Some of the Rangers gasped in horror when they saw the blankness in the whites of his eyes; others simply looked away. "The first stage of the tournament begins now!"
A sudden sense of queasiness started to plague the Rangers, the wind continuing to pick up until they were surrounded by a cyclone of sand that lifted them off of their feet. Violently tossing the Rangers about, the cyclone caused them to unwittingly barrel into one another; chorusing groans of pain echoed throughout their sandy prison, no one able to see more than a few inches in front of their faces.
As the cyclone reached the cliff's edge, instead of falling to the earth below it exploded upwards, carrying the Rangers to God knows where. When it finally stopped the Rangers crashed down hard, spitting out mouthfuls of sand. At first they assumed it to be from the cyclone, but as they started to get their bearings they realized that they were on a beach, perhaps the most beautiful beach any of them had ever seen before.
"Looks like we're the only ones here," commented Wes as he and the rest of the Rangers took in their surroundings. Outside of themselves, the beach was void of all life; behind them, a gorgeous two-story villa stood in solidarity, looming overhead.
"Where in the world are we?" asked Madison, looking around in confusion.
Eric scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Definitely not in Kansas, sweetheart."
"Hey, don't call my girlfriend 'sweetheart!'" Nick interjected. Getting in Eric's face, he pushed the Quantum Ranger in the chest. Taking a step back, Eric looked at Nick and laughed, shaking his head.
"I'm gonna give you three seconds to get out of here before I hurt you, kid," muttered Eric, shoving Nick's shoulder. Proceeding to ignore the Red Mystic Ranger, Eric turned his head to whisper something to Taylor.
"No, I'm not gonna let you push us around just because you've been a Ranger longer. I don't know who you think you are, but that shit isn't going to fly with me!" Nick returned, staring at the unflinching side of Eric's face. The explosive crack that followed caused the Rangers to gasp in shock. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, dammit!"
Pressing his palm to his forehead, a disbelieving Tommy lowered his eyes to the ground, shaking his head. "That kid just made the biggest mistake of his entire life," he murmured to Kimberly.
"You can say that again. He is sooo dead," added Taylor, secretly wanting to see Eric beat the holy hell out of Nick.
The tournament hadn't even started yet and already the Rangers were being pitted against each other. Anticipation settled over the Rangers as they waited for Eric to retaliate. Refusing to give Nick the satisfaction that his slap had stung, Eric stood with balled fists as he slowly looked up at the young man. "You just fucked yourself," he said simply.
Grabbing Nick by the collar of his shirt, Eric tossed him effortlessly across the beach. By the time Nick had landed face down in the sand, Eric was already halfway to him. The Quantum Ranger only managed one punch before Andros, Carter, Tommy, and Wes intervened and pulled him away, but Eric had made sure that his lone strike counted. Even with four grown men—Ranger men at that— holding him back, Eric still tried struggling; he wanted to get his hands on Nick and give the kid a nice long lesson in respecting his elders.
Madison and Xander were quick to Nick's side, staring angrily at Eric who returned their looks with a half-cocked smirk as the four men drug him away. Groaning in pain, Nick refused any help from his friends; slow to stand, he was already showing the beginnings of a dark circle around his right eye where Eric's punch had landed.
"Hey man, you alright?" asked Jack. Coming to Nick's side he tried to get a decent look at Nick's eye, but the Red Mystic Ranger was now using his hand to cover it. "That was a nasty hit you took there."
"I'm fine," Nick grumbled, turning to see Eric in a conversation with the four male Rangers who had saved him from an even bigger beat down. "He'll get his in the tournament."
As if on cue there was another thunderous crack, this time from actual thunder rumbling up above. The ocean waves that had once been peaceful instantly came to life, crashing hard against the shoreline as Pravus appeared before the Rangers. Having seen what took place between Eric and Nick, he smiled wickedly. Already they were fighting amongst themselves; his plan couldn't have been going any better.
Walking in front of the Rangers, looking to each of them individually, Pravus came to a stop in front of Eric who stood between Taylor and Wes. "You have anger, Rangers; that's good," he spoke, continuing down the line until he reached Nick at the end. "You have aggression; that's even better," he added, disappearing. He reappeared a moment later; standing before the group, he took them in as a whole. "Your lives depend on your ability to fight, but they also depend on a number of other things: intelligence, tenacity, experience, speed…"
Flicking his wrist, Pravus created a black line in front of the Rangers. Again he disappeared, this time standing at a distance roughly that of a football field away. Still, his voice reached the Rangers just as clear as if he was only feet away from them. "Rangers, you will race each other to determine your positions in the tournament," he started. It was then that the Rangers realized they were no longer dressed as they had been in Angel Grove, and were now garbed in athletic clothes and shoes that corresponded to their various Ranger colors. "And the winners will be rewarded handsomely! On my signal…"
Immediately, the sixteen Rangers dropped into ready positions behind the line. Taking deep breaths as he prepared to run for his life, Tommy turned his head to Kimberly. "If you can, try and finish somewhere between fifth and eighth place."
"Why?" asked Kimberly, furrowing her brow curiously.
"Just trust me. I don't have time to expl—"
"GO!" yelled Pravus.
With their lives hanging in the balance, each of the Rangers pushed themselves to run as hard as they possibly could. Tommy and Kimberly got a late start thanks to their side conversation, but were quick to gain ground on the other Rangers. They passed by Ronny and Madison with no problem, arriving on the heels Will shortly thereafter. Dana came next, then Xander, Carter, Taylor and Jack. At the halfway point of the race, they still had Nick, Andros, Wes, Jen, Eric, and Bridge left to contend with.
Pushing themselves to new levels, Tommy and Kimberly blew by Nick and Andros. As they arrived at the side of the Time Force couple, Wes and Jen, Kimberly remembered what Tommy had said to her. She didn't know why, because doing so meant losing the race, but for some reason she decided to take his advice
Approaching the finish line, she slowed her pace and allowed Wes and Jen to pass her up. Then Andros reappeared next to her; when he left her behind Kimberly kicked it back into high gear, knowing only that she needed to finish between fifth and eighth place.
Tommy, however, was planning on winning this race by any means necessary; if that meant an extra boost from an outside source, then so be it. Pumping his legs harder, he grasped his new Power Coin tightly in the palm of his hand. "Ninjetti Falcon!" he yelled instinctively. A bright flash of white light accompanied the morph as the familiar white robes settled over his body. "Ninjetti Streak!"
With the added boost of speed, Tommy became nothing more than a blur of pure white as he zoomed passed Eric and Bridge with ease, crossing the finish line a good five seconds before SPD's Blue Ranger. Eric finished in third place, followed by Jen, Wes, Andros, Kimberly, and Nick to round out the top eight. As soon as Bridge had regained enough air to speak he was quick to contend Tommy's finish to Pravus. "He used his powers. That's cheating."
Pravus let out an amused chuckle. "Is it? I don't recall saying that the use of one's powers was forbidden in this race. When I told you what it would take to win this tournament, you obviously didn't listen when I said intelligence. No rules were broken, therefore Tommy is the winner," he proclaimed, looking to the White Ranger. "As such, you are allowed to choose who you wish to face in the first round, as well as which room you'd like to stay in for the remainder of your time in the tournament. The rest of you will follow in the order in which you finished the race."
"Wait, a room?" questioned Tommy, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, a room; did you not see the house upon your arrival?" asked Pravus in return. "When you are not competing, that is where you will stay for the duration of the tournament. You are the brave ones of your kind, Rangers, and for that you will be rewarded. You will find that the house is equipped with everything a human needs and more. However, I must urge you all, do not think of escape for if you try, you will pay with your life."
No more needed to be said; with a wave of his hand, Pravus disappeared along with Tommy who ended up in the kitchen of the villa, alone. If Tommy had learned anything in his tenure as a Ranger it was that one could never be too careful. He moved about the house defensively, ready to take down any would-be assailants at a moment's notice. Soon enough, though, he realized that he was the only one in the house.
Looking from room to room, he found that everything was decorated black. Beds, walls, dressers, doors; hell, even the toilets were black. Tommy would be hard pressed to find anything in the house that wasn't black in its deepest, darkest form. Since décor clearly wasn't an issue, he settled on the biggest room with the biggest bed; it was also the only room that had its own adjoining bathroom.
Oddly enough, as soon as he flopped down on the California King-sized bed everything changed from black to white. Letting out a chuckle, he prayed for his own sake that half of the room didn't turn pink when Kimberly joined him later on. Flipping over on his side, Tommy grabbed a remote control from the nightstand and used it to turn on the plasma television screen mounted on the wall; at the same time, he heard the pitter-patter of feet in the hallway followed by someone, most likely Bridge, trying to open the door to his room before moving on.
Reasoning that it could possibly be Kimberly, Tommy thought about getting up to open the door and check who it was, but dismissed those thoughts rather quickly. He'd only been in the house for five or ten minutes; having finished in seventh place, it was highly unlikely that Kimberly had even left the beach yet.
Out in the hallway, Bridge had found a room that he liked; he was about to go in when a firm hand landed on his shoulder and pulled him backwards. Stumbling against the wall, he saw that it was Eric who had done it. "This is my room," said the Quantum Ranger.
"What? No it's not, it's mine!" Bridge replied. He tried again to enter the room, but Eric used his arm to block the doorway. "Look, I don't want any trouble. I was here first so just let me have the room, okay?"
"Or what? You gonna go cry to Pravus like you did when Tommy smoked you earlier?" chuckled Eric, rubbing his hands against his eyes to imitate crying as he backpedaled into the room. As soon as he fell onto the Queen-sized bed, the room went from black to a deep shade of crimson. "See, even the walls and bedspread know that this is my room. Besides, this bed is for big boys and you ain't one of 'em, kid; I think I saw a room with a race car bed down the hall, though. You should go check it out."
Bridge opened his mouth to argue when the door, of its own accord, suddenly slammed shut in his face. Angrily, he stormed through the hallway in search of another room. Eventually he found one and, while it wasn't nearly as big as the one Eric had stolen from him, it was one of only two remaining rooms in the house with a single bed. He was on his way in when Jen stealthily slid passed him without a word, leaving Bridge staring at bright, wall-to-wall pink for just a moment before being met with another slamming door.
At a loss for words, Bridge could do little more than stare at the wooden barrier in complete ant utter disbelief. He didn't even hear Wes approaching, nor did he react until he heard the Red Time Force Ranger clear his throat.
"Huh?" asked Bridge, partially confused.
Wes rolled his eyes. "I said, is this room yours?"
"It was before your bitch of a wife took it," Bridge considered saying but, after seeing what Wes's friend had done to Nick, he was trying hard to remain in the good graces of the Silver Guardians. Unfortunately, Eric wasn't making that an easy task. "No, it's not. I, uh, I think Jen is in there."
"So is there a reason you're staring at my wife's bedroom then, or do you just make a habit of being a complete pervert?" Wes returned to Bridge's dismay.
Quickly, the Blue Ranger shook his head. "No, that's not what I was doing at all. You see, I was just trying to—"
"Get out of here," Wes growled. He didn't care what Bridge was doing; the kid gave him a creepy vibe and Wes didn't want him anywhere near Jen. Waiting until Bridge had turned to leave, Wes gave a quick wave to Andros—who had just arrived upstairs—before disappearing into the room he'd be sharing with his wife.
The Red Space and Blue SPD Rangers came to a head in front of the last remaining room with one bed. "Is this yo—" Andros started, only to be cut off by Bridge.
"Just take it," Bridge grumbled. Feeling absolutely defeated in every sense of the word he trudged towards the stairs, descending them at the same time that Kimberly was going up.
They passed by each other in silence; Bridge knew who she was, and though he'd often dreamed of meeting the original Rangers, he wasn't much in the mood for pleasantries. Entering a hallway of closed doors, Kimberly tried the first two and found that they were locked, but opened the third revealing a lounging Tommy.
"That was a pretty slick move you pulled out there," Kimberly murmured, a hint of pride in her voice that usually wouldn't have been there. Under these circumstances, however, she was more than willing to take any advantage they could get, even if that meant Tommy having to manipulate the rules in their favor.
"Thanks," Tommy replied as she crossed the room. Sure enough, when she laid down next to him half of the room turned pink; every single thing in the room was colored with white on the left and pink on the right. "I had a feeling that was going to happen."
Kimberly laughed lightly, tracing her fingertip up and down his tee-shirt covered chest. "So, Mr. Genius, care to tell me why I had to finish in a certain place earlier?"
"Because you finishing in the bottom half of the top eight means we won't have to worry about fighting each other until the end of the tournament," Tommy answered, chuckling at Kimberly's confused expression. Thinking that she might be able to understand him better if he had a diagram, Tommy flipped over and opened his nightstand drawer in search of a pen and pad. Ironically, those were the only two items in the drawer. "You've seen a tournament bracket before, like for playoffs in sports or something like that, right?"
"Yeah. I played soccer, remember?" Kimberly replied, still not understanding where this was going.
"Right, so think of this like a soccer tournament where our finish in the race determined our seeds," said Tommy, going to work on sketching a bracket. Drawing a line down the center of the page, he wrote his own name at the top followed by Bridge, Eric, and Jen in that order; on the other side were Wes, Andros, Kim, and Nick. Underneath each of their names were blank lines representing their yet to be determined opponents. "See what I'm talking about here; I have to win my side of the bracket and you have to win yours…"
"Which will give us plenty of time," finished Kimberly, alluding to that which she and Tommy had discussed upon Jason's death. Tears filled her eyes at the thought of her deceased friend. "I still can't believe he's really gone."
Tommy sighed, tucking her head under his chin as he pulled her close to him. "I know, sweetie; I can't believe it either. It hurts like hell to know that I'm never going to see my best friend again, but I know Jason and he wouldn't want us to cry over him. He'd want us to stay strong, support each other until the time comes for us to end this."
"I don't want Jason to have died in vain. We can't let that happen" Kimberly replied, holding onto Tommy with all her might. Knowing that what he'd said about Jason was true, Kimberly forced herself to hold her tears back for her friend.
"It won't, Beautiful," Tommy promised, gently stroking her back as he placed a soft kiss to her forehead.
--
In the room next to Tommy and Kimberly's, Carter and Dana Grayson lied atop the two full-sized beds they had been forced to push together. Neither had finished in the top eight, and had thus drawn the short end of the stick when it came to room selection. Though no one who had chosen an upstairs room was yet aware of it, there was a clear division between the two floors of the villa.
There was no intermingling between the veteran Rangers and their younger successors; the Mighty Morphin' through Wild Force Rangers occupied the top floor, while SPD through Operation Overdrive was downstairs. The division between them had been all but set in stone when Nick slapped Eric. It was a fact that Dana was none too thrilled about.
"Why are we doing this, Carter? I mean, what good can possibly come from it? We're really going to kill each other for what, a chance at living alone?" asked Dana, shaking her head.
"I don't like it anymore than you do, but Tommy has never let us down before. He'll come up with a way to get us out of this," Carter answered confidently, his steady voice never betraying his inner doubts. "For now, we just need to focus on staying alive and let the rest fall into place. Either way, nothing is going to split us apart, I promise."
Dana sighed in Carter's arms, her own doubts about the tournament clearly seeping through. Tilting her chin upwards with his finger Carter pressed his lips to Dana's, praying to God that he wasn't wrong about Tommy.
--
Downstairs, the mood of the younger Rangers was much different than that of their veteran predecessors. Thanks to Eric and Jen, Bridge was now being forced to share one of the two downstairs rooms with the remaining male Rangers. Then the men had found that their room only held four beds, one less than they needed.
"Well, at least the girls were nice enough to let us borrow one of their extra beds," commented Jack, backpedaling slowly as he and Nick carried a full-sized box spring through the hallway. Bridge followed behind them with the mattress, Will and Xander bringing up the rear with armfuls of pillows and bedding. "Which way do you want me to take this thing?"
"Swing it around and tilt it to your right," answered Nick. Angling the box spring on its side, the pair of Red Rangers brought it through the doorway and set it with the rest of the beds lining one of the walls. Bridge entered the room a few moments later, tossing the mattress on top of the box spring with an all-telling expression; he was still mad about what had happened with the veteran Rangers earlier.
"So, which one of you ladies is using the pink sheets?" Xander joked, throwing the sheets and matching comforter on the bed. Looking amongst each other expectantly, the men started to laugh; no one wanted pink sheets.
"Oh hell, I don't care; just give them to me," said Nick, shaking his head. "We'll be out of here and into our own rooms soon enough, anyway."
Leaning in the doorjamb while munching on an apple, Eric revealed his presence by way of an amused chuckle that earned him the attention of the five younger Rangers. "Is that so? And just how exactly do you plan on doing that when you couldn't even stop an unmorphed punch?" asked the Quantum Ranger, his voice quite nonchalant. "By the way, nice shiner; looks good on you, kid."
Anger filled Nick's eyes as his blood started to boil. Eric may have embarrassed him earlier, but Nick refused to let that happen again. Wiggling his fingers he reached into his pocket and retrieved his Mystic Morpher.
"Infierno!" shouted Nick, pointing the device at Eric.
"Quantum Defender!" yelled Eric at the same time, summoning his personal firearm.
Twin beams of red energy erupted from their weapons, connecting with each other at the point that was exactly halfway between the two men. Where the beams met, their power began to converge, thus creating a glowing, rapidly expanding hue of crimson.
The pair of Rangers held their ground, neither willing to let the other succeed. Eventually, though, it simply became too much; the expansion of power suddenly erupted, throwing them backwards. Eric was slammed hard into the hallway wall, Nick against his bedroom's. Both men let out groans, neither yet able to get up; for Eric, though, he didn't have much say in the matter. A strong pair of hands grabbed his shirt collar and hoisted him roughly onto his feet.
"What did I tell you about picking on the newbies?" demanded Taylor. Pointing a stern finger in Eric's face as she turned her head to where Nick was slumped against the wall, the younger Rangers tending to him.
"Hey, the kid started it. I was just finishing it," Eric answered, smirking as he winked at Nick over Taylor's shoulder. He wasn't expecting Taylor to turn around, trying to drive the side of her fist into his abdomen; somehow he caught her forearm and spun her around, pulling her against his body. "If you wanna get rough, let's go upstairs. These kids are too young to see something like that."
Eric knew that the younger Rangers had heard him call them kids. He also knew that sooner or later it was really going to start getting to them, which was exactly what he was looking for. He wanted them mad, running off of their emotions and pent up aggression; emotional people didn't think clearly and, in battle, having a clear mind gave him a huge advantage.
"Let's just go before you hurt yourself even more," said Taylor, rolling her eyes as she grabbed Eric's arm and pulled him along with her into the kitchen. Pushing him against the refrigerator she gripped his shoulders tightly, refusing to let go. "You really need to knock this off, Eric. It's bad enough that we all have to fight each other and you being a complete asshole isn't making things any better."
"I don't know about you, Taylor, but I'm not willing to die for them!" Eric returned, pointing down the hall towards the younger Ranger's bedrooms. "I'll kill each and every one of them if that's what it takes to stay alive! I'm getting in their heads, trying to keep them off their game; this whole tournament is about finding advantages and exploiting them, and that's what I'm going to do!"
Taylor could hardly believe that this was her Eric doing the talking. Sure, he wasn't the easiest guy to get along with; he was stubborn and had an awful temper, but he'd never wished ill on innocent people before. "So you're willing to kill all of them, huh?"
Eric nodded. "If that's what it takes, you're damn right I am!"
For the second time that day, Eric was the victim of a slap to his cheek that sounded like a whip being cracked. The look on his face was one of shock and disbelief as he brought his palm to the side of his face, Taylor staring back at them with fire in her eyes. "Since you've obviously thought this through so well, what happens when they're gone!? Are you willing to kill Andros or Tommy!? What about Wes!? Are you willing to kill your best friend!?" she yelled. Her face turned a deep shade of red, tears filling her eyes as she looked away and lowered her voice to a whisper. "What about me, Eric? Are you willing to kill me?"
Frozen in place by the weight of her questions, Eric swallowed the lump currently resting in the base of his throat. Could he really kill the people he was closest to, the few people in his life he could actually call friends? He wasn't so sure about that, but he was positive of the answer to her last question.
"I could never kill you," he murmured, shaking his head.
"Why?" demanded Taylor, hands on her hips. "What's so special about me?"
Instead of telling her, Eric opted to show her. Cupping Taylor's cheeks, he kissed her softly. "I don't care about them the way I care about you. They're my friends, and they mean the world to me, but when I go to bed at night they aren't the ones I'm wishing I was with."
Taylor managed a small chuckle. "Well, I would certainly hope not. I'd need a different set of plumbing if you were interested in the likes of Wes and Tommy."
Eric just smiled, though it quickly disappeared from his face. "I'm serious, Taylor. I'm getting sick of…whatever this we're doing with each other," said Eric, gently wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "When we're not together, all I can think about is finding a way to get you back. I don't want to have to get you back anymore; I want you to never leave."
The tremendous smile on Taylor's face said everything that she couldn't. Wrapping her arms around Eric's neck, she locked her lips to his in a passionate kiss. They drank from each other until they were sated, breaking apart only when the need to breathe became too much. Wearing a wry grin, Taylor reached out and took his hand. "Come on," she whispered, kissing her way around his neck just how he liked. She could already feel the steadiness in his legs start to give way. "Let's go upstairs."
Letting out a playful yelp when Eric nipped at her, Taylor spun on her heels and took off running towards the stairs with Eric in hot pursuit. They passed Tommy and Kimberly on the way, Tommy giving Eric a discreet fist bump; or at least, he thought it had been discreet. When he turned back around, Kimberly was shaking her head at him. "You men are such pigs."
Tommy laughed, shrugging his shoulders in partial agreement. "You haven't been around Eric enough to know how much he needs to get laid right now. He'll come out in an hour or so and be a completely different person."
"Hopefully not a total jerkoff anymore," Kimberly supplied. "Thank God you and the other guys were there to pull him off of that poor kid. Did you see what Eric did to his eye?"
"I hate to say it, Kim, but Nick had it coming. He had no business slapping Eric like that."
Defiantly, Kimberly shook her head. "Maybe not, but that wouldn't have happened if Eric hadn't been acting like an asshole. What is it with you guys, anyway? It's like you're genuinely trying to build animosity with the younger Rangers."
Entering the kitchen, Tommy opened the refrigerator in search of something cold to drink. Pulling out two bottles of water he handed one to Kimberly and opened the other, taking a long swig from the container. "It's not about animosity, Kim," he replied, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "It's about survival. No one in this tournament wants to fight each other, but no one wants to die either. I'm not here to meet new people and make friends; I guarantee you if we didn't already know one another, us veteran guys wouldn't even be talking to each other."
Pushing herself up onto the kitchen counter, Kimberly sighed. "It's kinda sad, isn't it?" she asked, looking around the room aimlessly. "Under any other circumstances, I bet we'd all be getting along famously."
Tommy shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not; part of me thinks we'd still be at odds. It's like the older I get, the less of Zordon I see in the newer Rangers and I don't like that at all. I made sure my Rangers knew where they came from, but none of these kids here even know who Zordon is."
"Have you ever thought that that might be what Zordon wanted?" asked Kimberly, earning a confused look from Tommy. "Think about it, Tommy; Zordon was always so mysterious, even with us. He was never about fame or glory; he was about doing what was right and true. As long as the Rangers continue to fight the good fight, that is Zordon's legacy, not history lessons on the ones who came before them."
"Wow, I guess I never really thought of it like that," said Tommy, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe you're right; maybe we would all get along, but that really doesn't matter in this situation. Whether we want to or not, we're going to end up making a lot more enemies than friends here. There's a reason Pravus put all of us in a house together, and it wasn't to make us more comfortable."
"What do you mean?" Kimberly questioned curiously.
Tommy scoffed. "This entire house is already like a giant pressure cooker just waiting to burst. There's tension all around and no one's even fought yet. Once people start dying, it's only going to make things worse around here. Pravus may be a lot of things, but dumb definitely isn't one of them; he understands the nature of the beast and knows that we're going to constantly be at each other's throats."
"I don't care about what happens when any of these other people, Tommy," said Kimberly softly. Lowering herself from the counter, she crossed the kitchen to where he stood near the refrigerator. "But I can't lose you to this stupid tournament. I let you go once and it was the stupidest thing I've ever done; I won't let you go again."
Pulling Kimberly against his chest, Tommy held her closely. "You'll never have to, Beautiful. I promise you, we'll find a way to get through this together. There isn't a force in this world that's strong enough to break us apart."
Nuzzling her face against his neck, Kimberly hoped that Tommy was right. He'd become a part of her life that she couldn't live without; just the mere thought of losing him was crushing enough to reaffirm that.
Not long after that, Tommy realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms, still standing upright. Considering that neither one of them had slept in nearly thirty-two hours, he was surprised that it had taken her this long. Gently, he lifted her off the ground and carried her towards their bedroom. Once she'd been safely tucked into bed, Tommy left the room in search of a quiet place to think and found it a few minutes later, on the upstairs deck overlooking the beach. He would have loved to be asleep with Kimberly in his arms right now, but there were more important things to worry about, his biggest concern being who he was going to choose to face in the first round of the tournament.
Seated in a cushioned, reclining deck chair, Tommy gazed upon the moonlit ocean in silence, contemplating his short list of choices. Only four of the male Rangers had failed to crack the top eight during the race and, since Carter wasn't an option, his list shrunk even more. Of all the Rangers in the house, the only one he had the inkling to square off with was Nick; unfortunately for Tommy, Nick had finished in eighth place, thus eliminating him from the pool of Rangers to choose from.
That left only Jack, Xander, and Will, none of whom Tommy had any problems with. From the little he had seen of them, they seemed like good Rangers which did little more than make his decision that much harder.
Some time later—Tommy wasn't sure, exactly—he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and turned around to see Eric and Wes stepping out onto the deck with drinks in hand. Eric passed a newly-opened bottle of Heineken to Tommy as he and Wes took up seats near the White Ranger.
"Thanks," said Tommy, drinking deeply. "What are you guys up to?"
"Taylor and Jen are in my room so we figured we'd explore the house a bit," answered Wes, leaning back in his chair. "You know there's a game room downstairs with a pool table, ping-pong table, and a pinball machine?"
"Yeah, and all our closets mysteriously have clothes that fit us perfectly," Eric interjected.
Tommy rolled his eyes. "God, Pravus must really want us to think that he's doing us some great service by putting us up in such a nice place with all this stuff. I'd rather live in a one bedroom shanty than here."
Furrowing his brow, Eric chuckled. "You're joking, right?" he asked, Tommy shaking his head that he wasn't. "Care to explain why, oh great leader of ours?"
Again, Tommy used the analogy of a pressure cooker to explain to the Silver Guardians what he had shared with Kimberly earlier. At the end of Tommy's explanation, Wes shrugged his shoulders. "Don't you think that's a little paranoid, man?"
"Maybe," answered Tommy, captivated by the way the moon's light danced along the ocean's peaceful waves. "I guess we'll find out soon enough, huh?"
Oh, if he only knew how right he was.
Long into the night, or early in the morning depending on how one viewed three a.m., Tommy and the Silver Guardians finally parted ways, disappearing into their respective bedrooms to try and salvage a few hours worth of sleep before sunrise. For Tommy, it seemed like he'd only been out for ten or fifteen minutes—though it had actually been five hours—when he suddenly jerked wide awake, sweat covering his brow and naked chest. Something didn't feel right.
Turning his head, he let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that Kimberly was still sleeping soundly next to him. Still, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him something bad was about to happen. After five-plus years of active Ranger duty Tommy could sense danger from a mile away.
Then his body started to spasm violently, followed by a glowing light that enveloped him completely. Tommy let out a cry of pain that caused Kimberly to sit up in bed, her eyes opened wide, but by the time she had reached out for Tommy, he was already gone. When he reappeared moments later he was fully dressed, standing in the place where everything had started, the cliffs on the outskirts of Angel Grove. He wasn't alone, though; a smirking Pravus was there to greet him as soon as his feet touched the rocky ground.
"What do you want?" demanded Tommy.
"Your decision on the Ranger whom you will face in the first round. You must forgive me; I believe I failed to mention that the first round begins now," answered Pravus, his face gleaming with excitement.
Tommy winced inwardly. He'd given a lot of thought to who his opponent would be, but hadn't been able to come up with an answer. Whether it was Jack, Xander, or Will was irrelevant; Tommy wasn't keen on the idea of fighting any of them. Shaking his head, he looked up at an expectant Pravus. "Just pick someone for me. I don't care who it is."
"So be it," Pravus replied, nodding.
With a wave of his hand, there was a flash of red light that soon transfigured itself into the confused form of Jack Landors. The sinking feeling in Tommy's stomach quickly returned in full force. Of the three available Rangers, Jack was the one he had least wanted to encounter, not because he was afraid of SPD's Red Ranger, but simply because of the way Jack had introduced himself the day before. Jack was polite and respectful towards the veteran Rangers, aware that he would never have touched a Morpher if not for the ones who had come before him.
For his part, Jack was none too thrilled about the prospect of facing Tommy, either. He'd read all about the legend Ranger in SPD's history books; even his leadership style had been taken directly from Tommy. Not only that, but he was also fully aware of Tommy's well-known skills in the martial arts, skills he wasn't confident in his ability to defeat.
Calling the two men before him, Pravus had the pair stand face to face with a distance of roughly five feet between them. "The rules are simple, gentlemen; once you have morphed, anything goes. Good luck to both of you."
That being said, Pravus once again disappeared from sight; looking at each other, Tommy and Jack both shook their heads. "Well, I guess this is it," said Jack, a combinatory hint of both sadness and disappointment in his voice.
"I guess so," supplied Tommy. Instinctively, he reached behind his back and found that there was a Power Morpher clipped to his belt. "You ready to do this man?"
"No," answered Jack honestly, retrieving his Delta Morpher, "but we don't have much of a choice, do we? SPD, Emergency!"
"It's Morphin' Time!" Tommy yelled, pointing his Morpher outwards. "White Ranger Power!"
Bright eruptions of red and white energy exploded from their bodies as the Power took over; when the light dissipated, two fully morphed Rangers were circling each other defensively. Unsheathing his enchanted saber, Saba, Tommy twirled the sword in circles as Jack summoned his twin Delta Blasters.
Jack was the first to strike, firing blasts of red energy at Tommy in rapid succession. Using Saba, Tommy managed to deflect most of the shots, but a few managed to connect. Smoke and sparks poured from Tommy's chest; bringing a gloved hand to his black-and-gold shield, Tommy stumbled backwards until he was mere inches from the cliff's edge.
Over his shoulder, Tommy could see a series of sharp boulders hundreds of feet below. Fighting to regain his balance, he charged at Jack with Saba drawn. He stuck the blade between Jack's neck and shoulder, drawing it back in a violent slash. Quick to follow up his attack, Tommy grabbed Jack by the shoulders and bent his body backwards, driving his knee into the bottom of Jack's spine.
A painful scream from Jack accompanied the blow, followed by the feeling of his body hitting the ground as Tommy tossed him aside. Using one hand, Tommy squeezed Jack around the neck and lifted him off of his feet; Jack's legs flailed about wildly as Tommy literally started to choke the life out of him. In a last ditch effort, Jack somehow managed to pull one of his Delta Blasters from its holster, firing a shot into Tommy's midsection. Howling, Tommy slackened his grip and dropped Jack; lying on the ground, the Red Ranger coughed violently as he struggled to get some air into his lungs.
It took a few moments of both regrouping and recovering before either man was ready to continue their battle. When it finally happened, Jack and Tommy charged each other at the exact same time; Tommy swung high, but Jack dropped to his knees, rolling into a somersault that clipped Tommy's legs out from under him. Flipping through the air, his body out of control, Tommy hit the ground and slid a few feet until he came to a stop at the edge of the cliff.
Sensing that this was the perfect opportunity to strike, Jack charged the White Ranger. On one knee, Tommy looked up to see Jack running at him at full speed. Beneath his helmet, Tommy smiled. As soon as Jack was close enough that only an outside force could stop his momentum, Tommy executed a majestic back flip over the cliff's edge. Tommy could hear Jack's yelling growing fainter and fainter as the Red Ranger plummeted to his death.
Gripping the stone structure for dear life, Tommy hoisted himself up, crawling on his belly until his entire body was on solid ground. It seemed fighting in his own backyard had proved to be more of an advantage than Tommy could have ever hoped for. Had he not known this place like the back of his hand, the maneuver was one that probably would have cost him his life.
Swallowing hard, he forced himself to look at Jack. The Red Ranger had been impaled through the stomach by the row of sharp boulders that Tommy had twice been able to avoid. His lifeless body was contorted at an awkward angle, leaving Tommy feeling nauseous as Jack began to glow red; a quick flash followed and then Jack's body was done.
"Power down!" yelled Tommy, thrusting his arms to his side. His uniform and helmet disappeared into thin air, revealing a pair of chocolate brown eyes that were brimming with tears. Dropping to his hands and knees, Tommy started to cough; vomiting inches in front of a pair of sandaled feet, he slowly looked up to see Pravus standing over him, lightly clapping his hands in mock approval.
"Congratulations, Tommy. With your victory you have just advanced to the next round," said Pravus, as if it was something Tommy was ignorant of. Using a flick of his wrist, he caused Tommy's body to levitate for a moment before setting him onto his feet. "The first kill is always the hardest; I promise it will be easier next time."
"Just send me back to the house," Tommy muttered bitterly, wiping the side of his mouth.
Flashes of Jason's murder played in Tommy's mind when Pravus pointed his finger at him, a beam of golden energy heading right for Tommy's chest. Instead of killing him, though, the beam expanded until it enveloped his entire body. He felt himself being carried away one moment and the next he was standing in a crowded living room where fifteen Rangers were strewn about, staring at a blank television in absolute silence.
As soon as Kimberly saw him she was off the couch she had been sharing with Jen and Taylor; running to Tommy, she jumped into his arms, clinging to him with every ounce of strength her tiny body held. "Oh God, Tommy, it was so awful," she whimpered. "Pravus showed up and he-he-he made us watch the whole thing. I thought you were going to die."
Tommy's stomach was still stinging from the shot from Jack's Delta Blaster; Kimberly's entire body pressing up against him wasn't exactly helping things much. Wincing, he set Kimberly down and, as he opened his eyes, they made contact with Bridge. The Blue Ranger had clearly been crying; his eyes were bloodshot as he got up from his seat and stalked towards Tommy. There was only one thought in the heads of the Rangers, and it was that Bridge wasn't going to wait for the tournament to take his shot at avenging Jack's death.
"Look, man, I know what you're going through," said Tommy, putting a hand to Bridge's chest to stop him. "I just lost my best friend yesterday. If it's any consolation, Jack was one of the last people I wanted to fa—"
"Save it for one of your asshole friends," Bridge interrupted, pushing his way passed the White Ranger. En route to his bedroom, he turned around and pointed his finger at Tommy. "I'll see you in the next round."
Sighing, Tommy turned around just in time to see the Mystic Force and Overdrive Rangers shooting him dirty looks as they left the living room in pursuit of Bridge. Though Tommy considered all of the remaining Rangers to be his friends, he didn't much feel like being in their company right now. Without a word between them, he left the living room and headed for the stairs. The nauseous feeling in his stomach had returned, now worse than it had been before.
The bathroom was his destination and he took the stairs two and three at a time to ensure he made it there before it was too late. He was on his knees, gripping the base of the toilet, violent heaving when Kimberly walked in. "Oh, Tommy," she murmured, rushing to his aid in the form of a gentle back rub. The stench was foul but she stuck it out for Tommy; he may not have been able to say it, but Kimberly knew that he needed her, if only for a little emotional support.
"I killed him, Kim. I actually killed him," Tommy cried, his face buried inside the porcelain bowl. Pulling his head out, he fell backwards, slumped against the wall. Kimberly was quick to retrieve a towel from the rack above him; running it under some cold water, she softly wiped his face clean. "What would Zordon think of me? God, I can't imagine how disappointed in me he must be."
"No, Tommy, he wouldn't. Whether you realize it or not, you did what was necessary," Kimberly offered reassuringly. As hard as it was for her to believe that, it was the God's honest truth. "The Rangers need you alive more than anyone else if we want to have any chance at stopping Pravus. Zordon would tell you that you did what had to be done for the greater good."
"The Rangers don't need me," Tommy replied, his old self-doubt seeping through. "They have Eric, and Wes, and Andros, and—"
"I need you. I-I can't do this without you," Kimberly interrupted, her voice soft but firm at the same time. "This is when I don't just need you to be Tommy, my husband. I need you to be Tommy, the Power Ranger; the leader that everyone looks up to. So be that man, Tommy. Be that man."
This was entirely new territory for Tommy and Kimberly. He had always been the one to deliver lectured to her on what it meant to be a Ranger, never the other way around. Realizing this made Tommy chuckle lightly. "I know that, it's just...I thought killing someone would be such a hard thing to do; I think I'm more upset over the fact that I didn't even hesitate than actually doing it."
Cupping his cheeks in the palms of her hands, Kimberly forced Tommy to look at her. "If you had hesitated, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. The only people who are upset with you are the kids, which is to be expected, and yourself. You did what you had to do to stay alive; no one faults you that, okay?"
With his lips pursed like a fish in between Kimberly's hands, Tommy managed to nod his head slightly, enough to get her to release her hold on him. "So, have you thought about who you're going to face when it's your time to fight?"
Sitting down next to him, her back against the wall, Kimberly shook her head. "I'm only going to have two choices and, since Jen is the only other girl that finished in the top eight, I figured I'll just take whichever one of the new girls Jen doesn't pick."
"You mean if one of the guys doesn't pick them first?" asked Tommy, Kimberly's eyes widening at what he was implying.
"You don't actually think…"
Tommy shrugged. "I doubt any of the veteran guys would, but I wouldn't put it passed Bridge to pick one of the girls because he sees them as an easy way to get to me. You saw the way he looked at me, didn't you? He was beyond pissed."
"He also guaranteed that you guys would meet in the next round," added Kimberly, Tommy nodding. She shivered at the thought of one of the men choosing to face a woman. If it happened later in the tournament then it was out of their hands, but in the first round? Could they really be that desperate?
Kimberly certainly hoped not, though she reasoned that they would find out soon enough. If Tommy's bracket theory was correct, having finished in second place in the race, Bridge would be the next to fight.
Pushing himself onto his feet, Tommy stepped in front of the sink and opened the medicine cabinet, pulling out a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. Kimberly wrapped her arms around his midsection, resting her head against his back as he aggressively brushed the vile taste of vomit from his mouth. Once the rinsing and spitting portion of the process was complete, he put his arm around Kimberly's shoulder and exited the bathroom.
"Thanks for the talk, Beautiful," he murmured, kissing the side of her head.
"You're welcome," she replied, standing on her tiptoes for a real kiss. Tommy was more than happy to oblige. When the kiss broke, Kimberly looked up at him and smiled. "Come on; I want to go check out that pool table."
"Same rules as usual?" asked Tommy, smirking.
"Winner gets to be on top?" Kimberly returned.
"Let's do it," said Tommy, feeling the need to add, "Pun intended."
When they got downstairs, they found that the game room was already occupied; luckily, the pool table wasn't being used. Eric and Wes were engaged in a back and forth game of pink-pong, Carter was trying to teach Andros the finer points of pinball, and Dana, Jen, and Taylor had taken to the black leather couch lining the far wall, talking quietly to one another. Everything stopped as soon as Tommy entered the room.
The pinball machine let out a low noise that sounded like a moan as Carter let the tiny silver ball roll through the open space between the two plastic flippers. Wes's return shot to Eric dribbled lazily across the table, dropping to the carpeted floor; the three women fell silent, seven sets of eyes focusing solely on the White Ranger.
"Uh, hey guys," said Tommy, looking to his friends.
"Hey," Wes replied cautiously, giving Tommy a polite nod.
"Do you mind if we use the pool table?" Tommy asked.
Checking to see if any of the others were going to argue, Wes turned back to Tommy and shrugged his shoulders on behalf of the group. "Go for it, man."
Nodding, Tommy pulled Kimberly with him to the rack of cue sticks mounted to one of the side walls. They stood with their backs to the other Rangers; Kimberly made sure that only Tommy could hear her when she spoke. "What's up with them? Why are they looking at you like that?"
"Probably because I just killed a man," supplied Tommy with a half-hearted chuckle as he pulled a cue from the rack. He'd been joking, of course, but a big part of Tommy wondered if that was actually the case. Could they have really turned their backs on him already?
Rolling her eyes at his answer, Kimberly selected her own stick; making their way to the table, she pulled the plastic triangle from underneath and handed it to Tommy. "You rack 'em, I'll crack 'em."
Once the balls had been properly arranged and the triangle removed, Kimberly stepped to the foot of the table and fired a shot that sent the balls scattering in every direction. She sunk two balls; the solid Three and the striped Thirteen.
"Nice break," Tommy commented, ever aware that the other veteran Rangers were watching him intently as Kimberly moved about the table in search of her next shot, politely smiling her thanks for the compliment. She sunk one more ball, the solid Seven, before missing her shot at the six, giving control to Tommy.
Aiming at the Eleven Ball, Tommy felt the Rangers staring at his back. He took a nervous shot and missed badly, scratching the cue ball in one of the side pockets. Angrily, he jabbed the butt end of the stick against the floor and whirled around to face them. "Will someone please explain to me why you're all sitting there, staring at me like I'm some fucking circus attraction!?"
There! He'd let them know that he was aware of what they were doing; they couldn't keep ignoring him now, acting like nothing was wrong. Leaning over the ping-pong table with his head bowed low, both hands resting atop the plywood surface, Eric let out a deep breath before looking up at Tommy. "Is it hard?"
"Huh?" asked Tommy, momentarily putting the game on hold.
"Killing another Ranger," answered Eric. "Is it hard?"
It was the question that no one wanted to ask, but was on the minds of everyone in the room. Sighing, Tommy shook his head. "Honestly, when it happened, I didn't even really have time to think about it. All I saw was Jack running at me, and I knew if I didn't do something quick that he was going to kill me. I doubt it'll feel the same way for you guys that it felt for me, but I will say this; whatever preconceived notions you have about it, forget them all. I was an active Ranger for almost six years; there wasn't a single thing I went through that could have prepared me for what happened with Jack."
The other Rangers all nodded their heads, but Tommy knew they couldn't possibly understand how it felt to be the reason that an innocent person, especially one who was also a fellow Ranger, had died. There wasn't a feeling in the world that compared to taking another man's life.
"We're glad you made it, Tommy," said Taylor, giving him a genuine smile.
"Not as much as I am," Tommy replied with a laugh. "But thanks, I appreciate that a lot," he continued, Taylor nodding once as Tommy turned to Carter with a serious expression. "Are you ready, man?"
Carter furrowed his brow curiously. "Ready for what?"
"Bridge," answered Tommy, though Carter still looked confused. "He's gonna be the next one to fight and I doubt he's gonna choose one of the other younger Rangers. Unless he picks one of the girls, I'd say your number is about to be called."
At the realization that he could be the next to fight, Carter looked to his wife and rubbed the top of her leg, smiling reassuringly. Dana, however, was staring directly at Tommy. "Do you really think Bridge will pick him?"
Tommy shrugged. For once, he didn't have any definitive answers, only theories and that bothered him quite a bit. He was used to knowing exactly what needed to be done, or at least having the wherewithal to scrape a plan together by the seat of his pants. Now, though, he was just another Ranger on the chessboard that Pravus had created. "Like I said, unless he picks a girl, it's likely going to be Carter."
"Yeah, but you also said that you wouldn't put it passed Bridge to pick one of the girls, either," Kimberly interjected, unknowingly placing a huge weight on the shoulders of Taylor and Dana in the process.
"And you just said that you doubt he'll pick one of the younger Rangers which, if you're right about that, means it's either me or Taylor," muttered Dana before Tommy was able to jump in and cover himself.
Looking to his left, he shot his wife a look as if to ask her why she had told the others of what he had said earlier. There was a reason he had informed her of his theory on Bridge within the privacy of their bedroom instead of in a group situation like this one. It was bad enough that they were being forced to kill each other; Dana and Taylor didn't need the added fear of being picked because of the perception that their gender was weaker.
Just outside of the game room, Bridge stood with his back pressed against the wall. He'd been there for the whole conversation and had heard everything they had said. Smirking to himself, he started to turn away when he felt his body tighten. Tommy was standing in the empty hallway, the other Rangers on his heels just moments after seeing a vibrant flash of blue light.
"Guys," murmured Wes, looking at his friends, "I think we're about to find out."
Arriving in a location that was all too familiar, Bridge smiled as he stared up at skyscrapers illuminated the night sky above downtown San Angeles, home of the Overdrive Rangers. Normally, San Angeles would have been buzzing at this time but, surprisingly, Bridge was all alone; or so he though.
The sound of cloth whipping in the wind reached his ears seconds before Pravus appeared, plummeting quickly towards the paved road upon which Bridge stood. Pravus landed on one knee, his long black hair covering his face; the force of his landing had caused a circular crack to form around his knee, numerous smaller cracks splitting off in every direction. Looking up at Bridge, Pravus grinned as he pushed himself onto his feet and folded his arms across his chest.
"Are you ready?" Pravus asked simply. Instead of answering him verbally, Bridge merely nodded his head before loudly cracking his neck from side to side. "Good; and who will your opponent be today?"
There was a distinct glimmer in Bridge's eyes as he stroked his chin, pretending as if this was a decision he needed to consider seriously when it was actually the exact opposite. He had known who he wanted to fight since the events of the previous day. "I choose…"