Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. You know that, right?
Jason slowly walked through the park, heading for the lake as memories from the past few weeks rushed at him from every direction.
"You cannot defeat me, Red Ranger. You will never get the green candle and Tommy will lose his powers. All because you were too weak to win this fight."
"I have to go, Jason. I need time to adjust to not having the powers anymore."
"Look who's here boys. The dummy."
"I got a letter from Tommy yesterday. He's coming home. He'll be here by the end of the week."
Michael Scott looked down at his son, anger clearly on his face.
"Say something, mom. Yell, whatever, just say something."
"What do you want me to say, Jason?"
"Whoever this is, we will not hold it against them for accepting the powers. Zordon chose this person for a reason and we will need to make whoever it is feel welcome to the team."
"So, rangers. I take it you are pleased with the new leader of the team?"
Jason came to the lake and sat down on a nearby rock, his emotions running out of control. He pulled his knees up to his chest wrapping his arms around them as more memories came rushing at him.
"Thank you, Jason. If you hadn't stepped in, Derek would be dead now."
"It's Derek, Jason. I'm sorry son. They removed him from the life support earlier this afternoon. He passed away a little over an hour ago."
"I'm sorry, Jason. I wish it wasn't true, but it is. He's gone, son."
Jason hugged his knees tighter to his chest as his emotions overwhelmed him. Silent tears streamed down his face as he sat there, watching the calm waters of the lake.
The rangers sat in shocked silence, looking at Michael as if they could not believe their ears. They could not believe that Derek was dead.
Kim leaned against Tommy, tears in her eyes as she thought of how Jason must be feeling right now.
Trini covered her mouth with her hands, fighting the tears that threatened to fall.
Billy and Zack sat in shocked silence, wondering where Jason could be and what they could do to help their friend.
Tommy put his arm around Kim's shoulders, looking at the others. "We need to find Jason," he said. "Any idea where he would go?"
Billy looked at Tommy, shaking his head. "That's not a good idea, Tommy," he said softly. "I don't think Jason wants to be around anyone at the moment, otherwise he wouldn't have left like he did."
Zack nodded his agreement with Billy. "I want to help him through this as much as you do, Tommy," he said. "But, if I know Jason, he won't talk to anyone right now. We need to just back off and give him some space."
Tommy looked at the others, shaking his head. "Keeping it inside won't help him," he said.
Kim moved slightly away from Tommy, turning to meet his gaze. "Listen to them, Tommy," she urged quietly. "You know Jason. He won't talk to any of us until he is ready. Let him deal with all of it first. Going after him now will just make him angry."
Tommy sat back in his chair, letting his breath out slowly. He wanted to go after Jason, find him and make sure that his best friend was all right. He looked at the others and reluctantly agreed with them. "All right," he said. He looked at Michael. "You'll let us know if he needs us, right?"
Michael nodded at him, coming to his feet. "I will," he said. "I'm heading for home. If Jason comes back here, tell him that's where I'll be." He turned and headed out of the youth center.
Alpha turned to look up at Zordon. "What can we do, Zordon," he asked. "Should we teleport Jason here to the command center?"
Zordon shook his head without looking at Alpha, his full attention on Jason's image in the viewing globe. "No, Alpha," he said. "Jason needs to work through this one on his own."
Alpha let out a robotic sigh and turned his attention back to the viewing globe, not liking the fact that he could do nothing to help his human friend.
Zordon looked at Jason's image, concern in his eyes. He wished he had been able to explain things to Jason before they created the powers for Tommy, but there had not been time. Zedd had been looking for Tommy and Zordon knew he had to move quickly to keep the teen from falling into Zedd's clutches. He also regretted that he had not warned Jason ahead of time about making Tommy the new leader of the rangers. He did not do it to spite Jason, but knew that he should offer an explanation to the teen. However, as he watched Jason trying to deal with his emotions, he knew that now was not the time to explain things to him. He just hoped that Jason would listen when the right time arrived.
Jason sat by the lake, no longer crying but still hugging his knees to his chest as a sense of failure slowly came over him. I couldn't save him, he thought. I tried, but he died anyway. I'm not even good enough to lead the rangers anymore. I'm surprised that Zordon is still letting me stay on the team. Jason let his breath out in a long sigh, the sense of failure hanging over him like a dark cloud as fresh tears came to his eyes.
Tommy looked at Kim as he walked her to her door. "I wish I knew how Jason was," he said as they climbed the steps to her porch. "I just feel that we should be doing something to help him, not just sitting around being totally useless."
Kim turned to him, putting her hand on his arm. "This isn't any easier for me, Tommy," she said softly. "I've known Jason a lot longer than you. Trust me when I say that, unless he comes to one of us to talk, there is nothing we could say that will make a difference in how he is feeling. We have to let him work this out on his own."
Tommy looked down at her, shaking his head. "Kim," he said. "I just replaced him as the leader of the team. Now, Derek died, even after Jason tried his best to save him. Jason can't handle this all alone. He's going to need us to help him deal with all of this."
"I know that, Tommy," Kim said, her quiet voice showing her own frustration at the situation. "But, Jason has never been one to let his emotions show to a great extent. He's always been the strong one, for all of us. He won't let us see how much he is hurting from this, no matter what we say or do. The only thing we can do right now is let him know that we're there if he needs us. If we do anything else, he'll just turn his back on us."
Tommy sighed heavily, pulling Kim into a hug. "I just feel so helpless," he said. "I'm not used to just sitting back and letting things happen. I need to do something to make sure Jason is okay."
Kim wrapped her arms around Tommy's waist, resting her head against his chest. "I know," she said, silent tears rolling down her cheeks as she clung to him. "But, we have to be patient. That's all we can do right now."
Jason sat by the lake, not paying attention to the time, as he tried to calm down and get his emotions under control. He glanced up to see the sun setting and realized he should get home, before his parents had to come looking for him. He let his breath out in a long sigh, getting to his feet and turning from the lake. He made his way through the park, leaving it and heading for his home.
Michael and Karen were in the kitchen when they heard Jason come into the house. They looked at each other and then silently headed out into the hallway.
Jason looked up after closing the door, seeing his parents come out of the kitchen.
Michael studied Jason's face, seeing the sadness in his eyes. He slowly walked over to his son, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay," he asked. "We were starting to get a little worried."
"I'm sorry," Jason said softly. "I lost track of time. I didn't mean to make you worry." He felt tears come to his eyes as he thought of Derek. "I couldn't save him, dad," he whispered. "I tried, but I couldn't."
Michael pulled Jason into a hug, feeling his son's arms go around him in a tight hug. "You did everything you possibly could, Jason," he whispered. "This is not your fault, son. You didn't beat him, you went after the boys who did. No one is going to blame you for this."
Jason clung to his father, the tears coming harder at Michael's words. He didn't say anymore, just cried silently in his father's arms.
Karen moved forward, wrapping her arms around her husband and son as tears came to her eyes as well.
The three of them stood there for a long time, Michael and Karen giving what comfort to their son that they could without saying a word.
Zedd walked into Finster's lab, looking at the little alien as he sat at his worktable. "Have you gotten all of the information on Jason," Zedd asked.
Finster looked up from his table, bowing slightly at the waist. "I just finished gathering it, my lord," he said. "I have every detail of the red ranger's life written down for you. Some of it is quite interesting."
Zedd took the sheets of paper from Finster, glancing briefly at some of the writing. He looked back at Finster, nodding in approval. "Well done, Finster," he said. "Now, I need you to do something else for me." He paused, his visor glowing with red light. "I need a place to keep Jason, once I get my hands on him. One that the rangers will not be able to find and totally unknown to Zordon. Can you do that for me?"
"It will take a couple of days, sire," Finster said. "But, I will find such a place for you."
Zedd nodded, gripping the papers and turning from the lab. "Let me know when you have found it," he ordered as he left the lab.
Finster watched him walk out of the lab, wondering just what Zedd had in mind for the red ranger. He began looking at all his information on the dark dimensions Rita had created, trying to find the perfect one for his master.
Zedd walked back into the throne room, looking over the papers in his hands as he sat down on his throne. He read all of the information on Jason, every little detail of his life written down for Zedd to see. After a little more than an hour, Zedd set the papers aside, feeling like he knew the red ranger better than ever. He stood up and walked over to his balcony, his visor glowing as he sought out Jason on earth.
Jason climbed into his bed, exhausted from the emotional turmoil of the day. He pulled the covers over himself, laying back and trying to relax enough to get to sleep. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted into a deep sleep.
Zedd's visor glowed a deeper red as he found Jason, sound asleep in his bed. He lifted his staff, sending a short beam of light down to earth, watching through his visor as the light entered Jason's bedroom and changed into a black mist. Zedd watched the mist descend on the sleeping teen, completely covering him from head to toe. He waited until the mist had settled to hover just over the sleeping teen, then he turned to walk over to Rita's old globe. He lifted his hands over the globe, watching as Jason's image appeared in it. "Time to begin," he said softly, holding his hands over the globe as they began to glow with a red light.
Jason looked around the dark dimension, hearing Goldar but not seeing him. He saw the green candle across the way and headed for it. Before he could reach it, putties appeared, surrounding him and grabbing a hold of him.
Goldar suddenly appeared in front of Jason, giving him a snarling smile. "You lose, red ranger," he said, holding the candle in front of Jason as the last bit of it burned down.
Jason struggled in the grips of the putties, unable to break free as Goldar stepped back, crushing the last of the green wax in his hand. He struggled harder as Tommy suddenly appeared in the dimension, five putties holding him as well.
Goldar sneered at Jason, raising his sword and stalking towards Tommy. Goldar looked at Jason over his shoulder, drawing back his sword as he did so. "You lose everything, Jason," he said and thrust his sword forward.
"NO!" The word tore from Jason as Goldar thrust his sword into Tommy, laughing evilly as Tommy let out an agonized croak and fell to the floor of the dimension.
Goldar looked at the putties holding Jason. "Take him and the green ranger's body back to earth," he said. "Let the other rangers see just how much a failure the red ranger is."
Jason continued to struggle as the putties did as Goldar ordered.
Jason stirred in his sleep, wanting to wake up from the nightmare. He rolled over to his side, but the mist held him in a firm grip, not letting him wake up.
Zedd let out a little laugh as he watched Jason trying to wake up. "Not yet, my little ranger," he said with glee. "One nightmare is not enough to break your will. You need to suffer a little more before I let you wake up."
Jason stood in the clearing, hands holding him back as he was forced to watch Derek collapse onto the ground from the beating. He struggled harder as Gary walked over to Jason, smiling cruelly at him.
"I told you, Jason," Gary said snidely. "I always win. Now, you get to live with the guilt of knowing you could have stopped me, but didn't. Derek is going to die and it's all your fault."
Jason tried to lunge at Gary, but the hands holding him were strong and kept him back.
Gary laughed, reaching out and grabbing Jason's chin as he forced the younger boy to look at him. "Angel Grove's martial arts hero," Gary said, almost spitting the words in Jason's face. "Not such a big hero now, are you Jason? You knew I was after Derek, but you failed to stop me. Now, he's dead, all because you failed to protect him."
Zedd laughed loudly as Jason vainly tried to wake up from the dreams. "Patience, Jason," he said. "There is still one more dream to come." His hands began to glow brighter as he held them closer to the globe, watching the red ranger as he tossed on his bed.
Jason was with the other rangers, fighting one of Zedd's monsters in the park. He turned as he heard a scream of pain, looking towards Kim and seeing her fall to the ground with blood on the front of her ranger outfit.
Putties surrounded the red ranger, grabbing onto him and holding him back as he tried to move towards the pink ranger.
Jason struggled in their hold as the white ranger made his way over to Kim, kneeling at her side.
Tommy removed Kim's helmet, staring in shock as her lifeless eyes met his. He cradled the pink ranger to him, grief filling him as he looked up to the red ranger. "You were supposed to protect her, Jason," he said, anger and pain in his voice. "That was all I asked you to do during this battle, protect Kim. How could you let yourself get distracted? How could you let her die?"
Jason felt the putties release him and he slowly walked over to Tommy, shaking his head. He looked at Tommy as the white ranger lowered Kim's body to the ground and stood up to face him. "Tommy, I.."
Tommy swung his fist, hitting Jason powerfully in the chest and knocking him to the ground. Tommy moved to stand over Jason, removing his helmet to glare down at the red ranger. "I'm going to make sure that Zordon removes you from the team, Jason," he spat. "You are no longer worthy of keeping the powers. I never want to see you again."
Zedd removed his hands from the globe, letting the red glow die down from them. He snapped his fingers and watched as the dark mist floated away from Jason's body. He began to laugh as he watched Jason snap awake and sit up in his bed, sweat running down his bare chest. "It has begun, red ranger," he said softly. "Very soon, you will have no strength to resist me and then I will make you mine." He turned from the viewing globe and left the throne room, content with how his plan had begun.
Jason sat on his bed, sweat pouring down his body and his breathing heavy. He ran a shaky hand over his face, trying to fight down the feelings the nightmares had left on him. He pushed the covers off him and got out of the bed, heading for the bathroom. He turned on the sink and splashed cold water on his face, feeling himself trembling slightly from the nightmares. He stepped back from the sink, grabbing a towel and drying his face as he forced himself to calm down. He hung the towel up and headed out of the bathroom, going back to his room and climbing back into the bed. He lay back, pulling the covers over himself, but it was a long while before he was calm enough to get back to sleep.
A/N: Let me know what you think. Next one up soon.
