Author's Notes: And we're back. I'm rather apprehensive sending this one out. If there's any chapter that's going to gain me flames, this is the one. Oh, well. Here goes.
Reviewer thanks: Protector of Canon2, alias093001, Ghostwriter, lunarweather (Billy and Tommy growing closer… I think that's even more in the cards after this one), JNottle, Ariadne (No, it's not time for the White Ranger yet. And I actually prefer him in the green. When he becomes the White Ranger, he gets so damn full of himself sometimes. He's so much more interesting in the green. Besides, it was Zedd who fully destroyed his green powers, not Rita.), Vodams, Linariel, curly, brankel1, sfinufan (I hope you're doing better now. That sounded painful.), qwerty avelat (Goodness, everyone wants the White Ranger. Be happy with the Green Ranger while it lasts. Besides, Dragonzord trumps Tigerzord every time. And they both trump stupid Falconzord.), and chibi heishi (Welcome to the story. You've been blowing through the chapters pretty quick.)
Darker Shades
Book 3: Something Old, Something Green
Chapter 12: Power at a Price
Mr. Scott was the last to return to the center of the room. "Well, it's official. No way out."
The assortment of wedding party and guests shivered in the cold dungeon, most of the women wearing the men's suit jackets. They had just spent the past half hour scouring their prison cell for weaknesses and escapes routes. However, they all knew without saying that escape would be difficult at best, since they had no idea where they were and they had to contend with children, as well as John's wheelchair.
The children were properly distracted at the moment. Kimberly's brother Kevin had Billy's young cousins over to the side, leading them in a game of Simon Says. Kevin had puffed up importantly when given this job. Steve had finally convinced his own son and daughter to join, and they were playing along dubiously, obviously considering themselves much too old and cool to play with little children.
"So where does this leave us?" Mr. Kwan said. "And where's the rest of the children?"
A shadow of a smile passed over John's face when his son and his friends—the defenders of the Earth—were called children. John knew he had to most reason for confidence for their eventual rescue, but he also knew he couldn't reveal the reason for that confidence.
"Our obvious best course is to wait," Mrs. Taylor said, speaking as if she were speaking at an academic seminar. "We are either being held for something we have or, more likely, we are being held as hostages in order to coerce someone else."
"How can you be so sure?" Steve interjected irritably. "I mean, we don't even know who's holding us."
Most of the group just stared at Steve as if he'd just said this was the perfect place for a beach vacation. There were a few wry chuckles. John decided not to comment, as his brother usually had a hard time believing anything he said.
Mrs. Allen, Kimberly's mother, responded first. "You're not from around here, are you, Mr. Oliver? You're in Angel Grove, monster attack capital of the world."
"Actually," Mrs. Scott interjected, "we may not even be in Angel Grove right now. Aren't those aliens based on the moon?"
"So, what, this has something to do with those Power Thingies?" Steve said.
"Power Rangers," Sylvia corrected. "And no one expects you to believe anything, Steve, if you don't want to acknowledge the truth."
John grinned at his soon-to-be wife. "You'd best listen to her, Steve."
Steve looked pouty, but the others had already moved on. "We still don't know where the kids are," Mrs. Kwan pointed out.
One of Sylvia's sisters cleared her throat. "If you're talking about Billy's friends, I saw four of them running along the side of the house through the window. I figured they were running to fetch something for the wedding."
Mr. Scott was shaking his head wearily. "That's what they do. They just leave with no warning, and then show back up with no explanation."
The rest were staring at him.
"What?" Mr. Scott said. "No one else has noticed?"
The parents shifted uncomfortably. John's mind raced. In all actuality, he thought the other parents had a right to know what their children were doing, especially since it involved risking their lives on a daily basis. On the other hand, it was not his decision to make, and it seemed this Zordon, who had been so good to his son, was rather insistent on the kids keeping their secret identities. So…
"There had to have been something to signal this kidnapping," John broke in before the others could think any harder. "They could have seen those alien things around and went to investigate. Besides, I'm glad they left before they got stuck with the rest of us. Maybe they can alert the Power Rangers in some way."
"That's definitely what they would do," Frank said. "In the meantime, it looks like all we can do is wait."
John felt a hand tighten on his as the group broke up. Sylvia was still beside him, practically shining in her dress in the middle of the dungeon.
"Don't worry," John said in a low voice. "We'll be free soon, and we'll get good and married."
Sylvia's hand tightened even more. "I just don't like it. This is the second time… I… just can't help but feel we weren't picked as random victims."
John ached to tell her everything. But that would include telling everything about his son, and he just didn't know how Sylvia would react.
An older man in a collar approached: the priest who was supposed to officiate the wedding. He'd searched the dungeon with them but had chosen not speak until then. "I know not all the guests are here," he said, "but I can still perform the ceremony if you wish it."
Behind his words, John knew, was the fear that they would not leave that dungeon alive. That this was the last opportunity they had to become husband and wife. For a moment, John was tempted…
"We can't without Billy and Tommy here," Sylvia said firmly. "Don't worry, Father Rourke. The Power Rangers will save us. We might just have a bit of a wait."
John relaxed, glad that Sylvia felt this way. He couldn't bear it if the rest of this new family wasn't there with them.
"What experiments?" Tommy said slowly.
The Rangers were looking between Zordon and Jason in amazement. Billy looked less miserable as Jason's intriguing words distracted him enough from his guilt. Zordon, on the other hand, looked stern and grim.
"I do not believe this is the proper time, Jason," Zordon said. "It is too soon, and we do not have the help of Alpha."
"This may be our only hope," said Jason. "As long as Rita has our powers and our parents, we can't do a thing to her. Hell, we'll end up having to serve her, just to keep our parents safe. There may not be another time."
"And if we all knew what we were talking about…" Zack said.
"I can do it," Billy said quietly. "I can follow Alpha's part exactly."
Zordon shot him a surprised look.
Billy looked away. "I… looked around a little. When I was evil, I mean. But I didn't say anything to Rita," Billy finished in a rush. "I just want to try to fix what I did."
Kimberly crossed her arms. "You know, this whole talking about something without actually talking about it is getting old real fast."
"I agree," said Tommy. "Now what's so dangerous that we can't even attempt it at the end of the world?"
Zordon sighed. He seemed resigned. "Something that could very well end the universe."
"I know it has to be dangerous," Jason began.
"You don't know, Jason," Zordon said, not unkindly. "It would require using the morphing grid in a way that was never intended. It would be a mortal risk to both parties, and that's only if it were a controlled disaster. Opening up the morphing grid like this could destroy reality if we make any wrong steps."
"But we did something like it," Billy said. "Weeks ago. We were able to transfer power without the help of any mystical artifact. And I did it to save Skull."
"Wait a minute," Tommy said, his voice suddenly sharp. "Are… you talking about…"
Jason held up the green power coin again. "We've proven that Tommy's body can handle morphing energy… just not direct access to the green power coin."
"The theory," Zordon picked up, "is that we can use power to bridge the gap between Tommy's own energy and his green power coin. I conceived the idea when you Rangers charged Tommy's body to use the serum to counteract Scorpina's poison. For a mere second, he morphed. If a quick power transfer from all of you was able to make him morph for a second while he wasn't holding a power coin…"
"Are you saying there's a way to get my powers back?" Tommy was starting to pace. "And we're not trying it yet? What are we waiting for? I could go up there and get our parents, the power coins, and the dragon dagger all in one go."
"That's right," Trini said, her calm, doubtful voice cutting off Tommy's nervous energy. "We don't have the power coins. We can't do any power transfers, dangerous or not."
"So how are we supposed to charge Tommy up?" Zack said. "Where's the energy coming from?"
"From me," Zordon said.
The six stared at Zordon, open-mouthed. He allowed his pronouncement to sink in before saying, "Billy, I believe you can access all the information you need. If you start preparing the connection to the morphing grid I believe we can attempt this before Rita's deadline."
"Hang on," Zack said. "What do you mean the energy comes from you?"
Billy's face now no longer looking haunted. "I didn't read that anywhere. We will be using your own life energy?"
Trini glared at Jason. "How could you even consider that?"
Jason's eyes were wide. "I didn't know where the energy was coming from. I just thought it was coming straight from the morphing grid. I… Zordon…" He turned to face Zordon, whose face had grown hard. "I thought you were just exaggerating when you said it was going to be dangerous. We can't…"
"Jason, you were correct in your summation that this may be our only hope," Zordon cut him off. "Whenever we've sent you Rangers up there unprotected, it has been disastrous and near fatal. We must have a full Power Ranger up there. Now, Billy… prepare the machinery."
"Wait, you said this was going to be dangerous to both of you," Kimberly said. "And even reality itself. I think this is a bigger issue than lost power coins… and," she swallowed hard, "even our parents." Her voice was shaky. "We haven't even talked about other ways yet."
"I can go up there," Tommy said. "I don't need powers. I can still get past security…"
"You will be killed on sight," Zordon said. "All of you will. And this is not simply about power coins and parents. This is also about the fate of the universe. If the Power Rangers are defeated now, you will not be able to face… Jason, would you give Tommy his power coin. We will be ready in minutes."
While the others had protested, Billy had automatically followed what Zordon had said. Jason found himself doing the same.
"What about the dangers to Tommy?" Kimberly insisted. "And to you, Zordon?"
"I don't care about the risks to myself," Tommy said, "as long as you can protect yourself, Zordon." He smiled weakly. "By the way, those risks are?"
Zordon looked almost annoyed at the continued interruptions. It seemed to the Rangers that Zordon knew he was rushing to act rashly, and that he wanted to continue to do so. "I cannot force you to take these risks, Tommy. Your body will be forced to process energy that is alien to it, and your power coin can only protect you so far. If this works, you will be able to morph and access your Zord as you used to… when you retrieve the Dragon Dagger, of course. However, your body will not be able to sustain the power, and you will burn through it. When you begin running out of this infusion, you will suffer the same effects as you did with the Green Candle. This is not a permanent solution, Tommy. And I have only described the best of circumstances."
Tommy's smile was grim. "If you're willing to take the risks, then what are we waiting for?" He held up a hand to the already-forming protests from the others. "My dad's up there. All of our families. I won't let Rita destroy us all like this." He took a breath. "When do we begin?"
"Now," Zordon said. "Rangers, back away from Tommy. Billy, begin the process."
The Rangers had seconds to back away before blinding light filled the Command Center. The Rangers threw their hands over their eyes, and Billy operated the controls more from touch than sight.
The light dimmed. The Rangers slowly blinked their eyes to normal, driving the spots away.
Zordon was floating in his tube as usual, but his blue color had faded to gray, and his eyes were closed. Tommy, on the other hand, was standing in the middle of the Command Center, morphed, breathing fast, and visibly radiating with power.
"Holy crap, it worked," Zack breathed.
"Are you all right, Zordon?" Trini asked quickly.
"I will recover," Zordon said, his voice somewhat more subdued than normal. "Tommy, you must hurry. Rita will surely sense the power shift soon. We will not retain our element of surprise for long."
"Right," Tommy said, his voice barely containing the excitement. "Billy, could you teleport me there? I don't want to waste power."
"Wait a minute, Billy," Jason said. "Tommy, when you get there…"
"I'm not coming back without our parents," Tommy said quickly.
Jason smiled. "I wouldn't expect any less. I was going to say that as soon as you find the Power Coins, teleport them back here. That way we can help you if we need to."
Technically, this was an order to find the power coins before the parents. But Tommy didn't protest. He knew once he teleported the parents out, he wouldn't be able to get back to the Moon Palace. This plan was all or nothing.
"Half an hour, huh?"
Empress Rita opened her eyes to acknowledge Scorpina, who was pacing through the throne room, her arms fidgeting. She'd knocked against the telescope three times already.
"Try to have a little patience, Scorpina," Rita said wearily. "You can't make time go faster with your pacing." She applied pressure to her temple, trying to will the headache away. "Besides, we are finally 'doing something,' as you've been harping on for weeks. We are near the end."
Scorpina scoffed. "Near the end where the Rangers become your new henchmen? Even if they go along with it, that doesn't mean they'll cheerfully enslave their own planet, even if we hang their mommies and daddies over their heads. As young as they are, they'll still know they can't sacrifice a whole planet for just a few people."
"I don't entirely expect them to agree to work for me," said Rita. "I can't rely on blackmailed servants, just as I couldn't put them all under a spell." Rita smiled unpleasantly. "I expect them to die, to fight to the bitter end, rather than surrender. You might be planning which one of them you want to off. I think Goldar might have dibs on the Red Ranger."
Scorpina hid her distaste. No matter how much she wanted to defeat the Rangers, and no matter how close she'd come to killing Tommy, she just couldn't find pleasure in killing children like martyrs.
"I'm going to check on the prisoners," Scorpina said, more for an excuse to leave than anything else.
At the entrance to the dungeon area, she heard screams. Cursing under her breath, she ran the rest of the way to the largest cell, where the cell divider had been made transparent. The people in the cell were backing to the farthest corner, some of the adults trying to calm the screaming children.
Goldar was standing on the outside of the cell, looking confused. "I just came to check on them, and they started up like this. What's their problem?"
Scorpina rolled her eyes. "You are, you moron. You're a monster. And why'd you have to go scaring them like that?"
"What do you want from us?" a man in a red shirt and sports coat demanded.
Scorpina shot a threatening look at the cell and drew her sword. "Who the hell said you could talk?"
The man backed down, glaring. One tiny boy burst into tears.
"You were saying?" Goldar said smugly.
Scorpina sheathed her sword in irritation. "What are you doing down here, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be guarding the Power Coins? Those Rangers are sure to want their powers back, no matter how many hostages we hold." She ignored the intakes of breath as the prisoners realized no heroes would be coming to save them.
Goldar waved off the concern. "All five coins are safe in the weapon room. There's no way the Rangers can break in there. Right now the room security is keyed to my own DNA. Even you couldn't break in there, should you decide to turn traitor."
"And thank you for the vote of confidence," Scorpina said snidely. Her voice grew more serious. "I thought I'd done enough to prove my loyalty."
Goldar looked away, obviously unwilling to start up the same old argument right there in front of the prisoners. Scorpina looked at the prisoners. There were those who were obvious parents of the Rangers, who showed the same heroic virtues that made the Rangers such infernal pains. The man in the red shirt who had first challenged them was obviously Jason's father. A woman with Trini's skin and hair had the same calm resolve. Kimberly's mother had the same fiery defiance. And then, of course, there was woman standing next to the man in the wheelchair. Billy's mother she had seen during Tommy's attack on her that Saturday so long ago. And John, Tommy's father, had seen her before. Knew exactly who she was. He was staring at her, obviously longing to defy her and yet afraid of revealing what he knew…
"Say, Goldar," Scorpina said quietly, her heart suddenly beating uncomfortably fast. "How many coins did you say you collected?"
"Five, of course," Goldar said impatiently. But even as he said the words, fear dawned on his face. At the same time, John, now no longer defiant and afraid, smirked at Scorpina.
"Hurry!" Scorpina shoved Goldar. "Get to the coins. I'll stay here with the prisoners. He may already be there!"
For there was no question in the minds of Goldar, Scorpina, or John, though the other prisoners looked deeply confused. They knew exactly how the Rangers would fight back.
Goldar skidded to a halt in front of the weapons room, praying that he still had time to secure the coins they had before reporting his blindingly stupid oversight to Empress Rita. He desperately keyed in the security code and ran into the room as soon as the door opened.
There was the box, still in the middle of the room on a pedestal. Goldar ripped open the box. Still there. Still five coins of gold, inscribed with prehistoric animals and glinting weakly their color designations. And the Dragon Dagger still sat right next to the box. He picked it up too, just to make sure it wasn't a fake.
The dagger went flying out of his hands. He turned to see the Green Ranger framed in the doorway, catching the dagger as if it had been drawn like a magnet to his hand.
"Thanks, Goldar," the voice said, distorted but still unmistakably Tommy's. "I couldn't have gotten past security without your help."
Goldar kept a firm grip on the box. Tommy might have control over the dagger, but he couldn't just call the power coins to his hand. He drew his sword with the other hand. "I won't ask how you got in here," Goldar said roughly. "I will ask, though, how the hell you got your powers back."
"Like it?" Tommy said. "Pure Eltarian energy straight from Zordon. Enough to kick your ass all the way to Earth and back."
Goldar could hear the exhilaration in his voice. Perhaps Tommy was too drunk with power to fight intelligently. That was something Goldar could use. "So you've got a new toy and power source? Because that always seems to work out."
Tommy laughed. "I honestly thought we'd never be able to do this again. I mean, the last time I beat you, all I did was teleport your power source away." He shrugged. "Of course, that did mean your Zord got trashed, but…"
Goldar knew it was a stupid move even as he did it, but the way this day had turned so horribly had thrown him, and Tommy bringing up the loss of Cyclopsis was just too much. He attacked wildly, his sword swiping across Tommy's chest in one powerful swing. Goldar did have the presence of mind to keep the box safely away from Tommy's reach.
Sparks flew from the point of attack and, instead of knocking Tommy down, they blew Goldar back into the weapons room. He hit the gun racks with an echoing clatter, and several went off, filling the room with dangerous radiant energy and rubble.
Goldar barely had time to recover before Tommy was on him, stronger than he'd ever been before. It was as if Tommy wasn't fully in control over his power. It seemed to form a shield around his entire body. Goldar felt himself thrown across the room again, this time hitting against the bladed weapons. His armor protected him mostly, but his face suffered some cuts.
"Come on, Goldar!" Tommy yelled, already crossing the room for another attack. "Don't crap out on me yet. I could go like this all day!"
Goldar realized with not a little fear that Tommy didn't even seem to be going for the Power Coins. The power had made him oblivious to everything but the fight. While that meant that Tommy was fighting stupidly, it also meant that he might not care whether Goldar, or anyone else, for that matter, lived or died.
Tommy, in the meantime, was taking his time. He picked up a sword and inspected it. "Ah, man, I remember this one." Goldar did, too. It was the sword he had given Tommy, and that Tommy had given back to him after joining the Power Rangers against them.
Goldar pushed himself to his feet, his sword raised in defense. "You're wasting your time, Green Ranger," he said desperately. "Your father is in the dungeon below, and you would risk Empress Rita removing him to a safer location just so you can throw me around the weapons room?"
Goldar could not see if Tommy's expression changed thanks to those damned helmets, but he knew he had hit a nerve in the way Tommy's sword grip changed. "You're right. Better beat you quickly so I can get down there. Thanks."
"No…" Goldar said, amusement tingeing his voice. "Thank you!"
At the last word, Goldar pressed a button from a remote he'd palmed near the gun rack. It controlled one of the bigger guns, which blasted Tommy in the back. Tommy pitched forward, and Goldar launched himself to meet him, catching him with a wicked slash to the ribs.
Tommy recovered, but the gun shot and attack had obviously drained him of some of his excess energy. Goldar knew Tommy would no longer be able to shrug off attacks or throw him around. One worry down.
That's when Goldar noticed something horrible.
Tommy was still there on the floor, clutching his ribs in pain, his chest heaving. And in his other hand was the box.
"Gotcha," Tommy said in a shaky voice.
Before Goldar could even react, the box disappeared, teleported, no doubt, directly to the Command Center.
"What the hell is going on in there?" the voice of Empress Rita shrieked through the air.
"Empress Rita…" Goldar said in a hollow voice, "we've… I've lost the Power Coins."
There was a pause. Goldar could see Tommy laughing silently. "And how, pray tell, could you be so abominably stupid as to allow such a thing to happen?" Rita said, danger dripping from her every syllable.
"Don't blame Goldar, Rita," Tommy spoke up. "After all, I bet even you couldn't have guessed the return of the Green Ranger."
Rita only acknowledged Tommy's taunt with a second pause. Her next words were hurried. "Goldar, do not let the Green Ranger escape. Kill him if you have to. He won't leave without the hostages. I will send Scorpina to Earth for proper distraction."
"Sound strategy, Rita," Tommy said, laughter in his voice. "Let's just see what happens, then."
She didn't answer. Probably fuming as much as Goldar was at the moment.
Tommy shrugged at the silence. "Hostages in the dungeon, right?"
Goldar glared and secured his position in between Tommy and the door. He knew Tommy wouldn't teleport straight there. Tommy had to know that Goldar would follow straight away to continue the fight and secure the prisoners. And Tommy wouldn't want a fight near the prisoners, as that would endanger both the prisoners and even his secret identity.
No, Tommy would be sure to put Goldar out of commission before even going near the dungeon. And Goldar was determined not to be put out of commission so easily.
Sure enough, rather than teleporting, Tommy raised his stolen sword. Goldar raised his own in reply. The fight resumed, this time with grim determination.
There was a collective celebratory whoop when the box containing the power coins shimmered into view on a console.
"That was quick," Zack said. "He's been up there ten minutes."
"Rita can't have been expecting this," Kimberly said.
They were hurriedly passing the box around, their desperation to regain their powers ill-disguised.
"Tommy will have a more difficult time rescuing your families," Zordon spoke for the first time since Tommy left. "Rita must be aware of his intrusion. She will be throwing everything at her disposal at him."
"Then let's get up there and help him," Jason said.
"Finding a hole in security," Billy said. "We'll have to run to the dungeon."
Billy was cut short when the alarm went off. The Viewing Globe automatically showed the scenes of the attack at the amusement park near Angel Grove. Scorpina was there, in monster form, sending around squads of Putties to wreck the park rides, some of which still had children riding them.
"Of course," Zack griped. "And it would have to be children."
Jason stared at the Viewing Globe, obviously still wanting to go up to the Moon Palace. Billy's hands were still poised over the controls.
"We can't ignore this," Trini said quietly. "We all have to go down there to protect those children."
"But she just wants to distract us from saving our parents," Kimberly said in a fury.
"I know," Jason said miserably. "But we don't have a choice."
"Go down to Earth to fight the attack," Zordon said, his voice growing somewhat stronger in the crisis. "I will summon you if Tommy's situation turns dire."
"We end this fight as quickly as possible," Jason said. He gave a grim smile. "Who knows… maybe Tommy can pull off a rescue, too."
Despite the desperate situation, Tommy felt better than he had in months. Possibly it was the fact he was fighting in a major battle, this time with the protection and strength of actual power. Possibly it was the Eltarian energy from Zordon still coursing through him, linking him closer to the Morphing grid than he'd ever been.
Possibly it was that he was kicking Goldar's ass.
Tommy evaded a wild attack from Goldar and got inside his defenses, cutting him savagely through some chinks in his armor. The cuts weren't deep or fatal, but they were obviously painful as Goldar roared in rage.
They'd been at it for several minutes. Tommy was surprised that even with the power drain from the gun shot, he was still easily outclassing Goldar in terms of strength and speed. However, Goldar was infinitely resilient. He might go down, but he didn't stay down for long. And Tommy just couldn't risk a fight near his dad, Sylvia, and everyone else. He'd never forgive himself if any of them got hurt.
They were now fighting in the hallway near Finster's lab and the living quarters. He knew Finster would be monitoring the prisoners from his lab in Scorpina's absence. If he was lucky, he'd be able to sneak a peek to make sure the prisoners were actually in the dungeon. Then he could take the shortest path down to the dungeon. With Goldar down (if all worked out as Tommy intended), Rita wouldn't be able to afford to send Scorpina to fight him, as the rest of the Rangers would probably follow her. That meant that Rita would have to confront him herself.
Tommy prayed it wouldn't come to that. If he was quick enough, it wouldn't have to. Rita was probably too exhausted from throwing all this magic around, anyway: security, teleportation, Billy's spell, the constant attacks over the past few weeks…
All of the sudden, as Tommy was preparing to evade and counter the next attack, things started to go Tommy's way.
The two fighters heard a yell from Finster's lab. It was enough to distract Goldar. While Goldar swiveled his head toward the lab, Tommy pulled out his dagger and crossed it with the sword, using the lightning he hadn't used since he was evil. It was a slow attack—Jason had been able to dodge the attack several times the last time—and he wasn't using it at full power like he had before. Goldar went down, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Tommy paused long enough to check for a pulse. It was still there, strong as ever. Goldar was just going to be unconscious for… how long? Tommy couldn't guess. He considered the sword… and then left it beside Goldar. It wasn't his anymore: it wasn't right to keep it.
He ran to the lab. He still wanted to check to see if his dad was indeed in the dungeon… but that yell from the lab also worried him. Was there a prisoner in the lab? Was Finster in trouble? They were enemies, but Tommy still felt some connection to the little scientist who had fussed over him all that time he'd been under the spell.
He skidded to a halt in the lab. He'd been prepared for anything: prisoners, monsters, weird science experiments, but… It was empty. Finster's work table looked scattered, as if the scientist had gathered several things in a hurry. The work bag that always sat next to the main computer was missing.
The surveillance screen on the computer was still running. Tommy looked at it. His heart stopped. He ran.
In the dungeon, the transparent door of the cell was wide open. No one was even attempting to escape, though. They were all crowded in the middle of the room. A wheelchair sat discarded to the side.
"Stand back, please," a white, wizened figure said. "Give me some room."
The humans backed away, all except Sylvia. She stayed where she was, as white as Finster, kneeling on the other side of John Oliver.
"We have to get him to a hospital," Steve said in a panicky voice.
Finster started hooking John up to diagnostic equipment. "Human hospitals," Finster said scornfully. "If he leaves my care, he'll be dead before he's even checked in." He keyed in a few life support settings to the portable medical computer. "I will need some assistance," he said curtly.
Jason's mother broke from the crowd. "I'm a nurse," she said. In fact, she'd been trying to attend to John before Finster had shooed her away.
"That will do," Finster said. "Resuscitation may set off seizures."
"Right," Mrs. Scott said. She pulled her husband's coat from her own shoulders and folded it up. She put it under John's head, careful not to disrupt any of the equipment surrounding John.
Sylvia had moved a little further away to give Mrs. Scott room. She still stayed within reach of John, as if her presence could keep him alive.
Finster pressed a button, and John's body gave a violent tremor. Some of Sylvia's sisters pulled the children to the side, not wanting them to watch. The others watched as if entranced.
Finster spouted off some unrecognizable words. "It can't be related to his disease." He thrust a device into Mrs. Scott's hands. "You, run this slowly over his body and stop if I tell you."
Mrs. Scott did as instructed, falling back into her nursing reflexes. She began with the torso and started moving up, knowing that most immediate problems happen there first. After a minute, she was at the head.
"Stop," Finster said. "Hold it right there."
From his computer screen, Finster could see exactly what was happening in John's head. A burst blood vessel. It had probably burst half an hour before, when Finster had noticed John going to sleep. Like everyone else in the room, he'd thought John had had a fit related to his MS. Nothing too bad, since he hadn't convulsed like usual. Nothing too bad…
Finster pulled his micro-surgery toolkit from his bag. He'd have to fix the blood vessel quickly. John was close to bleeding out completely.
"Is he going to be okay?" The question came from Sylvia.
Finster couldn't answer. "He's suffering from a cranial aneurysm. He's been bleeding for some time, though I may be able to repair the vessel and replenish his blood."
Mrs. Scott had turned white. Finster knew that he wasn't fooling her. Probably not fooling anyone in the room. Even with his advanced technology, there was little chance.
In a part of himself that Finster kept firmly to the side, he was panicking. John couldn't die. Not him, out of all of them.
Working steadily, Finster closed up the blood vessel. He then began the delicate process of mini-teleportation: a medical process that would cleanse the blood in his brain and teleport it back where it needed to be. He'd never used it on a human, but the principle was the same.
Now for the larger problem: John had been dead when Finster got there. He couldn't tell for how long. Could he even be revived?
Finster hurriedly removed the micro-surgery kit and pressed the resuscitation button. John's body jolted. Before Finster could even check, Mrs. Scott had taken over the cardio-diagnostic equipment. "No heart rate, doctor," she said.
For several minutes, Finster and Mrs. Scott tried.
"He's gone," Finster said in a dead voice. He found himself looking up across to Sylvia, whose eyes already bore the knowledge. "There's nothing I can do."
"Try it again."
Finster froze. A wave of cold passed over him as he recognized the voice, even behind the filtering of the helmet.
"Did you hear me?" Tommy sounded more and more inhuman with each syllable. "Try it again!"
"He's dead." Finster said, surprising himself with how calm his voice was. "He was dead before I could get here."
The silence was broken only by Sylvia's sobs. Finster looked up to see Tommy, morphed into the Green Ranger, pointing his blaster at him with a shaking arm.
"Get against the wall," Tommy commanded. "Unless you want to join him."
Finster moved faster than he ever had in his life. He threw himself against the wall, half expecting Tommy to kill him right there. Instead, he watched as Tommy addressed the prisoners.
"I need you all to grab each other's hands. Make sure you all have contact with each other, and…" He looked at John, but Sylvia and Mrs. Scott already had hold of him. Someone had even grabbed the wheelchair.
He pulled a teleporter stolen from Finster's lab out of thin air. He handed it to Frank. "This will take you back to Earth. Rita won't be able to capture you again. I'll make sure of that."
"Wait!" Sylvia said in a thick voice. "Aren't you coming with us?"
Tommy slowly shook his head. "There's still something I have to do."
The prisoners disappeared, leaving a deafening silence in their wake. Tommy was still staring at where they'd disappeared… where his father had been lying only seconds before.
"I'm sorry," Finster heard himself saying. "Tommy… I did everything I could."
"Shut up." Tommy's voice was weak… barely human.
Finster had no idea what to say. He'd given countless people news of the death of a loved one… but never an enemy. But was this an enemy? Finster remembered vividly his own declaration of their enmity weeks before. But now none of that seemed to matter. The fight over Earth, the fight against good and evil… all of that paled in the wake of what had just happened.
"No…" Tommy said, "I know it's not your fault."
For a second Finster wondered if Tommy was thinking the same thing he was.
"It's Rita." Tommy's voice sounded distracted. "It's always been Rita. And now again…"
"No…" Finster had been around warriors long enough to know exactly what Tommy was thinking. "I know you were listening to everything. He died of a cranial aneurysm. Even if he had been in a hospital at the time and a doctor had caught it immediately, there would have been a very low chance of survival." Finster gulped. "If Queen Rita had not kidnapped him, he would have died just the same."
But he could already tell Tommy wasn't listening. He was past reason.
Before Finster could do anything, Tommy smashed the hidden computer controls to the room, left the cell, and closed and locked the door.
Tommy decided not to think. Not right then. Couldn't handle it.
He ran down the hallways. Past the entrance to the dungeon. Past the weapons room. Past the living quarters, near the lab. And there was Goldar, still unconscious. And there was the sword beside him.
The sword…
It would be enough. Full power, the sword and dagger crossed. And even if she deflected it, even if she had the power to deflect it back on him…
He'd see his dad again.
The amusement park was finally deserted, all except for the fighters. The Rangers had cut a path through the Putties, enough for everyone to get out.
Jason was practically screaming in frustration. Too long. It had taken so damn long. There had to have been at least fifty Putties throughout the park. Just when they cleared an area, more came.
In the meantime, Scorpina was fighting like one possessed. She attacked the park itself as much as the Rangers. She'd almost pulled Jason's arm out of its socket.
Jason heard Zordon's voice, but he couldn't make out the words. He knocked two Putties out of his way and ran behind a booth. "Repeat, Zordon!"
"My readings show that all of Rita's hostages are now on Earth. I have reestablished security around the house via remote."
A weight that Jason was only now aware of lifted off his chest. Tommy had done it. They were all safe. "That's fantastic, Zordon. If Tommy's able, we could really use his help here."
Zordon's voice was suddenly worried. "Tommy did not teleport down with the others. I can only assume he is still at the Moon Palace."
Some of the weight settled back on Jason's chest. "Maybe he still has to find the Dragon Dagger. We don't want Rita having control over the DragonZord."
"I will let you know if he checks in," Zordon said.
"Right." Jason broke off communications and leapt back into the fray. "Our parents are safe!" he pronounced.
There was a chorus of celebration from the Rangers, a growl of fury from Scorpina, and the battle resumed with renewed energy.
Rita sat on the chair next to her telescope, but she didn't look through it. It didn't matter what was happening on Earth. She'd sent Squatt and Baboo away. They didn't know what was going to happen, or else they would have never left.
She was waiting.
She'd been following Tommy's progress through the palace, unable to do anything about it. She was so exhausted…
In her exhaustion, in Tommy's pain, the connection had reopened. Rita could feel it. She had felt the moment when Tommy had realized his father was dead.
He was coming to her. Her enemy. Her poor, broken boy.
Still, she refused to give up. She wasn't going to risk her life over some grieving boy trying vainly to gain revenge, a revenge that he would immediately regret. She was exhausted, but she was still Empress of Evil. With Zordon locked away, a mere echo of himself, she was the single most powerful being in that section of space. If she truly decided to do something, nothing could stop her for long.
And she'd decided no one else was going to die that day.
The cabinet near her shook slightly, the thing hidden inside of it affected by the combined emotions of Rita and Tommy. Rita took several breaths to calm herself. She didn't want to give away the location of her power source. For hidden inside the cabinet was the embodiment of the power she'd drawn from the dimensional portals. It was dangerous to draw from it when her own power was tapped out, but at the moment it was more dangerous for her to have no power at all.
She remembered when she'd gained control over the dimensional portals. She'd used it to open the Island of Illusion, to force the Rangers to face their worst nightmares.
She wondered if this was one of the things he saw on the island.
Even as she was considering, she heard footsteps. He was here.
"Turn around."
Rita slowly turned in her chair. The Green Ranger towered over her, bristling with wild power as he'd done before. His sword and dagger were poised to deliver the killing blow. He didn't move.
The words came to Rita as naturally as air. "Take off your mask."
Tommy was visibly trembling. He seemed to be unable to catch his breath. "You don't get it, do you? I'm here to kill you."
And underneath the bravado, Rita knew Tommy felt the connection between them. Not one of control. Never again. One of… something… that neither Rita nor Tommy could define.
"I understand you perfectly well, Tommy," Rita said in a quiet voice. "And I'm so, so sorry."
Slowly, Rita got up, her wand raised. She could do any number of things to Tommy at that moment, but right now all she wanted to do was defend and protect. To keep him from killing one or both of them. From destroying everything.
Just to distract him, Rita aimed a thin stream of lightning at him. He dodged, his dagger and sword uncrossing. She knew if he didn't have the sword he would have the power but not the focus to use his own lightning attack. She decided to work on depriving him of that sword.
He dodged the next of Rita's attack deftly. She could tell Tommy was trying to get in close, too close for Rita to use her most effective attacks without endangering herself. He obviously thought she was aiming to kill. Muttering a spell, she cast a defensive shield around her. It wasn't strong enough to keep him away, but it could slow him down, and it could certainly slow his reaction times down.
For a moment, Tommy moved as if he were swimming through sand. That was all the time Rita needed. Lightning arced toward Tommy. It hit his hand, forcing the sword to fly out of his grip. It also left his glove black and smoking. But he didn't scream, though Rita knew by all rights he should have. It was as if he were beyond mere physical pain.
And still, through the fight, she could feel Tommy's anguish. It was starting to be difficult to concentrate. She had to end the fight soon.
Before Rita could react, Tommy had broken free of the shield and pulled his blaster. He fired off three shots, and Rita barely had time to dive out of the way. One shot singed her dress, another hit the telescope. The telescope was too powerful and durable to be hurt, but the shot sent it toppling out of the balcony.
She didn't worry about it, knowing she could retrieve it later. She was more worried that the third shot landed dangerously close to the cabinet. If a mix of Eltarian and morphing energy hit her dimensional power source…
From momentary panic, Rita shot a far more powerful bolt than she meant to. It sent Tommy careening into the larger throne room. Rita forced herself to her feet and followed, already muttering a spell to have ready. She had to end the fight, but the problem was she wasn't a fighter. She had very little experience in direct combat, usually able to easily defend herself with magic…or other warriors.
She considered briefly calling Scorpina to her side. She rejected the idea. It had to be them. No one else could interfere.
She sent her lightning to meet the blaster attack before her eyes had fully registered it. The energy met in the middle, crackled, and dispersed. Again and again Rita matched the attacks, knowing she was wearing Tommy down.
And then she realized her inexperience was showing. She wasn't wearing Tommy down. Tommy was drawing her closer, getting her to the center of the room where she was most vulnerable and had no chance of escape.
There was a blast of trumpet, and she felt herself blown back. She barely had enough time to grab the railing of the balcony to keep from being thrown out onto the lunar surface.
When she looked up, Tommy had the sword back. He was limping, his breath ragged. His shoulder seemed at an odd angle, and Rita realized the force of her last blow had been enough to dislocate it. Still, he was standing, and Rita found she couldn't draw enough power to get up. She stared at Tommy, her mind racing for something to say. She could fight back… but not before he could strike.
The sword and dagger crossed, but the energy didn't come. Tommy just stood there, shaking.
"Why can't I do it?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Rita realized she was shaking as well, and not just from exhaustion. She suddenly knew for certain he would not kill her. That he didn't even want to kill her.
The connection was clearer than ever. Rita didn't need him to take off his helmet to see him. She could see into him perfectly.
"Perhaps," and Rita marveled at how strong her voice was, "you do not want to lose someone else."
"But I hate you."
Rita smiled at the desperate lie. She didn't say anything. Carefully, she opened her mind to the connection, trying to send comfort.
The blades uncrossed. He dropped his sword, and the dagger disappeared.
Rita was just considering what to do next when flame erupted in the throne room, and Tommy was gone, teleported away by Goldar. Neither Tommy nor Rita had noticed him.
Rita slumped into a chair, tears rolling down her face even as she passed out.
Something was wrong.
A burst of golden fire erupted in the center of the battlefield. The combatants froze, watching the scene.
Tommy and Goldar were fighting. No… Tommy was fighting. And ineffectually, barely landing a blow on Goldar. Goldar evaded the wild and pathetic attacks.
Scorpina and Jason had been fighting, but they stopped. Jason heard Scorpina gasp. She turned back into her regular form without seeming to know what she was doing. Her face was bloodless and shocked.
Something was wrong, and she knew it.
"Fight me!" Tommy screamed. His voice was ragged and thick, barely his own.
Goldar didn't answer. He didn't attack Tommy. He didn't even look angry.
After a few more half-hearted attacks, Tommy stopped. He knelt on the ground. He was shaking uncontrollably. He didn't seem aware of anyone or anything, not even Goldar.
Jason was ready to step in, but Goldar didn't attack. He merely looked up, his face unreadable.
"You'd better take him home," Goldar said to Jason. "He's just lost his father."
Goldar, Scorpina, and the Putties disappeared, leaving the Rangers in the abandoned amusement park, with Tommy still on his knees, now sobbing.