Part 14:

He looked up to see Tara glaring down at him, hands on hips. He tried to speak but the wind had been knocked out of him when he fell and his chest ached from effort.

"Either I have a career in acting in my future or you're incredibly stupid!" she said with a cold grin.

"Tara…" Tommy gasped, trying to get his breath back. "You don't…"

"Oh, save the speech, Green Ranger," Tara started walking around him. "'Tara, please. You don't know what you're doing. Let me help,'" she said mockingly. "Got the same from your little girlfriend. Or I would if she were able to talk."

"What did you do?" Tommy demanded, starting to get back to his feet. But Tara shot another spell to knock him back again.

"I don't understand why you like her so much," Tara said, as if she hadn't heard him. "She's cute. But of all the girls in the world? Really, Tommy?"

Tommy was furious. "If you hurt her in any way, I swear…"

Tara feigned a terrified gasp. "Oh, dear, I'm so scared!" Tommy saw her finger the purple stone around her neck. His mind flashed back to his early days. The brief memories that came to him when he was under Rita's control. The Sword of Darkness was the key to maintaining the spell. Maybe this pendant worked the same. But how to get it without hurting Tara?

"Listen to me," he said, finally getting to his feet. "You don't want to do this. Rita's manipulating you. You're just her puppet to get at me and my friends."

"Rita is my queen and I am her student," Tara snapped. Her eyes grew dark with anger. But Tommy caught the briefest wince of pain on her face and felt a slight waver in power. Some part, deep inside, was still the real Tara and she was fighting it. Somehow, he felt it.

"The last thing I want to do is fight you," said Tommy.

"Good, because when I'm done, that just might be the last thing." She waved her arms to cast another spell. Tommy braced himself to be thrown back a third time but instead he felt a jolt of electricity go through him, making him drop to his knees. A force field appeared and he got zapped when he tried to touch it.

"Tara, what are you doing?" Tommy demanded. "Think of your family. Think of Gran. What would she say if she saw you now? Using your talents for evil?" He saw another wince of pain on her face. "You have to fight it. I know you can."

"Shut it!" screamed Tara. She sent a bolt at him again. It hurt but it wasn't as strong this time.

"Tommy!" He heard the voice inside his head. It was quiet but he could hear it well enough. He stared at his cousin as she clutched her head and breathed heavily. "Tommy, keep talking. Help me."

Then he realized. This was Tara's voice. She was fighting the spell and reaching out to him. Tommy thought quickly and got to his feet. He staggered slightly. All the attacks had left him lightheaded. A memory came to mind. "Remember the first time I visited and you saw I outgrew you?" he asked, with a smile. "You yelled at me for ten whole minutes."

He saw another burst of pain on her face and hesitated. "Keep going. I remember. Keep going."

"Or, when I surprised you at your high school play. I bought a replica Tony Award trophy and had the whole seat next to me full of flowers." Tara was on her knees now. She looked at him and her eyes flashed between normal and not. "I kept all your letters," Tommy continued. "And all the scrapbooks you sent me. They're in a box in my closet so they don't get ruined. But I look at them all the time."

Tara continued to struggle. It was working but not enough. Tommy couldn't stand it. He took a step back, took a deep breath and sprinted forward toward the force field. Pain rocketed through his body. He strained and cried out. Somehow he made it through and staggered toward Tara. His vision blurred and everything went black.