No rest for the weary, all rangers know that is the honest truth of their lives while they are connected with their powers. They are never able to get a much needed break at the right time; they have to wait until all the fighting is done. That fighting, however, often took so much out of them that they were not able to recognize what was going on.
Conner and Ethan, however, were finding all of this out the hard way. Dr. O and Kim seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth and they had no clue where to begin searching for them or Kira. Hayley was really no help, considering the fact that she did not know if Tommy had installed a tracking device or just let it all be up to them to find a missing ranger. She knew about the history of ranger disappearances in the past, but had no clue how to find them. Billy had done most of the work last time and she hadn't even attempted to take notes. She hadn't thought that it would happen again.
"Come on, Dr. O had to tell you where they were going. He wouldn't just leave us like this without any help. He knows how things are going right now," Conner said, again, as Hayley shook her head no. Tommy had just taken off, which was so unlike him, but he didn't want to be followed anymore. He wanted to guarantee that he was going to have time to heal Kim without any interruptions.
"I'd tell you if I knew, but I don't. We've got to come up with something on our own. It's Kira's only chance, if Kim and Tommy don't show up very soon," Hayley said as Kim and Tommy materialized in front of them. They didn't know where they might come out, but landing here let them know exactly how bad things must be. Ninjor had not sent them home; he had sent them to the rangers.
"This is not your uncle's cabin," Kim remarked as Tommy smiled down at her, so what if the teleportation was a bit off. They had at least arrived in one piece, which was always a miracle coming from Phaedos. The teleportations from there were notoriously rough on the rangers, as they took a great deal of power to pull off and the only powers that seemed to be strong enough were the Ninjetti powers.
"Dr. O?" Conner asked as Tommy turned around; he now knew why he had been brought here. Something was very wrong with his rangers. Otherwise, they would have let them go back to the cabin and just contact them from there. The problem was that they had honestly hoped to be able to take a little time to gather themselves back together. They had had just a few shocks this afternoon.
"Where's Kira?" Tommy asked as he looked around and they could only shake their heads that no one wanted to know the answer. They were sure that Kim and Tommy would not like to hear it, although they could probably figure it out faster than anyone else here.
"Mesogogg has her?" Kim asked as Conner nodded his head yes and Kim lost all ability to think as she charged out of the Command Center.
"Kim, honey, wait up. You don't need to do this," Tommy said as he turned to run after her, she did not need to barge in there alone. She was not strong enough to deal with this by herself just yet.
"Where are you going?" Conner asked as they had scanned all of earth and found no Kira or Mesogogg. Unless Kim had some sort of unknown power, she wouldn't be able to find her either.
"Hell if I know, but she's got some crazy idea and I'm not going to stop her, unless this is a suicide mission. Then I'll have to try to convince her otherwise," Tommy said as he disappeared and Conner gave Hayley the most confused look in the world. Why would Dr. O let his girlfriend run off into something that could potentially harm her more than anything else in the world?
"Don't ask me, the two of them speak a language all their own. I don't think it wise for any of us to try to interpret anything that they say. It's not like we would be able to understand," Hayley said as Conner and Ethan exchanged a glance, this was certainly different for them.
"What are you doing?" Tommy asked as he caught up with Kim. He didn't want her to do what he was thinking that she was going to attempt. He couldn't deal with that sort of selflessness from her right now. He knew just how irrationally she was thinking if she wanted to attempt something like that.
"Saving Kira, it's me that he wants Tommy and it's me he'll get. She has done nothing to deserve having to go through the hell he'll inflict," Kim said as she reached for her communicator, but Tommy stopped her dead in her tracks.
"I'm not putting you back in that hell, either. You never did a damn thing to him. You don't deserve it, we'll figure out another way," Tommy said, adamantly, as Kim looked back at him, not the least bit worried. She knew that she could handle Mesogogg, as she had done so many times in the past.
"But is it fair to leave a seventeen year old there? She's not even experienced in fighting, Tommy, at least I am. At least I know what I am doing against him," Kim said as Tommy merely looked away, not wanting to admit how right she really was. Kira was in far more danger than Kim and he knew that if she didn't go, then Kira would probably die, very soon. "That's what I thought, let me be the one to bargain with him. He'll take a deal from me."
"He'll want you to stay," Tommy said as Kim nodded. She had already evaluated that much before Tommy had gotten to her. She knew she would have to spend some time with him to ensure Kira's safety, but that was only a small price to pay. No girl deserved to have to be tortured by him.
"But you'll get me back, I know you too well. I know that you'll find a way, Tommy. You always do, you seem to be the only one that can get me back no matter what happens," Kim said as Conner and Ethan ran up, having figured out Kim's plan on their own. They could not let her do this, Kira would not want for her to do this for her. Kim had been through far too much lately.
"You can't do that to yourself," Conner said as Kim gave him a weak smile. He didn't seem to understand, it was either her or Kira. She had the better chance and she had already had so much happen that it wasn't even funny. Mesogogg couldn't do much more to her and Tommy knew that. That was the only reason that he was not yelling at her for even thinking such a thing.
"No one needs to go through what I went through. We might still have time to stop him but that requires me to go with him. It'll only be until Kira's out, then I'll find a way out. I've been there before, I know ways out that none of you would ever think of, you just have to trust me on this," Kim said as Tommy merely looked away as an invisaportal opened and Mesogogg stumbled out.
"Nice plan, Kimberly," Mesogogg said as Kim glared over at him. It was one thing to talk about doing the right thing and it was another thing to actually do it. "Too bad it won't work."
"Where is she?" Kim challenged as she walked forwards and Mesogogg smiled over at her. He was not going to give up that sort of information without torturing Kim some first. It certainly was well worth whatever he gave up just to see her squirm.
"My friends are having some fun," Mesogogg said as Kim gave him a disgusted look. With her new powers, she could sense Kira, but she just couldn't get to her.
"You're pissing me off," Kim muttered as Tommy could feel her powers radiating out of her and was sure that Mesogogg was feeling it as well. He knew that Kim was about to explode and he just hoped that Conner and Ethan would get out of her line of fire, quickly. They had never been properly introduced to Kimberly when she was roaring mad. "I'll ask you one more time, where is she?"
"A place you cannot reach," Mesogogg taunted as Kim looked over at Tommy, his senses must be killing him by now with everything that she was holding back. She could see it in his face that he knew what needed to be done and merely nodded as she turned back to Mesogogg.
"Bow," Kim muttered as a pink bow appeared in her hands and she carefully placed an arrow on the string and glared at Mesogogg. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"You wouldn't…" Mesogogg began as the arrow zinged inches to his left. He was now very unsure of what the otherwise petrified Kim would do. He had expected it to be weeks before he faced her again and he had expected her to curl up in a ball and not fight. Something had changed in her, a spark had been ignited that he should have left dormant, for much longer.
"Don't tell me what I wouldn't do anymore," Kim whispered as Tommy walked over to the invisaportal and dove through it. He was sure Kim would keep Mesogogg occupied long enough for him to rescue Kira. "The nice Kim is gone."
"Surely you jest," Mesogogg said as another arrow flew by him and he knew that she was missing on purpose, she could kill him whenever she wished.
"I don't jest, you're mine," Kim said as she tossed her bow to Conner, who just managed to catch it. "Ninjetti crane."
"What the hell…" Mesogogg muttered as a pink ranger now stood before him, dressed in ninja garb. He had heard of these rangers, but never thought Kim had been one. It seemed like it was after her time, but obviously he had been a little off on the time line of when she had been a ranger.
"We have more than just you to deal with," Kim muttered as Conner and Ethan exchanged a glance. What was Kim talking about? Was there really something else out there that might come after them at a moment's notice?
"Do you have any idea how she became the pink ranger?" Conner asked as Mesogogg and Kim circled each other. They could have sworn that she had been the white ranger the last time that she morphed, even if she was evil at the time. It didn't really count anymore in their minds.
"I'm just as confused as you are as to how that happened," Ethan said as he looked at the bow more carefully and saw an inscription that could barely be distinguished except when the light hit it a certain way. "This bow is entrusted to the ender of all evil."
"That's certainly not me," Conner said as Kim began to fight with Mesogogg. The pink ranger was surprisingly good at backing him into a corner without any outside help. How they wished that they had that skill, they knew that it had been acquired through years of hard work, but they knew that they wouldn't have that much time.
"It's hers, Conner," Ethan said with an exasperated sigh and Conner finally got the picture. Kim was supposed to, somehow, end all evil. Was that what had been going on with her and Dr. O when they disappeared? Had they been getting something for that mission? Something that was much more important than everything that they had right now.
"Let's get you back to the Command Center," Tommy muttered as he carried Kira out of the invisaportal. She did not look good to him, but he knew that nothing more than the bruising she took had happened to her. He had been sure to get at least that much out of Mesogogg's cronies before he disappeared. He wanted to be able to assure Conner that Kira really would be okay once the bruises were gone.
"I'm getting out of here," Mesogogg said as he dove through the invisaportal and Kim let out a frustrated groan. She had wanted so badly to make him pay for what he had done, but he was too much of a coward to stay and take it.
"Did Dr. O come back?" Conner asked, suddenly worried that their teacher was trapped there as well.
"Yeah, he just made it," Kim said as she grabbed her bow from Conner and just nodded. Neither was sure what that meant, but they were sure that she was fine with them. "Mesogogg needs to start picking out his tombstone."
"What the hell is going on?" Hayley asked as Kim walked in with Conner and Ethan and then pulled down her mask. The mask didn't need to hide her face when she was with people that she knew. "How'd you become the pink ranger? And where did those suits come from?"
"We need to do that story justice, so just wait for everyone to gather here. It's time we saw what's inside that box," Kim said as Tommy just stared at her in awe. Her raw emotion let him know that she was teetering on a very dangerous line right now. "I'm not screwing around anymore Tommy. It's time that they get what is coming to them and leave the earth alone, for good."
"I get the point," Tommy said as Conner walked over to Kira and sat down in the chair that Tommy stuck behind him. He knew how people were likely to react to this type of thing. He had been through the situations more times than he would like to remember and he knew what it had done to him every time.
"Hayley contact the others, then teleport them here," Kim said as Hayley merely nodded. She was sure the story was well worth retelling and that everyone needed to hear it in order to believe it.
"Kim, honey, are you going to power down?" Tommy asked as Kim looked down at her uniform and then nodded as she powered down. "We don't want them to guess before you tell the story."
"What about Kira? A damn story won't help her wake up," Conner said as Kim and Tommy gave him sympathetic glances. They had both sat in that chair and felt the responsibility of it. They knew that it was horrible to watch someone that you care about just lie there and that you were helpless to help them, but they only thing that they could guarantee was that this would bring them closer. It had every time that Kim or Tommy had been the one lying on that bed.
"She'll wake up, it just may take some time," Kim said as Conner looked over at her in disbelief. Dr. O had not readily accepted that for her, so why should he? This was an injury that was nowhere near as bad as hers. She should be awake right now, joking around with all of them.
"Easy for you to say," Conner said as Kim looked over at him. Did he not remember what the two of them had been through? Did he not remember when it was her on that bed and although Tommy was freaking out, he was taking it a hell of a lot better than Conner right now.
"It's been hard, but we've been through much worse. She'll be fine, Conner," Kim said, pointedly, as Conner looked at her. She was not complaining about having to come back and fight after only two days to recover. They could live with the small injuries that Kira had. This was the norm in the ranger world and they all needed to get used to it. They couldn't be babied anymore.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to disappear for a few days," Jason said as Tommy gave him a look that clearly said that plan had been axed. He couldn't help but wonder what had happened to cause that to be a problem for them. They had gone away to his uncle's cabin and left a message with only him that said to contact them if hell froze over, which told him that they didn't want to hear about a damn thing that was happening anywhere in the world for a couple of days.
"We've got so much to tell you, but we need that box," Tommy said as Billy handed it over and Tommy opened the lid and pulled out their old morphers. That was all it contained, but that was enough to make it all too clear to them. "Here you go."
"I've missed this," Kim muttered as she smiled over at him and they simultaneously popped the morphers on their hands and morphed.
"What the holy hell," Billy murmured as Kim and Tommy pulled their masks down and smiled over at their fellow rangers. They had honestly expected their reaction to be worse than this.
"I guess Zordon knew we'd never get any stronger powers," Tommy said as Kim shook her head. Tommy had probably experienced stronger powers, but there was no telling him that. He had always believed that this was the strongest set he had ever had, even if the statistics showed otherwise. The turbo powers should have honestly kicked his Ninjetti powers ass, but they never had, not like every other ranger had experienced.
"Please tell me that you are much better," Trini said as Tommy grabbed Kim's hand. He knew that she couldn't tell them that and she didn't need to lie to them. They were their friends and deserved to still know some semblance of the truth. "How are you going to fight him?"
"We're not. There's some other evil out there for us," Tommy said as Kim placed her arms around him. "And I'm not going back to Reefside High, it's time I go back home."
"You got a job in Angel Grove?" Trini asked as Tommy nodded his head yes. With Kim's okay, all he had to do was go, nothing else was holding him back.
"Hayley take the house, Mercer wanted someone with need to have it. I don't need it anymore," Tommy said as Ethan and Conner stared at him and he could feel their eyes. "I'm only a push of a button away. It's either now or never, so I might as well do what I've been waiting to."
"But why not give the house to Kim?" Hayley asked as Kim reached over to the desk, where she had discarded her glasses.
With the mask up, she could see fine, but when the powers were not coursing through her she needed them. She still was not cured of her vision woes.
"I was opening a gym in Angel Grove anyway, I might as well go back myself," Kim said as their friends exchanged a glance. They weren't going to ask the inevitable question in front of the teens, but they had a good idea of the answer already. Kim and Tommy were going to move in together, which was something that they all wanted to happen, just as much as they wanted them to get married.
"You're leaving us?" Conner asked as Tommy turned to face them.
"As your teacher yes, as your mentor, no. I'll still be here a lot, but the two of us have to go after something we don't even really understand," Tommy said as Kira let out a groan and Kim smiled. She was known for taunting Tommy with that sort of thing and it seemed that Kira was the same way.
"What can you possibly be smiling about?" Conner asked, irritated with the whole situation.
"She does that to me," Tommy said as Kira groaned again and Kim nodded. They constantly reminded her of how cruel she was to Tommy in high school.
"Must have something to do with the pterodactyl in the both of you," Billy said as Trini shook her head. Leave it to Billy to find some sort of scientific connection in the situation and not try to just connect with them both being a tad bit drama queen-ish.
"What about our problem?" Conner asked as Tommy and Kim looked at each other. They would have had the same concerns if Zordon suddenly suited up and told them that he was going to Eltar to fight, but these kids just had to trust them. They weren't doing this just for the hell of it. "Dr. O, an answer!"
"My head," Kira muttered as she woke up. Conner's shouting had seemed to break her out of her comatose state, but she would have rather avoided this headache.
"You can't leave us, Dr. O," Ethan said as Conner was staring at Kira as she sat up and Conner caught her as she tipped over to the side.
"You don't know what you're asking us to do if we stay," Kim said as Kira gave Conner a confused look. Why were they dressed as Ninjas and why were they leaving? She was sure that she had only been out for a few minutes, not days.
"What did I miss?" Kira whispered as Conner looked down at her and then over at Kim and Tommy. They had to tell her, because he couldn't without losing his temper.
"We're leaving you, to go fight for the greater good," Kim said as Kira stared at Kim and Tommy. How could they do this to them?
"How could you? How can you? We need you more than whatever the hell this greater good is!" Kira yelled as she stood up and promptly was caught by Conner. She was too weak and they all knew that.
"Our greater good will end all evil," Kim said as she could feel Tommy fuming next to her. It didn't matter how many times they went through this in their heads, they knew it wouldn't be taken too well until they threw the facts up in their faces. They were going to have to say some things that they would later regret, but there was no other way around it. They all had to know the truth before they began their mission. "Don't you get it? We're putting out asses on the line to save you and everyone else on this Earth. Show us some respect, because neither of us is predicted to live through this."
"What?" Jason asked looking from Kim's tear stained face to Tommy's and noticed that he was completely absorbed in calming Kim back down. He knew it must be true then, Tommy would have at least spared him a glance if she was not telling the truth about the situation. "Kim, if we had known, we wouldn't have...we wouldn't have…"
"You wouldn't have what?" Tommy managed to ask as Kim looked over at the other rangers. She did not like what she saw in their eyes, she knew what guilt looked like all too well.
"Volunteered you for the task, we knew you were the strongest, especially together," Trini said as Kim slumped against Tommy and he pulled her in close.
"It was the only way we thought the two of you would ever be together again. We did it the night we came back from Murianthius. Zordon asked us and we told him the two of you, even Kat wanted you two back together," Jason said as they heard the sobs from Kim and Jason forced himself to press on. He couldn't let her think that they had volunteered them to go and die. "We never would have done it if we knew that you might die."
"No…" Kim moaned as Tommy gathered her up and carried her out of the Command Center as the others merely watched. They had no clue what to do to make it better on them and they were not even sure that Tommy knew how to make Kim calm down.
"I didn't mean it," Kira muttered as Conner gave her a kiss on the forehead and stroked down her hair. She hadn't done anything to cause this, except ask a question. Kim and Tommy had a lot of undue stress on them and she should realize that.
"I know," Conner whispered as Kira clutched to him. She had done this a few times, but he had never felt like this before. He had seen the utter despair Kim was feeling and to see that Kira felt just a fraction of that broke him. He could only imagine how Dr. O felt right now.
"God help us," Trini said as she reached for Jason and he wrapped her up in a strong hug. Tommy and Kim were not going to…they were going to have a hard time with this. To know that all the other rangers had decided this for them. They weren't going to deal with them for a long time. They had been betrayed by their own.