Worlds, Times and Distances Apart

A Power Rangers Fanfiction

by Lauraac2110

Dreams Part 6: The Curse's Downfall

Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early afternoon, a few seconds later

"Help me lift him," IRMA commanded Kimberly as she went over to RJ.

"But Tommy..." Kimberly began as she looked at Tommy as he was convulsing on the bed. RJ, barely conscious, could hear the distress in her voice.

"Can wait for a few seconds," IRMA replied calmly. "We need to get RJ off of the floor first."

Kimberly nodded and, together with IRMA, they managed to lift RJ onto the nearest bed. Then, IRMA turned her attention straight to Tommy. Kimberly, who couldn't bear to watch IRMA as she was working away on Tommy to get his heart to restart, stayed at RJ's bedside.

"RJ... can you hear me?" she asked. "You've got to wake up. I..."

However, whatever else she said was lost on RJ as he lost consciousness.

Dreamworld, Spirit Jungle

"RJ... RJ... wake up!" I hear a voice command. Hesitantly, I open my eyes to find myself in the Dreamworld interpretation of the Spirit Jungle. I notice then that I'm on the Rhino Nexus.

And that Master Mao is hanging over me.

"Why am I back here?" I demand. "I can remember hearing the monitors beeping, then I collapsed and then..."

"You have been brought here by the spirits, RJ," Mao replies calmly. "The curse afflicting Tommy conquered him because he couldn't overcome it before it became too powerful for him."

RJ turns pale. "And that's why..."

"Yes. That is why his life now hangs completely in the balance and everything now depends upon you," Mao interrupts.

"Me..." I begin.

"Yes, you," Mao replies. "RJ, I must warn you that Tommy's dream will be extremely twisted and dangerous to traverse because the curse conquered him."

"How on earth am I going to get there anyway?" I ask. Mao smiles as a shimmering golden portal appears at his side.

"You will use this portal to get into Tommy's dream. You have not got a great deal of time left to rescue him because, now that the curse is so powerful, he has started to fade away. If he fades away completely, he will die and you will be killed because you are sharing his dream," Mao warns. "It is going to be risky, RJ."

"I've got no choice," RJ sighs. "Even if it's risky, Tommy's been a good friend to me over the last few days so I've got to try to rescue him."

"Good luck, then," Mao says as he vanishes. I take a deep breath as I stare at the portal for several moments.

Ok, here I go... I think as I leap into the portal.

Dreamworld, Ruined Wastelands

"Wow..." I murmur as I arrive in Tommy's dream. I'm in the midst of ruined wasteland and the ground is covered in blackened patches suggesting to me that there had been fighting here recently. Behind me, the portal remains open as an escape route if anything goes wrong.

I take another deep breath before I set off towards the mountain, which is where my instincts are telling me Tommy is, at full pace. I know that Tommy won't be able to survive for much longer so I can't afford to waste any time.

As I run, I can only hope that I can reach him before it's just too late.

Dreamworld, Mysterious Forest

Wow... This place seems endless... I think as I run. Around me, the forest seem quite dead and a mysterious fog is beginning to blanket the place.

Then, I hear something nearby. I stop to listen to the sound more closely.

Howling.

Whatever is making that noise doesn't seem friendly to me so I know that I've got to get out of here before they catch my scent and give chase. I pick up the pace.

It doesn't make a difference, though. Before I can even run a few metres, they appear from the forest around me.

The shadowy creatures. I gulp. I had heard many legends in the Pai Zhua Academy about them and their skills. They were meant to go after the most powerful forces of good during their final moments to harvest their energy to spawn great evils. Before, I had dismissed them as myths that couldn't exist. Now, though, with the evidence in front of me to prove their existence, I believe the Pai Zhua legends completely.

As one attacks, I attempt to put up a good fight. However, I fail miserably because I'm hopelessly outnumbered and they're just too powerful. As they dive towards me to finish the job, I know what I must do.

I dodge their attack before I flee deeper into the forest with the shadowy creatures in close pursuit. I know that Tommy's time must be desperately running out but I only hope that I can reach him before the shadowy creatures do.

Dreamworld, Treacherous Stream

When I reach the stream, I instantly leap into the water and swim across to the other bank. It's not long before the shadowy creatures appear behind me but, if there's one thing that they don't like, it's water so they pace endlessly on the other bank for a few moments before they race away upstream.

I know that they're probably heading to a safer place to cross the stream so I don't stop. As soon as I reach the other bank, I get out of the water, quickly shake myself dry and begin to climb the mountain at full pace.

Dreamworld, Sinister Mountain

I can't keep running at this pace... I think as I stop halfway up the mountain and look around. I'm completely exhausted by my efforts and, since I can't see any of the shadowy creatures, I decide to take a moment to rest.

I take several deep breaths as I sit down for a moment. As far as I'm concerned, the shadowy creatures are probably still trying to cross the stream so I can afford to rest for a few moments. Besides, I'm not going to be able to fight the curse in the state that I'm in right now.

Just hold on for another few moments, Tommy. I'm... I think. Then, the full weight of one of the shadowy creatures hits me from behind. I must have missed it when I'd taken a look around.

We tumble down the mountain as we're locked in a desperate struggle. I try desperately to get the shadowy creature off of me whilst it tries desperately to reach my throat. At the same time, we're both trying to defend ourselves from each other.

Eventually, it finally overwhelms me. As it holds me by the throat, my entire life flashes before my eyes but, before it can deal the finishing blow, the Wolf spirit within me reacts and bursts forth to protect me.

It knocks the shadowy creature away and, to my amazement, easily finishes it off as if it's nothing dangerous at all. Then, it vanishes. After my Wolf spirit has gone, I stand, frozen to the spot, for another few moments as I can't quite believe what I have just seen.

However, I quickly snap out of my shock and resume the climb up the mountain. For now, pondering about what I had just seen could wait. Tommy needs my help and I know that his time is still running out.

Dreamworld, Foggy Mountaintop

"No!" I cry out as I reach the top of the mountain and watch as the curse stands over Tommy with a shadowy sword. My cry distracts the curse from Tommy which gives me time to get the curse away from Tommy by forcing it to retreat through a powerful punch. However, I hear Tommy gasp in air as I strike and, when I look, I'm amazed by what I see.

As the last scraps of his life are drained away by the curse, Tommy is beginning to become transparent. Soon, he'll disappear forever and I know that I've got to stop the curse before it's too late. However, it's then that I notice that Tommy is covered in fresh bruises over the spot where I had just hit the curse. It takes me a few moments to realise what had happened before I feel horrified about what I've done.

"Now, you understand just as he did," the curse mocks. "You can't harm me without harming him which makes any attempts to put up any fight against me completely fruitless."

"No! I won't let you win. Tommy's my friend and, since he can't do it for himself right now, I'll defend him with my life if I have to," I growl as I get into a fighting stance. "He's taught me to start to trust myself again by trusting in my ability. I'm going to repay that favour by stopping you."

"Every blow that you land on me, will only make his destruction quicker," the curse laughs. "Surely you won't risk it?"

I pause for a moment. I know that the curse is right but I know also, from experience, that there has to be another way of defeating the curse that won't mean Tommy's destruction. I've just got to find it.

It's then that I notice the curse's similarity to the shadowy creatures and I have an idea.

"Call to the spirit within, unleash the Wolf!" I call as I quickly go through the stances of the Wolf. Seconds later, the Wolf bursts forth from my hands and strikes at the curse. It howls in agony as it's badly injured but, crucially, Tommy doesn't even react.

I've found the weakness. It may be linked to Tommy physically but it isn't linked to him spiritually as Tommy would have reacted if it was. Now, to destroy this curse for good. I think as I smile.

"It seems that there is one way to cause your downfall," I smile. "And I intend to use it."

With that, I leap into the air and use my morpher on my wrist to unleash my finishing move.

"Wolf Beam!" I call as purple beams of light shoot out of my morpher. As they strike the curse, they cause a massive explosion of light which I'm forced to turn away from. When it finally subsides, the curse is gone.

Instantly, I rush to Tommy's side. He's still fading away and I can't understand why. The curse is gone so he should be returning to normal now yet he isn't.

"Tommy... Tommy..." I say as I shake him. He doesn't reply. I grimace.

For a moment, I'm unsure of what to do. Then, I know that I've got to get him back to the Spirit Jungle.

Perhaps Mao might be able to help him. I think. Perhaps he won't, though.

However, I know that I've got to at least try. I lift Tommy into my arms and then proceed, as fast as I can, to return to the portal.

Dreamworld, Spirit Jungle

As soon as I bring Tommy through into the Spirit Jungle, Mao appears.

"Put him down, RJ," Mao commands. "He has almost gone too far to be saved but I just might be able to restore him."

I put Tommy down in the centre of the Nexus and quickly step back to allow Mao some room to work. After a few seconds of intense concentration, a beam of white light shoots out from Mao into Tommy. Tommy gasps in another breath but there's no difference in his condition. He's still becoming more and more transparent as every second passes.

Mao sighs and tries again but, even after a more powerful second attempt, there's still no difference in Tommy's condition.

"I am sorry, RJ, but there is nothing that I can do for him now," Mao says as he looks away.

I instantly grow very frustrated and angry. "Surely there's something you can do?" I demand.

"There is nothing I can do now, RJ," Mao insists. "He is just too far gone. I am sorry, RJ."

"No! There's got to be something!" I exclaim in frustration. "There's..."

However, before I can finish, a beam of powerful purple light bursts forth from my Wolf Morpher. I watch, in awe, as the light hits Tommy and instantly restores him to normal. As he stirs, Mao, with an expression of surprise on his face, vanishes. I don't hesitate as I go straight to Tommy's side.

"Tommy... Tommy... wake up, man," I urge.

Tommy groans. "RJ? Tell me that I'm not hearing things. It's really you, isn't it?" he asks.

I smile as I lay a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm really here. And, I can assure you, you're not just dreaming my presence," I assure him.

"How did you get here?" Tommy asks as he opens his eyes. I help him slowly to his feet as I smile again.

"The spirits brought me here to rescue you from the curse, my friend," I reply simply.

"I feel a little strange. What happened to the curse? Where are we now?" Tommy asks as he looks around and takes a moment to adjust to his surroundings.

"It was quite difficult but I managed to destroy the curse so you don't have to worry about it any more," I assure him. "We're in the Spirit Jungle right now."

"I was dying..." Tommy murmurs after another few moments. "I heard you shouting at someone in anger..."

I turn away. I'm surprised that he was even barely aware of what was going on around him. "Yes, you were dying. You heard me whilst I was arguing with Master Mao because he couldn't save you..." I begin.

"Wait a minute, if Mao didn't restore me, who did?" Tommy interrupts.

"I did. I became really angry and frustrated with Mao, and myself, that we couldn't do anything for you. Then, without any warning, a beam of purple light erupted from my morpher and restored you," RJ replied simply.

Tommy nods and smiles. "Thanks, RJ. I'd probably be dead right now if you hadn't destroyed the curse."

I nod. Then, I suddenly notice that our surroundings are beginning to fade away.

"Tommy, what exactly was the override password anyway?" I ask quickly. Tommy smiles.

"Let me tell you something, RJ," he replies simply. "I'm an adopted child. The Olivers adopted me when I was very young and, in turn, I adopted their surname. The override password is my original surname, Trueheart."

I nod. Before I can say anything, the dream vanishes.

Outside Corinth City, Brachiozord Command Centre, Infirmary, early afternoon, another few seconds later

RJ gasped in air as he awoke from his unconsciousness. As everyone started to turn to him, they stopped in the middle of their stride as another noise reached their ears.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

"Tommy!" Kimberly exclaimed as she turned back instead to him. His heart had just restarted.

RJ sighed in relief as IRMA checked over Tommy. He had drastically improved over the last few seconds and seemed more peaceful as he lay there in his unconsciousness.

"If I believed in miracles then I would almost certainly say that this was one," IRMA said simply.

RJ smiled at this as Kimberly went back to Tommy's side. Whilst IRMA and Kimberly were at Tommy's bedside, he slipped off the bed that they had put him on. Then, he crept over to the computer. Once he had used the keyboard to type in the override password, he hit the enter key.

Seconds later, a message appeared on-screen confirming acceptance of the override password and RJ was taken straight to a menu screen.

"What are you up to?" Kimberly asked as she came over. She was stunned when she saw that he had broken through the lockdown. "How did you..."

"I'll tell you later," RJ replied with a smile as he cleverly began to restore a communication link with the main Command Centre. He knew that the intruder was likely to be trapped in the Brachiozord as well so he knew that he couldn't afford to lift the lockdown or restore any other computer terminal in case it helped the intruder in any way to escape.

When it was confirmed that the communication link was ready, RJ clicked connect. Seconds later, the main Command Centre appeared on-screen.

It took them a few moments to register the fact that RJ had appeared on-screen but, when they did, they all instantly turned to the screen.

"RJ, thank goodness," they exclaimed almost in complete unison. "Are you all right?"

"Hi guys, we're all right over here. Did you miss us?" he asked with a wide grin.