In His Eyes
Disclaimers: See Chapter 1.
Author's Notes: This chapter roughly follows the events of the Zeo episodes "Where in the World is Zeo Ranger 5?" and "King for a Day", but my version is better!
Chapter 21—Gasket Snatches Tommy
Since they had learned to play nice with each other—for the most part—Tommy and Jason invited Kat to come along with the rest of the gang to the lake with them so Tommy could help his uncle with the waverunner he planned to race. It was one of the last weekends of the season and Ernie was about to close the beach club until Spring.
Jason gave Tommy a discreet little kiss and told him to be careful before joining everyone at the umbrella-topped tables on shore. It was an unseasonably warm day and they sipped their drinks while enjoying some of the last warm weather they'd get for a few months.
Out on the lake, Tommy was really tearing it up on his uncle's expensive racing machine. Jason watched with a big smile on his face—Tommy really was an adrenaline junkie, just like Jason had accused him of being. Kat seemed worried that Tommy was going to hurt himself, but Jason was confident.
"He knows what he's doing—he's really doing well. Don't worry."
They watched him for a few more minutes until he decided to head to the other side of the lake. Jason got up at once to walk over that way, apparently rethinking the confidence he had just shown. He was a bit worried about Tommy after all, but he didn't have a conscious reason. He just felt the need to keep an eye on him. Little did he know that he was right to be worried. The day was about to take a sinister turn.
Kat, Tanya, and Adam had decided to join him on his stroll around the lake and they all talked happily. However, no sooner had they received a happy wave from Tommy than he disappeared in the blink of an eye—just utterly vanished. No splash, no yell for help . . . nothing.
"Where'd he go?!" Jason asked, getting scared all of a sudden.
"I don't know, he's just gone," Kat replied.
"Come on, let's go!" Jason urged Kat forward onto the wave rider that was sitting on shore. All conflict, all bickering, all differences of opinion evaporated in their joint concern for Tommy. They reached the suddenly riderless racing machine and examined it and the surrounding water.
"Where is he?! Could he have fallen in the water?" Kat asked.
"No, I don't think so. We would have seen that. Besides, he was wearing a life jacket," Jason reasoned. "He's just . . . gone."
After another couple of minutes of searching fruitlessly, Jason jumped onto the waverider Tommy had been on and took it to shore. Both of them were thinking the same thing—Gasket.
As soon as they had reached shore and pulled the two watercraft from the lake, Tommy's uncle showed up looking for his nephew. Jason made up a fast lie to get rid of him and they quickly made contact with the Power Chamber.
"Zordon, Tommy's just vanished from the lake. There's no sign of him anywhere."
ALPHA, INITIATE A WORLDWIDE SCAN FOR TOMMY'S WHEREABOUTS. YOU ALL BETTER TELEPORT HERE.
Quickly, they did as he'd asked and they arrived just as Alpha announced that Tommy was nowhere to be found on the planet. That confirmed it—it had to be Gasket.
"Zordon, where could he be?" Jason asked, getting more worried by the moment.
AT THIS TIME, WE DO NOT KNOW, JASON.
Alpha gave them a scanner to try to pick up any residual energy left by whatever force took their leader. They had just arrived back on the shore of the lake and began scanning when a squad of cogs showed up to gum up the works. Someone didn't want them to find Tommy. If there had been any doubt before, there wasn't now. It was the self-appointed, temporary head of the Machine Empire, the evil Prince Gasket that had taken Zeo Ranger 5. Now they just had to trace where he was holding him. The cogs managed to nearly destroy the hand-held scanner in the tussle, but Alpha was able to repair it.
When the team met the monster du jour, Cruel Chrome, Jason slipped instinctively back into leader mode in the absence of Tommy. He hadn't meant to usurp Adam—he was just worried about his bro and his leader genes took over. Adam understood. Jason simply dismissed being called a "second-rate substitute" by the ugly waverider-turned-monster that they were fighting.
'I'll show you a second-rate substitute,' he thought.
Having dispatched the creature, Jason once again turned his attention to finding Tommy. He and Kat combed the shore carefully, trying to be as thorough as possible. Jason was beginning to have disturbing flashbacks of the nightmares.
'Please let Tommy be okay—please.'
Just because it was Gasket instead of Mondo like in his dreams, his fears were not put to rest. He had heard how cruel and ambitious the eldest son of Mondo and Machina was and what better way to impress the folks than by destroying the leader of the Power Rangers.
He kept telling himself that those nightmares were just dreams—not reality and not a prediction of the future. But he was still worried out of his mind.
'What if they are torturing him? What if they . . . oh please, no.'
Jason tried to keep his mind on getting a good scan—that would greatly increase their chances of finding the one he loved before anything awful could happen to him.
'If it hasn't already . . .'
But the gold ranger knew that he would have felt it if something had happened to him already. That psychic link they shared was pretty reliable and it was getting stronger all the time. Jason remembered the day that Tommy had been hurt so badly and the night in ICU when he had almost lost him . . . he had felt that something was wrong—he didn't have that feeling now. That helped to reassure him a little . . . but only just a little.
Once they had returned to the Power Chamber, Alpha used the data from the scanner to track Tommy to another dimension. The instruments were picking up strange readings of Tommy's brainwave activity. The waves seemed to be changing. After Zordon had processed the information, he made an announcement that struck fear in Jason's heart.
WHEREVER HE IS—WHOEVER HAS AHOLD OF HIM—IS CHANGING HIM. IF WE'RE ABLE TO TRACK HIM DOWN, I'M NOT SURE WE'RE GOING TO LIKE WHO WE FIND.
Jason's expression and body language spoke volumes, though he said nothing right away. He looked lost . . . lost and scared.
'No, not my Tommy. Oh my god . . .'
He felt that familiar knot return to the pit of his stomach—images from his nightmare came to mind against his will.
"Zordon, we know who has him—it has to be Gasket, don't you agree?" Jason asked, his voice heavy with worry.
THAT IS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY. HOWEVER, AT THIS MOMENT, WE HAVE NO CONFIRMATION OF THAT.
While the rangers paced the Power Chamber waiting for some word from Alpha or Zordon concerning Tommy's whereabouts, Billy was being recalled from Triforia. It was hoped that their brainiac could help to find and rescue their leader.
Katherine was dealing with her own worry and shock at seeing Tommy vanish into thin air like that, but as she watched Jason pace back and forth she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. His shoulders were slumped and his head lowered, he wore a pained expression. He didn't say a thing, but it was obvious that he was agonizing over this. She realized that his pain was far greater than her own. It was the beginning of her understanding.
Adam went over and held him by the shoulders and got him to look into his eyes.
"Jason, we'll find him, I know it. I'm not gonna say 'Don't worry' because we're all worried, but you know Alpha, Zordon, and Billy--they won't rest until he's home. All we have to do is find out where he is and we'll bust in there and go ballistic on their asses, okay?!"
That got a small grin from the gold ranger. He said in a weary voice, "Yeah, I know." He just hoped they weren't too late. In all the time that he, Tommy, and the others had been rangers, no one had ever been killed. Banged up—broken bones, cuts, bruises, etc.—yes, but not killed. Something in Jason's mind made him afraid that they were due. The power makes you resilient, not immortal.
He tried to tell himself that his love for Tommy was clouding his judgement. After all, it wasn't the first time one of the rangers had been snatched and held and they, including himself, had all been brought back alive. But Zordon had said that Tommy's brainwaves were being altered, whoever had him was changing him.
'When we get him back, will he still be my Tommy? Will he even remember me? Are they trying to turn him evil again? God, this waiting is killing me!'
_____________
--2 hours ago--
Tommy was enjoying himself immensely. The waverunner was performing like a dream, cutting through the water like a hot knife through butter. The sun was warm, the sky was clear, and he could see his new lover watching him from the shore. He raised his arm to wave at him and then felt the familiar pull of a transport beam. This wasn't from the Power Chamber though—it felt different somehow. The scene that had just graced his eyes suddenly disappeared and he felt himself floating almost in limbo, surrounded by complete darkness for several anxious moments.
'What's happening? Where am I?'
Presently, he felt himself falling in this inky darkness. He landed with a thud onto his stomach and had the wind knocked out of him. He gasped and struggled for air for long seconds until he could finally breathe again. He figured he must have fallen from a height of at least 10 feet.
Tommy sat up and tried to survey his surroundings. He knew the floor was cold and hard and seemed to be made of some sort of rough stone. He had the imprint of it on his chest. His eyes began to adjust a bit and he could just make out bars—cell bars.
'Great. Do I have a Kidnap Me Please sign on my freakin' back?!'
There wasn't a lot of surrounding noise, but he could hear voices in the distance. They seemed to have a . . . metallic sound to them.
'Gasket! Mondo!'
Hell, it didn't really matter—either of them meant trouble—and that's exactly what he appeared to be in right now . . . trouble. He felt his wrist for his communicator.
'Good, it's still there.'
If his communicator was still on his wrist, then his zeonizers could still be called. Question was, would either of them work here?
'One way to find out.'
He lifted his wrist to his lips and spoke softly.
"Alpha? Zordon? This is Tommy. Please come in."
He waited for a few seconds and tried again.
"Please come in. Rangers, this is Tommy. Can anyone hear me?"
Again, he waited. Nothing.
'Okay, looks like I'm on my own for now.'
He stood and moved cautiously forward toward the bars and the only light source he could make out. As he reached the barrier, the sound of approaching footsteps made him shrink back into the darkness as he waited to see who was approaching.
He shivered in the cold darkness. His wet, bare feet and damp clothes added to his discomfort. He knew Jason and the others were looking for him—he just wished they'd hurry up. The noise grew louder and it seemed that there were several sets of feet moving in the direction of Tommy's cell. He called his zeonizers and prepared to morph if necessary.
'Hope they work better than the communicator.'
The approaching noise stopped and a lone figure stood close to the bars, the spooky yellow eyeshine glowing in the darkness. Tommy could just make out the shape of a head. Then it spoke.
"Zeo Ranger 5, welcome to my dungeon. I trust you are uninjured by your journey here. Step forward and let me see you."
'Gasket! I was afraid of this.'
Tommy stayed put in the darkness and didn't utter a sound. If the tin-plated creep wanted him, he'd have to come in after him.
"Come now, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you—in fact, I have big plans for you and I need you well and uninjured."
'Yeah, I'll bet.'
He waited for a few moments. When no movement or sound came from inside the cell, Gasket changed his tactic.
"Fine. Why do you humans always have to be so difficult? Raise the bars! Go in after him and restrain him!"
Tommy could hear the grinding of gears coming to life and heard the bars raise up into the ceiling. He was now facing a solid line of cogs and creatures, all under orders to subdue him. Well, he wasn't going down without a fight.
"Zeo Ranger 5—Red!" he shouted and morphed in a bright flash of red light.
"Ah, that's what I've been waiting for! Gas him!"
The creatures were on three sides of him all of a sudden, all pointing what looked to be the cone ends of fire extinguishers at him. He couldn't see it because of the darkness, but thick, white fog came shooting out of the devices and Tommy felt his throat start to contract. He coughed and choked, trying in vain to cover the ventilation holes in his helmet. He felt his head start to spin—he was already disoriented because of the darkness, but now his senses were so clouded that he literally didn't know which way was up. Collapsing to his knees, he clutched his throat—he couldn't breathe. Bright little flashes danced before his eyes—a sure sign of a lack of oxygen. With a deep groan, he fell over onto his side, unconscious.
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When Tommy awoke, he could hear strange sounds coming from a nearby machine. He slowly opened his eyes, but he was completely blinded. He could feel that he still had his helmet on, but something was obscuring his vision. His head rolled from side to side, unable to support the weight. Was he so weak that he couldn't hold his head up? No, there was a definite added weight that made his neck muscles hurt as they tried to balance the extra load. Tommy attempted to lift his arms to find out what it was, but he found them restrained. He seemed to be in a sitting position with his feet barely reaching the floor. He tried to stand, but was held back by another restraint that was holding his hips down. At least he could breathe now.
"He's waking up. Hurry, start the procedure now," Tommy heard a nearby voice say. Soon he heard whatever it was on his head start making noises. He wasn't in pain exactly, he just felt strange--sort of like he was in a drug-induced dream state. He began seeing past experiences float through his mind—some good, some bad. As the minutes ticked by, however, the experience became decidedly less benign. Tommy began reliving some of his worst memories, only now they had been amplified. He found himself standing in the Command Center in his white ninjetti uniform where he and the other rangers had just returned from Phaedos, only this time, they were too late. Zordon couldn't be saved, even after all they had been through. The being that was most like a father figure to him lay dead in front of him due to his failure. In his captive position, he thrashed his head from side to side. He pulled at the restraints to no avail. The next painful memory began to play through his mind.
He was the green ranger standing atop a building in downtown Angel Grove. He felt himself bring the dragon dagger to his lips and direct the Dragonzord to destroy a building. Even though he had suppressed those memories, he vaguely remembered doing that. This time, however, Tommy heard the screams of the people inside and saw the huge zord crush several people to death on the street below. Faces of the men, women, and children that he was so callously killing were projected into his mind. Dozens of them—elderly couples, young businessmen, pretty young women, and the children—small children, even babies, who never had a chance to live. It was more than he could stand.
"I couldn't help it . . . I couldn't stop myself . . . oh God, what have I done??" he cried.
He fought harder against the machine that he instinctively knew was causing his mental anguish. The harder he fought, the more painful it became . . . and he was getting weaker.
It started again. Tommy found himself in Rita's dark dimension, still as the green ranger. He looked down to find a red clad Jason lying at his feet, holding his hand up in a feeble attempt to stop what he feared was coming.
'Oh no . . . not this . . . please . . .' Tommy thought.
He could hear himself laugh in delight at Jason's panic—the red ranger's eyes were wide and he was drenched in sweat. The red Zeo ranger watched in horror as he saw himself raise the sword of darkness over his head with both hands and, this time, he drove it deep into Jason's broad chest. The evil green ranger laughed—the red Zeo ranger screamed. Tommy watched his evil self twist the blade a bit before pulling it out and then he stood there, watching Jason clutch his chest and writhe in pain. Blood poured from the open wound—his pleading eyes looking up at Tommy as he tried to speak—
"Why Bro? Why?" he cried.
The intense pain was evident on his face—it was horrible for Tommy to watch. His evil self apparently wasn't satisfied, though. He raised the sword again.
"I told you I'd destroy you first, didn't I?" he said cruelly and laughed again as he plunged the blade into Jason's abdomen.
"No!" the red Zeo ranger screamed and struggled against his restraints. He watched as blood poured from his best friend's wounds and heard him groan in agony. He lifted a bloody hand in the direction of the green ranger and whispered "Tommy . . ." With that, his body went limp but his lifeless, teary eyes still stared up at his attacker.
"No!! It didn't happen like that!" Tommy yelled.
He fought back even harder, but his body and mind were giving out. His powers were leaving him, being drained away. Before long, he could no longer think. The visions were gone, replaced with utter darkness. The pain was gone, replaced by numbness, but still he struggled. It wouldn't be long before the struggle would be over.
__________________
"Billy! Glad you're back," Rocky said to the former blue ranger as he walked into the Power Chamber.
"Hi Rocky. Thanks. I just hope I can help." He walked over to Alpha to find out if there had been any developments since he left Triforia. After looking over several readouts and screens full of data, he glanced over at Jason who was across the room, leaning on a console. Billy could tell he was extremely worried and getting frustrated at not being able to do anything to rescue Tommy. He leaned over and spoke softly to Rocky.
"How's Jase holding up?"
"He's okay, I guess. Adam's been trying to talk to him and keep him calm, but I think it's getting harder to do."
"I'll bet. Jase isn't really the talking kind."
Zordon had just finished analyzing the latest data they were getting concerning Tommy.
BILLY, GOOD TO SEE YOU ARE BACK WITH US SAFELY. YOUR ASSISTANCE IS GREATLY NEEDED. ACCORDING TO THE LATEST INFORMATION WE HAVE RECEIVED, TOMMY IS IN GREAT DANGER.
"What does the data indicate, Zordon?" Billy asked.
AT THE RATE HIS BRAINWAVES ARE CHANGING, TOMMY WON'T BE TOMMY MUCH LONGER.
Rocky looked over at Jason whose body had stiffened and his fists had clenched.
"We have to do something," he pleaded and looked at Billy and Alpha with desperation in his eyes.
"Jase, we're doing everything we can. You know I'll do my best to bring him back safely," Billy told him.
Jason sighed. "I know Billy, I just feel so damn helpless!"
Adam reached up and patted Jason's shoulder. He knew it really wouldn't make him feel better, but at least he would know that they were all here for him and just as worried about Tommy.
Several quiet, tense minutes passed and then Billy suddenly spoke up.
"Alpha, do you see this energy anomaly located in the vicinity of the lake? What do you make of that?"
"It appears to be an interdimensional doorway of some kind. It's possible that it's being generated by Gasket, but I don't know for sure."
"I'll go check it out," Jason said, walking forward quickly, preparing to transport himself.
"Wait Jase! It could be a trap!" Adam said.
"I'll be careful. I have to do this, guys. I'm going crazy just standing here."
"Then I'm coming with you," Adam announced.
"Me too," spoke up Katherine, who had been very quiet up to now.
"Okay, but please be on your guard. We don't yet know what we're dealing with. You'd better morph," Billy warned them.
All three agreed as they called on their rangers powers and disappeared from the Power Chamber, reappearing on the shore of the lake not too far from where Tommy had been taken. Jason, Adam, and Katherine cautiously scanned the surroundings, half expecting a squad of cogs to descend upon them. Everything seemed quiet, though. Too quiet, actually. They walked a couple of hundred feet, always watching each other's backs, but they found nothing.
"Damn it! There's got to be something here! Some trace, some clue . . . something!" Jason exclaimed.
As they were all lamenting coming up empty, they spotted a weird, glowing light coming from nearby. It was growing brighter and larger and they knew they had to check it out.
"That's got to be it! Come on!" Adam said and started running in the direction of the glow. Jason and Katherine followed and they stopped when it came into full view.
"That's a doorway of some kind," Jason said, pointing.
"Let's be careful, guys. Doorways go both directions, you know," Katherine wisely reminded them.
They inched closer, all the while watching out for an attack from the rear. Suddenly, Zeo Ranger 5 appeared in the doorway, holding his arms out to them.
"Help me . . . please," he said, sounding weak and in pain. He seemed to be having trouble moving.
"Tommy!" Jason shouted and started forward toward him.
"Jase, be careful! It could be a trap," Adam said, grabbing his arm to stop him.
The gold ranger turned to look at him. "Maybe, but if there's a chance to save him, I have to try, Adam. I let Tommy down once before and I'm not going to let it happen again!" He pulled his arm away and turned back to face the doorway.
"Tommy, hang on bro!" he said as he started charging at the doorway.
Adam and Katherine watched him almost reach their leader and then, to their alarm, the image disappeared and the doorway began closing in on itself drawing everything in the immediate vicinity into it. Jason was caught in its powerful pull—he tried in vain to free himself, but he wasn't strong enough to break free. Finally, he yelled for the others to stay back. They saw him get sucked through the portal and watched it close behind him, disappearing from sight.
"Oh my god," Adam said softly.
"Jason . . . not him too!" Kat exclaimed.
"Billy, Alpha, come in."
"Go ahead," Billy answered.
"Billy, we've lost Jason. He was pulled through the portal and now it's closed," Adam reported.
"Yeah, we saw it happen. Come back to the Power Chamber—we need to regroup."
_______________
"What now? We've lost both of them!" Kat proclaimed as she paced the Power Chamber, helmet in hand.
"We keep looking," Alpha said matter-of-factly.
Adam walked over to a console and banged his fist—he was clearly distraught over the apparent capture of the gold ranger. Rocky came over beside his friend and laid a hand on his back.
"Hey . . ." he began.
"I should have stopped him, Rocky. I shouldn't've let him go!"
"Like you could've stopped him. You know when Jason's upset he's like a force of nature! You're lucky you didn't get in his way!" Rocky remarked, trying to keep Adam from blaming himself.
"I know, but that's our two strongest teammates gone. What if Gasket decides to attack now?"
"We'll handle it the best we can."
"And who will lead us?"
"You will, Froggy," the blue ranger stated, putting an arm around his friend's shoulders.
"Me?!"
"Yes you—don't sell yourself short, my friend," Rocky said, affirming his confidence in the green Zeo ranger.
HE IS RIGHT, ADAM. YOU ARE A FINE RANGER AND A CAPABLE LEADER IN YOUR OWN RIGHT.
A tiny smile appeared on the green ranger's lips. He looked up at their mentor.
"Thanks, Zordon."
______________________
Jason found himself dropped into an arena of sorts. He was surrounded on three sides by creatures and cogs—in front of him was the king's viewing box which held Gasket, Archerina, and . . . Tommy. He stood there facing Jason, not moving, his face obscured by his helmet. Physically, he looked okay, but Jason was worried about his mind.
'Does he recognize me at all?'
Once Tommy had proclaimed himself as the "King of the Mighty Machine Empire" and vowed to destroy the "evil that is the Power Rangers", Jason had his answer.
"Tommy, snap out of it!" Jason called to his bro. "What have you done to Tommy, Gasket?" he barked.
"Silence, Ranger. Prepare to meet our champion in battle! Altor—to the ring!"
Jason watched as a large golden beast made his way into the ring amid cheers from the surrounding creatures. He was big and looked vicious. They stared at each other and began circling, looking for an opening . . .
__________________
"I'm picking up an incoming transmission," Alpha suddenly announced.
Onto the viewscreen came the revolting visage of Gasket.
"Thanks for tuning in, folks. I'd like to welcome all the kiddies at home to the main event," Gasket announced and moved aside so that the arena floor could be seen. The rangers all saw Jason and the creature sizing each other up, getting ready for the fight.
"I hope you enjoy the show," Gasket said with an evil laugh.
"We have to help him, he's all alone!" Tanya exclaimed.
"We're still working on pinpointing his location. We just have to hope that Jason can hold out until we find a way to help," Billy explained.
_____________________
Once the battle began, Jason was surprised at how well Altor anticipated his attacks.
'He seems to know what I'm gonna do,' he thought, but he couldn't figure how that could be.
After he had picked himself up off the ground a couple of times and was still having all of his kicks and strikes blocked, he thought, 'Man, only Tommy's ever been able to match me move for move.'
That's when the light dawned—Gasket had drained Tommy of his powers and transferred them into this creature. He had also given Tommy amnesia in the process.
"Tommy bro, are you in there?" he said in the direction of Altor.
"Tommy, is that you?"
Maybe it was a coincidence, but at nearly the same time as Jason deciphered what had happened, Gasket's creature began losing his ill-gotten powers. Jason was able to get in a few good kicks as it became apparent what was happening.
"Ha, you've lost Tommy's powers, haven't you?" he mocked Altor. The gold ranger was then able to easily defeat him.
Gasket, furious that his brain drain had worn off so quickly, turned to Tommy. He had to convince him to fight.
"Sire, it is now up to you. You must rejoin the fight to eliminate the scourge of the Power Rangers!"
Jason was desperate to reach his best friend before things escalated out of control. He could see this getting ugly.
"Tommy, listen to me—you're not their king—you're my best friend and my brother . . . more than that, even."
At the sound of Jason's voice calling his name, Tommy experienced a flash of recognition. Jason saw that he reacted when he called his name. Maybe, just maybe, he was getting through.
"Come on bro, they've got you brainwashed!" he shouted with a pleading tone to his voice.
Tommy began to hold his head as if he was in pain. "I'm so confused—why can't I remember anything?"
"What have you done to him, Gasket!" Jason demanded.
Gasket saw that his hold on the red Zeo ranger was slipping. He had to act fast.
"Sire, he is your enemy! Don't listen to him—he's an evil ranger and a criminal! You must defeat him, my king!"
For the moment, Tommy was convinced. "I will put an end to the Power Rangers—starting with you gold ranger!" Tommy snarled and pointed menacingly at Jason.
"I won't fight him and you can't force me!" Jason yelled back at Gasket.
"Then I guess you will be destroyed!" Gasket called back.
In the blink of an eye, Tommy went from standing in the viewing box to standing in front of Jason, ready to fight. They began circling slowly—it was evident that Jason didn't want to engage the man he loved in a battle. Besides, Jason had fought Tommy before when he was . . . not himself, and he had been one of the toughest foes he'd ever faced. This was going to prove difficult.
____________________
"This is unbelievable," Rocky declared as they watched the impending fight on the Power Chamber's viewscreen. All of the rangers had watched Tommy and Jason spar—no one but Billy had ever seen them actually fight. Not when one had every intention of hurting the other.
"What can Jason do? He's gotta defend himself!" Kat cried, sounding more than a little worried.
Billy spoke up. "He had better defend himself or I'm afraid Tommy will severely injure him."
"Did you notice before when Jason called Tommy's name? He seemed to remember—at least for a minute," Adam offered.
"He's gotta remember who his true friends are!" Tanya exclaimed.
"Any luck locking onto that signal? Jason needs help—he doesn't want to hurt Tommy," Rocky asked.
________________________
In the arena, Tommy finally made his move, coming at Jason full force with a series of punches and vicious kicks. The gold ranger blocked most everything—knowing what the other was going to do worked to his advantage this time. The deluded red ranger tried again. This time he connected hard with Jason's head, knocking him to the ground. He got up slowly, shaking his head, but he wouldn't strike back.
"Come on, fight!" Tommy yelled.
Jason thought he saw a strange green glow surrounding Tommy, but thought it must be his eyes playing tricks. Tommy had just given him a hard shot to the head.
"I don't want to fight you, bro!"
"Because you know you cannot win, gold ranger," he proclaimed and attacked his dazed opponent once more. Jason tried to dodge his attack, but his judgement was off and Tommy landed a sidekick squarely to his ribs. The injured gold ranger dropped to one knee, clutching his side. He attempted to reach the red ranger once more.
"You've got it all wrong Tommy, would you listen to me? You're a ranger, just like me—you're my best friend."
Tommy paid him no heed. "I don't want to hear any more of your lies," Tommy shouted. He moved menacingly toward Jason again, the green aura becoming more and more visible . . .
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"We've got to do something now—Jason's getting hurt," Adam said.
"And that green aura is back," Rocky noted.
TOMMY'S MEMORY OF YOUR FRIENDSHIP IS HIS ONLY CHANCE, BUT BE CAUTIOUS OF HIM, RANGERS. I BELIEVE HE IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN YOU KNOW.
"I have a lock! Rangers, morph and teleport to where the portal was. Hopefully, I can get you to the arena to help Jason," Billy announced.
Adam, Rocky, Katherine, and Tanya quickly did as he asked and they waited on the lakeshore for the Power Chamber to transport them. Unfortunately, their resident genius was having issues.
"Hang on guys, I've lost the lock," he said.
Gasket knew that the other rangers would be trying to stage a rescue attempt, so he ordered the holographic entryway closed. He had no idea that Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa had been watching the goings on and had decided to set their two enemies against each other. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? Finster's makeshift transporter had just enough power to land the four remaining rangers right in Gasket's metal lap. The prince was surprised, but recovered quickly.
"Rangers . . . no matter, we'll destroy them all at once."
In the ring, Jason had been managing to stay just ahead of Tommy attacks. When the other four showed up suddenly it interrupted the fight—Jason was relieved. Rocky ran up to the gold ranger who had knelt down to rest for a moment.
"Jase, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Out of breath, Jason answered as best he could. "I think I'm alright—just winded." He spoke to them all, "They've brainwashed him—he thinks we're his enemies."
"So the rest of the evil Power Rangers finally show up. Prepare to meet your end!" Tommy exclaimed and ran at them, ready to take them all on at once. The green glow was quite prominent now. Jason realized he hadn't been seeing things.
At first, the Zeo rangers held back, not wanting to hurt their leader, even if he didn't recognize them. They soon found out, however, that he wasn't going to hold back and if they didn't want to get their collective butts handed to them, they'd better fight. Male or female, didn't matter—there was nothing chivalrous about the way he flipped Tanya hard onto her back or spinning sidekicked Kat into Rocky, leaving them in a lump on the ground. He easily took them all down one by one until they had to regroup on the far end of the arena. They were getting their asses kicked by their own commander.
"What are we gonna do? He's too strong!" Adam said.
Jason was beginning to look a little worse for wear—he knew they needed another tactic . . . now. After a few moments in which he and Tommy stared each other down, he spoke. "I have an idea."
"This oughta be amusing," Tommy replied with sarcasm dripping from every word.
"Be careful," Kat said, having no idea what he was planning, but knew he could very well get hurt. Tommy was proving to be extremely dangerous.
Jason took a deep breath and stepped forward. He was counting on Tommy remembering what all they had been through together, what they meant to each other . . . how much they loved each other.
"Gold ranger—power down," he said and stood before Tommy completely vulnerable and at his mercy.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Adam asked, afraid Jason had made a rash decision. He was completely without protection now—Tommy could easily kill him.
"He has to see me . . . see us—he has to be confronted with the faces of his real friends," Jason answered.
Tommy was a bit taken aback by Jason's actions. "Do not try to deceive me!" Tommy barked and then he ran at Jason, fist cocked, ready to lay him out. But he couldn't do it—just as he was bearing down on him . . . he froze. He knew something was wrong with this situation, but he couldn't understand what it was. Jason seized the opportunity caused by Tommy's confusion and he pulled him into a tight embrace.
Jason spoke softly to him. "Tommy, don't do this—It's me, Jason."
Tommy's tone of voice changed. "Jason? What's going on? I don't understand. I feel like I know you but everything's fuzzy—I can't remember anything," Tommy said sounding so frustrated and confused. The aura had begun to disappear. He started to struggle against Jason's hold.
"Calm down—we're your friends, man. Prince Gasket has tricked you," Jason said soothingly.
The other rangers saw that Jason was beginning to get through to Tommy, so they decided to follow suit.
"This has to work," Adam said.
"Let's do it," Rocky agreed.
"Zeo Rangers—power down," Tanya, Adam, Rocky, and Katherine said in unison.
"We're here to help you, Tommy," Tanya said and cautiously advanced toward him.
Tommy broke free from Jason's embrace and held his head. "I don't know who I can believe!"
The internal struggle was getting the best of him. He seemed to be in pain as he fought with himself, trying to decide who to trust. He thought he remembered Jason, especially when he felt his arms around him and heard his voice up close, but . . . he was still so disoriented.
'Are the rangers evil or not? Are they my enemies as Gasket says, or my friends like the gold ranger says?'
Anxiety was overtaking him. He dropped to his knees and grabbed his head again.
"What-is-wrong-with-me?!" he pleaded. "I don't understand!" Tommy cried and slammed his fists to the ground.
His friends stood back and looked at their leader sympathetically. They wanted so badly to help him somehow. Just as they seemed to be getting through though, the delusion returned and Tommy quickly pulled his blaster on them and stood, threatening them once more. He moved in front of Jason and pointed the weapon right at his chest. The gold ranger looked intently at his friend. Outwardly, he showed no fear.
"I know you're in there, bro."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Tommy replied, but his resolve was weakening. Jason could hear it in his voice. The confusion was finally giving way to recognition. He bravely put his hands on the blaster that was aimed at his heart and pushed it down.
"Come back to me, Dragon. I love you," Jason told Tommy in his warmest voice and looked straight at him, eyes full of the deep emotion he felt for the man who stood in front of him.
The light finally broke through into Tommy's darkened mind and he remembered everything. "Power down," the red Zeo ranger suddenly said.
"Jason? I'm so sorry . . . I don't . . ." he tried to voice his sorrow for what he'd done.
The gold ranger quickly embraced Tommy. "It's okay, bro. We'll talk later," Jason said softly, knowing that Tommy was remorseful, but also knowing that they had to get out of there.
"How touching," Gasket snarled.
Tommy whirled around and stood facing his enemy with his true friends behind him. "I know the truth now, Gasket—and I'm leaving with my friends."
"Oh, not yet, you're not," he said to the ranger leader and then addressed his minions that surrounded him.
"Monsters, cogs—join me!" he directed and several of the throng that had been watching the ranger battle suddenly appeared in the ring along with the prince.
The rangers tried to morph, but the surrounding force field blocked their morphing powers. They stood there in civilian form, with no weapons, no armour, and no powers. They were at a loss as to what to do.
To their good fortune, Gasket's force field was disabled right about then, and they knew they could finally transport out.
Jason couldn't resist a parting shot. "You mess with one ranger, you better be ready to take on the whole team!" he shouted at Gasket just before they teleported to safety.
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As soon as they were back in the Power Chamber, Jason turned immediately to Tommy and took him by the shoulders.
"Are you okay, baby?" he asked while looking intently into his chocolate eyes.
"I . . . I think so." Tommy was still a bit disoriented. He shook his head and looked around at his team who had gathered around him.
"Guys . . . awww man. I'm so sorry. Did I hurt anyone?"
Everyone indicated that they were fine, just a little sore in some cases. Tommy seemed quite remorseful and a bit embarrassed, but all of his friends knew that he wasn't to blame.
On the way to the med bay to let Alpha do some tests, Tommy turned to Jason.
"How many times does this make that I've either been put under an evil spell, hypnotized, or brainwashed? This is getting ridiculous—I must be soft in the head."
"No, not at all. Zordon says that you're just more susceptible because of Rita's initial spell. There's nothing you could have done," Jason said reassuringly and put an arm around Tommy's waist.
Tommy sighed, hanging his head. "I guess."
They stopped outside the med bay door. Jason leaned against the wall and held Tommy by the waist. He made him look him in the eyes.
"Stop the self-imposed guilt trip before it gets started, okay? There's nothing you could have done, I'm sure." He paused. "Do you remember what happened?"
"Yeah, I remember most of it, actually. And you're right, there's really nothing I could have done. It's just . . ." he lowered his head again.
Jason reached up and with two fingers, lifted the red ranger's chin. "It's just what?" he said softly.
Tommy looked back at his bro with anguish in his eyes. "Why is it always me, Jase?"
Jason stopped and really thought about that for a minute. 'Why is it always Tommy?'
He tried to give Tommy the explanation that he so desperately wanted. "Well, Rita chose you to be her green ranger because you are a fierce and capable fighter—you're one of the toughest I've ever faced. Other times, like this, you were the one snatched because you're an important person—you're the ranger commander . . . and you're important to all of us because you're our close friend. If you weren't so good at what you do and so important to the people around you, these villains wouldn't bother with ya, babe. It's sort of a backhanded compliment, I guess."
Tommy gave him a funny look. "I can do without those kinds of compliments, thank you very much."
Jason grinned. "Get on in there and let Alpha do what he needs to so we can get outta here, okay?"
Tommy leaned forward and embraced his boyfriend. "Okay. I'll tell him to hurry."
"Well, let him be thorough, okay? I don't want him to miss anything."
"Alright. See you in a few." With that he kissed Jason quickly and went through the door into the med bay.
Jason turned quickly and hurried to find Billy while Tommy was occupied. There was something he had to talk over with their resident genius.
____________________
"And no one told me this why?!" Jason exclaimed. "You guys didn't think I needed to know?!"
"Jase, calm down. Please," Billy implored. "This is only the second time that the green aura has manifested itself. The first time it happened you were far too injured to talk to you about it."
"That was over a week ago. Someone could have filled me in since then."
"Jason, I honestly thought you knew. I guess I assumed Billy or Zordon or Alpha had told you. I'm sorry," Adam said, seeing how put out the gold ranger was.
"Same here—a breakdown in communication, that's all, but I do need to talk to you about it."
"Yeah . . . I'd say," Jason shot back. He couldn't believe that something as major as this could have happened and no one told him. "About time, too," he grumbled.
Adam didn't quite understand Jason's attitude. "Jase, we didn't mean to not tell you—we weren't keeping it from you or anything. Billy's been on Triforia, ya know."
"Adam, no offense, but I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation. Maybe if you'd had a powerful, evil ranger standing over you with every intention of stabbing you in the chest with a sword you might understand a little better. If that evil power is trying to possess Tommy again, I need to know. I sleep in the same bed with that man, you know."
Adam frowned at the gold ranger—he didn't like being talked to like that, but he did realize that Jason had a point.
"You're right. Now what do we do about it?"
"I've talked to Zordon about it and he's very concerned. We're hoping that the tests Alpha is doing right now will tell us something," Billy said.
"Billy, I don't understand. I thought the green ranger powers were lost. I watched Tommy suffer as the power left him. How could this happen? And is it the evil aspect of the power or not?"
"Well, as much as I am able to understand, the powers that a ranger possesses are neither good nor evil. The person who uses them makes that determination. Because the green ranger powers came to Tommy through Rita's evil magic, Tommy used the power to do her evil bidding. The power itself wasn't evil. Since Tommy is a good person, he was able to use the power for good purposes after Rita's spell over him was broken."
They were all listening quite intently. Billy gathered his thoughts for the rest of the explanation.
"Now, as to how the power has survived when we thought it was lost: Zordon, quite frankly, isn't being all that forthcoming. He told me that the power never truly leaves someone once it has been entrusted to them. It becomes a part of you and you never truly, completely lose it. You may not be able to call on it anymore in order to morph or whatever, but it still lies within you. Jase, you still possess the power of the T-Rex. Adam, you retain the power of the Mastodon, and I still have the Triceratops power. It is deep within us, but in theory, we could call it forward. Maybe not to morph, but . . ." he saw the surprised and confused looks on the guys' faces.
"Look, I don't claim to really understand all of this. I only know what Zordon will tell me and he's being kind of vague. Maybe it's beyond my understanding—I don't know. The thing is, Tommy is on his 4th set of powers. Could that potentially cause him problems? Yes. Will it? I don't know. I don't think Zordon knows."
Adam thought this over. He himself had possessed the Mastodon powers, the black ninjetti powers and now, the green Zeo powers. Was he in danger of experiencing side effects too? Granted, he had never been turned evil, but still . . . He made a mental note to talk with Billy and Zordon later, when things had calmed down a bit.
"Jase, do you think we should tell Tommy?" Billy asked.
"Hmmm . . . I don't know. On one hand, he has the right to know if something is happening to him, but on the other hand . . . Tommy being Tommy—it might have a bad effect on him." He stopped and considered their options. "Why don't we wait to see what these tests show and then we'll decide. Until then, we'll just have to keep an eye on him."
"Sounds reasonable. Billy, are there any similarities in the two incidents which caused the green aura?" Adam inquired.
"Actually, it's difficult to say what caused the aura to manifest itself, but the two incidents in which it occurred were similar in one important way. Tommy was absolutely enraged, both times. The first time, he was avenging Jason. He took that monster apart because it had hurt the one he loves." Billy looked over at Jason with a small smile.
"This time, even though he had been brainwashed, he believed he was fighting an important battle—to rid the universe of a great evil. You guys are very lucky that the effects of the brain drain wore off when they did. I seriously think he might have done something he wouldn't be able to live with if it hadn't."
Jason gave them a serious look and nodded slowly. He had no idea how Tommy would ever be able to forgive himself if he had seriously hurt or killed one of his teammates. And they all knew now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he could do it. Jason figured that he himself was the only one who could stand up to Tommy, and that was just because of brute strength. That and knowing what he was going to do most of the time.
'But he nearly kicked my ass this time—he's stronger than even I knew.'
That worried Jason a bit—he thought that maybe he needed to train harder.
They all heard the doors 'whoosh' open and turned to see Tommy walking in, looking completely normal and healthy, though a bit tired. Jason tried to erase the serious thoughts from his mind. His bro could read him too well.
"How'd it go with the tests?" he said, trying not to sound worried.
"Oh, fairly well, I guess." He rubbed the back of his neck—a nervous habit he'd had for a long time—a sure sign that he was concerned about the results.
"Alpha said he would tell me if anything was abnormal. He sure did a lot of tests . . ."
"I'm sure it'll be fine, bro. Try not to worry, okay?"
"Yeah," Tommy responded, not sounding at all convinced.
Adam noticed that Tommy didn't quite seem himself. "Tommy, are you okay?"
"Ummm . . . I guess so. I'm just tired . . . and my head hurts."
"Let's go home so you can rest, okay?" Jason offered. He gave Billy a look that said, 'I'll keep an eye on him' and they teleported out.
Adam and Billy turned and looked at each other. Adam read the look on the former blue ranger's face perfectly.
"You're still worried, aren't you?"
"Yeah, Adam. I am."
"He seems fine—just tired."
Billy sighed. He needed to talk to someone about this. Adam was trustworthy; he knew that, he just wasn't sure if he should give voice to his fears.
"Come on, Billy. I'm a good listener."
"I know. It's just . . . well . . ." Billy paused and looked the green Zeo ranger in the face. "I am afraid that our friend Tommy has a dark side that could be very dangerous. Zordon believes this too." He stopped and paced about the Power Chamber. Finally, he looked back up at Adam.
"The question is, what needs to be done about it?"
__________________________
Author's Notes: Sorry about the delay, but it couldn't be helped. The convention was great and Jason David Frank is still a sweetheart! There are a few new pics up on my MySpace (link on my profile) with more to come.
Next chapter: Will Gasket's brain drain have any lasting effects on our Tommy?
Please leave a review! At the time of this writing, the last chapter has received 135 hits and only 6 reviews. That's quite a discrepancy! Please hit the little button below and let me know what you think—I'd really appreciate it!!