Author's Notes: I feel like every time I write author's notes, I'm apologizing for long delays between updates. I'll just say once and for all: for right now, most of my job includes writing a dissertation, which leaves me wrung out and worthless for everything except watching TV. That's going to be what it's like for the next year. I write when I can and when I have the energy, and, honestly, this chapter was hard to articulate. It's gone through several rewritings. And now I realize I'm probably sounding belligerent, and none of you deserve that. So… New chapter! Yay! Focus on the positive!
And, again, lovely thanks to all my patient reviewers: Richardc269, alias093001 (Very intuitive. Of course, you know I always go to the worst possible places.), Guest (Sorry that Kim annoys you. I happen to like her, especially for as long as I've written her.), PinkRangerV (No way this can turn out badly, huh? I hope you still love me forever.), lunarweather (Yay! I win! I'm not sure, though, that I can look at Tommy and Kimberly as quite so gender determinate. Is one gender more evil than the other? After all, is Rita more evil than Zedd? When I plan evil characters, I try to think about their character motivations. Yes, gender is part of it, but not the only part. Of course, I did have the evil Billy clone handcuff Trini to a bed, so I may be fooling myself…), Samantha (Thanks for the review! I'm always glad to hear from long-time readers, first-time reviewers. You're lovely!), brankel1, Ghostwriter (I'm glad someone has Kim's back. So much Kim hate…), Vodams (And more Kim support. Keep it coming!), KLR (I can promise more drama… can't promise an update schedule. Sorry. See author's notes for details and grousing.), Curly (Next one… two months later!), CalBoy91 (Yes, they are.), falcon242 (Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha.), manley2469 (Nope, one more book in this particular story. Probably won't publish the new story until next spring. And WHEW angry all-caps. I know it probably wasn't angry, but I'm also startled at all-caps. Anyway, to answer your questions: I thought the Billy clone story worked better earlier in the series, especially as a way to mature Billy. I always thought of it as an episode more in the tone of season 1 or early season 2, and as a season finale it was crap. Also, I took out the creepy statue-making stalker for Billy. Boy, was he uncomfortable with her stalking, and the other Rangers didn't even notice. Anyway, Rita and Scorpina will return eventually, though I may do a little more plot juggling with Scorpina. And it has never been confirmed that Scorpina is carrying Tommy's baby.), Ahkalia (Yes on the power transfer. I will follow all major canon. I'll just rewrite the details.), DragonRanger (Yeah… sorry for the long wait. People are going to get pissed over these cliffhangers.), Gaia'sChild (And another Kimberly advocate. I have to say, I liked Tommy and Kimberly arguing over strategy. She's been way too much the supportive girlfriend lately.), and Marcus S. Lazarus (Oh, I'm continuing. There may be long pauses between updates sometimes, but I'm never going to abandon it; you have my word).
Darker Shades
Book 6: Shadows in the Cave
Chapter 25: Forge
Kevin sat in the middle of the bare room. He was entirely surrounded by glass walls. The floor was littered with all the stuff, mostly rocks, he'd thrown at it. He hadn't been able to make a crack.
He had been scared. He hadn't cried… and now that he actually cared about that, he was proud of himself… and he'd done everything he could to escape. Still, here he was, alone in a glass box, kidnapped by space aliens. By that gold monkey the Power Rangers always fought.
He wasn't scared anymore…a t least he told himself that. He'd been scared during the kidnapping, and scared when he finally woke up after he'd passed out, but now he was just hungry, thirsty, and achingly bored. Even throwing rocks got boring when they didn't break anything.
"But why me?" he asked the still air.
It didn't make sense. He'd been kidnapped before, of course; at the wedding. But then, there'd been others. He'd never heard of a single person being kidnapped by the space aliens. It always happened in groups… that he knew of.
And it wasn't like this was a random kidnapping, like the aliens just needed a kid. If it was like that, they'd have just taken a kid off the street or the playground. No, that monkey had come for him on purpose, and even knew he was away from home that night. He played around with the idea that he'd actually been after Jess, since it was his house. But, no, the alien had asked for his name, and, too scared to think, Kevin had given it…
Kevin heaved a huge sigh, letting his shoulders rise and fall with exaggeration. It was stupid. He couldn't figure out why he was there or how to get out of there. All he could do was sit and wait for a Power Ranger to show up; if they even knew he was kidnapped.
And the last time he'd been kidnapped, someone died…
There was a soft sound. Kevin had been so long in silence that the slightest noise startled him. He jumped to his feet and grabbed a rock.
"You will not be able to throw it at me," a warm, motherly voice answered him. "Please relax, young Kevin."
Kevin sneered and pulled his arm back, but then relaxed his arm in confusion when he saw the source of the voice. It was a sort of big woman in a toga. She looked like a mother… not his mother, who was thin and active, but the sort of mother you saw on cartoons: plump and wearing a flour-stained apron over her toga.
"I bet you're hungry," she beamed at him. "It's nearly breakfast time, and after your ordeal…"
"Who the hell are you?" he asked roughly, trying not to be taken in by her non-threatening manner. She was, after all, on the side of his kidnappers.
She clicked her tongue. "Manners, young man. And I must say that I thankfully have little to do with 'hell.'" She looked at him with undisguised pity. "I can't say that I approve of kidnapping children, but I am in the minority among my fellows. All I can do is try to make your stay more pleasant. And, unlike some other places, it is safe to eat the food here."
The rock had fallen to Kevin's side, but he still looked at the woman uncertainly. Now that he got a good look at her, he realized her eyes were not really eyes at all, but glowing silver orbs. Even through her whole motherly looks, she had an unearthly quality. Alien… the word went through his mind, just as his stomach gave a loud rumble.
Even as she started to chuckle, Kevin conceded. "Fine, I'm hungry. But there's no door to this place. I've been trying to find an opening for hours. Can I get out of here?" He knew there was no hope in beating that space monkey, but he might be able to get away from a fat woman with weird eyes.
"A door will appear for the right person… but that is not me," the woman said. "However, that need not deter me from providing food. Tell me, young Kevin, what is your favorite fruit?"
Kevin shrugged, completely disarmed by the strangeness of the question. "Apples, I guess."
She smiled. "Apples are quite easy." She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow.
In the corner of the glass box, there was a crackling sound. Hoping the glass was miraculously breaking, Kevin turned in time to see a tree shoot up from the ground. In minutes, the tree sprouted, growing tiny green fruit that grew bigger, then ripened to a deep red color. An apple tree, grown to full harvest in minutes.
Kevin stared at the tree, suddenly more scared than he'd ever been. "W-who are you?" he asked, this time without the slightest hint of aggression.
"You need not be afraid of me, child," the woman answered. "I am Demeter, goddess of the harvest. No," her voice grew darker, "it is my fellow gods you must fear… as well as our leader."
"Okay…"
It was the third time Jason had said this, with no further words, but no one wanted to point that out.
"Okay…"
Truth was, Jason was angry. Tommy and Kimberly had thrown themselves into the abyss without even discussing strategy or alternatives. No, they'd let their emotions rule them, and so…
"Here's what we're facing."
Trini, Zack, Billy, and Alpha looked startled that Jason had broken out of his verbal paralysis so suddenly.
"Two Power Rangers have just waltzed right into a trap Zedd has made specifically for them. They're fully armed and prepared to fight each other to sacrifice themselves to take Kevin's place in being evil."
"They're also now out of communicator and teleporter range, Jason," Alpha supplied.
Jason closed his eyes. Of course. "So, our possible outcomes; either Tommy or Kimberly succeeds in becoming evil, saving the boy. However, Kevin and the other Ranger are not out of danger, since the evil one will probably attack… if they're even able to protect Kevin after what will probably be an intense struggle. And we don't even know if Zedd's going to let them go anyway."
"And no Zordon," Zack added. "And it's not like any of us are at our best."
Jason's face hardened. "I don't accept that. I don't accept either of those possible outcomes. We're better than this. Zedd thinks he has us trapped. He thinks he has us figured out, but he doesn't know anything about us."
Trini, Zack, Billy, and Alpha stared at Jason, obviously wondering if he had anything to back up his confident words.
"Alpha," Jason began, "We've dealt with Zordon disappearing before. Do you think there's any way we can help Zordon reenergize? Like, maybe another power source he can use."
"But, Jason, the nearest available stable energy source is the Earth itself," Alpha fretted. Then he looked down. "But maybe I could…"
Jason grinned. "Do what you can, Alpha. Getting Zordon back is your main job right now. No, Trini, I need you on something else," Jason said as Trini made motions to join Alpha.
She looked slightly startled. "I'm not sure how much the serum…"
"It's not the serum, though it would be nice if you pulled together another miracle," Jason said. "Trini, we're going to do everything we can to make sure Tommy, Kimberly, and Kevin aren't turned evil. But if one of them is… we need an easier way to turn them back. Something that doesn't get the rest of us killed."
Trini looked a little intimidated at her task, but she pursed her lips and nodded. "We still have all of the information from the other evil spells. They're all Rita's spells, of course, but Zedd's have to be comparable."
"And let's hope we don't even need to use it," Jason said, patting her on the shoulder as she swept past. "Now, Billy…"
Billy had been staring vacantly at the whirl of activity. Now he flinched as Jason made eye contact with him for the first time that day.
Jason felt a twinge of regret. Zack and Tommy were right. He'd handled the whole Billy thing wrong. While Zordon had addressed the problem with patience and wisdom, Jason had lashed out from anger. However, he didn't have time to apologize (he told himself), and he didn't have time for Billy to be out of commission.
"Billy, you've got the most important job if we're going to save Tommy and Kimberly. I need you to get in touch with them. Either get communicator contact with them, or find a way for us to teleport down without endangering Kevin. We've got to make sure Zedd doesn't gain control of a Power Ranger."
Usually, when Jason presented Billy with a challenge, a manic gleam popped in his eyes. Now, though, his eyes were shadowed with misery. "Like he almost did with me… right?"
Even as Jason face grew hot from anger, he reigned himself in. "Billy, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but I'm going to need you at full capacity right now. It's Tommy and Kimberly down there, and they're in danger. You've got to focus on that right now."
The look of misery didn't leave Billy, but he nodded grimly and took his place at the communications panel. At least that was something. Hopefully Jason would have more time for damage control later.
He turned to face Zack, who had his arms crossed, leaning against a panel. "Not much for us to do, then?" There was a bite of sarcasm in his voice, which Jason knew to be a reaction to the pressure.
"Are you kidding?" Jason said. "Zack, you're going to get in the archives and find out everything you know about Ares and Aphrodite… and any other Greek gods you can find. I wouldn't put it past Zedd to resurrect… or whatever… all of them."
Zack stared at Jason dumbfounded. "Research Greek mythology? Are you kidding? We're talking about something at least the size of the Marvel Universe… only with harder words. Come on, can't you get someone else to do it?"
"The others are busy… and I don't want to do it," Jason grinned. "Besides, isn't your mom a literature professor? Doesn't she know all about this stuff?"
"That's my mom, not me, and she specializes in American literature, not Ancient Greek," Zack groused. "Okay, fine… but what are you going to do?"
"What I should have done a long time ago," Jason said. "Learn about the new Zords. It's embarrassing when our enemy knows its abilities better than we do."
Jason left for the Zord docking bay, aching for the quiet it would provide. He'd done a good job of being proactive and confident… but he didn't know how much longer he could keep that up.
When did Kimberly learn how to do that?
That was Tommy's first thought when he woke up alone in the clearing. His second thought was to look at his watch, which told him he'd been out for at least ten minutes. His third thought was of rage.
Not at Kimberly. He understood exactly why Kimberly did what she did, even if he didn't fully understand how. No, he was angry at himself. He'd let her get the drop on him, and there was no excuse for that. He was still thinking of her as his girlfriend, the one person who wouldn't hurt him.
Well, she was his girlfriend, and he'd be damned if he let her sacrifice herself.
Standing up, brushing himself off, and vowing to be more careful, he surveyed the surrounding area. His first impression of the clearing in the forest had been similar to the Island of Illusion: mysterious forest hiding obstacles, but nothing remarkable in itself. He was wrong, though. The forest was hotter, for one. More humid, denser, and… stranger, for lack of a better term. It looked more like a tropical rain forest, or at least it resembled the pictures from that nature documentary they'd watched in science class not too long ago. But the plants were almost… moving. He wondered if any of the plants were carnivorous. Venus Island… it was a short mental jump to Venus fly trap…
He spotted where Kimberly had broken through the trees and, steeling himself, gave chase. Hopefully the forest was too much of a barrier to give her a true head start.
As he crashed through the strange plants, he fumed. Okay, he was also angry at her, he admitted to himself. The trouble was, Kimberly had no idea what she was getting in to. Her instincts were admirable, and he felt she was right to have that much of an obligation to family. But… it was an evil spell they were talking about. She had no clue. She hadn't spent weeks under an evil spell… and he had. Even when you break the spell, even when you start to function again… you never really recover. You're never really the same person. Tommy knew what he was getting in to. He could… well, not handle it, but at least he knew what to expect. At least he was already damaged. Kimberly, though…
No. He had to protect her from that. He couldn't let her go through what he had gone through. At least if it was he who was evil, she'd know how to cope.
He heard a yelp, and then tripped, landing hard on his butt.
"Hey, what are you doing awake already?" Kimberly was scrambling to her feet, brushing herself off. "Trini said hitting that pressure point could knock a grown man out for at least half an hour." She sounded angry, but slightly relieved. Perhaps she'd been worrying if she'd really hurt him.
That just made Tommy feel insulted. "When she said grown man, she probably wasn't meaning a fully trained martial artist who is also a Power Ranger infused with Zordon's energy." His words came out harsher than he meant, but he found he wasn't all that sorry.
"Fine then," Kimberly groused. "So how did you catch up with me so fast? I've been running all this time. That Zordon energy give you super speed?"
"I've only been running for a few minutes. The clearing…" He looked back at where he'd left. Only dense trees and other plants answered him. Past the trees, rather than daylight, was a dense blackness. He turned back around to ask Kimberly if she saw it, too, but she was staring at the sky, open-mouthed.
"So…" she said in a shaky voice. "Zedd said there'd be some obstacles?"
There was darkness and trees all around then, but it wasn't a natural darkness. It was a darkness that was drawing nearer, enclosing them like a bubble.
Tommy and Kimberly took battle stances, standing back to back. The darkness drew ever nearer.
"Hey, I've got a crazy idea," Kimberly said. "Let's get the hell out of here."
"I'm with you," Tommy said. "Any ideas that are more to the point?"
Kimberly cast about desperately. "Uh… the bubble hasn't closed in at the top yet. Maybe…" Her eyes lit on a tree. "You up for climbing?"
Tommy looked at the tree ruefully even as Kimberly was already pulling herself onto the low branches. "I guess it's the only way out."
Truth was, he thought as he awkwardly climbed right behind Kimberly, he'd never climbed a tree before in his life. He'd missed out on that particular childhood pastime; Too busy with training. And if he had, he probably wouldn't have picked this particular tree, covered as it was in a fungus that he didn't want to think about. Kimberly, however, looked like she'd spent half her life up a tree. Of course, that was probably a combination of gymnastics and desperation.
Tommy forced himself not to look down and concentrated on finding his next handhold. He let his upper body do most of the work, as trying to look down for footholds would be counterproductive. Kimberly was balancing near the top of the tree when he felt his foot stick in something cold.
He looked down and panicked. He couldn't see his foot. He saw his leg, his ankle… and then darkness. He could feel his foot, though, and it felt like it was bathed in ice, even through his shoe.
Kimberly saw it too, and she was scrambling down as quickly as she could. "Hang on, Tommy."
"Not much choice," Tommy said, trying to keep the fear in his voice to a minimum.
Kimberly braced herself on the other side of the tree, looped her legs over a branch, and cautiously hung upside down from the branch so she could get the best view of his foot… or lack thereof.
"Good news is," Kimberly said, "this black thing is solid. I think we could even slide down it if we wanted, which means we can't just fall into it."
"That's a great deal of comfort, except for the fact my foot is stuck in it."
"Other good news is the black thing is not touching your skin. Just your shoe. I'm going to help you ease your foot out of the shoe, okay?"
Tommy started working his foot out of the shoe, realizing this was the best… well… the only plan. "New and interesting ways to get me out of my clothes, huh?"
There was a stony silence.
"Just trying to lighten the mood," Tommy said. "And, remember, you knocked me out."
"I remember," Kimberly said, her voice softening. "And I appreciate what you're trying to do… I really do. I'd just also appreciate it if you didn't make this harder."
Tommy suddenly felt the cold leave his foot, and he ground it against a branch, getting it away from the dark bubble that had now claimed his shoe. His foot tingled fiercely, as if it had fallen asleep, but it was still there. Kimberly flipped up to sit on the branch, her face flushed from hanging upside down.
"It was complicated to begin with," Tommy said. "Zedd wanted it that way." He smiled. "You know, I was sort of planning to take you out today. To celebrate, you know?"
They were both clinging to the tree trunk, their faces close. He was startled to see Kimberly blinking back tears again. "That would have been nice. I…" She blinked hard several times. "God, why did Zedd pick now to do this? I just wanted it to be nice. Not…"
"I thought it was nice," Tommy said. "I mean, not… I didn't mean nice. I meant…"
Kimberly laughed through her tears. "I didn't mean that either." She looked into his eyes. "Last night was the best night of my life. I don't care what Zedd does, he can't take that away from us. I mean… right?"
Tommy answered Kimberly with a kiss, their cheeks scraping against the trunk. He felt her tears renew, and he wasn't surprised to feel his own eyes stinging. It was some time before they stopped. They knew they were wasting valuable time, but they couldn't bring themselves to stop clinging to each other.
When they finally opened their eyes, the black bubble was gone. They were surrounded by bright green forest and daylight.
They climbed down, instinctively knowing the danger had passed. Tommy immediately found his shoe on the ground. Instead of white with green outlines, however, it was now gray and crackled. It looked like it had aged about a hundred years.
"Well, we've gotten past one obstacle," Tommy commented. "Glad that wasn't my foot."
"Yeah," Kimberly said softly. "I… I guess we have. Hey, Tommy?"
"Yes?"
Kimberly heaved a sigh, as if steeling herself. "Okay, I know you're still determined to sacrifice yourself, and so am I, but it's stupid if we try to fight each other while we're trying to get through the forest. Between fighting each other and getting past the obstacles, we might run out of time, and all this would be pointless. How about we just get to the compound and then figure out who's going to save Kevin."
Tommy nodded. "Of course, you realize what we're going to have to do, whoever it is who ends up saving Kevin."
"Give Kevin our Power Coin before he leaves the room?"
Tommy grinned. "That's it. And that means he finds out our secret identity. You okay with that?"
Kimberly rolled her eyes. "I've always hated this secret identity thing anyway. If Kevin finds out, he finds out."
Tommy didn't add that he would have preferred keeping his own identity a secret, what with his evil past. Instead, he turned his attention to the forest, now safely lit with sunlight. The possibly-carnivorous plants didn't seem all that bad now. After Tommy pulled on his aged sneaker, knowing that some protection was better than none, they cautiously started toward the compound.
"There, you see?" Aphrodite turned from their view of the alternate dimension, smirking from her perch on the balcony. "Love triumphant."
Ares leaned against the wall, eyeing his lover appreciatively. "So they made up. I still think it's better when they're tearing each other apart."
Aphrodite laughed, the sound echoing around the room. "My love, after all I've taught you, and you still don't understand. There can be no true pain without love." Her eyes betrayed nothing, still blank silver orbs, but the skin crinkled around them in amusement as she looked past Ares. "My Lord Zeus understands this. He could have flayed them alive, but he preferred them to tear each other apart."
Goldar's eye twitched at the words. He was standing near Lord Zedd's throne, claiming his superiority to these Earthly apparitions. "Lord Zeus?" His voice was low enough for Zedd to hear, but not the two gods, who were too busy arguing.
"A convenient match with this Earth deity," Zedd said in a low, amused voice. "A little lightning show convinced them enough, and my name…"
As they watched, the two gods had begun to kiss violently. Goldar ground his teeth: he could not help but think of Scorpina.
"Oh, stop it, you two," a low voice snapped from the hallway.
A clunk-drag sound followed the voice, and a hunched, grizzled god limped into the throne room. His leg drug uselessly behind him. While the other gods had perfect skin, or were artfully scarred, as in the case of Ares, this one's skin was criss-crossed with jagged scars and ill-healed angry welts. If there was a god that looked like a monster, it was he.
Ares and Aphrodite pulled apart and stared at the newcomer with contempt. "Oh, don't be such a bore, dear husband," Aphrodite laughed. "I don't know why you even bother with jealousy anymore. It's not like we…"
Lord Zedd rose, and the gods grew quiet. The newcomer looked at Zedd with the same amount of hatred as the two lovers, but with a healthy amount of fear mixed in.
"Hephaestus," Lord Zedd said, fully aware of his effect on the lame god. "The humans have evaded your first trap. I trust you have more in store for these children."
Hephaestus was obviously trying to hide his fear of "Zeus." Goldar wondered what this god felt he had to fear from someone who was supposed to be his lord. "Present company would attest that I am adept at nets."
Ares and Aphrodite glared back.
"The humans will find it challenging, though not impossible to surpass. They should be distracted enough for your purposes."
"These humans…" Ares spat out the word. "They are clever, and the boy is gifted in war, but I do not understand why they are so important. Why not transform them… or transform yourself, if you desire them so much." The last was said with heavy irony.
Goldar started massaging his temple. The gods talked with great familiarity, making references that he couldn't begin to understand. Lord Zedd was no help in elaboration, as his vast knowledge allowed him to understand their oblique references to Earth mythology perfectly.
Goldar did understand that Zedd didn't appreciate the insinuations Ares was making. "Age and experience teaches subtlety, something you, god of war and bloodshed, know nothing about. Your consort is correct. There are some things that cut deeper than a sword."
Ares snorted in derision. "Just tell me when the real attack begins. I tire of watching children run through the woods."
"Soon," was Zedd's answer. "After they tear themselves to pieces."
That answer seemed to satisfy the gods. Goldar, on the other hand, glared at the screen suspended off the balcony, showing Tommy's and Kimberly's progress through the hostile forest. They were, at the moment, dodging fire-breathing plants… a collaborative invention between Aphrodite, Demeter, and Hephaestus. Their faces were grim and set, and they kept glancing at each other, their temporary treaty still uncertain.
Whatever Zedd had planned, it would not end in any way the Rangers expected. They thought it was a mere matter of choosing who would sacrifice themselves. They thought they would be able to save the boy easily, that they would be able to keep any power away from Zedd.
And, through all this, Goldar knew he couldn't do a thing for Tommy. He just hoped the fool would be able to keep himself alive as he always did.
Too antsy to focus on the theoretical powers of the Zords, Jason had wandered into the main control room. He was trying not to hover, or look like he was hovering, but the way Billy kept shooting glances at him and tensing up, he knew he was failing on both counts.
"I'm trying something new," Billy finally said. "I… I can't guarantee any success, but…"
"What are you trying?"
Jason wanted to reassure Billy. Wanted to tell him that he had full faith in his abilities… but the words couldn't get past his lips. He also knew that reassurances wouldn't help. Billy was breaking down, and whenever he broke down, focusing on a goal was his only way to recover. He didn't react well to what others would term pity.
"It's…" Billy hesitated, obviously trying to come up with an explanation that would make any sense to Jason. Trini wasn't there to translate, after all. "It's sort of a back door. We have the coordinates to the dimension straight from Zedd, and I can use those coordinates to open another portal. I have a little experience in alternate dimensions, just from working with Zordon, but this is something entirely foreign to me. Trying to patch into another dimension, a dimension that Zedd controls, is theoretically possible, but extremely dangerous."
"What kind of danger are we talking about here?" said Jason. "How bad can boosting a signal be?"
"I realize it's counterintuitive, but sending a message to them is impossible," Billy said. "Teleporting in, however, isn't impossible. We can set up a back door, one that Zedd isn't monitoring. If we can hide our own signals well enough, or disguise them in some way, Zedd doesn't even need to know we're there until we choose to let him know. The disguise is a problem, though. And the fact that, since it's a back door, we can't tell where we'll enter the dimension. And one miscalculation could create a feedback loop through the Morphing Grid…"
"Billy, the chances of that are really small." This time it was Alpha to interrupt. "We need only calibrate some signal boosters to help create the door."
Jason saw Billy flinch. Right. He'd forgotten that in Zordon's absence, Billy was supposed to report to Alpha with all experiments… but he couldn't help that Billy was taking it a bit too far. Not reporting when he found a good, relatively safe solution to their problem immediately…
"You have an idea about our disguises, too," Jason said. He tried to keep the impatience out of his voice, knowing that he had to keep Billy calm if he was going to get any brilliance out of him. "Tell us your idea."
"We disguise ourselves as Putties."
Jason frowned. "What… paint ourselves gray?"
There was a ghost of a smile on Billy's face at that. "We won't have to go that far. We're not going to see Zedd in person. He's probably viewing the dimension from the Moon Palace, so if we overlay a Putty energy signature on our own, we'll register as Putties to all but the naked eye."
"Or creepy eye visor," Jason said. "Sounds like a plan. Hopefully, once we get there, we can find another way to save Kevin. I don't care what Zedd thinks he has planned. None of us are getting sacrificed."
He clapped Billy on the shoulder. "Good work. Listen up, people." Zack looked up from his computer console, clearly relieved to be interrupted, and Trini appeared from the lab just off the main control room. "Billy's found us a way in, but it's a little risky. Soon as Billy and Alpha can calibrate us a back door, we're going in. Trini, I need serum and tools we might need to break Kevin out."
Trini nodded and ran back into the lab. Billy looked a little startled that the plan was going ahead, but he set to work next to Alpha without a complaint.
"We sure this is safe?" Zack asked in a low voice. "I mean, Zedd did threaten Kevin if we…"
"It's better than letting those two emotional time bombs handle it on their own," Jason said. "What have you found out?"
Zack scowled and rubbed his head. "Too much and not enough. I'm guessing we're going to face Aphrodite, given the name of the place, but that's all I can predict."
"Well, we know she can rip through the Zord shields without any effort," Jason said. "What other powers do you think she has hiding?"
"That's the thing," Zack said. "It's not like one guy just sat down and wrote out everything about the Greek gods and made it all make sense. Some things remain pretty much the same, but we're talking about hundreds of years of writing and stories that all contradict each other. Take Aphrodite, for instance. No one can agree on her origins, and her personality changes with every story. And she may have been macking on Ares there, but her real husband is Hephaestus, so she might have him doing something."
"And who's Hephaestus?"
"God of the forge," Zack supplied. "Skilled workman. Genius… I guess we'd call him an engineer. He's most famous for making a net to catch Aphrodite and Ares doing it."
"And who better to trap Tommy and Kimberly, than someone who's already good at trapping people?" Jason smiled bitterly. "Good work. Read up some more on Hephaestus. We don't know how much those myths will help us, but it's better to not jump into a fight blind."
And Jason was grateful that Zack didn't point out that that was exactly what they were doing.
Kimberly pushed aside yet another sticky branch… and gasped. It was the compound. They'd made it.
She took a step forward, but then stopped herself, not really needing Tommy's warning hand on her shoulder. They didn't say anything, but they knew the clear field between themselves and the door was a deception.
"They've done weird aging darkness, packs of super-fast wolves, fire-breathing plants, and some sort of lion thing," Kimberly said, keeping her voice low.
"I think that was a chimera," Tommy said.
"Right," said Kimberly. "No pattern, though. What do you think is going to be between us and that door?"
Tommy scraped his hair out of his face. "Zedd's using Greek gods, right? Something… Greek?"
"That's helpful," Kimberly groused, looking away.
She felt Tommy's anger behind her. Even when he was morphed, which they'd only stayed morphed in short bursts, so as to save Tommy's power, she could tell what he was feeling. She wondered if the night before had anything to do with that, or if she'd just grown that close to him, and had just now noticed.
"Today's not my best day, all right?" Tommy finally said.
Kimberly sighed. "Mine neither." And she knew what the problem was. They'd worked together wonderfully trying to get through the forest, but now they were facing the compound. A decision had to be made soon. She had to keep both her brother and her boyfriend safe… and somehow come out of it alive. She wasn't certain how angry Zedd would become when she showed up to serve him sans power coin.
Her stomach tightened. She hadn't, until this second, truly thought about the fact that she would be serving Zedd… Lord Zedd, soon enough. That she would betray all of her friends, working as hard as she could to make life miserable for them.
And Tommy. She would hurt Tommy. She knew she would.
She wanted to tell him that she loved him, that whatever she did, nothing would change that. She wanted to imagine what she would do if… when… she were evil, and tell him what to expect.
But she knew he wouldn't accept it. That he would interrupt her and argue with her, and the words would come out all wrong. No, she could tell him anything. Couldn't even say goodbye. She had to face this alone and hope he could sense all this from her without her saying it.
Tommy's hand returned to her shoulder, and she looked back at him. And there it was. The things that made her resolution harden, even as she was just starting to consider letting him sacrifice himself. There was, after all, a lot of sense in what he said: he knew what it was to be under a spell, and they knew what to expect from him. It would make so much sense, and she'd be able to truly protect her brother… but for that look in his eye. The look he'd had for a week. The death wish.
She knew what he would do. Spell or no spell, he would make sure that Zedd killed him. Zedd wanted to kill him anyway—he'd already established that. And Tommy… whether through guilt, or loyalty to Rita, or a wish to join his father, or just not being able to face it anymore…
If Tommy sacrificed himself, all that was waiting for him was death. She just couldn't allow that. Maybe if he was trying to save her, he'd find a reason to live.
"We go cautiously? Morphed?"
Kimberly nodded. "You do the honors."
"You know my mother's going to keep at it." Kimberly dropped the phone back on the hook and shifted on the couch to lean against Tommy. His arms curled around her.
"Don't know why everyone's in such a damn hurry," Tommy grumbled, trying to reach the remote without jostling Kimberly. "I mean, we've only been married a couple of years. It's not like we're a baby factory."
Kimberly chuckled. "And Mom didn't used to be so desperate to be a grandmother. Honestly, people act like women shrivel up by 25."
Tommy started feeling at Kimberly's ribs. "You don't feel shriveled to me."
Kimberly shrieked and tried to shove his hands away. "Stop it," she gasped as he tickled her.
She finally wriggled out of his grasp. "The dryer just cut off. Now, keep your hands to yourself and you can help hang up the clothes."
He grinned. "You sure know how to tempt a guy."
He followed her and moved the clothes from the washer to the dryer as she dumped the clothes onto the bed. She picked up one of his green shirts. There were some stains that hadn't come out in the washing.
"How do you keep ruining your clothes?" Kimberly grumbled. "I swear, you go through more T-shirts."
The dryer turned on, and Tommy tossed the shirt that Kimberly handed him in the trash. "At least my shirts stay on a hangar," he teased, holding up one of her strappy shirts.
She pulled the blouse from his grasp and rolled her eyes, knowing that he was useless at hanging up her shirts. But it also had something on it. Something red…
She shrugged. There was something wrong, but it didn't have anything to do with right now. They finished the laundry. They cooked supper. They started a movie, but left halfway through for the bedroom, half of their clothes littering the living room floor.
They did the same the next day.
And the next day.
And the next day.
They laid in bed beside each other, sated and gasping. And then…
"There's something wrong, isn't there?"
There was a hitch in Tommy's voice. Kimberly closed her eyes and saw what she always saw when she slept, when she blinked… It was a golden net, surrounding her.
"I don't want there to be." Kimberly's voice came out in a whisper. If only Tommy had kept quiet, they might have…
Kimberly grabbed Tommy, holding him close to her. No, there was nothing wrong. They were married. Safe. Their fighting days long behind them. This was the reality she wanted. The thing she craved. Tommy was alive, they were together, there was no evil emperor watching over them, wanting to kills and enslave them…
"But this is okay, isn't it?" Tommy said, his voice turning desperate. "Just a few more days. We could…"
He stopped talking, and Kimberly opened her eyes. Instead of seeing their dark bedroom, they were suspended from the ground in a golden net. They'd been clinging to each other, and Kimberly pulled her hands away to see that her fingernails had broken Tommy's skin. Her own arms felt sore, and she knew she probably had bruises.
"We weren't able to sustain the morph, I guess," Tommy said quietly. "Do you think we can morph now?"
Kimberly turned her face away, hoping Tommy didn't see the tears she couldn't help. Not after that. "I guess there's only one way to find out."
They morphed, and Tommy pulled his blade blaster out to cut the net. It was surprisingly easy to cut, and the two tumbled to the ground.
Kimberly checked the time in her helmet. "Shit! We're almost out of time!"
She ran to the compound, Tommy close behind her. She threw the doors open to encounter an innocuous hallway. She didn't care if there were traps or not: she had to get to Kevin before time was out.
Even though he'd had plenty of reassurances, Jason was still glad they hadn't materialized as Putties.
Trini and Zack were close behind him. Zack had stopped describing the possibilities of spiders after Trini had snapped at him to shut up. Jason frowned at the further evidence that the Rangers were starting to crack under the strain. Trini had never snapped like that before.
Billy was not with them. Jason had left him to guard the signal boosters, which they relied on to get home. He knew it had hurt Billy to leave him, but they needed someone there to pull them back, and Jason just couldn't trust Billy in a fight. Not with him on the edge like that.
They'd met no obstacles. They'd seen a few wolves, but the wolves ignored them. The dimension and its obstacles weren't for them. Jason was thankful. They could get to Tommy and Kimberly all that much sooner.
But time was running out, and they still didn't have sight of the compound. Their equipment was scrambled just enough that they couldn't detect any life readings, not even their own. It was like the place wasn't even there, and it was creepy as hell.
Jason stopped as he felt Trini grab both of them. "There."
Sure enough, to the left, there was a building that could only be the compound. Jason almost let out of a whoop of triumph, but stopped short. He knew they needed to keep from being noticed this close to where Zedd was monitoring. They knew, however, they didn't have a lot of time, so they ran for the compound…
Only to be stopped at the door. Aphrodite, still looking as beautiful and as dangerous as she had towering over Angel Grove.
"Well," she began, "I can't say I'm surprised. Lord Zeus said you would be resourceful… but I cannot allow you to interfere."
Jason opened his mouth, about to ask how Zeus knew anything about them, when he had to duck golden energy bolts. He used his next few words to morph, and then all plans of strategy or reaching the compound were moot, as they were fighting just to keep up and stay alive.
Kimberly heard Tommy gasping for breath beside her, and a quick glance showed her that he couldn't sustain the morph even for that long. That worried her, but she also knew she had another reason Tommy couldn't sacrifice himself. He needed to get back to the Command Center as soon as possible for help. Whatever powers Zordon had given him were obviously not helping.
She was about to throw open another door when Tommy's hand caught her. She glared at him, but he couldn't see her, and catching her like that had obviously hurt him.
"If we get trapped now," Tommy said, "we'll never get to Kevin. This room may be Kevin's cell, but it could also be even more of a trap as that net. Kim… slowly."
Kimberly forced herself to breathe normally. Everything told her she needed to run to Kevin, but she had to acknowledge Tommy's good sense. It would all be lost if she let herself fall into another trap.
They opened the door together. Kimberly at first thought it was some sort of oven… the heat was oppressive. There was a bright orange light at the other side of the room, and the room echoed with the ringing sound of metal on metal.
Tommy and Kimberly inched forward. The figure at the end of the room became clear. The light turned out to be a fire encased in a furnace. In the fire was bright orange sword that was glowing with the intense heat. And beside the furnace was a man with glowing silver eyes.
"Net took longer than I thought it would," the man grunted. "I understand. Probably felt very safe compared to this."
The man himself was stooped, with a scarred body and a deformed leg. He turned from the two and pulled the sword out of the furnace. Laying it on an anvil, he began hammering away at it and humming to himself.
He was also in front of the only door.
"Is my brother past that door?" Kimberly challenged him, unnerved that he had yet to attack.
The man ignored her and continued to hammer. The sword was beginning to glow less as it cooled.
"You're… Vulcan. Right?" Tommy asked. "You're one of the gods."
The man smirked. "I go by Hephaestus, actually. Never did like the Romans. None of us did. Well, maybe except Dionysus…"
"Is my brother past that door?" Kimberly asked again.
The man began hammering again. "Do you see any other doors?"
The two Rangers paused, considering. At the moment, Kimberly was pretty sure she would be able to outrun and possibly outfight the god, especially as he had a lame foot, and her weapons were swifter than his hammer or unfinished sword. Yet she had Tommy to consider. He couldn't morph. If she ran past the god, she would leave Tommy facing him unprotected. If she tried to fight him, she risked Tommy's safety as well as running out the time limit. They only had ten more minutes…
Hephaestus considered the sword, and then plunged it back into the furnace. "Fascinating thing, metal," he commented. "It comes out of the ground, pitted with impurities. Worthless. It's only through heat that it can become strong."
Kimberly was about to surge forward, but Tommy again put his hand on her shoulder. She was that close to breaking that hand, but she stayed put nonetheless.
"The heat," the god continued, "makes it pliable, but it also makes it strong. Purifies it. If I didn't put the sword through this, it would turn brittle. Break at the first blow."
"That's a great hobby of yours," Tommy groused, "but what does it have to do with us?"
Kimberly was about to retort that none of it had to do with them—that the god only wanted to separate them from her brother, and that time was running out—but she silenced when the god started talking again.
"It feels good, doesn't it?" The god was beginning to hammer again, but they could hear his words perfectly. "Young love, in its first blush. Feels like you can conquer anything."
"What do you know about it?" Kimberly said, her voice turning harsh.
Hephaestus's shoulders began shaking with laughter. "More, perhaps, than you think. I've seen you around the forest. You want to fight each other, and that's part of it, but you can't. You're too wrapped up in each other. You cling to each other. Real life, life outside of each other's arms, has just stopped making sense, hasn't it?"
Kimberly felt Tommy's frame stiffen behind her. He was obviously more interested in what the god had to say than she was.
"So you found us out," she said. "Not like everyone else hasn't," she said with a blush, and she was damn glad she still had her helmet on.
"That passion… that heat…" The god had stopped looking at them, and was staring at the sword in the fire. "It consumes you. At times it's too much, but it's still wonderful. And it makes you stronger. Binds you closer together, until you become one entity."
Hephaestus took the sword out of the fire and began to stare at it, this time not lifting his hammer. Just letting it cool on the anvil. "But it doesn't last, does it. Much as you want it to, it never lasts. Heat cools. Passions go away. The first blush fades, and all you're left with is a hunk of metal. Have you hammered it enough to keep it strong? You never know, and it's usually too late when you try."
Tommy laughed slightly. "Sounds like you had a bad experience."
The god looked up again. "Me and Love… we've never gotten along, you could say," the god said with dark humor.
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Kimberly said through gritted teeth. Either the room was getting hotter, or it was anger that was pouring from her head in hot waves. "We need to…"
"You'll betray him."
The words from the god took Kimberly's breath away, making her forget what she was about to say. Zedd's words. Another betrayal…
Hephaestus shrugged. "Or he'll betray you. Or you'll just drift apart, realizing that what you had belonged to youth, or to hormones, or to duty, and there was nothing left to bind you. You'll hang on. You'll feel obligated. But do you really think you've found the person you're going to be with forever when you're only sixteen?"
"Shut up."
The words came out of Kimberly in a growl. She felt Tommy start, but that didn't bother her. Her hands were itching to grab her bow, and this time she wouldn't let Tommy interfere.
"Hephaestus, we didn't come here for a lecture that should, by all rights, be coming from our parents… well… Kimberly's parents. And I can't help but feel that you just want to keep us from that door."
Hephaestus shrugged again. "I see two young people, all honor and idealism and good intentions, and I feel I have to warn them. Take it from someone who's been disappointed in everything he's ever done. I can create anything… but I can't do anything right. If you survive all this, you'll both have to think about your future. You won't be in high school forever. You won't be Power Rangers forever. Without that, what do you have?"
"Shut UP!"
She drew her bow in one swift move. Tommy backed away, and Hephaestus grinned.
"Kim, that may not be…"
"I don't care," Kimberly snapped. "Hephaestus, you've got it all wrong. I'm going to sacrifice myself to save Tommy. I know he's in it so Zedd can kill him…"
There was a startled gasp behind her, and Kimberly knew she'd guessed right.
"But I'm not going to let that happen. Don't you see? I'm not going to betray Tommy. I'm going to do everything in my power to protect him. You think we haven't been tested enough, do you?" Her voice started to shake again, but she didn't care. "You don't know what we've been through. We've been turned evil, nearly died so many times, been kidnapped and saved the world… Even when we both tried to run away from each other, we always came back. We've been through in a year more than what most couples go through in a lifetime. And I don't care what you think you know about us." She paused, gasping, wishing the god would acknowledge what she was saying or even the arrow pointed at him, wishing she could see Tommy's face… "I love Tommy, and I plan to spend the rest of my life with him."
With one crashing blow, Hephaestus brought the hammer down on the sword. It shattered.
White noise filled Kimberly's head, and she screamed. Pumping as much energy as she could into it, she let the arrow fly at Hephaestus.
Hephaestus lifted his hammer in front of him and knocked it back at her. She sidestepped it.
There was a scream. A sizzling sound. Then silence.
Kimberly felt her heart pounding, but nothing else. The world felt unreal around her, the figure before her distant. The air smelled burned, somehow, a burning that was not coming from the furnace.
No. It wasn't… that… that didn't happen… She was still holding her bow she hadn't shot an arrow he was still back there, there was no scream, no sizzle, no burn no…
Her knees gave way, and she fell hard, her bow clattering to the ground.
"That… was unfortunate," Hephaestus said, his voice low and without a trace of irony.
Kimberly opened her mouth to retort, but all that came out was a sob.
Hephaestus began gathering up the pieces of the broken sword. "There was no need to attack me. Never a need for violence. I hate violence, as it often happens like this. My orders were to keep you here. I was sincere in what I said, but I never would have lashed out if you hadn't made the first attack." He sighed. "You could have walked right by me, and I wouldn't have done a thing. I am not as bloodthirsty as my wife's paramour… or my wife, for that matter."
He extinguished the furnace. The lights in the room rose in electric sconces on the walls as the firelight faded. Kimberly knew he was moving closer to her, but she couldn't move in response.
As he walked past her, he patted her on the shoulder. "I'm sorry. So very sorry."
The door behind her closed, and she was alone.
Kimberly, body almost convulsing, turned to see if she could do anything. Maybe there was…
What greeted her was a pile of ash. A pile of…
There was another scream, a ragged animal shriek, and Kimberly wondered vaguely if there was another trap, and animal coming for her, but then her throat hurt, and she realized…
"Tommy… TOMMY…no god no god no god no god no TOMMY!"
What would she…
There was no…
He had to be… he couldn't…
Her fault…
And, still, the second ticked inexorably onward, and Kimberly knew she had to leave. Tommy was… There was only one sacrifice.
She forced herself to her feet, leaving the pile of ashes that could not… could never be… She pushed open the door. It opened easily to a hallway. Breath ragged, and pulled herself down the hallway, the pain numbing to a low burn, the voices in her head fading to a low buzz, and the thing that didn't happen…
Another door, and then a room with a bright glass cell in the middle. And Kevin.
"Pink Ranger!" Kevin was on his feet in an instant. "I knew you guys would save me. Listen, there's no door, and I think there's some kind of gas… It's been seeping in, and my head feels all…"
Kimberly almost smiled. Her brother, right there. He'd be…
"It's all right," she said, her voice sounding almost human. "I can get you out easy. That gas won't…"
"But there's no door," Kevin said. "There's a woman who calls herself Demeter somewhere around here. Maybe she can."
Kimberly approached the cell, and a door appeared, the glass suddenly more opaque. She wondered if it were always there, just invisible to all but her.
With a moment's hesitation, she pushed the door open. It closed behind her. With one more hesitation, she demorphed, preparing to follow the plan no matter what.
Kevin's eyes went wide. "K… Kimberly? But… that means…"
Kimberly was finally able to smile. She pulled Kevin into a hug, and noticed for the first time they were almost the same height. "Kevin… it's going to be okay. The door will open only one more time… for you. Only one person can go through. Y… you need to leave me here, okay?"
Kevin, even through the shock and confusion, turned angry. "You think I'm going to leave my own sister here? I don't care if you're a Power Ranger or not. We have to…"
Kimberly gripped Kevin's shoulders. "You have to listen to me, Kevin. My… my friends will be able to save you. You just need to run. Take this." She handed him her wrist communicator. "Get clear of the compound, and press the top button. It will take you straight to my friends. Start pressing it as soon as you can, because people might want to stop you."
"Bu… but…" Kevin was shaking, tears running helplessly down his face. "I can't…"
"No… listen." Kimberly felt her face heating up, and breathing was becoming harder. "We don't have a lot of time. I'm going to go… well… I'm going to go away for a while. My friends will explain it. You have to tell them…" Her voice caught, but she had to keep talking. This was the last chance. "Tommy is dead. He… he died fighting. Tell them that. Please. No matter what I say later on, they have to know…"
Kevin disappeared, there was a pain in her head, and then he reappeared above her. She'd fallen.
"Kimberly!"
She growled, rage starting fill her numb body, steadying her shaking limbs. "Get OUT of here, Kevin!" She got to her feet and grabbed his arm when he didn't move. He yelped in pain, but she just gripped him harder and shoved him to the door. The door opened, and she pushed him. He fell hard to the floor, and the door closed.
Distantly, she realized she'd accomplished her mission. Now there was the waiting…
She still had her power coin.
Kimberly slumped against the wall, dragging her fingernails across it even as it disappeared. She knew she would never be able to get past it now, not until the spell had done its work.
She deserved it, though.
Kimberly's whole body wracked at the thought. Guilt and loss and fear and more unspeakable feelings coursed through her, twisting into something almost other than herself, something darker. And words echoed through the room, or perhaps just in her own head. Another betrayal. Another…
Just as suddenly as the attack had begun, it ended. Aphrodite smirked at the gasping Rangers. "It's done."
She disappeared, but the three Rangers were already on the move. They launched themselves through a hallway, a room, another hallway…
Jason skidded to a halt when he saw Kevin, running and clutching a wrist communicator.
"S-she's in there! Kimberly! She…"
Kevin was pale and shaking, but his face looked determined. Rather than explain, he grabbed Jason's hand and pulled him down the hallway. "You've got to help her. She got me out of that glass box, so maybe you can."
"Maybe we need to get Kevin out…" Zack began.
"No!" Kevin rounded on them. "I have a pretty good idea who you guys are, and you're not going to let my sister die in there. Not after…"
He went silent, and Jason felt ice form in his stomach.
"Kevin…" Trini's voice was barely controlled. "Where's the Green Ranger?"
"That's the one Tommy was?"
Trini took a step back. There was a strangled cry, and Zack's knees gave way. He fell to the floor hard.
Kevin looked shocked at his own words, but he kept pulling at Jason's arm. "I'm sorry, but if you don't come, Kimberly's going to die, too."
Jason pulled himself away from Kevin and brushed past him, running for the door. He vaguely heard the other three follow him. A glass cell dominated the room, and Kimberly, unmorphed, was slumped against a wall.
"Kim!" Jason ran for the case, making plans to break it… but then Kimberly slowly stood up.
He looked at her face, and he knew it wasn't Kimberly anymore.
"Hey, guys," she said, a bright smile on her face. "Did you come to rescue me?"
Jason could hear struggling behind him, and he knew that Trini and Zack were preventing Kevin from rushing forward. He didn't look back, though. He kept his eyes on Kimberly.
"We did, actually," Jason said, trying to keep his voice calm. "Sorry we're too late."
"I'm not."
She started pacing around the cell, and Jason kept pace with her. She was unmorphed and without a wrist communicator, but her power coin and morpher were clearly visible from her pocket. She looked like she'd been crying—more than crying—which made her smiling, mocking face all the more unnatural.
"What happened to Tommy?" Jason's voice caught at the name, but he forced himself to keep talking. "Was it Zedd? Or one of the gods? Is he…?"
"Oh, didn't Kevin tell you?" She grinned over at her brother. "Of course not. Bad boy. Gonna have to tell Mom."
"W… what's wrong with her?" Kevin's voice sounded tiny, much different from the determined boy in the corridor.
Kimberly chuckled. "I guess you could say I reached a moment of clarity. I will admit, things were pretty confusing when Tommy died, but…" she shrugged. "Tis better to have loved and lost…"
"Shut up!"
Kimberly raised an eyebrow. "Look at you, Zack. Didn't think you even liked Tommy all that much." She grinned wider. "Or maybe you were just jealous of me. I mean, he was good looking…"
"What happened?" Jason interrupted her.
"I killed him."
If Jason had been expecting any response, it wasn't that.
"Did you hear me, Red Ranger?" Kimberly said, her face turning angry. "Because, just in case Kevin told that ridiculous story about Tommy dying heroically in battle, and before you make up all sorts of images to go along with that… He wasn't fighting. He wasn't morphed. He wasn't even expecting it. And I was the one who killed him. I shot him, and he's just a pile of ashes."
"But you didn't even turn evil until you entered that cell." Trini's voice was almost emotionless.
"Exactly." She looked up, as if hearing a voice from above. "Looks like this little conference is running out… as is this whole dimension. Try to escape. It would suck if you ended up dying here before I get a chance to play with you."
There was a bright flash of light, and the compound disappeared, replaced by the image of the park and Billy standing next to the signal boosters.
Jason opened his mouth to say something, but his throat was completely closed up. "Let's…" he strangled out, "let's get the hell out of here."