Chapter Seven
Tommy
Tommy had followed Falcon back into the farmhouse and the two of them were now seated at the dining room table. Tommy watched as the older man began filling his plate with food.
He couldn't waste anymore time. As kind as Falcon and his family had been, Tommy really needed to be on his way to save Kimberly.
"Tell me about the Blue Amethyst Ranger." Tommy said, folding his arms over his chest and sitting back in his chair.
Falcon had a small piece of chicken on the edge of his fork but he set the fork down on his plate. He seemed to realize Tommy was growing impatient.
"The Blue Amethyst Ranger was the leader of our Power Rangers many, many years ago." Falcon said, then quickly picked up his fork to take a bite.
"How did she betray her team? What happened?" Tommy asked as Falcon took several more bites of his food.
After a moment's chewing and swallowing, Falcon responded, "She manipulated the others in order to take their Power Jewels. Once she successfully had the Jewels in her possession, she left Anylioch and never returned. The other Rangers lost their powers and became average soldiers. They fought long and hard for King Faris, but there was only so much that they could do."
Though he had a feeling that he already knew the answer, Tommy asked, "Where did the Blue Amethyst Ranger go?"
"The Island of Torin." Falcon said, "She's been there ever since she stole the Jewels. Rumor has it that she is trying to form her own team of Rangers, but it hasn't gone well. The Jewels were never created to be shared."
Tommy was reminded of the times other Rangers had shared their powers. Unless they did a Power Transfer, no one would be comfortable using another Ranger's powers. He knew that it could be painful to both parties involved.
"You're the first Power Ranger in these lands in a great many years, Tommy." Falcon said, pushing his empty plate away from him. "Perhaps you will be the difference in these wars."
Tommy was quick to shake his head. "I am here for one reason and that reason is Kimberly."
"And you know precisely where Kimberly is being kept?" Falcon asked, his lips turning up in a smile.
"The Island of Torin." Tommy said, tersely.
"Very good. And where exactly do you think she will be on that island?"
Tommy tried not to scowl at the man. Of course, the guy was right: maybe Tommy could be pointed in the right direction of the Island but how big was it? How intricate would it be to navigate?
"You need my help." Falcon said simply, standing from the table.
Tommy jumped up to stand with him. "So what is this? A trade of services?"
"Fortunately for you, the two issues come hand in hand. By rescuing Kimberly, you are also defeating my enemy."
"You want me to…" Tommy trailed off. The man had to be joking.
"Yes, I want you to fight for King Faris. I want you to fight at our sides as we strive for one last push against Holden. If we can conquer that Island, the Power Jewels will be ours and our Rangers can return to form."
Tommy actually laughed. "That's crazy. I can't do that! This is not my battle to fight. I was given my powers to fight for good. Fighting in this war would go against everything I've done and trained for my whole life!"
Now Falcon was not smiling. "And your dearest love? Hmm? Will you abandon her to the fate of that Island when we do lay siege?"
Tommy hadn't thought about that.
"If you fight with us, Ranger, we have that much more in our arsenal. And if you fight by our side we will help you get Kimberly back. We know those lands. We know the people behind those walls. Tommy, we can help each other."
It was the first time that Tommy had seen Falcon nearly begging. The man looked about ready to fall to his knees.
But he couldn't agree to this. He couldn't fight and hurt people...he fought monsters. Beyond what Falcon was telling him, he knew nothing of these two lands. For all Tommy knew, Falcon could be lying to him.
"What would you do to free Kimberly? How far would you go to save your girl?"
"I would do anything to get her back!" Tommy snarled.
"Then let us help each other, Tommy." Falcon said, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Fight with us and-"
There was a raucous collection of sounds from the kitchen. The footsteps of a few people, laughter, discussion. Last, the shutting of a door.
Falcon let his hand drop from Tommy's shoulder and he turned to face the direction of the sound. He had the biggest grin Tommy had ever seen on the man's face.
Turning the corner from the kitchen were four adults, all around their forties or fifties, like Falcon. There were two men and two women and each looked more different than the last.
The one who entered first held open her arms with a big, cheerful smile. "Falcon! It's been too long." The woman stepped up to him and gave him a giant hug, which he returned.
The others stepped in and greeted Falcon with either a hug or handshake. Everyone was talking at once.
"Anya outdid herself!"
"Where is little Wren?"
"Look at that gray in your beard, Falcon! Ahh, but we are getting old now, aren't we?"
Falcon answered questions and made commentary in return until the group fell silent and noticed Tommy.
"Oh, it's him!" one of the women declared.
"My god. He's practically a child..." one of the men said.
Falcon waved his hands down to shush them. "Yes, my friends, this is Tommy Oliver. Our new resident Red Ranger."
There was a pause, then they all cheered and came forward to pat Tommy on the back or to take his hand to shake. He was overwhelmed. Did everyone know who he was?
"Now, now." Falcon said with a laugh. He began prying the others away from Tommy and setting them a back a few steps. "Let's not overcrowd the boy. He's been through a lot these last few days."
Tommy didn't say anything. He couldn't think of what to say.
Falcon put an arm around Tommy's shoulders and said, "Tommy, these are my friends. They have traveled a great distance just to meet you."
Tommy recalled Anya saying that they were waiting for 'the others' to arrive...this must have been what she meant.
The first of the women who hugged Falcon stepped forward with a hand to her chest. "My name is Mora. It's so nice to finally meet you, Tommy." She was tall with long brown braided hair and big, kind brown eyes.
"And I'm Glen, Tommy." one of the men said. He was on the shorter side and he had close cropped light brown hair and blue eyes. He had the look of someone who smiled more than most.
"Forget them!" the second woman said, causing the others to laugh. "I'm Reese. It's great to meet you!" She was of average height with shoulder length black hair and green eyes.
Lastly, the second man stepped up and said, "I'm Brandon." He was around Tommy's height with shaggy brown hair and steely gray eyes.
It would take some time to remember everyone's names, but Tommy replied. "It's nice to meet you all."
Reese snorted. "Uh huh, sure."
"H-huh?" Tommy asked, taken aback.
"What she means to say," Mora gave her friend a warning glance, "Is that we know you aren't here for fun. We know about Kimberly."
Tommy clamped his mouth shut.
"Look, we get it." Glen said. "This can't be easy."
"It definitely won't get any easier." Brandon murmured.
Thankfully, that's when Anya decided to return from the other room.
"Anya!" the crowd of newcomers cheered her name.
Anya hid her face behind one hand in embarrassment then made a quick curtsy. "Nice to see you all, too."
The group, aside from Falcon and Tommy, began speaking amongst themselves as they walked over to the dining room table. They sat down and began scooping and grabbing food for their plates.
While the others ate and spoke with Anya in between bites, Tommy noticed Falcon beckoning him towards the kitchen. When he disappeared around the corner, Tommy begrudgingly followed.
The kitchen was small but clean and well organized. Tommy could tell that Anya loved to be in there, cooking. Her delicious food seemed like a love letter to her family and friends.
Falcon turned to look at Tommy and sighed. "Look, I wasn't expecting them to arrive before we had more time to talk…"
Tommy turned to look back at the entryway. He could still hear happy mumbling and forks on dinnerware.
It struck him suddenly that he knew who they were. He knew exactly who those four were. It was like he could sense it, somehow. And Falcon...
"It's you," Tommy breathed. "All of you. You're the Power Rangers."
Falcon's shocked face confirmed it.
"I...Y-yes. We are." the man, for the first time, stumbled over his words.
Tommy realized that the other room became completely quiet.
"You wanted me to meet them because you want me to fight with them against Holden." Tommy said slowly.
"Yes." a voice said behind Tommy.
Tommy whirled to see Mora standing in the entryway.
"We know that you need to find your girl. We get that, we do." Mora said softly, "But we need you, Tommy. If we are going to get you even remotely close to Kimberly, you'll need to fight your way through."
"But we can help." Brandon said, coming up from behind her. "We can get you inside Holden's fortress. We can help you get Kimberly back."
Tommy looked between the two, saying nothing.
Mora looked at Brandon, then back to Tommy. "I'm the Red Pearl Ranger."
"Green Sapphire." Brandon said.
"I'm Pink Opal!" Reese called over Brandon's shoulder, grinning excitedly.
Walking around Mora, Glen said, "My jewel is the Yellow Jade."
Tommy watched them all announce themselves without saying a word.
These were Power Rangers. Older than he and his team, for sure, but he could see it in the eyes of every person looking back at him. There was an inner strength that made Tommy think to himself, These are friends. These are teammates.
These four had fought together and been friends for a very, very long time. They were as close if not closer than Tommy was with his own team. He understood that bond. He could feel it in his bones.
"And I am the Gray Ruby."
Tommy's head snapped back to look at Falcon.
"I am the leader of this ragtag group." Falcon said, watching Tommy carefully. "I brought them here to meet you because I know how much it means to have a team around you."
"You...You sent your...your minions against me!" Tommy barked out. He took several steps closer to Falcon. "Why didn't you tell me before? Why send those metal heads after me? Why?"
Falcon put his hands up to placate him. "Because I needed to show my King that you were worth bringing to Anylioch. I needed to see you fight."
"You fight great, by the way." Glen said, smiling. He looked from side to side, read the room, and shut up.
"But the choice was always yours, Tommy." Falcon went on. "You came to the park that night because you wanted to find me and you needed my help to get here. You chose this path because you knew it was the only way to find Kimberly."
"How do I know that you haven't taken her and this was all a lie to get me to fight?" Tommy demanded, "Is Kimberly bait for your messed up war?"
"No, Tommy, no…" Mora said, sounding terribly sad, "We don't have Kimberly. She's on Torin."
Tommy's head was a jumble of thoughts that couldn't organize themselves.
"We must fight Torin to rescue Kimberly and to regain our Power Jewels. The two plans are arm in arm." Brandon said, nodding to Falcon.
Tommy looked back to Falcon, feeling panic begin to rise. He asked the man, "Where is the Blue Amethyst Ranger?"
There was a beat of silence before Falcon replied, "The Blue Amethyst Ranger we knew no longer has her powers. She decided that she needed someone with a past as a Power Ranger to take over that Jewel."
"Someone with a past as a Ranger…" Tommy said, slowly shaking his head. He didn't want to hear the rest.
"The Queen chose Kimberly to take the Blue Amethyst, Tommy." Falcon went on, "It's why she was taken to begin with."
"And you knew all this...and lured me to come here, too." Tommy said through clenched teeth.
"Would you have come without our assistance if you could? Wouldn't you do anything to get Kimberly back?" Falcon asked, suddenly weary.
Tommy's thoughts finally snapped into place. One thought rang louder than the rest: "You said that the Queen is the one who chose Kimberly for the jewel...why the Queen?"
The four Rangers all looked anywhere other than at Falcon.
"Because she was the original Blue Amethyst Ranger." Tommy realized. "The Queen of Torin is the one who stole your Power Jewels."
Kimberly
Standing in the training yard was the first time Kimberly was officially able to go outside. The yard was next to an outer wall of the fortress and it was open to the sky, craggy black rocks by coast, and the ocean itself. The fresh sea air was jarring compared to the cramped atmosphere of her rooms.
Standing at the front of the yard on a tall, sturdy wooden platform, Kimberly faced over three hundred young men, women, and teenagers.
She had barely slept the night before. Through her tears and terrible dreams, it was no wonder that Kim felt as though she was having an out of body experience.
The crowd was so silent that Kimberly could have heard a pin drop. They all looked up at her expectantly, waiting.
Kim took a deep breath in through her nose and held it in her lungs. She had nothing left back on Earth. This was all she had for now. She may as well throw everything she had at it.
Behind her on the platform were a series of weapons on a rack. Picking up a wooden staff that was nearly as tall as she was, she turned and faced her pupils once more.
The crowd had followed suit and leaned down to pick up staffs of their own from the ground.
"Hello." Kimberly called out to them.
"Louder!" Someone from farther in the group yelled back.
Clearing her throat, a bit embarrassed, she shouted out, "Hello!"
The crowd in unison called out, "Hello!"
If it were any other circumstance, Kimberly would have laughed at this scenario. Instead, she hardened herself up and went on.
"Over the next few days, we are going to work with several weapons and I'm going to take the time to rank everybody so we can hone in on specialized training for each one of you." she called out.
Thankfully no one yelled back that they couldn't hear.
Kimberly was never one for teaching or training martial arts. She was a gymnast, after all, but she had watched Jason and Tommy plenty when they were teaching at the Youth Center.
A pang of sadness, the image of Tommy's face in her mind.
Leave me alone, she thought to herself angrily.
The crowd before her was waiting patiently.
Kimberly lifted the staff before her and held in in both hands horizontally. She watched as the group mimicked her, then she began twirling the staff slowly from one side of her to the other. Looking out over the forces she noticed that some were keeping up, but a great deal many were struggling to keep the same even pace.
"The staff is a very important weapon. You can fight up close or at a distance, you can fight more than one foe at once, and combined with other decent martial art skills, you can...win the day!" Kimberly said, pulling her staff in to stop its movement.
Some in the crowd started laughing.
Kimberly turned the staff and smacked the butt end of it into the wood platform beside her. The crowd quieted, but she could see that there were some (especially older) people trying to fight back grins.
She began to imagine the smiles and laughter Tommy and Katherine now shared. Now that Kim was gone, it would be so easy for them to continue on with their relationship.
What a joke.
I am not a joke, she thought to herself, furious, These people need me and I need them to see why.
Kimberly tossed the staff to the ground, feeling the fury rise up inside her. There was some confusion in the group, but they put their staffs down, as well.
"Do you think this is funny? Do you think war is a game?" Kimberly shouted.
All the smiling ceased.
"How about I show you something that I'm sure none of you can do?"
Kimberly walked to the end of the platform and turned away from the crowd. With a deep breath in and out, she looked back to the other side and began to run. Thankfully the platform was many yards long.
She surged forward and began to do what she could do best: gymnastics.
Kimberly was quick as an arrow. She was fierce and she was focused. Closing her eyes, she let her muscle memory take over. She then began flipping and twisting in the air with tremendous force. For just a few moments, Kimberly was euphoric in her own abilities.
No one was laughing when she landed.
Good, was all she thought before facing her students again.
Some jaws were dropped. Some were muttering quick words to each other. But the largest part of the group, the youngest part, slowly began to build with the sound of cheering. Applause, whistles, shouting words of encouragement.
Kimberly hadn't won over the entire crowd, but at least she had a start. Now no one would see her as a Ranger without ability.
She looked out among the crowd and a face stopped her fast. There standing in the very center was Rory, grinning widely at her.
Kim didn't smile back.
"I am here to help make you soldiers. I am here to show you that even someone as small as me can fight back and be strong." Kimberly called out once the crowd had quieted. "I am not a martial arts master by any means, but I know enough to help you. After today there will be no more full training sessions like these. I want to get to know you all and I need to gauge the skill levels of every person standing in this yard."
There was no response, but so many of the teenaged group were smiling and excited.
It was a start.
"Now, pick up your staffs again and lets keep moving with the basics!" Kimberly yelled.
Everyone was quick to pick up their staffs and no one laughed at her for the rest of the training session.