Kira looked from person to person within the Megaship cafeteria, and apparent meetup spot for everyone, wondering exactly how things had gotten to this point. Tommy was by himself, silent as the grave and just as solemn looking, glancing every few minutes at the door. Occasionally a noise would sound, akin to a grunt, and Abby would be forced back into her seat by Trent in their own corner of the room, the young man getting a glare for his troubles. Kira got the sense that he really couldn't care less. On the opposite side of the room RJ was helping a man who she'd been informed at some point was named James Navarro, holding an ice pack to his face. A nasty looking bruise seemed to be forming near his eye; Tyler stood by his father's side and looked heavily conflicted between staying by him or going to his mother, and next to him Shelby sat. The pink was cradling a strange device in her arms, clinging to it as if it was the most precious thing in the world.
Not all the Renegades were there of course; there were too many of them and too much to do. Still there were a lot of them. Ileana was standing somewhere near the middle of the room alongside her brother, both ancient warriors looking about with stern expressions on their faces. Billy sat with Zack and Chase quietly, the odd trio simply watching for the time being from their spot near the door. Kira herself, along with a confused Koda, Heckyl, and Annie, had only come in looking for snacks and found themselves walking right into a cold warzone, at the edge of erupting again.
"So," Ileana's voice cut through the stale atmosphere and Kira glanced at the older woman; her arms were crossed over her chest much like a schoolteacher scolding some misbehaving children and a look to match that allowed no bull, "Who wants to explain to us what exactly is going on around here?"
"Where would you like us to start?" Trent asked, ignoring once more the displeased look he got, this time from the Cheetah Warrior.
"Maybe with why James has a massive bruise or why Tommy looks like he's been forcefed lemons," Hayley commented, her eyes wandering to the silent man.
"Well it really started with Ms. Morgan and Shelby fighting again and partially destroying the lab Andros let us borrow," Riley said standing beside Tyler, "The commotion had attracted Billy, Zack, Chase and Trent, and after some discussion, and Trent reprimanding them a little, we finally got the two to agree to work together and create the E-tracer."
When he said that Shelby pulled the device closer and Annie turned to him. "That would be the device in Shelby's arms, right? What exactly does it do?"
"It tracks Energems and corresponding zords by using an artifical Dino Charger made from sampling energy from the Energems we have already in our possession," Kendall explained from beside Shelby, "We experimented using an Aqua Charger we made and successfully found the Aqua Energem, bonded to James," the man in question raised a hand to wave a little, "as well as the Ankylozord; a resounding success I'd say."
"Honestly it was more like we found the Zord then the Energem found us, and at a good time too. The problem came while we were down on Earth doing the experiment. We were attacked; Fury and some of Sledge's monsters showed up and tried to fight us," Chase piped up, "James jumped in to help us, as did..."
He trailed off and turned to look at Tommy. The green continued to be silent, and when Chase caught his eye finally, he turned away and caused the New Zealander to frown. He wasn't sure if he should go and just say it, or if doing so would only cause more trouble than it may be worth. Chase only knew a little but he knew enough; he knew that the other person who helped them, the one Tommy had attacked and called Lord Zedd, he was once a major villain. Tommy, Abby and Billy's major enemy. A monster in his own right. Part of him found it hard to think of the stranger with the staff as an enemy, the memory all too clear in Chase's mind of him appearing as if from nowhere, his staff glowing as he blasted back the monsters. It had been startling then when a fight had broken out the moment they returned and Tommy arrived on the scene, ending with Zedd locked up in another room.
"Everyone was teleported here at which point Abby assaulted James, emotions got somehow more heated after that, and Tommy fought a man who had honestly saved our asses," Trent said calmly.
"So what you are saying is that Tommy and Abby, who both should know better, attacked innocent people who had put themselves in danger to save Renegades," Merrick said, raising an eyebrow as he regarded both veteran Rangers in question.
"James disappeared for almost a decade, worrying both me and his son, and his excuse once we found him again was that he worried that his being bonded to an Energem and being a Ranger would put us in danger. Me, who has been a Ranger multiple times, who has already done the 'parent and ranger at the same time' thing and proved it could be done," Abby said, sounding both tired and annoyed, "I refuse to apologize for letting out some frustration over his stupidity on him. A black eye and a little cut is the least he deserves in my opinion."
"It is wrong for any reason to hit your spouse, Abby," Merrick scolded, his sister rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"And think of poor Tyler, having to see such behavior. No one should have to watch their parents attack their other parent," Hayley said shaking her head, "You simply look like a teenager, Abigail; that's no excuse for acting like one as well."
That seemed to get to Abby who sunk a little in her seat. Kira looked over to her former science teacher, wondering what his response to being scolded was going to end up being. Minutes passed that felt like eternity and finally he sighed and shifted some.
"Look, I've always been an idiot, and I've always been the type to let my emotions get the worse of me; I can't even pretend to have a good reason for acting like I did," Tommy said in a soft voice; he too sounded tired to Kira.
"I'm sorry James," Abby spoke, tears welling up in her eyes, "I...I didn't really mean to hurt you, I was just upset."
James looked over at his young wife and smiled gently before shaking his head. "It's fine, Abby; I mean I ddin't like being hit with helmets but I do understand your anger..."
"Tommy was probably just acting on instinct," Billy offered, remembering again the old days, "Lord Zedd was our biggest bad; Rita was a problem and all but Lord Zedd...his monsters may have been simple in many ways but they were dangerous and his magic strong. And his hatred for Tommy especially intense; that he'd viscerally act out like he had should be seen as being not outside expected perimeters."
"Yet it still stands that Tommy attacked without actual provocation; Zedd helped Shelby's group fight back enemies and willingly went into confinement after being struck out at," Merrick commented and Tommy bowed his head.
Abby sighed. "There's still a question unanswered here: why was he there in the first place?"
"He didn't really seem like much of a bad guy," Shelby said, speaking for the first time since coming back; her brow was furrowed, like she was thinking hard on something, "He just seemed like a guy with a staff who helped us out when we really needed it."
"He used to be evil, him and his wife Rita Repulsa," Tommy answered, "When our old mentor Zordon...sacrificed himself, it caused some of the old villains to be purified and turned good; Karone was another one like him, someone purified during that event."
Andros was not there; he along with Laura and Tori were in the cock pit, keeping an eye on the necessary equipment and monitors. Even if he had been there though Tommy wouldn't have said anything to involve him. Decades had passed but Tommy knew all too well how some wounds could be cut especially deep. And Andros' imprisonment in the NASADA building had been proof enough how some didn't let those things heal. Having most of the Renegades being from after Zordon's time, having never met him or known him in any way, was a saving grace and one Tommy was more than willing to take advantage of.
The man fell quiet and the conversation stagnated for a time. Lord Zedd brought concerns and questions, things needing to be addressed. They all knew the easiest way to do that but as seconds turned to minutes, it seemed clear none of them were interested in mentioning what that was. But not doing so only brought a dead end; the E-tracer was a success but going down on another retrieval immediately was out of the question. Abby had already made her apology and that was calmer now but Zedd was still locked in another room and that question she mentioned still stood...
Billy looked, from his silver teammate who focused on her husband for the time being, to the green who seemed lost in thoughts that while he may understand them, he also might now want to know. He took a breath before standing up, not expecting everyone in the room to suddenly turn to him.
"Billy?" Kira asked staring at him in confusion.
"I'm going to talk to Zedd." Instantly murmurs; he didn't think that warranted such a reaction, and certainly not all the concern. But there were looks and he frowned some before trying to make his way towards the door.
A hand grabbed him; a movement of the head told him it was Abby who upon escaping Trent had made a beeline not for James but for Billy. She looked him square in the eye and the two were silent before gently he pulled himself loose.
"It's fine, I'm not completely sure why you seem so concerned for me," he said, "But there is no call for it."
"Billy," she said causing him to smile in return.
"I'll be fine, Abby."
"But..."
"It's okay, Billy will be fine," Tommy said and both were startled to find them beside them, the question of when exactly the man had moved crossing Billy's mind only to be eclipsed quickly as he put a hand on his shoulder and made his way out of the door, "Considering he's staying here and I'm going to be the one to talk to Lord Zedd."
"Thomas, you-" Neither Billy nor Abby got to finish that thought; he was already gone before the second word left Abby's lips and the door closed.
The two veterans froze and looked at each other. They wondered what disaster this was sure to wrought.
It took some time but Tommy eventually figured out which room Zedd had been sent to; mentally he made a note to make sure they were all clear whenever they made requests like that. Searching the whole Megaship for one ex-villain was more difficult than it seemed, even with half the ship still needing repairs to get properly back on the grid. If they took another prisoner in the future they would need to be able to find them. Though he would be the first to admit the ex-emperor or evil did seem rather willing in being taken away, and part of Tommy found itself very much not wanting anything like this to happen again.
As he walked in, the first thing he noticed was that staff; it was hard for his eyes to ignore it, drawn as they were towards that symbol of bad days, a memory of disaster in physical form. It stood leaned against a wall, the light catching on the giant silver Z and he resisted the urge to stare. Or to try to do something to try to destroy it. He took careful note of how far it was from it's owner, and without it in hand it was hard to recognize him for who he was. Tommy really hadn't looked at him before and having been off to college, trying to get into living a normal life, he hadn't had direct interaction with the incident with Zordon's kidnapping and subsequent death; he had not seen the effects of the Z-Wave firsthand, only heard about it. And when he'd come down to the cargo hold to check on things, so many things had occurred and been going on, too much noise and he Z staff attracted far too much attention for the Ranger who'd suffered so much because of it and it's owner. But now, walking in and seeing Zedd sitting there on some boxes, turning to acknowledge Tommy's arrival, he finally took his chance to really get a look at the human form of the being who once made his school days hectic and difficult.
Zedd as a human was interesting to say the least; he appeared to be about the same age as Anton, dark hair peppered with touches of silver. He wore a strange outfit, or at least that's what was Tommy's opinion of it: a dark green tunic, medieval in style, with similarly designed pants. His forearms were both wrapped entirely in bandages, and they looked to be newly applied at that, no more than a few hours old. The wrappings went from elbow to his knuckles, wrapped tight and Zedd seemed aware of where Tommy's attention had been drawn. He flexed his fingers a few times before clearing his voice. He gave a gentle sort of smile and for a moment the green thought how this couldn't be the flayed monster that he knew as his enemy for so long. A destroyer of countless worlds and countless lives, subjugator of so many more. But in Zedd's eyes was something that made Tommy remember the harsh voice that yelled about destroying the Power Rangers.
"You look confused, Tommy." The voice that he heard now was nowhere near harsh; it was lightly amused and very tired, it was of a human and something, beyond thinking about how this was once the Emperor of Evil, felt familiar in it to Tommy.
"Well it's hardly everyday that one talks face to actual face with the big bad who tormented them for like what, two years?"
"Just about," Zedd said, still smiling and he chuckled, "Nor does the big bad often get to talk to the teenager who was the bane of their existence for about as long. But you have already Mesagog, Anton Mercer, here, along with Astronema. What's one more ex-villain on your little ship?"
"You don't sound surprised by seeing me like this," Tommy noted and watched him carefully, mentally tallying all the things about Zedd that were bugging him; he didn't mean to say them aloud though, "How do you know about Anton and Karone? And where Shelby and her group were? Why did you help them? Why are you here? What happened to your arms?"
Too many questions perhaps but they spilled out on their own while Zedd simply stared at him in silence with only a slightly shocked expression. He likely wasn't expecting such an onslaught of inquiries, including about the bandages on his arms.
After a moment or so, when it seemed Tommy was done, the ex-conqueror shook his head. "Okayy how about we start with just one question and more from there? Because I can't really rightfully answer all of them at once."
Tommy made a face and thought on that. "How did you know about Karone and Anton being here?"
"I'm the one who helped your team originally find them both, of course I knew they were here. Though I must admit I didn't really expect Astronema to be in Ocean Bluff."
"What do you mean you're the one who helped; I don't remember seeing you at any junction before now."
"You sound like Billy." Tommy narrowed his eyes, causing Zedd to hold up his hands.
"No need to glare at me, it was only a joke. You might not have seen me but I know about what you guys have been up to and I was the one who told you where they were; I alerted you to Anton and his son being in the Colorado mountains, I told you about the mysterious sighting of that tiger zord in Ocean Bluff. I even told you about other Ranger rumors though I guess those just ended up just being that: rumors. Still truth be told I was relieved when the Renegades arrived on time to get them to safety, and I'm truly sorry that my attempts to help attracted the government so much. But you guys did handle things pretty well."
Tommy tried to process what Zedd was saying, not sure he understood at first. Then it struck him and he remembered. He remembered the voice over the radio, the rumors and information it had given, reports that helped them to keep an eye on things on earth when they couldn't always be there, the data that led them to finding some of their members. The dead ends that were numerous in hindsight but paled in comparison to the saving of Anton, Trent, Karone, Annie and RJ. He suddenly realized where he had heard Zedd's voice recently.
He paled. "You...you were...you were the voice, the guy on the radio. You're the one who gave out the information and updates...why?"
Zedd laughed some. "Why?"
"You were our enemy, Lord Zedd. Why help us?" Yet even as he spoke he knew the answer already.
"I was purified, Tommy, turned good," he said and sighed, "I remember...being evil, almost like the worst kind of dream, but I know it was real. I remember how much I hated you and your team, but after Zordon died, it just didn't seem important anymore. I felt liberated, and the things that did use to matter, ruling the world, fighting, hurting people, being powerful, all of it paled before the things that really did. Like Rita; she mattered, very very much to me."
The ex-villain smiled and a new question spawned in Tommy's crowded head. "What happened after the Z-wave?"
"You mean where did we go and do," Zedd corrected, to which the green nodded, "We didn't do much of anything for a time; once the jubiliation of being not evil and being alive disappeared, it occurred to us that we didn't really have a place to call home anymore. We were good but no one would believe that of us and we would be in danger if we tried to do anything major; it was partially a whim that us return to earth, we still had some of our powers though we had lost a lot of it in being turned good. Earth seemed like the safest bet, a place where no one would think to find us and where we could potentially find a new home. We took some time looking before we found I; we found Briarwood."
"Home of the Mystic Force Power Rangers," Tommy noted and the man nodded, "You never mentioned them in the broadcasts."
"There was no need to; I used the radio to try and make sure the truth got out as much as possible, just just what the media and senators and people in power would say but what was actually going on. I wanted to help direct those who actually cared to where they could help and keep informed those who couldn't do anything but still believed in all of you. I felt I needed to since I'm sure you noticed that the Power Rangers, and especially right now your Renegades, aren't exactly being treated with all due kindness."
Tommy thought about the news report that led to them going to the Courthouse; he could not disagree even if he wanted to, which ultimately he didn't really. Understanding his thoughts Zedd continued. "For the last year or so I've just done what I could; can you even imagine what Jason and Rocky, not to mention the rest of the government agents, would do if me or Rita made ourselves known? Surrender wouldn't be an option for us, we'd be shot dead before you could say 'Make our monster grow'. Nevermind that I've been living as a mostly normal archaelogist, with some magic ability. Or that Rita is now the Mystic Mother, empress of good magic and creator of the Mystic Force team's powers."
"I don't know where to unpack what you just told me," Tommy said, "Not to mention anything else going on," he then paused and a bitter laugh left him as he ran a hand through his hair, "But what else is new really? My life seems to have become a trainwreck of things I can't possibly start to think clearly on."
"A lot's happened," Zedd agreed, "I was content with how things were, and even after the Initiative went online and Rangers and allies started being rounded up, I wasn't all that worried for myself or the Mystic team. Briarwood is loyal, and outside the sorcerers and Mystic team, no one knew about me and Rita's past. I focused on finding out about other teams, keeping tabs on things and using the radio to relay the info in hopes it would reach the right ears. Things were bad but..."
"But?"
"But then that damned trial happened. I heard about it too, we all did, and we knew it was a trap for you guys; part of me hoped you wouldn't fall for it, or at least have a plan."
"We did have a plan," Tommy offered.
"I figured," Zedd responded with a slight smile, "What I didn't figure was how bad the situation really was going to get. I didn't expect to wake up the next day to see...that leaned against the wall."
He turned his head and Tommy followed his gaze; the Z-staff still stood and seemed to glow, sending chills down the green's spine. Zedd frowned as he stared at it himself. "The staff disappeared along with Rita's when we were purified and then suddenly it's back. And Rita started to have really bad headaches; I tried to use my magic to help her but...let's just say that it caused some changes with my body and leave it at that. On top of that my powers, which were again weakened by the loss of the dark energies I once used, were stronger again and I felt...I could feel, still now, my connection to the dark side of Morphing Grid again. I sensed the power, felt it calling to me as it once did. I hated it."
"I see," Tommy said, finding himself speechless and he felt confused by the sensation of feeling bf for Lord Zedd.
"Things got crazy from there; the Mystic Force team came running home, and the government were hot on their heels. We sorcerers and sorceresses had to erect a barrier around the city and forest, to protect everyone in side; our blue Madison got hurt while trying to help to get humans and magical denizens alike to safety and we've been basically trapped inside ever since."
"Yet you're here, outside your barrier and away from Briarwood and it's people." Tommy didn't nee to be smart or to have been a Ranger as many times as he had to know this was only the start of something bad.
For a time the ex-villain didn't speak and a calm sort of silence fell between them. He didn't much mind though, the years having taught him the virtues of listening and waiting, and he let Zedd take his time before finally he started again.
"Rita's body couldn't handle the dark magics and darker personality trying to force their way to the surface. She's good magic after all, the embodiment of it in fact; she's not supposed to have evil magic anymore. But whatever you idiots did caused psychological and physical changes and issues for us both and in the end she sealed herself up in the Mystic Dimension and revoked her connection to Nick's team, to the Morphing Grid and to the barrier. It almost caused a complete collapse with the loss of power and the havoc it caused; the Rangers were fine which I would guess probably has to do with a certain red eyed girl's actions. I hope you're aware the government are after her."
Tommy shook his head. "And they'll get her over my dead and rotting body. Doesn't matter though; go on."
"Well I managed to step in and stabilize the barrier, put some of my excess energy to use, with some...minor setbacks." Zedd held up his arms, still bandaged tight, and the green thought to himself how little he probably wanted to know about what was under the wraps.
He looked at the being who had once been such a major enemy and who sat before him now as something very different. Tommy knew little of the Mystic Force team, far less than most other teams in truth; they weren't as active in interacting with other teams and their state of being magically based, more so than other teams, made collecting a lot of info difficult to say the least. But he could understand the chaos of the present, and he knew how it felt to run and be hunted. He'd felt the desperation, the fear, the confusion and the continued wish deep down to still protect others conflicting with the need to protect oneself. As odd as it felt he felt a strange sot of understanding for what Zedd and Rita and their Mystic Force team had to have gone through, and especially having someone you care for suddenly do something to separate themselves from you.
"Why are you here, Zedd?" Still the question lay unanswered; maybe he was trying to avoid giving it's resolution.
"For help," he said, making a slight face, "The barrier won't hold much longer at this rate, not with the government Rangers and army pounding on it, not with the power of the Morphing Grid pressing down hard. And when it fails, the people of Briarwood will suffer the same fate as those of the Ninja Academy."
Tommy flinched but did not argue that Zedd was right. The sorcerer saw this and went on. "I volunteered too find you; I promised the others I'd get help and I intend to do so. The Renegades are our only hope of getting out alive at this point because even with a full Ranger team, without help, without Rita's magic to back us up, with me dealing with suppressing my own corrupting magic as much as possible, I don't foresee this ending well for us."
Asking why them was a pointless question and would only waste breath. It felt odd having Zedd ask them for help, probably weird for him as well, but Tommy reminded himself that a lot of odd things had happened already. Why not add having the ex-Emperor of Evil come to the Renegades as yet another thing onto the pile?
"I'm not sure how we can really help; even if we were to fight back the others it would only be a temporary fix. And I'd need to talk to the rest of the Renegades on what they think we should do." He didn't wish to just assume the rest of the team would readily help but he knew they probably would. They had fought to try to save the Ninja Academy, to get through NASADA to retrieve Andros and the others, to try to save the Samurai Rangers. It was not easy, but when it came down to it, the Renegades did their best to save people and each other. But a whole city; even Tommy found that a tall order to have to fill.
Zedd lifted a hand and waved it absentedly. "Do what you must, Tommy."
It wasn't a dismissal nor did it sound of reisgnation, yet something in it caught the green's attention for a moment. He stared before nodding and taking his leave, making his way back out of the room. And back to the rest of his team.
When he returned it was clear that every conscious, capable member of the Renegades was gathered and he had to wonder to himself how they all got the message to convene. He noted Lauren first, the red ranger staring at him with arms crossed as she approached him. She had a harsh expression on but he honestly wasn't sure he'd ever seen her not. She had not warmed up to them yet, Tommy worried sometimes she never would.
"What did your enemy say?" she asked directly and there was a strange impluse for him to smile, which he quickly suppressed.
"He's not my enemy."
"He was though."
"So was Mesagog."
"Semantics, Oliver. Answer the question; what did he say?"
Tommy sighed deeply; his eyes moved to Abby and Billy, both watching him silently. He caught RJ smiling gently as always yet the reason why it was aimed at him was lost on Tommy. He hesitated before speaking, choosing his words carefully. "He informed me that he was been living in the city of Briarwood for a while now and was there when the Intiaitive started up."
"Briarwood, as in where a Power Rangers team was stationed, that Briarwood," Annie spoke up softly, a statement not a question.
"Lord Zedd lived near a Power Rangers team," Andros said with some incredulousness.
Tommy once more paused. "Actually he helped the team out. And his wife was their connection to the Morphing Grid."
"Rita Repulsa," Abby piped up, "The same space witch that tried killing our team on a regular basis? The woman who destroyed Kim's float for the fun of it?"
"She was purified, Abby," Tommy answered.
"It still seems surreal to me," she responded.
"How is the Mystic Force team doing?" RJ asked, moving the conversation back to where it belonged.
Kira frowned lightly. "I don't think we've heard anything about them; I know the radio never mentioned them at least."
"Right, funny story that," Tommy said rubbing his head; this whole thing felt awkward to him honestly, and he could feel Lauren giving him a look, "Lord Zedd was the voice on the radio," this conjured a lot of voices, speaking all at once at different volumes and with different tones, but he forced his voice to still be heard, "according to him he was keeping tabs on everyone in hopes of separate the facts from the lies being told about the Power Rangers and us, and to help us find our stray friends. Briarwood and the Mystic Force weren't mentioned because he didn't feel he needed to before; they were after all more secretive than most of us, save maybe RJ and Annie's team, so no one could find the members as civilians. The rest of us were just not as lucky."
"You said before, and as civilians." Riley picked up on what he was saying, though based on the looks of many of those collected there, he was far from the only one.
"What changed?" Lauren asked, her voice almost soft.
"What do you think changed? The courthouse incident happened; when everyone's powers returned to them, the scattered rangers were forced to return to Briarwood, likely accidentally morphed in front of people and had to run. The government was hot on their trail and..." Another pause; he was starting to feel he was doing them too much but it was a lot to say and he didn't want to say a lot of it. "Zedd found his staff and his evil powers returned; when he tried to use his magic apparently it caused some negative effects on his body."
"Yeah when he saved us, he blasted Fury which sent him flying but I noticed that he grabbed his shoulder afterwards for some reason," Shelby commented.
Tommy took that in. "Rita apparently started to act strangely after the Morphing Grid restored everyone's powers; she sealed herself in, cutting herself off from her team and from Zedd."
"Likely a similar problem to Karone and Anton," Billy offered up, "A restoration of enemy agents in correlation to reactivated Power Rangers."
"So Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd are coming back," Abby stated with a sigh, "Though if Rita locked herself off and Zedd was good enough to still be able to save Kendall and the others..."
Lauren's gaze never left Tommy the whole time they were all talking. "So why is he here?"
"Briarwood is being protected by a magic barrier, one powered by the Mystic Force Rangers and a bunch of other magic users. And the way he told it, Rita was a big part of it; when she pulled away, he had to put more magic into holding the barrier up along with the others. He's worried that it'll fail soon though and wants us to stage a rescue."
"Of the Mystic team?" Annie asked slowly, knowing the answer already.
"Of Briarwood."
Trent choose then to throw his two pieces in next, standing up from his spot beside Abby. "You mean to tell us that your old baddie wants us, a group who is pretty much bits and pieces of teams, to go and save an entire city."
"We did manage to protect Amber Beach from Sledge's wave," Tyler said then immediately shut up as his mother threw him a look.
"We barely managed that; we had to run when the military types showed up and you can't tell me it wasn't partially luck we managed to get out of there without being blamed for stepping on someone's foot or something," the grumpy white answered, "Point is we're not exactly well equipped to handle saving the entirety of Briarwood and their Rangers."
"We all have, save for the newbies, saved the entire world at least once," Tommy offered though even he knew it was lame.
"With our teams, our full teams, of which we only have one which is the newbies; as I said we're bits and pieces of teams, we can work together for the most part but we can't combine our powers like we used to, we're not complete teams."
"Are we supposed to evacuate everyone from the city?" Kira asked, "Because the Megaship..."
"Look you two, I don't really know," Tommy answered, running a hand through his hair, "I already told him that running the government off won't be permanent; they'll just come back and when they do, it's likely gonna be twice as bad."
Keeper, standing by Kendall's side, nodded solemnly. "And such is not fair to the civilians of that city. They deserve peace of mind."
"They're a Ranger city; they're likely used to it," Hayley said with a shake of her head.
Shelby looked shocked at that. "Used to it or not, that's still a terrible way to have to live."
"I never said it was fun or good; just when you have an active team in your city, you get used to it. Things used to be that the Rangers were the only reason people in cities like that got any peace of mind but the government's twisted that around." There was some bitterness to Hayley's words but truth as well, enough that none of the veterans could argue.
"Monsters and Rangers are and always have been different things; the Mystic team can't just destroy these enemies like Rangers normally can the enemies who attack their cities," Lana added and turned to her brother whose expression was at the moment impossible to read, "We all know all too well that when Power Rangers fight Power Rangers, no one wins."
This too was right, and they knew it; many had felt that personally and Trent furrowed his brow as Tommy looked to Lauren.
"The question still has not been answered though," he said finally and glanced at his teammates around the room, "What do you all want to do?"
"We help them obviously," Laura exclaimed looking confused, likely more on why this had to be a question that needed answering.
Her husband nodded, arms crossed over his chest. "We cannot leave them to be in danger."
"This is not like in Amber Beach or Angel Grove or the Ninja Academy, Hunter." Andros' words, though delivered with as much kindness as possible, still caused him to cringe and a deep silence to fall. Among the small number who had been there, a feeling dread crept through their veins and even those who had only heard about it shuddered to think about it.
"I know that," Hunter answered, his voice small.
"We make no plan, a school full of people get annihilated; we make a plan, almost an entire Power Ranger team is massacred, we get our powers back and three of us go into unending comas," Merrick said calmly, "Both the Ninja Academy and Angel Grove were terrible tragedies, ones we cannot have happen again; we cannot gloss over what happened, we cannot forget. But we could not have stopped them with the information we were capable of having at that time and we cannot be afraid to go forth and do what is right; that is not what those who have died would have wanted. I agree with Hunter; we made an oath to never abandon the Earth, to keep fighting for what we know to be right even if it means we will suffer and bleed for our troubles. We must go help Briarwood and it's people"
"I don't think anyone was actually saying you shouldn't help people," said a newer voice and attention moved to Heckyl who raised an eyebrow in response to the stares; adjusting his goggles absently he continued, "I think the question more how to do with how to go about doing it. The ship can't house an entire city, but we can't leave them there in Briarwood knowing that they'll just get attacked again and you might not be able to jump in to help next time. And there's nowhere really in the States that would likely be safe-"
"Actually there might be," Annie interrupted.
Her statement got to hang in the air, suspense to be built, as the alarm started to go off again and rushing to the cockpit of the Megaship as they did every time this happened, the Renegades saw their hand forced. A distress signal.
From Briarwood.
By the time the Renegades had gotten themselves together and arrived just barely outside the city, chaos had erupted and Tommy had a flashback to the Ninja Academy that made him physically ill.
Screams and cries, blood, debris, it was all too terribly familiar. The differences, if he could concentrate long enough to note them, were clear enough, scale and and the sounds of Rangers fighting Rangers, but his mind remembered and it didn't matter if it wasn't the Academy. He still felt the edges of something dark pulling at the corners of his mind and it wasn't the evil the Green Rangers powers once had been soaked in. He heard a quaking voice and out of the corner of his eye he saw Hunter hunch over, heaving and shaking. So Tommy wasn't the only one who saw the shadows of rubble of a school looked at the madness before them.
Quite a few of them had come down though not all of them were allowed; they all had their argument for why they should be allowed to come down, but in the end it was decided a group of them needed to stay behind to protect the ship and keep everything working. The non-Rangers of course had to stay, Heckyl and Kendall and Keeper and Hayley all of them, and Abby had volunteered to keep an eye on the things above, including her wayward husband and ever-adventurous son. Yet Hunter insisted on coming along, as had the Baliton siblings and Lauren, the solo Samurai Ranger looking ready for a fight as they all landed. Only a few feet away Zedd held tight to his staff, still and calm for all of three seconds before the sound of a child's cry caused him to run off.
Tommy cursed lightly but turned to his comrades. Tori, Kira, Billy, Trent and the Pai Zhua masters rounded up the team. Twelve people; eleven Rangers, all of which morphed quickly upon arriving on the planet, and one ex-villain; much larger than he was really comfortable with having to keep an eye on and he knew he couldn't even try.
"Let's spread out and rescue as many people as possible," Tommy yelled over the noises of destruction, getting a look from Lauren.
"We need to keep from engaging Jason's group, only fight if it's necessary," RJ said with a firm intonation, "We need to focus on what's important: saving people and supporting the Mystic Force team as much as possible."
"If I see Jason I can't promise what I will and won't do," Lauren said coldly.
Tommy frowned though he saw that one coming. "Then take RJ with you; Annie, stay near Tori and Hunter. The rest of us will split up and try to-"
An explosion interrupted him and nearly threw him from his feet. Discussion was over; action was now. With another look to each other they separated and Billy paused before making his way into the city.
Andros had of course been right: this was very different than Angel Grove, than the Ninja Academy, than Amber Beach or anything else they had experienced in their lives. Down one street cars exploded in flames as bullets flew, as people ran and screamed in search of shelter, as a different blue Ranger chased a pink with butterfly wings past where he was. The force of the blue's attacks, aimed at and evaded by the pink, hit the ground instead and caused multiple vehicles and buildings to be destroyed in their wake. Billy did his best to make himself scarce, keeping an eye out for people to help and heard loud crying coming from the direction of one particular overturned car. He glanced at the other two Rangers engaged as they were in their game of cat-and-mouse, and taking a deep breath he contemplated the chances of being seen only after he'd started running.
He found a boy under the car. No older than four or five likely, the child was curled up under the bent and abused metal, his small hands held over his head as if to protect him from the pandemonium around him. A sigh of relief left Billy as he saw that the boy looked only to be bruised and scared; he spoke carefully as he reached out his hand, "Come on, let's get you to safety."
The boy stopped crying only long enough to look at Billy and start to scream instead. It took the blue a moment to realize why that might be: his town was being destroyed by soldiers and Power Rangers who weren't the ones he was used to seeing, and Billy was morphed as an unfamiliar Ranger. He removed his helmet as quick as he could and tried to smile in a consoling sort of manner. If the boy was any indication it was a failure.
"My name is Billy Cranston, Mighty Morphin Blue Ranger," he said, only partially keeping an eye out in case the other blue noticed him; he kept his voice loud enough to be heard over the boy's panic but hoped not too loud, "Member of the Renegades; we're here to save you and your city."
That seemed to work, thankfully for him, and the boy stopped screaming. He looked terrified still and Billy offered his hand carefully, seeing more hesitation. He continued. "I swear, in the name of everything I believe in and care about, on Zordon's name, I will not harm you. I only wish to help you...please."
He couldn't force the boy out, he wouldn't. Seconds ticked into what felt like hours and another explosion forced the point, driving the boy in fear out of his hiding spot and into Billy. The blue quickly bundled up the boy and made a run for it; another blast came down, dangerously close to him and he didn't dare look up, didn't dare stop. He just kept running, trying to protect the boy as he ran as fast and as far as his feet could carry him.
Annie could see why Tommy wanted her to go with Tori and Hunter; the trio had seen a lot of destruction, a city laid to siege after it's barrier had fallen, bodies and blood of which scents she felt she may never forget. But a glance of yellow was all it took to derail the other two and soon she found herself following the crimson and blue out into the forests, a frightful look upon Hunter's face.
She was one of the ones who had only heard about the Academy Incident but she was aware of what they lost. The Wind Red and Green, the students, very nearly Dustin. And the Navy Thunder, Blake, Hunter's brother and the second Ranger death to be personally witnessed by the members of the Renegades. The tale of what had happened, of how it was another Ranger who had pulled the trigger, was known but no one dared talk of it in earshot of either surviving Ninja Ranger. In her own mind she thought of the cubs, their students Lily, Theo and Casey. The three had worked so hard, in such a short amount of time and under such pressure, and watching them go from kids in "pajamas" to to true Pai Zhua masters, it had filled her with so much pride. And watching and Dom die, and being unable to save them, that had filled her with so much more pain. Part of her could understand the darkness reflected in Hunter's eyes, the wanting for revenge for the loss of someone so precious and irreplaceable. But none of her could condone his thoughts and that's why she was following him and Tori, to stop them.
"Taylor Earhardt!" His voice boomed through the trees, filled with such deep anger and sorrow that Annie felt she may drown in it if she wasn't careful.
She took note of meters ahead a figure stopping, clad in yellow Ranger armor that melted away to show a woman with blond hair and the coldest, saddest eyes Annie had ever seen in her life. The woman turned and Hunter drew his staff, readying to attack as he approached the figure. Annie knew she had little time to act, but act she had to; she tried to grab him but missed narrowly.
Staff came down, and the woman let it hit her, causing her to fall to one knee in pain. Annie gasped and once more tried to stop Hunter. "Hunter, stop this, now!" The city burned behind them but he only saw the woman, Taylor, the one who killed his brother; turning to Tori Annie saw the blue just staring, clenching tight her own weapon.
"Tori, please, we can't fight them, we can't do this!" There was no response.
Annie bit her lip before rushing to grab Hunter again, almost instantly thrown off.
"Don't interfere, Annie!" he barked and she narrowed her eyes before making to grab him once more; this time she didn't come dislodged so easily and as he turned to look at her, she gave him a swift, and judging by the noise he made effective, punch to the gut. Despite size differences and training similarities, the master won and Hunter took a step back before falling to his own knees.
"Hunter!" Tori seemed to come out of her state finally, going to her teammate and helping him up, ignoring Taylor who stared silently at them.
"I understand frustration, believe me I do, but we are not to engage the government Rangers unless we have to. And certainly not for vendettas; that only gives them more reason to denounce us."
"So we let them kill us?" Tori asked softly, her voice trembling as she looked from Hunter to Annie, and finally to Taylor herself; the tears were evident in her voice, Annie didn't need to physically see them, "We allow them to get away with killing us, hurting us, hurting innocents? How is that fair or right; why can't we fight back when they try to strike us down? Why can't we look for the revenge for the ones we've loved and lost?"
"Because we're better than that." The words echoed, mimed by the sounds of the massacre happening in Briarwood. Tori didn't answer, she did not look at Annie and even Taylor seemed to be still for the time being, still holding her head on the ground.
There was light and a new voice spoke, strong but at it's core kind. "Yes, you are."
A woman was there, older than any of them and dressed in white. Her face was etched with both time and wisdom, giving off the sense of a knowledgable sage; in one hand she held a wand, simple and small but Annie could feel the waves of strong good magic coming off it and off of her. In the other was a larger staff, more elaborate with a massive left facing crescent moon and a red orb. It gave the pink jackal a strange feeling, shivers that almost forced her to look away but she persisted.
The woman looked to Annie before turning towards the city, a look of sadness crossing her face. Taylor started to stand and let out a yelp as a blast of energy was blasted at her feet; part of Annie felt bad for her, there was something decidedly sad in the other female Ranger's eyes.
"You'd do well to leave; the Power Ranger Renegades may be good souls, and they may be better than what anger Hunter Bradley feels inside right now and all the things he and Tori want to do to you, but you and your group have attacked my people and I am feeling decidedly less kind than that. Go ask Jason Lee Scott what a monster I can be." The last few words were punctuated with a fluctuation in her voice, more sharp and nasal for a second, and the red orb glowed dim and ominous.
"I don't wish to fight any of you." Taylor really did sound sad and far off; she turned to leave and all Annie could do was stare after her and wonder what was going through her mind. Until finally it was just her, the ninjas and the mystery woman.
No one spoke at first but carefully Hunter took a step closer to the woman; she watched him only to suddenly grip her head with a pained groan. Annie tried to approach as well but the woman held up a hand to stop her. "No, you...you must return to Briarwood...My Rangers need your help, the people of Briarwood need you. I...will be...fine..."
"Ma'am..." Annie said but argument seemed pointless even to her; the woman pointed with the wand and after glances were exchanged, the three Rangers obeyed, rushing back to the town.
The woman watched them, silent in her time. Once gone though she shook, her hand moving to grab hold of the arm holding the staff; within her something moved and screamed but she held on. She had to hold on, just for a little while longer.
"Where is Tommy?!" Jason exclaimed angrily, his glare palpable despite the helmet that otherwise obscured his features.
"Have you checked in any holes that might be filled with dino bones?" Trent retorted and drew his sword only to parry as the red struck out at him, "Contrary to popular opinion, none of us are Tommy fucking Oliver's keepers, you asshole!"
There was a growl from the red and they continued to clash in what used to be the city center. Now it was mainly a crater.
Barely a safe distance away a cluster of people stood, wide eyed and obviously terrified. Men, women, children, creatures decidedly not human, creatures that could be human save for a few features, it was a mixed bag of representation. They had been herded in a sense, though not for slaughter but rather the opposite; on the perimeter of the group stood various Renegades who collected them together in an attempt to protect them better.
Trent and Jason's fight got a little too close and some of the civilians flinched, trying to step away. A hand though moved to stop them and Zedd lifted his staff in a semi-warning way as the Mystic Red looked from him to Trent. He was the only one actually there, the rest of his team seemingly scattered still across the city but quickly trying to move their way towards the center; Trent could make out the colorful costumes as they moved closer and closer but he had to focus. The original Red Ranger was before him, a danger greater still than any one monster of Sledge's or Mesagog's or likely even old Zedd, and he was still sane enough at least to understand that one false step could spell his end. Yet Jason was not the only one with that question; he too wondered where his old teacher was hiding and why he wasn't the one to be dancing with the pissed red of his own team.
"Trent, duck!" The white hesitated only for a second before throwing himself to the ground. A blast of water flew by and smacked Jason, sending him flying into a building already crumbling. A smirk crossed Trent's lips and he let his helmet disappear for the time being, watching as Tori arrived with Hunter and Annie. And what looked to be the blue and green Mystic Rangers, lucky them.
Another voice called out his name and his attention moved to Kira who, breaking from her position protecting the innocents, rushed to his side. She souned concerned, he felt guilty, and felt her cold fingers touching his face.
"I look that bad?" he asked with a weak chuckle; his head was aching and he glared some at Jason.
The red was trying to stand again but something seemed to stop him, forcing him back onto the ground; Trent's eyes caught a shimmer of something in the air, like distortion, causing his smirk to return again instead.
"We need to get out of here, quickly," Annie spoke, watching the red carefully as well.
"Where's Tommy, Lauren and RJ?" Tori asked, unaware of the parroting she was doing; she looked at the three Mystic Force members, "Is this all of the Mystics?"
"Vida and Chip are on their way," said the Mystic Red and he removed his helmet to show a young man with a frown, "That would just leave-"
"Don't worry," a voice cut through from nothingness and like the drama queen he was, Tommy finally appeared, with a grin deserving of the Cheshire Cat; considering he had just come out of being invisible it was far from an undeserving comparison. Two other people were with him, a man and a woman, and seeing them the red froze up or a moment before running to them.
"There you are!" he exclaimed and the woman embraced him, smiling lovingly.
"Nick, I'm so happy to see you and Xander and Madison are all okay," she said, "I was so worried..."
Zedd frowned lowering his weapon. "Udonna. Leanbow. I'm sorry, I found help but-"
The man called Leanbow held up a hand. "You are far from being at fault here, Zedd; there is no need for apologies."
"How many people are left?" Udonna asked, glancing at the collected masses.
"I counted about 273; 142 humans, 131 magical folk," Zedd answered.
No one responded to that. 273 people out of a city of hundreds of thousands. Tori's body shook and Udonna put a hand to her mouth silently. Anger surged through Trent quickly, feeding the shards of corruption in his powers, and before any could even move to stop him, even himself, he had sent out a laser arrow at Jason. A scream followed and cursing, and Trent felt Tommy grab hold of his arm with a sharp disapproving look. But the white ranger didn't care nor notice, holding the Drago Sword so tight it cut into skin, causing him to bleed.
"273 people!" Trent shouted at Jason, "Is this your justice, is this your solution to the destruction Rangers have wrought accidentally?! 273 people out of a city of thousands; one boy dies by mistake and millions will die for it?! You asshole, you self-righteous, unbelievable, irredeemable asshole!"
"Trent!" Tommy said sharply, trying to get his former student's attention; Jason held a hand to his face, blood dripping between his fingers that covered his left eye but no one seemed interested in commenting on that.
"We need to get out of here," Kira repeated, her heart pounding so hard in her ears she could barely hear herself speak.
"We're still missing two of us, as well as the remaining Mystic team," Tommy said sternly, holding tight to Trent still.
"Your concern is touching but we're fine, Thomas." Lauren walked in with RJ by her side, the former carrying an unconscious redheaded boy on her back. Seeing him Nick looked pale and Leanbow moved to take the boy.
She turned to him. "He saved us from an attack by some soldiers; he's still alive, promise, just knocked out."
"That sounds like our Chip," Udonna said softly.
RJ nodded and glanced around. "We're all here then?"
"We're missing one Mystic Force Ranger but otherwise yes," Trent said, sounding a bit calmer now and Tommy saw fit to let go of him finally.
"You will not leave this place, Tommy Oliver," Jason threatened in a low voice, standing up slowly, "Not any of you. You will come with me."
Tommy turned and he wasn't sure if it felt good or bad that seeing his ex-friend bleeding didn't move his heart. He just stared and spoke coldly, "Watch us."
"Jason, why?" Billy asked almost desperately; Tommy may not have been moved but the blue was, to the core of his being and it hurt so much, "Why are you doing this? Why would you...how could you kill all these people?"
"You think I want this, Billy?!" The red's voice boomed and caused him to flinch; Jason gestured around them with his free hand, "All this destruction, all this death, all of this pain; do you think I enjoy watching people die, seeing this place burn to the ground and hearing all this suffering?!"
"You certainly act like it," Tommy said and got a glare for his troubles.
"I wanted a peaceful resolution; I wanted the Mystic Force Rangers brought in safely. The people of this city though, they refused; their barrier broke down and they started fighting us the moment it did. And the soldiers..." A pause, hesitation, Tommy understood it. He could almost see it, and he could almost feel bad. But someone sobbed behind him and Udonna stroked Chip's slumbering face and all around them flames licked at the sky.
"You let them hurt these people."
"I didn't let anyone do anything, Tommy. And if you really cared for these people's well-being, you would power down and come peacefully. You and the Mystic Force and everyone else; you would stop all this foolishness and come with us."
"A monster trying to justify their actions with how it's for the betterment of others," Zedd piped up, "But a monster nevertheless."
Jason looked to him then back to Tommy, eyes narrowed. "You're really working with him, Lord Zedd, despite everything he put us through, put you through."
"Last I checked Zedd was not the one who set fire to this city," the green answered as calmly as his body would allow him.
"He's not the one who literally held the remote that killed my brother and his team," Lauren interjected, the venom in her voice enough to make even Jason flinch. Though that could just be the reminder of the Samurai Rangers' murders.
"He certainly tried to destroy Angel Grove and us enough." Kira tugged on Tommy's sleeve, drawing his eye to the Lightspeed Rangers who were starting to surround them, and the soldiers with their weapons drawn doing the same. The Renegades and Mystic Force made to take on stances around the crowd as much as possible and Nick and Udonna seemed to be fighting temporarily over who got to shield who while Leanbow held Chip. Trent, Tommy and Lauren stayed where they were; the female Samurai Ranger drew her sword, the green, now black, lifted his bracchio staff. Again they were surrounded, and even noting the pink Mystic standing on a nearby rooftop, a sense of this being a bad situation was very clear.
"You still want us not to fight?" Trent asked.
"You don't speak; injuring Jason is going to bite us in the ass, I can tell you that right now," Tommy hissed.
"Well I can fix that," Lauren said and he turned to her.
"No killing him, Lauren."
"You are not my red or my mentor, Thomas, so kindly shut up."
"I'm older than you."
"Not right now, you're not."
"Stop fighting you two," Annie scolded, grabbing both Tommy and Lauren by the ear, "We have more important problems than your bickering."
"As surprising as that may be," Trent grumbled.
The two stared at each other but neither seemed willing to test how much Annie was willing to put up with at the moment. Upon her letting go of them they fully morphed, as did the rest of the group, and Annie looked to the survivors behind them. Then to the enemy around them. She sighed. "We can't possibly keep them and ourselves safe without having to hurt someone or sacrifice safety."
"We get out of here then," Zedd said and as a different Mighty Morphin Red went to Jason's side, the ex-conqueror clicked his tongue, "And fast."
Tommy agreed and turned to Annie. "You said something on the Megaship?"
She nodded but her face was anything but hopeful. "There's the Pai Zhua school but it won't be easy to teleport nearly three hundred people there."
"You leave that to us," Zedd responded and motioned for Nick and Udonna to join him; they all took out their own magic wands, as did the other conscious Mystic Force Rangers, and he smiled, "We'll open a portal to wherever you need, though we will need Annie's help and we'll need time."
"You'll get both," Annie spoke and RJ moved into defensive mode.
Tommy looked at them then the others. "Got it; we'll act as your shield. You guys do what you have to."
"No killing though." Trent swung his sword as a Lightspeed Ranger approached, a laser arrow exploding at their feet.
"No killing," Tommy reiterated and the sound of dozens of guns cocking filled the air, "No dying either."
"Surrender, Renegades!" Rocky yelled, stanidn gby Jason.
"Bite me, traitor!"
In the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter who said it, just that it would stand as the fighting words that got things going. Guns went off and Renegades worked to stand their ground; at some point the Mystic Pink made her way down to join the rest of her team. Rocky moved to try to apprehend Ileana, a bad choice he quickly learned as Merrick immediately tried to stop him only for the leopard warrior to punch the red in the face first. Rocky fell like a sack of bricks and she huffed before pulling her brother out of the way of a wave of bullets.
"Sister dearest, I thought I was the one who was supposed to be saving you," Merrick said without a hint of disappointment.
"Brother mine, sometimes a girl's gotta fight her own battles, and you have got to let her," Ileana responded with the ghost of a smile.
"If you two are done, we could use some-" Help was the next word but Hunter never got to get it out; the ninja had to deftly avoid, the strike down, the Lightspeed blue trying to attack him.
The Thunder Ranger grumbled. "Monster fighting was never this annoying. Do we really need to avoid hurting them?"
"We've done it before," mused Ileana before smacking Rocky again when he tried getting up, "And we will do it again."
Tommy avoided attacks and did his best to deflect shots harmlessly instead of reflecting them. There was cacophony and disaster all around but in the background was the sound of people chanting and praying and he reminded himself this was what Rangers did: protect the innocent from those who would hurt them. All of them.
"Ready!" The voice victorious, not a moment too soon, sounded loudly and he turned to look, seeing a shining swirling vortex of energy. He also saw Billy and RJ start to work on directing people through it and the defenders moved in closer to close the distance between them and their charges, leaving little room for the enemy to get in. But also allowing them more room to get even closer to them. In response the government Rangers and the soldiers doubled their efforts and Tori yelled Hunter's name, pulling the bloodied ninja through the portal.
"Everyone through the portal quickly!" Zedd yelled and Tommy waited and watched.
Once the civilians were through, it was the Mystic Force next; Nick seemed to resist but was forced by Udonna through and the rest of his team joined in on pushing him through. Annie followed quickly after and after a glance back at Tommy who stood with his back to them, RJ did the same.
"Dr. O!" Kira called out, "Let's go!"
"You and Trent go on ahead."
"But-"
"Don't argue with me, Miss Ford!"
She frowned, opening her mouth to complain but Trent grabbed her hand and started to drag her. Her attention turned and he urged sternly. "You heard the idiot; let's get out of here."
One by one they others left until only Tommy and Lauren stood. Billy too tried to stay but Zedd, as if sensing how long this arguing was going to get, grabbed hold of him and dragged his ex-enemy through the portal. Tommy gave Lauren a side glance but was kept from commenting by Lightspeed Red trying to hit him. He blocked and redirected the strike elsewhere, landing a kick to the man's stomach. He heard Lauren scoff and he frowned as he stepped back.
"Something funny?"
"Legendary Power Ranger Tommy Oliver can barely handle an army and a few enemy Rangers?"
"You're not doing much better, Secret Shiba Heir."
"I'm not the one trying to act like the boss of everyone."
He growled and sent a gust of wind forward, knocking multiple soldiers to the ground. "I am not."
She scoffed again. "Right."
"I am no one's leader; I'm just trying to help. We're a team, as hard as I know that may be for you to believe, and we don't have one leader. We all work together and act together."
"Every team had a leader Thomas, all of them."
"Then we have twenty-seven."
He expected more comments, snark, retorts of some sort or something. But more madness instead came and he carely caught Jason, wearing his suit and helmet, swinging down at him with his sword. Tommy gritted his teeth and tried to push back but Rocky came from his blindspot and he was forced to focus on blocking both. Lauren was distracted by the Lightspeed team surrounding them and Tommy only then noticed that the Rangers were the only ones directly engaging them now. This made some sense he figured; with eleven Renegades, the Mystic Force team, Zedd and other sorcerers, they had needed all the manpower they could get. But Tommy was still human, as was Lauren, and two Rangers alone rarely won against seven; he had also noted that Taylor was missing, a saving grace he supposed in the chaos of before. But what was one less?
"Thomas, we need to go now." Lauren sounded displeased, but they both were. But he told himself it was necessary; their mission was complete and while maybe not a true success, they had gotten a lot of people out and as far as he could tell the entire Mystic Force team was safe. They had done what they came for; they could leave, they needed to leave.
He nodded slowly and gestured back with his head, not speaking a single word. She needed none and after stepping back as well she suddenly turned and made a run for it; Tommy meanwhile took in more attacks, backing her up as much as he could as Lauren made her way to the portal. Someone needed to, he reasoned to himself and sent out another wind strike to force the other Rangers back. He heard Lauren call out to him to get going as well and he took a breath.
A mistake. As with every moment of potential rest, of letting his guard down even for a second, this was the time in which the universe always liked to remind him how much it honestly hated him. Pain rushed through him suddenly but he was fairly certain he wasn't hurt; he almost dropped the bracchio staff, barely managing to hold onto it and used it to keep standing. He wasn't sure what was happening, or why, nor did he understand why his suit started to glitch before finally disappearing. Along with his staff; Tommy fell to his knees and started to cough blood. His head pun, sight blurring and he could barely make out the three reds approaching, Lauren screaming his name, somewhere in a haze he wasn't sure was not simply in his head.
"G-go," he sputtered and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, tried to stand and fight through the pain. It was excruciating, unlike any he'd known before, and he far from understood it but still he told himself to keep fighting, keep breathing, keep standing.
"You're gonna keep fighting no matter what aren't you?" Jason sounded exhausted.
Tommy laughed weakly. "A...Ranger never...never gives up..."
"Then we'll kill you." The Lightspeed Red sounded so cold yet all it got from Tommy was a bloody smile and the words "If you can".
"Tommy!" Lauren screamed and he heard her try to run over but bullets flew and he knew she'd never make it.
"I'm sorry...about Jayden." It seemed like a good apology. He wouldn't surrender and he could barely move but he's fight to the last, like any Ranger would.
An attack came. It never made contact; there was morphing energy and flashes of light but even as Tommy tried to force his limbs to work, only to fail, he didn't feel the added agony of being hit. What he did feel was confused, staring at the woman standing between them and him, a shield. Confusion magnified as she turned to face him and a face that once haunted his dream stared back at him.
"Rita," he breathed as she reached out to touch his face, fingers warm and he felt the pain disappate. He deigned to close his eyes, hearing her speak in that familiar voice, made soft by goodness.
"You done good, Tommy; I appreciate you and your team coming to help, I really do."
"Rita Repulsa!" Jason roared and Tommy snapped back to attention, sparks of magic still dancing about him, healing him. She looked as well and moved to stand between the old friends, her wand at the ready, her old staff held in the crux of her arm. The anger rolled off him in waves and Jason stepped closer, sword held tight before lifted so the point was aimed at her.
"Go," Rita whispered, echoing his previous statement to Lauren. Tommy took a moment to realize that she'd even spoken and a moment longer to understand what it meant.
"He'll kill you." This he knew, as strongly as he knew he was about to die before she had arrived.
"Then I die for all the crimes I committed, for all the pain I caused, though it's hardly a start to recompense," she said so serenely, it was hard to think it was the same person who'd laugh maniacally as she wrought destruction upon others, screamed about headaches, acted so petty. Tommy thought that maybe that was the point. She wasn't the same person, not anymore, and to let her die now, to let them kill her for her past crimes, would truly mean nothing.
He looked to Jason still advancing, Rocky watching this motionless as a statue, the Lightspeed not speaking a word and back towards the portal where Lauren was standing and staring. Their eyes met and for a second he understood her perfectly. He understood everything and he hated every bit of it.
"You are not going to die," he said sternly; his hand moved to grab her, to make a run for it to the portal. They could make it, there was always a chance. If they tried...just tried...
But a burst of energy sent him flying instead and he wondered if this was how people felt when he used the wind on people to do the same. He landed by Lauren and she quickly helped him to his feet. But he didn't look at her.
It was like watching a particularly bad nightmare; he watched Rita and he saw how she held her staff in one hand, orb still glowing from using it's magic to force him closer to the portal and further from her. And there was the edges of something painful in her expression that caused him to remember Zedd's words. She was being negatively affected by the revival of her old powers, and she could not have both evil and good magic together inside her, and she had locked herself up because of it. Tommy watched her smile at him as Jason's sword came down in what seemed to him to be slow motion and he realized what was happening slowly. Slower than it was happening.
She was down and he felt his heart rate rise, faster and faster, until he couldn't hear his own thoughts over the noise in his chest. And he moved faster than he probably should have; he morphed without call and dark energy surrounded him, solidifying in his right hand into a familiar sword that he used to slash at the government Rangers. Jason of course recognized it, though how long had it been since last it had existed, and in a moment of clarity that Tommy was currently incapable of, the red motioned for his forces to retreat.
Part of the green wanted their deaths but Rita's voice called out to him and he went to her instead, dropping the Sword of Darkness as he picked her up instead.
"Rita...I...I..."
"It's okay, Tommy, it's okay." So soft and so far away. "Don't...please don't give into that darkness for me; I don't want to be the cause of your return to that state."
"We have to get you to the others, they can help you, they...they can fix this I'm sure, we just-"
"No, Tommy, no. This is for the best, I promise, and honestly I'm happy," she interrupted him and smiled at him; once more the space witch moved to touch his cheek, still so warm even as he knew she wouldn't be soon enough.
A chuckle left her and he frowned. "What, why are you laughing?"
"Nothing really, it's just," she started, "You look exactly as you did those many years ago when I first met you."
The alleyway, the putties, her palace, the bad moments he couldn't shake but she kept smiling somehow. "I choose you to be my Green Ranger but I never imagined what you would become. Tommy Oliver, mentor, ally, legacy Ranger, great enemy to evil; I just wanted a weapon to use against the Power Rangers and instead I started you down the path to becoming one of the biggest thorns in the side of the Ranger's Initiative and of that asshole Astor Morgan.
"I don't have the right...to say this but...I'm so proud...of what you've become, of what you've done with the Power. You were my first Ranger, you were my prototype for my Mystic Force team. And I'm so sorry for everything. I'm so sorry, Tommy..."
She went limp and silent, and he had nothing to say. He understood what had happened but at the same time his head continued to spin and he could just marginally comprehend Lauren finally approaching him. He got up, holding Rita still in his arms and held her to him.
"Tommy, we have to meet the others."
"We're not leaving her here." Rita did so much bad, so much evil; she caused so much pain and had made his life difficult for so long. How many plans had the Power Rangers had to cancel because she felt the need to attack, how many lives had they had to save, how many injuries did they suffer and how many good moments had she ruined? Yet in the end she had died for them. For him.
"She's already-"
"We are not leaving her!"
Lauren was silent and part of his brain admonished him, especially considering their interactions in the past few months. But he felt her take Rita from him, a bundle of limp limbs and fluffy dress, her staff and wand both falling to the ground with dull thuds. He stared but the female red stayed stoic even as she spoke, "Then I'll take her back to the ship, but you need to go and tell the others at the school. You have to make sure our friends are okay."
He froze up and continued to stare. "...Why?"
A smile cracked and Tommy realized it was probably the first time he'd seen her smile since meeting her. Certainly the first aimed at him.
"Because Tommy," she said and activated her communicator, "You didn't leave Jayden and the others behind."
She and Rita were gone before he could even think up a proper response. He realized after a moment that there wasn't one. All around him the city continued to burn and the sound of car alarms still shrieking was all he could hear now; his eyes fell upon the fallen wand and staff again, staring especially at the staff. It's orb was dark now, it's mistress gone.
"Damnit." The word felt so empty but it slipped past his lips and he stepped through the portal, leaving the devastation of Briarwood behind. But not the memory of what had happened there, never the memory. That would stay, forever.