Author's Note: 'm still at it, I promise. Day 14 is...Tommy!

"Rocky, will you stop squirming?" Adam whispered.

"Oh, sorry, is my broken wrist getting in your way?" Rocky replied angrily.

"Guys!" Tommy hissed, twisting his head around to glance as much as he could at each of them. "Stop. Let me work." He sighed and turned his head back around. He tried to keep his face calm as his fingers worked at the knots of the rope. A bad mission— a bad plan really— to investigate what King Mondo's goons were up to had resulted in the team being captured. Now, Tommy found himself tied back-to-back with Rocky and Adam. Kat and Tanya were tied back-to-back with each other a few feet to his right. If he glanced at them, he could just barely make out them trying to unite their ropes as well. Tommy did his best to keep the rest of his body perfectly still so as to not give anything away.

While he worked, his eyes watched the Cogs as they buzzed back and forth. Beyond them, Klank was talking to Orbis, the two of them chattering back and forth about something. Tommy resisted the urge to groan in frustration as his fingers slipped. They were already fatigued from pulling at the ropes. 'I have to keep trying though,' he thought. 'My team is depending on me.' After all, it was his plan that had gotten them captured. He had to get them out of here. Tommy tapped down his bubbling frustration and flexed his fingers a few times before going back to work.

"How's it coming?" Adam whispered, turning his head just enough to allow Tommy to hear him better.

"Working…on it…" Tommy replied just as quietly.

"There's only three Cogs guarding the exit," Rocky informed them, trying to keep his mind off his wrist. "If we can get free, it should be easy to rush them and run for the exit."

"We will get out. Just…be patient."

"Wish the zeonizers were't busted," Adam muttered. "Even when we get out, we won't be able to call Billy and Alpha for help. We'll be on our own until we find the command center."

Tommy had been doing his best not to think about that. It wasn't that Cogs were smarter than Putties, he was pretty sure both of them were mindless drones, but they were metal. Which meant that when they went after the ranger's morphers, they did a lot more damage than the Putties ever had. The result was five busted zeonizers. Not only were they not able to call back to the Command Center for help, they couldn't morph. 'Once again, because of my stupid plan,' Tommy thought angrily. 'I bet Jason would've never gotten his team into something like this.'

Movement from the corner of his eye caused his hands to freeze. Tommy turned his head and almost gasped. "Kat.." he said in relief.

"Shh! Stay facing forward," Kat told him, moving around Adam so show was behind all thee of them. She crouched down low so she could be hidden behind the boys. "As soon as I have you three untied, Tanya will create a distraction, then we book it."

"Huh?" Tommy looked around, moving just his eyes, and spotted Tanya. They were in a cave, so she had plenty of places to hide. Tommy could just barely see her hidden behind a boulder. 'What is she doing?' Worry and guilt twisted Tommy's stomach. It was his stupid plan that had gotten the team captured in the first place; he didn't want one of them getting hurt trying to fix his mistakes.

"Almost there…" The ropes around their wrists and arms loosened. Tommy winced at how audibly Rocky sighed in relief. "Ok, stay where you are until Tanya's distraction. Then head for the exit."

As much as Tommy wasn't happy with this, he also had to admit that he didn't have a better idea at the moment. However, that didn't stop him from watching Tanya like a hawk. Kat must've given her the hand-signal, because she picked up fist-sized rock, then chucked it across the cave. It hit the wall with a loud bang! then clattered along on the floor. As soon as the machines looked at it, Tommy jumped to his feet. He pulled off the rest of the ropes. "Go, go!" he told the team. Despite Kat calling for him, he waited until he saw Tanya sprinting toward them before he joined them.

Rocky and Adam reached the cave opening first, so they took out the Cogs guarding it. The team ran out of the cave and into the tunnel.

"Which way?" Adam asked.

"Just keep going," Tommy told them. "We need to loose the machines." He was toward the back of the group, so he saw Tanya limping along to keep up. Without hesitating, Tommy moved closer. "You're hurt?"

"Just…a bit…" Tanya grunted. "We need to be focused on getting out though."

Tommy nodded but slowed his running enough that he was at least even with her. Every few seconds, the glanced backward. He couldn't see the machines behind the, but he could hear them. "Adam, any sign of an exit?!"

"Not yet!" Adam called back. "Let's try this way!" The path ahead forked into two, so Adam lead them down the right tunnel. They kept running for another few minutes before they briefly stopped.

"Did- Did we lose them?" Rocky asked, out of breath and cradling his wrist against his chest.

Tommy grimaced when he saw how swollen and bruised the blue ranger's wrist already was. 'We need to get out of here.' His ears caught the metal clinking of the machines. He gestured for the team to be silent, then crept back down the tunnel. Luckily, despite being so tall, a lifetime of karate had left Tommy quick on his feet. He moved back down the tunnel as quiet as he could. When he was close enough, he stopped.

"-go down that tunnel," Klank said. "The other half go down that tunnel. Bring the rangers back to me."

Tommy didn't stick around. He sprinted back to the team, resisting the urge to yell a warning. 'We have the element of surprise right now,' he thought. 'If we can keep going and stay quiet, we might be able to lose them.' When he got close enough, Adam opened his mouth, but Tommy waved him off. The green ranger gave him a confused look, but didn't say anything. When he reached them, Tommy took a few sounds to catch his breath. "They're searching both tunnels," he whispered. "If we try to stay quiet while we keep going, we might be able to loose them."

The rangers all nodded. Once again, Adam took the lead with Rocky right behind him. Kat helped Tanya, whose ankle had worsened. Tommy went last. They moved as fast as they could, but because of Tanya's injury, they couldn't run. The entire time, Tommy's heart pounded in his chest. Every echo in the tunnel nearly made him jump. He kept glancing back, keeping an eye and ear out for Cogs. Eventually, they reached another intersection where the tunnel forked into two. After a moment of hesitation, Adam picked the right one. The team kept pushing through as fast as they could.

"Wiat," Adam said suddenly, causing Rocky to nearly run into him.

"What?" Tommy asked, body tense and ready for a fight.

"Up there. Look." They looked where the green ranger pointed. Above their heads, a tiny amount of sunlight, barely visible in the dark tunnel, was visible through a crack. "If it's a crack we might be able to dig our way out of here."

"So we can wander around lost in the mountains?" Rocky asked in confusion.

"I'll take the desert mountains over getting cornered by Cogs. Kat, can you give me a hand?"

Tommy sighed as Tanya leaned against the wall while Kat helped lift Adam. He kept his gaze between watching Adam and looking back for Cogs. Luckily, it seemed that Adam was right. It was difficult at first, but as he clawed away the tightly packed dirt, more sunlight broke through. This reinvigorated Adam as he kept going. It didn't even register to him as he pulled aside two heavy rocks and let them fall to the ground; just aware enough to not let them fall on Kat. However, the loud clatter when the rocks hit the ground made Tommy jump.

'Shit,' he thought, creeping back a few feet. He listened intently, barely daring to breathe. Then, he heard it. The distinctive whirring and clanging of Cogs. Moving towards them. "Shit." Tommy spun around and ran back to the team. "There are Cogs coming," he told them. "Adam, get that hole as big as you need to so the team can fit through. As soon as it's ready, starting climbing."

"Tommy," Kat said as the red ranger started to turn away. Adam was situated balanced on the wall, so she ran to him. "Tommy, wait!" She grabbed his arm to keep him from leaving. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to keep the Cogs busy. The last thing we need is for them to corner us here. With Adam digging us out, Rocky and Tanya inured… Especially since we still have to find the Command Center once we get outside."

"Then stay here so we can work together."

"It'll be fine. You guys just stay alert. Once you're outside, get away from here. Without the zeonizers our best bet is to retreat back to the Command Center. Ok?" He shook her off, but Kat grabbed his arm again.

"Tommy-"

Tommy gave her a reassuring smile as he put a hand on hers. "Don't worry, Kat," he said as he removed her hand from his arm. "I'll be right behind you." Before she could say anything else, Tommy ran back down the tunnel. It didn't take him long to reach the Cogs. He tried to use the element of surprise and attacked them as soon as he could. The first couple of kicks knocked two Cogs back, but they quickly regrouped on him. Normally, numbers weren't an issue for Tommy, but fighting Cogs without morphing was always an issue.

Unlike Putties, Cogs were made of metal. No matter how many years he'd been a ranger, punching metal robots never got easier on his hands. Tommy tried to stick to kicking as much as he could, but with the Cogs swarming him, it was difficult. Every tome Cogs grabbed his arms, Tommy did his best to throw them off. However, one of them wouldn't let go, so he punched it. The force was enough to knock the Cog away, but pain spiked through his hand. Tommy doubled-over, holding his wrist. Unfortunately, the Cogs quickly took advantage. One punched him, which Tommy tired to dodge. It missed his head, but hit his shoulder.

Tommy stumbled back, but managed to stay on his feet. He ducked under the arms of the Cogs, only for another one to grab him. It jerked him sideways and off his feet. "Oof!" Tommy landed roughly on his side. Before he could recover, one of the Cogs kicked him in the stomach. The air was knocked out of him, but Tommy managed to scramble back to his feet. He took a few steps back, trying to find an upper hand. He kicked away one of the Cogs, but two more took the opportunity to sneak up on him.

The Cogs threw Tommy into the tunnel wall. His head hit the rock and stunned him. When Tommy landed on the ground, he laid there for a second, mind scrambled. Unfortunately, these few seconds costed him because the Cogs started kicking him. Tommy took a few hits to the stomach and chest before he managed to flip around. Taking hits to his back still hurt, but at least he could protect his organs better. 'I need to get back on my feet,' he thought. 'As long as I'm still trying to fight them, they'll focus on me and not the team.' He didn't know if they'd managed to escape yet, but he didn't want to leave until he was certain he'd given them long enough.

Determined to keep going, Tommy forced himself to stand. Pain radiated through his body at even the slightest movement from his limbs, but he tried to fight anyway. Unfortunately, Tommy was unbalanced and not fighting his best. The few punches he threw were sloppy and missed by a long shot. The Cogs chittered and whirred, almost as if they were laughing at him. They didn't even try to hit him. One of them just tripped him, letting him fall to the ground roughly. Tommy grunted, then quickly threw his arms over his head to protect it as the Cogs started kicking him again. He grit his teeth against the pain as they kept kicking him everywhere.

Eventually, it stopped, but Tommy was in pain and exhausted. He dropped his arms and took a few seconds to try lifting himself. Unfortunately, these few seconds were all the Cogs needed to grab him. A couple grabbed his arms, jerking them roughly up and behind him. Tommy weakly tried to pull himself free, but the Cogs just roughly shook him. The shaking was so strong it knocked his head around and nearly made him vomit. Tommy had to focus on breathing. The Cogs held him near his elbows, letting him hang as they dragged him. It put intense pressure on his shoulders and Tommy was surprised they weren't pulled from their sockets.

'Which is the last thing I need,' he thought bitterly. No doubt the Cogs were taking him back to Klank, as the machine had ordered. 'At least the team had time to get away. I'll figure my own way out.' He was their leader. Tommy didn't need to rely on the others to save him. Jason had always loved out for their team above all else. 'I got them into this mess, at the very least I got them out. That's all that matters.'

It was little comfort Tommy as the Cogs dragged his battered body back down the dark tunnels.