Disclaimer: Power Rangers belong to Saban.
A/N: Wow. Listening to Seal when writing this really helps me to think about just what it is I am writing. Anyway, after this, I'd like a lot of reviews. I love hearing from you guys. Hope you like this next chapter!
The Lake
She had changed into a clean pair of black wind breaker pants and a white zip-up sweatshirt to keep her warm from the night's constant breeze. She sat perched on a rock facing the Lake, taking in the serene sunset that was nearly gone. Faint blurs of orange and red touched the water as the navy blue and deepest purples of the night sky forced them away. Stars began to flicker into sight within the blue and purple swirls of the eve, and reflected off of the lake surface. Kim studied every inch of the place, smiling to herself. Her hair drifted about her face, carried by the soft wind. Every so often, she would lift a hand to remove a lock of hair tickling her nose, or blocking her view, and would tuck it back behind her ear. On her rock, she waited patiently for Tommy.
She needn't wait much longer, however, for Tommy was not far from her, watching her from where he stood by a tree. He faced her back, and thought to himself about the sight in front of him. 'It's like she's trying to tempt me. I want so badly to just hold her... it's hard to hold back. I've held her before, and after she left, I came to realize that there's no one else who can make me feel like I did when she was in my arms. It's almost like she's... addicting. There's no substitute that can satisfy my need for her love.' He sighed. 'I've got to get her back.' Determined, he made his way over.
Reaching the rock where Kimberly sat, Tommy made his presence known. "It's a nice night, huh?"
Kim turned surprised, and placed her right hand to her chest in relief. "Oh, yeah. It really is. The Lake is so beautiful at this time." she looked back out into the water.
"Yeah, it is." Tommy never removed his eyes from her. He examined every feature of her face, the curves of her cheekbones, the shadows over her eyes, and the soft smile that faded as she looked to the sand.
"How's Katherine?" she asked casually, avoiding his stare.
He broke away from her silhouette, taking his turn to admire the waters. "She went back to Australia for the summer," he paused, but before he could ask his next question, Kim spoke again.
"She went back? What about the team? You're short a ranger now, aren't you?" She looked at him.
He nodded. "Yeah, but she's got a communicator with her. We'll only call her when we need her." He turned his head to meet her gaze, and his heart fluttered. "How are you?"
"I'm alright, I guess." She lowered her gaze yet again, playing with her hands. She bit her lip before continuing on. "Tommy, I'm sorry I sent the letter like I did. I couldn't muster up enough courage to call you and talk with you. I guess I just assumed the worst... " She shrugged.
Tommy's brow frowned. "Kim, what do you mean?"
"Well, Katherine was so fond of you... I didn't know if you two had developed feelings for each other-"
He shook his head slowly, inching closer to her, but not sure if he could touch even her hand yet. "Kim, no. We were just friends. I could never go behind your back like that. I cared for you."
"... and now?" Tommy swallowed. "I can't see why you'd have to ask. Kim, I'll always care for you. I've told you before. You'll always have me." They both fell silent for a moment.
Kim had her eyes closed. "You're too good for me, Tommy. I didn't trust you, and now look at the mess I've made." A tear formed in the corner of her eye, but when she spoke, there was no sign to her sobs. "I lied to you in that letter."
Tommy's heart froze. "Wh... what? Then, you mean, there isn't-"
"No." She sniffed, hinting to her tears. "I wanted to come up with some kind of excuse, so that if you and Kat did have something, then you wouldn't feel bad about still being with me when I was so far away. So I lied and said there was someone else. I couldn't stand being away, but I hated the fact that I was holding you from experiencing what was right in front of you even more. But now I find out you two aren't..." She shook her head, her eyes squinted closed. She felt a warmth on her hand, and opened her eyes to see Tommy sitting beside her.
He leaned in, and pulled her into an embrace. "Kim, YOU were always on my mind. There was never a day when I wasn't thinking about you. I just want us to go back to the way we were... "
Her chin rested on his shoulder, and she stared blankly ahead at the grass in the park. "We couldn't just go back, Tommy. I'm a whole new person. Florida changed me-"
"Then let's start over. I can't live without you, Kim. Our being apart was hard, but when you sent the letter, I was so empty for the longest time. You give me a new reason to live. I can't give you up... " He felt her arms hold tightly to his torso, and he closed his eyes.
There the two stayed, holding each other and keeping warm from the circulating breeze around them. What they didn't know, however, was that the White Zeo crystal lay beneath the water of he Lake shore, and because of Tommy's presence, it's power increased and let off a great amount of light energy. This was much to the liking of Damien, who watched from his hidden cave dwellings.
* * *
"I couldn't have planned it any better." Damien cackled. "That foolish red ranger has the crystal right under his nose, and doesn't even know it!" Waving his hand, the orb on his staff disappeared. "Baku, I shall be making my way down to the Lake. I will expect you to follow."
The elf bowed. "Yes, Lord Damien. Baku will follow!"
Damien raised a cloud of purple smoke, and vanished inside of it. Baku rubbed his hands together gleefully.
"Master will finally get his crystal, and will reign the universe!" He scampered over to the cloud, and vanished just as Damien did.
* * *
The two teens separated, and looked at each other with sad smiles. Kim spoke with a quivering lip.
"We can start over. If we make it, it'll prove that we need each other. Tommy, I couldn't picture myself with anyone else."
He took her hand in his. "Same here, Kim. You mean so much to me."
She sighed a smile and looked over her shoulder back to the lake. A glint of light caught her eye. "Hey, what's that?" She stood up, walking away from the rock, her hand still clung to Tommy's, who followed behind her.
"I don't know," he said, with a slight idea of what it could be in his mind. As the two approached, the light the hidden crystal emitted became stronger. "It looks like it's under the water."
Kim let go of Tommy's hand and rolled up her pants above her knees, then walked into the waves until the cold water reached the middle of her shins. She was drawn to the light, and couldn't help but try to find what it was under the cover of the water. Just as she reached out her hand to feel beneath the waves for the light, a shimmering purple mist apparated on the shore just behind Tommy.
Both teens turned around and gasped at the man standing before them. Tommy took a fighting stance, while Kim kept her footing in the water, her pants rolled up above her knees.
Damien stood and looked at Tommy, a sly grin on his face. "Ah, red Ranger. What a pleasant surprise. I had no idea you enjoyed moonlit strolls along the water shore." He chuckled deeply, and turned his gaze to Kimberly, who clenched her hands into fists and tried not to look afraid.
"And who is your striking lady friend?" Upon meeting her gaze, a strange feeling swept over Damien. "Another ranger, perhaps?" 'She has a strong spirit,' he sensed, his gaze intensifying. 'There's something about her... ' Shaking his head slightly, Damien looked to the light at Kimberly's side. 'Right. I'm afraid I must jump strait to conclusions. I am merely here for the crystal." Once again, he locked eyes with Kimberly, who was now relaxed.
She stared into the swirls of royal purple, and all of a sudden, she felt numb. She couldn't bring herself to move willingly, but she soon found herself reaching for the crystal.
"Yes, my pretty one. Release the crystal from it's shield, and hand it to me. That's it."
Tommy witnessed as Kim revealed the white crystal from beneath the waves of the lake, which began to crash harshly against the shore. The crystal emitted it's light so strongly, the humans had to squint their eyes to see. Suddenly, the crystal's light dimmed, and allowed the teens to look easily upon it. It's structure was different from that of the Zeo crystals. It's shape was of a three-dimensional heart, with the cuts of a diamond creating it's curves.
"Behold the White crystal. It's breathtaking beyond anything else. Hand it to me, girl. Let me absorb it's powers into myself..." Damien held out his hands as Kimberly continued to move against her will.
Tommy took notice, and attempted call out to Kim, preventing her from giving the crystal to Damien. "Kim, No! Don't give it to him! He's got you under some sort of spell!" Tommy leapt in front of Kim. The splash of water from his landing sent a bit of spray into Kim's face, and she blinked, shaking the vision of Damien's eyes from her mind.
"Wh... what happened?" She held the crystal tightly in her palm.
Tommy took her arm. "We've got to get out of here. Stay close, Kim."
Damien was furious. "Leaving so soon? I think not." He rose his arms, staff in one hand, and a surge of purple lightning flew into the sky, then crashed into the water surrounding Kimberly and Tommy. Suddenly, four Leeches rose from the waters and took hold of Kim.
She screamed in surprise and struggled against the grasp of the creatures that appeared out of nowhere. Tommy quickly sprang into action, kicking and thrusting his fists at the creatures. Before Kim could realize what was happening, Tommy had morphed into his Red Zeo Ranger form, and was blasting at the leeches, eliminating them one by one. Before the lot was finished, Damien set another four Leeches against Tommy, leaving Kim to run onto shore, the crystal still tightly bound in her grasp. Her pants had fallen back to her ankles, and she stood back, watching as Tommy fought against the creatures.
"Oh, what do I do?" Kim squealed. She looked at the crystal. 'What IS this thing, and why does that creep want it? What should I do?' Before she could answer her own thoughts, something bumped into her from the side, knocking her down onto the sand, sending the crystal flying from her hand and toward the rock she sat on earlier.
Lying on her side, Kim looked past her feet to see a small green troll-like figure getting to its feet.
"Baku!" Shouted Damien, enraged. "Grab the crystal, NOW!"
Baku scampered along Kimberly's side toward the crystal, but before he could reach it, Kim grabbed hold of his leg, and sent him falling face- first into the sand. "I don't think so, little man," She said, getting to her knees. She managed to climb to her feet, and raced toward the crystal. Picking it up, she could think of nothing else to do now but shout. "Tommy!"
He had rid himself of the Leeches and made his way to Kim's side, teleporting them both away before Damien could stop them.
"BLAST THAT RANGER!" He shouted. Sparks of purple popped from the end of his staff. Baku rested his trembling chin against his knees, and covered his head with his hands.
Damien swiftly made his way over to the rock, glaring at Baku. "You useless little maggot. You couldn't even stop the powerless human! I should just feed you to-" He stopped. A small shard of the crystal was pulsing faintly at the foot of the rock. Damien picked it up and examined it. "Baku, do you realize what I could do with even such a small piece of the crystal as this?"
The hobbit-elf shuddered and looked up. "Erm, you could, rule the universe, master?"
"No, you wasteful imp! If the girl uses the crystal's powers to become a Ranger like her pathetic friends, then I can use this to slowly destroy her from the inside. The crystal becomes part if it's host, and with this piece in my hands, I can do so much damage." A slick and cruel smile grew upon his face. "And when that idiot of a red Ranger realizes how his precious friend will die, he will become emotionally weak and shall prove to be the downfall of his entire loathsome team!" He chuckled at this. 'The girl's fate will be in my hands. Oh, how I will enjoy this destruction of the Power Rangers, and the conquiering of the Universe!'
A/N: Okay, so this Tommy/Kim 'talk' thing didn't turn out like I had hoped. Apparently, I'm not good with writing stuff like that, but it didn't help that I was writing it pretty fast, either. So, here's my plan: If I feel up to it, sometime in the near future, I will re-write that part, and anything else in this chapter that I didn't like. Hopefully, I won't wait until after another chapter has been written and posted. But just so you know. I'll tell you if I've followed through in my summary. Anyway, hope this story is keeping you interested. Let me know what you think! I need the advice. ~ Twitch
A/N: Wow. Listening to Seal when writing this really helps me to think about just what it is I am writing. Anyway, after this, I'd like a lot of reviews. I love hearing from you guys. Hope you like this next chapter!
The Lake
She had changed into a clean pair of black wind breaker pants and a white zip-up sweatshirt to keep her warm from the night's constant breeze. She sat perched on a rock facing the Lake, taking in the serene sunset that was nearly gone. Faint blurs of orange and red touched the water as the navy blue and deepest purples of the night sky forced them away. Stars began to flicker into sight within the blue and purple swirls of the eve, and reflected off of the lake surface. Kim studied every inch of the place, smiling to herself. Her hair drifted about her face, carried by the soft wind. Every so often, she would lift a hand to remove a lock of hair tickling her nose, or blocking her view, and would tuck it back behind her ear. On her rock, she waited patiently for Tommy.
She needn't wait much longer, however, for Tommy was not far from her, watching her from where he stood by a tree. He faced her back, and thought to himself about the sight in front of him. 'It's like she's trying to tempt me. I want so badly to just hold her... it's hard to hold back. I've held her before, and after she left, I came to realize that there's no one else who can make me feel like I did when she was in my arms. It's almost like she's... addicting. There's no substitute that can satisfy my need for her love.' He sighed. 'I've got to get her back.' Determined, he made his way over.
Reaching the rock where Kimberly sat, Tommy made his presence known. "It's a nice night, huh?"
Kim turned surprised, and placed her right hand to her chest in relief. "Oh, yeah. It really is. The Lake is so beautiful at this time." she looked back out into the water.
"Yeah, it is." Tommy never removed his eyes from her. He examined every feature of her face, the curves of her cheekbones, the shadows over her eyes, and the soft smile that faded as she looked to the sand.
"How's Katherine?" she asked casually, avoiding his stare.
He broke away from her silhouette, taking his turn to admire the waters. "She went back to Australia for the summer," he paused, but before he could ask his next question, Kim spoke again.
"She went back? What about the team? You're short a ranger now, aren't you?" She looked at him.
He nodded. "Yeah, but she's got a communicator with her. We'll only call her when we need her." He turned his head to meet her gaze, and his heart fluttered. "How are you?"
"I'm alright, I guess." She lowered her gaze yet again, playing with her hands. She bit her lip before continuing on. "Tommy, I'm sorry I sent the letter like I did. I couldn't muster up enough courage to call you and talk with you. I guess I just assumed the worst... " She shrugged.
Tommy's brow frowned. "Kim, what do you mean?"
"Well, Katherine was so fond of you... I didn't know if you two had developed feelings for each other-"
He shook his head slowly, inching closer to her, but not sure if he could touch even her hand yet. "Kim, no. We were just friends. I could never go behind your back like that. I cared for you."
"... and now?" Tommy swallowed. "I can't see why you'd have to ask. Kim, I'll always care for you. I've told you before. You'll always have me." They both fell silent for a moment.
Kim had her eyes closed. "You're too good for me, Tommy. I didn't trust you, and now look at the mess I've made." A tear formed in the corner of her eye, but when she spoke, there was no sign to her sobs. "I lied to you in that letter."
Tommy's heart froze. "Wh... what? Then, you mean, there isn't-"
"No." She sniffed, hinting to her tears. "I wanted to come up with some kind of excuse, so that if you and Kat did have something, then you wouldn't feel bad about still being with me when I was so far away. So I lied and said there was someone else. I couldn't stand being away, but I hated the fact that I was holding you from experiencing what was right in front of you even more. But now I find out you two aren't..." She shook her head, her eyes squinted closed. She felt a warmth on her hand, and opened her eyes to see Tommy sitting beside her.
He leaned in, and pulled her into an embrace. "Kim, YOU were always on my mind. There was never a day when I wasn't thinking about you. I just want us to go back to the way we were... "
Her chin rested on his shoulder, and she stared blankly ahead at the grass in the park. "We couldn't just go back, Tommy. I'm a whole new person. Florida changed me-"
"Then let's start over. I can't live without you, Kim. Our being apart was hard, but when you sent the letter, I was so empty for the longest time. You give me a new reason to live. I can't give you up... " He felt her arms hold tightly to his torso, and he closed his eyes.
There the two stayed, holding each other and keeping warm from the circulating breeze around them. What they didn't know, however, was that the White Zeo crystal lay beneath the water of he Lake shore, and because of Tommy's presence, it's power increased and let off a great amount of light energy. This was much to the liking of Damien, who watched from his hidden cave dwellings.
* * *
"I couldn't have planned it any better." Damien cackled. "That foolish red ranger has the crystal right under his nose, and doesn't even know it!" Waving his hand, the orb on his staff disappeared. "Baku, I shall be making my way down to the Lake. I will expect you to follow."
The elf bowed. "Yes, Lord Damien. Baku will follow!"
Damien raised a cloud of purple smoke, and vanished inside of it. Baku rubbed his hands together gleefully.
"Master will finally get his crystal, and will reign the universe!" He scampered over to the cloud, and vanished just as Damien did.
* * *
The two teens separated, and looked at each other with sad smiles. Kim spoke with a quivering lip.
"We can start over. If we make it, it'll prove that we need each other. Tommy, I couldn't picture myself with anyone else."
He took her hand in his. "Same here, Kim. You mean so much to me."
She sighed a smile and looked over her shoulder back to the lake. A glint of light caught her eye. "Hey, what's that?" She stood up, walking away from the rock, her hand still clung to Tommy's, who followed behind her.
"I don't know," he said, with a slight idea of what it could be in his mind. As the two approached, the light the hidden crystal emitted became stronger. "It looks like it's under the water."
Kim let go of Tommy's hand and rolled up her pants above her knees, then walked into the waves until the cold water reached the middle of her shins. She was drawn to the light, and couldn't help but try to find what it was under the cover of the water. Just as she reached out her hand to feel beneath the waves for the light, a shimmering purple mist apparated on the shore just behind Tommy.
Both teens turned around and gasped at the man standing before them. Tommy took a fighting stance, while Kim kept her footing in the water, her pants rolled up above her knees.
Damien stood and looked at Tommy, a sly grin on his face. "Ah, red Ranger. What a pleasant surprise. I had no idea you enjoyed moonlit strolls along the water shore." He chuckled deeply, and turned his gaze to Kimberly, who clenched her hands into fists and tried not to look afraid.
"And who is your striking lady friend?" Upon meeting her gaze, a strange feeling swept over Damien. "Another ranger, perhaps?" 'She has a strong spirit,' he sensed, his gaze intensifying. 'There's something about her... ' Shaking his head slightly, Damien looked to the light at Kimberly's side. 'Right. I'm afraid I must jump strait to conclusions. I am merely here for the crystal." Once again, he locked eyes with Kimberly, who was now relaxed.
She stared into the swirls of royal purple, and all of a sudden, she felt numb. She couldn't bring herself to move willingly, but she soon found herself reaching for the crystal.
"Yes, my pretty one. Release the crystal from it's shield, and hand it to me. That's it."
Tommy witnessed as Kim revealed the white crystal from beneath the waves of the lake, which began to crash harshly against the shore. The crystal emitted it's light so strongly, the humans had to squint their eyes to see. Suddenly, the crystal's light dimmed, and allowed the teens to look easily upon it. It's structure was different from that of the Zeo crystals. It's shape was of a three-dimensional heart, with the cuts of a diamond creating it's curves.
"Behold the White crystal. It's breathtaking beyond anything else. Hand it to me, girl. Let me absorb it's powers into myself..." Damien held out his hands as Kimberly continued to move against her will.
Tommy took notice, and attempted call out to Kim, preventing her from giving the crystal to Damien. "Kim, No! Don't give it to him! He's got you under some sort of spell!" Tommy leapt in front of Kim. The splash of water from his landing sent a bit of spray into Kim's face, and she blinked, shaking the vision of Damien's eyes from her mind.
"Wh... what happened?" She held the crystal tightly in her palm.
Tommy took her arm. "We've got to get out of here. Stay close, Kim."
Damien was furious. "Leaving so soon? I think not." He rose his arms, staff in one hand, and a surge of purple lightning flew into the sky, then crashed into the water surrounding Kimberly and Tommy. Suddenly, four Leeches rose from the waters and took hold of Kim.
She screamed in surprise and struggled against the grasp of the creatures that appeared out of nowhere. Tommy quickly sprang into action, kicking and thrusting his fists at the creatures. Before Kim could realize what was happening, Tommy had morphed into his Red Zeo Ranger form, and was blasting at the leeches, eliminating them one by one. Before the lot was finished, Damien set another four Leeches against Tommy, leaving Kim to run onto shore, the crystal still tightly bound in her grasp. Her pants had fallen back to her ankles, and she stood back, watching as Tommy fought against the creatures.
"Oh, what do I do?" Kim squealed. She looked at the crystal. 'What IS this thing, and why does that creep want it? What should I do?' Before she could answer her own thoughts, something bumped into her from the side, knocking her down onto the sand, sending the crystal flying from her hand and toward the rock she sat on earlier.
Lying on her side, Kim looked past her feet to see a small green troll-like figure getting to its feet.
"Baku!" Shouted Damien, enraged. "Grab the crystal, NOW!"
Baku scampered along Kimberly's side toward the crystal, but before he could reach it, Kim grabbed hold of his leg, and sent him falling face- first into the sand. "I don't think so, little man," She said, getting to her knees. She managed to climb to her feet, and raced toward the crystal. Picking it up, she could think of nothing else to do now but shout. "Tommy!"
He had rid himself of the Leeches and made his way to Kim's side, teleporting them both away before Damien could stop them.
"BLAST THAT RANGER!" He shouted. Sparks of purple popped from the end of his staff. Baku rested his trembling chin against his knees, and covered his head with his hands.
Damien swiftly made his way over to the rock, glaring at Baku. "You useless little maggot. You couldn't even stop the powerless human! I should just feed you to-" He stopped. A small shard of the crystal was pulsing faintly at the foot of the rock. Damien picked it up and examined it. "Baku, do you realize what I could do with even such a small piece of the crystal as this?"
The hobbit-elf shuddered and looked up. "Erm, you could, rule the universe, master?"
"No, you wasteful imp! If the girl uses the crystal's powers to become a Ranger like her pathetic friends, then I can use this to slowly destroy her from the inside. The crystal becomes part if it's host, and with this piece in my hands, I can do so much damage." A slick and cruel smile grew upon his face. "And when that idiot of a red Ranger realizes how his precious friend will die, he will become emotionally weak and shall prove to be the downfall of his entire loathsome team!" He chuckled at this. 'The girl's fate will be in my hands. Oh, how I will enjoy this destruction of the Power Rangers, and the conquiering of the Universe!'
A/N: Okay, so this Tommy/Kim 'talk' thing didn't turn out like I had hoped. Apparently, I'm not good with writing stuff like that, but it didn't help that I was writing it pretty fast, either. So, here's my plan: If I feel up to it, sometime in the near future, I will re-write that part, and anything else in this chapter that I didn't like. Hopefully, I won't wait until after another chapter has been written and posted. But just so you know. I'll tell you if I've followed through in my summary. Anyway, hope this story is keeping you interested. Let me know what you think! I need the advice. ~ Twitch