A/N: Here we go, Chapter four. As always, give me some feedback. I'm really
glad you are enjoying this. But I warn you: For those who are big Tommy/Kim
fans (like me), this chapter has a tragic ending.
TAIL OF THE DRAGON
As the morning carried on into the afternoon, the humid air seemed to dry up, leaving nothing but heat from the sun to attack the vegetation of the lost world our wandering heroes stumbled into.
Billy and Trini found their way into a somewhat shaded area of a nearby forest. They took further refuge sitting on a large rock jetting up from the ground, located beneath a branch of large leaves that served as an umbrella and protected them from the scorching rays of the sun.
Tilting her head back and closing her eyes, Trini let her warm breath mingle with the dry air. "I wonder where the Mastodon is now," she muttered. "I could use some cooling off."
Billy pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and after removing his glasses, he wiped his nose and brow of the beads of sweat forming from his pores. He replaced the handkerchief into his pocket, and tucked his glasses neatly in the front pouch of his overalls. "The heat is rather alarming. But it's nothing short of what's expected in this time period. The sun is much closer to Earth now than it is in our time. The best we can do is remain in the shade and hope it cools down during the night."
Trini erected her head to look at Billy. "Do you think we'll be here for that long?"
Billy shrugged. "It's unfortunate that we're here at all. This place has proved to be extremely dangerous. I still feel awful about leaving Zack frozen like he was, but there's no way to help him. Even if the sun does melt the ice, it's most probable that while trapped within the compacted water particles, there was no way for him to breathe, therefore causing him to..." he stopped, swallowing the lump that had grown in his throat.
Trini knew what Billy was getting at, and grimaced at the thought of actually losing one of her closest friends. "So then what do we do now? There's been no sign of the Command Center, and our communicators have failed." She shook her head absently, staring down at her feet. "Everything's gone from bad to worse."
Billy scooted closer to her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. There was nothing he could say that would better there situation, so he only let her know that he understood. Together, they sat with the guilt of leaving one of their best friends behind, hoping that somehow, things would turn around.
* * *
Kimberly sat against the trunk of a large tree with her legs outstretched, fanning herself with a bundle of ferns she picked up that were scattered on the ground. "We're never going to find them in this huge forest. Besides, this heat is really starting to get to me."
Tommy and Jason paced back and fourth, passing each other while going opposite directions.
Tommy's face lit up with a smile as an unusual idea crept into his mind. He picked up a stick that lay at his feet, and held it up for the others to see. It was rather thick, and was shaped like a 'Y.' Tommy licked his lips and spoke. "Guys, do you know what this is?"
The others stared at him in bewilderment with folded brows.
Tommy shook his head at their silence. "It's one of those sticks that helps people find their way to a water source! Get it?"
Jason folded his arms and couldn't help but chuckle.
Kimberly stood up wiping the rear of her shorts, and joined Jason at his side. "Guess I'm not the only one this heat's gotten to," she smirked.
Tommy shook the stick in his hand. "Come on, guys! I've seen people use it on TV!"
Jason laughed once more, and stepped forward in attempt to take the stick from his friend. "Tommy, it was a good effort, but I don't think a stick can really help us find water."
Tommy avoided Jason's hand and pulled away. "Fine. You don't believe me? Then I'll show you." He started walking away from the others and back into the deep of the jungle.
Kimberly grunted. "Tommy, wait. You're going to get yourself hurt."
"Like there isn't already something wrong with him?" Jason joked.
Kim playfully smacked at his chest with the back of her hand, and the two jogged in pursuit of the Green Ranger.
* * *
The Yellow and Blue rangers remained on the rock, but sat upright at the sound of rustling leaves headed their way. With each crunch of the dead matter on the ground, Trini blinked at the thought of something horrible about to happen. Their ranger reflexes kicked in, and the two quickly rose into their defensive stances.
But just as their luck would have it, Tommy emerged from the bushes with a rather determined face. They were baffled to see him clenching at two branches of a stick, with the third branch pointing in front of him.
Trini relaxed and approached the green Ranger. "Tommy?! When did you get here?" Getting no reply, she tried again. "Where are you going?" She asked with a curious smile. Tommy still didn't stop, and Trini looked to Billy.
"Uh, Tommy? Where are the others?" Billy heard Tommy snort a laugh at their mention, and continued on, walking away from his found team mates.
"Well, that was weird," Trini announced.
Then, just like before, there was another rustling in the bushes ahead. Billy and Trini were relieved to find that it was only Kimberly and Jason.
"Omigosh! I'm so glad you guys are okay!" Kimberly gawked, clapping her hands on Billy's cheeks, squishing his lips to look like those of a fish.
Not being able to move his face, Billy turned his eyes to Jason.
The Red Ranger laughed. "At least Tommy's stick was good for finding something," he said. "I'm glad you guys are alright!"
Trini gave a confused smile. "What was he doing with that thing, anyway?"
Kim let go of Billy's face and answered her best friend. "He thinks he's going to find water with it, just like the cowboys on TV."
Trini rolled her eyes.
"Although there may be some stories of sticks like the one Tommy has being used to find water, it has never been proven," Billy said with a confident nod.
Kimberly lowered her smile and asked in a rather bothered tone, "Hey, where's Zack?"
There was no sound response, but only a solemn shake of the head from Billy and Trini. Kim folded her brow, and looked up at Jason, whose eyes were closed in a moment of silence. Kimberly did the same.
All of a sudden, the group turned their heads at the sound of hollering and laughter. Jason nudged his head in the direction of the noise, and Kim, Billy and Trini followed their leader.
Upon reaching him, the teens were amused at the site of Tommy splashing and dancing in a rather large body of water. It looked slightly wider than their own Angel Grove Lake, and they all imagined it was very cool compared to the torturing heat of the mid day sun.
Kim trotted up to Tommy and splashed in the water at his side. She laughed as the rest joined in, and soon they were all drenched and dripping with water.
Jason patted Tommy's back. "Well, I've got to admit, bro. You were right." They laughed, and took a handful of water, splashing their faces with it.
Not to long after the happy find, the water began to lap fiercely along the bank, rippling past the teen's legs. Stepping forward out of the water, the teens became worried.
"What now?" Trini wondered aloud.
"Is it an earthquake?" Kim asked.
Billy shook his head. "This happened to Trini, Zack and I only hours ago, and we wondered the same thing, only to find that it wasn't."
"So what was it?" Jason inquired, balancing himself on the trembling Earth.
The group turned around to find a huge bump begin to form on the water's surface. Slowly, it rose to reveal the head of a scaly creature, not quite the size of a hot air balloon. It had fierce, glowing red eyes, and armored plates that ran along the back of the neck, much like those of a stegosaurus. As the creature continued to emerge from the water, its form began to look more and more like a tyrannosaurus rex. Its mouth housed a row of sharp, thorn-like teeth. The armored plates continued down to the tip of the tail, but got smaller as they reached the end.
The rangers stumbled backwards as the creature stepped out from the water.
Billy and Trini noted that it was a good many feet taller than the Mastodon, and had no doubt that this creature was much more dangerous.
"Oh..." Kim breathed. "What is that thing?"
Jason and Tommy looked at each other. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Tommy asked.
Jason nodded, still shocked at seeing a real form of the green ranger's zord. "Come on, guys! We have to get out of here, now!" Jason had to shout above the roar of the dragon that threatened their lives.
They began to retreat from the waterside, but were stopped when the creature's long tail blocked their way. They moved left to the only opening that remained for them to escape through, but turned again to see the tail thrash into Tommy and send him flying back into the water with a great splash.
"TOMMY!" Kimberly screamed. She would have rushed to his side, were it not for Jason holding her back. She cried out again as the tail lifted his somewhat conscious body from the water and catapulted him in the air. He crashed against a tree, and fell to the foot of the trunk.
Kim's eyes glazed over in tears as she and the rest observed his limp body lie motionless on the warm ground. "We have to do something!" She yelled, pleading with the others.
"Wait," Jason ordered. He noticed the dragon return to the lake, disappearing beneath the murky water. When the coast was clear, Jason let Kim go.
She ran at full speed to where Tommy lay, and she panted his name as she lifted his head on her lap. There was a trickle of blood streaming from the corner of his mouth, but he did not move or make any indication that he was still alive.
"Tommy? Oh Tommy please wake up." Kimberly sniffled, tears running down her face. She framed Tommy's cheeks with her hands, and kissed his forehead with quivering lips. She released sobbing breathes, and the others stopped their approach feet behind her. She bend her upper body forward and leaned her ear against his chest, listening for a heartbeat. Shutting her eyes at its absence, she began to whisper pleads. "No... No, you can't leave. Wake up, Tommy, please wake up... I don't want you to go... don't go, don't go." Her hands clenched his shirt above her head, which still was cushioned by his lifeless chest.
She broke away only when Jason was knelt at her side. Gently replacing Tommy's head on the ground as if not to disturb him from slumber, she buried her face in Jason's shoulder and let his arms hold her trembling body. "How can he just. leave?! Where did that stupid dragon come from? He took Tommy away from us. away from me!" Her arms reached around his neck with her hands balled into fists, and there she let herself cry until no more tears could be shed.
As the friends continued on, Kimberly leaned on Jason, clinging to his arm. Her face was the saddest the others had ever seen it, and she made no attempt to speak as the rest were silent as well. With the death of two beloved friends and team mates behind them, they could only imagine what was to lie ahead.
TAIL OF THE DRAGON
As the morning carried on into the afternoon, the humid air seemed to dry up, leaving nothing but heat from the sun to attack the vegetation of the lost world our wandering heroes stumbled into.
Billy and Trini found their way into a somewhat shaded area of a nearby forest. They took further refuge sitting on a large rock jetting up from the ground, located beneath a branch of large leaves that served as an umbrella and protected them from the scorching rays of the sun.
Tilting her head back and closing her eyes, Trini let her warm breath mingle with the dry air. "I wonder where the Mastodon is now," she muttered. "I could use some cooling off."
Billy pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and after removing his glasses, he wiped his nose and brow of the beads of sweat forming from his pores. He replaced the handkerchief into his pocket, and tucked his glasses neatly in the front pouch of his overalls. "The heat is rather alarming. But it's nothing short of what's expected in this time period. The sun is much closer to Earth now than it is in our time. The best we can do is remain in the shade and hope it cools down during the night."
Trini erected her head to look at Billy. "Do you think we'll be here for that long?"
Billy shrugged. "It's unfortunate that we're here at all. This place has proved to be extremely dangerous. I still feel awful about leaving Zack frozen like he was, but there's no way to help him. Even if the sun does melt the ice, it's most probable that while trapped within the compacted water particles, there was no way for him to breathe, therefore causing him to..." he stopped, swallowing the lump that had grown in his throat.
Trini knew what Billy was getting at, and grimaced at the thought of actually losing one of her closest friends. "So then what do we do now? There's been no sign of the Command Center, and our communicators have failed." She shook her head absently, staring down at her feet. "Everything's gone from bad to worse."
Billy scooted closer to her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. There was nothing he could say that would better there situation, so he only let her know that he understood. Together, they sat with the guilt of leaving one of their best friends behind, hoping that somehow, things would turn around.
* * *
Kimberly sat against the trunk of a large tree with her legs outstretched, fanning herself with a bundle of ferns she picked up that were scattered on the ground. "We're never going to find them in this huge forest. Besides, this heat is really starting to get to me."
Tommy and Jason paced back and fourth, passing each other while going opposite directions.
Tommy's face lit up with a smile as an unusual idea crept into his mind. He picked up a stick that lay at his feet, and held it up for the others to see. It was rather thick, and was shaped like a 'Y.' Tommy licked his lips and spoke. "Guys, do you know what this is?"
The others stared at him in bewilderment with folded brows.
Tommy shook his head at their silence. "It's one of those sticks that helps people find their way to a water source! Get it?"
Jason folded his arms and couldn't help but chuckle.
Kimberly stood up wiping the rear of her shorts, and joined Jason at his side. "Guess I'm not the only one this heat's gotten to," she smirked.
Tommy shook the stick in his hand. "Come on, guys! I've seen people use it on TV!"
Jason laughed once more, and stepped forward in attempt to take the stick from his friend. "Tommy, it was a good effort, but I don't think a stick can really help us find water."
Tommy avoided Jason's hand and pulled away. "Fine. You don't believe me? Then I'll show you." He started walking away from the others and back into the deep of the jungle.
Kimberly grunted. "Tommy, wait. You're going to get yourself hurt."
"Like there isn't already something wrong with him?" Jason joked.
Kim playfully smacked at his chest with the back of her hand, and the two jogged in pursuit of the Green Ranger.
* * *
The Yellow and Blue rangers remained on the rock, but sat upright at the sound of rustling leaves headed their way. With each crunch of the dead matter on the ground, Trini blinked at the thought of something horrible about to happen. Their ranger reflexes kicked in, and the two quickly rose into their defensive stances.
But just as their luck would have it, Tommy emerged from the bushes with a rather determined face. They were baffled to see him clenching at two branches of a stick, with the third branch pointing in front of him.
Trini relaxed and approached the green Ranger. "Tommy?! When did you get here?" Getting no reply, she tried again. "Where are you going?" She asked with a curious smile. Tommy still didn't stop, and Trini looked to Billy.
"Uh, Tommy? Where are the others?" Billy heard Tommy snort a laugh at their mention, and continued on, walking away from his found team mates.
"Well, that was weird," Trini announced.
Then, just like before, there was another rustling in the bushes ahead. Billy and Trini were relieved to find that it was only Kimberly and Jason.
"Omigosh! I'm so glad you guys are okay!" Kimberly gawked, clapping her hands on Billy's cheeks, squishing his lips to look like those of a fish.
Not being able to move his face, Billy turned his eyes to Jason.
The Red Ranger laughed. "At least Tommy's stick was good for finding something," he said. "I'm glad you guys are alright!"
Trini gave a confused smile. "What was he doing with that thing, anyway?"
Kim let go of Billy's face and answered her best friend. "He thinks he's going to find water with it, just like the cowboys on TV."
Trini rolled her eyes.
"Although there may be some stories of sticks like the one Tommy has being used to find water, it has never been proven," Billy said with a confident nod.
Kimberly lowered her smile and asked in a rather bothered tone, "Hey, where's Zack?"
There was no sound response, but only a solemn shake of the head from Billy and Trini. Kim folded her brow, and looked up at Jason, whose eyes were closed in a moment of silence. Kimberly did the same.
All of a sudden, the group turned their heads at the sound of hollering and laughter. Jason nudged his head in the direction of the noise, and Kim, Billy and Trini followed their leader.
Upon reaching him, the teens were amused at the site of Tommy splashing and dancing in a rather large body of water. It looked slightly wider than their own Angel Grove Lake, and they all imagined it was very cool compared to the torturing heat of the mid day sun.
Kim trotted up to Tommy and splashed in the water at his side. She laughed as the rest joined in, and soon they were all drenched and dripping with water.
Jason patted Tommy's back. "Well, I've got to admit, bro. You were right." They laughed, and took a handful of water, splashing their faces with it.
Not to long after the happy find, the water began to lap fiercely along the bank, rippling past the teen's legs. Stepping forward out of the water, the teens became worried.
"What now?" Trini wondered aloud.
"Is it an earthquake?" Kim asked.
Billy shook his head. "This happened to Trini, Zack and I only hours ago, and we wondered the same thing, only to find that it wasn't."
"So what was it?" Jason inquired, balancing himself on the trembling Earth.
The group turned around to find a huge bump begin to form on the water's surface. Slowly, it rose to reveal the head of a scaly creature, not quite the size of a hot air balloon. It had fierce, glowing red eyes, and armored plates that ran along the back of the neck, much like those of a stegosaurus. As the creature continued to emerge from the water, its form began to look more and more like a tyrannosaurus rex. Its mouth housed a row of sharp, thorn-like teeth. The armored plates continued down to the tip of the tail, but got smaller as they reached the end.
The rangers stumbled backwards as the creature stepped out from the water.
Billy and Trini noted that it was a good many feet taller than the Mastodon, and had no doubt that this creature was much more dangerous.
"Oh..." Kim breathed. "What is that thing?"
Jason and Tommy looked at each other. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Tommy asked.
Jason nodded, still shocked at seeing a real form of the green ranger's zord. "Come on, guys! We have to get out of here, now!" Jason had to shout above the roar of the dragon that threatened their lives.
They began to retreat from the waterside, but were stopped when the creature's long tail blocked their way. They moved left to the only opening that remained for them to escape through, but turned again to see the tail thrash into Tommy and send him flying back into the water with a great splash.
"TOMMY!" Kimberly screamed. She would have rushed to his side, were it not for Jason holding her back. She cried out again as the tail lifted his somewhat conscious body from the water and catapulted him in the air. He crashed against a tree, and fell to the foot of the trunk.
Kim's eyes glazed over in tears as she and the rest observed his limp body lie motionless on the warm ground. "We have to do something!" She yelled, pleading with the others.
"Wait," Jason ordered. He noticed the dragon return to the lake, disappearing beneath the murky water. When the coast was clear, Jason let Kim go.
She ran at full speed to where Tommy lay, and she panted his name as she lifted his head on her lap. There was a trickle of blood streaming from the corner of his mouth, but he did not move or make any indication that he was still alive.
"Tommy? Oh Tommy please wake up." Kimberly sniffled, tears running down her face. She framed Tommy's cheeks with her hands, and kissed his forehead with quivering lips. She released sobbing breathes, and the others stopped their approach feet behind her. She bend her upper body forward and leaned her ear against his chest, listening for a heartbeat. Shutting her eyes at its absence, she began to whisper pleads. "No... No, you can't leave. Wake up, Tommy, please wake up... I don't want you to go... don't go, don't go." Her hands clenched his shirt above her head, which still was cushioned by his lifeless chest.
She broke away only when Jason was knelt at her side. Gently replacing Tommy's head on the ground as if not to disturb him from slumber, she buried her face in Jason's shoulder and let his arms hold her trembling body. "How can he just. leave?! Where did that stupid dragon come from? He took Tommy away from us. away from me!" Her arms reached around his neck with her hands balled into fists, and there she let herself cry until no more tears could be shed.
As the friends continued on, Kimberly leaned on Jason, clinging to his arm. Her face was the saddest the others had ever seen it, and she made no attempt to speak as the rest were silent as well. With the death of two beloved friends and team mates behind them, they could only imagine what was to lie ahead.