Chapter 16- Choices

Jason swung a side kick to knock one of the Tyrannodrones back into another, praying that Tommy could reach Kimberly in time. He felt scaly hands grip his arms as two drones tried to pull him off his feet but he used their support as leverage to push himself off the ground and kick a third drone in the chest before flipping back over to land behind the two holding him. The creatures glanced between each other confused and Jason took the opportunity to push the two together, their heads banging and effectively knocking them both out.

He heard the squeak of the gymnasium's doors opening and turned to see three teenagers in the all too familiar colours of Red, Blue and Yellow. These were the latest Power Rangers that Tommy had told him about, he was sure of it.

Conner, Ethan and Kira stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the group of Tyrannodrones surrounding what looked to be another Ranger. They had pursued their teacher when he had not returned, able to slip out with the chaos in the classroom as a cover. They wondered if it was something to do with Kim, and now they knew it. They each did a double-take at the figure in Red and then recognised the armour from Dr. O's video diary.

"The Red Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger…" Conner breathed, his eyes wide.

"Whoah." Ethan gaped, a star struck smile on his face.

"Well don't just stand there, let's help him!" Kira reminded them. The other two shook themselves out of it and Conner looked at his companions.

"Ready?"

"Ready!" They affirmed.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up! Ha!"

The three rushed towards the group and began taking out as many drones as they could manage.

"Hey newbies, nice of you to drop in." Jason quipped as he slashed at the drones with the Power Sword. He kept a closer watch on the newest Red Ranger, observing how the junior worked. A little rough around the edges, but it wasn't too shabby.

"Where are Dr O and Kimberly?" The Blue Ranger queried, glancing around as he blocked an attack with his Tricera-shield.

"Out in the lot, I promised to keep these guys company." Jason explained. Suddenly an anguished cry that the four of them unmistakably knew ripped through the air, silencing the battle.

"KIMBERLY!"

"Shit." Jason's legs suddenly felt a lot weaker, Kim had explained what the consequences of her capture would be for herself and the earth, he refused to believe it, Tommy had followed her, Tommy would have never allowed-

"No!" He snarled, running towards Zeltrax with his Power Sword raised.

"It is accomplished!" Zeltrax leered triumphantly, his arms raised in celebration. As Jason lunged to skewer the Cyborg, he and the Tyrannodrones disappeared in a flash of green light.

"No!!!" He cried again in frustration staring at the empty space Zeltrax had occupied.

"Oh my god." Kira muttered, "They've got Kim?"

"Power down!" Conner disengaged his uniform and numbly his team-mates followed suit and made their way out into the parking lot. Jason silently demorphed and followed the teens, coming upon a still morphed Tommy on his knees, his helmet resting against the concrete, his posture the embodiment of despair.

"Tommy?" Jason crouched down to the level of the man who was his brother in every way but blood, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"She was there, she was right there… and I didn't stop it." His voice was muffled by the helmet, but Jason knew the tone. One he had heard many times before from Tommy. One of guilt.

"Tommy man, it wasn't your fault." Abruptly, the Black Ranger's suit disintegrated in a flash, and Tommy's hardened eyes met Jason's.

"It was my fault! I wasn't fast enough, I wasn't there when I said I would be. I failed her."

The three teens had never heard their mentor speak in such a manner before, so hollow and angry and shameful all at once. It made them afraid. They stood a little behind the two older men, the two most legendary Rangers, the original leader and his successor, the longest serving of all of them, and they could just make out the words that they weren't sure they should be hearing.

"Bro, you're talking like you've given up, like she's gone for good. It's not over." Jason reminded Tommy firmly. The palaeontologist's jaw tightened and he stood, his eyes cold and determined.

"You're right. It's not."

"Tommy!!"

The scream that had been in her mouth when she had been dragged into the darkness erupted now as she woke, shooting up from her position on the floor and instantly regretting it as her vision and stomach lurched. It was cold, freezing cold and her head felt like it had been split in half. Kim groaned, pulling her eyes completely open and fighting the urge to retch. She noticed that she was no longer clothed in her protective Ninja robes, her unconcious form had obviously been unable to sustain the Crane's representation and had demorphed her once she blacked out. Her head pounded but she supposed that was a handy side effect of being choked into unconsciousness by a Terminator wannabe. She looked around, adjusting her eyes to the darkness of the cell she was evidently being kept in. Feeling the floor she deduced the room was built from metal, and groggily she stood and made her way over to the miniscule window cut into the back wall, peering out and seeing nothing on the horizon but a morbid expanse of black waves writhing into the distance. It appeared that wherever her cell was situated was built into sharp rocks on what appeared to be the top of a mountain if the steep slope was anything to go by. The air was thick and a heavy mist hung outside, making visibility difficult if not impossible.

She stumbled over to the other side of the room where the door was, a small chink of light from a peephole highlighting a tiny square on the floor from where it shone on the other side. She looked through the small hole but the bright light pained her eye and she recoiled, blinking furiously. She raised her fist and hammered on the door, noisily and insistently.

"Let me out! Let me go! Let me out of here!" She yelled, her palm beginning to hurt from the heavy blows.

Suddenly the room was illuminated as the door slid open. Kim lost her balance, almost blissfully falling out of the cell into the hallway, but was pushed back by a pair of cold hands, sending her toppling to the ground rather painfully.

She glanced up and her breath caught in her throat, the Matrix-reject stood with a smirk beside a large creature, humanoid in shape but with the features of a lizard or dinosaur. Beady red eyes squinted at her from the bulbous head and his jaw was open in a leer showing rows of jagged little teeth. He was clothed in dark robes and where hands should be were three clawed fingers with gnarled and leathery skin. So this was Mesogog. Suddenly the jokes that she had made about him in the safety of Tommy's basement didn't seem so funny anymore. She resisted the urge to swallow nervously and steeling herself, looked him in the eye.

"Ah, Pink Ranger…how nice of you to…join us." The creature smirked, his rasping voice sending a shiver up her spine. He was far more sinister and threatening than Lord Zedd had been, and that was saying something. The power radiated from him in waves, and he regarded her with a piercing gaze that seemed to bore right into her soul.

"And you must be the nephew of Godzilla, twice removed." She returned weakly, backing away from him as he stepped into the room, followed by his lackey.

"Ah the legendary…human 'wit'…I can see why you and Dr Oliver get on so well." Mesogog sneered.

"I suppose the good Doctor has…informed you of your fate. You should feel honoured…that your untimely demise will bring about the destruction… of your world, and the birth…of mine. Sss sss sss." He chuckled vindictively.

"Well I'm sorry to say that I'm not really that thrilled actually, kinda, puts a damper on my life y'know?" Kim snapped coldly. "Why are you psychos all the same, you all want to rule the world. Hello? Get a real job!"

"I am going to enjoy…ending your existence, almost as much as I'll enjoy destroying Oliver and his pathetic excuses… for Rangers." Mesogog smirked toothily.

"Stay the hell away from them!" Kim growled, stepping up towards him, smelling the putrid stench of his breath and clenching her teeth trying to ignore the smell.

"You…are in no position to be making demands…I think it is time, you learned your place." The creature hissed, and Kim felt the pain in her head increase tenfold, as if fiery fingers were sinking their claws into her skull. She cried out and fell to her knees, clutching her head, trembling.

"You have a morning appointment…with the life force extractor…sleep well." Mesogog laughed sadistically, ending the energy blast he was hitting Kim with and exiting the room with Elsa. He locked the heavy door, plunging the Pink Ranger into darkness and despair once more.

The mood was sombre back at the Rangers' base, the three teens still shocked by Kim's capture and their mentor's unpredictable temperament. What would have otherwise been a joyous and excited atmosphere what with the first Red Ranger's appearance was tainted with worry and doubt. Hayley sat at the computer consoles trying to find a way to break past Mesogog's defences and gain access to his island fortress. So far all the invisi-portals seemed locked and hidden, Mesogog seemed to be risking nothing this time, having learnt from numerous past mistakes. Jason stood leaning against a pillar, watching Tommy pace like a caged lion.

"Tommy man, you've got to calm down. Stressing yourself out isn't gonna help Kim. You're worrying the kids." He added quietly. At Jason's words Tommy glanced towards his students, who all seemed tense and nervous, looking at their teacher warily.

"I'm sorry guys." His tone was softer and guilt replaced the anger in his eyes, and Jason felt like tearing his hair out in frustration at the sight.

"It's fine Dr O, we're all worried about Kimberly." Conner reassured him, speaking for his team. But that was the problem, they were all worried about Kim, so why was Tommy treating it like the pain was his exclusively? They all cared about the Pink Ranger and he had no right to ignore their feelings in favour of his own. He internally chided himself for his selfish behaviour.

Outwardly Tommy nodded and managed a faint smile before moving to look over Hayley's shoulder.

"Anything yet?" He asked for what must've been the seventh time in the past few minutes.

"No Tommy, otherwise I would have told you." Hayley replied curtly, instantly regretting being sharp with him, after all, she was the one who had forced him to confront his feelings about Kim earlier, started him questioning his emotions and now he was even more confused and feeling the loss of Kimberly even more deeply.

"Well what do we know?" Jason asked with a frown, not knowing the intricacies of invisi-portals or the consequences of a life-force extractor, though he could hazard a pretty good guess from the name let alone what Kim had told him.

Tommy sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "We know that Mesogog is planning on using the life-force extractor to take Kimberly's energy, specifically that of the spirit of the Crane. This energy has enormous potential and as such would present Mesogog with more than enough power to annihilate humanity and destroy civilisation completely, so that he could bring about a second age of the dinosaurs and rule. If he succeeds, at best, Kim would…die, and at worst, she would continue 'living', without heart or soul, nothing but a shell, robbed of her mind." Tommy's voice was strained as he spoke, the realisation of the danger Kim was in hitting him with the force of a tank. When he spoke again his voice was small and lost, and the teens had to strain to hear.

"I can't do this again."

He shook his head and turned, retreating hastily up the stairs and the three Rangers glanced between Hayley and Jason in bewilderment.

"What did he mean, what can't he do again?" Kira queried, and the three settled their gaze on Jason expectantly. The first Red Ranger, unprepared for their scrutiny and unsure how much to tell them, sighed and came to stand in front of them, deciding the truth couldn't hurt the situation.

"Before Kim left Angel Grove and being a Ranger for the Pan Global Games, there were some unfortunate events which led to her Power Coin being stolen. Our Power Coins were like your Dino Gems, we needed them to morph into our full Ranger forms, and with Kim's stolen, she began to weaken, and the drain on her powers caused her to faint or collapse. This led to her being captured by Lord Zedd, who tried to drain her powers for good. Tommy rescued her, but her confidence was severely shaken and she was still missing her Coin. She thought that she'd lose the Powers for good and it depressed her a lot. And of course Tommy felt guilty for not protecting her and rescuing her in time, and knew how she was feeling since he had lost the Green Ranger Powers that way. Their love was always so strong back then, but Tommy always put Kim above himself, just like she put him above herself. When she left it was really hard on the both of them." Jason had been glad not to witness the events leading to Kim's departure as a Ranger- the thought of seeing his oldest friend in danger always terrified him, much as it did now- but in some ways he wished he could have been there to support her, having been told everything by Billy and later Tommy.

The teens were stunned. "So Dr. O and Kimberly were together, I knew it!" Conner nodded, with a small smirk

Jason's eyes widened, "You, uh, you guys didn't know that already?"

"No, Dr. O and Kim never told us, they always changed the subject and acted all innocent!" Ethan shook his head.

Jason winced, Tommy probably wouldn't be thrilled to find out he was dishing all the dirt about their pasts to his students, but then again the look on his face would probably be worth it. That was, of course after they'd rescued Kimberly. It certainly wasn't an 'if' they rescued her, he would not allow what had happened to Tommy to happen to Kim. Jason still harboured the guilt of having to leave Tommy's green candle in the hands of Goldar and Rita in the Dark Dimension, the grief Tommy's power loss had caused could never be undone, and it would never have happened if Jason had been faster or more determined in fighting Goldar… he snapped himself from his brooding, one guilt-laden Ranger was enough in this household, and it wasn't getting Kimberly back any faster.

"They weren't only 'together', they were completely in love and totally devoted to each other." Jason amended hastily, dismissing the relationship was probably a worse idea than denying it altogether.

"So what happened?" Kira prodded.

"That is a question for another day." Jason held his hands up and told them firmly. "You need to stay focused here, one of our own is in danger and we need to help her. Don't lose sight of that."

The three had been told and nodded determinedly, Ethan and Kira hurrying to help Hayley scan for weaknesses in Mesogog's defences.

Conner observed Jason with veiled admiration and Jason raised a brow when he caught sight of the younger's expression.

"What rookie?" He asked with a small smile.

"I just, didn't think I'd ever meet you, the first Red Ranger." The boy shook his head. "I mean, you were chosen, I only received my Powers by accident when I touched something I shouldn't have." He sighed. "Dr O would never have picked me if he had the choice. The gem chose me. It must have felt great to be handpicked to defend the Earth."

Jason frowned, trying to recall from his more recent conversations with Tommy the circumstances of the Rangers accepting the Powers.

"Hey champ, follow me." Jason withdrew to another corner of the lab, the newest of his successors trailing after him. Jason sat on one of the packing crates and motioned for Conner to do the same. Tommy had had the opportunity to dispense words of wisdom to his new team, but it seemed like Conner needed a little extra help from the original and best. He chuckled internally at his own superiority complex and sighed, wondering how to approach such a subject.

"Did you ever stop to think that the gem chose you for a reason? It bonded to you, to no-one else. Even if Tommy didn't pick you himself, the fact that the Dino Gem did is a good enough reason for you to believe in yourself. It wouldn't have bonded with anyone else but you Conner, that means that it saw something inside of you that felt right, that showed you to be a worthy Ranger and leader. Life is about choices, as much as it is about our destiny. You were meant to receive that gem, but it was your choice to become a Ranger, you could have walked away. You didn't. That proves that you were the right man for the job. And I know that Tommy is proud of you, and that your team trusts you. I was chosen by Zordon, yes, and in the end I also chose to walk away, to give up being a Ranger to pursue new things. And I regretted that for a long time, but my decision was the right one and it benefited me in the end. In fact, all of the original team of Rangers walked out on Zordon when we were first given our Powers, but in the end we realised our responsibility and the benefits that being a Ranger would provide, like defending the Earth and protecting the people we loved and then it was an easy choice."

Conner looked up in surprise at this, not imagining that the first team of Rangers would ever reconsider their roles, but he understood, as they were as human as he was. He smiled, comforted by this knowledge as Jason continued.

"We are shaped by the choices we make Conner. Sometimes we make the wrong ones, and we learn from them, and sometimes we make the right ones and we triumph from them. But that gem made the right choice when it bonded with you, and you made the right choice by accepting your duty." He squeezed the younger man's shoulder, seeing himself in his earlier days, cocky, talented and determined, but only human, with the same doubts and insecurities as everyone else.

"I may have found a way to get through Mesogog's barriers." Hayley announced and the two red Rangers turned, stood and hurried to the console.

"If I'm right, we may be able to slip through a crack in his walls and get Kim out."

"I'll go and get Tommy." Jason nodded, relief flowing through him. As long as there was a chance, a way to get to Kimberly he knew that they would succeed, he and Tommy would both be prepared to do whatever it took to rescue her. He only hoped they didn't arrive too late.