A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry it took so long for the update, I was on vacation and I just started a summer job so I haven't had a lot of free time.
Setting: A few weeks after Green No More and a little after White Light.
Chapter 3
The first few weeks after Tommy lost his powers were awful. I was furious with myself. If I would have tried just a little harder, I could have had that candle, and we would still be a team of six.
Instead, we were a team of five again, and I blamed myself. Every time I thought about Tommy's last battle, I kept telling myself that it was all my fault and I was a failure. It didn't matter that Tommy told me he didn't blame me for anything, or that Zordon
understood that I had to make a tough decision and told me I was still a good leader. In my mind, everything was my fault. It had been my responsibility to retrieve that candle, and I had let Tommy and everyone else down.
Trini had told me that I put too much pressure on myself and took the role of leader too far. But I didn't believe her. I thought that I wasn't putting enough pressure on myself. If was a better or stronger leader, I would have pulled through for my team. I wouldn't have put my best friend in jeopardy and caused him to lose his powers. I would have saved Tommy and kept our team of six together. But I didn't. I had made the worst decision of my life, and now I was paying for it.
I tried everything to make myself feel better. I was constantly punching at the punching bag or practicing with the tackling dummy to let out my frustrations. I ran for miles and lifted weights. When none of that helped, I tried reading that book I had bought a while ago with Kim. But that didn't work, either. The only thing that seemed to have some kind of effect on me was another quote from the list - "When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes out of it."
Well, I had made the mistake almost a month ago and still nothing good had happened. I had decided to submit an application to the peace conference in Switzerland, which had probably been the best decision I've made over the past couple of months, but the "something good" that I really wanted - for Tommy to have another chance at being a Ranger - still hadn't happened.
Then, only about two or three days after I reread the list, Billy came to the rest of us with a shocking discovery. Zordon was creating a new Ranger.
This was not the "something good" I was expecting. I wanted Tommy back on our team, I didn't want a completely new Ranger.
But, boy, was I in for a surprise.
When Tommy removed his white helmet, I was shocked. I almost fainted like Kim did, but luckily I composed myself. I listened to Zordon explain that Tommy would become the new leader, which came as a relief to me because I was desperately hoping to be selected for the World Teen Summit.
So the "something good" had finally happened, and it even had a bonus with it. It didn't matter that my leadership was being taken away from me and given to someone else. I would miss it and it would take a lot of getting used to, especially if I wasn't picked for the Summit and wouldn't have to leave, but it was worth it to have Tommy back.
Over the next couple of days, the guilt I had felt slowly started to fade. It felt so good to be a team of six again, to have my "bro" back on the team again. Things were different now, though. Tommy was wearing a different color and commanded a different Zord. He had a different way of leading the team and used different strategies. He gave different orders and handled things differently.
But in a way, things were still exactly the same.
And that was the 'something good' I had hoped for.