Friend
Different Directions 4
By Daylight
Hand still clenching the door handle, Tommy stared at the second drenched figure to have appeared on his doorstep that evening.
"Kimberly," he whispered again. Behind him, he heard the others gather round, all too stunned to say anything.
Dripping with rain, Kimberly stood with a nervous expression on her face and a large bag slung over her shoulder. "Surprise?" Her voice broke the others out of their trance. Ignoring the fact that she was still soaking wet, Adam, Billy, Rocky, Jason and Katherine gathered Kimberly into a group hug while the others stood back, each uncertain for different reasons.
Finally, Kimberly gasped out, "Guys, I missed you too, but I'm freezing my butt off out here."
They laughed and hurried her inside making quick introductions for Andros and Tanya on the way. Still in shock, Tommy stood eyes gazing unfocused at the rain glistening in the lamplight. Eventually, he took a deep breath, shut the door and joined the others.
ooooo
Later the dried rangers were gathered in the warm family room enjoying a second round of cocoa. Kimberly, looking little different from when she had left a year ago, stayed the centre of attention among her old friends who had yet to ask why she was there. Rocky soon gave out under his overwhelming curiosity.
"So Kim, what brings you back to Angel Grove? The Pan Globals are only a month away."
Kimberly smiled. "I decided to take some time off before I began some serious training."
Rocky raised a disbelieving eyebrow at the overenthusiastic gymnast and she looked down, smirking in slight embarrassment.
"Ok! Ok! Coach Smidt decided I needed the break."
They laughed and soon were caught up in a conversation about what had happened while Kim had been gone.
It was during this conversation that Adam felt something tug at his shoe. He looked down in confusion to find one of the kittens attacking his laces. He gently pushed it away and returned his concentration to the conversation, but it was only a few seconds before he felt the tug again. Adam sighed. This time he picked up the kitten and placed it on the arm of the chair he was sitting on, hopping it would stay there. Unfortunately, the kitten quickly jumped down. Adam watched it carefully, but it only had eyes for his shoes. The black kitten lay flat; it's chin to the floor, its tail twitching. Not a single yellow eye blinked before it pounced back on to Adam's shoe. He groaned as the others who had noticed the spectacle laughed.
Trying to hide her grin, Tanya watched the black kitten chewing Adam's shoelaces. "I think we'd better get them something to eat."
"Good idea." Tommy got up and headed for the kitchen. "I'll see what's in the fridge."
"They need names," exclaimed Kat suddenly.
Adam detached the black kitten from his shoe and lifted it up until it was at eye level with him. He stared into its eyes. It blinked back at him.
"Ninja," he declared. "What do you think, Andros?"
"Sounds good."
"What about that one?" asked Tanya pointing to the kitten Andros had been silently stroking on his lap.
Andros looked down at the calico. "Karone."
The others didn't questioned Andros' choice and the silence that followed was soon interrupted by the return of Tommy.
"Dinner is served," announced Tommy as he entered the room and laid a dish of tuna fish on the floor. The kittens' little noses went up as they smelled the fish and quickly headed over.
An orange and white kitten that was slightly bigger than the rest reached the food first. He immediately stuck his nose in and began to eat. When he finally looked up, his nose and face were covered in tuna. Laughing, Kat picked him up so the other kittens could have some.
"I've got the perfect name for this one," she decided holding tightly to the squirming cat. "Bulk."
Jason grinned. "That's perfect."
Names were tossed back and forth for the other two, but nothing was settled before they decided it was time to turn in. They separated, going off to their own homes agreeing to meet at the Youth Centre the next day. Katherine invited Kimberly stay at her house and Tommy's eyes followed them as they left.
"Tommy?" Andros had seen how strangely Tommy had been acting towards their surprise guest. He looked away and back at the Red Zeo Ranger, fumbling in his mind for something to say. "Are you alright?" he finally asked.
"I'm okay." Tommy took a deep breath as he continued to stare out the window after the shadows of the two girls. "It's just… Kimberly and I used to be very close. Then she sent me a letter saying that she had met someone else while she was away training. We haven't talked since." Running a hand through his long hair, he shook his head. "I…. I just don't know how to act around her now." Glancing over at Andros, he asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," replied Andros automatically.
Raising his eyebrows, Tommy stared at his fellow red ranger.
Andros sighed. "I'm better."
Tommy clapped him on the back. "I'm glad to hear it. Listen Andros, I know you've had a tough time, but we're here for you if you need us. Ok?"
Giving a small smile, Andros nodded. "Sure."
"Good. Now, help me find a place for these kittens before my parents come home. I don't want them tripping over them as they arrive."
Tommy was pleased to see Andros' smile widen.
ooooo
Bracing himself against the wind, Adam trudged along the muddy sidewalk marvelling at the changes in the world around him. Though it was already 10:30 that morning, it was still dark, the sun blocked behind a barrier of dark clouds that spread across the entire sky. Streams of water were falling from the clouds leaving the ground utterly saturated, puddles were everywhere. The strength of the wind bent the trees threatening to break them. The ground was already covered by the leaves and braches, which had fallen to its power. The streets were virtually empty. Few people dared to leave their homes in this storm.
Adam was very relieved when he finally saw the Angel Grove Youth Centre. Shaking as much water off himself as he could, the Green Zeo Ranger quickly opened and closed the door. Inside he sighed glad of the warmth, the storm now a just a dull roar behind him. After removing his dark green poncho, underneath which he had remained relatively dry, he glanced down at his feet and groaned. The ends of his jeans and his black tennis shoes were soaked. He took a step forward and felt the water in his socks squelch. He grimaced. Following a fresh trail of wet footprints, he joined Tanya, Kat, Rocky, Kim and Jason at their favourite table and collapsed into a chair.
Leaning forward, Rocky grinned at him. "Glad to be out of that rain?"
"I think I brought some of it with me," replied Adam looking down at his soaked shoes.
Jason glanced down at his own sodden feet that were only just starting to dry.
"I know what you mean."
"Can you believe this storm?" exclaimed Tanya. "Most businesses have closed."
"Yeah, we're lucky Ernie decided to keep the Youth Centre open," added Kat.
Ernie placed a hot drink in front of Adam. "My pleasure."
With a grateful sigh, Adam wrapped his frozen fingers around the warm mug. "Thanks, Ernie. We really appreciate it."
"No problem. But I must admit you'll most likely be my only customers today."
Rocky nodded. "Most people are smart enough not to go out in this weather."
Jason smirked. "And we're not?" Everyone laughed.
"I'll go get a mop to clean off this floor." Ernie headed for the back.
"Do you think the others are okay?" questioned Kim glancing at the door.
"I'm sure they're fine," assured Jason. "If they weren't, they'd have used their communicators to contact us."
"It's just Tommy's lateness rubbing off again," joked Rocky.
The rangers laughed, but during their ensuing conversation, they continued to glance towards the door for their friends and at the windows to keep track of the raging storm outside.
ooooo
Tommy's feet sunk into the muddy ground, as he pondered whether it had been wise to take his usual route to the Youth Centre. It was a beautiful part of Angel Grove Park, but already the wind had broken off many of the branches and had even knocked down a few of the trees.
"Being a ranger does not make you indestructible, Tommy," he told himself, but decided he could morph or teleport if something went seriously wrong.
The rain came pouring down from every direction, so even with his red raincoat he was soaked. He groaned as water seeped into his boots from a particularly deep puddle.
"Ranger!"
Tommy quickly looked around, the wind whipping long strands of wet hair into his face. He couldn't find the source of the sound, but he knew it meant trouble. Keeping his back to a tree, he continued to scrutinize the area while he carefully twisted his wrists. An inhuman laughter distorted by the wind came to his ears. Definitely trouble, he thought to himself.
"It's morphing time!" he cried raising his arms into to position. "Zeo rang…" He stopped as cold, clawed hands grabbed his wrists tearing off his morpher.
ooooo
It was as Tanya was glancing at the door that Billy burst in, water pouring off his blue raincoat.
"I'd better get the mop out again," sighed Ernie heading once more into the back.
The rangers didn't notice, their eyes intent on the grave look on Billy's face.
"Billy, what's wrong?" asked Tanya.
Billy opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, the power went out leaving them in darkness. The rangers scrambled to their feet, knocking over chairs and mugs before their eyes adjusted to the dim light coming from the windows. A loud crash followed by a curse came from the back of the Youth Centre.
"Ernie, are you okay?" shouted Adam.
"I'm fine," replied Ernie as he came limping out. "I just tripped over something back there. You guys should head home. The storms getting worse and you don't want to be stuck here."
Kat put a hand on his shoulder. "Will you be alright?"
Smiling, Ernie reassuringly patted her hand. "I'll be fine. I've got plenty supplies here and I don't mind spending the night. Besides, I'd like to keep the Youth Centre open in case some poor soul gets trapped in the storm."
"Ernie's right." Billy pointedly looked into the eyes of all his friends. "I think we should leave."
The rangers nodded in understanding. They said goodbye to Ernie, but stopped just by the door.
"I'll call Tommy." Jason reached for his communicator.
Billy placed his hand over Jason's, stopping him. "It won't work."
"What?"
"That's what I came to tell you. The communicators aren't working. We can't even teleport."
"What's causing it?" asked Rocky.
"It's this storm," replied Billy. "It's creating some sort of electrical interference."
"Wait." Kimberly raised her hands. "How can a simple storm be causing this much interference?"
It was Jason who replied. "This isn't any ordinary storm."
Adam frowned. "How do you know?"
"I've lived in Angel Grove my whole life. There's never been anything even close to this."
"He's right," Billy agreed. "The readings from the atmospheric equipment in my lab are anything but normal."
"The Machine Empire." Rocky slammed his fist into his palm.
"Or Rita and Zedd," put in Tanya.
"Do you think something could have happened to Tommy and Andros?" questioned Kat.
"I don't know," replied Jason. "But we'd better go to Tommy's and make sure they're alright. Maybe if we're lucky, they've already figured out what's going on."
ooooo
Tommy twisted out of his raincoat then ducked and rolled out of the monster's reach. He got back up in time to see the monster throw away his morphers into a dense patch of trees. It was too dark to see where it went and Tommy didn't have time to look.
The monster was covered in black scales and had a grey cloak over his shoulders. He blended in with the background of the storm not seeming to mind the wind or pouring rain. He was big and heavily built but scarcely impressive to Tommy who had seen so many monsters before.
Tommy ducked as the monster swung his fist at him and tried to get a kick in. He was blocked, but he swiftly punched a vulnerable spot and backed off.
The Monster growled. "Ranger!"
Not the most intelligent of monsters, thought Tommy. He changed his mind a moment later. Tommy was preparing to defend himself as the monster charged, but was surprised when instead of attacking him, the monster pushed him backwards. He felt his feet slip on the mud and suddenly the mud slipped out from beneath him. He fell finally landing with a splash into a large puddle. Luckily, though he was now covered in muck, he hadn't injured himself in the fall, but as he looked around, he found himself at the bottom of a deep pit. He heard evil laughter and looked up. A sudden flash of lightening illuminated the monster's silhouette against the dark sky, and then it was gone.
Tommy pressed his communicator trying to teleport out of there. Nothing happened. He tried to reach the Power Chamber, but heard only static. He was on his own.
ooooo
The drenched rangers arrived at Tommy's house without running into Tommy or Andros. They knocked on the door which was answered my Tommy's mother, Charlotte, flashlight in hand.
"Come in! Come in!" She opened the door wide then quickly shut it behind them. "What possessed you to go out on a day like this?"
"We're looking for Tommy and Andros," explained Jason pulling his hood back. "We were supposed to meet them at the Youth Centre this morning."
Mrs. Oliver frowned. "Tommy left to meet you over an hour ago."
The rangers shared a concerned glance.
"What about Andros?" asked Tanya.
"I'm right here." Andros came down from upstairs wrapped in some of Tommy's old clothes and seeming a bit pale in the dim light. "Tommy decided it was better that I didn't go out in the storm."
"Andros' just caught a bit of a cold." Charlotte gazed worriedly out of the window. "I don't know how Tommy could have missed you. I hope he didn't get lost in the storm."
"I'm sure he just took a different route to the Youth Centre," assured Kat. "He's probably waiting there for the storm to calm down."
"I'm sure you're right," Mrs. Oliver sighed. "Just my mothering instincts going on overtime again." She turned and smiled at her guests. "You're welcome to stay here till the storm passes."
"Thanks," replied Adam.
"There aren't many flashlights, but I've been placing candles around all the rooms so we'll have some light. Now, I must go. I have some work I need to do that not even this storm will get me out of. Feel free to help yourselves to anything you need."
After Tommy's mother left, the rangers settled themselves in the Oliver's family room. A large window on one wall gave them a clear view of the storm. The wind and rain pounded outside, the dulled roar a reminder of what was happening.
After they explained things to Andros, they got straight to the point.
"Something must have happened to Tommy," Kimberly insisted.
Kat bit her lip. "We have to find him."
"But what if it's a trap," questioned Tanya. "Without Zordon and the Power Chamber, we have no way of knowing what's out there."
"Right," agreed Rocky. "There could be tonnes of monsters out there just waiting for us."
A grim expression set on Jason's face. "We don't have a choice."
Adam spoke up. "What if we split up and search the area. That way we can get an idea for what's going on and look for Tommy."
Jason nodded. "Good idea." Hands on hips, he took command. "But no one's going out on their own. We stay in groups. Billy, will the morphers be at all affected by the storm's interference?"
"It shouldn't cause any problems."
"Ok, this is what we'll do. Adam and Tanya will search Angel Grove Park. Kat and Rocky will search around the neighbouring houses. Andros and I will check the warehouse district and downtown. Look for anything out of the ordinary, but don't confront any monsters. We'll meet back here in two hours. Then we'll either face it together or continue searching."
Billy was about to protest, but Kim beat him to it. "What about us? We want to help too."
"It's too dangerous," contended Adam.
"We won't be fighting."
"No," asserted Jason. "Something might go wrong. We can't risk it."
Andros who had remained quiet during the whole conversation suddenly sneezed. The others turned towards him.
"I don't think Andros should go," declared Billy.
Rocky frowned. "It's only a cold."
"To us, but Andros has never been exposed to Earth born diseases before. We can't be sure how his body will react. The fact that he has only just recovered from his recent injuries doesn't help either."
"I feel fine," Andros protested.
"But it's dangerous, you're system hasn't the antibodies to fight Earth diseases, right?"
"Yes, but…"
"He's right," interrupted Jason. "You will stay here. All of you." He glanced pointedly at Billy and Kimberly. The two shared a look but nodded in resignation.
"Alright. Let's move out."
ooooo
"Tommy!"
"Tommy!"
Knowing their eyesight wasn't at its best, Kat and Rocky shouted into the storm. They could only hope they'd be heard over its roar. They had been walking along the residential streets of Angel Grove for awhile and had yet to see any sign of their missing leader. Very few people were out. Those that were were rushing to get to shelter.
"Do you suppose he stopped off at one of our houses on the way?" asked Kat loudly.
"He might have," replied Rocky, also shouting to be heard. "We can call to see if he's there when we get back."
Passing a hand across her face, Kat wiped the rainwater out of her eyes. She was glad her hair was tied up or it would have been whipping her in the face. Rocky, of course, didn't have to worry about that problem, but his short raincoat left his jeans soaking wet.
A sudden splash and crash came from ahead of them. They ran forward hoping it was Tommy, but instead found Bulk and Skull sitting on their backsides on the wet pavement.
"What are you guys doing out here?" questioned Rocky as he and Kat helped them up.
"Detective Stone wants us to make sure the office isn't damaged in the storm," answered Bulk shaking the excess water off of him like a dog. Rocky and Kat hastily backed away. "What are you guys doing?"
"We're looking for Tommy. Have you seen him?" Katherine replied gazing at them hopefully.
Trying to remove the water from his ears, Skull smacked the side of his head. "Nah."
"Have you seen anything else? Anything unusual?" asked Rocky.
"We're the only ones crazy enough to come out in this storm."
Bulk grabbed Skull's arm and pulled him away. "Come on Skull. Let's get out of here."
The detectives headed off to their office slipping and sliding along the wet sidewalk while Kat and Rocky continued on with their fruitless search.
ooooo
"Why not?" shouted Kimberly.
Andros jumped at the sound. Sitting up, he rubbed his eye realizing he had fallen asleep on the couch. As he looked up, he found Kim and Billy facing each other in the middle of the room. Kim had been glaring at Billy, but she turned towards Andros and Billy followed her gaze. Suddenly, they both looked guilty.
"I'm so sorry, Andros," Kimberly apologized. "We didn't mean to wake you."
"Are you feeling okay?" asked Billy.
"Yeah. Actually, I feel a lot better. My nap must have helped cure me of that 'cold'"
"That's great."
Yawning, Andros rubbed his forehead. "What were you arguing about?"
"Kimberly thinks she can find Tommy," Billy explained with a tired sigh.
"How?"
Kim sat down next to Andros on the couch. "There's a special route we used to take from his house to the Youth Centre. He might have gone that way."
"In this weather?"
"I don't know, but something could have happened to him while on that route."
"And if he's fighting a monster he could be anywhere by now," contended Billy.
"I'm sorry I shouted at you, Billy." The former pink ranger turned to look out at the downpour. "I just hate not being able to help out."
"I understand, but if something happened to Tommy, something could just as easily happen to you too. And he's the one with a morpher."
Getting up, Kimberly gave Billy a hug. "Nothing is going to happen to me."
"Right," replied Billy as he laid his hands on her shoulders gazing down at her. "Because you're not going out there."
They stood eyes locked; then, Billy let go, his arms falling to his sides. Smiling, Kimberly turned away and left the room. A few minutes later, Andros and Billy heard the front door open and slam shut.
"You're letting her go?"
Sighing, Billy sat down. "There's nothing I can do or say to stop her. Besides, I understand how frustrating it is to be powerless when a friend is in trouble."
"Then why didn't you go with her?"
"Because I'm used to being left behind," Billy whispered his gaze distant. Turning towards the Red Astro Ranger, he put an arm around his shoulders. "Anyway, someone has to be here to look after you."
Andros simply groaned.
ooooo
"Tommy!" Tanya 's voice refracted through the trees as she shivered. This wasn't the type of weather she was used to. Adam put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She smiled back, until her foot sunk into another large pile of mud.
"Ugh!"
"Aren't you glad Kat lent you those boots?"
Laughing, Tanya extracted her foot from the clinging muck.
Suddenly, there was a flash and a loud bang leaving them temporarily blind and deaf. Their senses returned in time for them to see a tree, which had stood a few metres in front of them, crash onto the ground in flames. The two rangers jumped back.
As they held on to each other, Adam whispered, "I hope Tommy wasn't…"
"I'm sure he's alright."
As they watched, the flames on the tree died in the rain.
ooooo
Billy glanced unseeingly out the window. In his head, he went through the possibility that the storm, the interference of their communicators and the disappearance of Tommy could all be a coincidence, that none of their many enemies were involved. With a deep breath, he concluded that they couldn't be that lucky.
Turning away from the window, Billy found Andros playing with one of the kittens, the one he had named Karone. The calico kitten was intently watching the phone cord Andros had been dangling in front of her nose. Quickly, he pulled it away. Her tail twitched then she pounced. Flopping on to her side, Karone happily started chewing. Not wanting the telephone cord to be destroyed, Andros picked her up. The kitten let go of the cord, but having been driven slightly wild by the teasing was not in a mood to cuddle. She wriggled out of Andros' grasp and jumped onto the table on which the phone sat. Spying the cord, she attacked again. It was a small jump, but the mug half full of tea unfortunately sitting a little too close to the edge, was pushed off.
As the cup fell, Billy grimaced knowing the outcome considering neither he nor Andros could reach it in time, but when the mug was still several inches from the ground it stopped. It stopped and it started to go back up.
"What on Earth?" exclaimed Billy. He glanced over to see Andros, his eyes half shut, concentrating, two fingers pointed towards the mug as it resettled itself on the table.
"Amazing." Billy picked up the mug, carefully examining it before turning towards Andros. "You did that with your mind?"
Andros nodded.
"Telekinesis," whispered Billy. "I didn't think it was possible At least not for humans."
"It's relatively common on KO-35."
"But how? Are your people born with it?"
"We're taught it when we're very young," Andros sighed. He closed his eyes for a moment forcing back sad memories, but Billy's eyes were too full of questions to notice. Andros reached over and placed Karone on his lap. He slowly stroked her as he tried to answer all of Billy's questions.
ooooo
Tommy shivered. By now, the water was up to his knees and his feet sank into the mud below. A steady waterfall provided by the pouring rain fell over the sides of the hole. Up above, lightening flashed followed by a sudden roar. It gave Tommy a brief glimpse of his surroundings, but there wasn't anything to see except the dark mud.
He dug his fingers into the walls of earth feeling for something to hold onto. Sticking his right hand deep into the slick earth, he placed some weight on it before reaching above with his left hand. He was only off the ground a second before the wall crumbled. He fell back into the growing pool of water as mud rained down upon him.
Tommy brushed his wet, muddy hair from his face. He shivered again, violently. He scrambled to his feet and started walking around in a circle his arms wrapped tightly round himself. It was the only way he knew of to keep warm.
All of a sudden, he stopped and lifted his head. As unlikely as it seemed with the roaring of the wind, he thought he had heard something. It could be the rangers, but he didn't want to risk calling out. That might attract the monster's attention, if the monster was still around. The creature had either decided to leave him for dead or was setting up a trap for the other rangers. Neither idea sounded good to Tommy.
"Tommy…"
This time the Red Zeo Ranger was certain he had heard something and he gave up being cautious. He was desperate for help.
"Over here!"
A moment later, a small flash of pink appeared at the rim of the pit. He caught a glimpse of a beautiful, heart-shaped face framed by dark hair. He had never been more overjoyed to see her.
"Kimberly!"
"Are you alright?"
"At the moment."
The pink figure looked around before calling down again. "I have to get help! I'll be back. I promise."
"Be careful," Tommy shouted back, but she was already gone and he was alone again.
ooooo
Jason's gaze swept the whole district looking among the warehouses for Tommy, but he saw nothing. There was nothing unusual at all, not counting the damage caused by the storm.
"What a time for those damn monsters to break their habit of hanging around abandoned warehouses."
Jason was beyond frustrated. Once again, his best friend was missing and there was nothing he could do. This time being cut off from Zordon, he didn't even have a clue as to what was going on. Glancing at his watch he decided to go back. Hopefully one of the others had found some sign of Tommy.
He was greeted at Tommy's house by the cry of "She did what?" Entering, he found the other rangers gathered around Billy and Andros. He looked over everyone making sure they were all accounted for, a habit left over from when he was leader.
"Where's Kim?"
Billy looked away and Rocky answered for him. "She went to look for Tommy?"
"What?"
"She thought she might know which route he took to the Youth Centre," explained Billy.
"Damn," Jason cursed, angry and worried that another of his friends could be hurt. He was trying to figure out what to do next when the door opened.
"I've found him!" shouted Kimberly.
ooooo
The rangers, Kimberly, Billy and Andros included, set out marching towards Angel Grover Park through the storm, Jason and Kimberly in front. Having got rid of their bulky coats, ponchos and umbrellas, they were ready to fight. The rain had completely soaked them, but they no longer cared. They were going to rescue their friend.
As they reached the pit, Kimberly rushed forward and the others followed. Rocky, Adam, Tanya, and Katherine spread out forming a protective circle they're backs to the pit as they watched for any danger. Kimberly knelt at the edge. Jason held on to her shoulder making sure she wouldn't slip on the muddy ground and join Tommy in the hole. Andros and Billy stood on either side of them as they all looked down.
They spotted Tommy's mud soaked form leaning against one of the pit's crumbling walls a steady shower of water flowing over him. Tired from his escape attempts and continuous pacing though the mud, Tommy was finding it hard to even remain standing, but he had no choice. The water was up to his waist. If he sat down, he would either drown or freeze to death.
"Tommy!" shouted the Gold Ranger.
He looked up. "Jason?"
"Don't worry, bro. We'll get you out."
Tommy just nodded. There wasn't much else he could do.
"Jason!" shouted Adam. "We've got company."
Jason turned to see the Tempest monster approaching out of the chaos of the storm. He wiped the excess rain off his face and stepped forward, the other rangers gathered by his side.
"It's Morphin time!"
Following the Zeo calls, Jason heard "Let's Rocket" from beside him. He turned towards the recently morphed Red Astro Ranger.
"Andros, get Tommy out of there. We'll deal with the monster."
Andros nodded. As the Zeo Rangers charged the monster, Billy, Kimberly and Andros returned to the problem of rescuing Tommy.
"Come on." Billy uncoiled the rope they had brought with them, the only item they had managed to grab before they left. Throwing the rope down to Tommy, they found it was long enough to reach him, but not long enough for them to tie it around the nearest tree. Andros became the anchor, the power making his strength much greater than the others.
"Ready!" Kim shouted down to Tommy.
Andros felt the rope pull taut as Tommy started to climb. He dug his booted feet into the muddy ground. Billy and Kim stooped near the edge of the pit ready to help Tommy when he got close; however; as Tommy climbed he felt his muddy hands slipping. He was only a few feet off the ground when he completely lost his grip. With nothing to hold onto, he slammed into the water below. Walls of water were thrown up as his head was submerged in the mud.
Up above, Andros was thrown by the sudden lack of weight on the rope. His feet slipped in the mud. He landed on his back splattering the sludge everywhere.
Meanwhile, Kim and Billy staring desperately down into the pit were extremely glad to see Tommy come up spluttering and coughing. He stayed bent over trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him in the fall.
"Are you alright?"
Wiping the mud out his eyes, Tommy looked up. "I'm fine," he shouted before coughing up more of the muddy water. "But I won't be able to hold the rope."
Kim glanced down at the rope already soaked and covered with mud. She turned to Billy and Andros for ideas.
"If he tied the rope around himself, and Andros pulled him up by walking backwards, maybe…" started Billy.
Andros shook his head. "The ground here is pure sludge."
"And if you fell, you could easily be pulled in too," added Kimberly.
Think, thought Billy to himself. You're the smart one you should be able to figure out something as simple as getting someone out of a hole. If the teleporters were working, it'd be simple. We simply don't have the right equipment and not enough time to get it. If that monster gets past the rangers…The water's getting higher. Normally Tommy would be able to tread water till it was high enough for us to get him out, but he's already suffering from hypothermia. His arms would be useless by the time he had to swim. We need to find some way to lift him out… An image of a mug travelling by itself flew through his mind.
"Andros! Could you lift him out?"
Kim looked confused while Andros frowned
"Can you do it?" asked Billy again. "You're telekinesis might be the only thing that could work."
Underneath Andros' helmet, his face hardened.
"I'll try."
Andros stared down at Tommy. Billy couldn't see his face, but he knew Andros was concentrating hard. At first, nothing happened, but then there was a sudden cry from Tommy and Billy saw him beginning to rise from the water. Not understanding what was going on, Tommy began to struggle.
Billy fearing that the struggling would make Andros' job harder, called down, "Stay still! Andros is pulling you out."
Tommy was confused, but he trusted his friend so he stopped struggling. He came up painfully slow, the worse amount of the mud and water dripping off him. Billy and Kim knelt by the edge ready to grab him as soon as they could.
Tommy was a foot away from their hands when he stopped and started sliding down. He felt a surge of panic while Kim and Billy called encouragement to Andros.
"Come on, Andros!"
"Concentrate!"
Tommy began to ascend once again until Kimberly and Billy were able to grab hold of the mud covered wrists of his upward reaching arms.
"We've got you," declared Kimberly. Then gravity suddenly took hold as Andros' mind let go. The former blue and pink rangers almost let go with the sudden change of weight, but they had no intention of letting their friend fall back into that pit. They dug their feet and legs into the mud and heaved Tommy over the edge.
They all lay a moment on the muddy ground gathering their breath, but they soon forced themselves up. It was dangerous being idle when a monster remained undefeated.
"Thanks, guys." Tommy gave his friends quick soggy hugs.
Kimberly and Billy who were already soaked just smiled, grateful to have him back. Tommy glanced around for Andros wanting to thank him too and hoping for an explanation to what had just happened. He easily spotted the splash of red in the mud through the pouring rain. Instantly, he ran over to the side of the demorphed Astro Ranger and the others quickly followed. Andros was lying unconscious on the ground. Blood, watered down by the rain, was trailing down his face from his eyes, nose, ears and mouth.
"What happened?" demanded Tommy.
"It must have been too much." Billy shook his head. "He was using telekinesis to lift you out."
"Telekinesis?"
"It's common practice on his planet. I'm not sure how it's done, but I'm afraid it may have harmed him."
"We need to get him to the Power Chamber," insisted Kimberly.
"But…" A sudden explosion interrupted Billy. They turned to see the rangers had managed to destroy the Tempest monster. The wind instantly died down and the rain began to dry up as the dark clouds disappeared.
Jason, Katherine, Adam, Rocky and Tanya raced over to where their friends gathered. After surveying the scene, Jason didn't bother with explanations. He quickly contacted the Power Chamber. At Alpha's excited cry of 'Rangers', Jason nodded to the others and they teleported away.