THE REASON - Part Thirty-Nine: One Risky Chance
Summary: It's a suicide mission for the ninja rangers as they race to free Kim from Mesogog's island fortress. One chance. But at what cost to Tommy?
Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine for any reason other than I'm using its characters and some plots to fill up this story. So, don't sue me. I won't pay up because I haven't forgotten all that you've done to create a world full of multi-colored protectors to dream and write about. Don't ever stop.
A/N: So, it is a suicide mission. The ninja rangers must try to find a way to free Kim. But remember, or don't forget, that Tommy is suffering from some mental strains about his dark past. Look, I don't want to give a whole lot away. Just read and enjoy. I'll fill you in with time. May the Powers Always Protect and Guide You. A ranger never gives up, no matter what. Laterz!
"You'll have to take me down first before you go anywhere near those that mean so much to me. I will fight until my last breath." –Eclyptyk Neo
When the ninja rangers arrived, Hayley was already there with Tommy.
She was instructing him to do something, which the ninjas couldn't exactly figure out as they made it into the room. She was securing something around his arm, over the morpher. "...don't do anything stupid, okay, Tommy? I'd hate to find you anywhere near Mesogog's hands."
"I think it's a little too late for that, Hayley." he sighed, making sure the object was in place. "Are you sure this is gonna work?"
"I can't guarantee anything unless I really know what I'm working with, Tommy." she admitted. "But if I made the right modifications, it should block out any chance of your powers getting drained. I just hope you know what you're doing."
"Yeah, so do I." Tommy said quietly.
The three ninjas moved to the central computer console, still holding a confused look on their faces.
"Okay, what's the reason for the early morning hour call?" Rocky yawned, trying to avoid looking too annoyed for the disturbance.
"Remember how I told you guys that Kim and I were able to see into each other's thoughts?"
"Yeah." they nodded, still confused.
"Well, I had a dream. A vision. Or something." he shook his head, unsure of how to describe what was going on. "But Kim was in it. And it felt so real. And she told me that the power of the gem could not be awaken. Or at least the evil encoding of the gem. I don't know. I can't describe it. But
I feel if we don't work now, to save her, we might lose her forever."
"That still doesn't help, Tommy." Aisha sighed, hoping she can work with a little more information.
"We gotta break the bond of the gem with her. And the only way I know how, is to awake her ninja powers just as you did the same for me to break away from my ranger imprisonment. And it's one risk I am willing to take. I'm not losing her again."
The ninjas nodding, knowing that Tommy would do anything to get Kim out of Mesogog's hands. And even if it meant sacrificing himself to the dino-faced freak, he'd do it any way possible. He wasn't afraid, and they all saw it in his eyes. But they were still at a loss of what Tommy still knew that was left sealed in his mind.
"And if my calculations are correct," Hayley stepped forward, "that should be the very last dino gem that has enough power to harness up a dino ranger. So, whatever happens to it, should be distributed out among the remaining gems. To Tommy and the teens."
"Seeing how I don't really like this idea at all, how can we be sure this is true?" Aisha asked.
"It's a risk we're gonna need to take." Adam said quietly.
"You're actually going along with this?!" Rocky caught his breath. "This sounds like suicide."
"Hey, we're rangers." Adam shrugged.
"No. We can't even morph." Aisha said, shaking her head.
"And being ninjas doesn't count toward anything?" Tommy raised an eyebrow.
"Don't pull that ninja bullshit on us." Rocky huffed.
Tommy held up a hand, not wanting to here any excuses. "Look, Mesogog is gonna come after me. By the time he realizes that Kim is gone, you guys should be long gone. So, don't tell me this isn't gonna work, because I've already heard enough bullshit. And I wouldn't have asked you guys here if I didn't trust you with this mission. I need you on this, guys. The teens will be needed later, but right now, I'm asking you guys as friends to come with me to save Kim."
Rocky sighed, knowing that there was no way to change the black dino thunder ranger's mind. "Well, then let's do it."
"Yeah, let's go." Aisha said with a light smile.
They turned, following the black dino thunder ranger out the door.
"Good luck, guys." Hayley called out as they left the room.
Thirty minutes later.
The three ninja rangers now wore a newly modified black ninja uniform, allowing them to melt into the shadows better. Each one still had the gold-encrusted coin of their animal spirit on their chest. Their given color streaked down the side of their arms, legs and body. It was a similar facsimile of the last ranger team, but still looked more like a ninja uniform. The dino thunder ranger was in his given ranger suit.
The four rangers had infiltrated one of Mesogog's invisi-portals thanks to Hayley's help. But each one had wondering thoughts that had them all a little distracted. But what had to be done had to be done. The three ninjas used the shadows as their hiding place, while the black dino thunder ranger used his own gem to evaporate against the air. But thanks to their heightened ninja powers, had a way to see what the invisible ranger was doing.
Tommy came to a halt, forcing the team to come to a halt behind him. Zeltrax was coming their way, though had no idea they were around. With a motion of his hand, he directed the ninjas to move toward finding Kim, while he would distract the cyborg.
The ninjas didn't have to be told twice as they disappeared down the hall just as Zeltrax came within a few feet of the black dino thunder ranger. He came to a stop, looking around confused. "There's something here."
Tommy moved slowly around the cyborg, but when the cyborg pulled out his sword, Tommy dropped to the ground. Zeltrax whirled the sword around the air, hoping to find something there, but ran through nothing but air. Tommy rolled away as the cyborg's boots came crashing down where he once laid.
Tommy collapsed against the wall, catching his breath. He whispered to himself. "Okay. New plan." He got to his feet, making sure that his boots would bring attention to the cyborg.
Zeltrax growled, following the sound of the footsteps down the hall.
The ninja rangers continued up the hall, before Adam came to a halt in front of a sealed door. They could all sense the power inside. The radiance of a pink light filled their thoughts.
"The readings are coming from in there." Rocky concluded.
"You guys got anything?" Adam looked around, hoping no one knew they were around.
Aisha looked at the small screen on her communicator showing a radar report of the area. "Nope. We're all clear."
Adam cracked open the hand-eye terminal on the wall. He pulled out a small pair of scissors, looking through the wires underneath.
"You can actually crack into that?" Rocky raised an eyebrow.
"Shh! And yes. Too much free time." He sighed.
"You really need a girlfriend." Aisha said.
Adam snapped a wire as the door swung open with a hiss. "Got it."
The two ninjas exchanged a look, following their black counterpart inside. There was a lone chamber located across the room. They raced over clearing away the icy fog on the glass to reveal a sleeping Kim, or unconscious.
"Is she..." Aisha seemed crushed.
Adam looked at the bio-netic surveillance at the head of the chamber, shaking his head. "No. She's just sleeping."
"But why is she in there?" Rocky asked.
"Added support." Adam concluded. "If what Tommy is saying is true, than Kim doesn't have real control over the dino gem. So, she's in here when she needs a rest."
"Like a battery?"
"Basically."
"Okay, that's not a selling point of becoming a power ranger." Aisha said.
"So, now what?" Rocky asked.
"Re-harness her ninja powers just like Tommy said. If we can awake her enough to get her out of the chamber, then we can get her outta here and back to the lab with no real harm done. Hopefully." Adam said.
"Hopefully? No, seriously, Adam that is not a line one would like to hear at a time like this." Aisha said.
The ninjas didn't want to argue any more than they needed to, knowing they had to move. It wouldn't take long for anyone to realize one of the rooms was tampered with, let alone hold the key to destroy the rangers for good. They positioned themselves around the chamber, bringing their hands up to meet at the fingertips. Then, they began to concentrate, calling on their own animal spirits. They could feel the surge of power deep inside escape them, the echoing cry of their spirits began to intertwine. The room began to brighten with the call of their spirits.
The chamber slid open with a hiss of air.
Kim gasped as the energy ran through her, but quickly fell asleep.
And when the ninja rangers opened their eyes, they saw the little petite woman laying there in her pink ninja uniform.
Tommy ran down the hall, still invisible, but came to a halting stop just as he saw Mesogog come up the hall. He looked back to see Zeltrax make his way down the hall. He leapt for the ceiling grabbing ahold of a support beam. The cyborg failed to see where he was going and ran right into his master.
Mesogog growled, pushing the cyborg away and got to his feet. "Zeltrax! What is the meaning for your incompetent gesture?!"
Zeltrax scrambled to his feet, bowing. "My apologizes, my lord. But I was following something...."
Mesogog held up a hand, silencing the cyborg. He looked around the hall, using his nostrils to scan the hall. "I smell Dr. Oliver." he growled, looking toward the ceiling.
"Shit!" Tommy groaned as he crawled down the hall on the ceiling.
Mesogog trained his eyes on the ceiling hoping to show any signs of the black dino thunder ranger above him. "Show yourself, Oliver. Or I will be forced to bring you down by other means."
Tommy dropped from the ceiling, sending the dino-faced man to the ground crashing into Zeltrax. As he got to his feet, he broke the call of his powers and ran down the hall.
Mesogog growled throwing the cyborg to his feet. "After him! Do not let him get away, Zeltrax!"
Zeltrax nodded, running after the black dino thunder ranger.
Tommy ran up the hall, pulling his morpher up to his helmet. "Hey, guys, what's your status?"
"Well, for the most part we got Kim outta the chamber." Rocky replied. "But I think we could use some assistance."
"I'm on it." Tommy said as he plowed through a group of Tyrannodrones using his brachio staff. "Seems like they're onto us."
"Ya think?" Aisha said sarcastically.
"Just get your ass down here, now." Adam directed.
Tommy lost momentum for a moment when Elsa popped up around a corner, her sword in hand. She swung high, but Tommy ducked around it, unleashing a kick into the side of her. She stumbled back for a moment, but advanced driving him into the wall.
"You will not win, black ranger." she hissed, pushing her sword toward him.
Tommy pushed his staff forward, sending her to the ground. "That's what you think. I still got a lot of things up my sleeves."
He set off down the hall again, hearing her bark orders to the upcoming troops of Tyrannodrones. He came crashing into the room where he saw the hand-eye terminal destroyed, locking the door behind him. He let out a breath just as the banging of their enemies came crashing against the door.
"Glad to see you here." Rocky said sarcastically as he tried to keep the squirming Kim on the table.
"Yeah, she's getting a little cranky." Aisha said.
"Let me go!" Kim screamed. "What's going on?! Who are you?"
"It seems she's suffering from some type of amnesia or something." Adam concluded.
Tommy got to his feet, racing to the other side of the room. But a sudden barrier halted him and his vision blurred.
"Tommy! Your gem!" Adam called out with a warning.
Tommy caught his breath, stumbling to his knees. Then his face hit the ground as he demorphed, and the dino gem on his wrist began to glow with a green haze. His eyes fell shut just as the woman on the table relaxed. Her eyes fell shut.
Adam rushed over to the fallen black dino ranger checking for a pulse. "Unconscious. But still alive."
Rocky nodded, running a hand on Kim's neck. "Got one here, too."
BAM!
The three ninjas jumped as the enemies rammed into the door. They were trying to break in.
"Okay, that's not good." Aisha said, exchanging a worried look with her counterparts.
"I hope Tommy wakes up soon or we're gonna have some major problems on our hands." Rocky concluded.
BAM! BAM!
Adam nodded. "No doubt."
Black void.
Tommy slowly opened his eyes and was engulfed in a freezing cold wind. He shivered as he rubbed his arms looking around him. He looked down to see himself in his dino thunder ranger suit, minus the helmet.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" he called out.
His voice echoed throughout the void. But there was no reply.
"Hello?" he called out again.
No reply.
Then the familiar vanilla smell Tommy recognized so much filled his nose. He heard the cry of the crane ring in his ears and saw the crane sprinkle the air with its golden radiance. The cold wind was replaced with a warm, welcoming feeling. It came to a landing in front of him, flapping its wings several times. Than a blinding pink light engulfed the crane, morphing and taking shape as a human. And as the light cleared, Kim was standing there with a light smile on her face, in her ninja suit.
"I knew you'd come." she said quietly.
Tommy ran up to her, pulling her into a warm hug. And as he pulled her closer, he relaxed to find her okay. "What's going on, Kim?"
She placed a finger to his lips, silencing him. "In time, you will understand, Tommy. But right now, you must know that the gem I hold in my possession was not really meant for me but for you and the other dino rangers. It will guide you into finding a great new power that will help you defeat Mesogog. It will open up the doors to new powers within each of you."
"I don't..." he tried to say.
She stopped him with a gentle kiss. "You will, Tommy. But you must be patient."
"What does Mesogog want with you?" he forced out, trying to hide the fear.
She looked down. "It's you he wants, Tommy. I am merely the bait."
"And the gem?"
"Again, that question will be answered in time."
Tommy nodded slowly pulling her into a hug, pulling her as close as he could. He didn't want to let go. He could feel the unique bond they were establishing mentally and spiritually. He knew that he would have to figure out some things on his own. But the bond they were starting to make began to fade. The connection was lost. And the thought of holding Kim was being demolished as the petite woman began to morph again. Change back to her animal spirit of the crane and flew into the sky.
When Tommy looked up to see it go, a blinding white light blinded his eyes. He hit the ground falling into a deep slumber.
Mesogog's island fortress. Energy transfer room.
BAM! BAM!
The three ninjas took a step back, holding their fighter stance, waiting. If they had to fight, they would have to fight. They already knew it was a risky choice for coming in the first place. But they didn't expect to see two rangers out of commission.
Tommy's eyes flashed open, just as the door opened.
And after that, things began to slow around them.
The black dino thunder ranger rose to his feet just as Zeltrax, Elsa and a swarm of Tyrannodrones came into the room. He held out his hand, palm out toward his enemies, stopping them in their tracks. And with a swift movement of his hand, sent the entire line of enemies into the wall. Each one groaning in pain as Tommy let in a breath, turning to his ninja counterparts.
Each one held an agape mouth and a shocked look. What they saw there was their leader at his peak of power. They watched the glowing hint of his dino gem and the white light of his ninja powers surround him. The look on his face was neutral. And they heard the faint cry of the falcon echo through the room.
"Whoa! Matrix-style." Rocky whispered.
"He is the one." Aisha chuckled lightly.
Tommy blinked, furrowing his eyebrows. And the neutral look was lost. He shook his head. "Don't start with me. Let's move out."
Rocky and Aisha wrapped their arms around the petite woman dressed in pink and moved toward the door. Tommy took the lead. Than Rocky and Aisha close behind with the unconscious woman. Adam took up the back, keeping an eye on the weakened group in the room. They headed down the hall, but came to an abrupt stop when Mesogog came around the corner. Hands behind him, head lowered. He was waiting and expecting them.
Mesogog hissed, moving toward the dazed black dino thunder ranger. He saw it in how Tommy stood. How he used his telepathy to keep him down. "You are weak, Dr. Oliver. The powers of the gem are too much for you. If you can't handle it, what makes you think those teenage brats will?"
Tommy groaned, stumbling forward, crashing to his knees. "No. They can. They will."
"Tommy!" the ninja rangers called out in panic.
Mesogog turned to the team behind the fallen legendary ranger. His eyes narrowed to slits. "You cannot save her. The energy transfer has made her weak. She will die before you make it out of here."
"No!" Tommy cried as he found the strength to come crashing down on the dino-faced man. He pinned the evil being down, looking back at his friends. "Go! I'll take care of him."
The ninja rangers didn't have to oppose, and headed down the hall.
Tyrannodrones came to a screeching halt seeing the dino-faced man and the black dino ranger go at it. Each getting a set of punches into the other.
"After them!" Mesogog hissed pointing down the hall. "They have my prized possession. Do not let them get away!"
The tyrannodrones nodded, heading down the hall. Mesogog looked back at the black dino ranger, hand wrapped around his neck. He hissed with delight. Tommy moved to try and break the embrace, looked into the eyes of the dino menace. Watched the melting amber-brown color change into a blue haze. A reflection of himself struggling came into view. And as it did, the memories that were blocked out of the recent day were being recalled. Tommy saw himself hit the ground in Anton Mercer's office. The transfer of power from himself to the pink ranger–or vice-versa. And knowing the man behind Anton Mercer was the evil being looming over him taking his breath away.
"Anton? Anton, are you in there?" Tommy gasped.
Mesogog growled, tightening the grip. "Good-bye, black ranger."
Tommy forced out a breath. "Anton, it's me. Tommy. I'm your friend."
Then a strange green-yellow glow engulfed the dino menace as he released the hold on the black dino thunder ranger. He pushed away just as Tommy felt around his neck bringing air back into his lungs. Tommy watched the transformation of the menace take shape as a man. As his old colleague. And friend. He couldn't believe his eyes as he witnessed the struggle and pain of his friend.
"Anton?!"
"Go!" Anton bellowed, lowering his head to his knees. "Get Kim outta here! Get outta here while you still can!"
"But..." Tommy slowly got to his feet.
"Don't worry about me, Tommy." the scientist protested.
Tommy walked toward his friend, but were stopped by Elsa and Zeltrax as they shielded the man behind them. The glow continued. The transformation was caught between a man and a dinosaur. Each held their sword out, making it clear that if Tommy would make another step, he'd be dead.
"Don't even think about it, Tommy." Elsa sneered.
"It's time to destroy you, Dr. Oliver." Zeltrax hissed.
Tommy looked down at the man losing control over his dark side. The man taking more form as the evil menace of Mesogog. He took several steps back, relaying a smile. "Another time, guys. Dino Thunder! Power up!"
When the black-gold light cleared, Tommy was moving down the hall in his ranger uniform. Elsa and Zeltrax didn't hesitate to go after him.
Mesogog slowly rose to his feet, a light hiss escaped his mouth. "You cannot win, Oliver!"
Adam and Rocky moved to keep the Tyrannodrones as Aisha continued down the hall with the unconscious Kim. Each were trying to find the place where they entered the fortress to trigger the invisi-portal. But it was nowhere in sight.
Rocky came flying through the air, as he landed a few feet beside Aisha.
She pulled him to his feet, as he dusted himself off. "You okay?"
"I'll be fine." He groaned running a hand across his stomach. "This inability of morphing is really bothering me."
"I hear you." she nodded.
Adam forced back two Tyrannodrones as they came crashing down on a line of others. He looked back at his friends. "No jokes. Or conversing. I need some help back here."
A Tyranndrone advanced toward the black ninja ranger.
"Adam, look out!" Rocky called out as he moved forward.
When Adam turned around he received a gut-wrenching blow to the chest. He hit the ground groaning, as the red ninja moved toward the swarm to divert attention away from the fallen ninja.
"Not so fast!" a voice called out from behind the swarm of tyrannodrones. They turned to it, just as the black dino thunder ranger came to a halt behind them. "Brachio staff!" The black dino thunder ranger pulled up his staff and moved it into a huge circular motion. "Energy orb! Engage!"
The black dino thunder ranger swung his staff horizontally. The large orb flew forward capturing the swarm of tyrannodrones in it. A set of mini-explosions erupted inside the orb, attacking the aggressors. And when it cleared, they all fell to the ground unable to move.
The black dino thunder ranger hopped over them and met the team.
"Glad you dropped by." Adam patted him on the back.
Tommy shook his head. "We're not out of this yet. Let's go."
The ninjas didn't oppose as they headed down the hall, the black dino thunder ranger on their heels, keeping an eye for anymore surprises.The invisi-portal was opened up just a few feet away, and with no opposition, the red and yellow ninja rangers advanced toward it with the unconscious pink ninja in hand. Adam and Tommy exchanged a look, though Adam couldn't see the real emotions in his friend's face. But they might have a chance. Adam moved toward the portal, when Tommy fell forward. Adam caught him, looking over his shoulder to see the menacing evil face of Mesogog behind them.
"What?! Do you just show up out of nowhere like a ghost?" Adam huffed with some annoyance, pulling his friend back to his feet.
"We have some unfinished business to attend to. So, you're not going anywhere." Mesogog directing, taking a few steps toward them.
"Try me." Adam glared at the evil being.
Mesogog turned to the black dino thunder ranger. "He will be a great asset to my team. But," he looked back at the black ninja, "so could you. If you know what you really want out of this battle."
The mental strain disrupted the black dino thunder ranger as he de-morphed again. "Back off, Mesogog. You can't win." Tommy huffed.
Mesogog hissed, wrapping a hand around the science teacher's neck. He pushed the black ninja ranger back. "You have destroyed all that I have worked for, Oliver! And with what I have left, I will not let you win!"
"Than obviously you're forgetting who you're messing with." Tommy met his challenge, slipping from his grasp.
Adam moved toward the evil menace, but Mesogog pushed him away quickly. Tommy advanced toward his aggressor, keeping him away from harming his friend anymore. Mesogog kicked him, but Tommy blocked it, and launched his own set of attacks toward the evil man.
"Go, Adam!" Tommy demanded, as he pinned Mesogog against the wall. "Get Kim back to the lab."
"She will die!" Mesogog hissed.
Adam caught his breath, looking back at his former leader. He didn't want to leave his side, but knew what had to be done. He turned toward the small invisi-portal and disappeared through it.
Elsa and Zeltrax met their master's side, just as Tommy was kicked away.
"All alone. Shall I destroy him now, my lord?" Zeltrax growled swinging his sword around as a tease.
Mesogog held out a hand, stopping the cyborg. He turned back to the lonely ranger, hissing with delight. "I will win, Dr. Oliver!" He pulled out something from his pocket, seeing the weakness come to the science teacher's knees. "The evil is still inside you. You can feel it. You want that power back. The heartless gesture to destroy everything in your path. Friends. Family. Strangers. The other rangers."
"No." Tommy breathed, shaking his head. The evil memories of his past as the evil green ranger began to run through his mind. "No. Don't."
Mesogog walked up to the weakened ranger, pulling out something else from his pocket. When he opened up his hand, it revealed three power coins. The Dragon coin. The black ninja frog coin. The red ninja ape coin. Each glowed with a hint of its resonant color. Tommy felt the power of each. Each intertwined, taking energy away from him. His mind became a desert of evil deeds.
"No." Tommy cried, just as Mesogog had a grip around his wrist housing the dino gem. "Don't do it."
"You can't fight that feeling anymore, Tommy. It will always live inside of you. Join me."
"No." Tommy fell to his knees. "I can't. I won't."
The gem began to glow with its given black-gold color. And the light hint of green in the center of it. The power of his first-ever ranger powers. But when the gem's light began to grow brightly, it interlocked with the other object on his arm. A rapid beeping awoke it and the meteor fragment that sat inside Tommy's gem began to take form. Mesogog stumbled back letting out a painful cry, just as he tried to fuse the dragon coin into the gem. But it failed. And a white light escaped from Tommy, blinding all those that was present.
The call of the falcon sent the aggressors to the ground. The pain and thoughts of evil were destroyed inside Tommy's mind. And when the light cleared, Tommy saw the three on the ground. Each held their own in pain. And what remained of the carbon copy coins were broken into pieces, all except the dragon coin. The dragon coin was only broken in half, one end laid in the palm of Mesogog, the other now housed inside Tommy's dino gem. And Tommy felt the surge of power inside him. His newly crafted power, that still had questions to answer, ran through every vein in his body. The combined powers of his ninja and dino powers. And the balance of great power between good and evil. It was a new feeling, and Tommy didn't know how to describe it. It felt great, but he felt too weak to obtain it all.
Then the calling of the crane echoed through his mind, and without any other thought raced for the invisi-portal as it demolished behind him.
To be continued......
A/N: Okay, I ended up changing the plot more than I really wanted to. But you'll end up seeing why in later chapters, and the end. The control/hold that Mesogog had on both Adam and Rocky was destroyed. And if you do recall, could not really be harnessed without the help of the original evil powers of the dragon green ranger–um, Tommy. Now, I know this has a little spiritual feel to it, but I'm not aiming toward that. And like I said, it's hard to pull some ideas into play when you're really slow about getting on a computer and typing down what's written on paper. If you're lost now, I'll fill you in with time. Just don't stop reading, aiight? Keep doing what you do and keep smiling. Don't you love this suspense? Okay, maybe not. But, I'll see you later.