THE REASON - Part Forty-Seven: A Darken Victory
Summary: Tommy is faced with the dilemma of putting an old colleague out of commission for good. But in the final battle between the black dino thunder ranger and the cyborg, things go wrong and the evil inside of Tommy has yet to be fully extinguished.
Disclaimer: Power Rangers not mine. Never will.
A/N: This ties into "A Star Is Torn" and things aren't exactly as we could expect. So, read on. I don't want to ruin it all now. And you all know the deal. Hit me with a reply and may the powers always protect you.
"Inside I feel the rage and anger of a darken past I have yet to conquer. But this is one battle I must face on my own." -Eclyptyk Neo
Next day.
Conner had just destroyed the scorpion vehicle that Zeltrax had sent down to destroy the rangers. Unfortunately, Zeltrax had underestimated Conner's new triassic powers and new Mesadon Rover. Yet, even Conner was surprised he could handle that much power. He was still trying to get used to the triassic powers and the Shield of Triumph.
Conner ran over to the de-morphed Kira and Ethan who appeared a little concerned. "Where Dr. Oliver?" he grew worried.
Ethan looked over at Kira, sadness ran across his face.
"You wanna tell him?" Kira asked as she looked up at the aerial assault vehicle in the air.
Conner turned his head toward where the other two were looking, knowing what she meant. They had seen the black dino thunder ranger disappear into the assault vehicle, but didn't see him come out.
"He's still up there?" Conner asked.
The blue and yellow ranger nodded slowly.
-----
Zeltrax growled in frustration. "Those Rangers shall be mine."
A figure jumped down from beyond the shadows in the wall, looking up at the cyborg from a knelt position.
"You!" Zeltrax growled glaring at the man in the black suit.
"Why? Surprised to see me?" the black dino thunder ranger asked, cooly.
He threw his hands into a fluid circle as the green hint from the dragon coin began to glow within his morpher. A light began to radiate off of the black dino thunder, and when it cleared, he stood with a new shield covering his chest–the one that used to be assigned to the pink dino ranger.
"Just because you have that shield doesn't make you that much more powerful. This ends now, Black Ranger." Zeltrax pronounced proudly.
The Black Dino Thunder Ranger pulled out his staff circling around the cyborg. "Let's do it, Zeltrax."
Each looked into the other's visor trying to find the person underneath the mask, but a cloud of darkness filled them both.
Zeltrax was the first to move as he swung his sword in a vertical swing. The Black Dino Thunder Ranger moved away from the attack and kicked the cyborg making him lose his step. He hit the ground, but recovered just as quick to try another attack. But the black ranger moved away from each step, never letting the cyborg through.
"You're pathetic, Zeltrax. No wonder Mesogog can't stand you anymore." The Black Dino Ranger said darkly.
Zeltrax growled and pushed himself forward, forcing the ranger into the wall. The Black Dino Ranger pushed him aside, sending him back on the ground. The battle continued, but the cyborg was getting nowhere against the dark ranger. And an attack to the central controls sent sparks flying through the room. The room erupted with flames as the hovercraft jerked forward.
The Black Dino Thunder Ranger looked over at the cyborg. A sense of a blissful victory filled his mind. His suit continued to glow in its green hint, clouding the real thoughts in the legendary ranger's mind. All he wanted to do was get rid of Zeltrax. And killing him was the only answer he had. "One more chance, Smitty."
"My name is Zeltrax!" the cyborg growled, heaving. "And I will have my revenge!"
"Than I'm sorry," the Black Dino Thunder Ranger replied rasing his staff. "It will end now! Good-bye, Smitty! You leave me no other choice."
The Black Dino Thunder Ranger dropped his staff in one final blow to the cyborg. The cyborg growled in pain as he hit the ground before his victor. The Black Dino Thunder Ranger looked down at the motionless body for some time as the room sparked up with more flames. He turned away and strode out of there as the shield was diminished and the evil thoughts were cleared away.
-----
BOOM!
The aerial assault vehicle erupted with flamed and exploded sending its remains to the ground below.
"Noooo!" the teens cried in panic and sadness.
Their teacher/ mentor/teammate was nowhere in sight. And it was clear that none of them saw him escape.
"Dr. Oliver!" Conner called out.
"No! He can't be gone!" Kira's knees weakened.
"I'm right here, rangers." a voice said from behind them.
The teens turned around. Their sadness was demolished as happiness and relief flooded through them. There stood the Black Dino Thunder Ranger a little weakened and shaken as he grabbed his shoulder. The teens rushed over to him.
"You made it." Ethan said happily as he let out a breath.
"More or less." the Black Dino Thunder Ranger said weakly as he fell to the ground.
The suit was demolished as he sat there on his knees catching his breath. Sweat beaded down his face. His clothes were damp as if he just came from the river.
"Are you okay?" Kira asked, reaching for an arm to pull their mentor back to his feet.
"Where's Zeltrax?" Conner asked looking back at the remains of the aerial assault vehicle in the air.
Tommy shook his head, catching himself as his knees weakened again. "Zeltrax is gone. He's dead."
The teens looked up into the sky again and saw the smoke disappear into the sky, the flamed assault vehicle came crashing to the rock quarry below. The looked back at their teacher, watching the gem glow with its unusual green hint. Then the teacher fell forward, falling into a deep slumber. The teens exchanged a look and quickly pulled the teacher to his feet and left the area.
-----
Hayley and Adam began to check the unconscious man once the teens got him back to the lab. The teens paced the room in a worried panic. They were unsure of what to make of the situation except that something was wrong with their teacher. They just wished why or what was really going on. Hayley placed a newly-modified machine onto Tommy's head to make a read-out of his brainwave patterns.
"I don't get it. What's going on?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah, as far as I could tell that pink dino gem shouldn't have much effect on him." Kira said shaking her head. "Unless it has something to do with the strange green glow in his dino gem."
Hayley sighed as she watched the readouts of the brainwave patterns. She exchanged a look with the black ninja ranger who knew what it meant. It was deja vu all over again, and he didn't look too happy about it.
Adam forced out a breath and looked at the teens. "It seems like it's bigger than that. I don't know how, but his mind is being manipulated. And it seems Mesogog is behind it. I don't know how he has done it, but I think it has to do with that little green hint in his dino gem."
"Meaning?" Conner furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Deja vu." Adam said simply as he walked over to the teens. "Back when we were Zeo Rangers, Prince Gaskett, the son of King Mondo, put a spell on Tommy to make him believe that we were the enemies. That we were behind all the destruction in the city. He believed him, but it took the courage of our friendship to break it away. And it seems that Mesogog is doing the same thing. But he is doing it slowly."
"So, meaning....?" Ethan said.
"If we don't' find out what's really going on in Tommy's mind, we might lose him forever."
"But I thought you could read his mind. Aren't you a ninja?" Kira asked.
"Unfortunately, something is blocking it. So, I can't find a way into his mind. It seems Mesogog knows about what I'm capable of."
"And why is it glowing in a green hint?" Conner asked, pointing at the dino gem.
"It seems that there is something merged into his dino gem. And with all that added powers, good and evil, it's adding to complications of control Tommy has on all the powers. He can only handle so much. If it was one of you guys, you probably wouldn't be having this many problems. It just comes with still being young enough to handle a lot of things." Adam stated.
An evil chuckled came from across the room as the rangers slowly turned toward the computer console. They saw the technical advisor in a deadly lock under the legendary ranger's hold.
"Tommy, let her go!" Adam rushed over, but stopped when Tommy held up a hand.
The teens fell short behind the ninja ranger in a confused panic.
"One more step, and I won't be afraid to snap her neck." the black dino thunder ranger said darkly.
The team watched the green hint in the teacher forcing out a quiet breath.
"You wouldn't." Hayley whispered, trying to break from the lock.
The teens face dropped to fright as they took a step back. But they held a defensive stance watching the black dino ranger closely. The black ninja watched his former leader, never taking his eyes off the others. They continued to glow with a green flame.
"C'mon, Tommy. I know you're in there." Adam said slowly. "Fight it."
"Dr. Oliver. Let her go. You really don't want to do this." Conner said cautiously.
"Don't you recognize us?" Kira asked.
"You're the enemies." the mentor said lowly as he threw the technical advisor forward. The teens and black ninja shielded her behind them watching the dark ranger closely. "You will fall. I could destroy you all in one blow."
"You wouldn't." Adam shook his head. "C'mon, Tommy. Fight it. Snap out of it. This isn't real. We aren't the enemies. Mesogog is making you believe something that isn't true."
Tommy launched himself forward sending a kick toward the black ninja.
Adam moved away, throwing his hand out sending the black dino thunder ranger to the ground. "Tommy, listen to me! Mesogog has you under a spell. He's making you think we are the enemy. You've been brainwashed! Fight it!"
Tommy threw him off just as the teens moved against their mentor. But he threw each of them to the ground without breaking a sweat. The teens groaned quietly just as Adam came at him again. He launched a couple of kicks and punches toward the legendary ranger, but each of them were blocked. Tommy forced out a punch to Adam's chest that sent him to the ground beside the teens.
"Okay." Ethan groaned. "Now, I know never to mess with Dr. Oliver's dark side."
"No doubt." Conner rolled over to his back.
"This can't be real." Kira shook her head as she tried to get to her feet.
Tommy stood over the heap on the floor, shaking his head in disappointment. "You guys are pathetic!"
Adam got to his feet and forced the dark ranger to the ground. He looked straight into Tommy's eyes. "C'mon, T! Where are you at? This isn't like you! Fight it, damn it!"
"....I ask you from the bottom of my heart, Kimberly Ann Hart, will you marry me?" a voiced said from across the room on the computer console.
It was the video footage Adam had snagged from the airport a few days ago. The room feel silent as all activity stopped. Tommy threw Adam to the ground again as he looked over at the computer. The teens quickly rushed over to the fallen black ninja and helped him to his feet.
"Kim." He breathed slowly in a small voice. "I can't do this alone....I can't...."
Tommy hit the floor grabbing his head groaning in pain. The team crowded around him unsure what to do. They took a step back as the legendary ranger let out another painful breath.
"Tommy! C'mon, fight it." Adam called out.
"C'mon, Dr. Oliver." Kira pleaded.
"I can't!" Tommy groaned as he lowered his head to his knees. "Make it stop!"
"C'mon, Dr. O." Ethan encouraged.
Tommy threw himself back hitting one of the columns in the room. He cried out in pain and collapsed to the floor. The teens scurried over to him pulling him to his feet and over to the chair. Adam pushed his head into the headrest of the chair, pinning it there. The teacher continued to squirm and fight through his internal conflict as he heard to voice of his friends tell him to come back to the light. Adam forced his eyes shut and began to concentrate on his ninja powers as he kept his hand there on Tommy's head. He watched the internal conflict, the trapped falcon in a web of confusion as he used his own powers to guide it back to the light. Beyond the web he could see the outline of Mesogog's head.
Adam let out a breath as he opened his eyes. The evil energy around the legendary ranger was demolished and the green hint faded from his eyes. He looked about the room confused then settled upon the black ninja ranger.
Adam pushed open a smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a semi ran over my head. Was I brainwashed?" Tommy asked quietly.
Adam nodded. "And I don't think you're out of it yet either. Do you remember what happened at all today?"
Tommy shook his head. "No. Not really. It's all a blur."
"So, what about that battle you had with Zeltrax?" Ethan asked.
Tommy looked down as the images of the battle ran through his head. He forced out the fiery rage in his heart as the though of the cyborg's name left him. When he looked up, he had tears in his eyes. "I killed him."
"You can't be certain of that, can you?" Conner asked.
"He was dead before the explosion ever happened." Tommy whispered as fright shook him. "I-I-I couldn't control my actions. I..." he looked over at Hayley and let out a breath remembering the recent event of having his friend in a deadly lock. "No. I-I- Hayley- I didn't mean it...I..."
"I'm okay, Tommy." she said softly. "It wasn't your fault."
Tommy looked back at his ranger counterparts. "This wasn't supposed to happen. Guys, I..."
"No, it's okay." Kira stopped him short of his sentence. Fear shook them all. "It's been a rough day."
"Get some rest, Tommy." Adam instructed. "Whatever Mesogog is doing to you can't be permanent. We'll figure something out."
"Yeah, you know, you've been without sleep lately, Dr. O." Conner nodded with the black ninja.
Tommy dropped his head and nodded. "Yeah, maybe I should."
The team watched him go, a look of sadness and worry swept through each of them. The teens turned to the black ninja and technical advisor. They encouraged the teens not to worry, and that they'll figure something out soon. They knew they were right, but they also knew that as much as they wanted to tell Kim the news, they wouldn't. Respect for Tommy, and they figured he might do it himself. They left the lab hoping answers would be found soon.
To be continued....
A/N: Okay, with that in mind, you're probably wondering what is going on with Tommy. Well, recall back to the day he went to visit Anton Mercer. And that could provide some answers, and remember how Trent was struggling with his powers over evil when he almost destroyed Kira–same thing goes for Tommy. But it's Kim who is keeping him sane. Anyways, keep reading and hope you like this suspense, cuz I love it. Later dayz.