THE REASON - Part Seventy-Six: A Test of Trust
Summary: A monster attack renders the original Dino Thunder Rangers powerless against it, they need their fellow teammates to win over against the monster. Will it be enough to prove to them that they are worthy of getting their powers back?
Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine.
A/N: I think it is pretty self-explanatory. I hope you enjoy it.
"You have to understand that we get another chance to right our wrongs, but I can assure you life will always leave you at dead ends." -Eclyptyk Neo
Next day. Early morning.
Tommy sat at the kitchen table looking at the swirling mist coming off of his drink. He couldn't really get much sleep and had gone down to clear his mind again. But it really couldn't be done. He didn't want to disturb Kim allowing her to sleep in a little longer. All the dreams he had were about the Dino Thunder Rangers. Of the battles won and lost.
He looked across the table and saw the dino morpher he had placed there. Yet, he didn't know how or why, but hoped it would clear away soon. But it didn't and the fiery rage was running through him again. He forced himself out of the room and into the study collapsing into the executive-like chair.
He pulled open the top drawer to reveal another memory stuck in his mind. His days shared with the other Zeo Rangers. There sitting there, when it should have been locked away safe, was his Zeonizer. Giving him the powers of the Red Zeo 5 Ranger.
He hadn't lost those powers. None of the Zeo Rangers did. They were only upgraded to Turbo. But those powers didn't stick because they were handed over to the next generation of rangers. How or why it was in his top desk drawer was a mystery. He knew that it was never touched, and the last time he really did use it was on that red ranger reunion to stop the assailants of the Machine Empire from taking Serpentena from destroying Earth and so much more.
As he heard the footsteps of the only other occupant of the house, he stuffed it back into the drawer and pushed a few buttons on the computer to awake it. He was on the lines of wondering what he should say and what he shouldn't tell her, but it was clear he wasn't feeling himself for the past few days. He had grown a little worried and concerned about who would take the position as principal of the school, which meant the planned out Karate Club/Gymnastics Club might be postponed or denied. He really wanted that to happen so he could see what the students of Reefside could really do. And it would occupy his time once the whole epic battle for the Dino Thunder Rangers would occur. And he knew that was coming up.
Kim stopped at the threshold, crossing her arms to look inside. "Hey, you. You left me upstairs by myself."
"I know." Tommy nodded slowly. "Sorry, baby. I couldn't sleep."
Kim walked into the room and found a place in his lap laying a kiss on his lips. "Doubts?"
"A little. Had a lot of dreams regarding all the adventures I've had with them. Think it's a sign?"
"Do I really have to answer that?"
Tommy sighed, dropping his head with guilt. "I know. But, please just give me a little more time."
"You're really stressed out. Take a break." She suggested as she laid another kiss on his lips.
"Yeah. I need to talk to Trent, anyway. See how he's coping."
Kim laid a kiss on his forehead and left the room. As she left, she asked if he wanted breakfast and he nodded in turn.
He slowly got to his feet and followed her out of the room.
---
Hours later.
It was mid-afternoon when Trent had met Tommy for some down time. Though it was only a day since the dark hour of the betrayal, it had scarred both of them greatly. For awhile, the only thing that passed between them was silence. They really didn't know what to say to each other, only to not believe such a cold thing as that happened. But it did happen and they were stuck in the mud of their mistakes.
"So, how are you doing, Trent?" Tommy was the first to break the silence.
Trent shrugged absently as he kicked at a small rock on the ground. "I'm all right. It's just really hard, though. I guess, I never would have expected that to happen, ya know."
"I know the feeling, Trent." Tommy nodded slowly. "I've seen both ends of the field and I've gone through every single possible challenge, sense of doubt, loss of powers, betrayal, confusion. All of it. It's hard to believe it had came down to this."
"What's done is done, right, Dr. O? I mean, we did do the right thing. Right?" Trent was still unsure of the heart-breaking news.
"The others are in fact, worried." Tommy sighed shaking his head. "We placed both Hayley and Kim into a bad situation."
"Yeah, well, they'd probably be more worried about you anyways, Dr. O. You didn't betray them as bad as me."
Tommy couldn't help but relay a smile. "No. It's the entire team, Trent. And that does include you. Yet, I too, betrayed you guys. I never told you guys about my evil ways until it got a little out of hand. But than again, I thought I could control it just as much as your father on Mesogog."
"I really thought he could do it on his own, Dr. O. But now, that Mesogog knows the truth, he'll try to find a way to fight my father as much as my father is fighting him."
Tommy put a reassuring hand on the teen's shoulder. "Don't worry, Trent. He's a smart guy. I'm sure he'll find a way around it."
"Ya know that's what Kira said, but now I'm really not so sure."
"Don't doubt yourself, Trent. Or what your father can and can't do. He's a strong guy. He'll pull through."
"Thanks, Dr. O." Trent relayed a small smile, but he was still feeling guilty for not saying anything.
Another silence fell over the two ex-rangers. They continued to walk through the street.
"Do you think they'll take us back?" Trent asked after some time.
Tommy looked over at him and shrugged. "I don't know. Kim told me if we could convince them long and hard to take us back we might win our place back on the team."
They came to a halt when an invisi-portal opened up a few feet in front of them and a swarm of T-Drones appeared. They didn't hesitate to terrorize the civilians around as several ran for cover. Others were too frightened to move, getting caught in the mayhem of destruction.
The two ex-rangers looked at each other than pushed forward. They knew even if they didn't have their powers that they still had to help out their fellow citizens. It was the right thing to do, and anyone who didn't fear those things would do the same.
Tommy flipped into the air catching ahold on one of the T-Drones. As he came back down he threw the dino soldier into the ground and launched a series of kicks toward the few that tried to attack him. Trent jumped several T-Drones before they could frighten anymore civilians. He kicked one to the ground and threw another into a line of soldiers coming his way.
The two circled around a line of pedestrians caught in the battle acting as shields against the aggressors and waited for the new line of attacks.
Then another invisi-portal opened up and Elsa jumped out of it to join the battle.
"Well. Well. Well." Elsa sighed shaking her head in dismay. "If it isn't my two most favorite people in the world."
"Haven't you done enough damage, already?" Trent glared at her.
"Oh, no. I've only just begun." Elsa smiled that evil smile and launched a series of electrical attacks toward the civilians.
Trent and Tommy pushed the group to the ground shielding them from the attack as the charge nearly hit them in the process.
Tommy didn't hesitate as he got to his feet and stopped a few feet from Elsa. "That's enough. You're done."
"What are you gonna do about it, Tommy?" Elsa teased. "Your ranger friends aren't here to help you now. I hear you broke up. I'm so sorry."
Tommy forced out an angry breath, but kept his composure as Trent met at his side.
Then a series of lasers fell over the area, and a line of three color-coordinated cycles came to a halt in front of the civilians. It was the suited dino thunder rangers. They turned to the pedestrians dismissing them to safety, including their former counterparts.
Tommy and Trent followed the other civilians to safety, but moved toward the back of a building to watch the battle rage on.
The team made no hesitation to force the T-Drones or Elsa to retreat. And it fell silent when the victory had gone to them. But it was short-lived when a strange gigantic robotic hand swiped the rangers off their feet sending them to the ground. Then a huge foot came stopping on the trio as they rolled away to avoid it.
"Whoa! What the hell was that?" Trent breathed in shock and confusion.
"It seems Mesogog is favoring the loss of two rangers quite well. C'mon. I got an idea." Tommy directed the teen toward a walkway.
Back on the battlegrounds, Kira, Conner and Ethan had taken bad hits as they laid plastered to the ground in pain. Their new aggressor looked like the mix of a robotic cyborg along with a soldier. Its arms were scaled down the long metal skeleton found on a robot, but they looked strong and powerful. It face was distorted and it was hard to tell where the eyes once were or where the mouth began, if it was supposed to be a mouth.
"Ya know, it wouldn't hurt to have Dr. O or Trent with us right now." Kira let out a breath saddened.
"Yeah, but than again, they did lie to us." Conner spoke with some tinge of anger.
"But we worked great as a team, Conner." Ethan protested as he slowly got to his feet.
The monster barked out a line of insults that had Conner up in an instant. He went charging at his aggressor hoping to make contact, but was attacked by another series of electrical attacks. And Conner hit the ground again. It was clear that they couldn't take anymore damage. Conner tried his hand at using his triassic powers, but that failed when he came crashing down from an intergalactic battle with the enemy.
The trio of rangers laid on the ground in sheer pain, unsure what to make of it. They had taken a bad beating and they could barely hold on to their ranger forms, but they were still in it holding strong. But they could not go on. They were too weak to move.
The monster approached them barking out one final insult announcing their end. He launched one finally blow as the trio lowered their head in failure and loss. But another light filled the area catching the attack like a net and absorbing it. The echoing cry of a falcon filled the area and as the light cleared, Tommy stood there. His arms were crossed, eyes beating down on his aggressor with a look of satisfaction and anger in his eyes.
"Thanks for that energy boost. It was quite invigorating." Tommy commented coolly as he bowed toward the monster.
"Out of my way! It's the three suited rangers I want." The monster bellowed.
The trio of rangers looked around confused and surprised to find themselves alive. And when they saw their teacher standing there, they never felt so relieved. But what had that energy do to the ranger? He appeared to be enlightened by a new line of power, but at the point they didn't care. They were just glad to have another helping hand on them as they raced to his side.
"If you're gonna destroy them, you're gonna have to destroy me first. No one messes with my students and gets away with it." Tommy announced with sheer clarity.
"Some encouraging words from an ex-Ranger." The monster laughed.
"You really mean that, Dr. O?" Ethan asked running a hand across his helmet confused.
Tommy looked at his students and nodded slowly. "Didn't I say I trusted you guys? And that I believe that you can do anything. I still do. I never doubted what you guys have done or gone through."
"Wow. This changes everything." Conner breathed.
Kira looked across the way at something moving across the wall of the distance building. And it only meant one thing. "Is that who I think it is?"
The rangers looked across the way to see something moving against the wall, melting and matching its contents.
The monster barked out another insult and Tommy took another step forward.
"Ranger or not. Powers or not. You're not going anywhere near these guys until you go through me."
Then the monster came crashing to the ground as the figure melted and merged back to his normal form. It was Trent under his chameleon powers and he barely cleared the way of an attack, as the monster grew frustrated at the hit. Tommy quickly moved to help him, and the trio wasn't too far behind. The blows would cause more damage to the unsuited rangers, so the trio used themselves as shields to protect them. At that point, the events of the past day left their minds as the team worked to rid the city of another threat.
Conner, under his triassic powers, pre-occupied the monster long enough for the other suited rangers to present the black and white dino thunder ranges with their morphers.
"They're yours." Ethan nodded. "We could use all the help we could get."
"And you guys are the only ones perfect for the job." Kira said.
Trent and Tommy exchanged a quick look grabbed their morpher and placed it on their wrists.
The little guy was destroyed, but the 30-story high facsimile had just appeared. The trio moved toward calling their zords as the two other rangers told them that they would be up to join them soon.
Tommy and Trent looked at each other again, and morphed.
"Dino Thunder! Power Up!" Tommy announced.
"White Ranger! Dino Power!" Trent announced.
A given light covered them and cleared away to reveal their ranger suits. And they were back in action. They joined their team in the zords and for the second time, formulated the Dino Rage Megazord. With that weapon, they were unstoppable and another monster had eaten the dust.
---
One hour later.
Conner and Ethan were glad to be talking to their teacher again, the events of the previous day were lost. No one wanted to recall what had happened. Trent and Kira were discuss the latest battle with Kim as the trio of guys came to join them.
"…Man, we're so glad you're back, Dr. O." Ethan said.
"Yeah, it wouldn't have been the same without you." Conner nodded.
"Well, we all make mistakes, right?" Tommy smiled lightly. "Look, I just want to say I am sorry about what happened."
"Oh, don't worry about it, Dr. O." Kira called out to him as they cleared the middle of the room. "No one is perfect."
"Speaking of that…" Kim turned the chair to look at the three in the middle of the room.
For a second the room fell silent as the engaged couple locked eyes. Tommy didn't hesitate to move to her and gave her that "Thank You" kiss she was hoping to get. He knew it in her eyes as it turned into passion.
"Thank you, Beautiful." Tommy whispered against her lips.
"You're welcome, Handsome." She returned the gesture with a kiss. "Welcome back to the team."
They locked lips again with more passion that had the teens gushing.
"Oh!" the teens couldn't help but laugh.
The couple broke the kiss turning slightly red obvious still not completely comfortable with showing their line of affection toward each other around them. The teens moved toward them welcoming back the real dino thunder team.
to be continued…
A/N: Hey, come on. I couldn't end it badly. It wouldn't look good on my behalf. So, I'll see you next chapter. May the Powers Protect You Always.