Voyage: Part I, Chapter III

Disclaimer: I don't own power rangers.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I began to wonder if anyone was reading my story. Anyway, just to warn you, there isn't a lot of action in this chapter, just a lot of drama. The next chapter will have a lot more action. Also I've decided to finish Part 1 before posting anymore of Part 2.

"Hayley, can I use your phone?" She nodded. "Go ahead Tommy, you know where it is." As he walked to the phone he considered how he would ask Andros. He knew that he would definitely want to be involved in anything that related to Zordon. He didn't hold a grudge against Andros; it must have been a very difficult situation to be in. All Tommy did know, was that anytime somebody brought up Zordon, Andros would shy away from the conversation.

He dialed a number that he had memorized long ago. After a few rings he heard a beep, "Andros, I know you're listening right now, so I'll get right to the point. We need your help; we have to get to Eltar to…" he was cut off as he heard, "three days" before the line went dead.

The scene that greeted him as he returned looked very odd. It took him a while to figure out what was so uncharacteristic about the scene. His team of dino sat at the bar, talking amongst themselves. Alpha stood silently next to Billy who appeared to be in deep conversation with both Trini and Hayley. Then he had it, both women were openly flirting at Billy. Such an odd scene quickly brought a smile to his face, but just as quickly left as he considered Kimberly's plight.

Sure she had broken his heart, but she was still a very important part of his life. There was a part of him telling him to leave immediately, and not waste any time. But another part of him told him to remain calm and wait. Oddly enough both voices did not sound like his own.

As everyone noticed his return, they all sat silently ready to for whatever decisions had to be made. "We now have three days to get to Angel Grove," he said. He received a nod from everyone, then abruptly turned around and left. Trini quickly said her goodbye's to everyone, gave Billy a peck on the cheek, then quickly ran after Tommy.

The ride back to his house was filled with an awkward silence. Both knew that they needed to discuss what would happen, but neither willing to start the dialogue. As they reached his house, she got out of the car and turned to him. "You need to relax Tommy, everything will work out." With that said, she got into her car, and drove off. He stopped and pondered those words. He knew that she was right, but he didn't have the luxury of relaxation, there was work to do.

Even with all of the distractions, there was still a lot of excitement running through him, he was going home. It was true that he'd moved around a lot as a kid, but to him, Angel Grove would always be "home". It was the first place that he was able to fit in, and the city that would make him the man that he was.

Shaking off the nostalgia of the moment he proceeded into his house. There were still a few loose ends that he had to take care of before he left. After an hour, he realized that he was still on the same test that he'd been working on when Trini had interrupted him. It was no use, there were too many thoughts buzzing around his head. 'What I really need is something to hit.' Just as he had finished that thought the alarm sounded. Tommy had a grin on his face as he yelled, "Dino Thunder, Power Up!" He had gotten his wish.

After the Battle>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

As Tommy was returning form the battle, he changed directions. He really did not what to be by himself right now, so he went to Hayley's Cyberspace. He sighed as he ran his hand through his short brown hair. Another smile broke through his stony exterior as he recalled the circumstances behind his haircut.

Flashback>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It hadn't been too long after he had given the Turbo powers to TJ when he found himself at a crossroad. He found himself unfulfilled while racing. It didn't have the same appeal that it had had when he had started.

Then one day he was being careless and reckless, and was in a major accident on the track. Many said that he was lucky to be alive after hitting the wall at the speeds he had been pulling. After the crash, he found himself in a hospital room. It didn't take him too long to realize that he couldn't move his legs. And shortly after that startling revelation, he realized that there was another presence in his room. That would be the first time that he would lock eyes with Hayley.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded. As soon as he said that he immediately regretted using that tone of voice, because he soon saw the tears that were streaming down her face. Making a small sigh of frustration, he turned to her again. He noticed that she was about to walk out the door, so he called to her. "Wait, I'm sorry." She froze, then slowly turned around. What he saw when she turned around broke his heart.

This girl was obviously in a lot of pain, but was forcing a heartbreaking smile as she tried to cover it up. "No, that's okay. I'm sorry to bother you." Once again she turned to leave. "Hey," he said, "wait, maybe I can help." Once again she stopped, but this time did not turn around as she said, "I don't think that anyone can," and then left the room.

For some reason it took him a long time to forget about his short meeting with her. Over the next few months, he underwent a change. He let himself go. His hair had grown impossibly long, and a full beard ran down to his chest. He grew more and more depressed everyday, until one day he couldn't take it anymore. He was confined to a wheelchair, he'd stopped eating, he felt like he was dead inside. He decided to let the rest of himself catch up.

Just as he began to ponder how he would go about it, he felt a pair of eyes on him, judging him. He tried to shrug it off. 'They don't know me. They don't know the life I've lived.' Although he told himself not to care, he still couldn't resist the urge to look for the person that had judged him.

At first he couldn't find anyone. Then he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. And there, perched on his windowsill, was a white falcon. Try as he might, he couldn't help but look into its eyes. What he saw there made him shudder. The falcon had judged him, and it knew everything.

He saw in its eyes everything he had gone through. Every event since childhood appeared in its eyes. As the events became more recent he turned away from its judging eyes. But somehow the vision continued. As it finally ended, a realization hit him, and a voice returned through time and space. "Although you have given up hope for yourself, I have never, and will never give up on you." It was the voice of his animal spirit, the falcon.

He came to the realization that he had turned his back on his past. He knew that he shouldn't dwell solely on the past, but he also knew that it was his past that had truly made him. Even though he wasn't in uniform anymore, he would always be a power ranger.

After the realization hit him, the falcon disappeared in a flash of white light. For a moment he continued to watch the spot the falcon had just disappeared from, then he felt the present that his Ninjette animal had left him. After another moment he slowly got to his feet. It was time for a change.