Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.
She gazed at the woman breathing on the cot behind the bars with indifference. The past events had yet to sink in, and all Kimberly could do was watch Hygelac try to mend the wounds afflicted on Divatox's badly damaged body.
When she had woken up, she thought she had killed the Pirate Lady and threw up in disgust. Her innocence might have been besmirched, but she was not evil. And she was definitely no murderer. As soon as Hygelac informed her that he had transferred Divatox to a healing room, Kimberly let out a sigh of relief.
Presently this is where she could be found for most of the days, monitoring the woman's recovery. Something inside of her had snapped that night for her to attack Divatox, but she could no longer remember what it was. It seemed that after taking her revenge out on Divatox silenced the evil spirit that was dwelling inside of her.
Unfortunately, she knew it would not last much longer. Kimberly shuddered inwardly at the thought of what was happening to her. Half of her mind was telling her that she was a Power Ranger, fighting for the greater good of all people. The other half reminded her that people were the cause of all the pain she experienced, so they deserved the punishment of her wrath. Besides, the voice would say, what is the definition of good and evil? Who in the beginning of time set the line?
Everyday she found it harder to shut the voice up, but everyday she somehow managed to overcome the whispers that filled her mind.
She eyed her communicator and sighed. When would this feeling stop?
"We should spar tonight, Krosa." Hygelac proposed as he sat down in one of the large leather chairs beside Kimberly's. He had lit a fire to give them warmth since it was wintertime and there was no electric heater in the castle. Kimberly found herself bundling up even when she was just taking a stroll in the castle hallways.
"We should. We haven't for a while." Kimberly accepted and looked at him. He was so much like a father figure to her now, like Zordon had been when she had been a ranger. Her thoughts turned to Zordon. I wonder if he is still trapped in the Dark Fortress. This thought caused her to snort a bit. It's not like he could run very far.
"Kimberly…" The use of her truthful name disrupted her relaxed mood. Hygelac only used it when he had something serious to say. "You have been acting strangely."
"What do you mean, Lac?" She asked skeptically. Inside, she knew what he meant. She had been secluding herself from the world, brooding over things inside her head that he did not know of, and had thrown herself into various books of both nonfiction and fantasy.
Kimberly now avoided her pirate foe whenever possible, instead of simply ignoring her ranting and raving. Now that the diva had been imprisoned in one of the dungeons after recovering, she was worse than before. She complained constantly about how Kimberly had ruined her beautiful body when Kimberly knew very well that Hygelac had been able to heal most of the burns. One can only take so much of someone so self-absorbed before cracking, thus, Kimberly found herself steering clear her once "master."
"I want you to have something." He pulled a tiny wooden box out of one of his pockets. Kimberly leaned forward to have a look at the content in his hand.
"What is it?" She asked curiously. Carefully, he opened the lid and pulled out a black necklace. He handed it to her and grinned at her amazement. "A crane?" She remarked at the black pendant with a crane etched into the circle.
"Yes, a crane." He lingered on that statement for a minute then continued on. "This necklace has been in my family for generations. It has been a tradition to pass it on to our kin, but I have no biological offspring; I consider you family now, and I want you to have it. I also found it…fitting that your animal spirit is the crane."
Tears filled her eyes as she gazed at the beautiful design. "It's beautiful." But it's yours! What will you wear?" She declared. She did not want him to regret giving it to her later. It was so beautiful and obviously had an immense importance behind it.
"I have a medallion that I am forced to wear." He looked into the fire. "It is my mark of servitude to Divatox."
"But you do not need to wear it any longer then! I have ridden of that burden!" Kimberly protested.
"No…I made a deal with her long ago that I would serve her…until death… if she did not kill my brother. She agreed, but gave me this medallion that gave me eternal life, but imprisoned me to her command." He pulled a medallion from beneath his shirt. It was large and round with a gold linked chain. The pendant was gold as well decorated with blue, green, and red designs. In the middle was a lion.
"You said she killed your brother…" Kimberly began.
"Yes, she broke the pact when my brother came to save me. When I confronted her, she disregarded me saying that the medallion was made specifically for me and I was now bound to her by its powers. I cannot wear the family pendant any longer, for my name is no longer my own." He finished softly. "Will you wear it?"
She nodded and clasped the beaded chain around her neck. Fingering the pendant, she replied softly, "Always."
The cracks in the sidewalk really need to be fixed. Kimberly groaned as she pulled her heel out of one. This was really a hindrance to her sophistication. Normally, she stayed away from the streets. Ever since her mother had died, she had no desire to explore the streets.
Currently, she was in Angel Grove on a mission to find out what Astronema was up to. She had heard through Hygelac that Astronema had sent thousands of Quantrons and Cogs on the earth, predominantly in Angel Grove.
She hated crowds. It wasn't the fact that she was short and it was hard to see or that she commonly found herself feeling enclosed in large groups of people, but the thought of being surrounded by so many hypocritical humans appalled her.
Someone grabbed at her skintight black pants. "Get off me!" She shoved the snickering teenager away. Honestly, how any guy could behave that way in a time like this was beyond her. As she continued on, she could hear shouts growing louder.
"Bring the rangers… to me… by morning, or you will suffer!" She heard a woman call out. Kimberly figured this was Astronema speaking considering it had to do with the rangers and everyone shuddered simultaneously.
Finally, she pushed herself through the front row and turned her attention upwards. There, in all her evil glory, stood the Princess of Darkness, glowering at the city that refused to cooperate. Kimberly snorted. She was just like every other villain- expecting the world to bow at her feet without deserving their servitude.
Subconsciously, she fingered the necklace Lac had given to her. Already she had grown quite attached to it, almost as protective as Astronema was to her locket. Kimberly surveyed the crowd in search of the Power Rangers. She clucked her tongue as she did so. Where would they be?
Somebody tapped her on her shoulder. She whirled around and saw something she had never dreamed of seeing again. Still, her features remained emotionless.
"Kimberly?" The man questioned skeptically. He studied her, and she scowled at his gawk. "It's me! Skull!"
"I don't know who you are talking about." She replied firmly. Inside, she laughed at the irony of this. Her best friends couldn't recognize her with a few changes in her appearance, but the one person who she had never bothered to get to know could recognize her instantly.
"Oh…I'm sorry. I must have been mistaken." His eyes dimmed disappointedly as his shoulders drooped. For a moment, she felt sorry that she had never been kinder to the class clown. Then she remembered that he had helped on a numerous accounts to make her life miserable with Bulk.
"Yes. You were." Kimberly returned tersely and proceeded to escape this awkwardness. Unfortunately, she could prove once again that she had the worst luck in the world and ran right into Bulk.
"Excuse me." He stated briskly and without a second glance moved ahead. Kimberly turned around and stared, stunned, as the two walked away. He obviously had matured over the years.
The rumblings of an engine caused her attention to avert to the sky once again. Astronema was leaving on the Dark Fortress. "Stupid move, Astro. What do you think you're doing? You can't leave when you have the upper hand."
She felt something tug at her cami top. A little dark haired boy was standing there, with a fistful of her shirt. "I can't see."
She sighed and felt her heart soften a bit. Kids always had a place in her heart. Immediately she bent down and picked him up, resting him on her hip. "What's happening?"
"Well, Astronema is leaving for the night. Tomorrow morning she'll be back for the Power Rangers." Kimberly summarized.
"What will she do to them?" His big blue eyes pulled her in. She sighed, not knowing quite how to answer this question.
"Um…I'm not quite sure." She lied. There was no way she could describe what could possibly be their sentence to anyone, let alone an innocent child.
"When I grow up I want to be a Power Ranger." He declared proudly puffing out his chest.
"Oh, do you?" She grinned outwardly but grimaced on the inside. This attitude was becoming very hard to maintain. "What color?"
"The black one. They always seem the coolest!" He used large hand motions to emphasize his point causing Kimberly to chuckle. This was not a fake chuckle. Zack and Adam would have loved to hear that.
"Tell me, why would you want to be a Power Ranger?" Kimberly inquired.
"They're my heros. They kick butt!" He concluded with a thoughtful, yet mischevious face. Kimberly grimaced, but quickly recovered.
"Orlando!" A strained feminine voice hollered in their direction. Kimberly glanced up and saw a curly blond haired woman standing with her hands on her hips. "You scared me half to death running off like that!"
Orlando looked down sheepishly. "I'm sorry, mom."
"Were you bothering this lady?" His mother questioned sternly. The boy flushed a bit, but shook his head in defense.
"No, he was a complete angel. I guess he just wanted to see the action." Kimberly elaborated.
"Thank you so much." The woman replied and took Orlando from Kimberly's arms. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she watched the mother and son communicate while walking away. She would never again be able to hold her mother's hand.
"They are just as flawed as any other human." Kimberly muttered about the boys dream.
"Kimberly?" Another familiar voice asked from behind her. She stiffened and cautiously spun around to face the voice.
"Yes?" She asked curtly. "What do you want."
"Kim, you have to help my sister!" The red ranger grabbed her shoulders gently. She shivered at the contact and pushed him off of her.
"That's your job." She paused and added, "Power Ranger."
The sorrow in his eyes was obvious to the former ranger, but she felt no mercy towards the kid. "But, you are her friend!"
"And you are her brother, yet she still betrayed you. I will help no one." Kimberly objected.
"I don't understand you." Andros started to continue but stopped himself. He began to turn around to find his friends, but Kimberly pulled his shoulder forcing him to face her.
"What do you mean?" She demanded. This red ranger was very peculiar. There was no sight of the other rangers. Why would he come to her alone? In a way, he reminded her of Tommy of the way he seemed to be a loner in times of sorrow. He probably blamed himself for what happened to Astronema, whatever did happen.
"You say you are her friend, but you do nothing to help her when she needs people who love her the most. There is something different about you. I can feel it. You're not like the others." He hesitated again. "What is your story?"
One of her fists clenched together in agitation. Was that any of his business? No. She answered herself. "That is none of your concern." She looked into the sky…there was no sign of the Dark Fortress. "As for Astronema, she ended our friendship months ago."
"Kim, she's been brainwashed!" Andros protested. "She doesn't know what she's doing!"
"Brainwashed?" She tenderly fingered the metal piece on her forehead. She remembered that Astronema now had one as well. Was this what the piece was? A brainwashing device? And she hadn't known it all this time?
"Kimberly, is that what happened to you?" Andros questioned quickly as if he had discovered something.
Her eyes squinted in frustration. That couldn't be it. She still had all her memories, and the changes in her personality had been slow to progress. Brainwashing would only take a few moments. Her eyes snapped up when he spoke her name again. "No! Leave me alone. You are the reason why this happened to her! She was willing to go with you and obviously something went wrong and now look what's happened to her!"
Before he could say any more to her, she turned on her heel and stalked away.
"We. Are the Power Rangers!" Kimberly sat on the roof of a building, shocked that the rangers had revealed their true identities- that, and the fact that the citizens had risked their own lives by shouting out false proclamations that they were the Power Rangers.
"They've broken the rules!" She whispered harshly.
She watched as the Power Rangers battled against the Quantrons and as the civilians revolted with them.
Where is Andros? There was no sign of the red ranger anywhere. A chuckle escaped passed her lips. Coward. He's less like Tommy than I thought.
"Krosa, what are you doing up here?"
"Nothing, Lac, just enjoying the view." Her eyes sparkled as the fight continued.
"Kimberly, I have a feeling we should leave." He advised watchfully. "You no longer have favor with Astronema."
"I know…I know." Kimberly sighed and pushed herself onto her feet. She took Hygelac's hand and jumped off the edge of the building. She loved the feeling of adrenaline pulsing through her veins when she did something out of the ordinary. A few moments later, both she and Hygelac landed in a crouch. Unfortunately, they landed right in front of the Power Rangers, who stared at her and her companion in horror.
"Not you!" The pink ranger cried out. The others found a comfortable fighting stance.
Kimberly guffawed. "Relax. I have nothing against you." She started to push through them, but the black ranger shoved her back. She heard Hygelac growl with defense.
"You can't leave now." The yellow ranger said. "We need you here! Andros believes in you."
Kimberly glared and shoved the girl's hand off her shoulder. The black ranger kicked her in the middle forcing her back. "We cannot let you go!" Before she could react, Hygelac had swung a piece of plywood at the rangers.
Behind her, she saw the silver ranger shooting at Hygelac. Immediately, she whirled around and threw him back with her powers. She was too late, however, Hygelac had already lost his temper.
The silver ranger and her accomplice began fighting at full force. She watched in horror as Astronema's ex love interest knocked the only person she loved off his feet. She threw her gaze back at the other rangers. "Look what you've done."
They did not return her stare because they had already continued fighting other Quantrons. She lost Hygelac and the silver ranger as people filtered in between them, fighting off as many robots as they could. Then something strange happened. Every Quantron and villain froze in mid punch. Kimberly turned in circles, watching as the scene unfolded. Finally, all the frozen enemies turned into stone and shattered into particles of dust.
She saw a slightly visible airwave coming at her and lifted her arms to watch as it passed through her middle. Nothing happened. She turned around found that the Power Rangers were now powered down and surveying the setting in awe.
Kimberly found the location of Zhane and frowned when she realized Hygelac was nowhere in sight. When his eyes found hers, she saw the confusion in his gaze. Immediately, worry filled her heart. "Where is he?"
His eyes fell upon a heap of dust in front of him. Her heart dropped, but she refused to believe that meant anything. Against her will, her legs moved towards the dust pile and bent down. She fingered the dust and looked up at the silver ranger again. Sorrow seemed to fill his eyes and it dawned on her. This was the remains of Hygelac, her father figure, the only one who had truthfully loved and helped her. Her fingers felt something metal and automatically grasped it. She pulled her hand out of the dust and saw the medallion. A sad grin appeared on her face. "You are free."
A sob escaped her. Zhane backed away and left her there to mourn the death of her mentor. Slowly, she stood up with the medallion still in her clutches. She wandered in the direction of where Zhane had walked off.
The Dark Fortress had landed, and Andros was carrying Astronema in his arms. Another sob found its way passed her lips as she watched her best friend being set on the ground. She was not moving. Kimberly pushed her way through the crowed until she was in the front. She was close enough to hear their tears, but far enough away to stay unnoticed.
To her surprise, the Princess of Darkness, although lying lifeless, morphed back into her natural appearance. Kimberly heard Andros gasp in his own shock. Then, another miracle, Astronema sat up. "Andros? Where am I? How did I get here?"
Kimberly's eyes dropped to the medallion. She was also set free from her burden. Now, Kimberly had truly lost her. Their lifestyles would be too different to continue anything. In these moments, Kimberly's heart hardened. A glare formed on her features as she heard explanations of how he had to shatter Zordon's tube and that had caused all the villains to turn to dust. Zordon was officially dead. Both of her father figures were gone and all because of this one boy. "You stole the two people I cared about. This will not be the last."
She pulled the chain of the medallion over her head and ripped off her communicator. All it meant was hope. She had no hope. It had been stolen from her.
She stared as all the people rejoiced at the defeat of the Dark Specter, Astronema, and all the other evil villains. They had been saved by the Power Rangers once again. Everything was going so fast, a blurr. Hate filled her heart. Hygelac wasn't evil. Why did he have to die? He was only trying to protect her from harm! If she had survived, then why didn't he? Why was everyone celebrating when she was filled with so much sorrow? Didn't they realize that this was no victory?
She dropped the silver bracelet with the pink gem on the concrete and crushed it with her boot. Pink electricity sparked around the bracelet but stopped after a few seconds. She kicked the pieces and watched as they skidded towards the rangers who were walking away. Andros turned around when one of the pieces hit his leg. He bent down and picked up the large gem and looked up. His puzzled stare met hers. She turned around and lost herself in the crowd, so he could not follow her.
Nothing could save her now. The waves she had been swimming against had finally won. Evil had drowned her. She was too far out and too far gone.
C2- Hah, but she isn't! I didn't feel like I had the right to kill off such a major character. Especially since the series actually showed how she ended in this scene. We might see more of her later... ;-) More Astronema and Kimberly as well, but I'm not sure how the next layout will be. I'm still trying to work that out.
Goddess Achlys- Sorry, I didn't post soon! It seems life has caught up with me. Boo. Thanks for the compliment! I think writing the fight scenes are the hardest for me, because I have so much going in my head and putting it all on paper is "freakin" hard. Hah
Funky in Fishnet- Yeah, she always was an emotional girl, or at least, that's how I saw her. My favorite episodes surrounding her had to be the ones about her letting her emotions out. Made her more real. I like adding other people's POVs occasionally; it makes my job easier on getting things across rather than just having one person talking the whole time. Although, I think if I were to write another fanfic, I'd do first person to put more sarcasm in. Hah.
childofdarkness1988- Ooh, I like the username! Dark and mysterious. You're only a year younger than me too. It's been a couple weeks now, since I've actually done major work on the story, so yeah..a pretty long time. Although, I do have the majority written. And I have been trying to keep the events correct...it's hard to do when I haven't seen every single episode, and the ones that I have seen for almost a decade! Can you believe PR has been out for a decade??Anyway, thanks for reading!
Daisyz- Yes, yes, she did indeed kick arse. I was tired of the "TOMMY!" Kim that she seemed to be stereotyped into. Just like Kat. I always felt bad for the two of them because they fell so easily into that category.Bah. However, when I was younger, I completely ignored the fact that she was always the damsel in distress and at recess would make up some story about how she was the strongest and was soooo independent. Haha. Gotta love elementary school.
Sorry I haven't updated for a while! I've gone through a period of "eh, I'll do it later" when it comes to updating..which is kind of funny considering I had it all typed out. I just was too lazy to upload it! hah. The last week of Christmas Break was really busy! I was reconnected with a classmate who moved to Zimbabwe after kindergarten, and spent a lot of time with him, his family, and my friend Whitney. They have really cool stories to tell. That, and they loved my music, so I had to spend hours dealing with which CDs to burn. Anyway, in short, they are in Seattle now and going to back to Africa within the next week, so I won't see them for quite some time. Well, until I go visit them this summer or the next. (haha woo! i'm so excited).
School all right. Hectic, yetboring...but when has that ever been different?