Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or any of the weapons associated with the Power Rangers, so if you recognize it, it is not mine. I do own the characters, Ally Jameson, Fanny Abbott, and Todd Billingsway as well as any other characters from "Saving the World, Again" that may be brought into this story.
Sailorjlita: Thanks for telling me his last name. You'll see where it comes in later.
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TrueRomantic: Oh, why'd you have to guess that would come later? I hope you enjoy it, although it will be awhile before that comes into the story.
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XRachX: You're not the only one, who doesn't know anything about Dino Thunder, as you can see by my writing.
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Now, on with the Story!
Zack's POVIt took all of us a few minutes to let what Tommy had said completely sink into our brains, before we tried to comprehend it all. He had been attacked by this creature named Mesogogg that wanted these dino gems, whatever the hell those things are. This new monster does not sound like good news for all of us; it could even cause us to have to come out of retirement, again.
Tommy had better have a plan for all of this or we will be doing exactly what we were doing two years ago at this time, having powers transferred back into us and I'm not sure that we are capable of handling this anymore. I know that I can't take the withdrawal another time especially knowing that it would be as bad as it was last time, if not worse, on all of us. We all have only so much left to give and I know that we have given a lot so far, but what else will it take for all of the evil to finally be gone from our lives?
"Tommy," Kim mumbled, turning around in his lap and crying on his shoulder, as some sobs escaped her lips.
She couldn't stand the thought of him dying and to know how close he had been to having that happen again, scared her even more than they knew. Now he sat here, holding her as tight as he could, with the bruises the only evidence of the attack that he had been through two days ago and all because he had wanted to get that damn doctorate. A piece of paper that said he had been on that damned island for a year and a half and was qualified for it, but she didn't think that it was worth this type of suffering.
If she had it her way, he would never go out of her sight again, which only endeared her more to him. She had almost lost him so many times before, but this most recent time had definitely rattled her the most, in recent history. They were so close to having what they always wanted and she felt as if it had almost slipped away, once again. She didn't know how many more close calls she could take without having a nervous breakdown, just from the pure stress that she felt about it. She should have been able to do something to stop it.
"Shh. It'll be alright, it'll be alright," Tommy whispered, rubbing her back, as the others still seemed to be in a daze about what he had told them, not knowing if they should ask questions.
He had the feeling that he knew what was running through Kim's mind and it killed him knowing that he had been the cause of every thought that was going through her head at the moment. He always seemed to find himself in these situations and he hated what it did to her, every time that he barely scraped by, barely made it back home to her alive. He knew that she was thinking that there was going to be one day when he didn't scrape by and he would truly leave her alone in this world. He prayed that day would never come, because none of the others would be able to calm her down or make her happy again, like they so desperately hoped that they could. The proof of that was how miserable she had been during their prolonged seperation. She wouldn't be the same person, if it ever happened and he knew that all too well.
"What are we going to do now?" Jason asked, being the first to find his voice, however unsteady it happened to be. He knew that Tommy was going to try to keep them from going back into action, but he also knew that they might not have any other choice in the matter.
This life, that they had chosen to lead, was not exactly easy and when they were called upon, they had to drop everything and go, no questions asked and no reserves held against it. He knew that all too well and was willing to do it again, if they truly needed him to. They all were, even if they didn't necessarily like the idea at the time. They had done this long enough to understand the consequences of not showing up to help the team. The worst thing would be that one of their own would die, because no one was there to protect them, to watch their back, in essence.
"That is what I needed to talk to all of you about. We will need to build a new Command Center and we will also need to decide who will be the recipients of the gem's powers," Tommy said, gingerly picking Kim up and placing her where he had been sitting, as she looked at him, dumbfounded. He then continued on into the laundry room and dug around until he found his tattered pants, in the trash can. He then dug the three gems out of his left pocket and stumbled back into the living room, tossing the pants on the floor. He knew that they would have to see the gems to believe that he had really gotten a hold of them, in his miraculous escape from the island.
They were just happy enough to see him alive and were already thinking of what would happen if they reinstated the powers within themselves. Quitting jobs, buying houses, and calculating how much interest they had in their current homes, was all running through their minds. They knew it might take all of that to accomplish what they needed to, if they were called upon, again.
"You got the gems?" Billy asked, in awe, as Tommy placed them on the coffee table, with a tiny smile. They all stared at the gems and then back up at Tommy. Billy could not believe that Tommy had managed to get the gems and get off the island in one piece. The only reason that he seemed to be able to do that was that his ranger intuition was still at full alert, even if some of the other things weren't. Tommy never ceased to amaze him with what he could do; it was always possible for him to do things like this and only have a few minor injuries, although that was no comfort to Kim or most of the others right now. His escapades were some of the most dangerous that anyone had ever witnessed, but he always managed to get out of them, somehow.
"Yeah, but Mesogogg is after them and if we don't bond them to someone soon, oh buddy. He'll be able to get them, without a fight and we don't want that to happen," Tommy said, looking around at the other rangers. They all knew exactly what this meant, either three of them would go back into action or three new people would be recruited to join their ranks. Neither option sounded too great, but the latter would give them some more time to get things together. If they, themselves, had to go back into action, which it sounded like they would have to do that eventually. This Mesogogg creature seemed to be another Nicarni-Aso, although they were certain Zordon had not predicted anything about him or so they hoped.
"I'll come back, if you need me to," Jason volunteered, but Tommy shook his head no. They all then knew that Tommy did not intend to let them suit up again, not if he had his way. They were going to have to find new rangers this time. If they all wanted to go on living a regular life, then they did not need to be rangers again, even if that was the most normal thing for all of them. If they could find a way to put it off for just a few more months, then they would be able to arrange things, for when the time arrived.
"Who will the new rangers be, then?" Aisha asked, knowing that they all wanted to know where Tommy was going to suggest they find these people. Power Rangers could not be made; they were born to do their job, even if some people tried to say otherwise. It was in their blood and to find three people that had it in them, well it was certainly going to be rough, especially in this limited of a time period.
"Some of my students, probably," Tommy said, hating to know that he would soon be asking some teenagers to do what he, himself, had done as a teenager, become one of them. He was scared to death knowing that the nine of them were going to be responsible for bringing a new era of rangers into existence. There was no instruction manual for something like this. They were on their own this time, no help from Zordon or anyone else, for that matter. They were scared shitless at what this meant for them. They were now going to become the mentors of a new group of rangers and they had to get it right on the first try. They knew that they may not be lucky enough to get a second chance if they didn't achieve this.
"Where can we build the Command Center?" Billy asked, knowing that they were going to have to get the ball rolling soon if they hoped to get this done before school started. He knew that he wouldn't be able to help any, as his job was going to keep him busy, but Hayley would be more than willing to help. She had been the one that helped him figure out how to decrease the side effects of losing their powers and would mostly likely be the best help Tommy could get in Reefside, without having to inform anyone else about who they were. It was just too risky to do that right now, since they didn't know who was on Mesogogg's side, yet.
"My basement will work," Tommy said, as the others looked shocked, except Kim. He was prepared, to put all of this under his roof, when Kim and he would be starting a new life here very soon. It made no sense to them, other than being a Power Ranger was his life and it would always be a part of his life, no matter what happened or who came into it.
Kim seemed to be all right with it, so they didn't object too strongly, but they also wanted to make sure that Tommy was thinking clearly. After two days of no rest, he might not know what he had suggested or even thought it through before it came out of his mouth. If he was sure that he wanted to do this, then they were not going to try to stop him.
"Tommy, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, we can go back into action if you need us to," Rocky offered, but all he got was a glare and a firm 'no' from Tommy's end. Tommy knew that he would only send all of them back into action, if it was absolutely necessary and he didn't even want to consent to that, not yet. Not when they knew they had another power source, sitting at their finger tips. They couldn't ignore this power source, as it would not have the side effects that their last powers had on them or anyone else, from the limited information Tommy knew about the gems. They needed to buy some time, even if they had to be the ones to finish Mesogogg off, the new rangers would give them enough time to make plausible excuses, for their sudden disappearance from the realm called Earth.
"Rocky, we can't do this job forever. We're going to die, eventually and we need to have some other people who can do this, when we're gone," Trini said, as she saw Kat start to stir from her deep slumber on Adam's shoulder. Trini could tell that Adam was glad Kat had slept through what Tommy had told them. It wouldn't make her feel any better, knowing what it could possibly mean for all of them. She would have to sit on the sidelines and watch if they were called back into action and that was hard for any ranger to do.
She would admit to what she had accidentally caused and she had always wanted a chance to make it up to them, but Zordon had insisted that she did not go on that last mission, at all. Zordon knew best because she had actually made some of it up to them, when her spirit showed up in the aisle of deception. Tommy, Kim, and Jason had never discussed it in depth to her, but from what she knew, she had helped all of them see the truth about what they needed to do with their lives. So much for feeling like she owed them, it was actually the other way around now, but she was not going to let them pay her back. It would not be fair to any of them.
"Well, what about all of the other teams that have existed? You don't see them sitting here trying to decide what they are going to do with these powers, now do you? There are already other people out there, Trini," Rocky disputed, causing Kat to fully wake up and wonder what had started this yelling match. The last thing she remembered was Rocky walking in and now it seemed that they were trying to reach a decision on something. Although, she had no clue what that could be.
"But we're Zordon's chosen one's Rocky and you know that. We have to do what is best for the team in the long run," Aisha said, soothingly, as the others nodded their heads in agreement. Well everyone accept Jason, who looked ready to jump on Rocky, for yelling at Trini like that. Rocky did have a point, but they all knew that there wasn't much that they could do, now that they were tied down with jobs. If they didn't take responsibility for the gems, then they might as well hand them over to Mesogogg and let him rule the world. They all knew that this wasn't even an option, so now all they had to decide was if they were going to really go through with all of this.
"I know, but this is a lot to take at one time. We defeated Nicarni-Aso only a few years ago and I was just getting used to the peace and quiet around here," Rocky said, knowing that he was not the only one who felt this way. They all did to a certain extent, feeling as if their life was always being run by the next creature that decided to make an appearance. They had never expected it when they were put into retirement, the first time, but now they expected almost anything when news like this happened.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I was hoping to come home, get married, and live happily ever after, no more monsters, no more crazy freaks like Lord Zedd. I should have known better than to think that I wouldn't have to deal with something like this again. This life is going to follow us until our dying day and I guess it is time that we all come to terms with that," Tommy said, as most of them nodded in agreement, but Kim found herself not able to keep her mouth closed anymore. It was one thing when the other's talked about death, but Tommy talking about death was too much for her to handle tonight.
"Can we stop talking about death?" Kim asked, rather sharply, as all the other rangers looked at her, shocked at this sudden outburst, but they saw where her gaze was centered and understood why she didn't want to talk about this anymore.
Tommy had come too close to losing his life this time and them talking about it did not make her feel any better about the situation. All she hoped that she could do, was wake up tomorrow and this would all be a horrible nightmare, but in the pit of her stomach, she knew it was not a dream. It was the reality that she had lived in for the past eight or nine years, she couldn't remember exactly how long at this time her brain was not allowing to function in that way.
"Yeah," Tommy said, as Kim propped her head on his shoulder and he carefully lifted a hand to brush the hair out of her face. It was still bothering him, but it was obvious to him that the last few things that had been said had really gotten to Kim and that he was the only comfort she had right now, but even he was finally letting the fatigue get to him. If he didn't get to bed soon, he would fall asleep right there, even if they didn't want him to.
"If we're going to build a new command center, we need to draw up the plans for it," Billy said, as the rest of the rangers simply nodded their heads in agreement. They all felt that it was still too early in the morning to have a full-fledged conversation, which helped keep the talking to a minimum. Most of them would probably only be able to help draw it up, because of their jobs, but if the drawing was detailed enough, Tommy, Kim, Rocky, and Hayley should be able to handle it by themselves or so they hoped.
"I know, Billy, if you'd be willing to do that. I'm not good at drawing up things like that," Tommy said and then yawned. He had to get some rest soon or he would really lose his mind, which was already teetering on the verge as it was and his friend were able to tell that much about him. "And by this time tomorrow I may not be able to move my arms enough to help draw anyway."
"Tommy, you need to get some rest and we'll take care of this," Kim said, helping him up off the couch and guiding him upstairs. Tommy was barely able to move, but was somehow managing to be pushed up the stairs by Kim who was honestly worried about him.
She had only seen him like this a few times before and all of those times he had the power to protect him some, but that wasn't there for him anymore. He might not be able to recover like he had in the past and she was glad that she would be able to take care of him, since she wouldn't start working again for three more weeks. She could only hope that would be enough time for him to recuperate completely, from his latest ordeal in this life.
"Kim, we're in trouble if we don't get this started right away. I really need to be down there to help you with all of this," Tommy said, as Kim opened the door to his bedroom, which hadn't changed much since his departure. The only difference he could spot was that his closet was empty, except for a few clothes that Kim had placed in there. There were also clothes scattered on the floor that he was sure were not mens', but didn't care because the one thing he needed the most was still there. His bed seemed to call out to him, but he could not manage to move his feet fast enough, as his muscles were finally wearing out on him.
"Thomas Oliver, you need to rest and we have Billy down there. He will make sure that it is designed up to your standards," Kim said, tucking him into bed and giving him a kiss on the forehead. How could he even think of giving anymore to them? He had given so much already, the least they could do was let him get some much needed rest. "You have done too much for us over the last few days, rest Tommy."
"Okay," Tommy said and decided he wouldn't fight the fatigue anymore and went into a fitful sleep. His dreams were filled with the memories of the most recent event that had happened to him, but his body desperately needed the rest. So much so, that he was unable to wake up, just to shake off the nightmares that were continuing to plague him. He could not remember another night that had ever been like this, in the recent past, at least.
"Is he sleeping?" Trini asked, seeing that fear was etched on Kim's face, but relief was also starting to take its place as well, although it was going to take much longer for her to let that completely take over. They all were fearful now, of what was to come and no matter how much they tried to deny it, they were in for one of the hardest challenges that they had ever experienced, thus far during their tenure.
"Yes," Kim said, as Billy came back inside, with a laptop in tow. She knew that he had some sort of set up already programmed that would make this as easy as a few measurements. She really wished that she could sit down and talk with Trini, but that would have to wait for another time. They had business to attend to first.
"Can we see the basement?" Billy asked, as Kim started padding towards the kitchen, to lift up the trap door that Tommy had shown her before he left for that God forsaken island. They then headed down the stairs, to survey the area that would probably become the next command center. Billy looked to be a little more awake, but Kim reminded herself that she might want to start a pot of coffee when she went back upstairs. They all were going to have a sleepless night and the caffeine would definitely be appreciated, as the night wore on. "This looks to be more than adequate space."
"You think so?" Kim asked, as the basement had always looked small, until now. She now wondered if Tommy had bought this house with the intentions of turning the basement into a command center, if such an occasion should arise. It wouldn't surprise her in the least bit if he had actually thought of that, it seemed he was always thinking of the rangers, one way or another. She just hoped he wouldn't think of putting their children into ranger positions, with out both of them agreeing on it. It was a wonderful way of life, but even it had its downfalls and they both knew that.
"Yes," Billy said, after taking some quick measurements of the space and then heading back up the stairs, with Kim following close behind him. He knew that the plans would have to be very detailed and Hayley would definitely have to be brought in on this project, soon.
This command center was going to be the first of its kind and it had to be done right. He also knew that a great deal of power would be emitted from the area, once it was fully operational and if Mesogogg looked hard enough, he would find it. So they would also have to build a system of protective barriers that would help ward off any scans that would be done of this area, but how much time did they really have to do all of this? He wasn't going to bet that it would be more than a month, so they had to get to work on this immediately. Their time to wait had passed and they were being called back into a different type of action, for the time being.
That night was the first of many sleepless nights that would be caused by Mesogogg. These rangers now had the responsibility of getting a new command center up and running, within a month. Then the tough job began, finding a group of teenagers that would be willing to step into their places and would be able to do the job well. This was no small task and they all knew that, no matter how much they wanted to deny it.
AN: That's all for this chapter and I hope that you have enjoyed it. Feel free to review and I'll have the next chapter out as soon as I can!