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, Richard Myles, Dennis Alderway, Amanda Williams, Charlie Hughes, Ashley Meggs, Amy Tillery, Meagan Sipper-Stone and Todd Billingsway as well as any other characters from "Saving the World, Again" that may be brought into this story.
XRachX: Of course not, just give it a chapter or so. We all know now they are. I'll email you the details, if you don't already have it by the time this chapter is posted.
jedi4jesus19: I will, do not worry, although this past week has been very hectic, so I hope this chapter isn't too bad.
Daisyz: Yeah, I know and here's the update.
Now, on with the Story!
Wake Up, Kim, Wake UpKim slept fitfully that night, waking up every so often, to look up at Tommy's pale face and see that he was still unconscious, although he seemed to be in a very peaceful sleep, as he was not thrashing about like she knew she had been all night. She couldn't help but dream about what could have happened, if they had just left him as he was when he had first returned. Sure, him being invisible would be an annoying inconvenience, but it was better than being able to see him and not being sure if he would live through this. He was going to feel bad enough when he woke up and she was only hoping he would do that, at this point. He had never stayed unconscious this long, which worried her even more. In the times past, he had usually woken up in a few minutes with a smile and a shake of his head, but he had been out for hours this time.
Tommy woke up, too see the lights were very dim, wherever he was lying and for a few seconds he thought he was still in Mesogogg's lair. Then, he recognized where he was and looked around to see the command center was empty, except for Kim and himself, but he couldn't remember Kim coming back downstairs the night before.
He looked down at her and saw that she had fallen asleep, still clutching his hand and had obviously been crying, as a piece of his tattered shirt was clutched in the other. She probably had told Billy and Hayley to leave her alone, although it could have just been that Billy didn't like seeing her like this and he didn't blame him at all on that one. Kim was never the best person to be around when she was as upset as he knew she had been last night. He wondered just how long it had taken her to cry herself to sleep last night, because he knew that she did not go to sleep like she normally would, with himlying, unconscious, right in front of her.
With the hand that was not numb, he began stroking the back of her head, while he thought about all of this. He knew that he had a lot of explaining to do, but he also knew that she probably would just be happy that he was awake, but there were other things that pressed on his mind.
Like what had she done when Billy told her what happened to him? Did she even know what had really happened to him? No, Billy probably didn't have to tell her, she could guess it on her own, which saved her the agony of all of the gory details. She had seen Billy's facial expression like that enough to know what it meant, but could she forgive him for everything he had caused this time?
"Beautiful, wake up. Come on sweetie, get up," Tommy whispered, shaking her shoulder and watching her slowly lift her head off his stomach, blinking away the sleep from her eyes.
He loved to wake her up like this, because usually she would be so happy to see him that she forgot everything else she was thinking about and all the things she wanted to yell at him. Today, everything was different though, instead of looking down at him, as his hand was still resting on her shoulder; she sat up and seemed to be looking for Billy, like she didn't expect him to wake up at all this time. He must have been out for quite awhile if she did not even have faith in him waking up on his own anymore.
"Billy, what's going on?" Kim muttered, looking around the room to see where Billy stood, but didn't find him anywhere in the dimly lit command center. She then looked down at Tommy and saw that his other hand was covering the one that had a firm grip on his tattered, black polo shirt. When she looked up at his face, he half expected her to faint from the surprise of seeing him gazing at her. Instead, her lower lip started to tremble, as she tried to not break down in happy tears. She, slowly, undid her hand from his shirt and reached up to cup his cheek with her gentle touch. It was so good to have him back, but what a price to pay to get him back. "Tommy."
"I told you I'd be fine, Kim," Tommy whispered, as she threw the upper half of her body on top of his and pinned him to the table for a few moments.
The angry words that he had expected were being replaced by sobs that she was fighting to hold in. She was so happy that he was even alive to think about how mad she could be right now. None of the other things that had happened mattered now, she had her Handsome back and that was all that was important to her.
"Handsome," Kim muttered, as she felt him wrap his arms around her and pressed her head against his neck, letting all of the tears roll down his skin as well, with one strong hand on the back of her head. He really was back and maybe now they could manage to finish with all of the wedding preparations. Sure, he was a ranger again, but the rangers could survive without him for a few days. They had been up until now; it shouldn't change things too much, unless Mesogogg figured out he was much more of an asset than he knew him to already be.
"Everything is going to be alright. I promise you that," Tommy whispered, as Hayley and Billy entered the command center, prepared to see almost anything in front of them.
Billy watched as Tommy tried to comfort Kim, but he knew it was going to take much more than a few simple words this time around. She had been much more upset last night than he had seen her in years. Tommy, of course, had been like this before but there was something more there, something he didn't want to see coming from Kim: fear, for him and his life. A fear that Richard had instilled in her, once he let his presence on Mesogogg's team be known to the two of them.
"Is it?" Hayley asked, as Kim looked up to see that she had grabbed a chair of her own and had seated herself in front of Billy, who was now resting his hands on her shoulders.
Now, there were more things in danger than the rangers, but she didn't want to bring that up to them, yet. She knew that the last time Tommy had been on a ranger team she wasn't on, bad things happened to them and their relationship, but there wasn'ta real need to bring that up right away.
"We'll talk about everything later, Hayley. Right now I just want to be happy that I am back home and awake," Tommy said, finally sitting up, although Kim was still clinging to him.
The room spun for a moment and he, himself, had to cling to Kim for a second before his equilibrium balanced itself. He could feel the difference in having powers back inside of him, but even they did not make him feel well this time. The only one that could do that was now propped against him and he had the feeling that he would have to help her before she could even attempt to help him. It was the absolute least he could do, after putting her through all of this, again.
"Tommy, are you really back as a ranger?" Kim asked, although she had seen him morph, she still had to hear it come from him.
If he was really going back into action, then she wanted in on it as well, although there were no other dino gems available, that she knew of at the moment. If another one came in, she wanted it to have its chance at bonding with her and if it didn't, then at least she tried her best. She, however, had gotten the feeling that he would not want her to become a ranger, but his mind might change if she got a hold of a gem that would bond to her.
"Yeah, I'm back in. I'm suiting up again, Kim," Tommy said, as she released him for the first time and took a small step back, to look at him carefully. He expected worse than this last night, but now she looked like she had an internal conflict and he could only wonder which side would win. Did she really want to sit on the sidelines, like she had before or was she going to ask to do what he had been doing before he got these powers, be out there in the field? He knew, deep down, that she wanted to be out there with him, no matter what he said to her to try to convince her otherwise.
"Kim, we promised to tell the others when he woke up," Billy said, resting a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention to focus on him for about two seconds. Kim, however, continued to stare at Tommy, trying to believe all of it. Tommy could tell that Billy was asking permission to call the others in to see that he was really alright, but Kim was not going to answer that one, her focus was only on him and in all likelihood, she had not even heard the question that he had posed for her.
"Tell them, but ask them to not come yet. We've got some things to attend to before they come out here," Tommy said, standing and guiding Kim out of the command center and upstairs. They both needed some rest, but he wondered how long it would be before they were able to get some of that. She was sure to have many questions for him, although all he wanted to do was go to bed, with her in his arms, safe and sound. These last two days had been hard on him and he just wanted to get back to a normal, Power Ranger, life.
"Okay, Tommy," Billy said, as Hayley and he looked at each other.
Billy didn't really want to stay downstairs and talk to the rangers when they asked the inevitable questions, but he knew it would be better than them worrying for the rest of the weekend. Now, if only Kim and Tommy would talk out all of this, before they could no longer be kept away. If they were to have a fight over this, then the whole team would suffer and he didn't know if this new team would be ready for that, as they were still very young, in their existence as a whole.
"You know that I want back in Tommy," Kim said, as he solemnly shook his head, in a complete understanding of how she felt, as she was suddenly on the outside, looking in. It was one things when he was just the mentor, but now it had changed.
It was to be expected for her to be like this, as she always wanted to be out there with him, to cover his back and he couldn't blame her. He, often times, got into situations that would not turn out good for him, but she had, had his back during those times and wanted to do that now. It just felt natural for her to be out there helping him, at all times.
"Yeah, but there's no power source for you, right now and I can't just let you go out there unprotected," Tommy said, as he sat down at the kitchen table, trying not to show his exhaustion. He watched as she pulled out some flour and buttermilk. At least she wasn't mad enough to leave him to his own cooking that was a plus, as he would not be eating anything right now and his stomach had just let everyone know exactly how hungry he was.
"Tommy, how are we going to do this?" Kim asked, as her brain shifted to thoughts of a ruined wedding, one in which he never showed up at because of a monster attack on Reefside and she knew how real of a chance there was for that to happen. It had been one thing when their dates were ruined, as they were in it together, but their wedding could not be, she would not accept that and she had the feeling that he had already thought about that one. "We've already sent out the invitations, bought everything and now this comes up again. How are we going to do this?"
"I'm not going out that day. It's as simple as that," Tommy said, as she looked over at him from mixing up a batch of biscuits. Did he really mean what he was saying or was he just trying to smooth things over, for a little while?
"Are you serious?" Kim asked, turning back around and pouring a cup of flour into the buttermilk, before mixing the batter some more. He had never stated that he would not go to a battle before and she couldn't imagine he would do this now, it had always meant so much to him.
"We've held off long enough, I don't want to wait any longer. I don't think that either of us can do that," Tommy said, as a smile spread across her face. He really meant it, for once in his life, he was going to put his Power Ranger duties second, even if it was only for a little while.
"Thank you, Tommy," Kim said, pulling an apron over her head and tying it carefully around her waist. She was known to spill things all over her clothing while cooking and she did not want to do that today, she just wasn't in the mood for any added laundry, as she knew that she was going to have a lot to do this afternoon.
"Kim, being a ranger is not as important as you, you know that don't you?" Tommy asked, as he got the feeling that him saying that he wouldn't go out there was not expected. The fork she was holding clattered as it hit the floor and she began to cry, silently, as she kept herself from facing him. She had always felt as if she came second to the rangers even when they first began dating and to know that it had been misplaced this whole time. It was really upsetting to her, to think that she didn't trust Tommy enough to believe in his actions, without the words being said.
"I'm sorry," Kim said, as Tommy stood up to grab himself a drink.
What was there for her to be sorry about? Hell, he should be the one that was apologizing, after putting her back into this situation. The one thing, he had promised himself was that his wife and children, wouldn't have to live in fear of being attacked by a monster, because of him being out there. He had never thought that he wouldn't be able to keep that promise, but now it seemed like that was coming true and he could do nothing about it. The Dino gems choose you, you didn't get the chance to choose them.
"What do you have to be sorry for? I was the one, who caused all of this," Tommy said, closing the refrigerator door empty-handed and turning to see the tears that had slipped out, unchecked. What in the world could be causing her to act like this? He knew that she was usually an emotional wreck when he got back, but it usually was over with after she cried on his shoulder for a little while. "Hey, it's gonna be alright. We've been through worse before."
"Tommy, I do have something to be sorry for, I always thought that you being a ranger meant more to you than I did," Kim said, as Tommy's jaw dropped, at the completely unexpected declaration that he had just heard come from her lips.
She looked at him, as his mouth moved, but absolutely no words came out of it, as he could only stare at her in confusion. She thought that him doing his duty, as a ranger was more important than she was? She was the reason he was able to become a ranger in the first place, because of the love she showed pulled him out of the evil spell he was under, all of those years ago in Angel Grove park. How could she think that being a ranger was more important to him than her? If it hadn't been for her, he would have never done so many things that he was proud of now.
"How could you? Why would you even think? Kim, you're the reason I am a Power Ranger today," Tommy finally spit out, after he recovered from his momentary shock. Kim looked away and tried to wipe the tears away, but only managed to spread flour across her face. She could feel Tommy coming up behind her, but she didn't want to face him, not after telling him that. She knew that it had to hurt him and that was the last thing she wanted to do now. All she wanted was for him to be safe, but that seemed like it was never going to happen, not as long as there was evil out there and that was always going to be a possibility with the way their luck was. "Look at me, Kim. I want you to know that being a ranger has always come second to having you in my life. Did Zordon ever tell you how close I was to leaving the team after we broke up?"
"You almost did what?" Kim asked, spinning around to face him and saw a successful grin spread across his face, as he had gotten her to look at him.
Zordon hadn't told her or probably anyone about it, but he did say that Tommy had been different since she ended their relationship. She could never imagine him wanting to quit, but until a few moments ago, she had thought most of his words were just a custom. Although she should have known better, but her mind still had doubts, that he would ever be able to fully forgive her, for what she had done to the two of them.
"I almost quit it all. Being a ranger was one of the best things that had ever happened to me and it was all because of you, you helped me out of my problems when I first became a ranger. You were there for all of it and you were there when I became the leader of the rangers. When you didn't want me anymore, I didn't want to be a part of anything that had to do with you, including being the white ranger that you loved," Tommy said, sadly remembering the day that he had talked to Zordon about putting the suit away and just letting someone else take over. Zordon had been so sure that it would all be fixed, if he let it take its natural course. The 'natural' course took five years and that was far too long, but they were back together now and he was not going to complain about that. "Jason talked me back into it, he said it was what you would want me to do, that you would want me to stick with it, no matter how much it hurt for me to do just that. I was glad in the end, but it hurt every time I looked at the pink ranger, knowing it wasn't you standing there next to me. I should have come after you, but I didn't. I let that half ass excuse work, because I never thought I was good enough for you."
"Tommy," Kim said, covering her mouth and backing away from him. She thought she had put everything behind her, but she felt it bubbling up inside of her again. He was not mad and she knew that, but she did not feel as if she deserved to have him back in her life, at all. "I'm…"
"Shh, it's alright. We're together now and nothing else matters. I don't care about the past anymore; it's done with now," Tommy said, pulling her towards him and feeling her settle her weight on his chest. These last few days had given her more time to think about what she wanted out of life and all of those thoughts centered around him just being in her life. He knew that if he hadn't been unconscious, then she would have been the only thing on his mind as well, but things happened to cause him to just lie in Mesogogg's lair, doing nothing for the time that he was captured.
"Tommy," Jason said, walking into the kitchen and nearly dropping the teleportation grid to the floor, which would have been a disaster. Billy had called him last night to come up here, just in case Tommy had not woken up, then they were going to take him to the hospital, no matter what. He had gotten the feeling that Kim didn't know about it, but his surprise visit would be welcome, especially with the present that he had for all of them to work on.
"Jase?" Kim asked, looking up from Tommy's chest and turning around to face the person that had that voice, which had been embedded in her mind since she was a young child. Why in the world was he here? She hadn't called him, but maybe Billy and Hayley thought it best, as they had not known that if Tommy would have woken up by now and they knew if he hadn't, she would not have been able to tolerate anything or almost anyone for that matter.
"I guess he woke up," Jason said, giving Kim a hug, after placing the teleportation grid on the table, and watching Tommy's eyes never leave Kim's body. He was going to have a lot of work to do, as the teleportation grid had been finished, but that wasn't the real reason he was up there. His real reason was to ensure Kim would not break down, although he could tell that she had been crying. Although it was probably tears of joy this time, thank goodness.
"Yeah, he did. Thanks for coming up here Jason, I really appreciate it," Kim said, finally being able to get back to working on breakfast. Jason sat down at the table, to catch up with Tommy and talk to him about what he was going to do with Trini or so he hoped.
"You look like you've been thinking about something," Tommy said, as Jason could not believe that he was picking up on that despite his tiredness.
"Well, I have," Jason said, as he watched Kim happily continue to fix food and she seemed to not be paying attention to what they were talking about, so he felt it was safe to continue. "I've got a ring."
"Whoa, I didn't think you were that serious," Tommy said, as he had only been joking around with Jason when they had been up there last.
"I am, but enough about me. What happened to you when you were up there?" Jason asked, as Kim slowed her work and tuned into their conversation. She definitely was interested in hearing all of this, but she knew that whatever he said, was not going to be good.
"I don't really know too much of what happened. When I woke up Zeltrax was there and he said that Mesogogg was pleased with what had been done to me. If they tortured me, I didn't know, I was unconscious most of the time, but I did get some valuable information. They only have three informants, like we thought, but the woman has yet to come into any battle and I don't know, but she looks familiar to me. Sometime while I was there, the dino gem showed up in my hand and now I'm the black ranger," Tommy said, as Jason looked between Kim and he, trying to digest what had been said.
Tommy was a ranger again and Kim was all right with it? Or was she just buying her time, waiting to get back into action herself? Jason did not like the way this seemed to be going, but as long as they were fine with it, he was not going to argue with Tommy. He was just glad that he was safe and back at home, where he belonged.
"You're alright with this?" Jason asked, as Kim slid the biscuits into the oven. She took her time removing the oven mitts and apron, trying to formulate the best answer in her mind. She didn't want to make Tommy mad or upset, but she had to tell Jason the truth, or he would pull it out of her, as they both knew how he got when he knew someone was lying to him. He already knew what her answer would be by the amount of time that she was taking to answer his, simple, innocent question.
"No, but he promised he wouldn't go out on our wedding day, if something happened that day, so I don't care. I'll be all right," Kim said, as Jason and Tommy smiled at her. Tommy knew, already, how she felt about him going back into this, just by looking at her. Jason only had to imagine how Trini would react in the same situation and he was able to figure out how Kim felt about all of this very easily.
"The wedding, I forgot about that," Jason said, as he thought about his best man's speech, which was lying at his office, nowhere near being finished. He didn't have a real clue as to what he was going to write about, but it was going to have to be good to get into their wedding, he knew that much from being around Kim almost everydaythroughout their school years. "I do not know what I am going to talk about."
"Whatever you want to Jason, neither of us care," Tommy said, as Kim settled herself in his lap. He knew that she had been worried about him after the island fiasco, but him being captured, again, had definitely pushed her over the edge. He was not going to leave her sight, if she could help it and she really meant it this time. "I'm not going anywhere without you, am I?"
"Nope, I'm going to attach myself to your side for the next few weeks," Kim said with a smile, as Jason smiled while Tommy, happily, put his arms around Kim and buried his face in her hair letting a few tears drip out of his eyes. Of all the things she could have done, not letting him out of her sight was something he could live with no matter what else happened to them over the next few weeks. If he had to go with her everywhere, he would be fine with it, as long as she felt that she was being insured that he would not be captured, again. The sad thing was that they knew that didn't guarantee that this would not happen again to him or anyone else for that matter.
"I can live with that," Tommy said with an unseen smile, as Hayley and Billy walked up from the command center. It had taken a little bit longer to get in touch with the other rangers, but they were happy when they heard that he had woken up and said they'd see him on Monday, since he would be at school, thank goodness. They had to keep the suspicion down and one way by doing that was telling everyone that Tommy had recovered from his stomach flu over the weekend, which happened to be the illness that was keeping him and Kim, from going to school on Friday. "Now, what are we going to do for the rest of the weekend? We can't just sit around here."
"We can rest, though. I know that you need it," Kim said, as the others laughed at the suggestion. They never rested when they needed to, but would always try in vain to get some sleep any ways and then they would just become more aggravated with the whole situation, which caused them to get out of bed and go talk to each other. "Well, maybe we'll just hang out."
"How have Trini and you been?" Billy asked, as he fixed himself a cup of luke-warm coffee.
No one really talked to him about all of it, but Hayley knew that he was just curious about what had been happening between the two of them over the past few months. He and Trini had been good friends before they dated and he had wanted to keep it that way, but they had drifted apart some as things had started to heat up over the past few years, namelybecause some thought that he might still have feelings for her. Although, Kim and Tommy were certain that his heart was set on Hayley now and no one else had entered his mind in months, but convincing Jason of that was a different story.
"We've been alright, but she's had some things going on at work that she shouldn't have to deal with. Her boss has turned out to be a real bitch. She thought she would like the promotion she got, but she is ready to go somewhere else," Jason said, as he knew Tommy could associate with what it was like to have a boss that acted like that day in and day out. It could get on your nerves more than anything else could, but Trini's problems were worse than Tommy's, from what he could see. "After everything she has been through, I don't blame her."
"Sounds a lot like you," Hayley said, thumping Tommy on the back of the head and he then turned his head to the side to mock glare at her. It was well known that Tommy disliked his boss, but he had the rangers to blame for him staying at that job.
"At least his boss doesn't try to hit on him," Jason muttered, as Kim, the only one who heard him, looked sharply at him. What, exactly, was he suggesting this woman had done to Trini?
"Jase, are you saying…" Kim asked, as the timer went off, but she steadily ignored it. She was only focusing on the statement Jason had made and what it meant for her friend.
"Yeah, that's the main reason why she wants to leave," Jason said, as he could tell the timer was beginning to get on Tommy's nerves, but he was not going to throw Kim out of his lap, yet. He was sure that Tommy did not want to start a fight with her over something like that, not this early in the morning at least.
"Poor Trini," Kim said, as she finally heard the timer and walked over to the oven to take out the pan of biscuits. Tommy stood and went to the refrigerator to gather some other things they would need for breakfast.
"Yeah, but it will be settled soon, I hope," Jason said, as the siren sounded from downstairs and they all looked towards the open trapdoor. Tommy, immediately, went to morph and call the other rangers, but before he was able to get down into the command center, Kim had grabbed him by the wrist, the picture of determination. He did not want to deal with this right now, but the time had come for them to decide about whether or not she would be out there in the field.
"I'm coming with you," Kim muttered, holding onto his wrist as he tried to deny her that choice with his eyes begging her to not do this. He did not want to put her in danger, but she looked determined and he was not ready to go up against her on her becoming more involved with the ranger life again. He had put her in this, the least he could let her do was choose if she wanted to become involved herself, although he wished that he could make that choice for her this time.
"Fine," Tommy said, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the command center. Why did she have to be like this at times like these?
Reefside's Park
"Dr. O, what are you doing here?" Conner asked, as Tommy came up on his, very own, raptor cycle. He had expected that Tommy would have stayed at home, as he was probably still weak from everything that he had been through over the past few days.
"I don't have time to answer that Conner," Tommy said, as he dismounted his cycle with Kim hot on his heels. One of the tryadrones came after her and as it did, Tommy stepped in front of her. He was going to protect her as long as he could, although he knew that might only be a short period of time, as she was bound to be very aggressive. "These guys seem to be bothering you."
"Who's the little one, Tommy?" Zeltrax asked, tauntingly, as Kim glared up at him from her position next to Tommy. She had been referred to as 'the little one' enough times to make her sick to her stomach when she heard it and she always did the same thing, prove that the little one packed a big punch. She started heading towards him, as Tommy looked over at her and tried to restrain her, knowing that this might not have a good outcome for at least one of the parties involved. He couldn't help but be afraid that she would be the one that would get the worst end of the deal. "I never knew you had a child."
"No, he just didn't," Kira said, as Kim slammed Zeltrax to the ground, with one well-planned blow. Tommy watched as Zeltrax stood up, shocked at the girl's strength, and tried to charge at her.Tommy, then was distracted by a group of tryadrones and lost sight of how Kim was doing against Zeltrax.
"I have news for you," Kim said, twisting his shoulder to where he couldn't make any deffensive move against her. The others continued to battle the tryadrones, while Kim had a little heart to heart with Zeltrax, letting him know good and well where she stood. "This little one can kick your ass, any day."
"Ms. Kimberly Hart," Richard said, as the former pink ranger threw Zeltrax into a nearby tree. If anyone could break her concentration on going after Zeltrax it would be him and Mesogogg knew that, as he had been told of her reaction to his sudden appearance at her home a few weeks before. That was why he sent him down there, to see what the girl could really do on her own, against someone she was scared of. It seemed that, she was a lot like her fiancé, which would make her an asset they could use against him one day. "Never knew you had that type of temper inside of you. Maybe working for evil would be a good release with a temper like that."
"Tommy he's there," Jason's voice barked out of Tommy's communicator and he snatched his head up, knowing exactly whom Jason was talking about. Kim had gone rigid at the sound of Richard's voice and she was trying to figure out what to do, in order to not put herself in a bad situation. Tommy turned around to see Kim was standing still, staring at Richard, but he knew he wouldn't be able to make it there before the first blow was dealt.
"Fight, Kim!" Tommy yelled, more as a vote of confidence than anything else. Hearing Tommy's voice seemed to break her out of her trance-like state and she threw her arm up, just in time, to block Richard's attack. He was stronger than he was the last time she had fought him and one look at Tommy let him know she would need his help on this one. She could not do it alone this time. "I'm coming!"
"Are you, Tommy?" Zeltrax asked, standing up to stop the black ranger's progress towards where Kim and Richard were in battle. Mesogogg had wanted to see what the girl could do on her own and the longer he could keep Tommy away, the more they could find out about her and what she was able to do without Mr. Oliver around, as it was possible they could use it against him one day. If she was as valuable as he was, taking her away would not only distract Tommy, but it would make them one fighter short, what a pity. "You know, you're always going to let her down."
"Brachio staff," Tommy said, summoning his weapon and beginning the battle to get past Zeltrax and over to Kim. If Richard opened an invisaportal and took Kim through it, there was no telling what could happen to her and he did not want to risk that, not after just getting back to her. She meant more to him than his own life and if that was what it took to keep her safe, then he was willing to give that, as he had thought about it several times before now, when he could think rationally. "You've messed with the wrong one Zeltrax."
"Oh, I have?" Zeltrax asked, as he slammed Tommy into a nearby tree and Tommy took his time getting up to face the cyborg, as he was truly trying to concentrate on all of this.
Conner and Ethan noticed their teacher's predicament, but before they could make it over to him, another group of tryadrones appeared around them, stopping their progress. Kira had been making her way over to help Kim, but now was surrounded as well. It looked like Kim was going to be left alone with Richard for a little while and Tommy did not like that at all. As the longer it was just the two of them, the more damage he could do to her, as an unprotected human being.
"Well, it looks like precious little Tommy won't be able to help you this time. You're all alone with me," Richard whispered in Kim's ear, as she struggled to get out of his grasp, but only felt it tighten around her body. She could only pray that he did not have plans to finish what he had started all those years ago. If he did, then she was going to be in trouble soon and she knew that much from her previous experiences around here.
"Let me go," Kim roared, as she kicked his shin as hard as she could, thankful that she still had some strength left in her from her last stretch as a ranger. He dropped her, from pure shock and she immediately ran towards the jungle gym, where she would have the upper hand. By the time she reached it, Richard had closed most of the distance between them, but all Kim could see was the monkey bars and she knew that she could vault her way on top of them, without any help.
"Kimmie, why do you have to be like this?" Richard asked, as he reached out to grab her and tackle her to the ground, but found himself being kicked by her as she threw herself at the monkey bars and quickly worked herself to where she was standing on top of them, well out of his reach.
"Never call me Kimmie again," Kim said, glaring down at the man, as he grabbed onto the monkey bars and pulled himself up, but he forgot about her gymnastics training, momentarily. Kim centered herself and then executed a back flip, making sure her feet connected with Richard's chin. When she landed on the ground, she saw him shaking his head and trying to reorient himself. She saw that this might be her only opportunity to reunite with the rangers and she ran for it, arriving at Kira's side within a few seconds. Richard, once he had found himself only saw her back, running to help another ranger, as it seemed that she was always doing.
"If that's the way she wants it," Richard said and then transported himself over to where Kim was standing. She was going to have to prove herself worthy if he was going to continue to fight her and she had not done a good enough job, yet.
"Kira, watch out!" Kim yelled, as a tryadrone blindsided her and the yellow ranger fell to the ground from the blow. She then threw herself into fighting the tryadrones, but noticed that they were not going after her as much as they were Kira and it only took her a few seconds to figure out why. Someone who could punish her more was standing there and when she spun around, there he was again. Wasn't he ever going to leave her alone?
"You know that you are making a mistake running from me, don't you?" Richard asked, as Kim backed away, looking for something she could use against him. She could fight the tryadrones without any weapons, but she knew she would need more than her body to go up against this man.
"Kim, set me up!" Tommy yelled, from across the park. Although Zeltrax and he were still in an intense duel, he knew that if he could get Richard over there with the two of them, then the odds would be in their favor, as they had worked together much longer than Todd and Richard. Long enough, that they knew each other's moves before they did them, which was a real plus in this business.
"Can do!" Kim yelled and began back-handspringing towards Tommy. She knew that she would not beat Richard by running, but he could not keep up with her back-handsprings while walking, so he would have to run after her, which was what Tommy would anticipate him to be doing. "I wish these things would learn that they're never going to win as long as we are here."
"You do? I just wish that I could go through a whole week without something exciting happening," Tommy said, as she landed beside him, face flushed from the activity that had brought her next to him. Zeltrax looked at the two of them and then his group of tryadrones, as long as they were holding out, he was going to continue to fight, maybe he would be able to find a weakness in the black ranger's technique, which seemed to be flawless, so far. Richard was heading over there, to come after Kim, but it seemed that the two of them had something up their sleeves, something that they would not be prepared for. "Take this and if he comes within five feet of you, make him pay."
"Tommy, you need this more than I do," Kim said, as he placed his Brachio staff in her hands and simply shook his head no. Richard was making a beeline for her, so she thrust the spear of the staff into the ground and prepared herself to take flight, as she was no good at sword or staff work. Tommy had worked his way over to Zeltrax and had managed to pull him closer to the two of them, just in time for Richard to come flying into him. Zeltrax tried to send another blow towards Tommy, as he was shocked, but he grabbed Richard and threw him towards Zeltrax, just in time to block the blow that had been heading towards his body.
"Get off of me," Zeltrax mumbled, throwing Richard off of him and going back after Tommy or so he thought. When he finally got back up, Tommy had disappeared and his girlfriend was standing there, staff ready to attack either one of them, if they were dumb enough to try and cross her. She knew how inexperienced she was in this area of fighting, but they were scared to know that he was confident enought to give her his weapon of choice. "He left you alone? What type of man does that?"
"The type, who likes to see you squirm," Tommy said, as Zeltrax and Richard watched Kim smile, as she stepped towards them, knowing Tommy was standing right next to her, prepared to power back up if he needed to. She could see that the tryadrones were gone and it was just the seven of them, wouldn't it be lovely when they saw that they were alone?
"Kim, I'll see you again and next time, you might want to be prepared for him to die," Richard said, as Zeltrax opened an invisaportal and the two of them disappeared through it. Tommy stole a glimpse at Kim, once he had returned to his normal form, and she was looking at him, determination seen in her brown eyes. If he thought he was going to kill Tommy, he was going to have to get through her first and Tommy knew that all too well.
"The two of you are amazing," Conner said, as he powered down and Kim and Tommy could only laugh at him. It did help that they had almost a decade more of experience than they did at this, not that they were going to try to point that out to Conner now. He just seemed amazed that Kim was not injured and she couldn't morph, although Tommy had been the same way before he became one of them. "Are all of you like this?"
"Most of us are," Tommy said, putting an arm around Kim and turning them towards their raptor cycles, so they could head back to his place, to discuss the latest attack they had been through. The only one that they had not seen in battle was the woman that was working for Mesogogg, but he knew it would only be a matter of time before she appeared as well and when she did they were honestly going to have their hands full. "Come on, let's get back to my place before anyone sees us on these things."
"So, Dr. Oliver thinks that he has outsmarted me again. Well, I have news for him, the next time I attack he may not make it out alive," Mesogogg said, as the two 'men' looked at him.
They knew that they had tried to put up a united front against Tommy and Kim, but they also knew that the two of them, together, were more than they wanted to go up against. Even when they were apart, they knew how to get themselves back together, by known cues to the rest of the world and there was nothing they could do against them. They, however, were smart enough to not say anything to Mesogogg about that, as they were likely to be punished for pointing out a flaw in his idea.
AN: That's the end of this chapter and I hope that you have enjoyed it. This being roughly the halfway point of this story, I may take some time to go back and revise previous chapters, but as it seems, I have not gotten too many complaints, although that is just normal in this business. If there are any details that have confused you, feel free to contact me and I will try to explain them to you. Thank you to the readers and feel free to review. Until next time, happy reading!