A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Here is chapter 3!

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but if I did, the rangers would sustain more believable injuries!

Falling Legacy

Chapter 3: Facing Fear

"Hey Hayley… do you get the feeling that something is really wrong with Dr. O?" Connor asked, breaking the odd silence inside Ethan's car as they drove towards Reefside.

"Yes, I'm afraid so Connor. I just don't understand why he won't just tell us what's going on." Hayley leaned her head against the window, trying to figure out just why Tommy wouldn't tell them the truth.

"Maybe he's afraid to admit that he's sick. Or maybe it's something really serious and he doesn't want us to worry too much about him." Kira suggested, drumming her fingers on the side door.

"If so, I'd like to know what he's sick with and how serious it is." Ethan said finally, pulling into the parking lot of a Burger King. "C'mon, dinner is on me. I'm starving."

It wasn't long until they were back at the Cyberspace telling Trent exactly what happened and calls were made to those who worked at the Cyberspace, and to their suppliers. After a good nights sleep, they were back on the road again.

"I can't believe Dr. O wouldn't at least try to contact us. You're telling me that nobody but the doctors and the four of us know that he's in the hospital?" Trent asked, unbelieving that the former power ranger wouldn't even tell his own family that he's sick.

"I can't believe it either, Trent. You should have seen him. He was so pale and surprised we were there." Ethan said.

"He was playing Donkey Kong with some kid that he apparently shares a room with." Kira said point blank.

"He shares a room with a kid? Don't they usually put adults in rooms with adults and kids in rooms with other kids?" Silence once again cast itself over the car.

"Trent… you are a genius! You're right. Usually they have kids in wards for kids and adults in wards for adults. Something is definitely going on." Kira cried out.

"Well I wouldn't say I'm a genius… but what the heck…" Trent said.

Finally they made it to the hospital, grabbed some flowers from the gift shop, and made it back into Tommy's room which was unusually quiet. The boy who had been there the other day was gone without so much as a single trace.

"I thought you guys said there was a kid in this room with him…" Trent said in a whisper, staring at the empty bed.

"There was… they must have moved him or something…" Connor whispered.

"Then where is he now?" Trent asked.

"I wish we knew, that would at least settle my mind…" Kira murmured. Tommy was in his bed sleeping peacefully, or so it seemed. "Um, you think we should wake him?"

"Well it's not like he's going to tell us anything if we don't." Connor said, raising his voice. Tommy's eyes flickered open and the tired man let out a big yawn.

"Oh, hey you guys." Tommy said in a quiet, depressed manner.

"Hey Dr. O, these are for you…" Kira said, handing him the flowers.

"Thanks, you guys, this bedside table has needed a little decoration." He said managing a small half hearted smile.

"So, Tommy, what happened to your roommate?" Hayley asked. Tommy blinked and then gulped, the same way she remembered he would whenever he was asked about past girlfriends and other bad experiences.

"Nothing…" Tommy replied.

"Tommy, don't lie to us." Haley warned.

"I'm not lying…" Tommy said in a childish manner as he stared at a pinprick dot on the opposite wall.

"Dr. O, please tell us the truth, we're worried about you. You haven't even told us exactly why you're here." Kira said, tears threatening to fall.

"Yeah, c'mon Dr. O…" Ethan and Connor ushered in unison.

"Dr. O, we're the only ones that know you're here. You haven't even bothered to call your family… At least tell us what's going on." Trent looked at Tommy, feeling betrayed.

"Fine, you want to know what's going on, I'll tell you what's going on!" Tommy exclaimed angrily, blood quickly rushing to his pale face. "The kid who was in here yesterday, his name was Nick, he died last night…"

"My god, Tommy, but he was fine when we left…" Hayley paled.

"No he wasn't. He was dying. I was just trying to distract him from the fact that he was never even going to learn to drive or even have a girlfriend. He was supposed to go to Disneyland next week. He was in pain, Hayley."

"From what?" she pressed on, causing Tommy to gulp once more.

"From AIDS" Tommy murmured quietly, too quietly for the former rangers and Hayley to hear.

"Sorry Tommy, what was that you said?"

"He died from AIDS…" Tommy said, his temper flaring again. They heard the door open and a young female nurse came in with a tray. Hayley could do nothing more than stand there in shock.

"Tommy, I…" she gulped. "I don't know what to say."

"You wanted to know what was going on, let me continue before Rose comes in…" Tommy hissed, glancing at the clock. "A long time ago… when I was in high school… there was a monster attack… He was holding Kat hostage and I was the only one that could fight. I don't know where everyone else was… I ended up fighting it and winning… afterwards finding out that I must have gotten a rather bad cut while fighting. I tended to the cut and it healed up just fine, so I brushed it off." Tommy took a deep breath. Then, a few years after I started teaching at Reefside, I started getting sick, very sick, very often. I was gone so often that I couldn't teach for a single week at a time. I eventually went to the doctor, knowing that something was definitely wrong." Tommy gulped before continuing. "The doctors ran some tests, then ran more, eventually forcing me to be admitted to the hospital so that they could observe me and run as many tests as the blood hungry doctors could. Finally they pinpointed the cause of my being ill to a very rare virus related to the AIDS virus, even though what I've got works a lot faster at killing and has killed every other person who has been diagnosed, save for me."

A/N2: Okay, here's another cliffhanger for you… have fun reading and don't forget to review!