'TIL I COLLAPSE - PART THIRTEEN: WEAKEN AND BROKEN (PG-13)
SEQUEL TO: ORDINARY WORLD
SUMMARY: The battle is won, but it takes a lot out of the team.
DISCLAIMER: Power Rangers is not mine. I only own Mindshatter, Dinoshade, and the cybots. But I do take charge to see how the outcome of this series will be. So, be careful about the suggestions you make. They could mean something in the end.
A/N: Just read on. It will lead to something the team never would have expected happen in the coming future. And it could shock us all. I don't know. See you when I do and make sure to leave a review or two. Later dayz.
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"After this last battle, even if it was a victory, I really do not know how much these guys can handle. I have been through the hardship and pain more than anyone here, but I do not want to say they cannot handle it either. It is just harder for them, and they are tough if not tougher than me."-Eclyptyk Neo
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The team had returned to the lab. The first ones in were Kim and Tommy. Tommy had placed her on the medical table letting out a relaxed breath. He pushed away a strand of hair on her face and laid a kiss on her lips.
"Tommy," she spoke quietly as her eyes opened. Her strength was returning to her, but she was still a little tired from the mental beating.
He put a finger to her lips. "Shh! Just rest." He turned to the main computer console where the technical advisors were. They were busy trying to find out what went wrong with the zords. He let out a breath, slightly angry as he approached them. "What the hell were you guys thinking? Letting Kim go out there when I told you guys to keep an eye on her!"
"She had insisted on going," Billy said simply. "And you know how stubborn she can be."
"And you let her go!" Tommy breathed. "I can't...I just...
I don't want to put..."
"Yes, Tommy, I went," Kim spoke clearly as her husband turned to look at her.
"And what did I tell you about being safe!" he walked over to her, the anger lit in his eyes. "I will not put your life into jeopardy. Or our child in that matter."
"You could have died out there today, Tommy," she matched his wit as she slowly got off the medical table. She was still a little exhausted, but that didn't seem to bother her. "Don't you think that in the back of my mind I don't freak out about your safety, too?"
"I thank you for your concern, Kim, but you shouldn't have to worry about me or the other rangers. We have the powers to protect ourselves. But you, I don't want to put you at an even more disadvantage than you're already in," he said.
"So, it's like that? Just because I don't have a dino gem, it doesn't make me a ranger fighting in this battle? This isn't just about you, or the teens, it's about all of us here," she glared at him.
The fire of the pink ninja ranger met with the rage residing in the burning eyes of the black DT ranger. And for a moment, it fell completely silent.
The teens slowly walked into the room unsure what to make of the situation as they heard the arguing voices through the caves. They could understand why their teammate was mad, but they didn't understand why he had to take it out on his wife. Let alone, the technical directors. They already had enough on their shoulders, they didn't need the burden for letting Kim out on the field.
Tommy forced out a breath as he felt the eyes of an audience around him and his wife. "Don't do this, now. Not in front of them."
"In case you haven't noticed, Tommy, but what we do, affects the entire team. If something is wrong, they all feel it, no matter what goes on," she shot back.
"But I told you specifically that I didn't want you out on the field. Not in your condition," he said, knowing if they didn't settle this soon he would be letting out more than he needed to.
"You know better than anyone that you would have done the same thing for me. For any of the other rangers. I was only returning the favor. It's about watching each other's back."
"You should have watched it from here. Where it was safe."
"And watch you die? Or possibly the teens? I don't think so, Mister."
"Next time, let us handle the situation. I have said it again, and I will say it again. You are not coming out on the field. Even if you manage to find a power source that can power up a ranger suit, you're not. I have grounded you from stepping onto the field."
"You can't do that to me," Kim protested.
"I can. And I will. Next time, you may not come back. And do you think I want to live with that on my conscience? To allow you to go on the field, even in the early stages of your pregnancy? I lost you once in the past. I will not lose you again. You mean so much to me. So, no, Kimberly. End of dicussion. You are to remain here or somewhere safe whenever an attack goes on. No matter how tempting it will be to help, you won't. You'd better not. Do I make myself clear?"
The room fell silent again. The spectators of the room didn't know what to make of the situation. And it was clear that Billy was the most surprised to see the two lovers fight, especially on grounds such as these. He had to admit he did miss the days in suit, and he knew that Tommy was only looking out for his wife, but he could have cut her some slack. She took a huge risk, and she pulled through.
Kim looked up into her husband's eyes. A small line of anger still remained, but it was evident that she would follow his request more clearly. She nodded slowly. "Yes, sir. You have made yourself clear."
She turned and walked toward the stairs, saying good-bye to the others but didn't turn back or said anything more to her husband.
The room fell silent again as all the eyes turned on the legendary ranger. Tommy let out a surprised breath. He never had intended on saying any of that, but he was just mad. Right? It was the fact that he was just mad. Mad at the fact that their last battle was cut short, even if the victory was owed to the rangers. He didn't mean to yell at Kim. No, not at his own wife. He forced out a few breaths as he slowly collapsed on a chair. He was still taking in what had just happened.
Conner walked up to his science teacher and placed a hand on his shoulder. Tommy turned to look at him, seeing the look of intent and sadness on his student's face. "We've all been through a lot today," Conner began. "I think we all just need to take a break. Get some rest."
Tommy nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're probably right. You know, you guys, I never would have thought that would happen. I'm sorry, but you cannot tell me you would do the same if you were in my position?"
Ethan scratched his head, slightly confused and surprised to hear that question. "Um, well.. I would probably do the same thing. But, I mean, she did help us out, Dr. O."
"Yeah, you know. It's more evident in this battle and our last battle, we're gonna need all the help we can get," Kira said.
"I mean, of course, not Kim. No, but perhaps see what the other rangers are doing. Let them know the situation at hand," Trent suggested.
"It's a risk I don't know if I wanna take," Tommy sighed.
"We're kinda low on options right about now, Tommy," Hayley said as she turned to look at the team. "And it seems we got a lot of work to do with the zords."
"Yeah, give me a break, Tommy. It's been awhile," Billy stated as he nodded looking at the new ranger team. "And the technology you use as a unit is different then what was complied in the old Command Center."
Tommy nodded slowly. "You guys got some work to do on that. And I hope you guys do remember that I can't operate the Dragon Zord completely without the green power coin. And that's destroyed."
"Yeah, we're looking into that," Hayley confirmed. "I've called up Cam to see if he could come up with something. He said he might stop by to share his ideas."
"Do you know when?" Ethan asked, slightly excited to hear the genius behind Ninja Storm could be coming for a visit.
"Whenever he can make the time," she shrugged. "Let's just hope the next time Dinoshade or any other evil being who decides to take it up a notch won't do it until we get all of this figured out."
Tommy nodded again. "Yeah, I know that last fight took a lot out of us." He looked at his teammates and saw the weariness and tiredness in their eyes.
He knew in the back of his mind, this Mindshatter guy was draining them both physcially and mentally. And he wasn't sure how much more his team could handle of the captial punishment. It was only into two battles, and both of them rendered them weak and tired beyond most battles they've had. He knew they were strong, but he couldn't quite explain the surge of energy that re-powered up their zords to force Dinoshade into retreating. And it forced the team to work around the clock analyzing and trying to figure out what was going on.
The teens had all found a seat on a stone block or in a chair. Each of them were exhausted and tired. They couldn't keep their eyes open or really keep their heads up. It hurt to keep their eyes open. Their heads felt like sand bags on their shoulders. And as happy as they were to win that last battle, it had taken a lot out of them in a way that couldn't be fixed. They felt a new line of energy, and they weren't quite sure where it came from, but it was greatly needed and appreciated.
Tommy clapped his hands together to call forth everyone's attention in the room. "Well, I think we can call it a night. We've all been through a pretty exhausting day. I just hope it won't get worse." He turned to his students gesturing them to their feet. "C'mon, you four, I know you're tired, both physcially and mentally, but you guys need to get home. You got school tomorrow."
The teens groaned quietly. They knew they didn't want to go. But they were in need to. They wanted to hit the sack and get that much needed rest and hope that things would be a little better the following day.
"Man, Dr. O, sometimes I wonder how you managed to pull off this ranger thing in high school," Ethan shook his head in sadness as he got to his feet.
"Especially during your senior year," Conner felt at a loss.
"Hang in there, guys. I know it can be hard, and really rough, but I know we'll all pull through this. That's why you're rangers. And I don't think anyone else could have pulled this off better than you guys. You should be lucky," Tommy said in a sincere voice. "Now, yoy guys need to get home and get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."
The teens said their goodbyes quickly and quietly. The teen boys all headed for the forest entrance, but Kira remained as the technical directors met the legendary ranger in the center of the room. By the looks on their faces, it was clear they were concerned about the black DT ranger's decision earlier.
Tommy looked away for a moment, but met the concern and worried look of his student. "What's up, Kira?"
"It's Kim. And your decision to ground her. Is she gonna be okay?" Kira asked, with no hesitation to questioning her P.E. teacher's place in this battle.
"What you guys do will effect the entire team, Tommy," Hayley nodded sincerely.
"It made no difference back in high school, and it makes no difference now," Billy had to agree. Though, in his short time in Reefside, and on Earth, he had seen the evolution of the team. He had seen the collected records of each of the teams, and had noticed that some things would never change. "I don't speak for just the ones that are here, but for all of us."
Tommy sighed quietly, recalling the harsh and angry words he had exchanged with his wife in front of them. He didn't want to live with the conscience of ever being angry with her. And this was the real first time they ever really got into a serious argument since Kim found out he was back in suit. He looked at each of the people remaining in the room. He knew he would have to talk to her anyway. "I know I was rather harsh on her, but I will talk to her. I didn't mean for it to happen, for it to blow up in all of our faces, but I'm only looking out for her. And for the rest of the team."
"Yes, please talk to her, for all of our sakes," Hayley said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We can't afford to take sides, not again," Billy stated.
Tommy nodded again, promised he would. He said his goodbyes and turned and headed up the stairs just as the trio was filing out of the room.
Tommy jumped up the last few sets of stairs up to the study. He closed the secret doorway, setting the alarm system before moving toward the bedroom, where he knew his wife was at. By the time, he got in there, the room was nearly pitch black. The sun was clearly out ofview to give it natural lighting. He saw the silouhette figure sitting on the bed, looking out into the window, or the vastness of space.
This was it. She might never forgive me and force me to go sleep on the couch for the rest of my life, or I could just apologize and suck up to her by making love to her. He thought to himself as he stepped into the room.
He made his way over to the bed and crawled over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She resisted for awhile, trying to force his arms away, but he just clung to her tighter. "I'm sorry, Beautiful. I didn't mean for that to happen..."
At that moment, she had turned away. Didn't bother to look at him or really want to say anything to him. He didn't blame her for the cold shoulder, even if he still held onto her.
"C'mon, Kimberly, baby. I was being a jerk. It's me. I can be selfish, sometimes. But I told you that I didn't want to see you out on the battlefield, whatever the reason may be," he whispered into her ears as he felt the tears forming in his eyes. "I'm only looking out for you 'cuz I love you."
He tried to lay a kiss on her cheek, but she pushed him away.
At that moment, he had let her go and moved to sit beside her. He knew it would take awhile to get her to say something. He just didn't want it to take the whole night. He refused to let this carry onto tomorrow, because when he is in a bad or upset mood, his students could make the conclusion that it had to do with his wife. He didn't need to let others get involved with it, and he couldn't afford for Kim's students to think the same.
"I know you're mad. And I really do hate that I grounded you, but I am trying to live up to my standards as a leader. I wasn't doing that just as a leader, no. But as your husband, too," Tommy said sincerely. He let his hand rest on her chin as she slowly turned to look at him. "I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose what we've worked so hard to make between us. You're the reason why I go out there to save the world because you're all I could ever need when it was over. I love you, Kimberly. From the bottom of my heart to the depths of my soul. You make me who I am."
It fell silent for a moment as Tommy watched the pool of water form in his wife's eyes. As she closed them, a stream of them fell down the side of her face. He leaned over and laid a gentle kiss on her lips before wiping the streams falling down her face. She stopped him, clinging to his arms as she opened her eyes again. A fresh new line of tera came crashing down.
Kim opened her mouth, but pressed her lips together unsure of what to say. But he had touched a finger to her lips to stop her as he shook his head. It was clear he didn't want her to speak, and by her body language he knew that she had forgave him.
"I'm sorry, Beautiful, but I want you to stay on the sidelines. Help out Hayley and Billy whenever you can. And sometimes, actions do speak stronger than words. I can prove that to you, if you let me," he said as he pushed away a line of hair behind her ears. He leaned over again and pushed a kiss to her cheek. And then he set a few kisses down to her neck and she didn't oppose as she pulled him closer to her.
After he had laid a few warm feather kisses on her neck he moved to lay her on the bed. He looked into her eyes, to make sure he could continue and she nodded slowly. And he would make sure that she truly was his to worship and hold for all of their days.
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Ethan had strolled into his house, stopping by the local fast food joint to get something to eat at the semi-late hour. He knew his family wasn't home, working overtime or during the night. That's how it's been for the last few weeks, and he had gotten used to it either way.
As much as he could say that this was a victory he was waiting for, it was one that left all of them rather weak and tired. He felt like a broken toy that was in need of serious repairs. But in the back of his mind, he knew he wouldn't stop the fight until he was truly gonna collapse. For the sake of Reefside, and the rest of the world. He only wished that someone could tell him that. It had a bigger effect on him when another person told him advice he would always tell himself.
He retired to his room and fired up his computer. He figured the best way to clear his head for the time being was to play a computer game.
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Kira strolled into her house, being bombarded, yet again, for showing up late on a school night. Her excuse, like always, was that she was at the library studying. And her parents had accepted it all the time.
She didn't know what to make of the recent attack. It was great having a zord again. She could feel her mental bond with it, but it was a different feeling than that of her original zord. She figured it was only that way since her original zord had been there since the very beginning of her reign as a ranger. But, it would do. At least, until all of the kinks were fixed with them. She had so many questions to ask about what ideas the technical directors had for their zords, but she would have to trust they knew what they were doing.
But this battle had taken a lot out of her. If not these battles with this Mindshatter guy. Both of them had left her both physically and mentally exhausted. She was just getting over the other battle, and now this battle was fresh in her mind. But, with the word of her science teacher, she knew that they could not give up. They could not stop fighting until they truly could not go any farther. She had to keep going until she would collapse. She could look beyond this battl, just as she did the other.
And though she had homework to do, she was far too tired to keep her eyes open any longer. She had raced down to her room, and literally hit the sack once she touched the bed.
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Conner had moved from the front door up to his room without being questioned. His parents had trusted his word that if he came late, he was either doing some 'community service' work, or at a soccer practice, or at the cyber cafe finishing his homework.
But of course, it was not true. He had just gotten into another battle with Mindshatter's henchman, Dinoshade. And as relieved as it was to be over, it took so much out of him. But that's where he knew someone could make it better. Krista. He just felt bad he could not speak the truth to her about what he had been up to for the last two years of his high school career.
He wish he could have, but knew he couldn't risk it. No one would be feeling it, especially his science teacher. He had seen far too much anger rolling off the legendary ranger, but still respected him greatly for all that he did and has done for the team as an entire whole. He just wasn't sure if he could live with himself if he ever decided not to speak the truth to his girlfriend. And he just didn't know how she would react if he had to break it down to her and admit what else has been going on his life.
What matter now, though, was just to hear her voice. To comfort him, because after that last battle, he wasn't sure how long he would last. But he had to be strong. For the team, the team he was the leader for. But even he had more flaws than need be. He jumped on the bed and began to dial her number, knowing he would be on talking to her for some time.
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Trent strolled into the large house, where only he had resided for the last few weeks. He didn't say that he hadn't gotten used to coming to an empty house, he just wished that there really was someone there to greet him. Especially after that last battle. There were a lot of questions going on in his mind and many answers he knew would not come for some time. But he really wanted to know so much.
Was my father okay? What does Mindshatter want with him? Why do I fear that Mesogog will return? And was that an invisi-portal that the cybots had retreated into? He thought to himself. But that was only a few of the questions that sat in his mind. There were plenty of other questions he could ask. He could only hope that things would be okay.
He forced himself to say that, but he wasn't convinced. He knew that there were so many things that wouldn't last. He just hoped that with the recent engagement of moving on with his relationship with Kira, they could handle balancing it out among other things. He could lose her as a friend. And that was the last thing he didn't want.
He hated the fact, though, about these constant dreams he had about that dino-faced freak who once was his father. They felt so real. And he wasn't sure about those evil bings he felt running through his veins, bringing him back to his ways of the past. He didn't want to go through it again. He wasn't sure if he could handle it again. He may be lost forever this time. And he could never forgive himself if he caused more destruction than what he did in the past.
He retired to his room, figuring perhaps drawing could clear his mind of the recent attack. He knew that it took a lot out of them as a team. He knew they could only hold on so long. He just hoped it would be no time soon. He had to hold on, be strong. But there was so much he had to overcome and fight. But it would be one step at a time.
He took a set as his art desk and pulled out the work he had been working on for his Advanced Art class. He had to create a portfolio, even if he had already been accepted to the art school of his choice, it was still required. His subject was on heroism, and he figured it would be too hard to do since he was in face apart of that list on a larger scale. But he looked at everyone as a hero, no matter what they did. And that's what motivation he had to keep him sane. Knowing that in the end, he could just melt back into the reality of having a normal life in his drawings.
To be continued...
A/N: Uh...I'll just see you next chapter. I will try to keep you as updated as I can. Thanks for all the reviews. May the Powers Always Protect You.