POWER RANGERS DINO THUNDER
THE WILL TO LIVE
Chapter Three
Written by DTM666
Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by Saban Brands and not the author.
-o-
The drive was long and tiring. Many traffic violations were committed to get here, but considering the urgency, he doesn't care if the courts threw the book at him. From the distance, he could see the long worn-down "Welcome" sign. From there, the drive to the infirmary wouldn't take long. Traffic at this time should be at a minimum if his reports were correct. He prayed that they were. Unfortunately, by the time he got to the downtown area, he found himself trapped in a traffic jam with no room to maneuver. This left him utterly frustrated as he couldn't afford time wasted. The possibility that he might not make it after all soon dawned on him and with that, he pulled out his car phone and speed-dialed Hayley.
"Yeah, I'm close by, but there's too much traffic in the way and I might not make it in time. I have another plan, but I'll need your help in executing it."
-o-
Tommy stared at the Green Ranger as he pointed the pink-tipped arrow at his forehead from a distance. During the whole time, he had tried to force out the arrow that was impaled in his left shoulder, but the pain doubled every time he tried. Tommy was persistent and continued to pull out the weapon. He closed his eyes to try and block out or minimize the pain as the arrow was slowly being pulled from the flesh. When he had gotten the full arrow out, he tossed it at the Green Ranger, who launched his own arrow at him. Despite being slower and thrown with less force, the blood-stained arrow shattered the speeding arrow on impact and continued its way towards the Green Ranger, whom promptly swatted the arrow aside.
This gave Tommy more than enough time to stand to his feet. He turned to check on his injured shoulder, which was still bloodied but he could see that the wound was sealing itself quicker than expected. The pain was still there, however, and Tommy knew this would greatly inhibit his ability to defend himself. The Green Ranger stood before him completely still. Tommy waited for the Green Ranger to attack, but no attack came. Instead, when the Green Ranger moved, he lifted his hands towards his helmet and unlatched the clamps holding it together. With both clamps unlatched, the Ranger slowly removed the green helmet from his head, but rather than seeing a face behind the mask, Tommy saw pink energy pour from the body and helmet, covering everything it could touch. Tommy soon found himself enveloped in this energy and when the light of the energy faded, he found that he was no longer in the Dark Dimension.
Tommy looked around at his new surroundings, his hand still clutching onto the injured shoulder. The dark dimension had shifted to a large stadium with a full audience roaring their applauds. However, a closer look revealed that the crowds weren't filled with ordinary human spectators, but various monsters that Tommy had fought in the past during his Ranger career. Among these crowds, Tommy could spot out several Rangers of varying generations, all of them seemingly lifeless and bound by chains and thorns. And then there was the panel of judges and referees, all of whom took forms of Tommy's previous Ranger identities.
This didn't bode well for Tommy - he knew this all too well considering the stadium, which he instantly recognized. It was here (or at least, a place similar) that young Tommy Oliver, at the ripe age of 13, competed in his first major karate tournament. It was also here that Tommy suffered a major defeat that had made him doubt his abilities; a lingering detriment that had been in the back of his mind until he eventually lost the Green Ranger powers before becoming the White Ranger. Tommy looked around to find his opponent, but saw a thin line of Ranger forms obscuring his view. Finally, after a long time, Tommy's opponent stepped through the crowd and stood before the veteran Ranger, who couldn't believe his eyes.
It was himself at age 13.
The referee walked out of the crowd - a White Ranger with black stripes over the suit, no less - and dictated the rules of the match. Tommy got the important part of it; two falls win the match, just like in the actual tournament young Tommy competed in. As for the rest, he didn't listen as much. He just tried to push aside the growing pain that was slowly eating away his ability to use his left arm. He then looked at his younger self - there was that look of determination he had. This told Tommy that he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of it. Finally, the traditional bows of respect were traded and then the bell rung, signaling the start of the fight.
This is it, he thought to himself, It's go time.
The young boy immediately started with a vicious dropkick that knocked Tommy out of the ring. Tommy landed on the floor outside the ring area on his left shoulder, which caused him to scream in agony as the pain multiplied instantly. From the corner of his eye, he could see the scorecard adding a point to his younger self. Tommy cursed to himself as he slowly got up - barely a second into the match and he was down a fall. He couldn't afford to make another mistake.
As soon as Tommy returned the ring, both fighters took their proper positions. When the bell rang again, the younger boy once again jumped in for a dropkick. This time, Tommy dropped down and as a result, the boy flew past him and out of the ring, his attack landing on a nearby Zeo Ranger official. Tommy smiled to himself as he checked the scorecard to find the match was now tied, although he knew the next fall would have to be a knockout. No doubt the boy realized this as well.
Both fighters returned to their proper positions and the bell rung to start the final round. Young Tommy Oliver soon ran at the older Ranger and executed a flurry of punches that Tommy dodged or blocked with little trouble. When one of the boy's punches landed on the left shoulder blade, Tommy winced in pain and the boy shifted his focus from punches to kicks, which were quicker and more difficult to block. Tommy was now being pummeled mercilessly by the younger boy, who seemed determine to win the fight. When Tommy was about to lose his footing, the boy pulled away and took a few steps back. He then broke to a run at Tommy - possibly to break into a dropkick, but Tommy took two steps forward and shot out a snap kick to the boy's chest. The attack was enough to stun the boy momentarily and Tommy performed a leg sweep to knock down the young boy. Approaching the boy, Tommy used his good arm to land a fist on his opponent's chest, which would normally confirm the knockout blow to register the final fall.
Tommy looked up to see the scorecard reflect his victory, but was baffled to see that the scorecard hadn't changed. Tommy waited for the scorecard to change, not aware that the boy got to his feet and grabbed a bloodied pink arrow that simply appeared on the side of the ring. When Tommy turned around, the boy threw the arrow as he would a javelin and Tommy winced as he felt the cold rod impale into him. The scorecard then added a point for the boy and soon all was silent.
At that point, the arena, the spectators, and everyone else faded to black, leaving only Tommy stunned in the middle. He looked down to find that damn arrow sticking out of his chest, the blood flowing from the newly-created wound. Adding to the misery, Tommy checked his shoulder to find the pain gone, but the wound reopened once again. He stumbled to his knees before falling to the ground on his back. For a brief moment, he could see several surgeons surrounding him in a darkened room. He sees them frantically doing their best to save him from... whatever caused this ordeal to begin with. But soon he sees the taller surgeon hang his head in defeat after a futile attempt while another pulls a cover over, blocking out the light. Tommy could feel his essence escaping his being once again. This time, he would accept his fate and let darkness consume him fully.
His will to live has been extinguished.
His life is over.
-o-
Doctor Edward Payne hung his head as his assistant nurse draped a sheet over the patient's body, who had lost all signs of life just seconds ago. Of all the life-and-death surgeries he had done over his twenty-five year career, he had never gone into one blind, but that was the case here. No one knew what the problem was and now no one knows what the actual cause of death was. He couldn't have put in natural causes, because this was anything but natural. Heart failure was a possibility, but the patient had a clean bill of health, stayed away from drugs, and was in top physical condition. He showed no signs of terminal diseases and yet he's dead. He didn't notice the room emptying out until an assistant nurse placed a hand on Payne's shoulder.
"You did your best, Doctor Payne," she said, "We all did. This isn't going to be easy for any of us."
Payne glanced at his assistant briefly before turning back to the patient. "It's never easy. I just wish there was more I could have done."
"You could give him to us."
The voice startled both Payne and his assistant, who turned towards the door to find the five Power Rangers. The Black Ranger went passed the others and walked towards the covered corpse. He pulled back the sheet to take a look at the patient's face, who seemed to be at peace yet dormant. It was a disturbing sight considering its lifeless state. The Black Ranger bowed his head in sadness as he replaced the sheet over the patient's head. He then took a small handheld device and clicked on the button, causing a small bluish portal to appear. He then took the medical bed with the patient and slowly rolled it through the portal. When they were through, the remaining Rangers also stepped through the portal. The Red Ranger was the last to go through, but not before meeting the eyes of Payne and his assistant.
"We'll keep you updated," he said sadly, "I promise."
Payne nodded as the Red Ranger stepped through the portal, which closed up soon afterwards. "Good luck, Rangers."
TO BE CONTINUED...