POWER RANGERS DINO THUNDER

THE WILL TO LIVE

Chapter Six

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-

In the city of Reefside, a veteran Ranger's life hangs in the balance. Despite the help of a former Ranger and acquaintance, the fate of Thomas Oliver remains in doubt. Certain measures had to be taken.

Meanwhile, in the city of Mariner Bay, another former Ranger is resting comfortably in his nice warm bed in his small house. He was so glad that he was finally able to settle down in the morning after dealing with bureaucrats and stock holders for two hours straight that had interrupted his much needed sleep early in the morning. It wasn't something he had regretted after leaving Aquitar and getting involved with various Ranger-related projects, but William Cranston often wished that all these duties and opportunities caused a strain on his own personal life... which he had little time for these days.

Some time later, Billy got out of bed and let out a relieving yawn. Putting on a nearby robe, he was walking his way towards the bathroom when the telephone rung. Billy hung his head in frustration, anticipating another phone call from the parties whom had awoken him earlier.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I need your help."

Billy rolled his eyes, partly surprised by the other veteran Ranger calling through his number and partly frustrated by his lack of proper etiquette. "I'm doing fine, Justin. Thanks."

"Excuse me?" the Ranger asked, confused.

"I've just had a good breakfast, had an excruciatingly dull conversation with Lightspeed's investors, and was on my way to a shower." Billy yawned before continuing. "You know, a little courtesy is all I'm asking."

"Sorry about that," Justin replied, "but I really need your help."

"With what?"

"It's Tommy. He's unconscious."

Billy suddenly became more aware at the mention of his friend and fellow Ranger, although he had suppress a grin. "He seems to be enjoying that position a lot as of late."

"Doctor Payne had reported him dead, but I believe otherwise," Justin stated matter-of-factly. "I found something that could be causing this, but I need your help."

"Where're you at?"

"Reefside. He moved there months ago. I know it's a long way from Mariner Bay, but I really need your help with this and so does Tommy."

Billy looked at his watch and mumbled to himself before speaking into the receiver. "If I find my old communicator, I'll be there in a few minutes. If not... well, make it an hour's drive."

Before Justin Stewart could reply, Billy hung up and walked to the bathroom.

-o-

Meanwhile in limbo, the two Thomas Olivers continued their search for a means of escape in the endless reality. Their search had eventually stumbled upon a small pebble similar to the one they encountered before. Further observation from Tommy confirmed that this was the stone they encountered before and now they were standing around the stone, looking at it intently. Thomas didn't know what to make of this, but he decided not to push the subject. Both were silent as they watched the stone shift colors from white to green and back again. After several minutes of staring into the stone, Thomas finally broke the silence.

"Any source of inspiration coming from the rainbow stone?"

"Pick up the stone," Tommy blurted out.

"Come again?"

"Pick up the stone," Tommy said again, "Maybe it'll open because you didn't touch it."

"But we share the same fingerprints," Thomas argued, "It'll never work."

Tommy looked at him, slightly annoyed. "You wanted an idea, didn't you?"

Thomas sighed. Feeling there was no other option, he gently picked up the stone and studied it for a moment. Just as before, it was a smooth-surfaced pebble that gradually grew hotter. Eventually, Thomas dropped the stone, watching it shatter when it hit the ground. Just as before, a cascade of energy was released, eventually forming a doorway as it did before. Unlike the previous doorway, there was no peeks into other realms. Instead it was a comforting blue hue of energy with no shift in colors or shades.

"The portal's back," Tommy said as he observed the doorway more carefully. "Looks more stable this time."

"I'll take your word for it." replied Thomas, who gazed at the flowing portal briefly, digesting its hauntingly beautiful form. He then turned to his double and shot a devilish grin. "Well, it's been fun, but I've got to run."

"Wait a minute," Tommy said, holding his counterpart by the arm as he was about to step through. "I thought we were going to try and escape together."

"Change of plans," Thomas shot, "Besides, I thought you knew how critical things were on my world!"

"Which doesn't make it any reason for you to be this way!" Tommy retorted. "According to the divine powers that brought us here, you were meant to die."

Thomas withheld a snort. "I don't know if you forgotten, but so were you. But if you insist on keeping me from helping my friends, then I have no choice but to take you down."

Tommy sighed as he saw his bearded counterpart fall into a defensive stance. "We shouldn't have to do this."

"Yes we do," insisted Thomas, his calm voice betraying his stone face. "Whoever wins the fight gets to leave this place and return to the living and the loser stays. Let's just skip the honorable hand-to-hand stuff and get to the hardcore action."

With a quick motion of his fists, Thomas produced two wrist devices and quickly joined them together in another quick motion. Red light soon enveloped the man, forcing Tommy to block his eyes from the blinding light. When the light faded, Tommy lowered his arms to find that his counterpart had been replaced with that of a Red Ranger. But what surprised Tommy somewhat was that this Ranger form was none of his previous forms, but a form vaguely similar to that of the original Red Ranger. The suit design, helmet, and color schemes were the same, but in place of the simplistic white gloves were silver gauntlets embedded with ruby gemstones. The boots had a heavier, metallic look to it. Hanging over the Ranger suit was the golden chestplate of the Green Ranger, completing the overall look.

"Like my new form?" the Red Ranger asked, a hint of arrogance trailing his words. "It's the product of Eltarian technology combined with Orion mystics. If you know what's good for you, you'll let me pass."

Tommy shook his head in disbelief. "Come on, power down and let's figure out a way out together. Stop this selfish ambition."

Beneath the mask, Thomas sneered. "Not a chance! Prepare to go to Hell!"

Realizing that reasoning was out of the question, Tommy begrudgingly summoned his own morpher and activated it. His form was soon replaced with that of his current Black Ranger guise. As he summoned his trademark Bracciostaff, his counterpart had summoned his own trademark weapon: a long, battered broadsword whose wide double-edged blade emitted a slight reddish glow.

"You know you have no chance," the Red Ranger said, "These new Ranger powers outclass all others."

Tommy shook his head, gripping his weapon tightly. "If your powers were any good, you wouldn't be here right now."

Without warning, the Red Ranger launched himself into the air with the sword held over his hand. As he was about to land, he swung the sword forward towards Tommy, who managed to sidestep the attack. When the Red Ranger landed, he was struck with a kick to the chest which stunned him momentarily. Tommy swung the staff to his opponent, but he was too slow as the Red Ranger recovered and blocked the blow with his sword. A quick elbow strike to Tommy's head forced him to drop the staff, but upon seeing the Ranger swinging the sword, he blocked it with his hands and kicked it away. The two Tommies, now unarmed, frantically traded off punches and kicks, lunges and foot sweeps, and other maneuvers quick. Just as the melee peaked in intensity, a great force knocked the two away from each other.

Tommy recovered quickly while his counterpart was slow to regain his bearings. Seeing this as an open opportunity, Tommy motioned the blade of his Bracciostaff in a circular motion and shot out an energy orb attack, which had taken down or crippled many enemies in the past. By the time the Red Ranger saw the orb flying at him, it was too late to do anything. The blast had enveloped his entire body and a series of explosions ripped his armor apart. When the smoke cleared, Tommy got a clear view of the other Thomas Oliver, who was breathing heavily as he experienced a forceful demorph that returned him to his real form.

With a quick motion, the Black Ranger demorphed and was replaced with his civilian identity. Tommy looked down at his fallen counterpart with pity. He began to walk towards the portal when Thomas cried out. "Come back here! Don't leave me like this!"

Tommy turned to face his opponent, suppressing a smile. "Suddenly, I'm beginning to doubt if you're really me or just another test to keep me from being awake."

With that, Tommy stepped into the portal and...

-o-

"How long was he like this?" Billy asked as he studied Tommy's vitals.

"About a couple days," Hayley replied while Justin checked on Tommy's immobile body. "Your friend seemed to handle things rather well."

"Justin was a bright kid when he was a Ranger," Billy noted, recalling their brief partnership together in the launching of a pivotal project during the height of the Alliance War. "Those skills he developed in college came in handy."

Both Hayley and Billy studied the vitals for a few seconds before they started to change on him. Billy shot a brief smile at the readings before it was replaced with a concerned frown.

"What's going on?" Hayley asked.

Billy scratched his head. "Whatever is causing his current comatose state is being eradicated. His vitals are returning to normal."

"So that's good, right?" she asked, confused by Billy's heavy tone. "So why the long face?"

Billy studied the vitals a second time, more thoroughly, searching for any possible error or anything he might have overlooked. When he found nothing, his fears were confirmed and with a heavy heart, he turned to Hayley , who was looking back at the Blue Ranger with quizzical expressions.

"His vitals are returning to normal, but along with it comes an additional side-effect that I've been fearing for a long time," he explained, trying to keep his voice calm.

"I don't get it."

Billy sighed. "You know that Tommy had been exposed to multiple Ranger powers over the past few years. Well, each time he switches powers, it causes a slight imbalance in his body chemistry. Because of Tommy's constant exposure to alternating Ranger powers, these imbalances would have occurred in greater frequency and would build up to the point where he'd eventually be getting symptoms." He turned to Hayley. "You mentioned before that Tommy fell into a similar coma a few days prior to his announced death, correct?"

Hayley nodded. "The first time was just a coma after he was encased in amber, stuck in a morphed state, and was temporarily invisible... Could these be possible symptoms of these constant imbalances you're talking about?"

"The amber was an attack, so that I doubt," answered Billy, "but there's no reason for being stuck in morphed state. The built-in failsafe wouldn't have allowed it."

Hayley raised an eyebrow. "There's failsafes in morphers?"

Billy thought about it briefly before ignoring that last comment. "In any case, these comas are possible symptoms, but I won't know until I examine the data further but..."

"Hey guys! I think he's coming too!"

-o-

As soon as Tommy stepped through the portal, he was immediately hit by pitch darkness and knocked out. Probably for the best, since what he would experience for the next hour would be pretty graphic and would make him wish he was dead. When he did eventually regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was Justin Stewart's grinning face hovering over him.

"Hey guys!" the former Blue Turbo Ranger cried out, "I think he's coming too!"

Tommy winced for a moment at the young man's loud bellow. "Not too loud, Justin. I just woke up."

He whisked Justin away with his hand and saw Hayley standing there, trying to fight back tears. She then leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, then whispered, "Welcome back and don't expect me to wear pink for you."

Tommy shook his head in disbelief, but when his eyes met with those of a longtime friend he hadn't seen in years, his eyes widened and so did his smile.

"You bastard," he quipped, "What are you doing here saving my butt again?"

Billy half-smiled. "Making sure you were well enough to ask a question like that."

Tommy couldn't help but chuckle, but quickly frowned when he noticed that the three friends' enthusiasm were less than he had hoped for. "Is it just me or were you guys hoping I didn't come back from the dead?"

Although Hayley and Justin simply turned away in response, Billy winced at the words. "Now that you mention it, Tom, we do have a problem to discuss..."

TO BE CONTINUED...