ZORDON
I disconnect the call to Dulcea, mulling over what she has told me. Granted, she is only guessing based on what we have been able to tell her and her affinity for the ninja animal spirits, but I really have no reason to doubt her. Knowing that Rita has heard the entire conversation, I turn to her and see the doubt on her face before she hides it.
"What are you thinking?"
She sighs. "She's only guessing - she doesn't really know and won't know unless she sees him herself. I know that Zedd and Pina won't like the idea of him traveling very much, but-"
I interrupt her. "Never mind the two Red Rangers in the other ship, Rita."
She sighs again. "Zordon, I cannot stress enough how uncomfortable I am with the idea of leaving him here."
"Why? After all, they have done nothing to harm him." Besides as much as I am loathe to admit it, I can't deny that Zedd has not only kept him safe, but in a way seems almost affectionate towards him. Well as affectionate as Zedd can be at least.
She frowns, and I see something once more behind her eyes that I just can't place. Finally when her response comes it's not exactly what I was expecting. "Mostly the bond worries me. Especially since I have no doubt that Tommy will want to go back to Earth once he's better and really Zedd wants nothing to do with that planet anymore. When something happened to Tommy, Zedd was able to go to him and help, but Tommy wouldn't be able to do that if the reverse happened and with the bond-"
"I know, but that isn't something that we need to worry about right now. Until such time, Tommy will probably want to remain here to continue his improvement. And, quite frankly, based on what Pina has told us, he is making remarkable progress."
"Yes, based on what Pina has told us and under Zedd's orders to do so I would wager." There is that flash of something she keeps hiding.
"Scorpina is a loyal to Zedd, there's no denying that, but do you honestly think she would lie to us about Tommy's progress? What would be the point? Besides her own mate from what I can see is still less than fond of him, so why risk upsetting him just to keep us in the dark?"
"Because Zedd gets what Zedd wants." All right then. Giving her a lost look, this only seems to encourage her frustration and argument. "He always does this Zordon! You know as well as I do what he's like. When he gets some notion in his head, or something he likes catches his eye, he will find some way to get it, anyone else's thoughts or feelings on the matter be damned! He is an egotistical, selfish, self-gratifying, manipulative jackass!"
"Jackass?"
Huffing at this, she crosses her arms defiantly over her chest. "I observed the Rangers as children, I heard their less than appropriate words."
"So you did. Rita, what is this really about? I know you are not fond of Zedd, but honestly, while a bit of a nuisance, and yes a bit egotistical, he's hardly as bad as you just described him. And honestly with Tommy, he's never been all of that bad. He's had a fondness for the human as far back as I can recall. Even when he held the Green Coin there were several times Zedd could have easily killed him and did not. Perhaps it was the bond, or perhaps he just felt something for the boy, but whatever it was I don't see a desire in him to harm or manipulate Tommy."
"No, not Tommy, just everyone else in the universe." Taking in her tone and expression, it suddenly dawns on me just what her problem may be.
"You still care for him."
"What?" Looking up at me sharply, her glare speaks volumes.
"You still care for Zedd."
"Watch your tongue, I warn you." And suddenly the emotions that she'd been trying so hard to hide are creeping up. That's why I couldn't place them, I had never expected for her of all people to be hurt and jealous over this situation.
"You do, you can deny it all you want, but I can see it now, feel it, that's why you were so upset about their bond, that's why you're so furious at Zedd. Rita, Zedd didn't do this on purpose, our species, you know how these things can happen, sometimes, more often than not we just don't have any control over who or when the bond strikes."
"Yes, between OUR species, not some human! It's not as if Zedd accidentally bonded to Goldar, or Scorpina, or hell even Finster! He bonded to some human who he barely had any contact with, while we shared a bed, shared a mission, a life for how many years! He felt Tommy's distress light years away, and yet…" Suddenly sagging in defeat, Rita shakes her head slowly seeming to compose herself once more. "I'm not angry at Tommy, or even Zedd, I'm just frustrated with the situation, all right."
"It's okay to still care about him you know. I mean he made my life a living hell for centuries, but I still care about him, well I care about him not getting himself killed, or me imprisoned again at least."
Unfortunately not seeing my humor, her response is despondent at best. "It's not the same thing."
"I don't suppose pointing out that you are the Goddess of Light and he is a representation of all you oppose would help?"
"That's just it, it should, but it doesn't. I heard the children talking once, about how opposites attract, and Tommy even compared it to a symbol they have on Earth, the yin and yang, one is light, one is dark. I thought perhaps, despite all of the trouble Zedd and I had before, it was because we were not at the time on opposite sides. That perhaps the problem was we were both of the darkness and that caused conflict. I tried to get along with him Zordon, once the evil in us both was banished, I tried to help as he recovered, but he didn't want me, he wanted Scorpina and Goldar, his family. I marked it down to him just being ill at the time and not familiar with my new power, but it just got worse the more he recovered. Everything I told him, asked of him, he rebelled against. He finally told me one night that the light power I now hold agitated him and made him uneasy, so I let him go." Seeing where this is going I lay my hand on her arm.
"Rita, Tommy doesn't hold the same power as you do, even if it is his White Ranger powers, it is the animal spirit version of them, that type is neither light nor dark."
"He's a child Zordon, he may have grown in years, but compared to what we are, what Zedd is, he's a child." Feeling her hurt over said 'child' taking what she couldn't seem to get, I do my best to try and come up with something useful to offer her.
"In fairness, so is Zedd to a degree. I mean let's be honest, impulse control is not his strong suit, nor is long term planning, and when was honestly the last time you saw him behave appropriately for his age." Getting a small snicker from her, I continue calmly. "Tommy has a very similar pattern of behavior. They fit."
"Perhaps, though I would still feel better if Dulcea could see him to assess him properly."
I think about this for several minutes. An idea comes to me. "She might not need to see him in person if she's only going to assess him. Perhaps a call would be enough."
She pins me with a look. "I can only begin to see problems with that. After all-"
I hold up my hand to stop her. "I know and I'm working on it. Give me a little longer to think about it."
She sighs and agrees. I understand the problem. With Zedd's shady nature, it would not be prudent to allow him access to the Keeper, but I highly doubt that he would agree to allow the call from my ship either. So what do we do?
"In the meantime will you at least try and refrain from injuring Zedd while we're here?"
"I'm not making any promises."
