Hi everyone! Hope you all are still enjoying the story. This chapter is quite long and apologize for that. There was just so much and I fought with making a chapter break until I decided not to.
As always, I hope you enjoy and I own nothing!
Tommy led me through a dark corridor, the only sound coming from the chains as we walked. He stopped in front of a dark green door. Shoving it open, he pulled me inside and shut it behind me. We were standing in a bedroom, much like the rooms of the hotel. Everything was a different hue of green however. From the walls, to the bed to the silk sheets. Green was everywhere. Tommy swore under his breath, digging through the top drawer of a dresser near the door. "You should have just said yes. We could have avoided all that." He said, revealing the spell hadn't rooted itself deeper as I had feared.
"Don't talk to me." I replied, moving away from him. The anger in my chest was back, this time burning hotter than before. Leaning against a bare spot on the wall, I slid down til I was sitting on the floor.
"What? You're mad at me?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder at me. He pulled what he was looking for out of the drawer. Holding up his fingers, I saw a pin between them. He walked over and knelt in front of me. Gruffly, he took my hands and began picking at the lock of the shackles. "I had to do that to survive. I'm surprise you even care. You weren't going to leave with me anyway."
"Excuse me for not wanting to join your evil army. Get to see you aren't under her spell at the moment." I said sarcastically, turning away from him. There were no windows in here, no sun light. I had no clue what time it was or even where in the hotel we were. The team was probably looking for me, trying to figure out how to save me. Without me there, they would be unable to form the Megazord. Now, they were facing Goldar and the putties. I heard the cuffs click and they opened. He slid them off my wrists and I wrapped my arms around myself.
"You're welcome." He muttered, leaning back against the bed. "Once I accepted it, I could do whatever the hell I want. Well, within reason. Look, I tried to do what I could, Kim. If you had just agreed to come with me, all of this could have been avoided."
"I can't believe you." I whispered, shaking my head. "I don't care what kind of spell she has on you. Those are your friends! This is our home! We grew up here, remember? We spent years trying to protect it just for someone to come take it over. I can't just let that happen. Tommy, you need to try harder to fight off this spell. If you love me at all, you need to find it in you somewhere that she isn't the one who you should be working for." I gave him a pleading look. He took a deep breath, staring down at his lap.
"Kim, I've tried. Really. I just don't see that point any more. Working for Zordon is just putting off the evitable. Rosita is going to find a way to take over the planet rather I'm here or not. If you can't beat them, join them. She promised me that my family and loved ones would have a place in her new empire. I can't risk their lives." Tommy looked like he was struggling with something internally. His forehead creased as he looked off towards the wall across from him. "I did this to protect you."
"Then you need to help me stop her." I said, pulling myself up onto my knees. "If you want to protect me, we need to get out of here."
"That's a whole lot easier said than done." He said, glancing at me. "This place is a fortress. There's no point."
"Is it true?" I whispered, braving myself to lock eyes with him. "You don't love me anymore?"
"Don't be stupid." He retorted, pursing his lips. "I had to say something to think you weren't important to me anymore."
"Oh."
"Even under this spell, I can't shake my feelings for you. It's not the greatest thing but I can't help it. Dr. Oliver is more annoying than you would think." Running his hand through his hair, he sighed. "What's your plan?" I looked at him, confused.
"What?"
"If you want my help, you better have one hell of a plan. Cause when she catches us, we're both dead."
"What about the spell?"
"I told you already. I accepted it and moved on. Once I did that, I was able to get my freewill back. It's like walking around without a soul, I guess. Now, what are we going to do?" He asked.
"We have to get out of here and help the others." I replied, standing. He rolled his eyes as he pulled himself to his feet.
"I knew you were going to say that." He mumbled. "Fine. How do you plan on getting out of here? The only way out is through the stairwell on the Seventh Floor. Someone will see us if we go that way."
"There's no other way out of here? What about a service elevator or something?" I asked, pacing the floor. "Are there any windows on this floor at all?"
"Yeah. In Rosita's chambers." I frowned, crossing my arms. "And no elevator. She didn't want to risk any guests making it up here on accident."
"We're going to have to try the Seventh Floor then." I said, biting my lip. "We can teleport from there. We've done it before." He nodded.
"I suppose. I am going to see if she is still in there. Stay in here. Don't move." He stressed, walking out the door. I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my sneakers while I waited. Fear filled my chest as I realized what we were about to do. If Tommy and I run out there and we get caught, that's it. I couldn't morph, my morpher back at the Command Center. I made sure to leave it there so that Rosita couldn't get possession of it. The only thing I could really do is teleport and that's depending on if Alpha can lock on my location. Tommy had more power here though. He still had the ability to morph and teleport as he pleased. As scared as I was, I knew I had no other choice.
I about jumped out of my skin when Tommy came back into the room. "She's gone. We won't have long. Once we get to the room, we need to get to the spot where you can teleport." He said, looking down at me. Walking back over to his dresser, he picked up a tablet from the top of it. He pressed on the screen a few times and it lit up.
"What's that?"
"An energy scanner. Almost like the one we had in the cave. I use it to track the Power Rangers." He replied, scanning the device. "Goldar and the putties are still fighting them in the park."
"We should teleport to the Command Center. We can explain everything to Zordon then and we can work on reversing the spell." Tommy rolled his eyes.
"That inflated head gets more annoying than Jason." He muttered, tossing the device on the bed. Shaking my head, I pulled myself to my feet.
"What did Jason do that was so wrong, Tommy?" I asked. He waved me off, not answering the question.
"C'mon. If we're going to do this, we need to do it now." Walking towards the door, he opened it and peered up the hallway. He motioned me to follow him out, both of us beelining for the Seventh-Floor main area. No one was in there when we entered the room. Bringing my communicator to my mouth, I pressed the button.
"Alpha, it's Kim. I need to be teleported." I said into the speak. Static answered me, telling us we weren't in deep enough to get the signal. I glanced at Tommy who nodded, walking towards the door of the stairway. Reaching behind him, he took my hand in his as we crossed the room. The fog on the floor was coming in thicker now, rising to almost my waist. I brought my wrist back to my mouth. Pressing the button on the side of it, it chirped.
"Kimberly!" Alpha's voice called, sounding hopeful. "I heard you. We are trying to get a lock on you. There is something jamming the signal. Hang on."
"Hurry, Alpha." I replied.
"Leaving so soon?" Rosita's voice said behind us, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Fear prickled in my chest as Tommy and I turned. Rosita sat perched in her throne, laying as if she was watching television. She had changed her clothing now. The robe was gone. She was dressed in a tight fitting red dress, the same metal armor wrapped around her like it was the other day. Rita's staff was in her hand as she gazed over at us. I felt sweat forming in Tommy's hand as he glared over at her. "Tommy, you are so adorably predictable."
"Let her go." He said, the vein in his temple sticking out slightly like it used to when he was mad. "You want me. Let Kim go." Laughing, Rosita drew herself up to her feet. She wore tall black stiletto boots that clicked as she walked towards the green orb floating near her throne.
"It's amazing how you were able to regain control with my spell on you. I feared that would happen after you saw Kimberly again. Let me fix this for you." Reaching out, she ran her hand over the orb. It glowed a bright green color, illuminating the room in green light. Tommy let out a sharp gasp as he dropped my hand to grab his head. He swore and bent over, his face screamed with pain. In my head, I pleaded with Alpha to hurry the hell up and teleport me out of the there.
"Tommy?" I asked, stepping towards him. He suddenly stood up straight, his eyes flashing green as he glared towards me.
"Pink Ranger, you're going nowhere." He snarled, taking a step forward in my direction. I stepped back, turning my back to Rosita. The green didn't leave Tommy's eyes. They seemed to pulsate with the effect as he matched my steps.
"Take care of her once and for all, my Green knight!" Rosita called, a dark purr in her voice as she spoke. Tommy held his hands out in front of him and the Dragon dagger appeared in his palms with a flash of green. My heart hammered in my chest as fear washed over me. He took the handle of the dagger in his right hand and ran towards me. I flipped backwards, landing a few feet away in the fog. Laying on my stomach, I stayed still. He scanned the room, trying to find me through the thick fog. Rosita watched with sick amusement as Tommy stalked the area.
"Kimmie, I know you're in here. Just come out. It'll be so much quicker and less painless if you do." He cooed, a shiver running up my spine. He lurked closer, his eyes darting over me a few times. Frantically, I tried to think of a plan. I needed to kill time until alpha could get me out of here.
"Kimberly!" Alpha's voice called from my communicator, making Tommy spin towards me. His green glowing eyes caught sight of me in the fog. I leapt to my feet, kicking him square in the chest. Flying backward, he bounced off the wall next to the sphere.
"I'm here, Alpha." I said into my communicator. Tommy pushed off the wall and charge me again, swinging the dagger towards my throat. I ducked, rolling to the right. Popping up again, I kicked his feet from under him. He didn't fall though. He managed to keep his balance as I did a back-hand spring towards the door.
"Just a few more minutes! We've locked on to your location." Alpha said. A flash of green made me glance up and I saw the Dragon dagger come hurling through the air towards me. Shifting to the left, I avoided certain death as it stuck into the door from behind me. Waving his hand, the dagger vanished and reappeared in Tommy's hand again. His eyes continued to pulsate green as Rosita stroked the orb behind him. That must be how she is controlling him, I thought. Each time she touches the globe, his eyes flash. If I destroy the sphere, it would break the control she has over him. My eyes turned to Tommy again who reached down to his belt line where his morpher was. A slight smirk spread across his lips as his fingers touched the dino gem.
"Shit." I muttered, knowing what he was about to do. I rolled out of the way as he vanished and reappeared where I had been standing. I landed on my feet between the throne and Tommy. He spun to face me, his eyes flashing again.
"You can't win." He said, stepping towards me. "You're never getting out of here."
"Tommy, you need to try and push through!" I exclaimed, giving him a pleading look. "Forget about Rosita and Zordon. It's me. It's Kimberly."
"Yes, Tommy." Rosita purred, her voice sounding like velvet. "It's Kimberly. The very girl who broke your heart all those years ago. The girl who left you for Jason." I glared at her over my shoulder. That all made sense now. She was lying to him about Jason and me. She was feeding into the insecurities he had during our split. That was what was bringing out the dark parts of him. Even though we had told him nothing like that was going on between us, the spell was making him belief it was true anyway.
"That's not true." I said, stepping to the left. He followed, leaving a space between him and the door. I was a good ten yards away from it though. "You gave me your blessing to leave, Tommy. I only broke up with you because of the accident. We've talked about this."
"You're nothing but a liar." He said softly, glaring me down. He went to step forward and I slid around him, booking it towards the door. A hard force hit me in the right calf, a searing pain following it that dropped me to the floor. Pulling my leg towards me, I saw the Dragon dagger sticking out from my calf. Blood pooled down my skin and soaked the silver of the blade. Tears streamed down my face from the pain. It felt like my skin was on fire and that my leg was beginning to melt. Gripping the hand, I bit my lip as I pulled it out of my leg. A new pain came with it before my whole leg went numb. The dagger disappeared from my grasp though as someone grabbed the hair on the top of my scalp. I let out a yelp as Tommy dragged me towards Rosita and her throne.
"Good boy, Tommy. Leave her right there." Rosita said, pointing at the ground next to the throne. Tommy tossed me like a rag doll, pain shooting through my whole body as I landed on my stomach. Sweat and tears mixed together on my face as I forced myself to sit up. Blood was soaking into my clothes and I felt myself weave in and out of consciousness from the pain. I was at the base of the throne, Rosita towering over me as she walked around my body to stand next to Tommy. Reaching up, she placed her hand on his shoulder and pushed him until he was kneeling in front of me. "Kimmy, Kimmy, Kimmy." She said, a slight chuckle behind the words. The hair on my arms stood on end, recognizing her voice.
"It was you. You sent me the vision at Tommy's house." I strained, trying my best to pull myself off the ground. I collapsed when I tried to put weight on my injured leg.
"Guilty as charged. I knew you two were Power Rangers when you were here that first night. That's why I placed the spell in Tommy's wine that night. As soon as he touched that dino gem, he was mine for the taking. His soul was dead the second the two of you walked in here."
"Tommy." I said softly, pulling myself to my knees. I slid over so that I was kneeling in front of him. Grabbing his face, I made him look at me. His eyes weren't flashing green anymore but they we empty. Empty like I was staring into a lifeless person. "Please, Tommy. Don't leave me. I'm here. I'm never going to leave you again." I whispered, a tear sliding down my cheek. Leaning in, I pressed my lips to his. I pulled back when I felt a droplet of water on my hand. A tear slid down Tommy's cheek as his eyes shifted to mine.
"Now, Tommy." Rosita's voice demanded above us. I saw Tommy's elbow pull back before I saw the glint of the dagger. He plunged it forward, tearing into my midsection.
Being stabbed doesn't hurt. It's not like the movies where you would see someone get stabbed in the stomach and they fall down and die. I realized this as Tommy dug the dragon dagger into the pit of my stomach. I felt the blade enter but the pain was only present for a moment or two as it tore my skin open. The rest of the motion was mainly pain free as I felt myself fall backwards from the force of the blow. I was now laying on my back, looking up at the black ceiling above my head. The fog had died down now and there was only a light layer of it forming around me. Shakily, I raised my hand and saw that the dagger was still imbedded into my body. When I breathed, it moved along with my belly. Oh, this can't be good, I thought looking back up at the ceiling. I didn't move to pull it out, fear of my blood pouring out faster then. Darkness hugged the corners of my vision as I tried to concentrate on what to do next.
Alpha. I needed to call Alpha.
Weakly, I brought my wrist to my face and pressed the button. "Alpha." I managed to say in a faint voice. "Help."
"I'm trying, Kimberly! Billy is here to help too!" Alpha answered back. I dropped my arm back down to my side, shifting my eyes to look at Rosita. She still stood above Tommy, staring down at me like she was watching something interesting. All the anger and rage I had for her vanished now as I laid there. I felt nothing. It was like instead of blood coming from my body, my emotions were flowing out.
"It's a pity. I really thought I would see love conquer all here today." Rosita spoke, drawing my attention back to her. She gently stroked the top of Tommy's head, her fingers running through her hair like I love to do. I had promised Tommy I would do that for the rest of our lives after this. How was I going to be able to do that when I'm dead? We had made plans, sort of. Dying here wasn't one of them. No. I couldn't lay here and let this be the end of us.
"It…still…can." I said, pushing myself up so I was sitting up. Rosita shot me an amused look as I leaned against the throne, trying to catch my breath. "Tommy and I have faced…a whole lot meaner people…than you. I won't give up…this easy." I said, lightheadedness hitting me.
"You can barely stand, pink ranger. How else do you plan on fighting for Tommy?" She asked, smiling at me. Reaching up, I grabbed the arm of the throne and pulled myself to my feet. I felt like I had run a marathon, my muscle ached all over my body and I felt like I was going to pass out any minute. Tommy didn't speak but his eyes followed me as I moved.
"I will fight…until the minute I die." I said, glaring at her.
"Alright. If you want Tommy so bad, I'll make you a deal. Fight me for him right here and now. If you win, I'll set him free. If not, I'll kill you both." She said, holding her arms out to challenge me. There was a glint in her eye, her knowing there was no way I could physically fight her in my condition right now. I shook my head, placing my hand on the handle of the dagger.
"I learned a long time ago…to not make deals…with people like you." I said, ripping the dagger from my stomach in a quick movement. Gripping it hard, I swung the dagger and slammed it into the globe behind me.
"NO!" Rosita screamed as the blade shattered the globe. Pieces of glass flew every where as the green light inside of it sent me flying backwards. I landed on the other side of the room, glass digging into my skin as I skidded to a stop. I felt blood gushing from my open wound now, the dagger no longer keeping it inside of me.
"Kimberly?" Tommy's voice asked, his figure becoming blurring as I turned to face him. Dark shadows moved, and I saw Rosita's disappear with a cloud of smoke. Blinking, I focused my vision.
"Tommy." I whispered. He sprinted over to me, his eyes wide in shock and horror at the sight of me.
"Kim! We're teleporting you now!" Billy's voice said before Tommy and I were teleported out of the Seventh Floor.