Hey, Thank you everyone who has given reviews or fallowed us! We like to hear what you like and what we can change for next time. As always we have a ways to go before the end of the story a lot more is going to happen before we can finish up. :) So keep the comments coming, and if you have suggestions for future stories let us know. AN at the bottom for our anonymous reviews thanks everyone enjoy!
Daggeron's train came to a stop at the base of the mountain. He climbed out, Chip and Tommy following. They paused, for a moment, looking up at the climb.
"You think I can make it?" Chip asked, eyes wide as he looked up the mountain.
"Come on," Daggeron said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll take it step-by-step."
He turned, looking at Tommy.
"Tommy, are you still alright?" he said. "Are you up for this?"
"Yeah," Tommy nodded, concentrating on breathing. "I'll be fine. Not my first time climbing a mountain—though I will admit I didn't have something inside of me trying to eat my soul the last time…"
Nodding, Daggeron started off into the trees. Chip and Tommy followed.
"Going somewhere?" Gnatu laughed. "I don't think so. Spydex!"
Gnatu and Spydex had attacked another group of people on the street. She grabbed a hold of a woman, intending to steal her life-force. But before she could pull the life-force from the woman, Jason leapt in the way.
"Not this time!" he snarled.
Once again ignoring his ankle for the sake of the other people around him, Jason whipped around and kicked the Hidiacs holding the woman. He knocked them backward, freeing the woman. Shoving her out of the way and shouting for her to run, Jason kicked another Hidiac away from her as she stumbled away.
"You again!" Gnatu cried, glaring at Jason. "Get him!"
More Hidiacs swarmed Jason, overwhelming him. Pinning his arms, they dragged him back to Gnatu.
"What I take from you should be enough," she hissed, facing Jason.
He struggled to get away, but couldn't pry himself loose.
"You're not going to get away with this," he growled, panting.
"I already have," she cackled.
Reaching out, she grabbed hold of Jason. He tried fighting back again, but it was no use. Gnatu laughed, draining the life-force from Jason. As he slumped in the grasp of the Hidiacs, they let go and Jason collapsed onto the ground.
"Spydex, turn their life-force into something useful!" Gnatu ordered.
"Where could he have gone?" Madison cried, looking around.
The rangers were running through the streets, already morphed, searching for Jason as they tried to locate Gnatu and Spydex. But so far there had been no sign of anyone. Then shouts and screams caught their attention.
"This way!" Nick shouted.
Following the screaming, the rangers stumbled on another attack. Gnatu was standing with Spydex in the middle of the chaos, enjoying herself.
"Jason!" Madison suddenly screamed.
"No!" Vida shouted, seeing what Madison had seen.
Several Hidiacs had just dragged Jason in front of Gnatu. He was panting, struggling to get away from the creatures—but he didn't have the strength to break loose. Madison and Vida ran to save him, the boys following. But they couldn't get there fast enough. Jason snapped something at Gnatu and then she reached out, draining the life-force from him.
"No!" the girls screamed, pulling out their wands.
"Spydex, turn their life-force into something useful," Gnatu ordered.
Jason collapsed to the ground, not moving. Casting a spell in unison, Madison and Vida got Gnatu's attention.
"Pesky rangers!" Gnatu cried.
"Not so fast!" Nick shouted.
As Xander and Nick attacked Gnatu and Spydex, Madison and Vida ran to Jason.
"Jason!" Vida exclaimed, dropping down next to him. "Come on, big bro. Please wake up."
She shook his shoulder, desperately trying to get a reaction. But Jason didn't move.
"She's going to pay for this," Madison snapped, choking back a sob.
Leaping to their feet, they joined in the fight.
"Come on, Chip," Daggeron said, glancing down. "You can do it!"
Daggeron, Chip, and Tommy were currently making their way up a nearly vertical cliff face. There were a lot of great hand and foot holds, but Tommy and Chip were moving slowly as they struggled with the specters eating away at them.
"Keep going, kid," Tommy said, panting as he paused. "Gotta keep moving."
Chip nodded, moving to pull himself up to the next hold place. But rock gave out underneath him and he slipped. Daggeron jerked to catch him, but Tommy had already grabbed Chip's arm. Looking at Tommy in surprise because of how fast he had moved, Daggeron reached down to help pull Chip back up.
"Hold on!" Daggeron encouraged. "That's it."
With Chip holding tightly to the cliff side again, the three of them continued to work their way to the top. Finally reaching the top of the cliff, they all paused to breath for a moment. Daggeron was the first on his feet, encouraging Chip and Tommy to follow. They headed into some trees, fighting through brush and over tree roots and other obstacles.
"I'm sorry, Daggeron," Chip gasped, collapsing as he tripped over a root. "I don't think I can make it."
Daggeron stopped, but Tommy pushed on a little ways to give them some privacy. Sitting down next to Chip, Daggeron took a deep breath.
"When I was training to be a knight," he said slowly. "I can't tell you the number of times I wanted to quit. But my teacher never let me."
He smiled at Chip.
"Now, I wouldn't be a very good teacher if I let my student give up before he even started training, would I?" Daggeron asked.
Chip looked up at him in surprise.
"You mean… you're gonna train me to be a knight?" Chip exclaimed. "A real knight?"
"Not if we don't make it up this mountain," he answered, holding out a hand to help Chip up. "Now, let's go."
They caught up to Tommy a short distance ahead. He was leaning against a tree, his eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath. One arm was wrapped around his rib cage. As they approached, he opened his eyes.
"Are you alright, Tommy?" Daggeron asked.
"Yeah," Tommy grimaced, straightening up. "Let's just keep going…"
Nodding, Daggeron took the lead again as Tommy and Chip followed.
Back in Briarwood, the rangers were struggling. Down a ranger, they were having trouble dealing with Gnatu and Spydex. All of them were really taking a beating, but they kept fighting.
Finally reaching the top of the mountain, Chip and Tommy staggered after Daggeron.
"Come on," Daggeron said, looking around for any sign of the staff.
"I can't do it!" Chip cried, collapsing.
Tommy caught him before he hit the ground, lowering him carefully. Nodding in thanks, Daggeron kept looking.
"There it is," he said in relief. "The Staff of Topaz."
But as he reached for it, there was a blast followed by an explosion. Tommy used his own body to shield Chip. Taking most of the blast himself, Tommy was thrown a few yards back and hit the ground. He slumped, unconscious. Chip stayed where he was, too weakened by the specter to aid Daggeron.
"Not so fast, knight," Koragg growled, taking the Staff of Topaz.
Daggeron stood firm where he was.
"They don't have much time," Daggeron said shortly. "Give me the staff."
Koragg scoffed.
"You want it?" he said. "You'll have to take it from me."
"Not a problem," Daggeron snapped back.
Morphing, Daggeron charged into the fight.
"What?" Koragg exclaimed after Daggeron landed a hard strike. "Try this, knight! Shield of darkness!"
Daggeron stumbled and Koragg laughed.
"You'll have to do better than that!" Koragg growled.
Catching himself, Daggeron attacked again. Then Koragg summoned his megazord form. Daggeron readied himself to do the same.
"You want to play?" he snapped. "Solaris streak megazord! Let's go! Time to turn up the heat!"
He attacked, but Koragg blocked.
"My turn!" Koragg said.
The fight continued, neither one with the advantage to begin with.
"Ok," Daggeron said, shaking his head. "I see how it is now. Furnace blast!"
To his surprise, Koragg blocked the attack.
"I've played with you long enough!" Koragg snarled. "Behold the power of the master!"
Koragg unleashed a dark magic attack on Daggeron. It struck dead on, wrapping Daggeron in black vines.
"Pathetic," Koragg said, beginning to turn away.
Daggeron struggled to break free.
"Weaklings," Gnatu scoffed, looking at the rangers.
All four of them were panting and hard pressed to stay on their feet. The fight was not going well.
"It's not over!" Nick cried, trying to get up.
But Gnatu had turned her attention away from them and Nick collapsed again in pain.
"Ready for some fireworks, Spydex?" she laughed, dropping the life-force orb into her machine.
"Come on, rangers," Nick said, forcing himself to his feet. "We got to hang in there! This one's for Chip!"
All in agreement, the rangers struggled back to their feet and charged back into the fight.
As Koragg turned away, Daggeron summoned all of his strength to break through the bindings.
"Impossible!" Koragg cried in astonishment.
But Daggeron didn't give him a chance to react.
"There's more!" he shouted. "Furnace blast! Full power!"
The blow hit Koragg at full strength, causing him to stumble and drop the staff.
"Gotcha!" Daggeron said, catching it. "The Staff of Topaz."
Koragg regarded him approvingly.
"You might be a worthy opponent after all!" he said before disappearing from view.
"Chip!" Daggeron exclaimed, spinning and running back to Chip and Tommy. "Hold on, young friend. Don't give up! Tommy, keep fighting!"
He aimed the Staff of Topaz at Chip and Tommy. Both were convulsing in pain as the specters reached the peak of their power, the vortices swirling around them. Channeling the magic of the staff, Daggeron drove the specters from them. Black mist poured from each of their mouths, dissipating into the air. Both of them stayed where they were after it was gone, panting. Daggeron ran to Chip to check on him as Tommy pushed himself upright. .
"If training to be a knight is like this," Chip said as Daggeron helped him sit up. "It's gonna be brutal. When do we start?"
Daggeron smiled, pulling Chip to his feet.
"As soon as we get Tommy to safety," he said. "And you need to help the others, of course."
"Right," Chip said. "Tommy, are you—"
He froze in surprise. Tommy was gone. Both Daggeron and Chip spun, looking around, but the other man was nowhere to be seen.
"Let's go," Daggeron said. "He can't have gotten far."
Tommy ran down the street towards the sound of the battle. He knew Jason wouldn't be far from the fight. He just hoped he was alright. As he rounded a corner, he could hear the rangers still fighting nearby.
"Jason!" he exclaimed, seeing Jason's prone form on the ground.
He ran toward him, avoiding the fighting as best he could. Skidding to a stop, he dropped down on the ground next to him.
"Please just be unconscious," he muttered, shaking him. "Come on, Rex. You've gotta wake up."
Jason didn't move, staring blankly straight ahead. Tommy took a deep breath, looking around. They were extremely close to the fight.
"If we get stepped on when they switch to zords, I'm blaming you," Tommy muttered.
Hooking his arms under Jason's shoulders, he started trying to pull him further from the fight. With his ribs, however, it was a lot harder than it would have been normally.
"Great," Tommy grumbled, panting. "I guess this is going to have to do."
He'd managed to get Jason over to a wall, sheltering against it as he listened to the sounds of explosions from the nearby fight.
"I'm through with you," Gnatu snapped at the rangers. "Let's get the party started!"
She lit the fuse for the cannon that would shoot the life-force into the sky.
"No!" Nick cried, racing to get to the fuse.
But the rangers couldn't reach it. Then, just before it went off, something struck the fuse and stopped the spark. Chip dropped into the fight, holding his bow.
"Chip, you're ok!" Nick exclaimed.
Chip nodded, joining them.
"Never been better," he said. "Now, let's show them how it's done."
"Right!" they all agreed.
Daggeron ran to the cannon while it was unguarded.
"I'll take care of this," Daggeron said, holding up the life-force orb. "You get in there and fight."
The rangers nodded, pulling out their wands.
"All right!" Nick shouted. "Magi staff, speed spell!"
Casting the spell together, the rangers attacked Spydex.
"See ya!" Chip yelled, striking the final blow.
Spydex fell and the orb shattered, releasing the souls.
"Ah," Daggeron exclaimed. "Now all the souls will return where they belong."
"Oh, yeah," Chip laughed as they watched the souls fly into the air.
Tommy looked up to see white flashes soaring through the air—the released souls going back to the people. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tommy watched as one of the flashes streaked back to Jason.
"Jase, are you alright?" Tommy asked, shaking his shoulder. "Jason, wake up!"
Jason jerked. Reacting on instinct, he whipped around and decked Tommy in the face.
"Agh!" Tommy shouted, falling backward.
Jason looked around wildly, panting. Then he saw Tommy lying on the ground.
"Tommy?" he said, scrambling over to him. "Tommy, are you alright?"
Tommy groaned, glaring at Jason with a hand over his face.
"I was until you hit me!" he snapped, holding a hand to his face.
"What—what happened?" Jason asked.
Still glaring at Jason, Tommy pushed himself back into a sitting position.
"Some thanks I get," Tommy muttered. "I try and get you somewhere safe and you hit me for it."
"I'm sorry," Jason said. "I reacted. And, since the last thing I remember is being in the middle of the fight, that was my reaction."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tommy grumbled, wincing again as he gingerly touched his eye. "I think you just gave me a black eye…"
"Don't forget about me!" Gnatu cried. "Little rangers!"
She grew to giant size, towering over them.
"Get back!" Nick exclaimed as she tried to step on them.
Taking their own megazord form, the rangers fought back.
"You messed with the wrong ranger, lady!" Chip shouted.
She fell back under their attack, but they didn't let up.
Jason saw Gnatu grow and the megazord appeared.
"Aww, crap," he muttered. "That's not good…"
"What?" Tommy said.
His vision was currently obstructed by his hand, which he was holding over the eye Jason had hit. Groaning, Jason reached down and hauled Tommy to his feet.
"Zords," he said. "Which means we should move."
He started pulling Tommy after him, but didn't realize how close they were to a light pole. Tommy hit it face first, stumbling backward in shock and pain.
"Jason!" he exclaimed. "Agh…I—I'm bleeding! Great!"
"Sorry!" Jason said. "But we still need to move—unless you want to get stepped on."
Tommy glared at him, holding a hand over his nose.
"Dere not dat close…" he muttered, trying to pull his hand away.
But his nose was bleeding quite profusely. Groaning, he put his hand back.
"I'b gonna kill you," Tommy growled. "And adain—dere way ober der!"
"I'm sorry," Jason sighed, tugging on Tommy's arm. "But we've both seen those things fall—now come on."
Still holding his face, Tommy let Jason pull him away.
"Time to bug out," Gnatu said, taking flight and trying to escape.
"Titan megazord, take flight!" the rangers called. "Spirits of the ancient titans!"
They struck at Gnatu, knocking her out of the sky and destroying her.
"Way to go, guys!" Chip exclaimed.
Dropping down out of the zords, the rangers gathered in excitement. Vida hugged Chip.
"You have no idea how glad we are to see you," she said.
"Perfect timing," Xander agreed.
"Look!" Madison exclaimed, looking around. "People are back to normal!"
"Yeah!" the others exclaimed in excitement.
"Come on, guys," Daggeron said, coming up behind them. "Time to get out of the way."
They followed him off the street, getting out of sight of the general population.
"Power down," Nick said once they were clear.
The others followed his lead.
"How are you feeling, Chip?" Xander asked.
"Never been better," he grinned.
"Where's Tommy?" Vida asked, looking at Daggeron and Chip expectantly. "Did you leave him at Rootcore?"
They looked at each other, not sure how to answer the question.
"Well, that was the plan," Daggeron said slowly.
"He did make it, right?" Madison asked. "Tommy's ok?"
"He's fine," Chip said quickly. "We think…"
The girls exchanged looks.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Vida exclaimed. "You did get there in time, didn't you?"
"And you got that—thing—out of him?" Madison added.
"We got there in time," Daggeron assured her. "And even after needing to fight Koragg to retrieve the staff, I was still able to expel the specters. However, Tommy was thrown some distance in the initial blast…So after the specters were gone, Chip was closer. I ran to him first to make sure he was alright and when we turned to Tommy, he wasn't there any longer…"
Both girls gasped.
"What if Koragg took him?" Madison cried, her eyes wide. "What if they found out he knows us? They could use him against us! What if they hurt him?"
Daggeron shook his head.
"I saw Koragg leave without him," he said quickly, trying to reassure her. "He couldn't have taken Tommy."
"He could have come back," Vida snapped. "It wouldn't have been hard to take Tommy when he's injured—what defense does he have against magic?"
"We'll find him," Daggeron said firmly.
Madison gasped again, whirling to look at her sister.
"What are we going to tell Jason?" she exclaimed.
Vida groaned, shaking her head.
"Big brother is going to flip," she said. "It's bad enough that Tommy has the bad habit of disappearing on his own, now we've lost him…"
"Jason!" Madison said, realizing they hadn't seen him yet. "We need to make sure he's alright."
Vida and Madison both spun, darting back out into the street and racing toward where they'd left Jason a short time before. The other rangers followed close behind them. But when they reached the spot where Jason had fallen, there was no one there.
"Where is he?" Vida exclaimed, spinning in place as she looked for any sign of Jason.
"You don't think someone took him, too, do you?" Madison stammered, fighting tears. "We shouldn't have let him come visit…"
"It's gonna be alright, Maddy," Xander said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "We'll find them."
"Find who?" a voice said behind them.
"Jason!" Madison and Vida cried, spinning around.
He was standing a few yards away, watching them. The girls both bolted toward him, throwing their arms around their brother in a tight hug. Jason grunted when they hit him, stumbling a little.
"You're alright," Madison mumbled into his shirt. "We thought—"
She cut off, taking a shaky breath.
"Hey, I'm fine," he said. "Well, mostly. Ankle is a little worse for wear right now…"
"Then you should stop playing hero," Vida grumbled, glaring up at him. "Didn't you do that enough in high school?"
Jason froze, looking down at her in surprise.
"What are you talking about?" he asked slowly.
She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she took a step back. Madison had let go, too, though she didn't move far. Xander, Nick, Chip, and Daggeron were all standing a short distance away.
"I don't know," Vida said, raising an eyebrow. "The beach clean-up, cleaning up graffiti, the peace conference—not to mention all the other countless volunteer activities you participated in. You could probably add in teaching karate classes at the youth center."
Jason snorted.
"That was mostly Tommy," he said. "The kids liked him better."
Vida and Madison looked at each other.
"Umm… Jason?" Madison said. "We may have a problem…"
He frowned.
"What now?" he asked.
"Now, don't panic, but Tommy is missing…" Vida admitted. "Daggeron says they got him up the mountain and removed the specter, but he disappeared."
"And there's a slight chance he may have been kidnapped by the bad guys," Xander inserted, earning himself a glare from the girls.
"Great news, Jase," Tommy interrupted, surprising the rangers. "I think it stopped bleeding."
He came striding over to stand next to Jason, still gingerly checking his nose. It had stopped bleeding, though he hadn't had a chance to clean himself up yet.
"I found him," Jason grinned, glancing between Tommy and his sisters.
"Tommy!" the girls exclaimed, running to hug him.
He winced in pain, but hugged them back.
"You're here!" Madison said.
"And you're alright!" Vida added.
"And you're bleeding," Madison said, frowning.
All of the rangers were staring at Tommy, trying to figure out how he'd gotten there.
"Was," Tommy corrected. "And now I need to wash my hands."
Jason snorted.
"You need to wash your face, bro," he said, shaking his head.
Tommy glared at him.
"I wouldn't have to if you hadn't hit me," he retorted.
"Jason!" Vida said. "You did that?"
"Technically that was the pole," Jason protested.
Chip, Xander, and Nick all snickered, silencing themselves at a glare from Jason.
"Oh, right," Tommy said sarcastically. "You just gave me the black eye—I ran into the pole without any assistance from you."
"Are you ever going to let this go?" Jason grumbled.
"Nope," Tommy answered. "You punched me for no reason and ran me into a pole—pretty sure my nose is broken. Not letting it go."
"Are you fourteen again?" Jason muttered.
"No," Tommy retorted. "If I was fourteen, I'd be a lot more of a pushover."
"Fair point," Jason conceded.
"Tommy," Daggeron interrupted. "How did you get back to Briarwood so quickly? You weren't on the train with us—we lost you on the mountaintop."
Tommy shrugged, looking at his hand again.
"I need to find a bathroom," he muttered. "Where's the closest bathroom?"
"Just down the street," Xander answered.
"Great," Tommy nodded. "Thanks, Xavier."
Xander frowned, looking at Tommy in surprise.
"Wait a minute," Chip said, shaking his head. "That doesn't answer the question. There's no possible way you could have beaten us back, but when we left you were nowhere in sight."
"Hey, you guys were the ones who left me to find my own way back," Tommy said, turning and heading to find the bathroom. "And I found my way back."
He kept walking down the street as Jason shook his head, the rangers staring after him in surprise. Chip and Daggeron exchanged confused glances.
"Hold on just a minute," Nick snapped. "You two aren't going anywhere yet. We need to talk."
Tommy just kept going, but Jason paused to face Nick.
"About what?" Jason asked, crossing his arms.
"What do you think?" Nick said, glaring at Jason.
"Oh, great choice of location," Jason smirked, looking around.
There were still people everywhere. Emergency responders were checking on the people whose life-forces had been stolen.
"Not here," Nick said shortly.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere without Tommy," Jason said. "So you're going to have to practice your patience."
"I'm done with patience," Nick snarled. "Because he obviously knows, too. Why did you tell him?"
Jason raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't tell Tommy anything," he said. "Actually, it was Tommy who told me."
"What?" Nick exclaimed.
"You heard me," Jason said. "Tommy came out for a visit and found out—and then told me so I could come out and check on all of you."
"Tommy came to visit?" Madison said in surprise. "Why didn't we see him, then?"
"I guess he was a little put off by the surprise of you five in spandex," Jason said drily. "Not exactly what he was expecting."
"Oh," she said, dropping her head.
"Though I guess you almost ran him over the one day," Jason said, looking at Madison.
She frowned, looking confused.
"When?" she asked.
"Not sure," he shrugged. "But I guess you ran out of the shop all upset and didn't see him when you ran past. Apparently you were upset about something the rookie said."
He jerked his head toward Nick. Xander and Chip looked at Nick with wide eyes, shaking their heads and mouthing 'run away' to him. Nick just stayed where he was.
"And that reminds me," Jason said, crossing his arms again. "Madison!"
She jumped in surprise.
"Yes?" Madison said hesitantly.
"Did you get turned to stone?" Jason asked.
Her eyes widened in surprise and she looked around at the other rangers.
"Umm…Yes…" she said slowly, biting her lip as she looked at her brother.
"Vida, you should have called me," Jason said, turning to glare at the other twin. "Even if you didn't want to tell me about the other part. I'm used to weird things happening, remember? Growing up in Angel Grove will do that to you."
"Big brother…" Vida sighed.
"Nope," Jason said, shaking his head. "Not letting this go."
"We took care of it," Vida protested.
"Sis is right," Madison said. "They saved me. I'm fine now—no side effects or anything."
"And I still should have gotten a phone call," Jason retorted. "Now why did you go running out of the shop like that? What did the rookie say that upset you so much?"
Madison hesitated, not really wanting to upset Jason.
"It really wasn't anything bad," she said slowly.
"Maddy, what happened?" Jason asked. "You wouldn't have gone running off without a good reason—and you definitely would have been paying better attention to your surroundings."
"She was paying attention," Chip inserted. "She saved a guy from being turned to stone—by getting herself turned instead…"
He took a step back at Jason's glare. But before Jason could say anything else, Tommy came back. He'd washed the blood off of his face and hands and cleaned himself up as best he could. Seeing Jason glaring at Madison, Tommy sighed.
"You told him, didn't you?" he asked, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "And after all the work I did to make him think it was no big deal. All you had to do was deny it—haven't you learned anything from me?"
Jason turned his glare on Tommy.
"You shouldn't be teaching them to lie to me," he growled. "I'm their big brother."
"And the perfect one to practice on," Tommy grinned. "Now, Maddy—and you, V—you've got to remember to just deny everything. I'll cover for you."
They laughed as Jason continued to glare at Tommy. Except Nick, who rolled his eyes.
"Can we focus?" he snapped. "We have more important things to worry about."
Tommy looked at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Actually this conversation reminds me," he said. "You and I need to have a talk later."
Chip and Xander snickered while Madison and Vida exchanged concerned glances.
"Fine. Whatever," Nick said shortly, looking at them expectantly. "Let's just go."
Exchanging looks, Tommy and Jason shrugged. With Nick leading the way, the group started heading down the street. But they hadn't made it far when a shout caught their attention.
"Wait!" a young girl called. "Please wait!"
They all paused, turning to see the young girl Tommy and Jason had saved earlier that day. She was hurrying toward them, pulling her father behind her. Tommy and Jason both stayed where they were to wait for her.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, hugging Tommy. "You promised the power rangers would save my dad and they did."
She beamed up at them, giving Jason a hug, too.
"Thank you both," the father said gratefully. "Thank you for saving my daughter."
"We're just glad we could get to her in time," Jason said, shaking the man's hand.
After a few minutes, the man and his daughter left. She waved at them, smiling as she skipped down the street beside her father. Jason and Tommy waved and then turned back to the rangers. Nick was clearly impatient to get moving.
"Alright, rookie," Jason sighed. "Lead the way."
Glaring at Jason, Nick turned and strode down the street.
"Don't mind him," Vida said as they all followed. "He's just trying to protect us."
Jason snorted, shaking his head. Leaving town, the entire group headed into the forest. Tommy and Jason, moving more slowly, were falling a little behind. But when Madison and Vida started to turn back to help, they waved them on.
"It's nice sometimes, isn't it?" Tommy said quietly, glancing over at Jason.
"What?" Jason asked, frowning.
"Not having the helmets on," Tommy answered. "Having people thank us face to face."
"Yeah," Jason nodded. "It is. How are you doing?"
Tommy shrugged. He had an arm wrapped around his ribs again.
"I'm fine," he said. "You're the one with the screwed up ankle."
"Yeah, and I'm feeling it," Jason muttered.
Tommy chuckled, wincing. Stopping next to a tree, he leaned against it.
"Hey, Falcon," Jason frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You gonna make it?"
"Just give me a minute," Tommy grimaced.
"Need some help?" Jason asked.
Up ahead, the rangers had paused to wait.
"I'm fine," Tommy said, shaking his head.
"Bro, you'd say that on your death bed," Jason retorted.
"I'm fine," Tommy insisted.
"Fine," Jason said. "Then let's go."
He turned and started limping away. Tommy sighed, straightening up. Grimacing, he leaned back against the tree.
"Alright," he muttered. "Fine."
Jason rolled his eyes.
"Need a hand?" Xander called back.
"Tommy does," Jason answered.
"Can you help him, Xander?" Daggeron asked.
Xander nodded and started to walk back to Tommy. But Tommy frowned and forced himself upright again.
"Never mind," he said shortly. "I'll walk on my own."
Stopping in surprise, Xander looked back at the other rangers. Vida shrugged. Hurrying past Xander, Vida walked over to Tommy.
"You can sit down when we get to Rootcore," she said. "And maybe we can find a faster way back to town."
"Thanks, V," Tommy said.
With an arm around Vida's shoulders, Tommy leaned on her as they started moving again. Jason was limping determinedly along, waving off offers of help. Making a little better time, they finally reached Rootcore.
"Is that a dragon?" Tommy said in surprise, looking at the entrance. "It's a green dragon!"
He hadn't noticed it before, in too much pain from the specter to pay attention to his surroundings. Jason rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
"Yeah, it's a dragon," Jason sighed.
"This is great!" Tommy exclaimed, looking around in excitement. "It moves!"
The rangers laughed as they walked in. Tommy let go of Vida, looking around to try and figure out how it worked.
"Where are the mechanics?" he muttered, pausing to look around.
Jason grabbed his arm, tugging him forward. Tommy stumbled after him.
"I'm coming," he grumbled.
Stepping into the main room of Rootcore, Tommy and Jason both froze.
"That's a cauldron," Tommy sputtered. "Why is there a cauldron? And spell books?"
The rangers looked at them, confused by their reactions.
"I don't know," Jason said grimly. "But we're leaving."
He spun, heading back toward the exit, still holding Tommy's arm. But Nick moved to block them.
"You aren't going anywhere," he snapped. "Not until we talk."
"Oh, we can talk," Jason growled. "But not here."
"What's wrong with here?" Chip asked.
"It's the safest place to talk," Xander added.
Jason shook his head. Next to him, Tommy was muttering under his breath as he looked around nervously.
"Jason, what's wrong?" Madison asked, looking at him in confusion.
"Magic?" he snapped. "You're using magic? Tommy, did you know about this?"
"No," Tommy said shortly. "Do you really think I'd have come if I knew? Or that Hayley would have let me? And I wouldn't have argued about you making Maddy and V leave, either."
"What's wrong with magic?" Vida asked as Jason nodded curtly at Tommy's answer.
"It's magic," Jason snapped.
"What is happening?" Udonna interrupted, walking into the room. "I can see we have guests."
Clare trailed in behind her, looking at Tommy and Jason with a curious expression.
"They know about us," Nick said, crossing his arms.
"Didn't know about the magic," Tommy muttered.
He was fidgeting, shifting in place as his eyes darted around the room. Jason hovered protectively next to him. Udonna frowned, walking down to the others.
"Is everything alright?" she asked in concern.
"And now there's a witch," Tommy muttered. "And I have nothing with me. Great…"
"She's a sorceress," Chip corrected.
"Same thing," Jason growled.
"Actually—" Madison started to say.
Jason silenced her with a look.
"What is your problem?" Nick asked, glowering at him.
"Magic is dangerous," Jason snapped. "And Tommy's been through enough today. First that specter-thing, and then me accidently hitting him after I got my life-force back—not to mention his broken nose. We are not dealing with magic today."
He glanced at Tommy, who was now looking down at the floor. His eyes were closed tight and his fists clenched.
"Relax, bro," Jason muttered. "Breathe—you're going to give yourself a panic attack. Nothing is going to happen."
Tommy didn't answer, taking a shaky breath.
"You need to let us go," Jason said, a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "He's stressing himself out and he's injured enough as is—he'll never be able to relax here."
"Oh!" Clare exclaimed suddenly. "Maybe I can help—I've been practicing!"
She took a deep breath, concentrating.
"What?" Jason frowned, turning to look at her. "Wait! Don't—"
He was too late. Clare cast the spell, hitting Tommy with it. He froze for a moment and then crumbled. Jason barely caught him before he hit the ground.
"Tommy!" Jason exclaimed. "Tommy, are you alright?"
But Tommy, out cold, didn't answer. Letting him gently down to the ground, Jason straightened up and turned on Clare—though he stayed standing over his now unconscious best friend.
"What did you do to him?" he shouted.
Clare squeaked in fright, ducking behind Udonna. The rangers all tensed, sensing just how close Jason was to snapping.
"Jason," Madison said hesitantly, holding out a hand toward him. "Clare didn't hurt him—she'd never do that."
"On purpose," Xander muttered.
Chip elbowed him and Xander grunted.
"Madison is right," Udonna said reassuringly. "All she did was cast a simple healing spell combined with a relaxation spell—"
"Oh, he's relaxed," Jason snarled.
"Clare was simply—over exuberant—in her casting," Udonna explained. "Tommy is merely sleeping. He will wake up before long."
"No," Jason said. "We aren't waiting. Fix this now!"
"To attempt to reverse the spell would cause more harm than good," Udonna said, shaking her head. "It is best if we allow him to wake up naturally."
"Udonna is right, big brother," Vida quickly added before Jason could shout again. "She knows what she's talking about."
"I don't care," Jason said shortly. "No one gave anyone permission to use magic of any kind on either of us."
"He'll be fine," Nick snapped. "Right now we need to know what you're going to do."
"About what?" Jason glowered.
"About us," Nick said. "About what you know."
Jason scoffed.
"Think it through, rookie," he said. "If I was going to tell someone I would have done so already. Your secret is safe with us."
Nick regarded him suspiciously.
"Jason, this is really important," Madison said softly.
"I know," he sighed. "Believe me—I know. And I'm not going to spill your secret. You have my word."
"And you'll talk to Tommy, right?" Vida asked.
"Soon as he wakes up," Jason scowled.
He shot another glare at Clare, who was still hiding behind Udonna.
"Perhaps it would be best if we allowed Tommy to rest somewhere more comfortable," Daggeron inserted. "We have room here—"
"No," Jason snapped. "We're going back to the hotel. Now. Even if I have to carry him all the way back."
"So be it," Udonna sighed. "Rangers, please escort them back to their lodgings. May I suggest not walking?"
The rangers nodded.
"We can take the flyers to the edge of town," Nick said. "But we'll have to walk from there."
"No we won't," Vida said, shaking her head. "There's a parking garage right near their hotel. If we fly in high and fast, we can land inside and walk them out."
"Sis is right," Madison said. "Jason shouldn't be walking too far anyways, especially supporting Tommy. He'll only hurt his ankle more."
"Fine," Nick said. "Then let's go."
Chip started to reach down to help Jason with Tommy, but backed off when Jason glared at him. Jason carefully pulled Tommy up from the floor, holding him upright.
"Come on, big brother," Vida saighed. "Let me help."
Jason shot her a look, but didn't protest when she slung Tommy's other arm over her own shoulders and wrapped an arm around his waist.
"Bro, you're heavy," Jason muttered as they headed outside.
Back outside, Jason paused to wait for the rest of the rangers to come out, lying Tommy back down on the ground again. When they emerged, they were each holding a broomstick. Madison had two—one of them belonging to Vida. Jason stared at the brooms with a shocked expression.
"Oh no," he said adamantly, shaking his head. "No. That is not happening. I'll just carry him back."
Turning, he started to pick Tommy back up to walk back to town. Sighing, Vida grabbed him. Madison hurried to help. Between the two of them, they tugged Jason to a stop.
"Jason, you can't carry him all the way back to town by yourself," Vida said.
Jason grumbled, eying the brooms again.
"Just wait a moment," Madison said.
Each of them changed their brooms into the ground cycles.
"There," Vida said. "Is that better? We won't fly."
"Do I get to drive?" Jason asked, still looking at the cycles warily.
"Not a chance," Xander snorted, shaking his head.
"Sorry, big brother," Vida said. "These are ours—you'll have to wait until you get home and drive your own."
Jason shook his head again.
"I am not getting on one of those things," he said. "Those are brooms—not motorcycles."
"Jason, they're perfectly safe," Madison sighed. "We use them all the time."
"Not happening," Jason said. "We'll just have to walk."
The girls rolled their eyes. As they continued to argue with Jason about getting on one of the mystic cycles, Nick and Xander exchanged looks.
"Come on," Nick said quietly. "Let's get Tommy on my bike—maybe then Jason will just shut up and get on."
Xander glanced over at Jason, but didn't argue. While he was focused on his argument with his sisters, the two boys picked Tommy up between them. Nick had moved his bike a little closer so they didn't have to carry him as far. They paused for a moment, determining the best way to get Tommy to stay on the bike.
"Guess we'll just have to lay him across the back," Nick said, shaking his head. "He can't hold on right now."
"Just make sure he won't fall off," Xander said. "Jason would kill us."
Shifting Tommy carefully, they laid him face down across the back of the bike, resting on his stomach. But as they let his full weight rest on the bike, he jerked. Lashing out, he kicked Nick in the stomach. He fell backward with a grunt of pain, holding his stomach. Xander, who had immediately reached down to try and keep Tommy from knocking himself off of the bike, had taken a punch to the jaw and was sitting on the ground rubbing it gingerly.
"Aww… man," he muttered. "That hurt…"
Jason, hearing the commotion, spun around to see what was happening.
"What are you doing?" he exclaimed, striding over and carefully pulling Tommy off of the bike. "He's got bruised ribs, remember?"
He glared down at Nick and Xander, not showing any sympathy.
"Oh, right," Xander muttered, wincing when he moved his jaw.
Nick was still trying to catch his breath.
"Then how—" Nick panted, grimacing as he got to his feet. "Do you propose…to get him…on a bike?"
"Well he can't ride like that," Jason snapped. "And he's too big to ride in front of any of you."
"Then what do you suggest?" Nick snapped back.
"I'll just carry him," Jason growled. "No one should be riding those things anyways. They're brooms!"
Vida rolled her eyes, ready to start arguing with him again.
"Wait a second," Madison interrupted. "I've got an idea. Chip—get on your cycle."
Chip looked at her in confusion, but climbed on without protesting.
"Sit Tommy on the bike behind him," Madison directed Jason. "Just try, please. You'll see in a minute."
Jason had been about to protest, but reluctantly he did as Madison asked. He supported Tommy, keeping him upright on the bike. As he watched, Madison unhooked Tommy's belt. Adjusting it, she hooked his belt to the back of Chip's jeans.
"There," she said. "Now lean Tommy against Chip's back."
Slightly more approving of this idea, Jason leaned Tommy against Chip and let go.
"You'll have to drive extremely carefully," Madison warned Chip. "He still isn't holding on. So be ready to reach around and grab him if he starts to slip."
Chip nodded.
"I've got this," he grinned.
"Ok, so the belt thing is a great idea, Maddy," Jason admitted. "But why is he riding with Chip?"
"Because," Madison said. "Tommy would never have gotten on with Xander and you have a problem with Nick—so those two are out. And V and I aren't heavy enough to hold Tommy on our bikes. So it has to be Chip."
"Relax, big bro," Vida said. "Chip drives his cycle all the time. He's a great driver—it'll be fine."
Jason frowned.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?" he asked suspiciously.
Madison and Vida exchanged quick glances.
"No," they said.
Jason sighed.
"Girls, I helped teach Chip to drive, remember?" he said. "And Tommy and I wouldn't let him go test for his license until he was almost eighteen. I know how he drives."
"We were hoping you wouldn't think about that…" Vida muttered.
"I'll be careful, Jason," Chip said. "I promise."
"You'd better be," Jason grumbled. "Now—who am I riding with?"
After a little more shuffling, they were finally ready to go. Jason was riding with Vida, who was going to stay next to Chip's bike as they went. Madison had taken up position on Chip's other side while Nick took the lead and Xander brought up the rear. They made it out of the forest quickly, speeding around trees and out to the road. Once in town, they stuck to side streets and the wider allies, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves. Chip was driving as cautiously as he could, being vigilant to make sure Tommy stayed upright against his back.
"The parking garage is down that street," Vida called as they got closer.
Pulling into the garage, the rangers parked and started climbing off the cycles. Jason went straight over to help get Tommy off of Chip's cycle.
"See, told you I could get him here alright," Chip grinned.
Jason raised an eyebrow, pulling Tommy upright. Pulling Tommy's arm over his shoulders, Jason turned to head over to the hotel. Vida took Tommy's other side again. They headed to the back entrance of the hotel, not wanting to explain to the hotel clerk at the front desk what was wrong with Tommy. They paused just long enough for Jason to fish out his key so they could get in. With the rest of the rangers trailing behind them, Jason and Vida headed toward the closest elevator with Tommy.
"You would be on an upper floor, big bro," Vida muttered as they walked down the hall.
"Well, having to carry Tommy to the room wasn't exactly part of my plan," Jason said shortly. "Would one of you please run ahead and make sure the elevator is down and that we'll have it to ourselves?"
"I will," Madison said, darting ahead.
When they reached the elevator, she was holding it open. They all piled inside and closed the doors quickly. Getting out on Jason and Tommy's floor, they hurried down the hall to their room. Jason opened the door and everyone piled inside.
"Lay him on the bed," Jason said to Vida, nodding toward Tommy's bed.
They let Tommy down on the bed. He stayed right where they put him, stretched out across the blankets. Jason sighed, relieved to have Tommy back at the hotel.
"So, now what?" Chip asked, looking around.
"Now all of you are leaving," Jason said, turning around.
"Why?" Madison asked. "We want to make sure Tommy is ok, too."
"Because it's late," Jason said. "And, from the looks of things, Tommy isn't waking up again tonight."
The girls exchanged looks.
"Go on," Jason said. "I'll call you if I need you, ok?"
"Come on, guys," Nick said, jerking his head toward the door. "We've got things to do back at Rootcore anyways."
Xander and Chip immediately followed him out the door. Madison and Vida hesitated.
"Are you sure you don't want one of us to stay with you?" Vida asked.
"I'm sure," Jason said. "Tommy isn't moving and I'm going to get ready for bed. It's been a long day…"
"Alright," Madison sighed. "But you'll call if anything happens?"
"I promise," Jason said.
He gave them both a hug and then gently pushed them toward the door.
"Good night," they said. "Love you."
"Love you both, too," Jason said, smiling faintly at them. "Don't stay up too late."
They exchanged guilty looks, telling Jason they intended to be up quite late.
"We'll work on that," Vida grinned. "See you tomorrow, big bro."
Spinning, they darted out the door after their friends. Jason shut and locked the door behind them. Sighing, he turned around. Leaning against the wall, he reached down to pull his shoes off. His ankle was throbbing more than ever.
"I really should get some ice," he muttered.
But walking down the hall to the ice machine just didn't sound like a good idea. So, leaving his shoes by the door, Jason limped back over to the beds. He stopped next to Tommy's first. Jason carefully shifted Tommy into a more comfortable position, knowing Tommy's ribs were going to kill when he finally woke up. He took off Tommy's glasses, setting them on the bedside table so they wouldn't get lost or broken. Tugging off Tommy's shoes, Jason tossed them over toward the door and grabbed a blanket. He tossed it over the sleeping ranger, making sure he was covered up. Satisfied that Tommy was as comfortable as he was going to be, Jason turned and limped over to his own bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed, glad to finally be off his ankle. Grimacing, he swung his legs up and leaned back against the headboard. Grabbing one of the pillows, he propped up his ankle.
"Guess I'd better call Trini…" he sighed, leaning his head back.
Shifting, Jason pulled out his phone and dialed his wife. She picked up after a couple of rings.
"Hi, sweetheart," Trini answered. "How's the trip going? Were the girls excited to see Tommy?"
"Yeah," he said. "About tackled him when he walked in the door."
Trini laughed.
"Well, they haven't seen him in a while," she said. "Are you two staying out of trouble?"
Jason paused.
"Define trouble," he said slowly.
"Jason, what did you do?" Trini snapped.
He sighed, running a hand over his head.
"We weren't trying to do anything," he grumbled. "Just in the wrong place at the wrong time…"
"What happened?" Trini demanded.
Taking a deep breath, Jason started going over the events of the day. Trini stayed quiet for the most part, except for a few comments and exclamations here and there. She gasped when Jason told her about having his life force drained.
"I'm fine now," he reassured her. "I promise. The kids took care of everything."
But when he told her about the rangers and their magic, Trini couldn't keep calm any longer.
"What?" she exclaimed. "Magic? Are you serious?"
"Completely," Jason said grimly. "And, to make things even worse, some witch-child cast a spell on Tommy."
"They did what?" Trini cried.
"The spell knocked him out cold," Jason said, glancing over at Tommy. "And their head witch refused to reverse the spell—claimed she'd only hurt him if she tried."
He snorted in disbelief, shaking his head.
"But I just wanted to get him out of there," he said. "So I didn't stay around to argue. Didn't have a whole lot of defense without a morpher anyways…"
Trini took a deep breath.
"Did you tell the girls anything?" she asked. "They were bound to have noticed something about your reactions."
"No," Jason said. "They still don't know—none of them do. And they aren't going to. All they need to know is the next one to try and cast any kind of spell on Tommy—or me—is not going to like the consequences."
"Maybe you should just come home…" Trini said slowly. "Magic is dangerous to be around…"
"We're going to stick it out," Jason said, shaking his head. "I need to make sure Tommy is alright, first. Besides, I promised the girls this visit. I'm not breaking my word to them unless I have no other choice."
"Just be careful," Trini said softly. "You know how Tommy feels about magic—and how easily it affects him. And you aren't much better…"
"None of us are," Jason muttered. "But we'll be cautious. The last thing I want to deal with is Tommy under someone's control…Thankfully he doesn't have any morphers with him either."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Jason could just see her rolling her eyes.
"He's dangerous enough without them," she said. "Now rest that ankle and take it easy. I love you."
"Love you, too," Jason smiled. "Give Mark a hug and kiss for me."
Hanging up, Jason leaned his head back again and closed his eyes for a moment. Groaning, he sat up and carefully stood up again. Limping slowly, he headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
Ice T: Thanks for the comments! We do usually pair Tommy and Hayley together, it's just how we write and what we like. It will come back up in the story again but it won't be the most center focus of it. If we get good inspiration to pair others up (Tommy and Kat, Kim, or OCs the possibilities are endless) we will in future stories who knows... As for Jason's attitude, you're right he isn't someone to not have a good reason not to like someone. The reason that we changed his personality slightly in this case is because it centers around the thought that he has grown up protecting his little sisters. Nick in Jason's eyes is the kid who just caused his sisters to wind up in danger life threatening danger at that, so he doesn't like him. That however isn't easy for him to explain or really understand himself so it comes across as a gut feeling he just doesn't like him. Try and picture him as a more overprotective big brother than he is in the show. That is how we were writing him he will seem a bit more rash though the whole thing, but he is still Jason. Thanks again for the feed back we will use it as we go on writing! Hope you enjoy the story anyway!
Superdory57 over and out!