"Where is he?" Adam frowned, glancing at his watch again. "It shouldn't be taking him this long to catch up."
"I don't know," Rocky shrugged. "But you're right—he should have been here ages ago. It never takes Tommy this long to come up with a story so he can slip away…"
Adam sighed, nodding in agreement. The two men had been waiting in the park on the edge of the forest for almost an hour with no sign of Tommy. They'd chosen the park because Tommy was almost guaranteed to come through there on his way back to town—unless he found a really roundabout way.
"Should we try calling him again?" Rocky suggested.
"No," Adam said, shaking his head. "If he was able to he'd have answered or called us back by now. I hope he's alright…"
Rocky nodded, returning to staring at the trees. A few moments later, however, they finally caught sight of a familiar figure stalking out of the trees. Both men leapt up from where they were sitting, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Tommy!" Rocky shouted, waving to get his attention.
His head jerked in their direction, but Tommy didn't paused. Frowning, Adam and Rocky jogged across the park to catch him.
"Hey, man," Rocky said as they caught up. "Where have you been?"
Rocky reached out and put a hand on Tommy's shoulder. He was not expecting Tommy's reaction to his touch. Throwing Rocky's hand off of his shoulder, Tommy spun to face them.
"Don't touch me," he snarled, his eyes flashing green.
Adam and Rocky both took a step backward in surprise. They stared at Tommy in shock. Taking a shaky breath, Tommy ran a hand through his hair as he looked at his friends.
"Sorry," he said shortly. "Just don't—don't touch me right now."
Both Rocky and Adam were on their guard now, watching Tommy warily.
"Tommy," Adam said cautiously, not moving any closer. "What happened? Are the kids alright?"
"They're fine," he snapped. "As long as they stay clear of me for a while."
Rocky and Adam exchanged concerned glances.
"What happened?" Adam repeated. "What did the kids do?"
"They kidnapped me!" Tommy snarled, his eyes flashing green again. "They bound me with magic and dragged me back to their base where their teacher cast another spell on me. That's what happened!"
"What?" Rocky exclaimed. "Why would they do that?"
"I don't know!" Tommy growled. "Ask them—or better yet, ask that idiotic green of theirs why he thought it was alright to tie me up with vines like a prisoner and drag me through the woods. Oh, and gag me when I demanded they let me go."
"Oh boy," Rocky muttered.
Adam was shaking his head in complete surprise.
"Tommy," he said slowly. "Please tell me you didn't—"
"Lose it on them?" Tommy interrupted. "No. I didn't. I left the moment I broke free of the spell. If I hadn't, I can't promise they'd have had a base anymore."
Rocky and Adam both winced, remembering stories the others had told them of the damage Tommy did to the Command Center in high school. Tommy spun, stalking away again.
"Where are you going?" Rocky asked as he and Adam followed.
"I'm going to the hotel to take a shower," Tommy snapped.
Trying to give him some space, the other two men trailed behind Tommy.
"Maybe we should just let him lose on the kids," Rocky muttered. "You know they deserve it."
"We can't do that," Adam said, shaking his head. "It would be completely against the Code."
"Yeah, I know," Rocky grumbled. "But I say if it comes down to us or them, let Tommy beat on the kids. They have powers, after all, so they can handle it."
"I heard that!" Tommy snapped over his shoulder.
Adam and Rocky froze for a moment, but when Tommy kept moving they started walking again.
"Apparently his hearing is back," Adam sighed as they jogged to catch up to him. "Tommy, wait!"
They caught back up to him and Tommy reluctantly stopped.
"We'll come with you," Adam said. "We can all get something to eat on the way back, too."
Tommy shook his head.
"You two go," he said. "Find something to eat. I—I just need the space right now. I'll get something after I shower and then meet you back at the Rock Porium in a couple of hours. I need to have a word with those kids."
Adam and Rocky nodded.
"Call us if you need us," Rocky said. "We won't go far."
"Thanks," Tommy said.
The three men split up—Tommy heading to the hotel and Adam and Rocky heading to find lunch.
"Any sign of him?" Madison asked as she rushed back in to Rootcore.
Nick, Chip, Vida, and Xander were already back. They all shook their heads in answer.
"Not a thing," Chip said.
"It's like he vanished," Xander said.
All of the rangers exchanged grim looks.
"Well, he has to be here somewhere," Nick said. "Unless he left town. Did either of you try calling him?"
He looked at the girls. They nodded.
"We tried," Vida said. "But he's not answering. He's avoiding us."
"Avoiding us or already captured?" Nick muttered.
It fell silent for a moment as the rangers thought about what that could entail.
"Alright, guys," Nick said, glancing at his watch. "I know we have to find Tommy, but we've gotta get back to the Rockporium. We've already been gone a long time—and Leelee's been there with Toby."
"Yeah, let's go," Vida sighed.
"We'll just have to keep an eye out for Tommy on our way there," Xander said as they headed out the door.
"Maybe he just went back to his hotel," Chip suggested. "Didn't he say he was here for your birthday?"
"Maybe," Madison said doubtfully. "But if he was really running from us he wouldn't make it that easy to find him…"
"We'll find him," Nick said firmly. "But let's start with making sure Leelee didn't do anything to Toby."
Nodding, the rangers all hurried out of Rootcore and back into town. They saw no sign of Tommy along the way. When they walked into the shop, they were shocked to see how clean it was. Leelee stopped to look at them as they stared around. She was a mess. Her hair was all over the place, her make-up was smudged, and her clothes were rumbled and dirty—the complete opposite of the immaculate store.
"So, what do you think?" she asked, looking at them for approval.
"It's a—clean," Nick said hesitantly.
Toby came walking out with the trophy he'd given to Nick just that morning.
"It seems that in your absence Leelee has earned the right to the Rockployee of the Month award," he said, handing the trophy to Leelee as the rangers stared in shock. "Congratulations. I think we can all learn from her commitment to excellence."
Nodding, he turned and walked away, leaving Leelee and the rangers watching each other.
"Looks like I'm here to stay," Leelee smirked.
The rangers exchanged looks, glaring at Leelee. But she just bounced happily away with her trophy.
"Just ignore her, guys," Nick said, shaking his head. "It's not worth it. Besides, we've got bigger problems then Leelee right now."
"Nick is right," Xander agreed as they all gathered around the counter. "We've got to do something about Tommy before he hurts someone—or joins our enemies."
Everyone else nodded in agreement. None of them wanted to think about Tommy fighting against them—especially if he was as powerful as Daggeron thought he was.
"Let's get back to searching," Nick said. "If we split up we can cover more ground."
"But what about Toby?" Chip asked. "If Tommy comes back here he might hurt him…"
Nick frowned, glancing toward Toby's office.
"We can't let anything happen to Toby," he said, turning to look at Madison. "Maddy, can you stay here and watch just in case Tommy comes here?"
She nodded.
"Great," said Nick. "Then the rest of us will split up. Chip and V—head downtown and start searching there. Xander—go back out into the forest. Maybe he never made it back to town. I'll start in the park and head into the residential area. If he's wandering, one of us is bound to find him."
"Got it," the other four rangers chorused.
"And if you do find him, don't confront him," Nick said sternly. "I don't want anyone to get hurt. Just keep an eye on him and call the rest of us. We handle this as a team—no one faces him alone."
With everyone in agreement, the rangers split to look for Tommy. Alone at the Rock Porium now, as Toby had shut himself in his office and Leelee was nowhere to be seen, Madison attempted to focus on work. But she just couldn't keep her focus on it. She kept looking toward the door and jumping at every sound and shadow, afraid it was Tommy.
"Maddy," Toby said from behind her a little while later.
Madison squeaked and jumped, nearly dropping the stack of CDs she was holding as she spun to face him. Toby looked at her in surprise as she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Apparently I'm sneakier than I thought," he mused. "Anyways, where did everyone else go? I seem to recall having six employees, not one."
"Oh, umm…" she hesitated. "Uh—Nick, Chip, Xander, and Vida went to get something to eat. I have no idea what Leelee is up to."
Toby sighed.
"Well, at least one of you is here," he said. "I guess that's better than nothing. You aren't going to suddenly run off while I'm standing here, are you?"
She smiled faintly, shaking her head.
"I'm staying for now," she said. "I've got shelves to straighten after all."
"Good," said Toby. "Then I'm going back into my office. If the slackers ever show up, tell them I expect the shop to be spotless."
"I will," she promised as he disappeared.
Soon as the door closed behind him, Madison turned back to the shelf she'd been straightening and put the CDs where they belonged.
"I've gotta stop jumping at shadows," she murmured to herself. "It wasn't him."
"Wasn't who?" a familiar voice asked behind her.
Letting out another squeak of fear, Madison jumped and spun, knocking into the small, free-standing CD rack next to her. It started tipping, but Tommy jerked forward to catch it and kept it from hitting the ground. Madison stared at him with wide eyes.
"Maddy, is everything ok?" Tommy asked in concern as he set the rack upright.
"What?" she stammered. "Oh! Uh… Yeah. Everything's fine. I'm fine. There's nothing wrong."
Tommy frowned and shifted in place. Madison flinched, her hand going to her pocket, and Tommy froze. She immediately dropped her hand, smoothing it down her pants like she was dusting herself off. But Tommy just sighed.
"It's ok," he said. "You don't need to worry. I know you saw some weird things, but everything can be explained if you give me the chance. Is there a place we can talk? Somewhere more private?"
He glanced around the shop, his gaze lingering on Toby's door for a moment before returning to Madison. She bit her lip, hesitating as she continued to stare at him. She had slipped her hand into her pocket when he wasn't looking as was now holding her morpher behind her back. She desperately wanted to call the rest of her team, but she was afraid to try with Tommy watching her.
"Maddy?" he said, slowly reaching out to her.
She flinched away again and he immediately drew back.
"We can go out to the edge of town," she said quickly. "No one will hear us out there."
He nodded and headed toward the door. But he paused when she didn't immediately follow.
"Are you coming?" he asked.
"Oh, right," she said. "Go ahead. I'll be right out. I just—I—I need to tell Toby I'm leaving."
Tommy nodded, stepping outside. Madison immediately darted away so he wouldn't be able to see her from the front window and opened her communicator.
"Guys, I have a bit of a situation," she said quickly, glancing back over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't coming back inside.
"What's wrong?" Nick immediately responded.
"Tommy is here," she said. "He came in without me seeing him and caught me…He said he wants to talk…"
"You have to get out of there, sis," Vida exclaimed. "It's not safe all by yourself."
"I can't just run," Madison said. "Who knows what he might do to Toby if I take off? I'm leading him away from the Rock Porium. We're heading out toward the edge of town—meet me there."
"Be careful, Maddy," Nick said reluctantly. "We'll be there as quickly as we can."
"I will be," she said. "But hurry."
Outside, Tommy leaning against a light pole with his arms crossed waiting, but he straightened up as soon as she came out. Madison didn't pause, but started walking quickly in the direction of the designated spot. Tommy followed, jogging to catch up to her. But as he fell into step next to her, Madison flinched away again and put a couple of feet between them. Tommy sighed. He had been afraid of this.
"Maddy, you don't have to be afraid of me," he said quietly as they walked. "I'm not trying to hurt you. I know I probably scared you back there, but I was upset and you guys had crossed a line."
"I—I'm not scared," she said, though she didn't look at him as she said it. "It's nothing. Let's just get to where we can talk."
She started walking a little faster, still being very careful to keep some distance between them. And she wasn't meeting his eye, either, though she appeared to be trying to keep him in eyesight. Tommy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he kept up with her. He had never wanted to scare any of them like this, let alone have them find out this way. They weren't supposed to find out about him being the original green ranger until he could sit down and tell them the whole story. And, from her reactions, he knew they had to have figured it out. This was killing him and he had to make it right.
"Maddy," he tried again as they approached the edge of town. "Please give me a chance to explain. There's a lot going on you don't understand."
She just looked at him nervously as they drew to a stop near the trees. There was no one else around. Madison turned to face him, shifting in place as she stared without saying anything.
"Please," Tommy said again. "Maddy, I can explain everything if you give me a chance."
She still didn't say anything. Tommy took a deep breath.
"Look," he said. "I know it looks bad, but a lot of things happened that I couldn't control. It wasn't the best situation, so I did the best I could. It turned out alright in the end. And I think if you guys just give me a chance to explain everything that happened you'll see it in a new light. Please, just trust me for a little while—give me the benefit of the doubt."
Madison opened her mouth to respond, and then hesitated again.
"Maddy, please," Tommy begged, reaching out to put a hand on her arm.
She gasped in fear and jumped backward. Tommy started to pull away again, but he was suddenly knocked to his knees as something slammed into his shoulder. He gasped as searing pain shot through him, leaving a burning on his shoulder. Reacting on instinct, he forced himself back to his feet and spun to defend Madison from what he assumed was a monster attack. He froze in shock to see the other four Mystic Force rangers running toward him, wands out and pointed in his direction. It had been Nick, leading the charge, who was responsible for the spell that had hit Tommy. From the burning in his shoulder, Tommy assumed it was some kind of fire.
"Maddy!" Vida cried, seeing Tommy spin toward them as if to attack.
Without hesitation, she sent her own spell flying. A blast of wind struck Tommy, knocking him backward and slamming him into a nearby tree. He grunted as he hit, sinking to the ground and falling forward onto his hands and knees. Looking up at them in shock, he used the tree to get himself back to his feet. Madison was looking back and forth in shock as the rest of her team reached them, taking defensive positions as they faced off against Tommy.
"Guys, don't do this," he pleaded, grimacing in pain as he moved. "You don't understand wh—"
"We understand enough!" Nick growled. "You aren't going to touch my team, green ranger!"
Tommy flinched at the confirmation that they knew. Catching Xander moving out of the corner of his eyes, Tommy dove out of the way just in time to avoid being bound by vines again. He hit the ground and rolled, coming to his feet again in a defensive position. As he came to his feet, his eyes flashed green—in his panic he was struggling to control the green ranger magic—and, before he could stop it, a large branch flew off the ground and slammed into Xander's chest, knocking the young green ranger off of his feet. Everyone froze in shock.
"No!" Tommy immediately cried. "I didn't mean—"
But he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before he was under attack. Nick and Vida immediately leapt forward in Xander's defense, raining blows down on Tommy as he tried to defend himself, blocking rather than hitting back. Madison ran to Xander, helping him to his feet, while Chip hesitated—he didn't want anyone to get hurt in this. As soon as he was back on his feet, Xander leapt into the fight. With his injured shoulder, Tommy was struggling to defend himself against the three rangers who were attacking physically now instead of just using magic.
"Guys, we can still save him!" Chip exclaimed. "Just stop him, don't hurt him!"
"Please!" Madison added, still torn between what Tommy had been saying and everything she was seeing.
But their teammates weren't listening. Nick, Xander, and Vida were too focused on taking Tommy down. Tommy, however, was fighting only to defend himself—he didn't want to hurt anyone. Taking a kick from Nick, Tommy stumbled backward and nearly fell. He caught himself and reached to push Nick away. Chip, misjudging Tommy's actions and thinking he was going to hit Nick with some kind of spell, reacted with a blinding flash of light right in Tommy's face. Momentarily blinded, Tommy hit Nick a lot harder than he had intended. His strike caught Nick in the chest and the young red ranger dropped, gasping for air after having the wind knocked out of him. Seeing Nick fall, Madison cried out and reacted.
"Stop!" she cried.
She whipped her wand around, a rope-like stream of water spinning out of it toward Tommy. The water rope caught him around the neck, jerking him backward and slamming him into a tree. He was pinned there by the rope, struggling to break free as it choked him—he couldn't breathe. For a moment, none of the Mystic Force rangers moved as they stared at Tommy in shock. Then Madison gasped as she realized what she was doing, losing control of the spell. The water rope dissipated and Tommy fell to his knees, gasping for air.
"Oh—I—I…" Madison stammered as she stared at Tommy on the ground.
He looked up at her, shock and hurt clearly visible on his face. Then he was on his feet and bolting into the forest. Nick, Xander, Vida, and Chip immediately took off after him. Madison hesitated only for a moment before following. They chased Tommy through the forest, shooting spells after him as they tried to stop his escaped. Plants came alive under Xander's command, trying to trip Tommy and pull him to the ground; small fireballs streaked through the air toward the escaping ranger from the tip of Nick's wand, a few of them striking glancing blows; and strong gusts of wind blasted at him from behind as Vida tried to knock him off his feet again. Madison and Chip followed their teammates, wands out but not using them. Tommy was running hard, dodging from side to side and leaping off of rocks and trees as he did everything he could to avoid their attacks.
"We have to stop him!" Nick shouted. "Don't let him get away!"
Up ahead, Tommy was fumbling with his communicator as he ran, trying to get it to function. But all of the magic in the area was causing it to malfunction.
"Under attack!" he shouted into the communicator, hoping the Dino Thunder team would at least get part of the message. "They know—they know everything. Stay away, it's not safe!"
Not sure how much of the message had gotten though, Tommy kept running. He was slowly pulling ahead of Mystic Force, but he needed more distance. A short ways back, the five rangers were panting as they tried to keep up with him. And then suddenly he was gone. They ran up to the spot where they had last seen him, but there were no signs of Tommy.
"Where did he go?" Xander panted, leaning over with his hands on his knees. "He was just here. It's like he vanished."
"I don't know," Vida gasped, trying to catch her breath. "But he's always been good in the woods. The guy goes for a three hour run in the woods around his house every day… I don't think we stood a chance catching him out here."
Madison was staring off in the direction they had last seen him heading. She was still clutching her wand, her arms hanging down at her sides. Nick walked over to her.
"Maddy, are you alright?" he asked, putting a hand on her arm.
She jumped a little, turning to look at him. The look on her face said she was near tears.
"I can't believe I did that," she said, shaking her head. "I—I escalated the fight…I shouldn't have done that!"
"It's ok," Nick said. "You did what you had to do."
Vida had moved to put an arm around her sister. Madison was shaking, so Vida took her wand before she dropped it.
"It's not ok!" Madison cried. "I almost killed him. That's not what we're supposed to do!"
She buried her face in her hands, bursting into tears. Vida put both her wand and her sister's in her own pockets, hugging Madison tightly.
"He brought it on himself," she said soothingly. "You were only trying to protect Nick."
"V's right," Xander agreed. "It might not have been what you meant to do, but it stopped him from hurting Nick…"
"I don't care," Madison said. "I shouldn't have done it. We aren't supposed to kill—that's going too far."
She leaned against her sister, still shaking.
"Guys, we should go," Chip said, glancing around. "If he's still here and wants to attack us, we're not going to see it coming. Let's get out of here and back to Rootcore."
"Yeah, let's get out of here," Nick agreed. "We'll regroup and go from there."
Glancing around one more time, the rangers headed off through the trees toward Rootcore.