Hayley sighed as she locked the door, flipping the sign to 'CLOSED' and juggling her phone and a wash rag. She was just finishing cleaning up the café, and really wishing she had an extra employee right now. Since Trent graduated, she just hadn't found anyone else who really fit—and that she trusted to close the shop alone.
"No, all of his injuries are fully healed," she was saying as she moved to finish wiping down the counter. "Though they would have been healed a month ago if he would have just worn one of his morphers…"
She muttered the last part, scrubbing hard at a sticky spot.
"Well, he's better now," Jason said. "And that's more important than anything."
"Physically, yes," Hayley said. "But he's still… well…"
She trailed off, sighing again.
"Hayley, what's wrong?" Jason asked in concern. "Tommy is alright, isn't he?"
"Yes, and no," she said. "He's—well, he's a little depressed…"
"A little?" Jason said doubtfully. "Tommy generally is or he isn't."
"Ok, he's a lot depressed," Hayley said shortly. "And it's driving me crazy. I've tried everything I can think of and I just can't snap him out of it."
"Hayley, he's going to be fine," Jason said. "He's been through things like this before. He'll snap out of it—you'll see. Just give him some time."
"But that's just it," she said. "I've given him time. And I've taken him out, gotten him to go to events, had people over—I even had the kids stay for a weekend when I was out of town! But none of it is working. He's not getting any better."
She sighed again, sitting down on one of the stools at the counter.
"If anything, he's just getting worse," she said quietly. "He does everything I ask him to, but it's like he's only doing it because I ask him. And if I don't have something for him to do, he just shuts himself in his office or down in the lab. He doesn't go anywhere anymore, Jason. And it's really starting to scare me…"
Jason sighed.
"I don't know…" he said reluctantly.
"That's not helpful," Hayley said. "You're his best friend and you were around through some of his worst times. I was hoping you'd at least have some ideas."
"I'm thinking," Jason said defensively. "But he's not the same guy he was in high school. And I can't just make things better by letting him take something out on a monster—I got it!"
Hayley took a deep breath.
"Jason, you two are not going to play power ranger again," she growled. "I am not approving that."
"No, not that," Jason said. "I'm taking some of my students to a karate tournament this weekend. It would be perfect for Tommy. Karate always helped in high school—and that's the one thing that's helped consistently since then. It always helps break him out of a slump."
"A tournament?" Hayley said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you really think that will help?"
"Hey, it's worth a shot if he's as bad as you say," Jason said.
"Alright, then let's try," Hayley agreed. "It can't hurt."
"Great," Jason said. "I'll get him and I signed up for a team competition and he can also help me with my students. We'll just be entering for fun, so I'm not too worried about practicing—though I think we've fought together long enough to not worry about it too much anyways. But I'll take care of this end. You just make sure to get him here on Friday."
"I will," Hayley promised. "And Jason?"
"Yeah?" he said, pausing before hanging up.
"Thank you," she said. "I know this is hard on you, too…"
He sighed.
"I don't pretend to know what's going through their heads," he said after a moment. "But I know Tommy—he wouldn't have hurt them if he wasn't defending himself. And I'm not about to turn against him, even if they are my sisters, without hard proof that he's gone evil again. And even then… well, it would kill me to have to take him down. But that's not happening anytime soon and they're my problem to worry about, not his. We're going to make this better, Hayley."
"One way or another," she agreed. "We'll see you Friday."
Hanging up the phone, Hayley quickly finished cleaning up. She wanted to get home and talk to Tommy—which probably meant prying him out of his office again. Sighing, she started moving faster so she could get home.
"I still don't know how you managed to get cable out here," Xander commented, shaking his head as he glanced at Chip. "But this is nice."
The five younger rangers were relaxing at Rootcore, enjoying an afternoon to themselves.
"Yep," Chip grinned, leaning back in his chair.
The three boys were now flipping through channels trying to decide what to watch while Vida was sorting through some music and Madison was reading.
"You three should be studying those spells Daggeron gave us," she said, glancing up from her book. "Aren't you supposed to have them ready for class tomorrow?"
"We've got them down," Xander said absently. "We practiced all morning while you were at the Rock Porium. Just ask V."
Vida snorted, not bothering to turn her attention from her CDs.
"Sure you did," she said. "And where exactly were you practicing at? Because I've been here all day and I didn't see anything."
"Don't worry, we've got it," Nick reassured her. "They're simple spells."
Vida just rolled her eyes. They'd finally settled on a channel and were watching with some interest. Madison was watching the TV, too, her book momentarily forgotten.
"Hey, sis?" Vida said after a moment. "Have you seen a phone number written anywhere? I thought this was the one Kira gave me, but I think I copied it wrong… It just tells me the number is no longer in service and I'm kind of hoping I wrote it down somewhere else, too."
Madison didn't immediately answer. Frowning, Vida looked up.
"Sis?" she repeated, looking at Madison. "Hello. Earth to Maddy."
Madison shook herself, taking her eyes off of the TV to look at her sister.
"Oh, umm… I don't know," she said quietly. "I'm sure it's there somewhere…"
Vida frowned. Madison, who had poking fun at the boys just a few minutes before, now sounded upset. But Vida couldn't immediately find a reason for it. Noticing Madison's gaze had returned to the TV, Vida looked to see what they were watching. It was a local karate tournament that was being televised. As she watched, two very familiar figures appeared on screen, getting ready to compete.
"Turn it off," she said stiffly, scooting closer to her sister.
"What?" Xander said in surprise, not having realized who they were looking at yet. "Why—"
"Just turn it off!" Vida snapped.
Frowning, Chip took a closer look at the TV. His eyes widened as he realized who the two men on the mat were and he quickly fumbled for his wand to turn it off. The other two had realized it, too, and were looking at the girls. Nick was shaking his head as he muttered to himself. Madison was staring down at the floor now, fidgeting with her pen, and Vida was clearly agitated.
"Sorry," Chip said. "Didn't know they'd be on there…"
"It's alright, Chip," Madison said softly, glancing up at him. "It's just—it's hard seeing them acting like everything is normal after everything that happened. I wish…"
She sighed, trailing off as she looked back down at her lap again. Vida put an arm around her sister, leaning against her and putting her head on Madison's shoulder.
"Jason will come around eventually," she said. "He has to. Jason may be an idiot sometimes, but he isn't completely stupid. We're going to find a way to break whatever hold Tommy has on him. We'll get our brother back."
Madison nodded.
"He's not the only one I wish we could save…" she sighed.
It was silent for a few minutes, as no one was really sure how to respond to that. Finally, Nick stood out of his chair.
"Let's get out of here," he said. "We need to feed Fireheart anyways. And I guess we could probably all use some practice… Want to help?"
Madison glanced up at him and then at her book, hesitating. But Vida hopped up and grabbed her twin's hand, pulling her up after.
"Come on, sis," she said. "You can study that later. Let's go show the boys just how magic is supposed to work."
Xander snorted, standing up.
"I could beat you any day," he said. "Earth beats air."
"Until I blow you away," Vida retorted.
"Bring it on," Xander taunted as they all started heading for the door.
"I'll just blind you both and then you won't be able to do anything," Chip threw in, laughing.
"How about I just set you all on fire?" Nick grinned.
"And then I'll just dump water over all of your heads and call it a day," Madison said, unable to help herself. "I'm sure you could all use a bath anyways."
The other four stopped to look at her in surprise, and then they burst out laughing.
"Now that's not nice," Xander said.
Madison laughed, too, and the four of them trooped outside to practice their skills.
"Play nice down there or you are all going to be in time out!" Trini called down the stairs. "That includes you, Conner!"
She stayed where she was for a moment at the top of the stairs. When no more screaming came floating up, she turned and walked back over to the couch, leaving the door open so they could listen. Squishing back into the chair next to Kim, she made herself comfortable again.
"So, how long do you think the quiet will last this time?" Aisha asked, looking over at Trini.
"Not nearly long enough," Trini sighed.
"But it's when they're quiet that they're most dangerous," Hayley commented absently, curled up in one of the other armchairs.
"You said it, girl," Aisha laughed, nodding in agreement. "I swear, the longer they're quiet, the more I stress out thinking they're doing something they shouldn't."
Everyone laughed, nodding in agreement. After finding out that a large portion of the tournament Jason and Tommy were going to that weekend was going to be televised, the rest of the group had decided to get together at Trini and Jason's house to watch. They had briefly considered going in person, but decided that with all of the kids they would be better off at home instead of trying to get babysitters for everyone on such short notice. So the adults were all crowded into the living room and the kids were playing in the basement with Conner and Ethan, who had volunteered to play with the kids. Kira and Trent were stretched out on the floor, watching the TV and waiting for Jason and Tommy to compete.
"Silence is only good when you know they're asleep," Tanya said. "And even then it can be deceiving. Trevor has learned to climb out of his crib…"
"It was bound to happen sooner or later," Adam sighed as a couple of others nodded in agreement.
The older rangers were all making the most of the limited seating in the living room. Trini and Kim, the most petite of the rangers, were squished into one of the armchairs together. Hayley had the second one and Kat had the third. Rocky, Aisha, Adam, and Tanya were crowded together on the couch. Zach had opted for the floor with Kira and Trent.
"There they are!" Kat exclaimed suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to the TV.
Tommy and Jason were indeed on screen, getting ready to compete. The group fell silent as they watched it begin. But it hadn't been going for long before all of them were shaking their heads.
"He's off…" Trent commented quietly. "Is his shoulder still bothering him?"
"No, it's not his shoulder," Hayley frowned, shaking her head. "That hasn't bothered him for weeks now. It's something else…"
They all watched in silence for a few more minutes.
"His heart isn't in it…" Trini said after a while. "Tommy loves karate, but… well…"
"He's not happy," Kim sighed. "It's like he's just going through the motions…"
Hayley sighed, nodding. Footsteps on the stairs announced Conner and Ethan. They came over, leaning against the back of the couch.
"Dr. O on yet?" Ethan asked, leaning forward for a better look.
"Conner, aren't you two supposed to be watching the kids?" Kat frowned, looking at the pair.
"We're playing hide'n'seek," he said, frowning at the TV. "They won't notice we're missing for at least five minutes. Is Dr. O alright? He seems off."
"It's not his shoulder, is it?" Ethan asked.
The others started shaking their heads.
"He's just not into it," Zach said. "And it shows—even the announcer has noticed."
The boys sighed.
"So it didn't work, then," Conner muttered, shaking his head. "Back to square one…"
Hayley took a deep breath, not taking her eyes off of the TV. None of them could. Everyone had seen Tommy and Jason fight before. They had always been equals in skill and equals in their passion. But now Jason seemed to be putting most of the effort in to the fight while Tommy just moved on autopilot.
"Man," Adam muttered. "Come on, Tommy, pull it together."
They were all watching the fight intently when Conner suddenly grunted, nearly falling forward over the couch. The kids, led by Mark, had come in search of their babysitters. Sneaking up the stairs, they had all charged Conner at once. Intent on the competition, he hadn't noticed them coming.
"Whoa!" Conner exclaimed, catching himself before he fell and landed on Adam and Tanya. "Are you guys trying to kill me?"
The kids giggled, grinning up at him. Replacing the serious look with a fake glare, he started stalking toward them.
"Alright," he growled. "That's it. I'm getting all of you."
Screaming and laughing, the kids ran for the stairs.
"Careful!" several of the mothers cried, watching as their boys ran down the steps.
"Don't worry, we got this," Ethan said with a grin.
He and Conner disappeared downstairs with the kids again. Turning back to the TV, the rangers saw the fight was over. Jason and Tommy had lost.
"They should have won that," Rocky said, shaking his head. "No problems."
The other rangers all murmured agreements. They all knew what the pair was capable of when they put their minds to it.
"I've got to snap him out of it," Hayley sighed. "Somehow…"
Two weeks later…
Jason groaned as he fumbled for his phone. He answered it without looking at the number.
"Hello?" he muttered.
"Bro, you're not going to believe this, but it just came back!" a familiar voice exclaimed. "Ok, well, it didn't just come back—I may have hit my head in the process—but the point is it all came back and you're never going to believe what happened."
"What?" Jason said, frowning as he sat up a little more.
"Are you awake at all?" he got in answer. "Or even listening to me?"
"Tommy?" Jason asked.
"Of course," Tommy snorted. "Who else would it be?"
Jason stifled a yawn.
"Bro, why are you calling?" he sighed. "And at—it's 2:39 in the morning!"
Trini stirred at Jason's exclamation, but didn't wake up.
"You made me swear to call you the moment I remembered anything," Tommy answered. "So I'm calling you, and you're not going to believe this, cause it's crazy. I was chased across the island by a mutant dinosaur—his name is Mesogog—and he turned my projects against me. The tyrannodrones attacked me, which is how I got the bruises and stuff because I was trying to fight back and get away. They also blocked my way back to the ferry, so I had to jump off the back of the island as it exploded. Not really sure if he meant to blow up the island or if it was an accident, but he caused it either way."
"What on earth are you talking about?" Jason exclaimed. "Tommy, what drugs are you on?"
"I haven't taken anything," Tommy protested. "Although I think I'm going to take some aspirin for my head…It kind of hurts right now…"
Jason took a deep breath.
"Why does your head hurt?" he sighed.
"I may have hit my head," Tommy said. "Which kind of sparked this whole thing… But it's true, I swear."
"Tommy, you're talking about mutant dinosaurs," Jason said. "This isn't high school anymore."
"No, it isn't," Tommy agreed. "But I've got three gems in a safe in my apartment that have something to do with—well, with one of our more secret pastimes from then."
Jason frowned. Next to him, Trini stirred again and rolled over to look at him.
"Why are you talking about dinosaurs?" she murmured sleepily.
"It's Tommy," Jason said as an explanation. "Go back to sleep."
She sighed and rolled back over, pulling the blanket up higher.
"Anyways," Jason said, going back to Tommy. "Bro, you can't be serious. How hard did you hit your head?"
"It wasn't that hard," Tommy protested. "I'm not even—ok, I'm bleeding a little. But it's not that bad!"
Jason groaned, shaking his head as he rubbed a hand over his face.
"How did you even hit your head?" he sighed, shoving the blankets back and swinging his feet around to the ground.
"There was a plastic bag on the stairs," Tommy said. "It really shouldn't have even been there, but I stepped on it and slipped and cracked my head on a stair as I fell down them…But I'm fine. And when I sat up at the bottom of the stairs I remembered what happened so I took my phone out and called you."
"And started rambling nonsense about mutant dinosaurs," Jason muttered. "And with that knock to your head I'm really starting to think you're hallucinating."
"It's not nonsense!" he retorted. "It actually happened—not a hallucination."
"Mmm hmm… Sure," Jason said doubtfully, standing.
"Jason, what is going on?" Trini asked, rolling over again and frowning at him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to Tommy's," he said, heading to change with the phone still in hand. "The idiot fell down the stairs, hit his head, and is hallucinating—Wait a minute. Tommy, you live in an apartment. You don't have stairs."
Trini sat up in surprise.
"Jase, I live on the second floor," Tommy said slowly. "Most apartments are designed to have stairs that get you up there."
"Yeah, but they aren't in your apartment," Jason retorted. "What were you doing on the stairs?"
"I was going down to the vending machine in the lobby," he said. "I was hungry."
"At 2:30 in the morning?" Jason said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, come on Rex," Tommy sighed. "You know how my metabolism works… There was a reason I was so skinny in high school no matter how much I worked out. This medication they've got me on just makes it worse. You know, I really should just stop taking it. I don't really need it and it's not like my mom is here watching anymore and I was really only taking it because she wanted me to—"
"Why didn't you go to your kitchen?" Jason interrupted. "Wouldn't that have been easier than leaving the apartment?"
Trini was sitting up, watching Jason as she listened to his half of the conversation. She was shaking her head at what she was hearing.
"There's nothing to eat in the kitchen," Tommy sighed. "Hayley and I are going grocery shopping tomorrow. Ate all her food, too…"
Jason rolled his eyes as he pulled out a pair of socks.
"Oh, I'm sure she loved that," he muttered. "You just got back to your apartment two days ago and you're already out of food."
"Yeah, well, it's not like I had a whole lot in the apartment to begin with," Tommy said. "At least not since I started working on the island…I wasn't home that much."
"Uh-huh," Jason said. "Well, whatever made you go down the stairs, I want you to stay right there until Hayley or I get to you. Where is Hayley?"
"Sleeping," Tommy said. "And I'm fine, Jase. I don't need you to come over."
"Tommy, you're delusional," Jason said. "Talking about mutant dinosaurs after hitting your head is not normal."
"I'm telling the truth, Rex!" Tommy exclaimed in protest. "And you can't say that anyways. Rocky hit his head plenty of times in high school and you never thought he was insane. I can make it back up to my apartment just fine. But first I'm going to the vending machine."
"Tommy, stay put!" Jason growled, heading toward the door. "Trini, call Hayley and tell her Tommy fell down the stairs."
"I'm up, Jase," Tommy sighed. "And look, I'm walking—whoops. Ok. A little unsteady, but I walking to the vending machine now."
"Tommy!" Jason hissed, shutting the door behind him as Trini dialed the phone. "Sit down!"
He was trying to be quiet in the hallway, not wanting to wake up the baby in the room across the hall.
"Not happening, bro," Tommy said. "I'm getting my snack and then I'm going back up to my apartment."
Jason heard light thud in the background—Tommy was at the vending machine and getting his snack.
"I'm gonna kill you, Falcon," Jason snapped. "Would you sit down before you hurt yourself? You probably have a concussion again."
"Nope, no concussion," Tommy mumbled, sounding like he was already eating. "Going back to my apartment now. See you when you get here."
"Tommy!" Jason exclaimed. "Don't you dare hang up on me!"
"Sorry, what?" Tommy said loudly, acting as though he couldn't hear Jason. "Going into the stairwell—service… out…can't… you…"
He was making crackling noises with the packaging of his snack as he spoke, pretending there was static.
"Tommy!" Jason said. "Don't you dare hang up on me!"
But Tommy had already hung up. Muttering to himself, Jason stuck his phone in his pocket and put on his shoes. By the time he got to Tommy's apartment, Tommy was already inside. Hayley had cleaned up the cut on his head, and was scolding him about hurting himself again.
"Hey, Jase," Tommy grinned, looking up as he walked in the door. "What took you so long?"
Jason glared at him.
"I don't live down the street anymore, Tommy," he growled. "Now let's go."
"Go where?" Tommy frowned.
"E.R," Jason said, crossing his arms. "You're getting your head looked at."
Hayley smirked as Tommy looked at Jason in surprise.
"Jase, I don't need to go to the E.R.!" Tommy protested. "Hayley, tell him I don't need to go to the E.R."
She looked at Tommy, raising an eyebrow.
"Why?" she said, crossing her arms, too.
"Hayley!" he exclaimed in surprise as Jason grinned. "You're supposed to be on my side!"
"Since when?" she asked. "That is not in our friendship contract."
Jason snorted, shaking his head. But Tommy frowned.
"I could have sworn it was," Tommy said. "Section B. I'm sure it's in Section B."
Now it was Jason's turn to look surprised.
"Wait, you two actually have a friendship contract?" he asked.
"We have an odd relationship," Tommy said quickly without looking at Jason. "Hayley, go on. Pull out Section B. It's gotta be there."
She smirked.
"It's not anymore," she said. "I took it out on my last revision. Didn't you read the whole thing before you signed?"
Tommy sputtered in protest as Jason growled.
"I don't care if it is or isn't in your contract," he said. "Get in the car, Tommy. Now."
With Hayley's help, Jason coerced a protesting Tommy into his car and they headed off to the hospital for a late night E.R. visit.