I got really inspired by writing this chapter after listening to a few of my favorite music artists. Unfortunately, I ask that you all not shoot me for what is going to happen. I never expected the ending either, truth be told. I only had a general idea of where I wanted it to go. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 38 The Conflicting Emotions of Thomas Oliver
Maroon pulled back a fist and threw a punch toward Kimberly's face, but was surprised when a hand stopped her attack. "What the hell!" she hissed. She turned and glared at the one who would keep her from doing her duty. She saw Tommy glaring right back at her.
"I don't think you'll be creating anymore havoc," he stated firmly.
"And are you to stop me, Thomas Oliver? You, who was putty in my hands before? You, who was so weak that I controlled your mind as my own? You, who I was able to make you have sex with me, you thinking it was love? Don't mess with me, Oliver. I know you more than you think."
If her speech affected Tommy, he didn't show it. "I don't care what you did or didn't do to me Maroon. You had to use a potion over my mind to get me to do all of that for you. What are you going to do now that you have that no more? Are you going to fight me one on one, like you should?"
Maroon twisted her arm away from Tommy, and rose to her feet. She pointed a finger to his face. "You are in no position to question my methods. Are you questioning them simply because you cannot handle them? You cannot handle me?"
"I can handle you just fine," retorted Tommy. "I just thought you'd like to try fighting my way."
"I fight my own way, not yours."
"Fine by me then," answered Tommy, shrugging his shoulders.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"This!" yelled Tommy, dropping to the ground and tripping up Maroon. He knew that'd stir her up enough to keep her distracted from Kimberly, which was his goal. If he got Maroon away from Kimberly, then Kimberly could finally be taken to safety, and the hellish nightmare ended for her. He wasn't going to lose her to Rita again.
"Bastard!" cursed Maroon and began circling around Tommy, her eyes trained only on him.
Tommy gave Katherine a thumbs-up signal behind his back. Now she could get Kimberly out of the battle. "Thank you, Tommy," she whispered.
Katherine moved closer to Kimberly, making sure every so often that Tommy truly had Maroon distracted. She knelt by Kimberly's side. "Kim, Kim, are you okay?" she whispered softly.
Kimberly smiled slightly. "Not really… I've been able to dull the pain in my body, but I could really use a few aspirin."
Katherine placed her arms under Kimberly's back and the crook of her legs, lifting her off the ground. Katherine resisted the growing urge inside her to say something to Maroon, but she knew it would be wrong, no matter how much she longed to have that small piece of revenge on Maroon. She teleported away in a flash of pink light.
Tommy heard the all too familiar sound of teleportation and smiled to himself. He noticed that Maroon had heard it too. She turned suddenly, as though forgetting something. That was when her eyes grew wide with anger. "You!... Kimberly!... trick!...aaagh!" she sputtered and shouted.
"Yes, Maroon, a trick. A trick like you played on the Rangers. Enjoy the return favor? Kimberly is no longer your toy. She is no longer yours to batter and break."
Maroon fumed. Then she rose her hands up in defense and smirked. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to get me to let down my defenses. I will prove you wrong."
Power Chamber
Katherine landed and surprised Alpha. "Katherine! And Kimberly! I don't believe it!" he chortled with joy.
"Good job, Katherine. You've brought Kimberly to safety. I need you to take her to the lower level to the medical bay. I've prepared it just for this case."
"Right, Zordon," nodded Kat.
"Welcome home, Kimberly. Relax and everything will be taken care of," spoke Zordon softly.
Kimberly smiled upon hearing that all too familiar voice again. If she could have hugged Zordon, she would have. Things were going to be all right now, that she knew. She was away from Maroon and away from Rita. No more torture, no more pain…. Kimberly passed out.
"Zordon, will she be all right?" asked Katherine.
"Yes, Katherine. The pain has simply become too great for her body to block out any longer. She needs to rest to regain her strength. Take her to medical bay and return to the battle. The other Rangers will be needing your help. Alpha will lead the way."
"Right, Zordon," nodded Katherine as she retreated toward the doors. She made her way toward the medical bay, following Alpha.
They entered the medical bay in silence. Alpha led her to a metal table that had what looked to be a soft cushion covering over top of it. Katherine lay Kimberly on the table and glanced down at her for a second. The poor girl had been through so much. So many changes had taken place and she'd handled them all, making it out alive. She had defeated what had tried to kill her. Katherine took her hand and squeezed it. "Rest easy, Kimberly. The worst is over now." Then she teleported back to the park.
Angel Grove Park
Katherine landed and rushed over to help Adam, Rocky, Tanya, and Jason, who were locked in battle with Devil Minion. Each of them had morphed and were firing their blasters at him. Katherine morphed and joined in to help them.
Devil Minion was able to dodge their attacks gracefully and with skill. "Silly Rangers think they're swell, swinging little toy guns well. You'll be surprised when I disappear from your very eyes!" Devil Minion suddenly disappeared into thin air.
Each Ranger glanced around in panic. Where had Devil Minion disappeared to? What trick was up his sleeves now? Jason decided to contact Zordon. "Zordon, Devil Minion's gone. Any ideas?"
"Devil Minion's presence still reads high on the scanners. He is still in the vicinity of the park. You will have to stay on guard and watch your back."
Jason nodded. "Right, Zordon!" He signed off. Guys, stay focused. Devil Minion could attack at any moment so stay alert."
It was then that all eyes turned to the fight between Tommy and Maroon. The two were duking it out as though no one else existed, no one else mattered. Maroon threw Tommy to the ground and gripped her hands around his neck. "You will die, Oliver. I will make sure that your body is lifeless before this battle is through yet."
Tommy's hands gripped at Maroon's wrists, squeezing until she let go. He pinned her down. "I don't think so." Tommy was putting up a tough front, but in the back of his mind he wondered exactly what he'd do next. He couldn't outright kill Maroon. She looked too much like Kimberly and he'd always be haunted by that fact. He couldn't kill the clone in cold blood, no matter how evil she really was. He wondered if Maroon suspected his weakness.
His mind became clouded with images of Kimberly's suffering. His own suffering by Maroon's hands was bad enough. She'd used him as a mere sex toy, and most likely to get back at Kimberly. Tommy remembered seeing Kimberly first thing after the spell had worn off. He was willing to bet Maroon had used him for revenge. The images of the way she'd used Katherine and Kimberly were enough to set his blood boiling, but not enough to justify his killing Maroon by his own hands. Why can't I bring myself to do it! Everything she's done, everything she's done to cause pain still can't make me do it. She deserves to die! She's another one of Rita's monster creations, but I can't bring myself to do it. She's worse than anything I've ever fought before, yet I can't bring myself to do it. Why? Why is my stupid heart refusing me? Deep down, Tommy knew the answer. Tommy could never bring himself to kill another person, even if that person was only a clone. This particular clone looked every bit like Kimberly. If I kill Maroon, I am essentially killing Kimberly. I can't do that. Not to anything that looks like one of my friends.
Maroon noticed Tommy's grip weakening slightly. She began to wonder why, but then it hit her- he didn't know how to end this battle. Tommy didn't want to kill her. She knew she could use that to her advantage. I've found your weakness, Oliver, but just how much will it weaken you? There was only one way to find out. "I know what you're thinking, Tommy-boy," spoke Maroon confidently.
"And just what's that?" asked Tommy through gritted teeth.
"You can't do it," whispered Maroon.
"What are you talking about?" asked Tommy.
"You can't kill me, Tommy-boy."
"I can kill you, Maroon. You've caused too much irreparable damage now to have it any other way."
"Then why don't you do it?" asked Maroon. "You have me trapped here, almost at your mercy, and yet, you haven't tried. Face it. You're too good to kill me."
"Are you so certain?" returned Tommy. "How do you know what I am going to do? You don't. You are my toy, Maroon, my toy to have a little fun with." Tommy smirked. Inside, he was hoping his act would hold up long enough. He also hoped Maroon's taunts and jeers didn't have too much of an effect on him. She knew that he couldn't bring himself to do it, and she was going to do everything in her power to make him.
Tommy began focusing his mind on other things, trying to keep Maroon from getting inside his head. Unfortunately, it wasn't working too well. "You're not good enough Tommy," hissed Maroon. "You're not good enough to kill me…." She trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.
In response, Tommy's grip tightened around Maroon's wrists. His knuckles turned white at the force he was using and Maroon's face began to contort in pain, but she never screamed. She never released the pain that she felt inside.
Maroon bit her tongue to bit back her screams. She'd gotten to him, finally gotten him to go just a little bit over the edge. Her punishment was to suffer the excruciating pain he was causing in her wrists, but it was a small price to pay. Her death would ensure that Tommy would forever be haunted by his deeds. In the end, she knew that that even that small achievement would mean nothing to Rita, but it could begin to break Tommy. If Tommy was broken, the other Rangers would fall apart, Maroon was certain of it.
A sickening crushing sound brought Tommy back to his senses. He released his hold on Maroon's wrists, trying to figure out where the sound had come from. Then he realized it. He had caused the sound. Maroon's right hand hung limply when he held up her arm. He had crushed every piece of bone connecting her arm to her hand. He had let his anger get the better of him and had done what he'd never wanted to do.
Tommy pulled back in shock and looked at his hands as though they were covered in invisible blood. "What have I done?" he asked himself, panicked. "What have I done!"
Maroon blocked the pain in her wrist and laughed wickedly at Tommy. "I knew you could do it. You're only getting started! Why don't you finish me off?"
"No… no…no!" refused Tommy, each "no" becoming louder as if he were reassuring himself that he wouldn't give in.
"You've already started Tommy. Can't you finish the job? Too good to do anything? Just a weak bastard?"
"You shut your mouth right now," hissed Tommy through clenched teeth.
"Come on Tommy-boy. You've got all that muscle, but it's all talk. You can't act on it. I almost killed that girl you used to love. She was such a great toy. Her body was perfect for rough play. And think of what I did to that Kitty-Kat! But what a delicious taste she left me… I hunger for more…such a soft body…"
Tommy reached out and grabbed Maroon by the neck. He began squeezing hard. His inner self tried to fight him. The voices were warning him of what he was doing. Don't kill. Don't choke. Don't kill for revenge. All of these phrases reverberated and echoed in his mind, but he pushed them to the far recesses of his brain.
"Come on Tommy. Finish the job," spat Maroon through choked cries. "I am going to ravage Katherine's body. For that matter, Kimberly's too. Mmm such an agile body would be divine. Whips and chains create such pain for her, but much pleasure for me."
"There will be no more pleasure for you!" roared Tommy as he finally snapped Maroon's neck. The twisted grin never disappeared from her face. Tommy realized what he'd done as soon as he heard the snap. He dropped Maroon's lifeless corpse and rose to shaky feet. "What have I done?" he cried. He'd done what he'd sworn not to do. Maroon was no longer a threat to the Rangers, but he couldn't live with himself.
He turned and looked toward his friends. They were staring back at him with mouths agape. He knew they were thinking the worst of him. He couldn't stand it. He had to get away. He couldn't stay here. Devil Minion was still a threat, but Tommy didn't care. He had to be alone. A flash of red light washed over him and he was gone.
See what I mean?
Next time on Windmill into the Fall: With Maroon out of the picture, only Devil Minion is left to deal with. How is Rita taking all of this? And where has Tommy disappeared to?