Well this chapter was a big pain to write. I really don't know why either. But, I got it done. Can't say the same for UC... I may have to upload from my back stash. Well, that's what it's there for anyway. I've started working on another fic in a notebook. I did this so that I can maximize my writing when I am not near a computer and am bored for class to start. Those of you who are on my mailing list have received word of the coupling of this fic. If you are interested in knowing, leave a note in your review with an email address and I will let you know. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. The next chapter should be up within the next two weeks, depending.
Chapter 39
Rita fumed as she watched through the Repulsa Scope. Her brilliant clone was gone, all thanks to Tommy! She couldn't help but approve of the way Tommy killed her though. That was not a typical action of Tommy's and she wished he would have done more of that when he was her green Ranger. It figures that he would do his dirtiest work while he was good she thought.
In a way though, she was pleased by the reaction from Tommy, even though he did kill Maroon. The way he killed her, without really knowing, that was a key point in keeping Tommy corrupted. If only she could keep him in that state of mind… but she couldn't think of any way to do so. She slumped into a nearby stone chair, scowling. There had to be some way to get back at Tommy before the Rangers fixed his emotions first. Rita realized, however, that the human emotions were more complicated than first thought. A simple murder could haunt a human man for the rest of his life. This could be the case with Tommy. He was one of those justice for all, goody-goody boys that only existed in human fairy tales.
As she pondered, Finster tried to slink by unnoticed. He knew Rita's moods could be dangerous, and now was certainly the time when he had every right to fear for his life. With his clone creation destroyed, only Devil Minion remained, and Finster had a feeling that'd he'd suffer the pain of many blunt objects to the head over the ensuing weeks. Whenever Rita went on a rampage, she made sure everyone knew it. No one was ever safe from her aim or venomous words. Everyone was to blame, but never her. Rita never blamed herself for a failed plan. Usually she turned to her brother, but she loved to torment Finster too.
The tiptoeing wasn't going fast enough. Finster hoped he could make it to the other side of the hall before Rita took notice. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side. "Finster!" roared the voice. Finster winced and instantly ducked, but no object made its way toward him or crashed without meeting its target. He raised his head and turned to face the woman he'd pledged loyalty to so many years ago.
"Yes, my queen?" he asked timidly.
"Maroon has been defeated. What do you do?"
Finster silently gulped. That was a loaded question and needed careful consideration. He wondered how he could stall Rita and keep from answering. Unfortunately, he could not use tricks to distract her; tricks only worked on that buffoon known as Rito.
"Stop holding back you idiot and tell me! I want and answer now or I swear you'll feel more than a mace this time!" warned Rita.
Finster took a deep breath and began his explanation and interpretation of events. "Maroon was a wonderful creation to toy with the Rangers, but she lacked temper control. That weakened her in many of her battles. I believe the Rangers picked up on this trait, and tried to use it against her. That is why they got Kimberly back, not by any fault of yours. It was Maroon's fault for letting her anger get the better of her."
"If you made her to be an exact clone of Kimberly, then why didn't she act as Kimberly did?" asked Rita. It was a stupid question and she had never wanted Maroon to be exactly like Kimberly, but it was better to figure out the reason why than to silently curse your resident scientist.
Finster adjusted his glasses before continuing. "The differences were there as soon as I placed the DNA serum from Kimberly's body into my cloning machine. Maroon displayed the traits that recessed in Kimberly. Kimberly rarely acted in anger or in a sexual tone. When it came time to transfer these traits, they become the dominant ones, while purity and violence recessed. Instead of being Kimberly's clone, Maroon became more like Kimberly's identical twin and the evil twin. It was another good versus evil battle." Finster almost added "and good won" under his breath, but held back. That would definitely guarantee an object to the head.
"I suppose that explanation was supposed to mean something?"
"What it really means is that Kimberly's recessive traits were the ones that brought about Maroon's downfall. Maroon used them to her advantage, but lost in the end because the traits were her disadvantage."
"And to think I wasted my time warning that girl that she shouldn't let her ego get to her. 'A big head wouldn't work with the Rangers', but no she wouldn't listen to me. Well at least her death wasn't in vain."
"What are you going to do now that she is defeated? Devil Minion has failed in his plan too, and it is only a matter of time before the Rangers put an end to him. He was only meant as a distraction, never a full-blown monster."
"Forget Devil Minion. I know he's a lost cause. There's no point in even trying to deal with him. My focus now is Tommy."
This was something new to Finster. Rita had never decided that a monster was simply a "lost cause". That title was reserved for her brother and Goldar, but never a monster of his. He didn't know if he should have been insulted or what. "What are you going to do with Tommy?"
"I think he's going to require a personal visit from me. What's your advice?"
Finster considered this for a moment before answering. "Why are you necessary?"
"Because your monsters are failures!"
Anger boiled inside Finster, and he struggled to keep it inside. Comments were even harder to keep to himself. "If you feel it necessary, then go see Tommy." Finster then turned and walked away quickly, hoping that Rita wouldn't call him back. He didn't know what remark he'd give if she did.
Rita hmphed as Finster left the room. She knew she'd gotten to him; he hated having his monster creations insulted. He preferred those over his inventions, yet his inventions tended to work a lot better than his monsters. Even his potions worked better than his monsters, particularly the one he'd given Maroon.
She rose from her seat and grabbed her scepter. Now would be the perfect time to take care of Tommy. The other Rangers were busy with Devil Minion and she couldn't guarantee how long he'd still fend against them. He wasn't meant to be as strong as her other monsters. Time to take care of you, Tommy. If you cannot be mine, I will corrupt your mind until you can't figure out what's what.
Angel Grove Park
Tommy appeared in a flash of red light near his favorite hidden thinking spot. He stayed away from the lake—it was all too obvious a place for his friends to find him. Instead, he'd transported to another spot. This spot was hidden within a large clump of bushes. From the outside, you'd never be able to guess that there was a small opening inside the cluster, but Tommy had discovered this as a little boy. No one had ever found him here, and that was just how he wanted it right now.
He sat in the enclosing bushes, thinking back to what he'd just done. It all seemed like a dream to him. He hadn't really killed Maroon by snapping her neck, did he? In his heart he knew he couldn't deny this fact. It simply didn't seem possible that he'd do something like that. How could he have given in to Maroon's taunts and teasings? That had been exactly what she'd wanted him to do and he'd done it!
Tommy clenched his fists. He'd fallen for the enemy's trap, that's what he'd done. It was one of those rules that you were always supposed to keep an eye out for. Never let the enemy trick you. Instead, Tommy had let his emotions overrule his better judgment, the very thing Maroon had done with her own! He'd watched Maroon's emotions get the better of her, and he knew it'd be her downfall, but instead she'd used her words to get the better of his own emotions. Maroon had turned her own weakness into strength for her. She'd had to have known that Tommy would have fallen for her trick one way or another.
Finally, it hit Tommy. Of course she'd known Tommy would fall for her trick. He hadn't realized it then, but he knew it now. He'd forgotten about Maroon and Kimberly's connection. Maroon knew everything that Kimberly knew up until the time of the cloning. Therefore, Maroon knew that Tommy would be the one to rescue any of his friends in danger, that'd he'd protect them with his very life. Unlike Kimberly though, Maroon used these details against Tommy. Kimberly would never had used Tommy's chivalry against him, even though she had broken up with him. It simply wasn't in Kimberly's nature to do so. Maroon was everything Kimberly wasn't. Maroon would stoop that low to get back at Tommy, regardless of the cost. She'd paid her life to put Tommy in this mess, after all. As a clone, she knew her time was short. She sacrificed herself to leave a mark on the terror that she'd left behind. Tommy understood now.
A loud cackling pulled him from his reverie. "What's the matter, Tommy-boy? A little killing got you down? Don't worry. Maroon was a worthless clone and not a real human being. I must applaud you though on your ruthless manner. Simply divine!" cackled Rita as she pointed her scepter toward him.
Tommy growled at Rita. "You stay out of this. This whole mess is your fault. Kimberly's told me about what you did to her."
"But Tommy, she doesn't know one key piece. It was kept from her. She was merely a toy in my plot. Maroon's toy, to be precise. Kimberly was never the key target."
"If Kimberly was never the target, then who was?" asked Tommy cautiously.
"You, Tommy. You were my target. I only used Kimberly to get to you. It almost worked out, but this will do for now. I've created a guilt that you shall carry the rest of your life. If I'm lucky, it will end with your early death!"
Tommy's anger boiled, but this time he tried to keep it in check. "Let me get this straight. You used my ex-girlfriend to get back at me? Why? I want to know why you destroyed her life so that you could have my own."
"She was the easiest way to break you down. Once I destroyed her esteem, she sent you the letter. After you received the letter, you've not been the same. Admit that to me, Tommy. You've never been yourself since Kimberly ended things with you. That is exactly how I wanted you. You were emotionally weak. I knew that if I could play on your emotions, then I could ignore your physical strength."
"If you had wanted me so badly, you should have come after me, not Kimberly. She had nothing to do with your plot!" Tommy felt worse than ever. It seemed as though Kimberly's disability was his fault too. A destroyed dream and a dead clone corpse. What other havoc could he create?
"Don't you think I knew that, Tommy? That would have been too easy though. It also wouldn't have been as fun either. Instead of just taking you down, I was also able to take Katherine and Kimberly with you. I weakened two of the strongest females you know. The only Ranger I set out to get but didn't was Jason. He was a small forfeit though. I accomplished my other goals, and even though I didn't accomplish my last goal, I have succeeded in the rest of my plan."
"What didn't you succeed at?" asked Tommy, regaining some of his confidence.
"Your death!" yelled Rita.
"I'm afraid you won't be succeeding at that goal for a long time!" retorted Tommy. He pushed his feelings aside for the moment. Self pity could wait for now. He had to get rid of Rita. She was too cocky for her own good. Tommy rose to his feet, staring into Rita's piercing eyes.
"Don't be so sure, Tommy. Kimberly never suspected a thing. For the longest time, she blamed herself for her accident. She blamed herself for her fall. It was all thanks to a potion Finster created. My most brilliant idea yet. One of these days, I will create another one, just for you. You won't suspect me, but you will soon wallow in your self-pity. I will get you one of these days, Thomas Oliver!"
Tommy growled. "You leave me alone, Rita."
"One of these days, Tommy, one of these days!" cackled Rita as she disappeared in a swirl of light.
Tommy swore to himself as she got away. "Damn it!" he hissed. He didn't know whether or not he could believe Rita's threats. Then he thought of Kimberly. Everything she'd been through was all thanks to Rita. Kimberly could have competed in the Pan Global games last summer if Rita hadn't interfered. Kimberly could have been training for the Olympics right now if Rita hadn't interfered. Kimberly still could have been his girlfriend right now if Rita hadn't interfered. Kimberly wouldn't be injured so badly if Rita hadn't interfered. Tommy could never forgive Rita for taking away Kimberly's hopes and dreams. She had been too cowardly to get at Tommy alone and instead took a cheater's route.
"I will keep my eye out for you, Rita. One of these days, you and I will settle this, once and for all," swore Tommy.
Tommy glanced around at his surroundings. He knew he had to get back to the other Rangers. They had to get rid of Devil Minion. He had the sudden urge to get back to Kimberly. He needed to talk to her privately. He needed to tell her everything, and he wanted to hear her whole story, the entire thing. He didn't care if he'd heard pieces of it before. He wanted to have it repeated.
He could wallow in self-pity later. He knew what his duty as a Ranger was. He also knew what his duty as a friend was. Neither of them included "wallowing in self pity because of a murder" at the top of the list. Tommy sighed. Every time he thought of what he'd done, his stomach twisted into knots. It was never his intention to kill Maroon. Yet, he had done it, and time couldn't be changed now. It was forever etched in stone.
Tommy raised his wrist to his mouth and spoke into his communicator. "Guys, I'm on my way back to help with Devil Minion. Hold him off until I get there!" Tommy only hoped he wasn't too late. He didn't even wait for one of his teammates to respond before teleporting back to the other Rangers.
So ends chapter 39. This fic will definitely end with a chapter in the 40s. Can't say which one yet though as I don't know myself. You will soon see the loose ends tied up though.
Next time on Windmill into the Fall: Will the Rangers finally take down Devil Minion once and for all? Is this the last of Rita they'll see? How well is Kimberly healing? And the big question is Will she and Tommy get back together? Find out next time on Windmill into the Fall!