Chapter Nine: White Strife
"Kim?" The teenager's voice caused the former Ranger to jump into the air a bit. She hadn't realized she'd been so out of it and was glad that it wasn't something more sinister that had caught her off-guard. She glanced over and saw Conner looking at her with a bit of worry in his eyes, obviously noticing her distress. "You okay?"
She shook it off and forced a smile in his direction. Anyone else, she would have muttered an "I'm fine" and moved on, but she wanted Conner to continue trying to care about people. He'd made so much progress that she didn't want to accidentally ruin it for him. "I'm just distracted. I have a bad feeling about something or another. Woman's intuition."
"What kind of bad? Doctor O forgot your anniversary bad," Conner asked and lowered his voice considerably. "Or Mesagog is going to kill us all in our dreams tonight."
Kim gave him a playful look. "I thought I told you to lay off the horror movies, Conner," she teased. "After the Exorcist incident…"
"I'm telling you, Kim. Her head really did spin around and she talked in this really creepy voice…" he answered, halfway as playful. He still looked a little freaked out by the incident. Kim laughed and shook her head.
"Conner, her head did not spin around and she was about eighty-years-old! Of course she talked funny. She was just a normal, everyday substitute," Kim said soothingly.
"Who is going to kill us all," Conner insisted, but dropped it. Ethan personally agreed with him, especially after she took away some of his cards. Both pushed that she was one of Mesagog's monsters in disguise and had followed her around for about three hours waiting for her to do something conspicuous. Kira had finally dragged both of them back to the café, dumped them at the couch, and told Doctor O, Hayley, and Kim to watch them like hawks to make sure that they didn't leave and bother the elderly woman. "Besides, this isn't about my insight. It's about your feelings. So, do I need to worry about someone killing me in my dreams or not?"
"No more than usually," his mentor answered with fake cheerfulness. Her expression turned back to a softer smile and she looked at him. "I'm sure it's nothing, Conner. Thank you for snapping me out of it, though. Hayley's probably about ready to murder me."
"Nah. She looked over about a minute ago, threw up her hands, and muttered something about bothering to try or something like that. Anyway, it's slow," he said cheerfully, relaxing on the couch. Kim nodded and rushed past him to continue to do her job, apologizing to both Hayley and Trent. Trent just shrugged it off and Hayley shook her head.
"Are you okay?" She asked her friend. "If you're not, tell me so I can let you go home."
Making sure that no one was listening, including Conner, Kim looked at Hayley seriously. "I'm sorry, Hayley. My intuition is going haywire. Something is going to happen, I know it is, but I don't know what. It's distracting me pretty hard. Tommy told me not to worry about it but…"
"Yes, let's listen to the man who ignores his instincts," Hayley said dryly. "If he listened more, he'd probably have less trouble. How about if after I close, we clean up and head back to the lab, look at the computer and see if we can find anything."
"Thanks, Hayley. I'll keep myself together until then," she promised and the two women smiled and nodded.
"Uh, guys?" Trent called over, looking a little overwhelmed as a large group of teenagers walked in and both of his coworkers were talking. Kim rushed over, telling Trent that she had this table, and Hayley went to get ready to make smoothies. Trent flashed them both a thankful look and went back to work.
"At least we don't have to worry about Tommy's grumbling," Kim mentioned as they both were seated at the computer. "I think I like after test days right now."
"It's working in our benefit, that's for sure," Hayley agreed. She was running everything she could and wasn't coming up with too much in the city at least. "Well, if it's something easy to get to, we can't find it."
"That's not what I'm worried about. What if Mesagog has something?" She asked and Hayley shrugged.
"We'll find out eventually?" She offered and Kim laughed.
"Hayley," she answered, giving her friend a playful look. "Conner's worried that it's going to kill us in our sleep."
"You talked about it with Conner?" Hayley groaned. "We're still trying to convince him that the teacher is just a normal woman."
"I know, I know, but he wanted to know what was wrong," she answered. "It's the same as when you put up with Ethan trying to backdoor half of the lab because you thought it would be good for him to know."
Hayley thought about this for a moment. "Maybe we're not the best mentors ever. Is Tommy letting Kira get away with anything?"
"Not that I know of, but both of them are good at keeping secrets too," answered Kim before hitting the desk with her hand as the next segment of results came up. "Nothing!"
"It's okay, Kim, we'll figure it out," Hayley said, trying to soothe her, looking at her watch as she did. "I should get home."
"Thanks, Hayley. I know it was nothing, but I appreciate you looking into it with me," Kim answered and Hayley shrugged.
"It's nothing yet. Maybe we just can't get to the problem yet," she suggested. Kim nodded.
"Good point. Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can get you something from the kitchen," she suggested and Hayley shook her head.
"Thanks anyway. See you tomorrow, Kim," she answered and after a quick hug, headed out the door. Kim headed upstairs as well, though slower.
"I just hope I'm wrong…"
Hayley sighed along with her friend as their communicators, respectively, went off. "You have got to be kidding me," she muttered and Kim nodded. The former Ranger motioned that she'd answer it while Hayley continued to handle the café.
"Tommy? What's wrong?" Kim asked, trying not to sound exasperated.
"Kim? It's Conner," the voice on the other side answered. Kim pushed her annoyance back even further. "Doctor O wanted me to tell you that there was another Dino gem, but it's not here anymore so someone else has it."
Kim inwardly growled, but kept her voice completely calm for her student. "Thank you, Conner. Hayley or I will head back to the house to see what we can find, okay?"
"Got it, Kim," he answered.
"Oh! And Conner?" She called out quickly.
"Yeah?" He answered, sounding a bit nervous. She couldn't blame him. He recognized her concealed calmness at this point.
"Tell Doctor Oliver that he and I are going to have a little chat about forcing his students to tell me things that he should. Especially when they're to be followed by a 'Oh! You were right, Kim'. Can you do that for me please?" She asked sweetly and she heard Conner snicker.
"You got it!" He answered happily. Before he had completely turned it off, she heard him begin to relay the message. "Hey Doctor O! I so don't want to be you, Dude…"
She chuckled at the young man's amusement and headed back out to find Hayley, pulling her aside. "You or me?" She asked.
"Go," Hayley answered. "Just don't pummel him until I get there."
"Promise," she answered and raced out of the café toward the house. Tommy was there by the time she got there and he looked about as happy as her. "We'll talk later."
He just nodded and looked back at the screen. Kim smiled at the three teens who were trying not to look anxious or bored at the lack of action. Though, when something finally showed up that they could fight, she noticed that they were a little eager to do it.
"My feeling is back," she said. "Okay, less back as more stronger."
"Do I need to apologize now?" Tommy snapped.
"Nope. Focusing on the kids. I just thought you might want to know. Though you didn't before…" she said.
"Kim…"
"Just saying," she said, taking a perverse pleasure from the annoyance her boyfriend was radiating. "They're there."
"I noticed."
"Why aren't you there?"
"I'm mentoring," he growled.
"You can mentor on the field," she said casually, not taking her eyes off the screen. Tommy dropped it, not really wanting to fight right now. "What the hell…?"
"You guys saw that, right?" Conner asked.
"Yeah," Tommy answered. "We're just trying to figure out what it is."
"We'll follow it," Conner said.
"For the love of God, be careful!" Kim warned. "That feeling? Worse."
"Got it."
Kim sat back and looked as nervous as her partner. "I just hate sitting here, waiting."
Tommy just nodded.
"Tommy, our Rangers are getting their asses kicked. Move!" Kim snapped at they went flying back again. Tommy nodded, powered up and left to join them while Kim studied the new ranger's moves. At least her intuition had died down, so this was the only problem they had to worry about right now. They went flying back again and she growled. "Conner, goddamn it, duck! When he shoots things at you, you don't just stand there!"
"Sorry, Kim," she heard him mumble. Nodding to herself, she watched the new Ranger.
"Obviously evil," she muttered. "Not listening to reason, attacking others, looking for a fight… yep. Definitely evil."
"We don't want to hurt you, just tell us why you're here," she heard Tommy tell the new Ranger. She didn't realize that her head hit the table until she felt the pain from the impact. Holding her head as she picked it back up, she just stared for a minute at the screen. He was at least as fast as Conner, he had a weapon that could hurt them, and he was obviously messing around with them instead of trying his hardest. Even Ethan's gun had bounced off of him. Without knowing more, they were setting themselves up for the slaughter.
"Shit," she whispered and turned to the communication. "Tommy, get them back here!"
"We've got it handled, Kim," he argued back. Kim slammed her hand down on the desk.
"We need to figure out a way to beat him. You're not winning!" She called back. There wasn't a response. She looked at the screen to make sure that he was alright and was surprised to see that he was still standing. Her eyes flickered over to the monitor to make sure there wasn't a problem in the computer. There wasn't. "Tommy? Oh, you so aren't ignoring me. Tommy!"
She watched as he took control and threw her hands up. She turned to the only ace she could think of. "Conner, listen to me. You need to get them out of there."
"We can do it," the boy argued, though anything else he was about to say was lost as Kira and Ethan's energy was absorbed. He stood there, unable to do anything until they fell to the ground.
"Conner! Now!" Kim screamed. She might not have been able to see his expression, but she could tell that it freaked him out understandably. Even though it was directly talked about, it was understood that ranger power translated into your own energy eventually which was why they were weaker at this point. He shook his head to come back to reality.
"Okay," he said weakly back to her and proceeded to try to help them up. Tommy, on the other hand, would have none of it. He charged at the White Ranger and his own power was absorbed. "Kim, I can't get them out of here myself…"
"I've got it handled. Just hang on and try to keep your powers up as long as possible," she told him, keeping her voice calm and gentle though she wanted to scream like before. She turned around. "Red, go bring them back."
The raptor lifted his head, bobbed it, and chirped. Immediately all four raptors were up and ready to go, racing out the door. Kim waited and watched. Conner fought back, talking to him even, and she wasn't sure if the boy was serious or trying to stall, but either way it didn't work. The white Ranger threw him against the wall and Conner's armour crashed away. Helpless, he tried to pick himself back up and Kim could only watch as the others limped over to help him up. The white Ranger headed toward them, holding his weapon up. He paused for a moment and then shook it off as if he were having second doubts. It was long enough. A loud chirping hit the air and Red leapt over a building, leading the way for the others. The white Ranger accepted this as a good time to leave. "Consider this a warning," he told them before disappearing.
Kim relaxed as the raptors calmly went over to their human and stopped, waiting for the powered down Rangers to get on and getting them back to the lab before anyone could see. Fortunately, the fighting ground had been long abandoned and the Raptors were quick. They didn't have to worry about their identities for the moment. She saw Conner looking over the others as best her could as all of them were completely dependant on the raptors to help keep them on. He looked upset and Kim promised herself to tell him that this wasn't his fault. They entered back in through the tunnels and the doors opened. All four raptors bent down so it was easier to get off before moving away for the Rangers to move.
She looked them over and wasn't surprised to see that they were all in bad shape. If they weren't Rangers, she would have been driving them to the hospital. The way that Conner held his side told her that his ribs were bruised, Kira's ankle was obviously sprained. Ethan's shoulder was dislocated and Tommy had various injuries. Kim turned to Ethan. "Come here," she said softly, happy when he obeyed. She quickly and professionally relocated it to the surprise of the others. "I was a gymnast," she reminded them. "It happened. Are you four alright?"
They all mumbled yes and assured her that they would be. Conner waited until they were done and looked completely destroyed. "I am so sorry."
"For what?" She asked, making him sit down. Ranger or not, his ribs were still bruised and trying to help Kira over to a chair wasn't a good idea for him right now. Ethan did it instead, sitting down next to her.
"I should have listened when you told me to come back the first time," he answered and Kim paused before she answered.
"You did fine, Conner," she promised and her former agreement with Tommy went out the window. She loved her boyfriend, but if he wanted to act like a child, she'd treat him like one. She whirled around to face him. "You, on the other hand, what were you thinking?! I told you that we didn't know enough! I told you to get out of there! And worst, you took over, Tommy! Being the leader is Conner's job, not yours and he did a hell of a better job than you did today. He listened to my opinions and tried his best to keep his team safe. He asked for help when he knew all of you needed it. He tried to keep him off of all of you when you went charging at him. You saw what he did to Ethan and Kira! They didn't know he could do that! Conner was ready to leave when that happened. The two of you could have gotten Kira and Ethan out of there! Goddamn it, you could have gotten them killed!"
"You weren't there, Kim!" He snapped back. The teens had moved away as much as they could and Ethan was even whispering into the computer to call Hayley. They were a little scared over the whole thing and Hayley often seemed like she could calm them down. After least, they were all pretty sure she could probably knock them out. Either way, they didn't want to try to handle it themselves. Not Tommy because he was a Ranger like them and more experienced and not Kim since she was a former Ranger and was in Mother Hen Mode.
"No, I wasn't. I was watching everything, Tommy. I was examining him and you know what I realized? You didn't know what you were up against! Just because you were evil and came back from it, doesn't mean he will!" She yelled. If Tommy had still been the green Ranger, his eyes would have glowed green.
"Don't go there, Kim," he said quietly, but deadly.
"I'm right," she answered, her voice the same. "You risked them because you were trying to get through to him. It won't work."
"It did with me!" Tommy yelled.
"Only when we destroyed the sword!" She fought back. All of the former Rangers tried to stay away from the topic of Tommy's time as an evil Ranger because he felt guilty for it. Kim was usually one of the biggest proponents of the unspoken rule, but this was different. He was an adult and they were responsible for the teens in their care. "Tommy, you nearly killed Jason!"
Tommy stared at her and the room was silent. Both adults were fuming, but the yelling had stopped. The teens, who had moved back in their seats as much as possible waited for them to start up again, but they didn't. There was just silence. Tommy finally spoke. "I'm going out. Call me if there's trouble."
Kim didn't bait him. She just nodded, once, and let him walk out. She calmed herself back down and faced the other three, who like their mentor was pulling themselves up and their injuries were finishing healing. Still annoyed, she glanced around and picked up a few beanbags that they used in training deciding that they needed a lesson in something else right now. Without letting them know what she was doing, she threw one at each of the Rangers, who quickly dodged them out of instinct. Conner looked up at her sheepishly as she stood there with her hands on her hips and a half-way amused smile on her face. "Why couldn't you three have done that when he was shooting things at you, huh? I know you didn't know what he was capable of, but 'arrows' doesn't even remotely sound like he'd going to give you flowers."
"Sorry, Kim," all three said, looking embarrassed. She sighed and then laughed.
"We did it too," she told them. "Are you three okay?"
"Yeah," said Conner for all of them. "We're fine."
"How about some pizza, huh?" She asked them, trying to lighten the mood a bit. They all nodded, hungry and tired.
"You, uh, might want to get some for Hayley too. She's sort of on her way over," Kira mentioned. Kim looked at her, remembered the conversation and nodded.
"Fair enough. Don't worry guys, we'll get this handled," she told them.
Tommy hadn't realized how long he'd been sitting in the woods by himself until he heard footsteps. Glancing up, he saw Jason Scott walking toward him calmly, though tiredly. Tommy couldn't blame him. It was getting late, he'd probably been teaching students, and he apparently had driven all the way from Angelgrove to see Tommy. "What are you doing here?" That didn't mean that he wanted to see him.
"Hayley called. Apparently, she heard your fight over the communicator when the teens called her," Jason said, sitting down himself. "She said you might need a friendly ear or your ass kicked. Whichever I had time for."
"She's not happy, huh?" Tommy asked, though more out of habit than out of interest.
"Nope and neither am I. I hate seeing you guys fight. So, what happened?" He asked.
"There's a new Ranger. A white one. An evil white one," Tommy answered. "I tried to take care of the problem, Kim freaked out. We fought."
"Okay, now tell me why Kim freaked out and why you're acting like as ass, even to me," he suggested. His arms were folded by this time and he was leaning back against a tree.
"She thought I put them at risk," he answered.
"You mean she thought you let Conner, right?" Jason asked and Tommy winced inwardly. Even Jason, who hadn't been there, was doing better at remembering to let Conner lead. At his look, Jason sighed. "It's not easy, is it?"
"What?" He asked.
"Letting go," Jason answered. "I remember having had a hard time with letting you take over and there wasn't a ten year difference there."
"He hasn't had to deal with it," Tommy answered. "I have. I was where the white Ranger is now."
"Possibly," Jason agreed. "Maybe not though. You're assuming he'd under a spell or something, but some humans are bad. You know that. It's just so close to you, that you see yourself there instead this other guy. It doesn't help that the color is white either. It's no secret white was your favorite."
"So, what are you saying? That I should just forget everything I know? That I should just kill the new Ranger? That I shouldn't even try?" Tommy asked and Jason shook his head.
"No, I'm saying let Kim work with you. She was there too," he said softly. "It was hard on all of us and after Zack rescued me, I had to spend a good amount of time convincing Trini and Kim that I was alright. It scares her to think that she could lose you… or Conner. He's the red Ranger now, so he might get targeted. Try to save the new Ranger, but don't do it at the cost of the others. Especially when you don't know if he's under some sort of influence or acting of his own free will."
"I should probably apologize, huh?" Tommy asked and Jason nodded.
"I would, but that's because I like sleeping with Trini. You don't have that problem yet. 'Course, if you don't apologize, you'll never have the chance…" Jason suggested and Tommy laughed. "How about we stay out here for a while and just talk. You look like you could use that."
"You need to visit more often, Bro," Tommy said. "How's Trini?"
"Away again and I know. I'll try. So, how's class?" Jason asked and they both relaxed.
"So," Hayley asked as Kim brought her the newest order. "You and Tommy talk it out?"
"Sort of," Kim answered. "We're not fighting anymore, but we're not okay either. Oh! Extra strawberries in that one. Anyway, it's not easy right now. We're both a little tired and grouchy."
"So I heard," Hayley answered. "At least Jason was able to talk some sense into him."
"If there is a human being on this planet that I'd trust to do that, it's Jason," Kim agreed. She looked down at her list. "Banana for the next one. We're just working it out the best we can, you know? But until this is over, I think our relationship is going to be strained."
"Whipped cream? It's a hard subject and not one you guys were ready to deal with. Okay, it's ready," Hayley continued and Kim took the tray.
"Thanks, Hayley. There's Ethan and Kira. Maybe they've seen Trent," Kim suggested as she went to deliver the smoothies and taking down the next order. She glanced over to see the young man enter as Hayley walked off. "Or she could have turned around."
Kim moved to finish up with what she was doing when she heard the crash behind her. She looked over to see Trent on the ground and frowned, racing over to help Hayley pick him up, hearing her tell him to take time off. "Hayley's right, Trent," she assured him. "We have it handled. Go get some rest."
Trent nodded and walked out, leaving Hayley and Kim alone. Hayley looked at her friend. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing, yet," she answered. "Just a little surprised he's not doing well."
"You're lying," Hayley informed her and Kim nodded.
"Yes I am, but I need to for right now, okay?" She asked and Hayley nodded.
"Of course," Hayley answered and they both groaned when the communicators beeped for them. "And apparently you look tired too. You need to take time off as well."
"This is not a good day," Kim decided and Hayley nodded with a slight smile.
"You're not the one stuck doing everything yourself," she teased. "Now go home."
Kim nodded and raced off, wondering what it was this time.
Tommy filled her in by communicator since when she got to the house they had already left. She flipped the two cameras so that she could watch them both. She kept a close eye on Conner and Kira, even laughing a bit when Conner admitted that he wasn't sure how to use the device. Red nosed his way over to watch, not really knowing what was going on but it seemed like the right thing to do. "They're looking for Dino eggs."
Red bobbed his head. He knew what an egg was since he'd been in one at one point. Besides, that's what they'd been looking for when they found Black. Kim watched the screens closely and turned all of her attention to Conner and Kira when she saw what they saw. "Let's just kick his butt and take his egg."
"Yeah, I like that plan better," Kira agreed. They started out, but Kim quickly hissed at them through the communicators.
"Guys? Maybe you should morph first?" She suggested. Conner looked sheepish, but quickly did the call with Kira before they confronted the white Ranger. Kim sighed, but looked pleased that they listened. Hopefully, next time he'd think of it himself just as they remembered her words from last time and ducked when the arrows came their way this time. Yes, this battle was going much better for them, though not great as they continued to get pummeled. Still, they were doing better than they could have been doing.
The computer threw a fit and the new monster of the day showed up on it. Kimberly groaned and reached over. "Tommy, Ethan, there's a slight problem…"
"Got it. Can you call Conner and Kira?" Tommy requested and she thought for a moment.
"How about one out of two?" She suggested. "Their egg? The white Ranger is messing with it. I'd like for Conner to try to get it before it's too late."
"I can do it. That way, they'll have all of the zords."
"I'd agree, but Conner is there now," she reminded him. "Besides, what if you run into trouble?"
"What if you come with me?" He suggested. "You can get the egg while I hold him off."
"Alright," she agreed and went to tell Conner and Kira the bad news and donned her red cape, jumping on Red's back to get there quicker. Hayley had taken over, from the café, to make sure everything went to plan. Unfortunately, and unknown to Kim at first, the birth of the Parazord caused Tommy to be later than he would have liked, meaning she was there alone. "Stay here, Red."
She left her cape with Red, who look anxious for a fight but did as she asked, and she crept in instead running. She knew which way to go, having watched Kira and Conner, but she was getting rather nervous about her lack of backup. She waited where Kira and Conner had for a while, but he was taking too long for her liking. "Tommy," she whispered into the communicator. "Where are you?"
"Almost there, Kim. Just hold on," he assured her. She nodded, even though he couldn't see it, and heard him enter. She started to relax when she heard something attack him. Her eyes widened and she nearly groaned when she heard Zeltrax. No, he wasn't going to be able to help her right now. Without Tommy there, she really was a sitting duck. She sighed and reached to her communicator.
"Hayley?" She started. "Can you send me Red?"
"Sure, of course. Why?"
"Tommy found Zeltrax. If I'm going to try this, I'm on my own," she answered and she could almost hear Hayley shaking her head.
"Bad idea," her friend answered. "Without Ranger powers, you could get killed."
"That's why I need Red," she answered, relieved when she saw the raptor coming toward her. "Thanks, Hayley."
"Don't thank me. I hadn't done anything yet," came her answer, sounding a bit confused. Her voice immediately became full of warning after a minute though. "You're going to die."
"Probably," Kim answered. She heard Hayley's sigh, but the other woman gave up. "See you on the flip side."
"Yeah, yeah. Just remember to duck."
She looked at Red. "Go, attack."
She didn't have to tell the raptor twice. He moved like a mad creature, determined to get to the Ranger. The white Ranger was taken by surprise when the tail hit him, knocking him away from the egg. Kim took the opportunity to sneak in, trying to stay as hidden as possible. She headed slowly for the egg as Red continued to fight the white Ranger. She reached for it, hoping that it wasn't too late, when she heard Hayley's voice through the communicator, nearly screaming. "Kim! It's hatching! Get away from it!"
"Shouldn't I grab it then?" She asked.
"Not unless you want to be Dino Chow!" Hayley answered. "There's enough dark energy coming off of that thing to arm a fleet of Zords!"
"Oh shit," Kim answered and did move away from it.
"Oh shit is right," she heard from behind her and that was the last thing she saw before she went flying. The white Ranger headed toward her, but stopped when he saw that the egg was hatching.
Kim waited until she was sure he was distracted and glancing over at Red. The raptor was damaged, sliced up a bit, and could barely move. She knew how he felt. He pulled himself up and dragged himself to the stairs. She moved to try to take the white rangers helmet since having been a Power Ranger herself, she knew it wasn't difficult, but he threw her back when he felt her hand. This time, she didn't try again. There would be other opportunities. Seeing the lack of time that was left anyway, Kim quickly followed Red, half-carrying the raptor up the stairs, and was relieved when she saw Tommy.
"Too late, bad anyway, run!" She told him and he helped her drag the raptor up the stairs. The building shook as the creature grew, beginning to cause the building to cave in on itself.
"Kim, we're not going to make it," Tommy hissed. "We need to go, now!"
"We can't just leave him, Tommy!" She argued as Red pulled himself to the best of his dwindling ability. "We're almost there!"
"Fine, I'm wearing the suit. You get out. We'll be right after you," he told her as things fell around them. She was about to agree, but she saw an opening.
"Tommy over there! Hurry!" She told him. She turned to Red. "Put everything you have into it, Red. We'll get you home."
Red managed to half-way run on the flat ground using the rest of his energy while Kim and Tommy ran beside him. More fell and Kim dodged it, knowing they were running out of time. She felt something pick her up and looked to see Tommy carrying her out. She didn't complain since he was faster than her even without the suit. They fell outside, watching the building seemingly explode to their eyes. They both stared at the new Zord as Red's eyes darkened. "It's not over yet," Tommy whispered.
"Maybe not for us, but Red is down," Kim answered. Her adrenaline plummeted and the effects of being thrown aside like a rag doll started to kick in. "I'd like to sit the rest of this one out too."
"Stay still, Kim," Tommy told her and she gave a quick nod, until the Dragozord began to flap its wings. While behind it at first, eventually the creature began to take to the air, causing things to go flying every which way. Tommy stood over her to make sure that none of it hurt her, but both were relieved when it was finished taking off. Until, of course, it began to take down the Zords. Tommy did everything he could, but by the end of it, the teens were without Zords and the white Ranger was winning.
"Kira, Conner, Ethan! Are you three alright?" Tommy asked, running over to where they'd fallen. Kim picked herself up and dragged herself over as well.
"Yeah, but our Zords are seriously tweaked," Conner answered. Tommy nodded and they got to work. Working together, they managed to save the Stegozord and the white Ranger left. None of them complained, happy enough that the white Ranger was leaving. Tommy turned back to Kim.
"You need to lie down," he told her and she just nodded. She was about to say something back to him, but was interrupted by Conner.
"Hey! Who broke my raptor?!"
"You do realize that they're going to be back in like an hour, right?" Kim asked in regard to letting the trio have a break before something worse happened. Tommy gave her a look.
"What the hell were you thinking?" He asked her, ignoring her previous question. She shrugged.
"That getting the egg from the psychopath seemed like a good plan," she suggested. "Not my best idea ever, but if it hadn't already been too late, I would have had it!"
"Until he noticed you had it," Tommy snapped. "Then you would have been a dead woman on the ground."
"Thanks for the support," she growled.
"You're human, Kim!" He yelled. "Not a Ranger, not an alien, just a normal everyday human!"
"Gee, sorry about that. I'll just go grab a gem and fix that. Oh! Right! You already grabbed it!" She yelled back. "Speaking of gems, why didn't you go invisible anyway? Then you could have gotten your happy little ass down to where I was without having to worry about Zeltrax!"
"Because! I… didn't… think about it," he answered, his confidence draining as he realized his mistake. "Oops."
Kim reached out to him and he headed over, holding her. "I didn't think about it either. We didn't have cool invisibility powers. Besides, we made it through it."
"Does this mean that you forgive me?" He asked.
"No, but I'm willing to put it aside until this is over," she offered. "Face it, Tommy, we just don't have the time to talk this out right now."
He nodded and turned to see Hayley coming down the stairs anyway. He motioned in the direction of Red. Hayley sighed, but nodded and went to work, fixing Red. Kim got up and started to work on finding out who the white Ranger was while Tommy went to work trying to find weaknesses. There wasn't much conversation between them.
"I… hate… being… left… behind," Kim muttered as they all ran out. She heard Hayley chuckle behind her and she shot the other woman a look. "When this is over, remind me to have Zack repay you for having to shut down the café again."
"Don't worry about it. For some reason, people just don't want to have a latte while the fate of the world is at stake," she joked. "How are they doing?"
"Well, Ethan's getting surrounded by Tyrannodrones, Tommy and Kira are fighting with auxiliary Zords, and I'm not sure if Conner is going to be able to get back up," Kim answered, worried. "So, not well."
"That bad?" Hayley asked. Kim nodded, but then stopped.
"Or Conner just made a breakthrough and he's kicking ass," she corrected herself. Hayley rushed over to see what was going on. Kim grinned. "Atta boy."
"It looks like you won't have to worry about the white Ranger anymore."
"Oh, he's not stupid enough to fall for that, is he?" Kim asked and groaned as he started to. Hayley put a hand on her shoulder.
"Never doubt the gullibility of teenagers," she answered.
"Conner! He's faking! Even if he's not faking, good job! You did your job, I'll bake you a cake now don't go near him!" Kim snapped. The rest of it didn't seem to phase him, but the cake made him pause.
"A big one?" He asked, but that was pushed aside at the sight before him. "Whoa!"
The white Ranger pulled himself up, deciding that the ruse wasn't working and charged him. Conner managed to dodge out of the way, but the white Ranger hit hard and strong. Kim nearly screamed when he didn't get back up. "Conner!"
"Kim? I can't get up," he told her, still trying as the white Ranger advanced.
"Like hell you can't. Get up!" She yelled back at him, standing up and placing both hands on the computer. Considering her own injuries, she knew that she shouldn't be moving much, but it was as if she was to force him to do it from where she was. She fell back in her seat when she saw Mesagog show up. Hayley squeezed her shoulder as they both could only watch, knowing what the other was thinking. They were going to lose him. Both women screamed when Zeltrax attacked him again. The conversation was short between the white Ranger and Mesagog, but it seemed to go on forever. The white Ranger may have left, but the others were still there and Conner was still down. By this time, both women were holding each other, powerless to do anything.
"Shall I finish him, Master?" Zeltrax asked and Kim couldn't watch. She turned away, tears in her eyes, wondering if there was anything else she could have taught him, showed him to keep it from ending like this.
"No, our new friend has a fascination with the red one. I shall let him live in hopes that he will lead us to the white Ranger," the monster answered. Kim felt the tears fall at this point with new relief as they left. Ethan arrived quickly after and Kim didn't feel as bad about just crying instead of being able to see what was going on. It was taking everything she had not to faint.
"Conner!" Ethan yelled.
"E-Ethan?" Conner asked, seeing his friend. Then he did what his body asked him to: He promptly passed out.
Considering that the two sides began to fight each other, there really wasn't a problem with Ethan taking Conner back to the lair. Kira and Tommy stayed behind to make sure that nothing else happened, but it was necessary to get Conner back since he was unconscious. He drove him back and helped Kim get him down from the bike when they stopped. "Is he going to be alright, Kim?" Ethan asked, worried considering that Conner had powered down when he went unconscious.
"He'll live, Ethan," she answered. "Which is more than he would be if Mesagog had decided to let Zeltrax kill him."
"He stopped him? Why?" Ethan asked.
"Hoping he'll lead the white Ranger to him," Kim answered, setting him on one of the new tables. "It worked in our favor for once."
Ethan nodded and began to relax when they heard Conner moan. Kim smiled down as he opened his eyes. "Oww."
"It's going to hurt for a little while, Conner," she told him. "Try not to move too much for a bit."
Conner nodded and looked at Ethan. "Thanks, Man," he told him and Ethan nodded, not really saying too much. Conner forced a smile. "What took you so long?"
"Well, there was this new game coming out and since I was passing by the store… I was attacked by Tyrannodrones!" Ethan answered, slightly annoyed. He continued to mutter to himself. "What took me so long…"
Kim patted his shoulder and looked at Conner. "You feeling better now?" She asked. "Less dizzy?"
"Yeah, I think so," he told her, the Ranger healing kicking in at full force.
"Good," she told him calmly and her expression quickly changed. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"
Conner hadn't know before that point, nor had Ethan, that a small woman like Kim could go from looking like she couldn't hurt a fly to a capable and deadly looking woman in less than three seconds. Still, she looked furious, worried, and scared all at the same time, similar to a mother bird who just finished protecting her nest and was waiting for a second predator. Her hands her on her hips and she headed toward him, let her arms down and threw them around him. Conner, embarrassed, pat her back and looked at Ethan mouthing 'help'. Ethan for his part had backed away, nervous she'd grab him next. "I'm okay. No more scaring you. Got it."
Hayley gently led Ethan back over and pulled Kim off of Conner. "You're going to add to his injuries," she said teasingly and Kim backed off. Hayley looked at Conner. "We, uh, watched the whole thing."
Conner nodded and looked at Ethan. "Go watch the computer," he told him. Ethan looked at him in confusion. "Just do it."
Ethan looked at Conner and then at Kim. "Oh, uh… bye," he said and headed over to the computer. Hayley went back to work on Red. Conner looked around, making sure no one was watching and nodded to Kim.
"Go ahead," he told her, holding out his arms. She leapt at the chance and Conner hugged her back. "Seriously, I'm okay."
"I know. But I still get to panic. It's part of the job," she told him, letting him go. "Just try not to die. I'm keeping with my part of the bargain, thank you both for the letter by the way, but I need you not to either."
"Got it. No dying," he told her.
"Dying?" A new voice rang through the cave and Kim looked over at Kira, demorphed and looking surprised. "Who's dying?"
"Conner almost died," Ethan said helpfully. "But he didn't."
"Oh," she said and walked over to Ethan, smacking him in the shoulder.
"Hey! What was that for?" He demanded.
"Where were you?" She asked and Ethan through up his hands.
"Why does everyone assume I was off doing something instead of trying to get to Conner? Tyrannodrones. Lots of them. Attacked me. I was stalled," Ethan told her, completely annoyed by this point. Conner laughed a bit and Ethan looked over. "And why are you laughing?"
"Sorry, Man, I'm just used to being the one who gets yelled at," he told him with a grin. "Your turn."
"Enough," Tommy told them. "I'm glad you're okay, Conner."
"Thanks, Doctor O," he said and his eyes widened. "The egg finder! I left it when I had to run and after the white Ranger tore into us. I should go get it."
"I'll get it. You get home. You going to be okay enough to get there?" He asked and Conner nodded. "Good. Ethan, Kira…"
"We got it, Doctor O," they promised and helped their teammate home. Kim and Hayley looked at him.
"Be careful," Hayley told him.
"I'll be fine," he promised and Kim folded her arms, looking at him. "I will."
"We'll talk when you get back," Kim said and he nodded at that, but didn't say much else. They were trying to be civil, but they were still angry, still fighting even if they couldn't deal with it right this moment. She sat at the computer, watching him walk off.
"You're going to forgive him, right?" Hayley asked and Kim sighed.
"It's a matter of forgiving each other and accepting that this is all part of the job. We're not going to break up over it, Hayley, we're just mad," Kim answered. "Once we talk it out, it will be behind us."
"You sure?" Hayley asked.
"Promise. He'll get the egg thingy, come back, we'll talk things over, have a nice dinner, and move on," she answered. Hayley nodded.
"If he comes back," she muttered and Kim whipped around to look at her, wincing as she did.
"What's wrong, Hayley?" She asked.
"He's got that look on his face. The 'this is why we put the help button on your communicator instead of his' look. He's not going to be careful," Hayley answered and Kim sighed.
"He rarely is," she answered. They headed back to work fixing Red and just trying to figure things out when they heard Tommy.
"Hayley! Kim! Listen!"
"Yeah?" Hayley asked.
"What is it?" Added Kim.
"The white Ranger, it's…" And just as quickly, his voice was cut off. Kim and Hayley watched in horror as an amber substance poured all over his body, trapping him inside.
"Tommy, come in Tommy," Hayely called, but there was no answer. "Tommy, come on."
She looked over at Kim who stared at the screen, not making a noise at first. When she finally did it was loud, heartbroken, and relatively short, sounding a bit like Tommy. Then she did the only thing her body would let her do. She fell to the floor hearing Hayley calling to her as she completely passed out in a faint.
Author's Note: First of all, sorry this is late. It seems that after graduation seemed to be as busy as before, but things have seemingly calmed down for the moment. I'm hoping they'll stay that way. Still, it's a longer chapter. That makes up for the lateness, right?
A big problem that I had with the series, all of them, was that they didn't duck or dodge anything. Seriously, if someone pointed something at me that had "arrows" or "power" in the name, I would be ducking and dodging to make sure it didn't hit me. So, I decided to address that here.
Thank you once again for all of the reviews. As always, I appreciate it greatly.