A/N: Chapter 7. Tommy fights for his life and a chance to find out the truth, once and for all.
A/N 2: I own nothing. Power Rangers once belonged to Saban, then they went to Disney and belong to Saban again.
Chapter 7 – The Truth Shall Set You Free
Friday, Jan. 23, 2004
4:00 p.m.
Angel Grove, CA
Kimberly stared dumbfounded for at least a minute or two. This just couldn't be.
How could there be two of herself; talk about double exposure.
"You look surprised," the other woman said.
"Excuse me if I'm not," Kimberly snapped back. "Is this some sort of sick joke? What's going on here?"
"I see you haven't lost any of that sassiness; that's good," the other woman said. "You're right, there can't be two of you. I have some similarities to you, and I look like you, but in essence I am a manifestation of you that was recently brought from the spirit world into this world. I look like you, but I prefer to be called Ms. K."
"The spirit world; what kind of place are we talking about here?" Kimberly said.
"Basically, it's where all dreams take place," the other woman said. "I am not here to hurt you, Ms. Hart; my respect for you and the rest of Zordon's chosen ones runs deep."
"How do you know Zordon?" Kimberly said.
"Can I come in and talk?" the other woman said. "We don't have a whole lot of time and I can explain everything when we get inside."
Kimberly nodded and led Ms. K inside, asking, "Can I get you something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine," Ms. K said. "This is a nice place."
"Yeah, with the money I got from competing in the Olympics and Pan Globals and my sponsorships, plus the money I get from running my business, you can afford a nice place," Kimberly said as both women sat down. "So, tell me again, how do you know Zordon? And how are you here in the first place?"
"I don't necessarily know him personally, but I see everything, Pink Crane," the other woman said. "I've seen what's happened to you, to Tommy, your friends and your entire team."
"As to how I am here, I was recently brought into this world by some of your former adversaries, who once again fight for the light," Ms. K said.
"By Rita and Zedd?" Kimberly said.
"Indeed," Ms. K said. "Do you remember the dream device used to create Artistmole?"
"Wow, that is a blast from the past. I figured that thing would get chucked years ago," Kimberly said.
"Well, long story short, Rita and Zedd were purified and Dulcea decided to return Finster back to Rita and Zedd's services," Ms. K said. "He saved that device and has not used it until he brought me into this world."
"Wow, I always liked Finster but figured he was gone," Kimberly said. "Yeah, I've heard that Rita and Zedd now fight for us; they live here in town and to my understanding do good charity work. I just prefer not to go see them because old wounds would open too much."
"It would be too much like Tommy betraying me and ending that. It got worse when I got banned from seeing my friends with the exceptions of Jason and Trini right before I went off to LSU," Kimberly continued, breathing a sigh.
"Sometimes, young Crane, things are not as they seem and I think if you look deep in your heart, you'll realize that you don't know the whole truth," Ms. K said. "There are always two sides to every story."
"What do you mean? Did that letter not come in Tommy's name, with his signature?" Kim snapped.
"Easy now, Kimberly; I'm not saying that signature, or that letter, didn't happen," Ms. K said. "But it's important you know that Tommy received a letter in your name that was almost verbatim to what you received. It's also important that you know the Falcon has been searching for the truth for years; that he believes you both are innocent."
Kimberly nodded; if that part was true, this was why Tommy had tried to save her after the Maligore fiasco. If there was one man she knew could see through a bunch of crap, it was Tommy. In hindsight, maybe she regretted pushing him away after Maligore. But then there was that other problem.
"Yeah but even if he found the truth and we're both innocent, we could never get back together," Kimberly said very sadly. "Because my stupid mother forbade me from seeing my friends right before I went off to college. My mother Caroline took advantage of Tommy and I being apart to tell me that if I ever saw my friends aside from Jason and Trini again, she'd get on a plane and whisk me to France like that."
"I figured as much, and your friends figure as much too," Ms. K nodded. "It's so sad that a woman like that could be so much about herself."
"She has always been about money and power and she has always wanted me to live in Paris near her; that I continue to have a job here in California pisses her off," Kim said, as she began to lose control and start crying. "Even if Tommy and I are innocent, what could I do?"
"You can't do anything, unfortunately. But I could," Ms. K said. "I could threaten her till the cows come home. I am glad I am not part of her family and I would gladly take away everything she owns if I have to."
Sitting next to the mysterious Ms. K, Kim could feel the power radiating around her; there was no doubt in Kimberly's mind that Ms. K could carry out that threat.
"So, has Tommy found out the truth?" Kim said.
"He is trying to, but unfortunately in his battles with evil recently, he has been through a chain of events that could cost him everything. Currently, he is in a coma and will have to fight for his very life," Ms. K said quietly, causing Kimberly to gasp in shock. "That is, unless he gets some help. And I think you are the only one that can help him survive and find out the truth."
"How can I help?" Kimberly said. "I'm not a Ranger anymore. And even if I could, why would I want to…just to get my heart smashed in two again? To have old wounds open again?"
"But don't you want the truth? To put this whole thing to rest once and for all?" Ms. K said.
Kimberly nodded glumly; she had to admit, it would be nice to know the truth, if nothing else. Maybe this whole thing could finally be put to bed.
But then, that raised the other question.
"Again, how can I help?" Kimberly said. "I'm not a Ranger anymore and I don't have medical training."
"You may not have powers anymore, Pink Crane, but the Ninjetti Powers will always be a part of you, as they will the Falcon," Ms. K said. "I know what is about to happen to him, and the way you can help him is through your Ninjetti Powers. Do you still practice your self-defense frequently?"
"Yes, having improved my self-defense over the years, I try to do the Crane stances every morning before I go to work," Kim said.
"That is good to know; I can sense you've practiced a great deal to keep your mind sharp," Ms. K said. "The key to saving the Falcon will be to channel positive inner thoughts towards him as he fights for his life; here is what you need to do…"
Meanwhile….
Dr. Thomas Oliver had soon realized that his White Ranger alter ego wasn't kidding when he said the Green Ranger would be Dr. Oliver's toughest test. No matter what Dr. Oliver tried, he couldn't land a good blow on the Green Ranger, who had matched him and then some. Not only that, Tommy had lost the Dragon Dagger in the beginning of the battle.
As he hit the ground, Tommy suddenly realized that maybe, just maybe, he'd met his match. He had truly come to a crossroads, not just in this battle, but as it turned out, his life.
And that's when it happened. All of a sudden, Tommy could feel a presence that he hadn't felt in years; he couldn't believe it himself.
'Tommy, please, don't give up,' the voice said. He hadn't heard it in a long time, but now, with Tommy fighting for his life, it couldn't have come at a better time.
'Kim, is…is that you?'
'Yeah, it's me. Not Ms. K…it's the real me. No matter what happens, please, don't give up. You owe it to all of us. Don't let this poser destroy you! You're so close to finding out what we all want to know!'
It was at that very moment that Tommy knew he had to get up and fight; if for nothing else, than for the entire legacy he represented.
'Kim, I promise I won't give up and I will get back to where I can find the truth. For us.'
'I'm gonna hold you to that.'
As the battle continued, the Green Ranger continued his assault; he was strong, but no matter what happened, Tommy vowed he would give up each and every time.
'You know better than anyone how powerful I am; why don't you just give up the fight?' the Green Ranger taunted.
He wasn't lying; every bone in Tommy's body hurt like crazy. And the Green Ranger was more than powerful enough to finish the fight. Unmorphed, Tommy didn't stand a chance.
But in that very moment, at his biggest crossroads, there was no way he was going to give up. Not with the truth so close…so VERY close.
"That's the one thing I'll never do," Tommy snapped back. The Green Ranger looked startled; any normal human would have crumbled under the assault Tommy had gone through. Yet, a defiant look burned in Tommy's eyes that told the Green Ranger Tommy wasn't kidding; in fact, the look in his eyes told him that Tommy probably could find a second, third and fourth wind if he needed it.
'Then I guess it's over,' Green Ranger said. 'You've passed the test.'
"A test; what are you talking about?" Tommy said as he was helped to his feet.
As the three previous Ranger forms he had been fighting re-appeared, Zeo V said, 'You haven't been fighting us, you've been fighting for your life.'
'And for your former flame too,' he thought silently.
'And you've proven your will to live is stronger than any Ranger power,' White Ranger said.
'This is yours,' Tommy saw the three parts of his Dino Gem appear and took them all. 'Good luck, Black Ranger.'
Angel Grove, CA
"YES! I did it!" Kimberly shouted as she could feel Tommy come back to consciousness. As it turned out, Ms. K had been right; Tommy was fighting for his life, and without the powers of the Crane, quite possibly he wouldn't have made it.
She was suddenly exhausted, though. The attempt to help Tommy combined with her tapping into her Crane powers for the first time in nearly a decade had taken its toll on her.
"No, you both did it," Ms. K said. "You did your part sure, but it takes two to tango and Tommy had to feel your warm presence again."
"That's the Tommy I know; in that sense, he hasn't changed," Kimberly said as she stumbled, but was caught by her likeness before she could stumble and fall. "I am drained from that."
"I see that," Ms. K said as she led Kimberly into her bedroom. "You should probably go to bed for a while. I'll see myself out; my work here is done."
"Will I see you again?" Kimberly asked.
"Very soon; you will see me very soon," Ms. K said. "May the Power protect you always, Pink Crane."
Somewhere in outer space
The owner of this massive ship had watched these entire developments and had screamed in exasperation. No matter what you put in front of him, that little cockroach known as Dr. Thomas Oliver just wouldn't die.
When Tommy had fallen into the coma, the woman figured that it was finally over; that Tommy had given it a good fight, but in the end he would die without completing his quest. That all that was left was for Mesogog to destroy the other four wannabes known as Tommy's students, then she could swoop in, destroy him and every other Ranger team in existence (and in particular Zordon's chosen, the others really didn't matter) and claim the Earth for herself.
But now that Tommy had regained consciousness and had returned to the fight, helping his four students destroy the Terrorsaurus, she suddenly saw her aspirations fading fast. Not only that, she could feel fluctuations in the Morphin Grid, and one particular power had been activated that very day for the first time in nine years. In fact, it was this very power that was the reason Dr. Oliver was still alive today.
It was also the one power she never wanted to see activated again, in particular where Dr. Oliver was concerned; the powers of the Crane.
The only hope now, she thought, was Mesogog himself; all she could do was hope that he could do the job. Because she had no doubt that if Mesogog didn't destroy Tommy and his four students, that one day all of the work she had put in was going to be shattered.
It was time to call for desperate measures. There was one thing she had been able to obtain that Tommy hadn't protected very well at all which could be very valuable in her cause.
She hated to break bread with most other evil beings as she could getting along well enough on her own, but as she placed a call to Mesogog, she realized that she had no choice.
Later that night…
After returning and helping his four students destroy the Terrorsaurus, Tommy had realized the time to act was now.
After all, he had just gone through a near-death experience, and had survived. It was time to get serious; and not just with Mesogog.
It was time to figure out the truth…about his past.
Grimly nodding, he went to his super-secret vault that he kept in the back of his lab and pulled out the two things that had haunted him for eight long years.
Grabbing the letters, and then the scanner, he grimly sat down in his chair and put the letters on his desk.
"Here goes nothing; hope this works," Tommy said as he pressed the button. As Billy said would happen, a green ray shot out from the scanner and hit both letters, briefly encasing them in a green light.
Tommy didn't have to wait long before the scanner began printing the results of the contents of the letter.
Instantly, Tommy took the results of the printout and began reading them. He read word for word on the paper he had printed out and didn't see any results on whether the writing was from Kimberly or not.
"This was not supposed to happen," Tommy said. "This was supposed to be it, right here."
Then, Tommy saw a second piece of paper come out of the scanner, and Tommy's interest perked up; a ray of hope perhaps.
Tommy kept reading the second page and didn't see any results relating to who wrote it…until he came to the very end of the page.
"Of course it has to be on the second page…at the very end," Tommy grumbled. "Always has to be the hard way."
Tommy intently began reading the results, and his hopes rose higher with every word.
Who Wrote The Letters
Chances that These Letters Were written on Earth: Very Low
Chances that These Letters Were Written By A Ranger: Almost None
Chances that These Letters Were Written By Kimberly Hart and Thomas Oliver: None At All
Tommy breathed a deep sigh of relief; he had been right all along. Of course, Tommy and Kim wouldn't be so heartless as to end it all in letters. Tommy had just needed to find the evidence to prove it.
Tommy was about to go to his email when he saw some more writing after that, which perked his interest.
Chances That These Letters were Crafted Outside of Earth: Very High
Chances that These Letters were Crafted by an Unknown Enemy of the Original Rangers: Very High
Tommy nodded again; it would make sense that someone who wanted to conquer the planet wanted the Falcon and Crane apart, and thus, the team. With him and Kim apart, it would be easy to swoop in, pick apart his team members, and destroy the planet.
Seeing that there was no more writing, Tommy contemplated what to do next. He suddenly realized that it was Day No. 2900 since this unknown force had essentially broken him and Kimberly up. It suddenly gave Tommy an idea. Realistically, as much as he wanted to call in his friends right now, that wasn't really an option.
He still had to deal with Mesogog and beat him before he could talk to his friends, which would be a tall order by itself. But he could look and see when a good date would be to call his friends in and tell them all the truth. And then he found it.
Day No. 3000; May 2, 2004. That was 24 hours after Reefside's senior prom; perfect.
And as luck would have it, Jason had kept a directory of every Power Ranger-related email address that there was...including Kimberly, and had given a copy of that list to Tommy. Now, Tommy was ready to use it.
It was time to get the flock, including Kimberly, back together.
But first, he had to make a phone call, and he knew who he had to call first.
"Hey Hayley, it's Tommy. Listen, we finally know the truth. Kim and I are free from any wrongdoing. The chances are good that an enemy we've never faced...and probably never seen before...is behind everything that's happened to me but we can deal with that another time," Tommy said.
"That's great, Tommy," came the familiar voice of Hayley Ziktor. "It's so good to know that the work we put in to figure out the truth has finally paid off. Have you emailed your friends yet?"
"Not yet, but I'm going to. I'm thinking about a mandatory meeting date of May 2, but that's for later. I wanted to call and give you that good news."
"Sounds like you didn't waste any time after nearly losing your life," Hayley said with a slight laugh. "In all seriousness, I'm happy for you. You know that after we beat Mesogog this means it's not over, right?"
"Yeah, I know that but I'm gonna enjoy the moment for now...that is, after I email the guys," Tommy said. "It's going to be the last thing I do before I go to bed tonight."
"Sounds good; sweet dreams, Tommy," Hayley said.
Saturday, January 24, 2004
11:00 a.m.
Hayley's Cyberspace
Reefside, CA
The four teenagers who walked into Hayley's establishment that morning were a little bewildered.
Usually it was Dr. Oliver giving the orders, not the technical genius. The teens hadn't seen Dr. Oliver since his near-death experience; he was probably doing things to celebrate being alive. Whatever those were.
What's more, they had been asked to go to the back room where Hayley usually did her business away from customers. She cited "spandex business," and the teens groaned at that. What more could there be after they'd almost lost to the Terrorsaurus 24 hours earlier?
They finally found Hayley in the back, who said, "Hey, glad to see you could make it guys."
"Hey, Hayley," Conner McKnight, the well built soccer star of the Reefside High soccer team and the Reefside Wave said. "You wouldn't have called us here if it wasn't important."
"Always to the point, Conner. And yes, this is very important," Hayley said. "I wouldn't have called you here if it wasn't. I called you here because the four of you need to know that you guys are now fighting for so much more than just yourselves and the safety of this city. You are fighting for every member of the legacy that came before you, and fighting for the chance for two former Rangers to be together again."
"What do you mean by that? We have nothing to do with the past Rangers. As much as they accomplished, Mesogog is our business, not theirs," the blonde singer known as Kira Ford said. "I love and respect all the past Rangers, but we have nothing to do with them."
"Until yesterday, I might have agreed with that, Kira," Hayley said. "But I learned something just last night that increases the stakes of this fight with Mesogog...significantly. In particular, you are fighting for Dr. Oliver, and his first girlfriend and the chance for them to live the life the way they always wanted to."
"Are you talking about the first Pink Ranger, Kimberly? I remember watching her in the Olympic Games in Atlanta," Kira said. Hayley nodded indicating Kira was exactly right.
"Yes, it very much involves the first Pink Ranger of Earth. We all heard the story of how Dr. Oliver had to fight his three previous colors to stay alive, but I don't think he won that battle alone," Hayley said.
"What do you mean by that?" Conner said. As much as Kira wanted to slap him silly sometimes, she wondered that too. Dr. Oliver was strong mentally and physically no doubt but he had to have some help somewhere, right?
"What I mean is that I suspect, from talking to some of Tommy's friends, that Kimberly has ways to channel positive thoughts towards Tommy that we cannot see," Hayley said. "It is strictly my opinion that if not for those positive thoughts, Dr. Oliver would have died yesterday."
The reality suddenly set in for Conner, Kira, Ethan and Trent. The truth of the matter was, they hadn't wanted at all to get mixed up with the previous Rangers; they had nothing to do with them. Or so they thought; they had clearly been wrong in that opinion. And it was very likely that if it wasn't for one of those standard bearers, Tommy would be dead right now.
"OK, then," Ethan James said. "We're ready and listening."
"OK, guys, here is what you need to know..." Hayley said.
TBC…