Chapter 16
"Kim, are you alright? You seem out of it." Tommy asked as he came to stand beside her. He took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. He said that her eyes were a little misty looking.
"I am fine. I just wish that we could get our powers and Connor and go home. I want this part over." Kim said.
She was trying to hold it together. She stepped closer to Tommy and leaned into his body. She just wanted this to be over totally. She turned again and they walked hand-in-hand deeper into the cave. She heard Tommy's gasp. She turned to look at him and he had gone white as a sheet. He was also shaking.
"Kim, I'm not sure this is the right way." He said. She grabbed his face and held it between her hands.
"Tommy, listen to me. This is the only way. Why is this part of the cave worrying you? I know that machine over there against the wall looks bad but there are spider webs all over it so it has not been used in a while." Kim said. She looked into his eyes and knew that something bad had happened here. She just didn't know what.
"Kim, the last time that I was here was with you. I know that you do not remember it but it was bad. This is where Zedd had you when your power coin was stolen. You were hooked up to that machine. It was slowly draining your power. I had to fight Zedd and destroy that machine to get you back. I was so scared that I could not defeat Zedd or get the machine off. You look so pale and unlike the Kim I knew. I felt responsible for you being there. If I had not lost the Falcon zord or if I had went after your power coin. I don't know." Tommy said through gritted teeth.
He was trying not to remember Kim on that machine. She looked dead when he had shown up and he had quit breathing until he seen her chest rise and fall with a breath.
"Oh, Tommy, I am so sorry. It was not your fault that I was here. I chose to try to rescue Kat. I was a Power Ranger so that meant that I had to try rescue Kat even though I had lost my power coin. I never blamed you for me being here. Don't blame yourself." Kim pleaded with him.
She let go of his face and turned back to look at the room that they were in. The machine that she had been hooked up to took up one whole wall with a nasty looking part coming down over a table. She guessed that she had been the only one to be laid on that table. She hoped that Tommy would forget that he had to visit this place again. She knew that it would be a long time but she seriously knew that a part of him would always remember her on that table with her power slowly draining away just a part of her would always remember Tommy in the Command Center with his Green Ranger powers failing.
"Kim, I think that we should continue on." He said as she spun back around to him. They walked out of that room and continue down a darken hallway. She hoped that their powers could handle these old dimensions. She knew that they should but a part would doubt it until proven.
"I wonder how we are to get our powers." Kim wondered at loud. They continue to walk down the path in silence. They each retreated in their own thoughts. They held hands though. They both seem to need that little body contact. Tommy opened the map just to check their position on the map. It appeared that they were still going the right way.
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"Where are they now Billy?" Trini asked as she came back down from getting the pizza that she had called in.
Jason had brought down a table and chairs so they could eat and still be near the computers in case of an emergency. Hayley did not join them though she went upstairs to fix herself a ham and cheese sandwich. She would only talk when she was spoken to. Jason had tried several times to talk to her but she would only answer in yes, no, or not even answer at all. Every time that she wouldn't answer Jason, Trini looked over and gave her death rays.
The kids had called to say that they made it home and to call them the moment anything changed. Kira had already called twice to make sure that everything was still going good.
"They are in limbo basically. They are going in and out of dimensions. They are in the one that Kim was in when she was hooked up to Zedd's machine and her powers were being drained from her. I am sure that Tommy is going through the worst right now. He is reliving that nightmare. I wish that they did not have to relive those dimensions but since they were the ones captured the most then they'd seen the most dimensions out of all of us." Billy said as he watched Tommy and Kim continue past that room. He wished that he could see what they would in counter next but it was not possible.
"Hey! They're coming. I just got off the phone with them. We need to start planning." Jason shouted as he came down the stairs waving the phone. He went over to his wife and kissed her while Billy looked away.
"Who is coming and what are we planning?" Trini when Jason stepped back from their kiss. She was happy to see him since for that past hour he had been upstairs playing Tommy's game system. He had wanted to erase all of Tommy's high scores. She guessed he succeeded or he had got busy with his phone calls.
"Everyone; Zack, Rocky, Aisha, Adam, and Tanya. I called them as soon as I knew Kim was coming. I wanted to have a welcome party for Kim. They are excited for this. We are also camping out at Tommy's. I know he wouldn't mind. They are each bringing their own air mattresses and sleeping bags. We are grilling the day after Tommy and Kim gets back." Jason said as he tried not to run around the basement. He was so ready for Tommy and Kim to get back.
"Jason, I think that you missed someone. What about Kat? I mean she was a ranger too." Trini asked even though she did not like Kat all that much. She knew that she could not blame her for Tommy and Kim breaking up but she still didn't like her.
"Well I didn't want to open that can of worms. I know that Kim is on speaking terms with her but after she has dealt with Tommy and getting her powers back I knew that she was not up to being nice with Kat." Jason said as he turned to watch Hayley come back down the stairs.
She had gone upstairs to readjust her eyes and brain. She had also gotten her something to eat and made sure that everything at the Cybercafé was going good. Trent had told her that he would swing to help close then he would head home in his car.
"What's going on?" Hayley asked. She knew that Jason was excited over something. He was practically jumping up and down.
"Jason has invited almost all of the former rangers over for a sleep over and cookout. He wanted it to be a welcome home party for Kim." Billy said as he continued to stare at the computer not brothering to look up.
"Is Rocky included in this invitation?" Hayley asked nervously. She hoped that Rocky did not come.
"Yes. Why?" Jason asked. He did not know why Hayley did not like Rocky but he would find out.
"I just don't see eye to eye with Rocky. The last time he was here, he pulled one prank after another. He jacked my car up, took all the tires off my car, and hid them in the woods behind Tom's house. I spent the next two hours trying to find them. I was so mad and Tom did nothing but sat and watched me while Rocky laughed the entire time. I just wanted to get away from him the fastest that I could. The next time that he came; he unplugged all the machines at the Cybercafé. I spent the following hour trying to figure out what was wrong with everything there. I mean from the computers there to the coffee machine I couldn't figure it out until Rocky came in laughing at me. I looked then found out that everything was unplugged. Tom just shrugged and walked out with Rocky and the others." Hayley said as she shuttered at the memories. She really hoped that Rocky would change his mind but he wouldn't do that because he wanted to torture her.
"I can believe that Rocky would do that. He is just a big kid. He was always pulling pranks on all of us. The only one that he never pulled a prank on was Kim. I think that he was scared of her. She did pound on his head for pulling a prank on Tommy. He called me about how to handle her. I told him that he needed to leave that she-devil alone. He sounded hurt about not getting her back until she threatened him. He did continue to pull pranks on everyone else even when we went there." Jason said. He was laughing at all the pranks he remembered Rocky pulling. It was going to be a great reunion with everyone. He couldn't wait.
"When are they coming?" Billy asked pulling his thoughts from Rocky's pranks to the question.
"They should be arriving tomorrow sometime. They said that they would call when they got into Reefside. Rocky knows that way but the others do not and knowing him, they would not make it here until two weeks later. He would have too much fun leading them on a merry chase." Jason said laughing.
He could picture it now. Rocky in his red Dodge truck being followed by Adam and Tanya in their black and yellow car, then Aisha in her yellow VW Beetle, then Zack in his black Cadillac Escalade driving around for hours before they would notice that Rocky was driving in circles.
Zack would be on his phone, Aisha would be listening to the radio, Adam and Tanya would be discussing the newest addition to their house and Rocky would be laughing his head off. Jason knew that he would have to go and find them and that would give Rocky even more to laugh at. He just shook his head and turned back to Billy and Trini. Hayley had gone back to her computer to do whatever she was doing.
"How are Tommy and Kim doing?" Jason asked. He walked up behind Billy and grabbed his wife's hand. He felt her lean into him and smiled. He wanted this for Tommy and Kim. They deserved this more than anyone did.
"They are still good as far as I can tell. They should be getting close to their powers. The energy from those two is bouncing off the walls. I hope that they get there soon." Billy said as he looked up to Jason and Trini and smiled. He noticed that Trini was getting sleepy.
"Hey Trini why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep. Billy and I will handle this and if we need you I will come and get you." Jason said as he noticed that Trini's eyes were heavy looking.
"Okay, that sounds like a good idea. Just let me know if I need to help. Billy, if you need me please get me up. I know that Jason is good at a lot of things but he is not good with computers. We do not have time to fix the things that he would break if we let him." Trini said with a smile on her face.
She let go of her husband and turned to go upstairs. She heard Jason say that their things were in the last bedroom down the hall. She just smiled because she knew that her husband had put Kim's stuff in the bedroom besides Tommy and poor Billy had the middle bedroom. She was also excited at Jason's news. She could not wait to see everyone back together again.
She also wondered if Kim knew that Adam and Tanya had married or that Rocky and Aisha were dating. They still had a somewhat long-distance relationship but Aisha was working on moving to Angel Grove to be with Rocky.
She knew that it was wrong not to invite Kat but she also knew that Kat was performing in London and Kim would not be able to handle seeing Kat again. She also wished that Hayley would get over herself and get used to the fact that Tommy and Kim were back together. Trini had finally made it to hers and Jason's bedroom. She smiled as she opened her yellow bag and grabbed her pjs.
All of Tommy's bedrooms had their own bath attached. He also had a guest bath in the hall in case someone stayed and all the bedrooms were taken. The bedroom was decorated with them in mind. It had a red and yellow boarder that faded into gold at the bottom. She also knew that the room Billy was in was blue and the one that Kim was in was black. Tommy had painted each of the bedrooms to represent one of Original ranger colors. Since Jason and she were married, he just painted one room with their colors.
The missing pink was in his bedroom. His room was green, pink, and white. He did not include red and Trini knew that it was not an oversight. He was not with Kim then. Jason had also said that Tommy had changed into a cautious sensitive person. He was not as confidante in his choices as he had been when he was the White Ranger.
Trini knew that it had to do with Kim not being there and also he was no longer the sixth ranger. He was one of the core five. She always thought that Tommy was better suited as the sixth ranger. Jason had confirmed her thoughts when she had asked him about it. She yawned and got into bed after she brushed her teeth. She laughed when she saw that the sheets had the Red and Yellow Power Rangers on them. She would have to ask Tommy later where he had gotten them. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep only to dream about her best friend trying to find her inner power.
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"Do you think that Tommy and Kim will stop and get some rest?" Jason asked Billy after he had come back downstairs.
He had gone to check on Trini to make sure that she was not having any nightmares. He knew that this excitement might cause her to have one of her nightmares. She would always either dream about Kim or Jason trapped in some dimension that she could not get to. He hoped that since he was with her and that Tommy was with Kim that she would not have a nightmare.
"I wished that they would but since it is them, I am not sure. They need to because I am sure that the tests that they will have to go to will be fierce." Billy stated. He was monitoring their bodies as well as their journey now. He only wished that they could find a place to rest for at least a couple of hours.
"Are you okay? Do you need to get some shut eye?" Jason asked him. He noticed that Billy looked wide-awake but then he never remembered when Billy looked sleepy.
"No I am fine. I will not be sleepy until tomorrow. The days are different on Aqutiar. They are longer and shorter. It is hard to explain." Billy said. He knew that Jason would not understand about the days. He couldn't ever remember the time difference between Earth and Aqutiar and that was the easy part.
"Okay, I guess. You know that even if you explained it I would not even understand half of it. You can tell Trini and she can tell me later. She will speak in Jason words that I can understand." Jason said with a laugh. He noticed that Hayley was still working hard on something. He did not know what but he was not going to ask her. He would not open that can of worms.
"Okay Jason. Anyway you can join your wife if you want to. I am fine down here and anyway Hayley is still down here. I will call you the moment that something changes." Billy said. He knew that Jason also needed sleep. They needed Jason on his A-game if anything came up.
"If you are sure then I will go and join Trini. It had been a long day." Jason said as he looked at his watch.
He could not believe that it was 1am. He had been since 4:30 yesterday morning. He said goodnight to Billy and headed upstairs to bed. He opened his bedroom door and noticed that Trini had lain out his pj bottoms since he did not sleep in a shirt. He went to the ensuite bathroom and change while he brushed his teeth. He flipped off the light and crawled into bed. Trini rolled into his side and he put his arms around her while he drifted off to sleep thinking about Kim and Tommy.
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Okay one more chapter done. I hope that you enjoyed that chapter. Please let me know.