Chapter 5

For this chapter, I did some reading on concussions and included a few of my findings here in my story. One of my favorite parts of writing is doing research (sorry its my biology background rearing its ugly head). I'll be doing more researching as the story progresses; its seems I can't get away slacking off even on winter break but at least this is a tad more interesting! Again, I'm loving the reviews; keep it up and so will I! Pip, pip, cherio!

The first thing he was aware of was a sharp, splintering pain in his head. Then he realized he was shivering. Moaning softly, Jason slowly opened his eyes.

He lay face down, demorphed, on a cold cement floor, mist swirling around him. Gingerly, he lifted his head, wincing at the pain that shot through his head and down his neck. A grunt escaped his lips. Nausea threatened to overtake him; Jason slowly lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Stinging pain fired from his arms and chest and he could feel his shirt was damp.

Where am I?

The last thing he could clearly remember was getting the call from Alpha that the park was under attack. They had morphed and teleported out. He remembered Putties and the Green Ranger, then nothing.

After the nausea subsided, the Red Ranger opened his eyes again and carefully pulled himself to a sitting position. It seemed the world was spinning and Jason again shut his eyes. Leaning back against a cool marble column, Jason pressed the side of his face to its surface. The smooth firmness seemed to help steady him.

His nose was running. Warm liquid was rolling down over his lips and chin. When he wiped it with his arm, he was surprised by the amount of fluid. Opening his eyes, he realized the back of his hand was covered in a bright red streak.

Oh God, what happened? Where are the others?

Still staring at his bloody arm, something else nagged at his attention.

My communicator!

The device was gone! Frantically, he reached behind him, already knowing his morpher would not be there. Panic gripped his heart. He was too weak and exhausted to fight. The dampness on his shirt came away red on his fingertips, revealing more blood loss.

Calm down, Jase and think! There's got to be a way out of here!

Using the column for support, the Red Ranger slowly made his way to his feet, swaying slightly. Bright flashes of light swarmed his vision and he cried out, rubbing his eyes. But nothing was there. Walking slowly, Jason moved around the enclosure and could not see a door of any type. His head continued to hurt horribly and every train of thought he had seemed to start derailing.

Gotta think, gotta think, gotta think...

Another flash of light seemed to materialize in his prison but this one wasn't due to his concussion. Goldar now stood before him, laughing.

"Problems, Red Ranger?" he cackled.

Not now...

Jason moved into a defensive stance, knowing full well that he couldn't do this. Even when the Red Ranger was at full strength and morphed, Goldar was challenging. Now in Jason's current state, he was all powerful.

Fear helped to push aside the pain as Jason defended himself against Goldar's attack. He was giving it his best shot; unfortunately the best he could do was try to dodge and block the blows. No matter how hard he tried, Jason has having trouble coordinating his movements. His concentration was pretty much shot; he was lightheaded from exhaustion, blood, loss, and dehydration.

Goldar appeared to be getting pissed off at what he considered a half-assed battle. He kept looking at Jason like he couldn't figure out what was going on.

"I've anticipated this for a long time, Jason, and you are disappointing me greatly."

Jason stood panting heavily, his fists held up in front of him by sheer force of will, his skin pale and sweat standing out on his brow. The world was starting to tilt again.

Goldar growled, "Enough of this! This is pathetic! This is no challenge for the great Goldar!"

He quickly advanced on Jason and shoved him roughly to the ground.

"No challenge at all!"

Jason lay breathing heavily and looking up at Goldar, panic etched on his face.

"I could kill you now but where's the fun in that? I'll give you time to recover Red Ranger and I expect a better fight when we meet next." With that, Goldar teleported out of the Dark Dimension.

In another part of the palace, Tommy sat in his personal quarters drinking. This was bullshit. Couldn't Goldar be satisfied with having all of the other Rangers and letting him have Red? It was he who had improvised Jason's capture using the lovely Miss Kimmie but did he even get an acknowledgment? Fuck no. He didn't give flying rat's ass who Goldar was or how long he'd served Rita. He was a fucking failure who hadn't managed to defeat the Power Rangers period. The only fucking reason he was having any type of success was because of Tommy's efforts.

After Goldar scooped up Jason's body, he had the gall to turn to him and subtly throw him the finger, before returning to Rita's moon palace.

Fucking Dick!

He had then thrown the Pink Ranger back toward her little friends and teleported out himself. When he got back to the palace, he immediately confronted Goldar who still had the Red Ranger in his grip, only unmorphed. The Green Ranger's eyes flashed through his helmet as he raged at Goldar, obscenities and insults being screamed loud enough that Rita emerged from her throne room with her hand to her head. She arrived just in time to see her Green Ranger put his fist through one of her palace walls. Even Goldar looked shocked at the force of Tommy's temper. Squatt and Babboo practically flew into another room, Scorpina's mouth hung open, and Rita looked more troubled than angry.

After his outburst, he had been confined to his quarters to cool off. As he stormed out the room, he could still hear Goldar yelling at Rita that her Green Ranger was a smart mouthed punk who was going to get his ass beat.

The thing was that Tommy himself could not explain why he'd gotten so out of control. When he'd started serving his Empress, it didn't matter who defeated which Ranger. It was a group effort. He had no trouble following the chain of command and obeying Goldar. He didn't know if it was the Green Ranger power affecting his body or what but as time went on, his moods shifted so dramatically it even left him dizzy. Each battle with the Power Rangers brought out a little more crazy in him.

Especially the Red Ranger. The Red Ranger and his smart mouth. The Red Ranger whose presence in his dreams drove him mad. He thought about the sparring match at the Youth Center. He could feel Jason's waist pinned between his thighs and smell his scent as he leaned down to whisper in Jason's ear.

Goddammit! I'm not into guys! I'm not gay! I fucking hate Jason...

His mood grew blacker and blacker as he sat and drank and obsessed over the situation. He was bouncing back and forth between thoughts of fucking Jason and thoughts of stabbing him over and over.

Voices in the hall drew his attention. He got up from the edge of his bed and moved to stand silently behind the door. It was Goldar and Scorpina talking in low tones. Goldar was obviously agitated and Scorpina was trying to soothe her lover.

Bits and pieces were discernible as they moved down the hall past the Green Rangers door.

"... waste of time... not even trying... out of it" Goldar's gravelly voice.

"... give him time...head injury...battle will be glorious" Scorpina's voice.

Goldar's voice soon came through crystal clear.

"Rita needs to reel in her psycho Green Ranger. Talking to me, Goldar, like that. That pup needs a good foot upside his ass. Or medicated!"

"He was acting crazy. What's up with him?"

"Hell if I know. He's probably laying in there drunk and passed out now. Have you seen all the liquor in there?"

The voices were fading now. Tommy's hands itched to yank the damn door off its hinges and beat them both to death. He drew in deep breathes trying to calm his overheated nerves.

Then a thought came to him.

Jason's alone in the Dark Dimension...

This thought excited and terrified him. What was he going to do about it? He didn't know.

Go on and fuck him. Break his spirit. Then kill him.

No! You aren't a homo. Just kill him so you aren't constantly thinking about fucking him.

Go take what's yours. Make him your property, your pet. Who will know? Tell the other Rangers he's dead and enjoy his body as long as you want.

Tommy growled deep in his throat and ran his hands through his hair. He needed to make a decision.

Jason sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, his head resting on them, trying to keep himself calm. He knew Goldar would be back just not when. Would he be able to fight then? He had no idea how bad his concussion was. His thinking didn't seem as muddled as it had been, that was a good sign. Bits and pieces of the battle at the park were coming back to him. His stomach rumbled; his school lunch was his last meal.

"Hello again, Red Ranger."

Jason squeezed his eyes tightly then opened them. He looked up at Tommy with trepidation. The Green Ranger stared at Jason, his head tilted and his gaze raking over Jason's body. Licking his lips, he advanced on Jason; with a snap of his wrist a blade flipped open.

Jason scrambled to get his feet under him, to move away. But he wasn't fast enough. Tommy shoved Jason back down and climbed on top of him. The Red Ranger could smell alcohol on the Green Ranger's breath as he struggled in vain to throw him off. His eyes never left the knife.

"I've made my decision, Ranger."