Chapter Ninety-two

Every Dog Has His Day

Tommy the dog was a very tolerant pet. He always held it whenever his humans weren't home. He never marked anything in the house as his territory (though it was, in fact, implied). He even refrained from being mean to the neighbor's kittens when his mama offered to cat-sit. And he put up with all sorts of loud noises and yelling, which was unfortunately very frequent around his house. Tommy was a very good dog, and he knew it. However, he was now reaching the end of his leash.

Usually, the yells came from the bedroom at night or early morning, or from the basement during the day, when Tommy's mama and daddy were doing what they called "sparring" (this had taken a lot of getting used to for Tommy; he'd never quite understood why his humans pretended to attack each other). Now, though, it seemed like everyone was yelling everywhere and it was driving poor Tommy insane. Humans were always so loud!

Tommy's life had been disrupted ever since his parents had started talking about something called "Power Rangers Day." His mama had ranted a lot about Power Rangers Day and someone named Billy, and covered the house in smelly chemicals that were supposed to clean but, in Tommy's opinion, just made everything stink, and she'd had a lot less time for him, too. Tommy's daddy had helped clean and muttered under his breath about Billy a lot, occasionally having long talks with Tommy about how Mama liked Billy a lot but not that much because Mama only liked Daddy that much and Billy was after all just a friend. (Tommy wasn't sure what this meant, but he figured that it was his duty to pay attention, as Daddy was usually the one to feed him.) Then another human had arrived.

This wasn't too uncommon. Random humans were often coming to visit. Tommy didn't have the best of memories, and he was terrible with names, but he did remember their scents. There was the hyper human male who danced a lot—he always smelled of city air pollution and many different human women. There was the cheerful woman who smelled like numerous beauty products and petted him a lot. And there was the forgetful man who smelled like the forest, teenage humans, and very old dust and rocks. Not to mention all of Mama and Daddy's other friends and family. This new human, however, smelled very strange. Like creatures Tommy had never sniffed before and some odd sort of water. He was quieter than most of the humans who stayed over, and Tommy liked sniffing him more than his favorite tree. So he put up with this human's presence without complaint.

Then Mama hadn't come home that night. She'd never done that before, except for one time when she and Daddy had gone on vacation and left Tommy with Mama's crazy Uncle Howard. Tommy had given Daddy very stern looks, demanding to know where Mama was. Daddy had denied sending Mama away or killing her and complained that Mama was the crazy one who wanted to run away and then Daddy had run over and hugged him out of nowhere and said that he missed Mama too and to please stop making him feel guilty.

Needless to say, Tommy hadn't bought it.

Daddy and the strange-smelling human had spent most of their time out of the house for the past few days. This was odd, as Daddy didn't do the usual things he did before going to work, and he left and came back at all the wrong times. Mama had come home for a bit the next day, but not nearly long enough to satisfy Tommy. When she did come home, she didn't even pet him much. And then she left again, and Daddy was ranting more. A lot more.

Tommy had barely seen Mama all week, just enough to confirm that she was still alive and very, very busy. At last, however, Mama seemed to be back to stay. He'd wanted to spend some time with her—she was really good at throwing sticks across the yard for him to chase, and she was even better at brushing him—but Daddy had confined Mama to the bedroom. He'd tried scratching at the door, but they hadn't let him in. So he'd gone to sleep on his couch, figuring that come morning everything would surely be back to normal. He'd have an hour with Mama after Daddy left for work, before she had to go to work, too, and surely she'd play with him and pet him. And after she left he'd try playing with the talkative teenage male human, who'd taken the strange-smelling human's place. Tommy liked the talkative human; he was a bit strange, but he had two mutant rats that looked like great chewy toys and he smelled of things almost as unique as the strange-smelling human.

Then the strange-smelling one had come back, gone to take a shower. He took longer showers than any other human Tommy could remember. Tommy wasn't too perturbed by his return; he was an okay human. But then the forgetful man had shown up, kicked the door down, and he'd acted scary. It reminded Tommy of that time he'd gotten loose and that pack of strays had thought he was trying to move in on their territory. Tommy supposed he should have barked or yelped, but the talkative teenager seemed to be handling it, so Tommy had stayed out of the way. But then everything had started getting confusing. There was a lot of shouting and the forgetful man had opened Mama and Daddy's door even though they didn't like to be disturbed at night. Then the talkative teenager and the strange-smelling human had taken the forgetful man down into the basement and there was more shouting and the cheerful woman had shown up only she wasn't cheerful anymore and she didn't pet him at all and the hyper man had come by and the talkative teenager was planning something and doors kept opening and closing in new ways and people wouldn't stopshouting and Tommy was not happy.

So he'd done what he always did when things got hectic—he went to go sit under the kitchen table. Not hide, mind you. He was just waiting for things to blow over with a nice, solid piece of wood over his head that just so happened to block him from view. Everyone was down in the basement now anyway, save Mama and Daddy, and that meant the kitchen was the furthest he could get from all the noise.

Suddenly the talkative teenager burst into the kitchen, holding a shiny key in one hand. He looked around wildly while Tommy watched, curious and suspicious. Then, to Tommy's complete surprise, the talkative kid grabbed Tommy's food dish and dropped the key in it.

Tommy frowned; he knew that keys weren't for eating, but the talkative teenager apparently did not. Ah, well. The human was barely older than a pup; he must just not have very good training. Probably couldn't even roll over, let alone play dead.

Tommy continued to keep an eye on the talkative one, just in case he got any more funny ideas born out of bad training. He started doing something at the counter, out of Tommy's line of vision. Then Tommy heard the can opener start up and smelled the wonderful odor of dog food wafting from the can. Good dog food, too, none of that nonsense with the vegetables that Tommy had to push out of his dish. This was the beef and chicken kind.

The talkative teenager dumped the can of food unceremoniously into his dish, on top of the key, and set the bowl down in the corner. Then he ran away, leaving Tommy at a loss.

Tommy knew that not all cans were dog food. That was why Mama and Daddy always sang the Can Opener Song whenever they fed him, so Tommy would know for certain that it was dinnertime and not just something that smelled suspiciously edible. Yet the talkative kid hadn't sung the song, even though he'd filled the dish.

Should he eat it? He rarely got fed this late. Mama and Daddy sometimes gave him scraps of their dinner, but they never gave him another can of food. They sent over Mama's cousin Sylvia or Daddy's father to feed him if they weren't coming home on time, so that he got fairly regular feeding times. But this week had been so strange, and come to think of it Mama's crazy Uncle Howard hadn't known the Can Opener Song… and Tommy hadn't eaten the food at first, which had made Tommy really hungry until he'd just had to eat something, which had made him try that weird liquid that had made his vision go funny for three whole days and those odd little pellets that had smelled all right but were apparently linked to total rapid fur loss. Still, his dish wasn't full of odd little pellets or weird liquid. It was full of beef and chicken. Just like his dish at Uncle Howard's had been, the dish that Tommy had ignored while holding out for the Can Opener Song and look where that had led…

His mind made up, Tommy crawled out from under the table. Maybe Mama had just felt so bad about leaving him alone all week that she'd asked the talkative kid to feed him a special extra meal and forgotten to teach him the Can Opener Song. Regardless, no sense letting good beef and chicken go to waste.

"This is your plan?" Kira demanded, furious. She was standing in the basement with Zack, Billy, Ethan and Trent, listening to their explanation but unable to believe what she was hearing.

"Kira, you said it yourself—"

"I said it? I said it would be a good idea to lock Dr. O in the Secret Chamber with Kimberly?"

"No, you said their first date would probably be when someone locks them in a closet together," Ethan pointed out.

"Are you crazy? It's called sarcasm! Look it up!"

"I can't believe I let him talk me into this," Billy whimpered. "I feel horrible. I didn't know—"

"I'm right there with you," Kira said with a sigh.

"Come on, guys," Zack cajoled. "Maybe this plan is a little, you know, psychotic, but their hearts are in the right place. And anyway, maybe it'll actually work. Kim and Tommy do need to talk things out and all—"

"I'm getting Trini," Billy said decisively, ignoring him. "I don't care how angry she'll be—she'll be a lot angrier if I don't do something to try and stop this."

"Come on, Billy—" Ethan began.

Billy shook his head. "No. I'm not going to leave Kimberly and Tommy in a closet all night."

"Good call," Kira said as Billy headed for the stairs. She turned back to Conner, Ethan and Trent. "Guys, don't you realize how stupid this is? This could do way more harm than good. You can't lock up two people who hate each other and expect them to be making out by morning!"

"They don't hate each other, Kira," Trent pointed out. "They're in love. Only they're too stupid to do anything about it. We owe it to Dr. O to try."

"Conner and I would do the same for you and Trent," Ethan added.

"I—wait." Kira frowned for a moment before her eyes widened in horror. "Where did Conner go?"

"To… um…" Trent broke off as Ethan sent him a warning look.

Seeing their exchange, Kira grabbed Trent by the front of the shirt and got in his face, glowering up at him dangerously. "Where. Is. Conner?" she hissed.

Trent swallowed. "He's… hiding the key."

"Where?"

"We told him not to tell us, or anyone," Ethan informed her defiantly.

"Are you crazy?" Kira demanded, releasing Trent and staring at him in disbelief.

"We figured Conner wouldn't cave no matter what," Trent said sheepishly.

"If there's one good thing about Conner, it's that he's tenacious," Ethan agreed.

"Ethan, the guy once spent thirteen hours in a tree because I told him I'd be waiting for him the moment he came down! If it hadn't been for that monster attack, he'd still be up there! He's not tenacious, he's a lunatic!"

Before anyone could reply, they heard footsteps on the stairs and looked over. It was Billy—and he was alone.

"Their bedroom door is wedged shut," Billy said worriedly. "And Conner was doing a victory dance in the living room."

"So the key's already hidden," Zack mused thoughtfully.

"Did you try shouting at Trini to open the door?" Kira asked Billy.

Billy nodded. "They didn't even dignify me with a 'go away.'" He grimaced. "I'm not sure they even heard me. I could hear… noises. I guess we'll just have to wait until they're… finished."

"Provided they don't just crash afterwards and go straight to sleep without unblocking the door," Zack said dryly. The Peace Conference had taught him a few things about interrupting Jason and Trini's alone time. He clasped his hands together. "Don't worry, guys—I'll handle this." He started for the stairs.

"I attempted to force the door, but—" Billy began.

"Don't worry, bro. I got this." With that, Zack vanished up the stairs.

Kira looked at Ethan and Trent. "Dr. O's going to kill you for this, you know."

"All the more reason to leave him in there a while," Trent said, casting a nervous glance at the Secret Chamber door.

Kimberly wasn't sure how it happened. One minute she was shouting at Tommy through the Secret Chamber's door; the next, her wrists were handcuffed behind her back and Conner was flinging open the door so that Billy could shove her into the Chamber. She hit Tommy hard in the chest as he attempted to charge out of the room, and her momentum knocked them both back into the far wall. There was a loud click of a lock shortly before Tommy bellowed "CONNER!" in her ear.

"Get off me!" Tommy hissed at Kimberly, shunting her to the side with his shoulder. Kimberly stumbled back into the door. Narrowing her eyes, she kicked at him for good measure; her foot caught him in the shin. "OW!" he complained.

"What the hell is going on?" Kimberly demanded loudly, glancing around. She hadn't been in the Secret Chamber very much. She couldn't really understand many of the things Trini worked on in here; in fact, the only time she could recall entering it off the top of her head was when her communicator had gotten broken and Trini had fixed it for her. It was dark in the Secret Chamber; the only light was from the Aqua-phone, which continuously emitted an ethereal indigo light that didn't do much but vaguely illuminate part of the table and the hooks where Jason and Trini's communicators hung when they weren't wearing them. She could hear Billy and Conner arguing on the other side of the door, but she wasn't paying much attention. Surely they wouldn't really lock her and Tommy in a closet together. Surely they weren't that insane…

"This is a perfect time to get hysterical!" Billy screamed.

"What do you think Trini will do to you when you tell her what you've done?" Conner demanded.

Kimberly's heart sank as she listened to Conner convince Billy not to tell Trini, to leave everything up to Conner. This was not going to end well.

"I'll kill him for this," Tommy vowed, struggling against his own pair of handcuffs. "Locking me in here with you—I'll kill him."

"This isn't exactly my idea of a fun night," Kimberly snapped, reaching for the doorknob and twisting it futilely. It wouldn't budge. "Great," she muttered, and headed for the table. She sat down and scooted her wrists underneath her thighs, then brought her legs straight back until she was practically folded in half. From there it was no trouble to get her wrists in front of her body.

"What are you doing over there?" Tommy demanded. "I can't see a damned thing."

"Taking my handcuffs off."

"What, you have a key?"

"Yes, I carry a handcuff key with me everywhere I go." There was a moment of confused silence. Kimberly rolled her eyes. "No, you idiot, I don't have a key."

"Forgive me for not realizing you'd taken up lock-picking at some point in the last eight years."

"Tommy, these are from the mall, not a maximum-security prison."

"So?"

"So they have safety latches, duh. Haven't you ever used novelty handcuffs before?"

"I'm not a big fan of being physically restrained," Tommy informed her through clenched teeth. "Too many memories."

"Whatever." Kimberly bunched up the furry band surrounding the metal, trying to get it out of the way so that she could find the latch. "Good. He didn't file it down first."

"Where's the latch?" Tommy asked.

"Find it yourself," Kimberly replied coldly, popping open her handcuffs and tossing them into the corner.

"That isn't funny."

"I'm not laughing. Apparently you're happier without me, remember?"

"Kimberly—"

"Oh, now you want me around, do you? Sorry, Tommy. I can never tell the difference."

"Apparently not," Tommy retorted furiously. "You obviously never cared what I wanted anyway!"

"Whatever, Tommy. Just—whatever." Kimberly sighed, looking around for inspiration. Then her eyes lit upon the empty hooks on the wall. Jason and Trini's communicators—they weren't on the hooks.

"Ha!" Kimberly exclaimed.

"What? Did you find the key to the door?"

"Mind your own business, Tommy." Kimberly reached into her pocket for her communicator… and realized she'd left her communicator back at the hotel. "Shit. Do you have your communicator?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not available to talk right now. I'm minding my own business."

"Fine. Then I guess we'll just rot here and die!"

"You don't actually think there's anyone we can call who'd get us out of here, do you?"

"Trini would."

"Not likely. She's probably in on it."

"Didn't you just hear Conner begging Billy not to tell her?"

"…You mean this is actually not her plan?"

"Conner said it was his."

"His?"

"Yes. Great job mentoring that kid, Tommy."

"I'll kill him!" Tommy roared. "Do you hear me, Conner? I will kill you!"

"Relax, Dr. O—Conner's upstairs."

"Ethan? When did you get here?"

"Zack brought me and Trent to help Conner."

"Help Conner? Help Conner? Are you insane?"

"Is Kira out there with you?" Kimberly shouted.

"Yeah, I'm here, Kim."

"Are you still on my side, or have you been in on it all along?"

"Um… well… both, actually. The guys asked me to bring you here, but I didn't know what they were planning! I never would have let them—"

"It's okay, Kira. Listen, I need you to go get Trini."

"Um… well… there's actually a bit of a problem with that…"

Billy had finally gone away; Jason had steadfastly ignored him, refusing to let whatever nonsense Billy was talking about permeate Jason's consciousness, feeling a smug sense of satisfaction when Trini hadn't even noticed. He and Trini were alone, and Jason was greatly reassured by the fact that the few swift kicks Billy had given the door hadn't been enough to force his way into the room. Jason was not going to be interrupted again.

Or so he thought, until the bedroom window slid open and Zack tumbled through it to land on the carpet in a heap.

"Are you kidding me?" Jason demanded incredulously, sitting up. Trini tried to push him away, but Jason refused to move. He was not leaving the bedroom. In fact, he wasn't leaving the bed, except to nail the windows shut once Zack realized his mistake.

"Zack!" Trini complained, drawing the blanket over her exposed flesh before Zack could climb to his feet, glad the lights were out.

"Get out, Zack," Jason growled.

"Sorry, buddy," Zack said with thoroughly annoying cheerfulness as he stood up and brushed himself off. "No can do. We're having a bit of a crisis."

"So what else is new?" Jason retorted irritably. "Go away!"

"I'm serious, Jase. This one's bad, and—"

"Get out get out get OUT!"

"Jason—"

"No! I don't want to hear it. I don't care if Tommy's pissed, I don't care if Kimberly's crying, I don't care if aliens have invaded and set the house on fire, I am having sex with Trini whether you people like it or not!"

"You can do that any day—"

"No, Zack, no I can't. I have only had sex with Trini twice this week, once at an intersection with Tommy honking behind us and pounding on the windows of my truck, and once in the hotel parking lot which was sadly interrupted by a couple of college kids who somehow mistook my truck for theirs and were threatening to call the police before they realized they had the wrong truck! And now here I am, in my own house, in my own bedroom, and you people keep barging in on us with bizarre issue after bizarre issue!"

"Jason—"

"Zack, do you remember that time at the Peace Conference when you refused to take a hint and I was forced to tie you to that flagpole outside the Conference's headquarters?"

Zack frowned, looking worried, then turned to face Trini. "Trini, Conner locked Tommy and Kimberly in the Secret Chamber together and we can't find the key."

"What?" Trini demanded in horror.

Jason gaped at Zack in dismay and was completely unsurprised when Trini grabbed Jason by the shoulders and flung him off of her. "Tell me you're kidding," Jason groaned as he bounced against the mattress.

"Nope." Zack went to the dresser and began shoving it away from the door, averting his eyes from Jason and Trini as they both climbed out of the bed. "Conner roped Billy into helping him and Billy feels just awful, and Kira's freaking out because she knows Conner would rather die than give up the key's location, and Ethan and Trent are still convinced this was a good plan, and Tommy and Kimberly are handcuffed—"

"I thought you said they were in the Secret Chamber," Jason said, frowning.

"They are. They're also handcuffed. So hopefully they're just kicking at each other, instead of punching and kicking."

"Oh, god!" Trini wailed. She tossed the first article of clothing she could find over her head. "My experiments, the Aqua-phone, the computer—not to mention Billy's suit! They could be damaging all sorts of things!"

Zack managed to get the dresser out of the way and Trini yanked open the broken door, darting out into the hallway. Jason sighed. "Someone's gonna pay for this," he grumbled.

Zack grinned. "Consider it karma for tying me to a flagpole at night during January in Switzerland."

"I don't believe in karma," Jason told him as they followed Trini out of the room. "I'd hate to think of all the innocent people I killed in a past life to deserve this."