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Chapter 5
Conner drove Kira's car back to Tommy's since he had left his own car there. And since Conner had told the others that Kira fainted, they wanted to check on her.
"Hey guys." Conner said as they walked down the stairs into the lab.
"Hey, are you alright?" Tommy asked, looking at Kira with worried eyes.
"Yeah. Just been overdoing it." She said, giving Conner a glance to go along with it as she walked over to the rock sticking out from the wall that she always sat on. "Doctor just said to take it easy for a bit and try to cut down on my workload."
"If Tanya's putting too much pressure on you, I could always have a word with her and see if she'll cut you some slack." Tommy said, making Kira smile slightly.
"It's more like me pressuring myself." She said, crossing her legs. "Tanya's been telling me to slow down for weeks."
"Well, now that we know you're alright, what happened at the beach?" Trent asked, making Kira and Conner groan.
"Zeltrax made some Tyrannodrones." Conner said, making the other 3 and Hayley look at them in shock. "And he's made some improvements."
"They're strong. Very strong. We had to morph to stand a chance with them." Kira said, making Hayley give Tommy a look.
"I thought you found all of your research and destroyed it." She said, making him throw his hands up in surrender.
"Why does everyone blame me?" He asked, only to receive pointed looks from everyone in the room. "Alright, I know I made them. And you're right Hayley, I thought I destroyed everything too."
"Maybe he remembered it." Ethan suggested. "Or had a back up. He managed to create them when we went to the past, remember?"
"What were they doing at the beach though?" Hayley asked, making Conner jump up.
"Oh, I forgot!" He exclaimed, digging in his pocket. "I found this. I don't know what it is, or even if they were after it for sure, but it's all that I could find." He handed it to Tommy, who stared at it in shock for a moment before sitting at the computer and typing away.
"Impossible." He mumbled, making everyone else share looks.
"Care to share with the group?" Trent asked, making him turn around and hold up what looked like a white rock.
"If I'm right, then this is a piece of the Zeo crystal." He said, making them all share looks.
"The Zeo crystal? As in the thing that gave you your Zeo powers? But I thought that was still in the ruins of the command centre?" Kira asked, making Tommy's frown deepen.
"So did I." He replied, turning the fragment over in his hands. "And I can still tap into those powers. But the crystal was split into its 5 sub crystals long ago to protect it from Master Vile. Maybe this broke off one of them while they were scattered through time."
"So, why were the Tyrannodrones looking for it?" Ethan asked, looking around. "They must have a reason."
"I don't know. I'll have to do some tests to make sure it is the crystal first." Tommy said, lost in thought.
"If it is, it might be just the thing I need to get the Zords back online." Hayley said, making them all look at her in shock. "What?"
"The Zords?" Kira asked, making the older woman smirk.
"I may have spent the past year repairing them." Hayley said with a smile. "Just in case we needed them again. Until now I've been struggling to find something to power them up with. If this is part of the Zeo Crystal, it's link to the morphing grid might just be the thing I need." An alarm sounded then, making them all groan.
"Really? What now?" Kira grumbled as Tommy turned to the computer.
"Zeltrax must be trying out Mesagog's mutant machine." He said, showing them footage of a creature attacking Reefside.
"Here we go again." Ethan muttered as they all got up.
"Kira, maybe you should sit this one out." Tommy said as Kira started to get up.
"But-" She started, only to get a glare from Conner.
"Kira, Stay!" He snapped.
"Woof." She replied sarcastically, plopping down into the chair Tommy had vacated as she watched them morph and leave the lab on their Raptor Cycles and ATVs. Kira sighed as she turned to watch them on the monitor, ready to step in and help them at any point.
"Hey, do you think we should make sure the Crystal is still in the command centre?" Kira asked, looking at Hayley.
"It might be a good idea." She replied with a frown. "It'd be good to make sure it is safe. Do you think one of the original Rangers would be able to look?" Kira thought for a moment before smiling.
"Adam still lives in Angel Grove, and Tanya said he has the week off. I'll give him a call." She said, pulling her phone out as she kept an eye on the footage of her team on the screen.
Xxx
Tommy sighed as he took a sip of his coffee. He had been up too late the night before, examining the fragment that Conner and Kira had found the night before, and he found that it took him a lot longer than it should have done, since his thoughts kept going back to a certain yellow ranger. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He had a feeling it had something to do with her health from how she reacted when he mentioned the hospital.
"Dr Oliver, is this right?" A voice asked, making him look up.
"Holly, you need the flame to go under the bowl." He sighed, looking around the room. "You all know what the tripods are for, right? Because from the looks of it, none of you are using them."
"Dr Oliver!" He turned around and jumped up when he saw a boy with the bottom of his shirt on fire. He quickly grabbed the glass of water on the table and threw it over his top, extinguishing the flame.
"That's it. No more fire for a while." He grumbled, going to the wall and twisting the master shut off for the gas in the room, making all of the Bunsen burners turn off. "Do not touch anything that might be hot. Logan, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Dr Oliver." Logan said as he tried to dry his burnt shirt with a paper towel.
"Let's just get on with some theory work instead." Tommy said, opening the book on his desk quickly. "Page 13 in your books."
"Can we have some music on?" One of the girls asked, making him sigh.
"As long as you can all agree on something." He said, looking down at his computer.
"Can we have Kira Ford's album on?" Someone asked, making Tommy freeze. Everyone seemed to agree and Tommy sighed as he opened the album on his computer and pressed play.
"Dr Oliver, you have her album on your computer?" Logan asked, making Tommy wish he could use his power and become invisible right now.
"Yes. She used to be a student here and I taught her martial arts at weekends." He said, trying not to listen too closely to the music that was playing.
"Didn't she used to do gigs at Cyberspace?" One of the girls asked. "Do you think you could ask her to do one for us?"
"I'll talk to her, but I can't guarantee anything." He said. The rest of the lesson went quickly and the students left when the bell went. Tommy knew that he didn't have a lesson for the final period of that day, so he grabbed his bag and headed to his Jeep, determined to get back to the lab and finish analysing the crystal fragment.
Meanwhile, Kira walked through the tunnels and into the lab, still reluctant to walk through the house above. She sat down at the desk and frowned as she looked at the open documents on the computer.
"Tommy was busy last night." She muttered, looking at the readings he had taken from the crystal. She spent some time reading everything that Tommy had found before doing some tests on her own, a few ideas popping into her head as she worked. A few hours later, she leant back with a sigh, looking around as she waited for the scan to finish before her eyes stopped on the door that led into her old studio. She thought for a moment before getting up and trying the door, smiling when she found it unlocked. She walked in and looked around, seeing that nothing had changed in the room. She opened the door to the booth and walked over to the piano in there, running her fingers over it. Without thinking about it, she sat down and opened the lid, hesitating for a moment before she pressed some keys and began to play.
You're broken down and tired
Of living life on the merry-go-round
And you can't find the fighter
But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out
Move mountains
We gonna walk it out
And move mountains.
And I'll rise up, I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up, I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
And I'll rise up, High like the waves
I'll rise up, In spite of the ache
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
For you, for you
For you, for you
Tommy sighed as he walked into the house, taking a moment to reflect on the day when he froze. He could hear soft music coming from the basement, something he hadn't heard in a long time. He walked down the stairs in his office, walking into the lab and seeing the door to Kira's studio open. He quietly walked through the door, seeing Kira sat at the piano as she sung. He leant against the door frame as he listened to the lyrics, frowning as he could hear the pain behind the words.
When the silence isn't quiet
And it feels like it's getting hard to breathe
And I know you feel like dying
But I promise we'll take the world to its feet
Move mountains
Bring it to its feet
Move mountains
And I'll rise up, I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up, I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
For you, for you
For you, for you
Kira thought about everything she had been through in the past 4 months. Being told she had cancer. Breaking up with Tommy. The chemo. Getting her powers back. Seeing Tommy again and reliving the pain she had tried to bury with her music. She felt her fingers begin to ache but knew she could play through it. The chemo had caused her to lose some feeling in her fingers and hands, and she had been struggling to play her guitar to her normal standard, however she did find piano easier. She felt tears in her eyes as she played, the emotion clear in her voice as she sung.
All we need, All we need is hope
And for that we have each other
And for that we have each other
And we will rise
We will rise
We'll rise, we'll rise
I'll rise up, rise like the day
I'll rise up, in spite of the ache
I will rise a thousand times again
And we'll rise up, high like the waves
We'll rise up, in spite of the ache
We'll rise up
And we'll do it a thousand times again
For you, for you
For you, for you
The final chords played and Kira sighed as she closed her eyes, letting the tears fall down her cheeks as she absentmindedly massaged her hands.
"That was beautiful." She gasped and spun around in shock, seeing Tommy leaning against the doorframe with a smile. "I hope that's on the new album."
"Umm, yeah. I recorded it about a month ago." She said, turning back around and closing the lid of the piano. "I'm sorry. I thought you'd still be at work."
"Don't apologise. The studio's yours. And I've missed coming home and hearing your music." He said, walking over and sitting next to her on the bench in front of the piano. "You've gotten better at the piano."
"One of the guys at the studio has been teaching me." She replied, brushing the tears on her face away. "I don't know much, but he taught me this after I recorded it. Said I show more emotion when I play."
"Well he's right about that." Tommy replied with a small smile. "Kira, are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good." She said, standing up and starting to walk out.
"No you're not." He said, making her freeze. "I know you Kira. Something is going on, and for some reason you're hiding it. I'm not asking you to tell me, and I know that things are different between us now. But you can still be honest with me, and honest with yourself." She turned around and looked at him, seeing him stood behind her with warm eyes.
"Tommy…" She whispered, feeling tears in her eyes.
"I've spent the past hour listening to your music at the request of some students." He said, smiling slightly. "And I noticed something. A common theme from most of the songs on there. You're hurting. Even that song that you've just played, you sing about being in pain and trying to be strong through it. Even without being a ranger, you have proven time and time again how strong you are." He pulled her into a hug, ignoring the feelings he got when he had her in his arms. "I am always here for you, no matter what Ptera." She smiled at the use of his nickname for her, something she hadn't realised how much she missed.
"Thank you, Tommy." She mumbled, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms again.
"So, was there a reason you were here?" He asked as they pulled apart.
"I was doing some more tests on the crystal." She said, walking back into the lab with him close behind. "Something you said last night gave me an idea."
"And what was that?" He asked as they both sat in front of the computer.
"You said that you could still access your Zeo powers right? And it was the crystal that gave you those powers." He nodded and she turned back to the computer, pulling up the results from the scan she did before going into the studio. "So, I started thinking about how the crystal gave you your powers, and how the gems gave us ours." He frowned at her as she turned to look at him.
"Is this train of thought going somewhere?" He asked, making her smirk.
"How much of the crystal would you need in order to morph?" She asked, making him look at her in shock for a moment.
"You think he's trying to create another ranger?" He asked.
"It's a theory. And from the look of this scan, this fragment of crystal is enough to successfully morph." She said, making him frown. She looked down as she heard her phone ring and smiled as she answered it, putting it on speaker so Tommy could hear. "Hey Adam. Did you find it?"
"You know, one of these days you will ask me to do something nice, like bring some chocolate to the studio for you. Not go digging in the desert!" He complained, making Tommy look at Kira with a questioning glance.
"Did you find the Zeo Crystal or not?" She asked, rolling her eyes.
"I had to get Jason to help me, but we found it." He said, making Kira and Tommy sigh in relief. "It's all here."
"Perfect. Think you could contact Billy and find a way to keep it buried in the Command Centre, but protected?" She asked, making Adam groan. "I'll make sure Tanya stays in Angel Grove for a month."
"Fine." He grumbled. "You're lucky that you're lovable."
"Thank you, Adam." She said sweetly, receiving a grumble in response as Adam hung up. "Well, at least we know that the Crystal is safe."
"You got Adam to dig up the Crystal?" Tommy asked, making her smirk. "And why would convincing Tanya to stay in Angel Grove convince him to help?"
"They've been dating for almost a year now." She replied, making Tommy look at her in shock. "But she spends a lot of time at one of the Studios an hour from here. Adam wants her to stay at the main office more so she's closer to him."
"Well, I guess I'll set up a scan and see if there are any more fragments of crystal around here." He said, typing away before looking at Kira. "Before I forget, some of my students asked if you could do a gig at Cyberspace. Apparently they love your music."
"I'll ask Tanya to set it up." She replied with a smile. She knew she had a long way to go in terms of making up for hurting him, but she was happy that they were acting like friends again.