A/N 1: So this is a little plot bunny that just won't go away. Note: I am not a Kat hater. But this one just won't go away.
A/N 2: Tommy has a Christmas plan in mind for Kimberly. Meanwhile, Marah and her new superiors at Promethea and elsewhere prepare their own surprise for the Ninja Storm team.
A/N 3: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers isn't mine. Eldin and Fienna are products of Boom Studios. As is Grace Sterling and Promethea which will be introduced here.
Chapter 13 – Project Paris IV – The Orb
Sunday, July 25, 2004, mid morning
Blue Bay Harbor, CA
Marah Watanabe's head was spinning as she listened to these – people – from Promethea or whatever they called themselves explaining why they would be knocking on Marah's door out of nowhere.
She'd faintly heard of them – why would they be coming six hours south in the dark of night just to see her? It didn't make sense.
And the things they were accusing Dustin of – totally false. Dustin wasn't here right now, but before he'd left for the motocross trip with the rest of the Ninja Storm guys, there didn't seem anything off about him.
That was when her phone rang. She looked at who it was and raised an eyebrow.
"Listen, could you guys step outside for a second?" Marah said with an irritated voice. The men nodded and stepped away as Marah walked back inside her apartment, closed the door and answered the phone.
"Cam?" she suddenly said.
"Hi, cuz," Cam said with a hint of urgency. "I'm glad I finally got to you. I meant to try to do this earlier, but it's been slipping my mind. Dad has been telling me to do this and I keep forgetting."
"I'm actually glad I'm talking to you, Cam, instead of these people who suddenly showed up outside my apartment. They're from Promethea, they say."
"Oh goodness. This sucks. They got to you before I could call you. Marah, you need to go with them. Now."
"What? Cam, you can't be serious! You can't trust these guys!"
"I do, Marah. The head of their organization is a former Red Ranger herself. You will be safe there. You aren't that safe in Blue Bay Harbor anymore."
"No. Please don't tell me Dustin and the others are under a spell, Cam. Please, no."
"I can't confirm it, Marah, but it's a real possibility. A being way worse than Lothor is taking aim at Earth and you will be needed in the fight to come. Your safety is essential to winning the fight to come."
"How is this possible, Cam? You must be insane!"
"I'm not the only one who thinks this, Marah. Dad and Sensei Omino sense an evil brewing under the surface and if you are caught in the crossfire you could well be killed."
"OK, fine. But what do you mean by I am needed in the fight to come? I'm not a Power Ranger, Cam."
"Not right now, but you will be. It's your destiny, Marah and you have earned it. Dr. Oliver himself has recruited you for a new power. Or rather an old power that needs a new owner."
Marah's face went white as a sheet. If Dr. Oliver was involved, this was deadly serious.
The thought of her being uprooted from Blue Bay was disheartening, but it didn't appear she had much choice in the matter. Move or die.
"Fine, but if this doesn't go well, you're going to get an earful from me, Cameron," Marah said.
"I know, Marah and I should have handled this better. Just please, get your things and go before the others get back," Cam said. "If you can escape, I will cover for you."
"OK, but you probably better call Storm Chargers, too," Marah said, referring to the motocross shop she worked at with Kelly.
"I will, and again, I am sorry this is so out of the blue. That's my fault," Cam said.
"Whatever it takes. See you later," Marah said, and then hung up.
Reluctantly, she went back out to greet the men who had shown up unannounced.
"I'm sorry for the way I acted, guys," Marah said. "A certain someone was supposed to call me before hand and forgot. Give me 30 minutes to pack and then we can go."
The men nodded as Marah went back inside to prepare for her unannounced trip – not knowing when she'd see Blue Bay again.
July 26, 2004, early evening
1492 Valencia Drive
Reefside, CA
Tommy Oliver somehow remained emotionless on the outside but on the inside, he was dumbstruck. Somehow, he couldn't believe his luck.
It was as if the fates intended it. Kat had just told him she was going on a family vacation starting this Friday and would be gone for over a week.
It had just opened the door. This was his chance.
"Actually, it's quite interesting you say that, Kat, because I am thinking of going on a family retreat myself. To the reservation," Tommy said. "I only wish you could join me…"
"I know, Tommy," she said, "but sadly the reservation won't let me in."
That was true, and had been true for many years. The spirits, as one might say, around the Trueheart reservation wouldn't let anyone with malice in their heart onto the sacred grounds. But Tommy didn't fully understand why the reservation wouldn't allow Kat in until she almost took his life.
"I'll probably go on the weekend or something like that. I'll call David," Tommy said, "and see if he can receive me. I'll have some time as teacher meetings don't start until the same time you get back."
"That would be why I scheduled it when I did," Kat said snarkily, "because Lord knows things will pick up when those start happening."
"As to David and Sam, I'm sure they will take you in. They are good men, Tommy," Kat said. "How long has it been since we've seen him?"
"Since before I started school in Boston, I think," Tommy said, "so it has been a while."
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Just outside Angel Grove, CA
As Tommy dragged his bags in to the residence where Sam and David resided, he studied the faces of David and Sam Trueheart respectively.
Tommy had told David he wanted to get away for a few days and that he had another motive for coming. David had tried to pry his mind about it, but Tommy told him at least twice he would explain when everything was settled and he didn't want to go over it more than once.
David seemed perturbed but Sam just stood there, calm as could be. As if he knew why Tommy had come here in the first place. And it wasn't just to get away.
When they were finally settled, Tommy started talking. Again, as he was talking, the looks he got fascinated him. David seemed confused, while Sam just nodded as if he expected what he was going to be told.
"So you're saying…this Mesogog creep, as bad as he was, isn't the bigger threat?" David said. "What are you talking about?"
"Yeah, you heard me," Tommy said. "The real threat is actually inside my walls. It's…it's my wife."
David couldn't have been more shocked if he tried and had to grab himself to keep from keeling over.
"Tommy, no," David said. "There's just no way. Kat is…not that type."
"For years I thought so too. But I was duped," Tommy said. "She's actually the daughter of a psychotic demon who opposed me and my first teammates. We were sent to a horrible island where we were almost wiped out of existence – and that was BEFORE Kat showed up."
"And on top of that, during our fight with Mesogog, she almost had me killed through our White Ranger," Tommy said. "I was in a coma and if not for interference from my ex, Kat's predecessor, I would not be here right now."
"You mean, the ex of the Dear John letter?" David said, gobsmacked. "Impossible. Tommy, you're talking nonsense and even by Ranger standards this is preposterous."
"He is correct on everything he has said, David," Sam said, calmly. "Tommy very nearly lost his life back in the spring and if it weren't for the resilience of a battered, broken Crane, Tommy would not be here."
"And the icing of it all is that very Crane," Tommy said, "is married to Kat's brother, who from what I know is just as sick and twisted as she is and as his father is. And the cherry on that icing is that Kat is seeing an intergalactic warlord behind my back."
After a few minutes of silence, David broke it.
"I…I really don't know what to say," David said. "This is honestly the most remarkable thing I've ever heard. I thought the world of Kat, too."
"So did I, David, so did I," Tommy said.
"There are other worlds where Kat does not become the monster that she is, Tommy," Sam said, trying to reassure him. "Unfortunately, this is a world where she has a dark, twisted mind and she has powerful minions behind her."
Tommy looked at Sam, surprised by that revelation.
"You went through all that crap and survived it, Tommy, but barely," David said. "My question is, why haven't you just thrown in the towel yet?"
"Believe me, David, every fiber of my being wants to give up, but I can't," Tommy said. "I should have just taken death when it was offered to me back in the spirit world, but because I survived, I am in the fight. Whether I like it or not."
"David, I know why he is here and he knows why he is here," Sam said. "There is only one way Tommy can formulate a plan to save the Crane, and the universe itself. It's a very powerful artifact below the reservation itself."
"The Orb of Hope," David realized what Sam was talking about. Sam had mentioned it several times, but David believed it was only myth.
Until now.
"There's no way I can do it today, though," Tommy said. "I need at least a couple of days of peace and quiet to put my mind right before I go looking for the Orb. Kat will not be back until a week from Monday so I need to do this right, not do this quickly."
"I can tell you have been made aware that very few have ever obtained this artifact," Sam said, and Tommy nodded. "There is a reason for that. It is a very powerful artifact on its own, but it is made even more powerful by the spirits that guard this land."
"Yes, but I have to go for it. My mind needs to be right – it's going to be tough enough as is," Tommy said.
"You have had a rocky road just to get here, Tommy, but you have put yourself in position potentially to change the tides of battle," Sam said. "Rest for the next couple of days, and then you will be mentally ready to embark on this quest."
Monday, August, 2, 2004
Beneath the Trueheart Reservation
Outside Angel Grove, CA
As Tommy descended deeper into the caverns below the reservation, he could feel power pulsing throughout the place. He looked at his map and saw he was nowhere near his destination, but he could still feel the powers of the spirits that guarded the land beckoning to him.
He continued on for a short while before another cry of an animal was heard, and when he realized who was calling him he made his heart stop.
It was the image of a crane and what Tommy saw shattered his heart all over again. The bird lacked color, it had a wing clipped and if it didn't get nourishment soon it was going to die.
This emphasized further to Tommy that as easy as it would have been to quit, that was not something he could do. This just added fuel to the fire. But he knew he needed to do this right.
Carefully, he continued on. Some time further down, he was stopped cold by another image.
It was none other than the image of a saber-toothed tiger. It was clearly dead – probably shot by a hunter.
It was symbolic – and salt in the wound for Tommy. He remembered that she had been murdered just a little over two years ago and that wound had not gone away.
And then as if on cue, Tommy heard a voice. He would know it anywhere.
'Don't give up, Tommy, no matter what you do. Do not give up. They are counting on taking you by surprise or you surrendering to them. Do not do it.'
Tommy knew that voice anywhere. He couldn't see her, obviously, but it was almost as if the saber-toothed tiger's holder was talking to him directly.
As the journey continued, it seemed to take forever. It seemed like he was stopped no less than ten times. The times he was stopped were all a litany of his most horrible memories, not just as a Ranger, but his life before Angel Grove as well.
Each was a test of his perseverance. He saw all the times he had been reprimanded for loss of self control as a pre-teen. The whole entire awful evil green Ranger saga. Island of Illusion. The Other World and the Turbanshell fight. Rito's fluke win against the Thunder powers. The awful Dear John letter. His imprisonment and brainwashing by Gasket and Archerina. Zordon's sacrifice. Forever Red and Trini's death. Mercer's island and his near escape.
And then, right as he reached the Orb, there was the worst of all – his near death in a coma. Though he knew the outcome, it was still the worst of all. The pain, the suffering, the near death experience nearly drove him mad all over again.
But in the end, he persevered all over again. Because a certain Crane still believed in good after all this time, and more importantly, still believed in him.
And then, as the last image died down with the destruction, all over again, of the White Terrorsaurus, the cavern he was in was suddenly still. Eerily calm.
He didn't know if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.
Carefully, he approached the orb, not knowing what he should do. He'd tried to touch the orb once and had received a mild shock for his troubles. That was before this last image.
But this time, when he touched it, he could feel its power and wisdom filling him. And as it filled him, he knew exactly what he needed to do the second he got back home. He knew that from this point on he had seven days until Kat came back. He knew he would need to make every one of those days count.
And then a voice boomed throughout the caverns.
'Rarely has someone persevered so much to earn this orb, Tommy. Use it well, and may the Power protect you. Return to Phaedos soon, and complete your reconnection with your falcon. Then, you can focus on a plan to free Kimberly.'
Was that Zordon's spirit, Tommy wondered? It was too early to tell, but it sounded a lot like him.
And as the wisdom and power of the Orb filled him, several other things happened all at once.
Miami, FL, same time
As usual, when the goons went on vacation, Kimbelry was left to rot. By herself, with her loneliness.
But sometimes, those days when she was alone felt better than others when she knew she could get verbally abused. And today, she could feel something shift in the air.
She knew because she could feel the Orb of Despair's influence shrinking faster by the second. Something had happened, what it was she didn't know yet. But for the first time in a while, and she didn't know why, she felt something along the lines of hope.
"What does this all mean?" she murmured.
Angel Grove, CA
At the very same time, Marah suddenly felt power rush through her like she'd never felt before.
It came literally out of nowhere. She had trained – really hard – for seven days at Promethea under the watch of Grace Sterling and others before she was sent to Angel Grove to see Lady Fienna and her operation.
She'd actually tried to morph twice while at Promethea and it didn't work. Grace and Matthew Cook, a former football player at Angel Grove High and a current employee there, had agreed with Tommy that Marah was a viable Ranger but had sternly told her that the coin would not be activated until a certain series of events had occurred.
Now, Marah's destiny had arrived. Earth had seen a male Green Ranger and had a mixed relationship with him.
"I wonder how Earth will like a female Green Ranger," Marah murmured.
"You have earned this right, Marah Watanabe," Tiffany said proudly. "For the first time in a long while, the Green Ranger coin will not be corrupted at all by evil and it is ironic that Lothor's niece is the worthy owner of it."
"I'm not the helpless, defenseless ditzy valley girl type that Lothor was used to," Marah said, "and when Lokar's forces attack, I will demonstrate why."
"This also means that Tommy has obtained the Orb of Hope," Tiffany added.
"And that is what?" Marah asked. "The Promethea folks never went into full detail."
"It's a very powerful artifact," Fienna said. "Let's just say that the first Pink Ranger of Earth's independence day is coming, if she can just hold on a little while longer."
Friday, August 6, 2004
Miami, FL
Since that weird day four days ago, things had settled down.
Until now.
Right as Kimberly was preparing to walk into her house of horrors and do her daily cleaning job to make sure the house was nice and tidy for the goons – because after all, when they were gone, if she didn't keep the house at least somewhat tidy, they would berate her to no end – she could feel a wave of power in her head.
And not just any power. It was a power that she thought was gone, never to come back.
It was the Falcon spirit, it was in her mind, and it was possibly more powerful than it had ever been.
"This is impossible…" she blurted out. It was a good thing she was alone – and not just because the villains weren't here. If someone was seeing this they'd think she was going insane!
'Nothing is impossible to those who have held the power of Ninja…Beautiful.'
That voice in her head stopped her dead in her tracks. There was only one man who had ever called her Beautiful…and it wasn't the asshole she was married to.
She was too flabbergasted to say anything.
After another minute, she heard the voice again.
'I know my Crane has been through a lot, but not even you were this quiet in the day, Kim.'
"Tommy…it's…there's just no way," Kim stammered, unable to believe what was unfolding in her mind.
'Way, Kim. I'm back, and it's my turn to be your wings to fly, or I'll die trying.'
"I sort of hate to break it to you, but you almost did die once this year, you big lug," Kim teased.
'Don't remind me, and it was you that saved me, even after everything you've been through. Even after everything both of us have been through. We shouldn't be here, but we are.'
"I want to believe, but the situation is so bleak, Tommy. When these assholes get back here Monday night, they'll have Lokar, his two ruthless children, Goldar, Grifforza – and thank God you haven't met her yet – her assistant, Ivan Ooze and an army of monsters at their disposal."
'We are outnumbered, yes, but I have something that works in our favor. Haven't you felt the tides in the Morphin Grid shifting lately?'
"In fact, I have. Monday is one of the first days in a long time where I actually felt hope – for something, but I don't know what. The Orb of Despair's power suddenly shrunk too."
'That's because the Orb of Hope, which I recently acquired, is the rival of the Orb of Despair and once it is activated, it decreases the Orb of Despair's power. Cancels it out, to a degree.'
"And let me guess. You acquired it while Kat was out of town with her little family on her escapades."
'That's right, and when Kat gets back, she'll get the first part of a nasty little surprise. I'm putting this right in my lab, so that evil can't destroy it or hack into the systems to compromise it. And I'll put it where she'll never think to look for it.'
Kim was surprised. Tommy either had people helping him or had become a hell of a lot smarter since they were last together.
"That doesn't explain how your Ninja powers are suddenly stronger than they have been."
'That's because they aren't Ninja powers, Kim. They're called Ninjetti and I went to a far distant planet to train for them. The powers of the Orb helped me reconnect with my Falcon, but on a different level.'
"I sure hope you have a plan for getting me out of here, Tommy, sooner rather than later. This place is hell," Kim said silently.
'I do. How does Paris for Christmas sound?'
Kim's eyes widened. She hadn't even thought about that…she couldn't even remember the last time she had contact with her mother.
"Tommy…if you could manage that…oh my God I'd be thrilled. I know my parents haven't had the greatest relationship with you, but…"
'Don't worry. As soon as I call for it, Trini's spirit will smooth things over and explain the situation. It will make them think long and hard about their actions over the years. One way or another, I will get you out of here.'
"And just how do you plan to get to Paris with Kat watching you and during your school teaching year?" Kim asked.
'That's easy. Anton and I are going to Europe in October for paleontology business. The United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain. I will ask Anton to divert through Paris so we can take care of this. As soon as I accomplish this, the trap will be set.'
"I suppose it's fitting that the asshole proposed to me on Christmas night, 1999," Kim said in a determined voice. "Five years later, I'd say it's time for an exorcism."
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