Tommy sat on Angel's Bluff, meditating. He needed something to calm
him after Rocky's death. His first sensei had taught him the basics of
meditation. David Trueheart, his blood brother, had shown him the finesse
to it.
This is so senseless, he thought as the wind whipped around him.
They all had so much to look forward to, their lives barely begun. Now,
they've all been cut down. In the wind, he thought he heard their voices.
I swear, if it's the last thing I do, I will avenge you all.
"I'm worried about Tommy," Kimberly told Billy. "He's
been there for everything. He's seen it all. I know he blames himself for
the deaths. I don't know what to do for him."
"Sometimes, the only thing you can do is to be there for him. He needs
to work through the pain by himself, to come to terms with it."
"I just hope he'll be all right on Angel's Bluff."
On the moon, Lord Zedd heard those last words of Kimberly's. "Rita!"
he bellowed. "Do you hear that? Tommy's alone!"
"What are we going to send?" Rita asked, eagerly flipping through
the book. "How about this one, Gargoyler?" She held up the book,
open to the illustration.
"No, no, Rita, Mondo and I have discussed Tommy's demise thouroughly.
In fact, we're implementing the plan right now. Goldar is leading the strike."
"Let me see!" Rita eagerly rushed to the telescope. "Oh,
Zeddy, you are brilliant!"
"I know."
As the wind swirled around Tommy, he felt something interrupt the flow
of air. Opening his eyes, he saw Goldar standing in front of him. Hurridly,
Tommy leapt to his feet.
"What do you want, Goldar?" Tommy demanded.
"I want you to meet a few friends of mine, Tommy," Goldar growled.
Four flashes of light flanked Goldar; one green, one white, and two red.
The light faded, revealing four figures. "First, there's Green,"
Goldar said. Stepping into the light, the figure revealed itself as Tommy,
with the shorter hair and wardrobe of when he first started as Green Ranger.
"Then, White." A longer-haired Tommy in loose white clothing
stepped into the light. "Then, Zeo V." Tommy as he looked as
Zeo Ranger V stepped out. "And, finally, Red Turbo!" Goldar crowed
as the last figure, an exact duplicate of Tommy now stepped into the light.
The Tommy clones circled the real Tommy, taunting him. "What are you
waitng for?" Green asked, sneering.
"Don't you remember? He can't attack unless we do. It'd be dishonorable
of him," White mocked.
"The Code of the Power Rangers," Zeo V said in a sing-song tone.
"Code! Simply words that they hide behind," Red Turbo said.
"They're just all cowards!" Green exclaimed. "Look, little
Tommy's scared!" Tommy watched as the clones circled him, their words
becoming harsher and harsher.
With a scream, Tommy lunged for Green. In that moment, all five morphed
into their respective Rangers.
Kimberly's communicator toned. The others gathered around her as Zordon
explained the situation. "This is great," Zack moaned.
"It's morphin time," Kimberly said. They left the juice bar.
"Shift into Turbo!"
Tommy was caught in a battle with the Green Ranger, Lightning Sword
versus Sword of Darkness. "Evil will not win this time!" Tommy
gritted out.
"You're not so sure, are you?" Green taunted. "Look at what
you've become, Tommy! Worthless! Just another Ranger! When you were me,
you had power, respect.."
"It wasn't respect I had!" Tommy screamed. "It was fear!"
"Respect, fear, what's the difference? Either way, you were stronger
as Green Ranger, weren't you?"
"Nothing is stronger than the power of Good!"
Green made a strangled sound. "Just listen to yourself, Tommy! You
even sound weak!"
Tommy lunged at Green with a "Hrrragh!" He thrust the Lightning
Sword through Green, who looked down at it.
"Maybe...maybe you aren't so weak after all," Green choked as
he disappeared.
In flashes of light, the other Turbo Rangers appeared just as Green dissolved.
"Oh my God," Kimberly breathed, taking in the scene.
"Which one's the real Red Turbo?" Zack asked.
"That one!" Trini exclaimed. The Rangers dove into the fray.
Kimberly found herself fighting White, Billy was fighting Zeo V, Trini
and Zack took on Goldar, and Tommy took on Turbo.
"What's the matter, Tommy? Finding it hard to fight yourself?"
Turbo asked, sneering.
"Not at all. I know I'm the real me, and I have that advantage!"
"But I know all your moves, Tommy. I am you. I'm just as real
as you are."
The two circled endlessly, Turbo trying to bring doubt into Tommy's mind.
Billy blasted Zeo V out of existance as Kimberly did the same to White.
Goldar, seeing that the final part of the plan was coming to fruition,
teleported back to the moon. Billy, Kimberly, Zack and Trini came to stand
around the two Red Turbos.
"We should help him!" Kimberly exclaimed.
"But which one's Tommy?" Zack asked.
"I can't tell; their styles are too alike!" Trini cried, frustrated.
"Kimberly, help!" one Red Turbo called out. "I'm the real
Tommy!"
"Don't listen to him!" the other Red Turbo protested. "I'm
really Tommy! Kim, I love you!"
Kimberly looked between the two Red Turbos. Closing her eyes, she reached
for Wind Fire. Kimberly took three deep breaths and cleared her mind, focussing
on the issue at hand.
She opened her eyes, leveled the bow, and fired. A bolt of pure pink energy
winged through the air, striking its target dead on. The hit Red Turbo
collapsed.
"Congratulations, Kimberly," the remaining Tommy said, slowly
clapping his hands. "A beautiful shot, sure to be mortal." A
sinking feeling passed through Kimberly as the Ranger continued, "But,
I'm afraid you hit the wrong one." He pulled off his helmet,
revealing a twisted, distorted, grotesque version of Tommy's face. "And
now, you're going to pay!"
"Tommy!" Kimberly screamed, trying to race to her fallen friend.
The false Tommy stopped her, catching her in its arms.
"You're not going to get to him, beautiful. You're mine, now!"
"No!" Kimberly struggled in its grasp, trying to free herself.
Trini set her Star Charges together, loosing a blast of yellow energy.
It was enough to make it drop Kimberly, who finished racing to Tommy, ripping
off her helmet.
Zack and Billy doubled their attacks, followed by Trini. Kimberly was too
distraught to do anything but cry over Tommy.
"Kimberly," she heard him whisper. She removed his helmet and
looked into his warm brown eyes.
"I'm sorry, Tommy," she choked out through her tears.
"Kim, it's all right. You did the best you could. Everyone makes mistakes."
He reached up to stroke her tear-stained cheek. "I...love you, beautiful."
His hand fell to his side, the light fading from his eyes.
"No!" Kimberly screamed, hugging his body to her, rocking back
and forth. "No!" The sounds of the battle broke through her misery.
Looking up, she saw the false Tommy preparing to strike.
Kimberly slowly stood up, replacing her helmet. She picked up her fallen
weapon and headed towards the monster.
"You took the form of the person I loved most," she spoke in
a low tone. "You made me fire on the wrong Ranger." She kept
advancing towards the monster, who had stopped his strike.
"Just a little closer," it whispered under its breath.
"You're not going to take my friends from me!" she screamed.
Lowering her bow, she fired a massive blast at the false Tommy.
The others had caught on to what she was doing and loosed a volley of their
own. The combined attacks hit the monster head on, disintegrating it. All
that was left was a scorched disk on the earth.
After the battle, Kimberly sat in her room, staring at the closed curtains. Tears slowly fell onto her bed. She looked up as her communicator toned. Wordlessly, she took it off and buried it in her bottom dresser drawer.
In the Power Chamber, Zordon looked at Billy, Trini and Zack. "I
did not expect Kimberly to arrive," Zordon intoned slowly. "We
are all still hurting from this most recent loss. Still, I must transfer
the power."
Jason stepped into the light. "Jason, accept the Red Turbo Powers,"
Zordon intoned, a catch in his voice.
Final
Goodbyes, Part 1
Back to End of the Rainbow
Back to the Castle
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